Twisted Love
Season Three
Bringing Out The Dead
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Vampire Diaries, I only own Grace and Fayth :)
With Elijah and Klaus standing opposite each other in the amazing mansion that belonged to the hybrid they were squaring up to each other, Niklaus had to admit he was fearful and surprised to see him alive and well, the last he had seen him he was daggered in a coffin.
"You look surprised to see me." The older brother noted looking across at his hybrid brother "So it wasn't you that removed the dagger from my chest?"
"You look like you could do with a drink." His British voice wavered as he avoided eye contact "And we have a lot to discuss, so shall me?" He held his hand out to usher him through to the next room, away from the coffins that daggered both of his other brothers.
Elijah emitted a growl from low in his chest he zipped across the room and shoved Klaus through a set of expensive looking french doors smashing them into pieces, it was no secret the hybrid had gone all out and spent more than what he should to renovate the house.
"Easy!" Klaus was protective of his house "I just finished renovating." He stood up brushing his day suit down "You know you have ever right to be mad at me. But I kept my word, I reunited you with our family."
Once again Elijah attacked Klaus, they bashed into the other room full of the coffins, Klaus quickly opened the coffin that contained his younger brother Kol and pulled the dagger from his chest holding it towards his older brother threateningly.
"Don't make me do this to you again Elijah!" He threatened.
"Come on. Use it." A dare flashed in Elijah's dark brown orbs "You'll only have Kol to deal with." He reminded him in a cold voice.
Klaus gritted his teeth for a moment trying to find a reason for Elijah to calm down and not attack him anymore "Mikael is dead."
"What did you say?" Elijah looked over at his brother who had mixed coloured eyes, the man that had been searching for them for over 1000 years was finally dead, he couldn't believe it.
"I killed him." Klaus confirmed with a sure look, there was no lying written in his eyes, the was not something Niklaus would joke about, it was a serious subject between the siblings "With his own weapon. He's gone Elijah. Forever."
"Why do our family remain in these coffins?" Elijah pushed away from Klaus, he looked down at his brother Kol, he hadn't seen him for many, many years and now he had again "Finn for over 900 years." He looked over at the closed coffins "Kol over a century."
"Because of Stefan Salvatore." Niklaus' voice was incredibly low as he spoke about the younger Salvatore brother "He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah." He looked down at his shoes before looking up into his older brothers dark eyes "Our mothers death. Things I never wanted you to know but I'm ready to tell you now. I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me..." He reminded him, always and forever they had promised, Rebekah, Elijah and Klaus.
"What are you doing?" Elijah questioned creasing his eye brows as Klaus slowly slide the dagger back into Kol's chest making sure he would not wake up again, at least not until Niklaus wanted him to.
"Always and forever. I need you to stand by my side." Klaus begged as he turned back to his older brother, a begging look in his mixed coloured eyes "Be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again." He closed the lid to Kol's coffin blocking him from his view.
Damon climbed out of the shower to see Grace getting dressed, she looked radiant as he walked towards her pulling her towards his wet body, bare back to soaked chest "Feeling better this morning?"
"Yeah." She nodded "Sorry about that... I don't know what came over me." She admitted in a small voice, everything had just gotten to her and her vampire emotions were pushed to the limit, crying seemed to be the only thing she could do at that time.
"Don't worry, Gracie." He pecked her slender neck with his firm, masculine yet full lips "I love seeing you emotional. It reminds me of when you were human..."
She sighed and melted into his embrace looking out of the window into the light woods, dawn was just creeping over and they would be going to meet up with Elijah soon, fear creeped in her stomach at the thought of seeing the Original again, she had been there with him when Klaus had daggered him.
"You'd better go get dressed." Grace turned to face him "We need to get going if we're going to see Elijah." She looked at him, she could stop the sprout of worry that spun uncomfortable in her stomach, but there was also a spring of excitement that was there as well, confusing vampire emotions were taking their toll on the poor young girl.
"Elijah. The moral Original." Damon noted as he dropped his towel in a pool on the floor, she giggled and shook her head, he had no chance this morning, her emotions were already hyped up from the night before and Elijah wasn't always a patient man.
She shook her head at him and pointed to the closet behind him, he stuck out his bottom lip pouting at her "Will you go get changed, Salvatore. I won't ask you again..."
"Oh. I love it when you're feisty." He purred moving close to her, brushing his parted lips over her cheek, she breathed out before pulling away giving him a stern look.
"Don't try and seduce me, Salvatore." The younger vampire crossed her arms over her chest cocking an eye brow, he smirked and zipped them so they were standing against the wall, he opened her legs placing his right leg between them both.
"Is it working?" Damon smirked playfully ducking his head down to pressing his lips to her slender neck, she held in moans of pleasure, she didn't want to give him anymore ammunition than he already had.
"No." She lied avoiding contact with him, she knew if she looked into the those deep pools of icy blue liquid he called eyes she was his for the taking, he chuckled darkly and turned walking towards the closet stark naked "I'll wait for you downstairs." She hiccuped.
Elena walked in her house straight into the kitchen, the house was quiet, and eerie, she didn't like it, she missed the busyness of having Jeremy there, or Grace or her friends being there, she felt so lonely, only having Alaric to keep her company.
She had been out for an early morning run to clear her head "Morning." She chirped when she saw the history teaching walk in the room, he looked as if he was at deaths door, his usually messy hair was even messier than usual and he had bags under his eyes, struggle sleeping.
"Thought we had aspirin." He searched through one of the upper cupboards in the kitchen looking for something to sooth his aching head, anything would do the job right now.
"Yeah in with the vitamins." Elena answered pointing over to the correct cupboard which held the antidote to his agony "You're hungover." She noted noticing the almost empty bottle of whiskey placed on the side next to him.
"Yeah, sorry about that, it was a bit of a weird night." Alaric admitted in a low tone, remembering that he kissed Meredith and Elena had walked in right after seeing the two sharing their intimate moment.
"I told you that you don't have to feel guilty about inviting Meredith over here." Elena shook her head giving him a look that said 'this is your house too' she hated that she had to keep reminding him that, it made her feel as if he didn't want to be here.
"Oh I know." Alaric nodded giving her a grateful look "And I thank you for that, but I do feel guilty for whiskey dialling her at two in the a.m." His eyes were wide as he grabbed a glass that he would fill with water to take with his aspirin.
"No, you didn't." Elena looked over at him her jaw was slack, she knew he was a little tipsy last night but then he went on to call her too, drunk, God knows what he said...
"Oh, yeas I did." Alaric chuckled a little popping two pills into his hand throwing them to the back of his throat and then swallowing them with a gulp of water after which she handed him a mug of coffee.
Elena shook her head a little sipping tentatively at her own coffee before placing it on the side looking over to him "Oh, was she cool about it?" She asked casually.
"Well, as soon as these aspirin kick in and I remember the conversation, I'll let you know." Alaric answered taking a huge gulp of the scolding coffee, it wasn't a lie he honestly didn't remember what he has said to her, he didn't really remember much from last night.
Sheriff Forbes climbed from her police cruiser with a zipped see-through bag that contained a stake walking towards the Gilbert house, she hesitated before reaching out and ringing the door bell once waiting patiently for Elena to open the door.
"Sheriff Forbes." Elena smiled kindly at her friends mother "Hi. Is everything ok?" She noticed the concerned look on the police woman's face, Alaric walked towards them both, the Sheriff was thankful to see a paternal figure being there, it might be easier on her.
"This is unconventional conversation we're about to have. So I hope you'll protect me on it." She looked at them both, she couldn't believe what she was about to say herself, it all seemed so surreal.
"Of course." Alaric confirmed as he exchanged a fairly confused look with Elena who just shrugged a little in confirmation.
"I assume you both heard our medical examiner was murdered the night of the Wickery Bridge fundraiser?" Liz asked, she was sure if Damon hadn't told Alaric then he would have told Grace who would have mentioned something to Elena and Alaric.
"Yeah." Alaric nodded a little "Brian Walters. Why?" He questioned, it brought he back to the subject of Meredith, could she had really been the killer and just not have told him? He didn't even know her that well... but something in his gut told him to trust her indefinitely.
"We've been investigating." Liz added with a uncertain look "Someone drove a stake through his heart." She held out the stake so that they could both look at it, Alaric's blood ran cold as he saw the stake, he knew it, the stake was one of his own.
"That's one of ours." Alaric noted in a small voice "I mean, this is one of the set from your parents lake house." He looked down at Elena who also seemed surprised to see the stake in the property of Sheriff Forbes.
