Sophia's POV
Months have passed...months trapped in a soul consuming grief and nothing has changed, Hope was still gone hiding in a place that not even we were to know where she is or if she was still safe but everyone in the Quarter was sold on the lie we told, that my daughter was dead and inside it felt like I was as well, Damon was dead and gone never to be heard from again, Stefan had vanished and Mystic Falls was forever out of our reach as the Travellers spell remained even after everything my twin did to sacrifice himself for the greater good of nothing.
Nik and I haven't spoken in weeks, we tried to work through the grief but really all we had been doing is using each other but with each passing day with Hope still gone it grew harder and we had gotten into a massive fight which ended in our silence despite Elijah the ever noble one trying to coax us to make peace and stay strong but he was projecting his own feelings onto us as Hayley was barely around these days after she'd become a hybrid, she was spending all her time out in the bayou trying to track down the Crescents that didn't bend the knee for a moonstone ring.
I feel so alone and at times I still feel like it would be easier if I just didn't feel anything, that I could just turn it off and forget the pain in which suffocated me everyday but...
I stopped writing when I heard sounds coming from my room below me as I was sat on the roof of the compound overlooking the falling city and narrowed my eyes as I quickly stood and walked off the side of the roof landing on the balcony below and walked in seeing Elijah in the nursery packing up Hope's things.
"What the hell do you think your doing Elijah?" I demanded glaring at him.
"As we have discussed our illusion needs to be flawless, now months have passed it's the appropriate time-"
"What's next on the 'appropriate' list?" I scoffed at him. "Niklaus and I hold our heads up high and say we're ready to try again?" I spit walking up and take the stuffed bear from his hands.
"I understand this is difficult for you-"
"No you don't!" I yelled at him. "What's difficult is knowing that Francesca Guerrera is still breathing after she was the one who plotted with the witches to kill my baby"
"You will have your vengeance, I promise you this" he states but I just roll my eyes as it was an empty promise at this rate.
"Well until then, this is my room and I'll tell you when it's appropriate to clean it out" I spat at him moving aside so he knew to get the hell out and lucky for him he got the picture and leaves the room leaving me to stare around at the barren room, barren of all things that truly mattered anyway.
"Hey" I turned seeing Hayley had finally returned. "What happened?" she asked looking around the nursery.
"Elijah being an ass" I replied and watched her face drop at the mention of Elijah, they haven't really been speaking either.
"Want some help?" she asks and I frown for a second before nodding my head since despite what's happened I didn't blame or hate Hayley, none of it was her fault and I know she'd literally done everything in her power at the time to try and save Hope, she had died giving birth and was now doomed with the grief that came with vampirism and the fact that she'd killed Genevieve for me earned her some good friendship points.
We spent the next thirty-seven minutes returning the nursery to the way it was putting everything back in its place and as I was remaking the cot up feeling a few tears slip out in the process even though I was tired of crying but I couldn't stop...there was no handbook on how to deal with giving your baby away and pretending that she was dead but I was not ready to take apart this space, this was hers and she never even got to spend a night...I looked up when I heard voices downstairs instantly recognizing Nik's meaning he's returned to the compound and I frowned when I heard what they were talking about.
"We have the Guerrera's where we want them, we have them waiting, we have them worried and now we know they're an army with no defenses against an Original"
"We don't know that for certain" Elijah protested against Nik's faith in that.
"I'm willing to gamble"
"It's too risky, the stake didn't just disappear someone has it"
"One enemy at a time, in the end we'll slay them all" Nik replied before I heard him take a shuddered breath and knew he was feeling one of the moonlight rings forged with his blood being activated to keep the wearer from turning, weakening him and I turned looking out at the full moon before I left my room and started walking towards the sound of their voices. "Tonight, we just have to plant the right seeds and for that, we need help"
"You have mine" I spoke up walking into the room crossing my arms seeing Nik look up at me before he smiled nodding his head before we begin to lay out our plan of attack against the Guerrera's, tonight...no more waiting.
"I'm up for some revenge" Hayley seconded following me into the room with her and Elijah staring at each other for a good uncomfortable moment before he finally turned away looking back at Nik.
