Chapter 17: Into the Dark by Point North (Featuring Kellin Quinn)
"Hello sweetheart."
"Aunt Bonnie… mom, dad."
The moment Hope heard the sound of uninvited guest, she was out of her seat and to the door, standing beside Josie. As much as she wanted to get in front of her to protect her, she knew that Josie didn't think of her parents as a threat, at least not the kind she would accept protection from.
"What are you doing here? You were not invited."
Josie lifted her hand and placed it on Hope's shoulder, the only thing that she would do to hold her fiancé back but knowing that it was enough. She wasn't ready to forgive and forget, but she knew that Hope was on high alert and would perceive everything as a threat right now.
"Well hello to you too Hope. They were invited, by me, and I was invited by your aunt."
Bonnie spoke up, attempting to be the voice of reason and to try and take the attention off of the adults behind her. She either didn't know what had happened, or she didn't think that it was bad enough to warrant Josie and Lizzie's parents being left out of something so important.
"Hello Bonnie, and yes, you were invited, however, I only extended the invitation to you, and I need to inform you, that Hope owns the compound, while it is true that in her absence, I have the ability to invite anyone in, while she is here, only she has the authority to offer an invite."
Freya, as well as the rest of the household walked over to see what was happening. Through the tone of her voice, Hope knew that her aunt was already trying to figure out the fallout of this moment.
Bonnie stood there with the twin's parents, all three were staring at Hope waiting to see what she was going to say. Expectant looks on their faces. Hope didn't care about their looks, she only cared about two.
Hope turned her head and looked to Josie and Lizzie. This was not her choice to make. As much as she wanted nothing more than to slam the door in their faces, she knew that it was up to the twins. She would let them take the lead on this.
Josie and Lizzie had a silent conversation, each knowing that Bonnie wouldn't come in with out their parents and knowing that they needed Bonnie. This was a hard decision; they hadn't yet forgiven their parents and they weren't sure if they would be able to.
With a nod of their heads, the twins reached an agreement. Josie turned around and looked at Hope, reaching out to take her hand, she gave it a squeeze, letting her know what they decided, before turning to the three adults still waiting on an answer.
"Bonnie, thank you for coming, we truly appreciate everything that you are about to do for us. For that reason alone, we are going to offer the invitation, however, we have some ground rules first."
The older witch gave a small smile because she was proud of the girls and raised her eyebrow because she was proud of the fact that the girls were standing up for themselves.
"We will speak with you and help you in any way that we can, you are very welcome here, but you are the only one of this group that we want to speak with. Those two are not allowed anywhere near us. They will stay away, and they will not speak to us unless we speak to them directly first."
Everyone on the inside of the compound looked at the three on the outside. The tension in the air was plateable. While the twins knew that they would be able to keep their mother out, there was nothing stopping Alaric from coming in, well almost nothing. The twins were surrounded by the love and support of the entire Mikaelson family, and you really didn't want to get on their bad sides.
Bonnie nodded her head in confirmation of the demands. She knew that this was not going to be easy, but she also knew that giving the twins space was a delicate balance. They needed enough space to heal, but not so much that they forgot that their parents loved them, and they had believed that they had been doing the right thing for their daughters.
"Can we have just a moment?"
Hope nodded her head and turned back to Josie. Wrapping her in her arms to comfort her. While she could have easily heard what the adults were saying, as could most in her group, by turning her back on them, she was signaling that she wasn't, and her family shouldn't.
After about five minutes, Bonnie was back at the door, the twin's parents with her.
"Ok Josie, so you laid down some rules, and we agree to them, however, as you pointed out, you do need my help, so I have only one thing that I will ask of you in return."
The tribrid as well as the other Mikaelsons all tensed at hearing this. There was no price that they were not willing to pay, but the thought that another person in the twins life would leverage their lives was too much, and they were all equally ready to pounce to protect them. Hope, more so even then the rest, was about to attack. She was barely keeping herself from attacking.
