Black and White

Part 4

Lizzie had never seen a family quite like this one before. They loved each other to the point they confused their feelings for hatred more often than not. She watched them silently from Hope Mikaelson's wrist, absorbing the information in case it became needed. Lizzie had never enjoyed watching her charges the way she began to with this girl. In previous instances, those summoning her had a specific purpose for her in mind. She had never been or heard of a homework demon before.

Lizzie found her new situation nigh upon hilarious. Accidentally being summoned was one of the rarest forms of summoning amongst Lizzie's people and usually came with the best stories. Generally, the casting witch would immediately dismiss the spell. She had to wonder why Hope wasn't trying to dispel her summoning. Lizzie had begun to suspect that despite being surrounded by love and acceptance, Hope might be quite lonely in her day to day life. She wasn't well understood, no matter how adored she might be.

Every few interactions, Lizzie could feel Hope crashing, whether it be emotionally, or by her energy levels. She did her best to encourage and give advice via emoticons. A coffee cup, glass of tea, or a bathtub emoji were thrown upon her screen seemed to do the trick more often than not. Lizzie found herself shocked by how her heart ached for this girl who referred to herself as a cosmic accident. Hope was special and a lot of the time, being special just made life hard.

"Aunt Freya!" Lizzie heard Hope perk up upon seeing the eldest...and also youngest... Mikaelson sibling. Even down-home, Lizzie had heard tell of Freya Mikaelson and her power. It was this particular Mikaelson sibling Lizzie had been the most concerned about. If anyone was going to find them out, it would be her. Hope even seemed in awe of her aunt. Lizzie completely understood, based on what she'd heard.

"Hey there, Little One. What do you have here?" Freya asked, lifting Hope's hand to get a better look at Lizzie's smartwatch disguise. If she had been able to breathe in her watch form, Lizzie would have held her breath. "I could feel the magic radiating off of this before I even got into the house. What did you get up to today, Hope?"

"Ms.Tig helped me to work a magical battery spell on my new watch. I don't have to worry about charging it ever again." Hope gave a proud smile as though hoping her aunt would be proud of her. It was a smooth and near perfect lie. "I wrote most of the spell myself. Ms.Tig only supervised. It's small, concentrated, and pretty powerful... not to brag or anything."

"It looks pretty comprehensive, Hope. You did good, kiddo." Freya didn't appear to even question the lie. Lizzie wanted to know why no one could see how Hope was clearly falling apart inside. As the older witch stepped away, Lizzie could hear the other girl scoff.

"I don't... today took a lot out of me, so I think I'm going to head to bed." Hope said after dinner; having been notably quieter than usual. She picked up her plateware and kissed her father's cheek before taking off. Klaus appeared concerned but remembered the recent scoldings he had received for having been overprotective.

"I'll go up and check on her later." Rebekah was reassuring him as Hope left earshot. Hope shuddered and leaned back against her bedroom door after shutting herself in. As soon as she opened her eyes, Lizzie was standing in front of her.

"Do you need a hug? I'm not the biggest fan of them, but it seems rather necessary at the moment." Lizzie stood tall with her hands laced behind her. Concern colored her expression and Hope could tell that she was barely holding back from taking action. She guessed the only reason Lizzie wasn't doing anything to help now was that she wasn't sure what Hope needed.