couldn't sleep.

It wasn't that it eluded her—with being unconscious and all, it would've been easy to find sleep—but despite her outward appearance, her mind was wide awake and extremely lucid. She remembered grabbing the wolf books Grandma Mary had given to her before receiving a quick blur of things she didn't understand. It was like flashes of pictures when flipping through a scrapbook, but before she could comprehend any of the images, her body fell and her mind fell with it.

When she returned to a half-way conscious state, she didn't recognize her surroundings. She looked around and realized that she was in a forest, but an unfamiliar one; it wasn't the one near her house, because the trees were much too different. It looked as if she were in a different region of the world, and all around her was a tint of green as bright as moss. It was like she was shrouded in a blanket of leaves. She thought she would be afraid, but all she could feel was a strange, satisfied peace.

She took a step forward cautiously, wondering if she could explore this imaginative forest, but as she moved, a voice called to her.

"Mercy Mikaelson," a woman's voice spoke wistfully, but it still caused Mercy to whirl around, gasping when a group of people were standing in the space that had been empty just moments before. The woman who spoke wore animal skins with her dark hair in a long and beautiful braid down her back. Her skin was tan, but tinted with that same green aura that Mercy took note of earlier. Flanking the woman's side stood what seemed like millions of people, fading into the nature of the trees around her. The moonlight lit up their faces, but when Mercy's curious eyes looked at the ground, she saw that their shadows didn't match their form. Every one of those in front of her sported a shadow of a wolf connecting to them instead of the outline of their body, and without a second thought, Mercy relaxed, hoping that whatever they wanted would not be so bad.

"You are Mercy, are you not?" The woman repeated with a small grin on her lips, and her eyes were warm and welcoming.

Mercy nodded, swallowing down her previous doubts and trusting that everything her mother and Grandma Mary told her about werewolves was true. "Yes, that's me," she replied weakly, still very confused as to where she was and why she was there.

The woman tilted her head just slightly to the left. "Oh child," she began softly. "You have so much to learn."

Without another word, the woman opened up her arms toward Mercy, silently beckoning the little girl to join them. A warm and safe feeling flooded over Mercy's body, and it was like gravity took over. She didn't comprehend that she was moving until she finally stopped in front of the woman. All she felt was warmth and safety, relishing it even more as their arms wrapped themselves around her body. With ignorant bliss, her consciousness slipped away.

>

Klaus and Hayley ran into the compound about as fast as they had left it only a day before. They each carried a child in their arms, their faces emphasizing the worry for their children and the cautiousness of a city they once called home.

The compound had lost its charm from when the Mikaelsons inhabited it. Now, there were vines entwining in the bricks and cobwebs littering the corners, coating the entire building with a presence of abandonment. Klaus surveyed the area as they entered, remembering both good and bad times—mainly bad—and hating all of it.

"Our home," he said sarcastically toward his brother following him. "Once the pride of our family, now a flophouse."

Elijah was scoping out any possible threats lurking in the shadows of a home they once resided in. "Indeed the mighty have fallen," he spoke half-heartedly, like his brother, the both of them knowing the direness of the situation they faced.

"Where's Vincent?" Hayley asked, her voice shaking with fear that her two beautiful, little girls could be hurt or something much worse. She hurried over to the couch in the middle of the room, ignoring how it sunk to the floor and setting Hope down, still wrapped up in her favorite blue blanket they had taken from their house. Klaus followed suit with Mercy, who clutched her green blanket even in her sleep. The two girls laid side by side, and Hope, despite feeling so cold, automatically reached out and took Mercy's unmoving hand in her own, finding solace just by having her sister next to her.

"Right here," a voice called out from their left, and Vincent emerged from the shadows, as calm as ever; yet, he held a pityingly sad glint in his eyes when he caught sight of the twins holding hands on the couch. "Kept my word," he assured them all. "Now the only question is whether or not you guys are gonna keep yours," he continued, his tone and stance changing as he looked toward the family he had finally gotten rid of after so much time. "As soon as I'm finished healing your kids, you got to leave the city."

Klaus glared at the witch, but he knew that they would be indebted to him for what he was doing to help his daughters. "Well, we're not going to stay, are we?" He asked sarcastically but his voice broke on the last word and everyone saw how truly terrified the infamous Original Hybrid really was. "Your city has lost its charm."

Hayley stepped in before the annoyance in Klaus's voice became aggressive. "What he means to say is that we're very grateful," Hayley spoke to Vincent sincerely. "Just help them and we'll leave."

"Just give us what we need," Elijah spoke up from where he had been crouched next to both Hope and Mercy, the two of them as unresponsive as ever. He stood and moved next to the love of his life, looking at Vincent with noble honesty. "And we will do so, happily."

After that, Vincent gestured to Hayley. "Excuse me," he asked politely and the hybrid immediately moved out of the way, permitting access to her children for the helpful witch. They could all hear the ominous noises of crows cawing in the distance, echoing around them like an opera theatre, and it wasn't reassuring in the least.