"That's why I'm here." Liz nodded a little "I haven't told anyone, but forensics ran it for prints and found only one clean set." Her eyes lingered over Elena "Yours."
"What?" Elena whispered as her chocolate brown eyes were filled with fear and confusion, she hadn't killed Brian Walters, who had?
Grace and Damon were wandering through a glorious meadow not long after, the younger vampire was speaking on the phone with her sister whilst holding hands with her boyfriend as they walked towards their target.
"My sister the killer." Grace joked and Damon smirked down at her, he was able to hear the conversation due to his supernatural hearing.
"She doesn't think I did it!" Elena replied as she looked over their wide array of weapons that were spread over the Gilbert family dinner table, Alaric was taking stock to make sure everything was still there "She's just trying to find out why somebody used one of our families weapons to kill a council member."
"Why don't you ask Rick if his dirty little doctor girlfriend had access to the weapons." Grace growled out narrowing her eyes as she stared straight forward, Damon smiled a little, he liked seeing act human, but he loved it even more when she was witty and angry, it was hot.
"You're in speaker phone, Grace!" Alaric called over to her and she just rolled her eyes, Damon laughed a little at the sound of it.
"I'm just saying first suspects usually the right one." Grace added acting innocent, she was still angry and upset that the doctor had stolen her blood, she was lucky that Grace didn't go over there and rip her head off, but she had been so wounded and offended that she hadn't had the chance.
"Brian Walters was killed days ago, right? I didn't show Meredith this stuff until last night!" Alaric told her firmly, he was sure that it wasn't her, sure she had stolen blood from Grace, but that doesn't mean she was going to murder someone in cold blood, the doctor had said she didn't like her patients dying so why would she end someones life...
"It wasn't Meredith." Elena told her firmly, she wasn't about to put Alaric's hope about the new woman he liked because she could, maybe be a suspect for a murder, which seemed really unorthodox.
"But Brian Walters was her ex-boyfriend and Ric saw them fighting that night." Grace held a good argument, but contrary to when Elena thought herself, which was go with her sisters instinct, this time she was going to side with Ric.
"It's not Meredith! Ok?" Elena growled, her sister was silent on the other end of the line, biting her tongue from saying anything that would be offensive "I refuse to believe that your luck with women is that tragic..." She looked over at her guardian who gave her a kind smile.
Damon stole the phone from his girlfriend seeing that she was about to say something stupid, the pressure she was clasping on his hand gave him the hint of how mad she truly was "Who else knows about your secret little slater stash?" He questioned.
"Damon?" Alaric questioned creasing his eye brows looking down at the screen of the phone, they had been talking to Grace and were surprised that it wasn't her voice on the other line anymore.
"Yep. It's me." Damon confirmed playing with Grace's long chocolate brown, thick tresses making her close her eyes whilst they stood in the middle of the beautiful, tranquil meadow filled with over grown grass and wild flowers in a wide array of colours.
The younger vampire leaned down and snapped a violet coloured flower from the ground and held it to her adorable button nose smelling the beautiful aroma filling her body completely washing away all of her anger and bottled up emotions.
"Who doesn't?" Alaric shrugged answering his friends original question, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger in frustration "I got weapons everywhere, here, the school, my loft, your car." Damon creased his eye brows at the thought of Alaric storing his vampire killing weapons in his own car.
"It's Klaus, it has to be, he's screwing with us." Damon looked down at his girlfriend who was sitting crossed legged in the long grass of the meadow not looking up at him at all, he reached around and played with her soft hair.
"What if it was Stefan?" Elena asked and Grace looked over at Damon, she had a look in her eyes which told Damon she wanted to speak with her sister, he mouthed no to her and she pouted like a small child crossing her arms over her chest "He was crazy last night, and you know he was trying to get underneath Klaus' skin, he was capable of pretty much anything."
"Including making out with you." Grace muttered fingering a single piece of grass between her little fingers, her boyfriend gave her a look and she just rolled her almost black orbs in response, he chuckled to himself.
"Ah, makes me nostalgic for the time that Stefan was a bunny snacking pacifist." Damon murmured looking up into the bright blue skin remember when his brother wasn't a complete and utter dick to everyone, he heard Elena sigh heavily on the other end of the line "Gotta go."
"Hey, where are you both? At home?" Alaric questioned, he didn't know where his best friend was, but what he did know was he wanted to have a drink, scotch on the rocks sounded good, anything sounded good at this point.
"Tea with an old friend." Damon replied as he hung up Grace's phone handing it back to her, she stood up when a whoosh of warm air ran past her signalling that Elijah was here and was ready to make a deal with them both.
They both saw a handsome gentleman standing in front of her in a smart navy blue day suit, Elijah's hair was cut into a more fashionable, shorter spiky style than the last time they had seem him and before he had been daggered by his crazy hybrid brother.
"Elijah, my favourite Original." Damon smiled at the man who had many years on top of his age, the Original nodded respectfully at them both "Clean up nice." He noted looking at his new style which fit with him amazingly.
"Your girlfriend left something in my jacket pocket." He pulled out a small, single piece of paper and Grace smiled nodding remember what she had written.
"Oh yeah." She giggled a little a smirk pulling across her juicy lips "Dear Elijah, let's get together to plot the destruction of your crazy, dagger-happy younger brother, XOXO." She nodded and he handed her back the piece of paper which she slipped in her back jean pocket a sly smile playing on her lips.
"Grace." Elijah gave her a warning look, like an older brother would and Grace let out a small giggle looking down at her feet before looking up into his dead serious cold dark brown eyes, she rolled her eyes a little.
"Was I right to let Grace undagger you or are we going to have a problem?" Damon asked in a low tone, this took Grace back a little they were both being so hostile with each other, it wasn't the way Grace wanted to be with people, but Elijah had betrayed them once, who's to say he wouldn't do it again?
"I'm here, let's talk." The Original told them both looking around at the beautiful field around him before looking back to the loving couple who were exchanging knowing glances with each other.
"I'll start with an easy question." Damon looked over at the Original "Any ideas what kind of Klaus killing weapon could be magically sealed in a mystery coffin?" He asked and Elijah creased his eye brows a little.
Down in the caverns deep in the old Lockwood cellar Bonnie and Stefan were making their way through the old tunnels towards the secret room that vampire's couldn't enter, Abby had been lagging behind unable to keep up with their swift pace.
"Slow down!" The older, powerless witch called pressing her hands against the rough, stone wall pushing off and effectively propelling herself forward in order to try and catch up with her daughter and the handsome vampire.
Stefan rolled his forest green eyes as he exchanged a look with Bonnie "Keep up, we don't much time." His voice was low and threatening and it was Bonnie's turn to roll her light brown orbs she could read between the lines, she knew that Stefan was blaming her for Klaus knowing the whereabouts of the coffins.
"Sorry Stefan, but I didn't have a choice." Her voice was snide as she narrowed her eyes at him as she followed him looking back at her mother who was just following the two.
"It was a choice Bonnie, you made it and now we have to live with it. You told Klaus where the coffins were and he took them. All of them except one." There was a light to this dark dark rain cloud, they had the one coffin that Klaus wanted the most, that was their silver lining.
"That's the one that's sealed?" Abby questioned as she stumbled clumsily over yet another rock on the uneven ground, she growled as she continued to follow the two teens deeper into the caverns of the old Lockwood cellar.
"Yep. Fortunately it seems to be the one he cares about the most." Stefan shrugged a little as he stopped outside the entrance of the little room where the locked coffin was placed, both Bonnie and Abby walked inside.
"Aren't you coming inside?" Abby questioned looking over her shoulder at the 163 year old vampire who was watching them both from the other side of the barrier which stopped vampires and hybrids from getting through.
"Vampires can't get in." Stefan explained as he leaned casually against the room, crossing his arms over his chest casually "Damon had to compel a couple of Lockwood gardeners to bring the coffin in." He added with a small shrug.
"This is a bad idea." Abby muttered as she ran her hands over the soft wood that the coffin was made out of, Bonnie was preparing all of the grimoires so that they could search for a spell which might be able to crack the coffin open.
Stefan sighed a little, frustrated with the older witches attitude "Look, if you're really the key to opening up that coffin, I think it's a pretty safe bet you're on Klaus' hit-list..." He paused for a moment before looking between the mother and the daughter "So, I suggest you hideout here and figure out a way to open up the damn thing."
"I told you, I don't have any powers!" Abby told him firmly, she had lost them because nature punished her for leaving her daughter at such a young age.
