Esther had known she would eventually be doomed.

 It did not come as much of a surprise to her when Alaric killed her. She expected she would die at some point, but she wanted to die knowing her work would be complete. She watched from the Other Side long enough to see Alaric's transformation completed, and her children were probably attempting to stop him now.

 She would have watched the entire thing from the Other Side, but something else began to distract her. It was Elisabet, sneaking into the mansion and taking her body, coffin and all.

 What are you doing, Lise? Esther had wondered. She watched from where she was as her cousin brought her to some faraway place, to the home of the Strix, whoever they were. She had watched in shock as Elisabet made a deal with this man Tristan without even bothering to find out what she would have to do for him in return. It was very unlike her to be that careless.

 Whatever this was, she didn't want Lise to do it. She saw the ritual they were doing, how they drained out Lise's life force. If Esther had been able to get through to her, she would have screamed at her not to do it.

 She awoke just as Elisabet collapsed. 

"Lise!" she cried. She began to sit up in the coffin, but the lid was abruptly brought down on her, locking her in. She banged on the coffin lid, calling to be released. She began to softly chant a spell when the lid was lifted again, and the man Tristan was standing over her.

 "Welcome back, Mrs. Mikaelson," he said with a smile. "We're very pleased to see that you made a full recovery."

 Esther sat up in the coffin and looked around. She had been moved to a different room, one with a desk and a bookshelf and dark curtains. "Where's Lise?"

 "Ah, Ms. Haraldsdotter." Tristan tsked and shook his head. "She is not well at the moment. She gave most of her energy to the spell to resurrect you. My people are looking after her, however."

 "I don't believe that," Esther said bluntly. "Where is she really? If she were all right, she would be here, weak or strong. Did you do something to her?"

 Tristan walked over to the desk, running his fingers along the edge.

 "She is in a coma of sorts," he said. "I have plans for Ms. Haraldsdotter."

 "What plans?" Esther got up and out of the coffin. "What coma is she in? She's an Original!"

 "A magical coma, obviously," Tristan said in an annoyed tone. "I have known your cousin for a long time, Mrs. Mikaelson. I know what she can do, what she is capable of. While I never would have been able to get your husband to join us, Ms. Haraldsdotter herself would be a great asset to the Strix."

 "Lise would never join you willingly," Esther said.

 "No, but there are ways around that. You see, Mrs. Mikaelson, that was the part of our deal Ms. Haraldsdotter didn't bother to find out about. I have you resurrected, like she wanted, and she would have to work for me."

 "Then you can make a new deal with me," Esther said firmly. "Let me heal her and take her away from here, and you can ask whatever you like of me."

 Tristan raised his eyebrows. "That's quite a generous offer. Do you know," he sat down in the chair, "What it was that Ms. Haraldsdotter once wanted? She told me once, centuries ago. She wanted to be human again. Be human again, and perhaps she and Mikael could put a new life together, one they could be content with until they died. She said she hadn't told Mikael; she assumed he would tell her it was a silly thing to daydream about."

 "Are you telling me," Esther asked slowly, "That there is a way for me to turn Lise human again?"

 From out of his desk, Tristan revealed an old book, one she instantly recognized.

 "Your grimoire," he said, holding it out to her. "Ms. Haraldsdotter had it on her person. Reasonable, since she seems quite attached to you. You used dark magic to turn your family into vampires. Use it again to find a way to reverse the spell, and turn Elisabet back." 

 Esther looked down at the book, and then looked back up at him. "There must be something in this for you. What do you want?"

 "Ah. I was waiting for you to ask that." Tristan leaned forward. "I have my own plan to off your children. You don't need to know the entire story now, but they wronged me a very long time ago. When the time comes to put my plan into action, you and your cousin are going to help me, whether you want to or not. So, do we have a deal?"

 Esther looked down at the pages of the grimoire. Surely, if she tried hard enough, she could turn Lise human again? There had to be a way.

 "I'll do it," she said. "Give me time to complete the transition, and then we'll leave until you want our help."

 Tristan smiled. "I knew you would see things that way, Mrs. Mikaelson. I wish all the luck you'll need in doing what you have to."