A/N: Ladies and germs, it's time for a new chapter update! YAY!
This chapter update is brought to you by my 27th birthday today! (11/02/2019).
Please review, and not to flame :)
I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters (except for Grace) are owned by author L.J Smith.
Please enjoy x
"COME INTO MY WEB", SAID THE SPIDER TO THE FLY.
"Can you see the "fuck you" in my smile?" – Unknown Author.
I was experiencing a nasty case of de-ja-vu as Rose drove Elena, Henrik and I back into Richmond, Virginia, so Elena could risk both our necks getting more information about Niklaus. But the sick thing about this little excursion into certain doom, was that I was excited about what we could uncover about my beloved. Because it meant we were just that little bit closer to reuniting again.
Rose parked her car in yet another convenient underground parking lot below Slater's apartment. The three of us ascend the staircase to the apartment, whereupon Rose hammers her fist on Slater's apartment door while Elena and I hang back. Henrik dawdled in the background looking bored; and I didn't blame him.
"Slater? Slater, it's Rose. Open up!" No response. After a few brief moments, Rose looks over at Elena and shrugged in a 'sorry, not sorry' kind of way. "He's not home. Sorry." Then goes to walk off down the corridor. But Elena was stubborn.
"Mm-mmm. No." She stated, and both Rose and I groaned. "We didn't come all the way out here for nothing." Rose sighs, before going over and pushing on the doors using her vampire strength. They immediately swing open, allowing Elena the opportunity to stick her head in and rubberneck around. Rose gestured into the room.
"After you." She said, tiredly. Elena walks into the apartment with Rose, Henrik and I following behind begrudgingly. Rose wonders further into the apartment than Elena or I do, looking around for Slater. "Slater?" She calls out, searching room after room. I join her, since I'd already met the annoying, yet very informative vampire. I looked through a random doorway and paled.
"Uh, Rose? Elena?" I step further into the room and crouch down beside Slater's dead body. "I don't think he's gonna be much help." I reported, as Rose and Elena rush over to where I was. Elena gasps at the body, and Henrik swore underneath his breath as Rose walks over and drags away Slater's corpse. I look up and notice a cluttered computer desk and stand up, walking over to it. Elena follows me, picking up a bunch of papers. There was only one person who would be this organized to orchestrate this tidy murder.
Well played, Elijah…
"Looks like somebody killed him for his information." Elena theorized. Rose walked up behind us, and watched as Elena shuffles through the papers Slater had strewn over the desk.
"Smart money would be on 'yes'." I quipped.
"Probably to stop him from helping people like us." Rose added. "The guy was like a vampire almanac. Knowing too much information just bit him in the ass." Elena continues to sift through a few more pages on Slater's desk, while I helped her and came across a framed photo. As I examine the photo, Rose approached a set of windows with the curtains drawn.
"Uh, Rose…?" I moved to intercept her, but Rose pulls back the curtains allowing brilliant yellow sunshine to filter through the windows. Both Elena and I half expected her to combust, but then I remembered that we were in a former vampire's apartment. Slater would've been smart enough to take the proper precautions.
"What are you…?" Elena started to say.
"Tempered glass. UV rays can't penetrate." Rose tapped lightly on the tinted windows, before looking out of the window. She had a rather sad look on her face that told me that she was remembering Slater. "I used to just come here and watch the day." She reminisced. I glanced down at the framed photo in my hands, and glanced back up at Rose. Elena came over to examine it over my shoulder. She smiled sympathetically at her.
"I'm sorry about Slater." Elena said sincerely. Rose shrugged before coming over to where she was attempting to turn on Slater's computer.
"Any luck?" She asked her. Elena pressed a few buttons and suddenly looked frustrated.
"It's password protected." I reported.
"I can't get in." Elena added. Rose actually looked relieved.
"That's fine. Let's just go." She suggested. We all jumped when someone starts rattling a doorknob from inside the apartment. Rose looks at the both of us sternly. "Stay here." She warns and goes off to investigate. As Rose approaches a set of doors, I move away from Elena; who was attempting to hack into the computer one more time, and pulled out my phone and accessed the contacts. I found Damon's number and was about to dial it when Rose reappears with a trashy looking emo chick with mascara tears streaming down her face. Rose looked less than pleased that she was here.
"This is Alice. She found Slater a few minutes before we did." Rose explains to both of us. I decided to hold off calling Damon for now, as I studied Alice. There was something off about her.
