Bad Blood

Chapter 47

I was leaning against the doorway, Hope was exploring,
She said" A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds. And when the weeds begin to crawl, it's like a word upon the wall. And when the bird away does fly, it's like an eagle in the sky. And when the sky begins to roar, it's like a lion at the door. And when the door begins to crack... it's like a stick across your back. And when your back begins to smart, it's like a knife inside your heart. And when your heart begins to bleed, you're dead and dead and dead indeed." I went to go stop her from reading whatever she was reading, but Uncle Nik came in.
He said" Not exactly the most uplifting reading material."
" It's an old book of rhymes. There's a lot of weird stuff here."
" You know, Hope, I'd rather you didn't play here, actually. All the splinters and the dust... and the bats."
" There aren't any bats."
" I've seen no evidence that your Uncle Elijah doesn't sleep here, hanging upside down." Hope giggled, I smiled,
" Dad... was there a little boy who used to live here? But not Peter." I looked at Uncle Nik, Uncle Nik walked to her, crouching down.
" Come along, sweetheart. We can discuss ancient history another time." He held out his hand, she took it and stood up, I sighed, walking out. I sped to the front doors, but was knocked back, I sped up to where Hayley.
I said" A boundary spell? Seriously? No one told me about this."
She said" Sorry, sorry. I got distracted."
" I'm gonna go find Hope."

I found Hope, I smiled at her, she smiled back,
I said" Where's your dad?"
She said" I think with my mom."
" Okay, guess it's just the two of us, come on, sweetie." I held out my hand, she grabbed my hand, I noticed the toy in her other hand." What's that?"
" I need to go give it back."
" What?" She led me down into the tunnels, and then we came up on Marcel's hole.
We walked in, he turned to us, she opened it, walking in, I followed.
She said" Hi. I think this is yours." I held my hands on her shoulders as she showed Marcel the toy.
He said" Hope." She threw the toy to him," I haven't seen this in a century."
" So, you're the little boy who used to live in my house."
" Once upon a time, I lived here with your dad."
" He keeps you down here because he thinks you want to kill him. Do you?"
" Listen, I will tell you anything you want to know. Okay? If you get me some blood from your dad's stash." I smirked,
" I'm seven, not stupid."
" Right. You know, you're also pretty courageous. Come down here and talk to a stranger."
" I'm not scared. I'm a Mikaelson witch. And I've got Peter."
" I'll tell you what, let's start fresh, all right? It is very good to see you again, Hope Mikaelson. My name's Marcel. I met Peter around your age, too, you know."
I said" You tried to bribe me with ice cream, Cel."
" Touché." I smirked, kissing the top of Hope's head.

Hope was sitting down, I was standing next to her,
Marcel said" I'm surprised your parents haven't stormed down here looking for you."
Hope said" My mom trusts me."
" Yeah. But your dad's never trusted anyone in his life."
" If he took care of you when you were little, why do you hate him? What did he do to you?" I looked at Marcel as he glanced to me, choose your words carefully, Marcel, I won't have her vision of her dad tainted.
" Your dad, he raised me. He made me who I am. Now, you ask if I hate him. Well, it's hard to hate the person who made you what you are. You just end up hating yourself. The truth is I would like to hate your dad, I really would. It would make things a lot easier. But, um... you can't hate someone who you loved for so long." I crouched down to Hope, looking at Marcel, good answer.

I heard crashes above, I stood up,
Hope said" Something's wrong. I have to go." I stopped her from leaving,
Marcel said" No, wait, Hope. It's not safe. I meed you to let me out of the circle."
" I can't. My dad will be mad."
" No, he won't. I'll keep you safe."
" I can protect myself, and my mom and dad. I'm strong enough to stop the bad guys. I'm stronger than anybody thinks." She took off the bracelet,
" Wait, Hope, I know you're strong, okay? That's how I know you can let me out of here. I need you to trust me right now. Your dad rescued me. He raised me, and I knew your mom when she was a baby. We're family. What does your mommy say about family?"
" That we stick together, always and forever."
" That's right."
I heard a man yell" He's down here."
I said" Hope, I trust him."
Marcel said" Okay, look at me. Do you trust me?" He held out his hand, I grabbed Hope's shoulder,
" They're getting closer. Let's do this now!" Hope and I broke the spell, Marcel was let free,
" Hope, close your eyes and sing." She nodded, closing her eyes and singing, the guys came in. I turned,
I said" Marcel, get her out of here." Marcel attacked one of the guys, I attacked the other. He got Hope out of here, I tore the guy's neck out then sped off. A huge rain storm hit, I made sure Hope couldn't see any of the blood.

I found her and Marcel, I sat next to her as Marcel told her about the toy she found.
I heard Uncle Nik yell" Marcel!" We stood up,
Hope said" Dad." She ran over to him, I followed her," What happened?" I looked at Uncle Nik's hands, with blood on them.
" It's, uh... it's, it's paint. I made quite a mess, didn't I?" He smiled at her, she's worried,
" Where's mom?"
" She's at home, waiting for you. Are you okay? You took your bracelet off."
" Dad, don't be mad. I-I let Marcel out and he kept me safe."
" I'm not angry, sweetheart, come here." She hugged him,
" Don't be angry with Marcel, either. He's my friend." I looked at Marcel, nodding my head, he nodded his head, mutual ground... he hurts Hope, I hurt him. His fight is with our family, not with Hope or myself.

Once Hope was asleep, Hayley talked with Uncle Nik, then they both looked at me.
I said" What? I told her what I needed to, to keep her safe. He was a means to keep her safe."
Hayley said" I'm just surprised you even let her down there."
" He was trapped, and Hope's a smart girl, nothing would have happened."
Uncle Nik said" You helped her break the spell."
" I protected her while you guys were occupied killing the other one."
" You killed one by yourself?"
" Duh, Uncle Nik, my innocence has been gone for since I watched Aunt Freya put my family into a sort of Chamber chasse."
" You remember that?"
" I was eight, not stupid. Oh, and paint, really? You could have come up with something better, anything else would have probably worked."
" More like Kova and Kol..."
Hayley said" Try raising him." I smirked," Go to bed, Peter. Goodnight."
I said" Goodnight, I'm gonna go give Hope unicorn dreams." I sped away from them, that was far too close to comfort tonight... Hope could have been hurt or killed, it would have meant the end of friendliness, no one would have gotten in the Mikaelsons way. I sat at her door, watching her sleep, I closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around my legs.