AN: Wow, I suck. I thought I uploaded before I left town, but noooope. I'm so sorry guys. Hopefully, this'll make up for it. It's suuper long. So, let me know what you think and enjoy!

Chapter Eight

K sat in the other room, away from everyone. She'd only just said goodbye to the boys and it was little more than another in a long line of heartache. The choice was both one of the easiest and most painful she'd ever had to deal with. It reminded her of every time she had to say goodbye to Hope in the past. There's just something about sending your child away that rips your heart out.

But New Orleans was no longer safe.

With the factions fighting, Hayley dead, and Pure Blood psychos hiding in the shadows, Matthew and Alexander couldn't remain anymore. They had to be far from the city where their mixed blood was a death sentence. K assumed the only reason they hadn't been targeted yet was because no one knew of them. But that could always change.

Freya –sweet Freya- took the boys with her when she drove Hope back to Mystic Falls. Caroline knew they were coming, too. She welcomed them with open arms and promised to look after them just as she had Hope for the last few years.

Even though she and Caroline had never been anything close to friends, K knew she could trust her sons with the blonde. After all, Hope was well cared for, already.

The boys were excited, too. That helped her with their leaving, but only just. Still, the thought of actually learning spells and going to the same school as their sister made them both very excited. K hoped the adjusted well. She planned to keep tabs on them frequently. After all, this was their first time away from home and attending school.

But now, the house had fallen silent. There were no children, there was no music, talking, laughing –nothing. There was nothing anymore.

In the silence, K sat in darkness, staring out at nothing as she thought about Hayley. It didn't seem right, or real. Why Hayley? Why did it have to be her?

The weight of her memories began to pull at her shoulders. Five years they were together. Five years their relationship grew to something more than friends. They were family –real and completely. For five years, it was only Hayley, Hope and K. Now, it wasn't even half that. They were all gone, blown to different parts of the world and unable to ever reunite, unable to ever be that little family again.

Tears flooded her eyes and fell down her cheeks with ease. K brought her knees to her chest and cried. She mourned her friend. The sadness K felt was deep and profound, reaching the very marrow in her bones. The last time she felt a death so completely was when Emily died.

It wasn't just Hayley's death that made her so sad. It was what it implied. Hope lost her mother, the boys would never get to truly get to know the wonderful woman Hayley had become. Hayley would never get to see any of the kids grow up or old. The wolves lost their alpha, the witches a friend, the Mikaelsons a sister. And if Elijah had his memories, he would have lost so much more. Perhaps it's best he never remember.

As she cried, K felt something wrap around her and hold her close. She clung to it, gripped it tight and refused to let go. It helped steady her, if only for a moment.

Klaus heard her muffled sobs from his room on the other side of the house. He hadn't been able to sleep and didn't have the heart to seek K out. He thought she likely went to be alone –and he was right- but he couldn't take the sound of her crying for as long as she had been. He had to do something to comfort her, even if he wasn't exactly good at that sort of thing.

He was surprised by the way she held him, but put up no resistance. If she needed to squeeze him so tightly his bones would splinter, he'd let her.

No words passed between them as they both wept for not only the life lost, but those the loss would affect.

Hayley deserved so much better than the Mikaelsons.

~!~

It was the morning of the funeral and K was doing her best to find something to wear. She already knew she'd just wear a black dress, but stressing over something so small helped distract her from the truth.

While she stood in front of the mirror holding one garment after another in front of her body, Klaus entered the room. He was on the phone and K could hear that the other voice on the line was Freya's.

"Are you certain this astral projection will work?" he asked as he looked at K through the reflected glass.

"It'll be fine, Klaus."

"This isn't right." He said as their eyes met through the mirror. "Kali is the only mother she has left. She deserves to be there with Hope, holding her hand."

"You know she can't." Freya said heavily. K's expression fell just a bit. Even though she knew as much, hearing it –for some reason- still hurt greatly. "This is how it has to be."