Laying a hand on either side of Hope, Lizzie and Josie were showing through the gentle touch, that they were willing to hear her out. Lizzie turned back to her aunt and nodded that they were listening.
"Before we move forward, before we do what needs to be done and you two are changed forever, I am going to ask that you sit down with your parents and hear them out."
Before anyone could say or do anything Bonnie held up her hand. She knew that what she was asking wasn't going to be well received, and as much as she was doing this for her best friend, she was doing it just as much for the twins. Holding a grudge and staying angry was something that effected not only the ones that you were angry with, but yourself as well.
"I am not asking you to forgive them or to forget anything. I am merely asking that you hear them out fully. Let them say what they need to say. This is all that I ask, nothing more."
Hope knew that the twins would agree to this, knew that they needed the Bennett witch, but she didn't like it.
"Before they answer, if they agree to this, I will be with them. I will not allow them to be alone with those two. I don't trust them."
Alaric showed signs that he was about to argue that they were his daughters, and this was none of Hope's concern. Caroline elbowed him in the gut and nodded her agreement to having Hope there.
"We have listened to them before. They asked to talk to use before we left for New Orleans. I don't see what more they could have to say to us this time that would change anything."
"Well Lizzie, if that is what you think, you have nothing to lose in hearing them out again. Also, to ensure that the truth is told, I will be there too, I will promise, swear via magic if that is what it takes, that they tell you everything. If not, I will tell you myself."
Lizzie stiffened next to Hope and reached around her back to take Josie's hand. They knew they were going to do this, at this point, it was just the agreement.
"Hope, you can invite them in. We have an agreement."
With that, the twins turned and left the room.
"Bonnie, you are welcome in my home, and you two can come in. Please remember the rules, if you forget, I'll be happy to remind you."
Turning away from her guest, she walked up beside her aunt Freya.
"I'm going to go check on them. Can you settle them in and make sure that they are far away from me and the twins? Until this is over, I want to make sure that someone is either watching them, or with the girls."
Freya nodded her understanding. She knew that this was going to be difficult, but they would do their best to support and protect the twins, they were family after all.
"Bonnie, if you would like to put your stuff in your room and then come with me, we can go over the spell and what we are going to need to do. Alaric, Caroline… Kol and Rebekah will show you where you will be staying. We will come and get you when supper is ready. I highly recommend that you stay in your rooms until we call for you."
A few hours later, the family and their visitors were all gathered around the large dining room table. Lizzie and Josie were seated as far away from their parents as possible, with plenty of buffers in between. While the group ate, twin's parent kept staring at the girls, hoping that they would speak to them, give them a chance to explain everything.
"Alright, while I love an uncomfortable gathering as much as the next guy, Freya, can you take us through the plan for the full moon ritual. I would like to get this whole thing over with, so that we can let these lovelies get on with their lives, merge free."
Hope smiled at her uncle. She could always count on Kol to save the day from the boring or awkward.
Freya looked around the table like she was gathering herself to reveal everything to those present. While most here knew the some of what was required, only she truly knew what this meant. It was going to be a lot to process. She reached out and squeezed her wife's hand before she started, needing that moment of grounding and connection.
"Alright everyone, this is going to be a lot, and I am going to ask you all to try to hold your questions until the end. Most of them will be answered along the way and the rest, well, let's just say that I'm working on it."
Everyone in the room sat a little straighter in their chairs and gave their full and apt attention to the elder blonde witch.
"We have found a solution, more than that, we have found a cure for The Merge, one that will not cure it for just this generation, but for all generations. This will break the cycle of The Merge for all time, meaning that the girls will never have to go through the fear that so many have had for their children."
Caroline, knowing full well that it was dangerous to interrupt, couldn't help having questions, so she raised her hand. She figured that worse case, Freya would ignore her.
