Chapter 3: In to the Cell
Keelin was sitting in Hope's arm chair silently reading on her tablet. She had opted to take the first watch since her beautiful wife had let her sleep until almost noon, something that hasn't happened since before the baby was born.
All was quiet in the room. Both Hope and Freya were asleep, though in separate beds, unlike the night before. Keelin looked up as Hope rolled over in her sleep, before returning her attention on her book.
A little while later, she heard Hope rustling around in her bed, then the telltale signs of breaking bones and tearing clothing. By the time she had stood and tossed her tablet to the side, Hope was standing next to her bed, completely wolfed out.
"Freya," Keelin said loudly, though not too loudly that she startled the wolf. Freya, twitched in her sleep, but did not wake up.
Hope growled at Keelin, loudly, which seemed to alert the other witch that something was wrong.
She woke groggily, staring straight in to the eyes of her niece's glowing yellow ones. "Shit," she said, and she sprang from the bed.
Hope growled again, louder this time, but turned away from Freya to face the door, which magically opened, allowing her to strut right out.
Both her aunts followed her quickly, though Freya did stop briefly to grab a small pouch from her purse. Hope was quick though. She was already at the school's front doors, when Freya caught up with her. She yelled for her to stop, which gave Keelin enough of a distraction to speed her way in front of her, blocking her way out.
Hope was not happy with this and growled viciously at the woman. Freya magicked the pouch through the air to Keelin. "Blow some in her face."
Keelin did as her wife instructed and held her breath as she waited for the powder to do its magic. Hope was mid growl when she suddenly dropped to the floor, out cold. She let a sigh of relief, and then looked to her wife. "So, I don't think you're going to be able to convince Alaric not to lock her up this time."
Freya laughed while releasing a sigh of relief. "Don't worry. He won't even need to convince me. Can you go wake the sleeping dragon, while I get our niece settled in downstairs, please?"
"She's going to be so pissed at us in the morning," Keelin said. She gave Freya a quick kiss on the cheek, then went off towards the adult's only wing of the school.
Freya sighed at her sleeping niece, taking a moment to take in the beauty of this form, then levitated her down into the cellar. She floated Hope onto the cot, making sure to not bump her head on the railing. She exited the cell and cast a barrier spell that not even Hope could break through.
Alaric and Keelin found her watching Hope sleep a little while later.
"What do we know?" he asked, as he too watched the sleeping white wolf.
"One second she was asleep, and the next she was shifting," Keelin said.
"And she can do magic while in that form," Freya added.
Alaric turned to face Freya in shock. "She's never mentioned that."
"She might not even realize it yet," Freya said. "Hope could use magic before she could even understand what magic was. She wasn't even talking yet. This could be that. Her basic witch instincts working alongside her basic wolf instincts. Or…"
"Or her powers are growing," Alaric finished. "I don't even know why I'm surprised by this. I've seen the power she has. I've seen the power you have. I can only imagine how powerful she can still become."
"There is still so much we don't know about her, yet. Still so many unanswered questions when it comes to what she is and what she will become."
"She's going to be eighteen soon. There's still so much she has to learn," Alaric said. "What if she goes out into the world and forgets everything we've taught her. What if…"
"Ric… Don't go there," Freya warned.
Alaric turned to face her. "Freya, you know better than anyone the destruction a single a Mikaelson can cause. What if she gets herself killed and triggers the full powers of a vampire? What if she still has all the powers you do, with all destructive behaviors of Klaus. Hell… she could wake up one day, and bam, she a full fledge tribrid and then goes on a ripper binge. We don't know what will happen."
Freya turned to face him. "Stop," she growled, and then forcefully pushed he away from Hope's cell. She didn't want Hope to wake up and hear them discussing her like this. Keelin followed along but remained silent. "We've talked about this, Ric. When Hope returned to the school after Klaus's death. We talked about the possibility of all that happening. That is why we agreed you would start training her. You have told me countless times how much control she has. How calm and even tempered she is compared to the rest of her classmates. I know you are afraid, but I also know that fear isn't of her, rather for her. You love her, just like we do. We are afraid of the worst possible scenario, because of that love, but we cannot let it cloud our judgment."
