Nicklaus smiled, it was a pure wholehearted smile. The type only Grace brought his face these days, Grace and now it seemed occasionally Kathrine.
It seemed it wasn't only Nik's heart who the little Verde was warming.
May 26th 2010
That morning Grace was the first to wake up and soon the other occupant of the house followed suit. Her excitement was contagious even though it was for something as mundane as a shopping experience that only lasted half the day.
After all her searching the day before Grace had fashioned a pair of shorts out of the black jeans she had been wearing when she got here.
They had been washed and she had turned them into ripped jeans with a frayed hem, which was complete a mistake on her part the cut wasn't clean as the scissors were blunt but according to Kathrine they looked fine.
Reusing her camisole from the same outfit she wore that and donned one of the history teachers many shirts on top.
The mall opened at nine, she had checked then it before. Before she left she had a yoghurt out the fridge and snuck Katherine another blood bag, not that Nik didn't know. It was obvious what was happening to the depleting blood bag supply but it didn't bother him, after that night they would be out of that little flat any way and Kathrine would be gone forever, one way or another.
Before the two girls left though he slipped her a little plastic card and whispered four digits before bidding them goodbye.
Grace smiled in glee as they walked down the short corridor to the stairs. Nik had entrusted her with his credit card!
Nik trusted her, or at least with his money.
"Oh by the end of the day he will regret his decision." Kathrine laughed.
"We aren't going to spend all his money! Right?"
"Oh course not." Katherine said deadpan - three seconds passed before the two of them fell into uncontrollable fits of laughter again.
"Okay, okay." Grace gasped. "Come on - before he changes his mind."
The pair descended down the stairs but as they did so a woman walked past them, going the opposite way - towards the apartment. She gave the two a steely glare before caring on her way.
"What's her problem." Katherine groaned as soon as they hit the ground floor. Grace replied with the universally recognised motion for - I have no idea - a simple shrug of her shoulders. "Of course you don't know." Katherine muttered to herself.
They had left the apartment complex and were now by the side of the road. "How were we planning on getting out of town anyway?"
"I don't remember." Katherine remarked in a snarky tone. "How are we going to escape this wretched town?" She made a comical face before dangling a pair of keys in Grace's face.
"Nik's truck!" Grace laughed, "Of course - it should be around here somewhere."
"Yep, in fact it is right there." Katherine said pointing to the opposite side of the road. Grace smiled looking either way before dragging Katherine towards Nik's flashing Range Rover that lay dormant opposite them.
"I can drive if you want?" Grace offered.
"I got it." Katherine replied hauling herself into the drivers seat after unlocking the car with a click of the keys.
Grace made her way round to the passenger door and moved to open it when a hand stretched out to push it close again.
"Grace?"
Turning round Grace was met by Bonnie Bennet - the towns resident witch - as Nik loved to call her but now to Grace she had become no more than the one who knocked her out, the one who let Elena drag her away - to let her be put in that...coffin.
"Grace." Bonnie repeated her self. "Is it really you?"
"Of course it is." Grace snapped, a fire that had lay dormant sparked to life within her - a rage reserved for only a selected few ignited and it was out for blood.
"I, I thought I...". Bonnie trailed off, a week look on her face. By now Katherine had got out of the car and was barrelling towards the little witch.
"Thought you'd what - killed her. Oh no your little Gilbert bestie failed as well - has this whole town got it out for Grace or are you always as welcoming as this, she lost her family, she lost..."
"Katherine." Grace said, her voice pleading, being her to stop, tuning to the witch she addressed her directly. "What happened that night, Elena wasn't exactly forthcoming with the truth."
"The truth," Bonnie repeated. "The truth - I don't think even I know what happened Grace. I mean I had just got my magic and then I, I don't know - maybe it thought you were a threat but I..your just..."
"Human."
Bonnie nodded her head but then moved to look Grace in the eye. "And now you are hanging out with them." She said nodding towards Katherine. "They are our enemies." She whispers as though the five hundred year old vampire with heightened senses couldn't hear every word she was saying.
"They may be yours but Nik and Katherine have shown me nothing kindness since I woke up that's more then I can say about the rest of you!"
"Grace." Bonnie called out in shock and surprise, the little girl from before had outgrown her timid shy nature and had matured. In an act to regain what little control she ever had over the situation Bonnie shot her hand foreword and clasped onto the Grace's arm but only held on for a few seconds before she recoiled in shock.
A burning sensation, like a electric current buzzed off of Grace's skin and leached onto to Bonnie, clinging onto her and her magic. She had never felt anything like it before and never wanted to again.
Katherine stood and watched in amazement as the witch staggered back from the startled Grace whose eyes had widened in shock and her back solidified with fear and confusion.
