"Ugh, O-positive." Elijah made a face of disgust, as he and Audrey joined Klaus in the dining room that morning. The hybrid sat at the head of the table, emptying the contents of a blood bag into a glass. "You heathen."

   "New rules." Klaus announced to them. "No blood shed in the house where our daughters sleep and play." He told them firmly, earning impressed a grateful looks from them both. He lifted the glass to take a sip, but pulled a face as he took a sniff of it, putting the glass back down. "Perhaps I'll go out for dinner."

   Audrey looked between the two Mikaelson men and rolled her eyes, taking the glass of blood herself. "Snobs. Both of you." She muttered, taking a drink without issue.

   Elijah glared toward her playfully before clearing his throat, focusing on his brother as he shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no, no." He tutted. "We have no way to know who will take Dominic's place as the Hollow's right hand. There could be any number of disciples out there." 

   "Yes, yes, yes, all who may have the means to kill us." He waved off boredly, narrowing his eyes slightly as he continued. "You know, if you hadn't been so hasty to kill him, we'd be dealing with the devil we know."

   The eldest of the pair rolled his eyes. "Spoken by the devil I know best of all."

   Audrey bit her lip to stop herself snickering, as she perched herself on the edge of the table. "Okay, sniping at one another isn't being productive." She reminded the pair. "Let's leave behaving like children to the actual children, shall we?"

   Klaus looked unimpressed but gave a small nod. "I take it you have a plan." He guessed.

   "Freya will place a barrier spell around the compound." Elijah informed him. "No one gets in or out."

   Instantly, a frown formed on the hybrids lips as he rose to his feet. "Oh, so we're to stay here while our enemies seek to resurrect this monstrosity and let me guess, you won't be confined here."

   "I have a little errand to run." Elijah answered cryptically.

   The frown Klaus wore deepened. "And while you're off cavorting all over town, I'm what? Grounded?"

   "Essentially." Elijah nodded, not looking fazed by the look he got in return. "Why don't you take out your frustration on that filthy jawbone our enemy seems so fascinated by."

   "Gladly." Klaus huffed, grumbling as he left the room. 

   The couple watched him go before Elijah turned to Audrey, kissing her softly. "I'll see you later."

   She nodded, but looked at him warily as he pulled away. "Are you sure you don't want my help?"

   "I can manage. I'll have Vincent assisting me." He assured as he rubbed her arms. "One of us should be here with Mira."

   Audrey knew that he was right, but it didn't ease the thoughts in her mind. He was right in what he said to Klaus, they had no idea who had taken Dominic's place, of who else out there was a follower of the Hollow. She knew Elijah was able to look after himself and had the sense to be careful, but it wasn't going to stop her from worrying. Anyone of them was a target at the moment, and after what he did to Dominic, she knew there was a good chance they'd try to get revenge. 

   But she kept her thoughts bottled up as she nodded, unable to say anything else as Mira ran into the room. Elijah pulled away from his love and bent down, scooping Mira into his arms and lifting her up, making her giggle as he rested her on his hip. "Can we have another piano lesson, daddy?" She asked hopefully.

   "Not right now, sweetheart." He said softly, his face falling as the disappointed pout that appeared. "I need to go do something while you stay here with your mother." He explained, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "However, we can have one when I get back. How does that sound?"

   "Okay." She nodded, her little smile picking up at his promise. "I'll go play with Hope instead."

   He smiled as he set her down on her feet. "I love you."

   "I love you, daddy." She kissed his cheek and grinned at her mom, before she ran off again to find Hope.

   Elijah kissed Audrey softly before he left, and she let out a small sigh as he disappeared for the day, before going to find something to distract herself with.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   Up in the attic of the compound, Hope and Mira sat on the floor in front of an old chest they'd found, which was filled with old toys, books, and pages of sheet music. Boredom had taken over the two girls, unable to concentrate on a game or drawing, which led them to exploring the place their family had once called home. 

   "These are a boys toys." Mira mumbled as she looked at what they'd found.

   "Maybe one used to live here." Hope suggested, flipping through the pages of a rhyme book. "Our dads might know."

   "Does it have a name?" Mira nodded to the book in her lap.

   The eldest of the two Mikaelson girls shook her head. "Just a lot of old rhymes." She told her. "They..." She bit her lip as she looked at one page. "Aren't very happy ones. Listen." Mira picked up one of the small toy soldiers that had been packed away inside, looking at it carefully as Hope read. "A man of words and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds. And when the weeds begin to crawl, it's like a bird upon the wall. And when the bird away does fly, it's like an eagle in the sky." She recited the poem she'd come across. "And when the sky begins to roar, it's like a lion at the door. And when the door begins to crack... it's like a stick across your back. And when your back begins to smart, it's like a knife inside your heart. And when your heart begins to bleed, you're dead and dead and dead indeed."

