Forever Original | Alaric Saltzman

Chapter 33

After her shower, Hilda got to cleaning.

"Why must you always revert to cleaning and distractions as a coping mechanism?" asked Rebekah, following her around with Hope in her arms. "Relax, Hilly. Hayley and Klaus won't be coming until tomorrow. Elijah might arrive tonight but I don't know if that'll happen— it's fine."

Hilda shook her head and continued to clean the inside of the unused oven. "If I can keep my hands busy, Bex, I won't be able to think long enough to hurt anyone."

Hope cooed and Rebekah knelt down so that Hilda could see her. She smiled and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "You are just as adorable as always, princess."

"Yes, Princess Hope," agreed Rebekah. "I apologize, I couldn't help but overhear. You were speaking to Alaric, Stefan, and... Damon?"

"Apparently. Why?"

"You should be with Alaric, Hilly. He obviously makes you happy. I haven't seen you this excited since Tristan."

"We've already gone over this, Bex. It's not safe for him to be with me. And come on, he and Damon are best friends, do you want him to be my unofficial brother-in-law?"

Rebekah giggled. "Damon's not the worst, you know. You fancied him when you first met him."

Hilda shot her a cheeky grin. "Best not to remind me about the fact you didn't even let me try for a chance with him."

Her sister quickly shut up.

Rebekah remained occupied with Hope while Hilda bustled around the house, leaving it shining. In the evening, no one arrived, but they did get a text from Elijah letting them know that he, Hayley, and Klaus would indeed be on their way within the next few hours. They'd arrive in the morning.

"Excellent," said Hilda as she pocketed her phone, the screen still cracked. Somehow, she didn't feel like fixing it. "You know, I think we ought to do something interesting for Hope. It's the holiday season and Hayley might like it if we did a little photoshoot..."

Rebekah was overjoyed. With the newly cleaned house, they had the best spots to take pictures, and Hilda had been able to find several decorations to form part of the backdrop.

"Aw, darling, you look so adorable," said Rebekah, waving her hands over Hilda's head as her sister held Rebekah's phone to take pictures. Hope squealed and sat up happily, one hand in her mouth. They had found a little red dress for her, and had put a fake poinsettia to put atop her head.

"Hayley'll love these photographs," said Hilda, sending them to her. "Ah! Perfect, they said the traffic's not too bad. They might arrive not long after sunrise. My, I can't imagine how it must be, the three of them together in a car..."

They put Hope in a crib once nightfall hit so that she could sleep comfortably. The two sisters found some clean and new bottles of alcohol and remained in the living room, drinking and chatting.

"Here's the thing," said Rebekah after Hilda told her about what'd happened with Esther. "I like the idea of being human and being a mother. But there are so many disadvantages. We've grown so powerful and we'd be trading all that for fragility. Not to mention, it's wonderful to have super hearing. I can hear the slightest change in Hope's heartbeat and I'll speed to her room and be there before she even begins to cry. It's wonderful. If I were mortal again, I would have to wake up to cries because I wouldn't be able to sense it beforehand."

Hilda sipped some more bourbon. "That is a major lifehack. So many things can happen if you get pregnant... I hear your teeth can fall out and you can feel sick and just— ugh. Not something I would wish on anyone. If I ever wanted a child, I'd probably just adopt it from somewhere. Only, you have to promise not to fall in love with it like you did with Marcel."