Chapter Text
Later that night, Esther went over her plan to host a ball with the rest of the family over dinner. They all seemed surprised, except for Finn, of course.
“A ball? Like a literal ball? Like a fairytale type thing?” Jeremy asked surprised.
“Something tells me it won’t even close to a fairytale,” Elena said.
“Not quite, but it will be a formal gathering with dancing. It’s just a way to introduce our family to town,” Esther said.
“Ever hear of a housewarming party, Mother?” Klaus asked with a smirk.
“Mother, I don’t like this. I don’t want Elena and Jeremy put on display,” Elijah said. Those children had been through enough. The last thing they needed was to be paraded around for the town to gawk at.
“Mother is doing what she thinks is best. You no longer decide what is best for this family,” Finn told his brother.
Elijah gave his older brother a hard look before pointing to Elena and Jeremy. “When it comes to them, I do, per our brother’s wishes.”
“Henrik didn’t know that Mother would return when he decided that. I’m sure he’d prefer Mother be the one…”
“Alright, both of you stop. Finn, Elijah is right. Regardless of what may have changed since then, it was Henrik’s last wish that Elijah be the one to look after his children,” Esther said before turning to Elijah. “Elijah, I don’t want them on display either. I want the town put on notice. I want it made perfectly clear that attempts to harm them or interfere in their lives will not be tolerated. Introducing them as part of this family in front of the entire town, while certainly uncomfortable, is the best way to do that.”
“How are you going to do that? Everyone in town knows who we are. They know that our father was Grayson Gilbert. They don’t know anything about who he used to be, except for a select few,” Elena said.
“Not to worry, dear. We can get around that. I intend to explain that Grayson was adopted and that I was his biological mother. It’s close to the truth. I believe there are ways to make that seem true even on paper,” Esther said.
“Yes. I can see to that,” Elijah said before turning to Elena and Jeremy. “This is your decision. I will not force you to attend a gathering like this, however, I do think Mother might be right. It’s the best way to give a formal warning without bloodshed.”
“Except for the Salvatore idiots, of course. They’re dead either way,” Klaus said.
Elena and Jeremy looked at each other and then reluctantly nodded. They weren’t thrilled, but they could see the need for it. “When are we going to do this?” Elena asked.
“Soon. I would like it to happen by the end of the week at the latest,” Esther said. She would honestly like it to happen sooner, but she decided it was only fair to give her grandchildren time to prepare.
“That soon?” Jeremy asked. He didn’t even think it was possible to plan something so fancy that soon.
“It’s best to get it done as soon as possible. Do the two of you know how to dance?” Esther asked.
“Yeah. Mom and Dad had us take lessons because of all the Founder’s events that take place every year. This means we have to find dates, right?”
“Absolutely not! For the purpose of the dance, Elena, you can dance with Kol and Jeremy can pair up with Rebekah,” Klaus said with a smile, proud of himself that he’d come up with the perfect way to keep any romance from taking place.
“That’s worse than taking your cousin to the prom,” Jeremy said.
“Niklaus, don’t start. It’s perfectly fine for them to have someone from school accompany them, as long as they are respectful and treat them well,” Elijah said.
Elen pondered it for a minute. “I guess I could ask Matt to come as a friend.”
“A few months ago, I would’ve asked Bonnie. That’s obviously out. Hopefully, she won’t even be here,” Jeremy said.
“Oh, she will, I’m afraid. The Bennett girl is one of the key people that need this warning impressed on them. However, I agree that you should not ask her to attend with you. She certainly doesn’t seem very respectful,” Esther said.
“I could probably get Caroline to accompany you, Jer. Tyler’s gone, so she couldn’t come with him. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind,” Elena said.
“Normally I’d be offended that my sister thinks she needs to get me a date, but it is last minute. Let me see if I can find someone else. If not, I’ll ask Caroline myself,” Jeremy said.
“Excellent. I know this isn’t ideal, but I hope you’ll both have a good time,” Esther said.
“The Donovan boy better be on his best behavior,” Klaus grumbled.
They all finished their dinner and then slowly got up and started to file out of the dining room. Rebekah approached Elena as she started to leave the room. “Let’s have that chat now. Come with me.”
Elena winced as Rebekah left the room expecting to be followed. Elena reluctantly followed her out of the room and towards the stairs. Once they got upstairs, they headed for Rebekah’s room.
“Shut the door. We might as well go for the illusion of privacy,” Rebekah said.
Elena nodded and closed the door behind them. She then turned back to her aunt. “I’m really sorry, Rebekah.”
Rebekah nodded acknowledging the apology. “Were you sorry before you learned that we were related?”
“Yeah. Maybe not as much as I am now, but I never liked what I did. I felt guilty about it before I even did it,” Elena said.
Rebekah motioned for her niece to take a seat on the bed before sitting down on the edge of it herself. “Tell me why you did it then.”
Elena did as she was instructed and sat down on the bed across from Rebekah. “I’m not proud of that time in my life. I was desperate. Stefan had shut off his humanity because Klaus made him. I was hoping that once he was free of him, he would turn it back on. I just wanted the guy I loved back. I was too far in denial to realize he was already gone. I also didn’t want to be Klaus’ blood bag forever. Killing him seemed like the only way to save us both.”