"And I don't believe you." Stefan narrowed his forest green orbs, they were intense with anger as he stared down the older woman "The time's ticking. Won't be long before Klaus calls his hybrids to find that coffin and kill all of us." He told her and Bonnie flinched at the sound of his icy cold voice, she hated this new Stefan "So dig deep, Abby Bennett. Scrape out whatever magic you have left..."
Stefan turned on his heels and walked from the cavern, as he arrived at the entrance he saw Elena standing there with a stern look on her face. The two of them hadn't really spoke since the kiss and Stefan telling her he didn't deserve her.
"What are you doing here?" He questioned, he even noticed the softness to his voice, which was paradox to the one he had used with the two witches deep inside the cavern.
"Bonnie told me that you guys would be here." Elena replied back to him with a small smile pulling across her feminine, full lips "I need to talk to you."
"Well, there's nothing to talk about." He brushed her off, it was easier her hating him when he was like this, he didn't want to hurt her or disappoint her "I'm just focused on getting this coffin open." He added nonchalantly.
Elena paused for a moment, she couldn't believe she was about to ask this once good vampire this question, but she had to know the truth about the death of Brian Walters "Did you kill the medical examiner?" She asked suddenly.
Stefan smirked a little bit as he turned to face Elena, she had a sad look on her face "Why would you think I did that?" He asked in a low voice, it wasn't threatening, he didn't want to seem threatening to her, he loved her too much for that.
"Maybe because I don't know what you're capable of anymore." On the contrary of what kind of atmosphere Stefan was trying to create Elena could hold back her fear from the vampire.
"Well, believe what you want, Elena." Stefan told her firmly as he turned on his heels about to leave, but Elena was far from done with him.
"I don't want to believe any of it, Stefan." She hissed, she was trying to be intimidating to him, but her wavering voice gave her away, he turned back to her once again to look into her deep dark brown eyes.
"But you had to ask me anyway." He noted with a small shrug as he looked back at her creasing his eye brows a little.
The young doppelgänger sighed a little as she gave him a sad look "Stefan-"
"Did you ask Grace if she killed anybody lately?" Stefan questioned and Elena fell deathly silent "Yeah, by the way, I thought you should know, she hit me because of our kiss-" He told her and Elena's eyes widened "You should tell her to cool down her temper a little bit."
"Wait. Wait. Stefan, you told her!" She shrieked, it echoed the little room they were in, he just huffed and walked from the room swiftly.
Elena couldn't believe it but she was scared to face her sister, she knew how protect Grace being lately and now that Stefan and her had kissed and nothing had come from it then she knew she was going to get an ear full.
A little later on that day in the hospital of Mystic Falls Caroline stood there waiting for her father, she found it a little odd how he hadn't come out to see her yet and Elena was waiting for her outside of the ICU for them both.
"Are you Caroline?" Dr. Fell walked towards her, she had been the one taking care of Caroline's father Bill Forbes so she was going to speak to her about the fact she had used Grace's blood to heal him.
"Yes." The blonde nodded looking over at the beautiful doctor with a kind smile "Hi. Elena told me you helped out my dad." There was a shady side to her voice and it was then that Meredith realised that the vampire had already been told.
"I did." She confirmed pulling Caroline over to the side so they could have a more private conversation away from passers by that would be in the hospital working or seeing family members that were currently checked in "Do you think you can get him to be a little more grateful?" The doctors voice was low and a little offended "He spent half the night threatening to get my medical license revoked for saving his life."
"Yeah, my dad's a little set in his ways." Caroline's silvery orbs were wide as she spoke about her father who she loved so much, but he could be as stubborn as a mule "He spend his whole life hating vampires, so..."
"So... he's not psyched about it being vampire blood that healed him." Meredith nodded understanding it from Bill's point of view, you spend your life hating something really bad you don't want that thing then to turn around and save your life and have to feel some kind of gratitude towards it "Yeah, he made that clear. I'm sorry. My beside manner sucks on no sleep." She admitted with a small sigh following.
"So, can I take him home?" The young vampire asked casually tucking a piece of her long golden blonde locks behind her ear looking at the doctor hopeful.
"I signed his discharge papers late last night just to shut him up." Meredith chuckled to herself looking down at the clipboard in her hands to see that Bill Forbes had officially been discharged from the hospital and was on his own in the vampire infested world.
Caroline creased her eye brows a little hearing her father had been discharged and he didn't even tell her about it, after her boyfriend had attacked him she felt a pit of guilt deep in her stomach "Oh, I... He didn't call or anything." She looked down at her phone to see that she had no miss call from her father.
"That's gotta be hard." Meredith announced giving her a look that was filled with complete and utter sorrow "When your dad hates the one thing you can't change about yourself." She announced and Caroline's eyes widened when she found out that doctor fell knew she was a vampire "I make It my business to know who the vampires are in this town. Medical curiosity." She shrugged a little "I don't blab." She promised in a sure tone.
Caroline nodded a little, avoiding eye contact with the medical professional "Yeah, we've had our ups and downs." That was an understatement, her father had tried to run the vampire out of her not too long ago by burning her alive, that was when Tyler had come to her rescue, she missed those days when they were so deeply in love and Klaus didn't matter and neither did sire bonds.
"Tell your dad I said 'you're welcome'." Meredith replied as she turned on her heels and walked back to her other patients leaving the blonde standing there a little hurt.
Caroline returned to Elena a little while after to see she was still waiting there for her, they both smiled at each other "That was fast." The doppelgänger noted.
"Yeah, he's not here. He was already discharged." The blonde was looking down at her phone searching through her many contacts "And she seems perfectly nice by the way... a little intense, maybe..." A smile pulled across her lips "But... I think it's west, you wanna make sure Alaric's not dating a total psycho."
Elena shrugged a little "He's my family. I have to look out for him." She paused for a moment thinking back to her twin who had been blood jacked by the woman "I just feel bad for Grace... Meredith is nice to everyone else, but vervained her and stole her blood..."
"That sucks." Caroline nodded as she called her father holding her phone to her ear, she creased her eye brows as she began to her a small buzzing somewhere from within the hospital, it was close by "I hear it..."
"Hear what?" Elena questioned, she was a little confused, unlike Caroline Elena wasn't able to hear things from a distance, she didn't have supernatural hearing.
"My dad's phone." Caroline answered as she began to follow the sound, they both ended up outside of the storage room for the hospital floor, opening the door slowly they began to search through
Her blood ran icy cold when she saw a figure lying on the ground a pool of blood around him, the blonde ran over and moved the man's face to look at her and get a good look at him, it was her father, laying there with a knife sticking out of his chest.
"Dad! Dad?" Caroline screamed shaking him, but he wasn't waking up, Elena walked in and saw the man laying on the floor dead
"Oh my God." The doppelgänger whispered as she ran towards them, kneeling beside them whilst Caroline sobbed, Elena couldn't believe what she was seeing, this man had been murdered in cold blood, there was a serial killer around Mystic Falls, yet another danger for all of her loved ones, the human ones especially.
"Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead!" She begged, her voice was high and pain stricken as she shook her father's lifeless body, she couldn't face the fact that he was dead, he may have hated what she was - a vampire - but she stilled loved him unconditionally, he was her father "Daddy!"
"Caroline..." Elena's voice was small as she wrapped her arms around her friend, she remembered what Alaric had told her about Meredith stealing Grace's blood in order to heal her patients, including Bill Forbes "He has vampire blood in his system."
Caroline's face went blank as she looked at her doppelgänger friend "What?" She screamed suddenly, he was dead, that meant he was going to come back as a vampire like her, well, he would come back and he would be in transition.
Caroline and Elena both jolted when Bill awoke intaking a loud gasp, his first breath as a transitioning vampire, looking around him he was surprised to see his daughter there with him with a bloody knife in her hands, she had a concern look on her face.
Bonnie was looking up at the runic language of Klaus' families name, she remembered Mikael, Elijah, Niklaus and Rebekah, but she didn't recognise the others she assumed them to be Klaus' other family members, his two brothers that were trapped in the coffins.
"Is this the only grimoire you kept?" Bonnie questioned as she turned back to her mother, to look at the old, dust grimoire the older witch had kept with her, it was her own and it had a wide range of spells inside of it.
"It was the only one I needed." Abby answered as she looked at the markings on the wall that Bonnie was just looking at, she creased her eye brows as she looked over her shoulder at her beautiful, young daughter "So... what is all of this?"
