Hope's Story Time
"Where is he? Where is he?!"
Hope's small legs ran as quick as they could, her sparkling pink slippers, bought as a present for her birthday by her aunt Rebekah, making a sound each time they hit the ground. She ran along the corridor, blue eyes searching for who she wanted. The army vampires stepped aside, reaching out to balance the five year old when she almost fell over. If she ruined her pyjamas, the blonde Original would kill them all. If she fell over and skinned her knee, their lives would end tragically at the hands of each Original along with Hayley and Marcel. Hope smiled up at the familiar vampires she passed, the thought of them being dangerous never entered her mind. They wouldn't dare even look at her wrong, her family would cause hell if they even thought about harming her. She let out a tired yawn but fought the sleep, she needed him.
"Where is he?"
Hope let out a childish whine when she didn't see who she was looking for,"I want him...it's our story time."
She clutched the book closer to her chest, stopping in front of a random vampire who was lounging on the balcony, looking down at his friends who were sipping on their glasses of warm blood. He sighed and took a step back, glancing at the young girl with a raised eyebrow when he sensed that she was near.
"Have you seen him?"
He leaned down, eyeing the book in her arms,"Who are you talking about, kiddo? Who you looking for?"
"Daddy, of course. I want my daddy. He reads me our story every night before bed, but he hasn't come in yet."
He smiled softly at her, now down at eye level with the five year old. Her brunette hair was pulled back into a loose pony tail and she pouted, her ocean blue eyes wide as she looked at him. She looked exactly like her mother, but her eyes belonged to Klaus. When she was upset, they darkened, but when she was happy, they sparkled. Though, he hadn't seen Klaus happy much, he tried his best not to show it. But his moods had been less miserable than they used to be, and he thanked Hope for that. They all did because it meant that he was a little more easy going, though they knew not to push it.
"What book you got there?"
He reached forward to take it out of her grasp in an attempt to read the title but she let out a screech. She jumped back from him, shaking her head defiantly, clutching the book to her chest protectively. He held up his hands in surrender as the other vampires looked at him with a warning, they weren't going to pay for his mistakes.
She sent him a look, mirroring Klaus' when he gave orders,"Nu-uh! Only me and daddy read this...it's our book, not yours!"
"Sorry, I didn't know that."
Bowing down to a five year old...could this get anymore embarrassing?
She accepted his apology and smiled softly at him,"I forgive you. Now, can you take me to daddy? I can't find momma or Uncle 'Lijah. Aunt Bekah isn't in her room...they must be with daddy."
Without waiting for an answer, she raised her small hand and grabbed his larger one. He sighed once more, standing up, knowing that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Hope began to drag him forward, her nose scrunching up when he tried to talk her out of it and she shook her head, refusing to back down. He led her towards the room that Klaus had his meetings in. He could hear the hybrid demanding orders against the others, and knew that he wasn't going to be welcome. The room was at the end of the corridor of the second floor, it had been added on after she had been born so that he didn't have to be far from her, but vampires were ordered to surround the place so that nobody could try and attack. They had knocked down the wall that led to a second room to make the room bigger.
Before he could tell her that they were at the room where they held the meetings, she stopped, a bright smile on her face. She pointed up at the door, and looked up at the vampire she had dragged with her. He really didn't want to let her in the room, Klaus would kill him, but he would also rip his head off for going against Hope's wishes. She was the princess, and whatever she wanted, she got, that was the rules, it was the first one. Whatever choice he made, he was finished either way.
"My daddy is in there, I know it. Open the door, please, I can't reach. It's too high."
He cleared his throat,"Are you sure that you want to go in there? I think Kla-your daddy is busy."
"I want our story...i can't sleep without our story and when I can't sleep, momma says I get cranky, like Bekah."
He wondered why she kept calling the book 'our story' but decided against asking. When she pouted once more and pointed at the door, he knew that he had no choice. He also knew that all the Originals were in there, including Hayley, and they wouldn't be happy with their little girl walking in on a meeting. Her eyes darkened, close to a temper tantrum, which they all called Little Klaus' Outburst. Her eyes would go dark and she would shout until she got what she wanted. It reminded them of Klaus when things didn't go to plan. It only happened when her father wasn't around, she seemed more content when he was.
"Open it!"
He jumped slightly, trying to gain his balance. For such a young girl, she could be so demanding, but he knew that it ran in their family. He nodded again before knocking firmly on the wooden door then he opened it. When he did, the yelling came at them full force, and she saw her father standing up at the head of the table, Elijah at one side and Rebekah at the other, each sitting down. Hayley was at the opposite end, looking bored as she listened in. They hadn't noticed her yet, too busy with arguing with the others that wanted to go against them.
"...if I hear of any more attacks on the locals with the intent on killing them, something that is against the rules in my city, I will personally rip out y-"
A childish giggle made Klaus cut himself off, he knew that sound and it suddenly made all the anger in his body disappear. Everyone at the table turned their heads and looked at the youngest Mikaelson, standing by the door, hugging her story book to her chest. Hayley, who had been looking bored, smiled over at her little girl who was looking like she was having the time of her life. Beside her was one of the vampires, staring at his feet as he tried to keep out of Klaus' radar. Hope nudged him, not noticing the glare that Klaus sent the vampire, and giggled once more. She raised her head and whispered to the vampire, but everyone in the room could hear her words, but didn't dare to say anything.
