Finn sat by the window as the sun rose. He watched as it breached over the trees and continued higher in the sky. He had hardly slept despite the tiredness that he felt. The only thought that kept him moving is the thought that his pain will be over soon enough, all he had to do was follow his mothers instructions.

"Finn?" Esther says gently as she enters the room. He hardly spares her a glance. "Go downstairs, darling," She encourages. "Have something to drink, get cleaned up. We can't act suspicious, if they find out they'll try to stop us..."

"I understand," The words lack emotion and Esther's guilt only grows. Moving from the window, he turns towards her. In a blink of an eye, the emotionless yet heartbroken boy is replaced with a more lively and determined exterior. "I won't let you down," He promises fiercely.

"I know you won't," She smiles holding her arms out. Finn doesn't hesitate to walk in them. "I love you, Finn," She whispers to him. "Don't ever doubt that,"

"I won't," He whispers to her. "Don't feel guilt, mother, you're doing the right thing," He reassures her. Esther sighs slowly and simply hugs him tighter.

"Just because it's right, doesn't make it easy," Esther eventually responds.

"The hardest decisions require the strongest wills," Finn tells her. He pulls away slowly. "You'll see this through, I believe in you,"

"Thank you," Esther whispers. Finn smiles and slowly nods. "Now, go join your siblings and play nice,"

"Yes, mother," He sighs moving around her. He jogs down the steps and joins his younger brothers and sister. None of them greet him in anyway, they merely glance at him before continuing their preparations for the ball. 

Finn tries not to be affected by their lack of friendliness. However, he's not made out of stone and their coldness hurts. He turns the hurt into anger and the anger into hatred. He uses the emotions to fuel his desire to help his mother complete her plan.

He understood that he's never really been a good brother but they had never been good siblings either. After losing his older sister, Freya, he found it difficult to make connections with the other. Losing Freya hurt him deeply and he turned away from the others as they were born. Even as they grew older, none of them even tried befriending him. Perhaps a single act of kindness from either him or his siblings could have changed all of this but he couldn't change the past, he didn't want too anymore. All he wants is for the pain to be over and for them to feel a fraction of what he has dealt with for centuries.

One of the workers ushers him to an area of the room. There his hair is washes, cut and groomed. He listens to his siblings talk and slowly begins to learn a little bit about this new world. Once his hair is done, he is sent to have his suit tailored for him. While the fashion has changed drastically, he couldn't help but think about how much an improvement everything has been thus far.

"Rebekah? Tell me how handsome I am" Kol says standing in front of the mirror.

"Oh, Kol, you know I can't be compelled" Rebekah replies with a cool grin. Even Finn finds amusement in their little exchange. However, it's short lived when Klaus comes barging into the room.

"You went after Elena? What is wrong with you?!" Klaus growls.

"Here we go" Rebekah sighs feeling overly unamused.

"Do you want another dagger in your heart?" Klaus questions. Finn almost snarls at the threat. Apparently Finn isn't the only one upset.

"Again with the dagger threats?" Kol asks boredly. "Don't you have any other tricks?"

"Oh, go back to staring at yourself" Klaus rolls his eyes.

"And who are you, my father?" Kol asks walking up to him.

"No, Kol, but you're in my house" Klaus reminds him.

"Then perhaps we should go outside?" Kol suggests eager to get his own piece of revenge.

"Enough" Esther demands. Finn's eyes instantly fall on her. "Niklaus, come" She says. She waits for a moment, meeting Finn's gaze briefly, before going into the other room. Reluctantly, Klaus follows after her.

Finn sighs and patiently waits for his suit to be finished. He picks out a pair of cufflinks and slips them on. Once he's finished, he stands in the mirror and looks at himself. He hardly recognizes himself anymore. He feels different despite being in the same body.

Sighing, Finn's resolve breaks slightly. His cold and strong exterior fades for but a moment. For a second, the heartbroken and painfilled man is reflected through the mirror and back at him. However, his moment of weakness only last for a moment before he pulls himself back together. He turns to leave the room only to hesitate when his eyes connect with Rebekah's. 

His sister had seen his small moment. Her eyes are filled with curiosity but she make no move to question or try to understand him. She offers no words of comfort nor does she try to uplift his spirits. She simply stares at him before looking back down at his nails.

Finn is quick to leave the room. Only when he is gone does he realize how much he had wished Rebekah had said something. He had craved some sort of connection with any of his siblings yet he is reminded that they don't want anything to do with him. He reminds himself that they couldn't care less about him. He reminds himself why he's following through with his mother's plan.

Not wanting to see any of his other siblings, Finn waits in his room until the party begins. As people begin to show up, Esther visits him again. He smiles at her and compliments her outfit. She smiles and thanks him. She takes a moment to take him in. She thinks about how handsome he is and how much she wished things had been different.

"Elena Gilbert will be here tonight, I need her to come to me alone," Esther stresses.

"I'll make sure she doesn't bring anyone," Finn promises. "Don't worry about that, just worry about completing the spell" Esther smiles softly and nods.

"You should go downstairs, greet out guests" Finn nods walking towards the exit of his room. He pauses by her long enough to bend down and kiss her cheek. He then continues out of the room and down the steps. He smiles politely at guest but doesn't truly make any efforts to start conversations with them. Why try and make friends when you'll cease to exist before the weeks end?

As Finn wonders through the crowd, he quickly grabs a glass of bourbon. He highly doubted he would be able to get through the night sober. He drowns one glass and then a second followed by a third. Only after the fifth drink does he start to slow. He switches to champagne simply to blend in.

