章 81: Hope

Rebekah found Hope in a handcrafted wooden cradle snoozing before waking up to her presence. Looking down at the cute little angel made her eyes water as she picked her up, rubbing her nose on her nose, smiling as the baby giggled, grabbing at her hair.

"Hope, my sweet, sweet, Hope, Aunt Rebekah won't be around as much as she would like, but I'll always be there for you when you need me," she said giving her a kiss before handing her over to Hayley who came in to watch.- "Remember that," she said to Hayley as she passed,- "Now on to my brother, perhaps you should be there with Hope, so he has something to hold onto of my brother, I don't expect this to go over well."

Hayley nodded as she followed along, waiting by the door as Rebekah entered.

Rebekah paused, turning to Nevan who was waiting in the back,- "And perhaps you should leave until everything's settled over,"

Nevan grinned,- "Sure, I'll go welcome our other guests while you do this," he said.

Rebekah frowned remembering Mikael was nearby,- "You should keep him away from Elijah, this wouldn't be the best time for them to meet out of everyone."

Nevan,- "Sure, I'll mention it," he said as he headed for the door.

"Um, who is coming exactly?" Hayley asked not liking that others were already on their way to the hideaway they set up.

"A friend," Nevan said, chuckling as Rebekah snorted, continuing,- "And the threat to Hope has already been killed, I don't know why you're hiding in a swamp, I didn't turn you into Alphas so you could continue to act like beta's, how about a little ambition out of you, go out there and find a nice place to raise her," he said exiting, giving them something to think about.

Rebekah went to the bed where Elijah laid, grasping the dagger as she turned to make sure Hayley and Hope were there as she pulled it out, waiting for him to revive.

Hayley leaned over to Jackson, whispering,- "You should wait outside too," who agreed and left.

Elijah inhaled deeply as he shot up looking around, shouting,- "Niklaus!" Only to see his sister, Hayley, and Hope.

"What's happened?" Elijah asked, not sure how much time has passed, though still thankful to see he hasn't missed too much since Hope was still a baby.

Rebekah put her hand on his shoulder as her eyes watered once more knowing she would have to tell him news that would hurt him.

Elijah feeling anxious seeing his sister's behavior asked again,- "What is it? What happened?"

Rebekah shook her head, hugging him,-"I'm sorry brother, but Niklaus didn't make it, she had the stake and used it."

Elijah slowly began to shake his head as he pushed her away,- "No... No, this can not be, he can't be." he said standing up.

Tears fell from Rebekah as she apologized for hurting him with the news,- "I'm sorry brother, but it's true, you know we can't survive a white oak stake, not even Niklaus."

Elijah fell back onto the bed, sitting in shock, unable to believe what he just heard.

Feeling everyone's emotions, Hope started to cry as Hayley tried to calm her, rocking her back and forth,- "Shh, everything is alright... Elijah, I know it's not much, but Hope is still here, remember what Niklaus said," Hayley said trying to help out.

Elijah slowly looked over to Hope, and remembered the words Niklaus said, 'Protect my daughter.'

Getting up, brushing past Rebekah, he approached Hope, reaching for the crying baby. Hayley knowing Elijah didn't hesitate to hand her over as he took her in his arms.

"Hope, what a grand name we gave you," Elijah said as he tried rocking the baby to calm her,- "I will protect you."

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Nevan found Mikael and Freya just outside the swamps, zooming in front of them,- "So how goes it Mikael, Freya? I'm glad I found you, I've been needing a good witch."

Mikael frowned,- "It's you, I would like you to take your curse back, can't believe I let you turn me."

Nevan grinned,- "What seems to be the problem?" He asked knowing full well what it was,- "Do you not like eating regular meals again? Do you not like the increased strength?... Do you not like being, cute?" He laughed.

Mikael scowled, zooming over to punch Nevan who saw it coming from miles away as he sped around to address the giggling Freya while ignoring him.

"Is he always like this?" Nevan asked.

Freya nodded with a laugh,- "I'm afraid so."

Mikael kept his anger in check as he talked with his daughter, letting out a,- "Hmph," in disapproval of their friendly interactions.

Nevan called back out to him,- "You know if you didn't fight the change so hard using your strong will power, you wouldn't have been so different, but look on the bright side, this is a great opportunity to reconnect with Rebekah, she would absolutely love it."

Mikael grunted,- "If you think I'm going to allow those stupid appendages back out, you're crazier than Niklaus ever was."

Nevan grew serious,- "I wouldn't mention him around them at the moment if you wish to reconcile, and no matter who fault it was, the fact remains you put the fear of god into them, and that's not something that's easily overcome. Your best shot is to do something that would drive that fear away, and I can think of nothing better than your new transformation, think of it as penance for the wrongs you've done to them."

Mikael grumbled while mulling it over as Nevan turned his attention back to Freya,- "As for you my dear, I would really appreciate it if you could help me out with a few things."

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Mount Etna located on the island of Sicily, Italy, a stratovolcano that has had historical eruptions dating back 3,500 years. The oldest volcano at about 350,000 years old.

What no one knew was that deep in the bowls rested a dragon of immense size and strength.

The ongoing Jaguar ritualist activity around the world was now beginning their sacrifices at Mount Etna when their chanting reached the mighty lizard's ears.

Ignoring everything around him as he always did, the lazy dragon continued his sleep, sleeping the years away, not even bothering to wake when the volcano exploded for the umpteenth time, happy that it finally drowned out all that annoying chanting. It wasn't until his nose caught the scent of a beast that could challenge him for his territory did his eyes snap open.