Klaus' jaw clenched. "This is utterly ridiculous. To hell with the curse. She should be-"

Something behind them caught both their attention. A plant –once healthy and green- began to wither and die. Their collective brows pulled together as they watched it die.

"What?"

Klaus sighed his annoyance. "If this plant gasping for life is any indication of what's happening around us, there's another Mikaelson in the city."

"How's that possible? Kol and Rebekah know to stay away and Hope is with me, so…" her voice fell as a single name entered their minds.

"Elijah," Klaus growled. "I have to go and find him before the skies burn."

Without a farewell, he hung up his phone and glanced to K.

"Go," she said. "I'll meet Ivy in the bayou. I know where."

"You're certain?"

She forced a smile she hoped was believable. "Of course."

Klaus didn't bother faking one of his own. Instead, he just stepped forward, kissed her softly and disappeared in search of his brother.

With him gone, K turned her attention back to the mirror. It had been days, and still her mind and body were disconnected. She just wasn't absorbing anything around her anymore.

~!~

"Let him suffer!" Klaus bellowed angrily at Marcel as K descended the stairs. "You didn't see her face, Marcel. She was pleading with him to save her, and he didn't." his voice was low and threatening. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my daughter is about to land and I have to be there to pick her up."

Marcel opened his mouth, but nothing passed his lips. Before he could speak, he noticed K. Klaus turned and spotted her as well wearing a simple black dress for the occasion.

"Sweetheart," he said, offering his hand to take hers. She gently grasped it. "I need to go."

"I know," she nodded.

Klaus hugged her, kissed her softly and left to retrieve Hope and Freya. K lingered for a moment and looked at Marcel.

When their eyes met, the King could tell something was wrong. K was blank, emotionless, and… cold. She didn't look herself. In fact, she looked as though she were hollow, as though something else was walking around in her skin. It sent an unnerving chill up his back.

Without a word, she left the mansion, too.

~!~

Ivy was a beautiful young woman, one of those exotic women who have a special quality that somehow draws everyone she meets closer. If K were in a better mood, she might have said something about it. As it was, she said nothing as she met the witch at the front of her car.

Ivy looked over K. The two had never met, but the woman's name was mentioned periodically by the other Mikaelsons. Ivy knew only a little about her, but was aware she was at least considered part of the family.

"Will this work?" K asked plainly.

"Yes," Ivy was a bit cold, but K expected nothing else. "Give me your hands."

She complied. Ivy took hold of them and began to chant. For a moment, K was standing in the bayou. In another, she was suddenly surrounded by people.

The joyful sight of the strangers made her stomach turn, but K had no desire to give them a second's thought. Instead, she quickly looked around for Hope, Freya or Klaus, and quickly spotted them in the distance. Without hesitation, she raced after the trio.

Hope didn't like all of the people. Most of those who'd arrived were tourists standing on the sidelines drinking. Those were perhaps the ones who angered her the most.

"This isn't right," she muttered to herself. "I don't like this."

"I know, sweetheart." Klaus replied in a tone to match her discomfort. He didn't like them, either.

As they walked, through the discomfort of the people around them, Hope felt something tickle at the back of her neck. Her face scrunched and her steps paused. Something was trying to get her attention, gnawing at the back of her mind.

Turning, she spotted K coming towards her. A breath left her, deep and fast as though someone had punched her in the gut. Hope couldn't say how relieved she was to see K for the first time in years and raced for her immediately.

A wide smile crossed K's lips and she held open her arms, ready to embrace the little girl she hadn't seen in so long. She wanted nothing more than to hug her, to feel the warmth of her again, to smell her hair even, but it wasn't meant to happen.

When Hope reached her, she tried to hug her remaining mother, but felt an undeniable chill. It washed through her so completely that goose bumps formed despite the high sun and warm air. Hope stood back and the look that crossed her face was utterly heartbreaking.

"You're not really here." She mumbled, despite already knowing the fact.