"Okay," he said quietly, bending down in front of Hope. The little girl tried opening her eyes the best that she could, but she was exhausted both by what was happening to her as well as the long drive it took to get where they were. She barely squeezed Mercy's hand, but there was still no response, and if she wasn't so weak to the point that she couldn't even move without her head hurting, she would've asked the man to tend to her sister first.

But the spell he performed on the first girl was quick and simple, something he had mastered over the years. Everyone watched the spell, with Klaus even starting to pace with his lack of patience. They waited with baited breath until Vincent gently touched his fingertips to Hope's temples, causing her eyes to open.

They all let out a sigh of relief, but it didn't lessen their worry much, knowing that Mercy was still in danger of something as well.

"Mom?" Hope mumbled, and Hayley was immediately at her side. She hugged her daughter tightly, but she couldn't stop herself from placing one of her hands on top of Mercy's forehead. Hayley was relieved that Hope was safe, but now her worry for Mercy only grew tenfold.

"What about Mercy?" Hayley questioned Vincent, and he blinked, moving around the hybrid mother to bend down next to the second twin.

"Well, I know that we didn't see any kind of talisman with the other kids' belonging to her, so whatever this is, it isn't what hurt Hope," he explained, tilting his head and closing his eyes as he pressed a hand to Mercy's small fingers.

Immediately, his mind and skin burned, and he yelled out in pain, receiving only a single image in his head as he fell backwards, eyes wide in confusion. All he saw were the eyes of a wolf.

"What's wrong?" Klaus commanded, growing even more panicked at the witch's response.

"What happened right before she fell into this state?" Vincent asked urgently, stumbling to his feet and looking at the others. "I need to know if what I'm thinking is right."

Elijah stepped forward, carefully holding a bag. He let the contents of the bag slide out without him touching any of it, and Vincent saw the three books on the table, three books he had never seen or heard of in his life.

"She fell into a trance and when she touched these books, something took over her and her eyes they... they turned golden," Klaus explained, seeing Vincent look at him with confusion on his face. "Yet whenever somebody else tried to open these books or even touch them, they burn to the touch."

"Was there anything else?" Vincent asked, getting closer to the books and waving his hand over them only to feel the intense burn they threatened even from the distance he was at. "Any kind of clue that was given by whatever did this to her?"

Klaus paused but Hayley spoke up in his place, nodding her head. "Yes," she breathed out. "It was almost like a prophecy."

"What did it say?" Vincent questioned.

Klaus, having memorized every word to leave Mercy's mouth when it happened, recited the prophecy perfectly:

"A baby born of darkness and fright, will corrupt the twins destined for good and light. And while one sleeps possessed in the night, the other one is blessed with the gift of sight.

To defeat the snake, one twin must grow, unlock the part that's already started to show. With blood and fire from the pits below, she will transform into something nobody has ever known."

Vincent looked taken aback by the prophecy, but there was something in his face that told everyone there that he knew something about it. Hayley looked to him, shaking her head. "Well? Is there anything you can do to help her?" she pleaded, but Vincent only looked at her gravely.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't my territory," he explained to them, which only seemed to anger Klaus as he looked ready to murder someone.

Elijah held him back with a hand on his shoulder, stepping toward the witch. "What do you mean this isn't your territory?" He demanded respectfully, but there was still a tightness in his voice. "Witches keep the balance, you must know something."

"All I know is that your daughter will only wake up when she is reunited with the ones who created these books," Vincent said. "And by the markings, I have no doubt that it was the werewolves. This is a secret kept from any other supernatural creature, and the magic coming off of it is old and very, very powerful." Vincent shook his head, looking genuinely confused and also worried. "The prophecy connects to the thing that hurt Hope, and whatever is happening to Mercy is changing her right now."

"Changing her?" Hayley asked, looking like she was on the verge of tears as she met eyes with the two brothers. "Changing her into what?"

Vincent shook his head. "I don't know," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "But I do know that the only way you will find answers is with the werewolves. I'll try to help as much as I can, but this magic from the books is not witch magic, and I have no idea what the books contain either."

Hayley nodded, knowing they had to find the werewolves as fast as they could before something happened to Mercy that was irreversible. "Thank you Vincent," she said from the bottom of her heart. "If you hear anything—"

"I will let you know," Vincent promised with a firm nod of his head. "She may be a Mikaelson, but she's just a kid, and whatever is happening to her is something she doesn't deserve."

With their silent agreement said, Vincent got up and Hayley pulled Mercy into her arms; she looked to Hope, gesturing to Klaus with a jerk of her head. "Go see your daddy," she said softly, looking to the man in question afterwards. Hope turned around and began walking to her father when the distant crows suddenly became much louder, one dropping to the floor, dead in front of Hope.

The little girl looked confused and scared as more dropped down from the sky around her, forming a circle. Vincent, who was nearly out of the compound, stepped back into the courtyard, looking at it all closely with a worried gaze. Klaus, knowing that Mercy was in Hayley's arms, went to his daughter inside the circle, looking at her in worry.

"What is this?" He commanded, but the question was directed at Vincent, who looked scared.

