A/N: Sorry for the two-three weeks of silence. This chapter was hard to write! It took pretty long. And it is my longest chapter by far..:) School will be starting again in January and I really hate posting my chapters slowly because I know what it feels like to wait for an update when I'm a reader... but when school ends in June, I can speed up the updates!;)

A little hint...

Summary: The Mystic Falls gang are angry and they want Elena back. So they would do anything (especially Stefan and Damon) to get her back, even if they have to risk hurting one of the Originals.

Klaus is not doing too well with "fixing things" concerning Katerina who poses as a threat to his family. Neither is he handling his "brother" issues too well with Kol. Kol seems to have an attitude problem, always wanting to antagonize his brother... but he may surprise us in the future...;)

More on Elijah next chapter!

The air in the warehouse was cold, musty and unclean. In the early dark morning, somewhere in snowy Mystic Falls, Katherine Pierce had her fangs pierced in the throat of a random office worker. She held him firmly and drank his blood until his body stopped struggling and lay motionless.

Johnny was sitting on top of a desk, his feet dangling off the table, observing them. His jade green eyes showed no expression. Katherine let the office worker, whose face was blotchy gray like a corpse, go but not before compelling him to forget everything. As soon as the man left, she looked at Johnny and shrugged.

"What?" asked Katherine, laughing. "I was just hungry."

"Yeah, I know," said Johnny colourlessly, his eyes showing no sign of approval or disapproval.

Katherine's laughter died out and her face grew serious.

"I thought you didn't make it," said Katherine.

Johnny nodded and tossed her a plastic bag full of blood. There was a whole collection of those that Katherine had stolen from the hospital and had stored at the warehouse.

"Drink this," he told her.

She rolled her eyes but caught the blood bag and began to drink it. Johnny smiled a little for the first time.

"He had you. That Klaus guy," explained Johnny. "I was out immediately after Abby Bennett's attack."

"Did you leave the message?"

"Yeah," said Johnny. "I also mentioned Elena Gilbert."

Katherine merely nodded, frowning to herself.

"Why was she there?" she asked aloud. "Her presence at the ball ruined everything. Could have meant our imminent doom."

"Cover was blown but at least we sent a message and a warning. It's a good start," reckoned Johnny.

Katherine put the blood bag down as she walked over to one of the dusty shelves in the warehouse. There were a few wooden daggers and a concoction brewing in a tiny maroon cauldron.

"What's cooking?" asked Katherine casually, inspecting the mixture.

Johnny looked up to see what she was referring to.

"Oh, something that could kill the Original hybrid maybe," answered Johnny. "I'm working on it. It's near impossible to kill him… Unless I know what exactly the witch used in the Vampirism spell."

"Which is why we need her," said Katherine simply. "Esther."

The plan last night had worked perfectly. Katherine was invited into the Mikaelson Mansion by an unassuming Finn, Johnny managed to slip into the house and absorb Abigail Bennett's powers and both escaped uninjured. Johnny had told her before that witches had visions from their ancestors and they received them in their sleep. Johnny had many visions of the Mikaelson Mansion so that the mansion was a familiar maze to him.

As planned also, Esther had gotten the message. Katherine had done a lot of homework during the five hundred years she spent running away from Klaus. In 1864, after she faked her death In Mystic Falls, she had more room to do her research and discovered more facts about the Original family than anyone could imagine.

She knew whom Esther was – a protective mother who had made her children immortal so that she would never lose them. But Johnny had explained that witches who disregarded their duties like Esther had done were disgraced among their sisters when they died. He had a strong feeling that the guilt the sisters blanketed over Esther was enough to turn the mother into a dutiful witch. There was indeed a rather good chance that she would want to right her wrong then.

All of a sudden, there was a loud sound of glass breaking followed by Stefan and Damon jumping in through the large hole from the broken glass window. Johnny's eyes narrowed and almost immediately, they were on the ground, hands over their heads as they groaned in anguish.

"Johnny, it's okay!" shouted Katherine. "Those are my people."

"Your people?" Johnny sounded perplexed.

"Yes, I sent them here," said Katherine in an urgent voice. "They're on our side too. Take down Klaus!"

Sighing, Johnny withdrew his powers reluctantly, his eyes never wavering away from the two of them. Damon glared at him before turning to Katherine who heaved a sigh of relief.

"You've gone too far this time, Kat," warned Damon angrily.

"Where's Elena?" asked Stefan more calmly than Damon.

"She's safe," purred Katherine, smiling at them.

Stefan abruptly banged the wall out of frustration but his actions did not intimidate Katherine or Johnny at all.

"SHE HASN'T COME BACK SINCE LAST NIGHT!" roared Stefan. "WE ALMOST DIED TRYING TO FIND OUT WHERE!"

Katherine looked at him without answering. The banging and shouting was peeving her to no end. Truthfully, she did not require the assistance of the Salvatores but since they were highly motivated individuals who wanted to take the Originals down, she could not lie that she hardly credited their courage.

"Johnny, excuse me. I'm going to take a walk with some friends," said Katherine before leaving the place with Stefan and Damon.

Johnny nodded, staring after them apprehensively. It was a witch's instinct to never trust a vampire. But a Bennett witch was slightly different. They trust no vampires except for one special kind.

The snow outside was thick enough to go skiing. As Katherine strolled around the park near the warehouse, Damon and Stefan began to tell her what they had gone through and their new plans to find Elena. Katherine listened intently before interjecting.

"She's not safe out there," said Stefan desperately. "She never came back after the ball. Klaus took her, didn't he? Don't lie to me, Katherine."

"No, he didn't," said Katherine, annoyed.

"You're such a liar," sighed Stefan.

Katherine shrugged, a carefree look on her face.

"You can call me whatever you want, Stefan," scoffed Katherine. "Here's the part where you're going to get really mad at me."

Stefan and Damon tensed up, unprepared to hear the bad news she had to offer. Katherine never delivered delightful information. And as far as Stefan knew, being involved in a plan with Katherine was never a brilliant idea because Katherine was not someone who was so apparently transparent. She loved to have the upper hand over them and was secretive because of that.

"Elena is with the Originals – No, wait!" She shouted at Stefan who was on the verge of leaping at her. "She's with the Originals, but she' safe – "

"How would you know that, huh?" yelled Stefan.

Damon was restraining his brother from attacking, listening carefully to Katherine. For the first time, he was the calmer out of the two.

