Fated Bonds

Chapter 17

It was fifteen minutes before the doors would be unlocked and opened for the ball. "Once everyone has arrived, you will make the speech, Elijah. The whole family will stand on the grand staircase, and we will be proper. No slouching," Esther scolded, glaring pointedly at Kol. "Sabrina, during this time, you will be at the bottom," Esther added, causing Sabrina’s heart to sink, a broken look crossing her face that did not go unnoticed by her mates.

"Absolutely not, Mother. She is as much a Mikaelson as any one of us, and someday she will be one," Finn shouted, shocking the entire group. Esther gave him an unforgiving look as he looked down. "Do not forget your loyalty to me, boy!" she screamed as Elijah moved in front of Sabrina.

"It's really not a problem. I'm happy at the bottom," Sabrina whispered.

"That's not acceptable. She'll be standing by me," Klaus declared, glaring at his mother before whisking Sabrina away. Her mates followed, all except Finn, who stayed with Esther.

Soon, the guests arrived, and classical music filled the main room, now crowded with Mystic Falls citizens. In Rebekah's room, Sabrina and Rebekah were putting on their last touches of makeup. The boys were already downstairs mingling. They planned to sneak through the kitchen, up the back stairs, and then to the main staircase for the speech.

Hand in hand, Sabrina, in her green dress, and Rebekah, in her black dress, left the room. Instead of moving toward the second staircase, Rebekah headed to the main one.

"Rebekah, your mother told us not to use that one until the speech," Sabrina reminded her.

Rebekah shrugged. "She already hates me. Just please use the other one."

"Let me show you off," Rebekah whispered, kissing Sabrina’s lips. The human pulled away for air, flushing.

"Okay," Sabrina whispered. At the top of the stairs, she scanned the room, spotting three things: Caroline looking in awe at the two of them, Klaus standing at the open bar, and Finn talking to Elena.

"Bekah, what's that?" Sabrina delicately pointed to Finn and Elena.

"Bloody hell, what's happening?" Rebekah asked, shaking her head. "That's odd, really odd," Sabrina added.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, Rebekah wrapped her arm around Sabrina's waist as they gently mingled with others. Sabrina sighed when she saw Caroline walk quickly away, and noticed Elena glaring at Caroline. Giving the Gilbert girl a bitchy look, she continued.

As they looked for Caroline's mother, they were signaled to meet at the top of the stairs. Going through the back way, they all met and arranged themselves nicely. Rebekah passed Sabrina to Nik, who now stood slightly behind Elijah, all of them holding champagne.

"Uh, if everyone could gather, please," Elijah started, his voice calmly echoing through the room. "Welcome. Thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's a tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz. So, if all of you could please find yourselves a partner and join us in the ballroom." Elijah finished as they left the stairs, Esther moving up them.

"Dance with me first," Niklaus asked, and she nodded, smiling.

"Of course," she replied, smiling as they lined up. Sabrina glanced around, looking for her mates. Elijah offered a smile as he paired with Caroline, Finn danced with a woman in her thirties, Kol danced with a girl Sabrina went to school with, and Rebekah paired with Matt Donovan. The sight of Rebekah and Kol’s choices made her jealous and sick at the same time.

"Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran began to play as they started to dance. "Are you enjoying yourself, little love?" Nik asked.

She nodded. "Your mother did a great job," she smiled, looking into his deep blue eyes.