Grace Mikaelson

-Chapter 14-

Crescent City

"Thank you all for coming." Father Kieran says as Klaus, Marcel, and I are sitting in a place the grown-ups call church with many other people. Everyone's silent and sitting except for Father Kieran.

"It means more than I can tell you." Father Kieran continues. "We gather today for the first public service of our newly reopened church. St. Anne's can finally once again be the heart of our community where we can congregate as a people united. Here, this hour, we come together to praise God and give thanks. The events that took place at our church were tragic..."

Marcel's looking as if he's seen something he's not sure about... "Problem?" Klaus asks him.

"No." Marcel says quietly, but sounds as if he's not sure if what he's saying is true...

"Then, pay attention." Klaus tells him. "We're meant to seem like devoted parishioners."

My red lips pout silently. I don't know what Klaus's saying...

"... And it is that hope in our hearts, and with the help of many benefactors that allow us to be here today." Father Kieran says a lot of things I don't understand too...

"So we gather with renewed spirit, made stronger, committed to the ideals of peace and love. Amen." Father Kieran finishes.

"Amen." Everyone says.

My oval-shaped face frowns as I pull on Klaus's arm. "What does Amen mean?" I whisper.

"It means we all agree." Klaus tells me quietly. I tilt my head silently. Agree to what?

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"Lovely sermon this morning, Father." Klaus says to Father Kieran as he and Marcel walk out of the church with Klaus carrying me in his arms. "Quite inspirational."

"I wasn't expecting you to join us." Father Kieran says.

"We were hoping for some word from your human sources." Klaus says.

"My guys have their ears to the ground and no one has seen or heard any sign of whatever his name is." Father Kieran shakes his head.

"He's called Papa Tunde." Marcel says unhappily. "And right now, he's wandering the corridor with the power he absorbed from every soul I had buried in the garden. So you might want to put your ear a little closer to the ground."

"Or I could steer clear of whatever war is brewing between your kind and his before I find myself in..." Father Kieran says, sounding a little angry before Cami walks up to him.

"I wanted to congratulate you on getting the church back up and running." Cami sounds unhappy as she shakes Father Kieran's hand. "I can see this is a bad time." She rolls her eyes before looking at Marcel. "Nice to see you, Marcel."

Then, she gives me a small smile. "Hi, Grace." She says, but before I can say anything, she walks away...

"Cami!" Father Kieran calls after her before he and Marcel both look at Klaus.

"Well, don't look at me." Klaus shakes his head. "I try to send her away." Klaus says before his cellphone rings.

"Yes, Diego, what do you have for me?" Klaus answers his phone call.

"Uh... We got a special delivery..." I can hear Diego's voice from Klaus's cellphone.

"Would you care to elaborate?" Klaus asks. My oval-shaped face frowns silently. What does elaborate mean?

"Either our witch problems are over, or they're just getting started." Diego says. I don't know why, but something about the way he's saying it is making goosebumps pop up my pale skin...

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Hayley and I are sitting on the sofa together with Elijah standing by the window silently. Just then, Rebekah walks in. "It's not too early for scotch, is it? With all the witches' shenanigans and subterfuge afoot."

"What are you saying?" My red lips pout at Rebekah.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, love." Rebekah smiles at me.

"It is entirely too early if one intends to drive, yes." Elijah says to Rebekah.

"Funny." Rebekah says, but she doesn't sound as if she's going to laugh... "I don't have any plans to go anywhere."

Then, Elijah looks at me before looking at Rebekah and Hayley. "Grace is not safe here." Elijah says to Hayley and Rebekah. "You two must take Grace to the plantation house until this is over."

Something in my tummy feels as if I'm being fed medicine. I don't like this feeling, it makes me scared. "Something bad is going to happen, isn't it?" I whimper as I grab onto Hayley's arm tightly.

"Shh..." Hayley says to me quietly as she pulls me onto her lap and hugs me closer to her. "We're not going to let anything happen to you, okay?"

Then, Hayley looks up at Rebekah and Elijah as if she's just remembering something. "Tonight's the night of the full moon."

