[ Chapter Twenty-Nine ]

DARKENED CLOUDS floated in a blanket across the sky and casted a shadow over the Scottish countryside. Ryan Mikaelson perched on top of a large hill that overlooked the village of Dumbarton in the valley below. The cool breeze lifted his dark blonde curls and forced him to pull his coat closer to his body. He glanced up at the grey, knowing that it would most likely rain later in the day. Or, so he felt.

That had been one of the many reason why Ryan woke so early in the morning. His strange feelings. They came along with the Hollow magic mixing with his tribrid nature. The knots that formed in his stomach when something even remotely threatening surfaced. To his dismay, lighting and rain storms were included.

Because of the predictable European weather, Ryan found himself awake before breakfast and the long plane ride that awaited him and his mother. The two of them were set to travel to America for a visit with some of their family. One of the many trips they took to see Ryan's aunts and uncles separated from each other for the last seven years. It became the only way he could lay eyes on them outside of a phone or computer screen, considering none of the Mikaelsons were supposed to step within throwing distance of one another.

To save Ryan's older sister, Hope Mikaelson, their family gave up rights to be in the others' presence for the rest of their lives. A ritual used to imprison the evil, fifteen hundred year old spirit known as the Hollow placed its essence into four of the Mikaelson siblings. As long as it remained inside of them, they could never be within proximity of each other or Hope.

Hence the multiple round the world trips. Even though his aunts and uncles had to stay away, it did not mean Ryan had to.

Although, the trips were strenuous on Ryan's father, Klaus Mikaelson. Ryan noticed over the years how his and his mother's absence bothered him. Klaus tired his best to put up a front when it came to his siblings, but Ryan knew better. He could feel the sadness and longing radiate throughout their home almost at a constant pace. Klaus missed his siblings, and Ryan did not blame him. He missed his own sister most days.

"Ryan Mikaelson!"

Ryan winced when he heard his mother shout from behind him. He looked back to see Raylynn Montgomery-Mikaelson strode across the green lawn. Her long dark hair flowed around her shoulders and her silk robe billowed behind her like a cape.

"What the hell are you doing up this early?" Raylynn exclaimed as he grew closer to her son. "You're supposed to be asleep. We have a plane to catch in a few hours."

"Uh, I couldn't sleep?" Ryan voiced in his slight Scottish accent, sounding more like a question than a statement.

Raylynn sighed. "Did you have another feeling, or was it a bad dream this time?" she asked and lowered herself to sit next to him.

Ryan shrugged. "I don't really know. My body just doesn't want to stay asleep, I guess." He shifted his gaze back to watch the ant-size people slip through the buildings of the village below them.

They were both silent before Raylynn said in a calm tone, "you know, sometimes that just happens - unrelated to tribrid powers." She smiled and bumped her elbow with his arm.

A faint smile formed on Ryan's lips, before it faded a bit as he looked toward his mother. "Does that ever happen to you?"

"All the time," Raylynn said. Her grin still remained. "I'm the mother of a teenager. I'm lucky if I can sleep on a good night."

Ryan rolled his eyes in a playful manner. "Great. So, I'm to blame for your sleepless nights."

Raylynn shrugged. "Only sometimes." She pushed herself up to her feet. "Now, come one. As long as you're up, you're gonna make yourself useful," she told him and held out her hand in his direction.

Ryan placed his hands in hers and let her pull him to her side. "By doing what?"

"You're gonna help me make breakfast." Raylynn turned on her heel and dragged her son back toward their family's castle.

_______

By the time Raylynn and Ryan finished with breakfast, the entire kitchen had been covered in a thin layer of flour and powdered sugar. Several stacks of pancakes and a large pile of bacon sat in the center of the island counter, while two glasses of orange juice were placed next to their respective plates. Ryan occupied one of the barstools, having already dug into his food as if he had not eaten in days.

Raylynn shook her head as his behavior and leaned against the counter in front of her son. She smiled, holding a steaming cup of coffee between her palms. It were mornings like those she liked the most. Ones where she and her son had little to care about but food and how much to pack for their trip later in the day.

Ryan looked up from his plate, his hair brushing his brows. "So, when are we leaving?" he questioned, chasing his bites down with some orange juice.

Raylynn lowered her cup and said, "well, we were supposed to leave today, but we may have to push it until tomorrow. Depends on if we can beat the rain."

Ryan let out a groan. "But I told Aunt Hayley yesterday that we'd get there before everything fun started."

"You do realize Mardi Gras isn't for a few more weeks, right?" Raylynn asked with a pointed look.

