It seemed like it was an endless waiting game. Stefan was slowly drifting away from me and my brother was becoming more and more impatient. The hybrids were failing because Elena was still alive. And the witch was one step away from figuring that out.
The three of us were sat in Gloria's bar, waiting for Rebekah to join us.
"So... I'm confused" Stefan started, leaning in to face Klaus. "If we were such great friends, why do I only know you as the hybrid dick who sacrificed who sacrificed my girlfriend on an alter of fire?" he questioned, causing Klaus to smirk and shake his head, before turning to me, an unreadable expression on his face.
"All good things must come to an end". Klaus continued, the brief story he followed with barely covered anything.
Yet, it was enough to make Stefan understand.
"You compelled me to forget" Stefan concluded, looking at Klaus with bewildered realisation, his brows furrowing slightly as he did so.
"It was time for Rebekah and I to move on" Klaus responded, his face hardening slightly as he looked ahead. "better to have a clean slate" he said, before taking a gulp of his whiskey.
"But why?" Stefan questioned, I could see my brother visibly tense up at that. "You shouldn't have to cover your tracks" he leaned forward curiously, "Unless you're running from someone". Klaus' eyes flashed to me, panic washing over as Stefan noticed, his own eyes following the hybrids. Klaus looked back to Stefan, his glare cold as the younger Salvatore stared back at me. I knew he could see the fear in my eyes. He knew he was right. They were running from someone, we all were.
"Story time's over".
The silence extended uncomfortably then, the three of us avoiding eachothers gaze.
"I need another drink" Stefan said, "A real one". He stood up then, and left. leaving my brother and I alone once more.
"He's not wrong, you know" I muttered, sitting down next to Klaus. He reached for the bottle of whiskey, before I grabbed it from his hand and filled the empty glass that was sat infront of me.
"I know" he responded bluntly, taking the bottle from my hand and refilling his own glass.
"I don't know why you don't just tell him" I sighed, before taking a sip of my drink.
"I will" he nodded, turning to me. "When the time is right".
"That isn't your choice, Nik, he deserves to know... you're the one that's-"
"Because you're one to talk, Grace" my brother interrupted, squinting at me with a hint of amusement in his eyes. I frowned at him then, letting out an "ugh" as I took another drink.
"That is not the same thing" I said.
I shook my head then, downing the rest of my drink before turning to face my brother.
"I don't understand why making these hybrids is so important to you" I muttered, avoiding his eyes as I stared into my empty glass. Klaus simply sighed in response, ignoring the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I need-" he started, before I shot him a look.
"You don't need them, Nik... you had a family... you still do". He said nothing to that, he simply stared ahead blankly, his jaw tense.
"Why did you even want me to come with you?" I mumbled, wiping my tears away stubbornly.
"You said it yourself" his jaw tensed as he looked to me, "Family". I looked back to him then, for the first time in a thousand years I felt like I was talking to my brother, Niklaus... Not Klaus, the hybrid. I felt a smile tugging at my lips, yet there was an uncomfortable feeling underneath it all. I couldn't bear a lapse in judgement, I knew how capable he was of snapping. He was a different man, and I had to remember that. Despite this however, I felt like there was hope. And hope is what I would hold onto.
I looked away then, before standing up quickly.
"I'm going to go back to the warehouse, are you two coming?" I questioned, zipping up my jacket.
"When Stefan returns, we'll join you... our sister is being characteristically stubborn, it seems" he grinned, before turning to face me. The smile dropped from his face then, a look I couldn't quite determine overcoming it.
"I know how much she missed you, Grace" he noted softly, before pausing, not quite knowing what to say.
"I've missed her too, Nik" I smiled back at him, before turning, and leaving Gloria's bar once more.
_______________________
I stepped into the warehouse again, ignoring the uncomfortable chill in the air. I stepped forward, noticing that Rebekah's coffin was not only open, but empty, the dagger lying inside.
"Rebekah?" my voice echoed, as I turned to face the rest of the room. I walked ahead, turning in confusion as the silence sent a shiver up my spine. "Where are you?" I asked, my voice bouncing off the walls once more.
"Grace?" A voice sounded out, soft and disbelieving. I spun around then, facing her finally. She stepped out of the shadows, her eyes widening as she saw me standing there.
