Two

After seeing Hope and discovering that magic was the key to leaving Malivore, Melori worked hard to try getting at least one spell working. She tried many spells. And many times, she failed.

No matter how many times she wanted to give up, she didn't.

Hope, on the other hand, made it back to her friends. They didn't remember her, as a side affect to being thrown into Malivore. But after a while, they'd gotten their memories of the tribrid back. They had new problems rise but that never really changed much. They always found their ways around them.

Things have been quiet since their last problem concerning Josie, one of the Saltzman twins.

No monsters had made themselves known. Clarke was nowhere to be found. Probably because he was still stuck in Malivore with Mel. Everything seemed normal for them. Dr. Saltzman and Hope, especially, couldn't complain.

He and Hope were sparring by the lake.

"Come on, don't let an old man beat you."

"The last time I put you down, you had back problems for a week."

"Ah. It's best to keep me on my toes. Don't hold back, come on."

Hope scoffed, shaking her head. "Sorry, Dr. Saltzman, I think I need a new sparring partner."

"What-" Hope sat down at the edge of the small deck, Alaric following. "Are you seriously saying I'm getting too old?"

"Yep. That's exactly what I'm saying."

He nodded his head and sighed, resting his hand on his thigh. "You're probably right."

"No, I am right."

"Still, though, I have to stay ready. In case another monster shows up, you know."

"You shouldn't stress so much, Dr. Saltzman."

Alaric looked at Hope. "It's my job to protect this school. The girls, you. Do you know your father would have my head if I let my guard down even for a second before you got hurt?"

"He's not here, though, is he?"

"Fair point... but-"

"But nothing, Dr. Saltzman. You are going to take a break from all this, okay?"

"Okay..."

"And I'm gonna find a better sparring buddy. One that can keep up."

"Ouch," Rick winced. "That hurt, you know."

"Oh really? Too bad." Hope got up from her spot, dusting her hands and pants. She offered a hand to help Alaric up. He took her supportive hand and pulled himself up.

The two headed back to the Salvatore school. "You should make the announcement some time within the next two days."

"What announcement?"

"Your vacation. Spa day. Whatever you wanna call it, I personally don't care," Hope shrugged, looking over at the man.

Alaric shook his head. "Who said I was going to leave so soon?"

"I did."

"I..." speechless, Dr. Saltzman huffed at the young girl, determining the seriousness of her words. "If I leave now, who's gonna watch over the school?"

"You could call Dorian and Emma," Hope said as if her answer was obvious.

In fact, it was obvious, and Ric knew that. He nodded his head as they entered the school. He knew that the two would do everything in their power to protect the school from anyone and anything, but it never stopped him from worrying about the kids. Nor from protecting them. And let's not fail to mention his own daughters went there as well.

Alaric and Hope went their separate ways, deciding to shower and wash away the sweat and dirt on their skins as result of their sparring match.

Hope went to the room she shared with no one, quickly undressing and making her way to the en-suite bathroom. She turned the knobs to the shower to match her preferred temperature. When she got it right, she slipped right into the shower.

The girl showered throughly, removing the sweat and dirt from her body, she exited the shower and reached for her towel, wrapping it around her. Hope stood in front of the mirror, examining herself with a sigh. She couldn't help but worry about... well, everything. Dr. Saltzman. Her friends. Even Malivore and when the next monster will come for her. It's always her because he knows she's the only thing that could stop him permanently. Which is why he has to kill her permanently, and she knows this.

No one knew how they'd do it; stopping Malivore. They know it takes the blood of it's makers to destroy, but how would they go about it? Alaric refused to allow Hope to purposely activate her vampire gene so she could retry sacrificing herself. And sacrificing one of each original species wasn't an option either.

Hope carried this weigh on her shoulders, knowing she could do both something and nothing at once.

Hope tied her wet hair in a loose high bun before walking out of the bathroom.

It was then that she saw someone standing near her door.

"Raf!" He snapped his head towards the girl, but instantly averted his eyes when he realized she'd just gotten out of the shower.

"Oh, boy..." he sighed nervously, turning around so that his back was now facing her.

"What are you-?"

"Hope, I am so sorry. I- I didn't realize..."

Hope rushed to find her school outfit. "Just- what are you doing here?!"

"I was just delivering a message from Dr. Saltzman, um... he's-he's hosting a meeting in the study hall in twenty minutes."

"A meeting, huh?" Hope cautiously dried herself and put on her clothes, all while keeping an eye on the boy in her room. "Good."

"Do you know what it's about?" Raf asked.

Hope chucked, "If it's not what I think it is, there's gonna be an issue." Hope moved back to the bathroom where she set up her blow dryer. "Dr. Saltzman is going on a vacation."

"He's what-" Rafael turned around to face Hope, who he just barely saw in the doorway of the bathroom. Hope had released her hair from the bun it was in and began to dry it.

"Yeah, he's taking a vacation," she said, raising her voice over the loudness of the blow dryer.

Raf raised his voice as well. "Is that even safe? Wh-who's gonna watch over the school while he's gone?"

Hope held out a finger, signaling him to wait a minute for her to finish drying her hair. Once she did, she brushed her near-auburn hair. "Dr. Saltzman needs a break from everything, Raf. He knows it as well as I do, so, I suggested he takes said break."

"Fair, but what about-"

"He's gonna get Dorian and Emma to come back and help. Wherever Dorian is, anyway..." She set the brush down, giving herself one last look before leaving the bathroom. "He's getting to a certain age where he needs to slow down. If he doesn't, well..."