"No, sweetheart." K replied. She felt a lump forming in her throat. She wanted to reach out and touch her. "Not really, at least."

Hope's big blue eyes met K's. They were glistening with tears. "I miss you." Her voice hitched. "I want you to come home."

K struggled to keep the pain from her face. She wanted the same.

K reached forward and tenderly ran the back of her hand along Hope's cheek. She couldn't feel her. She couldn't feel Hope at all and it hurt.

"I want that, too." She said. "In the meantime,"

K wanted to take Hope's hand, but didn't. There wasn't anything to actually grab, so she didn't try. Instead, she motioned for Hope to walk along, and they did. Together, she and Hope joined Klaus and Freya.

"Kali," Freya greeted as kindly as she could.

She offered the witch a small nod.

The procession began again. The group of "mourners" made it only a few yards, however, before black vans sped into view, blocking off the street and clearly meaning trouble.

Suddenly, K was ripped from the projection. Her spirit was shoved back into her corporeal body at a jarring rate, but it barely slowed her down.

"What happened?" Ivy demanded.

"Hope's in trouble. I have to go."

K made it two steps before her knees buckled and her body went immobile. She cried out as pain racked her body. She whipped around and saw Ivy holding her steady.

"Let. Me. Go." She growled through a tight jaw.

"No. You can't go."

"She's in trouble!" K screamed. "I have to be there."

"No!"

"I don't give a shit about these plagues." She said hatefully. K struggled against her bonds. She wanted free and in order to do it, she'd honestly kill Ivy. "You will not keep me here."

"I have to." Ivy's face took on a pleading expression. "You don't understand how dangerous this curse really is."

"I don't care!"

"Hope will die!" she suddenly yelled. K immediately stopped fighting the spell holding her.

"What?" her voice was little above a whisper, too shocked by the random statement to manage much else.

"Hope will die." Ivy repeated, much calmer than before. "That's the final stage of the curse. After the rivers turn to fire and monsoons from the sea, the first born child –every first born- will die."

The words hit her hard. Hope would die. Freya would die. And those were only the people she knew of. There were still so many questions that needed answers.

Was K a first born? She didn't know. Matthew and Alexander were her first born children, but not Klaus'. Did that mean they'd die, or be saved? Would both of them die because they were twins, or would it only be the one who breathed air first?

Too many things rushed through her mind, too many ideas, scenarios, and fears.

"Send me back." Was all she could say as she offered Ivy her hands. "Send me back to Hope."

Ivy did as she asked immediately.

Instead of being sent back to the Quarter, K arrived in Hope's bedroom at the manor. The young girl saw her and scowled.

"Go away." She said.

K was surprised by the coldness, but not deterred. "Hope, talk to me."

"I said leave. You're not even really here, anyway."

"I would be if I could, but you don't know how dangerous it is."

"I don't care."

"You could die, Hope." K said sternly, hoping to make it through the girl's thick skull.

"Then let me die!"

K jolted. She was shocked by the sudden outburst and it was only then she noticed it. Hope was distraught. She was more out of sorts than when K had left, and it seemed far worse now.

"Hope," K muttered sadly.

"I don't care." Hope's voice began to tremble. "I can't do this anymore. I…" tears welled in her eyes as she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Mom is dead, dad is gone half the time and the only mom I have left can't even be within a hundred miles of me. I-" she clenched her eyes shut and the tears escaped as a result. K felt horrible. She wanted to hold Hope, to comfort her like she used to. "It isn't fair." She began to cry.

"I know, sweetie."

"No you don't." Hope snapped. "We're broken, this whole family, and I'm tired of it."

K took a step forward and started to reach for her daughter, but Hope stepped back.

"You should go."

"Hope," K breathed.

"Just go."

K was suddenly ripped from the room and shoved back into the bayou once again.

Ivy took a step back and looked over the young woman with sadness and sympathy.

"Are you alright?" she asked in all sincerity.

K looked at her with tears in her eyes. "No," she said honestly.

