SHE PROMISED ( the originals )

0074. NIGHT TIME TALKS WITH MY KINDA-WOLF FRIEND

SHE PROMISED
( part three, chapter seventy-four )

WHEN SHE FINALLY REACHED THE bayou, she grit her teeth as she felt her boots sink into the mud by a few centimeters. Luckily, with a simple flick of her wrist, she could easily clean it. Elle walked further and further into the bayou, humming a Stevie Nicks song under her breath (because Stevie Nicks is the best singer, according to Elle Mikaelson, and she will not hear anything else on the matter). Hope seemed to appreciate Elle's humming; despite her still being so young, to the point where she was barely walking and talking, she was apparent that she noticed the strain within her family. It was like Hope could see the tension in the air each time she was passed between her father to her aunt to her uncle then back to her father.

The little shack was left just like it was previously, but there were newer cobwebs formed in random corners where the wall meets the roof and it appeared to be even more faded because of the sun. Three clotheslines were still tied to their respective poles, with clips attached. Looking inside the shack, she saw that there was already food packed neatly into several boxes; Elijah must have compelled someone to deliver it earlier.

Elle walked towards the bayou shack, then reached over her shoulder to unzip her bag. Her fingers immediately found Hope's blanket, the one that they often used for things like this and weren't afraid to get dirty, then put it on the wooden porch. Then she set Hope down and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her head. "Be good for, like, five minutes, okay?"

Once making sure that Hope was situated, happily munching on some baby crackers and playing with a ring of plastic keys, Elle reached further into her duffel bag. She pulled out several pair of shirts and pants for all the wolves, making sure that she grabbed just enough. Last time, because of how late she was, she had forgotten clothes for at least six of the cursed werewolves. Elle hung each of the clothes, clipping them when they needed to be. Occasionally, she'd look back and see Hope still gleefully eating and playing then turn back to her working.

A sad smile tugged at her lips as she hung another shirt, this one an extra large green flannel. Because Hayley was cursed like this, she wouldn't be able to see Hope grow up; she already missed the first eight months of her daughter's life, now she was missing more. So, in order to try and help, Elle put her photography skills to the test and would take pictures of Hope whenever she felt the need. Dressing Hope in the most adorable purple dinosaur onesie 一 you better believe Elle took a picture of this. Baby food covering the bottom half of the baby's face and dripping down her chin 一 gross, but she still took one. The first time Hope stood up all by herself was a few weeks ago 一 Elle had taken at least eighteen pictures of the same thing, and made sure to bring it with her. Elle hoped that it would bring some sort of comfort to Hayley to know that Hope was definitely in good hands and living as happy as she could without her mother, but it still broke her heart knowing that she had to do this in the first place. The hybrid should be here with her daughter but was instead cursed to remain a wolf for an entire month.

As soon as she was done setting up everything, clothes and food included, Elle sat on the porch with Hope in her lap. Her niece was tugging at the shiny pins on her denim jacket, and Elle chuckled. She nearly licked one, but Elle was quicker. The witch shoved her hand between Hope's tongue and the metal pin, cringing when Hope still licked her. "What have we talked about?" Elle looked down at Hope, then lifted one of her fingers as if she was scolding her. But of course, Hope didn't care and instead just grabbed her aunt's finger, struggling to put it in her mouth. "We don't lick weird things."

"I'm glad to see someone's teaching her important life lessons."

Looking up, Elle smiled when she was Hayley standing in front of her. A pair of leggings and a thick sweater hugged her figure, but she still remained barefoot. Immediately, Elle stood up with Hope in her arms, passing her off to her mother. The witch smiled widely when Hayley greedily held her daughter, pressing several kisses to the top of her head and squeezing her eyes shut. "I missed you," she whispered under her breath, then she opened her eyes and looked up at Elle. With Hope now balanced on her hip, she pulled Elle into a tight one-armed hug. "Hey, you. Thanks for this."