Beyond Blood

Chapter 3

"Hey, that's Caroline Forbes. But you already know since you were the one who called. Leave your message and I call you back, byeee."

"Caroline, I know that you're on the road but I need you to call me back as soon as you can. The applications forms arrived and I think someone made a mistake. Just call me, okay?"

" Don't waste your time, when she goes to New Orleans she hangs up the phone."

" She's probably in the road yet. But what about you? You're on vacation, you should be having fun with Penelope, or Landon and Rafael."

"Penelope and I broke up,she probably get tired of me."

"I'm so sorry sweetie, I'm sure that she will regret it when she realize that she will never find someone better than you."

That managed to make Josie give him a little smile while she sit in front of her father. Josie and Alaric had a great father and daughter relationship, he was a really protect father, and Josie was the perfect daughter. At least that was the image they have from each other.

"What about you? You promised me and mom that you would not spent all of your time working."

" I'm not working. I am just making some researches, helping Dorian catalog some new artifacts that had arrived recently."

"Dad..."

To Alaric, Josie was the perfect image of her birth mother Jo. But there's a specific habit that always call his attention. She made him payed attention to her, leaned her back in the chair as she tied her hair in a horse braid.

"This is the perfect definition of working. If mom can take vacations four times at year, you can afford to take a few weeks off."

" You know that she is not in vacation. She goes to..."

"To see Lizzie, I know. But even when she is here, her mind is still there. I love Lizzie and miss her, but I miss mom too."

" You could have gone with her, I'm sure you would love New Orleans."

Josie was only five when her sister moved to New Orleans. She didn't remember too much about what makes her parents to send Lizzie away, all that she records is waking up one day and her father telling her that Lizzie would need to live with some friends of her mother for a while, maybe some months. But months turned into ten years. Ten years of call phones, messages and magical video chats that lasted no more than twenty minutes. And every time the twins talked, she needs to hear Lizzie talking about something amazing that happened in New Orleans, some new spell she learned with her aunt Freya, about her time with the Crescent pack, and about Hope. Hope Mikaelson, Lizzie's foster sister, the tribrid. If Josie was gone with Caroline to New Orleans she will need to face the fact that her sister found a new life, a better and happier one,without her.

" And who would take care of you if I went."

" Hey, I am the dad, okay? I am the one taking care of you."

" So make me a favor, and take care of yourself, okay?"

" Only if you promise me that you will not spent summer in your room crying for Penelope."

" Deal."

She got up, grabbed her bag and gave him a little smile.

" See you later."

He waited long enough to make sure that she left until he take his phone and make a call, he hated having secrets whit his daughter but it was necessary to keep her save.

" Dorian, I saw your files about our little research. I think I found something, we gonna need to talk with a witch in Georgia. She specializes in curses.

...

New Orlenas...

" This is out of question...

Caroline had arrived only two hours ago and from her first twenty minutes in the compound every one could hear her scream from across the town, and you didn't need to be a vampire for that.

" You already said that, like five times, this will not change my mind."

" You are not ready, Lizzie."

" You already said that too, every time you came visit and I talk about the small chance of me going home. Save your speech mom, I already made my decision."

"Lizzie, it's too dangerous...

" Dangerous for who, mom? To me? Because compared to what I've seen here, and what I learned with Aunt Freya, Salvatore School looks like kindergarten."

That was the first time that Lizzie changed her voice with her mother, she was always calm and understanding. But she was tired of her mother's excuses why she couldn't come home.

" Lizzie, sweetie..."

" Stop, okay? I know what you will say, " things are complicated now, it's better if we wait until next year", or  " your father is not ready, and Josie is passing for a difficult moment." It's never the right time, and I am tired of waiting. I love New Orleans, I love my family and I understand that you and dad may be going through a hard time, but I don't care. I'm sorry mom, but I don't. Hope's in trouble, and I am not gonna leave her doing this alone."

Caroline took a deep breath and sat down next to her daughter.

" You've accomplished so much here, the coven, your friends, your sessions with Elijah and Freya. I'm afraid that if you leave if you loose that."

" Its just a semester, mom, it's not like if I'm gonna live that forever. I could never stay way from here for too long, my family is here."

Caroline wasn't ready for those words. In all these years the only thing that comforted Caroline about being away from Elizabeth was that the Mikaelsons really took her as a part of the family. But the worst part? The distance prevented her from bonding with her own family. Hayley and Elijah made up for the girl's lack of parents, and Hope took the place that one belonged to Josie. For Caroline, Lizzie never saw herself as a Saltzman, or a Forbes, in fact for those who didn't knew the truth about her origins, she was always a Mikaelson. And deep down Caroline blamed herself for it.

"Okay, you won."

"What?"

"When the summer ends, and the semester starts you come home. If that's what you want, I'm with you."

Lizzie smiled and hugged her mother, it was just a hug but Caroline could feel through it how much this was important to Lizzie. It would be a difficult process, and she would have to deal with some setbacks before that happened. But her daughter was finally going home.

...

Hey guys,
I hope you all are enjoying the book.
If you wanted know more about the story, you can see the AU that inspired the book in my Instagram page @Alegacytale.