{1.09 | What Was Hope Doing in Your Dreams? | part 1}
In the United States, the 1920s, otherwise known as the Roaring Twenties, was not only a time of cultural innovation, but also of intense political movements. The twenties faced the rise of several radical movements, and the miliflapgroup...
Elara blinked, the words of the page blurring together. It was late, and frankly, she was exhausted. She hadn't slept since she left the school to find Landon. Hope had yet to return from meeting with Alaric, so Elara found something to do while she waited. She studied.
Exams were literally around the corner. Elara's grades were average, but if she bombed her exams, her grades would not have been okay. She didn't have to worry about parental figures scolding her about them anymore, but she didn't want to fail, anyways.
She let out a sigh, closing her textbook and placing it next to her on the bed. Studying was not her thing. She leaned her head back, closing her eyes to take a break.
Hope had yet to explain what had happened the last three days, and Elara couldn't help but feel uneasy about it. Somehow, they managed to find Landon and a Malivore key, and Hope had been fidgety around Elara, more so than usual.
Elara didn't remember what happened, exactly, but she remembered feeling a lot of emotions, and the primary one was jealousy. The question was what she was jealous about. She had an idea, but she wasn't going to make any conclusions until Hope told her what happened.
Speaking of Hope, the door clicked open, causing Elara to open her eyes. The tri-brid entered the room, carefully closing the door behind her. She looked distressed, but when she saw Elara, she seemed to relax, smiling adorably at her.
"Hey," Elara greeted as a grin of her own made an appearance. Hope always had a way of cheering her up, even if she was just there. She pat the spot next to her as her roommate took off her shoes. "Come have a seat, Miss Mikaelson."
Hope walked over, sitting next to Elara. She leaned against her, and the younger girl didn't complain. "Whatcha reading?"
"Oh, this?" Elara questioned, gesturing to the textbook next to her. "Something to review for History. I should be fine exam wise, but I needed to do something while I waited for you. A little reading never hurt anyone."
"Aw, how studious of you."
Elara shrugged. "I can be sometimes." Her eyes fell downwards as she felt Hope's hand place itself on her thigh. The touch was cold, cold enough for Elara to feel it through her pajama pants, which was strange since Hope's touch was typically electric. "How was the chat with Dr. Saltzman?"
"Insightful," Hope answered. "But I still don't understand how I can remember what happened and the rest of you can't."
"Then how could it be insightful if you didn't learn anything?"
Hope's eyes settled on Elara's, their emotion unreadable. "I never said I didn't learn anything."
"Enlighten me, then, Mikaelson."
"Y'know, as much as I like you calling me Mikaelson, there's just something... hot about the way you say my first name."
Huh?
"Really?" Elara asked, her brows lifting. She tried very hard not to look at Hope's hand, which had moved to walk up her arm.
"Mhm," she hummed. "You have a very attractive voice. It's kinda deep, a bit raspy. But as much as I enjoy our conversations, we don't always have to talk."
"What--"
Elara didn't get to finish her sentence as Hope surged forward, crashing her lips against Elara's, and suddenly she forgot what she was going to say.
The kiss was unexpected but definitely wanted. Elara's hand found themselves on Hope's waist as the older girl shifted closer to Elara. Hope wrapped her arms around Elara's neck, pulling her as closely as she could. All of their pent-up feelings released themselves into the kiss, but she couldn't. It was wrong.
Elara broke away first. "What- what about Landon?" she panted.
"Who?" Hope asked, one of her hands toying with the strap of Elara's tank top. She didn't let Elara answer as she closed the distance once more.
God, it may have been wrong, but it felt so right.
"I do have to ask you something, Ellie."
"Yeah, anything," Elara breathed out, her breathing short and quick. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she felt dazed. Wow.
"Where is it?"
Elara blinked. "Where's what?"
Hope leaned back from Elara, her gaze hardening. "You know where it is."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She turned her head to glance at her desk. Was Hope talking about something she owned? She turned her head back. Maybe Hope was talking about-
Hope was gone, instead a veiled woman stood at the edge of the bed. Tall, lanky, and surrounded by freezing cold air. She was what Elara had imagined witches looking like before she ever met one.
"Where is it?" she screeched, lunging at Elara.
But she never reached her as Elara's eye shot open. She let out a gasp. It had just been a dream. All of it was. The veiled woman. Hope's flirting. God, even the unbelievable kiss--
"Elara?"
