The Originals One-Shots

The Unexpected Guest

 Esther watched as her children drained their glasses, filled with the spell that would link them all together. She had nearly done it. Her plans were going well, as her children did not seem to suspect a thing.

 "Well done. A fine speech, I must say."

 Esther froze at the sound of the voice. It was one she knew all too well, and one she never thought she would hear again.

 "My dear Esther," Mikael said, stepping up from the rest of the crowd, "You have not changed one bit. Hello, children. Been a long time. I suppose your brother had all locked away somewhere."

 "How did you come back?" Klaus demanded. He began to come down the stairs, but the others grabbed him by the arms. "I killed you. You're supposed to be gone. You're dead."

 "It does not matter how I came back," Mikael said calmly. "What matters is that I am here. Now, if no one would mind terribly, I would like time alone with my wife." He turned back to Esther. "Can we please go somewhere more private? I never liked public gatherings."

 "It's all right, children," Esther said. "I'll be fine. Enjoy the rest of the party."

 Esther ascended the stairs and walked down the hall to her room. She could still sense Mikael's presence, and knew he was trailing along behind her.

 "Over a thousand years since we last saw each other, and you refuse to say one word to me," he said as they entered her room. "Can I at least tell you how beautiful you look tonight?"

 "What do you expect me to say?" she asked, turning around to look at him. "I thought you were dead, that Niklaus murdered you. And now you suddenly reappear, back from the dead. How did you come back, Mikael? Why did you come back?"

 "As I said, it does not matter how I came back," Mikael said. "I am here, Esther. And don't think I don't know what you're up to. I heard your entire conversation with the Gilbert girl, and I know you plan to end the lives of all of our children by linking them together and getting it one with one fell swoop."

 "Why were you listening to my discussion with Elena Gilbert?" Esther asked. "I don't know what you're thinking, but if you plan to tell our children about this-"

 "Why on Earth would I tell them about it? It's not like they would believe me, anyway. Esther, I want to help you with your plan, not ruin."

 Esther stared at him in surprise. "You want to help me? Do you even understand what I am doing here, Mikael? I am going to kill our children, and it will end the very existence of vampires."

 "Except for you and I, of course," Mikael pointed out.

 "I think we would have to die, too, Mikael. It's the only way to erase this horrible mistake I made."

 He sighed. "I came back from the dead merely to die again. Well, if all the other vampires die, that'll be the end of my food supply. And if it's all for the good of humanity, then why not?"

 "So you're all right with dying again?" Esther asked him.

 "Are you all right with dying again? You're certainly all right with offing our children."

 "Well, are you all right with it?"

 Mikael sighed again. "I'm not sure if I can even call them my children. I feel as if I don't even know them, and they don't know me. They certainly," he reached over and began to run his fingers through a few strands of her hair, "Do not know me if they actually believed...that I would ever murder you."

 "Mikael." Esther turned her face away.

 "It's true. I wouldn't have." His placed his hand on her chin and gently turned her face back towards his. "I know you must have been watching me on the Other Side for all of those centuries. You must have seen what I was like. So cold, so heartless. I couldn't let my emotions get in the way. I had to put them down in the deepest part of myself, because they were too painful for me to handle. I had to be cold and heartless, or I never would have made it as long as I did."

 "Mikael." She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "We made so many mistakes. I made so many mistakes."

 "No. No, I made mistakes, too. But what matters now is that we're going to make it right."

 Mikael slowly eased out of the her embrace, so that they were eye-to-eye, and leaned over to kiss her. It was as if the last one thousand years had never happened, and no time had passed at all.

 When the kiss ended, she said, "Kiss me again."

 And he did.

~~~~~~

 Esther awoke the next morning as sunlight flooded her room. She turned over to the side of the bed where Mikael had been when she fell asleep, but he was gone now. He had left a note, though.

 I thought it would be best if I were gone before sunrise so I would upset the children. I will be out in the woods for the day, if you would like to join me. If not, I will come to you tonight.

 Esther got up and went to get dressed, picking up her own and shoes from the night before off. If anyone asked, she would just be going out for a walk. That was all. No one had to know she was going out to the woods to meet with her husband. It could be their little secret.