The day after the victory always had something melancholic. It was the day choices should be made that no one wanted to think about before the climax of the fight.
Since Esther was dead and her last try to kill her children died with Alaric, change was inevitable.
Nik wanted to leave Mystic Falls. He had his hybrids already packing. Of course he assumed that Grace would come with him, so Elijah could join them, too. But for the young vampire it wasn't that easy. She was actually afraid to leave her family behind, especially Jeremy. There was still so many unfinished business. Grace wasn't ready to leave, but she also finally wanted to be with Elijah.
The choice wasn't easy, so the only decision she made for the morning was to join a very grumpy Rebekah to clean up the school after yesterday's dance.
Grace was grateful to have something to do and she could spent time with Rebekah at the same time. That girl needed someone urgently right now. She told Nik and Grace what Esther had done to her and of course she was also disappointed that she couldn't go to the dance. It had been important for her. Of course it was something ridiculously simple for someone who was a thousand years old, but the younger vampire understood that Rebekah needed this to remind herself of her humanity.
In comfortable silence, they picked up trash and untied balloons while they both were deeply buried in their thoughts. At least it kept their hands busy. Accidentally crushing some glasses and bins definitely left less damage than cracking skulls.
Soon, they were joined by Caroline, who looked surprised to see the women in the hall, cleaning.
"Hi, Care."
Grace stated friendly, to which Caroline nodded greeting. Her eyes were on Rebekah and she frowned.
"Where's Matt?"
The Original didn't stop picking up used bottles.
"He bailed. Work called him in last minute."
Caroline sighed and started to help. Grace kept an wary eye on the girls, they usually had potential to scratch each other's eyes out. She knew on which blonde she would bet her money on.
Climbing on a table, she detached a banner from the wall.
"I'm sorry about your mom...well, I know you hated her and all, but still..."
Caroline's voice became a bit more sympathetic. It made Grace look over her shoulder to see her friend's reaction. She knew, even after all Esther had done to them, she never hated her own mother. Rebekah couldn't.
"I'm sorry about your teacher. He seemed like a nice guy."
A small, proud smile passed the brunette's lips. That was actually development. Maybe there still could be peace between the Originals and her sister's friends. Even tough Grace had chosen her side, it still was hard for her to see them all fighting.
"Yeah, he was..."
The blonde's voice shifted into a sad tone, and Grace had the urge to hug her tightly. Caroline also had lost much and still no one really seemed to see that.
"I'm getting started on gym."
Rebekah stated to break the silence and Grace let her go. It was obvious that she needed a minute alone.
"Thank you, Grace. It's nice that you're helping."
Smiling, Grace jumped down from the table.
"No problem. Rebekah needed someone by her side today."
She felt Carolines gaze on her. There was something she wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure if it would be good to go for it. With raised eyebrows, Grace tilted her head to make her.
"Is this, you know, a 'marry the man, marry the family'-thing? Um, not that you and Elijah are married, but still..."
Another amused smile appeared on Grace's face and she looked at the door Rebekah just disappeared through. She shook her head.
"No. They're my family. You would be surprised, but they're damn loyal, if you let them into your heart. I love them all."
Caroline looked at her with a mixture of surprised and admiration. It was when she understood that Grace's action had a reason. She just tried to protect the family that took her in as the person she was.
But before she could reply anything, they were interrupted by a loud bang and sounds of struggling coming from the hallway. Both women darted towards the source of the sound. They couldn't believe their own eyes when they saw what was happening before them.
Alaric had Rebekah pressed against a locker, the white oak stake hovering above her chest. Without hesitation, Grace threw herself against the history teacher and struggled with him on the floor to buy Rebekah and Caroline time to escape.
He was too strong. Stronger than the average newbie vampire. Even stronger than an Original. Holding her down easily, he drove a stake through her stomach within a second and disappeared to catch Caroline and Rebekah.
It took him less than a minute to return with a limb Caroline dragging behind him. Of course she didn't have enough time to get the stake out of her stomach and fight. In contrary to last time, there wasn't an Elijah Mikaelson that could save her. Still, a little bit of relief washed through her when she noticed that he hadn't gotten Rebekah down. He wouldn't kill Grace and Caroline immediately, they were to much of a fine leverage and, to state the obvious, their death wouldn't wipe out an entire line of vampires.
Grace struggled while Alaric disappeared into one of the classrooms. Of course it was senseless, but she wouldn't go down without a fight. Unfortunately, the vampire hunter was quick to come back. Without saying anything, he picked her up and carelessly dropped her into one of the chairs. She would've crashed onto the floor if he hadn't held the armrests down.
