Trigger warnings: blood; sex, but I'm not sure I'm gonna be fully descriptive, it's rated M in case I get carried away lmao; horror; violence; abuse, including references to SA; miscarriage; death. Y'know... the basics for the universe lol.
Things you should know before reading: The Vampire Diaries ends around 2018-2019, The Originals ends in 2026 and Legacies ends in 2029. There are timeline inconsistencies across the different series with birthdays and ages, such as the age of the twins, so I've altered things a little to be factually accurate. Other than that, this carries on from the universe's ending in Legacies. Obviously, this does NOT count the scene at the end of The Vampire Diaries when Damon and Elena find peace.
(SPOILERS HERE) Endgames: Let's face it, you're probably reading this for the ships. The fanfic is gonna be pretty long and in my planning it's going to be split into three "sections" with each section of the book not only focusing on a different part of the storyline but also a different ship endgame. Those ships are Hope/Stefanie (who do not get together until Stefanie is *nearly* 18 just fyi lol), Caroline/Stefan and Josie/Katherine. Before you completely disregard the last one, it took me some time to warm to, but ultimately it's become one of my favourites! I have a rollercoaster planned for them, and I promise it does actually make sense at the point everyone's at in the story lmao!
Author's Note:
I tried to include all the characters, but obviously I have had to focus on the characters I've made central to the storyline, and even though it's in third person, I do like to somewhat go at things from one character's viewpoint. There's a whole fucking lot of characters if you include everyone from every series all the time. But worry not, there WILL be scenes where we have a Salvatore School full of a range of characters from all three shows. The vast majority of living characters will at least get an appearance.
My main aim in writing this is to push myself to get back into writing, so I've wanted to make things crazy for the fun factor but I didn't want it to be so out there that it stopped feeling like TVDU. So there's a mixture of canon ships and crack-ships, but I do believe that under the circumstances presented in this story that the crack-ships WOULD happen :3 I've also made things a little more close-knit, because if Hope made Mystic Falls her home, I don't believe for a second that Elena, Caroline and Bonnie wouldn't mother her, whether they were living a human life or not. If Alaric is basically Hope's dad and Josie literally went to LIVE with Damon and Elena, I just don't see how anyone would have left Hope out, especially after the events in Legacies.
Obviously, I didn't create these characters (besides a few which are OC, but based off Myths) or the world they come from. But the ideas I've got here for the fanfic are ideas I've come up with myself, with some help from my friend while I brainstormed. I have a whole notebook pretty much full of the planning for this, it's been a real ride. So thank you for reading :)
I hope you guys enjoy!
xWriterInTheDarkx
PS, I don't have a beta reader so sorry if there's mistakes, I am weeding them out lol and I'm rewatching TO right now to make sure I got things right.
If you notice an inconsistency or inaccuracy and you want to bring it to my attention, please DM me about it, preferably with a screenshot. Thank you!
PRESENT DAY
The End of November, 2037
Elena locked the door to her clinic. The writing on the glass read "Elena Salvatore, M.D." and she looked at it every close, smiling. Only now, there was a dark cloud over her and the people she loved. It was a familiar feeling, but one she didn't exactly welcome with open arms.
I can just pretend everything's fine, just for today, she thought, I've got that down to a fine art at this point… perhaps I'm a little rusty.
She turned to her car, her phone ringing in her pocket as she got in the driver's seat and turned on the engine.
She answered the call, her phone connecting to her car. "Hey, I'm on my way home."
"Have you heard from Stef today?" Damon asked, his voice laced with concern.
"Not since I saw her coming down for breakfast, I didn't have time to talk to her because I was on the way out to open the clinic. Is she okay?" Elena manoeuvred out of her parking spot and checked for incoming traffic before pulling out into the road.
"I don't know, her phone and car location says she's still at school. She didn't text me at lunch with her usual pleas to switch schools, she wasn't picking up her phone when I went to collect the kids. And you know, it's not the first time this has happened, she's studied late before, but it doesn't even look like she's in the right place to be in the library and she's managed to talk her way out of every detention they've tried to give her, so I don't see why her charm would fail her now. I just don't like it, not with how… involved she's been with the supernatural side of life recently," Damon ended the sentence with a slight bitterness to his tone.
"That's not like her to completely blank us like this, I'm heading there now," she said, taking the quickest route to the high school.
She was there quickly and she took her phone with her, Damon talking in her ear about how he's going to ground Stefanie when Elena finds her while he also tried to manage two young children.
"Where's Stefie?" Jenna had asked while Elena was still in the car.
"That's what mommy's finding out for us," Damon had explained, "and then daddy's gonna lock your big sister in the house for a month."
Elena walked up to the front door. The school was still open and she asked Damon where he saw Stefanie's location in comparison to hers, allowing him to guide her to the locker rooms. When she was in there, she put her call with Damon on hold and called Stefanie's phone, tracing it to her locker. It was there with Stefanie's bag and books.
"All her stuff is here," she said to Damon, now back on the call with him.
"What?"
"You heard me," she sighed shakily. "All her stuff is in her gym locker."
Damon had gone quiet, but Elena didn't need to be able to see him to know what expression he'd be wearing.
"Have you talked to Hope?"
"Yup, she hasn't heard from her since before she went into gym class, just assumed she got caught up with her studies at lunch."
Elena stormed out of the locker room and headed down the hallway towards the entrance again, her heartbeat quickening in synchronicity with her footfalls.
"I'm heading home now- oh, hold on," she told Damon, catching sight of the Principal.
"Dorian!" She called, and he turned, welcoming her with a warm smile when he saw her.
"Elena, how's Stefanie doing?"
"That's actually what I came here for, she wasn't here when Damon came to pick her and Jenna up."
Dorian chuckled, his smile widening. "Very funny. Ric put you up to this because I said he was getting old, didn't he?"
"What are you talking about?" Elena's brows furrowed. "Seriously, Dorian, we need to find her, her phone and all her books are in her gym locker."
His face fell into a worried frown. "Elena, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," she said firmly, shifting irritably as her mother bear instincts kicked in, "but I need to find my daughter. Where is Stefanie?"
"You…" Dorian's face twisted, his expression now more grim than concerned, "you came into my office before lunch, asked me to call her in and you took her out of school right away for a dentist appointment, said you'd forgotten all about it."
Elena's face had gone pale and she felt like she might throw up. It had been about two decades since she'd felt this sinking feeling; she was digesting the fact that she hadn't picked Stefanie up and that there was a reason Stef hadn't complained to Damon about her human high school experiences at lunch… and that reason apparently looked just like her.
