"You're disgusting, you know that, do you?"
Grace glared at Tyler and Caroline who put a blanket over Kol's burnt corpse. She stood beside Nik as they both couldn't pry their eyes off the youngest Mikaelson brother, while Elijah, as usual, distracted himself by figuring a way to get them all out of here. They've spent some hours locked in, there was no sign of Rebekah. She probably had went off with the others to find the cure.
Caroline send the oldest Gilbert a look. The blonde knew herself that this was humiliating, one of the most disrespectful deeds she ever done. Sighing, she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Grace. We can't let you out and I'm sure you don't want a burnt corpse in your home."
Tyler chirped in and Grace clenched her hands into fists. She started to pace in the room, so she wouldn't smash something or throw at the hybrid.
"Thanks for your heartfelt concern, but this isn't my home anymore."
Elijah could barely watch his love that upset. He needed to stay calm, but pure rage was close under his composed surface. The Original had enough reason to want them all dead, seeing Grace this torment only added to that pile. For all this time he only wanted peace for her, a carefree life and now he could nothing to help her. This was messing with her mind.
"Why don't you rest a little? If we have to endure three days in here and Miss Forbes isn't generous enough to give you some blood bags, you'll need your strength."
He sat down on the sofa and motioned for her to follow. Grace stared at him torn for a while, but in the end she decided that he was right and her pacing was senseless anyway. With a sigh, she fell down on the worn, old sofa of her former home and snuggled on Elijah's chest, leaning her head on his shoulder. Gently he pulled a blanket that had laid on the couch around her slender shoulders.
From the corner of his eye, Elijah could see that Caroline looked at them with a torn expression, the corners of her mouth moving slightly upwards when she saw how loving Grace and Elijah acted around each other.
"If we give Grace blood, what keeps Klaus from taking it for himself?"
It was obvious that it was Tyler who showed his less merciful side here. The hybrid knew that Grace and Elijah weren't his enemies, still for him, they were collateral damage. He hated Klaus so deeply, he loathed the ones that stood by his sires side, too. Anyways the Mikaelsons after all stuck together. Letting one free would ruin everything.
Nik growled at the younger hybrid's words. They grazed a part of his pride that shouldn't be messed with.
"You can accuse me of everything you want, but do never dare to say that I could do anything to harm this girl."
Grace lifted her head and looked over Elijah's shoulder to meet Nik's eyes. She smiled at him, touched by his words.
"Oh, you wouldn't? Wasn't it you that killed her just to annoy your brother? Let's not forget that we're standing in the house were Jenna lived...who you sacrificed on a blood altar."
For a split second, Elijah's hand paused caressing her shoulder as he remembered that moment of horror when he found out that Grace was turned into a vampire because of him. Grace sighed and took his hand, interlacing their fingers.
"Just for you to know, I like him despite his...flaws. So could we please stop taking me as an example here?"
Annoyed, she rolled her eyes, blocking the bickering that started out for a while by letting her head sink back onto Elijah's chest. She immediately calmed by just hearing and feeling the steady rhythm of his breath. Lightly, she played with his daylight ring. Never had she expected it more closely. It was a relict from a thousand years ago, but still timelessly beautiful in its simplicity.
"Would you take the cure?"
The question came out of nowhere and Grace looked up to Elijah with a frown. But it seemed like he really was interested in her answer.
"No, I wouldn't. I think I like myself more this way. And if I'm being honest...despite all the horror, the last few months have been the best of my life...and you?"
A slight smile played around Elijah's lips. It was one of his most lurking fears that it was true that he ruined her life by stepping into it. But in contrary to her siblings, Grace was the only one that didn't see the Mikaelsons as a curse. That was all that mattered to him.
He took a moment to think about the questions. Elijah pulled her closer to his chest, feeling her strong heartbeat against his. Her warm breath stroked the sensitive of his neck.
"I wouldn't. Even if the thought of having children with you and grow old with you by my side sounds lovely, some decades would never be enough. I want an eternity."
Touched by his words, her hands lightly shook as she tried to hold back tears of joy. She kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand.
"...Believe me, Grace, you have changed a lot. A year ago I would've thought differently."
But before Grace could dig deeper into the topic, a loud rumbling sound came from behind them and when they turned around, Caroline was in Nik's arms and he bit down into the blonde's neck forcefully.
