Chapter 5
“They have guards around this cabin. She must be in witness protection.” Davina tells her counterparts in a whisper as they watch from a distance in the woods.
“We can easily take them out.” Kol smirks confidently.
“No killing of humans, uncle!” Hope reminds her uncle.
“We could compel them then.” Kol suggests.
“I think I smell vervain, uncle.” Hope uses her wolf senses to tell.
“Right, those guys that came to our house earlier had vervain too.” Kol highlights.
“Thankfully, Lizzie was there and had helped us siphoned the vervain out of those officers so that Kol could compel them.” Davina explains and forehead palms herself. “Why didn’t we think of taking one of the Saltzman twins with us?”
“Well, guess we have to knock them out then.”Hope thinks aloud. “Uncle Kol, just hit them on the head but not too much strength. We don’t wanna kill them.”
“But that would be a difficult task for me! When it comes to these human weaklings I only know how to feed on them or kill them. Knocking them out is hard, Hope!” Kol admits.
Davina rolls her eyes at her husband and suggests to their niece. “Hope, we’ll just place the sleeping spell on the two guards. They will wake up thinking they must have fallen asleep on the job.”
“Right. Good idea.” Hope nods in agreement.
Davina and Hope then approach close to the two guards at the porch without alerting them and quickly cast the sleeping spell. The two guards drop to the ground asleep. Then the three Mikaelsons hurry into the cabin. They find Megan asleep in a bedroom.
Hope approaches the girl and nudges her shoulder lightly. “Megan…”
The sleeping girl stirs and when she sees Hope, she jolts up and moves away from Hope. “How? How did you find me?!”
“Look, let me explain. That man was trying to kill my child. He’s an evil witch. I had to do what I had to do.” Hope explains.
“But you chop his head off! With your bare hands!!” Megan relates in fright as she moves further away on the bed until she bumps her back onto Davina standing just next to the bed.
Davina grabs hold of Megan’s shoulders to try and sense if the girl is a human or witch. “Hope, she’s not human for sure. But she isn’t a witch as well.”
“What? Are you sure?” Kol asks his wife and decides to double-check her point by staring into Megan’s eyes to try and compel the girl. “You will forget what happened in the museum…”
“What the fuck?!” Megan pushes Kol away.
“Compulsion doesn’t work. Maybe she’s on vervain too.” Hope notes. “Megan, tell me. Did you break the freeze spell?”
“What...what spell? I don’t know what you guys are talking about or trying to do to me but…” Megan then realizes. “Wait! Are you trying to kill me? Because I’m the only murder witness?! SHIT!!! I’m...I’m gonna die.”
“Sweetie, do you know what you are?” Davina asks Megan kindly. “Do you have any special powers?”
“Maybe she’s an untriggered werewolf?” Kol guesses out loud.
“What the hell are you guys? Why are you using all these supernatural terms??” Megan asks.
“She’s definitely clueless about what she is.” Hope folds her arms in observation. “Landon was like this in the beginning too.”
“Why aren’t you all answering my questions??” Megan cries out.
“Ad Somnum!”
Davina casts the sleeping spell and Megan falls asleep.
“It’s a waste of time to get answers here. Let’s bring her back and work on that later.” Davina suggests to which Hope and Kol whole-heartedly agree.
====
“You brought the girl home?” Freya asks as soon as she sees Kol carrying a sleeping girl with Hope and Davina trailing behind him.
“She’s no witch but she’s some supernatural for sure. We can’t compel her.” Hope reports.
“Maybe she’s on vervain?” Freya highlights.
“Even if she’s on vervain, I can still sense another supernatural magic in her. I’m just pretty sure she’s not a witch.” Davina lets on.
“And I don’t smell wolf on her. We’ll let the vervain wear off by tomorrow and find out more.” Hope suggests and then adds. “So how did the high council meeting go?”
“Ermm...I leave that to your wife to tell you, Hope.” Freya considers. “There’s a load for you to take in. She’s in the room putting Faith to sleep now.”
“We’ll put the girl in a secured guest room. Freya should check on her tomorrow.” Kol adds.
“Thanks guys. I’m exhausted.” Hope admits as she walks up the stairs to her room.
Hope arrives in the room to see Josie patting their sleeping baby in the middle of their bed.
“Is Faith sleeping between us tonight?” Hope asks.
“You’re back.” Josie smiles warmly at her wife. “Come here.”
Hope reaches over to give Josie a chaste kiss as a habit but Josie seems to hold the kiss in a little longer this time. Is her wife feeling horny tonight? But if so, she wouldn’t have placed their child in bed with them too, right?
“Hmm, you’re in a... good mood..” Hope hums when Josie finally lets go of the kiss. “I’m guessing we got a positive outcome from the high council meeting?”
“Oh...about that..”Josie sits up a little, making sure not to wake their precious baby. “You may wanna sit properly to listen to this.”
“Okay….” Hope decides to sit cross-legged and waits patiently for her wife to continue. “Wait. Is it good or bad news?”
“Ermm…” Josie considers. “Maybe both.”
“Ok, then I wanna hear the bad news first.” Hope chooses.
Josie pauses in thought, wondering how to put it out in chronological order. Then she decides to tell Hope the one she expects first.
“I made a deal with the high council witches, though you may not like it very well.” Josie states before Hope can protest. “This is in exchange for them to settle the war we have triggered with the French Quarter coven. I could discuss with you before I agreed to the deal but it didn’t matter because it is the only deal.”
“What is it, Jo?” Hope gets impatient.
“When Faith turns 16, she will move to Belgium to study full time at the witch academy…”
“The one your ex went to?!” Hope cuts in a raised voice.
