~Klaus POV~
Klaus sat at his desk looking at a photo of him and his daughter on her 2nd birthday, the first one he had been able to spend with her. Having missed most of his daughter's birthdays, missing this one was not new to him, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Especially since he had watched the day slip through his fingers at the last second.
So, when the phone rang, Klaus leapt at it.
"Hello?" He began excitedly.
"Oh. Mr Mikaelson."
"Lizzie!" Josie scolded.
"I mean—hello Mr Mikaelson." Lizzie corrected causing Klaus to roll his eyes.
"Elizabeth, hello." He continued. "What can I do for you?"
"We wanted to say hello to Grace and she's not picking up her phone." She explained.
"You wanted to say hello to Grace? So you called here?"
"Uhhh yeah? That's what I said."
"Well that is interesting because I thought Grace was on holiday with you." Klaus told her.
"Oh. Oh! She is! She and Josie went." Lizzie said far too quickly. "I'm sick so I didn't go."
"You said we earlier."
"Yeah we as in MG and I." Lizzie told him.
"That's funny because I could have sworn I heard Josie's voice earlier."
"Nope. Just MG!"
"Hm. Well how are they enjoying France? I haven't heard from them."
"Beautiful! I'll make sure Grace sends you those pics from the Eiffel tower." Lizzie continued to lie.
"She said you went to Sweden."
"Crap."
"Good effort though." Klaus added. "I suppose it's safe to assume she didn't tell you anything."
"I'm not getting her into any more trouble so...bye!"
The phone cut and Klaus' mind went into panic mode as he realised he had no idea where his daughter was.
But he was gonna move heaven and earth to find out.
~Silas POV~
Silas had taken Grace to a large and secluded hill in the deep countryside of Sweden. The Northern Lights shone brightly above her but as nice as the view was, Grace couldn't help but wonder if trusting this essential stranger was a mistake.
"Are you alright?" Silas asked her.
"Well seeing as I chose to spend my 16th birthday with a stranger claiming to be my grandpa, I'm almost certain the answer is no." Grace teased causing Silas to laugh softly.
"Funny." He remarked. "You really are your mother's daughter."
"You mean Fiore, right?"
"Yes."
"Can I ask you something? About her?"
"You can ask me anything."
"When my dad tells me stories about her...he mentioned her dad a couple times." It wasn't lost on Grace that Silas tensed up at this mention. "Their relationship isn't great."
"I'd like to say that isn't a fair assessment but..." Silas sighed and ran his hand down his face tiredly. "The relationship between your mother and I was fraught to say the least. I made many mistakes and did many things that I'm not proud of. But Fiore is an incredibly strong woman and I couldn't be more proud of her if I tried. And every day I work hard so that I can be someone she can be proud of too."
"If it makes you feel any better...it's never too late." Grace told him. "My dad and I have had our ups and downs too. Two years ago, I would've hated spending my birthday with him but this year...I was actually looking forward to it."
"Sorry for taking you away from him." Silas replied apologetically.
"It's okay. I want to be here." She said definitively. "If there is even a chance that Fiore is out there, I want to know."
"I promise you she is." Silas squeezed Grace's hand affectionately when his timepiece began to chime. "It's time."
He brought Grace to the highest point of the hill and began to chant a long and arduous spell. The sky seemed to react in response as the lights danced in erratic fashion above her and the cold winds proved more powerful.
He took a break from the spell and heaving from the effort gave Grace four small vials. "Drink from this."
She took the small bottles from his hand and began to drink the vials one by one as he continued with the spell. Once Grace had taken all four, she grew weaker and suddenly keeping her eyes open was a strenuous affair. She barely made out Silas rushing towards her before falling into unconsciousness.
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When Grace came to, she was in a foreign space and lying down in a bed in a room she didn't recognise. She propped herself up on her elbows and finally saw her grandfather pacing about nervously in front of her.
"Did it work?" She mumbled.
"Oh thank goodness!" He rushed towards her and engulfed her in a tight hug.
"Careful!" She warned with a teasing laugh. "I feel like I might turn to dust."
"Sorry I'm just so glad you're awake." Silas replied, cupping her face in his hands. "You took so long to wake up I was so worried."
"It's okay. I'm okay, Pops." At the familiar term of endearment Silas' eyes shot up and locked onto Grace's. She beamed back at him with all the intensity she could muster in her weakened state.
"So does that mean..."
"Yeah." Grace answered with a bittersweet smile. "I remember you. I remember everything. Anastasia has my mom."