She paused to catch her breath. Then with a calmer tone said, "Klaus spent his entire life expecting the worst from those he cared about the most and it drove him mad. It was that never-ending irrational fear that made Klaus the dangerous man he was. Rebekah's told me about how sweet Niklaus was as a child. How caring and loving he was. Hope's first toy was a woodcarving that Niklaus whittled for Rebekah when they were just children, so she wouldn't be afraid of thunderstorms. It was Hope favorite toy, and when it got taken away from her, used as a weapon to destroy my family, Klaus sat and whittled her an exact copy. Hope has all Niklaus's best qualities. She is sweet and kind and caring, and she is fiercely protective of those she loves, and we must trust that she will keep those qualities as she continues to develop. She can never fear us turning on her. She can never think we are plotting behind her back. Or we will turn her into the very worst of Klaus."
Alaric knew Freya was right. He turned away from her and took a few breaths, before turning back. "You're right. I'm sorry. What do we do now?"
"Right now, we are going to let her sleep off the effects of the sleeping dust, and then we will figure out, as a team, what is happening to her. You should get some more sleep. Both of you. I'll watch over her."
"I'd rather do something productive," Alaric said, and then left without explaining what he was talking about.
Keelin grasped Freya's hand tightly. "I'll go gather some supplies and come back."
Freya nodded and gave her a kiss on the lips. "Hurry back." She watched Keelin leave the cellar before making her way back to Hope's cell.
Hope was no longer lying on the bed, nor was she in wolf form. Instead, she was standing in front of the bars, looking at Freya will an unreadable expression on her face. "You heard…"
"Most of it," Hope stated evenly.
"Hope…"
"Don't Aunt Freya," Hope said, raising her hand to silence her. "I already know you fear what I might become. I fear it too. I know you love me, and I know that you will do everything you can to keep me from doing the horrible things my father did."
Freya stepped forward and grasped the bars. "Not just your father, Hope. We've all done horrible things. Every single last Mikaelson has left a trail of bodies behind us. I don't want that for you. We don't want that for you, and we will do everything in our power to help you stay on the good side of history."
"I know you will Auntie Freya," Hope said. She reached through the bars and grasped her aunt's wrists, giving them a good squeeze before taking a step back. "So, I remember what happened this time. Well, better than I do the last time anyways. I guess my fib about sleepwalking the first time, wasn't far off from the truth. I was dreaming about something, and then I was changing in the dream, only I was changing for real, and then I had the strongest urge to go. To get out of the school and run. So, I did."
"Do you remember what you were dreaming about before you changed?"
"No… It was mostly feelings. Worry… Sadness… The intense need to comfort someone… Then I was changing."
"Did you know you can do magic in wolf form?"
"No. I've never tried it before. Never had a reason to," Hope answered. "Aunt Keelin's coming."
Freya looked to her right, and sure enough the woman was rounding the corner, her arms loaded with pillows and blankets and over her shoulders was Hope's back pack. "Hey kiddo," She said as she came closer.
Freya removed the spell locking Hope in and held the door open for her wife. "I grabbed a few things for you. Clothing for starters," she said as she dropped the blanket and pillows onto the cot in the cell, then swung the bag off her shoulder. She pulled out a set of clothing and handed them to Hope, who graciously took them.
"I'm starting to feel like I'm part of a nudist cult," Hope said as she changed.
Keelin snorted. "Yeah a nudist cult of two. Here, I grabbed your tablet and some school work. I don't know how long you're going to have to stay in here, but if you need anything, we'll get it for you."
"Thanks Aunt Keelin," Hope said.
Keeling picked up all the blankets and pillows except for one each. Those were for Hope. Yeah, the cell had its own set, but she felt having a few things of her own would make Hope feel better.
Freya locked the cell behind Keelin and place the spell back on. "You should get some sleep. Both of you."
"I can't sleep," Hope said, as she rummaged through her bag. She found her tablet and looked at the time. It was just past one in the morning. Which meant it was six in London. It was too early to call Josie, so she decided to read. She pulled one of the three journals Keelin had brought her, Jackson's, which Freya had returned to her as promised. She fixed the bed and laid down. Casting a light spell over her so she could read the pages with ease.
Outside the cell, Keelin was dragging a spare cot for her and Freya to use. The cell Freya put Hope in, had been the one they kept the Necromancer in. It was the most private of the cells and the most secure, since it had a second door that could be locked.
Keelin laid down against the wall, giving Freya enough room to lay down with her. She drifted off to sleep rather quickly, while Freya laid there watching Hope as she read. After a while, she too nodded off.
Hosie-Legacies-Hosie
It didn't take long for word to spread that Hope Mikaelson was being held in the basement cellars. She didn't know how everyone knew, but the news brought MG, Rafael, and Penelope down. Each had their arms loaded with items from books, to games, to snacks and trays of food.
Hope told them what happened and explained why she was stuck in the cell for the foreseeable future and was grateful for the company. They talked and fooled around while reading through the books they had brought.
