girls | hope mikaelson

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

(The Tale of Two Wolves 5x12)

Rowan glances over her shoulder at a lurking Elijah Mikaelson as she and Hope stand in front of the glass case holding a few of the Salvatore's artifacts.

"The diary of Stefan Salvatore," he voices his arrival.

Without looking back at him, Hope replies, "we're not supposed to touch it but I practically have to whole thing memorized, even more now that Rowan's mom is in it." The trybid turns to look at her uncle, "and spoiler alert: Dad is the villain and you're the evil henchman."

"From one very biased perspective," Elijah informs her.

"Yeah, well, uh, I got a second opinion." Hope saunters over to the large bookshelf a few feet away and swiftly pulls out a book she was familiarized with. "The Mystic Falls Files by Alaric Saltzman, Volume One." She slides it back into its spot, "in every story, Dad is the big bad wolf."

Rowan and Elijah are quickly rushing to the girl in worry as she leans against the bookcase with a soft groan, the pain in her head making an appearance again.

"Hope, what is it? What's happening?" Elijah questions.

"Nothing," she brushes off. "I'm fine."

"Well, Davina said she gave you some pills for the discomfort."

"Yeah, well, you know what would really make me feel better? Is spending the day with like, anyone else. Specifically Rowan, by ourselves."

Rowan coughs awkwardly and Elijah raises an eyebrow, shaking his head. "Let's get out of here. I know a place in town, does a disturbingly decadent burger."

"I'm not hungry," Hope mutters.

"Fine," he nods. "You can have a milkshake."

Rowan purses her lips before speaking up, "a burger does sound good." Hope gives her a look of betrayal and the blonde shrugs, following Elijah out of the Salvatore School.

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"If you're here to tell me that my Dad has a heart of gold, this is probably the worst spot, considering there's a plaque inside by the dartboard for some woman he killed during the moonstone ritual," Hope tells Elijah, her face void of emotion.

Rowan grimaces at the harsh words before tilting one of her shoulders, lightly agreeing with the Mikaelson.

Elijah turns his head toward the street, "take a look at the storefront across the street with the charcoal awning. That piece of land used to be our home," he smiles gently when Rowan's eyes widen and she sits up straighter, more attentively. "The smell of it still haunts me to this day. The burning wood, the crushed flowers, the berries. Klaus was incessantly painting back in those days. Mixing, searching for brighter red, for deeper blues. He used to wake me in the middle of the night just to show me the color that he would swear he invented himself. I remember the first time he showed me a turquoise." His face darkens, "It's also the first time I smelled blood. You see, when Mikael found Niklaus fashioning a paintbrush from a small branch, he took that branch and struck my brother across the face."

The Night girl frowns deeply, "it sounds like Klaus was so innocent back then."

"He was," Elijah admits softly. "Until Mikael got a hold of him."

"What did you do?" Hope asks.

"Niklaus begged me to run away with him, but I told him I would never leave Rebekah and Kol and the mercy of Mikael. So we stayed. And, of course, it was a mistake. We should've run away together, but your father couldn't go alone. But I did swear to him, I would protect him from that very day."

Before either girl could respond, the waiter brings out their order, a small smile gracing his lips. "Peanut butter blast, whipped cream on the bottom-" he sets Hope's drink down and turns to Rowan, "chocolate milkshake with an order of fries, as usual."

Rowan rolls her eyes fondly at the boy she and Hope had grown to like. "Thanks, Landon."

"Yeah," he nods.

He lingers nervously for a second and Hope clears her throat, "Uh, this is my Uncle."

"Nice to meet you," he holds out his hand for Elijah to shake. "Mr. Marshall." Landon doesn't notice the amused smile on the Mikaelson's face as he turns back to the two girls. "So guys, you haven't been around much lately."

"Oh, yeah, there's been some stuff back home." Hope explains vaguely.

"Well, I was hoping you'd both be back. I mean, I know Hope's from New Orleans, but you usually go home with her, right Rowan?" He continues to ramble, not letting either girl get a word in. "I've always wanted to go. It's home to some of the greatest musicians of all time,"

Rowan began to reply to him when several pieces of ice hit him in the back. Her eyes narrowing to slits and she sent a glare to the jocks at the table a few feet away from them.

"You should go," Hope answers for the blonde. "No matter where you are, there's always someone playing a Louis Armstrong song somewhere."

Landon's eyebrows shoot up when Elijah catches a flying piece of ice without looking, a smirk on the vampire's face. The dark headed boy shifts on his feet before glancing between the couple. "Uh, actually, there's, um, there's music in the square tonight. I mean, they do it all the time, but tonight there's this kind of bluesy vibe and I thought maybe if you guys wanted to hang out..."

Rowan slumps in defeat as Hope lets out a small, wistful sigh. "Oh Landon, we- we can't tonight. We have thing."

The boy tilts his head innocently, "a date?"

Elijah coughs out a laugh while Hope and Rowan flush in embarassement.

"Thanks, for the shakes." Rowan tells him stiffly. "And for- for asking."

"Yeah," he smiles. He glances at Elijah, "it was nice to meet you."

Landon walks away and The Original is immediately straightening up, looking at the girls, more so Hope, with narrowed eyes. "The full moon doesn't crest until later. You both could've gone with him. Why didn't you?"

"Because I'm gonna be dead soon," the Mikaelson replies simply.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: hello my lovelies! 💕 this is just part one to this chapter. i was a little tired so i cut it in half. IMPORTANT QUESTION: how many of you would be interested in reading Cadence Night's story??