~!~

Her angry screams drew his attention. Klaus followed them through the trees and deeper into the bayou. He'd gone there to see everything was being taken care of for Hayley's second funeral. Clearly, she hadn't left.

When he reached a clearing, he found K. She was fighting the forest itself, throwing her fist into the trees, into boulders and anything she could. She was fighting the world because he assumed that –like him- she felt powerless to do anything.

And she did. Hope's words still stung and K had rage to let out, sadness, hurt and hatred, but it had nowhere to go. The best she could do was fight Mother Nature herself.

"Kali," Klaus finally said after a few lengthy minutes of one-sided violence.

She stopped and turned to see him standing just out of her path of destruction. He could see her cheeks damp and dirty from where dust clung to her tears, but that wasn't what held his attention. What fixated him so completely was the look in her eyes. He'd seen it before a thousand times when he looked at himself. The darkness was returning to her. She wanted blood. She wanted lives to repay the one that was taken. She wanted revenge.

"Hope is-" was all he managed to get out before K vanished.

Klaus' heart sank. He hadn't wanted to tell her Hope was on her way to the bayou, to tell her she had to leave, but she knew already. Still, what could he do? This was the way their life was now. No matter how badly Hope wanted or needed her family, they had to stay away.

~!~

Hope stood beside Klaus on the dock overlooking the river. Hayley's "body" drifted into the distance. The fire was like a beacon, unavoidable and unmistakable.

The air around them suddenly shifted and the sound of shoes against the dock's wooden planks met their ears. The pair turned to find K the source.

"What are you doing here?" Klaus asked with an edge. While he was glad to see her, he knew the prophecy. He knew how the curse ended.

But K didn't speak. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Hope and hugged her tightly, slamming her eyes shut as she held the little girl. Hope returned the sentiment, squeezing K as hard as she could without fear of hurting her.

She cradled the back of Hope's head and gently held her. "I love you." She whispered softly, stroking the back of Hope's head lovingly. "And I'm so sorry you have to go through this, but you're not alone. Not really."

K slowly pulled back and looked down into Hope's eyes. She cradled the young woman's face and smiled heavily.

"You're so grown up now." She let out a weak, breathy laugh which Hope mimicked. A flash of lightning and a roll of thunder went unnoticed by the two, but their audience began to shift. "And so beautiful. You look just like her."

Hope forced a sad smile. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"Shh, don't be." K tenderly threaded some of Hope's hair around her fingers and guided it behind her ear. "We may not share blood, but you've always been my little girl, okay?" Hope nodded. "And even though we only got to spend a few short years together…" tears began to trickle down K's cheeks, "I want you to know that they mean the world to me."

Hope began to cry again. She pulled K close and clung for dear life. K closed her eyes, unwilling to look at the rest of the world around them. She just wanted to live in the moment for as long as she could.

"This is the last time I can see you." She said softly. "But I'll always be there if you need me, alright?"

"I know." Hope mumbled into K's shoulder.

Another bolt of lightning split the sky and struck the water. Klaus saw the fire from Hayley's pyre begin to spread. He wanted to let them remain as they were, but couldn't.

"The river is burning." He said despondently.

Reluctantly, they drew back once again and sure enough, a raging fire moved towards them. K's heart broke further if it were possible. Her brows pulled together as she looked again the Hope.

"I love you, carissime." She said, tenderly wiping the tears from Hope's cheeks. Leaning forward, she gently kissed the young woman's forehead. "Goodbye."

As suddenly as she'd arrived, K was gone. Hope began to cry again, but this time Klaus stepped in. He held his daughter tight, feeling her agony wash into him. Both her mothers were gone as far as she was concerned, both women who raised her while he was gone.

K didn't slow until she was near her car. Her body ached. She felt horrible and wanted nothing more than to return. Thankfully, she had the strength not to.

Reaching into her pocket for the keys, K's head was suddenly wrenched to the side. The world around her went black and she collapsed to the ground, dead and unmoving.