Quickly, he pulled the stake out of her, but before she could even make a sound, he rammed it through her again, which much more force. The tip of the stake stuck in the back of the chair and fixed Grace in this very uncomfortable position. It must've crushed some important organs as she felt pain seeping through her body, blood pooling out of the wound harshly. Her breathing turned rapid, but still she managed to stare into Alaric's eyes bravely, without even making a sound of pain.
From the corner of the eye, she saw that Caroline laid limply in her stool. He must've broken her neck, so he had enough time to tie down Grace first.
There was silence, aside from the brunettes uneven breathing as Alaric attached more and more torture methods to her. At first, he pinned her hands to the table by pushing pencils through her skin.
Then, he went to do the same with the blonde vampire.
"We have quite the history with you stabbing me through my stomach. Is it anything personal?"
A fake smug grin plastered on her face. She had no clue how she kept the tough girl act up. But then again, she learnt from the best and she noticed how similar she was to the Mikaelsons. Grace was strong and her will wasn't easily broken.
"No. To be honest, I pity you. What happened to you wasn't your fault. But well, you chose to become a monster like them."
"Be sure that I like it very much."
Her smile grew wider showing her piercing fangs. She would provoke him to the ends, it would make him vulnerable. Alaric shot her a death glare, it was clear that anger started to pool through him. He obviously had finished his transition into a vampire, that's why he was still alive. With vampirism came heightened emotions and if she brought him to the edge, it would let him step out of his guard, hopefully giving some rescuers the chance to take him down.
She was sure that Klaus was already making a plan. Rebekah had seen Alaric and knew that he had Grace. The hybrid would probably join forces with the Salvatores, who would come for Caroline. It was still risky, the chances of them killing each other before they arrived here was high. Grace just hoped that Nik hasn't called Elijah yet. He needed to stay far away.
"The good thing is, that I'm stronger now and that your boyfriend isn't here to catch some bullets for you. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure that he and his monster of a brother will come here soon to rescue you. Which would give me an Original bodycount of two. See? You're the perfect leverage. Important to everyone here."
Grace couldn't help but laugh. It was bitter, sarcastic and she was laughing right in his face as he now hovered over her. But she wasn't afraid.
"Do you really think they're that stupid? How do you think they survived a thousand years? Ric, you don't stand a chance."
His lip curled upwards as he snarled at her.
"Shut up. The stake can't kill me. I will hunt them down until you abominations are extinct."
The amused smile just wouldn't fade from her attractive face. She drove Alaric nuts, but even he could see why she already had made herself a reputation. Grace Gilbert was fearless, clever and ruthless. A combination that made her dangerous, but her laking strength was her greatest weakness. Which made her the greatest vulnerability of the Original vampires.
"...And I will be here to watch your downfall."
She leaned forward as much as she could and hissed.
"I said shut up!"
Grabbing her chin and bending her neck backwards, he poured vervain water into her mouth. Desperately, she tried to spit it out as she choked on the acid like fluid, but Alaric blocked her airways until she swallowed it.
She felt like she was burnt from the inside out. Like all of her organs ripped apart and her stupid heart pumped the vervain deeper into her veins, making them feel like sandpaper. It was the second time she felt like that in a short amount time. But now it was even more violent.
Grace was on the edge of passing out for a while, so she didn't catch Caroline waking up and Alaric calling Elena. The blonde vampire tried to wake her, but the rope soaked in vervain kept her from speaking. She had heard all of her bravery and she desperately wanted to help her best friend's older sister. But she just couldn't.
When the oldest Gilbert came to full consciousness again, Elena stood in front of her, shaking her by her shoulder, which made the stake push even deeper into her. Of course her sister didn't do it intentionally, but it still made Grace hiss in pain.
"...Now put her out of her misery."
It was the first Grace could hear properly. With the white oak stake, Alaric motioned towards Caroline. Elena's gaze was still on her older sister, looking for help in her eyes. But except from buying time with snarky comments and getting the hunter's attention from the blonde vampire to her, there wasn't much Grace could do.
"You know what, Ric? Why don't you let her kill me? I mean, I really deserved it. Caroline here doesn't enjoy being a vampire. But I do. I goddamn love it. Have I told you about the three innocent girls I sucked dry some days ago? It was such fun."
A growl came from Alaric's throat and suddenly all eyes were on her. Just like she wanted to. They needed more time.
Grace's voice was rough, but she still didn't fail to push Ric's temper. Her eyes shone with a cruelty that surely made Elena and Caroline fear her.