"Elena, are you okay?"
Elena's eyes were as wide as full moons and she shook her head, her voice coming out hushed. "I need you to get me the security footage and text it to me or Damon, but keep it on the down-low, this isn't a human problem."
"Consider it done," Dorian nodded, about to ask what the hell was going on, but Elena was already rushing out the doors.
"Oh god, Damon…" Elena managed into the phone, "I… I picked her up earlier, but I didn't pick her up earlier, I've been at the clinic all day. Please tell me this isn't what it sounds like, I feel like I'm having flashbacks, this is all just a bad dream. It can't be Ka-"
"Don't you dare say it, I know exactly what you're thinking but she is dead, there must be a mistake. Maybe Dorian was compelled?" Damon's voice was now at a low hiss, the sound of their two younger kids playing loudly in the next room still making it down the phone.
"He takes vervain. It's been over seventeen years, she couldn't possibly be alive, right?"
Damon was quiet for a moment and then he said, "Get on the phone to Caroline or Hope and go to the school, I'll get Jeremy and Bonnie here, they'll take the kids and we can focus on finding Stef. I'll meet you there."
"Okay…" Elena breathed shakily. "I love you, Damon. Stay safe."
"I love you, too. Stay on the phone to Caroline until you get there, we don't want any nasty surprises and I can't run to your rescue like she can."
When everyone was in the loop with the situation, they had one rule: don't trust any version of Elena who wasn't on the phone to Caroline or glued to Damon's hip. As it happened, Damon and Elena arrived only a couple of minutes apart. Elena had run out once he arrived, throwing her arms around him, and she'd been crying. Hope stood in the doorway, looking out at them as they held each other tightly. Damon's hand cradled the back of Elena's head.
"It's okay," he whispered to her softly, stroking her hair, "we're going to find her."
He placed a kiss on her head, then took her hand and lead her inside. She was frantic, tears streaming down her cheeks. A lot of people around had never seen Elena like this; so fearful, her chest heaved with every laboured breath. When Hope looked into her eyes and tried to offer her a supportive smile, there was an absence in her stare as if part of her was somewhere else.
"We're going to find her, we'll bring her home," Hope told her, walking with them back to the library.
Elena snivelled, stopping in the hallway by the stairs that lead down to the front room, "If Katherine is alive and she's the one who took Stef, she'll torture her and kill her to get back at us for all the things we did… the hellfire… Nadia…"
"I will find her and I will bring her home to us, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to her if I can help it," Hope promised her as they reached the library doors.
Elena let go of Damon's hand, hugging her tightly as her tears subsided slightly. "I know you will, I know you care about her."
Hope nodded, trying to keep her expression level as Damon went off to join the others in opening one of the stashes of weapons they kept locked up around the school. "I care about everyone here."
Elena laughed a little through her tears, placing a hand on Hope's shoulder and looking her directly — very sincerely — in the eyes. "Stop being so afraid; the worst thing love can do is hurt you and the best thing it can do is give you all you ever wanted. It's about what you do with that feeling if it comes up, how you handle the loss. My daughter is crazy about you, I see the way she looks at you. I remember when I first felt like that about Damon. You challenge her and you make her think — only she thinks like Damon, so you better hurry before she does something self-destructive and tries to make you hate her."
Hope was about to admit it, to admit her feelings even though she genuinely thought Damon would find a way to kill her, but Elena stumbled back, her face contorted with pain. The scent of blood filled Hope's nostrils and she caught Elena before she could fall. Blood poured from her abdomen and she screamed in pain.
"What the hell is happening?" Hope yelled for help, turning to face the rest of the house so the sound could travel better. "Mom?! Help me, someone! Mom?!"
Caroline, having heard Hope cry out for her, vamped to her side. "Oh my god. Elena? Stay with me."
Hope looked between Caroline and Elena frantically. "Would my blood work? I'm not just a vampire and I'm an original, it might work differently."
"Maybe," Caroline lifted up Elena's bloody shirt and ripped away her jeans to see two massive stab wounds, either one either side of her lower abdomen, and one larger wound right in the middle. "How-"
Hope bit into her wrist, still holding Elena's unconscious body in her lap on the ground, and put the blood to her lips as she tilted back her head.
"She's probably been linked with a spell, but I don't know, it feels different to a normal linking spell, the magic is unusual."
Nothing happened. In fact, when Damon walked in and the panicking stopped, and Caroline and Hope were looking at Elena and waiting for her to wake, they couldn't even hear her heart beating.
XXX
NEARLY TWO YEARS BEFORE PRESENT DAY
Beginning of March, 2036
"I'm just saying," Stefanie bargained with her parents mercilessly, "I think I'd be better at the Salvatore School. You know, the school with my name in it?"
Elena was cooking as Stefanie did her homework and begged to switch schools. Damon was helping her in the kitchen, about to go and get the younger two children — Jenna and Lily — from their bedrooms where they were playing so they could start getting ready for dinner.
"But it's not safe for you, it's not for people like you. Mystic High is meant for adorable little humans, you're right at home," Damon explained, only half joking.
"Being human sucks," she grumbled.
"I'll tell you what," Damon haggled with a smile, "when you get to your forties or fifties, if you still want to become a vampire, there's a whole load of them that can turn you. But you're fifteen and you don't know the whole story, Stef, so wait until you've gained some more perspective before you make irreversible choices."
"But then I'll just be old like you guys, and that's not reversible. And you two literally were cured of vampirism," she snarked back, but her voice was light.
"At least we know where you get your attitude from," Elena joked, looking at Damon.
Damon shook his head, feigning offence. "This is all you. I think you forget just how much of a handful you were when you were younger."
He stepped over to her in the kitchen area, taking her in his arms as he struggled to keep a straight face.
"Oh, I was a handful?" she raised her brows. "You certainly didn't cause any problems for me."
"All for the greater good," he smiled, now mischievous. Then he looked happily at her. "And I think for the most part, it's played out okay."
"What problems did you cause?" Stefanie asked, not looking up from the homework she was doing. It was partly because she was actually doing it, but mainly because she couldn't stand watching her parents' displays of affection.
"Oh, you know… threatened her life a few times, kissed her and tried to break up her relationship with my brother while I worked to bring a psychopath back to mystic falls who ended up not even being in the prison I thought she was, and then ended up tormenting us until she was swallowed in hellfire about a decade later."
