"Vera?" Hope said softly from the doorway.

"Yes, dear?" I asked turning to look at the little girl who was quickly becoming a young woman.

"Can you tell me your story?" She asked softly. For the first time in years I was caught without words.

"What brought this on?" I asked gently and took a seat on the bed.

"Well I know how daddy, Uncle Elijah, Uncle Kol, and Aunt Rebekah became vampires. Aunt Freya told me how she's lived so long even though she's a witch. I know how my daddy took Marcel in when he was little and took care of him till he became a vampire. I even know how my mom met my dad, but no one ever talks about your past." Hope explained.

"I see." I sighed and patted the bed for Hope to join me.

"Where should we begin?" I asked, leaning back against the headboard while Hope say cross legged at the foot of the bed facing me.

"How about, when were you born?" Hope asked and I smiled.

"I was born in 1708 in France. My father was a powerful man..." I started but Hope eagerly cut in.

"Like my daddy?" She asked and I chuckled.

"No, not as powerful as your daddy, though my father liked to think he was." I hummed amused at the memory of my father, chest puffed in pride as he spoke of the power he wielded within the French aristocracy.

"My father was part of the French government and was sent here to New Orleans to build a French foot hold on the new American continent. Many men thought it would be a quick way to get rich and my father was no different. I was just a little girl when we sailed from France, younger than you even." I smiled and Hope beamed.

"What was the city like back then?" Hope asked and I laughed at the question.

"Nothing like you know now." I answered and Hope tilted her head curiously.

"The streets were just dirt, the fancy buildings were only two stories tall, my family home was made up of four buildings, and everyone traveled on the backs of horses." Hope seemed in awe as I spoke.

"I was a little older than you when your father and his siblings came to New Orleans. I grew up admiring how pretty your Aunt Rebekah was. My father spoke fondly of your father and Elijah. On more than one occasion we dined around the same table." I smiled and Hope smiled back.

"My mother was a loving woman that wanted the best for me and my siblings, just like yours." I said and Hope's smile brightened.

"When I grew old enough my father thought it would be best to marry me off. He tried to arrange a marriage with your Uncle Elijah." I made a funny face at the idea and Hope giggled.

"But then you'd be my aunt." Hope pointed out and I shrugged.

"I would be, but I knew your Uncle Elijah and I wouldn't be a good match. He politely declined my father's proposal and pointed my father in the direction of one of the town lawmen. He didn't have much power, but your Uncle showed my father his potential and convinced him that it would be a good fit as the man had many connections in the growing city." I said and Hope leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

"Was he right?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes, I did grow to love Henry, he was a good man. He used to bring me flowers from the market once a week because he knew they would make me smile." Hope had a soft smile that I knew was probably reflected on my own face.

"What happened to Henry?" Hope asked and I sighed.

"Being a lawman was dangerous. Henry died when a bandit shot him." Hope gasped.

"That's so sad." She whispered and I leaned forward to take her hand in my reassuringly.

"I went back to live with my family, but unfortunately my father had found himself in a bit of trouble. Some of the important men were angry with him and sought to make my father pay for his grievances with his life. They succeeded the week I found out I was having a baby." I stared at the wall over Hope's head. That year of my life had been the darkest, few knew of the details for that reason, it was just difficult to speak about. Time had made easier, but I could still feel the prick of tears in my eyes and the lump that was slowly forming in my throat.

"My two brothers had already left town in the years prior to make names for themselves like our father and getting word to them took weeks. Fortunately your father and his family were fond of charity. They welcomed my mother, sister and I into their home. I became good friends with your Aunt Rebekah during that time. In the following months a fever swept through the city. Taking out many of the important families." I could feel the sting of tears in my eyes as I thought back to the days of the fever. So many were lost, so many dead bodies being carried through the streets and burned in hopes of stopping the spread of the disease. My thought were broken when I felt Hope move closer and hug me. I smiled down at her and hugged her back before pulling away slightly so she could lay at my side.

"Sadly my mother was frail with age and succumbed to the fever early on. My sister and I fell ill soon after, my sister was strong and she fought the disease, but it eventually took her too. I was so ill I lost my baby before I could reach my sixth month, the fever would have took me too if it hadn't been for your Aunt Rebekah. She saved me, said she couldn't stand to see all the misfortune I had suffered within the year take me away." I smiled down at Hope and she smiled back though I could see tears in her eyes too.

"Things got better from there. I stayed with your family for a very long time and your Aunt and I were the best of friends. At one time it was as if I had become a Mikaelson myself." I remembered softly.

"Did you live here when Marcel was little?" Hope asked and I chuckled.

"Yes I did. At first it was so strange to have someone so little running through the compound. Rebekah and I would laugh at the energy he had, though it hasn't dwindled much since then. Marcel was almost as inquisitive as you are. He wanted to know everything and between the three ancient vampires living in the house he learned a lot." I chuckled some what darkly as I remembered both the good and the bad things that Marcel had learned during his time with the Mikaelsons.

"Did you love Marcel then?" Hope asked and I smiled down at her.

"You're jumping ahead in the story." I scolded teasingly.

"Marcel actually had quite the crush on Rebekah back then. He would have done anything for her attention and it caused quite the tiff between Marcel, Rebekah and your dad. A tiff that led your aunt to getting a time out in her box and I took the opportunity to travel on my own for a time." I frowned, remembering my anger at Klaus for his actions against his sister though the memories of my travels quickly removed the frown.

