Hey guys! Long time no see! I'm gonna admit that I definitely lost my muse for this for a bit. I was trying to write things out but nothing seemed to work for me. But I finally got it down! Thanks for hanfing in there and I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer as always I have no claim to the Mikaelsons or any of the other characters that are owned by someone else. I'm just here playing in their world with the characters I've created.
From the moment that Elijah had broken into the warehouse, an eerie feeling came over him. The heaviness of the air had been something he had never once experienced before. May it have been that he had no idea what to expect once he entered it or if it was the fact that this is where Elizabeth had someone find the cure for her bite. He knew that if he could possibly find more answers, this is where he'd find them.
But upon first walking in, there was nothing in sight. There wasn't any indication that anyone had even been there. The echoing of his footsteps loud in his ears with each step he had taken. Even the slamming of the door behind him had echoed several times through the warehouse.
The further he walked into it, the more he had come up empty. Even in the darkness of it, he could see that the place had been cleared out. No doubt by the mystery partner that Elizabeth had been working with. But even if the equipment had been cleared out, he could still smell the scent of blood and burning flesh in the air.
The scorch marks on the floor had proved that something had been burned there. If it had been the bodies they used or the information they burned, Elijah would never know. The mystery of it all had him lost for words as he took in the rest of the warehouse.
The small office in the corner had caught his attention. The distance closed instantly when he sped over and reached his hand for the doorknob. It turned with ease and the creak with the door opening had been loud in the empty warehouse. But what Elijah found within it had surprised him.
It was the only space that had been untouched. No doubt this had been everything Elizabeth had within the building. The window that overlooked the place told him that she must have been there from time to time. May it have been to keep an eye on her potential captor or even to ensure that the cure she was working on had worked.
His eyes scanned the room. The pages of papers had been spread out about the desk along with the countertops underneath the window. It was a complete contrast as to how Elizabeth had left their room. It made him wonder if she even had time to pack this place up as she had with the compound.
The fridge beside the desk caught his attention next. While he could have started with the paperwork that was tossed about, there was something in him telling him to check the small fridge. Walking over to it, he crouched down before opening the door. What he found within it, didn't disappoint him.
Hope sat up quickly in her bed, finding herself in her room. The early morning light had come through the window, telling her it was morning. She quickly tossed the blanket off of her before running out of the room.
"Mom?" She called out as she walked out into the hallway. "Dad? Aunt Freya?" Her eyes looked around the place as she walked down the hall a little further.
Hope continued walking down the hall and watched as her parents walked out of Freya's room. There was worry evident on their faces as they rounded the corner. There were already so many things they now needed to be worried about.
"Is everything alright?" Hayley asked as she came and knelt in front of Hope.
"Did Aunt Freya do the spell?" Hope asked as she looked back and forth between her parents.
Hayley shook her head. "No, not yet. We wouldn't be able to do it until you go to bed tonight."
"You can't do it." Hope quickly said, her attention solely on her mom. "Aunt Liz made me her loophole. If we do the spell, we won't be able to help her." The words had come out quickly and it almost sounded like one jumbled mess.
Klaus and Hayley looked towards each other before looking back at Hope. "You saw her again?" Klaus asked, wanting to be sure he understood.
"Yes." Hope quickly nodded her head. "I was able to talk to her. There was no one there with her and I was able to get inside there with her. She asked for us not to sever the link."
Klaus sighed as he came and knelt down right beside Hayley and took his daughter's hands. "We can't let you see what she is being put through. Even if this was to help Liz, you don't need to be traumatized by it."
Hope shook her head before she looked at Hayley for a moment. "You said Aunt Liz and I needed each other. That we were each other's loopholes to get into Aunt Freya's spell. Aunt Liz knows I can help. I want to help her." She looked over at Klaus. "Family is supposed to stick together, always and forever. Aunt Liz is family and she needs us."
There was a part of Hayley that felt guilty. Hope was using the very words that Hayley would tell her as the years went by while Elizabeth was trying to find the cures. But this was different. Hope didn't have to watch as people tormented the person they loved. It was something she witnessed with Jackson. While it had been brief, she couldn't imagine letting Hope see what happens to Elizabeth.
