Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 2: Alias

She made her way back to New Orleans, Louisiana from her 3-day trip in Italy about a week ago. Traveling Italy, Hope tried to imagine her father during the early 12th century, when he and his siblings, Rebekah and Elijah, learned of the brotherhood of The Five. She read entries in one of her father's journals, detailing his role in killing the hunters and daggering his siblings. She read about the Hunter's Curse her father had to endure for 52 years, 4 months and 9 days. She wondered if that was the fate she would have to face, a seemingly endless loop of painful thoughts and dreams of her late family members: her mom, uncle and father. She had been traveling to countless places looking for some pieces of her father's imprint on the world and its people. Most things she found, though, didn't exactly match up to the man she saw him to be.

Now, back in New Orleans, she walked through the streets, which were overflowing with music, laughter, smiles, families. She never got to experience anything of the sort with her mother and father; she had been living under the alias Hope Marshall since the day she was born. It was the only way to keep her safe from everyone who wanted her dead. Her existence was said to be a violation of the balance of nature, a threat to each and every faction, so Rebekah took her away from New Orleans while the rest of her family 'mourned' her. She lived in Mystic Falls for the majority of her life, going to Mystic Falls High and pretending to be human. Her family visited her every so often, and she did get the opportunity to travel to New Orleans sometimes. Those who learned of her existence and went after her were slaughtered by her family. Very few people were trusted enough to know her true identity, many of them now deceased.

Walking down the streets once overlooked by her father, she felt the gravity of loss weighing down on her shoulders, but she concealed it, just as she concealed and continues to conceal her true identity: Hope Andrea Mikaelson, the Original Tribrid.

After sneaking into the Mikaelson compound so that nobody in the quarter would see her, she is greeted warmly by her Aunt Freya and Aunt Rebekah. "Darling, you need to finish packing your things for our trip back to Mystic Falls tomorrow," Rebekah reminds her for the third time. Hope nods in lieu of a verbal response. She knew summer wouldn't last forever, but part of her dreads getting back to the facade of a normal human teenager.

Freya chimes in, "Alaric Saltzman called while you were out. He wanted to know if you'd like to spar with him after you and Rebekah arrive. I told him I'd check with you and let him know."

"Sure." Hope has been training with Dr. Saltzman since she was a little girl. They typically spar on the school grounds of the Salvatore Boarding House, the school for supernaturals. Since nobody in Mystic Falls can know of her true identity (besides Dr. Saltzman), she hasn't enrolled at the school, fearing she would slip up and show her power, or someone would piece together her identity. The students who have seen her there think she is just a witch from the school in town who trains sometimes with their headmaster. She tries to avoid speaking with them as much as possible. She knows werewolves can sense other wolves, and witches can sense immense power, especially the Saltzman twins, who are siphoner Gemini witches. She keeps her distance and they do the same for the most part. She can sometimes feel some students watching her in her sparring matches with Dr. Saltzman, but she is sure to hone back her strength when they do.

Rebekah looks at Hope, empathy radiating from her eyes. "Are you sure you don't want to enroll at his school? It's a lovely school, and your mother looked into it for you when you were little. Perhaps you could enroll as a witch-"

"That's not a good idea," Hope interjects, "If I slip up, it could put me and everyone there in danger. I can't risk any more lives for my own." The last sentence is much more faint than the rest, but her aunts hear every word. They exchange a brief look at one another, but neither push Hope any further on the matter.