"Wait, you threatened to kill mom?" Stefanie's voice was laced with judgement, her eyes finding his with a look of shock.
"I didn't actually mean it," he defended himself, then smiled down at Elena.
"This psychopath is your ex?" Stef's gaze returned to her homework.
"More like a wart that wouldn't stop growing," he grumbled and Elena laughed. "But she's dead now, thanks to your Uncle Stefan. The best way to get rid of a wart is to burn it off… ask your mother, she's a doctor."
This did get Stefanie's full attention and she dropped her pen, looking up at her parents as they leaned in to kiss each other.
"Hold up, the evil woman Uncle Stefan sacrificed himself to kill was your ex?"
"She was Stefan's ex, too," Damon said defensively with his face an inch from Elena's, laughing when Stef pulled a face of disgust.
"Okay, I take it back," she recoiled, packing away her almost-finished homework, "I never want to know anything ever again."
Elena and Damon laughed at her.
"It's crazy," Elena nodded, "but it's probably not what you think."
"I hope not, because that's fucked up," she said, almost as if it were her parenting them.
"Watch your mouth," Elena pointed at Stefanie with the spatula she had in her hand, her glare disapproving, then she relaxed and handed the cooking over to Damon.
"Oh, I got a call from Caroline; Hope's definitely coming home from college tomorrow so her welcome home party at the school is still on. She invited us, so I've got Bonnie and Jeremy coming to look after the kids."
"Can I come?"
"Don't feel like staying here and playing magic tricks with Uncle Jer and Auntie Bon?" Damon taunted, knowing all too well Stefanie would love to go to a party at the Salvatore School.
"I can basically do that any time I want, please can I come?" she pleaded.
Damon smiled smugly across the kitchen at her. He loved winding Stefanie up.
"Well," he sucked in a breath, feigning a grimace, "I'll have to talk to Caroline…"
Elena laughed from over by the dishwasher that she was unstacking.
"If only I had the invitation somewhere- oh," he pulled a small piece of paper from his front pocket, reading from it through squinted eyes while he stirred the food in the frying pan. "Please join us for Hope Mikaelson's Welcome Home Party. Here's the names. Damon and Elena Salvatore."
Stefanie glared at him and he smirked.
He continued, narrowing his eyes further at the paper. "Oh, wait… there's another name here but I just can't quite make it out. Is… is that a B?"
Stefanie got up quickly, going over to Damon and diving for the paper. "Give me that!"
He abandoned the food, stepping into the middle of the kitchen so Stefanie couldn't burn herself, and he held the paper high enough above her that she couldn't quite reach. He laughed as she jumped to try and get it, but she kept missing as he body blocked her.
"Let me see!" she demanded, going around behind him and leaping onto his back.
Damon made an "oof" sound as his teenaged daughter jumped on his back, stumbling forward slightly, enough that she could snatch the paper from his hand.
"A-HA!" She yelled excitedly, jumping down.
Damon straightened up his spine, wincing.
"How you doing over there, grandpa?" Elena asked playfully.
He advanced on her with a devilish smile. "Oh, you've done it now."
She squealed, turning to run but he was too fast and he picked her up bridal style, carrying her to the couch where he launched her onto the cushions. She laughed, grabbing one of the pillows and using it to whack him in the stomach.
When he'd pried the pillow from her fingers, he looked up and Stefanie was smiling widely, looking at the invite.
"I'm invited?"
"We spoke with Caroline and we all agreed you're old enough to join in the supernatural party scene," Damon explained, "but there's some ground rules you have to agree to."
"What are they?"
"Ground rule number one:" Damon began, "no sneaking off with supernaturals you don't know."
"Obviously, I'm not an idiot."
"Rule number two: you must stay close to Caroline, Lizzie or Hope at all times."
"Okay."
"Rule number three: no drinking, no smoking, no drugs."
Stefanie rolled her eyes.
"Agreed?" Damon asked.
She looked at him with another excited smile. "Agreed."
XXX
The following day, Lizzie Saltzman leaned against the driver's door to her new red convertible, the hustle and bustle of the airport buzzing in her ears. She was listening intently, waiting. Her hearing stretched across the airport as she tried to find one particular voice.
"Yeah, I'm heading out now," she heard Hope say. "Lizzie's waiting for me. I'll see you when I'm home. Okay, bye, Ric."
A minute later, Lizzie watched Hope emerge from the automatic double doors and she smiled widely.
Hope dropped her bag in the middle of the pavement and she grinned back, opening her arms. The two ran to each other and Lizzie lifted Hope off the ground, spinning them in a circle and they buried their faces into each other's hair.
"Welcome home," Lizzie said.
"It's good to be back," Hope sighed, relaxing. "For good, this time."
They finally broke apart and Hope looked at Lizzie's face. Of course, they'd astral projected and spoken to each other over the phone, but it was such a relief to Hope to see Lizzie in person. The last time she'd visited Mystic Falls had been the year before, and she always visited at least every year, but she hadn't lived there for five years. She'd also spent a lot of time with her family in New Orleans, however, she was happy to be back with her family in Mystic Falls.
The drive went quickly, partially because Lizzie drove insanely fast but also because she had a lot to catch Hope up on. Her and MG had been having petty fights for the past year, to which Hope asked Lizzie why she didn't tell her earlier and Lizzie had only pouted, grumbling something inaudible under her breath. In the end, Hope told Lizzie that relationships aren't all sunshines and rainbows, and that they need to be open and honest with each other about what's bothering them.
"That's the thing," Lizzie was looking at Hope for way too long for it to be safe at the speed she was going, though both of them had survived far worse than a car crash at over a hundred miles per hour, "I am being open and honest, but he's holding out on me about something. It doesn't matter how much I push he just brushes it off but I know there's something up."
"Okay, how do you usually approach him?" Hope asked, calmly reaching over and turning the wheel when Lizzie wasn't looking to avoid missing a turn and going into a ditch. "With love and understanding or…?"
"Well at first, of course," Lizzie finally pinned her eyes to the road again as they crossed the boarder into Mystic Falls, "but about six months ago, I started to get pissed off."
Hope laughed lightly. "Maybe go back to love and understanding? Tell him how much he means to you, open up again. He has loved you since he first met you, if he's holding back it's probably because he's scared of something."
The heretic huffed. "If I can even get into a conversation with him, he's been avoiding me all week since we argued and I… kind of… had a little relapse."
