It was getting even harder to breathe in the moldy cell she was kept in
Worst of all , it reminded her vividly of the time the hollow took over her body.
She felt just as powerless and cold back then as she does right now
She was only seven at the time and the horrendous experience left hope absolutely terrified of confined spaces , and the dark
Two things she's face to face with now
But the memories of her loved ones sustained her
It's because of them, because of all their efforts to save her that she feels the need to fight
And so she does
The witch, Joanne if she's not mistaken would visit her right this hour, with one small piece of bread and a cup of water
She thinks it's now or never
She won't have any strength left to figure this out again, her body's already severely exhausted
So she fakes faint
The older witch approaches her with cautious steps, she kicked hope's leg as she raised her voice
" Quit pretending and get up to eat "
Hope was still as a statue
The woman grew impatient kicking her leg harder
" I said get the fuck up are you deaf?"
"I-i can-.... can't breathe-"
Joae mohed a "fuck" before reahing down to touch shoulder
It took every ounce of mental and physical strength she could harness in that moment to quickly wrap the chains around the witch's throat
No matter how powerful Joanne is as a witch , she still needs to focus for her to cast any spell
Which isn't achievable with metal chains blocking her airway
Hope could feel the witch's struggle to survive, her entire body moving hysterically , kicking her feet while her hands clatch at the chains
Minutes that felt like hours passed before the witch's struggling ended, she weighed heavier in hope's arms before her dead body hit the ground with a loud thud
She looked at the corpse beneath her feet , her eyes wide open in horror and she fought to hold back tears
Not because she felt bad for the wench,No she deserved it
But because she felt like the monster the school bullies always made her feel like
Actually the worst part is that she enjoyed it
She enjoyed the process of slowly taking the witch's life , the feeling of her toiling hopelessly to breathe again was enthralling,
It felt glorious
" 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 "
Caroline's words rang in her ears
Come to think of it, she is her father's daughter
__________
She slowly opened her eyes as she realized she wasn't in her room
" Good, you're finally awake"
" Why'd you bring me here?"
She asked, trying so hard to stop the smile tugging at her lips
" Maybe i just love the sight of you in my bed"
He gave her his usual disturbing but somehow Charming grin and she rolled her eyes
" It's actually Declan's bed"
" Don't ruin it"
At last She laughed
" Did Josie call about hope?"
He sighed sitting on the edge of the bed , facing the wall
" Yes "
Seeing Hayley's face light up broke him
" Why am I sensing a 'but'?"
" The contact was brief and broke shortly after... Hope has no access to her magic and she has no idea where they're keeping her"
He purposely left out the part of her captors starving her
He had no intentions of seeing her suffer any further .
Hayley broke the short lived silence
" What are we going to do now Klaus? We can't just sit back and do nothing I-"
He suddenly sat closer to her , his hand once again on top of her trembling one, grounding her
" I would do anything and everything to get our daughter back, you can rest assured of that
...
The Gemini witch managed to locate Elijah, the only way i see it now is through sheer violence, once i have him in my grasp we'll have the upper hand "
"Let me come with you"
He knew she's not asking, her tone was firm but he still couldn't risk it
" I'm afraid that's not happening"
Furious, she quickly stood up
" For fuck's sake-"
" Hayley listen to me, My brother isn't who you've known him to be, he's a wretched man and only i can stand my ground against him, i can't do anything if I'm worried about you "
The declaration played with her heart's strings and her gaze softened
" Then what do you suggest I do exactly? Make myself a nice drink and what? Relax?"
Sighing again, he too stood up
Her heart dropped when he moved to kiss her lips
She's never known him to be this gentle
Not with her at least
" Actually Josie will need your help in contacting hope again, maybe the millionth Time's the charm"
He gently tucked her straying brown locks behind her ear
And to her disrelish she shivered
That man definitely knew his way around melting her inhibitions
***
Tonight is the night of the full moon and she just made her way through her first kill
Which meant the beginning of absolute physical agony every month
On a positive note that means she'll be out of these stupid chains
She had no idea where she was but she kept walking
The searing heat of the sun burning her flesh
Still, it's nice to finally feel the sun on her skin
Even if it's sizzling
She was in desperate need to quench her thirst And of some proper food, she would actually kill for one of Declan's appetizing meals right this moment
She could also feel Josie trying to reach out to her, the thought made her Beam with joy
_____
" I can't fully reach her but i can feel something has changed "
The panic in Josie's voice triggered a dreadful feeling in Hayley's chest
"Wh..what do you mean something has changed? Is she alright"
.....