"Unfortunately, Gracie, you're more important than her. I still need you."
He pushed the pencil deeper into her hand, but Grace didn't even flinch. It was impressive how much pain her body could take. She did it all to save the people she loved. Elena being here made it one more person to protect.
Roughly, the hunter grabbed Elena's wrist and pulled her to her friend before he handed her the white oak stake. It obviously was a dumb and arrogant move and Grace saw that it was their chance. She put all her hope on her sister being clever enough.
Relief flooded her body when she saw what was happening. Instead of attacking Caroline, Elena tried to stake Alaric and of course failed at first. But in the moment of surprise, when Alaric was distracted, she threw the glass of vervain water in the middle of his face.
Immediately, Elena rushed over to her friend and untied her quickly. Another smart move. That girl had at least learnt something. Alaric wouldn't kill Grace, so Caroline was the first who needed to be freed.
Caroline managed to escape, but before Elena could run after her, Alaric appeared in front of her and dragged her out by her hair. What he didn't notice was that Elena managed to pull a pencil out of her older sister's hand.
From outside, she heard her sister's screams, but suddenly also different footsteps and yells that sounded like Klaus. Finally that bastard made it here. It was about time.
But Grace was still all by herself. The other vampires had their hands full with taking down the newbie Original. Now it showed how strong she really could be.
She was still weakened by the vervain and would stay like that if she wouldn't consume blood soon. But despite that, she had no choice but free herself. With shaking hands, she grabbed the pencil and pulled it out trying to not make a sound to draw attention towards her.
The most hardest challenge was the stake in her stomach. It was far from healing, blood was still seeping through and pooling on the floor. The stake being deeply stuck into the chair behind her didn't make it any better. A sudden hysteric attack of laughter came over her when she thought how funny it must look from the outside. The stake must pierce out of her back, like in a really bad horror movie. It could be called the perks of being a vampire.
She muffled the laughter that quickly turned into sobs with her blood stained hands before she grabbed the end that was sticking out of her stomach. With all of the power she had left, she pulled it out. Grace nearly collapsed on the table in front of her when the stake finally fell to the floor. But she couldn't rest in here. She still wasn't safe. There was still struggling being heard from outside the room, so she had to be quick. They were too close to her to escape through the hallway, so she took a deep breath in before she jumped through the closed window, shattering the glass into pieces. Of course it would get the attention on her, but in the sunlight Alaric couldn't harm her. The shards scraped new wounds into her bloodless skin, but she didn't really notice it anymore.
All she could think about was running. But she was too weak. She had no clue how far she came, but she saw the line of trees that presented the entrance to the woods in front of her. Her vision blurred. Grace wasn't home yet, but there was no energy left for her to run. Collapsing on the hard ground, she tried to get up again, but failed miserably. Before she could do anything else, she slipped out of consciousness.
...
Nik carried her home. He was gentle, trying his best to avoid the multiple way too slowly healing wounds that were all over her body. It lit his hatred for his mother's newest abomination even more.
"It's going to be ok, Gracie. I'm so sorry."
He whispered. Placing her on the vintage sofa that would soon be blood stained, he lightly stroked her hair. How should he explain this to Elijah? Klaus had been responsible to protect her and now she was here, injured, just having jumped away from the edge of death all by herself. All this because he was ready to put Elena's doppelgänger blood first. Grace didn't deserve that. She did so much for him, the least he could do was handle her as this precious being that she was. He needed to take care of her, make her heal and get her to Elijah soon. His brother was truly the only one that could help her through this trauma.
But she survived. That was what counted. Still, he had to admit that his older brother was right with his worries about Grace belonging to the family. She had been kidnapped and tortured twice within some weeks. It wasn't even the worst that could've happened. How much pain could the young vampire take before she broke? Before the family would've another weight of guilt on their shoulders? A certainly important weight that could make him loose Elijah if anything ever happened to Grace.
That was why Nik had to go through with it. Family above all, that was what his brother tried to get into his head all the time. Now he would give up his endless amount of hybrids by draining Elena Gilbert fully off her blood.
He turned to the doppelgänger, who stared at her sister. It was fascinating. Elena treated her own sister quite unfairly, still, in the end, the sisters sticked together.
Grace was woken by voices mumbling. She could make out Klaus' pleasant, British accented voice and Elena replying weakly. It made her sure that she was still dreaming. Her sister and her best friend would never talk to each other more than necessary.
"Nik?"
