Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hope pulls open the door to the Salvatore Boarding School’s weapon cabinet, conveniently located in the office of the headmaster she so recently utilized as a warning to her friends. The cabinet itself opens up easily, although the second it does, an annoying siren begins blaring out into the room around her. Her jaw tenses up and a flash of annoyance runs over her face, just as she hears the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.

The grimace falls, annoyance leaving room for indifference.

“What are you doing here?” The pout rings clear in her voice.

“At the moment, being preemptively annoyed by this conversation. But I was actually hoping to raid your father's weapons stash, which has obviously been emptied.” The tribrid turns around, her hands finding a place behind her back as she watches the three of them expectantly.

“I thought it prudent, given our history.” Cleo states, her eyebrows drawing together in concern.

MG shifts a bit, not looking too comfortable with the situation. “Why do you even need weapons?” 

“It's a long story.” Hope shrugs, a playful smirk spreading on her lips. “I may have to kill some vampires and witches and werewolves, and this place is like a one-stop shop for pointy things. Well, it was.”

“Are you seriously threatening us?” Josie’s eyes barely flicker down to follow the line of Hope’s smirk before staring straight into her eyes.

“No.” Hope stops walking, standing right in front of the siphoner. “I'm talking about the triad. But, if you don’t get me those weapons…” Her eyes run along the faces of her friends. There’s a small pause and her eyes land on Josie, the smirk spreading just a little.

MG speaks, but Hope doesn’t pay attention to what he says as her own eyes are locked onto Josie’s. She takes another step, for a brief second coming so close to the taller girl that she barely has to put any effort into hearing the way her heart beats at their close proximity.

As she takes her next step, the tribrid allows her eyes to travel downwards, catching a glimpse of full pouty lips before she leans in, her own lips ghosting the brunette’s ear as she passes her, finding immense pleasure in the way Josie swallows thickly beside her.

Hope stands up, about to follow everyone out of the office, when Josie turns around to look at her, causing Hope to stop dead in her tracks. She watches Josie with slight offense before rolling her eyes.

“What?”

“You don’t believe we can do it, do you?”

Hope can’t help but scoff, her eyebrow raising as she smirks.

“No. I don’t.”

“Your humanity is still in there, Hope. I know it is.”

“Save your breath.” Hope says. “You’re going to need it.”

“Okay, which one of you wants to die first?” Hope smirks, tilting her head curiously. Something deranged flashes across her face as she looks between the fallen bodies of Finch and Ethan.

“Neither of them.”

Footsteps ring clear in Hope’s ears as she hears a familiar voice from behind her. Her eyebrow raises a bit, a curiosity pulling at her at the tone.

“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

Hope can practically hear the purr in the siphoner’s voice, and as much as she would never admit to it, there’s a small part of her that can’t help but feel relieved that this is the version of Josie she gets. She turns to face the dark witch, her eyes slowly dragging themselves from the floor and along the other’s body before landing on her face. Josie sends a smirk her way, quirking an eyebrow curiously. Hope returns it with a bored expression, her jaw twitching slightly. This version of Josie may be better than the alternative, but only slightly, and Hope can already tell she’d rather be anywhere else than here right now.

“You.” Josie slowly saunters towards Hope, hands planted on her hips. There’s a strip of visible skin across her abdomen, and Hope holds her hand up, pretending to inspect her nails to hide the way her eyes flicker across the exposed skin.

Josie turns her head towards Ethan. “Do your little blinky thing and get my girlfriend out of here.”

Something itches, right under the surface of Hope’s skin when Josie utters the word girlfriend, so sickly sweet. It’s nauseating. Pathetic. Weak. “The big kids need to chat.”

Hope doesn’t bother to check if Ethan does as he’s told. The insignificance of his and Finch’s presence annoys her, the mere fact that she had to spend even a second humoring their pathetic attempt at taking her down fills her with a deep-seated resentment.

“What took you so long?” Hope tilts her head, her eyes flickering downwards briefly, taking in the full silhouette of the siphoner. She can’t stop herself from adding a challenging hint to her voice. “Performance anxiety?”

“Well, I needed the proper motivation.” Josie shrugs casually, her own eyes running down along Hope’s body in a way that can only be described as shameless.

Hope’s lips spread in a wicked grin. “Oh, don’t tell me it was what’s-her-name being in danger that brought you out?” Her eyes go wide in mischievous mock surprise. “You’ve gone soft.”

“It’s actually exactly what Josie needed to let me loose. I’m here to put you down. Minus the boxing ring, of course.” Josie takes a step towards her. “You up for a rematch?”

“Absolutely.” Hope crosses her arms, her back straightening. “Finally, someone around here gets it. When it’s time to fight, Josie has to rely on her strong half.” A viciously sinful pride flashes in her eyes at her next words. “The half that’s like me.”

Josie’s lips spread in a grin and she slowly steps towards the tribrid. “Oh, I’m not here to fight you. I’m just here to snap my fingers,” she drawls.

As she gets closer to Hope, the latter raises her eyebrow, tentatively watching her every step.

“You remember Jade, right?” Josie questions, slowly making her way around Hope.

Hope nods, averting her eyes from the approaching witch.

“Former student. Actually, a lot like you. Headstrong, moody.” Josie watches her carefully, a slight tease never far off her tone. “Questionable taste in men. She was so scared of her trauma, she turned off her humanity, but I turned it back on.” Josie stops in front of her, staring directly into Hope’s eyes for just a second.

“Just. Like. This.” She snaps.

“Bad news.” Hope raises her eyebrow, looking at Josie with utter disinterest. “Your little trick didn’t work.”

The corner of Josie’s mouth twitches in amusement, her nail digging into her bottom lip and pulling it down as she allows her eyes to land on Hope’s, if only for a brief moment.

“Oh, I figured it wouldn’t.” She shrugs. “You’re basically an original now, and even I don’t have that kind of power.” She slowly turns away from Hope, excitement filling her words. “I just wanted to see what would happen when I snapped my fingers. See if I could see fear in your eyes.”

A pause. Josie’s voice turns more serious.

“I did.”

Hope wants to scoff at the claim.

“I’m not afraid of anything.”

Josie hesitates for a brief moment before she turns around, instantly throwing something at Hope. Without even thinking about it, the tribrid raises her hand, catching the orb effortlessly. It takes only a second before it lights up, shining red and Hope feels her veins pulse with anger.

A soft chuckle leaves Josie, but the smug grin on her face quickly falls as she stares at Hope.

“Just checking.”

Hope keeps her eyes on the orb in her hand, the annoyance she feels at being played this way being perfectly masked by the unchanging disinterest on her face. She grips the orb hard, allowing it to shatter in her hand before dropping the pieces to the ground.

“Oh, I think it’s broken.”

“But you do know the truth. You’re scared of your own humanity coming back.” Josie pouts in faked sympathy. “Of feeling what it felt like when you killed Landon.”

Hope’s fingers twitch at her side, aching to shut the witch up.

“All that sadness. Cling to your defense mechanism all you want, but when it crumbles…” Josie let’s out a chuckle, her head turning to look at Hope. “And it will. You’ll have an even bigger mess than what you had before.”

Hope’s heard enough, this back and forth becoming less and less interesting by the second.

“Lecutio.” Bolts of lightning fly from her hand, directly towards Josie. Not surprisingly, the siphoner lifts her hand, the magic flowing straight into her palm and electrifying her nerves as she siphons the spell. The corner of Hope’s lips twitch downwards momentarily.

Josie let’s out a satisfied hum. “Even the almighty tribrid can’t outrun her trauma forever.”

Hope scoffs in amusement, shrugging. “Watch me.”

In a flash, the tribrid finds herself in front of the siphoner, her foot colliding with Josie as she sends her flying through the gym doors.

Hope looks down at the all too familiar brown eyes staring back up at her. With a sigh Hope turns away, walking back into the gym. She grabs her bag, sliding it over her shoulder. 

“Smart move. But playing the weak, defenseless Josie card isn’t going to work either.” A smirk plays on her lips as she turns to look at Josie.

“Today proved to me more than ever that you’re still reachable.” Josie frowns. “I haven’t figured out how yet, but I will.”

“I could just kill all of you, and we never have to have this conversation again.” Hope smiles, quite satisfied with her solution.

“But you’re not going to.” Josie takes a step towards her. “The same reason you didn’t kill my dad.” Another step. “And the same reason you left a warning so we wouldn’t come after you.” Another step. “You don’t want to kill us. And your humanity is in there somewhere.”

“You’re just never gonna stop trying to reach me, are you?” Hope rolls her eyes, the bag dropping to the floor at her side. She’d really rather be on her way at this point, she doesn’t have all day.

“You never gave up on me. So, no. I’m not gonna give up on you.” Josie says, her tone insistent. It crawls up Hope’s spine, begging the tribrid to let in the memories of the time she saved Josie from her dark side.

Instead, Hope shakes her head in disappointment.

“In that case…” She looks into Josie’s eyes, contemplating her next step for just a second.

“Corporis impetus.”

Josie goes rigid in front of her, unable to move.

“I’m just gonna have to figure out what to do with you.” Hope says, crossing her arms as she watches the siphoner.

“Hope Mikaelson.” Aurora twirls a strand of her hair around her finger absentmindedly, her legs crossing as she leans back. “We have to stop meeting like this.” 

“No, we have to start meeting so I can kill you and the rest of triad.”

“Oh, promises, promises.” She bites back a laugh.

“Which one are you? Vampire, witch, werewolf?” There’s a tiny hint of curiosity spilling into her words.

“Oh honey, that would spoil the surprise.”

“Well, I hope it's better than that trap you had set up at the facility. You know I have the bloodline records now, so, just a matter of time before I figure out who you really are.”

Aurora’s smirk turns into a grin. “I can't wait to meet you, Hope.”

