Chapter 14

Without hope, without fear

Grace curled up on the floor trying to get some sleep. That bastard could have at least given her a pillow or something. Her prison cell was completely empty. There were nothing but the floor, the walls and the ceiling, all made of stone. It was dark and cold but fortunately she was never cold. Her fire always kept her warm.

Grace wrapped her arms around herself and hummed quietly. She wasn't afraid anymore. He could do what ever he wanted. It was kind of depressing but she actually had nothing to lose. She had no family that cared about her, no friends that would miss her, no hopes and dreams for the future. Every day had been a struggle. She was just tired of being a doormat. The thought of death was actually liberating.

Grace ripped a piece from her long peachy nightgown and placed it under her head. The fabric was very soft although the fire had made holes on it. She closed her eyes and almost fell asleep when the door opened. Grace blinked when the light suddenly hit her eyes. It was coming from the hallway; there were no lights in her cell. She stood up and backed away. She saw a man standing at the door. It wasn't Kol; it was one of his brothers. The one who had mocked him about being henpecked.

"Hello, love", he said with a strong British accent.

Grace continued to back away.

"What do you want?" she asked.

In the next second he was in front of her.

"Watch your tongue, you are in my house", he said coldly.

"Not willingly", she murmured.

He smirked and touched her face.

"Let's make something clear sweetheart. When I ask you a question, you will answer me or else I will hurt you. Do you understand?"

"You are probably going to hurt me anyway", she stated.

He looked amused.

"Perhaps, but you should know that I can be quite mean when I'm angry, so try not to anger me. Just a friendly advice."

"Ok, thanks", Grace murmured. She was waiting for him to get to the point.

"Now, let's start with that little fire stunt of yours. What are you?"

Grace didn't say anything. What kind of answer could she give that would satisfy him? The truth was that she didn't know what she was. A demon? A freak? He grabbed her arm roughly.

"Answer me", he demanded.

He was hurting her arm but she didn't really care. She had been through much worse.

"You are really testing my patience, sweetheart", he said menacingly. He paused before he continued. "Kol told me that your brother sold you to some junkies."

Grace flinched but she managed to control herself quickly.

"Well, I hope it gave you a good laugh", she said coldly.

He smiled.

"Maybe you think that is the worst that could happen to you but believe me, it's not."

He leaned closer and sniffed her hair. Grace couldn't stop herself from shivering.

"Hmm, so you are smart enough to be afraid of me", he said smiling. "Good for you."

Grace felt the anger inside of her. Another man who wanted to hurt her.

"Do it then", she snapped. "Or are you going to beat me up first? Is that how you like it?"

He looked at her curiously.

"Someone has done that to you before, isn't that right?"

Grace kept her face emotionless.

"So who was it? Father? Brother? Boyfriend?"

She didn't say anything. She definitely wasn't going to cry in front of him. He was about to say something when a voice from the door stopped him.

"Niklaus! What are you doing?"

It was Kol's other brother, Elijah, if she remembered correctly.

"I'm just having a little chat with our guest. After all, she tried to burn my house tonight", Klaus said smiling.

"I didn't do that on purpose", Grace said angrily before she managed to stop herself. "Just let me go and I won't be here to bother you."

"I don't think so", Klaus replied cheerily. "What kind of brother would I be if I would let my little brother's pet to run away?"

"That's enough", Elijah said calmly. "Come with me miss."

Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Do you want her to burn the whole house down?"

Elijah looked at Grace.

"Are you planning to do that?"

"No", she replied as calmly as she could.

Elijah held out his hand for her.

"Come on then."

Grace looked at him and decided that she would rather take her chances with him than with Kol's other brother. She went quickly to the door and followed him upstairs.

"We have several spare rooms so I'm sure we can find you a place to sleep", Elijah said.

"Thank you", Grace replied quietly.

Elijah smiled.

"There's no need to thank me."

He opened one of the doors in the hallway. Grace entered the room that was very nice. There was a king-size bed, a dressing table, an armchair, a bookshelf and a big closet.

"Perhaps I should bring you a fire extinguisher, just in case", Elijah said calmly.

Grace couldn't help but smile.

"That would be great, thank you. I usually just keep a bucket of water and a fire blanket next to my bed."

"I see. Do you need them very often?"

Grace nodded.

"But I don't do it on purpose. Usually when I have nightmares or…"

Elijah gave her a sympathetic look.

"I understand. I will be right back."

Grace suddenly realized that this had been the first time when she had spoken about this with anyone. How strange.

...

It was morning when Kol returned from hunting. He had needed some kind of distraction. That girl really knew how to test his patience. Today he was going to get some answers. He was heading to the cellar when Klaus' voice stopped him.

"Kol, would you mind coming here for a second."

He sounded very annoyed.

"What?" Kol asked when he walked to the living room.

"Oh, nothing. Just this."

Klaus showed him the local newspaper. Grace's picture was on the front page. "Have you seen this girl?" the text under the picture said. Kol cursed.

"Yes", Klaus said smiling. "And there's more."

He turned the TV on. Grace's picture was in the morning news as well.

"Apparently someone had told the police that your little pet was kidnapped. Nice work."

Kol gave him an annoyed look.

"I'll fix this."

"I hope so. We don't need any unnecessary attention at the moment."

"Yes, yes. I'll go to the cellar first", Kol said and headed to the door.

"She's not there."

Kol turned to him.

"What?"

Klaus was grinning.

"Elijah took her to the third guestroom."

Kol felt his anger rising again. Who did Elijah think he was? That girl needed to be trained so she was going right back to the cellar. He opened the door of the third guestroom. She was sleeping on the bed curled up like a kitten. She was holding a pillow tightly against her chest. There was a fire extinguisher next to the bed. Kol just stood there and looked at her. She looked so tiny and vulnerable. Not that he cared of course. But he might as well let her sleep. He could have a chat with her later.