"I don't know Hope," Hayley said as she looked between her and Klaus before setting her eyes on Hope. "Yes, Aunt Liz is our family and we will do everything that we can to make sure we get her back. But from what your dad told me last night," Hayley shook her head. "I don't know if you should. We don't know if by the time you are asleep if she'd be available to talk. I don't want you seeing things that could hurt you."
Hope's eyes filled with tears. The woman that Hope had grown close to during the course of her life was relying on her. Being Elizabeth's loophole had made Hope feel like an important part of getting Elizabeth back to them. She didn't like that her parents weren't wanting her to help.
"As much as you don't want her to, she's going to help." Veronica's voice filled the air, causing the others to look towards her.
She had been upstairs listening to the whole thing from her room. It was only after Hope began arguing with her parents that she decided to make herself known.
A glare formed on Klaus' face. "What my daughter does or doesn't do is none of your concern. If it weren't for Elizabeth you wouldn't be staying here."
Veronica huffed a laugh before she shook her head. "Believe it or not, I'm on your side. You can't get any information from Jess. Visions or otherwise. And while I know your sister can handle herself in terms of witchcraft, I'm the only one who can get visions and actually tell you things. Like the fact that I've seen Hope helping and that link you are debating on severing, won't break."
Klaus stood from his spot and walked over to Veronica. She stood her ground as he had done so. Her eyes never left his face as he came to a stop before her. She could see the anger in his eyes. The annoyance that she would say what Hope would or would not do. Like if Veronica was making the decisions when her parents should be the ones to give the final decision.
"Visions or no visions," Klaus began. "Hope is not to be used as a key in returning Elizabeth to us. What she is experiencing will haunt her. No child should be subjected to that. I will do whatever it takes to ensure she is safe. Even if it means severing the link my brother's soulmate has to my daughter."
A huff passed Veronica's lips. "Maybe you should see what they hold for this family if you don't. Cause without Hope helping Elizabeth, this family is about to get a whole lot more problems coming."
"You dare to threaten us?" Klaus asked, taking one more step closer to Veronica.
Irritated with the hybrid before her, Veronica brought her hand up quickly towards his head. While at first, Klaus had blocked her hand, Veronica grabbed a hold of his wrist and twisted it. Shock was written on Klaus's face at her strength before Veronica placed her free hand on Klaus's head.
Instantly Klaus's mind was filled with the visions Veronica was showing him. Images of a life that had yet to come. A world where Hope was in danger. Where a serpent began showing up around New Orleans and how Hope was tied into it. The fall of Elijah in the process before being forced to leave each other. A moment later, Veronica pulled her hands away from him.
"I am not the threat." She said, keeping her eyes on his. The worry now grows within him. "Jess has shown me a thing or two. Especially when it comes to visions. You sever that link, it won't be just Elizabeth that we lose. This is the safest Hope will ever be."
Klaus took in Veronica's words before looking over at Hayley. She had now been holding Hope behind her in a protective stance. His eyes landed on his daughter, the way she looked between him and Veronica. And it was that look on her face that Klaus knew he would do everything in his power to keep the visions Veronica had shown him of a possible future from ever happening.
"We won't sever the link." Klaus said before walking back over to Hayley and Hope. Hayley shook her head, not wanting to agree with the decision Klaus was making. Klaus gave her a knowing look before tilting his head towards the room beside them. "We should talk. The three of us."
Klaus intended to tell Hayley about the very visions that Veronica had shown him. The alternate reality was something that even he knew Hayley would never want to happen. But there was also the matter of speaking to Hope about what she'd be doing as a part of Elizabeth's loophole. They were going to ensure that Hope didn't see anything in the process.
"I'm assuming you found something." Rebekah watched as Elijah walked into the courtyard carrying a box.
"The cures," Elijah said as he set the box down on the nearest table. "Elizabeth ensured there were multiples made." His hand ran along the top of the box. "But there was nothing else of use in there. Everything had been cleared out, besides her office."
"They went to lengths to ensure that they weren't found there." Rebekah noted as she took in her brother.
