Author's Note: Hello and welcome to my third story involving my OC Maleny Rowan (pronounced as 'Mah-leh-nee') and Klaus Mikaelson. For any new readers I would recommend you go back to the previous two stories (titled The Girl in the Forest & Under the Same Stars) which are on my profile so that you can understand where Maleny came from and how she came to be. You don't have to, just a recommendation! This story will cover the entire season 3 of the Originals with my own modifications.

For visual references, I imagine Maleny to look like the actress Angelique Boyer in her blonde days.

Enjoy the story!

A seven year old girl ran up towards a ranch-style house holding a small bouquet of colorful flowers. The sun was setting and she knew her aunt's rules very well: she had to be back in the house before dark. She didn't mind, though. When there wasn't light out she couldn't draw right, nor could she see the horses her aunt's friends had. Besides, in the night was when her mother would call, and right before she had to go bed, she was taken up the stairs to see her big sister.

"Amarrah?" Nicolas Mikaelson walked out from the kitchen. "Where's Hope-"

"Here I am!" the now older, a seven year old, Hope Mikaelson came running into the foyer after letting the door shut behind her.

Nicolas tilted his head at his younger sister. "It's dark out."

"Aunt Mal said I had until seven and it's only 6:58," Hope's lips stretched into a cheeky smile.

"Oh, okay, technicalities," Nicolas playfully rolled his eyes at her. "So then is that what you'd like to tell your mother when my mother finishes talking to her?"

"My mom's on the phone!?" Hope dashed up to the warlock excitedly. "Can I talk to her? I have to tell her about the bird I healed this morning."

Nicolas smiled. "Yeah, that's why I was looking for you, kiddo. She's pretty upset you weren't there to answer her.'

"I'm going to go apologize," Hope handed her bouquet to Nicolas. "Can you hold them for me?"

"More flowers?" Nicolas mused at the colorful ones.

"We have to change them every night," Hope said sternly, making Nicolas smile back.

"Of course. So go on then, Hayley's waiting."

Hope beamed and rushed to go talk to her mother over the phone. They did that every time she came to visit France without her mother. Every night, around seven, Hayley would call Hope and listen to everything the girl did that day. In return, Hayley would then explain what she'd done for that same day. Hope liked visiting France, but she disliked the fact her mother rarely accompanied. But she knew why, though, she knew that her mother and aunt Cami had to stay back and continue getting things to help bring back the family - her Dad. The only reason aunt Mal left for France occasionally was because of her own children - Hope's older siblings.

Hope loved Nicolas and wished he would come back with them more than he did. Nicolas would explain to her that while she looked after her aunt Mal he had to look after their sister. It was a fair deal, Hope thought, but she wished her family could be all together.

"Love you too, Mom," Hope hung up after about a good thirty minutes. Soon as she did, she handed the phone back to their family friend, Amarrah Collins, and rushed up the staircase calling for Nicolas again.

"All done, kiddo," Nicolas had set Hope's bouquet of flowers into a small ornate, clear, vase.

"Thank you," Hope beamed at the sight. She was sure her big sister would like them. "Is aunt Mal-"

"You know she's there," Nicolas' smile saddened, as did Hope's.

Aunt Mal was always always with Hope's big sister in the night.

Hope crept up the staircase leading to the attic where her big sister was placed. She poked her head into the open room and saw a short blonde woman standing in front of a coffin.

Sensing her presence, Maleny Rowan glanced back at the young girl. Hope could see her red eyes from the door. "Did you speak with your mother?" Maleny inquired.

Hope nodded her head. "Mhm. She and aunt Cami were on a roadtrip."

Maleny smiled. "Right." She knew Hayley and Cami had set off to find the last wolf of the seventh werewolf pack needed to create the cure against Marcel Gerard's lethal bite. It was why Maleny had set out for France at the same time. The three women decided that it was better if Hope was far, far away from what they hoped would be their final battle.

Hayley and Cami were to retrieve the last of the venom and finally wake up Freya Mikaelson who would then create the cure to wake up her brothers Elijah and Kol followed by her niece, Marlenie. Rebekah's curse had even been siphoned by Amarrah's elders. All they needed was that last wolf before they were able to go back to New Orleans for Klaus.

Swallowing hard, Maleny looked back to her sleeping daughter, Marlenie.

"Aunt Mal, Mom said they were getting closer," Hope came further inside the room. "Is that true?"

Maleny nodded her head, well practiced at not shedding tears in front of the girl. "Oh yes. We're waking them up soon."

Hope walked over to the small table set beside the coffin and put down the fresh flower vase. "I brought Marlenie new flowers. I think she'll like them."

