Disclaimer: I own nothing, anything familiar belongs to it's licened owners.
Summary: Elizabeth Lascelles owed a debt to a Grimm named Marie Kessler, so when said Grimm shows up on her door step with a thirteen year old boy no questions are asked. Moving to Portland to make use of Sean's resourses to protect them Elizabeth begins to train Nick for the day his Grimm powers awaken, so he doesn't blunder his way through life.
Chapter 1: A Grimm in the Family
Marie Kessler grimaced as she pulled her knife across the Verrat Hundjager's throat. The poor fool had dared to stalk her nephew from their apartment to school and back. It had been years since the Verrat had crossed her path, since she'd killed a pack of them assaulting a woman and boy in Russia. Had she known the woman was a Hexenbiest and her son was a half-Zauberbiest royal bastard she'd not have interferred. Instead she'd killed a half dozen Hundjager and the Hasslich Reaper that had been tailing her. Then to top off that episode in her life she'd smuggled the two back to the U.S. where she safely delivered them to another Hexenbiest named Henrietta.
Finishing her musing she turned to the dead Hundjager's cowering partner, his left arm missing from the elbow down, "Now, tell me, why the hell are the Royals tracking my nephew and me."
The Hundjager regained some of his courage and spat at her, missing by a mile which was the only reason she didn't finish him immediately. That and she really needed answers, dragging the Hundjager to his feet and squeezing his stump of an arm loosened his tongue quickly, "The Queen...she wants the Hexenbiest and her brat."
"That again?" Marie stuck the Verrat twice with her knife, twisting it on the second stab, "You lap dogs need to leave me alone." The Hundjager displayed a grimace of fear as he slid to the ground.
"Damn you Grimm." A third Verrat charged from the shadows, but only made it a couple steps before the sound of three suppressed rounds signaled the three blooms of blood and his body twitching as it dropped to the ground.
Looking toward the gunshots Marie found two men in expensive italian suits. The obvious elder of the two was holstering his side arm, while his younger partner retracted his woge form. The younger man was a Pflichttreue, but seemed unperturbed by confronting a Grimm. The older man nodded to her, "My apologies Miss Kessler, we'd have been here sooner, but wished to assure your nephew made it home unmolested by these blight on Wessen society."
"You're with the Council I take it." Marie wiped the blade of her knife on the dead Hundjager before sheathing it and moving toward the two men. Frowning she looked the two over, "Why are you here?"
"Why else? The Royals sent their dogs into my territory, I warned them to leave and they didn't." The older man woged to reveal a Damonfeuer like head, but the color was off and the eyes were not nearly as fierce as those she'd encountered before. He noted her confusion and bowed his head, "Of course you'd never have encountered my kind. You Grimms assume there is only one kind of Damonfeuer, but those you encounter are the more numerous younger cousins of my species." Bringing his right hand to his left eye he removed it and held it out to her, "If you would hold this you'll understand my meaning."
Cautiously Marie took the still warm eye, and as soon as she did the man before her twisted into a massive red dragon. In surprise she nearly dropped the eye, but the Pflichttreue moved quickly to catch it. Only then did she realize that while holding the eye she'd seen the wessen in his woged state without him actually being woged. Turning to the now normal looking Damonfeuer she regained her voice, "What was that?"
"My true form, I am what is known in the Wessen community as a Proto Wessen. In other words my species came before all other dragon type wessen. Due to our skill at hiding we very rarely cross paths with Grimms, what you experienced roughly translates to the Eye of Truth." The Pflichttreue handed the eye back to the Damonfeuer who replaced it into his empty eye socket, "Feel lucky you can only see us when we lose control, I'm quite aware of all Wessen around me at all times."
Marie frowned, "So you knew what I was when I a moved into this neighborhood?"
"Yes, and I had no quarrel with you so I left you to your devices...Alexander here was walking my son and daughter home when he smelt the Hundjager following your nephew." The Damonfeuer then glanced at the Verrat lying dead behind Marie, "Though after this incident I'd believe you'd wish to move on."
Sighing Marie nodded, she and Nick had only lived in Bellevue for a couple months, that the Verrat had shown up so quickly was disquieting, though not as bad as the two Reapers she'd dealt with in Boise. In the last two years since her sister's "death" she'd had to uproot Nick six times because of situations like this. Looking to the Council agents she pointed at the dead Wessen, "Can you clean this up?"
Smoke curled from the Damonfeuer's mouth, "Miss I excel at removing evidence." Without a glance back Marie Kessler departed the scene.
(1 Week Later)
Marie's nerves were on edge, mostly due to being on edge for another attack. An attack that would never come apparently. Three days after the death of the Hundjagers their bodies were discovered nine miles away from where they were killed. The bodies were burned beyond recognition, and left at a burned out homeless camp. The newspaper had reported as three homeless men killed by their illegal campfire.
Unsatisfied with the normal interpretation she went to a local Mellifer she knew. Though that informant hadn't panned out as the incident had caused friction between the Council and the Royals. Apparently the Royals didn't like it when their pets get butchered by Council enforcers. The Mellifer had mentioned that the Pflichttreue enforcer had been recalled to Europe, this did meet with her own assumptions. Alexander had discreetly followed Nick home the last two school days after the incident, but after the weekend had vanished.