Grace and Elijah both stared at the hybrid in shock. He pushed Caroline back to Tyler and smiled his signature cruel smile with blood smeared lips.
"Well that was definitely worth the calories."
...
Nik had to endure a whole speech of curse words from Grace after Tyler and Caroline left. His impulsiveness had led him into being a stupid idiot again and now he was too stubborn to cure the poor girl just to prove a point. Grace would've loved to slap this smug grin off his face and talk some sense into him.
But in the end she took a page from Elijah's playbook and let him live with the consequences. Sometime she admired the oldest living Mikaelson brother for his restraint. He always seemed so calm and composed, even tough she knew that it looked quite different on the inside.
Surprisingly, Tyler brought Caroline back inside the house after they had vanished for some time after she was bitten. Of course it was to call to the crush the hybrid had for the blonde vampire and hope that he would heal her on his own.
For a while Nik shut himself off the emotions coming to surface. Caroline laid on the couch, breathing shallowly, it was obvious that she was in horrible pain. Grace could barely see it.
The words Caroline spoke to Nik stung in Grace's heart.
Everyone who's capable of love is worth being saved.
For a girl like Caroline it was really wise and absolutely right. Nik stared at her, tears slowly starting to pool in his eyes, but still he did nothing.
Grace couldn't watch it anymore. She shook her head sighing and walked over to the other young vampire and sat behind her, gently placing the blonde's head in her lap. Her fingers combed her soft hair and she tried her best to make it comfortable for the dying girl. She even tried to ease her pain with her abilities, but she wasn't yet strong enough to really let it help.
"Thank you."
Caroline whispered and Grace shushed her, implying that it was ok. Looking up to her friend, Grace shot Nik a pleading glance. He could save her, he just for once had to show mercy. That girl didn't deserve to die, they all knew it.
"Please, Nik. You'll never forgive yourself."
A low growl escaped Nik's lips. His mind raced, not sure what to do. The prideful, dark side of him refused to heal Caroline to proof a point. But the person that Grace called to loved the blonde vampire.
When Caroline suddenly gasped painfully, her skin slowly starting to get grey, Nik's heart made a decision.
"Caroline."
He walked over to her quickly and offered her his wrist. Grace didn't leave Caroline's side and she smiled lightly when Nik's eyes met hers. She took a deep, relieved breath and looked up to Elijah, who also smiled proudly.
Today, a side of Niklaus won that everyone had thought to be long lost. Even Elijah had believed so for some time. But not the stubborn brunette vampire that never ceased to trigger the best in people.
...
The day dragged on and it was driving Grace crazy. She wasn't used to be out of the action anymore, locked up like a zoo animal, watched by people that hated the family she belonged to. Elijah tried to comfort her the best he could, but his facade was cracking. It was obvious that he was worried about his sister and that he too hated the fact that he was powerless here, nearly exposed.
When the problem of Tyler and Caroline's inability to translate Aramaic came up, it was a relieving distraction. Klaus and Elijah both spoke and understood the dead language fluently and also Grace had once taken a course in it, which gave the trio a huge advantage.
For a while, Grace and Elijah simply worked together, translating the tattoo on Jeremy's arm, while Nik figured out the riddle on the hunter's sword's handle. It felt like old times, those carefree moments they shared when they just met each other, working together on something.
They shared most of the information of the translation with Tyler, Caroline and the group on the island, but the vital fact that the cure only had one dose they held back. It became useful when Nik suddenly spilled it to Rebekah on the phone, even if it felt like using the blonde Original.
Over these few months Nik, Elijah and Grace had learnt to work smoothly together, they could communicate without even using words. Even now they managed to change the situation into their favor. If they just wouldn't be locked in here...
After more hours of waiting and a developing claustrophobia in Grace, the barrier was suddenly down. Nik was the first to notice. Every now and then he pushed against the invisible wall desperately, but suddenly he could step through it.
"It's down."
He said with widened eyes to which Grace and Elijah reacted immediately. They together rushed out of the living room, without knocking against the barrier and stared into the air in wonder.
Something must've happened to Bonnie. Either she died or used too much power to hold up the barrier. Grace surprised herself by not caring one bit. She knew the girl since she was an infant, but lately the witch had done nothing but hurt her family. Bonnie helped Esther with the ritual to kill the Mikaelsons and her action of locking them all in here still lit Grace's rage.
