{1.04 | Hope is Not the Goal | part 1}
The world around her was dark as shadows wrapped around her, coiling like snakes, except for one place. The freezing rain pelted across her skin, like bullets of ice. Across the way, through a slimmer of gold, she spotted a circle of light from a dim streetlamp.
It's like her body moved on its own. She drifted towards it and stopped underneath. She should've felt the warmth, but it didn't come. Instead, the icy air nipped at her.
At first, it was like a low buzz, but then it got louder, and louder, and louder. The ringing didn't stop. It was around her-- inside her head, even.
Even when she saw him.
Like a silhouette, he froze, attempting to hide in the shadows, but his glowing eyes betrayed him. Red-- a deep, vibrant red-- eyes bore into her.
"What is that?"
She heard him. Her head snapped to the side, and he stood next to her. An inch shorter than her, his dark hair short and unruly. He shouldn't have been there. He shouldn't have...
"Ellie? Ellie!"
The figure vanished in the blink of an eye.
And she was too late.
"Felix!"
Her eyes flew open, her hands reaching out to grasp at her sheets. Her breaths were short and harsh, and the pounding of her heart in her ears was unbearable. She slowly sat up, placing a hand over her mouth to suppress what could only be described as a mix of a groan and a gasp. Her arm and shoulder weren't the only part of her that ached.
Shivering like she was soaked from cold rain, Elara carefully pulled her sheets into her lap with her other hand. The nightmares were getting worse, that make was obvious. The intensity of each increased, and every night, Elara felt more and more like she was reliving the memory, like she was right in the alleyway all over again.
Felix's death haunted her, literally. Every night, his final moments flashed in front of her in pieces, and each time, Elara woke up just before she could see what happened to him. It didn't matter, anyhow. It was still her fault.
That was what she told Alaric when he asked how she triggered her curse, and surprisingly, he didn't press for more. Elara should've been grateful, but looking back on, it didn't make sense. Alaric was testing her to see if she would a safe addition to the school, to see if she was a ticking-time bomb waiting to go off and take everyone down with her.
The thought was one of the subjects of her thinking session earlier that night.
A school for the supernaturals isn't meant for every supernatural. Some supernaturals let their talents take control of them, creating weapons of mass destruction. Witches, vampires, werewolves. Each of them were dangerous in their own rights. With werewolves, judging how they triggered their curse and what they do afterwards was a valid way to determine that.
But Elara didn't remember how she triggered her curse. Not exactly. The memory was there, but it was locked, forced into the dark by her own mind. Alaric should've rejected her. He should've pressed. During the interview, Alaric held an unreadable expression and spoke with caution. His body language was weird, too. One hand tapped on his leg rapidly and the other wrote something on a document quickly.
She blinked, taking deep breaths as quietly as she could. Waking Hope up again was not something she wanted to do. She glanced towards Hope's bed, half-expecting for the girl to be wake, glaring at Elara, but she wasn't. Hope slept on her side, her back to her roommate. With even breaths, her blankets rose and fell. The sight was peaceful.
Elara didn't know exactly what to feel towards Hope. For weeks, the girl ignored her. For weeks, she refused to accept Elara as her roommate. Hope's sudden interest in starting over was suspicious. Elara's one action couldn't have been the reason Hope wanted to befriend her, no. There had to be something else, and it was another thing that Elara had to worry about.
On top of the other two, there was a third. Before Hope interrupted her thinking, Elara had come to a startling realization about herself.
She could read Gaulish.
It hadn't clicked at first. She was too focused on the depressive thoughts, but when the idea finally reached the front, it drew her focus. The book Dorian gave her about the gargoyle looked like it was in English, but the words appeared to float just above the page. Her eyes had skimmed quickly over the page as she took in the information, thinking nothing of it. After the fight, though, Alaric mentioned the Gaul's advice had been useful, even if the translation had been a bit rough.
Elara asked to look at the book, again, and when she did, the words weren't in English like before but in Gaulish. She thought it was a trick at first, a switching of books, but Alaric confirmed her suspicion without realizing. Then, she blinked, focusing, and the words blurred together until they formed their English translation.
Everything had just started to make sense, but with the appearance of the gargoyle and dragon, her nightmares worsening, and her sudden understanding of an ancient dead language, nothing was how it should be.
And she needed to figure it out now.
~-~-~
Another monster was terrorizing Mystic Falls.