“Promises, promises.”

Aurora rests her chin against her knuckles, letting out a sigh as she takes in the empty street through her window.

Outside of the Salvatore Boarding School, a car drives away into the night.

The door to the school opens up, a young brunette running outside just in time to see the leaving car disappear into the darkness. She comes to a halt, her shoulders slumping forward as she watches the now empty road with a clear frown.

Several minutes pass as the figure stands alone in front of the school, the only sign she’s not frozen in place being the soft shake of her shoulders as she cries into the empty night.

Eventually the shaking dies down, and her hand reaches up to wipe at her face furiously, harsh sniffling breaking through the darkness. Once she feels composed enough to return to her friends, the siphoner turns towards the large building behind her.

Hope opens her eyes slowly, the world swimming around her. Instantly, something feels wrong, and she looks down at herself, eyes widening at what she sees.

The last thing she remembers is stabbing Aurora with Papa Tunde’s blade before it turned into a trident and everything went black.

A groan sounds in front of her, and she looks towards it, eyes widening as she sees her own body lying on the ground.

“What did you do to me?” Hope fights the tremble that threatens to spill into her voice as she watches it rise in front of her.

“Isn’t it obvious? I tricked you, little bird.” Aurora smirks, curtsying triumphantly. “Thanks to a little magic from dear, departed Agatha. She’s been watching you for a long time, Hope.”

Aurora steps closer to her, movements slow and deliberate. “Watching all of you for a long time. In fact, she told me all about you, love.”

Hope swallows, the unfamiliarity of this new body gnawing at her bones. It feels wrong .

“She told me about the boy. I want to say… Logan? Lincoln?” She pauses briefly, suddenly snapping her fingers. “Landon. I knew it was something boring.”

Hearing her own voice mention Landon’s name churns Hope’s stomach in a way she doesn’t care for at all. She’s just about to tell Aurora off when she continues speaking, causing Hope to freeze on the spot.

“And the girl. The headmaster’s daughter.” Aurora picks up a glass, nonchalantly letting blood flow from the decanter and into it. “At my age, you’d think I’d have forgotten what it’s like to be a teenager, but trust me, I still remember what it’s like. Perhaps because being a vampire isn’t far from it. The heightened emotions, the passion. Searching for the one your heart will lie with.” Aurora hums, bringing the glass to her lips. “Just between us girls, who’s the better kisser?”

“We never kissed.” Hope blinks and Aurora raises her eyebrow. She takes a sip of the blood before turning towards Hope with a curious expression.

“Pardon?”

Hope clears her throat, for some reason feeling strangely hot. “Josie and I. She’s my friend, we never… We’re just friends.”

Aurora chuckles loudly. “Just when I was beginning to think you were completely devoid of humor.” She lets out a satisfied sigh, looking at Hope with a playful smirk.

When the look is only met with mild confusion, the smirk falls from her lips, and she blinks. “You’re serious? Hm, curious.” She mutters, looking quite contemplative. 

A look of realization spreads on her face and she shrugs. “Oh well. No matter.” She picks up the trident, twirling it in her hand. “Regardless of your relationship, Josette sure did help us out. Without her, Agatha never would’ve thought to make this. For you see, you didn’t actually stab me with Papa Tunde’s blade. That one was destroyed in order to raise the Hollow, which you might have known if you weren’t so ignorant. If you knew your own family’s history better, you might still inhabit this tiny body.”

“Yours isn’t so roomy, either.” Hope grumbles.

“Oh, that’s been the least of its problems.” Aurora chuckles lightly, grinning widely at her. “Does the back of your neck itch, by any chance?”

Hope blinks, slowly reaching up to feel the back of her neck. The mark of the triad presses against her fingertips, and her eyes widen as she looks at Aurora.

“But you betrayed triad. You should’ve burned with the others.”

“Oh no, I did no such thing. I merely manipulated you into killing them. Magic and loopholes and… So it goes, yadda yadda,” she giggles. “You know how it is.”

“I want my body back.”

“That body’s ancient and powerful by vampiric standards.” Aurora takes a step towards her. “But is it any match for the tribrid without my mind in it? Tell you what, come at me and let’s find out.”

Hope glares at her stolen body, meeting Aurora’s eyes. Every nerve in her body is telling her to take her out, but she knows that there’s no way she ever could, and with a dissatisfied grunt, Hope disappears from the room.

Aurora groans in frustration as she upends yet another one of Hope’s bedside drawers onto the floor of the auburn-haired’s dorm room. There has to be a journal or something in here somewhere, anything that can give her some insight into Hope Mikaelson’s mind. The last thing she needs is for anyone to prematurely figure out that the current inhabitant of Hope’s body isn’t actually Hope.

Clothes and papers lie strewn across the floor, school assignments and sketches covering every single inch of the room. In a fit of anger, Aurora picks up the pillow from Hope’s bed and throws it against the wall, watching feathers burst from the fabric and fall slowly to the floor. It’s not like it could make the mess any worse at this point.

“Hope?”

Aurora whips around, internally cursing herself for not paying better attention to anyone entering the room. She watches as a tall brunette steps inside the room, eyes wide. The way her eyebrows crease together leads Aurora to believe she’s confused, although a slight hint of something resembling hope shines in her brown eyes.

“Uhm, yes?”

“What are you doing here?”

Aurora briefly considers just bolting out the window, but something stops her. Whether it’s her desire to find Hope’s journal, the chance to see if she can pull off this act, or the fact that this girl is looking at her like she’s never missed anyone so badly in her entire life and Aurora has a feeling she can use that to her advantage, she doesn’t quite know.

“I, um, forgot something.” She shrugs, casually observing the mess she made as if it doesn’t fill her with an intense frustration.

“I didn’t think you would come back so soon, I… The therapy box, it made me realize-” The brunette pauses. “I thought I would have to leave, go after you, but you’re…here.”

The brunette steps closer to her, hesitating as she stands in front of her. “Please don’t leave again Hope, we can help you.” Her eyes flicker down to the floor, fingers twitching by her side before she reaches forward, fingertips resting against Aurora’s.

“ I can help you. Please, we can go anywhere you want, no pressure, just the two of us, just please don’t leave me again.” Her voice is low, a mere whisper, and brown eyes look down at her with more concern than Aurora has ever seen in her entire life. “It’s you, Hope, I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Before Aurora has a chance to even attempt to unpack what just happened, a voice sounds from the hallway outside the room.

“Jo? Where’d you go?”

The brunette opens her mouth, and in a flash, she finds herself pressed against the wall, a hand covering her mouth.

Aurora looks up at her, meeting impossibly wide eyes and a gasp presses against her palm.

The sound of a quickly beating heart fills her ears and she puts a finger in front of her own lips, staring into her eyes. “Don’t move,” she whispers. 

The brunette’s body freezes, not a single muscle moving, and Aurora blinks, frowning slightly. She slowly moves her hand and takes a step back, but the brunette doesn’t move an inch.

“Jo? Hello? Shit.” Footsteps begin to retreat down the hall, away from the room, but Aurora is too busy observing the brunette to care.

“Well now, isn’t this interesting,” she hums. Her fingers tap against her thigh softly and she steps closer to the brunette, once again looking into her eyes. “So, I got a secret. Just between you and me, of course. Can I trust you not to tell anyone?”

A nod.

“I’m not actually Hope Mikaelson.” Aurora grins. When the brunette doesn’t show much of a reaction, she keeps going, pleased to see that her assumption is correct. “You’re going to answer my questions honestly. Understood?”

The brunette nods slowly and Aurora giggles. “Great!” She claps her hands together excitedly.

“Okay, first one. Circumstances lead me to believe that you’re ‘Jo’. Now, you wouldn’t happen to be Josette, would you?”

Josie nods. “My friends call me Josie.”

“Oh brilliant! I can’t say I haven’t been dying to meet you.”

“Why?” Josie tilts her head, and that insistent pout is back.

“Oh, that doesn’t matter. Let’s just stick to my questions, shall we?”

The pout smoothes out and Josie nods.

“I can’t stay long. I’d honestly rather no one else saw me here, compelling several people to forget they saw me quite frankly sounds exhausting, I have much better things to be doing. So, I’m going to cut straight to the chase. Does Hope Mikaelson have a journal?”

Josie nods again.

“Do you know where it is?”

There’s a small pause, then Josie shakes her head. “Not exactly.”

Aurora raises her eyebrow at this. “But you know where it could be?”

“I know where I would hide it if I were Hope.”

There’s a small pause.

“I’m waiting, love.” Aurora tilts her head.

“Can I move?”

Aurora ponders the question for a moment.

“If you don’t leave the room.”

Josie takes a step forward, moving towards Hope’s bookshelf. Aurora watches with mild annoyance, seeing as she’s already looked through every single book on the shelf.

Josie runs her hand along the books lining the shelf, until she suddenly stops. A faint red glow emits from her hand and she pulls out a book that Aurora could’ve sworn wasn’t there a moment ago. Josie turns towards her, holding the book out in front of her.

Without hesitating, Aurora grabs the book, opening it up instantly. Her eyes flicker across the first page and her eyes sparkle. “Brilliant.” She closes the journal, eyes landing on Josie again. “Well, I should get going. But first, I have one last question.”

She steps up to Josie, a sinister grin spreading on her lips.

“Are you in love with Hope Mikaelson?”

Aurora can hear the way Josie’s heart skips a beat, and the brunette swallows hard.

“Yes.”

A smirk spreads on Aurora’s lips.

“Be a dear and clean up this mess for me Josette. And then, forget this conversation ever happened, and that I was ever here.”

Well well, being the tribrid sure does come with its fair share of perks.

Hope stretches her fingers. Being back in her own body feels better than she could’ve ever imagined, the familiar feeling of magic pulsing through her veins instantly making her feel better.