   Mira made a face, glancing at her cousin, who looked back at her and shrugged. "Not exactly the most uplifting reading material." A voice commented, making them both jump until they saw who it was.

   Hope let out a small sigh of relief as she looked up at her father. "It's an old book of rhymes. There's a lot of weird stuff here."

   Klaus's eyes glanced toward the chest they'd opened, before looking back at his daughter and niece. "You know, girls, I'd rather you didn't play here, actually. All the splinters and the dust..." He paused slightly as he noticed their faces fall, and his lips twitched upwards slightly with a playful look. "and the bats."

   "There aren't any bats." Hope narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.

   "I've seen no evidence that your Uncle Elijah doesn't sleep here, hanging upside down." Klaus shot back with a grin.

   "Hey!" Mira scolded, though her firm look cracked as she tried to stop herself giggling. "Don't be mean about daddy, uncle Nik!"

   "Covering for you father, are we?" He teased, making her giggle more.

   Hope laughed but it faded as she looked at everything they'd found. "Dad...was there a little boy who used to live here?" She asked curiously.

   Klaus's face faltered slightly at the question, but he pushed those feelings away as he bent down and carefully took the book from her, putting back in the chest before holding his hand out. "Come along, you two." He said gently. "We can discuss ancient history another time."

   The two cousins knew not to argue and listened, Hope grabbing onto one of toy soldiers just like Mira had, before Klaus led them out of the attic. Unaware to what was going on, Hayley and Audrey sat in the study, going through the pile of boxes Hayley had brought back from her parents old storage unit. 

   Audrey glanced up at the hybrid, who'd paused to flip through the pages of a photo album, smiling sadly at the pictures inside. "Your parents?" She asked gently.

   Hayley gave a small nod as he fingers gently stroked the empty pages. "Baby photos of me with them." She handed it over for her to see. "It just stops after the first few pages..." She bit her lip. "I used to think I'd never see any photos like this at all."

   Wanting to take her mind off the empty pages, Audrey flipped back to one of the previous pages, smiling slightly at the photos. "Wow, you and Hope look identical at that age."

   Hayley chuckled as a smile grew. "God, I know."

   "Hope's cuteness stuck." She mused with a growing smirk. "What happened to yours?"

   Hayley gave her a flat look and nudged her in the side with her elbow, Audrey's smirk turning into a triumphant grin at the smile it put on Hayley's face. "You're hosting a yard sale?" Klaus raised a brow as he walked inside.

   "I just figured while we're stuck here, I may as well work out which stuff to keep and which to donate." The Marshall-Kenner woman told him with a small shrug.

   He nodded as he glanced out of the window, looking back at the two mothers. "Listen, I found the girls exploring the rubbish in the attic. They're restless."

   "They're not restless, they're bored." Hayley corrected with a knowing look. "Most kids their age would be at school. They'd have friends to play with, more people than just each other."

   "Exactly." The Gilbert girl agreed, as she began to unpack another box. "Those two love each other, and they are as thick as thieves most of the time. But they're going to start craving the company of other kids, of an actual routine to keep them occupied."

   "Well, once Freya teaches them to hone their magic, they'll be powerful beyond measure." He pointed out with pride in his voice. "They won't need friends. They'll be worshiped."

   Audrey gave him a look. "Really?" She asked flatly.

   "They don't want to be worshiped." Hayley told him bluntly. "They just want someone to play jump rope with."

   "They'll be above such things." He mused as he continued to gaze outside, slight frustration appearing in his eyes. "They will have power enough to protect themselves from anything. We won't have to trap them in bloody boundary spells just to keep them safe."

   "Thank you, by the way." Hayley said gently at that. "I know it's not in your nature to keep violence out of this house."

   Klaus glanced at the pair with a small, reassuring smile. "Well, we'll protect their innocence for as long as we can." His eyes met with Hayley's. "You and I both know the importance of that. No one protected ours."

   Hayley nodded and looked down a moment, before she cleared her throat, gesturing at the boxes around them. "Well, while you're here, you may as well help us go through this stuff. You might find something useful."

   The Mikaelson hybrid began to leaf through on of the boxes on the table. "Oh, look at that. How to Defeat the Hollow: Volume One." He hummed in amusement, as the two just rolled their eyes at his grin. "Hidden in here amongst these old Guns N' Roses records. Oh, sweet child of mine."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   "Hope, are you sure about this?" Mira whispered, uncertainty wavering in her voice. 