Freya, knowing that there would be questions, and that she wasted her breath asking them to hold their questions. Knowing the group around her, she figured she wouldn't get through this without answering at least a few questions.
"Yes Caroline?"
"I'm sorry, I just have to ask, I have been looking for a cure for eighteen years, how did you fine one in a few weeks?"
Freya smirked, because it was really too funny.
"Secrets are never your friend, especially when you are connected to this family. We have been around for over a thousand years. I know magic that has been lost to the ages. Kol followed witches as their magic grew and really has a love for curses. Rebekah has seen more than one merge and met a few heretics along the way, learning secrets that the coven wished no one to know. It is amazing what a thousand years of knowledge will do for you."
Caroline just nodded and sat back to think on what was just said. She really wishes that they would have handled all of this differently. They could have solved The Merge years ago if they would have only reached out and asked for help.
"Now, as I was saying, we have a cure, but I have to warn everyone involved, this is going to change the very nature of who the twins are and there will be changes moving forward. Not only them, but every generation to come."
Everyone in the room looked at Freya with rapt attention. Those that were in the know, knew that this was going to be the part that was hardest to hear.
"What we are going to do is a spell called confractus et vinculum, literally translated to break and bond. What this means, is that we are going to break the bond that they share with each other through their magic, and we are going to bond it on to two other separate magics. That, Bonnie, is where you come in."
Bonnie sat up a little bit more in her chair, leaning in with piqued interest at what Freya was saying. She knew the basics of what was about to happen and couldn't wait to hear about it in more detail.
"What we have to do is break the magical connection that the girls have to the Gemini Coven. The Merge is linked to the magic of the Gemini, and so by erasing that magic and then linking them magically to two separate covens, we essentially erase The Merge. Since we have to ensure that the magics will not mix or be too closely related, Josie will have her magic connected to the Mikelson line, and Lizzie will be connected to the Bennet line. Thus, severing the hold that the curse has. This protects all future generation as there will no longer be Gemini magic."
Freya could see the confusion on the newcomers faces, she had known there would be questions. After she originally discovered the solution, it had taken a couple of weeks to answer all the questions she herself had.
"Ok, now you can ask questions, one at a time please. Let's start with Bonnie."
The younger witch looked thoughtful and perplexed. She had a few questions and one that really pressed on her, the one that she needed the answer to had nothing to do with the magic itself.
"Ok, so I have a few questions, however the one I want to ask first is this, with the way that everything sits between the family right now, why ask me to be the second witch? You had to know that since Caroline is my best friend, and that I was helping to find a cure all this time that I wouldn't leave them out."
Freya quirked a half smile and gave a little chuckle while shaking her head. Turning to Lizzie, she nodded.
"Well, I'll give it to you Lizzie, you were right about her, very straight to the heart of things. To answer your question Bonnie, the only other witches that I trust are Vincent and Davina, however, when Davina married Kol, the magic that she holds linked with the Mikelson magic. While still technically two different lines, they are linked, and because of that it is too risky that The Merge will use that link to keep the twins connected. Vincent is the biological father of my son, and while Keelin carried him, I donated the egg, which means again, there is too great a link to risk it. Your magic has no link to ours."
"Okay, so that works for now, but how does this stop future merges? I mean, I understand it in principle, but what happens in a hundred or a thousand years when two of our descendants merge the magics?"
"You really are as smart as they say."
Bonnie gave a humorless laugh and nodded for Freya to answer.
"Alright, so once we have completed the separation and relinking, the Gemini will have no magic, as all other members of the coven are dead or heretics. The curse, so that it could continue through the generation was placed on the coven itself, not the blood and technically, not the magic. Something that Kol learned in the 1200's, when he met a witch who evaded The Merge, by renouncing the Gemini and joining another coven through blood and marriage."
Caroline couldn't keep quiet anymore, what they were talking about was dangerous.
"Wait, I know about her, I found her ten times great granddaughter living in a little hole of a country. She said that they killed her grandmothers twin when she left saying that she went mad at the break in the magical bond."