She took a deep, relieved breath and then they all walked out of the house only to find Caroline on the porch in tears. The blonde looked shocked when she saw the trio exiting the house. She probably didn't know what happened yet, so there was no useable information to get out of here.
Even if Grace had comforted the girl when she was dying, she couldn't help but hold the grudge against her now. They all willingly accepted that the three of them were locked in here. As if they were the danger here. Wasn't it them that killed Kol and wasn't it Tyler that threatened to cure and then kill Nik? Their problem was that they all knew that Grace and Elijah would stay by the hybrid's side, whatever would happen.
Nik stopped and looked at the blonde, he wanted to talk to her. Elijah saw it and lightly grabbed his love's arm, implying that she should keep moving.
"We should leave them for a while."
Grace nodded and snuggled close to Elijah as they silently walked back home. She only then noticed how tired and drained off any energy she was. Unfortunately they only had blood bags home, but she also wasn't up to go on a hunting spree in some shabby diners. Another point why she started to hate Mystic Falls. The humans really started to cut off their resources by unbeknownst to the people not knowing about vampires feeding them vervain.
The young woman dreamt of going back to New York. Or Seattle. She also had heard Nik and Kol talking about New Orleans lately.
Kol...she never would have the chance to get to know him better. When they had their Christmas dinner, Grace found something out about him. He maybe a dick without any self control, but if they gave him the chance to feel loved and belonging to his family, he was as loyal as the others. That was the beauty of the Mikaelson family. In the end they all sticked together. Always and forever.
Together Grace and Elijah fed off some blood bags and showered before falling into their huge bed exhausted. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him as close as she could. Grace was so lucky to have him by her side. They gave each other what they needed and in this moment it was pure comfort.
But when Grace thought that it couldn't get any worse, she was cursed to be yet again wrong. She had yet to learn to what amount 'torment' and 'pain' could grow when being a vampire.
She had hoped to start the next morning at least halfway normal. Maybe she would talk to Nik and Elijah about a proper funeral for Kol and wait for Rebekah's return.
As always, Grace slept a while longer than Elijah and he had managed to get up and dressed without bothering her much needed sleep. When Grace walked down the stairs into the kitchen, she smelled coffee, but also heard Elijah's faint mumbling. He was on the phone and when he turned around to face her, Grace immediately knew that something was wrong.
She lifted her brows, eager to know what happened now, but when she saw how his eyes darkened even further, it dawned to her. Grace had seen this look more often than she wanted to.
Someone had died.
"I will tell her. Thank you, Caroline."
Elijah said politely before ending his call. He then simply stared at her, his jaw lightly moving, lips pressed into a thin line. Again a motion of him that Grace knew all to well. The Original didn't know what to say. It didn't happen often that he was at a loss of words.
"Who has died?"
The young vampire said bluntly. Elijah sighed and looked down to the marble floor.
"Grace, maybe, you should sit down first."
He tried to wrap an arm around her and guide her to the chair, but she shrugged him off annoyedly. It was cute that he was trying to calm her even before he delivered the bad news, but it was honestly getting on her nerves as she wanted to know what was going on.
"Elijah. Please, speak. It's driving me crazy."
A distressed and sad look crossed his handsome features. He looked her right in the eyes when he said the words.
"It's Jeremy...He..."
"No."
She interrupted him before he could say 'died'. A maniacal laugh escaped her lips as she looked up to Elijah. It was ironic. Too horrible to be true.
"Grace, I...I'm sorry. Your brother...passed on that island."
Elijah spoke softly, his usually so strong voice barely able to get out the sentence. Why her? How much pain can one person endure? When will it finally stop for her? Grace was strong, stronger than everyone Elijah had met in his long life, but he knew that right now this wasn't a life worth living. She had lost so much. Both her families had cost her so much.
"You know it's just funny. How many catastrophes can happen in a lifespan? I mean, my parents literally drive off a bridge, I kind of died twice, Elena died, Kol died yesterday and now Jeremy? So much bad luck just can be a joke, right? It's not even possible. What have I done, Elijah? Do I deserve this?"
Her uncontrolled laughter turned into sobs and she finally let Elijah comfort her. He mumbled soothing words, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Elijah did everything he could, he was again being simply so perfect, he always did the right thing. Still, it only helped to a degree that she knew that she wasn't alone.