"Family history." Bonnie answered with a small shrug, looking over at the story of the Original's, Klaus' parents had turned all of his siblings into vampires, starting the long line of generations "About a mother, who loved her children so much, she couldn't care the thought she might lose them." She looked over at the mother who had a guilty look on her face, she had left her daughter at a young age and she had always regretted it "So she turned them into vampires. One of them is Klaus."
"The one you're trying to kill with whatever is in that coffin?" Abby questioned looking down at the coffin that lay in the middle of the stoney room, Bonnie just nodded in response
"There's nothing in here that's going to help us." Bonnie shook her head at her her mothers grimoire dismissively before looking further inside "I've seen most of these spells." She paused for a moment seeing one of the pages had been torn out "What was this?"
"That was the spell I used to seal Mikael in the tomb." Abby informed her wandering around the coffin that Bonnie had the grimoire placed on "I burned it and tried to get it out of my head. Didn't work though." She added with a small sigh before seeing something interesting on the next page of the grimoire "Wait... do you see this?"
Bonnie glanced down to see a sealing spell on the page, the young witch nodded a little "IT's a sealing spell. We're trying to open something." She reminded her estranged mother frustrated "Not seal it shut."
"No. Right here. On this side" She pointed to a small illustration to the left of the text, it looked like someone had draw some string intwined witch each other and then knotted them together "It's a blood knot. It means, to bind it you need two generation. A bloodline. Like... two keys to a safety deposit box." She simplified it for her young daughter.
"So... unbinding it would reverse the spell." Bonnie looked over at her mother who nodded "Unseal it. If we did it together." once again Abby just nodded before looking back down at the blood knot drawn on the page.
The older Salvatore brother was stood in his younger brothers bedroom with two dress shirts in his hand, one was a black and the other was a navy blue. Stefan walked in the room and was surprised to see his brother standing there waiting for him.
"Get dressed." Damon ordered holding out both shirts to him "We're going out. You, me and Grace." A smile pulled across his perfect lips. He knew there was a tension between Grace and Stefan at the moment, considering Grace punched Stefan for lip locking with her twin.
"Yeah, sorry, not interested. I don't really want to get sucker punched again." Stefan growled as he turned away from his brother rubbing his cheek a little, he really had got her pretty good, if he wasn't so mad at her he could have been proud, Damon was.
"I didn't ask. And don't worry about it, Grace will be on her best behaviour, but it's not like you didn't deserve it." Damon hissed as he stood in front of his younger brother blocking his only exit, other than the window, but he didn't really want to break anything "Elijah, Grace and I have scheduled a very old fashioned sit-down with you and Klaus. I say go with the black." He held out the shirt for him to take "Makes you look all villainy." He added with a knowing smirk.
"Klaus won't make a deal, Damon." Stefan patience were being pushed to the limit as he narrowed his forest green eyes at his older brother who in return rolled his icy blue orbs.
"He doesn't have to." The older answered "All we're doing is buying a little time to give our wicked witches a chance to pop-up the top of the coffin." He added, they were going to distract Klaus long enough so that Bonnie and Abby could come up with a spell to open the coffin.
"So, that's your... uh... plan?" Stefan gave his older brother a skeptical look, he knew Klaus quite well and he knew that he didn't like being played for a fool "Stall Klaus?" A scoff fell from his perfect lips.
"If you didn't go postal on his hybrids then maybe we'd have some options." Damon countered, Stefan had made Klaus' hybrids leave town, which in turn had fuelled Klaus' anger even more in wanting the coffins, the locked one more specifically.
So you unleashed on Original to help him out?" Stefan questioned referring to Klaus' older brother Elijah who had undaggered him to help them all out, as much as Elijah was a brother to Niklaus, he was also angry from his daggering him, so he was basically on their side.
"Undaggering Elijah was smart, Stefan." Damon told his own brother firmly who just laughed a little "You're kidding me? After what Klaus did to him? He's in vengeance mood. Perfect." He added with a knowing smile.
There's nothing smart about trusting Elijah, Damon." Stefan told Damon in a low voice "He screwed us over the last time he promised to help us kill Klaus." He remembered when Elijah had said he was going to help them kill Klaus, but instead helped the hybrid escape from Bonnie who was going to kill him during the sacrifice.
"Yeah, the way you've been acting I trust him about as much as I trust you." Damon growled, Stefan had been really untrustworthy and a liability lately, with the mood swings and killing of people. It was the human blood doing this to him.
"How much to do you trust Grace? I'm surprised you're even taking her to Klaus' house with us..." He paused and Damon growled at him in a low voice, he narrowed his intense blue orbs as he turned to him "I mean, with him being in love with her and Grace unsure of her feelings for him-"
"Grace doesn't feel anything for him!" Damon growled as he zipped towards him brother wanting to rip his throat out, he had had enough of people telling him what Grace was feeling, she said she didn't feel anything and he believed her, that was all he needed "You just need to stay out, Stefan. You don't know what you're talking about..."
Grace sat at the dressing table brushing on her pink blusher as Damon walked into the room an angry set look on his face as he walked straight towards the closet grabbing one of his black v-neck shirts pulling his current shirt off and pulling that one on.
"What's got you all riled up?" The younger vampire questioned as she glued on her fake eye lashes, blinking a couple of times to get used to them "Damon?" She asked.
"It's nothing." He growled, Stefan had really got to him just then, he didn't like people poking holes in his relationship, especially someone with a track record like Stefan "Are you almost ready? Stefan is." He added resisting a growl that creeped up in his throat.
"Yep." She stood up and pulled her robe off to reveal what she was wearing, his jaw dropped open in astonishment, she looked divine, delicious, absolutely gorgeous.
her beautiful peach coloured mini dress, it had many layers underneath, but the top layer was soft pleats, a fitted waist with added sequins for style and then it went over her shoulders to pull into a cross over her back.
Her long chocolate brown hair was in a waterfall braid that pulled from the left side of her head, that went around around the back and then fell down the right side, the underneath were curled into soft ringlets that fell elegantly down her back.
"Gracie..." He muttered looking over at her, he had seen her dressed up before, but never had she looked so grown up or mature, she gnawed on her juicy button lip waiting for his opinion "I...I..." She rose her thin eye brows a little concerned "You look amazing..."
"Thanks." She giggled a large blush crawling over her lips, he walked towards her and pulled her into a passionate kiss, he loved her more than anything, more than anyone and he needed her just as much.
"You look so beautiful." He muttered as he darted his tongue between her lips moving her so she was standing back against a wall, playing with the soft material of the dress he rose it up her creamy things to feel her white panties between his fingers.
"Damon... We need... To be... At Klaus'... House... Soon." She told him between kisses when she could get a word in edgeways, swiftly he pulled her panties down her legs and she gasped leaning her head back against the wall as he dropped to his knees.
Meanwhile, at the hospital Caroline and Bill were in his Original room, the blinds were closed tight as he wandered around the room paranoid.
"I compelled the nurse to stay out of this room." The blonde informed her father "You'll be safe here." She assured him as he tried to stay away form all means of sunlight, it burned his eyes terribly, even thought he wasn't a vampire yet, he was now sensitive to certain things, with slightly heightened senses too.
"My would is completely healed." He referred to the knife wound that was in his chest, there wasn't even a scar to prove it was there, but there was now something else in it's place, a deep hunger from within that burned his stomach, throat and mouth.
"Daddy, why don't you just come lay down and just relax?" Caroline offered in a calming voice but her father wasn't having none of it, he was too hyped up.
"I can't." He growled at his young daughter pacing around the room trying to face what had happened to him, he'd died and now he was about to become the thing he hated more than anything in the world "I'm too wired and my pulse is racing. It's the effect of my body wanting to transition."
"Well, maybe Dr. Fell can give you something." Caroline offered, Meredith was a doctor that knew about the existence of vampires, maybe she had something that could help the transitioning man.
"She's done enough." Bill hissed as the door was pried open, they both turned to see Elena squeezing through the door, shutting it as soon as she was in the room with the transitioning human and the vampire.
"I called your mom." Elena looked over at the blonde who nodded gratefully, but she couldn't disguise the hurt and terrified look from seeing her father this worked up, usually he was such a quiet and introverted man, wise beyond his years. "Mr. Forbes, did you see your attacker?" The doppelgänger questioned the man.
"I didn't see anything." Bill shook his head, he couldn't have been compelled to forget, he would have remembered everything as soon as he went into transition "I tried to sneak out the back exit and someone came up from behind."
"Look, we'll figure this out, but in the mean time we need to get you some blood." The blonde girl announced, Elena nodded in agreement, but a horrified look fell at Bill's face.
"I'm not going to drink any blood." It was sick, but he would rather be dead than be something he despised more than anything.