"Daddy's funny when he's mad."
The vampire had no choice but to nod with her. Happy that she had gotten what she wanted, Hope skipped over to her father, and jumped in the air, knowing that he would instantly catch her. His eyes softened as her small fingers gripped his shirt, burying her face into his neck as she showed him their story book.
"What are you doing out of bed, baby wolf?"
She blushed at his nickname for her, pointing at their book that they had made when she was younger. Rebekah had done the writing, insisting that it had to be perfect. It was a story about the king and his precious princess that he had to fight for after monsters tried to take her away. He defeated all the monsters that wanted to keep them apart, but in the end, he managed to save their castle from the ruthless beast. Hope snuggled closer to her father, confused as to why the others were looking at him as if he were a bad monster.
Hope giggled once more, her small fingers running over the front of their book."You were late, daddy...i waited until I couldn't anymore."
"Oh, you're right. I'm sorry, love."
Hope just smiled at him, forgetting instantly."I don't blame you, daddy. It is not your fault, i blame them for breaking the rules. You should put them on time out."
He chuckled at her, kissing the top of her head when his sister chewed on her lip to stop herself from laughing along. Even Elijah smiled a little but quickly stopped himself, not wanting the others to think that they could join in on their family moments while Hayley didn't hide the fact that she was proud that her daughter spoke freely, her attitude mirrored her mothers at times. Hope knew that there were rules that people had to follow if they wanted to remain in New Orleans, she had heard it being spoken about whenever her father took her to look around their city, which he said would be hers when she was old enough. The werewolves and others at the table just continued to look at them, wondering how he could go from threatening their families to being somewhat sweet. He slowly turned from his daughter and sent daggers at them all. His eyes flashed amber and he narrowed his eyes, careful not to let Hope see, but she was too busy toying with the leather necklaces around his neck to notice.
"Does this look like a bloody public display?"
They shook their heads, dumbfounded, and he sneered at them."I thought so. Now, Elijah, brother, I think it's best if you take over for the evening, i've got an important matter to attend to."
Elijah nodded and stood up, smiling sweetly at his niece."Of course, Niklaus. No problem."
"Night, uncle 'Lijah."
"Goodnight, Hope. Sleep well."
His brother watched proudly as the hybrid carried his niece out of the room, ignoring the vampire on his way. She quickly smiled at her mother and aunt on the way, waving happily. They grinned lovingly at her, Rebekah melting as Hope's laughter rang out once more when her father kissed her forehead before the door closed. Elijah quickly spoke up, reading to get the meeting back on track and like before, the casual atmosphere turned to one of thick tension as the vampires were once more on the verge of punishment for breaking the rules.
"Now...where were we, gentleman?"
Klaus smiled down at her as they made their way down the hallway, she was turning out like her mother, always running around where she wasn't supposed to. Five years before, he would have been ashamed if something like this would have happened, if he had shown weakness in front of his city and his people. Now, he welcomed it, her running to him with a smile on her face made his still feared him, which was an added bonus, his name still made his enemies shudder. He was still their king, and she was their princess which meant she deserved respect, even at such a young age.
He turned a corner which led to their bedrooms."Here we go, sweetheart."
He entered the room connected to Hayley's, now decorated for a girl her age. Paintings of him and Hope hung on the walls, along with some others that he had painted himself. All their bedrooms were close to Hope's, Klaus had insisted that they all must be within earshot of his daughter at all times, he would never forgive himself if something were to happen to her during the night. Rebekah's room was next door to Hayley's and the same was with Elijah, who was on the left of his younger brother. Klaus placed her on the bed and tucked her in before he slumped into the rocking chair that he usually sat on when he read to her. Hope pulled her duvet closer as she watched her father, a childish gleam in her blue eyes.
"You have to read it twice."
Klaus took the book from her, a playful smirk on his lips."How so, princess?"
"Because you were late and...an-please daddy?"
He opened the book as Hope lay down on her side, staring at him as he began to read. She knew that he would read it to her a hundred times if she asked but he still liked to think that he could put his foot down one day, but his sister told him that he was kidding himself. To outsiders he was a monster, a beast to be feared all around the world and he still was. But to Hope, he was her protector, her best friend and the man who read to her at night to stop the bad dreams. He held her when she was sad, took care of her if she got the rare cold, and never failed to make her laugh. Getting comfortable and after making sure that she was tucked in and warm, Klaus read to his daughter in his softest voice, a small smile on his face as Hope listened closely. When he was halfway through, he noticed that Hope's eyes began to get heavy.
"Sleepy, baby wolf?"
Her eyes shot open, full of determination."Nope. I'm never sleepy, daddy."
"If you say so, love."
Hope sent him her best innocent smile as she waited as patiently as she could but it was impossible, she was her father's daughter, after all."I say so! Read, please?"
He laughed, yes, she was much like her father and himself, something that never failed to leave him. Klaus decided to start again when he saw Hope sit up, determined to stay awake to hear their story. He couldn't understand how he became to love her more each day, it was impossible, but somehow it managed to happen. Even five years later, he was expecting to wake up from the dream he was having. There was no way he could have something to perfect, someone who loved him unconditionally.
Hope mumbled along as her father began to read once more, knowing their story off by heart."Once upon a time, there was a majestic king. He was blessed with a beautiful baby daughter..."
Please review. Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes.