Hope's arms were tied behind her back as Alaric pushed her into the field. A blonde woman and Evelyn, in a similar state to Hope, were standing on the other side. Alaric came to stand a few feet from the others, gripping a struggling Hope.

The blonde woman looked her up and down with amusement. "I thought the famed Hope Mikaelson would be more … intimidating."

"Come over here and I'll show you how intimidating I can be," Hope sneered, her eyes glowing a golden brown.

"I brought her as you asked. Give me Evelyn and I'll give you Hope," Alaric said.

The woman shook her head with a laugh that echoed across the empty space. "I'm not an idiot, Alaric Saltzman. I know you didn't come alone." The woman said, smiling. "Neither did I."

She snapped her fingers and men came out of the trees surrounding the field. They were carrying struggling forms, which so happened to be MG, Lizzie, Josie, Jed, Ethan, and even Wade. Alaric looked around concerned but tried to keep the determined look on his face.

"The deal still stands. Hope for Evelyn," Alaric said.

"It's not that simple, Alaric. You broke my only rule and for that, you must be punished," she snapped.

"Than punish me and let the others go," Alaric begged

The woman laughed. "You care about your students, Alaric. Hurting you wouldn't hurt as bad as if I did this."

She extended her claws in clear view of the others and then with a swing, she dug them deep into Evelyn's back. Evelyn's eyes went wide as she gasped, bending her back away from the claws, trying desperately for the pain to stop; but it didn't.

The others fought even harder against their captor's grasp, but it was Hope's reaction that made the woman interested. She had stopped struggling against Alaric and gone stiff.

"That got a reaction out of you," she said, leaning in close to mutter in Evelyn's ear, her claws still in Evelyn's back. "Do you think we should keep going to see what she does next?"

"Go to hell," Evelyn gasped.

"I'm going to take that as a yes."

She wretched her claws from Evelyn's back and flipped her around before embedding her claws in Evelyn's stomach. She lifted her above the ground, blood cascading toward the grass and staining it a dark purple.

"Stop this!" Alaric yelled.

The woman shook her head. "Not yet, Alaric. Not yet."

The woman noticed Hope's eyes were beginning to tear up, her firsts in tight balls. She quickly dropped Evelyn back on her feet and swiped at her face, leaving three deep gashes across her cheek. Evelyn collided with the ground as Ethan lost his cool.

He broke out of his captor's grasp and went in invisible, running for the blonde woman. Alaric told him to stop, but Ethan continued until he was right at her. His weapon had gone invisible with him so he rose it into the air to strike the woman down, but she was faster.

As the weapon came down, she caught the blade in her hand, blood dripping down her wrist. Ethan turned uninvisible with shock as the woman slowly shook her head. "I'm not just a werewolf, idiot. I saw you a mile away."

She clutched the blade tight in her hand and threw it across the field. Then with a quick spin, she roundhouse kicked Ethan in the chest, knocking him twenty feet backward. When he tried to get back up, the goon that was holding him grabbed his struggling form and held him tighter.

The woman licked the blood from her hand as it stitched itself back up. She turned toward the others with fangs in clear view, smiling wide. She looked down and noticed Evelyn trying to army crawl away from her. The woman used her speed to grab Evelyn, grabbing her hair with one hand and her shoulder with the other.

She looked toward Hope. "I've heard fairy blood is delicious, you don't mind if I have taste do you?"

She pulled Evelyn's head back and looked directly at Hope as she sunk her fangs into Evelyn's neck. Evelyn gasped, struggling against the woman's grip but too weak to break free. This broke something in Hope and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Alaric stumbled back as Hope ripped through the ropes with ease, looking at the woman with golden tear-filled eyes. When the woman noticed this, she unlatched her mouth from Evelyn and threw her into the dirt, wiping her face clean.

"Looks like someone turned their emotions back on," she muttered.

"Yeah, and I'm going to use these emotions to kill you!" Hope said with venom on her tongue.

"I'd like to see you try."

Hope ran forward as the woman motioned with her hands. The guards let go of the others and went in for the attack, a few more goons coming out of the shadows. Hope tackled the woman as an all-out battle ensued. Alaric picked up his crossbow to help the others.

Ethan knocked the goon out that was holding him and searched the field. He saw the woman and Hope rolling around in the grass; Evelyn a few feet away from them unmoving.

"Evelyn."

Ethan went invisible and ran as fast as his legs would allow. He dodged those in battle and slid across the mud to appear beside Evelyn. She looked even worse up close, her clothes and neck covered in dark blood. Ethan became visible as he placed a hand on her cheek.

"Evelyn, can you hear me?" Ethan asked.

At first, there was no response, but after a moment of silence, she nodded ever so gently. "Yea…"

"I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" Ethan promised.

"Thank … you."

"What are friends for?"

Ethan placed a hand under her legs and one around her back, picking her up as gently as he could without hurting her. She gasped at the movement but relaxed against him once he was standing. His gaze met Alaric's and he whispered one word. Run.

Ethan nodded before going invisible once more, Evelyn disappearing just as he did. Then, without waiting another moment, he ran with everything he had. He almost ran into one of the goons but dodged just in time as he got to the edge of the field.

He looked back at his friends fighting as Evelyn coughed. He looked down at her and nodded, leaving the field without a second look. He had to get her out of here and he had to do it now.