Elijah looked tired to her. The man hadn't slept a wink since his nightmare the night before. And once he found the contract, that was the motivation to keep him up as he went through it. To find the warehouse that Elizabeth used kept him from any rest. And now, when he was met with nothing, he felt the weight of the last several hours weighing on him.
"They were thorough. Much in a way that I didn't think was possible." Elijah ran a hand along his face as he looked at the box for a moment before looking towards his sister. "Has Veronica returned?"
"I'm here," Veronica said as she walked down the stairs, an envelope in hand. "I was told you wanted this." She held the letter out to Elijah the moment she came to a stop in front of him.
Elijah eyed the letter for a moment before taking it from Veronica. "Besides her necklace and this, was there anything else she left you?"
A small frown formed on her lips as she shook her head. "We were the ones that got letters. Kai didn't even get one."
"How is he?" He asked. While Elijah may have not cared much for Malachai and his antics, he was Elizabeth's best friend. The only person she had when everything else was taken from her.
"Sulking. And when he's not doing that, he's trying to figure out where they might have taken her." Veronica said with a nod. "Showing him that letter, it's got him angry."
"About what?" Elijah asked as he raised a brow.
Veronica's eyes moved from him to the letter. "Read it and you'll see."
Elijah and Rebekah looked at each other for a moment. Elijah then began to pull the paper out of the envelope. Elizabeth's handwriting was visible on both sides of the page as he unfolded it.
Veronica,
Much like Jess, you knew this was coming. Maybe not in visions, but in some ways you knew. Jess has taught you well and I know that is going to come in handy when the time is right. Keep practicing while I'm gone. It is only when the time is right that Jess will be able to open up to you about things. Things that we both cannot speak of because of the contract I am now bound to. I hope that when you get this that you have met the Mikaelsons. That they've come home to the place that I've been trying to keep together for them.
I need you to do me a favor. Help them. Help the Mikaelsons with whatever they may need. I know Freya will be doing as much as she can, but with your help, they'll be able to do more. The time that I am gone will hopefully go in a blink of an eye. But I know Elijah will have a harder time with this. So I need you to help make sure that he'll be okay during this time. Priorities will be different between the siblings. I need you to show them why this is important. Because as siblings do, they'll fight. They'll want to go about things their own way. And you are one of the only people that can help with that. They can't go to Jess. She's been compelled and any questions would result in her death.
Help Kai too. We both know that he's the one that will easily spiral with this. That's not to say Elijah won't do the same. But I know both of them. They won't rest until I'm back with you guys. Make sure Kai doesn't get into trouble for the next three years, maybe even longer. But I just need to be sure that while I am gone, that everyone will be safe. From what Jess has shown me, you guys will be. But there is this part of me that needs reassurance that you guys will be. If I have someone on the inside making sure they are okay, I'll be okay.
I wish I could tell you everything. I wish I could tell you the details of it all. Everything that Jess has shown me. But I can't. Not for fear that you'll drift off the path those visions have shown, but the fear of the unknown of what comes after. I just hope that when that time comes that things will be easier to handle. Not for me, but for them. For you.
I'm giving you the necklace that matches Hope's. Keep it safe for me? I hated the thought of Jax taking it and me not seeing it again.
Elijah couldn't explain it. But the moment he finished reading the letter, there was this sense of dread that filled him. The words in Elizabeth's letter were preparations. Not for her absence. But for the possibility of what happens after they find her.
Elijah's eyes shot up from the letter to Veronica's. He could see the same look that he currently had in her eyes. That even she had put the pieces together from the letter. Elizabeth gave one clue to how long she would be. Even though it was instantly corrected with the words 'maybe even longer'. And it was those words that made the dread fill Elijah and Veronica.
"Three years," Veronica said with a nod.
"And what comes after is the question." Elijah said as he folded the letter back up and tucked it back into the envelope before handing it back to her.
"Whatever it is, it's got her afraid." Veronica noted.
In the very briefest of moments, Elijah felt a sense of calm that mixed in with the dread that filled him. The calm wasn't from him. Even in her weakened state, Elizabeth was trying to calm him down. And just as fast as it washed over him, it was gone.