"Wait...Caroline told you? I mean, she's a liar. They all hate us. Maybe this is just a really, really bad joke."
Quickly she wiped the tears away and grabbed her phone. The Original sighed and wanted to say something, but he let her. Maybe it was what she needed. Maybe she needed to hear it from someone else to process it.
"Elena. Where's Jeremy? Tell me that you weren't stupid enough to let him die on that freakin' island."
Her voice was cold, a tone reserved only for her dearest sister. Elena ad betrayed her in unimaginable ways, so Grace actually could believe that she played her a prank of that magnitude.
"I'm sorry. Jeremy is dead."
The doppelgänger said plainly, without any emotion in her voice. She immediately hung up on Grace. The silence that came afterwards shattered Grace into a million pieces as the iron grip of grief had her heart in a tight grasp.
Her phone dropped out of her hand and on the floor. Grace's body shivered and her lips were parted. Elijah stood beside her, having no clue what to do with her. She didn't react to anything and the Original was afraid to touch her. It was like she could break at any second.
"I...I need to go. I need to see him."
Grace stormed off and Elijah followed her, feeling utterly powerless. The only thing he could do was to stand by her and protect her from any harm that she couldn't be aware of in those painful times. They walked past Niklaus who threw a confused gaze at Grace's upset figure and Elijah only motioned for him to follow. Grace needed everyone she cared for right now and his brother had a certain connection of friendship with her that was now vital.
When they reached the Gilbert home, Elena just walked out of the house, flanked by both Salvatore brothers. The symmetry of the moment was nearly ironic. Grace and Elena walked towards each other, both of them having brothers behind them that caused the abrupt changed in their lives.
The strong smell of smoke hit Grace's senses and as she realized that her former home was burning, she saw red.
"What have you done?"
She hissed at her sister. Elena looked Grace in the eyes, but she was completely void of emotion. Elijah and Nik noticed what happened more quickly than Grace did.
"I fixed the problem. We needed to get rid of the body."
The older Gilbert's eyes widened and she grabbed Elena by her shoulders and shook her violently.
"Are you out of your mind?! This is Jeremy! You're burning our brother!"
Both Salvatores got in between them and took Grace's hands off Elena. It made the Mikaelson brothers react.
"Don't touch her."
Elijah send a glare at Damon and Stefan, disgusted by the scene unfolding in front of him. They had made Elena turn off her humanity. This was below any sense of dignity.
"We needed to get rid of the tracks. I only did what had to be done."
It was enough for Grace. She wanted to kill Elena in this moment. Grace lunged forward but was stopped by Elijah's arms wrapping around her waist to prevent her from doing something she would regret. She screamed and fought against his grip, but he of course was stronger.
Damon stepped towards Grace, his expression dark, eager to protect Elena, but Nik stood in his way with a cold smile.
"Careful, Damon. Remember Gracie has the better bodyguards."
The older Salvatore spared a look at his younger brother and then they simply kept walking, brushing past the trio.
Grace was now limp in Elijah's arms. Tears streamed down her face and she was staring up the house she grew up in, as it slowly started to go up in flames. The place were her brother's corpse burned.
With every death of a loved one Grace had to witness, a part of her heart turned to stone. With Jeremy's death it was the most prominent. What just happened also again made clear that she had lost Elena. That wasn't her sister anymore.
The only thing that was keeping her together was the knowledge that she still had the Mikaelsons. They stood by her side and took her in as family. Without them she would be alone in the world.
She allowed herself to cry. Elijah held her close and kept her from running foolishly into the burning house. All three of them stood there and watched Grace's past burn to the ground.
............
Do I even need to mention that we reached #64 yesterday? Nah, it's actually not important, why am I even writing this here? *sarcasm off* *internally screaming*
You guys won't believe what happened today. I was driving up to university (I live a little bit outside the city I study in) and usually I really need to concentrate while driving, because the traffic is insane in December because of the Christmas market. Well, today it was surprisingly smooth and then all of a sudden I had this amazingly heartbreaking idea about this story and TO's season 4 storyline. Five minutes later I found myself having driven past the university building and being in a part of the city I've never been to. Is it just me or am I slowly growing into a public danger? :D Don't plot and drive, I should keep this in mind.