Note: Hey all! I've recently gotten the bug to start writing fics again, and right now I've got Haylijah under my skin. :) I do plan on finishing my other story "The Wolf Singing in My Veins", but I thought it would be fun to take two stories that are around the same timeline with cannon in two totally different directions. So please enjoy!
Disclaimer, I do not own these characters!
Elijah, for the first time in his life, was uncertain about time.
They remained in the dream world of Freya's making, while Klaus suffered, and Hayley labored in the real world to find a cure, finding it was their own helplessness that threatened to make them mad, more than the unsure passage of time. This world was often inconsistent about the length or a day, or even a night. And try as they might, the four of them slowly began to lose track of the weeks and months as time passed in the nebulous way of dreams. They often wondered who controlled it, Freya insisted it was not she, perhaps Klaus, knowing only that the passage was at least consistent between the four of them.
All of this perhaps could explain Elijah's shock the first time he saw her. He had always felt the ghost of a presence, lingering at the edge of his mind, and thought perhaps Hayley was attempting to share her thoughts with him. But on this one particularly beautiful day, it was not Hayley he spotted peeking out from behind one of the many old trees surrounding their home.
Despite the clear passage of years since he had last set eyes upon her, he recognized the little girl instantly. His beloved niece.
She was beautiful. She had all of Niklaus' coloring, but her features were a small replica of her mother's face. Dark blonde hair just past her shoulders, tendrils curling softly in a chaotic profusion around a fair face with bright blue eyes. A strong sandy brown brow arched up over curious eyes that looked around their dream world with wonder, as if she too was surprised to be here. As she moved out from behind the tree, he could see that her features and limbs had lost the chubby softness of babyhood and had grown into the leaner angles of an active child.
Had so much time truly passed?
Elijah held his breath, afraid if he were to move he would shatter the moment, but he had to know..was she real, or a figment of his imagination? He leaned forward slowly from the bench where he sat, voice whisper quiet.
"Hope?"
She startled slightly at the unexpected sound of her name, but when she turned and saw he was the source of the question, a huge smile broke across her face.
"Uncle Elijah?!"
At the sound of her speaking his name, so clear and grown, an unexpected bark of wild joy escaped him. He nodded and threw his arms out to her moving from the bench to his knees on the ground.
With a shout and laugh of her own she leaped into his waiting arms. Her little body disappearing into his hug, she wrapped her arms around his neck squeezing him tight.
The unusual cacophony of joy in their typically sedate existence quickly brought Kol, Freya, and Rebekah to the backyard. And before anyone knew what had happened there was a pile of Mikaelsons on the grass, laughter and smiles and joy at this unexpected reunion.
Hope's form shuttered for a moment, blinking out.
The group fell silent instant, smiles vanishing from their faces.
A moment later, she reappeared with a look of focused consternation on her face, the same look they had all seen so often on Klaus' face when he was busy at his easel.
"I'm sorry! I was just too excited. I went back." She took a deep measured breath, that Freya and Kol recognized instantly. Someone had already begun training their niece in controlling her powers. Centered, a smile broke across Hope's face once again. "I'm so happy to see you, for real! I talk to you all the time, but you're always sleeping!" She nodded and deposited herself in Rebekah's lap, toying with a chunk of her aunt's hair, as if was an old habit.
Freya crossed her own legs and exchanged a glance with Elijah and Kol. This was their first chance to gain any information about the world outside, even if it came through the filter of their clearly gifted young niece.
"We are so happy to see you too sweetie. We've been pretty lazy huh, sleeping all the time?" She asked with a smile. Hope returned the smile and shrugged.
"Its ok, Mommy told me that it's not your fault, you have to keep sleeping until she can find the medicine to make you better." She paused, a serious look crossing her little features. "I hope she comes back soon. She promised she would be back in time for my birthday." Rebekah frowned slightly, pulling some of the riot of loose curls back from Hope's face, twisting them behind her ear.
"Where did your Mom go sweetheart?" She inquired gently. Hope heaved a great sigh, with a dramatic shrug of her little shoulders. Rebekah smiled, oh, there was more than a little Nick in her personality for certain.
"She went with Mr. Tosh and the Twins. She said she had to get the last part of the medicine to make Uncle Elijah and Uncle Kol better. Mr. Hollis and Ms. Cleia came to our house to to watch me, and I can hear they are nervous, they don't say it but they think it and…." another sigh. "She promised."
Elijah frowned, trying not to let himself contemplate the possible implications of Hayley's delay, or that Hope's powers already seemed to allow her to read errant thoughts and project herself into Freya's spell.
"Well your Mother keeps her promises Hope, I'm sure it was just a little more complicated than she thought." He offered a smile. Kol grinned, lightly tickling the bottom of her bare foot.
"How old are you going to be?" He inquired, watching her straighten up with pride. She held out six fingers.
"I'm turning 6!" She beamed.
The group sombered. Over three years. Three years of Klaus suffering. Three years of Hayley laboring to free them. Three years of missing Hope grow.
Little shoulders slumped, as she misinterpreted the sudden shift in mood. Elijah was first to force a small smile onto his face, holding out his hands to his suddenly sullen niece. She extracted herself from Rebekah's lap and went to him, tucking her head into his neck as he squeezed her into a hug.
"It's not you my sweet girl. We are just sad that we have missed so of your life." She lifted her head and leaned into the kiss he placed on her forehead, a twinge in his heart remembering the last time he had done the same to her mother.
She looked up suddenly, eyes staring off into the distance, a little pout appearing on her lips.
"Mr. Hollis is calling me. Its bedtime." She looked back at her aunts and uncles. "I want to stay."
Freya shifted to her knees and tugged on the edge of what she realized now was a pyjama dress.
"Its ok sweetheart. Using your magic like this must make you tired right?" Hope nodded. "Ok, well you go get some sleep. We are not going anywhere." She smiled, nodding. Hope extracted herself from Elijah's arms and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek.
"Night night!"
And just like that, she was gone.
To Be Continued.