Ryan paused and then waved to dismiss the conversation. "Whatever."

Raylynn laughed, draining the rest of her mug to place in the stainless steel sink next to her. "You're just like your father."

"Speaking of. Where is he? Is he still asleep?" Ryan questioned, shoving a strip of bacon into his mouth.

"Either that, or he's in his gallery. You know how he is." Raylynn turned back to rest her hands on the island counter. Her eyes narrowed as she watched her son shake his head, moving the few strands that stuck in his lashes. "I really need to take you for a haircut."

Ryan's eyes went wide. "No!" He reached up and placed a hand on his hair. "I like it like this."

Raylynn scoffed. "Oh, so you like having to push hair out of your face every few seconds." She quirked a brow.

Ryan pondered the thought, before he said, "you let your hair grow out. Why can't I?"

Raylynn opened her mouth to speak, but she fell quiet at his counter. She leaned back from the counter with a huff. "Fine. You got me there."

"There's nothing wrong with a bit more hair than usual, love." The voice of Klaus Mikaelson voiced as he strode into the room. A grin on his lips. "And besides, our son has the looks to pull it off." He ruffled his son's head went he walked past him.

Ryan made a face and raised a hand to fix his hair. "Ugh, Dad. Stop."

Klaus disregarded his son's comment and faced his wife. "I see the two of you made a mess," he said looking at the state of the kitchen. He then leaned toward her and gave her a chaste kiss.

"Aren't we always?" Raylynn quipped when they pulled away. "I'll ask Elspeth to clean it up, while Ryan and I finish packing. That woman needs a raise," she told her husband and grabbed a slice of bacon.

"And we'll be sure to give her one," Klaus said, before he set his attention on his son. "Especially when someone destroys their room every - what is it? Two weeks."

Raylynn and Klaus exchanged a glance. "Sounds about right." She looked to her son. "That sound goo to you, little king?"

Ryan's mouth dropped open. "That's not fair! Uncle Kol said the spells would work. How was I supposed to know every light in there would explode?" he exclaimed.

"You just better be glad I don't allow Elspeth to make you clean up your messes instead of her," Raylynn stated and moved over to where she left her phone to charge at the end of the kitchen counter.

Ryan simply blinked in response. "Okay, so I'm messy. It happens." He took another bite of his pancake. "Anyway, I wanna know when we're leaving. Hope's supposed to call in like a hour so she can tell her Headmasters how long she'll be gone from school."

At the sound of the teenage girl's name, Raylynn tensed and kept her back turned to her son and husband. Ever since the separation of the Mikaelson family, it became hard to maintain constant communication with them all. The first few years were easy. Phone calls and video chats were an everyday occurrence. But as time went on, they trickled off into one or two every other week. Time zones, daily activities, and Hope an Ryan's schooling made it harder to stay in touch.

They were all fairly good at keeping everyone informed in their lives. At least, everyone but Klaus. He attempted multiple times to get as close as he could to his siblings. Every time he did strange manifestations of dark magic occurred. Not only that. Klaus seemed to have some kind of falling out with his only daughter, Hope. When she or Hayley called, he always came up with some kind of excuse not to speak. Raylynn tried to get him to talk about it, but he would brush off the subject or ignore it altogether.

Raylynn busied herself with staring at her phone's screen, knowing that another conversation about the topic would happen. Many missed calls were displayed, along with various texts that were way too long to read on the lock screen. All of them from Hayley.

"You are going to talk to her this time - aren't you?" Ryan questioned, setting his stare on his father.

Raylynn clicked off the screen and turned to where her son and husband stared at one another. Klaus adverted his gaze, not wanting to meet the boy's eyes. Raylynn would have intervened and changed the subject, but she, too, wanted to know what the hybrid had to say.

Ryan's expression dropped as his blue eyes narrowed. "Or, are you just gonna come up with some excuse again? Say that you'll talk to her sometime soon when you really mean never."

Klaus's own expression hardened. "I am your father, and you will not..."

"What? Speak to you this way?" Ryan retorted, standing from his stool. His chest heaved as his annoyance and anger grew. "So you can be my father, but now Hope's?"

"Ryan, that's enough..."

"No!" Ryan snapped and cut his father off. His glass of orange juice exploded across the counter. "You're abandoning her, and I have to feel guilty every time I talk to her because I'm living with your and she can't" He scoffed and shook his head when Klaus fell silent. "I'm going to finish packing." He turned on his heel and stomped off in the direction of his room.

Once her son was out of earshot, Raylynn stepped over to Klaus's side. She went to set a hand on his shoulder, but he moved away. "He didn't mean it. He's just..."