A little after lunch, Alaric arrived to shoo them all away. Landon was back, so Rafael left without complaint. MG and Penelope on the other hand began to argue. Alaric told them to go have lunch, and then to meet Dorian in the library. He was already searching for the best books to go through. They concede, but only after Hope told them to go.
Alaric waited until he was sure they were gone before turning to Hope. "They found another key. Well Landon did. He stole it from his mother's home. Not that he remembers doing it. He's a little down because she doesn't want anything to do with him, but he's doing okay otherwise. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it later."
He stepped forward and grabbed the bars. "Freya said you heard us talking. I just wanted to apologize."
"Don't," Hope interrupted. "I get it Dr. Saltzman. You've made it clear you don't want me turning into my dad, and I don't either. At least not the man you knew, but he did have good in him."
"I know Hope," Alaric admitted. "Klaus did what any good father would do to protect his child, but without you, he would still be the monster we all knew. He was only good, because of you."
"I don't believe that," Hope declared. "You saw a small side of him. The monster, a term that he rightfully earned, but there was more to him. He was no more a monster than Stefan and Damon Salvatore at times and you fought side-by-side with them. You called them your friends. Your family. The same goodness you saw in them, people saw in my father. A goodness that had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with him."
She turned around and pulled out a small wooden figure. It usually sat on her desk, but Keelin had brought it along. She handed it to him. "This is the figure Aunt Freya was talking about. What she didn't tell you was how his father Mikael beat him for whittling the original. I have something that my dad didn't have. I have you. I know why you train me. I'm not stupid. I also know that you care. Dad, he had his father belittle and beat him his whole life. Every day he had to live with a man who hated him for no reason. He had to live with a mother who allowed the abuse to happen. Who kept him from the father he deserved to have. Who kept a side of himself out of reach for a thousand years. You don't treat me harshly for being a tribrid. You don't force me into these cells when I need to let my wolf run. You don't stop me from doing spells outside of class, even though it's against the rules. You watch over me. You let me run free, and when my darkest impulses begin to consume me, you pull me back. I hate how fatherly you are sometimes, because it reminds me that the father I love is gone, but I am happy that you are in my life. If my dad had someone like you looking out for him, maybe he would have been a better man. Maybe he would have done more good than bad."
Alaric ran his thumb over the wooden figure, thinking over what she had said. He handed the knight back her. "Does this mean you're going to stop yelling at me every time I get a little fatherly on you."
Hope took the knight back and laughed, "No. What fun would that be?"
Alaric smiled at her joke, then said, "I am sorry Hope."
"I know you are, but it's not necessary."
"I'll have the cook bring you some lunch," Alaric said. "I'm sorry you're stuck in here for now, but until we're sure you're not going to go run off into the night, you have to stay. Just don't let your guard down, we don't know what creature will be coming next."
"I won't," Hope promised.
He left, leaving her by herself for the first time all day. She was tired, but too afraid to sleep. For the first time since triggering her wolf gene, she was afraid of that side of herself. Something she never thought would happen.
Freya brought her lunch to her, since she had to drop the barrier spell in order to open the door. She stayed with her for a little while, then headed back to Alaric's office where she, along with all the other adult in her life where working on a plan to end their Malivore problem once and for all.
Once she was finished eating, she decided to call Josie to see how she was doing. She seemed so sad the night before, and she want to make sure she was alright.
Josie answered almost immediately. Her smiling face popping up on her screen after only two rings. "Hi," she said happily.
"You seem better," Hope noted.
"Yeah. I feel better. I took your advice and told my mom. She held through the night and we talked this morning. We've been out doing a girl's day. She took us to get our hair done, and our nails. It's been really nice."
"I'm glad."
"How are you?"
"I've been better," Hope said. "I'm in wolf jail for the foreseeable future."
"What? Why? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It turns out that little wolf problem I mentioned is kind of a big wolf problem. I've been shifting in my sleep and traveling in the same direction for some reason."
"How'd you get out of your room?"
"Magic. I can use magic in wolf form apparently," Hope said casually.
"Wow. That's really cool, all thing aside. That could really come in handy if we ever have to go to battle or something. Do you know why it's happening? Is there a new monster?"
"Not yet. Landon found another key. So, it's only a matter of time, but we're almost positive this is unrelated to Malivore. The first time it happened was the night you left for Europe. The Necromancer was still locked up in the same cell I'm in right now."
"Is it creepy being down there?" Josie asked.
"Not really. I'm just getting a little restless because I'm stuck in here. The full moon is nearing, which is making it worse."