Alaric called an early morning assembly and invited the local sheriff. Elara didn't know much about him, and she honestly didn't care enough to know more than she did. She wasn't required to. Mystic Falls wasn't her home.
Elara leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms across her chest. Her arm still hurt, but the pain was bearable at that point. Josie and Lizzie sat a couple rows in front of Hope and Elara. The twins were still ignoring her (because Josie was upset with her for trying to kick a gargoyle), so she was forced to sit elsewhere. She didn't mind it, really. Not having to indulge in Lizzie's new heroic ego was a blessing.
Weirdly, Hope had offered to walk and sit with Elara at the assembly. Elara sat at the edge of a row, and Hope sat to her left. Not a single word had been spoken the entire walk. Elara kind of liked it. She found peace in the silence. It wasn't uncomfortable like she had expected.
A girl in front of her reached behind, holding out a small picture to the werewolf. With a polite smile, Elara took it. She examined it quickly.
"I hate to say it," Elara started, her voice low as not to draw attention. She examined the picture of Dana quickly. "Actually, I don't. This is Dana's karma."
"She's missing, Elara," Hope muttered sternly.
"Yeah, and missing or not, she's still a bitch." Elara passed the picture to Hope, and their fingers brushed together.
The picture fell from Elara's fingers at the electric touch.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "Hand's still trying to regain its strength."
"It's okay."
At the front of the room, Josie looked back over her shoulder, her brown eyes quickly finding the pair. A small scowl formed on her lips, and thankfully, Lizzie didn't notice.
"Now," Alaric began, shifting to stand at the podium. "I'll need a few of you to volunteer to go to Mystic Falls high under the guise of an exchange program meant to improve relations between our schools." His eyes skimmed the room and easily found Elara. "Which, unfortunately, is necessary, given recent events."
Elara felt Hope gently nudge her arm to get her attention. "Was that really your doing?"
Hope already knew the answer, Elara thought. Her asking must've been for clarification. "A shared effort between Lizzie and myself, I'd like to say. Although, technically, my fist connected first."
Hope hummed in thought, and then the two returned their attention to the speech. "Now, I give you permission to compel them, to gather materials for locator spells, because any information we can get will make all the difference."
As soon as Alaric finished his sentence, Lizzie stood, adjusting her blazer. She stepped in front of the podium, facing the audience. "Well, I guess that I can set aside my differences with Dana for a day, because that is what heroes do."
Hope rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"So... I volunteer as tribute."
"She's read the Hunger Games?" Elara commented quietly.
It didn't go unnoticed as she felt Hope shrug next to her. "She battles one gargoyle, and suddenly, she's Mother Teresa."
Elara's lip twitched as she fought back a grin. She had to admit it. Hope's comment was pretty accurate.
"Shouldn't you be used to this by now? You grew up with her."
"Didn't have gargoyles walking around back then."
Elara nodded. "Well, that's fair.
"I'm in," Kaleb volunteered suddenly.
MG shot up just as quickly. "I'm in, too."
Elara blinked, cocking her head to the side in curiosity. She wondered what had gotten in to the both of them. Their compulsion would be useful, though, unlike her skills. The thought of volunteering briefly paused through her mind, but there wasn't much she could offer. Unless finding the monster involved Elara following a scent trail or beating the information out of someone, she wasn't very useful.
Hope, on the other hand, was incredibly useful. She was strong, fast, had magic, and she-- surprisingly-- knew how to talk to people. Elara had witnessed it firsthand when Hope talked to her before her first full moon. But it wasn't like Hope was going to volunteer--
"I'd like to help."
Elara lifted her head, looking up at Hope in subtle surprise. The tri-brid had proven her wrong.
"Well, now the monster doesn't stand a chance," Elara commented under her breath.
~-~-~
"Who are you?" Alaric panted out as his wooden sticks clashed against Hope's. "And what have you done with Hope Mikaelson?"
The gym was empty as the two trained. The only sounds came from them. They had been training for a decent amount of time before Alaric spoke.
He grunted as he spun under Hope's attack.
They paused as Hope rested her sticks on her shoulders. "I never got to go to a real school. I've always wanted to know what it's like to be normal for a day instead of being a tri-brid loner."
"Yeah, well, that's a bed you made for yourself," Alaric commented as they continued sparing.
"Not looking for a social lecture," Hope retorted. She spun around, kicking Alaric a few feet away from her. "I'm working on it."