Her head jerked towards the sound of Hope's voice. She scrambled backwards, but her hands didn't meet sheets. With a hefty thud, Elara's back landed on the ground. Smooth.
"Oh, my god." Hope ran around the side of the bed, looking down at Elara. She looked up at her, a startled expression on her face. "Are you okay?"
This was real, right? She wasn't dreaming anymore. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Just- just another nightmare."
"That caused you to fall on the floor? You haven't done that before." Hope extended her hand towards Elara and helped pull her to her feet.
"Guess I'm just a little on the- the edge," she laughed nervously, brushing herself off. "Of... the bed. Anyways, I could use a distraction."
Hope nodded. "I can be of help. Care to learn what happened the past few days?"
"Yes, please."
~-~-~
After a brief meeting filled with insane information, and a surprise visit from Rafael, Elara sat in the main hall. Alaric had called an emergency meeting to warn the students of the next monster coming after them.
She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest. When Hope explained what had happened, she didn't go too deep into detail about it. She told her about their first stop, which hadn't been useful and instead led to more problems. She mentioned the strange people also looking for Landon. They found Landon at a motel with his mother. Seylah left to jump into Malivore, and Landon accidentally stole another key. Yet, she couldn't help but feel like something was being left out.
Landon nudged her arm carefully, as if he were disturbing a sleeping bear. "Hey, do you see Hope anywhere?"
Elara shook her head without looking around. She knew Hope wasn't there. The tri-brid was avoiding Landon because she didn't want to face him with the secret of what happened. Plus, she knew Elara would cover for her.
She had always been the better liar, after all.
"Raf?" Landon asked, looking for a second opinion.
Rafael looked around the room, scanning quickly, but he found nothing. He frowned ever so slightly, shrugging.
"So, Mr. Williams and Ms. Tig are now in the process of evacuating our students from the lower grades," Alaric belted from the center of the room. He paced back and forth as he addressed the students.
From the back, Kaleb spoke. "Why don't we just evacuate the damn artifact?"
"We are much more well-equipped than the world at large to handle the arrival of a monster," Alaric answered. "Once we know what we're dealing with and the problem is contained, then we can reassess what to do with the artifact." His eyes scanned the room. "If any of you would like to evacuate, please talk to Dorian or Emma. However, exam week will continue as scheduled, wherever you are."
Elara groaned. With everything happening, she hadn't been studying as much as she needed to.
"I know. I'm sorry. I can't exactly call the state accreditation board and tell them that we're cancelling the exams because of monsters," Alaric explained.
"We'll get through this, I promise. Try and get some rest, okay? Good night."
At that, Elara rose from her chair, stretching. She needed to study, so she was going to do so. At her desk. Where she couldn't fall asleep and dream about Hope, again.
Hopefully.
"Hey, can I talk to you, really quickly?" Landon suddenly asked. Students around them began to leave the hall, Rafael being one of them.
Elara paused, turning towards Landon.
"You and Hope are pretty good friends, right?"
Elara hesitantly nodded.
"Is something wrong with Hope? Because she seems pretty distant right now, and I don't know if it's because of me or not."
Elara shook her head, putting on her best poker face. "I don't think so. She's probably just dealing with the upcoming monster."
Landon nodded slightly at that. "I hope it's just that. I'm thinking of asking her to be my girlfriend, and I can't do that if I've done something to upset her."
Her brows lifted, the only indicator of her reaction.
"Really? Even with everything going on?"
Landon hummed. "Do you think I should?"
Elara glanced around, trying not to show her displeasure, but she knew it was the best option. The safe option. She steeled herself. Truthfully, she hated the, but she couldn't tell Landon why she thought so. Hell, she barely understood why she thought so.
"Yeah," she answered quickly, "you should definitely go for it, but I'd wait until after we deal with the monster. Don't want to overwhelm her, y'know."
"Right," Landon breathed out. He noticed Rafael about to leave the hall. "I gotta go, but thank you, Elara. Lara. Can I call you Lara?"
Elara swallowed, feigning a smile. "Mhm. I'll see you later, Lan."
~-~-~
When morning finally arrived, Elara had finally reached a position in which she felt semi-confident about her exams. Not confident in thinking she was going to ace them, but confident enough in which she felt like she was going to pass. Hope had helped her with a few concepts.