   "They're not ours." Hope nodded to the two toy soldiers they'd kept hold of, as the two walked toward the metal gate at the end of the tunnel. "We should return them."

   "Yeah, but..." Mira bit her lip. "Won't your dad be mad we came down here?"

   "It'll be fine." Hope said confidently, and entwined our free hands together. "It's like our moms say, when we're together, we're unstoppable. We aren't going to let anything bad happen."

   A small smile twitched on Mira's lips, and giving her hand a small squeeze, she nodded as they finally reached the gate. The man stood in the salt circle paused as heard it opening, and turned around as the two girls walked inside with shy expressions. Marcel Gerard was stunned in that moment, looking at the two girls he only remembered as babies, only one and two years old the last time he laid eyes on them. When he looked at them, he couldn't not see their parents in them. But Hope and Mira weren't their parents, they weren't the ones he had issues with. 

   "Hi." Hope spoke up, snapping Marcel out of his thoughts. "We think these are yours." She passed him the toy soldiers she and Mira had been keeping hold of. 

   "Hope. Mira." His eyes glanced down at the old figures in surprise. "I haven't seen these in a century."

   "So, you're the little boy who used to live our house." The Mikaelson tribrid nodded.

   Marcel gave a small nod as he looked at the girls. "Once upon a time, I used to live their with your dads."

   "He keeps you down here because he thinks you want to kill him." Hope tilted her head curiously. "Do you?"

   "My dad thinks the same." Mira spoke up, looking just as curious as he cousin. "Are they right?"

   "Listen, I will tell you anything you want to know. Okay?" He told them both. "If you get me some blood from your dad's stash."

   The two girls exchanged a look, before looking back at him with flat expressions. "We're six and seven, not stupid." Hope told him, a slight attitude in her voice. 

   "We're not falling for that." Mira crossed her arms, unimpressed.

   Marcel couldn't help but smile slightly, despite his current situation. "Right." He nodded. "You know, you're also pretty courageous." He told the two. "Come down here and talk to a stranger."

   "We're not scared." Hope took Mira's hand once more and held them up. "We're Mikaelson witches."

   "And when we're together, we're unstoppable." Mira added on with a fierce tone. 

   Marcel's smile grew slightly, and as he looked at them, he saw Audrey and Hayley. Every time the two had fought together, for each other, and had became sisters without ever really needing to say it out loud. They were family that would always be there for the other, no matter what happened. And the bond they shared had been passed down to their daughters. It was clear they had the Mikaelson family traits of loyalty in both of them, that they believed in always forever, in family above all. But in that moment, Audrey and Hayley was what he saw in the two young girls standing before him. 

   "I'll tell you what, let's start fresh, alright?" He said gently. "It is very good to see you again, Hope and Mira Mikaelson. My name's Marcel."

   Now smiling themselves, Hope and Mira sat down on the ground in front of the circle as Marcel sat down, and the three got to know one another. Marcel got to learn about the personalities they'd developed in the years since he'd last saw them, and the girls asked him questions about growing up with their family. Though, he kept the things he knew they shouldn't know to themselves. The things he'd seen Klaus and Elijah do over the years he knew Audrey and Hayley would have shielded them from. 

   He had issues with their fathers, but those issues weren't on them to deal with.

   "You know, I'm surprised your parents haven't stormed down here looking for you." He admitted after a while.

   "Our moms trust us." Mira told him knowingly.

   "Yeah, but your dad's never trusted anyone in his life." He said, looking at Hope. "And I know your dad is going to be protective of you knowing people." He looked at Mira, not naming himself as the main person he knew Elijah wouldn't trust to have her around.

   The curiosity reappeared in Hope's eyes as his words brought a question forward. "If he took care of you when you were little, why do you hate him? What did he do to you?"

   The Gerard man paused for a moment as he considered his next words. "Your dad, he raised me. He made me who I am." He explained as he glanced mostly a Hope. "Now, you ask if I hate him. Well, it's hard to hate the person who made you what you are. You just end up hating yourself. The truth is I would like to hate your dad, I really would. It would make things a lot easier. But, um... you can't hate someone who you loved for so long."

   "What about my dad?" Mira couldn't help but ask, as Hope looked down thoughtfully.

   Before he could try to answer, the three of them heard loud crashes come from upstairs, causing all three of them jump to their feet. "Something's wrong." Hope's eyes widened in worry. "We have to go."

   "No, wait." Marcel quickly shook his head. "It's not safe." More crashes and loud noises echoed through the tunnels from upstairs, making the girls panic grow. "I need you to let me out of the circle."

   "We can't." Hope shook her head. "My dad will be mad."