Both Lizzie and Josie shot glares at their mother. Hope grabbed Josie's hand as much for the brunette as for herself. Rebekah who was next to Lizzie, laid a hand on the blonde's shoulder to keep her in place. Just enough as to help her remain calm.
Kol broke in at this point to answer this question. He had known the witch for a short time, and they had spoken of The Merge often during their acquaintance.
"Yes, that is because only one of the twins broke away from the coven. Had both left, they would have been fine. Abigail didn't feel the loss of her twin, nor did she or any of her descendants, many of whom were twins, suffer from the curse."
Freya took the floor again, getting everything back on course.
"That is why we are splitting both of the girls off from the Coven and into different magical lines."
Alaric, who until then had remained silent, decided to ask the question that everyone seemed to be ignoring.
"But it isn't without risk. Tell us what the danger in this spell is and what does it mean for our girls' future?"
Freya was afraid of this question. It was one that she had been honest about from the start with the girls, but that had been that hardest part for them.
"Once they have been separated from their shared magic, they will no longer have the psychic bond that they share now. It will be a feeling of lost for them, sort of like the feeling of a death of a loved one, because, essentially, this is a death, of a major part of them, the part that binds them together as they will feel alone for the first time in their entire existence. While they will still have all the powers that they have now, it will be as if they have lost a limb."
The sisters grabbed each other's hands and squeezed. There hadn't been a moment in their existence where they hadn't been together, so this was the hardest thing for them to come to terms with.
"And what if this doesn't work? We have been searching for eighteen years and along the way we have found countless "solutions" but none that ended with The Merge gone and both of the girls alive. So, I have to ask, what if this doesn't work? What then?"
This time it was Hope that spoke up.
"If that doesn't work, then Josie will drink my blood and become a heretic and I will turn into a tribrid. Lizzie is still deciding if she wants to be a heretic as well or not. After that, we use my mother's birthday present, which as always with her, is more than it seems. The necklace that my mother gave me was a soul-bond pendant. They are very rare, and this may be the last one in existence."
The three visitors all had varying shades of shock on their faces. While Bonnie seemed impressed, Caroline was showing her grief that it had come to this. Alaric alone was expressing rage. It was a wonder that he hadn't jump out of his seat yelling. However, with this many Michaelsons in one room, it was the smart move to stay put, and no one ever accused Alaric of being stupid.
"Are there any questions that we haven't already gone over?"
Bonnie looked at Freya and she had a look of someone who was weighing the risk before jumping into a fire. She turned her head from the elder witch to look at the twins.
"I don't have any questions; at this point it seems as if I just need you to walk me through the spell so that we can be prepared for tomorrow night. However, I have a request."
All at once, the room fell silent, and all eyes were on the witch.
"Before anyone gets upset, and in some cases, before you get stabby, it is only a request. It has no bearing on tomorrow. I want you all to know that even if you refuse my request, I will still be going through with this. You girls deserve to be free from this curse and there is nothing that will stop me from helping you to achieve that freedom."
With a collective release, everyone in the room breathed as one at hearing this. The last thing that anyone needed now was an ultimatum.
"What is the request love?"
Kol being one to always see angles, thought that he knew what was going to be asked, he just wasn't sure how close to Hope he needed to be standing once it was asked.
"I want to request that the girls sit down with their parents and talk before we proceed with the spell."
Before anyone could start screaming, Bonnie held up her hand.
"Like I said, it is a request, not a demand. No matter what, tomorrow you girls will be free from this curse that has hung over your heads. Your parents will also finally be free from the agony and fear of losing one of you. I am not saying that they did the right thing keeping this from you, and I am not asking you to forget. I am asking that you talk to your parents and see if there is a way to move towards forgiveness. I requested before entering that you hear them out, I am just asking that you hear them out before the ritual."
