Nik arrived the second the last sand fell through the hourglass. Grace had heard the fighting outside, but her eyes were fixed on this damn thing, anxiously waiting until she was finally free.
With every second the trembling and spasms that shook Elijah's body became worse. He suffered, in a way that probably no one could imagine.
"Grace."
Her friend whispered when he saw he in that salt circle. But she didn't really pay attention to him, because when the boundary finally fell, she rushed over to Elijah and broke the goddamn doll that hung above his head. Limb, he fell against Grace and Nik quickly hurried over to help her hold his body upright.
"Wake up. Please, Elijah, wake up!"
She shook his shoulders, but of course this was of no use. Esther must've spelled him to sleep, or he was so deeply caught in his own mind that he couldn't wake up.
"Nik, we need to do something!"
Her voice was desperate and the hybrid looked at her bewildered. He himself for once didn't know what to do. Fear stood written in his eyes.
"He will wake up when his mind is cleansed."
Esther entered the tomb and Nik jumped to his feet, hovering in front of Grace and Elijah protectively. Grace didn't listened to much of Nik's and his mothers conversation, she still tried to shake Elijah awake and freed him off the ripped off shackles around his wrist. She begged to wake up, while tears ran over her cheeks. It's been quite some time since she's been afraid like that. Now she was even locked out of his mind, she hadn't have a vision since Esther but him to this wretched sleep.
Suddenly, she heard chocking sounds and from the corner of her eyes she saw the witch falling to the ground while Nik quickly hurried over. He didn't kill her current body, so at least she wouldn't body jump again.
"We need to get him home."
At least he could think halfway straight. Nik placed his brother's arm over his shoulder and Grace mimicked the movement before they pulled Elijah to his feet. Grace herself wasn't at her strongest, but she simply ignored the aching of her tired muscles and the burning sensation in her throat, longing for some blood.
When they arrived at the compound, they carefully placed him on his bed and Grace collapsed beside him. Her hands were shaking out of exhaustion. She felt Nik's worried gaze on her and she took a deep breath.
"You're weak, Gracie. You need to feed."
Of course, she sure as hell did. And she could simply leave and care for herself. Elijah didn't stay by her side, so why should she? But she simply couldn't leave now. That was her weakness. A part of her still cared deeply for that man, even though she seemed to loathe him on the surface.
"Yeah, it would be kind if you could fetch me a blood bag...and a pair of jeans. I'll change him in the mean time."
Nik bit his lip torn and looked at his best friend. He knew that it wasn't easy for her. It was a lot for her to process and Nik didn't even know for sure what she had seen in the time his mother had locked her and Elijah.
"Are you sure? I could take that over if you don't feel comfortable."
But Grace just chuckled and got to her feet.
"I really hope I've seen him naked more often than you. So yes, I can handle it."
The hybrid smiled lightly, pleased that at least her humor never seemed to fade. He spared another look at her before he disappeared to get her some blood.
Grace sighed and got into the bathroom, cleaning herself off the bloodstains and prepared some warm water and a cloth for Elijah. In the giant dresser, she fetched some fresh clothes for him and herself. Then, she knelt beside him on the bed, unbuttoned his shirt and lifted his torso to free him from the torn piece of clothing. She did the same with his shoes and trousers and then began to gently wipe away the blood stains and sweat on his face and neck.
"You don't get to ditch me for the second time, you hear me?"
The young vampire whispered when he finally laid on the bed in clean, comfortable clothes. She held his hand tightly in hers.
"You're strong, Elijah. We need you here. I need you. Damn, I know I'm hell of a fool, but you still are important to me, ok? We will get through this, like we always do."
Of course it didn't change his state. It hurt Grace deeply to see him like this. He was shaking heavily, sweat pooled on his temples and his breath came unsteadily.
Nik heard her words when he came back and watched the two as he approached. This girl was a gift send from heaven. She had every right to leave, to not bother and be mad because she got sucked into this again. But she stayed, helping the man that broke her heart. The hybrid was afraid of her reaction if she would ever find out that he had his hands in making Elijah leave her behind. He never wanted to hurt her, at that point of time he thought he was protecting her, but he never had been that wrong. She was family and only with her family she was happy.
"Thanks, Gracie. I know this isn't easy for you."