But Hope just seemed off. Elara couldn't quite place it. It was like Hope was conflicted with something, and Elara didn't know what. She'd stand close to Elara to point something out in her book, but then their hands would touch, or she'd brush against Elara, and suddenly it was like the contact had burned her through their uniforms.
The closer Elara paid attention, the more she realized Hope was not subtle with her emotions. She was quite expressive.
Either way, she couldn't sit around and think about it. Elara still had exams to take. The first two went by rather smoothly. By the end of it, she knew she answered enough questions to pass. The final one, her American History exam, was much harder.
By the late afternoon, Elara could hardly stay awake. Her brain was fried, and the discovery of the monster-- a Night Hag-- being in one's dreams and able to hurt them in the material plane, kept her from taking a nap.
Elara sat in an armchair Alaric's office, twirling a pencil between her fingers. The monster had struck again, this time hurting Landon. He and Hope sat on the sofa as Hope tended to his injury. Doing her best to show a sliver of jealousy, she kept her nose in her book. The only way she could really help was researching.
Which was much more interesting than studying, weirdly enough.
"The senior witch faculty has mixed together a batch of energy herbs to help you stay awake," Alaric announced into the microphone. "So, for those of you who are not getting on the evacuation bus, for a lack of a better term, please dose yourselves responsibly." He clicked it off. "I'm going to get sued. Or hexed at the very least."
"You don't have to be so hard on yourself," Landon said. "At my last school, the gym teacher was dealing coke under the bleachers."
Elara couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Oh, yeah, that only makes me feel marginally better."
"He makes a fair point, though," Elara added, keeping her eyes on her book. It was the one Alaric had used to point out what the creature was to Rafael, and now that Elara knew she had seen the monster already, she wanted to know everything she could. "At least you're not profiting off of this." She didn't need to look away to know Alaric was glaring at her.
Landon looked between the three of them. "What do you think she meant when she said 'bring it home?'"
"I'm guessing she means Malivore," Alaric answered. At the mention of Malivore, Hope lifted her head, eyes widening slightly. "It seems her plan is to torment us until we produce the urn."
"Right," Landon said, "But if the Night Hag is a monster that's trapped on the astral plane, then how can she even physically take the urn anywhere?"
"In theory, she can't. It says a Night Hag is unable to affect our reality, but apparently, she can cause physical pain through dreams. Examples, Rafael's welt, your stab wound," Elara attempted to answer. Alaric looked at her curiously, his head tilted. "What? It says it right here. I just paraphrased it."
He hummed in surprised approval. "When your research consists of fairy tales and urban legends, sometimes the stories get twisted," Alaric added.
"Human dragon, anyone?" Hope commented finally. She had been quiet since Landon arrived.
"Dorian might be busy with the evacuation, but we'll figure this out. When the Night Hag finds a way to get the urn, we'll be there to stop it," he reassured.
Elara looked away from the book, glancing at Landon. He was listening intently while Hope was wrapping a bandage around his palm although she didn't seem too interested in it.
"Well." Landon exhaled. "At least it was a pretty memorable first day."
Elara noticed Alaric rise to his feet. "Yeah, and the Night Hag is likely just getting started. You know, Landon, I really wish you'd just evacuate with the others," Alaric said, almost in a whisper.
Landon shook his head. "I worked so hard to get here. If I run at the first sign of trouble, what's the point?"
"Self-preservation," Elara answered bluntly.
"The point, Landon," Alaric began, ignoring Elara and pulling one of the chairs from in front of his desk closer to sit near the trio, "is that we're trying to look after you."
A small smile befell Landon's face. "Honestly, the three of you are taking better care of me than anyone in my life ever has."
Elara lowered the book into her lap, glancing between Hope and Alaric. Hope's lack of a poker face showed they were having the same thoughts. Any moment, one of them could slip up and mention Seylah.
Landon's voice shook her from her thoughts. "Course, I had to stab myself to get your attention," he said jokingly to Hope, but it didn't land how he wanted it to.
Hope cleared her throat, patting Landon's wrist awkwardly. "You know, we're all good here." She looked between Alaric and Elara as if to gauge their emotions, her gaze lingering on Elara. She didn't have to worry about her spilling the beans, so why was Hope looking at her expectantly?