Hope's gaze shot from the welcoming sight of Mystic Falls to Lizzie who was looking very sorry for herself in the driver's seat.
"There was an explosion, of the magic variety… I swear it hasn't happened in years, but I… accidentally set fire to the closet with all his clothes in it."
"Lizzie," Hope's eyes widened, then her expression softened and she placed her hand over Lizzie's on the wheel. "Are you okay?"
"I'm alive," she pouted, "which is more than you can say for my favourite sweater… it got caught in the crossfire. Literally."
"We can shop, you'll find a new favourite sweater," Hope smiled, lightening the mood.
"OH," Lizzie immediately chirped up. "We finished all the construction at the school and the next extension is officially complete, which means more room for students and we've divided the original six rooms amongst the staff. You know what that means?"
"What?"
"You are moving into the room along the hall from mine and Josie's, and we get that entire end of the hall to ourselves. Josie's not around a lot, so when she leaves again, we can turn her bed into a movie night set up and you and I can have all the movie nights we want. I've already lined up the movies."
Hope laughed. She loved all her family in Mystic Falls, but she'd probably missed Lizzie the most. Lizzie made life interesting with her gossip. "Yes, but I'm going to be working two jobs, I will need to sleep at some point."
"Why would you even do that to yourself? You have all the time in the world. I mean, it's not that I'm not impressed that you completed your fine art masters along with your medical degree in five years, because that's impressive, and the fact that you compelled them to fast track you through both was genius, but still… you're immortal. Why the rush?"
Hope shrugged. "Honestly?"
"No, I'm just asking so you can tell me lies," Lizzie said dryly.
"I'm bored," the tribrid admitted. "I'm so bored. I thought school would be fun and a semi-human experience, but I've hated it since my first year, I just really wanted to finish it after I started."
"You told us you were loving it."
"Yeah… I definitely was hating it. That's why I ended up compelling the schools to fast track me, and I wanted another qualification and I didn't want to come back to college anytime soon, so I fast tracked both and got out as fast as I could. My results are genuine, I just couldn't stand to go through it at a human pace and the thought of actually going to graduation and standing up in front of all those people was horrifying to me. So, I'm thinking I work for five to ten years, then I take a vacation for five to ten years," Hope let out a longing sigh.
"What the hell are you going to do to keep you occupied on a decade long vacation if you're bored with college and working two jobs?"
"I don't know, maybe I'll meet someone immortal and old with lots of money who will take me away somewhere."
"Your family are the oldest vampires to walk the earth and I'm pretty sure you have more money than the school," Lizzie's voice had a slightly bitter undertone.
"Not anymore," Hope commented, smiling smugly.
"What do you mean?"
"Your mom didn't tell you? I'm buying in and becoming an official owner with your parents."
"WHAT? Where's my portion of the school?" the heretic's outrage all but shook the car.
"Lizzie, you spent all your money on this car," Hope looked at her in bewilderment.
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not descended from rich vampire royalty. Why wouldn't mom and dad tell me about this? Or at least Josie—" Lizzie let out an enraged gasp, then she sucked in a breath again. "Hello, CarKit?"
"What can I do for you?" The robotic voice came through the car speakers.
"Call my potentially traitorous sister, Josie's iPhone."
"Calling Josie on iPhone," the robot woman said, then the phone started to ring.
"Hey, have you got Hope?" Josie asked when she picked up
"I have," Lizzie's voice was harsh.
"Hey, Jo-Jo," Hope grimaced from the passenger seat.
"My dear sister," Lizzie began, gripping the steering wheel harder with each word, "did you happen to know anything about this betrayal?"
"What betrayal?"
"Hope's buying into the school. We are twenty-one in exactly a week, we didn't even know if we'd both be alive for more than a couple years of our twenties — or half alive, in my case — to even own property and Hope's buying into our home before we do."
"Lizzie, Hope has money. Congrats, by the way."
"Yeah, thank you," the Original's voice came out light and she rolled her eyes at the woman next to her.
"Where's our money?" Lizzie simply frowned.
"It's called inheritance," Hope smiled, "you get it when your parents die."
"Way to go, Lizzie," Josie sighed.
From the passenger seat, Hope raised an eyebrow at the blonde woman, who turned to look at her apologetically as they were driving up the road to the school.
"I'm sorry."
Hope laughed, shaking her head. "I've missed you. Both of you."
"We've missed you, too," Josie replied warmly.
"We're pulling into the drive now," Lizzie told her sister.
"They're coming up the drive," Josie said to someone enthusiastically.
There was an excited laugh from down the phone and, when Lizzie pulled up to the front of the school, Caroline was on the doorstep with a wide smile on her face. Hope couldn't help but smile as soon as she saw her.
"You're home!" she was smiling and laughing, but tears were rolling down her cheeks.
Hope got out the car, about to run to her to give her a hug, but she'd already vamped to the car and her arms were already around Hope's middle as she cried even more. "I'm so glad you're home."
She pulled away before the hug could be reciprocated, looking at Hope's face as she cupped it maternally in her hands.
"Hi, Caroline," the corners of the Mikaelson's mouth turned upwards and she felt her own eyes well up at the sight of Caroline's tears.
"You're really here, and you're not leaving," she bounced a little on the spot, took Hope's hand and immediately started leading her inside and down the hall, walking backwards so they could stay face-to-face. "So much has changed and there's lots of people who are really excited to see you, but first, we have to show you to your new room."
"Mom, give her a minute, she just got home," Josie rounded the corner, coming down the stairs. She smiled at Hope, opening her arms, and the two hugged tightly for a long moment.
"I missed you, Jo-Jo," Hope felt Josie's grip loosen, but hers did not.
"I missed you too, but you're suffocating me," the brunette managed to ache out and Hope instantly released her.
"Sorry, you're the first human I've hugged for a while."
"No human college lovers then?" Josie raised a brow.
"No, but there was a really sexy werewolf guy there — needless to say, I spent plenty of time studying his anatomy — and I had the best night with this vampire in New Orleans, but I still don't know her name. She was tasty, in every sense," Hope's smile was now sly and her voice lowered into a hushed whisper, "she did this thing where she let blood dribble down her stomach and into my mouth while I-"
Caroline covered her ears. "Watch the mom ears, please!"
"We're in our twenties, mom, we've been talking about sex for a long time," the shorter Gemini said plainly.
"But that doesn't mean I don't still see you as tiny children who shouldn't even know what it is,"she frowned, grabbing both Hope and Josie's hands. "Now, you have to see your room."
