one last hurrah!
EPILOGUE ∙ forwarding address
January 15th, 2027
Marcel,
School is boring. It's always weird coming back after Christmas. Everyone's louder for the first week, and it's driving me crazy. I'm trying to put a boundary spell on my room so I don't have to hear them talking all the time, but Dr. Saltzman says I'm not allowed to "magically isolate" myself. If you want to complain to him, I wouldn't stop you.
Sorry this letter is so short. I enclosed some sketches to make it up to you.
Love,
Hope
#
January 19th, 2027
Hope,
Hey, kid. Good to hear from you.
I can tell you're annoyed about the spell, and I did call Ric about it. He and I had a long conversation, and he's pretty firm on it not being okay. I want you to get your space, so he agreed to let you spell it temporarily to muffle the sound when you're studying. I think I agree with his worries about you isolating yourself too much, though.
If the spell to muffle it doesn't work, we can try and figure something else out. Earphones might also work.
I know it's a while out, but what would you like to do for your sixteenth? We can come to town to see you while you're at school, or save it up for a party in the Summer when you come back to New Orleans. Or both. Giving your Aunt Rebekah an excuse to throw you two parties could either be genius or devastating.
Love you too,
Marcel
#
January 22nd, 2027
Marcel,
The spell is okay. Thanks for talking to Dr. S for me.
I don't really care about my birthday. I'd rather not do anything too big. It doesn't make sense to have a party here since I don't have any friends I want to invite. You don't have to visit if you're busy.
How is the wedding planning going?
Love,
Hope
#
January 28th, 2027
Hope,
Glad to hear the spell is working.
We can just do something small. Aunt Rebekah and I would still like to come and visit, if that's okay. Are you sure there's no one you want to invite? Not the Saltzman girls?
The wedding planning is going okay. We're still talking about the venue at this point. No matter what, we'll make sure it works for you. Do you have any suggestions? I'd like it to be in New Orleans, but Aunt Rebekah is eyeing off some more exotic locations.
Love,
Marcel
#
February 6th, 2027
Hi,
Sorry for the late reply. Things got hectic.
No, I'm sure I don't want to invite anyone to my birthday. I don't really spend much time with Lizzie and Josie anyway, so it's fine. I'd be happy to just to see you and Aunt Rebekah.
I don't think I have any suggestions for wedding destinations. Haven't really given it much thought. Is Aunt Rebekah really that opposed to having it in St. Anne's? Seems kind of poetic to do that. She knows Uncle Kol got married there, right?
Love,
Hope
#
February 11th, 2027
Hope,
Okay, we'll see you in May then. What would you like to do? Is there anything we can bring you from home?
I think Aunt Rebekah is concerned that St. Anne's has a lot of history for our family and it isn't all as positive as Kol and Davina's wedding. Maybe there's a property or a section of land just out of the city that she'll like.
Love,
Marcel
#
February 18th, 2027
Marcel,
I'm happy to do something quiet for my birthday. I'll probably have exams, but I can do a dinner or maybe a weekend somewhere. Can you bring me some of Dad's paints from his studio?
Maybe you and Aunt Rebekah can get married at the compound? It's nice when it's decorated.
Love,
Hope
#
February 24th, 2027
Hope,
I talked to Aunt Rebekah, and she suggested we find a bed 'n breakfast in Georgia for the weekend. Your birthday's on the Sunday, so that way we can spend most of together before we drive you back to school on Sunday night.
I'll bring the paints. I can post them too, if you want, but there's always the risk of them being lost on the way.
I mentioned the compound to Aunt Rebekah. She didn't say as much, but I think she doesn't want to get married where your mom and Jackson did. It's a bit sensitive and I'd rather not push.
Love,
Marcel
#
March 2nd, 2027
Marcel,
That sounds perfect. Just let me know when you need me to be ready to go.
I'd prefer if you brought the paints. I don't know what I'd do if they got lost in the mail.
I guess it makes sense she wouldn't want to get married there. Is there nowhere in the city we don't have memories of, though?
