A New Hope is Born
If you enjoy this story, please read the rest of it here or here.
Please note that this story was started after season 1 of The Originals aired.
It's been almost sixteen years isnce the birth of Hope Mikaelson. She's had it. She wants to know more about her parents than the stories her aunt would tell her so she takes it into her own hands to meet them.
“In what world will she be safe without us, brother? Who can protect her better than we?” “There is one person.”
-
“Hello sister.” He receives nothing but a smile for a reply, but nothing else is needed. His sister reaches out to stroke his daughter's forehead gently. “She looks like her mother” she smiles. He turns to watch the baby girl in his arms, the baby girl who is the reason for him to live, the baby girl who is the only hope for him on this Earth. “Maybe there is a God after all” his sister says, still with a smile over her plumb lips. He smiles, genuinely amused by his sister's way of teasing him and overwhelmed with the joy of being a parent. “She has a hint of the Devil in her eyes” he objects though, still with his eyes on his baby girl. His tone is proud as he continues; “That's all me.”
They smile at the light air between them before the serious mood sinks down over them. “I need a witch you can trust to cast a cloaking spell.” “I'll get one.” “No one can ever find her.” “I know what to do, Nik”
They both turn to watch the young being in his arms. The love and protection they felt for her went beyond anything else.
“Perhaps we'll get a white fence. I think that would be lovely” the sister says, smiling as she fought the tears the moment wanted to bring.
“This city would have seen you dead, but I will have it your home. And every soul who wishes you harm will be struck down. Just as sure as my blood runs in your veins you will return to me” he promises his daughter, whispering to her. No one else had to hear. He gives her cheek and forehead a gentle kiss before he hands her over to his sister, knowing she'll have the life he'd want for her there. His home wasn't safe for her, but he would have her with him again.
He then hands his sister a wooden knight far too familiar for her. He had carved that for her a thousand years ago, before they knew of what betrayal and hurt would be in their always and forever.
“In spite of our differences, Rebekah, there is no one I would trust more with my daughter's life.” He hugs her and gives her a kiss on her cheek. “Be happy, sister.”
“She will be happy, Nik. I promise.”
They share a smile before Rebekah speaks again. “What's her name?”
“Hope. Her name is Hope.”
“Oh, Rebekah!” the brunette sighed in frustration. She was seated on the baby pink cover of her bed. She had chosen the decor of her room on her own and she was in love with that super bright, almost white, pink color.
“Why won't you tell me anything?!” The blonde woman smiled at the girl wearing the t-shirt she was so fond of sleeping in. “You know why” she said, clearly having her mind set. “I understand that you are curious, but there is a reason for everything” Rebekah stated, but the teenager wasn't pleased with that. She had nagged and begged her aunt to tell her about her parents. All she had heard was that she had her father's eyes and her mother's beauty, but she hadn't even seen a photo of her parents. She had this image of what they looked like in her head, but she had never actually seen their faces.
During Hope's soon sixteen years with Rebekah all she'd found out was that her parents lived in New Orleans and that she was born there. She had her father's eyes and her dark curls she'd gotten from her mother, at least when it came to the color. Everything else about her hair she'd inherited from her father, at least according to her aunt.
Hope had never even been in the United States. In fact, she and Rebekah lived in this small town community in south Canada, basically just on the border. The biggest city she'd even visited was Toronto. A lot of her friends had been at least in New York, Michigan, somewhere, but Rebekah didn't wanted to visit the US and Hope had never quite understood why.
“I want to meet them.” The girl knew she was asking for too much. She knew that her aunt wouldn't go from barely telling her about her parents to actually letting her see them, but she really felt the need to see her parents.
“You have already told me about them. Please, just... tell me about them again” she pleaded, going at it in a different way when her aunt remained quiet. Rebekah sighed, but she did make her way over to the bed to have a seat next to her. “Hope, your parents love you and so do I. You have to sleep, you have a big test tomorrow, okay? Let's talk later this week” she guaranteed and the teenager nodded at the reply and made herself comfortable in her bed. She knew that Rebekah normally promised her to talk later, but she never did bring it up again. Hope didn't know whether it was because she had promised her parents not to talk to her about them or if it was because of the pain. Hope figured Rebekah missed them, at least Hope's father, so much that it pained her as much as it pained Hope not to have met them. “I'll just get some blood bags, okay? I'll be right back” the aunt guaranteed and Hope nodded. “Of course.”