"You have to." Elena's voice was high as she looked over at Bill "You died with vampire blood in your system... If you don't feed and finish the transition into a vampire then you'll die!" She announced as if he didn't already understand the mechanics of turning into a vampires.
"I understand how it works." Bill nodded in confirmation "And that's what I'm prepared to do. Now get me out of this hospital." He spat "I small blood everywhere." He walked from the room they were in, Elena moved to comfort her friend, pulling her into a warm hug.
A little later on Elena walked into her house to see Alaric had all of his weapons laying out on the kitchen table once again, he had a single piece of paper in his hand and was writing down on it.
"What are you doing?" The doppelgänger questioned as she looked over at Alaric, she placed her bag down on the floor by her feet.
"Taking inventory. Did you bring it?" Alaric questioned glancing up from the piece of paper for only a moment before looking down and beginning to count again.
"You mean, did I steal evidence from a crime scene?" Elena rose her eye brows, she bent down and pulled the stake from her bag and handed it over to Alaric who placed it on the side along with the others.
"You're right." Alaric nodded sighing a little, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger "It's a match. This is from a crawl space in the foyer." He held up one stake "Which means, Meredith knew where it was." He confirmed.
"That doesn't mean she stole it." Elena looked over at him, she didn't want him giving up so easily on this new woman in his life, Alaric couldn't be that unlucky with love, first his wife leaves to become a vampire, next his girlfriend is killed in a sacrifice, and finally this new doctor was a serial killer? It could be.
"This is from the loft." He showed her yet another stake which was identical to the two she had seen before "These are from the duffel in Damon's car."
"Identical to the one that killed Brian Walters." Elena sighed a little, she hated to admit it, but all evidence seemed to be pointing to the young doctor Meredith Fell.
"Damon's car was at the Wickery Bridge fundraiser, so was Meredith." He groaned as he looked around the kitchen "And that was the night her ex-boyfriend, the medical examiner, was killed. The one who called her psycho." He added.
"Well, she was trying to save Bill Forbes, why would she turn around and try to kill him?" Elena questioned, she carried a good argument, if Meredith didn't like her patients dying then why would she try to kill Bill Forbes.
"I don't know what to think either." Alaric shook his head sighing a little "You know, but... we'd be idiots to ignoring all these facts." He looked around him, he didn't want to believe this new, extremely beautiful woman in his life was the reason for all of these murders.
"So what should we do?" She questioned a little sigh falling from her lips, the last time someone accused Meredith of being a murderer so was vervained and blood jacked, so that didn't seem the way to go.
"Well... Get this to the police." Alaric held up the stake that Elena had stolen from the crime scene before giving her a solemn look "Then you should probably be with Caroline." The blonde would need her friends around her now, Grace and Bonnie were busy, but Elena could be there for her, this was going to be a tough time having to say goodbye to her father, once and for all.
"I'm sorry, Ric." She patted his shoulder trying to sympathise with him, but she hadn't love as much as he had, he had almost lost everyone he loved, but then again so had she "Please be careful." Her voice was low and concerned as she took the stake and turned leaving.
Grace, Damon and Stefan walked towards the Mikaelson Household the couple were holding hands, all loved up as Stefan rolled forest green orbs ringing the doorbell. The door opened within seconds of the bell sounding, Elijah was standing there looking smarter than ever.
"Niklaus, our guests have arrived." The older Mikaelson brother announced into the house and the blond Original came around the corner a charming smile playing on his lips as he saw the three of them standing there in formal attire.
"Damon. Stefan. Grace." He walked towards them a crimson red wine in his hands a extremely irresistible look in his beautiful mixed coloured eyes "Elijah tells me you seek an audience... Very bold." He allowed them inside the house lending to a dinning room, five places were set around the round table "Let's discuss the terms of out agreement like civilised adults, shall we?" He questioned his eyes lingering over Grace's petite form.
"It's better to indulge him." Elijah told the three younger vampires, he placed his hand on the small of Grace's back as he lead her towards the elegantly set table, Niklaus pulled her chair out sitting her down comfortably, before Damon sat one side and Klaus sat the other, Elijah took a seat next to him but Stefan remained standing.
Niklaus looked over at his ripper friend a bored look in his beautiful eyes "Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throat and pull our your insides, Stefan. The choice is yours..."
It wasn't long until their meals arrived later on that night, Elijah, Klaus and Damon were happily eating, Grace was pushing the food around her plate, the nerves had made her loose her appetite and Stefan wasn't touching his at all.
"More wine, Grace?" Elijah asked as he noticed Grace's wine glass had not been touch, it was clean and no wine had been inside of it "I promise that the use of alcohol will make this night more endurable." He chuckled along with his younger brother.
"Yes, come now, love." Klaus was about to pour the expensive red wine into her glass, but Damon placed his hand over the rim stopping him from pouring.
"Actually, Grace likes white wine a lot more than red." Damon informed him, it wasn't really even for Grace's sake, he knew she was drink he red white if she was given it, but more of he knew more about his girlfriend than Klaus did.
"Oh, of course." Klaus nodded towards one of his waitresses "Can you go get that lovely 1811 Chateau d'Yquem from the wine cellar." She nodded in confirmation "Thank you, love." He smiled before looking over at Stefan who looked as miserable of sin "You lost your appetite."
"Eat." Damon ordered giving both Grace and Stefan a firm look, they needed to lighten up if they were going to be able to distract Klaus for long enough "I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home." He countered and both Stefan and Grace took a bite of their food at the same time.
"Good girl." Klaus cooed "See, love, my cooking isn't all that bad, is it?" He smirked a little "The five of us dining together... Isn't this nice? Such a treat to be in such beautiful company." The hybrid glanced down at Grace making Damon suppress a growl, he was just going to have to deal with the flirting from Klaus if he wanted the night to run smoothly "Is this what you had in mind what you pulled the dagger from my brother?"
"Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier." Damon ate some more of his food squeezing Grace's knee under the table, she glanced at him and he gave her a subtle smile.
"Well, Elijah and I have had out share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through." The hybrid gave his older brother an assuring smile as Stefan and Damon exchanged a look.
"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? Where is she, by the way?" Stefan questioned looking around for the blonde "Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her." He noted.
"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah." Klaus didn't want to give the Salvatore brothers anymore ammunition to use against the already strained brotherly relationship that him and his brother shared.
Damon rolled his icy blue eyes squeezing Grace's knee harder "Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgement until dessert." He countered and his brother threw him a look, the youngest vampire in the room looking around a little awkwardly.
"we're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we have to kiss his ass for seven courses." Stefan countered as Klaus smirked a little sipping at his wine.
"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself." Damon nodded a little bit, Grace reached out and grabbed her wine glass gulping it back, Elijah was right she would need alcohol if she was going to be able to survive the dinner party.
Caroline and Elena both sat out on the porch in front of the blonde vampires house, her father was inside with her mother preparing to die, she hadn't seem them both in the same room with each other, not arguing since the divorce, it was nice seeing them unite, but under the most horrific circumstances.
"Did you hear back from Tyler?" Elena questioned, she was trying to get the vampires mind off of the fact that her fathers fate.
"No. And I've left messages from him everywhere." Caroline sighed a little before looking over at her doppelgänger friend "So, does Alaric really think that Dr. Fell did it?" She questioned in a small voice.
"He doesn't know what to think." Elena sighed, it was true, Alaric wanted to believe Meredith hadn't killed Brian Walters or Bill Forbes, but all the evidenced seemed to being pointing to her.
Caroline nodded a little being about to understand what she was trying to say "What about you?" She asked concerned.
"I wish the girl Alaric liked wasn't in the middle of all of this." She sighed honestly "He deserves to be happy. But yeah, she looks guilty. It's why I told your mom."
"My mom's sitting in there with my dad. And I don't think they've been in the same room this long since I was ten years old." A small smile appeared across her lips which was quickly thought of the next suspect for the murders "Is there any chance that Tyler did it?" She asked, he had been the original one to injure her dad before he was turned, he could have gone back to finish the job.
"What?" Elena looked over at her vampire friend, she was a little confused and didn't follow where Caroline was going with asking if Tyler was the murderer.
"If Klaus was trying to mess with you and he's sired to Klaus. And, I mean, he does everything that he's told..." Caroline left the statement hanging and Elena quickly shook her head, she refused to believe that Tyler would do this.
"No... no, I don't think Tyler did it." Elena answered, Caroline had been through enough today without having to believe her boyfriend had killed her father at Klaus' bidding.