"Oh?"
"I've made progress with Elara."
Alaric laughed. "So, you're finally deciding to befriend the girl who lives with you? Good for you."
"There's something going on with her, and you know it." Hope pointed her stick at him. Alaric paused, his expression neutral, but the clenching of his jaw gave away that Hope was right. "Isn't that why you roomed her with me instead of with someone else?"
Alaric paused, his expression neutral, but the clenching of his jaw gave away that Hope was right.
"You don't need to worry about her. I've already got it under control," Alaric stated.
Hope shook her head, and Alaric took the distraction as a chance to strike at her. Hope skillfully blocked it, pushing the attack away and giving one of her own.
"I'm not worried about her," she continued. "I'm worried for her. You saw what happened with the gargoyle. It was out of character, and this thing is going to get her or someone else killed."
"Or us exposed," Alaric pointed out.
"Well, whatever it is," she paused, grunting as she dodged another swing. "I'm going to find out."
~-~-~
Elara stood outside the dorm door, rocking back and forth on her feet. Talking to Landon wasn't something she wanted to do since he actually remembered their conversation. It wasn't like she put out her entire life story, but he still knew more about her then anyone at the school-- aside from the headmaster.
Nervously, she lifted her hand to knock on the door to his and Rafael's room. She needed to talk to him. She made a mistake talking to him in the first place, and she needed to fix it. He seemed reasonable. They grew up in similar ways. Maybe he'd understand why she didn't want him to tell everyone about it.
She rapped her knuckles across the wood and waited patiently. Landon hadn't been at the assembly. Neither had Rafael. Elara knew they showed up the night before, but she had been so caught up in her head that she didn't approach them after the meeting.
Rafael being back didn't bother her. She actually kind of liked him. They got along well and shared a few interests. It was Landon she was unsure of. He was human.
Well, human-ish, which was another concern in itself.
The door opened, yanking Elara out of her thoughts. She blinked, and Landon stood in front of her. They stood at around the same height and their eyes met. He reached a hand up, brushing his curls out of his face.
"Uh, hi," Landon greeted.
"Hi," Elara echoed. She kept her tone steady, avoiding exposing her nerves. "Can we talk?"
Landon nodded. "Sure, yeah, come in." He stepped back from the door, holding it open for her.
She stepped into the room, taking in her surroundings. His room was much like hers. The decorations were that of the schools. He didn't bring anything with him because he hadn't expected to move into a new place.
"How was your night?" she asked, standing next to one of the beds. She assumed it was his since his jacket was strewn across it.
Making small talk wasn't something she liked to do, but she didn't want Landon to think she was trying to intimidate him or bully him into silence.
"It was okay, but sleeping on an actual bed was a huge win. Forest floor can't even compete with it."
She let a small smile appear on her face. "I'll have to agree with you on that one. Been there, done that."
"How's your arm?" He gestured towards her. "I heard about what happened with the gargoyle."
"It's alright. Werewolf healing does have its perks, even if it's not as fast as vampire healing."
"That's cool," Landon breathed out.
Elara inhaled deeply. Now that the small talk was over, it was time for her to broach the subject. "Anyways, I do have a favor to ask of you. It's a relatively small one, and I'd really, really appreciate it."
Landon looked at her curiously. He wasn't frightened of her, which was good, but he seemed friendly enough. "What is it?"
"I'm not sure if you're aware, but I'm not exactly the most... open individual."
"Could've fooled me."
She shook her head. "I confided in you because I thought you would forget it. People knowing about my past is not something I'm..." she trailed off.
Landon raised his brows expectantly, waiting for her to finish her sentence, and the quirk of his brows hits a nerve in Elara. She knew why she confided him. The true reason.
He reminded her of Felix.
His mannerism reminded her of Felix. The way he spoke reminded her of Felix. That's why she confided in him. Landon reminded her of Felix.
"It's not something I do a lot," Elara admitted, shoving her hands into her pockets to stop her from picking at her nails. "I wanted to ask you not to tell anyone." Quickly, she added. "It's okay if you told Rafael, I understand that you couldn't have known that about me before you told him. And I get it. It's nice to have people around who understand what's it like." Her words fell out faster than she could think. The realization had shifted her entire train of thought, and her brain was working at rapid speed to catch up.
"But, uh," Elara stumbled out, "yeah, that's- that's the favor."