"I'll see you later, Elara?" Hope said although it came out as more of a question.
Elara blinked, seemingly coming out of her trance. She nodded, leaning back in her seat.They watched Hope excuse herself, walking speedily from the office.
She heard Landon sigh. "I'm blowing this, aren't I?"
"It's Hope," Elara replied. "She'll come around eventually."
Alaric nodded. "Sometimes the best thing for Hope is to just let her be Hope. Stay busy. She'll talk when she's ready."
At that, Landon nodded. Elara wanted to support him. She wanted him to be happy, but something was holding her back. Her own feelings for Hope made her conflicted--
Wait, she had feelings for Hope?
Wait.
Wait.
That made sense. It explained the jealousy she felt over the past few days, the jealousy she felt whenever Landon talked about her. It also explained the dream she had. The Night Hag used what was already in her head. She liked Hope, and not as a friend.
And why wouldn't she? Hope made her feel safe. She sat with her in the dead of the night, most nights, listening to Elara ramble on and on about the stars and planets despite her own exhaustion. Without judgment, she listened to Elara tell stories of her past. Yet, no matter how dark the night became, Hope's laugh always made it feel a little brighter.
Elara knew it wasn't going to end well. Nothing in her life ever did. With her luck, she was going to get Hope killed.
"Lara?" Landon called out, pulling her back to reality. "Did you hear me?"
But Landon wasn't. He was the safe option.
Elara shook her head. "Sorry."
"I'm heading to the library. Will you help me with research?"
"No," she thought. But Landon was looking at her like a puppy, and despite her jealousy, she did have a small soft spot for him. Perks of reminding her of a past loved one.
"Yeah," she answered. "Why do you need my help, though?"
Landon looked baffled. "Aren't you the one who can read like seven languages?"
Elara shrugged. "Eight, but yeah."
"One, that's so cool, and two, you're the best option to work with, so will you join me? Please?"
She took a deep breath. If it really was a Night Hag, it wouldn't be able to hurt them, not while it's stuck on the astral plane. It wouldn't hurt to take a look, especially since it would provide a decent distraction from her own emotions. She wasn't a fan but studying, but researching a monster was different.
"Lead the way, Landon."
And he did. The two left Alaric's office and planted themselves in the library. Elara grabbed whatever books she could from the shelves. Anything that talked about other planes or dreams was up for grabs. Landon flipped through one book while Elara flipped through another, jotting down notes.
Surprisingly, they worked well together. Whenever Hope wasn't present or mentioned, Elara didn't hold anything against Landon. She had never really been the jealous type before, so it surprised her just how much she resented Landon when her roommate was the topic.
"So," Landon began, "do you have any advice for me?"
Elara kept her eyes on the book in front of her. "In what sense?"
"You know, girl advice... Hope advice."
"Girl advice," she echoed, flipping to the next page. Just like that, her patience with Landon was thinning. He wanted to talk about Hope, and Elara would've liked to talk about her roommate with anyone but the guy trying to court her. "Give her space, be transparent, and don't steal anymore artifacts."
Landon chuckled awkwardly at the last part. "Thanks, Lara. I know you're busy with monsters and figuring out your own thing, but It's just- I've never really done something like this before."
She looked up at him. "Something like what?"
"This." He gestured between them, towards the table, around the air. "This school is all I've ever wanted. A place to belong. You welcomed me when others didn't. I've never really had anyone besides Rafael on my side, and you've always given me the benefit of the doubt."
And a part of her was starting to regret it already.
She shot him a crooked grin. "'Course. Someone's gotta play devil's advocate."
Landon laughed softly. He placed his hand on the table, leaning on it. "You're a good person, Lara. Really, you are. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
She didn't respond to that, returning her attention to her book. Landon was just being nice, she thought. He was just trying to make up for something. He couldn't be right, anyways. Even monsters had their moments.
"What's happening with your eyes?" she heard Landon ask. Elara blinked, looking up from the page.
"Hm?"
"Your eyes. They were glowing."
"Really?" she questioned, glancing down at the book. The letters had shifted into a different alphabet. The Greek one, at that. She had just been reading the passage, seeing if it could relate to the monster they were facing.
An idea suddenly hit her. "Hold on."
She grabbed another book from nearby, flipping to a random page. Her eyes glowed whenever her control slipped, but she was completely in control. If her eyes were glowing when she was reading, maybe that was something that could explain why she could read other languages without knowing them in the first place.
