A/N: So…I know this story probably ended in a way that was unexpected. When I set out in writing this story in 2016 I definitely had Caroline survive and her and Klaus running off into the sunset. However, when I revisited the story in 2018 I wanted to take it in a different direction. I knew I wanted to turn it into a series of some sort and I knew that for that to work in the way I wanted I had to kill Caroline.

But don't worry! The same characters, plus some others who I didn't get to showcase as much, will be returning in the much anticipated (by me) sequel to Still Breathing, Breathe Again (which I'm currently outlining AS WE SPEAK).

Here's a little summary for you:

Hope Mikaelson and her father don't have secrets. It's always been his one rule. Secrets are for outsiders, not family. But this was one secret that Hope just can't bring herself to share. A secret that starting plaguing her the day she came into her magic.

Now 16, she's being haunted by the ghost of a past that's not her own. A ghost that has her setting out on her own for the first time in a search to discover that she's not the only one that's been keeping secrets.

BREATHE AGAIN SNEAK PEAK:

The air was cold and damp as I took hesitant steps through the thick layer of leaves and brush that coated the ground, each step sending a crunch out into the dark. I was walking through through the woods, dodging tress fallen branches as I fought to reach my destination. Not that I knew where that I was. I never knew where I was going. All I knew was that I had to keep going straight ahead.

Squinting my eyes in the dark, I tried to get my heightened eyesight to kick in, with no luck. What good was being a hybrid when you couldn't use that power whenever you wanted to? The only light I had were streams of moonlight that peaked through the branches of the trees, which did little to help me find my way.

Clutching onto the bark of one of the trees, I came to an abrupt stop as I took in the decline that sat in front of me. Not only had I had to trek through the woods, I now had to find a way to climb down a hill that was so steep I thought I might break my neck. Taking deep breathes, I looked down the hill that I was faced with and saw what I had been looking for.

Tumbling my way down the hill, scraping my arms and legs on the sticks and stones I skidded across, I landed unceremoniously on my ass in front of it. A large stone building that loomed above me. It looked like it was more than 100 years old. Standing up I tried to get a better look at the name that was carved into the stone of the doorway, but like every other time I came, the name was incomprehensible.

Moving through the doorway I came face-to-face with the object of my search. A coffin. I immediately reached for the lid, pulling and yanking on it, trying to get it open with all my strength. But it wouldn't budge. Grunting, I readjusted my grip on the coffin's lid and yanked again. This time the wooden lid shifted, a puff of air rushing out and sending me flying, my back connecting with the stone wall of the tomb.

Dust filled the room and I covered my eyes, wafting the dust away, trying to clear the room so that I could get a look at what…who was inside the coffin. As the dust started to clear I could feel the pull. The pull of me being ripped from the dreamscape I was in. The low dip in my belly, like I had just jumped from a skyscraper.

"No!" I screamed, my voice drowning in the pressure that built in my eyes.

So close, yet so far away, I opened my eyes to the blinding light of the morning sun.