Hope's POV
I was lying on my bed, my nose stuck in another one of my aunt Freya's grimoires. As time passed, it became harder and harder for me to read the pages in front of me . I turned my head to the clock on my bedside table: 2 am. I groaned. I hadn't noticed the sun setting or the moon rising. As soon as my class had ended, I hurried to my room to look for a solution to MG's ripper problem. I had spent the last two weeks going through all the grimoires and vampire books at my disposal, and nothing. I had found nothing to help MG. I needed some help. I needed to call Freya.
I closed the grimoire and lifted myself off the bed. I reached for my shoes and put them on. Once that was done, I pulled my desk chair back and crouched down. My hands glided over the floor until they found a small dent in the floorboard. I lifted it up to reveal a small hatch with a few grimoires that varied in size. Some were Freya's, some Esther's and some were mine. Delicately, I put the grimoire I was reading back in its place then put the floorboard and chair back in place. After that I left my room and headed to Doctor Saltzman's office.
The office was empty, thankfully. I had no trouble slipping in and taking the school phone. They really should allow us to have our own phones, with all these monster attacks, it would be handy but noo. I shook my head and dialled Freya's number.
"Hello?" A husky voice said.
"Aunt Freya?"
"Hope? What are you doing, calling me at ... 1:30 in the morning?" She whisper-yelled.
"Uh... I need your help. Two weeks ago, Josie was overwhelmed with dark magic and she did something to MG. He's a vampire and she enhanced his bloodlust or something. He's a ripper aunt Freya. If he feeds, he can't stop. He tried feeding off Kaleb when he woke up from the spell. Kaleb's a vampire, he shouldn't want to feed off another vampire..."
There was a silence on the other end of the call. Then I heard the faint sound of a bed spring and a door close.
"Does he still have his humanity switch on?" I nodded then remembered I was on the phone.
"Yes."
"Okay, I imagine you went through all the grimoires at your disposal." I hummed in response. "I'll look into it tomorrow and call you as soon as I have found something. Now go to sleep, Hope."
"Yes, Aunt Freya. Thank you. I love you."
"I love you too."
I hung up and put the phone back on Doctor Saltzman's desk. Once I was back in my room, I put a short sleeve top and a pair of shorts on, then fell face first on my bed. I pulled the covers up, buried my face in my cushions, and fell asleep in seconds.
*
The next day at lunch, I didn't feel like eating in the cafeteria. If I'm being honest, I hadn't felt like being around people since Landon's death. It was easier that way. So, there I was, sitting alone in the grass peeling my second clementine, when I noticed Pedro walking towards the forest. I got curious. Pedro never went close to the forest; he feared it. I stood up and that's when I noticed a woman. She seemed familiar. Pedro smiled when he walked closer to her. She held her arms out and they were soon in an embrace. As she pulled back, she whispered something in his ear. He nodded earnestly. She turned her attention to another boy who was standing a few feet away from them. He was twiddling his hands, shifting his weight from side to side. He seemed nervous. The familiar woman took a few steps towards him and smiled. He looked up and gave a sheepish smile back. Then she gave him something to drink and she started chanting. My eyes widened and I started running towards them. Before I could reach them however the woman had noticed me. She disappeared with the boy and Pedro was walking gleefully back to the school. I caught up with him and called his name.
"Pedro!" I reached for his arm and he turned around with a small frown.
"Hope? What's wrong?"
"Who was that woman?" I asked. He seemed confused.
"What woman?"
"The one you were just with in the forest." I pointed to the place where he was a few seconds ago. He followed with his eyes then turned around to face me.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged and walked off.
Something's not right. Why did that woman seem so familiar? I walked back to my little picnic area, racking my brain, trying to place this woman. I picked up the remainder of my lunch and put it in my backpack which I threw over my shoulder. I headed back to the school, I needed to find Doctor Saltzman.
*
"Ow. Watch where you're going!"
I was so focused on finding Doctor Saltzman, I hadn't even noticed bumping into his daughter. She turned around to see who had pushed her. Her anger quickly faded when she saw it was me.
"Lizzie? Lizzie!" My eyes widened in realisation. I had seen her before, with Lizzie, a few weeks ago. "Do you remember that woman who was lurking around the school gate a few days before ... everything?"
(Landon's death is still a sore subject for me.)
"You mean the one who vanished as soon as you turned your back?"
I nodded."Yes. Who is she?"
"I don't know. She's not an employee, I would know if we had a new one. She could be a visiting-parent?"
"If she was a parent then why was she lurking around the forest just now? She did a sort of spell on a kid and somehow Pedro is involved."
