"Isn't that particularly awkward?"
Grace was back full on attitude. Hayley, Gia, Elijah and her stood gathered in Josephine's living room. They were here to broker a new deal with the witch, but Grace had no idea why Hayley was actually here. She would've loved it if she simply went away, to be honest she still was very bitter every time she saw the hybrid around.
Gia was here because she helped handle the witches over the past few days. In that time Grace figured that the newbie vampire had a huge crush on Elijah, but she found it more amusing to watch Elijah completely ignoring her attempts and push her around. Grace was here for obvious reasons. But there was no reason why Hayley sticked around. That girl had the tendency to make things worse and Josephine probably didn't like wolves more than she liked vampires, so it could also endanger their cause.
It was highly uncomfortable. Elijah Mikaelson's harem gathered in one room could make the air quite thick of tension. Still, it gave Grace kind of a boost that she was the one that had spent the morning in bed with him. A cocky smile spread on her face and she saw that Elijah too had to hide his amusement. Hayley on the other hand shot Grace hostile glances. It must've been pretty obvious that Elijah and Grace grew closer again.
"Um...I'll see if I can find Josephine."
Gia was the first that had to rush out of the atmosphere. The remaining trio stayed in silence, until Hayley decided to b*tch around.
"I see you two have reconnected. Now I understand why Klaus came home with that smug grin on his face."
The hybrid mumbled and took a seat. Grace's temper immediately rose.
"Is there anything you want to state here, Hayley?"
Elijah glanced at her, implying that she shouldn't let herself be provoked by Hayley. She took a deep breath and adverted her gaze to calm herself. It was just hard to not be snarky with Hayley around. To be honest it was unbelievable that she was the one to be bitchy because Elijah was slowly starting to move on. After all it was her that married another guy and isn't shy to parade her happiness around. What the hell did she wanted? For Elijah to be a monk until she was done with Jackson?
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
Hayley growled, looking between Grace and Elijah sarcastically.
"What is you want from me?"
The former lovers stared at each other and Hayley finally seemed to back off. Again this silence erupted and Grace shifted in her seat. When Josephine arrived, everyone took a relieved breath.
"Madame LaRue."
Elijah stood up with his fake charming smile that didn't reach his eyes the slightest and kissed the elderly woman on both cheeks. Josephine returned the gestures and greeted Grace with a nod and a pleased smile. She really seemed to like the younger woman.
"Have you come to impress me with young Grace's rare talent again?"
The Original positioned himself next to Grace. Hayley looked confused, she surely didn't know what the witch meant by that. She just knew that Grace was gifted with strong mind control abilities, but of course not that she was a good singer.
"No, unfortunately not. We have some urgent matters to discuss."
Josephine's gaze fell upon the hybrid that lingered behind them and her expression turned suspicious.
"What, pray tell, does this one do?"
She motioned towards Hayley.
"This one is family."
Unfortunately... Grace added in her mind. It's not like she couldn't stand Hayley at all, but Grace had a problem with the way she behaved towards Elijah. She was selfish to the ends and it annoyed the vampire heavily. Adding to that, she still stood in between Grace and Elijah in a way. Grace still felt like second choice because of her. But she could still see the sweet, wild thing she met at the Miss Mystic Falls celebration.
In the mean time, Josephine told them the story of Eva Sinclair, the witch that Rebekah body jumped into. When she explained that she needed kids to complete this creepy ritual, they knew why Eva went after Hope this morning. Of course, the little one was probably the strongest witch this city has ever seen.
"...That is why, Mr. Mikaelson, I can't extend your 24 hours. Eva Sinclair now has a bounty on her head."
Grace and Elijah jumped to their feet simultaneously and walked towards the witch intimidatingly.
"Are you freakin' serious?!"
"You would condemn my sister to her death?"
They both growled at her, deadly anger radiating off them. If there was one thing these two agreed on, it was the importance of having their family protected.
"I don't like the term collateral damage...but there it is."
This woman had no clue who she was going up against.
"Who do you think you are? If your guys cause any harm to Rebekah, we'll murder you all in cold blood."
She towered over Josephine, who replied to Grace's furious glare with patient eyes and a light smile. The young vampire felt her fangs lengthen, just her respect for Elijah kept her from ripping this woman to shreds. No one would dare to risk Rebekah's live that easily and get away with it.