"How is she?" I asked Rose, offering Alice a polite smile that she didn't return. Rose rolled her eyes as she led Alice over to a nearby couch and pushes her down onto it while Elena disappears into the kitchen to make some tea to calm the hysterical girl down.
"Overreacting. Big time." Rose replied to my question, just as Elena re-entered the room juggling three cups of tea. She frowned at Rose's 'insensitive' answer.
"Her boyfriend just died. There's no such thing as overreacting." Elena insisted, handing me one of the mugs of tea. I thanked her absently, still observing this girl. I would normally agree with Elena's statement; but as I looked into Alice's red-rimmed eyes, I could tell that she wasn't as devastated as she was carrying on. It was more disappointment than anything.
"Those tears are for her." Rose confirmed my suspicions. "She didn't care about Slater." I relaxed, pleased that I wasn't being a heartless cow and that Rose had spotted the difference as well. "She was only dating him long enough to see if he'd turn her."
"That's truly pathetic." I observed, taking a sip of my tea as Elena turns around and looks a little more carefully at Alice. She cautiously approaches her and offers her the cup of tea with a polite smile.
"Thank you." Alice said to Elena graciously, then studies her as Elena sits down beside her. "You look really familiar. Did you know Slater?" Alice asks her curiously. Elena shook her head.
"Not personally. Grace knows him more than me." She said, pointing towards me, and drawing Alice's attention. I flinched, as Alice looked at me with the same curious expression she had given Elena. "I was told that he kept detailed records of all his vampire contacts and I was hoping that he could point me towards Klaus." Elena explained, to the vampire groupie whose eyes were still focused upon me. Alice snorted.
"Doubtful. Klaus doesn't like to be pointed at." She told us.
"Understandably." I agreed, feeling uncomfortable. Alice frowned at me curiously.
"You also look familiar." I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable being scrutinized. I nodded condescendingly.
"I must have one of those faces." I replied, flippantly. Elena put the focus back on her. I caught Rose looking at me nervously the second after Alice verbalized recognition, while Henrik looked surprised from where he was standing beside the currently inaccessible computer.
What the actual fuck?
"Do you know Slater's computer password?" Elena asked Alice, hopeful. The girl gawked at Elena, offended.
"Are you seriously asking me that right now? I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart." She whined. I groaned, there could be so many other things I could be doing right now instead of listening to a vampire groupie's bemoaned sob story.
"And our hearts bleed for you. Truly they do, but answer our sodding question." I demanded, sternly. Alice glared at me.
"Who do you think you are?" She demanded, looking away from me and taking a sip from her tea. I ripped the cup away from her. "Hey!?"
"I am Klaus' highly irritated reincarnated fiancée from a thousand years ago." Alice's eyes widened for a split second before she let out an excited laugh.
"I knew you looked familiar!" She chirped excitedly. I jerked in bewilderment.
"How? How exactly am I familiar to you? I've only just met you!" I stated. Elena glances over at Rose, who was looking just as dumbfounded as I did; then Elena's brown eyes lit up with an idea. She glances back at Alice.
"What if I could convince Rose to turn you?" Elena suggested. Both Rose and I looked at her with shock (me) and distain (Rose) as Alice immediately loses interest in me and focuses on Elena. "Will you show us his files then?" Elena inquired casually. Alice didn't hesitate.
"Okay." She jumps off the couch and skips over to Slater's computer, expertly clicking away at the keyboard. Elena smirks at us triumphantly, but both Rose and I barely acknowledge it. Alice manages to successfully log onto Slater's computer, but all the files have been deleted.
"Well that's a letdown…" Henrik remarks, frowning at the computer screen as Alice continues tapping away at the keyboard.
"Someone's been here. The hard drive's completely wiped out." She reported.
"Yeah, probably by whoever killed him." Rose stated, as Elena groaned and runs a hand over her face, turning away. However, Alice smirked.
"Lucky for the three of you, Slater was paranoid. Everything's backed up on a remote server." She tells us gleefully, and Elena (and me) brighten instantly. Rose sidles up to Elena and pulls her aside to whisper into her ear.
"You know that she's not going anywhere near my blood, right?" Rose pointed out, sternly. Elena didn't look worried and nodded.
"I know that. She doesn't." Elena pointed towards Alice, and I couldn't help but snort with dark amusement. This was one of the only times I was glad for Elena's manipulative side. Elena walks past Rose and leans down next to Alice to look at the computer screen. I pulled out my phone, and glanced at a nearby wall clock and then at Rose, before walking over to the vampire with the intention of revealing my plan to betray Elena to Damon. "So these are all leads to vampires?" Elena casually asked Alice who continues scrolling through the files.
"Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me." Alice confirmed. Rose came over to inspect the list and I hovered behind, ready to contact Damon at a moment's notice. I had lost my trust in Elena ages ago, and I certainly didn't trust that there wasn't a method to her madness.
"What about that one? Cody Webber. They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah." Rose observed, pointing a collection of emails. Alice shrugged.
"I could call him." Elena hands her the cordless phone and Alice immediately dials this 'Cody'. Henrik came over to me.
"What are you doing?" He asked, looking down at my phone. "You're calling Damon? What for?" Henrik looked confused.
"Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus." Henrik's head snaps up when Elena says this, as does Rose. I frowned dangerously at the little martyr. "The doppelgänger is alive and she's ready to surrender." Henrik's mouth drops open in horror.
"What!?" Rose exclaimed.
"That's why." I told Henrik, before moving over to Rose to finally tell her my intention. Alice looked star struck.
"Oh, my God. I knew I recognized you."
"Just get him the message, please." Elena said, impatiently. Then she walks quickly from the room. I followed her.
"Congratulations. You've officially gone insane." I told her as she places her hands on a table and exhales heavily. Elena pauses and glowers at me.
"I would've thought that you'd be pleased too, Grace. Klaus is looking for you too, or have you forgotten that?" Elena retorted.
"On the contrary. It would mean that I'd be one step closer to being back into his arms where I should be." I noticed Henrik beaming from ear to ear when I declared this, but I chose to ignore it for now, in favor of knocking some sense into Elena's head. "But don't kid yourself; this is definitely the wrong way to go about it." I was angry. Rose entered the room, looking just as pissed.
"What are you doing?" She demanded.
"I'm getting Klaus' attention." Elena replied succinctly, like it should be obvious. Rose got into Elena's face.
"If Klaus knows that you're alive, he'll find you and he'll kill you." Rose reminded her, urgently. Elena looks at both Rose and I, defiant and resolute in her choice. "Which is exactly what you wanted all along." Rose realised.
"It's either me or my family." Elena insisted. I shook my head in disbelief as Rose looked at Elena with pity and contempt.
"So this whole charade is some suicide mission so that you could sacrifice yourself and save everyone else?" Rose guessed.
"This is exactly what it is." I murmured, raising my phone up to eye level and accessing Damon's name. As the call connected, Alice walked into the room grinning from ear to ear.
"Cody is on his way and he really wants to meet you." She tells Elena. I walk from the room, followed by Henrik, catching Rose's eye.
"Elena is crazy." Henrik declared and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, she is." He said defensively. I almost smiled.
"I never thought I'd hear you worried for her safety. I would've thought that you'd be on Niklaus' side in all this." I whispered to him, so Rose wouldn't get suspicious.
"Not a good time, Grace." I hear Damon's deep voice down the line.
"Well make it a good time. I'm in a serious situation!" I whisper-yelled at him down the line, as I looked back into the room Elena was in, where she was ignoring an extremely chatty Alice. Rose immediately looked up when she overheard Damon's voice, and quietly came over to my side.
"What?! Where are you?" Damon sounded frantic. Rose vamp-sped me to the bathroom before answering Damon's question for me.
"You need to get to Richmond immediately." Rose told him.
"What the hell are the both of you doing in Richmond!?" Damon demanded.
"Both of us were foolishly conned by Elena to martyr herself to somebody who could deliver her to Niklaus!" I replied, frantically. I heard Damon utter an inhuman growl.
"How could you be so stupid?!" Damon snarled.
"Save now! Bitch later!" I retorted, angrily.
"Just get down here!" Rose added, urgently. I hung up, and Rose snatched my phone from me and quickly texted Damon the address to Slater's apartment. "Quick thinking." Rose muttered to me when she returned my phone. I nodded, sliding my phone into my back pocket.
"Yeah well, I want to see my Niklaus again. But not like this." I told her, as we went back to rejoin Elena and Alice, hoping our absence wasn't noticed. As Rose and I walked back into the room, I froze mid-step when I saw an image of Elijah walking towards us in the window Elena was looking into. She gasped, and turned to look behind her. Her eyes widened the second she clapped eyes on me and I immediately turned, thinking Elijah was standing behind me. But there was nobody there.
"You saw it too?" Elena whispered. I looked back at her and nodded.
