For Good | Hale- TO/TW [8]

12 | Her Fate

Lexi, Stella, and Hope all walk into the broken, old garden on the Salvatore grounds. The rising moon shines through the wooden planks that barely count as a ceiling. Old planters are broken all over the floor, but the middle has been cleaned. "Pretty," Lexi mutters under her breath.

"In a creepy 'don't get caught alone here at night' kind of way," Stella adds.

Hope rolls her eyes. "The Saltzman twins found it, like, four years ago. Pretty sure it's their evil Mean Girl lair."

Lexi scoffs as she leans down to pick up an empty bottle of bourbon. "Or they share their father's love for the bottle."

"Come on, Mom," Stella laughs. "Not like you don't love it too."

Lexi grins. "But I can control myself."

"All right," Hope huffs as she crosses her arms.

Lexi replaces her grin with seriousness. "You want to find your mother, I have to start with how she was taken in the first place."

"I told you," Hope says. "I don't know. Someone followed me."

"Or," Stella says, settling on a broken stair. A flicker of panic shines in Lexi's eyes, worried about the security of the step. Stella just sends her mom a look. "There could have been a problem with your cloaking spell. Maybe you missed a step—left a loophole open."

"No," Klaus' anger flashes in Hope's eyes. "Of course, I didn't."

"Fine," Lexi says, placing a hand on Hope's shoulder to calm her. "You were followed. Then, we retrace every step you took. A deconstructing spell will magnify that with a cup of blood."

Hope rolls her eyes. "I know how it works, Aunt Lexi."

Stella sends Hope a glare as Lexi brings out a small bowl. Lexi releases her claws and slices a finger down Hope's hand. The young woman sucks in a breath and grimaces.

Lexi pushes her fingers into Hope's hand, drawing more blood into the bowl. As the blood drips down, Hope groans. "Don't stop."

Lexi glances at Stella as Hope's wound heals. The blood stops falling and Hope's expression falters. "Damn it! It wasn't enough. It's healing faster than I'm bleeding." Hope looks over at Lexi and Stella. She crosses her arms over her chest. "Maybe you shouldn't have picked a spell that involved me bleeding out."

Stella glances at the ground.

Hope narrows her eyes. "Which you knew would happen." Hope looks up at Lexi's expressionless face. "You don't want to do this spell."

"No, not particularly," Lexi admits.

"Why?" Hope demands.

"Because it isn't going to work."

Hope glares at Lexi.

"If there was even a chance of it working, don't you think one of the hundred powerful New Orleans witches would have thought of it by now?" Lexi asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Then why are we wasting time?" Hope exclaims. Stella sighs, closing her eyes. "There's something you're not telling me."

"Vincent and Ivy think they've learned something," Lexi says. "About you."

Lexi motions to a small wooden box next to Stella. Hope hesitantly sits and listens. She listens as Lexi explains Ivy's vision and the predictions. She listens to her fate.

When Lexi takes a moment to breathe, Hope exclaims, "So, I'm, like, cursed? Predicted to be the downfall of my family? New Orleans? The world?"

Lexi sighs and shakes her head. "I have no idea. But you deserve to know what's going on. And we all need to prepare for the possibility that things might not work out the way we want them to."

Hope crosses her arms, anger flaring in her eyes. "You mean, for my mom to die?"

For a moment, Lexi's expression falls. Grief fills her eyes. Sadness etches itself into her face. But that moment is fleeting.

She shakes her head with a cough to clear her throat. "For what happens inside of you any time tragedy strikes. For when your emotions are tested in ways you couldn't possibly imagine."

"How can anyone prepare for that?" Hope exclaims.

"You aren't just anyone," Stella replies. She gently lays her hand over Hope's. "You're a firstborn Mikaelson witch with a terrifying amount of power, even without the Hollow's magic."

"So, what?" Hope asks. "I'm so sensitive, everyone's afraid I'm gonna flip out?" She lets out a bitter chuckle.

Lexi lets a soft smirk slip onto her lips. "Well, when people like us 'flip out,' entire villages can burn."

"I've almost burned down an entire forest," Stella adds, raising her hand. Hope just rolls her eyes and tries to contain her anger.

"Look, Hope," Lexi says, leaning her head forward. "I know what it is like to have your family thrust you into a situation where the world is on your shoulders, and you're not at all sure if you have the strength to carry it."

"And how's that working out for you?" Hope sneers.

Lexi shrugs, her shoulders moving only slightly. "Not well. That's why I'm here and not with my husband and son. I'm here instead of with Derek, Teddy, Laura, and Cora, all of which have a right to see Stella and me, especially now that Peter is dead."

For a moment, the malice disappears from Hope's heart. She's heard stories about Peter and Lexi's love for him. She thought the beta had disappeared. But as she thought about him more, the more blame she put on him: if he hadn't died, Lexi would have been helping Hayley in New Orleans instead of off on a revenge fantasy.

"So, why don't you just go back and deal with that and leave me to go try and find my mother?" Hope snaps before she marches out of the old garden.

Lexi sighs as Stella jumps up, following Hope. "Hope, stop!"

"Why?" Hope demands, spinning around to face Stella. Lexi inches out of the garden and leans against the doorway. "So you can keep stalling me?"

"Hope, you can't shut down, or it'll eat you alive," Lexi says but she does not look concerned.

Hope shakes her head and continues to stomp away. Stella calls out to her but Hope yells, "I said leave me alone!"

The garden behind Lexi begins to shake. The structure wobbles on its foundation and parts of it begin to crash to the ground. Lexi does not move from the debris raining down on her.

"Hope!" Stella screams, shielding herself. "Stop it!"

The ground ceases its movement. Lexi dusts sawdust off her shoulder. Stella spins on her heel to stare at Hope.

The Mikaelson witch runs.

Rushed--sorry. I'm getting on a plane today, so I can hopefully write more for you guys. 

Hope you enjoyed!

-L