Lizzie appeared behind them, hanging Hope's bag off her shoulder with a dry smile. "You forgot this."
"Thanks."
"The room," Caroline pulled them forward and started all but dragging them up the stairs.
When they reached the hallway, they headed towards Lizzie and Josie's room, but kept going beyond their door until they reached a narrow set of stairs leading up to what was — once upon a time — Stefan Salvatore's room.
The layout of the room hadn't changed much, but it had been decorated with all of Hope's things from her old room. Lizzie and Caroline had, of course, gone above and beyond. Not only were all her old belongings in the room, but they had added plenty of colour-coordinated lighting and throws, pillows and ornaments; each addition to her new room was a reminder of someone in the school, or someone she loves.
The Prism was positioned on one of her two dressers in front of a photo MG had taken of her, Caroline, Alaric, Lizzie and Josie. They were all laughing in the photo, playing in the snow that had blanketed Mystic Falls three years prior; Caroline's hair was dressed with snowflakes and she'd just put snow down Hope's back, who was protecting her face from the incoming snowball from Alaric, while Lizzie and Josie both hurled snowballs at their father. A sculpture stood on the same dresser, an abstract piece that wrapped around itself, like four limbs entangled in an eternity. A photo Lizzie had taken was below it, this one of Hope with Cleo, Kaleb and MG, at one of Kaleb's family barbecues; Kaleb held tongs as he snapped them together in the air, Cleo reaching to kiss his cheek while Hope and MG play-stabbed at each other with forks.
On top of the large wardrobe, there was the box that contained the dress Hope wore when she won Miss Mystic Falls, the same dress Klaus had given Caroline.
On the second dresser, there were more photo frames with photos of Hope with her Mystic Falls family and also photos of her with her relative family; there were photos of her with her mom and dad; the photo she loved so much of her family with her when she was a young was on her nightstand.
On her walls, strings of photos hung from the ceiling, so many she couldn't count. There was a photo of her in Elena's clinic, looking down a microscope next to the doctor who was writing out prescriptions, while thirteen year old Stefanie Salvatore held the camera selfie-style with a crazy smile on her face and her thumb up. Below it there was a photo of Hope on the porch to the Salvatore's house; she and Damon were on the porch swing chugging beer, having a drinking contest which he had only challenged her to because he was too drunk to think it through… looking at it now, she could see the regret in his eyes. There was a whole string dedicated to photos of her at Marcel and Rebekah's wedding, which she couldn't help laughing at. It had been such a good day.
On the wall by a bookshelf was a large framed painting of a snowflake amongst the darkness. Hope walked up to it and ran her fingers along the frame. She looked to Caroline who was standing near the doorway.
"My dad painted this."
Caroline nodded.
The whole room was amazing, but the most beautiful thing was the ceiling.
Hope looked up, a thousand stars looking down at her from a darkened sky. Tears formed in her eyes, spilling over. She looked back at Lizzie, her voice cracking. "You remembered."
"Now you can always have that memory with you," she told her, smiling.
"Thank you," Hope hugged her, Caroline and Josie quickly joining in. "I love you all, this is amazing."
"We love you," Caroline wiped her eyes, "and we really are so, so, so happy you're home."
"God, Mom, don't start crying again. It's not like she just came back from Malivore, she went to college."
Hope swung the bag that was over her shoulder so it hit Lizzie in the face. The blonde managed to get her hand up in time, but wasn't quick enough to fully block the attack. She glared at Hope, who was shaking with the laughter she was now trying to contain.
Hope had unpacked her bag with Josie's help, while Lizzie lay across Hope's bed and watched. When Josie had made a comment about Lizzie helping, the heretic had told her Gemini sister that she'd already done her part by driving Hope home. Caroline had reappeared with coffee and snacks, having made Josie's coffee weaker so that it wouldn't overpower her human taste-buds. She'd hugged Hope again, smushing her face in her hands and kissing her forehead.
"When you're done here and you've had some time to recuperate, there's someone who wants to see you in the headmistress' office in a few hours — well, two people," Caroline had told her excitedly.
Lizzie and Josie had disappeared after a while and Hope took the opportunity to shower in her new bathroom. It was strange to her, to be in a different room. She was so used to being there and being in her old dorm room, but they really had done a good job moving all her stuff and setting the place up.
After her shower, she dried her hair with the help of magic and headed downstairs towards the Headmistress' office.
She knocked, hearing a familiar female voice on the other side of it. "Come in."
She opened the door with a grin, seeing Cleo sitting in the Headmistress' chair, Alaric sitting across from her in one of the visitor's chairs.
Cleo looked up, Alaric turning to see her, and they all smiled. Cleo leapt up from her seat and ran around her desk, hugging Hope.
"It is so good to see you again," she said. "How was your journey?"
"It was good, a bit slow, I think I could have run faster. I'm so happy to finally be back here with all of you."
Alaric, who had taken a little more time to get up from his seat, opened his arms with a chuckle at her comment and wrapped them around her. She'd loved going to New Orleans and seeing her family, but coming back to Mystic Falls to stay made her realise that it really had become her home, one she didn't want to leave.
Ric kissed the top of her head, releasing her from their hug. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her, almost as if he expected her to have grown and to look different. His smile widened slightly. "It's good to see you. And welcome aboard."
Alaric had bounced back since Hope had attacked him without her humanity, he no longer needed to walk with a cane all the time, but his age was catching up with him and he couldn't stay as fit as he used to. Part of the reason she'd gone for a medical degree was so she could get a better understanding of how to help him. Even after all the years that had passed, it was what she regretted the most. Killing Lizzie, however? She felt that everything had turned out the way it should. She didn't hold any guilt anymore, because she knows Lizzie and Josie are better off. They both get to live — no chance of a second merge creeping up on them before their twenty-second birthday — and Lizzie's been better than ever. Some people were just made for immortality.
"It's so good to be home," Hope told him, "I've missed you all so much, life really isn't the same without you."
"Well, things are going to be a whole lot more exciting now you're here. Lizzie's happier, she hates that Josie refuses to move back in," Alaric chuckled, almost as if to say "nothing's changed."
"And we're really happy you're doing Art Club, because the Boards have been breathing down our necks for weeks," Cleo grumbled, then she perked up again, "and the fact that you're going to be teaching Origin of Species has made us even more popular. Applications have been coming in from all around the world."
