Hope Anew

Chapter 11: The Advisors

"Hope?" Locke grinned a little.

"What? Sorry." Hope looked guiltily up at the faces around her; all waiting to hear what happened after the prince kissed the Sleeping Beauty.

It was the worst story time on record. Hope was so distracted by her thoughts of Sawyer's kiss that she could barely see the book in front of her – let alone read it aloud to a large group of people. But Walt was on the raft, which made it her job to keep story time going; she just had to concentrate.

She cleared her throat and continued, "…Sleeping Beauty's eyes opened at once, woken from her magical sleep by true love's first kiss. Downstairs, the King and Queen woke in their thrones and the servants sat up slowly from where they had lain asleep on the kitchen floor. The forest of thorns around the castle slowly disappeared, and the sun shone through it's windows for the first time in one hundred years…"

Hope kept the story alive until 'happily ever after' then closed the book and set it beside her with a short sigh of relief. The crowd around her began to move and talk, and Hope felt that she was finally out of the limelight – at least until the next night.

"I liked all of the dramatic pauses," Locke smiled impishly at her from his place near the fire. He was skilfully crushing herbs into a piece of bark and pouring the liquid into a bottle of water.

Hope rolled her eyes at her own distractedness, "Not my best effort, I'll admit."

"Well, you have a lot on your mind."

Hope looked at him suspiciously, "I do?"

Locke patted the seat next to him that Hurley had just left available, and Hope moved to sit beside him. "Jack told me about your new dream," Locke said quietly.

Hope sighed, "No secrets around here."

Locke smiled sympathetically as he stirred the herbs, "Anything I can do?"

"I don't think so," Hope shook her head. "Not this time. But thanks."

"Well, you let me know if there's anything," he smiled in a friendly way. "Someone's got to take care of you now your man's not around."

Hope smiled sadly, "I went to see him the other day."

Locke looked puzzled, "Went to see who?"

"What?" Hope was confused. "Boone. Who else?"

Locke looked at her seriously, "I wasn't talking about Boone."

Hope laughed a little at her own confusion, "You just said that my man's not around…"

"I meant Sawyer," Locke replied simply.

Hope was taken aback. Boone's face filled her thoughts, and she felt immediately guilty for ever letting Sawyer enter her mind.

"Sawyer and I aren't together," she said firmly.

"Not at the moment." Locke smiled as though she were missing something obvious, "How could you be? He's on the raft."

"I don't mean physically together." Hope sighed in frustration and looked up at Locke's smiling face, "Are you messing with me? If you are, then cut it out – I don't need the extra complication right now."

"I don't think you know what you need," Locke said in his matter-of-fact tone. He rose from his seat and handed Hope the bottle of water, which had turned a weak shade of green. "This is for you."

"What is it?" she asked apprehensively.

"Drink it," he smiled encouragingly. "It's to open your mind."

He smiled again and slowly walked away, leaving Hope sitting alone by the fire. The cave group were settling down to sleep, and Hope realised that she had missed her chance to walk with the group back to the beach. It was too dangerous to walk through the jungle alone, so Hope left Sawyer's shelter empty for the night and took up her regular spot by the fire to sleep.

She took a sip from the bottle and screwed up her face at the bitter taste, but Locke had helped her before and Hope trusted that he could help her again – regardless of how strange his remedies were.

She spoke in the same jumbled words – slowly becoming clearer as the images around her became crisper. She caught snippets of conversation. "…can't do this…" "…work it out…" The sting in her cheek was sharper than before, and the blood filled her mouth. She flew through the air and screamed until she hit the hard ground. His form loomed above her, his voice harsh but too muddled to understand. He turned on his heel and walked out of her sight, leaving her crying pitifully on the ground. She held her stomach and whispered through tears as he walked away, "…please."

"…please."

Hope's eyes shot open and she sat up quickly. She felt the pain in her cheek, and found traces of blood when she wiped her mouth. Tears filled her eyes and she was breathing heavily. She looked up to see Locke sitting calmly on a log nearby, watching her almost curiously as she recovered from the nightmare.

"Good morning," he said with a smile. Hope smiled back weakly and wiped the forming tears from her eyes. He pulled a water bottle from his backpack and threw it gently to her. Hope caught it and took a long drink. She was relieved to find no bitter taste – just plain water.