He handed her the blood bags and she hungrily drank them dry.
"Even though I kinda hate him, he'll always be my family."
The hybrid nodded, yet again admiring her. He gently squeezed her shoulder and then sat down.
"So you still have feelings for him?"
Looking his friend in the eyes, he saw the pain coming to surface again. Nik was one of the few people that she allowed herself to open up a bit. She snorted and adverted her gaze down to Elijah.
"Of course I do. Someone told me something quite wise earlier. 'That kind of love never fades'. If I'm honest that's why I'm sitting here right now. But he broke me, Nik. He shattered my heart into pieces and I can't bring myself to trust anyone besides you truly. I have no clue if I'll ever recover from this. That's something I can't just forgive."
Nik didn't really know what to say about this. What they've done to her was unforgivable. He and Elijah loved her the most and still they were the persons that caused her downfall. Quickly, he changed the topic, because he noticed that she surely didn't want to talk about her complicated feelings anymore.
"Maybe we can try to enter his mind together. Combined, we should have a quite strong connection."
Nodding, Grace put her hand on Elijah's chest. Nik covered it with his palm and they both closed their eyes and concentrated on getting into Elijah's head. They both could feel how the strong barrier tried to push them away. Of course Elijah's mind was never easy to get through, but this was unusual.
Suddenly, they saw flashes of pure darkness. Elijah, blood smeared, tense, standing in the middle of the woods, staring at something in the far. Then, there was a little boy, running through the same woods and looking over his shoulder scared from time to time.
Nik and Grace were suddenly blocked out that made them both gasp and flinch. After opening their eyes, they stared at each other, a frown forming on Grace's forehead.
"Esther must've placed a spell on him to block us out. But what kind of..."
She let the question hang in the air when her eyes caught sight of something strange. Carefully, she pushed the fabric of the t-shirt away from Elijah's neck, to see something that looked like small scratches.
Nik noticed that she found something and leaned over his brother to have a closer look. He immediately recognized the sign and jumped to his feet.
"When father came back from battle, he was even more blind with rage than usual. Mother used to let him sleep using the petals of an orchid. She woke him later with the roots of the same plant. If she has access to it now, it most grow somewhere in the bayou. I'll get them."
The young vampire let out a relieved breath when she heard that there was a relatively easy sounding solution to this. Maybe no one had to die today, what a surprise.
"I'll protect him. Whatever it takes."
She looked at Nik determined, to which he lightly smiled.
"I know."
The hybrid disappeared and Grace started to feel anxious again, now that she was alone again with the sleeping Elijah. She simply looked at him for a while and thought what she should do. A thousand thoughts crossed her mind. They could make him wake up, but who would he be after all his mother put him through. He would need someone and as Hayley seemed to want to keep her distance, it had to be Grace and Nik.
Maybe, giving him the feeling to having someone by his side would ease his pain.
"Do you even have an idea what you're doing with me?"
She whispered. Sighing, she lowered onto the mattress and snuggled into his side, carefully resting her head on his chest. Grace could've sworn his breathing steadied a bit, but of course it could also just be wishful thinking.
Still, Grace was restless. She couldn't bear knowing that he was in such torment. Then something he said to her once came back to her. He told her that her mind was unbelievingly strong and that with the right connection she could nearly do everything she wanted. They had this connection through blood sharing, but she seriously couldn't do this right now, not in his weakened state. It only left one option...but was she ready to do it?
Grace lifted her head and looked at his pain struck face. He was paler than usual, the dark hair on his cheeks and chin giving a sharp contrast. Her hand cupped his cheek and her thumb stroke his lips.
"Damn it."
She cursed under his breath, then simply took the courage and kissed him.
It would've been a nice fantasy to simply kiss her prince awake and everything would go back to it as it where. For that moment, she wanted his hands to suddenly move and hold her. She wanted his soft lips to move in unison with hers. Some time ago kissing him was something she did so often and it never became usual. With him, it had always been extraordinary. After all they went through to be together, it was special.
But of course he didn't move. Of course things wouldn't go back to how they were.
Still, she reached her goal. She got through the barrier shortly and now saw more than flashes. The adult version of Elijah was chasing after the kid and Grace started to realize what they represented. It were the two sides of him; two personas that shared his mind and built his whole character.
