"Are we there yet?" Zoe asked in a whiny voice. "No," Carolyn replied, trying her very best to keep herself from strangling her youngest daughter. "When are we gonna be there?" Mia parroted in the same voice as Zoe. "Soon," Carolyn replied, again, desperately willing herself to think of calm things. The twins quietened down and continued watching a film on their Ipads while Carolyn sang to herself as she drove to the airport. Normally, she'd bare the drive, but with two 8-year-old girls in the car (whose patience was shorter than a mouses tail) was another form of torture. Plus, the drive was just over 14 hours and by then, Carolyn would have paid a redneck to shoot her.

They were going to get the midday plane and get to New Orleans by 2 (hopefully)

Carolyn let her thoughts wander freely as she drove in silence.

"Ok then, great and mighty hybrid, how're we gonna get to the Quarter? My girls won't sit in a car for an hour, much less 14 and with a man they don't know." Carolyn asked Klaus. While she loved him, he was a pain in the arse sometimes. "Well love, I made my own way here, so I can make my own way back. The rest is up to you," Carolyn side-eyed him. "Thank you, Sherlock." She hissed.
Carolyn stood up from the couch and began to pace, a habit she'd developed since Zoe once shot her sister across the room with magic. Since then, they'd been forced to wear earrings that stop their magic being used. "I'll get a plane, then. I'll try and brave Ohio airport with two witches." Klaus huffed a laugh. "Just cause your kid is well behaved and angelic, doesn't mean any other 8-year-old is... which they aren't." Carolyn snapped. Klaus raised his hands in a defensive way. "Ok, I mean no harm..." Carolyn sighed loudly.

Before she knew it, they were pulling up to the airport and parking the car. "Now girls, the only time you can take your earrings out is when we go through the metal detectors. You have to put them back in straight away, ok?" Carolyn told her daughters as she helped them zip up their coats. "Ok, mummy."
The trio made their way through security with no trouble... mostly. They'd gotten through the metal detectors and were about to collect their bags when a security officer stopped them. "Madam, I'm going to need to do a body scan of you and your children," He spoke. Carolyn frowned. "But we didn't set off the detectors?" She said, subtly pulling Zoe and Mia into her sides. She didn't trust this man, not one bit. "I must insist," He tried again. Carolyn looked around the airport. No one had noticed them. She complied and pushed the girls in front. "My associates will do the girls separately. Try and keep it as quick as we can," The man told her. "No, my girls stay with me at all times." Ever so faintly, Carolyn could hear a quiet growl come from the man's throat. Her heart sank.
Before she could do anything, Zoe screamed. Carolyn whipped her head back and watched as a man tried to pull her away. "Get your hands off her!" Carolyn yelled, trying to cause a disruption. Nobody looked or even acknowledged her. It had to be a form of compulsion.

Flicking out her hand, Carolyn shouted a spell. "Fluctus inpulsa!" The man shot backwards on a wave of invisible force. Carolyn grabbed Zoe and Mia's hands and dragged them through the airport, not bothering for manners or pleasantries as she barged through everyone. Briefly throwing the passports at the poor woman at the gate and making sure none of the creatures from security was behind her, Carolyn finally paused to make sure the girls were ok. Zoe started to cry and Mia wouldn't speak. She felt her heart get heavy, as she always did when one of the girls cried, and willed the lady to hurry up.

"Ok Miss, it seems like your passports are good to go. Enjoy your flights,"

They successfully made their way to their seats and took off with no more issues. Letting her head fall back against the plane seat, Carolyn let out a long exhale. They'd already had trouble and they hadn't even left Ohio yet... what the hell was New Orleans gonna be like...?

~

2 hours later and the plane landed. Zoe and Mia had, thankfully, fallen asleep on the plane and were now rested. They made it through the airport with no trouble, unlike Ohio, and waited outside. "Mummy? Why are we standing here? Are we waiting for someone?" Mia asked as she played with her Peppa Pig backpack straps. "No, sweetie. I'm just trying to work out how to get to where we're going. Don't leave my side and don't let go of Zoe's hand." The twins instantly held hands. "Hi, sorry, excuse me!" Carolyn said to a random passerby. She was about 5' 6'' with green eyes and blonde hair. "Can you point me in the direction of this address?" Carolyn asked once the nice lady had stopped. She handed her an address. The blonde girl looked it over and smiled. "Yeah, I can take you there. I'm friends with the lady." Carolyn was suddenly cautious. "Uh... I can find it myself if you tell me the way, thank you." The blonde lady looked a little taken aback. "Ok, you go down here and walk down Bourbon Street then you follow signs to Jardin Gris. You should then see a block of apartments. Go there and go to the number." Carolyn thanked the blonde woman and took her daughters' hands and they walked off.