Josie stiffens next to Hope and the tribrid instinctively wrapped her arm around her and reached to take Lizzie's hand.
Lizzie, the opposite of her twin, had exploded and had plenty to say.
"I have nothing to say to them about this. Forgiveness! If there is anything that I have learned in therapy, to earn forgiveness you have to actually feel regret and ask to be forgiven. You can't be forgiven for doing what you always do, hiding the truth and lying. We heard them out the last time that they asked and all they did was make excuses and tell us that it was all for our own good. Not once did they ask for forgiveness or take responsibility for their actions!"
Alaric shot out of his seat and was opening his mouth to speak when he found himself pinned to a wall, six inches off the ground. Staring down, Rebekah had her hand around his throat.
"I do believe that the rules said no talking to them. She was clearing talking to Bonnie, not you."
The blonde vampire turned back to Lizzie and nodded for her to continue.
Before Lizzie could get another word out, Josie lifted her hand and placed it on her sister's shoulder. Calming her with a touch and looking into her eyes, sharing a conversation for just the two of them. After a few minutes an agreement seemed to have been reached.
"Lizzie and I will talk with them. But Bonnie and Freya will be there with us. When we have had enough, we will walk away, and they will ensure that you don't follow. After this, you will leave us alone until and unless we reach out to you. Bonnie, this is the last request that we will grant you, you will not be able to do this to us again."
"I understand."
Freya stood and waved towards her office.
"Shall we all adjourn for privacy?"
Hope stood with everyone and took Josie's hand, pulling her into a hug. Whispering into her ear.
"You don't have to do this. You have given them enough chances."
"I know, but they are our parents and if we are ever going to forgive them, it has to start somewhere."
"I'm coming with you. I don't want you two to be alone with them."
"We won't be alone. Freya and Bonnie will be there with us, and they will make sure that everything remains civil. If you come in there, then dad will say something that he shouldn't and you will try to kill him, and as much as I would like to see you all protective, I don't want my father dead."
With a kiss to her cheek, Josie left Hope standing at the table and walked away with her sister.
Walking up to where Bonnie, Caroline and Alaric stood, Hope glared at the three of them, waiting for the rest to leave the room before speaking.
"You go have your talk, say everything that you have to say and convince your daughters that you were doing what you thought best. They may even forgive you someday. But I want you to know this, I will never forgive any of you. That includes you Bonnie, because no matter what you say, you knew making this "request" now, was as good as a demand. You knew that they wouldn't turn you down. You drew your line in the sand, and you chose your side."
"Now listen here Hope, you have no right…"
"NO! You have no right, and you know it. You lost that right when you kept a secret that could have cost them their lives."
With that, Hope walked away without looking back.
Two hours later the twins entered the room looking like they had just been completely drained of energy. Dragging their feet and leaning into each other for the comfort that they each provided.
Hope stood up when they entered with an anxious look on her face, wanting to go to the girls, but not wanting to crowd them after what appeared to have been an exhausting conversation.
"All I want to do is sleep, for like a year."
Lizzie fell face first into the pillow on her bed and was out within the next few minutes. Her soft snores brought a small smile to Josie's face.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes and no. It was a lot to hear and even more to say. Freya and Bonnie stayed in the office going over plans while we were there, so we weren't alone, and Freya made sure that if we wanted to leave, that no one would stop us."
"I'm glad."
"Hope, can we go to your room? I want to talk to you, and I want to have some time for just us."
"Sure, anything that you want."
Within a few minutes the girls had made it to Hope's room. Josie closed the door behind them and locked it.
Pushing her head against the door she took a moment to savor the silents and comfort that she got being in this room with the girl that loved her. Sadly, that moment couldn't last forever.
"Hope, I have to ask you a question, and I need you to answer honestly, even if the answer is something you think I don't want to hear."
Hope looked at Josie quizzically, not sure of what was to come, but nodded her head, knowing that she would always be honest with her fiancé.