"That's amazing," Hope was excited, ready to fill her days with more meaningful activities than mindlessly reading books and practicing medical techniques on fruit. Again, she was reminded of how good it was to be home.
XXX
Hope hadn't expected her party to be so elaborate, but then she should have known better with Caroline and Lizzie in charge. Individually, they were insanely organised; together, they were like a whole team of fifty smushed into two people. She was standing in the main room talking with Kaleb, MG and Pedro. Pedro had grown up quite a bit and was now nearly fourteen. He greeted Hope with a big hug — a really, really big hug, since he was now so big himself! Cleo approached and Kaleb wrapped his arm around her, kissing her cheek. They talked for about half an hour more, catching up on all their adventures. Hope spoke about college, Kaleb spoke about being the Salvatore School's sport teacher and how his wife made the best Headmistress the school could ask for.
Kaleb and Cleo's relationship made Hope miss Landon. Even after all the years that had passed, she missed him. She hadn't found anyone who made her feel that way since. That's also another part of the reason why she buried herself in school; she really missed what she had with Landon. She had her family — in Mystic Falls and in New Orleans — but there was a piece missing, there was still a part of her that ached and tugged at her chest. It got easier with time, but then it didn't. Sometimes, she felt like it was a whole other time, but others she felt as if it had only just happened.
"The party has arrived," Damon's voice sounded from the main door and Hope turned to see him, Elena and Stefanie walking through the hall. Damon was holding up a very large, very expensive-looking bottle of bourbon while Elena was carrying a box of Jello Shots and Stef had a little wrapped present which she placed on the table with the other gifts people had brought. Caroline and Lizzie invited a lot of people, so there were a lot of presents.
On the odd occasion where more adult parties were thrown at the school, the younger kids would have a games and movie night, being supervised at a completely different end of the very large building. Young people and alcohol didn't usually go well, but for young supernaturals that was an understatement. Whenever there was a party at the school, Damon was always the first to ask if he could bring bourbon.
Hope ran up to them and she threw her arms around Damon and Elena, the two of them hugging her back. "It's so good to see you."
"It's good to see you, too. You haven't aged a day," Damon smiled jokingly and Hope shook her head with a laugh. She looked at Stef and opened her arms for a hug.
Your daughter's certainly aged, Hope thought.
Stefanie smiled widely, wrapping her arms around Hope. She was now taller than her by a couple inches and her facial features had sharpened, her blue eyes somehow icier than they were before.
"How have you been?" Hope asked as they pulled away from each other.
Stefanie's words took a moment to come out, her eyes involuntarily raking up and down the Mikaelson's body. "Uh, I've been good," she stuttered, finding Hope's eyes and endeavouring to hold eye contact. "How about you?"
Hope suppressed her smile as she watched the girl blush and listened to her heart start to race. "All done with college, now the fun part."
"You mean work?" Stefanie raised her eyebrows and then scoffed, drawing her brows back down together into a deep furrow. "Are you okay?"
Hope chuckled, still partially laughing at Stef's reddened cheeks. "Work is actually exciting when it's for the betterment of your own home. And it's amazing that I'm going to be able to work with the best doctor in town," she turned to Elena who smiled back warmly.
"And here I am, handing you a toxic substance in the form of jello," she handed Hope the box of jello shots with a mockingly pensive expression.
"This just makes you the best boss I could ask for," the tribrid took the box and opened it, looking at the neon red, yellow and green shots.
"They were my favourite all through college, even though it took about ten of them for me to actually feel anything back then. Now," Elena took one red one off the top layer of the box, "I'm gonna stick to the one."
Hope laughed and she placed the box on the closest table in the hall, taking a shot for herself and offering Damon one.
"I'm good, thanks," he held up the bourbon, "I bought this because I knew you would need more than just jello shots, but I'm just gonna go pour myself a glass."
Elena laughed at him as he walked away to find a glass and Stefanie reached for a jello shot.
"I'll have one."
Elena slapped the back of her hand before she could touch a shot. "No alcohol for you, remember the deal you have with your dad?"
Stef whined, taking back her hand in a manner that exaggerated the offence she took from the light act of violence. When her dramatics didn't get her a reaction, she changed her tactic and looked hopefully at her mother with innocent eyes.
"I won't tell him if you don't."
Elena's eyebrow quirked and she looked at her daughter with disbelief. "No. You can drink when you're older, give it just a couple more years. Remember all the things Uncle Jeremy told you?"
"I'm not going to become a drug addict, mom, I just want a jello shot," Stefanie folded her arms.
"You're going to have to convince your father, he's the one you made promises to," Elena said with a sigh, knowing all too well that Damon would never let her drink at a party like this.
Stefanie scowled at her and stalked over to Damon who was sitting with Alaric on the couch.
"She's getting… vocal," Hope chuckled.
Elena nodded, laughing with her. "You have no idea. Lily and Jenna are just like I was when I was small, but Stef's personality is like the carbon copy of Damon's. She's also getting to the age where she's thinking about dating, and boys and girls, and all the other crazy stuff you go through when you're fifteen, and I'm just hoping to god she doesn't come home one day with some greasy horndog with a car that sounds like it's about to choke on itself."
Elena tapped the edge of her jello cup to Hope's and tipped it into her mouth, emptying it all in one go and swallowing it.
Hope raised her eyebrows. "That was impressive."
"I had plenty of practice," she then glanced over and saw that Damon was completely distracted, grabbing another shot, "Don't tell my husband."
Hope laughed and took her jello shot with Elena, both of them emptying their shots in one go.
Elena cringed. "I don't remember them tasting like this. Anyway, before I get too wasted to remember, you should come by on Saturday morning and we can talk work. Right now, you deserve to let your hair down."
Hope nodded. "And so do you, by the sounds of it."
Elena sucked in a breath, glancing at Damon and letting her breath out as a disappointed sigh, "In secret, yes, one of my daughter's parents has to set a good example. Have you seen Caroline?"
"She's in the kitchen with Lizzie. Apparently, I'm not allowed in there but it's not for any particular reason."
"Wow," Elena nodded with raised brows, "subtle. Anyway, I'm going to go and find her."
"Good luck," Hope raised a jello shot as Elena wandered off, calling after her, "you'll never get out once you go in there with them, you know that."
Elena turned, walking backwards, "Then I'm counting on you to get Damon to come rescue me."
Damon, who had heard his name, looked up and watched Elena walk out of view, shouting after her, "What am I rescuing you from?"