“It worked.” She steps forward, watching Lizzie as she slowly walks closer, causing the blonde siphoner to step backwards. A grin spreads on her lips, as she realizes just how to convince Lizzie.

“Panda promise.”

The siphoner stops, a grin spreading on her lips as well before she leans in to hug Hope.

“You can’t trust her.”

Hope steps back, looking in Aurora’s direction, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

“Once a Mikaelson, always a Mikaelson.”

With a single push, the ceiling begins to crash down around them, throwing Hope and Lizzie backwards, while Aurora makes her escape.

Hope hums to herself as she looks over the shelves in Aurora’s mansion. The satisfaction of feeling Lizzie’s neck snap in her hands still lingers, and she pulls out yet another book. 

So far, none of the books have really given her a whole lot of useful information, but Hope is in no hurry. Giving Aurora a head start only makes the chase that more exciting.

As she flips through the book absentmindedly, something catches her eye. The corner of a photograph sticks out from in between two pages, and she grabs it, slowly pulling it out.

Aurora’s face stares up at her, along with the face of a young man. As she inspects it, she flips it over, reading the text scrawled on the back. ‘ Aurora and Tristan de Martel, March 22nd, 1894 ’. She studies the picture for a moment before putting it in her pocket.

Returning to the book, she takes a quick glance at the cover, her eyebrow raising as she reads the title.

The Strix: A Complete History

The name sounds a slight bell of recognition in the back of her mind, and Hope slowly walks over to a nearby chair, plopping herself down on it as she flips through the book.

As she does so, a page catches her attention.

The chapter header reads: The Conception, Leadership and End of Tristan de Martel.

Hm. Convenient.

Hope’s eyes flicker across the page as she begins to read a story starting with the human lives of the noble de Martel siblings, children of the Count de Martel. She reads about how the two of them were sired by her aunt and uncle, about their time on the run from Mikael, believing themselves to be the Mikaelson siblings.

Becoming rather bored at that point, she instead flips to the end. Surely there must be something there that she can use against Aurora.

As she flips through the next few pages, she reaches the end of the chapter, only to find that two of the pages have been ripped messily from the book. A sour grimace flashes across her face, but before she can do much else, a sound from the basement catches her attention, and she blinks, eyes going wide.

She drops the book on the floor before getting up and speeding her way to the basement. 

As she enters, she sees Lizzie slowly rising from the ground and dread fills her. If she thought Lizzie Saltzman was annoying before, she can’t even begin to imagine what she’s going to be like as a vampire.

“You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I know.” Lizzie lifts her gaze. “But now, all I am…” She swallows. “Is hungry.”

It’s been a few hours since Hope last saw Lizzie. Leaving the newly turned, feeding heretic behind at a gas station had been almost comically easy. She looks down at the map next to her, watching as her blood slowly moves along it. Aurora is on the move, but Hope doesn’t care. She’ll reach her eventually.

Hope folds the map together and puts it in her inner pocket. She steps out of the car she stole after splitting from Lizzie, twirling the keys in her hand, her eyes running over the street. Aside from the cloaking spell she cast on herself, there’s no way she’s going to leave herself any opportunity to be tracked down, especially when Lizzie is probably doing everything in her power to track her down. She needs to stay off the radar.

Her eyes land on an exceptionally nice car, and a smile spreads on her lips when a young man steps out of it. He’s speaking into his phone, not noticing anyone approaching him until Hope is standing right in front of him, cutting off his route into a nearby bank.

The man almost stumbles as he stops in front of her, his eyebrow shooting up and his sentence cutting off abruptly.

“Don’t move.” Hope smiles at him.

She can hear the voice of another person on the phone asking what happened. With a small hum she grabs the phone and drops it to the ground, stamping her foot down on it hard.

There’s a look of anger spreading on the man’s face and he’s just about to yell something when Hope puts a finger over his mouth, her eyes catching his.

“Shut up and listen to me.”

He goes completely silent, just looking back at her.

“I need a new car. I’ve already spent too much time in my current one if I’m being honest.” She looks down to the car briefly, before meeting his eyes again. “And I like yours. Give me the keys.”

The man reaches into his pocket, pulling out the keys and placing them in her open hand without a single word.

Hope smiles, putting them in her own pocket. 

“Perfect.” She looks down at his other hand and shrugs. “Give me the paper too.” She says, and again the man does as he’s told, handing over the folded up newspaper in his other hand.

Hope hums and looks down at the keys to her old car, momentarily contemplating what to do with them before she places them into the man’s hand.

“Wouldn’t want to leave you without a car now, would we?” She smirks and the man just shakes his head slowly in agreement. Truth be told, she could use a snack, but the thought of leaving him with the keys to a stolen car entertains her more than her hunger claims her.

Feeling satisfied with her choice, Hope steps past the man, absentmindedly unfolding the newspaper as she does so. Her eyes flicker over the front page, and when they catch on the headline, she stops dead in her tracks, her previously satisfied smirk turning into a tense frown. Her eyes flashes gold and black pulses through her veins, extending down her cheeks.

“On second thought,” she says, slowly turning around to see that the man has now stepped onto the sidewalk. “Maybe I should grab something to eat before I leave.”

The street around them is silent, and Hope doesn’t waste a single second. Before he can react, the guy slams against the outside of a small café, his head bumping against it hard. Hope pays it no mind. With a hand on his throat, she looks up at him, a grin creeping onto her face to reveal her fangs extending in her mouth. She can tell he’s about to scream and she presses her hand harder against his throat, cutting off his voice.

Her teeth sink into his neck and it doesn’t take long before his body goes limp. When she pulls her head back, the body slumps against the wall, slowly falling to the ground when she no longer holds onto it. Licking her lips, Hope turns away, walking up to the car and getting in.

Before she drives off, she pulls the newspaper out again, fingernails tapping against the steering wheel as she stares down at the page.

“BOARDING SCHOOL SLAUGHTER. DOZENS DEAD, HEADMASTER’S DAUGHTER MISSING.”

“Late last night, the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted located in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia got hit by an unidentified attacker. The attack left dozens of students dead, and the majority injured.

Police have yet to comment on the case, and it’s unclear if they believe there was any motive behind the attack.

An investigation into what happened is being conducted, as well as the search for one missing student who seems to have been kidnapped at the scene.

The missing student has been identified as Josette Saltzman, daughter of the school’s headmaster Alaric Saltzman, who is currently absent from the school as he seems to have been in an accident himself, leaving him in a coma. The police urge anyone who might know about Josette’s whereabouts to come forward and aid in the investigation.”

The newspaper rips easily. Hope crumbles both halves in her fists, throwing them in the backseat before she speeds off.

Josie opens her eyes slowly, her vision blurring at the edges. The light is harsh when her eyes open up. It takes a moment before her eyes adjust to her surroundings, every single movement feeling like an assault on her senses.

The chair she’s sitting on is digging into her uncomfortably, and she groggily wonders how long she’s been sitting down. Did she fall asleep while studying again? It’s possible, although she doesn’t remember ever waking up this disoriented.

Instinctively, she pulls on her hand to reach up and rub her eyes, but something stops her. It takes a moment for Josie to realize what it is, but as her wrists press against coarse rope, her eyes widen, and she comes to the stark realization that her hands are tightly bound behind her back.

Panic begins to settle in her, and all of a sudden, her position becomes clear to her. Her ankles stay solidly still where they’re tied to the chair, and a muffled scream dies against the kerchief tied around her mouth.

As the light settles into her vision, Josie realizes she’s no longer at the school. Instead she seems to be in the middle of an apartment she’s never seen before in her entire life. She strains her neck to look around her, muffled groans of pain leaving her. Despite her efforts, she can’t seem to find anything familiar, and she frowns, attempting to tug harder at her restraints.

Her mind is still muddy, but she tries her best to recall her last memories before everything went black. All she can remember is her and Finch leaving the school together, a sharp pain emerging in her chest, spreading through her body and in an instant making everything seem unfamiliar and wrong . She remembers screams from inside the school, Finch flying through the air and everything going black.

It still gnaws at her. An unsettling feeling deep in her gut. It spreads a different kind of fear in her, one that embraces her so thoroughly she can't tell which fear is causing her heart to pound heavily in her ears.

The siphoner struggles further, putting every ounce of strength she can muster into it, but all she achieves are already sore muscles getting more sore. A muffled cry leaves her, but even if there was anyone nearby, she doubts anyone would hear her.

A click coming from the door catches her attention, and Josie whips her head to the side, faster than she should’ve as she feels a throbbing pain spread down her spine. It makes her wince, but the prospect of who could be coming through the door distracts her from the searing pain.

The door opens, and a woman Josie has never seen before enters, causing her to frown in confusion.

The woman closes the door behind her, dumping a bag onto a kitchen counter before turning her head to look at Josie. A grin spreads across her face and she steps towards her eagerly.

“Well well well, look who’s awake.” She tilts her head, standing in front of Josie, hands resting on her hips. “It’s so good to see you again dear Josette.”

With a quick movement, the woman pulls down the kerchief, allowing it to hang around Josie’s neck.

“Now, don’t bother screaming, dear. No one is coming to save you.”

The chill in her captor's voice extends down Josie’s spine, sending an icy dread along her veins.

“What do you mean, it’s good to see me again? Who are you?” Josie forces as much confidence as she can into her voice, hoping it comes off as remotely threatening. Whatever game this woman is playing, she’s not interested in playing along.

“Don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours, you wouldn’t remember me anyways. Let’s just say I wasn’t quite myself the first time we met.” She smirks.

Josie tenses a little, not enjoying the playful expression the woman wears. She pulls on the ropes again, her body struggling to get free. 

A mocking laughter bubbles out of her kidnapper.

