The wolves were finicky.

They had all sorts of demands for Hope. Solving conflicts between rival packs, giving them access to better tools even though they purposely avoided the city, demanding to know if she intended to be Alpha of all the wolves. Hope assured them that her power only extended over the Crescent Wolf Pack. That being said, she was there to aid everyone because all wolves were kin, all of them mattered to her, and she wanted them all to be united.

The most open-minded Alphas bent the knee without much trouble, accepting the blessing of being able to turn at will that Hayley Marshall and Jackson Kenner had bestowed upon their pack, a gift now carried by Hope that she could ensure to all who acknowledged her with respect. It didn't mean she controlled their packs, but it meant she relied on them for support, should she ever need it.

She was great with the smaller wolves. The children loved watching her do magic, begging for butterflies to chase and asking her all sorts of questions about what it was like to be a grown up. She was a queen to them, one they loved dearly. Rhysaenya looked at her and wondered if this is what the people of Westeros had been like with Queen Alysanne.

Certain regions had more needs than others, just as certain regions had particular views about hybrids and the Mikaelson family in general. It wasn't easy for Hope to convince them that she had more than earned to be given the benefit of the doubt. But given how kind and patient she was, using her powers to aid them where they most needed it, it was soon serving as a good reminder to all that they'd all liked Hayley and Jackson. Hope was no different. She was Klaus's daughter but she wasn't destined to be like him. She didn't invade their lands to turn hybrids by force. She sat with the children, telling them stories, she healed their sickest and gave them ideas to improve their way of life. She gave them what she'd been named for: hope that they could thrive. Wolves would never again be driven to extinction; she wouldn't allow it.

The hardest challenge came from those with abusive Alphas that kept their pack living in fear. Hope handled them with grace, up to a certain point. When they refused to show even an ounce of respect for their own people, she challenged them. And she won every time, without need for magic. When she'd dethroned them, she chose the new Alpha. She installed leaders that were loyal to her, indebted, who saw her as a savior that rescued them from corruption and cruelty. She gave them back the freedom they thought they lost from the moment they were born into such packs.

It reminded Rhysaenya of Jed, having recalled the story he told her about his father, a horrible Alpha who tried to make him kill his best friend to trigger his curse. There were still packs around the world who were subjected to that, and Hope was liberating all that she could. It wouldn't be long before other countries became aware of her work. Soon, they'd follow her lead. They'd fix things themselves, lest the tribrid come and fix them on their behalf. It gave many the strength to rise above even after they'd been beaten down.

"That's the last pack in the United States," said Hope a month later, when they were on a plane back to New Orleans. "We merged several smaller packs in the same region, settled differences, gave them a chance for new beginnings. I'm exhausted. But at least we've confirmed no one there is causing me trouble."

"I'm proud of you, you know," said Rhysaenya quietly. "It's inspiring to witness all this."

Hope smiled. "Thank you for being there with me. It made it a whole lot easier to know I wasn't alone. To feel there was someone backing me up along the way. I missed home the entire time. Both New Orleans and the Salvatore School. You helped me feel like a piece of home was with me."

Rhysaenya blushed. "Glad I could help. It's been fun traveling, just the two of us. Reminds me why we became friends in the first place. We have a lot in common. Ah... I didn't know how to tell you this sooner... you've been so busy and I feel like when we're not talking to wolf packs, we're planning ahead... but Ryan noticed that you and I seemed to have feelings for each other a long time before we did."

"We did? Does that mean...?"

"I'm... very much aware of what I feel now that I've actually had a chance to think about it. I do think some part of me has always been attracted to you. I felt... seen when I arrived at this school, because of you. And as I've grown as a person here, you've always been there for me. I guess what I'm saying is that I do have a crush on you, Hope Mikaelson. And I expect that in time, given this awareness, that can blossom into a more intense feeling. Which, I think... given that we have been thinking nonstop about each other for weeks... could lead to something else. If you're open to it."

"I would like that very much. As long as you're doing this because you want to."