"Caroline and Lizzie," Hope replied, sitting next to him and taking the bottle of bourbon he'd brought with him. She grabbed a clean glass from the tray on the table and poured a generous helping.
"Ooh, double the trouble," Damon winced.
"Double the orders," Alaric sighed tiredly, but then he laughed and soon, all three of them were laughing together as if Hope had never left.
Two hours had passed and, after finishing her rounds and spending a decent amount of time talking to everyone there, Hope had settled back down across from Damon and Alaric. They were both already wasted. Hope was pretty drunk, too. She'd drank most of the bourbon, the rest of it having been consumed by Ric and Damon, and she'd had most of the jello shots, having done some with Josie, who was now almost as drunk as her dad. Lizzie had joined halfway through, saying Caroline and Elena were, "deep in some mom gossip that was just too boring to sit through."
Josie was half-leaning on Hope, laughing as the two reminisced about things that happened when they were kids. The two laughed so loud sometimes that others across the room would look at them.
"Okay, okay," Josie tried to compose herself and keep her voice at a reasonable level, both of them still laughing in all their intoxication, "but if I'd actually told you that I had a crush on you instead of—"
"Instead of burning down my dorm room?" Hope interjected, voice shaking with laughter, "I mean, yeah, I think you probably would have stood a better chance."
Lizzie looked over at them and rolled her eyes. "You two are like children."
"Jealous?" Josie asked with a smile, then she blinked and sat up, her laughter dying and she straightened out her shirt. "Yeah, okay, I've had enough to drink."
Caroline and Elena came out, the two looking thick as thieves, and they smiled knowingly at each other as they approached the others. Hope had accidentally caught a few words of their private conversation when Caroline had mentioned her name, something about the school ownership, but Josie had distracted her and she'd missed the details.
Caroline saw the box of jello shots, which was now down to the last ten, and she smiled, instantly distracted. "Jello!"
Hope grabbed another one so she could do a shot with Caroline, who held hers up and looked around at everyone. Her smile was warm and her eyes fell on Hope.
"To Hope," she tapped her jello shot with the tribrid's and everyone else raised their drinks.
"To Hope."
"Is Stef with you?" Damon asked Elena when she dropped herself into his lap, failing to find another place on the sofas to sit.
"No, I haven't seen her for like an hour, she left a little after Lizzie did," Elena immediately sat up straight and frantically started looking around.
"I can find her," Hope stood up and listened intently. She inhaled deeply, but the alcohol had numbed her senses slightly.
She walked back over to the doorway, finding Stef's scent there among many others. She followed it to the kitchen, then back through the hallway, but instead of going back towards the doorway, she'd gone upstairs, her scent entangled with many others. Damon and Elena were behind them, Lizzie and Caroline also there, but Josie had excused herself immediately after standing as she clutched at her stomach and ran for the bathroom with her other hand over her mouth.
The scent lead Hope to her own bedroom, where Stefanie was laying on her bed. There was a strong smelling herbal tea blend on the nightstand, half-drunk.
"Stef, what the hell?" Hope ran in after opening the door, vamping immediately to her side and taking her face in her hands, looking at her eyes. "What did you drink?"
Stef's eyes went in and out of focus and she giggled. Her words came out a slur, "Shum witchshes gavfe me a dwrink."
Hope sighed in relief. "It's just a herbal brew the stoner witches make to amplify their highs, they must have mixed it with an oil or something. She'll be fine, she just needs to sleep, or I can give her some of my blood and it'll clear the effects."
"Oh no, no vampire blood for this one," Damon shook his head, steadying himself on the doorframe."So, Stef... when we made an agreement that you wouldn't talk to supernaturals you didn't know, and you told me you're not stupid... what happened there?"
Stef giggled more, rolling so her head was in Hope's lap. She looked up at her in awe, seemingly more present than before. "You're pretty."
Hope laughed. "I think it's time someone put you to bed."
"But I wanna shtay here wiv you," Stef's hands clumsily grasped for Hope and she pouted when she managed to place her hands on either side of Hope's face, still looking up at her from the Original's lap. She let out a pained groan. "Oh god!"
"What, what's wrong?" Hope asked, but her cheeks were smushed so it came out funny.
Elena took a few worried steps forward.
Stefanie huffed, her pout deepening. "Why're you soooooooo gorgeous?"
Elena raised her brows and tried to contain her laugh, but Damon was looking at Hope with narrowed eyes.
"You need to go home with your parents and sleep off the effects of those herbs. You're high as a kite. You should never accept weird shit from witches."
Stef's expression twisted into something sad as she attempted to maintain eye contact with Hope — or the three versions of her she was currently seeing.
"I'll never accshept weird shit from witchshes," she said groggily, her eyes rolling into the back of her head for a moment before they came back into focus.
"Can you walk?" Hope asked.
Stef nodded very confidently, but when she rolled off Hope's lap and put a hand out to push herself up, she slipped and face-planted on the bed.
Hope stood up from her bed and put one arm around Stef's back under her arms and another arm under her legs, and she picked her up effortlessly.
"God, how did you even find my room?"
"Trial, error," Stefanie half shrugged in Hope's arms, giggling again.
Hope looked at Elena and Damon, "Who's driving you guys home?"
"I am," Caroline pulled the keys to the car out of Damon's back pocket, "because you're definitely not."
Damon frowned at her, his eyes only half-open. "I could drive."
Elena rolled her eyes, turning to her friend. "Thank you. You don't have to run back, you can take the car and we'll pick it up tomorrow."
"It won't kill me," Caroline shrugged, "have you already forgotten what it's like to be so fast?"
Alaric's mouth stretched into a smug smile and he opened his mouth to say something, but Damon drunkenly reached across and closed it by knocking the underside of his chin.
"I can hear that joke formulating in your head, Ric. Not with my kid in the room."
"Dad, that's gross," Lizzie cringed.
Alaric only chuckled, patting Damon's shoulder.
"Let me take her," Caroline held her arms out, taking Stefanie from Hope. "Put your arms around my neck, sweetie, I'll get you into the car."
After some goodbyes, it was eventually just Hope and Lizzie left in the room, a silence falling when the footfalls drifted into the house.
"You're popular," Lizzie commented as Hope reappeared from her bathroom after tipping the contents of the glass down the sink.
The shorter girl eyed her, but the heretic was standing with her arms folded and a forced nonchalant expression, avoiding the stare.
"She's fifteen with a crush on me."