"I don't know," he answered, his eyes flickering over the crows and back to Hope.

"Can you hear that?" Hope asked in a whisper, looking around in confusion. Klaus opened his mouth to speak but found that his fear kept him silent, almost paralyzed with it. "It's...whispers. Saying a name, over and over." The little girl's eyes met her father's identical ones. "Kre Nah Han... Kre Nah Han..."

"Vincent..." Hayley asked, looking to the witch as she held Mercy close, overwhelmed with what was happening. "What is that?"

Vincent looked scared still, but almost as if he knew this would happen. "It's a nearly forgotten dialect," he told her, looking to Klaus as well. "It's Creole. It means the Hollow." He sighed, and Elijah stepped forward with an eyebrow raised. "The Hollow is coming."

>

The next morning, after the incident with Hope and getting her into bed even with a fever and her constant questions about her twin's safety, Hayley swooped Mercy into her arms and explained to everyone that she was going into the bayou to find some answers.

"I'll come with you," Klaus said, stepping forward as he finished cleaning up the dead crows in the courtyard.

Hayley immediately shook her head. "No, you aren't," she denied. "You need to stay here with Hope. I'm still the Alpha of the Crescents, whether they like it or not, so I can handle myself, and if they see you, they'll think it's an ambush or a trick."

"What of Elijah?" Klaus said, gesturing to his brother. "Can he not watch over his niece whilst I go and murder a few witches?"

"No," Hayley responded again.

"We cannot be reckless, Niklaus," Elijah agreed with his lover, stepping forward. "I will handle the witches, and Vincent will pass along the word of our predicament to Marcel. This is as much of a problem for him as it is for us."

"Which means you stay here with Hope," Hayley finished, grabbing the trio of Mercy's books that had been restocked into the bag. The separation of the thin cloth was enough to prevent any searing burns from coming to the hybrid. "Do not let anything, or anyone near her."

Klaus simply stayed silent, and Hayley took that as her cue to leave the compound and head into the discreet and tinted car with her daughter. She sighed as she buckled the little girl's seatbelt, biting her bottom lip to keep her emotions in check when she saw her baby girl look so gone and unlike the usual excited personality that encompassed her. She took a deep breath before getting into the driver's seat and driving to the bayou, her determination pushing past the fear and emotions.

When she reached the bayou, a place once vibrant of werewolf life, she saw that it had become more desolate in her absence. Either that or everyone was back to their hiding from when Hayley first arrived in New Orleans.

Hayley—knowing that Mary still lived in the area and understanding that it was her that gave the books to Mercy in the first place—had called the older woman before she arrived, explaining the situation as quickly and effectively as possible. Mary agreed for Hayley to come to her first, and that was what brought her to parking in front of the familiar old cabin and walking up to the door with Mercy tucked safely into her arms, as cold as ever even in the bayou humidity.

Hayley knocked urgently on the front door, looking around nervously as she bounced Mercy up and down. When Mary opened the door, the mother let out a sigh of relief at seeing a familiar face. "Mary," she breathed, and the woman immediately opened her door wider.

"Come in, come in," she told the hybrid, waving her into the home. Once Hayley was safely past the threshold, Mary peeked her head out, looked around the bayou, and then closed the door with a click of the lock.

Hayley was just setting Mercy on to the beige couch when Mary joined her side, already hearing what Hayley knew over the phone call.

"What are these books, Mary?" Hayley spoke shakily as she held up the bag that contained the objects in question. "What is it doing to my daughter, and why can't anybody else touch it?"

Mary sighed, reaching out to grab the bag and removing the books without a problem, much to Hayley's surprise. "I saw how Mercy was growing, how she acted and looked so much like the girl of these stories..." she let her words dangle, running a soft, nostalgic touch over the cover of one of the books. "I wondered if she was the one they talked about, and when she could touch them, even while having witch and vampire blood in her veins, I knew she was the one."

Hayley shook her head, confused and yet interested in the explanation. "What are they?" Hayley asked clear and concise, gesturing to the books. Mary met her gaze, and there was something deep and personal in her eyes.

"You might want to take a seat for this," Mary recommended, and the two found their spots in a few lounge chairs to the left of Mercy on the couch. Mary let the books sit in her lap when she began the story. "Long ago, when werewolves were first created and separated into different regions, these books were made by the three first packs of wolves." She spoke with a sense that the story had been passed down for generations, and although Hayley sometimes questioned legends when it came to wolves—everybody always having a different opinion on what happened to create them—she could tell that Mary knew it to be true.

"The Elders of these packs created the First Council, and each of these books came from these packs, spelled by the planets aligning with the moon and sun, something that only occurred every thousand or so years. The wolves used the magic from a natural occurring event and a sacrifice to make sure that the only one who could read the prophecies in these books was the girl that the prophecies were about."

"So, you're saying that Mercy is the girl in the books?" Hayley asked, her eyebrows furrowed together as it seemed too much of a coincidence to be true. However, Hayley should know better considering who Mercy's family was. "Do you know what the books say?"