It was then that reality set in and she began to hyperventilate "I can't just let my father die. You know, I'm... I'm going to force him to feed." She stood up beginning to pace up and down the porch, Elena caught up with her and held her.
"Hey... He doesn't want to, Caroline. The only thing your dad has is his choice." She reminded her, the doppelgänger knew what it was like for someone's choice to be taken away, with Stefan, when Damon force fed her blood and she almost became a vampire.
Caroline began to sob into her friends neck "I hated him so much for what he did to me. So much. Now all I want to do is save his life." She cried harder and Elena comforted her like any good friend would.
"Of course you do, he's your dad." Elena reminded her as they sat back down on the porch steps, the vampire continued to cry.
"What was the hardest part for you?" Caroline questioned, Elena had lost her parents twice over, first with adoption parents Miranda and Grayson then with her real parents Isabel and John, so Elena had experience "When you lost your Dad?"
Elena sighed a little "Realising all the things he wouldn't be there for. The things that... that you just need your Dad for, you know?" Like walking them down the aisle, helping them get over a broken heart, and so many more things. Elena moved to comfort her friend once again, holding her in her arms when suddenly Matt pulled up in his truck.
Caroline sniffled as she looked up to see her ex-boyfiend stood there with a sorry smile on his face "Hey." Was all he could manage whilst he looked at the poor girl sob.
"Hey." Caroline hiccuped as she rose from her place with Elena, she swiftly walked towards the human and wrapped his strong arms around her thin body holding her against him, sharing their warmth.
Back at the Mikaelson mansion the four vampires and the hybrid were continuing to enjoy their dinner, it all seemed tense and quiet between them all as Klaus looked down at Grace who was holding Damon's hand above the table as he leaned down whispering sweet things in her ear.
"So, Grace." Elijah looked over at Grace who broke away from Damon to look over at the older Mikaelson brother respectfully, a kind smile playing on her glossy lips "Where is the lovely Elena tonight?"
"I don't know." Grace lied, she had received a text from Elena earlier telling her everything, but what was happening with Caroline and her family was none of their business "Ask Stefan..."
Klaus laughed a little drinking more of his wine, Elijah gave them all a confused look, he had missed everything that had happened with everyone "I'm sorry, you've missed so much... Uh, not so, uh, brotherly and sisterly between both Grace and Stefan anymore." He explained.
"Can we just not talk about this." Grace hissed looking down at her still full plate before grabbing the bottle of white wine and pouring it into her glass once more, Damon traced his fingers up and down her slender back soothingly.
"Sorry. I just always thought Stefan would never betray would and he was more of a brother to you than the Salvatore's were to each other-"
"Klaus." Grace shot him a look, her eyes were not their usual chocolate brown but a raven black as she looked up at him, he just chuckled to himself "One more word and this dinner is over." She was prepared to leave if he continued, she didn't care if they were meant to be buying the witches some time.
"I think we should probably keep that situation in the 'do not discuss' pile." Damon offered as he leaned in and pecked Grace's shoulder calming her down from her ultimate rage.
"You're probably right. Sorry, love." Klaus chuckled to himself once again, Elijah gave Grace a soft smile from across the table and she calmed down once again, the hybrid truly knew how to push her buttons "Next subject... I still find it so interesting that the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger is still so strong." He glanced down at Grace who was shyly looking away "What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia and Lífa?"
"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" Elijah questioned looking over at his younger brother who was smiling knowingly.
"Well, given Damon and Stefan affection for Grace, Elena, Katherine and Fayth, I think out guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line." Klaus looked over at the two boys before stopping on Grace who actually looked interested, Rebekah had mentioned the Original Petrova's but had never elaborated on that.
"Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah." Damon lifted his wine glass "Please, do tell." He sipped tentatively at his red wine before taking Grace's hand again.
"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia and her twin sister Lífa, they both both exquisite beauties. Every boy of age desired to be their suitors, even though young Lífa had had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus." Elijah explained gaining the attention of everyone in the room as they listened to the story of the Original Petrova's.
"Yes, but none loved young Tatia more than Elijah here." Klaus looked over at his brother who was giving him a look that told him if he pushed any further then trouble would happen.
"So you both loved this Lífa and Tatia, which were Grace and Elena back in the Viking days?" Stefan questioned aloud "No wonder you love Grace now..."
"I love them both for different reasons." Klaus replied firmly narrowing his eyes, Grace's stomach clenched at the sound of Klaus not denying his love for her, she just looked away and Damon squeezed her hand comfortingly.
"Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end out love with Tatia and Lífa, as they had a reputation for... playing men, as you would say now days, dear." Elijah looked at Grace "Klaus and I would later learn it was Lífa's blood that we consumed in the wine the night where our mother perform the spell which turned us into vampires... Tatia was not seen after that night either..." He added with a sad smile, Grace looked over at him concerned almost Klaus saw this in her eyes and a smile pulled over his lips.
"Yes. It was quite tragic to which Lífa's life ended..." Niklaus agreed "It pained me for years after knowing that I lost her to become immortal." He added and Grace gave him a sympathetic look, Damon growl low in his throat, he knew what game Klaus was playing, trying to get the younger, more naïve vampire to be sympathetic towards him and stupidly, it was working.
Down in the Lockwood cellar Abby and Bonnie were preforming the spell over the coffin, they both hand their hands clasped in one another's to make the bond stronger, a blood knot, like Abby had said before. Suddenly the younger witch yanked from hands from her mothers clearly frustrated with her.
"You're not trying!" Bonnie was exhausted from all the magic which seemed one sided "We've been at this for over an hour." She stated looking down at her phone to check the time and to see if she had any texts.
"The spirits are angry with me..." She paused as she daughter look up at her "For leaving you. Maybe they didn't want me to have my powers again."
"I had all those dreams for a reason. The spirits wanted me to find you because you're my mom. It's not them, it's you. You won't open yourself up to it." Bonnie hissed at her mother, she needed to be able to open this coffin, for her friends sake, for protecting her home and her family "You know, Dad never talked about you? And neither did Grams. I had no memories of you. So you know what I used to pretend? That you were dead." Pain struct in the mothers heart, her daughter hated her so much she used to pretend she was dead "It was easier to do that than to wonder why you never came back for me."
"There is no way I can tell you how sorry I am for what I did." Abby whimpered shamefully, she had left her daughter at a crucial time in her life and that was something she could never take back and would regret forever.
"Yes there is. You can help me." Bonnie placed her hands over the coffin again reaching out for Abby's hands, they both began to recite the spell again, the candles began to flare around them showing that the spell was working, stopping their chanting Bonnie reached down and felt that the coffin had become looser, she was able to open the coffin slightly, but not enough to see what was inside. "It almost worked. I have to call Damon, tell him that we're getting closer. I'll be right back." The young witch beamed as she turned and walked out of the cavern, she wouldn't be able to get any service from inside.
Abby nodded as her daughter sprung from the cavern, she had helped make her young daughter so happy and that felt better than anything in the world, there was a rustling noise from behind her, she looked over her shoulder at the coffin before stalking towards it timidly, she reached out and suddenly it burst open, the candles flared up intensely she let out a shocked gasp.
Damon looked down at his phone under the table whilst playing with the soft skin of Grace's inner thigh making her purr in pleasure, it was lucky that no one seemed to notice what they were doing, suddenly Elijah spoke up from across the table, they had all finished their meals by this time.
"So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of the proposal?" He suggested looking over at Damon who nodded in response.
"That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back, in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever." Damon announced, of course that included his hybrids and they would never return "Me, Grace, Stefan and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges. No flirting. No longing."
"The deal sounds fair, brother." Elijah looked over at his hybrid brother who had a set look on his face, he wasn't happy with the terms of the arrangement.
"I don't think you understand, Elena's doppelgänger blood insures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave her behind. And of course twins are a package deal." He glanced down at Grace "I will never leave you behind." He stood up and began to pace around the table at a disturbingly slow pace "Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before Grace or Stefan turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies due to your clumsiness? You see, both of you truly believe that you can protect her." He glanced between Grace and Stefan before stopping on Damon "And you believe that you can protect Grace... And that, my friend, is simply a delusion. The worst thing for the Gilbert sisters, is the two of you..."
Damon released Grace's hand from his own and raised from his place dusting himself down, Klaus thought that he was going to pounce over and attack him, but Damon thought better of it "I'm going to get some air." He announced turning and walking from the room.
"Damon." Grace stood up a little heart broken to see him to hurt, she couldn't believe that Klaus had actually hurt his feelings, it was so unlike Damon to see him like this.
