Surreptitious

Chapter 26: Bourbon Street

A/N:
1 – I know absolutely jack about New Orleans. I don’t even live on the American continent. I tried my best with research.
2 – I also only watched about a season and a half or so of The Originals (don’t shoot me, I enjoyed it, I just haven’t gotten around to watching it all) – so again, working off of research.
3 – Aaaaand it’s not that I condone underaged drinking, but in my country the legal drinking age is 18, which would mean for me this would be completely normal where I’m from. (But kids – don’t drink! It leads to massive headaches and bad decision making.)
4 – Music? “But it’s better if you do” – Panic! At the Disco ; “Of all the gin joints in all the world” – Fall Out Boy ; “Rooftops and invitations” – Dashboard Confessional ; “She Wolf (Falling to pieces)” – David Quetta feat. Sia

(…)

“Is this like, a family owned place?” Josie asked with warm cheeks as she watched Hope and Freya over the rim of a glass that contained something that was distinctly not juice or soda only.

“No, al though that would have been cool.” Hope grinned, her own cheeks somewhat rosy as she looked around the bar and its lively occupancy. There were people everywhere, huddled in groups around tables and seated inside booths. To one side of the large room was a small stage where a jazz band was crooning out its best Friday night tunes. People clamored around the bar counter and raised their glasses to friendships and family; to success and even heartache. It was a beautiful thing to observe: the liveliness and the exuberance.

“Rousseau’s is more like… a common home, if you will. You know how on the show Friends they always hang out at ‘Central Perk’, or on How I Met Your Mother they have ‘MacLaren’s’? Well, I guess that’s what Rousseau’s is to us, especially the supernatural community of the French Quarter.” Freya explained as she relaxed back in her seat. It wasn’t often that she was able to relax and enjoy herself. Often the eldest Mikaelson felt that she carried the world on her shoulders, especially when it came to taking care of her family.

But for now, Freya was just happy to take care of her niece and ensure that she and her friend had an enjoyable, yet safe, night out on the town.

“Are you almost done with that?” Hope gestured at Josie’s drink. Freya had allowed the girls to consume just a little bit of alcohol under her adult supervision. It was the weekend in New Orleans, after all, and she felt that for teenagers that had so much drama to deal with as these girls did, that perhaps it would be good for them to just be teenagers for a change.

“So impatient, wolfy.” Josie grinned and winked at Hope before swallowing the last of the red liquid in her glass. The liquid she had been consuming thus far throughout the evening was awakening an uncharacteristic playfulness within her – something that Hope thought was wildly attractive.

Hope blushed further as she pushed her own empty glass to the side and stood from her chair, then looked down at Freya. “Is it cool if we go explore?”

“I’ll wait here for you girls. You have 2 hours. And you know the rules, Hope!” Freya smiled at her niece with a raised brow, waiting for a response.

“Yes ma’am! No more drinking, no magic, no wolfing, no dodgy strangers, return at the first sign of anything that seems off.” Hope rambled out a set of rules that Freya had by now drilled into her whenever she would visit in New Orleans. Simple yet effective rules, all for the sake of keeping her niece safe and guarded. The Mikaelson family could never be sure that there were no more enemies lurking in secret shadows, so Freya liked to be cautious.

“You’re such a mom…” Hope whined playfully at her aunt as she grabbed Josie’s hand and tugged her to her feet. “See you later aunty Freya!” And the two were out the door of the establishment.