"Pedro? Cute little innocent Pedro?"
"Yeah, but he doesn't seem to remember anything." I answered. "Do you know where your dad is?"
"Try his office or the library."
I muttered a thank you and went to find Doctor Saltzman.
*
I walked into the library looking for Doctor Saltzman, but it was empty, not surprising since afternoon classes had started. So, I headed towards his office. I barged in and saw him with Dorian hovering over a grimoire.
"Hope! Shouldn't you be in class?" Doctor Saltzman asked.
"Yeah, not my main priority right now."
As I was talking about my lunch break, the school phone rang. Dorian, who was the nearest to the desk, answered.
"Hello? Oh yes, hello Ms. Mikaelson. Yes, she is here actually."
I went to reach for the phone, but Alaric snatched it out of my hands before I could answer.
"Hello? Hmm I see. Let me put you on speaker phone." He said glaring at me. "You're one speaker phone. Now tell me, why are you calling the school phone?"
"Hope called. She said you needed help with a certain vampire problem." Aunt Freya said.
"We've been managing fine on our own."
"It's been two weeks and we haven't found anything. I've been through all the grimoires here. I haven't found a thing that could help MG." I said, annoyed that Doctor Saltzman wouldn't even fathom the possibility of working with a Mikaelson, besides myself.
"Fine." He grumbled as I rolled my eyes and sighed slightly.
"Anyway, I think I have found a spell that will help MG."
"You've found a cure?" I beamed.
"Not exactly. There is no cure. This spell will just reduce the hunger he feels. He will be in more control, but it will still be stronger than what it was before."
Doctor Saltzman nodded. It's better than not doing anything and letting him desiccate.
"What's the spell I have to do?" I asked.
"No, not you. Josie. She's the one who cursed him, she's the one who has to do the spell."
"Is that a good idea? I mean I haven't seen her do any magic since we got her back." Dorian said nervously.
"She must."
"I'll talk to her." I said.
"I don't know Hope. You haven't really been on speaking terms since Landon's..."
"I'll talk to her." I repeated, cutting Doctor Saltzman off.
"Okay." He said reluctantly. "Tomorrow. You and I will talk to her together."
I nodded, there was no point arguing with him right now.
"Now go back to class."
I rolled my eyes and headed out the door, but not before saying goodbye to my aunt. There was no way I was going back to class, not when someone was lurking around the school and wiping kid's memories. At least that's what I thought I saw. So, I headed to my room and swapped out my backpack for another bag filled with clothes and snacks. Then I went to the old mill to wolf out and patrol the area.
Josie's POV
It had been two weeks since dad announced to the school that Landon had died. He had cancelled all classes for the rest of the week to let us grieve. I hadn't seen Hope since she stormed out of her room and went to look for Rafael, whom no one had seen since he had killed Landon.
Lizzie had been spending all her time down in the transitioning cells with MG. Trying to help him control his hunger with no prevail. She now slept down there. I would only see her when she would go and get some food and blood bags (without dad's knowledge) from the kitchen for her and MG before she would disappear again. The few times I saw Lizzie she told me MG was refusing to feed, he wanted to desiccate. He was too scared to hurt anyone.
I, on the other hand, had been occupying myself with research. I had been trying to focus on other things rather than thinking about Landon, Hope, my nightmares of dark Josie, MG, and everything else that was wrong in my life.
The week after we had learned of Landon's death, I had woken up sweating, unable to breathe, again. It was happening more regularly. So, I went for walks. It had become a nightly occurrence by then. That night however I wound up in dad's office. It was empty, so I snuck in and opened the bottom left drawer of his desk. I took the whiskey bottle, opened it, and took a few gulps. After a while, I started to feel relaxed and a little dazed. I put the bottle back into its drawer and walked back to my empty bedroom. I fell on my bed and passed out. The next morning, I woke up with a small headache but relieved. Relieved I hadn't woken up from another nightmare. This became a habit. I had bought a few bottles of vodka with a fake ID I had conjured up and stashed them in the old mill. Every morning, I would wake up with a headache but at least I didn't have any dreams.
Tonight was no different. After curfew I snuck out of school and headed for the old mill. Once I arrived, I walked over to the sofa and siphoned the stack of books next to it. When I was finished, the books transformed into my bottles of vodka, a few of them already empty. I sat down on the uncomfortable sofa, that some werewolves bought one night for a party, and started a new bottle. That's when I heard a growl. I turned my gaze to the door and saw a white wolf with golden eyes staring back at me.
"Hope?"
The wolf stepped closer, now inside, and walked over to a bag I hadn't noticed next to the door. She picked it up with her mouth and walked away, out of view. A few moments later, I heard bones breaking, then Hope appeared fully dressed and sat next to me.
