Lovely • The Originals [4]

ELEVEN

|11.| ARE YOU SCARED?

WHAT MADE THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS what it is well known for—the music, festivals, mysterious streets that has stories behind—they seem meaningless. The loud jazz ensembles rarely performed out on the streets let alone in a club, hardly any tourists visiting the Crescent City, very few people who live in the city walk around talking and laughing with one another. It seems so dull.

The oldest Mikaelson child sits on the windowsill of her room, watching as a few people walk by in the street droned in their phone or listening to music with earbuds in. Hope and Koen sit on the bed playing checkers together, having fun. The young twin glances over at her sister, noticing her body language is abnormal though normal.

"Mel?" Hope calls out to her sister, but she doesn't turn from the window. "What's happening outside now?"

"Absolutely nothing," Melody mutters while letting out a sad sigh.

Both Hope and Koen share a look, taking notice of how different their older sister is. They remember Melody being the overprotective older sibling who helps their mother take care of them, makes people laugh with the little things she does, and always seems like a wise old man. But now she's quieter, more kept to herself.

"The Hollow, she's getting stronger," Melody blurts out randomly. The younger siblings grow confused by her statement and Koen turns around to see their father standing in the doorway.

"You can sense her?" Klaus asks his oldest daughter and Melody only sighs.

"When we first got here, there was always music outside, people dancing, laughing. But since she came back, it's so quiet. Like she's draining everything out of the city." Melody slowly turns away from the window and takes a seat on the bed with her siblings who stare at her. "She already took Uncle Elijah. And soon she will come for the rest of us."

The younger children gasp in fear, and Koen snuggles close to Hope, scared of what his sister is saying. Klaus' eyes widen at her statement and walks towards the bed, crouching down in front of her.

"Listen, Melody, I know you're scared. But over the years, a lot of bad people have stood against our family, and all of them have fallen. The Hollow is no different," Klaus assures her, but she only shakes her head.

"No, she is different."

Cora stands in the room where Elijah's body lies in a coffin, his body desiccated. She stares at him, getting flashbacks of what she seen in his mind and she experienced while trying to help him. Her hand softly grazes the area where she felt his fangs digging into her skin almost like the feeling of needles. Cora doesn't know if she feels empathy for him or feels frightened.

The sounds of cracking alerts her. Her head turns towards the source of the sound, walking towards the lit candles that has the pendant with Elijah inside hanging from it. Cora takes it off the holder and looks at the rock, noticing cracks start to form very slowly. She hugs the pendant close to her body before leaving the room to inform Freya of what's happened.