"She's not with Klaus," lashed Katherine fiercely. "And she is safe. I know that. But that's what I wanted to tell you. We're going to get her back."

The corners of her mouth curved into a sly smile and Stefan calmed down as Damon freed his arms.

"Here's the plan," said Katherine haughtily. "We do it my way."

"Your way?" mocked Damon, moving towards her. "And why is that so?"

Katherine did not step back. As the older vampire, she had faster reflexes and greater strength than him.

"Because you're going to need a witch, a bunch of strong vampires who feed on human blood," explained Katherine. "Maybe a vampire hunter. Anyone we could use. Even a werewolf. But I'd be careful with one. After that bite, Damon…"

Damon shuddered a little, reminiscing the ugly memory of the werewolf bite he had experienced a few months ago. What worsened the memory was that Stefan had saved him by sacrificing himself and handing himself over to Klaus. Not to mention that the king of hybrid's blood was the only cure to a fatal werewolf bite.

"No, werewolf is good," said Damon, trying to hide the discomfort in his voice.

"Good," smiled Katherine. "We can get start to work soon. Take an Original down, force Elena out of their hands."

Stefan gave thought to the plan but deep down, he was not very convinced that it would work.

"You're saying, grab one of them – say, Rebekah – and expect the rest to come?" asked Stefan in a tone that suggested that the absurd plan was bound to fail.

"That's what I'm saying," replied Katherine confidently. "Family above all. C'mon, you must have realized for yourself that the only thing that matters to Klaus is his family – "

"And his hybrids," Damon cut her, reminding them.

"Why would he be carrying them around in coffins with him wherever he goes? Come on, think," said Katherine scornfully. "Why not just throw them away into the sea like Elijah had said? Deep down, it's so obvious that they only care about each other."

Stefan nodded, finally reassured. Perhaps Katherine was right after all. He had forgotten how shrewd the Petrova could be.

"But why your way? We have vampire hunter Ricky, werewolf or should I say hybrid Tyler, a bunch of strong vampires – well, maybe we need to work on that strong starting with their diet," said Damon, teasing Stefan. "And of course, we have Miss I-hate-vampire witch Bonnie!"

Katherine looked at Damon, a playful light dancing in her eyes.

"Bonnie?" repeated Katherine in a deriding tone. "My witch is much better than that. He even took down Abigail."

"What?" spluttered Stefan, astonished. "Why did you take Bonnie's mum down?"

"Needed to send a message," said Katherine calmly, ignoring the shocked looks on their faces. "Besides, Johnny could use a little more power, couldn't he? Not saying he isn't strong, but when you absorb a witch's powers, of course you know what happens."

They were too stunned to speak and to be angry. Finally, after half-digesting that Johnny had been the mysterious attacker Bonnie had told them about, Damon found his voice.

"Where did you even get this witch?"

Katherine was wearing the mechanical secretive smile she had when she was about to reveal something big that she was proud of or happy about.

"Not too long ago," she said. "About a year ago. At that time, Klaus still thought I was dead and so did you two. Klaus was always having witches do the work for him. I was always on the run, but after he believed that I was dead, I watched over him more often. Then, I discovered a whole family of Bennett witches doing his bidding. They were serving him, one by one. The mother was a Bennett witch, the father was just an ordinary one, but combined together, their children must have been powerful.

"Slowly, they just died. In their risky missions which they were sent on by Klaus or an overuse of their magic powers which led to death. Everyone of them died."

Stefan and Damon were silent as they listened to her story, completely horrified. They dreaded the idea of a family of witches becoming slaves to Klaus – it was a terrifying, cruel idea.

"There was only one survivor," Katherine went on. "I took him before Klaus even got to him. He was only nine and the youngest of his family. He lost his two sisters, his mother, his father – his entire family. Like me. It was very recent. Klaus searched for him for a while because this witch is no ordinary witch. I even thought of using him as a trade off for my freedom but when I got to know him better, I found an even better way to earn my freedom.

"It was very recent – last year. Klaus stopped searching for him after a while because he did not like the lack of witches he had and equipped himself with witches who were less powerful. He had to do with second best since then."

The story was still not sinking in. But Stefan felt a new sense of hope that perhaps for once, they could defeat the Originals. Katherine looked at them, her secretive smile gone.

"You want to know why my way, Damon?"

Later on that day, at the break of dawn, Damon gathered Caroline, Tyler, Alaric, Bonnie, Matt and Jeremy at the Mystic Grill. Stefan introduced them to Katherine and Johnny. It was the most awkward conference they had ever held. But despite the weirdness, the reunion of the Bennetts was a call to celebrate. What Stefan had decided to blot out was the fact that Johnny was the mystifying attacker of Abigail Bennett.

Katherine was in charge for the better part of the meeting, assigning roles and designing tactics where her shrewdness came in handy. Everyone listened obediently, bonding over Tequilla.

"If you don't trust me, at least trust the plan," Katherine shrugged her shoulders casually at the skeptical faces. "As long as Johnny and Bonnie get it right, which I'm sure they will, you won't have a problem. And that's where you the vampire hunter comes in. Just remember who our ultimate target really is – Klaus."

They left Mystics Grill, more confident that they had ever been, a new spring in their steps. Although Stefan seemed least keen with the execution of the plan, Elena missing did serve a motivation once unfound. Dragging himself silently home with Damon who was just as quiet, Stefan was lost in a whirl of his own thoughts.

"Do you really think we can?" Damon broke the silence as soon as they had reached home.

Stefan shrugged and sighed, a weary look in his eyes.

"She's right, Damon," said Stefan, shaking his head. "Gotta believe her. She wants Klaus dead just as much as we do."

Elena found herself on a bed in a gloomy, empty room. There was nothing but the white bed she was resting on and a tiny windowsill that provided a shaft of light. She had no idea where she was but something about the walls of the room told her she was a prisoner. The last thing she remembered was Katherine's voice as she was being shoved into a box. A dreadful thought hit her that this was a cell that belonged to Katherine perhaps.

But unexpectedly, a man with long straight black hair walked in. His hair was unusually long for a man, falling over his ears. He saw that she was awake and introduced himself as Finn Mikaelson.

His last name made Elena turn wary suddenly. But he ensured her that he would not hurt her and left the room. Compared to Klaus, he was robust and had older-looking physical features.

Finn reentered with a woman who had long dark golden locks and black beady eyes. She was the person Elena had caught gazing at her during Elijah's announcement.