" Josie answer me!"
" I wish I knew..... I just feel like there's something different about her.... Energy, there's a shift of some sort it's similar to the way I feel when i try to channel you ....or her dad"
Hayley was genuinely too hazy and worried sick to connect the dots
But she finally spoke
" Where did Klaus say he was going?"
______
He could only see red as he repeatedly struck his brother
Hope's face flashed before his eyes fueling his rage even more
His daughter must've felt alone, terrified
" I see where your daughter gets her temper "
Elijah spoke hoarsely, spitting blood
His face is now almost unrecognizable
The hybrid responded with a punch at full force to the other man's jaw
" Don't you fucking dare speak her name"
Elijah crawled towards a fallen piece of wood, intending to plunge it into his supposed brother's heart
Klaus easily blocked the blow
The elder vampire thought it's best to throw his brother off his game, provoking him might be distracting enough for him to land a punch
" You knew she was your family and you left her to rot away"
His voice came out bitter, he couldn't help it
He clenched his jaw seeing Elijah's bloodied smile
" She's such a sweetheart really, if only I had the chance i would have made the experience quite pleasurable for her-"
Elijah's tactic proved to be a tremendous mistake seeing as his brother went ballistic upon his aggravating words
A white oak stake was a Plank's lengh away from ramming into his chest when he heard Klaus's body crash against the warehouse wall
" Are you off your fucking head !?"
Hayley ignored the stream of expletives Klaus shouted
While Josie wasted no time snapping Elijah's neck with a flick of her wrist
In a second her back forcefully hit the wall
Josie took a careful step towards them, worry in her voice
" Hayley..?"
" It's fine honey just leave"
The teenager was reluctant to leave but trusted that the hybrid although a maniac , would never hurt his child's mother
The last couple days she spent in contact with hope's parents made her sure of it
They cared too much about each other
" I needed him alive"
She quietly uttered
" I couldn't possibly care less for your pathetic sentiments towards my brother Hayley, i.want.him.dead"
" Let me go this second or i swear i will-"
His grip hardened
" Or what Marshall?"
She didn't know what she wanted more, to beat the dog shit out of him or to kiss him.
Maybe both
She couldn't figure out what he's trying to do, it seemed as if he was trying to mould their bodies together
" Klaus.."
" Why must you always take his side?"
He sounded more desperate now
And the truth is it killed him that she won't have his back the way she would do for his brother
Not even in dire circumstances such as these
" I am on your side you paranoid fuck! I needed him alive because Josie said she might be able to bring back his memories, we could use him to locate hope"
He finally let go of her albeit it felt too good to have her body pressed so close against his
He looked over at the blood smearing the spot where her head hit the wall
He felt instant regret as he helped her get up
" I know you think i still have feelings for him or that I'm defending him but i assure you i do not, i want him to pay for what he's done just as much as you do but we have to be smart about it, right now finding hope is a top priority "
He nodded, absent mindedly rubbing her hand
Even now he couldn't set his face against the jealousy eating at his heart
It was one of the many reasons he constantly pushed her away
" I apologize for-"
She cut him off with her hands gently cupping his face
" You don't have to, i get it"
" Your head really hit the wall that hard"
" Look at you crack a funny !"
He finally smiled, binding both her hands with his own before placing a delicate kiss on top of them
And her heart skipped a beat
" Promise me we'll make it out of this"
Her words were random and quite puzzling but he couldn't deny her anything
" Rest assured that i will have the head of whoever is responsible for this predicament"
" That's not what I meant "
His confused gaze met hers and she sighed
" I meant us, after this is all over i want you to promise me that you'll stay, that you'll fight to make this work"
He brushed off her tears, fixated on her extraordinary hazel eyes
She was such a sight for sore eyes , he thought to himself as he murmured an " i promise" against her lips before pulling her in for a kiss