"I think she would," Maleny watched the girl come back.

Hope knew that her aunt Mal missed Marlenie more than anyone. Silently, she reached for Maleny's hand and then looked back to the dark-haired, young woman inside the open coffin. Marlenie Mikaelson had been bitten over five years ago and had remained 'asleep' under a spell placed by Amarrah and linked to Marlenie's closest friend, Evie.

Hope thought her a hero.

She learned from Nicolas that her sister had fought against a bad man who wanted to hurt her brother and instead ended up biting Marlenie. She thought the same of her father who apparently was the reason her aunts and uncles could remain asleep like Marlenie.

"Time for bed," Maleny announced, much to Hope's disappointment.

"Can't we stay a little longer?" she peered over the coffin to see her sister. "I have to tell Marlenie about my dress idea."

Maleny smiled at the girl but shook her head. "Sorry, I had strict orders from your mom to put you to bed at eight. And God help the person who disobeys her.'.

Hope relinquished her idea and looked down at Marlenie one last time. "See you tomorrow, Marlenie."

Maleny closed the coffin lid and walked out of the room with Hope in hand. Seeing Hope was still a bit upset she couldn't talk to Marlenie for a while more, Maleny offered another alternative. "You know, you could share with me your idea. Then tomorrow, we could tell her in the morning."

Hope beamed. "Okay!"

"Okay, then. Go get changed and then be be back in ten minutes," Maleny stopped in front of the guest room meant to serve as Hope's room when they visited.

While Hope got ready for sleep, Maleny met with Nicolas and Amarrah by the staircase. It was serious talk now.

"Hayley and Cami think they've found the last wolf we need to complete the seven packs Lucien originally used to create his venomous bite," Maleny explained the situation. "They're going to start tomorrow night."

"So we're very close, then?" Nicolas couldn't help the excitement that spread across his face.

"Could be," Maleny nodded, sharing more or less the same excitement. "Which means you and I have to be on standby for what comes next."

Amarrah began to worry at what that implied. "You're going to go to free him, aren't you?"

"What was I meant to do? Stay here and not help?" Maleny's voice turned cold, and mighty offended.

"All I'm saying is that if anything goes wrong in that mission, Hope needs her brother and a...well...mo-"

Maleny pointed a warning finger at Amarrah. "I am her aunt, and I will bring her to her parents if it's the last thing I do." With that, she walked away.

Nicolas exchanged a 'really' look to the remaining dark-haired woman. "I could have told you that was coming. Specially since it's going to be five years tomorrow."

Amarrah rolled her eyes, but accepted her fault. "Yeah, alright, fine. But because of what tomorrow is, Hayley and Cami are going to have to be very careful."

There, Nicolas agreed with his own nod. Tomorrow marked the fifth year of their biggest loss and that meant everyone would be affected, both negatively and positively.

~ 0 ~

"And I thought maybe she might like this color," Hope shuffled on her bed to better show a drawn picture of a lavender dress. Maleny, who laid beside her on the bed, took the paper and smiled. "Or-" Hope grabbed another of her pictures that had more or less the same figure with a baby blue dress and showed it to Maleny, "-maybe this one?"

"Both of these are amazing," Maleny smiled at the two pictures.

Hope beamed at her response. "You like the colors I chose? I'm still looking for more...you know, in case you don't like them-"

"Any color you choose I will love," Maleny clarified.

Hope once again beamed and rested her back on her pillow (and the bed headboard), taking the two pictures back. "I want it to be a good one," she said, although Maleny suspected Hope was talking to herself now. "But do you think Marlenie will like my idea? You said she's really old so...she probably has a lot more ideas than mine. And she and Evie are designers so maybe she won't like my ideas-"

"Hope, you are doubting yourself again," Maleny sing-sang for her, making the girl sheepishly smiled. "Evie has helped you get your ideas better, and I know for a fact Marlenie will absolutely love the idea of wearing the same dress and colors."

"I hope she will," Hope said, lowering her papers to her lap. Her eyes flickered to Maleny's engagement ring sitting on her left hand. Hope knew her father had given that ring to Maleny before he had to go and although it wasn't her mother, she loved her aunt Mal. Her aunt Mal had lived just as long as her Dad and her aunts and uncles - and just a bit longer than Marlenie - and she knew a lot of stories because of Maleny.

Maleny followed Hope's eyes to her ring and sadly smiled. Hope's gaze raised to meet Maleny's, and the two smiled at each other.

"Do you miss him?" Hope's question was a faint whisper.

"So much," Maleny answered without a second thought.