   Marcel shook his head with a reassuring look. "No, he won't.  I'll keep you both safe."

  "We don't need you to keep us safe!" Mira let out, her eyes snapping down the tunnel as the noises started to get closer.

   " We can protect ourselves, and our parents." Hope agreed as the two looked at one another for a moment, before both of taking off their bracelets. As Hope let hers drop to the floor, Mira shoved hers into her pocket, clutching onto the charm that hung off it for a moment before she did so. "We're strong enough to stop the bad guys. We're stronger than anybody thinks." As she spoke, a strong wind started to blow, the flames on the candles flickering and growing stronger.

   "Hope, Mira, wait." Marcel pleaded with them calmly. "I know you're both strong, okay? That's how I know you can let me out of here. I need you to trust me right now. Your dad rescued me. He raised, and I knew your mom since she was a baby." He looked at Mira. "Your dad helped to look after me, and taught me how to read and play the piano. Your mom was my friend, we looked out for one another. We're family." He told them. "What does your moms say about family?"

   "That we stick together, always and forever." The pair recited together, having grown up hearing those words almost everyday.

   "That's right." Marcel nodded, as they heard footsteps approaching. "Okay, look at me. Do you trust me?" He held his hand out to them.

   And it took them only a second to make a decision.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   Everything had happened quickly that evening. Audrey didn't know what had happened exactly, only that she and Hayley were going to check on the girls when their necks were snapped. When they woke up, Klaus was gone and there were bodies of the Hollows followers scattered on the ground. Almost instantly, Hayley got hold of Klaus to find out what was going on as it became clear the girls weren't there, and he reassured them he'd found them. They'd been talking with Marcel when the Hollows followers attacked, and he kept them safe after they let him out of the circle. 

   Mira apologized profusely when they got back to the compound, but all that Audrey cared about was that she was safe. That evening, she settled Mira down for bed in her and Elijah's bed, the young girl falling asleep curled up beside Audrey she read to her. 

   "Is she alright?" Elijah asked quietly from the doorway, concern in his eyes as he looked at their daughter.

   She glanced up and nodded with a tired smile. "He made sure they didn't see anything." She whispered, sitting up slightly from where she perched on the bed. Mira didn't stir and just rolled over in her sleep, and Elijah gently kissed her forehead as he sat on the other side of the bed. "He shielded them from the violence and got them out of the house."

   Elijah sighed as he rubbed his face with his hands. "Thank goodness."

   "We owe him." She said wholeheartedly. "I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't protected them tonight, and honestly, and I don't want to think about it." Elijah didn't answer, but she could tell by the look on his face he agreed. Even with the difference between him and Marcel. "Any luck with Vincent?"

   He grimaced slightly. "I doubt he'll like me any time soon, but...we did what we needed to." He told her. "We have the means to put the Hollow back in her cage with the link to ancestors reformed."

   Audrey bit her lip as she warily raised a brow. "Do I want to know what doing that took?"

   He grimaced once more. "No, not particularly." 

   That was all Audrey needed to hear after the day she'd had herself. She knew wasn't going to like the answer. "Then I won't ask." She nodded tiredly. "Not tonight, at least." 

   Elijah reached across and took her hand, pressing a kiss on her knuckles as Mira started to stir from where she laid in the middle of them. "Daddy?" She mumbled sleepily, barely even opening her eyes.

   "Go back to sleep, sweetheart." He whispered as he stood, carefully picking her up in his arms. "I'll tuck you into bed, okay?"

   "But our lesson..." She trailed off as she snuggled up in his arms, slowly nodding back off as she spoke.

   "Tomorrow." He promised softly.

   She just barely nodded as her head rested against his chest. Audrey watched the pair as she laid back in bed, and remembered seeing them together like that when Mira was only a baby. It warmed her heart knowing that no matter what madness was going on in their lives, there were some things that would never change. Elijah looked at his love and she smiled a small smile, mouthing 'I love you' as he carried Mira out of the room.

I'm sorry with how sporadic updates are. I try to get more consistent then disappear for a month. It's a mess, I know. I'm a mess, and I've accepted that. Life is just crazy. Christmas came and went in a blur, my dad got covid on New Years so my house has been isolating, and during that time I was catching up on a lot university work. I've still got even more to do this weekend. And I've been reading a lot in my free time, and it's been helping me get over the writers block I've been feeling when I have been trying to write updates.

I won't promise another chapter soon, I don't know when exactly I'll be able to get the next chapter out. But I can promise you won't have to wait as long this time for it. I promise. Thank you all for sticking with this story despite the lack of new chapters, all the new votes and comments, I really do appreciate it. 

I hope you enjoyed!