“Oh that’s no use. You’re not getting out of those that easily darling”

Josie tugs once more before accepting that the mysterious woman is right. It’s no use.

“Why am I here?” She pauses for a moment. “Where…where is here?”

“Well, to answer all of your questions.” The woman spreads out her arms, bowing her head slowly. “My name is Aurora de Martel. I am… An old friend of the Mikaelson family.”

Josie’s eyes widen and she looks like someone who’s seen a ghost.

“Aurora de Martel. I’ve read about you.”

This seems to take the woman off guard, but Josie hardly notices as she carries on.

"You're the first vampire Rebekah Mikaelson ever sired." A look of confusion crosses her face. "I could've sworn I read somewhere that you were dead, though."

"Dead?" Aurora chuckles. "I'm sure several people out there would wish that to be the truth. But, do not be fooled, witch. I may have spent several years in a magically induced coma, but I am in fact very much alive. Well. As alive as someone like me can be." She shrugs.

A million questions bubbles up in Josie’s mind, each one pushing to be asked first. For a moment, she completely forgets the situation she finds herself in, for a moment, the ropes don't burn into her wrists. Aurora continues talking before she even has the chance to open her mouth.

"As for why you’re here, let's just say I have some unfinished business with the Mikaelsons and I do believe you could be a great help to me in this particular fight." The smirk on the vampire's lips does nothing to calm Josie's frayed nerves.

"If you think I'll help you, you're sorely mistaken." Josie snaps. This attracts Aurora's attention, her blue eyes focusing in on Josie's in the blink of an eye. They stare at each other for several painfully long seconds, Aurora's eyebrow slowly rising. The fear that Josie had so easily forgotten seems to be creeping back into her.

"Looks like the witch has claws. And here I thought that was solely reserved for the mutts." Her tone is amused, and she takes a step forward. "Interesting. But don't worry, you won’t have to lift a finger."

Aurora turns her head, looking behind her before slowly sauntering over to the kitchen. She pulls a bottle from the fridge and grabs a glass, slowly pouring herself a glass of blood.

Josie’s nose scrunches up, the faint smell hitting her after a few moments.

“So, Josette Saltzman.” The vampire turns her head to look at Josie, her eyes staring straight into hers as she takes a sip of the glass. “What’s your story?”

“What?” Josie blinks, a little taken aback by Aurora’s question. She can’t figure out how Aurora knows her name, although if she knows enough about her to know that she has a connection to the Mikaelson family, that really shouldn’t surprise her.

A realization hits the siphoner, and she swallows down a gasp. There’s only one Mikaelson she can claim to be close enough to for her disappearance to matter, and it churns her stomach in a way that both terrifies and warms her. It causes her heart to beat a little faster, and she doesn’t miss the way Aurora’s eyes flicker down to her chest for a quick second, her smirk spreading.

“Tell me about yourself.” Josie watches as Aurora slowly steps closer to her, draping herself across a comfortable armchair in front of her, taking another sip before observing the siphoner with playful interest. “Tell me your deepest, darkest secret.”

“I’m not telling you anything.”

Aurora slowly sits up straight, her elbows resting against her thighs. The smirk on her lips fades slightly as she drains the rest of her glass. She licks her lips, observing the glass before jumping to her feet. Before Josie can even react, the glass flies right by her ear and she flinches, her heart thundering as the glass shatters against the wall behind her.

The brunette swallows hard, her breath audibly shaking as she slowly looks up at Aurora.

The vampire is glaring down at her, an intensity that Josie doesn’t like burning behind her eyes.

“Indulge me.” The smirk returns to her lips, and Josie pulls in a sharp breath, her eyes closing as she attempts to calm herself down.

“I’m waiting.” Aurora drags out sweetly.

Another sharp breath, another shaky inhale attempting to calm her down.

“Uh, sometimes I don’t turn in my library books on time and when asked about it, I blame it on my sister.” Josie swallows, still too scared to open her eyes.

“You don’t want to test my patience, witch.” There’s an edge to Aurora’s voice now, something sharp, something urgent. It presses against Josie and despite her best attempts, her body shakes more and her heart pounds louder, the blood rushing in her ears.

“Everyone always assumes I don’t feel any pressure in school because I always do so well, but I do. I once stayed up for an entire week, surviving mostly on coffee and energy bars. I fell asleep during my chemistry of magic class, and the teacher, Mr. Graves’ gave me detention. I’d never gotten detention before. Next time we had class, I turned his snake skin belt into a real snake. Not a dangerous one, it was completely harmless, I just wanted to mess with him. I figured no one would ever suspect me of doing anything like that, and they didn’t. But Mr. Graves completely panicked and overreacted. I’m not sure why, but he seemed convinced that Alyssa Chang was behind the prank and she ended up getting a month’s detention. I never came clean and I’ve always felt bad about it.”

A hiss left the snake as it came into existence around her teacher’s waist. With a loud screech, the middle-aged man quickly pulled it off of him, dropping it on the floor where nothing but a belt was left once it hit the ground.

Laughter bubbled out of several of the students. Mr. Graves looked up, his eyes flickering around the faces of the students until they landed on the one that was laughing the loudest.

His eyes narrowed and he stepped forwards towards the young witch.

“Alyssa Chang. I should’ve known.”

Alyssa blinked, her laughter getting stuck in her throat as she looked up at the man. “What? Wait, no, this wasn’t me!”

Mr. Graves sneered. “Don’t insult me Miss Chang. Headmaster’s office, now. ”

It’s true, Josie does feel bad. Of course she knows that this isn’t her deepest, darkest secret, far from it. This doesn’t even come close to the worst thing she’s ever done to Alyssa Chang. Giving someone a month’s detention seems so harmless once you’ve killed them. But if she can just convince Aurora that it’s the truth, if she can just make her believe.

Aurora scoffs harshly. It sends a jolt through Josie, her nerves standing on edge all across her skin.

“I don’t know if I should be annoyed or impressed.” Josie thinks she sounds more annoyed. “Bravery can be considered nothing but stupidity if you have nothing to gain from being brave, sweetheart. And I promise you, the only thing you stand to gain from this, dear Josette, is my anger.”

The room falls silent for a moment, the beating of Josie’s heart ringing so loudly in her ears that she knows it’s just as loud in Aurora’s.

“I-In the third grade, I-”

“STOP LYING TO ME!” Aurora’s voice bounces off the walls. “I am not playing games!”

Josie can hear footsteps come towards her and the panic she first felt when she woke up comes crashing back into her tenfold.

“I hurt someone!” She blurts the words out, the surprise causing her eyes to open wide. Her entire body goes rigid, realizing that Aurora is standing right in front of her.

The vampire looms over her, a grin so wide and sickly sweet it makes Josie sick to her stomach, spread across her face. Josie looks down, swallowing hard. “I hurt someone,” she whispers, her throat feeling raw and her eyes wet. “Badly.”

“See, now we’re getting somewhere,” she says, her tone far too pleased for Josie’s liking. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Aurora saunters back to the armchair, pausing for a brief moment before sitting back down. Legs crossing leisurely, she leans back, arms resting against the sides of the chair as she looks at Josie.

“Tell me more. And allow me to clarify dear, that ain’t a question.”

Josie catches her eye. Despite the grin still edged onto Aurora’s face, Josie still notices the anger flashing just below the surface. She blinks, attempting to rid her eyes of the building tears.

“Why? What is it you want?” she sniffles.

Aurora raises her eyebrow slowly, eyeing Josie curiously.

“What do I want? Oh dear, that’s a good question, isn’t it? Big,” she hums. “For now, what I want is to hear your story Josette. So please, do go on.”

Josie swallows down the unease crawling up her throat, her hands straining uncomfortably against her restraints as she tries to form the words. The things she did under the influence of dark magic, it isn’t exactly something she enjoys thinking about.

“It was…” Her throat hurts, going painfully dry. The words get stuck in her throat and she has to push, has to drag them out. “I wasn’t myself, not really. I was… Off.”

The silence around them feels deafening, buzzing in her ears. “I’d had this great summer, no monsters, no threats. It was carefree and quiet and romantic.”

Something itches, right under her skin. A feeling of discomfort, of something being wrong. It’s been months since she last thought about her and Landon like that. About the way they’d fallen cluelessly in love despite the constant feeling at the back of her mind. The feeling that she wasn’t quite herself. That something was missing.

“The constant threat we’d been living under for the last few months had been defeated. It was nice. Too nice. Of course, it wasn’t going to last.”

Josie feels her stomach clench as she remembers the intense jealousy she’d felt after they started dating. The way she began to lose herself, began to lose her grip on who she was with every look sent Landon’s way. Like she would die if she lost him, if she lost another person she cared about. It hadn’t made sense to begin with, because she hadn’t lost anyone else. All her friends were still there.

“I started acting out. When one of my classmates began to flirt with my boyfriend… I used dark magic. To hurt her. Nothing serious, I just gave her a nosebleed. I just wanted to, I don’t know. Warn her, I guess.” Josie pauses, her eyes nervously flickering to the side. “I wanted to hurt her. Our new principal, he saw and he… He gave me this sandclock.”

“Let me guess.” Aurora interrupts. “He gave you a mora miserium, didn’t he?”

Josie blinks. “You know what that is?”

“Oh come on dear, you don’t get to be as old as me without picking up some information along the way. A mora miserium is used to trap dark magic.”

“Right. He told me it would help. He told me he wanted to help.” Josie nods. “But uh, as it turns out, he wasn’t exactly who he said he was. And he didn’t have my best interests at heart when he taught me to do dark magic.” Her gaze falls to the floor, her body trembling lightly.

“Look at me.” Aurora’s voice is strangely soft, and Josie can’t help but feel compelled to do so. Their eyes meet, and Josie shivers at the wicked curiosity that shines in Aurora’s eyes. “What did you do?”

