I own nothing but my own words.
Snapshot Of A Nightmare
This story was inspired by a video created by alegacyofmonstersvideos on Instagram. Since FanFictionNET doesn't allow links, search for the video posted on July 2, 2021 if you'd like to see it. The video has a trigger warning for implied sexual assault.
This story has a trigger warning for the possibility of sexual assault.
"Can't believe you talked me into this," Hope grumbled as she carried a large box into the kitchen of the newly rented apartment.
"I can't believe you talked us into this!" Lizzie called over her shoulder as she and Josie left out the front door to get more boxes.
"How did you get the wonder twins to help move me in?" Clarke asked as he opened the new box and started putting things away. He couldn't carry things or he might put strain on the stitches in his neck.
"Simple," Hope shrugged. "Neither of them trusts you—not that I blame them—and they don't like me anywhere near you. Since I refused to cancel on you, Lizzie decided it was their sacred duty to tag along. This way they can keep an eye on me, or something."
She rolled her eyes slightly but smiled because she loved how much they cared about her.
"You saved my life," he said incredulously. "And now you're helping me move. Why would I do anything to impede either of those two things?"
"You didn't exactly inspire much confidence in them with your actions as headmaster," Hope replied. "I don't see them getting past that any time soon."
She pulled her hair off her face and adjusted her jacket.
"Only a few more boxes," she said, turning to follow the twins.
Clarke noticed something fall to the floor near her feet.
"Oh, wait," he said, bending down to pick up the fallen necklace with the Mikaelson crest. "You dropped this."
"Thanks," she said, reaching out.
As he dropped it into her palm, memories flashed through her mind.
Memories of cuddling with Landon after their first time.
Memories of them talking before everything went horribly wrong.
Memories of him dissolving to mud as he tore her necklace from her throat in his bid to reach out to her, to grab hold of anything to stop what was happening.
And then…
Landon knocked out Cleo before revealing himself and handing her the necklace.
The Landon that turned out to actually be… Malivore.
Everything trembled around them suddenly.
"Hope?" Clarke asked, grabbing hold of the kitchen counter for balance.
All the blood drained from her face.
The twins walked back in carrying more boxes and sat them down.
"What's going on—" Lizzie started.
Lost in the thought that invaded her mind, Hope couldn't see anything but the images playing out, one by one.
Quiet on the outside, inside she screamed.
Everyone went flying, as did the boxes.
Fortunately, all three of them knew enough to cover their heads so they weren't knocked out.
"What's happening?!" Josie cried out, struggling to crawl to her feet.
"What did you do?" Lizzie glared at Clarke from across the room as she helped Josie.
He ignored both of them and pushed off against the kitchen wall, climbing to his own feet, pushing boxes out of the way to get to Hope.
Hope stared at the necklace in her hand, trembling slightly.
No.
It wasn't possible.
It had to be Landon. It was Landon. It was Landon.
"Do you trust me?"
Famous last words before she lead him into the portal in the prison world.
That was what Malivore wanted all along though, right?
But Malivore was still in the prison world at the time…or he had been, otherwise there wouldn't have been time to release all those monsters they saw when astral projecting and patrolling.
There was no way…
Only.
Landon dissolved to mud and returned to the pit that very night.
Taking the necklace with him.
Her mind was running on a loop, trying to make sense of everything but she couldn't. She kept circling back.
Did she even know what really happened that day? She spent most of the time waiting in a doorway. Then everything blurred together. She thought Landon was dead, but then he wasn't. She thought using the Malivore portal to get back to their world was the best idea, but what if it wasn't? She thought Landon had done his best to create a romantic atmosphere in the crypt because he knew she was ready to have sex for the first time—it was all her mind was really on most of the day—but…
Was it really Landon?
It had to be. It had to be.
The golem Cleo created wasn't Landon.
The creature wearing hides of other monsters was supposed to be Landon, but it wasn't.
Both times she didn't realize it wasn't him. But there were clues. There were hints. Things she should have picked up on. Things that she realized later.
Were there any hints that time it wasn't Landon?
She couldn't think.
Her brain was shutting down.
What if she missed something? What if she made a mistake?
Her mind wouldn't allow her to go back. As much as she wanted to remember everything to prove to herself that it was Landon, what if she found something that didn't fit?
She couldn't. She didn't want to know.
Because it was Landon. It was Landon.
It had to be Landon!
"What's wrong?" Josie exclaimed, reaching Hope and touching her shoulder.
Hope's face crumbled slightly and she shook her hand, indicating its contents.
"The necklace…" Hope gasped.
"What about the necklace?" Lizzie asked, reaching toward it, wondering if she should take it away from her.
"It fell off," Clarke explained quickly. "I picked it up, gave it to her, then that."
"Hope?" Josie asked softly, stepping closer, "Talk to us."
Lizzie put her hand over top Hope's to block the image of the necklace. Then she slowly took it out of her hand, hiding it away from Hope's vision.