“But I was helping you,” Rebekah pointed out.
“I know, but you wouldn’t have in the end. You couldn’t have. I knew that because I had a brother too, and no matter what he did, I could never kill him or let anyone else do it. I’m so sorry. You have every right to hate me,” Elena said.
Rebekah sighed. “Look, Elena, I’m not thrilled, but I don’t hate you.”
“You hated me last night,” Elena pointed out.
“Last night you were just some girl that betrayed me. I was hurt because I thought we were becoming friends, and it turned out that you were using me. I don’t do well with being hurt. I lash out. However, everything changed when I saw that DVD. I loved your father. I love all my siblings, but I always felt that Henrik and I had a special bond. You’re his daughter. I could never hate you.
Elena looked over at the letter her father wrote, which was sitting on Rebekah’s nightstand. “Did you read it?”
Rebekah shook her head. “Not yet. It’s something I have to prepare myself for first.”
“I’m sorry, not just for the dagger thing. I was never going to tell any of you about this. I was going to let you go on thinking your brother died a thousand years ago and never lived again. I was scared of what would happen if Klaus found out,” Elena said.
“I understand. In your position, I might have done the same. The thing you have to understand is that as of a dick as Nik is, he loves you. He loved Henrik,” Rebekah said.
“He killed my aunt right in front of me. I don’t know how to forgive him for that,” Elena said.
“I’m not saying you have to. I just want you to understand him a bit more. He’s a bastard, but he’s not completely heartless. Did Henrik ever mention us. I know he couldn’t have by name, but did he ever mention us at all?” Rebekah wondered.
Elena was about to say no, but then she remembered something. “Once, I think. I don’t remember what we were talking about, but he said I reminded him of his brother. I was offended at first because I thought he was talking about his brother, John Gilbert. I never liked John, so I took the comparison as less than a compliment, but then he corrected himself. He said he was talking about a friend that was like his brother. I think he was talking about Elijah.
Rebekah nodded. “I can see that. You definitely have qualities of Elijah. The way you look after Jeremy is much like how Elijah always did us.
“You know, I miss my dad, but I can’t help but be angry at him for all the lies. If he’d told me the truth, things could’ve been different. I would’ve at least been prepared when Klaus got here. I know he was trying to protect me, but I can’t help it,” Elena said.
“I get it. I was angry with my mother after she died too, even though I still loved and missed her. Listen, about the dagger, I’m not going to say it’s okay, but I understand, and we can get past it. Just never do it again. That is one way we never want you to take after Nik,” Rebekah said.
Elena nodded. “I promise. Just so you know, if I’d known the truth, I wouldn’t have done any of it.”
“I think that’s a theme with this family when it comes to you as well. Now, do you know what you’re going to wear to this thing of Mother’s?” Rebekah asked.
“Not a clue. I have some nice clothes, but nothing worthy of a ball,” Elena said.
“Perfect. We’ll go shopping tomorrow. We’ll drag Jeremy with us too. He needs a tux. Honestly, everyone should go. Other than Elijah, I doubt any of the others have the wardrobe for such an event,” Rebekah said.
Elena chuckled before standing up. “Jeremy will consider that hell. It should be fun. It’s been a while since I tortured Jeremy.”
“Ah, yes, a lovely pastime. You should get some rest. It will probably take most of the day tomorrow,” Rebekah said.
Elena nodded and headed out of the room.
Rebekah, meanwhile, turned to her nightstand and picked up the letter her little brother had written to her. She took a deep breath before opening it.
Rebekah,
Well, if it isn’t my favorite sister. Yeah, I know, you’re my only sister. Still, I think you’d still be my favorite either way. Out of all of our siblings, you were probably the one that paid the most attention to me. I know it was probably because I was the only one that was younger than you, but still.
I remember how you would teach me to do things around the house. It used to drive Father mad because in his words, it was ‘women’s work.’ I remember him screaming at you because he said you would make me as weak as Niklaus. But as scared as you were of him, you didn’t care. You still taught me because you knew I liked it, and you wanted to spend time with me.
I know you’ll treat my children as well as you did me. I don’t even need to ask that of you. You’ll do it. You’ll help our siblings give them the life that my wife and I aren’t here any longer to give them. Thank you for that, and for everything you’ve ever done for me.
Don’t be sad, Rebekah. There’s nothing for you to be sad about. I know you weren’t here to see it, but I had a wonderful life. I got a second chance that I probably shouldn’t have had. I cherished every minute of it. I missed all of you as much as I’m sure you did me, but I learned to live my life. I want you to do the same. I love you so much.
Henrik
Rebekah was trying to stop herself from crying, but she was finding it impossible. She knew her brother didn’t want her to be sad, but how could she not be? She had missed so much with him. Her mother called it miracle that he’d gotten to live again, but all she could see was that he was here the whole time, and they’d missed his life. It felt like a tragedy. Except, of course, for the part with where she now had a niece and nephew. That was what she had to focus on.
It took a minute, but Rebekah managed to stop from crying. She was going to do what Henrik asked. She would try not to feel sad and focus on her niece and nephew now. It was the least she could do for her brother.