Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 78: Kingdom

After the ceremony concludes, and the reception has ended, with the Mikaelson's and Saltzman's sending the newlyweds off to their honeymoon in Paris, Hope and Josie get into more comfortable clothes, and Hope takes Josie out into the city, making good on her promise of a tour.

They observe street performers.

Jazz musicians.

Artists.

Psychics and witches.

All lining the streets of the Quarter.

Hope shows Josie many notable destinations.

Rousseau's.

Gillespie's pub.

Jackson Square Park.

The bridge near 12th street, where Elijah pushed Marcel over the edge.

They pass by the Mikaelson family Plantation house, which used to be the Governor's mansion.

When they pass by St. Anne's Church, Hope is less inclined to share details about the building.

And Josie doesn't push her to talk about it, knowing it's the same place she triggered her werewolf curse, the place her mother gave birth to her before being killed and unknowingly turned into a hybrid, the site of several massacres and horrible experiences for her.

She shows Josie nearly every corner of the Quarter, her father's kingdom, which he declared her to be the heir.

Even after all of that, there is still a couple of stops that Hope had been putting off their whole trip, starting with a place she almost avoided, knowing she must tap into a vulnerable place to visit there.

And though it lies just outside the city of New Orleans, it is still very much a part of her kingdom.

The bayou.

Where the Crescent Wolf Pack roamed for years.

Where her mother lead the pack as their Hybrid alpha before her untimely death.

Where Hope said goodbye to her mother for the very last time, with her father standing by her side, despite the curse of the Hollow threatening to destroy them and the city along with them.

And where a memorial honoring her mother remains carved into a big oak tree.

Hope traces over the carving with her fingertips as Josie holds onto her other hand.

She waits patiently, knowing Hope is gathering her bearing.

Hope admits to her, "This is the first time I've been back here since..."

Josie squeezes her hand, rubbing Hope's arm soothingly with the other.

Hope sighs softly, "She would've loved you, y'know? I hate that she can't meet you, and you can't meet her."

Josie nods, feeling her eyes tear up at the struggle Hope seems to be fighting to hide.

But Hope's wavering voice betrays her, revealing to Josie just how hard this is for her.

"She'd be so proud of you Hope—the person you've become, despite everything you've been through."

Hope hangs her head, nodding weakly.

She clears her throat before trying to speak, "My dad always said all of my better qualities, I got from her," She chuckles softly, though tears still pool in her eyes, "He was so afraid that her death would break me, beyond repair, cause me to lose those parts of her...But I don't think I could ever lose her, so long as my memory of her stays alive."

——

And on their way back to the compound, they past by the last sight of the tour.

Back in the heart of the city.

On the street corner.

Where her Uncle Elijah carried through his promise of always and forever into the afterlife.

The very bench where her father sacrificed himself to save her life.

It's now a memorial of the two Mikaelson siblings.

Hope knows better than to go directly to the bench, with eyes all over the place.

But she sees no harm in standing a safe distance away, just for a fleeting moment, honoring her father.

'Long live the King' indeed.