"She's shaking," Josie said, looking to Lizzie with worried eyes.
"Hope, can you tell us about the necklace?" Lizzie asked softly. "You've been wearing it all day. Did something happen?"
"He took it with him," Hope managed to say, pulling her arms in to wrap around herself, shivering.
"Who?" Lizzie asked, raising her eyebrows and glancing at Clarke.
Clarke shook his head and shrugged. He didn't know what Hope meant either.
"Landon." Hope said, her words strained. "When he turned to mud, he took it with him!"
"But you have it back now…" Josie said, glancing at Lizzie to see if she understood any better than her.
"Because he gave it to me," Hope managed to say before she reached for a wall, feeling unsteady. The horror was overwhelming her. She wanted to tell them more, but she feared speaking it into existence would make it true. It couldn't be true.
Josie and Lizzie both grabbed her when she swayed.
"Whoa, whoa," Lizzie said. "Clarke, get those boxes off the couch now."
He didn't argue, as he was reluctantly worried about his new frenemy as well.
The girls settled Hope between them on the couch, with Clarke hovering nearby.
"Okay, so Landon took the necklace with him when he turned to goo, and then he gave it back to you…?" Lizzie asked.
"No," Josie said suddenly, looking up at Lizzie, eyes wide and stricken. "Malivore gave it back to her."
"This makes sense to you?" Clarke asked Josie. "What am I missing?"
"No," Lizzie said firmly, ignoring Clarke as she finally understood, a chill rolling down her spine. "Hope, don't even think that."
Josie slipped to her knees in front of Hope and grabbed both of her hands.
"It was Landon," Josie insisted. "Landon took the necklace. He took it and he kept it, just like he would always keep something of yours close to his heart. Malivore took over Landon, yes, but it was after Landon turned to mud. That's why he had the necklace."
"How can you be sure?" Hope asked, voice void of emotion. Why would Malivore bother giving the necklace back to her? Because he was trying to prove that he was the real Landon after she just destroyed a fake Landon.
But how did Malivore know it was her necklace? How did Malivore know that Landon grabbed it and took it with him when he dissolved?
"Do you really think Malivore would go anywhere near you the second he got his vessel and could escape instead?" Lizzie asked.
"But he did," Hope choked out. "I saw him in the woods, and then he showed up at the mill. That's when he gave me the necklace back."
"Listen to yourself," Josie said. "Remember what happened those times. In the woods, he was trying to take Cleo. In the mill, he knocked out Cleo to keep her from killing you because he doesn't want you to become the tribrid."
"Because he already knew by then what would happen," Hope argued. "Because it already had!"
"Clarke?" Lizzie asked, acknowledging his presence finally.
"Hm?"
"You know Malivore better than anyone—and Hope agrees with me—right?" she looked at Hope then back to Clarke.
"Yes…" Hope nodded.
"I do," Clarke answered.
"Once Malivore took over Landon's body, assuming he never had before," Lizzie clarified. "Would Malivore spend any time at all near Hope?"
"Absolutely not," Clarke said. "He would only stick around for something he wanted. In this instance, it was the muse. But take the muse out of the equation? Long gone."
"You're sure," Hope said, eyes staring into his, begging him for confirmation.
"Yes."
"…Okay," she said, breathing deeply.
Lizzie and Josie both breathed out with her, glancing at each other, unsure if they were relieved or not. Hope was still pale, but she didn't look nearly as bad as she did before. There was relief in that at least.
As for the rest…
"I'm…" Hope looked around, trying to clear her head. "I'll bring in the rest of the boxes so that's done, then I'll clean up the mess. Sorry…"
"I'll help," Josie said, standing and helping Hope to her feet.
Lizzie watched them go then turned to a perplexed Clarke.
"Thanks," Lizzie said begrudgingly.
"You're welcome," he said, a bit surprised. "Not sure how I helped, but I'll take it."
"You're bleeding," Lizzie sighed, nodding at his neck before heading to the kitchen. "She must've torn a stitch. Do you know which box has the hand towels?"
"That drawer," he nodded. "Already unpacked."
She took a towel out, ran it under hot water, and then went to hold it against his neck.
"Gonna tell me what that was about?" he asked, wincing.
She glanced at him but didn't respond, just continued to apply pressure.
"At least she's better," he said.
She shook her head.
"She's not," Lizzie said. "She believes you for the moment but eventually she's going to start agonizing over it again until she learns the truth."
"What is the truth?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't actually know," she said. "Take this."
He reached and took over holding the towel.
She stepped back, eyes taking him in, wondering if she should say anything.
Despite their misgivings, Hope seemed to trust him. She even trusted his word enough—for now—to accept that Malivore wouldn't come anywhere near her unless necessary.
And—though she was loathe to admit it—they would need him in the fight against Malivore.
Which meant he should probably know what they were dealing with.
"But for her sake," Lizzie began, her eyes as sad and tortured as Hope's had been earlier, "I hope to God it wasn't Malivore who had sex with her and took that necklace."
Finished.