I was waiting for her to scold me, or something, for drinking. Instead she took the bottle from my hand and brought it to her lips. The alcohol must have gotten to me because I stared at her lips for far too long. She took a big gulp before handing the vodka back to me. She watched me as I drank, then stared at the wall in front of her. The bottle went back and forth between us, in silence.
"Jo?" She asked, now looking at me. "Why do you have a bottle of vodka stashed in the old mill?"
"It's not the only one." I said as I pointed to the rest on the floor. "It helps me sleep."
"Why can't you sleep?"
I looked at her, studying her face, looking for a trace of disgust or something similar. All I saw was curiosity.
"I still have the nightmares." I said as I took another gulp of vodka.
"What about?"
"Dark Josie killing everyone I love... Including you. I wake up hyperventilating most of the time. She still gets to me. This." I said, lifting the bottle high into the air, spilling some. "Stops her."
I felt Hope studying me. After a while, she snatched the bottle and drank the last few sips of vodka left. She threw the empty bottle on the floor and turned to face me completely. I tried avoiding her gaze by looking down at my fidgeting hands.
"You know you could have talked to me."
"Yeah well it didn't seem like it. When you're not in class, you're in your room. You haven't said a word to me since Landon... And... You're not the only one grieving Hope." I looked up; my eyes filled with unshed tears.
"I'm here now." She said, locking her eyes with mine.
Without looking away she reached for my hand and squeezed it in comfort. I turned slightly, my leg now resting on the sofa touching Hope's. I looked down at our hands, playing with her fingers. We stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying the silence. As time passed my eyelids were getting heavier and a yawn slipped my lips. Hope pulled her hands away and stood up. As soon as she did, I missed her touch.
"Come on, let me take you to bed." She said as she reached her hand out for me to take.
I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up. We walked all the way back to school, hand in hand, in silence. Once we reached my dorm room, Hope let go of my hand, and I followed it whilst it fell to my side with my eyes. Then I looked up as I felt her hands rest on my upper arms.
"Jo, if you need someone to talk to don't hesitate to come to me. You've been through so much; you can't keep pushing everything down. You need to talk to someone. I'm here for you. I just need you to know I'm in your corner. I've always been in your corner."
My heart was pounding ferociously by the end of her speech and before I knew it, I leaned in and kissed Hope Mikaelson. It took me a few seconds before I pulled back in a panic. Hope face said it all, she was not expecting that. I immediately regretted what I had just done.
"Um... Thanks for everything. Good night Hope." I said before quickly entering my room and closing my door a little too hard.
I ran to my bed and threw the duvet on top of me. I buried my face in my pillow, mortified of what I had just done. How am I going to face Hope now?
3rd person POV
On the floor of the tunnel sat Rafael, his head in his hands, sobbing. Tears were falling on his jeans, still stained with Landon's blood. Every time he looked down at his stained jumper and jeans, he was reminded of what he had done. Guilt and sadness overwhelmed him. He couldn't go back to school. The thought of seeing his friends broke his heart. How could he face them? He knew he couldn't control himself. He knew, and now his brother was dead.
All he wanted to do was die. He tried but whenever he did, a force stopped him. The Necromancer stopped him. Rafael knew that if he was not set free that meant the Necromancer still needed him. He dreaded whatever he would have to do next.
Raf had been hiding in the tunnels since that night, hoping he would be out of reach from the Necromancer. That was foolish however, the Necromancer knew exactly where he was. He was just waiting for the right time to use him. Luckily – or unluckily for him – that night was the night.
Rafael's eyes rolled into the back of his head then his eyes closed. Once he opened them, it was no longer him in control but the Necromancer. He walked through the tunnels to the school. Once he reached the entrance, Raf checked to see if the coast was clear. Once he was sure the room was empty, he walked in. The room was cold and damp with a window that was the only source of light. Directly opposite the tunnel's entrance was a door. Raf opened it and found himself in what looked to be an old hallway with a wooden door on the left and light at the other end of the hallway. He looked through the bars of the door and saw it was an old cell. Then he walked to the end of the hallway and found himself in front of two doors. One led to the wolf transitioning cells and the other to the main hallway of the school. He opened the door and walked in. There wasn't anyone in the first few cells, so Rafael kept on walking. He opened the next door to the room that MG currently called home. Quietly he walked in and saw a sleeping Lizzie on a cot on the other side of the room. MG was lying on his cot, desiccated. Rafael opened the cell door with the key he had found. He picked MG up easily and walked out of the school, through the tunnels with the vampire in his arms.