Raf nodded in understanding. "Well, we've got ten minutes now, so..."

"Yeah I'll see you there. I just need to see Landon real quick. Do you know where he is?"

"Probably somewhere outside. He wanted to try summoning his fire-wings or whatever?" Raf shrugged and shook his head.

Hope nodded and lead the way out of her room, Rafael closing the door behind him.

They parted ways at the bottom landing of the stairs as Rafael went on to the cafeteria, which doubled as the study hall. Hope made her way to the back of the school and out to where she and Alaric were sparring. There, she found her boyfriend standing tensely and in frustration, occasionally jumping in the air. Simply put, he was struggling to summon his wings of fire.

As Hope got closer, she heard him swear to himself in more frustration.

"Easy there, you might have an aneurysm."

Landon didn't look back, knowing that voice from anywhere. "I've been trying to fly but it's like I just... can't." He attempted jumping again. "It's so damn hard."

"Have you tried relaxing...? Taking a minute to breathe and focus?"

"I'm not known for relaxing, breathing, and focusing, Hope." He turned to Hope, giving a small smile. "It's not in my blood."

Hope chuckled lightly. "Yeah, well, we're gonna have to give my way a try some time later. Right now, we have to get going for a last-minute meeting."

"What's it about?"

"Dr. Saltzman is taking a sudden leave of absence. He's in need of a little vacation."

"Huh," Landon nodded. "Understandable." Landon sighed, shaking his head slightly before turning his attention completely to Hope. He extended a hand towards her. "Fancy an escort?"

Hope rolled her eyes playfully, accepting the gesture. "Why thank you," she giggled.

The two of them headed back into the school and to the study hall where students sat and waited for Alaric's announcement. He stood in the at the base of the staircase, while members of the student council, including Hope, took their place on the step behind him.

"Psst, Dr. S," Kaleb, the vampire spokesman said. "What's this about?"

Alaric turned slightly to glance at him. "You'll see."

He waited for the remaining students that came to situate themselves, sitting in seats or standing against the walls, or just standing where they could in general. Emma, the guidance counselor, and witch, stood among them, crossing her arms just under her chest.

When Alaric figured everyone was settled, he clasped his hands together and cleared his throat as assurance that he had everyone's attention.

"Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming." He was sure to look around the room, making eye contact with as many students as possible. "I know this meeting is short noticed, and you all have things to get back to, so I'll make this announcement quick."

He turned slightly to his left to face Hope, who gave him a slight nod of encouragement. Josie, the spokeswoman for witches (also one of Alaric's twin daughters), made eye contact with her sister in the crowd, both confused about what was happening.

"Uhh, simply put, I will be taking a leave of absence, starting today."

The crowd emerged into a series of panicked chatter. His daughters, most especially, were most shocked at the fact that their dad had plans to leave the school.

He held his hands up to silence the crowd. "I know, I know. This isn't expected at all but-"

"Dad, who's gonna watch over the school?" Josie asked.

Alaric looked back at her worried face. He rested a had on her shoulder, turning back to face the students so they could hear as well. "I've asked Emma and Dorian both to take care of things in my absence. Any problems will be reported to them. Or really, just to Emma until Dorian arrives."

"What if monsters attack?" Lizzie asked from the crowd. The let out a series of mumbles in agreement with the question.

Emma stepped forward from the crowd and took her place next to Alaric. "We've made preparations to set up a number of extra protection barriers around the school. No one or nothing would be able to pass through them so easily."

"And if there's a monster in the area already?" A student asked.

"Well," Alaric scoffed. "That'd be impossible with the supernatural alarms-"

As if to prove him otherwise, the doors of the room that were shut were pushed open, and students standing in front of it were immediately frightened. There were various screams as they cleared the direct path to the staircase as others stood from their chairs to run to different corners of the room.

As students cleared the way, they expect to turn back to see some form of inhuman creature, but found the opposite.

Everyone was shocked to see a girl whose clothes and exposed brown skin was covered in dirt and a dried black substance, although her hair still had drops the black liquid falling to the floor. She was only wearing a slightly cropped t-shirt and underwear.

Her head was hung low and her long hair fell over her shoulders. As she began to walk, more students back further away, unaware of what to do, or what they're even supposed to expect from her.

It became clear to them that her destination was where the headmaster and student council were. Alaric, who was unprepared for battle, was pushed back by Emma, and the council members stepped forward. Lizzie even ran from the crowd to stand beside her sister, hand-in-hand, siphoning each other's magic in case they needed it.

Once she reached a safe distance from them, while being close enough, she stopped, pausing to raise suspicion.

"Who are you- what are you? What do you want?" Emma asked, raising her hands, ready to defend herself and others. She and many others figured she'd come from Malivore, based on the black substance that riddled her body.

Students from the crowd whispered to themselves, mostly asking how she bypassed security.

How did she?

After a few seconds, the girl moved slightly closer, but also to the side so that she was directly in front of Hope. The twins had siphoned more magic from each other as Raf and Kaleb both bared their teeth, readying to pounce at any sign of sudden movement.

But unexpectedly, instead of attacking, she'd dropped down to one knee before the tribrid, raising her hands in surrender.

"What do you want?" Hoped asked.

The suspicious girl slowly raised her head to make meet Hope's blue eyes with her green ones, saying one thing only.

"Hello, princess."