"What does it feel like? Being a wolf, I mean."
"It's…" Hope started, then paused as she tried to find words to describe it. "It's weird at first. As you're trying to adjust to having four legs instead of two, and all my senses are heightened. I can hear an owl a mile away, and crickets as though they're sitting in my ear. I can smell everything. The grass, the dirt, leaves, squirrels, rabbits, dogs, and humans. Everything has its own unique scent."
"What do I smell like?"
Hope smiled as she remembered Josie's scent. "Heavenly," she said absentmindedly. "Like honeydew and cilantro, with apple cinnamon and just a hint of beef jerky."
"Beef jerky huh?" Josie asked teasingly.
Hope blushed. "Just a hint."
Josie chuckled. "Do you like being a wolf?"
"Yeah, I do. Most of the time anyways. Today it's kind of a pain, but usually it's amazing. Being able to run through the woods at lightning speed, playing with the animals that live in the forest. There's a downside though. I almost killed Landon the first day he was here. If I hadn't of shifted back mid-air, I probably would have."
"You didn't try to kill me," Josie commented.
Hope froze wondering how to answer her unspoken question. "You… I… When I saw you lying there, I just wanted to protect you. To comfort you."
"Why?" Josie asked.
"I…" Hope began, but she wasn't sure why Josie had been different than Landon. There were things that she was still learning about her wolf side. Like the fact that she could do magic. She had never heard of any werewolf being able to do that. "I don't know."
Josie smiled. "Well I'm glad you did. I never did thank you for staying with me."
"You don't have to thank me."
"Yeah, I do. You didn't have to do that, but you did, and I appreciate it."
"Then. you're welcome. I would gladly do it again."
Josie suddenly looked to the side and Hope heard muffled talking. Josie nodded her head, then looked back. "I have to go. Mom's taking us to dinner. We're meeting one of the kids who might be going here next year. She's not sure she wants to go to school in America. Mom wants us to sell the school to convince her."
"Good luck," Hope offered.
"Thanks. Have a good day," Josie said, then the screen went blank.
Hope set her tablet to the side and stared through the bars. The door to the room was shut, locked tight to prevent her from leaving. She knew they were just being cautious, but if she were telling the truth, it hurt a little. Yes, she knew they were doing it for her own protection, but it was hard to keep the dark thoughts away at times. She was a danger to everyone around her. She was painstakingly aware of this. Sometimes she wished she was just a normal student. The only problem was she could never decide which of the three species she would want to keep and which to get rid of. That was her curse to bear.
She stood from the little desk she sat at and laid down on her cot. She picked up Jackson's journal, and turned to the last page she had read. She was almost half through the book, and still had not found any reference to what might be happening to her.
Penelope and MG returned to the cellar some time later, both their arms filled with books Dorian thought were the most likely to yield the best results, only to find Hope sleeping peacefully on her cot. The book laid open on her chest.
They settled in on the cot Keelin and Freya had been using. Together, they kept watch over her as they read, MG ready at any moment to race upstairs if Hope wolfed out again. She didn't though, and when she did wake, she was happy to see her new friends were waiting for her.
Hosie-Legacies-Hosie
Freya walked into the cellar carrying one of three trays of food. Marcel followed Freya carrying the second. Keelin follow Marcel carrying the third, and Alaric followed Keelin carrying an urn. Freya and Keelin handed their trays to MG and Penelope, then Freya went to open Hope cell door, allowing Marcel to bring in her tray. He sat her tray down on the desk, then pulled Hope into a big hug.
"I missed you kid," he said.
She hugged him tighter. "I missed you too." She let go and asked, "Is Landon okay?"
"Yeah. He's a tough kid," Marcel said. "For the record, I approve."
"Oh… Landon and I aren't… Well we might have been… He's not my boyfriend," Hope fumbled.
Marcel chuckled.
Alaric walked into the cell and handed the urn to Hope. She carefully took the urn and studied it. "It looks Egyptian."
"It is," Freya confirmed. "We've traced its origins back to around 500 BCE."
Hope looked up at Freya in surprise. "That's over a millennium before the knife was created."
"We're starting to think the keys were randomly selected," Alaric said.
"But the Necromancer said the knife's creator had a lot to say about Malivore," Hope said.
"They might have known about Malivore, but we're thinking the knife is just a knife," Freya said.
"Landon's mother told Marcel some information that contradicts what we originally believed. The knife isn't what sends the monsters to Malivore. There is a portal in Georgia that sends them to Malivore."
