Back To December// Cregan Stark / Hope Mikaelson

18. Things Went South

A handful of years ago...

The night things went south... in the north.

It had possibly been the best day ever. The sun was shining the breeze was warm and Hope didnt feel like her toes were going to fall off in her boots. Cregan was showing Daeron his sword. Valyrian steel. Passed down generations of Starks. He called it Ice.

Hope wanted to explore. Thats just who she was and the realm of winterfell had a lot to explore.

She was walking looking at the crystal formations in the trees the melting icicles clinging to the stems. She was so caught up in the beauty of winterfell of what would be her home she didnt see a man approaching. Didnt hear his footsteps among the drip drip drip of the melting icicles.

Didn't realize until a blade was at her neck and rough hands pulled at her clothes. But Hope was no Damsel.

"Let me go now and I let you live." Hope declared hoping he couldnt feel her nervous pulse.

"Fuck that girl I got a cold cock that needs warming!"

She elbowed him with one arm while grabbing his blade with the other. She pulled his arm away from her neck ducking under the blade. He squealed out in pain but it only made him more angry as he charged her but she had the knife now and he charged himself right into it.

He choked for breath hands gripping the hilt of the blade as he tried to pull it out. She stared back at him in disbelief has she done that as she killed someone? He was a bad man he was going to hurt her she rationalized and she gave him another shove and he tumbled down into the snow. The perfectly white crystals stained red melting under his hot blood.

She didn't know how long she stared down at his body but she felt a hand on her shoulder and she flinched ready to punch.

"Hey its me." Her uncle Klaus declared and she put her face down before looking back to the body

"I did that." she informed him. "Uncle Klaus I did that." He couldn't hear a heartbeat couldn't feel it either but he didn't seem too shocked at what his niece had just done. "Did you not hear me I just killed a man!" she shouted "what are we gonna do? Whats going to happen to me? Cregan will hate me!"

"Full moon is in three days Hope. We have to go." Klaus remarked calmly.

"What about him? What about Cregan? What about all of this? what about Winterfell what about getting married uncle Klaus what about-"

"Don't worry about any of that right now we need to get you out of here." Klaus corrected.

"What do you mean get out of here what are you talking about I'm supposed to get married." Hope declared.

"Maybe we don't worry about that just yet you have bigger things that you're about you need to handle" klaus informed her.

"What do you mean bigger things? what are we going to tell him? I love him uncle Klaus I love him. I wanna stay here and live here in... What arent you telling me?" Hope begged.

"You're gonna tell him goodbye and you're sorry but this isn't gonna work." Klaus informed her, she stared back at him confused.

"Are you worried? That I'll become a killer? Because he attacked me that was the only reason I didn't mean to-" Hope stammered out he raised him to stop her.

"Hope you are going to tell him goodbye and you're sorry but this isn't gonna work. We have to go we're losing daylight get your nephew will find somewhere safer to talk." Klaus urged.

So that's what she did and she hated every moment of it. She could still see Cregan... his face, the confusion, could still feel the way he held her. She remembered wiping the blood from her hands and her uncle telling her that everything would be OK but this is how it had to be.

She remembered Cregan's smile and how it fell from his face he reached out for saying whatever it was they could fix it.

She remembered saying goodbye willing the tears not to come as she dragged Dearon along as soon as they were out of Winterfell though she dropped to her knees and sobbed.

Then the transformation happened. On the full moon. Just like Klaus said. Hope understood why she couldnt stay at Winterfell. Why she couldnt love Cregan. After that first transformation that was when Klaus told her another secret one she had to take to her grave.