"Rough night?" he asked.

"Rougher than most," Hope said with a wry grin. The rest of the camp was beginning to wake and move off, but Locke stayed to talk.

"The dream again?"

Hope nodded, "But more so. There were details this time that I've never seen before. I still don't know exactly what happened; but I think I have more of an idea. What was in that water?"

"Just herbs," he said innocently. "No illegal substances, though it might seem that way. It's just a little something to help you open up."

Hope smiled. She pulled her notebook from her luggage and sat down in her place again. "I have to write it all down before I forget," she explained.

Locke nodded wisely, and stood to leave her. "Keep the bottle," he said. "Take some each night before you sleep. It should continue to help you see more of your dream."

"Thanks," Hope smiled gratefully.

She quickly wrote down the extra details of her dream in her notebook, and placed it back in her dirty white suitcase. She stood and stretched, feeling the usual aches from sleeping on the hard ground. She was tired, and she knew that there was only one place that she could find some real peace during the day. She put the bottle of weak green liquid into her bag next to her notebook, and walked quickly towards the beach with luggage in hand.

"Hope," Sayid intercepted her path just as she was leaving sight of the caves.

"Sayid," Hope smiled. "How's it going?"

"Well, thankyou." He frowned at her small form as she struggled with her suitcase, "May I carry that for you?"

Hope gratefully handed the heavy case over, glad to be rid of it.

"And how are you?" Sayid asked, continuing polite conversation.

"I'm fine," she said. "A little tired, but mostly fine."

"Your case is heavier than I expected," Sayid remarked. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Just to the beach," Hope replied. "Sawyer told me that I could stay in his shelter while he's away – I figure I'll sleep better there than on the ground at the caves."

"Sawyer offered you his shelter?" Sayid looked suspicious. "What did he get in return?"

Hope laughed, "I just have to protect the place from thieves. He was a little worried that people would steal his stuff now that he's not around to guard it." She smiled proudly, "I think I got the better end of the deal."

Sayid gave her a sideways glance, and she could see that he was conflicted about Sawyer's generosity.

Hope gave a resigned sigh, "I know you don't like Sawyer, but will you please give the guy a break? He's helped me out a lot – we're friends."

Sayid looked sceptical, "From yesterday's kiss on the beach, I do not think that your friendship is what he has in mind."

"It was just a kiss, Sayid," Hope looked troubled. She thought of the previous night's story and said softly, "They don't always mean true love."

Sayid caught her meaning and answered wisely, "But perhaps he has been the Prince to awaken you from your own magical sleep."

Hope frowned, unsure of his meaning.

"You have been so distant since losing Boone," he explained. "Sawyer has certainly been the one to bring you back to life."

They stopped outside of Sawyer's shelter, and Sayid placed Hope's luggage on the ground by the door.

"Will you be alright from here?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Hope gave him a smile, but he could see the confusion behind her eyes. "Does this mean that you're not worried about me spending time with Sawyer anymore?"

"Hope," Sayid began softly. "I doubt that I will ever completely trust Sawyer. That being said, I have seen the way that he takes care of you, and I believe that he is sincere. It is obvious that you are of great importance to him; and as long as he treats you well, I have no argument with him."

Hope suddenly laughed self consciously and Sayid could see the guilt in her eyes. "We're not together, you know. I'd never do that to Boone."

Sayid sighed deeply, "Boone would want nothing but your happiness. Do you think that he would wish you to be alone?"

Hope shrugged and tears of uncertainty filled her eyes, "It's just that… it hasn't been that long."

"We cannot choose who or when we love," Sayid said softly. He laughed, "Shannon and I are evidence of that!"

"Do you think that Boone would mind?" she asked softly.

Sayid smiled at her backhanded admission and shook his head reassuringly.

"I'll probably never see him again anyway," Hope said of Sawyer, wiping the tears away quickly.

Sayid smiled his knowing smile, saying kindly, "I would not be so sure. A man will do whatever must be done to protect his woman – it would take more than a rough sea to keep Sawyer from protecting you from the dangers of this island. I would not be altogether surprised if he returned with luxury helicopters, to bring you back to civilisation in style."

Sayid gave Hope a soft kiss on the head, smiled encouragingly, and walked slowly back into the trees.