"Elena, what a pleasure," said Esther warmly, extending her hand.

Elena gave it an apprehensive glance before shaking it. Esther noticed her nervousness and smiled.

"I'm not a vampire like my children, Elena," she said soothingly. "I'm something else."

Elena tried to shake off her anxiety because Esther seemed like a good person and someone who would not hurt her. But what did not fail to strike Elena was that she was Klaus' mother.

"You're Klaus' mother?"

"Yes, so you know Niklaus," laughed Esther. "He is my son. I know, he killed me but I have forgiven him already."

That was the weirdest Elena had ever heard of.

"You remember the fourth coffin?" Esther continued.

"Yeah, the one that's supposed to…," Elena was unsure of whether to complete her sentence. "Kill Klaus."

Esther beamed as though she had successfully guided a student through a very difficult question.

"Yes, that one," said Esther calmly, her eyes fixed on Elena. "That was my coffin."

Elena's dark brown pupils dilated in bewilderment. Esther smiled kindly, noticing the shock in her eyes and told her that she would explain everything when they were alone outside the house where no one could hear them. With that, she left Elena with Finn but not before reminding them to come out for breakfast soon.

Elena looked up at Finn Mikaelson and studied him. He was Klaus' brother and most certainly an Original vampire from the ring that hung rusty on his index finger. She could not fathom why he would give aid to the destruction of his own brother.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally asked.

Their eyes met, Elena steeling herself to hold the gaze. But when she looked into those black eyes, she did not see the same cruelty or instability that swam around in Klaus' eyes.

"Because it's the right thing to do," answered Finn softly and most humbly.

Aside the alluring beauty, the kindness was reminiscent of the Princess Tatia that Finn had known when he was once human. He adored Tatia much in a way a loving brother would his younger sister and although he knew the cause of her death was his beloved mother, he had never begrudged her for it. He understood the need to reconcile the problem she pummeled Niklaus and Elijah into. They were both more deeply in love with her than any other admirer Tatia had and competed against each other often for her hand.

Elena asked no further questions when Finn signaled her to go downstairs for breakfast.

A round marble table was adorned with a variety of dishes – strawberries red and ripe, fresh blue blueberries, pancakes layered in maple syrup and a large china teapot that stood in the centre of the table.

"You can start first, you know!" Finn shouted from the kitchen, sticking his head at the doorway.

Nodding, Elena sat down at the table and began to help herself to the strawberries and a heavy pound of serving of pancakes. Just then, she heard noises from upstairs – people conversing – and footsteps getting louder.

Then she saw them coming down from the staircase and felt her stomach twisting into knots. How she dreaded to see Rebekah and Kol on an already abnormal morning.

When Elena was in her sight, her mouth dropped open and her eyes contracted to narrow slits of dark blue.

"What is she doing here!" demanded Rebekah heatedly.

Kol looked at Elena, a hint of puzzlement on his face. Elena stared at them, speechless, but before she could find a good enough answer, the kitchen flew open and Esther stepped out.

"Rebekah, dear, meet Elena," simpered Esther, looking from her daughter to the other girl. "She's a special guest today."

With Esther around, there was a sudden softening in Rebekah. She was no longer, to Elena's relief, seeming as though she wanted to rip her head off then and there.

"I know who she is," replied Rebekah in a hard voice.

But no more unhappiness was exchanged as Esther hurriedly left her children for the kitchen. Rebekah and Kol sat down, away from Elena, still trying to comprehend her presence. Elena kept her eyes firmly on the pancakes on her plate and ate them furiously, not wanting to meet any of their eyes. Rebekah scooped the last of the pancakes onto her plate, entirely ignoring Elena. Kol, however, took no notice of the food. The side of his chin rested against his right hand propped up by the elbow as he watched Elena, waiting patiently for her to look up, twirling his fork in his left hand.

Wearing a long tall white hat, Finn exited the kitchen with plate on one skilful hand, carrying a pile of stacked pancakes. He grinned enthusiastically when he saw the empty plate of pancakes on the table.

"Good morning, kids!" he chirped as he replaced the empty plate with the one balancing on his left hand. "Cooking up pancakes right now!"

Kol turned to him, giving him a quizzical look. "Why not something more nutritional?"

He nodded his head curtly at Elena, a cunning smile in his eyes. Rebekah's dark blue eyes lit up.

"Like this doppelganger?" she asked Finn hopefully, wearing her puppy eyes.

Elena's heart skipped a beat as she dropped her knife by accident, petrified. She was unable to pluck herself off the chair and run for it because something about Kol's unnerving eyes told her it was safer for her to stay still.

"Kol!" snapped Finn, incensed. "Eat your pancakes. Mother's in the kitchen and if you do anything stupid…"

He pointed to the kitchen threateningly, a sore look on his face. Kol was ready to retort (he never kept his mouth closed if something made him angry normally) but Finn turned away and returned to the kitchen after throwing at him a dirty look that said that he would not be part of any fiery match.

"Just leave him," sighed Rebekah irritably. "And you've already been told off once. Kol, don't be ridiculous – one more toe out of line and Mother would kill you."

Strangely, the sullen look on his face evaporated, taken over by a pleased smug expression. He had a queer tendency to take joy in some of Rebekah's admonishing – perhaps it was her way, however bizarre, to show him some appreciation.

Rebekah, on the other hand, found it rather annoying that he seemed to sneer at whatever she cautioned. Despite knowing Kol well enough, she still disliked his abilty to make light of the darkest of situations – although there were times when she was undeniably comforted by that same light he brought with him.

Kol turned to face Elena again in the same position, head on fist supported by elbow.

"You were quite unpleasant to me the other night," remarked Kol, smirking at her.

His words caught her by surprise because she looked up, a lost look on her face that grew hot red. He gave her his mechanical relaxed predatory smile when their eyes met. Immediately, she turned her eyes back down and the moment thankfully passed. Rebekah, with her infallible senses, noticed the brief exchange and scoffed loudly.

"The other night?" repeated Rebekah loftily. "It's not a wonder why Nik broke your neck."

But Kol remained shamelessly blithe as he leaned back, sipping a cup of English tea. This was definitely more regrettable than perhaps being Katherine's captive, Elena told herself gravely.

Just then, footsteps pounded louder and louder from upstairs and Elena jolted out of consternation. Even a pin drop could cause distress. A man dressed in elegant clothes as though heading to work with dark blonde hair combed back neatly came down – it was Elijah. He seemed to be in deep thought that he did not notice the new guest.

