There was no reversing that now.
Adrian lay still, eyes open, staring at the ceiling of his house, replaying everything that had happened that day with the clarity of someone far older than the body he wore.
So it was done.
The ritual had begun.
It irritated him that he had gone along with it so easily—yet he knew exactly why he had.
It had started when Ayana appeared, while Grandma was speaking with Mikael and Esther. She had proposed a compromise: an oath woven into the ritual itself. If they violated it, the elements of nature would abandon them. A condition meant to reassure my grandmother about my safety.
That night, Grandma and I talked for a long time. In the end, she forced them to swear—to teach me without holding anything back and to protect me from harm. They agreed far too quickly.
I don't know how much of what they said was truth and how much was lie. But even so, this outcome was far better than the alternatives—alternatives made possible only because of my own stupidity in recklessly showing off my magic.
If Esther had wanted to, she could have done far worse.
She could have sacrificed me outright and drawn power from my death.
She could have turned me into a living battery.
She could have enslaved me against my will.
Any of those could have happened.
And i had a contingency plan. I had tamed a horse. I had packed what I needed. If it came to that, I would have run. I would have had to abandon Grandma—but I would have done it without hesitation. I didn't know if I would succeed in the body of a five-year-old, but I would have tried.
Compared to that, an engagement with Freya was acceptable.
Now that the first part of the ritual was complete, the oath taken, and the second heartbeat confirmed to be Freya's, the situation was clear. Even if this ritual allowed them to draw power from me, what I gained in exchange was worth it.
Protection.
Knowledge.
Esther Mikaelson—arguably one of the most powerful witches alive—was not something I could replicate on my own, no matter how talented I was.
And in the end, it didn't truly matter.
My boon guaranteed my future. I would become the most powerful witch to ever exist. When I reached that point, a ritual like this would be trivial. I could break it. Reverse it. Rewrite it entirely.
I will find a way.
Still, the anger remained.
Esther had exploited my position—my age, my lack of immediate leverage. She would pay for that. If revenge was inevitable, then I would be thorough.
I would squeeze every last bit of worth from this arrangement.
A sound brushed against the edge of his awareness.
Soft. Insistent.
"Adrian."
He blinked. The ceiling swam back into focus.
"Adrian," the voice whispered again, closer this time.
He turned his head slightly. Klaus was inches away, lying on his side, eyes half-open and far too alert for someone who was supposed to be asleep.
Around them, the room was dim and crowded. Mats covered the floor—Kol sprawled on Adrian's left, Finn beyond him, breathing slow and heavy. On his right lay Klaus, with Elijah beside him, perfectly still even in sleep. Mikael occupied the narrow bed nearby, one arm thrown over his chest.
Beneath it all was the sound.
A low, uneven snore.
Klaus smirked faintly. "See?" he murmured. "I told you Kol snores. He denies it every time."
Kol snorted in his sleep, the sound rising and falling without mercy.
Klaus nudged Adrian lightly with his elbow. "Now you have to vouch for me."
"Why are you still awake anyway?" I asked.
He replied "Kol's snoring always wakes me up that's why we never sleep this close."
"You slept here today knowing kol snores so it's your fault if you woke up."I replied.
"I wanted to sleep next to you, it's the first time I am having a sleepover with a friend, I was so excited Kol and I planned so much that we will have fun all night but Father also is here."
"Now my turn, you are also awake staring up at the roof, what were you thinking about." Klaus asked back.
"I am not telling, go back to sleep."
Klaus persistent continued ignoring my instructions "Come on, tell me unlike Elijah who blanks out just as he closes his eyes it takes time for me to fall asleep so while we both are awake anyway tell me what were you thinking. "
"No" I replied again and turned sides.
Suddenly, fingers dug into his side.
A sharp, helpless giggle burst out of him before he could stop it. He twisted, trying to pull away, but Klaus only laughed under his breath and pressed in again, merciless at his waist.
Adrian gasped, scrambling to grab his wrists. He caught them just in time, fingers locking around Klaus's hands before they could strike again.
I turned back to Klaus again and held his hands tight which were about to get back into tickling again and looked up towards the bed seeing if the giggle woke Mikael up who was on my and grandma's bed now that this house is where all boys will live for 3 days of the ritual and only one bed and as I was dragged into sleeping with them while the bed was given to Mikael who fortunately did not wake up.
"Tell me what were you thinking or I will tickle you again." Klaus threatened.
"Sigh," I was forced to confess my thoughts under threat "I was thinking about today's ritual, so much happened these past days."
"Yes " Klaus agreed as we talked whileimg looking up to the roof of the house as he talked, how he just days ago found out that his older sister who was known to have died was not dead and I was going to get engaged to her and will become family officially and will learn witchcraft from his mother.
"Don't worry big brother will take care of you like my little brother." Klaus said with a smug smile on his face.
"Not necessarily, see I am getting engaged to your older sister that makes me your older brother-in-law so I will be calling you little brother." I replied back.
It's so fun watching as his smug smile fades away.
Next day sunset:
At the ritual site ;
Ayana was explaining "yesterday Physical bodies were linked with eachother today their souls and Tomorrow magic."
"Since, the Oath and the ritual alread are completed parents are no longer needed inside the circle. "
"Adrian stand here and Hold her hands."Ayana kep instructing and chanting the spell in an unrecognisable language.
As I continued chatting with Rebekah holding her hands for what seemed like a solid 10 minutes.
Then Ayana instructed again "step closer , Do not release your hands."
After we were standing face to face I was looking down to Rebekah as I was a head taller than her.
"Now-place your foreheads together." Ayana continued. I followed her instruction.
As I touched my forehead with Rebekah's i felt a tug inside my head that I couldn't point at.
Then came a sudden flood of emotions and a sudden urge to pullback.
Maybe Ayana anticipated this happening shouted "Keep steady. Do not pull back relax your body Do not resist what you feel."
I felt suffocation ,a strong feeling of resistance like something denying this connection , Anger , Rage , Revulsion , Grief , hatred, helplessness.
'These must be what Freya must be feeling at the moment our souls are forming a connection thus allowing to feel eachothers emotions.'
Slowly this feeling went away and I was no longer feeling these emotions.
"The second part is complete. " Ayana declared as I finally took my forehead away from Rebekahs.
Meanwhile:
At the same time in a forest far away,
Freya tried to resist the effects it.
Not with magic—she didn't have enough left for that—but with every small, frantic thing a body could do when the mind refused to yield.
Nothing answered her resistance.She was filled with helplessness as finally the effects slowly vanished.
"So," she said calmly. "What did you feel today?" Asked dahlia who until now was standing by the window with her back towards Freya, looking out the window ignoring Freyas pleas.
Freya said nothing.
She lifted her head and stared at Dahlia's back, jaw tight. "I won't tell you anything unless you tell me what is happening to me."
Dahlia laughed softly. "Stubborn child." She finally turned around. "As much as you despise your mother, you are exactly like her."
"Don't compare me to her," Freya snapped. "I don't want to hear anything about her."
"Are you sure?" Dahlia asked. Her tone was almost amused. "Because what is happening to you is entirely her doing."
Freya froze. "What are you talking about?"
Dahlia didn't answer.
"Tell me," Freya demanded, her voice breaking despite herself. "Please. What is wrong with me?"
Silence.
Dahlia only watched her, waiting.
Freya swallowed hard. Her hands trembled. Finally, she spoke, each word forced out explained what she felt and how it was different from yesterday.