“I broke someone’s arm.” Josie recalls. “A human from the local high school. During a football game, I was angry and my mind, it wasn’t mine anymore, not really. My boyfriend had flirted with someone from the opposite team, or so I thought, and everything just… Went dark.”

As she speaks, Josie can feel herself become oddly detached from her story. She’s aware that she’s telling the story, but her mind is elsewhere. Her mind is on everything she’s not saying out loud.

The confusion when Hope first returned, the feeling that something wasn’t right about her, that something was wrong. That somehow, this girl she’d never met before was the answer to all of her questions. 

The bus came to a stop in front of the field. One by one, the Mystic Falls High team exited the bus, heading towards the field.

Landon seemed to be staring at the other team with a strange tension emanating from him. Josie followed his gaze, her eyes landing on a girl from the other team.

The second her eyes fell on the girl, something inside of her caught on fire. A desire to know more spread through her, coursed through her veins as she watched the girl come closer.

“Do you know that girl?” Josie asked absentmindedly. The look on Landon’s face annoyed her, jealousy igniting deep within her. At the time she’d told herself it was because Landon was looking at another girl.

Later she knew; it was because Hope was looking at Landon.

The intense rush of emotions when her memories came flooding back. Like being slapped in the face with the sudden memory of your first love when you weren’t even aware you’d forgotten her to begin with. She still remembers how she’d felt in the following days, so hurt and angry, yet unable to fight the butterflies that spread in her gut everytime she was near Hope.

Josie was going to kill Lizzie for bringing her here. Hope was the last person she wanted to see right now, but as she did, a warmth instantly spread in her chest and she hated herself for it.

“What’s going on with Sebastian?”

Josie realized she hadn’t really been paying attention to the conversation, too busy sulking.

“Headmaster Downton Abbey wants us to enroll him to keep him off the streets. But after deliberately letting me think that I was unwell, I will not let that happen.” Lizzie remarked sharply.

Josie rolled her eyes. “You should forgive MG.”

“Never!”

“He didn’t want to hurt you.” Josie argued. Seeing her sister so upset with MG made her sad. Besides, trying to fix Lizzie’s relationships was a good way to ignore the state of her own.

“He hid things from me. Zero stars.”

Josie felt the word vomit rise like bile at the back of her throat, and before she could stop herself, the words spilled from her lips.

“He’s not the only friend keeping secrets.”

The hurt look on Hope’s face was more than enough to shatter her heart into a million pieces, but it was too late. Josie couldn’t take the words back, and frankly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

“I didn’t want to hurt you either.”

“Yeah, well.” Josie looked away, heart pounding and head swimming. “Zero stars.”

“I was fooling myself thinking that the sandclock would be enough. I had to break it. And all of that dark, angry magic, it flowed right into me, all at once,” she continues.

“And…” She takes a deep breath, trying to push down the tears welling up in her eyes. 

“I killed someone. Which is a surprisingly low body count considering the amount of people I tried to kill. Or threatened to kill. I mean, she came back to life, but. I still did it.”

The room falls silent. Aurora is still staring straight into her eyes, slowly shifting in the chair as she leans forward. It’s suffocating, the silence. Not knowing what’s going on in Aurora’s head, not knowing if she’s satisfied. If she believes her.

“You’re not ashamed that you did it.” There’s a small hint of pride in her tone that Josie absolutely hates.

“You’re ashamed that you enjoyed it. The dark magic, the darkness. It calls to you.”

Josie’s entire body goes rigid, and for a brief second she completely forgets how to breathe. No part of her moves at all as the words process in her mind.

Her eyebrows draw together, a pout she’s all too used to pulling the corners of her mouth down. She shakes her head, just barely, but enough that Aurora catches it.

“That’s not true,” she says, her voice shaking slightly. She coughs, clearing her throat before lifting her chin just a bit. Her eyes are still focused directly on Aurora’s. “You’re wrong.”

“Oh, am I now?” Aurora chuckles lightly, arching an eyebrow. “Tell me then, darling. When you set your ex on fire, what foreign power influenced you then?”

A shock runs through Josie, violent and sudden. Her eyes go wide and she stares at the vampire as she does nothing, but smirk, no doubt satisfied with herself.

“How did you-”

“Let’s just say I’ve read about you too.” Aurora grins. “Besides, I may have cheated a little. Done a quick dive into your mind, just to get the overall details. See your side of the story. I can’t say I appreciate the level of detail you left out, although I am pleased to know you finally told me the truth.”

The thought of Aurora invading her mind like that doesn't upset her nearly as much as the realization that she might have seen Hope. Seen Hope the way Josie sees Hope. The way only Josie sees Hope and knows Hope and it makes her blood boil to think of anyone else sharing that vision. Of all the things in her mind palace, Hope is hers and she is sacred.

“Don’t you get it? She didn’t kill me. She’s not too far gone.”

“If you already knew it all, why did you put me through this?” Josie asks, her tone short and annoyed.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Is the only response Josie gets.

Josie swallows, her eyes still staring straight into Aurora’s. As the seconds pass and she doesn’t say anything, the smile on her kidnapper’s lips only gets wider, until Josie can no longer stand it and she looks away, refusing to answer.

A playful hum leaves Aurora and Josie can feel how her eyes still burn into her, observing her intently.

The siphoner refuses to meet her eyes. Instead, they begin to wander her surroundings once more, only stopping when they land on a framed picture perched atop the fireplace next to her. Her eyes widening in disbelief at the sight.

The blonde in the picture doesn’t look familiar to her at all, however, the man standing behind her, arms wrapped around her waist, and the baby she’s holding in her arms, is all too familiar. How had she not noticed the picture until now?

Aurora’s eyes follow hers, and with a contemplative hum she gets up, slowly making her way to the fireplace. She picks up the frame, her eyes running over the picture. For a moment, Josie is convinced the playful front Aurora has been putting up crumbles, a look of sincere hurt flashing across her eyes. Her fingers touch the glass, and in that moment Josie knows who she’s longing for.

Just as quickly as it appeared though, it’s gone and Aurora looks up, leaning against the fireplace as she finds Josie’s eyes.

“Dastardly fate, being in love with a Mikaelson. Especially one who holds another in their heart. Wouldn’t you agree, darling Josette?”

Josie chokes on her heart. It lodges in her throat, expanding over and over as it beats, effectively cutting off the air going into her lungs. Her face burns, and she knows her skin is glowing red.

“I-” Josie attempts to swallow her heart, willing it to slow down, to let her breathe. It doesn’t work. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” she murmurs. Her tongue swipes across her lips quickly, the air around her suddenly feeling so dry, so constricting and for a fleeting moment, she wonders if she’ll ever breathe again.

“Don’t play dumb with me, dear. Even if your heart wasn’t hammering in my ears, we both know that you’re lying. I've seen it, remember.” Aurora's eyes go wide, her tone mocking as she holds up the picture so it’s facing Josie, her finger tapping against the baby. 

“We both know you’re in love with Hope Mikaelson dear. I don’t blame you, after all I’ve been there. I know how irresistible those intensely blue eyes can be. The rush that comes with being at the receiving end of the devotion of someone so unique, so powerful. It’s intoxicating. It makes you feel special. You feel it too, I see it in your eyes.”

Josie doesn’t answer her. She doesn’t want to admit that Aurora is right. That despite all her attempts to forget Hope, to just move on and find happiness somewhere else, it never works. Hope never leaves her mind, Hope never gives up on her. 

Her eyes fall on the door, the brunette sucking in her lower lip, chewing it nervously.

“Don’t you know, a watched pot never boils Josette.” Aurora makes her way back to the armchair, watching Josie with mild interest. “Why are you so certain she’ll come for you? She doesn’t care about you, darling. Not anymore.”

Josie doesn’t believe her. She can’t believe her. Humanity or not, Josie can’t help but hold on to the belief that Hope is coming for her.

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Josie looks back at Aurora. She refuses to show Aurora how much her words hurt, she refuses to let her get under her skin. Into her mind.

"You know, you're a lot like her." Aurora taps the glass of the picture lightly, causing Josie to look down. Her eyes land on the blonde woman holding Hope in her arms, and she raises her eyebrow slightly.

"The way you love Hope, it’s the exact same way she loved Klaus. So convinced of the light inside of them, yet failing to see how it's the darkness that draws you in."

"Who is she?" Josie asks, ignoring Aurora’s statement.

"Irrelevant. All that matters is that giving her heart to Klaus eventually got her killed. Loving a man with that many enemies, receiving his love in return. It puts a target on your back. You become a weakness for something that prides itself on being powerful."

Josie let's her words sink in, her heart skipping a bit as the implication of her statement settles in her mind.

Her eyes slowly go wide, the gears in her mind turning as the pieces begin to fall into place.

“Why did you pick me?” Josie looks up at the vampire.

Aurora doesn’t manage to choke back the laugh that leaves her.

“Are you serious? Oh Josette, I think we both know the answer to that question.”

Josie swallows hard.

“Indulge me,” she says as she looks back at Aurora.

The look of genuine surprise that spreads on the vampire’s face pleases Josie, and Aurora looks at her for a moment before she chuckles, grinning wide.

“I see how it is.” She watches Josie, considering her for a moment. She slowly walks back to her chair and sits down.

"Do you know how addicting it can be, the love of someone who, despite the atrocities you've committed, still sees the good in you?" Aurora tilts her head. 

"As intoxicating as their love is, dear, your belief that no matter how far gone they are, they’re still capable of good will forever be the strongest pull there is. As drawn as you are to her, I guarantee. She won’t be able to give up your love.”

Josie stares at her, all the thoughts in her head making way for Aurora’s words. For just a moment she allows herself to believe the vampire, she allows herself to believe that maybe, just maybe Hope could truly love her.