"I thought I saw Finn from my window," thought Elijah aloud.

As he turned to walk in the direction of the dining table, he was stunned for a few seconds to see the brunette at his family's dining table. The stupor upon his face reflected onto hers too and there was no denying the pinch of relief and comfort.

"Yes, he just left!" shouted Esther loudly from the kitchen but none of the words were registered by Elijah's mind. "Getting more eggs for more pancakes!"

He stared at her in thin disbelief before giving Rebekah and Kol a furtive, quizzical look, to which Kol responded with a shrug in his eyes and Rebekah held back an eye roll. Elijah stood next to Kol, tapping the edge of the table as he pondered to himself and the awkward silence filled the air.

"Um…," began Elijah. "How did you get here?"

"I – I don't know," answered Elena, her anxiety weaking.

For some unperceived reason, she knew herself to be safe the minute Elijah had walked in. Just his presence secured and ensured her safety. Before Elijah could get any more words out of his mouth, the kitchen door flew open.

"Oh, Lijah, meet Elena Gilbert! You've met, I presume," introduced Esther.

Elijah stared at his mother, one brow arched upwards, but his mother smiled ignorantly back at him. Breaking the tension, he walked past the dining table, past his mother and into the kitchen. Sighing softly to himself and having a rather burning desire to thump his head against the metallic fridge door, he opened it and grabbed the glass jug full of blood.

But then, he jerked a little, almost dropping the jug, as though he had just remembered something. Turning to peer at Elena through the doorway, he sighed again and glared at the blood jug before putting it back down. He grabbed the jug of plain milk instead and left the kitchen with it.

Esther was still standing at the doorway, talking to Elena and beaming at her children who were eating at the same time. As Elijah sat down next to Kol, Esther turned to him.

"Where is Niklaus anyway?" asked Esther, her brows locked into a frown.

"Sleeping probably," answered Elijah casually as he scooped a large spoonful of blueberries onto his plate.

Esther shook her head, appearing somewhat dismayed. Elena seemed to have caught it because she turned to Elena, giving her a warm-hearted smile.

"I really do apologise for my son, Elena," said Esther, laughing a little. "He can be a true lazy bum sometimes."

Elijah almost choked on his blueberry out of irritation. He would have spluttered there and then at his mother's hypocrisy but it was not like him to blow up all of a sudden. It was something Klaus would have done but Elijah was finding it difficult to control the overpowering surge of peevishness that ran through him.

Something about his mother and her hospitality towards Elena mystified him and he was going to find out with or without Klaus. He liked to think that most of his worry stemmed from the fact that his mother was perhaps being deceitful and not because of his great concern for the doppelganger.

He took a brief look at the deep level of snow from the large square glass window as he bit on his strawberry and chewed.

Suddenly, an idea sparked.

His black eyes brightened as he looked up at everyone at the table, raising both his arms.

"Hey… let's go snowboarding today," announced Elijah, cupping the air with his hands. "We should. We haven't done that in… ages. And Elena, you should definitely come – get to know us a little better."

Instantly, Kol sat up straight on his chair, ready to agree but Rebekah turned and gave the staircase a glance as though hoping Klaus would come down soon. Elena seemed to be contemplating but the look on her face told Elijah she was not eager at all.

"But your mum said I can't go out," rejected a stammering Elena.

Elijah was not going to back down so easily – not when his mother was acting as a trickster under his nose.

"Well, I'm sure my mother will not mind," responded Elijah confidently, standing up.

Kol stood up too, pushing his chair backwards, a playful smile pulling the corners of his mouth.

"That's right, Mother need not know," nodded Kol enthusiastically, a rush of his usual excitement at breaking 'the rules' in his sly smile.

Elijah almost let out a protest, recognizing the jeopardous air his brother had when he behaved in that manner. It was almost certain he would start carrying out heinous plans like a loose canon. Remembering his mother's warnings, Elijah shuddered – but he knew he had to keep his siblings in check. It was unfortunately his responsibility to honour as the eldest and most sensible.

But the kitchen door burst open and out rushed Esther, a speculative look across her face. With eyes of an eagle that was about to pounce on its prey, she scrutinized each face mindfully as the children returned her inspection with blank, clueless faces.

"What's going on?" demanded Esther in a high, knifelike voice.

"Nothing," interjected Rebekah, standing up to face her mother.

Kol gave her an apologetic glance for trying to cover up for them but Elijah pulled up his collar as he cleared his throat, glowering at his mother. Then his eyes turned cloudy and the anger was unseeable.

"We're bringing our special guest out to snowboard," said Elijah calmly, although his eyes were burning with the intensity of a hissing flame. "Is there going to be a… problem?"

The tone he used shocked Elena just as much as it shocked Esther. It was hard to imagine that Elijah could be a fierce, firm nail to his own mother given his discreet demeanour. What Esther exhibited was more than shock, however – there was rage and vexation in her eyes that was frightening.

Everyone could see the foam at her mouth and waited for some kind of judgement or ruling that she would call upon. Even Elijah stood by, pausing for her verdict, his insides coiled and twisted like vines.

But the anger dissipated and collapsed to nothingness.

"Of course not," breathed Esther, giving Elijah a smile that did not reach her eyes that stood out empty. "Go on, go on, you lot. I really should wake Niklaus, shouldn't I? He'd be missing some fun."

She rambled on and on in seemingly high spirits, as though the tension that had enveloped them had never taken place at all. As her words droned on, Elena gathered her thoughts and calculated quickly whether it was indeed going to be safe going on this snowboarding adventure. She could not help giving Elijah's younger sibling fleeting looks because from what she could clearly tell, he was not exactly an unpretentious or unassuming person – and he was likely to be more than open about that.

Esther went on harping about how worried she felt as Finn was taking far much longer than he should, while Rebekah tossed at the brothers the snowboarding equipments. After they finished putting on their coats and were standing at the front doorway waiting uninterestedly for Esther to be done, Esther began prattling about what a sluggish boy Klaus was.

"He really does need a spanking, if I could just – "

"Why do you so often look at me?" Kol interrupted his mother out of the blue.

Leaning against the open door, he was looking at Elena with a superior attitude, his dark questioning eyebrows curved upwards with pleasant amusement. Shell-shocked, Elena stumbled on the words she could offer, her face turning into the shades of a red beetroot.