Meanwhile, the woman and Hope were fighting to the teeth. One would get a claw in the other and then they'd dodge. This continued for quite some time until Hope used a spell to knock the woman a good forty feet into a tree, the sound of her body hitting the wood made a crack that echoed through the forest. When she hit the dirt, Hope was above her, placing her foot on the woman's neck.

"You can't kill me, Hope Mikaelson … it's not who you are," The woman gasped.

"You have no idea who I am," Hope snapped, pushing down harder.

A bit of fear appeared on the woman's face as she struggled against Hope's foot. "If you kill me, more people will come in my place. Triad will never stop hunting you."

"Let them come, I'd love to see them try," Hope sneered.

"This isn't over, Hope Mikaelson," The woman muttered.

"It is … for you."

Hope pulled a thick branch from the tree beside them and without hesitation shoved it into the woman's chest. It went so deep it dug into the dirt on the other side. The woman started gasping for air, blood appearing on her lips. Hope wasn't taking any chances, not this time.

She bent down and grabbed the woman's head with both hands. With a twist, it came clean off. She lowered it and kicked the woman's head further into the forest.

"Good riddance."

When Hope turned back toward the field, the fight was over. Her friends were banged up but alive, the goons on the other hand were either dead or knocked unconscious, but they were no longer an issue. Hope returned to the others and when they realized her emotions were back they smiled and brought her in for hugs, not caring if they were dirty or covered in blood.

Alaric was the last to hug her. "I'm glad you're back."

"Thanks for not giving up on me," Hope said, squeezing him tight before backing away. "Even if I was a complete jerk."

They smiled at one another as Hope realized two people weren't with them. She looked around the field and her worry intensified. She pushed through the others and ran in the direction of the school.

Hope arrived to find the front door open. She ran down the hall and found the infirmary light on. She pushed into the room to find Evelyn lying on one of the cots, Ethan sitting beside her with puffy red eyes.

The sight of Evelyn made Hope stop in her tracks. Evelyn's blood contrasted with her clammy skin. Her clothes were disheveled and dirt-encrusted—a ragged bite in clear view on the right side of her neck.

Ethan noticed Hope as she slowly approached the cot, a tear rolling down her cheek as she whispered. "Is Evelyn…"

"She's alive, but barely," Ethan explained, wiping a tear away. "The nurse doesn't think she'll make it through the hour."

The others burst into the room as Hope turned back toward them. They all had the same question on their face … is Evelyn okay? Hope's shaking head told them everything. No, she wasn't.

Josie started crying as Wade consoled her. Lizzie shook her head and stormed out of the room, MG running after her. Alaric approached the cot and stood beside Hope, looking at Ethan. "I think we should give them some privacy."

Ethan nodded walking past Alaric as he motioned the others to leave the room. They were hesitant but allowed Ethan to maneuver them out. Once they were gone, Alaric turned back to Hope, squeezing her shoulder.

"This is all my fault," Hope muttered, another tear rolling down her cheek.

"No, you didn't know this would happen, Hope," Alaric said. "No one blames you."

"If I had never turned my emotions off, none of this would've happened," Hope said.

"Maybe so, but you were hurting. I think anyone in your situation would've done the same," Alaric said.

"The last thing I told Evelyn was that I didn't care," Hope said, peering back at Alaric with tear-filled eyes. "I don't want her to die thinking I hate her."

"Then don't let her die."

Hope realized what Alaric was implying and frantically shook her head. "I can't. After everything I've done to her, she wouldn't want that."

"It's up to you, but you don't have much time left. If you are going to do it, you have to decide soon … very soon."

He squeezed her shoulder before making his way out of the room, closing the door behind him. Hope watched him leave before looking back at Evelyn's fragile form. Another tear rolled down her cheek as she sat down in the chair Ethan had been sitting in moments before.

Hope leaned forward and grasped Evelyn's hand in hers; her skin ice cold. The touch roused Evelyn only slightly as she turned her head toward Hope, opening her eyes.

When she saw Hope, a small smile formed on her pale lips. "You turned your humanity back on."

"You brought me back, Evelyn," Hope admitted, rising to her feet.

"I'm glad," she weakly smiled.

Hope stood above Evelyn, looking down at her feet. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I never meant any of it. I do care about you … I care about you a…"

Evelyn's shaky arm rose up and placed her cool hand on Hope's cheek, stopping her mid sentence. "I know. I care about you too."

Hope slowly bent forward and placed her lips on Evelyn's. She did her best to show passion without causing Evelyn pain. Evelyn kissed back weakly but smiled as they did. When Hope pulled back, Evelyn was crying. Hope wiped the tears away and kissed her once more.

When she pulled back this time, a horrid cough wracked Evelyn's body, and when she laid back against the pillow, it was getting harder for her to keep her eyes open. Even with the difficulty, she could see the look on Hope's face and understood.

"I'm dying … aren't I?"

"Yes, but … I can save you," Hope said, avoiding Evelyn's weak gaze. "I can bring you back from the brink of death, but in order to do so … I would have to damn you. Is that … something you want? Do you … do you want me to turn you into a vampire?"

"If I g…get to spend … the rest of m…my days by your s…side, I wouldn't ask for any…thing else," Evelyn stuttered.

Hope grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. "I love you, Evelyn."

"I love you too, Hope Mikaelson."