"You said it yourself. Hope holds another in her heart. So why would you think my disappearance would matter to her?" Despite feeling quite satisfied with herself, her voice still comes out small and unsure and it makes her cringe.

Aurora looks at the picture in her hands once more, sighing.

“Klaus was stubborn.” She continues. “He became so closed off, so afraid of getting hurt, of losing anyone else that he’d rather deny himself the love he so craved, just to avoid the pain of one day losing it,” she says, at this point talking more to the picture in her hands than to Josie. "Admitting what your heart desires isn't always easy.”

She sighs, lingering on the picture. 

“Fortunately, I have this.”

Aurora reaches down to grab something next to her chair. It looks like a notebook, but Josie instantly recognizes it. She’s seen Hope write in it, seen the way she always slams it shut whenever someone approaches.

“How did you get that?” Josie’s eyes widen.

“With a little help from a friend.” Aurora winks at her, and Josie gets the feeling she’s being let in on a secret she was never told. “That’s not what’s interesting though.” Aurora hums, opening up the book.

“Don’t you want to know what Hope actually thinks of you?” She breathes.

Josie blinks, her teeth slowly scraping against her lip. She stares at the journal for just a moment before she pulls herself out of it, shaking her head. “No.”

“Hm, too bad.” Aurora laughs, slowly flipping through the pages. “Because I very much want to read you something.”

Josie bites her lip. She’d be lying if she said a small part of her isn’t curious to hear whatever Aurora is about to read, but the invasion of Hope’s privacy makes her sick.

“Oh, here it is!” Aurora speaks up, her fingers running along the page. “Oh Josette, you’re going to love this. Check this out.” The vampire clears her throat, adjusting her position slightly.

“I did magic with Josie today. Even when she doesn’t remember me, it still feels like the most natural thing in the world. I miss it. It never feels like she takes magic from me, she simply waits for it to be offered. Even when there’s nothing but contempt in her eyes, the magic is still ours. I wonder if this is how it’s always going to be from now on. Even if I never tell them, is she going to hate me forever anyways?” 

Aurora sighs dramatically. “Oh the drama! Just delicious.”

Josie can feel her heartbeat in her veins, every thud of her heart running through her and igniting her from the inside out. It never occurred to her that Hope thought about her at all during that period of time, let alone in a context outside of Landon and the fact that Josie had stolen him away from her.

“You’re awfully quiet over there, darling.” Aurora turns her head to look at Josie. “If you want, I can skip to some of the spicier parts.”

Josie shakes her head furiously.

“Boring. But okay, let me explain the situation to you then.” Aurora shrugs. “For you see, I’ve read this entire book several times, and one thing is awfully clear to me. But, to understand, I will have to share a bit of my own story with you. You see, once upon a time, Klaus and I, we were in love. Deeply. Passionately. The kind of love that swipes you off your feet and asks you to dive in, head first and not look back. The kind of love you think is going to last forever.”

Aurora puts the book down, opting to pick the picture back up.

“Of course it didn’t. We were forcefully separated thanks to that insufferable excuse of a man Klaus called his brother. Elijah, he always had it out for me. And by the time we found our way back to each other, Klaus had fallen in love with someone else. Camille. A love that consumed him so deeply, I had no chance of ever owning his heart again.”

The frame begins to creak, and the glass covering the picture splinters violently as Aurora crushes it in her hands.

“Oh boy, clumsy me.” She gets up, walking back to the kitchen to throw the broken picture in the trash. “To make a long story short,” she continues, eyes fixed straight on Josie the entire time. “You’re the Camille in your story Josette. While I was the Landon in mine.”

Josie isn’t quite sure how to respond. The thought of Hope actually being in love with her is so outrageous, that to imply she could ever be consumed with love for her, feels like insanity to Josie.

“This is why you’re the perfect bait, dear. Because despite Hope’s current state, I know she will not be able to resist the pull you have on her. Just like Klaus couldn’t resist when I took his precious Camille.”

“Yes, well, I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time.” Josie tries with everything she’s got to mask the hurt in her voice, bile rising at the back of her throat and turning her words bitter. “Hope and I are just friends. And you said it yourself, she… She doesn’t care, not anymore.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Aurora’s lips split apart in a playful grin, her eyes landing on the still open door. She strolls over to Josie, covering her mouth back up before leaning down, careful not to make any skin contact at any point. “It looks like we have company,” she whispers.

Josie’s eyes go wide, and she whips her head to the side, her heart instantly taking up residence in her throat once more.

The room falls quiet and Josie watches the door intently. For every second that passes, her breathing grows faster, bringing along a growing dizziness.

It feels like time stands still. Josie wants to scream, but she can't. All she can do is wait.

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag.”

A shiver runs down Josie’s spine, her eyes going wide. There’s no stopping the way her heart thumps against her ribcage, a gravitational pull wrapping itself around her very core.

“I was wondering when you were going to join us. Took you long enough.” Aurora taunts.

“Well, what can I say?”

Hope finally comes into view, a cold smirk on her lips and a cup of coffee in her hand. The lack of concern in Josie’s favorite ocean unsettles her, and yet the brunette can’t help the way her eyes stay glued to Hope’s to look for it, the way her entire body calls out to Hope, willing her to look back at her. To allow herself just a hint, a flicker of the deep compassion Josie knows so well to glint across her gaze.

It doesn’t happen. Hope’s eyes are fixed on the vampire. Not once does she spare a glance in Josie’s direction.

“I had to pick up coffee on the way.” Hope shrugs, taking a long sip of the coffee in her hand. She takes her time, emptying the cup before she crosses her arms, tilting her head a little. 

Hope slammed the car door behind her as she stepped out onto the parking lot. She didn’t waste a single second, heading directly towards a small nightclub, the words ‘The Dungeon’ flickering above the door.

Being within the borders of the French Quarter didn’t leave her with many options to seek out information. At least not if she wanted to stay out of sight of anyone who might alert her family of her arrival, and the fact that Aurora had chosen to end her escape here, did nothing to calm Hope’s seething nerves.

She kicked the door to the club open. The sound rang out through the small space, abruptly cutting off the music and stopping everyone on the dancefloor.

Hope paid no attention to the looks she got, until a mountain of a man stepped in front of her, glaring down at her with a displeased grimace.

“You need to leave. We don’t want any trouble here.”

Hope stopped, fists balling at her sides as she looked up at him. A harsh chuckle left her, her jaw ticking in an attempt to suppress her anger.

“I’m just looking for someone who knows something ab-”

“I told you.” Black spread through the veins around the man’s eyes as he put a hand on Hope’s shoulder, applying force to push her back. “You need to leave.”

Hope froze, not budging in the least under the pressure. A slight look of astonishment crossed his face, and before he could say anything else, Hope’s hand landed on his wrist, prying his hand off of her shoulder with ease.

“What the-”

Hope threw her hand down, pulling his wrist along and twisting his arm around until a loud crunch could be heard vibrating through the room. She continued to twist, ignoring the groan of pain coming from the vampire as he fell to his knees in front of her.

With a swift kick to the side of his head, his body went limp, neck snapping briskly.

Watching as his body crumbled to the floor, Hope tilted her head, arms crossing across her chest.

Not a single word could be heard in the entire place, and with a disapproving tisk, Hope stepped forward, eyes scanning across the crowd.

“Well, now that that’s out of the way,” she said. “Who here knows what happened to Tristan de Martel?”

“Anyways, better late than never, am I right? Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve already spent way more time on this silly little endeavor than I care for, so, I’m afraid I’ll be killing you now.”

Before Aurora can react, Hope speeds towards the open door and Josie feels her entire body shiver with something she refuses to acknowledge as excitement. However, it’s a short lived feeling. Hope reaches the threshold, but she doesn’t cross, instead being flung backwards.

Aurora cackles loudly, her head tilting to the side.

"What's the problem little bird? Forgot to pick up your invitation? Please, do you really think I would be dumb enough to pick a place without an owner? You wound me, little bird."

Hope's expression turns sour, her eyes darkening for just a second as she watches the vampire. Then it disappears, the corners of her lips turning upwards to pull out the fakest smirk Josie has ever seen. The expression is so intensely foreign to her that it burns into her, the inside of her skin itching in discomfort. She shifts, attempting to quell the feeling.

As the chair creaks under her, Josie finally feels a pair of eyes on her, and she looks up, her eyes instantly locking on Hope’s. It sends a jolt of electricity down her spine before she even has a chance to register the disinterest in the tribrid’s gaze.

It doesn’t last long, and Josie feels the absence of Hope’s gaze as intensely as she would feel the absence of her touch. It leaves her cold in a way she never knew was possible.

A thought gnaws at the back of her mind, and despite knowing the naivety of it, she can’t help but wonder if Hope is fighting to keep her gaze from her.

“Although.” Aurora chirps, her eyes flickering between the two of them. “It is quite nice to see how eager you are to save your dear, precious Josette. And here I was beginning to think I’d picked my bait poorly.”

“Please.” Hope rolls her eyes. “You can’t possibly think she means anything to me. I am simply here to teach you a lesson, can’t have people running around thinking it’s acceptable to just hitch a ride in my body now, can I.”

Unable to do anything, but feel her heart sink, Josie looks away. She won’t let Hope see the tears that threaten to spill from her eyes, she refuses.

Aurora just smirks, letting out a short hum. 

“So.” Hope begins, slowly crushing the now empty coffee cup in her hand. “New Orleans. Getting desperate, are we?”

Josie’s eyes widen slightly. They’re in New Orleans?

“Oh, by no means, little bird. I was just trying to make the surroundings a bit more… Familiar to you this time around. Surely you know the importance of this place? After all, your father did spend his fair share of days in this very apartment.”

Hope’s finger twitches at her side, but aside from that, she shows no emotion at all.