Love,
Hope
#
March 15th, 2027
Hey kid,
Sorry for the late reply. I've been figuring some things out.
It looks like it might be just you and me for the birthday trip. Aunt Rebekah says sorry, but she can't quite make it. I don't want to speak for her, so you might want to call her up yourself. I'm always happy to talk on the phone, too, but the letters are fine if you want to keep doing it this way.
I will definitely bring the paints for you. Is there anything else I can bring for you?
And yes, you're right. There's nowhere in New Orleans we don't have memories of. I think that might be the problem.
Love,
Marcel
#
March 19th, 2027
Marcel,
I talked to Aunt Rebekah, and she said you guys postponed the wedding? She said you aren't planning it anymore but she wouldn't say why. Is this all about the venue?
No, I don't think I need anything else from the house. I'll let you know if I think of anything.
Love,
Hope
#
March 26th, 2027
Hope,
No, it's not all about the venue. We're taking a little break for now, but I don't want you to worry. Whatever happens, everything's always going to be good between us. We love you very much and would never let any of our problems affect you.
Please don't worry about this. Tell me more about what's happening at school?
Love,
Marcel
#
March 30th, 2027
Marcel,
You're my family. You can't tell me not to worry. What problems are you talking about? I'm not a kid anymore, so you can tell me the truth.
School is normal. I'm getting straight A's again, which is making up for the shit grades I had when school first went back. I think they're going easy on me with marking because I'm an orphan and I don't think I have a problem with that.
Love,
Hope
#
April 5th, 2027
Hope,
Aunt Rebekah and I have a lot of differences. We love each other very much, but it's always been complicated. Even if we don't get through this break, we'll still care about each other, and we'll still care about you.
I think as long as you need extra consideration from your teachers, that's fine. Grief will take time to ease. But I don't want you to take advantage of their kindness and I hope you're applying yourself as much as you can be. School shouldn't take over your life, but it's a good time to work on your self-discipline. This is bigger than grades.
Love,
Marcel
#
April 10th, 2027
Marcel,
What kinds of differences do you guys have? I talked to Aunt Freya and she said Aunt Rebekah is thinking of leaving New Orleans for a while. Is that what's happening? Do you not want to go with her?
Yeah, I'm still working hard. I think they'll stop being so careful with me next year, so I have to work in preparation to keep my grades up when they bring the hammer down.
Love,
Hope
#
April 14th, 2027
Hope,
Aunt Rebekah is happy to stay in New Orleans. She's leaving because we're taking a break, not the other way around. And I don't really want to go anywhere, no. I have a couple projects going on here.
I'm glad to hear you're going to focus on your grades. Have you been spending most of your time in your room still?
Love,
Marcel
#
April 21st 2027
Marcel,
What projects do you have going on?
I do a lot in my room, but I get out a lot of nights and turn wolf in the woods. It helps me relax when there's too much going on in my head.
Love,
Hope
#
April 26th, 2027
Hope,
I've been doing this and that. I'll let you know more when I see you in a few days.
I'm glad you have space to wolf out, but I meant getting out of your room to speak to other people. Which you'll do with me in a few days. I probably won't get your next letter until I come back, so don't worry about sending it 'till after I've left.
See you soon,
Marcel
aaand that leads directly into the sequel in the works ;) and tbh i was desperate to write hope and marcel actually communicating bc hayley and klaus were so shit at it and writing their POVs was frustrating, like ... jfc just join Whatsapp and shut up, you know?
thank you thank you THANK YOU all for your support! your reviews all mean the world to me. i definitely don't read them at 3am in the middle of writerly breakdowns to remind myself that sometimes i can write decent things, not at all (yes, yes i do)
the marcel-centric sequel might be a few weeks in coming, but it is on its way and hoo boy it might be even worse than this, especially as i toy with maybe venturing into post-legacies season 1 finale territory because THAT ripped my heart out. hope to see you all again soon!
(if you want to yell at me about this, find me on tumblr, url bikaelsons)
xoxo