"No," Klaus interrupted her. "He meant exactly what he said. I've been a terrible father - to both of my children."

Raylynn shook her head. "No, you haven't. The circumstances are just - messy, at best." Klaus's gaze fell to the floor, causing her to sigh. "Look, Ryan and Hope are teenagers now. As much as we all hate to think it, they have their own minds and don't always do what we want. Be patient with your son, but when it comes to your daughter..." Klaus met his wife's eyes. "You need to talk to her, Klaus, or else you're going to lose her. And this time, for good."

Klaus remained silent for a long moment, before he voiced, "I think it would be best if you and Ryan were to leave for New Orleans early. Something has just come to my attention, and I need to see to it that it is handled promptly."

Raylynn went to protest, but she did not get the chance. Klaus gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then spun on his heel to leave the room.

Raylynn stared after him as a knot of dread twisted in her stomach. She did not like the way he said that. In the past, those words usually meant that someone's death would follow. Before she could go after him, her phone began to ring and vibrate in her palm. Raylynn lifted the device to see her sister's name on the screen. "Hey, Hayley, what're you doing? Isn't it like - one in the morning there?" she spoke when she answered.

Hayley sighed heavily through the speaker. "I can't sleep knowing that my daughter just turned a teenage boy into a hybrid for money."

Raylynn paused. "E - excuse me?"

"Oh, your heard right. Hope's been suspended from the Salvatore's and now at home until I can sort this whole thing out," Hayley exclaimed.

Raylynn raised a hand rub at her eyes. "I guess the Mikaelson children are going mad, considering I just witnessed my son have it out with Klaus in the middle of the kitchen. Oh, don't forget the exploding orange juice."

Hayley stayed quiet until said, "look, I know you weren't supposed to leave until your afternoon, or tomorrow at the latest, but is there any way you can move your flight up? Maybe Ryan can calm Hope down a bit."

Raylynn chuckled, dropping her hand. "Or, maybe they'll blow up the city together."

Hayley laughed. "Just get here already. I need help."

"We'll be there by your noon tomorrow, or should I say today since it's already early morning there," Raylynn told her.

"Shut up," Hayley quipped. "I'll see you then." She ended the call.

Raylynn lowered her phone and set it down onto the island counter. "Oh, what the hell are we about to get ourselves into?"

_______

Jazz filled the streets of the French Quarter when Raylynn and Ryan stepped foot within its limits. Ryan forgotten how much he missed the upbeat melodies that played almost every waking, even some non-waking, hour.

As soon as the familiar building entered his line of sight, Ryan sprinted from his mother's side and through the front gate. The courtyard looked the same as it did the last time he laid eyes on his second home. Multiple strings of lights encircled the thin branches of smaller trees that were placed in the corners of the room. The concrete fountain in the center spewed water from the top, glistening in the light as it slipped down to the bottom basin.

Ryan did not have the chance to look for the members of his family, before he heard his name shouted from the second level of the compound. He looked up to find his older sister leaning over the metal railing. Her reddish-brown hair fanned out around her head in bushy curls, while an intricate braid covers the right side of her hairline.

"Ryan!" Hope called out as she speed down the staircase that led to the courtyard. Her smile brightened with every step she took, before she slammed into her brother and wrapped her arms around him.

Ryan stumbled from the forced of her taller form, by a few inches, hit him, but he righted himself and returned the embrace. "Hey, Hope," he said, pulling away from his sister.

"Ah, look at them." A voice spoke near the gate Ryan just entered. Both siblings turned to see their mothers stood next to each other. "It's like we never left," Raylynn quipped.

Hayley crossed her arms over her chest. "Should we take a picture?"

Raylynn smiled. "Oh, we so should."

Ryan turned to his sister. They exchanged a look, before the two of them took off in a sprint toward their mothers. Raylynn and Hayley were shocked by the sudden display of affection, but they hugged their children.

Ryan groaned when his aunt's grip tightened around him. If he were not a supernatural being himself, her hybrid strength would have snapped him in two. "Okay - Aunt Hayley, I can't - breathe," he wheezed.

"Oh." Hayley released what she had done and gave him an apologetic stare when she let him go. "Sorry, Ryan."

"It's fine. Mom's done worse," Ryan muttered, rubbing his arms that actually did hurt.

Raylynn huffed, released Hope. "Says the boy who shot me with an arrow last week," she said and gave her son a pointed look.

Hope laughed, while Hayley whirled to the boy with wide eyes. "You what?" she exclaimed.

