For the next two days, they packed and removed all evidence of their presence in the house. After getting the paperwork squared away, with a little help from Hope, Raf was now living with them and prepared to leave everything behind so he could learn how to be a werewolf.
Finally, they were ready to go, their cars packed up and everything non-essential donated to different organizations who could make use of it.
"Thank you, for everything you've done for us." Seylah hugged Ryan tightly.
They stood in front of the darkened house, night shrouding them, shielding them from prying eyes as they prepared to leave.
"Hopefully, we'll see each other soon, and if not, know that you've been a good son to me and Landon and I owe you everything."
"Take care of yourself." Ryan pressed his cheek against Seylah's hair, then stepped back.
"Get word to us when you're safe," Seylah directed, then cleared her throat, trying to pretend that she was completely unaffected.
"We will," Hope promised. "When we get phones, I'll send you the numbers."
"Okay. You do that and Ryan, take care of her."
"I will."
With that, they each climbed into their respective cars and drove away.
"Are you okay?" Hope asked as they pulled onto the interstate.
"I've gotten so used to having Seylah and Landon around, it's just odd to not have them nearby." Ryan laughed once. "It sounds strange since I survived for centuries without them, but it now feels like they've been a part of my life for longer than they were."
"They love you and now they're gone. It's okay to miss them."
"I'm also afraid for them," Ryan admitted.
"Why?"
"Because I'm not there to protect them if Malivore finds a way to come back."
"You think he'll come back?"
"He's not dead. I can feel it. If I can feel him, it means that there is a chance he can find away out of whatever prison world you being dropped into him created for him."
"We'll find a way to stop him for good." Hope linked their fingers together and smiled at him.
She yawned suddenly and Ryan smiled.
"Get some sleep, sweetheart."
"What about you?"
"You need sleep. I'll wake you up if something happens."
Hope smiled at him and leaned her head against the door, allowing herself to drift off.
Several hours later, Hope jerked awake.
"Need to pull over," she choked. "Now."
Ryan flipped on the fourways and pulled off the interstate. No sooner had they come to a stop that Hope flung the door open and threw up until she had nothing left on her stomach.
As she spat again in an effort to clear her mouth, Ryan handed her a bottle of water and she took a sip, then swished it around and spat. After several more times, she finally rinsed her mouth out as much as possible and she leaned back in her seat.
"The baby hates me," Hope mumbled.
"The baby doesn't hate you," Ryan whispered against her temple. "You're just dealing with a lot, but you'll be okay once we get to your family's place."
"Is something wrong? Why am I sick now?"
"Morning sickness doesn't always strike in the morning."
"Whoever called it morning sickness was a damn liar," Hope moaned.
"You're okay, Hope. I promise."
"Yeah. Let's get going. Hopefully I won't have to throw up again for a while and we get get some miles."
"But you do need to try eating."
"Ew."
"Drink some water and then try eating something in a few hours."
"Okay," Hope agreed reluctantly.
Once he was certain that Hope wasn't going to need to throw up anymore for a while, Ryan put the car into gear and they started on their way again.
Hope sipped her water slowly, watching the predawn sky as it started to turn pink. She hadn't thrown up at all in the last few days, but as soon as they started driving, she started getting sick again. Was it just the motion that was irritating her? All things considered, it seemed like it.
"I packed some saltine crackers in case you need them," Ryan said as he reached behind him. After rooting around for a moment, he brought out a box. "Here."
"Thanks." Hope cringed, but knew he was right. She did need to eat something.
Opening the box, she ripped open a sleeve and nibbled on a small square.
"If you need anything else, the next time we stop for fuel, I can pick up something."
"I just want to get to New Orleans. Once we get stopped, I think my stomach will settle."
"If you're sure. Let me know if you change your mind." Ryan glanced at her, then turned his attention back on the road.
"I only threw up while I was traveling before. I didn't throw up at all once I got to Washington state, so I think it's the movement of the vehicles that mess with me." Hope took another sip of water and sighed at the sourness in her stomach finally faded.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm feeling better." Hope pulled another cracker out of the pack.
"Careful. You don't want to push it," Ryan warned.
"I know." Hope smiled fondly at the man she'd fallen in love with. "I am feeling a bit better now though."
"Morning sickness doesn't usually last very long, once you expel whatever it was that upset your stomach in the first place."
"Our little girl is making sure I know that she doesn't like it that I'm traveling."
"Be nice to your mother, little one. We'll be stopped soon enough." Ryan placed his hand over her belly.
"Does she even have ears yet?" Hope asked, curious now as to what the little bundle of cells looked like now.