Kol, on the other hand, was finding it rather fascinating and savory that he could easily make the girl so uncomfortable around him. He had to, however, evade the baleful and harrowing glares from Elijah and Mother who were breathing down his neck.

Oblivious to Kol and Rebekah, Mother gave Elijah a dirty look – an ominous, monitory stare that screamed an angry threatening warning. Elijah heeded the warning silently and tugged Elena by the hand, indicating to her to walk on outside. Throwing Elena a contemptuous sneer, Rebekah turned to Kol with a sardonic smile.

"Can't you tell, idiot?" mocked Rebekah, glancing at Elena briefly with a vile look. "She just can't wait to drag you in her ensnare!"

Just like Nik and Elijah! The deep-seated hatred blasted out a scream that she could barely contain. Regardless of the fact that she knew that Kol could not and would not be attracted to Elena, the malice she had hurled arose from the neglect she faced from Nik who had detached himself from everyone but his doppelganger to date.

"Is that what she's been doing? I hadn't noticed," smirked Kol smugly.

"So full of yourself, aren't you?" shot back Rebekah sassily, rolling her eyes.

Elijah yanked Elena's hand harder, passing her an alarmed look. The firm pull had her attention grabbed as she stood up and began walking out with him. They said their goodbyes cheerfully to Esther before walking off. Elijah made sure he walked closely to the Petrova and preferred to render himself a protector or a guardian although he was usually far from it. Luckily, Kol and Rebekah were not too near, walking at the back, carrying along their usual banter.

At the snowboarding mountain site that was always open during Winter, Elena who had no equipment of her own or had never gone snowboarding had to go to the renting store. As Elijah stood outside waiting for her, he watched his younger siblings from the distance through the dark, foggy cold air.

He saw Rebekah approaching from afar.

When she was finally in close proximity, he could visibly see the troubled look blemishing her face.

"Don't you think it's been some time since we had breakfast?" asked Rebekah in what was supposed to sound like a spontaneous voice.

But Elijah was able to grasp the fragility of the voice and conjectured what sort of ulterior motive his sister could possibly be bearing. The only thing that came to his mind was the horrible idea that Rebekah might be hungry for real. In order to avoid any potential ugly scenario, he was going to have to tread carefully.

"Yes…," said Elijah slowly. "Why?"

He gave her an odd look, waiting for her to spill whatever she was concealing from him. She appeared tongue-tied, as though unsure of how to communicate her thoughts to him.

"Well, I just thought he'd be awake by now," said Rebekah simply at last.

The suspicions within him faltered. He had to give himself a quick shake and reminder that he was not going to be so smoothly trapped in the vortex of emotions that could cause him unimaginable damage. Disdainfully, he had already learnt a very long time ago that his sister could be nothing more than a girl whose heart was a turmoil of feelings – and he had been told several times by Niklaus that he would do better to stay far from it but he found that he could not pluck himself off. He was not capable of such indifference, at least not towards his family.

His heart splintered at the forlornness in her dark blue eyes. But he found something reassuring to say, for fear that they would feel too much. Feeling too much never turned out very pretty for vampires most of the time.

"It could be a werewolf behaviour," supposed Elijah although he himself did not sound too convinced.

Although she hardly found his avouchment believable, she wanted very much to count on it. In the midst of snowboarding down the mountain coupled with several tricks that was easy for a vampire like her to master, she felt awful.

She could not clean her face of the grim, tight smile solidly embedded. His absence rang through louder than a bomb explosion and far more terrifying. Her vicious, hostile feelings towards him simply could not last; she was angry with him for what he had done – killing their own mother, daggering their family – but that was as far as her anger went. It was simply not enough.

After more than a dozen of times of diving down the mountain with the snowboard, she rested by a tall, brown tree alone. Being alone had its own serenity.

In a flash, a hard white ball of snow rocked the side of her arm.

POW!

"HEY!" she screamed out of frustration.

She did not have to scan around to know that it was her meddlesome of a brother Kol. She spotted him anyway, not in hiding and walking towards her. Bunching a pile of snow into a ball in her fist, she figured that she had lost her head.

She flung the snowball at him as hard as she could – she saw the baffled look on his face before he evaded it swiftly.

"Wait! I've got a brilliant idea!" started Kol, as he approached her more carefully, hands raised as though asking for mercy.

She threw another one, this time aiming for his head. He ducked and the hit missed him by inches.

"Listen to your big brother!" coaxed Kol loudly in his sweet-talk voice.

She sent yet another snowball hurtling towards him which he sketchily avoided. He zoomed up towards her using his vampire speed as she pulled the plug off the one-sided snowball fight.

"We're partners in crime, right?" asked Kol adamantly.

His head inclined and his eyebrows wagging doggedly, the badgering dumbbell did live up to his saccharine reputation – partly why it proved to be difficult to turn away even the unintelligent, feeble-minded brother he was. There were times when Rebekah's only companion was him and those were the times when she had fun, playing practical jokes on Elijah and Nik. She realized there had been no reason for her to get mad at him and felt slightly sorry foreventing it all out on him.

"I'm listening," said Rebekah imperiously.

"Let's prank Nik – I take his witch, you take his doppelganger," said Kol, a sneaky smile on his face.

He gave her a grin from the corner of his eyes, his face flooded with liveliness of one who was about to do something golden off his to-do list.

"You're not joking?" asked Rebekah, almost spluttering, in a tone of disbelief.

Turning to face her directly, his dark eyes swam with a look she could hardly credit as anything sensible. And she knew he had meant it.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" grinned Kol like a reckless fool.

Rebekah shook her head vehemently.

"No – Nik would kill you if you pull off something like that!" Rebekah's voice dropped to a low hiss. "And if Nik doesn't, Mother would."

But the sanguine mood would not flicker because Kol was as resolute as the sun in rising every morning.

"And that's why I need you" countered Kol cleverly with his most persuasive pitch.

"And I already said no," said Rebekah fiercely.

"Right," nodded Kol, his eyes manifesting the barest trace of disappointment but otherwise, he was unflustered by her rejection.

Consequently, she was of two minds, but the more dominant one told her she could not make things any harder than it was already for Niklaus. But she could not help feeling a little distraught.

"I just think we shouldn't," explained Rebekah in a tired voice. "Not when there's a crazy loose doppelganger trying to kill us – when Nik and Elijah are trying to fix everything they can."

Kol shrugged, apparently apathetic and not taking pains to allow for the excuse to get to him.