Ryan shrugged and pointed toward his mother. "She told me to."

Hayley shook her head. "I really don't want to know what the two of you do in your free time." She set her attention on the woman at her side. "Let's go outside. I have to make a call, and we need to talk."

Raylynn nodded and followed the Marshall woman outside, but not before she glanced over her shoulder toward her son. "We'll be back in a few minutes. Don't do anything stupid while we're gone."

Ryan held up his hands in a surrender motion. "I'm good." He looked to his sister. "You good?"

Hope gave both women a curt nod. "I'm good."

Once their mothers left the courtyard and were out of earshot, Ryan whipped toward his sister and grinned. "So, is it true?"

Hope's brows furrowed. "Is what true?"

"That you sold your blood to one of your classmates?" Ryan questioned, bouncing a bit on his heels.

Hope released a sharp breath and rolled her eyes. "Your mom really told you?" she asked as she spun on her heel and headed toward a couch in a corner of the courtyard.

Ryan scoffed and followed after her. "No. I overheard her and your mom talking. I wasn't going to stick around much longer after getting into it with Dad, but I wanted to..."

"Wait." Hope cut him off as she snatched her sketchbook from the coffee table in front of the couch. "Why'd you get into it with Dad? I thought the three of you were all happy and stuff?" she inquired with a hint of bitterness in her tone, plopping down onto one side of the couch.

Ryan took up the other side. "It hasn't been the same since last year - since the last time he talked to you."

Hope looked up from her where she started to draw. Her lips parted, as if she were about to say something, but she changed her mind and shook her head. "You don't need to fight with Dad for me, okay? I'm the older sibling here. I can take the hard stuff better than you can."

"Yeah, but that's the point. You shouldn't have to," Ryan told her. "Just because Dad can't see you, don't mean he can't talk to you. That doesn't stop Aunt Rebekah and Uncle Kol."

Hope stared at him for a long moment, before they were interrupted by someone entering the courtyard.

"Hey, jailbird," Freya greeted her niece and then her nephew. "You, too, hothead." She held out her arms. "Come give me a hug."

Ryan pushed himself up from the couch and ran around the table to leap into his aunt's arms. She appeared the same as she did when he and his mother finished several months back, but her hair was much longer than it had ever been.

When they pulled away, Freya moved to sit on the coffee table to face the siblings. Her hands fell to her knees as she sighed. "I got some news - about me and Keelin," she began, until her gaze drifted over the empty courtyard. "Where's your moms?"

Hope's brows creased as she glanced around the room. "I don't know. They said they'd only be gone a few minutes, but then they never came back."

Freya pursed her lips. "Where'd they go?"

"Outside," Ryan stated. "Aunt Hayley wanted to talk to Mom, and she also had to call someone."

"Auntie Freya," Hope voiced with her stare set behind the blonde.

Ryan followed her gaze. His eyes widened at what he saw. The clear water that once resided in the concrete fountain now gave off the appearance of crimson blood. Ryan stood to his feet and moved closer to the centerpiece. He sniffed, finding that it gave off a metallic scent. Like real blood.

"Are you doing this?" Ryan questioned Hope, who also stood and followed him over to the fountain.

Hope shook her head and kept her stare on the flowing blood. "No. You?"

Ryan shook his own head. Why would the fountain's water turn into blood? Had someone practiced dark magic lately? His attention snapped to the entrance of the compound when Freya reentered the home, having went to look for the two missing women. More specifically, the phones held in her hands.

"Someone found these in the street," Freya said, handing one to the siblings.

Ryan recognized the black encased phone as his mother's. She never went anywhere without it. He went to aske Freya more about the person who found them and what they saw, but they stopped when Hayley's began to vibrate in Hope's hand. Ryan looked toward the device and found his father's name on the damaged screen.

Hope stared at the phone. Her eyes wide. After a long moment of hesitation, she slide her thumb across the screen and lifted the speaker to her ear. "Dad?"

Ryan moved closer to his sister to hear the other side of the call. There was a bout of silence until their father spoke, "I was looking for your mother."

Hope glanced toward her brother as she replied, "yeah, so are we. Um, I don't know where she or Aunt Ray are. They're missing."

Ryan strained his ears to hear his father answer in a determined tone.

"I'm on my way."

<May 2, 2019>

Here we go. Season 5 is one hell of a ride.

I'm also trying to watch all seven seasons of Game of Thrones so I can finally watch Season 8, and I only have the seven day free trial of HBO NOW. Honestly, I have some impressive binge watching skills, but I don't think even I am going to finish them all in time.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.