"I'm not sure she looks much like a person yet. Fetuses have the disturbing habit of looking very alien-like in the first few months. Fortunately it's something most seem to grow out of." His lips curled up at the corners as he fought a smile.
"Only most?"
"The Hapsburgs didn't."
"The Hapsburgs were also known for incest so rampant their family tree was a circle," Hope pointed out.
"Don't remind me. They were perhaps the oddest people I've ever seen."
"You knew them?"
"I managed to get work my way into a few high courts back in the day."
"I don't suppose your pretty face and charm hurt your ability to do that, did they?"
"That, and artists of all kinds were welcomed in most courts, no matter where your talents lay. Music, drawing, painting, writing, if you possessed a talent for it, they welcomed you with open arms."
"So, you talked your way into court, only to meet King Charles the Second."
"And I found that my father's face was preferable to his, because at least my father didn't throw fits whenever someone painted his likeness exactly as it was. Unlike his Royal Highness."
"Because how dare anyone make the king look like the assface he was."
Ryan started laughing so hard then that he swerved, the tired hitting the rumble strip.
"Careful!" Hope cried. "I just got my stomach settled."
"Sorry. I was just imagining how he would have reacted to you calling him that."
"Well, I do paint, so I would have had the perfect opportunity to do so, if he took a woman artist seriously enough to allow me to attempt to capture his likeness."
"You would have given up within the day, considering you would want to be true to his likeness and he would have demanded that you make him-"
"Look like you?" Hope teased.
"He, um, he may have mentioned it a time or two."
"Is it true that he was so ugly that he scared his own wife?"
"He did have a face that only a mother could love, though towards the end of my time in his court, I think he thought he actually did look like me, especially once some people in the court attempted to garner favor with him by comparing us."
"Because everything thought you were so pretty?" Hope's giggle cut off in a yawn.
"It was no secret that anyone attracted to men found me appealing and he was jealous that people didn't view him in the same light." Ryan adjusted the vents in front of her. "Now, get some sleep. I'll wake you up when I stop for fuel."
"It'll be your fault if I have weird dreams," Hope mumbled, curling up in the seat.
"Why's that?"
"You're the one who said that Charles Hapsburg thought he looked like you." Already she was slurring her words just a little, her pregnancy hormone riddled body deciding that yes, she did indeed need to fall asleep right this instant.
"I love you, Hope."
"Love you too."
Several days later found them driving down the streets of the city of her birth. She'd spent so little time here that she recognized very little.
"Rousseau's should be open in about an hour, so I'm going to find a place to park and then we'll make are way there."
"With the crowds already out like this, it'll take us about an hour to do both, if we're lucky," Hope commented.
"I think I know a place."
Ryan pulled off to a little side street and after a few tight turns, found a place to park.
When Hope exited the car, she cast a few spells to keep their belongings safe and then she caught one of Ryan's hands in both of her trembling ones.
"Breathe, sweetheart. It will be alright." Ryan fixed the strap on her backpack.
"What if it's not?"
Ryan caught her hands and pressed soft kisses to her knuckles before replying, "If things don't work out with your family, you'll still have me and our baby. We'll make our own family. I know it's not the same as having your pack, but I'm not going anywhere."
Hope smiled shakily and nodded her head.
"Alright? Now, let's go meet your aunt so you can stop worrying about whether or not your family will accept you. It sounds to me like she already does, and even if the others struggle with it, she considers you family. So, I'd say we don't have much to worry about in terms of whether or not you can stay."
Even though his words did little to calm her fears, she appreciated the effort and leaned her head on his arm. With him at her side, she could face the world and whatever troubles this city brought with it. She wasn't alone now and no matter what, she had him. That already put her on a better footing than her mother had been when she first arrived in this city, pregnant with Hope.
Hayley had been entirely alone, a perfect target for scheming witches to do whatever they wanted to. But Hope was a powerful witch in her own right, with a man at her side who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty to protect the people he cared about.
Now that she thought of it that way, she felt much better and her heart rate slowed to a steadier beat.
When they joined the crowds on the main street, Hope commented, "This, I remember. When I first came into the city after my family was healed from the poison, the crowds kept me awake. Well, the crowds and the nightmares that came with the Hollow."
"Growing up as isolated a you did, crowds like this would be terrifying."
"I'm a Mikalson witch. There are few witches who can equal me for power." Hope smiled up at him. "And we're going to meet one of them right now."
They'd reached the bar by this time and Hope stopped by a small table not far from the entrance. Setting her backpack down, she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.
We're here.
"Now, we wait," Ryan said as he helped her put the backpack into place.
"And now, we wait."
Before they could take a seat, an achingly familiar voice called, "Hope! Hope Mikaelson!"