Hope felt bad because she couldn't say she missed her Dad because she couldn't quite remember him. She knew she wanted to see him again and to have him back, but she just couldn't remember him like everyone else. "Do you think he might want to see me even though I can't remember him?" came her question. "He's not going to get mad at me?"

Maleny knew what Hope was meant because Hope had confided with them how she felt. "Oh, I think he will run to you the moment he sees you," she scooted closer to Hope, bring an arm around the girl's back.

"Can you tell me a story again?"

"Another one? I think you know all of them now."

"Please?"

"Well, which one do you want?"

"Um…how he used to draw?"

Maleny sighed but smiled nonetheless. "Okay, but then you're going to bed. Deal?"

"Deal," Hope promised, briefly shaking Maleny's hand. Quickly, she grabbed her favorite stuffed animal and held it close.

"Well, Klaus loved to draw and paint whenever he could. He did many crafts out of wood. But, back when we lived in our village there wasn't a lot of things we could use to draw so he mainly painted. He would use these flowers and make them into paint."

"What did he liked to paint most?" Hope leaned her head on Maleny's arm.

"Umm...whatever he saw," Maleny settled for, chuckling. "Sometimes, he would do the sky, or animals...and sometimes people."

"Like you?"

"Sometimes," Maleny smiled.

Hope then chuckled a teasing chuckle. "I think he drew you most."

"Whaaaaat…?" Maleny feigned denial but Hope looked up with her familiar blue eyes to continue teasing.

"My Mom says there was an old painting of you behind a wall where you used to live."

"Your Mom's a tattertale," Maleny pointed, making Hope giggle.

"But did he draw you a lot, then? And Nicolas? Or Marlenie?" Hope grew more curious as she asked.

"Well, I guess since the cat's out of the bag, then yes. There were various paintings that I loved," Maleny admitted. "And I think he had one of Marls and Nick, but I don't remember - it was unfinished." She looked down to meet Hope's expectant face. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"I think that when Klaus sees you, he's going to want to draw and paint you over and over."

Hope's lips stretched into a wide, excited smile. "Really? Me?"

"Oh, yeah," Maleny nodded. "Maleny who? It's going to be all about Hope."

"No…" Hope became more shy as she thought about the idea. "...do you think he'd want to draw Marlenie and I when we wear our same dresses at your wedding?"

"Absolutely," Maleny said, beginning to get up from the bed. "And I think, that for tonight, this is our ending."

Hope glumly agreed and helped Maleny gather her drawings scattered on her bed. "Tomorrow can we go out and try that flower trick for paint?" she eagerly asked.

The blonde's smile had faded but, for Hope, she made sure there was at least a tiny one still on her face. With Hope's drawings gathered into one pile in her hands, Maleny gave a small nod. "I'm sure Nicolas will love to take you."

"Okay!" Hope hadn't noticed the change in demeanor of Maleny. She helped Maleny lift the covers from the bed and got comfortable underneath.

"Goodnight, Hope. Your Mom say goodnight to you?"

"Mhm, three times."

Maleny chuckled. "That's Hayley. Well then, I expect you to be out in ten minutes."

"I will try my best," Hope promised. Maleny kissed the girl's hair and walked out of the room.

As Maleny walked for her own bedroom she sifted through Hope's drawings of the day, intending on putting them together in her makeshift booklet so that when Klaus returned he would see them all. She loved to see that Hope had picked up many of his attributes through her artwork. Hope, had so far, shown she had not inherited Klaus' foul temper unlike her big sister Marlenie. In fact, out of the three, Hope was turning out to be the quietest and shyest. How was that for plot twist?

"You'll see how different she is soon enough," Maleny spoke in a hushed tone as she walked into her own bedroom. She closed the door and walked over to the vanity table. "Soon, soon, soon..." she lowered Hope's papers to the table and sighed as she looked at her left hand. She touched her engagement ring - the one she hadn't taken off in five years - and felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes.

"It ends soon, I promise you," she whispered with eyes shut. A small sob escaped through her lips.

Author's Note:

So this was just a little prologue sort of chapter to give an idea of where our characters are! Next chapter is the big one where things go down! For any new readers giving this story a try, welcome! And for returning readers, glad to see you guys are back!

So I was going through Pinterest and I happened to find an old fave fanfic writer who created sort of like aesthetics but as pins under one board name for their characters and I thought it was pretty cool! I was wondering if any of you guys, if you happen to have Pinterest or you just peruse by, would be interested in seeing that for say Maleny? Like under my account there would be a board titled 'Maleny' and it would consist of pictures related to her?