"I took the opportunity to visit France. I hadn't seen my homeland since we had sailed to New Orleans. I went to Italy, saw the leaning tower and rode in a gondola down the streets of Venice. I traveled to New York and saw the Statue of Liberty, watched a show on Broadway, and walked through Central Park. It was only years later when I got word that Rebekah had been let out of her box that I came back to New Orleans." I patted Hope's arm and stood from the bed and walking over to the dresser across the room. Opening a drawer I pulled out a framed picture and carried it back to the bed.

"It just happened that your family was throwing a ball the night of my return." I showed Hope the picture of Rebekah and I smiling for the photographer as I sat back down on the bed. We were both dressed elegantly and held cocktails in our hands. Elijah had tisked in distaste at the photo, but it was one of my favorites, it showed exactly who Rebekah and I were despite the restrictions on women of the time.

"You both look so pretty." Hope said as she looked over the picture in her hands.

"Thank you. After that night it was like I had never spent a day away. The peace didn't last long as Rebekah and Marcel started sneaking around behind your father's back. They thought that your father would never approve of their love and sought to hide it, if only to make it last only that much longer. Though your father already knew and he surprised them when he not only accepted it, but encouraged it. Then came the night at the opera." I trailed off for a second as I took back the photo from Hope and placed it on the end table.

"We weren't aware that Mikael had arrived in town. Rebekah was having a terrible time picking a dress for the night and I had stayed back to wait on her. When we arrived at the Opera, Marcel had been attacked and Mikael was fighting with your father. Rebekah went to help Marcel and was injured by Mikael in the process." Hope's grip on my arm got tighter and I gently rubbed her arm to reassure her.

"I tried to help, but I'm much younger than Mikael and your family, I didn't stand a chance. When I woke the building was filling with smoke, Marcel's injuries had left him unable to move, but I could tell he was still alive and I pulled him from the building." It was in the days after that we learned of all the damage Mikael had wrecked on the city, nearly burning all of New Orleans to the ground and it was like the Mikaelsons had all but vanished." I sighed.

"So Marcel and I banded together and worked to rebuild the city. We worked hard to forget the city that had been built in the image of the Mikaelsons and to create a city that reflected ourselves from the rubble." I could still see in my mind the city in shambles, the streets lines with smoldering timbers and piles of fallen brick and stone. I could still feel the echoes of my anger when I realized that we had been abandoned by the Mikaelsons, the very people that called us their family.

"Is that when you fell in love with Marcel." Hope asked innocently, breaking me from my thoughts again.

"It was the start. When Rebekah left with your dad and Elijah, Marcel was heartbroken. Your Aunt Rebekah was the first woman Marcel ever loved and first love is the hardest to get over." I said seriously and Hope nodded like she understood which made me smile.

"It wasn't till years later that Marcel's heart started to mend. He poured himself into creating a better city and while doing so, he built a wall around his heart as well. When you lose your first love you don't think you'll be able to love again and you're afraid to try." I explained and Hope lifted her head.

"Is that how you felt when you lost Henry?" Hope asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, but no one pushes a widow to love again, at least not in those times. Marcel and Rebekah never married and people expected that it would be easier to get over a relationship that was not as committed as a marriage, but they didn't know how much Marcel loved your aunt." I smiled and Hope smiled back.

"I hope someone loves me like that someday." Hope said wistfully and I brushed a hair behind her ear.

"I do, too. A girl like you deserves nothing less than a man that loves you with all his heart." I said gently.

"So when did Marcel finally tear down the wall around his heart?" Hope asked, looking at me attentively.

"It wasn't till around the time you were born." I said and Hope gasped dramatically.

"That long?" Hope asked and I chuckled.

"When you love someone the way Marcel loved your aunt, it takes a long time to heal and then to allow yourself open up to love again after you learn how much losing a love like that can hurt. I hope you never have to learn what that pain feels like." I said and ran my hand through her hair.

"Your mom was pregnant with you when your family returned to New Orleans. It was the first time Marcel had seen your aunt since the night Mikael attacked. Being around your family and being around your Aunt Rebekah allowed Marcel to heal a little and reopen his heart. It was only after your birth that Marcel and I admitted our feelings to each other." I ran my hand through Hope's hair again and smiled down at her and she smiled back.

"Am I interrupting a history lesson?" Marcel asked leaning against the doorway. I smiled at him and held out my hand.

"Young Hope here, merely asked for my story. Seems the others have run out of stories to entertain her inquisitive mind." I teased and Marcel hummed as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"I believe a few relics still exist in the attic." Marcel mused before looking to Hope.

"Would you like to see them Hope?" Hope popped up excited, nodding quickly as she hurried to climb off the bed and onto the floor to follow Marcel out of the room.

"Keep it PG-13." I warned and Marcel chuckled as he leaned forward to lay a quick kiss to my lips.

"Yes, dear." Marcel said with a taunting grin.

"Just so you know, I like that last chapter." I smiled and leaned forward giving Marcel a deep kiss that only broke apart when Hope started to protest.

"Me, too." I said and watched happily as Marcel led the excited little girl out of the room toward toward her next adventure.