"Your confession gave me the strength to think about what I really wanted. Who I really wanted. I have done a lot of thinking while you've been here changing the wolves' lives. I know it. I understand it. And I am ready to explore what might come next. I don't know how long it'll take before this crush blossoms into something more palpable, but I'm hoping you can be patient with me."

"Of course, Rhysaenya. Anything you need. I know I'm kind of ahead of the game on this, I had so much time to process it. I'll wait as long as you need."

The world seemed to have changed so much, simply from Rhysaenya knowing that Hope liked her. That she liked Hope. Training sessions were no longer two friends fighting and trying to make each other better. Now, they seemed to have a degree of tension Rhysaenya didn't recognize. It wasn't the first time she'd sparred with someone she felt lust for. She'd trained with Jed and Ryan a handful of times and it alway ended the same way. Someone would get too flustered while the other would smirk in triumph and initiate a steamy make-out session.

The lust with Hope wasn't exactly absent, but it was much more muted, the same way that Rhysaenya noticed that she didn't have dirty fantasies about Ryan the way she did other people in the prison world. With the addition of feelings, there was a certain amount of hesitation with each move. She knew she couldn't hurt Hope but she didn't want to risk it. Touching her felt like too much, like it was wrong, because they weren't simply friends anymore, they were more than that. Their relationship had changed the moment Hope brought her feelings to life.

It excited her as much as it made her nervous about making a fool of herself.

"Hey, Hope," said Marcel, finding them training, each girl as hesitant as the other when it came to using their full strength. "When you have a second, I brought someone that can help."

Hope let go off her staff. "It's okay, we can do it now." She smiled shyly at Rhysaenya, who nearly whacked herself in the face trying to put her staff away. A pretty girl gives you a second of her attention and you melt. It was so much easier when you didn't realize the pretty girl liked you. And when you had no idea that you liked the pretty girl.

He led them into the dining hall, where a blonde vampire with intense gaze sat with the other Mikaelsons. "This," said Marcel, "is an old friend of mine, Sofya Voronova."

"I remember you," said Hope slowly, sitting beside Rebekah while Rhysaenya lowered herself beside Kol. She figured she was allowed to stay for this; no one insisted otherwise. "You had The Hollow inside of you."

"Yes," said Sofya. "But before that and even now, I'm a mercenary with a lot of connections. Marcel contacted me the moment you told him about the threat against you. I have unfortunately confirmed it. I run in circles where people like me are hired to take care of problems. Lately, there's been a lot of activity, someone looking for red oak and for anyone who is ballsy enough to go against the tribrid. So far, those offers haven't been answered."

"I don't expect them to be," said Hope. "I got all the red oak."

"I wouldn't advise you to believe that," said Freya. "Sofya was involved in an auction many years ago where Lucien Castle manipulated our situation to ensure he was able to get the last piece of white oak that was not in our family's control in order to remake himself as a creature more powerful than an Original."

"I know the story," muttered Hope. "Which is why I didn't make the mistake you all did. I burned it all. I didn't even keep a piece for myself. If I ever want to die, I won't use red oak. I'll find another way. The tree was too young to have a sapling and I ripped out the entire thing, stem and roots. Not to mention I burned the earth where it was born."

Rebekah hesitated. "Let's not write it off just yet, little one. After all, we thought we burned the white oak where it stood, but there was still a sapling many centuries later. Nature will not allow anything to be truly unkillable. Best to err on the side of caution."

Hope threw her hands up. "What then? Just... come up with a battle plan to deal with whoever is asking around for a mercenary with a weapon to use against me?"

"I say you find them and take them out," said Kol simply, which Marcel nodded to. "Show them your power, get rid of them right where they stand and show any opposition that they need to fall in line, because if they challenge you, they will suffer the consequences. Right now, many are certain you're vulnerable simply because they see us watching your back. Confront them face-to-face, prove that you are mighty and not afraid. After all, buddy, you're the strongest witch, werewolf, and vampire in the world. And overall the most powerful creature on the planet."