"And you're an immortal being with plenty of time on your hands."
She stepped into Lizzie's field of view, making her eyes flicker with annoyance.
"Maybe Josie's right," Hope stepped closer, her face now several inches from Lizzie's, "maybe you are jealous."
The blonde's eyes lit up with rage, her lip curling in disgust at what she was insinuating.
"Hope Mikaelson, you better not be suggesting what I think you're suggesting."
"What?" she took another step, the distance now barely existent, and they could both smell the alcohol on the other's breath. "That you're into me?"
"As if," Lizzie laughed but it was shaky; she didn't move away, instead leaning in so their noses were mere millimetres from touching, "you wish I was into you."
She looked down at Hope's expression, at the perfect curve of her annoyingly perfect brows and the perfect pout of her annoyingly perfect lips on her annoyinglyperfect face. Perhaps she did have a crush on her, maybe she always had. She wasn't sure if she was attracted to Hope or whether she was just jealous of her.
For a moment, Lizzie's expression faltered and her pressed lips parted ever so slightly, her furrowed brows relaxing as she sucked in a breath.
"I am not into you," she said, her tone attempting to sound convicting but it was breathy and shaky; very much unlike her.
Hope smirked, reaching up on her tip-toes so their noses brushed and — before Lizzie could get the words out she opened her mouth to say — Hope pressed their lips together.
She placed her hands on the heretic's waist, running them down over her hips and grasping them tightly. Lizzie surprised Hope; at first, the blonde had recoiled, but before half a second was up, she was kissing Hope hungrily back. Their hands roamed, Lizzie biting Hope's lip so it bled and pulling away to look at the crimson stream that ran from the wound and dripped from her chin, some of the blood rolling down under her jaw and down her neck.
"You should be careful, a werewolf bite can kill you," Hope's voice hitched when Lizzie ran her tongue up the blood trail down Hope's neck.
"You're a walking cure and I can siphon werewolf venom, I'm sure I'm safe," Lizzie pressed her lips to Hope's and bit her again, sucking on the wound.
The last time Lizzie had tasted Hope's blood, she'd just been a witch. Now that blood was no longer revolting to her, she found Hope's blood to be more addictive than any blood she'd ever tasted. Even the consistency of it was unlike any blood she'd ever had.
Hope spun them around and pushed Lizzie down onto her bed in one quick motion, climbing on top of her and kissing down her jaw to her neck. She bit down and drank, running her hands down Lizzie's arms and lacing their fingers so she could pin her hands above her head. A pained gasp escaped Lizzie's lips but it turned into a long pleasured moan. Lizzie would never openly admit it, but she knew Hope was far stronger than her, and that just made it all the more exhilarating.
They spent hours in Hope's bed, ending up with Lizzie sitting between Hope's legs, laying back against her chest. They were each holding the other's wrist to their mouths, drinking in synchrony.
They woke up the next morning tangled in each other in the sheets. There was blood all over the bed, among other things, and as they both groggily opened their eyes, the events of the previous night came rushing back to them.
Holding eye contact, the two looked at each other. Lizzie's face contorted with pure horror. "Oh… my… god."
They both turned at the same time when they heard the door handle and they were both still frozen with drunken sexual horror when Josie walked in.
"Oh my god," she said, her tone much alike to her sister's. She averted her eyes, immediately walking out while she shook her head.
"Jo-Jo!" Lizzie called after her desperately, then she turned to Hope. "She'll never forgive me."
Hope sighed. "She'll forgive you, I'll talk to her."
"When?" Lizzie asked, her tone dry, "In thirty years when she's over it enough to listen? Hope, have you seen this place?"
Hope had looked around, but she put herself in the position of someone who wasn't a vampire and realised that coming in to see your sister and your childhood crush naked in bed after having blood-sharing original-heretic sex was probably rather scarring. They both still had blood around their mouths and somehow they also got it up the walls, bloody handprints plastering the wall above the bed frame that clearly indicated the positioning of the person who's hands had been there.
"I never pegged you as a messy eater," Hope tried to contain her smile as she watched Lizzie battle to do the same.
In the end, she couldn't contain it and Lizzie ended up laughing, laying back onto the pillows. Almost immediately, she shot up again.
"Oh my god… MG!"
Hope's eyes widened. She was still drunk — both of them were, they'd probably drunk the contents of a whole bar, each in the end! — and her stomach flipped with guilt.
"What am I going to do? He hasn't spoken to me in days! What if he never speaks to me? Oh no, I've lost Josie and MG now, this is terrible. Where's that damn genie when you need her."
"Lizzie, breathe. It's going to be fine. We can just explain the situation and—"
"No, there will be no explaining because he doesn't need to know."
"But—"
"No buts after last night," Lizzie snapped.
Hope snorted in her failed efforts to contain her laughter, "Had enough of butts?"
Lizzie picked up the pillow she had behind her and threw it at Hope so hard it exploded with white fluffy shrapnel and feathers floated down around the room as the tribrid laughed.
"It's going to be okay, just give it time," Hope smiled, but Lizzie didn't. "I know this is a bad time, but did you enjoy it? I've always wanted to find out if you've been unknowingly in the closet."
Lizzie sighed defeatedly and looked at the woman next to her. "It was good, I'd have to have to broaden my horizons if I'm going to really figure it out. You were-" she nodded, "-delicious, but honestly, this is just…"
"Weird?" Hope offered with an awkward chuckle.
"On so many levels. I didn't think that it would be so odd."
"Thought about it a lot, have you?"
Lizzie smiled forcefully. "Do you know what? It doesn't matter now, because my sister hates me and if my boyfriend finds out then my relationship with him is doomed — done — dead."
"Just put your clothes on and we can go and resolve things with Josie."
"You shredded my clothes, Hope," Lizzie grumbled, but then her expression became angular and she added, "And I think you accidentally threw them off the balcony."
The blonde continued to get up and pull on one of Hope's oversized sleeping shirts, which barely covered her, so that she could go to the balcony doors. They were still ajar, having blown that way in the wind overnight, and she pushed them open so she could step out, looking for her lost clothing. She peered over the edge, unprepared for what was waiting for her below.
Alaric was standing there while he worriedly held the ripped, bloodstained clothing he'd just picked up. He looked up, his face plastered with fear, but his expression softened when he saw his daughter standing on the balcony above, pulling Hope's shirt down nervously over herself so she was fully covered.
She conjured her best innocent smile. "Hi, daddy."