As soon as Rebekah had left Hope got up from her bed and got dressed. She left a quick note saying 'I'm in New Orleans. I have to find my parents. I'm sorry' on the kitchen table before she made her way out of there as fast as she could. Rebekah was smart and Hope knew that if Rebekah got back before Hope got on a plane out of the city then she'd be stopped.
A taxi took her the entire way through the town she lived in and to Toronto and the airport there. It wasn't hard to get the ride for free and she hurried inside to make sure she got onto a plane to New Orleans, or at least somewhere from where she could.
She wasn't completely certain that she'd find her parents in New Orleans and it was a long journey there. She had to do it though. Rebekah had talked a lot about her and Nik's adventures in that town. She wanted to give it a go. If she didn't find her dad she'd at least find a part of him in the town he called home and fought for all those years ago.
She didn't know what to expect as se was seated in a cab on the way from the airport. She had compelled the driver to give her a ride for free. The entire trip had been for free. Perks of being part vampire. She held her gaze somewhere outside the window, watching the lights and life of the city nightlife. She had never seen anything so beautiful as the city in which she was born. At least she knew that much about herself and her heritage.
“Is it your first time?” the driver asked. His old, yet warm eyes watched her in the review mirror. “Yeah” Hope replied, smiling at him. “Do you know anyone by the name Mikaelson?” she asked, being here to find her parents after all. She wondered if they were married. She could almost envision her mother being the typical housewife while her dad was more of the businessman.
“No, I'm sorry. Is it anybody you know?” the man asked, his voice warm and friendly and it made it no secret that he was from the south. “Not really” Hope sighed and smiled weakly before she directed her glance out the window again.
They rode during silence and Hope continued to admire the city before the man turned to her in the mirror again. “So, where should I drop you off?” he asked and Hope turned to watch him with a thoughtful look over her face. “It doesn't matter.” She'd find her way around town anyway. She scanned every memory she could think of to see if Rebekah had mentioned a place or a street, a bar or anything at all, but it was blank. She'd just have to have a look around as fast as she could. She was certain Rebekah had tried to call her more times than she could count, but her cellphone was dead in her pocket for a reason.
She was dropped off in the central parts of New Orleans. It was past midnight and she knew it must seem like a bad idea to do this to anyone who wasn't a vampire. A teenage girl probably shouldn't walk around in the middle of the night alone in a city this big. Not that it mattered much to Hope anyway. She could compel anyone who even approached her to jump of a roof if she wanted. She wasn't a fan of doing that, compelling people to kill themselves, but it was a confidence boost to know she could.
New Orleans was larger than she'd expected. She wasn't used to grand cities and towns. She strolled down a street as she studied the moon above her. It wasn't full. It'd be another couple of nights until then.
She asked people she ran into but no one knew who she was looking for or where she might find him. She didn't have a whole first name, she only knew that his sister refereed to him as Nik. Perhaps Rebekah knew her far too well as she didn't want to tell her the names. Hope had spent countless nights searching for numbers of any Mikaelson, Michaelson, Michaels even, in Louisiana she could find and she had called them all, yet no one seemed to know of her or the Nik she was looking for.
She had the picture she'd drawn of her parents imprinted before her eyes as she walked down the streets. She'd checked the mailboxes and on the houses where she could see none with the house owner's last names she walked up to it to knock, not caring at all about what time it was. Finally she spotted a grand white mansion that took her breath away. It looked beautiful with it's white columns and black details. She took a deep breath before she walked over to the entrance to knock at the door. He heart was beating hard and she couldn't help but to hope this was right or that the person living here at least knew where she should look.
She swallowed some as the door opened. “How may I...” the person opening the door started, but his voice faded out as his eyes were locked on the girl in the doorway. He looked like he had seen a ghost and she knew at once that he recognized her.