"I respectfully disagree," said Davina, Kol's wife. "This whole thing started because they became terrified of what she could do. Defeating a dark witch is incredibly difficult, yet Hope did it more or less on her own. The last thing they need is another show of force against them. That is a vampire tactic that as we might remember," she eyed Marcel and her husband, "did not do wonders the last time it was used. This will only make them fear her more. And fear will sow dissent."

"Show them that you deserve their respect," offered Freya. "What you have done with the wolves, repeat it with the vampires. Leave the witches for last so you can wait to gather experience and also more precious resources that they in particular will be softened with. Prove to them that this unification is not bad for them. Your intentions are good. They need to see that."

"They'll say she's weak," argued Marcel. "I understand your point, Freya, and yours, D, but this is being sparked by a vampire. So a show of force is necessary to at least deal with this particular person expressing their opinion. She can use those other tactics with the witches. But this individual who's asking around for red oak is toeing a very dangerous line. They need to be put down immediately."

"She's a bloody tribrid!" said Rebekah. "Not to mention Niklaus Mikaelson's daughter. You and her have a reputation known worldwide. The most powerful creatures, both children of the Original Hybrid. They are scared because they think she will use her strength in the ways he did, once, and came to regret. I hardly believe that this vampire believes her weak. It's why they're asking for some other person to do their job for them, they're a coward themselves. And perhaps if she shows them they have nothing to fear, that she is merciful and just, then they will see that they're not in for another thousand years of being tormented. They're afraid, Marcel, and as Davina says, that fear is the cause of their uprising."

"This should be Hope's choice," said Sofya loudly. "I came presenting information but in the end, she's the one that decides what to do with it. Perhaps let her say her piece before you continue to argue?"

Hope nodded gratefully. "I think I do want to continue the mission I had with the wolves. Visit the smaller vampire communities, the nightwalkers, and give them daylight rings to make them thankful. Use it as a front to yes, help, but also listen to what they're saying. Because the very fact Sofya is here without a dead body dragged along means you all have no idea how to find this person who's asking for these services. I might be able to find out by being among them." She turned to Rhysaenya, since she'd been quiet. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I think all the approaches have some degree of sense to them. My father and my grandmother would've agreed with Kol and Marcel. My grandfather would've agreed with Freya, Davina, and Rebekah. My mother, however, would've thought a little bit of both could do the trick. I worry that going around and giving daylight rings won't fly with the vampires the way it did with the wolves. Werewolves are more humble, they're mortal and attached to the earth, they live off their own gardens, they have a great sense of community and are, from what I saw, relatively impoverished enough to benefit greatly from your generosity. The vampires have the power of compulsion. Most of them can get what they need with relative ease. Besides, from what you told me about those Nazi vampires, they were nightwalkers by choice. Rings won't appease all of them, and I worry they will see you as weak because you're trying to buy them with gifts."

She leaned forward, "The wolves needed to see you were kind, like your mother. The vampires mostly need to know that you can be ruthless like your father, they need to understand that messing with you is a bad idea, but they also need to know that they're not going to have to live in fear of you. Because that's not going to make them want to unite. They need to see the wolves as kin, eventually, and one of the main problems seems to be that vampires are fierce and don't want to sympathize, they don't see them as people, just beasts. If you play on their sympathies– since they have to have somehumanity left in them– it might ease that transition."

Hope considered it. "What did you have in mind?"

"You remember those wolf packs with the abusive Alphas? Maybe... find some place that vampires are terrorizing innocents, or that younger vampires are being held hostage by someone stronger than them. Go to them and kill their oppressors. Free them. Let the vampire world know that you don't tolerate such things, so that they can view you as merciful, but make sure that when their oppressors are dead, it is also public, so they may see that you are strong."

Those around the table nodded, figuring this could be a suitable compromise. "Okay," said Hope, getting to her feet. "Let's plan our next trip."

She came to see Rhysaenya when the girl had just braided her hair for the night, sitting by her window and staring out at the city, watching with a smile as two children ran around a group of jazz performers on the street, streamers in hand moving to the music.