"So?" Rebekah frowns. "You're a hybrid, you can choose when to turn."

"It's not about that..." Hayley starts.

"Hayley, no." Elijah interrupts before looking at Rebekah. "She wants to go see the wolves at the Bayou."

"What?!" Rebekah sounds unhappily surprised.

"Who are the wolves at the Bayou?" I ask, tilting my head. "What's the Bayou?"

"We don't know who the wolves are, pumpkin." Rebekah smiles down at me patiently. "And the Bayou is a place."

"This is the one night out of the whole month they get to be human!" Hayley sounds as if she really believes what she's saying. "Besides, wouldn't it be much more beneficial for Grace if the werewolves are our allies instead of our enemies?"

Both Elijah and Rebekah are silent for a moment. "I suppose that is a valid point." Elijah sighs...

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Hayley and I are standing outside of a house I have never seen before. Hayley's hanging up clothes on a rope. It's dark outside...

I hear something and I see some leaves moving a little. "Hayley..." I whimper nervously as I grab onto her arm tightly.

Hayley looks around as the same big, yellow-eyed wolf from before walks up to us. "It's okay, Grace." Hayley tells me softly as she bents down and picks me up into her arms.

Then, she smiles at the wolf. "Hello again. I'm looking forward to meeting you soon."

"Is it your friend?" I ask Hayley quietly.

"I think it's our friend, Grace." Hayley tells me with a smile before looking up at the dark sky.

I look up too to see a BIG cloud moving away before I see a VERY round moon...

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There are lots of grown-ups dancing to very loud music outside. I know Rebekah and Hayley, but I don't know anyone else...

"You want a sausage?" Hayley asks me as she's feeding me food.

"Okay." I smile before she starts feeding me a sausage.

"Well, she's certainly cute." A grown-up I don't know says as he walks into the room.

Hayley looks up at him as she puts the plate and fork in her hands down onto the table. "You two are Hayley and Grace." He smiles at us. "I'm Jackson. It's nice to see you again."

"You're the wolf who's been watching us." Hayley says as she's staring at Jackson.

"I got to keep my eye on you two." He laughs a little. "Precious cargo and all."

Hayley bents down and picks me up before talking again. "Right, got to protect Grace." She nods.

"Yeah, she's a big deal." Jackson smiles and nods at me before looking at Hayley. "But personally, my interest is in you."

"You don't even know me." Hayley frowns.

"Our parents knew each other." Jackson tells her. "They were of the same people, but not the same bloodline. Now, you know how pack hierarchy works right? Everybody has their part to play, and we had our part too."

"What part was that?" Hayley asks.

"You were supposed to be my wife." Jackson says. I bite down on my lips. I know what wife means. A wife is a grown-up lady who's married, but I'm not sure I know what it means to be married...

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Hayley's still holding me in her arms as Jackson's playing a piano. "I know it's a lot to take in." He says to her after he's done playing the piano. I want to play with the piano...

"You think?" Hayley sounds as if she already knows the answer to her question. But if she already knows, why is she asking?

I tilt my head at Hayley. "Can I play with the piano?" I ask her, but it's Jackson who answers.

"Sure, come here." He smiles as Hayley carries me over to the piano and puts me down on the piano chair.

My fingers push the piano keys down. I like the sounds it makes. I smile happily. I like the piano...

"I just wanted to meet my family." Hayley says to Jackson. Hayley's hand is touching my shoulder. "I never imagined that I would meet my husband from some weird-ass arranged marriage."

"I guess you don't know about any of this stuff because there was never anyone around to teach you." Jackson smiles. "The crescents aren't just any pack of wolves, okay? The bloodline goes back to the very beginning. Two families: your's and mine. I guess that makes us kind of like royalty."

"This is a joke, right?" Hayley sounds as if she might laugh. "I mean, if you're royalty, where is the throne?"

I don't know why, but Jackson looks a little sad. "New Orleans used to be our town." He says. "And we lost it all because of some infighting. The vampires came after us, and if our families were united, we could have taken them. So our parents decided to bring the two lines back together. And you and I were betrothed."