"We're taking the twelve original rings, now four of them sit on the hands of the Guerrera brothers, one on Oliver, one on Francesca, three with the home security detail and the rest scattered amongst her lackeys, now each ring is distinguishable by its setting, gauche like those that wear them"
"I've sent a friend to feed Francesca some information about the stake, if they believe then can get their hands on it they will come for me when I am weak, each ring you retrieve will strengthen me but I will still at a disadvantage" Nik adds and I frown at the reminder.
"Ergo, any hope of our success depends entirely upon our working together" Elijah nods then looks at me. "The two of you can no longer afford to retreat to separate corners" he says and I scoff since he ought to talk.
"You're one to talk Elijah" I spit before I lookover at Nik, who sighs and stands.
"This is our fight, are you ready for battle, Sophia?" he asks and my face drops even more since there was only one thing I wanted and I shared a look with Hayley knowing she agreed with me.
"Just promise me that Francesca doesn't come out of this alive" I asked Nik and he smirks.
"Her head will be delivered to you on a silver platter, Angel" he replies instantly making me smile at him as Elijah begins to leave.
"I'll deal with the last piece of the puzzle" he states on his way out, I turn to look at Hayley who nods understanding and leaves the room leaving me alone with Nik who lets out a painful sigh the moment she's gone and sinks back into his chair.
"Tonight will be the last night you feel this pain" I said as I walked towards him and placed my hands on his shoulders and he reached up grabbing one of them holding it.
"Tonight you shall have your revenge" he nodded making me frown since although I wanted it, I knew it wouldn't bring Hope back, there was still many enemies we had to take down in order to do that.
"Revenge doesn't bring them back" I stated tearing my hand from his and went to walk out in order to prepare for tonight knowing it was only a matter of time before they came for him and I will die before I let anything happen to other person that I love.
"Sophia" he called stopping my exit. "I'm sorry for neglecting you" he adds making me frown as I looked back.
"That doesn't matter now, you should get upstairs, Hayley and I will keep them at bay" I told him before I left meeting up with Hayley and together we set up for our plan of defense.
It doesn't take long for both Hayley and I to hear many of the Guerrera werewolves, including Oliver invade the compound and quickly split up, two of the werewolves head for one of the staircases, where I vamp-speed toward them and snap both of their necks instantly before kneeling down seeing the rings and slip each of the rings off of their fingers before looking up sensing more of them coming.
I spot Hayley has just finished removing the other ring from the werewolf she killed when many more Guerrera wolves find her and crowd around her seeing Hayley tenses as she takes in the threat before I speed to her side sharing a quick smirk with her before I face the werewolves and notice a moonlight ring on the finger of one of the female security guards.
"Have I mentioned that we've had a rotten couple of months?" I state as both Hayley and I vamp-out before we lunge into the fight with Hayley being the one to remove the ring from the female security guard's hand right as I hear a commotion upstairs and as Oliver finally shows his face. "I'll leave this with you Hayley" she nods and I head upstairs ready to defend Nik but stop when I see him totally fine as he happily dips his paintbrush into the wounds of the corpse of a dead werewolf next to him and uses his blood as paint while he works on his newest painting making me roll my eyes. "I see you're enjoying a new color in your pallet" i remarked unable to help myself from smiling.
"One that was missing indeed" he replied not even looking up as I walked beside him.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him right as Elijah appeared in the doorway.
"I'm still not at full strength, which of the rings are unaccounted for?" Nik replied to my question.
"Only one" Elijah replied making me furrow my brows at him. "I must say the brothers fought valiantly before Ms Guerrera escaped" my eyes widened before they narrowed at Nik turns to look at Elijah, shocked.
"You let her get away?" he asked him
"...Not exactly" Elijah replied and my eyes softened and turned to face Nik.
"Hayley" I nodded knowing instantly that is what Elijah meant.
"She's waiting for you" I nod sharing a quick look with Nik before I vamped off following the trail Hayley left me easily catching up with her and together we made sure that Francesca did not leave the city catching up with her car on it's way out of the city.
When I returned to the compound I walked up to Nik and I's room walking in stopping short at the door when I saw the door to the nursery open and spotted the crib all made up and waiting for Hope and glared at it since I had been right, doing all this didn't mean we could bring her back, all this was for nothing and the crushing pain of it being for nothing overwhelmed me as I felt a whole new type of rage since we had killed Francesca but it gave me nothing, Hope was still gone.