"Hey," said Hope, knocking on her door frame. "Have a second?"

"Yes, of course. What's up?"

"Thanks for today. That felt so... daunting. I didn't know what to make of it when the conversation started. It felt like I was at a war council, receiving conflicting reports from my advisors."

Rhysaenya giggled. "Yes, well, you are basically a queen now in the supernatural world. Your father was the Vampire King, and according to your aunts, he also called himself the Wolf King even though he wasn't as involved in their matters. This past month you've shown the wolves that you are a true Alpha. Queen of the Crescents and beyond. The Wolf Queen. Now it's time for the vampires to see it. You did the right thing, listening to everyone's approaches. I'm flattered that you valued my opinion alongside theirs."

"Of course I did. You've always helped me when I needed it. You give good advice. And who better to be part of my war council than the last living member of three powerful houses that won probably a million battles?"

She giggled. "Yeah, I guess I am qualified in a unique way. Have you decided where we're going yet?"

"There's a group of vampires that run a carnival in a nearby town and there's been a lot of victims there lately, kids and adults alike. I think it's one of the first places we should hit."

"That sounds good to me. Whenever you're ready, we can head out."

"There's actually something I'd like to do first."

Rhysaenya had been to several jazz festivals with Hope over the summer, she'd gone with her to the docks, they'd stayed out late to look at the stars. But never knowing what they did now. Everything had changed, and this time, Rhysaenya pulled Hope closer as they danced. She smiled as Hope cuddled up to her when they were laying on a picnic blanket by the water, feeling the breeze and trying to find silly shapes in the stars.

It felt right.

Their first mission was a success. It took Hope all of ten minutes to kill all the vampires involved in the carnival cult, which wouldn't have been entirely necessary if they hadn't immediately assumed she was some regular puny vampire who needed to 'respect' her elders.

Sofya and Marcel were quick to make it public, ensuring that the vampire world learned about the children that Hope had rescued, and the ferocity she'd shown in dealing with the carnival vampires. They'd taken it a step further to influence the popular opinion, compelling some vampires on the site and creating fake accounts for others to make it seem like the majority of people had disliked the fallen vampires and were glad to see their little game come to an end.

The effect was instantaneous. Some vampires acknowledged the power of the tribrid, some applauded her ability to protect the innocent in a way no one thought Klaus Mikaelson had.

"Hope!" called Freya as they were packing their bags to head back to the Salvatore School, planning to check in on everyone and see if they could talk through any ideas on how to handle the witches, given the school had access to a great deal of magical objects they could offer to different covens. "There's a package for you."

"A package?" asked Hope. She and Rhysaenya shared a look across the suitcase they'd been packing, the two heading into the courtyard where Rebekah had already grabbed hold of the delivery man, who seemed dazed and was holding out a small box toward Freya, who didn't take it.

"Whatever is in the box smells human," said Rebekah lowly. "Don't open it, Freya."

It was clear to Rhysaenya that the fear in Freya's eyes came from somewhere. This couldn't be the first time she was opening a box with a body part inside of it. Hope strode forward, taking the package and tearing it open as far as it could go, catching an eyeball that rested within, with an iris eerily close to the same blue in Hope's eyes.

"What the hell does that mean?" said Rhysaenya. "What the..."

Hope turned the eyeball around, brushing her finger over ink on the back of it, printed on the eyeball like a tattoo. "The Ouroboros," said Hope darkly. "The symbol of The Hollow."

"Woah, but didn't you–"

"We did. It's not that." The image of the serpent eating its own tail faded away, words left behind reading, 'I haven't forgotten, so neither can you, filthy half-breed. I am always watching.'

The eyeball began to melt in Hope's hand, leaving behind a blue puddle.

"What the bloody hell is that?" cried Rebekah.

Hope was shaking angrily, staring down at the puddle, which had morphed together to repeat the phrase 'Filthy half-breed.' "That's... that's what they wrote in blood when they kidnapped my mother. Someone's been watching us this whole time. That person, whoever was asking about the red oak... it has to be them. They're watching us. They're here."