Chapter Text
Hope shouldn't feel regretful.
She had done what she had to in order to get back to her friends. And it wasn't like Ryan Clarke would have done anything differently if their situation had been reserved- he had said so himself.
Yet Hope couldn't stop that damned feeling of guilt eating away at her, the memory of Ryan pleading for her not to abbandon him rushing through her head every night when she tried to rest.
It was slowly driving her mad, haunting her when she should be focusing on other problems- God only knows Hope has had plenty of issues since she escaped Malivore.
Even tonight as she sat all alone in a cheap motel room Hope's mind couldn't help but wander if perhaps she could have done things differently that day.
Taking a long gulp from the bottle of bourboun she had stolen from Alaric's office / he should really keep his alcohol hidden better with all the students running around / seemed to only help so much. With a deep sigh the youngest Mikaelson grabbed the magical crystal- the same one Lizzie had given her less then a week before Hope jumped into Malivore, with strange determination she placed the object in front of her and murmured a spell to make it work.
Only a few moments passed before an illusion of Ryan Clarke appeared next to her, dressed in the same suit her had been wearing when she last saw him.
Almost a full minutes passed in silence, neither of them willing or perhaps / in hope's case / brave enough to start.
The illusion of Ryan barely payed her any attention, glancing around the room with barely hidden amusement. Finally Hope appeared to have had enough, breaking the silence with an akward "Hi?".
This seemed to get Ryan's atention because he finally turned to face her, one of his eyebrows raised while his amusement only grew. "Really? That's all you have to say to me, 'hi'?"
He snorted, a noise Hope would have never associated with him- except he was a part of her subconcious which meant she clearly did associate it with him.
"Could you at least pretend not to enjoy my missery so much?" The tribrid snapped, suddenly regretful she had even tried something this foolish. What the hell had she been expecting?
With a huff she started reaching for the crystal, ready to break the spell. But for whatever reason he seemed to notice, placing his hands in front of him in a peaceful gesture.
"Fine, fine, I'll stop." His facial expression instantly went from amused to serious, though it didn't stop him from scoffing under his breath,
"Take all the fun out of this for me, why don't you?"
Hope rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored his dramatics, moving once again away from the crystal, instead taking another generous sip from the bottle next to her.
"Look I-" she hesitated, rubbing her aching temples, "I'm not sure why I wanted you here. I just can't seem to sleep, can't remember the last time I could. And I guess I was hoping if maybe I dealt with it- with you, maybe I would finally get some sort of peace you know?"
All through her speach she kept toying with her necklace, looking anywhere but at Ryan- embarresed by something but not quite sure what.
"Somehow I doubt that anything I could say would make you feel better Hope."
His response wasn't unkind but it wasn't exactly warm either, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "So go ahead and say whatever it is you've wanted to say." He added, making her glance up at him, a curious expression on her face.
"Well so much for hoping you could be a little helpful and less cryptic." She grumbled, using his earlier words against him.
He took a step foward, moving to sit on the bed next to her. "Guess I'm trying to stay in character, right? From what I can tell the real Ryan Clarke has never been particually helpful before either."
Her expression instantly turned from mild annoyance to full blown anger. "That's not true, he-"
she cut herself off, surprised by this sudden urge to defend him- something he seemed to notice, if his gleeful expresion was something to go by.
"Want to tell me why my words got you so bothered?"
"I'd prefer not to, thanks!"
Her voice was dry, but there seemed to be an undertone of uncertainty to her words.
"You know your unability to sleep could be a sing of guilt. I mean you did leave the real Ryan behind with only his father for company, something which he had made clear was worse then hell for him."
The fake Ryan offered, still a bit too smug for Hope's liking but apparently willing to let it go, for now.
"Please, he would have thrown me under a bus for a chance to get out of Malivore." The tribrid responded, getting defensive. "Besides none of this would be happening if he hadn't unlocked Malivore in the first place?"
She hadn't intended to make it a question, her own doubt obvious in her tone before she continued talking,
"And it's not like I can change anything! ... right?" Self-doubt filled her mind, worse then it had ever been in the past few weeks.
"You know what? This has been the exact opposite of helpful!"
He merely waved his hand at her words, not believing any of it for a second. "Or maybe this is exactly what you need to deal with to get pass your guilt?"
He shrugged his shoulders lightly, standing up once again, moving like he was preparing to leave. Hope immidiately noticed, jumping up from the bed, panicked.
"Where do you think you're going? I'm only more annoyed then I was when I started this whole mess. I still have no clue how to deal with any of it without going insane."
"Oh for the love of--"
he cut himself off before continuing,
"just think about your own words 'it's not like I can change anything'! Of course there is, you just need to take a moment and think about it, you are the all powerful tribrid right?"
There was an edge to his voice that she hadn't noticed before, but it made her listen to exactly what he was saying, her eyes lightening up as she finally figured what she needed to do.
"I get it now, I just need to get him out of there! Right? I'll find a way to get Ryan Clarke out of Malivore and then things can go back to normal. And I can finally get a minute of peace without feeling like the worst person ever."
She laughed, shaking her head lightly as if foolish for not realising such a simple solution earlier.
"That's not exactly what I-" he spoke up but was cut off by Hope, "thank you again, couldn't have come up with the solution without you." She grabbed the magical crystal, breaking the spell before he could cut her off again.
That night Hope Mikaelson had finally managed to get some rest, her mind full of ideas and plans instead of regret and guilt.