“Sorry, to disappoint, but I’ve never been here before. Not sure what you were trying to achieve, but this place makes me feel nothing, and neither will a walk down memory lane. So really, I think you should just come out here so we can finish this.” Hope drawls, the edge of her words laced with a slight snark.

“Oh Hope, patience darling. I’m afraid you don’t really have a choice. A walk down memory lane is exactly where I intend to take you.”

“Look, I know you were like obsessed with my dad or whatever, but he’s dead, and frankly, I’ve put it behind me. You should do the same, this whole thing is starting to get a little too ‘pathetic ex girlfriend’ for me.” Hope tilts her head in feigned sympathy.

“Oh, is that so?” Aurora responds. “It really is impressive what that blasted humanity switch can do, isn’t it?” Her head turns towards Josie and the brunette perks up a bit, not quite comfortable that there’s suddenly attention on her. Especially not when Hope still looks at her with eyes she doesn’t recognize.

“I know dear Josette over here agrees.” Aurora smirks. “And if I’d only gotten to you a mere week ago, I bet we’d be having a much different conversation right now.”

“And why would you think that?” Hope crosses her arms.

Aurora hums as she leans down to pick up the previously discarded journal. Josie sees Hope's eye twitch when she sees it, but otherwise, her bored expression doesn’t change.

Her eyebrow rises slightly as she watches Aurora, her boredom perfectly masking any surprise Josie imagines she feels.

“Just an educated guess based on some of your recent entries.” Aurora hums, slowly flipping through the journal. “Allow me to refresh your memory dear.”

Aurora clears her throat, her eyebrows drawing together as she prepares to read from the journal, her tone coming out sad and broody.

“I had the dream again. The one where I go to stab Malivore, but as the blade goes in, it changes, and it’s no longer Malivore, it’s my dad, and I’m pressing the white oak stake into his heart, and he burns in front of me, and there is nothing I can do about it. I miss him, so much. I miss mom. I wish they were here, I wish I could talk to them about everything. About all the pressure. The decisions I have to make. About how scared I am.”

Josie trembles slightly, watching Hope with bated breath. If only she had understood the pressure Hope is under earlier, she could have helped her, supported her. Hope wouldn’t have had to carry the burden of Malivore’s defeat on her shoulders, deciding not only whether to turn or not, but whether or not to kill her own boyfriend to save the world. It’s a responsibility that Josie can’t even imagine carrying, and she can’t say she would’ve had the strength to do what Hope did were she in her place.

“Oh no, you found my weakness.” Hope deadpans. “How will I ever go on now that you’ve reminded me of a dream I had literally a week ago.”

Aurora’s smirk doesn’t falter. “Oh don’t be like that, Hope. We’re just getting started. This baby is quite the page turner. Once I started reading, I just couldn’t put it down.”

Hope rolls her eyes. “You know, I never really met any of my dad’s girlfriends. Maybe because he was too busy to engage in relationships of that kind, or maybe because he wasn’t exactly here for most of my life, I don’t know. I used to be sad about that, I used to daydream about a normal family life and a normal dad with a normal life, but on second thought, if you’re his type, maybe he did me a favor. No offense, but you just seem kind of… A lot.”

Hope waves her hand dismissively in front of her.

“Oh, none taken.” Aurora shakes her head. “I’m quite self aware. Besides, I don’t really fancy myself the maternal kind. Personally, I think Klaus lost a part of himself the day you were born. He became… Weak. I don’t think I could’ve looked past that.”

The air grows thick, and Josie thinks she can see anger in Hope’s eyes. She takes several steps forward, but as she reaches the threshold, she stops once again.

Aurora chuckles. “Oh oh little bird, not so fast. Can’t touch me, remember?”

It takes a moment for the tribrid to smooth her face out once again, although her fists stay balled up for another few moments. Just before she steps back, Josie swears she sees the tip of Hope’s boot resting just barely over the line of the threshold, but all too soon, Hope has stepped back, and Josie convinces herself she must have imagined it. There’s no way.

Aurora doesn’t seem to notice anything. She just hums knowingly, her eyes fixed on a new page of the journal.

“Oh!” She exclaims as she flips through it.

"Now this one is good too." Aurora chuckles, her eyes flickering between Hope and Josie. "Quite romantic."

Hope huffs exasperatedly. "I know Landon is what caused me to turn my humanity off, but at this point, hearing about him honestly kind of bores me."

A smirk spreads on Aurora’s lips, her eyebrow quirking as she prepares to read from the journal.

"I had to make a choice today. I allowed Kai Parker to get the upper hand, and I let Landon out of my sight when I should’ve known better. I wanted to trust him, but if I’m being honest, I think I was just too worried to think straight. I don’t even remember making the choice, when I got to the clearing, my feet just kept going. I couldn’t just let the prison world crumble around everyone. It was the logical choice.”

Aurora pauses, the corners of her mouth pulling up slightly.

“It was the logical choice. And yet, my heart didn’t settle until I saw Josie appear in front of me, unharmed and free of the dark magic she’d ingested when I astral projected. For just a second, when she turned to us, I felt relief unlike any I’ve ever felt. Enough to momentarily distract me from anything else going on.”

“Poor Landon.” Aurora frowns. “Such flippant disregard for his well being, and from his own girlfriend nonetheless.”

Hope’s eyebrows draw together, and for a moment Josie thinks that maybe, just maybe it actually touched something in the tribrid. It definitely touched something in her. But then, Hope reaches up and scratches the inside of her tooth.

“God, I’ve had that seed stuck in my teeth all day. It was driving me crazy!” Hope feigns frustration before letting out a strained laughter.

Aurora watches her for a few seconds.

“You really do care about her, don’t you?” she asks curiously. “I mean, why else would you consistently insist on avoiding this topic.”

Hope scoffs. “That’s pathetic.”

“Is it? I’ve read the journal Hope.”  I know what you see in her, how you see her.” Aurora remarks, her fingertips tapping against one of the pages in the open journal. “The height of perfection. There is no doubt, the pedestal on which you’ve put this witch, not even the almighty tribrid could ever dare dream of climbing it.”

Hope holds up her hand, eyes scanning over her nails as Aurora speaks.

“Allow me to tear it down for you, little bird. You’re drawn to this girl, believing that she is everything that is good with the world. Sweet, darling Josette, she can do no wrong. But, that isn’t true. No, there is a darkness in her. Why else would she be drawn to the darkness?” Aurora tilts her head, taking a step forwards. “Why else would she be drawn to you?”

A silence falls around them, and as Josie’s heartbeat quickens, she feels Hope’s eyes on her, blank stare scanning her face and eyes flickering down to her chest momentarily.

Aurora’s finger runs across the page slowly. “And you’ve seen it too.”

“Today I witnessed something I never thought I’d ever witness. Penelope Park magically caught on fire. I don’t think Josie saw me, but I saw her walk away after performing the spell. That spell definitely wasn’t anything we’ve been taught in class, but Josie pulled it off without any issues. I’ve never noticed how good she’s gotten. It’s… Impressive.”

“There is a part of you that likes it, isn’t there?” Aurora asks. “The darkness in her. It’s… Exciting. It validates your own dark impulses. If someone as good and pure as Josette can fall to the dark side and find her way back, surely that must mean there’s hope for you as well.”

Hope doesn’t respond. She simply stares at the vampire, an unreadable tension drawn across her face.

Aurora looks up, slamming the book closed in her hand. “This book. It is filled with love confessions for this girl. In every entry she appears, I know that you care for her, little bird. The girl that you yourself describe as your first crush. Oh, the hold this witch has on you.” 

She pauses.

“And yet, you are not lovers. You haven’t even kissed, you admitted so yourself.”

Josie blinks. What?

“And I am so very happy you admitted that, Hope,” she says, carefully discarding the book on a nearby table. “It proved to me just how important this girl is to you. And now? I suppose I shall have to kill her.” Aurora tilts her head, a triumphant smirk on her lips.

“I don’t really care what you have to say.” Hope responds, her fingertips tapping against her arm impatiently. Her eyes flicker to Josie for just a second before they return to Aurora.

“But I do believe it. I see it. The fear in your eyes.” Aurora takes a step towards Josie, and in the same moment, Hope’s body twitches involuntarily and it almost looks like she had to stop herself from taking a step forward.

A scoff leaves the vampire, and she looks down at Josie. “Oh, Hope. Do you actually love her ?”

Hope doesn’t respond, but Josie notices how her entire body tenses.

Aurora sighs.

“How sad you involved her in all of this.”

In a flash, everything goes black. Josie’s vision disappears as a loud crack vibrates against the walls of the apartment, and the siphoner’s head falls forward. Aurora pulls her hands back, laughter bubbling out of her in excitement.

Something inside of Hope snaps harshly and she screams. Loudly. A scream so absolutely guttural it sounds wrong on her ears and leaves her throat raw.

Before Aurora knows what hit her, her back slams against the wall behind her, effectively cutting her satisfied cackling off as Hope’s arm presses into her throat.

The vampire gasps for air, eyes wide as she looks upon the tribrid with fear.

“H-how did you- hunf!”

Her words are cut off as Hope presses against her throat harder, applying more pressure.

“What, you really thought I was dumb enough to show up here without checking if anyone owned the place?” Hope snarls, baring her canines at her. “Please, it was no problem for me to find the owner and take care of her.”

Aurora attempts to say something, but Hope doesn’t give her any chance to get the words out. Instead she opens her mouth wide, lunging forward to bury her teeth in the vampire’s neck.

As she pulls back, Hope runs her tongue along her lips, Aurora’s blood mixing with the taste of her venom. As the realization of what just happened hits Aurora, she sputters out a croaked whimper. Her eyes meet Hope’s, and the latter wraps her fingers around Aurora’s neck before slamming her head against the wall hard, only letting go after she feels the crack of her neck breaking run through her fingers. She takes a second to watch as Aurora crumbles to the ground, then she quickly turns around, appearing next to Josie’s limp body in less than a second.