"I'm sorry." Hayley still sounds as if she might laugh. "This is ridiculous."

"Look, obviously things didn't work out the way anyone thought they would." Jackson says to Hayley. "Our pack made a huge misstep with the vampires when we refused to back down, and Marcel had us cursed by a witch. You are the last one of your bloodline, Andrea. You and Grace."

"Wait, Grace?" Hayley frowns.

"Yes." Jackson nods. "Klaus is your ancestor, remember? Technically speaking, he came from the same bloodline as you, which means Grace does too."

I know Jackson's talking about me, but I don't know what they're saying. I tilt my head up at Hayley and pull on her arm. "What's he saying?" I ask.

Hayley bents down and smiles at me. "He's telling us that you and I are family, Grace."

"Okay." I smile as I raise my arms up towards her. "Hayley, hug-hug." I say before Hayley picks me up into her arms.

"These people will follow you, Hayley." Jackson says. "And they'll treat Grace like royalty. You can help them. You and what you and Grace represent."

"And what is that exactly?" Hayley asks.

"A time when things were different, when our people fought back." Jackson sounds as if he really believes what he's saying. "And after everything you went through to find us... You are the one who's gonna break our curse."

"What are you talking about?" Hayley sounds unhappily surprised.

"Your witch friend." Jackson sounds as if he's not sure about something now. "She told Eve she was coming here tonight to set us free."

Hayley hugs me tightly. "Wait, what witch friend?" Hayley sounds scared and nervous.

I don't like it when grown-ups sound scared, it makes me feel scared... "Hayley..." I whimper as I wrap my arms around me.

"Shh... everything's fine, honey." Hayley rubs my head, but she sounds worried. Hayley looks at Jackson. "You've to get Grace and I out of here, Jackson."

"Wait, what..." Jackson sounds as if he doesn't know something.

"Now!" Hayley tells him loudly.

"Okay." Jackson nods as he still sounds as if he doesn't understand something. "Come with me..."

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"So you want to tell me what was that all about?" Jackson asks Hayley after he takes us into a different and smaller house. Hayley's still carrying me in her arms.

"It was a trap, Jackson." Hayley tells him. "I never contacted any witch friend." She says before she's calling someone on her cellphone.

"Come on, Rebekah, pick up..." Hayley says to herself quietly. She sounds worried. She sighs and puts her phone away when no one picks up.

"Hayley, where is Rebekah?" I bite down on my lips as I tilt my head at her.

"I'm sure Rebekah's okay, Grace." Hayley says, but she sounds as if she doesn't know if what she's saying is true.

I'm starting to feel nervous. "I don't want Rebekah to get hurt..." I whimper with a pout.

"I know." Hayley smiles at me a little as she hugs me close to her. Then she looks at Jackson again. "Thank you for protecting us, Jackson. Not just tonight..."

"I've been dreaming about meeting you since I was a kid." Jackson smiles at Hayley sadly. "I never thought it would go like this..." He's about to walk away before Hayley stops him.

"I won't stop until I find a way to break this curse." Hayley tells him as she sounds as if she really believes what she's saying. "I promise."

Jackson nods and smiles at Hayley silently before walking away... "Are we going to go home now?" I tilt my head at Hayley.

"Sorry, but I think we're going to have to spend tonight here, okay?" Hayley smiles at me softly.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because Klaus and Elijah are going to make some bad people go away." Hayley tells me gently. "And while they're doing that, we've to stay here, where it's safe, okay?"

"Okay." I nod...

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Hayley and I are inside the house Jackson took us to. I'm playing in the bubbly bath Hayley made for me as Hayley went to find me something to wear for sleep.

I hear footsteps coming closer. I look up, but it's not Hayley who walks in... "Hello, honey." She smiles at me.

I quickly feel my eyes grow wet as I sniffle and whimper. "Mommy..."

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Author's note: hey guys, here's another chapter. I know it's been a while since I updated, but please remember to review and I promise I'll try and update sooner. Many thanks in advance!