"Don't worry, dear." Elijah stepped towards Grace placing his hands on her shoulders "Let me deal with this." He smiled at her kindly before following Damon from the room leaving Stefan, Klaus and Grace alone together.
"You are a real piece of work." Grace hissed as she finished off yet another glass of wine, raising from her seat and walking towards a small table that held more alcohol.
"C'mon, love, I was only telling him the truth. He can't protect you. At least, not as well as I can." Klaus countered as he walked towards her, she threw him a dirty look and he just chuckled in response "All this talk and anger has made me thirsty." He walked towards one of his blonde waitresses "What do you say, Grace. Stefan. Can I interest you in a little after dinner drink?" He pushed the woman's blonde tresses from her neck and then crunched into the skin beginning to gulp down her blood.
Both Matt and Elena walk towards the Gilbert house to see all the lights were off, the doppelgänger assumed that Alaric wasn't home, possibly at the Grill drinking away his troubles, or at the police station talking about the recent deaths in Mystic Falls.
"Thanks for walking me home." Elena smiled kindly at her ex-boyfriend as they walked up onto the porch just outside the front door, they had decided to leave Caroline to spend her time with her father for her final few hours.
"Are you doing ok?" Matt questioned concerned for her, she had been through a lot with Stefan, having to say goodbye to her brother, none of this could have been easy on her, she was only 18 and had more pain in her life than anyone should have had to have "This has to bring up a lot for you." He referred to the fact that she had lost parents too.
"We've all lost a lot." Elena replied with a small shrug, it was true, all of them had lost family members in one way or the other, whether it was death or just them leaving, they all shared the same kind of pain, and in an odd way it had drawn them closer to each other.
"It's this town, it's messed up." He answered, he was willing to bet his life savings there wasn't another town like this, infested with vampires, werewolves, hybrids, doppelgängers, witches and so much more that was beyond their understanding.
They both walk inside the Gilbert house, Elena flipped the switch but the light didn't turn on, she flipped it a couple of more times and still there was no light that lit up the hallway for them "That's weird." She noted creasing her eye brows looking into the dark abyss of her house.
"Electricity must be out." Matt stated logically, they both carefully walked through the house into the kitchen where Elena opened the cupboards and grabbed two flashlights for them to use, she had been prepared obviously for blackouts and such.
"Here." she turned her flashlight on relieved to see that her torch was working, shining it around the seemingly normal kitchen she walked towards another cupboard "I think I have some candles over here." She turned to see a large puddle of crimson liquid on the ground, she jolted back startled to see a big pool of blood on her floor "Oh my God!"
"What the hell!" The human hissed as he shined his light around the room seeing that no one was there, Elena moved her torch up from the blood to see a bloody handprint on the wall, both of them grab large, incredibly sharp knifes.
The follow the bloody footprints and handprints through the house, they lead up the stairs, both of their hearts thudded loudly in their chest at the reached there top, shining their torches around Elena's stopped on a bundle on the floor, it was only after second glancing at it she noticed it was Alaric's injured form with a knife sticking out of his gut, she ran over to him Matt at her heels.
"Ric! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" She screamed, she tried to pull the knife from his stomach, but Matt told her not too, there would be too much blood and it would be a bad choice to make.
"No, leave it in!" Matt growled "Leave it in! He's lost too much blood. I'm going to call 911." He announced as he turned around grabbing his phone from his pocket calling for an ambulance.
"Ric, look at me." Elena ordered looking into the dark eyes of her guardian "Who did this to you?" She swore if he said Meredith then she would kill her herself, she had given her the benefit of the doubt and now she had turned around and killed Alaric!
"I don't know." Alaric coughed looking up at his technically step-daughter "You have to kill me." He's voice was weak and he was fading fast.
"What?" Elena hissed, she wasn't going to be able to finish of Alaric, but she couldn't be certain that a supernatural had killed him, and if one hadn't then Alaric would be dead dead.
"Elean, you - you have to kill me." He rasped out, if Elena was to kill him than he would die a supernatural death and his ring would bring him back, as Elena was a doppelgänger which was a supernatural being.
Elena caught his drift "Wait, wait, wait, Matt, hang up, hang up. He's right." She muttered "If he dies a supernatural death, then he'll come back to life and he'll be healed."
"But, how do you know who'd di this is supernatural?" Matt questioned, he obviously didn't realise that his ex-girlfrined was a supernatural being, she was still human to him, not doppelgänger Elena.
"That's what he's saying we don't, but... I'm a doppelgänger." She whispered as she picked up her knife she had taken to defend herself "That makes me supernatural."
"Elena! No, this is messed up!" Matt hollered as he ran over to her about to stop her, but the distort look on her face made him stop dead in his tracks.
"He's dying, Matt!" Elena growled, he nodded slowly and Elena lowered the knife into Alaric's chest effectively ending his life. The doppelgänger couldn't believe that she had actually had to kill her guardian, she let out a shaky breath as Alaric let out his last.
Klaus was just finishing feeding from one of his waitress' she was limp in his arms as he dropped her to the floor dead "Delicious. Aged to perfection." He smirked a little seeing Grace wasn't even looking at him "Much like you, love."
"Well, I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus, was to try and drive a wedge between me and Damon, or me and Grace." Stefan announced narrowing forest green orbs at the Original who chuckled a little drying the blood from his chin onto the back of his hand.
"Oh no, you're doing that well enough on your own." Klaus replied shortly looking over at Grace who was in complete silence "Because of your stupidity you're going to lose your brother, you're going to lose Elena and you're going to lose little Grace over there." He looked over at the 5'2" girl who was only slightly taller in her heels.
Damon and Elijah before re-enter the room both standing there to next giving her a concerned look, she just tucked herself into Damon's waiting arms "What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made out offer, now you counter." Damon told him hold his girlfriend tightly in his arms.
"Ok." Klaus nodded as he poured himself another glass of wine "I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now if to be rid of you lot. Vampires. And to fall in love with a human, maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?" He questioned unsure of the names of the civilians in Mystic Falls.
"Matt Donovan?" Stefan scoffed, he wanted Elena to only love him, he of course would never admit that, in fear of getting another punch from Grace "Really?"
"Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family." Klaus shrugged a little, by family he obviously meant continuing the Petrova line and in turn continuing making his hybrids.
"And continue the Petrova bloodline." Grace announced a little annoyed by Klaus ulterior motive "Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?"
"Smart and beautiful." Klaus smiled a little "What I love about you, love... Consider it a small return on my investment in her well being. See after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural live, that will leave you at peace of mind to make the right choice about who you love." He glanced up at Damon who had a deathly look on his face "What do you say?"
Stefan began to walk towards Klaus who was smiling smugly at him, Elijah, Grace and Damon all watched on in confusion, she shifted in his arms so she was ready to fight if she needed too.
"Nice try, Klaus. But no deal." Stefan smirked, Klaus lashed out and launched him across the room knocking the younger vampire unconscious, quickly he zipped to grab Grace from Damon's arms and holding against the wall
"Niklaus." Elijah's voice was firm as he held Damon back from going towards his death "Niklaus let her go." He ordered but his brother wasn't listening to him.
"Go get me my coffin, Damon. Or I swear to God I will drain her of all the vervain you've been putting in her body and I will erase all memories of you, of her family, of Mystic Falls, all she will remember is her love for me!" He growled and Damon stopped struggling at his words "I will do it, do not test me." When Damon didn't react he grabbed a sharp knife from the side and stabbed it into her throat a neat cut making her bleed, the vervain and blood leaving her body.
"I'll get it." Damon confirmed seeing the scared look in Grace's eyes, he didn't think that Klaus would hurt her, but he was prepared to do anything for that coffin and when it came to Grace he was already pretty crazy.
"Go with him, brother, you keep him honest." The hybrid ordered his older brother who had a deathly look in his eyes "And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family." He confirmed.
Caroline entered her bedroom to see Bill was in there, he was looking at all of her cheerleading trophies remembering better times, when he wasn't dying and she wasn't a vampire "Hey." He smiled over at her.
"Hey." Caroline smiled as he pointed to one of the many trophies that lay on her dresser, she smiled too remembering with him.
"Your first day at regionals."
"Yep." She giggled a little "I was afraid to join the squad, but you talked me into it." She gave him a grateful smile, he was the reason she was so popular and had some many friends.
"You had nothing to be afraid of, you were so much better than all those other girls." He chuckled, Caroline was really good at gymnastics, but obviously he was going to be overly biased due to that fact that she was his daughter and he loved her more than anything, he wandered over to her bed and sat down exhausted and growing weaker by the minute.
