white flag | hope mikaelson

chapter ten

age 16&17

Lilah trudges into her room, her hand cupping her neck as her body trembles. Her vision blurs as tears well up in her eyes, a sob catching in her throat as she slumps against her bedroom door.

"Lilah?" Hope's soft voice calls out.

The Saltzman's eyes snap open, meeting Hope's concerned stare. Her lips wobble, "what are you doing in here?"

"I—" Hope swallows thickly. "I wanted to see you."

Lilah sniffles, reaching up to wipe under her eyes. "Well, you saw me." Her voice shakes. "You can go now,"

"What's wrong with your neck?" The Mikaelson asks, a knowing gleam in her eyes.

Lilah makes a noise in the back of her throat, squinting at the girl. "Nothing,"

Hope scoffs, "you're really gonna let your pride get in the way?"

Lilah's lips part in shock, her hand falling limp at her side, exposing her neck. "Pride? It's self-preservation, Hope! The last time I saw you, you told me you hated me!"

Hope frowns, "I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Lilah snaps, shuffling over to her bathroom and grabbing a rag for her neck. Hope moves closer, studying her with an intense gaze. The Saltzman wets the rag and wrings it out, pressing it against her wound.

"It was a vampire," Hope deadpans. "What did you do?"

Lilah's sharp stare snaps to Hope, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Bold of you to assume I started it."

"You have a habit of snapping at people far more dangerous than you,"

Lilah stares at her for a few seconds before brushing past her, collapsing into her desk chair. "There was a party at The Mill tonight—"

"You went to that?" Hope questions incredulously, her eyebrows shooting in.

"Yes," Lilah grumbles. "I'm not totally anti-social."

The Mikaelson rolls her eyes, folding her arms across her chest and giving Lilah an expectant look.

"I got bored of it all pretty quickly—" Lilah glares at Hope's grin. "So I went further into the woods to practice—"

"You're doing magic?" Hope breathes in disbelief, cutting the girl off again.

"Would you stop?" Lilah glares at her. "Yes, I'm doing magic. After my outburst in Dad's office, he figured it'd be safer for me to have it under control."

Hope nods, making a noise of agreement.

"I wanted to practice tonight but Dad said I needed to keep an eye on Josie and Lizzie, so I went into the woods. Not—not even that far—" her lips pout as her eyes gloss over again. "I could still hear everyone so I thought it'd be safe."

Hope sits at the edge of the girls bed, her face pale. "What happened, Lilah?"

"He attacked me from behind," she croaks. "I couldn't even protect myself, I'm not— I'm not advanced enough for magic like that."

"It's not your fault," Hope reassures the girl. "He bit you, thats—that's it?"

"He bruised me up a little," Lilah mumbles.

Hope's eyes harden, "where?"

The Saltzman side eyes her, shifting uncomfortably. "My arm and my back,"

Hope pauses, "show me?"

Lilah bites the inside of her cheek as she stands from the desk chair, facing away from Hope and lifting her shirt enough for the tribid to see the damage.

"Lilah," There's a grimace in Hope's voice. "That's gonna be a big bruise."

"Yeah," the blonde murmurs. Her back prickles when Hope lightly pokes at the bruise, brushing her fingers over the dark splotches on Lilah's skin. Hope moves closer and Lilah clears her throat, pulling her shirt down and shuffling away from the girl. "You should go," she speaks softly.

Hope furrows her eyebrows, "what?"

Lilah looks up, meeting her eyes. "I said you should go," she repeats more strongly. "I'm tired and I want rest, which means you need to leave."

Hope arches an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "No,"

Lilah scoffs, "what do you mean no? This is my room, and I don't want you in it."

A smirk crawls onto Hope's face, the Mikaelson looking incredibly smug. "That's gonna be a bit of a problem," her eyes gleam. "Roomie,"