"We came here to honor our alliance. No more. Come, Grace, this refusal will cause payback from our side, but right now we're wasting our time."
Hayley and Gia too jumped to their feet and the baby vampire looked like she wanted to drag Grace away, but she shot Gia a death glare that made her back off immediately.
"Don't you dare walk into my home and threaten me. It's not us who need you, Mr. Mikaelson. You need us."
"Oh, you'll need plenty help to put your corpse back together when I'm done with you."
Suddenly, she had Josephine's attention back on her. The witch placed a hand on her shoulder and Grace immediately wanted to shrug it off, but the elderly woman started speaking before she could react.
"Sweet Grace, you're so strong and brave. You do everything to protect this wretched family and still, they'll be your downfall. I see you lonely, wandering around without a home. Remember my words when the crown on your head falls. I recommend you find your way back to yourself before this darkness consumes you whole."
Her gaze wandered to Elijah when she spoke her last words, leaving Grace baffled. A shiver ran down her spine. This woman spoke about her greatest fear: being left alone again. She probably just read her carefully. No one could forecast the future. It just couldn't be.
Elijah was between them within the blink of a second and protectively pushed her away from the witch.
"Don't listen to such nonsense. Come, let's go."
His voice was sharp. Josephine ignored him completely and just gave Grace a knowing smile before they all rushed out of the mansion.
...
The whole mission was spiraling up and down and slowly every one was starting to go nuts. Nik disappeared somewhere with Freya. Vincent, or as Grace liked to put it Finncent, first appeared to be their ally, then shoved Marcel through a window and helped his ex-wife out of her anti-magic shackles, only to grow a conscious again and knock Eva out so they could finally go get Rebekah out of her psychopathic mind again.
The problem that now confronted them was finding a witch who had the power to pull Rebekah out. Unfortunately, Freya was their only choice. It was the moment Grace knew would come, but she had tried to deny it for herself: it was the point where they'd need the newbie Mikaelson sister's help. They had to trust her even if they couldn't really. Grace was sure that this would come with a heavy price.
Elijah was about to storm out off the compound to find the place Nik had dragged Freya to, wherever this might be. He knew Grace's opinion on this, but even she had to admit that there was no other way.
Before he could pass the gate, Grace appeared in front of him and stopped him by placing a hand on his chest. He sighed and took her hand in his.
"You know you can't come with me. It's too dangerous and you're needed here."
Grace rolled her eyes, but despite the fact she hated the term 'too dangerous', she nodded.
"Yeah, I know. I won't stop you from marching into your new favorite sis' arms, I just have to tell you to be careful."
She bit her lip conflicted, knowing that she was acting pathetic. That definitely went against the 'no bonds' rule.
The corners of Elijah's mouth twitches upwards and he tried to hide it, but his eyes lit up in this beautiful way that made Grace melt.
"I will be, if you promise me to leave Hayley in one piece."
They both chuckled.
"I'll try."
She said jokingly, but stopped in motion when Elijah leaned down and kissed her cheek chastely. Her skin burned delightfully at the sensation of his lips on her skin.
Grace needed a while even after he was gone to keep herself together again. Sometimes he was just so intense that it made her world shake from the ground.
The young vampire hated it to not know what exactly was going on and she was worried sickly for her family. A while later she paced up and down in Hayley's bedroom, hoping that it'd calm her if she had Hope at eyesight but it didn't matter much.
"Grace, you're not making it any better by making everyone else even more nervous."
Hayley glanced down to her daughter who was fidgeting in her mother's arms, looking like she was on the edge of crying. It made Grace stop in her tracks and she sighed. Unfortunately Hayley was right.
"May I?"
She held her hands out, implying that she'd like to hold Hope in her arms. The mother nodded and carefully handed Grace the little girl. Holding her immediately calmed her and made her smile. It had been a while since she spent time with her kinda-niece.
"You're good with kids. Is it the big sister gene?"
Hayley stated. She obviously tried to get along with Grace and ease the tensed up atmosphere between the women. But of course it didn't really work, because there were so many unspoken things between them.
"Well, my siblings would argue about that, but I think you can put it like that."