"Elena Gilbert, I presume?" Finn says spotting the doppelganger. It wasn't hard to find her, she truly did look just like Tatia. The human looked slightly startled when Finn suddenly spoke. "I'm Finn Mikaelson, you're here to see my mother," He further explains.

"Is she here?" Elena asks looking around the crowd.

"Her request did not include your friends," Finn says having noticed her with both Salvatore brothers. A sight that seemed familiar from his human days.

"They're protecting me. You may not know but your mother's already tried to kill me once," Elena stated. Finn smirks slightly.

"If you want to see my mother, you'll need to be alone" Finn tells her sternly. Elena's face falls slightly but she nods.

"Uh, if everyone could gather, please" Elijah says from the staircase.

"Excuse me," Finn says politely before joining his siblings.

"Welcome, thank you for joining us" Elijah addresses the crowd. "You know, whenever my mother brings out family together like this, it's 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, please join us in the ballroom" Elijah invites.

Despite the fact that dancing is the last thing he wanted to do, a look from his mother has him walking to the ballroom with a human he didn't bother getting to know. The dance commences and everyone moves around each other effortlessly. The partners changed from time to time but it didn't truly get interesting until a breathtaking blond in a blue dress is twirled into his arms.

The moment their hands touch, he feels an electric sensation shoot up his arm and spread throughout his body. He then looks into her eyes. They're a bright blue filled with wonder and beauty. Her skin is light and flawless.

Without realizing it, Finn has his arm snaked around her waist. He closes the gap between the immediately. Her hand quickly rests on his shoulder as if to help steady herself. He refuses to loosen his grip, although, she never asks him to. He holds her other hand tenderly in his as he leads them across the floor.

It's as if everyone else in the room has faded and all that matters is her. He didn't have a care in the world about anyone else. Suddenly, he felt as if dancing became one of the most important things to him simply because it meant he got to hold her close. 

For the first time since he was undaggered, he felt light. He felt as if a burden has left his shoulders. All his fears disappeared along with his pain.

"What's your name?" He whispers. 

A warm feeling spreads throughout her body as his breath gently caresses her skin. She hadn't danced this close with any of her other partners yet it didn't feel like it was enough. She felt like she wanted to be closer to him yet it was physically impossible. The tingling feeling in her body, that had started the moment her skin touched his, has yet to dissipate.

"Caroline," She whispers to him.

"Caroline," He whispers, her name rolling off his tongue smoothly. Her hand clenches in his lightly before she relaxes against him. Before either could say another word, the dance ends. They stand there for a moment, neither of them want to let go of the other but soon reality comes crashing in destroying their little moment of peace. "Thank you for the dance, Caroline," He takes a reluctant step back and bows to her. He goes to leave but she quickly grabs his hand. The moment their skins retouch, he finds himself falling under her spell once more. He turns to her, completely entranced.

"Don't I get your name?" She asks with a small grin. He finds himself smiling back but his mind wonders why. It felt natural, if she's happy then he must be happy, right?

"Finn Mikaelson," He introduces himself. Her eyes widen slightly at the revelation of his name. Acting quickly, he readjusts their hands and lifts hers up to his lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you," He whispers lightly kissing her knuckles while keeping eye contact. His lips linger longer than they should but eventually he releases her hand. He stands there for a moment before forcing himself to turn and leave. She didn't call him back a second time, something that disappointed him slightly.

The further he got from her, the clearer his head became. He realized how foolish he had been. Why did he care so much so suddenly? She is beautiful and enchanting, that he would not deny. He then thought about how perfectly her hand fit in his. The next thought to enter his mind is how comfortable his arm felt wrapped around her waist. The last thought to enter his mind, before realized that she had consumed him, is how carefree and calm she made him feel. With a simple touch, a simple look he had forgotten his troubles and felt peaceful.

Then he realized how strongly she had ahold of his thoughts and desperately tried to remove her from them. He couldn't get distracted, not right now. He quickly makes for the bar and drowns shot after shot of their strongest liquor before he felt some type of a buzz. Knowing it wouldn't last for long, he relishes in the feeling of it before grabbing another drink and going up to meet his mother.

"Have you been drinking?" She asks instantly having smelled the foul scent on him. He reeked of alcohol.

"It's been a long night," He grumbles.

"I need you sober for this plan to work," Esther instantly scolds causing Finn to momentarily lash out.

"I'm letting you turn me human and then kill me, I think I've earned a damn drink" Finn snarls. Esther sighs looking at him with disappointment. Finn sighs as well lowering his head. "I'm sorry," He whispers.

"It's alright," She comforts gently rubbing his back. "I understand, darling, believe me I do" She tells him. "But I need you at your best, alright?"

"Fine," Finn sighs setting the drink down. "Elena is coming," He says leaving the room to greet her. "You're alone, wise choice" Finn says before allowing her into the room.

"It's only sage" Esther assures Elena as she looks at the burning ingredient. "I've spelled it so we can speak freely without fear of being overheard. That'll be all Fin, thank you" Finn nods before leaving. 

Despite promising his mother to stay sober, Finn makes his way to the bar. However, he pauses by the window when he sees the beauty he had danced with standing by the horses. Before he can even think about what he's doing, he moving to go stand by her but forces himself to stop when he sees his brother beating him to it.

"You like horses?" Klaus asks causing Finn to snarl in annoyance. He doesn't bother to stick around. He goes towards the bar and orders shot after shot once again until he's felt more than just a little buzz.