A little while later, they eventually found the apartments. They stepped into the lift and Zoe pressed the 5th number. "Girls, I don't know if the lady we're after is still living here and if she isn't, I don't want you to say anything to her. Ok?" Carolyn said, looking Zoe and Mia in the eyes. "Ok, mummy." They agreed.

The trio walked down the hall until they came up to a door with the number 17 on it in a sort of rusty gold colour. Mia knocked on the door and they waited. "Who is it?" An unknown voice spoke from behind the door. "Uh, Carolyn? I don't know who you are, I just wondered if my old friend was still here,"
"And who is your old friend?" The voice replied. It was a female and didn't sound particularly old. "Hayley Marshall?" Carolyn spoke back. The door began to unlock and Carolyn pulled the girls in a little tighter. The door opened but it wasn't Hayley stood there. It was a young girl of no more than 15 years. She had gorgeous brown hair but beautiful blue eyes. "You must be Hope," Carolyn spoke. She was the perfect combination of her parents. "And you are?" Hope replied. "Sorry, I'm Carolyn. I used to know your parents... can I come in?" Hope didn't say anything, but she opened the door wider. "Sorry it's a mess, mom's not back for another 3 days and I haven't tidied yet." Carolyn waved her hand, "Honey, I have two 8-year-old girls... it's no issue." Hope grinned. "Do you want a drink? I have some juice, water, coffee, bourbon or blood." Carolyn laughed. "Uh, can I have two cups of juice and some coffee, please? No blood for me, I'm not a vampire," Hope hesitated but continued to pour the juice. "You used to be friends with my dad and you aren't a vampire? You have to be supernatural then!" Hope exclaimed. "Before I answer any questions, do you have any kids channels or movies? I don't really want my daughters hearing about this," Carolyn spoke, bringing the coffee closer to her face. "Yeah, I have a few movies... I think I have sleeping beauty?" Carolyn nodded and smiled. "That'd be perfect, thank you, Hope," While Hope left to set the tv up, Carolyn checked her phone. She had a few messages from her sister and brother but nothing else important. Hope came back in with a small smile on her face. "Your daughters are very sweet," She commented as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Thank you," Carolyn replied.

The two stayed in silence for a while before Hope spoke. "What creature are you? Because no one is friends with my dad and not a supernatural being." Carolyn snorted. "Long story but, those girls out there aren't human. Not 100%. When they were conceived, their dad was a vampire and your dad kidnapped me when he found out. I also found out that I'm a witch who has over 100 years worth of untapped magic running through my veins... so yeah." Carolyn said, finding the situation quite funny. "Well then... That's an interesting story," Hope replied, not knowing what to say. "Yeah... I didn't think I'd be back here so soon. Your dad says there's trouble in the quarter?" Hope nodded. "At east 15 tribrids... I thought I was the only one." Carolyn patted her shoulder, "Believe me, kid, there's lots of shit you don't know. Hey, when's your mum gonna be back?" She asked.
"Right now," A new voice spoke from behind Hope. "Jesus Christ, mom!" Hope exclaimed. Hayley was stood there with her hands on her hips. "You just letting strangers into the house now? What if they were here for your blood?!" She asked, clearly angry. Carolyn frowned, "Hayley, it's me, Carolyn," She said. Hayley frowned for a second before gasping. She pulled her into a hug. "You bitch! Why didn't you come sooner!?" Hayley said, laughing. Carolyn laughed as well, "Well, I did say when the girls were old enough and when the quarter was safe..." Hayley sighed and pulled away from the hug. "It's never gonna be safe here... how are the girls anyway?" She said. "Zoe! Mia! Come here for a sec!" Carolyn called. The girls walked in and Hayley gasped. "Oh god, they're so cute! How old are they now?"
"We're turning 9 soon!" Mia said as she held up 9 fingers. "Wow!" Hayley spoke.

"Wow, indeed," Another new voice spoke from behind...