Hidden Tethers {H. MIKAELSON}

9

Chapter Nine: Hope Mikaelson

Hope Andrea Mikaelson stood in front of her freshly organized closet and smiled. She loved when her plans came together. On the right side of her closet were the darker colors. Beginning with black, then dark greys, it went all the way down the line until you arrived at the left side. The last piece of clothing on that side was a white hoodie that her father had gotten for her when she was sad and missing her mum.

She brushed over that memory, choosing now to be happy and celebrate. After all, this was her last week before she got a chance to go to school. Technically, she only had six days because today was Tuesday and classes officially began on Monday. The last two months had been interesting, to say the least. She and her mom had talked every single night, and she had even sent her daughter some of her favorite things from New Orleans to make her new room feel like home.

And it did.

Now that she had gotten her closet organized the way she wanted, her room had her own personal touch, thanks to Athena's shopping trip, she was all set to go to school. A couple of days ago, she found out that while the Mikaelson Academy was a boarding school, the four of them didn't stay in dorms. They could come home every day after they got out of class.

Before she could smile more, and begin to reorganize her school supplies, a knock on her door pulled her out of her trance. The door slowly opened and there stood Athena. "I come bearing gifts!"

Hope smiled and rushed over to the woman to help her. In her hands were Amazon and Shein packages, a couple of bags, and what looked like a slushy. "What is all this?" Hope giggled as she helped the woman put everything down on her bed.

"Well, the clothes, I'm guessing, you and your father ordered because I would never buy fur in the summer," Athena giggled with the young girl.

"That was dad," Hope smiled. "He ordered everything I said I was cute."

Athena laughed again knowing that what Hope was saying was true. That's exactly how he was when they had first gotten married. There was a reason she bought a house with four closets just for the master bedroom. Getting back on track, she lifted the slushy in her hands. "Now this is a tradition. A very sugary tradition, but a tradition nonetheless. To mark the beginning and end of a school year, I treat all of my children to treats."

The eldest tribrid's eyes lit up as she happily took the slushy. "Thank you," Hope spoke before taking a sip of the slushy.

"For the slushy? No problem. Expect one again in May."

"Not just the slushy, even though this is freaking amazing," She nodded, sitting it down on her side table. "For welcoming me into your family. I know I'm not your daughter but..." Glancing towards the slushy, she smiled. "I just-"

"No need to thank me, Hope," Athena cut her off. She placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "You hold a special place in your father's heart. You're a part of him which means you'll always be a part of this family. Speaking of, how are your mother and your family in Louisiana?"

Hope smiled as she nodded and sipped on her slushy. This was even better than the little shop next to the Compound. "They're good! I talked to my mom earlier." As she glanced down at her bed, she noticed all of the clothes that had come in were ranging in color. "This is going to mess up my aesthetic."

"Mess up? Oh dear, you have a gift," Athena said, her eyes roaming until she got to the young girl's closet. "Your closet is the neatest I've ever seen from a teenager. If you want a career in interior design, just let me know."

"Dully noted."

Signaling that as her cue to leave, Athena got ready to head out of the room. "If you ever need anything, Hope, don't be afraid to come to get me."