"Grace...I'm so sorry." Silas said with a shake of his head. "I should have protected her. It's all my fault."
"You didn't make mom abandon us." Grace mattered.
"She didn't abandon you. She left to protect you." Her grandpa was trying to get her to sympathise, but it wasn't going to work. "
"And my dad ditched us to do the same thing. I'm so tired of my parents doing anything to protect me as long as it's far away from me." Grace countered. "She didn't even try."
"She had no choice."
"We all have a choice."
They stewed in the silence for a long moment before Grace noticed the dull ache in her palm. She looked to her hand and saw the small plaster on it and the wound that was slowly knitting itself back together.
"Did it work at least?" She asked hesitantly.
"I'm sorry Grace." Silas said with a shake of his head. "What happened with Fiore was lightning in a bottle. I was foolish to think I could recreate that."
"So why do I remember?"
"I really don't know." He explained with a shrug. "This spell is complicated and not well researched. For all I know it just linked you to her."
"Hm."
"I'm sorry I wasted your time."
"You didn't waste my time!" Grace refuted, pulling her grandad into a big hug. "I got to remember my mom and you. How could that be a waste? I love you, Pops."
"I love you too Grace." He replied with a blissful sigh. "And happy birthday, my beautiful granddaughter."
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A tearful goodbye with her grandfather, a gruelling long flight and a stupid expensive taxi ride later, Grace was walking into the Mikaelson household. She didn't know how she was going to tell her family about Fiore's existence but at least she had time to figure it out.
"Honey, I'm home!" She called out. In seconds, Klaus, Hayley and Elijah stood before her, all with varying degrees of worry on their face. Her dad stepped forward to speak but Hayley stopped him with a hand pushing him just behind her.
"How was the trip with Lizzie and Josie?" Hayley asked.
"It was great!" Grace told them. "Cold but awesome."
"Is that so?" Her father asked slowly and Grace knew it was taking everything within him to keep his anger measured. "Because Lizzie called asking to wish you a happy birthday."
"...crap."
"Grace—"
"Before you pass out judgement...let me have a quick chance to explain myself. And it's gonna sound crazy so bear with me." Satisfied that no one was going to interrupt, she began her explanation. "Okay so like a couple months ago I started getting these anonymous letters and packages and stuff from a stranger but the stranger seemed to know who I was and he was telling me stuff about my life and they described things about me that they could only know if they had been around at some point and then they sent a ticket saying I should fly to Sweden for my 16th birthday and that it was gonna be a life changing trip. So I went, turns out it was Silas, my grandpa, and he explained that Fiore was real and she's my mom and if he did some ritual that I would be like her and at first I was like your crazy Fiore isn't real, my dad made her up but he started making some good points so I was like okay I'll do the ritual—he started Stefan Salvatore's doppelganger line if that helps jog your memory—but anyway we do the ritual and it doesn't work right but for some reason I remember everything, him, my mom and most importantly Anastasia kidnapping my mom."
There was a slight delay as Klaus, Hayley and Elijah tried to digest the information but then Hayley and Klaus started talking over each other in angry yells whilst Elijah simply stared at her in bewilderment.
"Stop yelling for a second!" Grace exclaimed, momentarily quieting her parents. "Look, I know what I did was wrong and I'm really sorry about that but it was for a good reason! Somewhere deep inside me I knew something was missing and I was right! So...all's well that ends well?"
Her parents were puzzled for a moment longer before speaking in unplanned unison.
"You're grounded."
~Elijah POV~
With Grace's sudden reawakening of her memory, Elijah realised he was out of his depth with keeping Fiore's secret. So without any explanation of further ceremony, he dashed out of the Mikaelson compound. He headed to his secluded park in the hidden areas of Baton Rouge and in spite of the past smiled at the blonde figure that sat on the bench.
"Blonde, really?" Elijah asked as he sat down beside her.
"What's wrong with blonde?" She asked with a scoff. "I'll have you know, they have more fun."
"You look like you're having a mid-life crisis." He continued.
"If I was having a mid-life crisis, I'd be on a big red motorcycle." She told him with a smirk. "Besides, I've witnessed your mid-life crisis and let me just say, you lose so much of your gravitas when you don't wear suits."
Elijah laughed softly before turning to her with a sombre look. Her body was different, she was shorter, her eyes were brown and her face was covered in freckles, but underneath all that façade, she was still unmistakably her.
"It's been a while, Elijah." She remarked.
"It most certainly has been." He sighed. "How are you these days, Fiore?"
A/N: Grace really disappeared and said you ain't my mother *duff duff duff duff duff d-d-duff*