Klaus
"I see they've opened the doors to the riff raff now" Klaus drawled out, grinning slightly as he did so.
"Oh honey, I've been called worse" Damon quipped, his usual sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"You don't give up do you?" Klaus chuckled, turning to face him.
"Give me Grace and my brother back... You'll never have to see me again".
"Well, I am torn. You see, I promised Stefan I wouldn't let you die, but how many freebies did I really sign up for?". He paused, seeing Damon tense up. "I know Grace would be rather upset with me if I did kill you though, but she'll get over that in time, I'm sure... even if she does fancy you". Klaus chuckled again, shaking his head as the older Salvatore stared back at him, rage in his eyes. "And, Well, clearly you want to die, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so..." he mused, shrugging as he did so.
"What can I say? I'm a thrill-seeker".
Grace
"Whose side are you on, Grace?" My sister demanded, spinning around to face me. The initial shock and joy of seeing one another had passed, now it was just confusion and unanswered questions that remained.
"Yours, Bekah... you know that" I answered, unable to hide the pain in my voice. Her face softened slightly, before she crossed her arms stubbornly. "You will always be my sister, but I can't stand idly by and let Nik just-" I glared back, stopping in frustration as I matched her expression.
"I know better than you how monstrous he can be Grace, but he's family... we made a promise, you made a promise!" She argued back, her voice increasing in anger.
"I know I did, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to be blindly loyal to him!" I paused, realising how loudly I raised my voice. "It's not right".
"Right?" She responded in an exasperated tone, throwing a box at me angrily, "you're the one that betrayed him to free the doppelgänger in the first place!" She shouted, stepping towards me and towering above.
"Of course I did! And I would do it again to protect the people I care about... don't act like you haven't done the same" I paused, my sister squinting at me in confusion.
"What the bloody hell are you on about?" She asked angrily.
"Tell me, Rebekah, how exactly did our father manage to find you all in New Orleans?" I whispered bitterly. Her eyes widened in shock as she stood in stunned silence for a moment, before stepping back.
"How do you know about that?" I looked to the ground, my fists shaking slightly as I did so.
"After you convinced Nik to let me go, I had a run in with Mikael myself..." I looked back up at Rebekah, the anger fading from both of our faces. "Two years he had me captured... he wanted to use me as bait you see, lure Niklaus out of hiding... and it worked".
"Chicago..." Rebekah muttered in realisation, "Nik said that we were looking for somebody, he said that-" Rebekah stopped then, her face tense as her eyes shimmered with tears.
"Mikael used your betrayal as a taunt... I didn't care if he was lying or telling the truth, I just knew I needed to escape and warn you... so I did".
"I... saw you, at Gloria's I saw you!" She said then, gripping my arms. "Nik told me you were dead, Grace... he said that our father had killed you... and then when I refused to leave with him he-" she stopped, looking down to where the dagger used to be.
"I will stand at your side, Rebekah... always and forever" I paused, taking her hands in mine as she shook with anger. She almost seemed to calm down at those words, a soft smile on her face, before approaching footsteps caused the rage to wash over her once more. She picked up the dagger that remained in her coffin, before standing and facing the doorway. I tried to step forward then, before she shot me a warning look, the absolute fury in her gaze telling me not to interfere. Klaus entered, similarly to how I did at first. He was calling both of our names, the two of us standing in the shadows, before she silently sped off, leaving me alone once more.
It was my turn to step into the light now, Klaus spotting me from across the room.
"Where's our sister?" He asked impatiently, walking towards me.
"Rebekah... It's your big brother" he started, calling out for her. "Come out, come out, wherever you are". It was then that a blur of blonde hair sped past me, colliding with Klaus. Rebekah plunged her dagger into his heart suddenly, causing him to gasp out.
"Go to hell, Nik" Rebekah spat, malice dripping from her voice.
Damon
The older Salvatore clambered into the car, Elena sat next to him in the passenger seat, staring absentmindedly out of the window as she gripped her necklace.
"Was she in there?" She asked, as much as it hurt without Stefan - for the both of them - she knew that Grace was important to him too. She knew that both of them were hurting.
"No" Damon replied simply, his jaw tensing before he turned to face the doppelgänger.
"You okay?" He asked, noticing her expression.
"Just drive".
"Gladly" he responded, before starting the car, the two of them heading back to Mystic Falls.