"You just look like you could use a bit of fun," said Kol bluntly.

The non-fluctuating gleam in his eyes told her he was still going to carry out his diabolical plans – with or without her. It was truly exasperating. But instead of burning her, his matter-of-fact words jolted her.

"So you do care about your sister," challenged Rebekah with a satiric smile.

Kol was easily annoyed when people tried to tell him that he cared about something after all as though it was a weakness he could not bring himself to acknowledge.

"I did say I would do anything for you," said Kol coolly, returning her smile.

Rolling her eyes at his wink, Rebekah turned away, ready to dip down the snow mountain again. As overly sweet and conceited he was, he did in his own way let her know that he was the staunch brother she had if needed be. It was in his own irksome and vexing manner of telling her.

"Actually, I could use some fun company," said Rebekah intentionally, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Starting with some very cool people – but… you're not exactly the coolest person around."

With that, she pushed off the mountain and went straight down on her snowboard, the cold air breezing past her, flapping against her face and hair – but not before seeing the off-guard disorientation in his eyes and his mouth agape.

"I AM THE COOLEST!" he shouted after her.

Where Niklaus had been all morning was a big fat question mark. He had not been in his room asleep, locked from inside, which made it safe for his family to assume he was fast asleep like a baby. Leaving through the window was an easy feat for him without getting caught red-handed.

From what he had seen last night at the ball, he had a sneaking suspicion that his mother was up to nothing good, inviting Elena being one of it. The first person that came to his mind was of course, Finn, the apple-in-the-eye son.

Finn had been strolling in the supermarket, searching for eggs when all of a sudden, he saw his younger brother Klaus standing right in front of the shelf of eggs. It was hard to discern the ambiguous expression on his face.

"Niklaus, out of my way," snapped Finn rudely.

But in the blink of an eye, Finn's head was smashed against the cartons of eggs on the shelf by a hand. He yelped out of astonishment as eggs came crashing and breaking onto the floor.

"Don't try fight off the hand," whispered Klaus calmly. "I'm a hybrid, so I'm stronger than you too."

Finn did not struggle but his eyes screamed utmost defiance.

"What do you want?" he snarled.

Klaus leaned closer to him so that their eyes met, sea green and black.

"The truth, Finn," said Klaus gently. "I just want the truth. Is it too much to ask of you, my brother? I know you and Mother are keeping something away from me."

Finn's eyes revealed nothing but pure loathing.

"You can't compel me," growled Finn, staring at Klaus in the eye.

Klaus' lips curled with hatred and he bit back the urge to shove Finn's head further into the shelf right into the wall.

"No," conceded Klaus, "but I can make you tell me."

"Not in a million years, Niklaus!" groaned Finn, who made wheezing sounds of pain. "I am hiding nothing that you need know!"

A free hand came straight up to Finn's face, holding a large egg –

And it splat right on his forehead and went dripping down his eyes, nose, mouth and chin. Klaus' face was red with fury.

"You will tell me!" commanded Klaus. "Or another one hatches over your hair!"

Finn wriggled a little, feeling uncomfortable with the yolk and egg whites drowning his face. He still could not move his head much for Klaus kept his grip over his head firm.

He sighed and would have shook his head too if it had not been under Klaus' tight steel-like clamp.

"No," persisted Finn in a brave voice. "I don't owe you anything."

As much as he hated his older brother, the words left him buffeted. His claws unsheathed buried themselves into Finn's scalp. Finn cawed angrily, his eyes shut tightly in pain.

"You're my brother – "

"I don't owe you anything!" thundered Finn as blood droplets trickled down his hair to his sideburns. "And you are not even my real brother."

One of his dangerous heartstrings was slashed and ripped off – the one that allowed his temper to turn topsy-turvy. He felt himself raise his free hand and snag Finn's neck with his retracted claws. Before Finn could even scream in pain, he banged his head against the shelf of eggs one last time and fell to the ground, lying motionlessly.

Klaus did not bother himself to clean up the mess he had made and bring Finn back home. Too infuriated at the moment, he left in a huff, an ugly dark look pulling his face.

They were home at last but Elijah found that he had not gotten anything quite done – Elena had kept mum the entire time and even when he compelled her to tell him what Esther might be devising (not forgetting to compel her to forget that he had compelled her), the girl seemed only mucked up.

They had also figured out that Klaus was not asleep after all in his room after realizing his door was still locked. Kol did the honours of breaking the door apart, but it was an unceremonious act that called for some repercussions.

Esther was also not home and they had not a clue of her whereabouts.

All they did for now was sit around while they awaited Klaus' return. Well, that was not exactly all that they did – Kol was urging Rebekah and Elijah to play baseball with him at the field right outside the house but the court was completely covered in snow, to his disappointment. And since Esther had dictated that they were not going to damage any property in the mansion, under Elijah's strict supervision, they were not allowed to play inside as well.

That left them to doing nothing, except entering their mother's room secretly without Elijah who was obviously unaware and conversing with Elena.

Afterwards, Klaus came barging into the house like a china bull. He seemed unhinged about something that Elijah had to consider whether it was the right time to inform his brother of his suspicions. Then, a roar erupted from the corridor on the second level.

"WHERE THE HELL IS THE DOOR!"

Rebekah and Kol, who had realized that Klaus was back from their good senses of hearing, sped out of the room to where Klaus stood, glowering at the giant gap where his door should have stood. Elijah reached after them, looking crabby.

"Niklaus, no cussing in the house!" scolded Elijah.

Klaus ignored him, turning to face all three siblings, his blue green eyes caustic and inflamed, and his face reddened by rage. He took a step towards them, staring banefully.

"Which one of you?" he exploded.

He was astounded momentarily when he heard a snicker from Kol.

"Who else?" asked Kol without a hint of fear, sounding sedated.

Klaus casted a venomous look at Kol before moving forward to push him hard by the shoulders, to which Kol retaliated by pushing him back forecefully. With all his strength, he shoved Kol's shoulders again noxiously and felt no regret that Kol was bullishly knocked off-balance onto the ground.

Before Klaus could throw a few more bloody blows, Elijah intervened, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away from the rest.

"Look, I told him to," rasped Elijah crisply.

"He had it coming, that fool," spewed Klaus, glaring at Elijah.