"Watch." Her eyes skimmed the aged page. It was a print of a journal entry from a long, long time ago.
Dreams do not show who we are, yet there is one thing we know. Demons of the night are far beyond our reach. They haunt us, dancing around our minds far enough from us to strike.
Just the night before, the general came running from his tent, rambling of war. The only words I could understand were that he claimed his advisor urged us to fight, to charge, but his advisor could not have done so, yet. He had been sleeping in a tent just south of us.
I believe it was truly an Oneiroi, masquerading as the advisor. The damned spirit attacked my brother the night before, pretending to be our sister, and I couldn't do anything about it before.
But I can this time.
And I will.
"Were they glowing again?" Elara asked, lifting her head. Landon nodded.
A grin reached her lips. Her eyes glowed when she was reading a language she shouldn't know, like the other part of her was reading it. Not her.
It didn't help her understand what she was anymore, but it did explain why she could read things she wasn't supposed to. The Bright Wolf was doing it.
"Not related to your cool eye thing, but do you know what an Oneiroi is?" Landon asked suddenly, holding out the book in his hands for her to look at. There was a picture of a bat-like creature.
"Yeah, I think I do, and I've got an idea."
~-~-~
Elara stood at their table, leaning on her hands. Landon came running back into the library with Alaric and Hope behind him. Hope was the first to notice Elara.
The sight was... kind of hot. The way her sleeves were rolled just her elbows, the messy yet intentional adjustment of her collar. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, and her brows scrunched in concentration. Elara wasn't very studious, so seeing her in that state was a bit of a surprise. A good surprise, but a surprise, nonetheless.
"Let's pretend the research isn't wrong," Landon began to explain, determination written on his face. "Maybe the Night Hag can't hurt us in real life. Maybe the Night Hag can't leave the astral plane and get ahold of the urn, so maybe we are not dealing with a Night Hag."
Alaric shook his head. "Well, if it walks like a Night Hag, and talks like a Night Hag, what else could it be?"
"That's what we were thinking," Landon replied, grinning. "Elara?"
"Think about it this way, Dr. Saltzman," Elara interjected, surprising both Alaric and Hope. Just a day ago, Elara couldn't stand Landon, and now they were working together like they had for years. "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck, but what if it can't fly like a duck? Like how the Night Hag looks and sounds like a Night Hag but is able to inflict physical pain?"
"You told me to stay busy, and Elara is actually great at researching, so we started looking into it," Landon said. "We went through all these books, and boom." He spun the book towards them, then raised a hand towards Elara.
"Oneiroi," Elara declared, high-fiving Landon with a triumphant smile. She glanced between Alaric and Hope, seeing if they were starting to understand their point. Alaric seemed to see the picture they were trying to paint while Hope still seemed shocked they were working together.
Hope stepped up next to Elara, turning the book to get a better look at it. Her blue eyes turned towards her, and she felt her heart skip a beat. She seemed impressed.
But the effect of their impressive work didn't last long as Hope shifted into question-mode. "What's an Oneiroi?"
"It's a black-winged shapeshifting dream demon from Greek mythology," Alaric answered.
Landon chuckled softly. "Yeah, of course he knows what it is."
"Why would one monster disguise itself as another monster?" Hope asked. "The Oneiroi sounds freaky enough."
Landon and Elara exchanged a glance, and Elara nodded.
"Because if we knew what it actually was..." Landon began.
The headmaster interrupted him, finally coming to the same conclusion as the researchers. "We'd know how to stop it."
Elara snapped her fingers, pointing at Alaric. "Bingo. Can't defeat an Oneiroi by fighting a Night Hag."
He looked between the two, a grin on his face. "I wish you studied as well as you researched. Hope, kiss them for me."
She didn't get a chance to be offended as his next comment hit her. Elara lifted a brow, glancing at the other teenagers. She knew how to hide her reaction, but the others didn't. Landon looked at Elara, raising his brows. He didn't seem opposed to the idea of Hope kissing him. She shifted her gaze to look at the tri-brid, but she was looking anywhere else but them, a dusting of pink across her cheeks. She couldn't tell if she was opposed or not.
Awkward.
"Anyways." Elara cleared her throat, standing up straight. "Anyone up for killing an Oneiroi?"