Searching for Always and Forever

Chapter 45

Hope was torn. She finally decided with Landon's help what to do, but now she actually had a chance to kill Lucien. Hope looked at Landon with uncertain eyes as Rebekah shared her news. Hope was so tired of all this. She really just wanted to go home and hug her loved ones, but she would hate herself if she'd miss this opportunity... and she had to see him die. She had to make sure he was gone for good.

"Where is he? Where is Lucien?" Hope asked Rebekah.

"They took him to an abundant building out of the city, locked him up. They will do to him what he deserves, but Nik thought you would want to know." Rebekah said. Hope was still looking at Landon.

"If you want to go, I'll be with you but it's okay if you just want to go home. I'm sure Klaus will take care of him." Landon said as he grabbed Hope's hand and stroked it with his thumb. Hope took a deep breath before she replied.

"Can you take us to them?" Hope asked Rebekah uncertanly.

"Of course. Are you sure you are up for this?" She asked as she squeezed Hope's shoulder. Hope nodded slightly.

"I've been waiting for this moment for the past three years. I know I would hate myself later if I'd missed it." Hope shrugged with an exhausted sigh.

Rebekah drove them through the city. Hope and Landon snuggled on the backseat. Hope was so grateful to have him with her, she had no idea what she'd do without his comfort. She laid her head in the crook of his neck as he was stroking her head gently. Hope told him everything, he knew how broken she was about her recent change and how uncertain she felt about everything around her. At least Hope knew one thing, that Landon stuck by her side no matter what, and that alone gave her strength to face that monster one last time.

When they arrived, Klaus was waiting for them outside the building. He greeted Hope with a warm hug and she didn't refuse it.

"Are you feeling better my darling?" He asked and Hope broke away from his embrace.

"Sure." She mumbled, but felt slightly awkward at his warm welcome. Her thoughts were confused about the man who called himself her father. When he was with Hope in that memory of his in New Orleans and told Hope that he loved her and would take care of her siblings, he seemed to be a totally different person than the person Hope knew before. Hope knew he loved her, she didn't doubt that, not after everything had happened, but she wasn't too sure about her own feelings and she needed time to figure them out. Klaus nodded and grabbed Hope's hand to lead her inside the abandoned building, but Hope pulled her hand out of his and took Landon's hand instead. He was the only person she wasn't utterly confused about at that moment. Klaus did have a flash of annoyance and anger in his eyes as he saw Hope taking her boyfriend's hand, but he didn't elaborate, just led the way inside.

The building was dark and it stank like rotten flesh. Hope's stomach turned at the smell, and she was wondering about how many lives were taken in this hidden and dark place. Then she saw him. Lucien tied up by his hands to the roof, hanging like a swine after slaughter. His legs were tied together as well and everywhere the ropes touched his skin, it was oozing blood and puss. His facial expression showed pain but he was laughing like an insane person. Klaus put a hand over Hope's shoulder as her face turned green with disgust.

"Vervain soaked ropes... At least he is still vulnerable. Careful, don't touch the ropes." Klaus said as Hope stepped closer to Lucien.

"Come closer little girl, I can give another bite of my venom, let's see if it works this time." He teased her as he was laughing insanely. One of the men, Hope assumed he was Kol, punched him in the face so hard that his nose almost fell off. It was a broken mess.

"You don't get to talk to her, ever again." Kol said, then he looked at Hope. "Do you have anything you wanna say to him?" Kol asked Hope. Both Klaus and Landon wanted to protest, but Hope took a step closer to Lucien.

Hope grabbed Lucien by his shirt and pulled him down with force to her eye level. Before he could laugh again or say something, Hope quickly used a simple spell, Freya taught her.

"Silencio" She said and Lucien's mouth completely disappeared, unable to speak or make any sound, then she immobilized him with the same spell his witch used to use on Hope. "Not fun being helpless, isn't it?" Hope had a satisfied smirk on her as she watched his struggling expression.

A magical wind bursted open the building doors, and Freya entered holding hands with another witch, chanting a powerful spell. Hope assumed it was Davina, as she never saw her before. Hope stepped away from Lucien as the spell seemed to be agonizing to him, but he couldn't move nor scream at the pain the witches were causing. His eyes were blood red and the black veins of his monstrous face were popping out, then all of a sudden they finished the spell, his ugly features were gone and his pain seemed to stop. Freya stepped next to Hope and gave her a reassuring smile, then she looked at Lucien with hatred.

"Now, you are no more than an ordinary vampire." Freya said and there was nothing but fear in Lucien's eyes, like the coward he was. Klaus grabbed a broken glass from the floor and stepped in front of Lucien, who was still tied up by his hands. Klaus cut a wide wound across his face where his mouth should be. He looked like he was smiling but only blood was dripping from the gaping wound.

"You are nothing!" Klaus yelled at him with anger, and Freya took Hope's hand, to pull her away from what was going to happen now, but Hope yanked away her hand and rushed beside Klaus.

"Not yet!" Hope begged Klaus and he looked at her with concern.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked Hope and she just nodded.

"I have some things to say to him." Hope said and she grabbed Lucien by his shirt as she looked into his eyes with pure loath. Klaus never left her side, but he let her do what she needed to do. "You took away my mother and you took away my father. You made me an orphan at fifteen... you made four children orphans, some not even knowing what it's like to have parents. They will suffer for a lifetime of abandonment issues because of you." Hope tore into his chest, feeling his beating heart under her fingers. She squeezed his heart lightly at first but the pain was all over his face. "This is because of that." She said then squeezed it a ted harder. "And this is because you took away my childhood." She kept squeezing his heart stronger and stronger and his eyes were begging Hope to stop, but she wouldn't. "And this is because you never gave me a chance to get to know my uncle." She said, because she saw how important Elijah was for everyone even though she barely knew anything about him. "And this is because you took away my chance to ever have my own family, my own children." He was terrified, and at that moment Hope tore his heart out, throwing his disgusting organ to the ground. His terrified expression stayed on his face as Lucien hung lifeless, dead forever.

Hope broke down sobbing as it was all over. She did it, she killed him. The person who was responsible for her parents' death. Klaus put a hand on her back, but Hope looked for the one person with her eyes, the one she truly wanted to be comforted. As soon as she locked eyes with Landon, he rushed to her and hugged her tight as violend sobs shook her entire body. Everyone watched in silence, not knowing what to do. When she was a bit calmer she pulled away from Landon, grabbing his hand, not letting it go. She looked at Klaus with watery red eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"I wanna go home now." Hope whispered in between her cries.