On the day of the ball, his mother presented him with the amulet he requested.
"Wear this and no other witch will be a threat," she said warmly, placing it around his neck, tucking it inside, and adjusting his tie.
"Thank you, Mother, I won't fail you," he said with a strained grin, not that she noticed.
To think she would present it to him on the day it no longer mattered, the day she planned to kill him. As if this one last gift would somehow cement his loyalty into giving his life for her. She was lucky he didn't break her neck right there.
Standing on the stairs with his mother, overlooking the party. He watched the Bennett witch and the Doppelganger with her two vampire guards and noted Klaus's new muse, a blonde friend of theirs named Caroline.
After a round of dancing, Esther turned to him and ordered him to, "Invite her up."
Signaling the two sister witches, Ana and Eva, whom he had helped sneak in earlier, he approached the Doppelganger, and after much arguing between her and the two would-be suitors/guards, he led her up to the study. Pointing the distantly following sister into another room to wait while Elena spoke with his mother.
Checking once more that the protection string received from the coven was safely hidden under his ring, he stepped inside.
.
"Can't believe we're doing this. The woman's a legend," Ana said in a tone of awe, once they were safely inside the room.
"You do realize she's the one who made the vampires you despise, right?" Eva asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I know, but it doesn't change what it represents. Her power, her ingenuity. A legendary witch if there ever was one. If only she weren't so hell-bent on making monsters, imagine what she could have accomplished," Ana sighed. Then perked up as a happy thought hit her, "I can't wait to get my hands on all her spell books."
Eva could only shake her head at her sister's antics.
"Do you think he can do it?" asked Eva.
"Do what?" Ana asked, lost in thought.
"Kill his mother," said Eva.
"He's a vampire," Ana said deadpanned.
"But it's his mother," Eva said, finding it hard to wrap her head around regardless.
"She wants to kill him, and he's a vampire," Ana said unmoved.
.
After his mother spoke to Elena, telling her about their history and her importance, she explained what she needed her blood for.
He worried she would tell her about the amulet, but the fear proved unfounded, for his mother did not need to, likely intending to hand it over herself once everything was done.
While he knew most of what his mother had to say, her explanation cemented his plan to end the Doppelganger line, so no other witch could reproduce what his mother did.
.
Returning to the festivities, Mother made certain that each of his siblings was presented with a glass of champagne infused with Doppelganger blood. She then raised her glass in a toast, expressing gratitude and discussing the promise of future prosperity. Keenly watching them as they consumed the drink, bringing her scheme one step closer to fruition.
.
When the opportunity to escape presented itself, he followed her back to the study, softly rapping on the witch sister's door as he passed.
Inside, Esther waves her hand, igniting the candles. She then takes out an old sheet of paper and begins to write the names of all her children on it in runic.
"I saw you speaking to Elijah," Finn said, closing the door behind him. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?" he asked, giving her one last chance as he moved to her side.
"Of course not. I know we're doing the right thing," Esther said, looking at the names.
Taking out a dagger, she reached for his hand.
He didn't hesitate to take it and slice her throat open.
Clutching her throat in surprise, she fell back a step, looking at him as if she couldn't fathom what just happened.
He sneered.
Despite being in a similar position to him, stuck in a box for over 900 years, she didn't once consider his feelings or think twice about killing him with the rest of his siblings. More concerned about cleaning up her mess than her own children's lives.
Drawing upon her magic, she attempted to drain his life to heal herself.
The string beneath the ring snapped, and he quietly watched the life drain out of her. Catching her fall as she slumped over, he gently lowered her to the floor, ignoring the questioning gaze, letting her die sad and confused about how her son and amulet could betray her.
"Goodbye, Mother."
The sisters walked in as he laid her down to rest, closing her eyes.
"You betrayed me first," he whispered out of a sense of guilt.
"Holy shit, he did it!" Ana couldn't help but exclaim, not that she didn't think he would, for she definitely did. She was more worried he wouldn't even be able to if his mother was as powerful as they believed. "Guess anyone can die if caught by surprise," she mumbled to herself.
"Quickly now, see if you can't finish the spell," he said, indicating the paper on the table while retrieving the book she researched it from.
"Here, this is the spell," he said, flipping to the page and handing it over.
"No, no, this won't work. She must have tailored the spell to specifically be used with your blood; there's nothing we can do," Eva said, studying the spell.
"That's a shame, the hard way it is," he said, snatching the book out of their hands and looking for the most important grimoires to take. He already knew that would be the case, but he hoped they might have learned something new that he didn't know about that could help.
"Hey! We had a deal," Ana said, ready to fight.
"I know the deal, and I'll decide what to share and what not. Now see if you can't do something about this blood. If Niklaus can't find the body, he'll believe she's still out there somewhere," he said, packing the books into a suitcase he bought for this.
"Come on Ana, they're his family's grimoires. I'm sure he'll share what he can when he can. Let's finish the job," Eva said diplomatically.
"Fine," Ana grumbled unhappily.
Spelling away the blood, sealing the wound, and rolling the body up in a rug, they prepared to leave.
Hearing a commotion outside, they all paused.
"Wait here," he said and went to check it out.
Finding most of the guests, including his siblings, distracted by something outside, he returned. "Now's our chance; let's move," he said, picking up the rug and suitcase.
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