Adrian POV
"So… I don't leave her?" I asked.
"No," Esther said at once. "Of course not."
She paused a little.
"You would just have another place to call home," Esther said.
She didn't rush it. Let the words sit there between us, soft as the afternoon light on the table.
"So," she added gently, "do you want to join?"
'wait it seems way too easy and Esther is wierdly insistent it feels like a trap. But I am too tempted wait my life is more important then magic is should deny or atleast delay it to think it through.'
"I don't know," I said again, quieter this time. "I should ask Grandma."
'It's safe right ask grandma it shouldn't feel odd right that's what kids do ask a parental figure. It would buy me some time.'
Esther smiled, not surprised at all.
"Of course," she said, like I'd said the most sensible thing in the world. "You should never decide something like that on your own."
Kol groaned loudly.
"Aww, come on," he said. "Adults ruin everything."
Klaus agreed with him.
Elijah shot him a look.
Esther stood and clapped her hands once, neat and sharp. "Alright. That's enough for now. Go wash your hands."
Chairs scraped. The moment broke apart, scattered like crumbs.
We came outside to water stored in buckets.
Water splashed. Kol flicked droplets at Klaus and me until Esther cleared her throat and they both froze.
Rebekah giggled while Esther dried her hands carefully.
I washed mine slowly, as Elijah poured water on my hands.
Back in the house:
The children were still outside, voices fading into the yard.
Mikael remained where he was, arms crossed.
"So," he said. "Now what, he wants to ask his grandmother?"
Esther folded a cloth, smoothing it between her fingers. "Naturally."
"You say that like you didn't expect anything else."
She looked up at him, almost amused. "He's a child, Mikael. Of course he'd ask the person who raised him."
Mikael snorted quietly. "And if he hadn't?"
"He would have," she replied calmly. "This was never something for him alone."
She set the cloth aside. "What do you think Elijah would do if someone approached him with something like this?"
"He'd come straight to us," Mikael answered.
"Exactly." Esther's tone was steady, matter-of-fact. "So would Finn. So would Rebekah, one day. A child looks to their elder. That's how it should be."
"And if the grandmother refuses?" Mikael asked.
Esther didn't hesitate.
"She won't."
"Are you so sure?" Mikael asked, doubtful.
"She would definitely agree as to what I am about to tell her. Furthermore, I'm not taking him from her."
"She would agree."
"Can't you do your witchy spells to do something if she denies? We only have five days, including today, and it's almost over," Mikael says.
"There won't be any need for that, trust me," Esther told Mikael, looking into his eyes.
Adrian POV:
The sun was sinking when I said goodbye.
Kol and Klaus promised games tomorrow and reminded me to ask Grandma about that thing.
Rebekah waved with both hands.
Finn and Mikael were nowhere to be found.
Esther was already there,at their door cloak settled neatly over her shoulders.
"Adrian," she said.
I stopped.
"I'll walk you home," she continued gently. "It's getting late."
I hastily denied, "I can go alone, I go back alone every day."
"Of course, you can go alone. You are a very smart boy, but I am not here just to walk you home," Esther spoke like comforting me.
"It'll be easier if I speak with your grandmother directly about joining the family, your magic, and all that."
"We'll talk to her, as I believe you have not shown magic to your grandma yet, right?" she questioned.
I nodded, then Esther continued calmly. "Grown-ups should talk about these things together."
I was going crazy when she said she would follow me back that I stumbled on a stone in the path.
Before I could balance and stand on my feet again, she reached for my hand and caught it before I fell.
Her grip was warm and oddly maternal.
We walked side by side. She did not let go of my hand. My steps were short. Hers matched them without effort.
We walked in silence for a bit.
The path looked different at this hour. The dirt was darker, the stones cooler underfoot. Insects had started their quiet noise, the soft kind that filled the gaps between thoughts. A breeze passed through the trees and brushed against my face, carrying the smell of grass and smoke from somewhere far away.
Her hand was still holding mine.
Not tight. Not loose.