Silence erupted and the hybrid watched as Grace rocked Hope back and forth lightly. She could see how tensed and worried the young vampire was anyway.
"Grace, you know that you don't need to stay here, do you? I've got a whole pack of wolves and your vampires, too, protecting us."
Grace sighed, she actually would've loved to not talk.
"Look, I promised Elijah two things. One, protect Hope. Two, 'don't rip Hayley to shreds'."
She imitated Elijah's voice, but it wasn't funny at all. Hayley lowered her gaze.
"So he does talk about me?"
Closing her eyes for a second, Grace had to remind herself that she was holding a baby in her arms. It wasn't the right time to snap Hayley's neck so she'd stay quiet.
"Seriously Hayley, you're not always the center of attention. He talks about everything, but not you. Which is understandable if you ask me..."
She turned away from the hybrid but then changed her mind and faced Hayley again.
"...I just don't get it. You're married, you're showing everyone how happy you are. You infiltrated his home. You show him that you aren't available anymore. But can't you let him go? You're b*tching around because you know he's distracting himself with me. Why is it ok that you're happy and he isn't allowed to in your opinion?"
It was obvious that she hit a nerve. Hayley stood up and put Hope back in her crib, which was quite a good idea because this could quickly go off the deep end.
"You're right. I'm jealous. Because I have feelings for him I shouldn't have. But you're the one who doesn't get it. He doesn't distract himself with you. You aren't second choice. I was! When he came to New Orleans he was broken because he left you and I was there for him. Since you're back, this changed. If you wouldn't play hard to get, he would've immediately left me standing for you. That's why it was easy for me to marry Jackson, because for him, I'm the one. And Elijah would choose you over me over and over again. Believe me, it was harsh to realize that."
Hayley was out of breath when she finished her speech and tears pooled in her eyes. Grace needed to process everything but she had to admit that she was slowly starting to understand the impact of truth Hayley's words had. She was slowly starting to see that what Elijah felt for her was real and that she was the one he would choose.
Why did he have to leave her? It could've all been so easy. Her heart wouldn't ache because she was trying to make out for herself what the right decision was. Because every time she even thought of letting Elijah into her heart again, she remembered the immense pain she had endured and it made her fearful.
"I know I haven't been fair. But I promise you, I won't ever stand in your way again. Because yes, I am happy."
Hayley played with the rings attached to her finger that symbolized her bond to Jackson. Her voice was desperate but there was also an amount of truth in it that made Grace believe her.
It was a heavy weight that lifted off her shoulders and the loss of tension nearly made her stumble.
When her phone rang, she pulled herself immediately and the conversation was pushed aside for more pressing matters like her families' safety.
"Elijah?"
She whispered into the speaker after accepting the call.
...
For this short moment, the Mikaelson family seemed to have fought another danger. Rebekah was freed, she was the only occupant of the witch body now. They kind of trusted Freya from now on and the alliance with the witches seemed to be back intact now that one of the family members forged a friendship by saving their lost children.
But of course they weren't completely carefree. The threat of Dahlia was way too real, but they figured that they couldn't do much until they were facing their wretched aunt. Kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow.
They were all invited to a ritual that would make Freya a New Orleans' witch, giving the stray sister a official home amongst them. Grace felt conflicted about it, but for the peace's sake, she attended it and also convinced Nik to come.
Many people, mostly witches and the Mikaelsons scattered among them were gathered in Josephine's home. Grace was surprised that she was actually still welcome here after the threats she spoke earlier, but it seemed like they all forgot such grievances.
"So you decided to let the grudge you hold up against Freya vanish?"
After chit chatting to some attendants, Elijah appeared beside her when Josephine asked everyone to gather for the small ritual.
"Nope, I still want to skin her alive for taking me out in the cemetery. And I'm still highly suspicious of her motives, but well...you don't choose your family, right?"
Actually Grace did. She chose this family and even after all that happened, she was still joyful to have them.
"Thank you."
Elijah knew that she agreed to work together with Freya for now. He let his hand slide down her arm and interlaced their fingers, before squeezing lightly.
Grace looked down to their connected hands and then up to him.
"To peace?"
She held up the champagne glass she clutched in her other hand. Elijah smiled knowingly and clinked his glass with hers.
"To peace."