He wrested his arm off Elijah's, trying his best to cool himself down. It was just unfortunate that his dangerous mood spawned by Finn had been tipped off. He also hardly regretted his violent actions, even when it was a spur of the moment – he reckoned if he were remorseful for a fatter fraction of his life, it would be too difficult to move on.

Elijah was obviously exceedingly unhappy with him but he did not say much for he did not want to aggravate his hybrid brother. When asked where he was, Klaus was completely honest about it. It did not shock Elijah; Klaus never came across as a liar because he never had a need to lie. No one could defy him even if what he did was wrong.

Oh, but there was one lie.

He had killed Mother and had kept it away from them only because he did not want his brothers and sister to hate him and leave him all alone by himself for the rest of eternity. It was Niklaus. One would have thought that he was fearless, frightened by nothing, but he was afraid. And nothing was more real.

Elijah nodded his head in agreement after Klaus finished talking.

"You are right. We are being kept in the dark from who knows what," announced Elijah. "And we need a family meeting before Mother gets home."

Although Rebekah and Kol hardly got the details about Finn's possible involvement in something crooked, they knew that Elijah and Klaus had summoned the family meeting for an urgent reason. Nevertheless, it did not bridle Kol from feeling reproachful or antagonized after being rubbed the wrong way. He was less than willing to cooperate with Elijah and Klaus. However, he did have respect for Elijah who was more of a father figure to him than Mikael would ever be.

Everyone was used to Klaus' nasty temper but Rebekah was galled that he had the audacity to invoke a family meeting after bailing out on them in the morning. Elena's untimely presence only succeeded in compounding his cranky mood.

They sat in the living room by the fireplace, a bottle of champagne untouched on the glass table. Elijah took a look at everyone including Elena who was invisible to the rest, looking chiefly.

"Family meeting," declared Elijah.

Everyone was mostly quiet – Klaus seemed impatient as though the meeting was going too slowly for him although it had just commenced, Kol had a long face and Rebekah was imploding with curiosity to know what was so crucial.

"Where's Finn?' wondered Rebekah.

"Not here," answered Klaus nonchalantly.

Elijah scowled at Klaus who, in his well-thought-out opinion, should have been more tactful.

"He's not coming. Probably with mother," lied Elijah smoothly, cagey enough to convince himself it was the truth so that even Rebekah could not sense the white lie.

Kol rolled his eyes, letting out a bitter chortle.

"Of course he's with mother," insulted Kol.

Elijah threw at him a dirty look to put an end to his unnecessary slurring and gibing. As expected, it did not intimidate him but he was silent after that.

"But that's not what we're here to discuss," sighed Elijah.

But there was far too much angst Klaus was experiencing that he had to kick the meeting up a notch.

"Let's begin, shall we?" he took charge of the meeting, cutting Elijah before he could even say something. "The recent fire incident you saw – that was the works of one of my marvelous doppelgangers – of course, not this one."

He nodded at Elena curtly, who shifted uneasily at his mention. Klaus' pause allowed Elijah to finally speak.

"You've met her before," Elijah reminded Kol and Rebekah. "Katerina."

Shock crossed Rebekah's face – how could Katerina still exist after her death in Mystic Falls in 1864?

She turned to Klaus. "The one who double crossed you? She's alive?"

Klaus beamed, pleased that she had asked something red-letter.

"She was never dead," explained Klaus, smiling. "She faked her death. Quite intelligent, I say. But Elijah and I found out a few months ago. So maybe, not intelligent enough."

"But she's on the run. Why would she come back?" questioned Kol, nonplussed.

"Revenge," answered Elijah and his tone was acidic. "Niklaus killed her family in 1500."

He did not glare or stare at Klaus but Klaus could feel the shame and self-abasement radiating from Elijah. Rebekah and Kol were still coming to terms with the news to have noticed Elijah's little shift in mood.

"And you think she can do that?" asked Rebekah egoistically.

Elijah could tell that neither Kol nor Rebekah could see the threat that faced them – and it was fair, because they did not yet know of Mother's own preoccupations.

"She has a witch on her side, I believe. A powerful one," confirmed Elijah seriously.

"Which is why we equip ourselves with our own witch," added Klaus in a dogmatic voice.

A loud movement caused all heads to turn – Elena straightened herself up, craning her neck to look at Klaus from the other end of the sofa where she was isolated. There was a plea in those hazel doe-like eyes.

"Klaus, don't get Bonnie involved please," implored her.

Elijah felt something jelly inside him but Klaus laughed mirthlessly before shooting a death glare at her.

"And what makes you think I'll listen to you?" he snorted, regarding her with sheer indifference.

Elijah was the only one who was aghast but he remained calm for the most part.

"Niklaus," he said with a touch of disapproval.

His evident upset state rankled Rebekah who had developed an innate hatred for Elena for some time; Elena was a chip on the shoulder to her – a loathing that was passed on from one doppelganger to the next. Her face had turned sour the minute Elijah was in the picture.

"Stop it, Elijah," sighed Rebekah in a clipped tone.

Her chiding struck him because he had not expected his feelings to be so apparent. It almost made him feel embarrassed.

"You know what, let's call this off. Family meeting over," huffed Elijah, trying to suppress the awkward emotions bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

Everyone seemed momentarily stunned and most probably perplexed at why Elijah had suddenly called the meeting off and what it was that had driven him to the wall. The looks on their faces prominently indicated that their eldest brother was mad.

"Let's just play a game or watch some movies together," said Elijah quickly while still using his most rational tone that showed that he was still in command. "We have to stop this."

Rebekah looked none too happy with his high-strung decision – even though he was speaking as though he had everything under controlled, it was very glaring that her words had hit something sensitive and he was not handling it too well. She was willing to go further to see the extent of his feelings.

"Good," chirped Rebekah. "I want to play rip the doppelganger's head off. Who's with me!"

Elijah threw her a look of despair.

"Gladly!" volunteered Kol, beaming at his sister appreciatively.

Elena was too frightened to move and dash for the door – clearly, she was no match for Kol and Rebekah even if she were a sprinter. Elijah looked as though he would have slapped his palm against his forehead, too flabbergasted at his siblings. He was certainly getting angry but it was a good thing he was not as bad-tempered as Mikael or Niklaus in some cases.

"No one is ripping anyone's head off!" shouted Klaus angrily.

Conclusively, he would protect Elena and guard her from any harm because she was his doppelganger, the key blood-bag to turning more werewolves into hybrids. Rebekah rolled her eyes with distaste but did not argue with him because it would morph into a pointless argument. She knew that much from experience.