"Sophia, please!" I hear Nik yell out and he tries to grab my arms but I knock his hands away and back away from him, my eyes adjusting as I snapped out of the rage fit I had clearly given into as I looked down at the crib and saw it mostly destroyed despite the work I had done earlier to fix it after Elijah dismantled it and felt more tears build up in my eyes before tonight came back and the reason why I'd lost control.
"We killed her" I told him. "Francesca looked us in the eye and begged me for her life before I let Hayley tear her apart but I don't feel better!" I yelled feeling my emotions spiraling. "I don't feel peace and I don't want to feel anything!"
"Sophia" he pulled me close to him even though I tried to fight him.
"I don't want to live like this Nik" I cried giving into him holding me. "I just want to feel peace" he cupped my cheeks.
"You can't turn it off Sophia" he told me understanding what I was talking about. "We need you...I need you" he begged making me frown. "Promise me, you won't turn it off"
"I need to be alone" I told him avoiding his eyes.
"Soph-"
"Niklaus please" I cut him off and he frowned before letting out a sigh and left the room leaving me to look around at the mess I'd done before I too left the room going to find Hayley, I wanted to check in on her but frowned when I found a dresser in her room torn to pieces and her sitting on her bed looking like a mess right as Elijah left her room.
"Perhaps you two should talk" he said without acknowledging me further before he went downstairs and I frowned feeling like he was upset with me so who knows what she's said to him but I had a feeling it was because I had stood back and let her kill and knowing that was never easy on anyone for the first time I treaded carefully as I went into her room.
"Nice to see I'm not the only one destroying things" I spoke as I moved towards her bed then sat down. "Revenge never feels great afterwards does it"
"How do you know?" she spat bitterly and I raised my eyes at her.
"I wanted her dead too remember" I argued before letting out a sigh. "This isnt my first rodeo with revenge however" I added and she turned to me.
"Who was your first?" she asked making me frown for a second before I met her eyes.
"George Lockwood" I told her and her eyes widened clearly associating Lockwood with Tyler. "It was about a year after I turned, Klaus and I had returned to Mystic Falls so that I could mourn my father and my brothers who'd I believed to be dead at the time when I saw him and was at first fearful as I remembered him and Katherine for almost killing me"
"Why would he have killed you?" she asked.
"We had been engaged when I was human" I replied and her eyes widened. "The night my brothers were killed I went after Katherine not knowing that she'd had a deal with him to help her escape the church the town had burned all the vampires in, when I caught up with her and found out that he'd helped her he knew he couldn't let me live so together with Katherine they took turns stabbing me before they left me to bleed out but Klaus found me and turned me before I succumbed to the wounds"
"So what happened when you came back?"
"He spotted me and was surprised given he'd thought I was dead and when he questioned me I was just filled with rage and attacked him much like you did to Francesca, it's a basic instinct your gonna have to learn to live with Hayley no matter how crappy it feels afterwards" I explained watching her face fall. "Despite what people tell you, it never gets easier but you'll learn how to deal with it"
"When?" she asked me. "I'm immortal now, if I can't get through today how am I supposed to get through forever?
"You find the real moments that are vibrant and the rest just fades away" I explained even though I doubted my own words knowing I wouldn't feel them myself until I can hold my baby in my arms again. "But in order for either of us to be able to do that, we need to regain control of the city" I sighed looking back at her. "Now, you and Klaus worked separately to unite those wolves, what's say we work together to do it again, they don't need to be our enemies" I added and she looked at me in doubt.
"After ambushing them, they're not going to want to be our friends, Sophia" she argued.
"All we did was waged a just war on those who would harm a child!" I argued back. "Not only will they respect you, they will answer to you"
"Why would they do that now?" she asks and I smile.
"Because you're their queen" I shrugged since her linage was royalty in this city.
"What about all our other enemies, the witches don't stop even after they're dead?" she asks.
"You, Elijah and Klaus defeated their mother and her witches because you stood united and that is how we will face all our enemies, as a family" I take her hand in his and squeeze it comfortingly as Hayley smiles a small smile. "You are a part of this family Hayley no matter what as you helped give us everything we didn't know we needed" she looked at me as I smiled. "Hope" I added before I stood and went back to my own room sitting down on the bed feeling myself reeling from everything that happened.
A/N: I am back with Season 2. YAY!.
I have changed a couple of things obviously to extend the plot and hope I did it justice. Leave a review with your thoughts ;)