Whispering silently, she tried to sit up. Her throat was still burning so tormentingly, but at least there weren't any stakes attached to her anymore.
The hybrid appeared beside her immediately. He helped her into a sitting position by grabbing her shoulders.
"Thank god, you're awake."
He cupped her cheek with her hand. She looked up to him and realized how lucky she was to have him. Grace could trust him with her life and he also cared for her deeply. This family was the best thing that could ever happen to her. Not only that she found the love of her life, she also had people that would literally go through hell for her and she would do the same.
She thought the worst was over when she noticed someone moving out of the corner of her eye. Slowly, to fight the dizziness taking over, she turned her head and saw her sister tied to chair, tubes attached to her arms, letting her blood flow into blood bags. Only on the edge of her mind she noticed that seeing the blood flow made her even more hungry and that she would've loved to suck all the blood bags dry. The situation was just too weird and shocking for her bloodlust to take over.
"What are you doing?"
With her hoarse voice, she didn't even manage to bring out a proper yell. She jumped to her feet, but Nik had to stabilize her again, because she was swaying harshly. Trying to slap his hands away in rage, she growled.
"Nik, what is this?!"
She looked him in the eyes when he didn't answer. Grace couldn't get what he was doing here. Of course she knew that he wanted to take Elena with him to sire more hybrids, but this was something entirely different. It looked like he wanted to drain her off all her blood.
"Your sister's life is tied to Alaric's. If she dies, he dies, too and we get rid of this problem. Gracie, believe me, I don't want to this, but I need to protect you. My family. He hurt you today, he was only seconds away from killing you. I don't want to run anymore. I need to do this."
Grace stumbled backwards until she hit a wall, shaking her head. With wide eyes she stared at Klaus. She couldn't process what he was saying. Did he really have the audacity to tell her that he wanted to kill her sister and at the same state that he cared for her? That she was his family? Was he really that much of a hypocrite? Was he really that far beyond reason?
"No! No, you will not!"
"Grace, please..."
"No!"
She tried her best to let a serious yell escape her mouth. It seemed to hit the right nerves. Hurt crossed Nik's features.
"Do you really think I would forgive you killing my sister for a second time? She's my family, Nik! Jeremy is, too. You. Beks. Even Kol. Elijah. I love you all. And all of you are trying to make me choose, but I will not! You can't take a part of my family away from me, Nik."
Unintentionally, she started to walk back towards him. It was no use to be angry and shout at him. He needed to understand why he couldn't kill Elena. She realized that he was just afraid that she would leave him, by death or any other way. It was his dilemma. Klaus would always fall back into this scheme, killing the loved ones outside the family. Daggering his siblings. It was just a way of facing the consequences later.
"Nik, look at me! We will protect each other. I won't die. But I will leave you if you kill Elena. Because I love her and I wouldn't forgive you. Stand by me, fight with me. Let my sister have her human life and then we'll live peace. Without any hybrids, because seriously, you don't need them! You already have a family and united, we're stronger than any threat that could face us. And even if that's not reason enough for you: Please. Do it for me."
She had put both her hands on the side of his face to force him to look at her. Tears were streaming down both of their faces. Grace saw it in his ocean blue eyes. She was getting through. He wouldn't kill her. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him and they simply held each other.
They were so deeply into the moment, they didn't hear the intruders. Klaus was first to notice the movements. He shot out of Grace's arms to rip Tyler who tried to free Elena away from the doppelgänger. The force made the chair tip over and Elena's head crashed hard on one of the steps.
Grace wanted to get to her sister, but she was stopped by the scene unfolding in front of her. Tyler and Damon held down Klaus, while Stefan sunk his fingers into the hybrid's chest. She couldn't believe what was happening right in front of her. Klaus' skin started to turn grey and the veins all over stood out blackish.
She screamed and wanted to stop them, but Damon appeared behind her and grabbed her arms to stop her. The young vampire was still to weak to do anything, so she had to watch. Klaus' and her gazes connected and she collapsed on the wooden floor, sobs shaking her body.
All of a sudden, they were all gone. She was alone. They even took Klaus' body.
It took her long to process what had just happened. The first thing she could do was taking out her phone and dial the first number that appeared on the screen.
"Grace?"
Elijah's voice was immediately concerned as he heard her sobs through the speaker. He had been on edge for the whole day, sensing that Grace was in danger. But he had promised to stay away.
"I...I need your help."
................................
The Klaus and Grace moment had me in tears!
I'm soooo excited to write about the season 3 finale, it'll probably leave me crying, too. I probably will have to split it into two chapters, sorry for that in advance.