One of it was the innocent boy, a reflection of his humanity. A part of him that was still there, that carried his loyalty, all the love for the people close to him and his soft, forgiving side. Grace had seen it often. She had seen this softness in his eyes whenever he looked at her.
It was fighting in an endless circle with the monster that lurked behind the red door. The version of him that wore a neat suit, in horrifying contrast with the blood that stained it. Coldness was written over his face. She also had seen this side of him peeking through. But until now it was looked behind the red door and only shadowed Elijah in his darkest moment. Now it was on the loose, chasing after all that made him good and noble. Elijah had no control over this part of him and that was the whole problem.
"Elijah!"
Grace screamed. It was strange, it felt like she was literally in here. Never before had she made this experience before. She was a vampire, she never felt cold. But in here she did. Chills went up her whole body and she felt more vulnerable than ever before. What happened in here was different. Her powers, her immortality couldn't protect her in here.
All of a sudden, the bloodshed persona came to a halt and looked over his shoulder to her. Grace saw the boy running further, a look of relief washing over his face. Maybe that was her way to do something in here. She could keep his darkness from taking over by convincing him to let the boy exist beside him or at least she could buy some more time.
The coldness never faded from Elijah's face when he turned around and stepped forward. There was bloodlust written all over him and right now he wanted hers. Grace felt the urge to step back, but she stood her ground. He needed to recognize her and see that he didn't want to kill her. She knew that she risked her life here.
Strongly, she looked into his eyes and his intense stare never left her. His pupils seemed pitch black here and his whole posture was intimidating when he stopped closely in front of her. His hand rose slowly and his fingertips touched her cheekbone as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Grace closed her eyes as she felt his faint touch. But she ripped them wide open again when his hand suddenly grasped around her slender neck and squeezed violently. She clawed at his hands. Gasping for air, she felt herself fighting, but as always he was way stronger than her. Compared to him, she was weak, simple to destroy. An easy prey for him. Physically and emotionally.
His hands were gone the moment she thought she was suffocating irreversibly. But the moment that she thought it was over and that he recognized her faded when his hands were replaced by his teeth recklessly biting into her neck. His hands held her in place while he took her life essence from him. But now she didn't fight. She knew it was senseless. Her hands laid limply on his chest.
"It's me, Elijah. It's me."
She whispered.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back in New Orleans, still laying in the bed, her lips still on Elijah's. Gasping, she looked around and her hands instinctively going up to her neck. The sticky feeling of blood covered her fingers and in shock Grace looked up into the mirror. her neck was a mess, blue strangulation marks slowly faded while the biting wounds were already closed. But the blood was still fresh on her skin and she felt weak and light headed.
This was crazy. What happened while their minds were connected, also took cause on her body in reality. In a hurry, she cleaned herself up again and drank another blood bag. The shock had slowly disappeared when she heard her phone buzzing. It was Hayley. Exactly the person she needed right now.
"Hey Grace, um...do you know where Klaus is?"
Grace frowned and rubbed her temples, having a hard time to concentrate.
"Somewhere in the bayou, trying to find a plant that'll wake Elijah up. What's the matter?"
She heard the hybrid sigh.
"We could need a hand in putting Finn down. Are you with Elijah?"
A strange tone was visible in Hayley's voice when she asked the question and Grace was seriously annoyed by the awkwardness that rose between the women.
"Yeah. I'd gladly help you, but I'd like to stay with him. If I'm being honest, I won't be much help in kicking ass today."
"I understand. Watch out for him, ok?"
Grace lightly chuckled. It was so obvious that Hayley also cared deeply for him.
"I will. And Hayley? Watch out for yourself. I don't wanna explain your death to Elijah when he wakes up, ok?"
"Ok. Thanks, Grace."
Hayley hung up and left Grace conflicted. She felt guilty for not helping Hayley with Finn. The hybrid could easily get killed there and she really had no clue how to explain to Elijah why she didn't went to help. But Grace promised that she would protect Elijah. Hayley could watch out for herself, she didn't need an already weakened Grace.
In this moment, Elijah needed her. Even if she was just by his side and keep further harm from him.
...