"Want to go first?" crooned Kol gleefully to Klaus, a heavy taunt in his voice, his head cocked sideways in a mocking gesture.

Klaus bared his fangs at his brother and for a split second, his eyes turned gold and something inside him tempted to give Kol a taste of werewolf venom – even Original vampires were not spared the wrath of the toxin if it did not kill them. But Kol did not seem to see the seriousness of the glare.

"For the sake of everyone's sanity, please start behaving like adults!" bellowed Elijah vehemently. "Like senior citizens or a thousand year old people even."

Fortunately, Klaus turned his attention to Elijah, his eyes sea green again although the chagrin was still fresh in them.

"Fine," muttered Rebekah.

She looked disinterested and unbothered suddenly. Kol noticed it but even he could not fathom Rebekah's change in mood. Elijah, on the other hand, gathered enough to know that he had said something that had turned her off.

"This is boring me," sighed Kol, shaking his head. Then he gave Elijah a grin and a pat on the shoulder as he got up and headed for the door. "Maybe next time, Daddy Lijah."

At Kol's playful teasing, Elijah had an annoyed look on his face. He was the eldest and most authoritative and yet even his youngest brother would not take him seriously. Perhaps he was too kind, he thought. But that was what had earned him respect in the first place. How ironical.

Just as Kol reached the door, Klaus flew from where he was to stand right in front of Kol, obstructing his path. They were only inches apart and everyone could see that Kol was the taller of the two. Klaus did not bother to disguise the seething rage etched on the lines over his face.

"You're not walking out on this family," hissed Klaus.

The tension in the room was suffocating, as though all the air had been sucked out. No one made a move to stop them because it could elevate the situation dramatically. Kol's dark eyes were narrowed and hard, not like they had been a while ago when he was smiling at Elijah.

"Well, if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black," jeered Kol coldly, with full intent to cause hurt.

Klaus could have sworn he would have mauled and pounded his rude, cheeky brother until he wished he were dead. But he remained still, giving Kol one final chance as well as a deathly glare that sent out threats.

"Sit down, Kol," Klaus spoke in a tone which clearly told Kol that he was being a nuisance, a tone that was filled with anger and even hatred.

The trepidation loosed upon the room was at its climax now – the order had been given and Kol's choice was going to be either for the better or for the worse. Everyone, including Klaus, saw the utter defiance in those dark eyes. Klaus was certain, although he was afraid of it that Kol was going to disobey him yet again. He should have learnt from experience that it was not a very wise move.

But they were all wrong. Kol held his stare, the bitterness in his eyes naked, then he moved back and stood against the side of the sofa, a sulky look on his face. Knowing Kol, however, the next time they stole a glance at him, his face had regained its passiveness.

Klaus had returned to where he had sat, still heaving with fury. They had a fixed, steel-like gaze on each other; Klaus' face screaming silently of impending doom, Kol's one cold-heartedly laid-back with a hint of ill will.

Elijah knew at once his leadership was in order.

"Let's just go with movies. No games," decided Elijah. "And would you two kindly take your eyes off each other? Could mistake it for a couple argument, you know."

His remark did succeed in inspiring repulsion all over the faces of both. Very quickly, Klaus had snapped his head towards Elijah, as though he had just been reminded of what the meeting was originally to address.

"Let's go straight to the point," said Klaus, raising a hand to silence Elijah who attempted to butt in. "I am on this and if any of you make so much a blunder, I will not be the nice big brother."

When he was done speaking, Elijah raised his eyebrows with incredulity.

"Niklaus, that was not our point," he chimed in calmly but with a judgemental air.

"It was my point," affirmed Klaus without shame.

"Could you repeat it again?" asked Kol who was next to Elijah, leaning against the sofa. "Because I don't recall you ever being nice, Nik."

Klaus leapt up, furious but Elijah had turned to scowl at Kol, a disapproving look on his face.

"Kol!" chastened Elijah.

Fortunately, thanks to Elijah's berating, Kol toned down and seemed to finally get off Klaus' back for once. But Klaus had had enough. He was tired of having to tolerate his brother's absurd attitude. He wanted so badly to show him who was in charge and what he was capable of doing.

"How many times do I beat you up before you learn when not to talk?" snarled Klaus from where he stood.

It was obvious that he had tweaked a nerve because Kol's eyes darkened if it were possible and contracted to narrow slits of jet-black. It was as though the words had unknowingly opened a wound fresh and reawakened memories that should not be left stirring.

"You sounded better the last time," sneered Kol, his resentment undisguised. "Aren't you supposed to be an expert at terrorizing?"

Klaus stepped towards him, making sure to keep a distance between them however. He could feel his temper rising, threatening to take over him. But at that moment, everything was forgotten – that Kol was his brother, that it was supposed to be a family discussion. The only thing remembered was a hundred years ago.

A deep sore memory.

"You want your life to be hell, Kol? I can make your life hell if that's what you want," he growled menacingly.

"You already do, Nik. Next threat, please," said Kol simply, a dispassionate, indifferent look in his eyes.

Klaus lunged himself at him but was slammed in the process by Elijah who had soared into the air, yelling "NOOOOO!". Both crashed to the floor and it was a matter of reaction timing on who would have the upper hand on the other. Apparently, Klaus had been rather shocked by his elder brother's outburst so that Elijah had managed to grab his brother roughly by the collar.

Before the millisecond where Klaus would throw Elijah aside could pass, there was a clicking sound as the front door opened. Esther stood at the doorway, aghast.

Elijah immediately released Niklaus' collar but not before Esther's eyes had seen it.

"What's going on?" Esther demanded.

Her eyes swerved to Elena and Elijah realized that she was not only referring to him and Niklaus, but also about everything else that had to do with Elena and possibly the missing Finn.

"We were just… chit chatting," answered Rebekah awkwardly, as usual covering up for her brothers.

The family meeting obviously failed but Elijah supposed that there would be another chance to tell his siblings about Mother and Finn. The chance might never arise again in a long time.

When Mother was preparing dinner, she realized that Finn was not back. After that, she barely touched her food. Everyone was sincerely worried about Finn – well, not everyone. Elijah was more curious than worried because frankly, he realized sadly that he did not trust Finn very much. Kol was not very worried either but he had to admit that it was unusual for Finn to be out without Mother's full knowledge.

Klaus, on the other hand, had an entirely different reason not to worry. It was because he knew where Finn was.