I tried to think of a reason to pull away.
There wasn't one.
Not one that wouldn't sound strange.
She is going to talk to Grandma about my magic and joining the family. I don't want Grandma to know. If she knows that this happened and I kept a secret, she will spank my ass again.
After a few steps, I spoke anyway.
"Aunty Esther?"
"Yes, dear?" Her voice was calm, unhurried.
"…Do I have to tell Grandma about the magic?"
She didn't stop walking. She didn't tighten her grip either.
"Why do you ask?" she said gently.
I looked at the ground as we walked. "If she knows I can set things on fire… she might not like it. She might tell me to stop."
"That's possible," Esther said, without pretending otherwise. "Grandmothers worry."
I nodded slightly. Mine worried about everything.
"But," she continued, "that's exactly why it's better she knows."
I glanced up at her. "Why?"
"Because I'm here" Esther said simply. "And because hiding something like that is very hard. Especially from someone who watches you every day."
The wind picked up a little, cool against my arms.
"You could hide it for a while," she went on, still walking, "but how long do you think that would last?"
I didn't answer.
She squeezed my hand, just a little.
"It's better she hears it from us. From me. I can explain. I can make sure she understands that you're safe, and that you'll be watched, and that you won't be doing anything foolish."
"She'll let me practice?" I asked quietly.
Esther smiled down at me. "I believe she will. Especially when she knows you're not alone."
The path curved slightly. Shadows stretched longer now, thin and crooked.
"And… joining the family?" I asked. "Is that also why?"
"Yes," she said. "That's something grown-ups should agree on together."
She spoke like it was obvious. Like it was the only reasonable way.
"You're very clever, Adrian," Esther added after a moment. "Much more than Kol and even Klaus, Elijah, and Finn when they were at your age."
"But," she continued, smoothly, "you've had to be. Living with your grandmother alone, helping her, thinking for yourself. That makes children grow up faster."
Her tone stayed light.
"But even smart children shouldn't carry everything alone," she said. "That's what adults are for."
We walked a little farther.
A cold gust of wind passed by while I was engrossed in my thoughts.
'what to do now everything is out of control now she will talk to grandma it doesn't worry me as much as joining the family is as the Mikaelson family is dysfunctional even if she doesn't have an ulterior motive it's still very dangerous. Sigh and I can't do anything now I may have made a mistake now nothing can be done hopefully I get to learn magic under proper guidance and become the most powerful witch to ever exist with the wish I have what could go wrong now anyway hah. Let's go with the flow.'
My house came into view too quickly.
The familiar door.
The step that creaked.
The place that always smelled the same.
She stopped with me.
"Go on," Esther said softly. "Tell her I'd like to speak with her. I'll wait right here."
I hesitated, then nodded.
Letting go of her hand felt… strange.
I opened the door.
Warm air wrapped around me instantly. Herbs. Wood. Home.
"Grandma?" I called.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Happy New Year, everyone.
Sorry for the delay. I originally planned to upload this chapter on New Year's Day, but when I sat down to write, my mind went completely blank. I knew the general direction of the chapter, yet the dialogue, pacing—everything just refused to come together.
That ended up costing me a few days but before you complain about it you may have noticed that the inner monologues of Adrian are wierd errors and grammar is wierd but don't worry it's a part of the design I am experimenting Adrian's inner thought process while keeping myself in his situation and noticed the thoughts run amok and it's nowhere near lenear more like multiple thoughts going on at once so I tried to write it like that so don't worry about it. It will slowly reveal Adrian's flaws that will grow into and effect as it progresses.
That said, those days weren't wasted.
I used the time to fully finalize how Adrian becomes immortal, and honestly… it turned out far better than I expected.
Once the entire system came together, everything just clicked, and I'm genuinely surprised by how well it fits the story.
So here's my question:
Would you like a spoiler?
I'm really proud of this part and badly want to share it, even though the story is nowhere near that point yet. If you're interested, I can give you a small glimpse.
Let me know