Nik came back soon, having multiple emotions on his face that surely had a deeper reason. He looked like he cried, but there was also something hard in his eyes, he tried to keep his feelings in check. But in front of Grace it wasn't easy.
"What happened?"
Grace dared to ask.
"Not now."
He said softly and smeared the plant on the scratched on Elijah neck and immediately grabbed Grace's hands to enter his older brother's mind again.
It still was the same scenario, but the storm that raged around them seemed to calm. The whole atmosphere had changed.
The boy and the man were now facing each other.
Nik and Grace arrived just at the right moment. The friends shared a look and squeezed each other's hands before letting go and walking each to one persona of Elijah. Nik knelt in front of the boy, while Grace walked over to Elijah's darker self. His eyes were fixed on the boy and there was no sign that he noticed her.
"I'm not afraid of you."
She said softly, he hand rising up and touch his cheek. His eyes darted to her and bore into her.
"You should be."
It was the first time she heard him speak in here and his voice made a shiver run down his spine.
"But I'm not. Come home, Elijah."
Grace couldn't help but feel the symmetry of the moment. While Nik was the one that connected the human side of Elijah to him, Grace was the only one that could reach his darkness. His obsession for her, closely connected with force to keep his family together was deeply rooted in his darker self and he was right, she should be afraid. But she really wasn't. She felt drawn to it, because it was a part of him.
In that moment she knew that together, they could control this shadow.
With a gasp, Elijah sat up in his bed, all three of them finally back into reality. The look he had on his face made her heart break all over again. He may not be completely overtaken by what lurked behind the red door, but there was a lot damage done. It would probably follow him forever. When his gaze met Grace's Elijah was sure that she exactly knew what he felt.
...
Elijah stood in front of the mirror and was dressing into a suit again. This easy task, something he did every day for centuries seemed the hardest to bear right now. He didn't even notice that Grace was leaning in the doorframe, watching him with worry filled eyes.
When he wanted to knot his tie, his hands suddenly started to shake heavily and he looked down to them, but they just wouldn't stop. Flashes to what had unfolded in his mind came back. One of them was the moment he chocked and then violently fed off Grace.
Never would he find out that he really hurt her, because she would never tell him.
Instead, she walked over and took his hands in hers to stop them from shaking. It helped him escape from the dreams that haunted him even when he was awake. He looked so vulnerable in that moment, completely helpless.
"Let me do that."
Her voice was barely a whisper when her hands reached up and knotted his tie perfectly. Elijah watched her intently, touched by the gesture.
"It's going to be ok, Elijah."
She looked into his eyes again and then Elijah simply pulled her into a deep embrace. Grace closed her eyes while he stroked her hair.
Elijah wanted to believe her. But he was afraid that this beautiful, fragile and at the same time strong woman in front of him was wrong for once.
They pulled apart when Nik entered the room and Elijah turned back into the strong big brother. Grace admired him for that.
"What is it?"
He turned towards Nik and Grace knew that this was about what she noticed earlier. The thing that haunted Nik today.
"I spent the day with my father...my real father."
Grace's eyes widened when she heard that. Wasn't the werewolf supposed to be long dead? She could imagine what that meant to Nik. It was one of the things that kept a void space in his heart for so long and now he was confronted with it.
"Esther brought him back, thinking that he could make me take her offer...the thought of what i could be...had I been raised by him...this was his."
Nik handed his brother a sketchbook. The first page held a drawing of a young boy Grace immediately recognized as a young version of Nik. It made her heart ache.
Grace and Elijah shared a glance. It was clearly written over the Original's face that he would've wished that for his younger brother. Even if it would've meant that they would've brought up as half brothers, never that close as they were now.
"He knew about Hope."
Both looked up to him in surprise and horror when he mentioned it.
"...And I wanted to trust him. More than anything in the world....But I couldn't be sure...So I killed him. Without hesitation."
Both vampires struck the thought that at least that way they didn't have to do it themselves. All of them knew that it wasn't an option to let anyone know yet. For Hope, they would've done it, even if it would've destroyed Nik at first.
"You killed him for Hope."
Elijah stepped towards his brother.
"You did it to protect her."
Grace mimicked his movement and took both the men's hands and squeezed them tightly.
"And whatever innocence remains...we must protect at any cause."
They stood together in this moment as strong an as unbreakable as never before.