Landon paused, taking a moment to gather his words. It was clear that Elara's cool demeanor had shifted, revealing even the slightest of her vulnerability, and this time, she didn't expect Landon to forget it.
"You have my word," he answered. "I won't tell anyone, but if you would like to talk about it, I'm always here to listen. I've been told I'm a decent listener."
Elara shot him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'll have to take your word for it, then."
It was then that Rafael appeared, opening the door.
"Hey," he greeted with a smile. Landon's presence seemed to brighten his mood.
She returned the smile with a grin of her own although it didn't meet her eyes. "Hi."
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to come say hi." Her eyes flickered over to Landon, and thankfully, he didn't correct her. Instead, he bent down to tie his shoelaces. "How's it going?"
"It's going, I guess. It'll definitely be better when I know Landon can stay. This school is nice and all, but you know."
"Mhm," Elara hummed. "Well, I gotta go, but I'll see you in gym class?"
Rafael's smile fell slightly. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you then."
She continued, backing up towards the door while facing them. "When you get there, I'll show you the punching bags that Jed hasn't claimed, yet."
She made her way out of the boy's room. To her right, she noticed Alaric quickly making his way down the hallway. Facing Landon had been enough for her nerves. Facing Alaric would have actually shot them. Instead, she swiftly walked the other way, her mission on her mind.
Her classes could not have gone any slower, and when she finally had free time during lunch, she ran to the library. The library contained several books of the Gauls, each one containing various bits of information. Finding one wasn't the problem, actually reading it was. How was she supposed to know if it was in English or not if her eyes tricked her?
She grabbed one of the first old books she saw, sat at a table, and flipped through it. It was easy to read, the words written plainly and clearly, and it described the disappearance of werewolves during the earlier centuries.
"You know, you can't actually read a book while cross-eyed?"
Elara looked up towards the familiar voice from where she sat. The table had provided a nice place for her to spread out her "research" without getting it tangled up. Across from her stood Penelope Park, her arms crossed against her chest and a grin on her face.
She returned her gaze to the page in front of her, and the black ink no longer resembled English. Instead, the words were a language she didn't recognize.
"No, I didn't," she answered sarcastically, offering a fake smile. "Thank you so much for the useful information."
"You're welcome." She plopped down in the chair across from Elara, placing her elbows on the table. "I'm full of it."
"And I'm sure you are. What do you want?"
Penelope reached out a hand, placing it on the page Elara had just tried to turn. "Can't a girl have a simple conversation with her favorite wolf?"
"You? Simple? Never. You always want something."
"Aw, you know me so well. I do want something, and I need your help to get it."
That got Elara's attention. She lifted her head, looking at Penelope with her brows drawn together. "Such Deja vu. Didn't we have a conversation like this before except at a dumb flag football game?" She stood from her chair, taking the book with her. "I don't like you, so I'm not helping you."
Elara walked over to a nearby bookshelf, Penelope on her heels. "Thought you'd say that, which is why I have a proposition."
"No."
"I didn't even give it yet."
"Still." Elara turned to face Penelope, looking down at her. The witch wasn't intimidating. Pretty, but not intimidating. "No. I don't like you."
"We're more alike than you think, Wolfie. You see, when we want something, we don't just get it. We take it."
"Uh huh."
"I care about Josie. A lot, and I know you do, too. Help me free her from Lizzie's shadow, and I'll provide you with information about yourself."
The werewolf narrowed her eyes at that. Penelope broke Josie's heart. Her wanting to "free" Josie seemed out-of-character, but the idea of learning about herself, especially since she knew so little, was tempting.
Penelope stood on the tip of her toes, cupping a hand around her mouth to whisper into Elara's ears. "I know more about your bloodline than you do."
Elara fought hard to keep her expression steeled. Her bloodline? "What do you mean?"
The witch leaned back, taking a step back from Elara as if she hadn't just dropped a bombshell on the girl. "Dr. Saltzman isn't a stranger to secrets, and he's keeping some pretty big ones about you. Help me, and I'll get you the truth."
She clenched her jaw, a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
Penelope grinned. "I'll give you a taste."
"And I'm sure this 'taste' will make me desperate to know," Elara snarked. She moved as if to go around the witch. "I don't care-"
"Your last name isn't Davenport."
Elara froze mid-step.
"It's Laurent."
[a.n. I'm free! So, I'll be able to update more frequently (even though this chapter took forever to do).
~NYM]