Tears well up in her eyes as she kneels in front of the siphoner, her hands reaching up to gently lift her head up. Seeing it hang down at such a wrong angle makes her stomach clench up.

“Jo, I’m so sorry.” She whispers, her thumb brushing against the brunette’s cold cheek. “I’m so, so sorry.” She spends another few seconds looking at the still features of the dead witch, the tears slowly streaming down her cheeks. If only she had cared more about saving Josie than getting back at Aurora, than toying with her.

When she can no longer stand to look at her, she looks down, instead freeing Josie’s feet and hands from the ropes that bind her. She gently picks her up, cradling her in her arms as she carries her to the couch.

Placing her on the couch, Hope gently runs her fingers over her forehead, brushing her hair to the side before leaning down to kiss her forehead.

Swallowing hard, Hope wipes at her eyes. She doesn’t want to leave Josie’s side, she doesn’t want to accept the reality of what she’s seeing in front of her.

Fueled by an untamable anger running through her veins, the auburn haired woman turns away. Aurora is still lying on the ground, her body as still as the witch she killed. Hope grabs her by the back of her shirt and drags her to the chair that was previously holding Josie, using the ropes to tightly tie up the vampire.

The moment Aurora’s eyes open, the first thing she sees is Hope, standing in front of her, arms crossed and jaw set so tightly a crowbar may be needed to pry her mouth open again.

“Wh-”

Hope puts her hands on the sides of her head, staring down at her with a burning hatred Aurora has only ever seen mirrored in the eyes of the tribrid’s father, and in that moment she feels more afraid than she ever has before.

“You forced me to watch someone I love die. Allow me to return the favor.”

Everything goes dark around them. It swallows them, until water presses against their skin and the pressure wraps around them.

Hope looks around, just barely able to make out what's happening around her. She can just barely make out Aurora’s form next to her, the vampire looking around frantically.

“W-what’s happening? Where are we?” Aurora’s voice echoes out around them.

Hope flicks her wrist, and slowly light flows out into the water around her. The walls of a shipping container come into view around them, and Hope stares at Aurora as the light reaches the third person trapped in the shipping container with them.

“This is why you wanted to drop me in the ocean, isn’t it?” Hope utters. “You wanted me to suffer the fate your brother suffered at the hands of my family. But, instead.”

Hope’s head turns to look at the face of Tristan de Martel as he struggles to breathe, as his skin turns purple, as his body eventually shuts down and there is no more fight left in him.

“You’ll get to witness his suffering instead.”

Tristan gasps and his eyes open wide as he once again struggles to breathe.

“I intend to show you exactly how he suffered, alone in the darkness as he drowned over and over again, no one by his side.”

Aurora watches him with big eyes, helplessly reaching for him, but never touching him as the distance never seems to close no matter how hard she tries to get to him.

“Why…” Her voice is shaking as her brother once again shuts down in front of her, his lifeless body floating in the water before her.

“Why?” Hope asks in disbelief, anger bubbling up inside of her. “You knew exactly what you took from me when you chose Josie, when you forced me to watch her die before my very eyes.”

Another gasp, and Tristan once again opens his eyes. The desperation in his eyes as he looks around never fades as his arms flail slowly through the water.

“I may not be able to kill the person you love most before your very eyes, but I can make sure you will never forget the way he suffered.”

“Make it stop.” Aurora snaps, her voice breaking at the edges. “Please, make it stop.”

“You failed him.” Hope growls. “ You didn’t stand by his side, and he drowned , trapped alone at the bottom of the ocean for years until he finally died.”

“I said, make it stop! ” Aurora roars.

Tristan's eyes go wide, and a bright yellow glow erupts in the middle of his chest. It never fully reaches his skin, but as his insides burn, his mouth opens and he lets out a loud, gurgled scream. Eventually the fire dies out and the water presses in on him, crushing the ash of his body under the pressure.

Aurora imitates the scream her brother let out, a heart wrenching cry bubbling out of her as the two of them find themselves flung out of the depths of Aurora's mind.

Hope jerks her hands away from Aurora, ragged breathing leaving her and turning into a light growl.

Aurora lifts her head to look her tormentor in the eyes. She scoffs, tears running silently down her cheeks.

"You truly are your father's daughter, little bird. A monster created in his image."

As the words leave her mouth, Hope sees red. A deep gold flashes across her eyes, dark red bleeding into the edges as she grabs Aurora by the shoulder, instantly plunging her hand deep into her chest.

Aurora gasps, blood sputtering from her mouth. Hope snarls loudly, the feeling of Aurora’s heart beating quickly into her palm extending into her grip and running up her arm.

"You don't get to take Josie from me and then speak on my father." Their eyes meet and Hope tightens her grip, preparing to pull her hand back.

"Hope?"

Hope’s eyes widen, her head whipping to the side. She watches with wide eyes and shaking hands as Josie slowly sits up.

"Jo?"

"What's happe-" Josie pauses, her eyes going wide as she takes in the view in front of her, "-ning…."

Hope let’s go of the heart in her hand, quickly pulling her arm from Aurora’s chest. A crack sounds as the vampire's chest begins to put itself back together and she gasps, taking in air rapidly.

Hope doesn’t pay it any attention as she quickly makes her way towards Josie.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, kneeling in front of her. Her hands find their way to her cheeks again, and she ignores the way Aurora’s blood spreads over her skin as she holds Josie’s face in her hands.

Josie trembles, shivering against her touch. Carefully she reaches up, putting a hand on Hope’s. 

"I'm….hungry," she mutters. "Hope, what happened?" Josie swallows, looking down into her eyes before she blinks, mouth hanging open slightly. "Wait, are you-"

"Me, again?" Hope inhales sharply before nodding. Against her best attempts, her body trembles, and tears sting the corners of her eyes. "Yeah."

"How?"

"I thought you were dead." Hope mutters, her clean hand going up to brush Josie’s hair from her forehead. It slowly slides all the way to the back of her head, fingers tangling into the soft brown locks.

"You thought I was what?" Josie whispers incredulously.

"Dead…. Jo, you- What do you remember?” Hope's eyebrows draw together, her eyes, full of concern looking into Josie's.

Josie frowns, her eyes closing tightly. Everything hurts. “I… Aurora, she asked if you-” She stops abruptly, cheeks heating up as she thinks about it. “Then everything went black.”

Hope is silent for a moment, nervously sucking her lip in between her teeth. It takes her a moment before she can meet Josie’s eyes. “Jo… Aurora broke your neck,” she whispers.

"What? No, no that can't be, I'm okay, I'm…" She trails off, the realization of her situation slowly spreading across her face. Brown eyes go wide and a terror unlike any she's ever felt gripping at her. "Am I…?"

Hope swallows, her chest tightening as she nods slowly.

Tears well up in Josie’s eyes and she stares blankly ahead, through Hope, into the distance a hollow chuckle leaves her. "Of course. Why am I even surprised."

"Jo, I'm so sorry. I'll be here, right by your side. You'll get through this, okay?"

Josie’s eyes land on Hope’s and she looks at her, a frightfully lost expression on her face.

A lump forms in Hope’s throat and the tribrid runs her thumb under Josie’s eye, gently wiping her tears away. Their eyes stay locked together, the sound of Josie’s light whimpering filling the air around them.

Unable to stop herself, Hope finds her eyes flickering down to Josie’s parted lips, the sight of full lips leaving her unable to breathe.

The quick patter of Josie's heart fills her ears, and slowly their foreheads meet, Hope’s eyes closing as she allows herself to truly feel the way her body aches for the siphoner. Every emotion she’s been suppressing since she turned, comes crashing into her all at once.

"Hope…" The way Josie whispers out her name, in an instant it drives her crazy. It caresses her lips. It fills her ears and makes its way to her heart where it'll stay for the rest of time.

"Jo, I-'' She's cut off by the feeling of Josie’s lips pressing against her own. So incredibly softly, yet laced with an insistent hunger Hope never knew Josie was capable of acting on. It leaves her dizzy, it sets every nerve in her body aflame.

When Josie pulls back, Hope feels so utterly empty inside, desperation clawing at her insides.

"I know." Josie whispers. "Please, get me out of here."

Hope nods, helping Josie onto her feet. Her arms wrap around the transitioning heretic's waist, Josie in return wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

When they reach the door, Hope stops. Josie looks at her, a puzzled expression on her face as Hope slowly lets go of her.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

She moves towards the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets until she finds a glass. Once she does, the tribrid bites into her wrist, letting her blood drip into the glass until the wound heals. She walks up to Aurora, pulling the chewed up fabric from her mouth.

"If I ever see you again, I will kill you. Understood?"

Aurora doesn’t respond, just stares at her. There's already a clammy shine to her skin, the bite on her neck slowly spreading across her skin.

Hope rolls her eyes before focusing them back on Aurora's.

"Don't move."

She puts the glass on the floor behind her.

"Okay, let’s see."

Hope begins to untie the ropes that bind the vampire. Her hands come to rest on her shoulders and she looks at her.

"You're going to stay right here, on this chair, until it sinks in that coming after me, my family or," she turns her head to look at Josie briefly, "anyone else that I love, won't end well for you." She finishes, smiling sweetly at Aurora.

There's a small pause.

"Nod, if you understand."

Aurora glares up at her, clearly trying to keep her head still, but it's a battle she can't win. Her head tips and she nods.

"Good." Hope turns away, stepping over the glass and leaving it on the floor, just outside of Aurora’s reach. Her arms wrap around Josie once more, allowing the heretic to lean on her. 

She doesn’t look back as they leave, the door closing behind them.