"How are you feeling?" She asked concerned, she didn't want to come to grips with the fact that she had to lose her father, it was too depressing, he was meant to be there for her, to give her advice and be a father to her, and get over the fact she was a vampire.
"I'm tired." He admitted, yes he was growing weaker and weaker, but it had also been a long day and making the decision to die was a hard decision to make.
"Can I get you anything? Or erm... Do you want me to call Steven?" Caroline questioned, Steven was Bill's boyfriend, that had been the main reason that Liz and him had got a divorce, because Bill was gay.
"No, no, we haven't spoke in a while." Bill replied dismissively shaking his head a little bit "Just call him when it's over and the dust is settled, would you?" He questioned, she knelt to the floor by her father and took his hand affectionately.
"Listen, listen to me. I know that you think you made your choice, but you can change your mind. You know, you are strong enough to handle being a vampire. I mean, you're the stronger person I know." Tears glistened in her silvery orbs as she looked up at her father, she didn't want to lose him, but she was slipping away from him so fast.
"Oh, Caroline, my strength is all in my beliefs." He cooed stroking her golden locks softly "Becoming a vampire is wrong, people aren't supposed to chest death, it's just what I believe. Please respect that." He answered and she took effect as she let go on his hands and stood up
"God. How can you hate who I am so much!" She screamed as more hot tears streamed down her face as she turned to face her father, even on his death bed her father hated what she was.
"Oh, no, no, no, sweetheart, I don't hate you, I love you." He grabbed Caroline's face so that she was facing him "You're strong, you're beautiful, you're good. And even after everything that has happened to you, you are exactly who your mother and I hoped you'd grow up to be."
"Please don't leave me, daddy." She squeaked "Please... Please don't leave me. Daddy just don't leave." She begged as she hugged his larger body, he stroked her hair as he held her tightly, a way a father should hug his daughter, even if it was for the last time.
"Shh." He soothed her whimpers "Parents aren't supposed to outlive their children, Caroline. It's ok." He cooed as he kissed the top of her head, he looked over at his ex-wife who was stood watching the loving moment in the doorway, tears streaming down her face too "This is life. This is what it means to be human."
"Klaus. Please." Grace begged in a breathless voice as he threw the knife to the ground, she was so weak and concerned that Stefan hadn't reawaken yet "Please, let me go."
"Why won't you love me." Klaus trapped her arms above her head skimming his lips over her neck, tasting her sweet blood on his lips "I want you more than anything. I want to protect you, but all you do is refuse me! It is so frustrating..." he growled "Do you think I couldn't smell him on you when you first came into the house! I could smell him all over you and it disgusted me! I just wanted to rip your clothes off and take you, but I knew I couldn't... And do you think I could see your flirting at dinner, under the table!"
"Get off." She hissed squirming against him, he ignored her pleas and growled whenever he tried to move "Niklaus, just get off of me." He was taken back by her using his full name again but he chuckled closing his lips over her subtle skin on her neck suckling at it romantically.
"Niklaus, removing yourself!" Elijah ordered as he stepped in to the room with Damon by his side, Klaus pulled away and Grace zipped over to Damon as fast as she could he held her in his arms "Where are your manners, brother? Trying to seduce Grace when we haven't even had dessert." Elijah uncovered a plate that one of Klaus' blonde waitresses was holding to reveal two silver daggers.
"What have you done?" Klaus growled as he advanced on his brother, Stefan was just waking up now Damon helped him stand before taking Grace back in his arms.
"What have you done?" Elijah growled "You see I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're going this on my terms now." He narrowed his eyes at him as their younger brother Kol entered the room with an incredibly mad look on his face.
"Kol." Klaus hiccuped surprised and fearful to see his brother up and walking about.
"Long time, brother." He added sarcastically, Klaus backed away from him, turning around about to run he saw his older brother Finn standing there, he stabbed a dagger into the palm of Klaus' hand making him call out in absolute pain.
"Finn, don't!" Klaus zipped past him to see Rebekah standing there with a deathly look filling her lovely blue orbs as she looked over him "Rebekah?" He hissed as he stabbed a dagger into his chest, he fell back into Kol's arms as he restrained him.
"You're free to go. This is family business." He told the three younger vampires and they didn't hesitate to leave, heavens knows what the siblings were going to do to their half-brother.
They were all walking through the forest towards the Lockwood Cellar, Stefan could see the tired and weak look on Grace's face as they walked on through "Damon, why don't you take Grace home, get her some blood and put her to bed."
"I'm fine." She yawned, she was shivering heavily as they continued to walk, her ankles were hurt from where she kept tripping in her huge heels, she was not dressed for the occasion, Damon wished he had worn a over-shirt that he could give to her, but he hadn't.
"Here." Stefan shrugged off his black stylish blazer and placed it around her small shoulders, she smiled over to him, she missed this Stefan, this was the Stefan that she would mind Elena falling for "Take her home and I'll go and see Bonnie, I'll call you if there are any troubles."
"Thank you." She yawned again as she hugged into Damon's warm body, he nodded gratefully at his brother before holding Grace in his arms bridal style, she tried to fight against him but instead just leant her head on his shoulder absolutely exhausted.
"C'mon, sweetie, I'll get you home." He smiled as he walked away from his brother "Are you ok? Did Klaus hurt?" His voice was low.
"No." She whispered her eyes were now shut and she was so close to falling into a tranquil sleep, before she knew it she was laying back on Damon's bed her eye lids heavy again.
"I'll clean this blood off of you." He leaned his head down and attacked her neck with his hot tongue licking it all up lovingly, enjoying the taste of her, she moaned in approval, too tired to even move "I'll send your dress to the dry-cleaners, don't worry, Gracie."
"Is it ruined?" She questioned in a soft voice, but before she could hear his answer she fell into a peaceful sleep, Damon smiled down at her moving her beautiful locks from her face, his phone vibrated in his pocket, he saw a text from Stefan.
The coffin is open, but whatever was inside is gone - Stefan
Back at the Mikaelson Mansion all the siblings were in the foyer, all still very angry with their half-brother Niklaus but not speaking with each other.
"I like what you've done with the new place, Nik." The blonde Original approved as she picked up a priceless face and sent it launching at one of the paints that were rare and extremely expensive, she had every right being angry, he didn't undagger her even after getting her back from the others grips.
"I wanted it to be for all of us." Niklaus informed them all "A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone again." He promised them, this was Klaus' weakness, just like Rebekah, he didn't want to be alone, he craved for affection and love.
"Well you're right, none of us will be." He looked at his young sister and two other brothers seeing the horrified look on Klaus' face as they all teamed up against him.
"You're staying behind." Finn told him in a stern voice as he turned his back on his half-brother.
"We're leaving you, Nik. Right after I kill that doppelgänger wench and that other little vampire bitch then you will be alone. Always and forever." She used their own saying against him, which broke his heart more than anything.
"If you even go near Grace, I will hunt you down and kill you. All of you." He hissed as he stalked towards his blonde sister, Elijah stood out in front of her protectively.
"Then you'll become everything you hate. Our father." Elijah countered and Niklaus had to resist trying to fight him, he had too many people on his side.
"I'm the hybrid!" Niklaus yelled looking at them all "I can't be killed! I have nothing to fear from any of you." He looked at them all.
"You will when we have that coffin." Elijah answered, but his threat was cut short when the door opened and a beautiful Esther walked in giving them all a look, they all seemed so surprised to see their mother standing there in her 10th century clothes which she had been killed in by Niklaus.
"Mother?" Rebekah whimpered, but the older woman ignored her and walked towards her son with a stern look on her face.
"Look at me!" She ordered and he looked up sheepishly at her "Do you know why I am here?" She questioned seeing that her hybrid son had tears lining his eyes, they had managed to get the coffin open.
"You're here to kill me." Klaus' voice was weak as he looked up at his mother, she suddenly became softer looking at the fear in his eyes.
"Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you." She placed her hand delicately on his shoulder, he looked surprised as her change in emotion "I want us to be a family again." She smiled at them all, the Original family was once whole again. Finn, Kol, Elijah, Niklaus, Rebekah and Esther, they were whole once again, but darkness was coming.
A/N
Here's another chapter, I hope you enjoyed, I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter, it was so much fun, I love the dynamics between Gelijah (Grace and Elijah?), the sibling sort of thing they have going on and the love between Drace, the growing closer to Strace, and of course the intensity of Klace.
Please comment, fave and alert if you enjoyed, I really love reading what you have to say :) Thank you so much for reading! I Love You!
Graciiee xx