"A pit of tar is what she called it," Marcel added. "She worked for years tracking monsters and returning them to a place called The Triad. They would then drop the monster into the pit. Once the monster absorbed then it was wiped from everyone's mind."
"Did she come back with you?"
"No," Marcel said, then looked to Alaric. "I think you should hear it from him. It's his story to tell, not mine."
"Okay," Hope said hesitantly.
Freya stepped up to the cell bars. "We know that there is an earthly access point to Malivore. We know where it is. We know that they are still hunting down supernatural beings."
"You want to close the pit?" Hope asked.
Alaric placed his hand on Hope's shoulders. "Malivore creatures have been inside the walls of this school. They've seen who lives here. It's only a matter of time before The Triad realize it as well and send agents after you."
"We still don't know who the puppet master behind all the monsters is. For all we know, shutting down the pit won't top them. They will still be coming after this." She shook the urn as she spoke.
Alaric took the urn that Hope was shaking. "That's why we are also going to come up with a way to destroy this thing."
"Yeah, because that worked so well on the knife," she snarked.
"We'll figure something out," Alaric assured her.
Penelope, who had been quietly eating her food as the other talked, set her tray on the floor and stood up. She walked into the cell, and silently asked to see the urn. She looked it over. "It's magic right? Whatever makes this thing the key, is magic at its core. Why don't you have JoJo and Lizzie siphon the magic from it?"
"We though about that," Freya started.
"But I don't want to risk my daughters becoming the key themselves," Alaric finished.
Penelope gave Hope the perfect idea. One she couldn't believe she hadn't thought about before. She took the urn and smiled widely at it. "She didn't say they had to keep the magic." She looked up at Alaric. "They can siphon the magic out and put it into something that can never be moved."
Alaric opened his mouth to object but closed it just as quickly. He looked at Freya with a why didn't we think of that look, then looked back at Hope. "Like what?"
"Like the school, or a mountain, or another dimension," Hope rattled off, excitedly. For the first time since Landon stole the knife, she was hopefully for an end to the drama. "It doesn't matter what it is, just so long as it can never get to Malivore. Then we can figure out who is pulling the strings and shut the portal down."
"What if there are more than one portal?" MG asked, causing the group to turn to the vampire. "It just seems a little odd that the portal to Malivore be here in the states. I mean, dragons aren't common among Indigenous culture and with the few tribes that have mentioned dragons, it is more bird-like than reptilian. No… Dragons are more common among Asian and European cultures."
"Make your point nerd boy," Penelope snarked.
"I think his point is…" Hope butted in. "After capturing the creature, they would have to bring it to the states to put it in the pit. It isn't just one dragon they captured. They don't exist anymore. Malivore agents wiped entire species from the world. That would be a lot of traveling to the states. The Necromancer was killed in France, which is where the gargoyle protected the knife in the fourteenth century."
"And the arachnid is from Greek mythology, and the word dragon comes from the Greek word draconta."
"The Dryad was local, but she said there were many of them," Alaric said.
"We have to go on the assumption that every mythical creature we have every read about is real," Hope said. "MG's right. It makes sense for there to be more than one pit of despair."
"Or…" Penelope inserted. "And this is going to sound crazy, but is it possible the portal is moveable?"
Everyone turned to face Freya. "I'm not sure. I suppose theoretically it could be possible. God knows you all have been dealing with the impossible. I think we should keep both options open for now. We'll research possible locations, while figuring out the best place to put the key's magic once the twins remove it from the urn."
"We'll work on the portal, while you continue to work on Hope," Alaric told them. "Eat first though, and act like normal kids."
"Yes, normal kids just researching why our friend is wolfing out and traveling miles from school," Penelope said dryly.
MG snickered, which caused Hope to smile.
"Yeah. Like that," Alaric said, as he pointed back a forth between MG and Hope. He and Marcel exited the cell, which allowed Freya to spell the door shut again.
Alaric was the last to leave, but before he did, he turned to the kids and said, "Exams start tomorrow. No one is excluded." He left before he could hear Penelope complain.
"Of course, we still have to take the stupid test," she grumbled. She picked up her sandwich and took a bite, which could only be described as aggravated.
Hope sat down at her desk and began eating her food. The three of them took time off from their research to just talk like normal teens for a little while. Hope found herself enjoying something as simple as talking about upcoming exams. For just a little while she forgot that there was a mystery involving her wolf side. She forgot that there were monsters attacking every other day. She forgot that she was a one of a kind being. She even forgot that she was locked in a cell for a little while.
It was nice to just be a normal person with normal friends and normal problems. She wished it could be like this all the time.