“Shhh… don’t wake our daughter.” Josie warns as she soothes the baby’s chest. “Yes, it’s the one that Penelope went to. The witch academy there teaches the highest level of witchcraft.”
“We don’t need to send Faith there when I have the oldest witch in the world to teach my daughter the highest level of witchcraft! Freya is the best!” Hope protests.
“Yes, in fact, they wanted Faith to go there from as early as 8 years old but I negotiated that Faith is not just a witch but one who carries the blood of a werewolf and vampire too. That she should receive education at Salvatore and under the mentorship of her grandaunt foremost. And when she is of age where she is most capable of casting powerful spells, she can then go to Belgium for higher witchcraft learning.” Josie clarifies.
“I can’t believe you just decided to send our daughter away without discussing with me first.” Hope stands up and moves away from the bed. “I killed a witch. An evil witch who wants to sacrifice my child! The last time the french quarter witches tried to sacrifice me when I was a newborn, my family killed them. All three of those bitches who wanted my innocent life! I don’t need the high council’s help. My family can kill that whole fuckin coven again.”
“Except the coven is much bigger and stronger now and we have been war-free for years. Hope, it’s not like they are taking Faith away from us. We can move to Belgium with Faith too.” Josie walks over to calm her wife down as she hugs her around the waist.
“I still can’t trust them..” Hope shakes her head, though she is taking some comfort in her wife’s hug.
“Hope...if they wanted to take Faith away, they would have taken her as soon as she was born. But they didn’t because...of a guilty conscience.” Josie adds. “The truth is, Faith was born in rather special circumstances and they had a hand in it..”
Hope is frowning in confusion at her wife. “What do you mean by a hand in it?”
“Let’s sit down while I tell you everything.” Josie advises her wife as she leads her to sit on the sofa in their room.
And then Josie tells all. Everything Madam Claire had told them.
Obviously Hope can’t sit tight after what she has heard. She stands up to pace the room full of emotions running in her. Mixed emotions. There’s anger because she obviously was being used all those years unknowingly! But there’s also immense joy because her wife is after all, Faith’s biological mother as well.
“Hope.. are you mad?” Josie checks in concern.
“I’m mad….and happy at the same time! I don’t know which one’s more!” Hope admits. She’s mad that the high council had used her all those years but overjoyed that it resulted in the birth of a miracle child carrying both her mothers’ blood. Faith is indeed the actual product of Hope and Josie’s love.
Josie stands up and hugs her wife again. “Let’s be happy first, shall we?”
Hope looks at her wife. “They’re lucky because I love you this much!” And then she kisses her hard.
====
Turns out Megan is related to the family. Well, not to the Mikaelsons but rather the Kirbys. During Freya’s truth serum-induced interrogation with Megan, the girl talked about her mother whom they found out was actually Landon’s long-lost mother, Seylah! However, Seylah passed away some months ago and only left a letter to her daughter that she is not alone and actually has a brother and family who lives in Mystic Falls. Megan said that she only knows that her brother’s name is Landon Kirby and after some googling and research found that his wife works at the museum. She didn’t want to just barge into the Kirbys’ residence and announce her relation to Landon but needed to see for herself in secret what her other family was like before considering whether to acknowledge her relationship to them.
That was why Megan decided to apply for the PA job in the museum. She had come up with some fake family background cover story so that her cover is not blown and she can get the job as well.
When asked about how she was born, the girl said she was adopted by a nice elderly couple as a baby. After her foster parents passed away, Seylah found Megan some 12 years ago and told her she was her real mother. They then built a quiet and content family life in Kansas. She never knew who her father was because her mother told her it was best she didn’t know a demon like him. Seylah, who soon found out she had cancer, only wanted Megan to live a normal and safe life with her.
Freya guessed that Seylah must have decided to keep Megan away from the supernatural world to keep her safe. Which also meant staying away from her phoenix brother and his new family. Megan was shocked to find out that her brother was a phoenix when Freya told her she could likely be a similar supernatural to her brother. She has always thought she is just human. Freya couldn’t decipher what kind of supernatural Megan was. The only way to test if Megan is a phoenix like Landon was to kill her but no one wants to do that kind of test on the girl.
Megan admitted she was shocked by Hope’s violent act that day and naturally reported the case to the police. Hope and her family assured Megan they will not harm her since they are family now. After hearing much assurance and more background stories of the Mikaelsons, Saltzmans and Kirbys, Megan doesn’t fear the family as much. Hope also offered Megan the PA job if she still wants it and Megan was glad to accept it.
Landon had arrived upon hearing the appearance of a long-lost sister. After reading the letter his mother left for his sister, he had a tearful reunion with Megan. For years, Landon had tried to find his mother after Hope and Josie had destroyed Malivore but he failed to find her and had eventually given up his search.
Seylah had mentioned in the letter that she kept the secret of Landon’s existence from Megan, not because her brother was evil and dangerous but he was a kind man living in a dangerous environment. She knew he could survive well in that world but she isn’t sure Megan could survive well.
Landon didn’t blame Seylah for not contacting him in order to protect his sister. He knows that his mother must think he hates her for abandoning him but he has never held that grudge. After all, he has named his daughter after his mother.
Megan told Landon that on their mother’s deathbed, she told Megan she didn’t want her to be alone forever and that if Megan wants to find a lost part of her family, she could do so by opening that letter. And that was what Megan did.
To familiarize Megan with the supernatural world and not rush the girl into finding out what kind of supernatural she is, Hope decides to let Megan spend some family time with the Kirbys before she gets to start work at the museum. Landon and Megan then decide to fly to Kansas to visit Seylah’s grave.
It is only three years later that Megan’s supernatural power is revealed.
It is also then that they made a new discovery about Faith.
And it all happened on Hope and Josie’s 4th wedding anniversary.