It was something else that the Mellifer had mentioned that caught Marie's attention. The fact there was two other Grimms in the area, a pair of sisters whose family had lived in the Puget Sound area for at least five generations. Their family was about as territorial as some Wessen, having apparently chased off several other Grimms who'd tried to move into the area. She hadn't encountered them yet, but they were aware of her presence and not looking to make friends.
It was for this reason she'd hooked up her trailer, pulled Nick from school and got on the I-5 headed south. She'd made the phone call in the middle of the night, while Nick was asleep, and were expected at their destination promptly at noon. It was five til when they pulled into the driveway of a two story house. The house didn't look like much, but as a Grimm Marie knew that looks could be deceiving. From the passenger seat Nick frowned, "Why are we here?"
A man in a police uniform stepped out of the house. Renard had grown up since they had met in Russia, the scared little boy who have woged and given away his mother and his secret had become a Portland PD officer. Renard approached the truck and opening the passenger door talked accross Nick, "Mother said for you both to come inside when you arrived, I'll get your things."
"Just the suitcases in the back, don't go into the trailer." Marie glared at the half-Zauberbiest then motioned for Nick to get out.
They entered the house to find it expensively decorated with an old world theme. Marie had been to the Black Forest multiple times, and felt as if she'd returned again. Entering the living room she froze as Elizabeth was entertaining company. The Damonfeuer from the previous week was handing a half filled phile and a stack of bills to the Hexenbiest.
Elizabeth looked sadly at the man, "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, I do hope you realize there was nothing else to be done."
"I'm aware, giving her a few more months was all we could hope for." He noticed Marie and Nick standing in the doorway and quickly finished, "It appears you have further business to handle, if there is ever anything I can do to repay you further...you know where to find me."
With a nod Elizabeth watched him leave before turning to Marie and Nick, "I knew his wife, a dear woman, completely devoted to her children."
Marie frowned, "How?"
"Cancer, of the brain," She held up the phile, "A concoction I made relieved some of the pain and side effects of the treatment. I couldn't cure her, it had spread too far. All I could do was improve the quality of life she had left." Elizabeth then turned to Nick with a forced smile, "You must be Nicholas, why don't you follow Renard upstairs while your Aunt and I talk."
Marie hadn't noticed the half-breed standing behind them at the bottom of the stairs with Nick's suitcases. With a nod and a hidden glare at the Zauberbiest she refocused on Elizabeth, "Nick doesn't know about how things really are yet."
"Not surprising seeing as he's yet to come into his powers." Elizabeth smirked, "You have no reason to worry, he will be perfectly safe here. Between Henrietta, Renard and myself Nicholas will pass almost unnoticed by those following you."
Sighing Marie looked to the stairwell, "He wouldn't need your protection if we'd never crossed paths."
"Except we did, and out of whatever kindness remains in your Grimm heart you gave my son and I aid. For that I am eternally grateful and swore to return in kind that which you gave Renard and me." Elizabeth pulled a folder out from under a table, "Renard got these papers arranged, though as an officer his resources are limited. Basically it states that you have accepted a job arranging library transfers from several foreign libraries to those here in the states. As you'll be moving often, you've arranged for Nicholas to stay with a family friend."
"A family friend?" Marie looked skeptically at the Hexenbiest, "That's stretching it a bit isn't it?"
Elizabeth smirked, "Nicholas deserves as normal a childhood as a Grimm can get, being chased by the Queen's men and Reapers are not conducive to such." Opening the folder Elizabeth revealed a document that needed Marie's signature, "This will give me the rights to act as Nicholas' guardian in your absence."
Against her better judgement Marie signed the document, "If you hurt one hair on his head."
"Please Marie, no need to threaten me." Looking out the window Elizabeth indicated the trailer, "What will you do with that?"
Marie following her gaze frowned, "I'll place it in storage. If I need anything from it I'll come get it."
(2 Months Later)
Renard leaned against his patrol cruiser as his insufferable partner rambled on about his cousin's kid and the stupidity the Lowen had done recently. The half-Zauberbiest growled as he wished the next ten minutes would hurry up. They were waiting outside Nick's school, which had an over abundance of Wessen kids. The Principal was in fact a full Zauberbiest, he and Renard had locked horns the first time Renard had come to pick up Nick.
The Principal was your standard Zauberbiest, a multitude of plots and schemes to better himself. Gandolf he was not, Sauramon was a better comparison. His mother had laughed after her talk with the 'man' figuring out how through his career as an edicator he'd created a vast web of contacts. Heck he even lent Renard his season tickets to the Seahawks this weekend, the reason he was now waiting for Nick. Using some personal time he was taking his 'foster brother' up to Seattle for the game on Sunday. They'd stay the weekend, using one of Renard's safehouses.
After the bell rang the two uniformed officers watched a stream of teenager spill onto the street. Most headed for the buses idiling next to the school, some to the nearby bus stops, and the rest to the parking lot were parents awaited. Renard frowned as he watched Nick exit the building with a pretty blonde. He knew the girl's mother Cathrine Shade, a Hexenbiest, and one who allowed her nature to rule her.
Letting out another growl, that set his partner on edge, Renard began plotting how to use this turn of events.
To Be Continued