"Did you tell my parents that even if we forgive them that you won't?"
The shocked expression on the older girl's face was all the confirmation that she needed, but she wanted to hear it from Hope herself, to give her the chance to explain.
Taking a deep breath, knowing that this was not going to be easy, Hope looked directly into her loves eyes, making sure that they were focused on her.
"Yes, and I meant it."
"Would you like to explain to me why?"
"Josie, I love you more than anything or anyone in this world. Lizzie is already a sister to me and after you, the best friend that I have. Those two spent years hiding the truth and risking your lives. They played with your safety and your lives, because of them, I could have lost you. With just a little trust we would have had this answer years ago, but they thought that they knew best and nothing else mattered."
Hope started to pace in the room. It was stressing to have to explain everything that she was feeling, as expressing herself was never easy, but this was Josie, the one person she could be her full self with.
"You and Lizzie will forgive them eventually for this because they are your parents, and you know that they thought they were doing the right thing, and I understand that…But you have to understand, for me, all this, was them risking the lives of people that I love, of my family. I have lost and lost and lost my whole life. I can't and won't forgive them, not when what I could have lost was everything."
Josie had tears in her eyes when Hope looked at her. She was torn between understanding Hope and wanting to smack her.
"Hope, you are right, eventually, Lizzie and I will most likely forgive them, because they are our parents, and they were doing what they thought was right. It is going to take time, but it will come. I want you to know that I heard you and I understand why you are finding it hard to forgive them, but someday, somehow, you are going to have to figure out how to."
"Josie, I love you, I would do anything for you, and you know that. But you can't ask this of me. This is something that I can't do. I have lost too much, and for them to keep this to themselves and to put you and Lizzie at risk, I can't."
"How is that going to work Hope? If Lizzie and I eventually do forgive them and when we want to see them and spend time with them. When we have kids and I want them to know their grandparents. How is that going to work? Are you just going to be absent for that part of our lives?"
Hope was fighting off both a primal scream of frustration and tears. Both waring for dominance and to be expressed.
Josie taking one look at her fiancé's face, knew that she was struggling. She knew what it meant for Hope to even be having this conversation.
"Josie, I love you, more than my own life. When we have children, I will love them more than myself as well, as any good parent should. I am willing to risk everything for my family, you know that."
Hope held up a hand to keep Josie from speaking. She needed to get through this, and it was hard enough.
"My parents, hell, my whole family loves me more than anything, but what always hurt us were the lies. The truths that were kept, the secrets that were hidden. It always came back to haunt us in the end. When I lost my mother, I was broken and then to lose my father and uncle shortly after, I thought I would never recover. I made my family swear that there would be no more secrets kept. The whole truth is what will keep us together and make us strong. They swore to me that they would never keep anything from me again, no matter how bad, when I asked them for the truth."
Josie stepped forward and placed a hand on Hope's cheek. She could tell that the shorter woman wasn't done yet, but she could feel the need that she had for this small comfort.
"I forgave them because they swore an oath, and in my family, we don't break those, we keep our vows better than we do anything else. Your parents kept a secret that could have killed you or Lizzie. I understand when you were little, but you have been old enough to know about this for years. I can't ask them to swear an oath of honesty when I know they wouldn't keep it. If I can't trust that they would never do this again, how can I forgive them? In my mind, I would always be wondering if they were lying about something. Your father tends to keep the truth to himself, and your mother used distance to hide from having to tell you. So please Josie, tell me how to forgive them, because I don't see a way."
Pulling a now crying, though she would never admit to it, Hope into her arms, Josie held her tight, stroking her hair and kissing her on the top of her head.
"I can't answer that, so instead I will ask you this. For me, do you think you could try to find a way, even a small way. We can never forget, but forgiveness isn't just for them, it is for you as well."
Hope hugged Josie tightly, breathing in her delicate scent. Her breathing settled and she found her center.
"For you Jo, always for you anything."
T.B.C.