Stumbling backwards Bonnie gasped from breather and tried to gain hold of her magic. "What, what was that?" She said with shock.
"That's what happens when you mess with Klaus." Katherine quipped but she truthfully had no idea what had happened and cast the blame as quickly as she could onto the most powerful and feared being in the town in a bid to remove Grace from the situation.
Throwing her into the passenger seat Katherine zipped round to the drivers door and jumped up into the seat, starting the engine they car roared to life and pulled away from the curb.
"Katherine..." Grace said, her voice weary. "That - that wasn't Nik was it?"
Katherine shook her head. "No, no it wasn't."
"But then," She said coming to a realisation. "Then that was me." Katherine said nothing only looked ahead at the road. "Katherine!"
"Grace, what do you want me to say - what ever you did you - you shouldn't have been able to do it. I don't know what happened but let's just forget about it alright."
"No, all I was going to say is that she is meant to be dead - isn't she?"
"Oh my god!" Katherine said slamming on the breaks, thankfully three ere out of town and there was no car behind them. "Klaus killed that witch!"
"I know - he told me, he said she couldn't harm me but...but she's alive." Grace took a deep breath, her mind was haywire and she couldn't focus properly. "I thought witches couldn't cheat death?"
"They can't." Katherine said.
"We need to go back, we need...we need to help him - he could be in trouble." Grace said, her heavy breathing making it hard for her to get words out.
"Grace-Louise Elizabeth Verde calm down!" Katherine said to the younger girl. "Klaus," she started before catching her self - swallowing a gulp of ego and pride, turning off the engine and turning towards Grace she continued on. "Nik will be fine - he is the most powerful man on this earth, a little witch wouldn't be able to harm him. I promise."
"But"
"I promise, now come on - let's leave Klaus to his play thing and go have some fun, he'd want you to enjoy your day."
"Alright but remember...". Grace started, her tone stern.
"Are you threatening me little Verde!" Katherine remarked raising an eyebrow, the tension eased a little in the car.
"Only promising."
Katherine started up the motor again and they were back in their merry way towards a day full of shopping therapy but Grace still feared for Klaus, not that she could do anything. After all she was just a little human.
***
Grace couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun shopping. Her mum was always too busy with work and afterwards in Mystic Falls, Caroline was always with her friends and was too high-maintenance, Elena despised her and Bonnie and Grace were never close.
Grace focused to much on her studies and being under the radar that she didn't actually know how much she was missing out on.
She had bags of clothes and shoes, makeup and god knew what else. Katherine had made sure to buy Grace a handbag, phone and other 'necessities' that humans needed.
They had been into every single shop all the mall, well all but one, and they stood - arms laden with bags - in front of it now.
"Come on!" Katherine chanted.
"I'm too young!" Grace replied, her face palling at what she was proposing.
"And I am a Vampire - I'll just compel him!" She reasoned but in Grace's mind there was no reason to this plan of Katherine's. "Come on, live a little." Katherine pleaded with her. Grace's eyes flickered from Katherine's, up to the shop sign and then back down to Katherine's with a look of defeat.
"Only a small one." Grace said pinching her fingers together in front of Katherine's face.
Katherine did a strange version of a fist pump - the shopping bags restraining her - and then proceeded to drag Grace into the tattoo parlour.
It's elegant cursive sign reading 'Black Lotus' has caught Katherine's eyes the moment the had entered the mall and an idea had struck her quite literally like lightening as she was given a static shock from the the escalator.
In passing conversation Grace had mentioned tattoos and that she wanted get one a some point in her life but couldn't find the courage to walk through that front door.
But as she took at seat on the chair and began to contemplate the design of the ink she was going to get the thoughts that clouded her mind were those of Nik.
Should she have told him about Bonnie...
Or was Katherine right and she simply was overacting - Nik was an original vampire after all, he was no beginner in this game of supernatural life-or-death situations.
But she was.
And her mind wouldn't stop spinning.
:::
Cannon:
On the run from Klaus Katherine got a rush of blood to the head and decided to get a tattoo, not a sentimental girl she didn't get anything to remember her deceased family but instead something that represented her - a tattoo of the Gemini Constellation under which she was born (true fact)
My twist is that Grace's birthday happens to fall under the same star sign and in the true nature of friendship (and due to Grace's mind being elsewhere) Grace opts to get an identical one - twinning them both with an ink engraved representation of the twin constellation - poetic symmetry!
The tattoo:
Oh and thanks for all the love, when I logged on this morning and saw 900+ reads I was overjoyed- I didn't think this many people would like it - and from all over the world too - thank you so much!
[16.10.17] we hit one thousand reads today - thank you all so much xxx
Until next week,
Emma xoxo