"Saw what?" Henrik asked me, and I looked at him; a pleased smile spreading across my face.
"Elijah."
It had been a couple of hours since I had seen Elijah's reflection and since I had made the phone call to Damon; and neither he nor Damon had shown up … yet. It was torture. But just as Elena returns from the kitchen drinking from a glass of water, Damon finally showed up. His ice blue eyes were furious, as they lock onto Elena. She gasps when he sneaks up behind her.
"Oh, it's about time." Henrik bitched from where he was sitting beside me on the couch. I smirked.
"What are you doing here?" Damon demanded Elena. She frowned at him with confusion.
"Me? What are you doing here?" She retorted, just as Rose walks into the room. Elena immediately turns on her.
"You called him?!" She yells, angrily. Rose shook her head and turned to point towards me where I was sitting cool, calm and collected on the couch by the front door, now wide open because of Damon's entrance. I smiled and wiggled my fingers at her, almost mockingly.
"Guilty as charged." I drawled, getting to my feet and sauntering over to the three of them. Elena glared at me.
"You bitch!" Elena cursed me, causing Damon to bristle. I shrugged.
"Sticks and Stones." I replied. Then without warning, and before Damon or Rose could react; Elena stormed over to me and punched me in the jaw, presumably for foiling her plans.
"Grace!" Henrik yelled and came over to me, just as I recovered from the blow and turned back to Elena, now being restrained by Damon. I spat blood from my mouth, glaring at her.
"Overreaction, don't you think?" I spat out a little more blood. Rose shuddered and I turned looking at her questioningly. "What's wrong?" I asked her. Rose was looking at me looking a little afraid.
"Please don't do that again. You looked exactly like Klaus when you did that." She told me. I was surprised.
"Oh." I responded. I glanced over when Alice suddenly walked into the room. She looked completely starstruck seeing Damon.
"Damon Salvatore!" Alice squealed with excitement. Damon didn't bother acknowledging her.
"Get rid of her." He tells Rose, who immediately grabs a protesting Alice's arm and leads her out of the room. Damon focuses on me, with concern. "You okay?" I nodded.
"I'll live." I reassured him and Henrik who wouldn't leave my side. Damon reached into his back pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief, tossing it to me.
"You got a little…" He indicated to the corner of his mouth, and I unfolded the clean handkerchief and dabbed at the corner of my mouth. I was still bleeding.
How hard did Elena punch me?
"Thanks." I mumbled and wondered back over to the couch, perching on the armrest. Once Rose came back from escorting Alice from the room, Damon immediately dropped Elena's arm like a hot potato.
"Come on. We're leaving." Damon announced, and turned walking for the door. I nodded, handing him back his handkerchief, which he immediately pocketed; apparently not at all worried about the scent of my blood on it. Elena stood her ground.
"No." She said, stubbornly. Damon turned and walked back over to her. It looked like his temper was rising.
"I said we're leaving." Damon told her, his voice low, slow and threatening.
"I'm not going with you." Elena insisted, scowling at him. Damon wasn't intimidated.
"You don't get to make decisions anymore." He said. Elena looked at him incredulously and started laying in on him.
"When have I ever made a decision?" She wanted to know. "You and Stefan do that for me. Now this, this is my decision." Elena stated. I spun on her, completely over her excuses.
"For fuck's sake, Elena! This isn't negotiable!" I growled at her, grabbing everyone's attention. "This is serious! You're gambling with your life right now." I told her.
"Who's gonna save your life while you're out making decisions?" Damon added. Elena glared.
"You're not listening to me, Damon. None of you are. I don't want to be saved. Not if it means that Klaus is gonna kill every single person that I love." Elena insisted.
Well, that answers my unspoken question. It's become very clear that everything I told her in the car on our way to the Boarding House went in one ear and out the other. Damon looked like he had reached his breaking point.
"Get your ass out the door before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself." Damon growled, before grabbing her arm tightly. Elena starts to struggle and releases herself from his grip.
"No!" She snarled. My eyes widened when she immediately throws another punch, this time at Damon. However, unlike me, he manages to catch her fist in his hand and moves his face closer to hers.
Elena is shocked.
"Don't ever do that again." He hisses at her before releasing his grip on her fist and walking away. Elena looks horrified and I feel no sympathy for her. I glanced over at Henrik who had a solemn expression on his face. My face softens and I go over and sit beside him.
"You alright?" I asked him quietly. Henrik nodded his head.
"Always. Your fight with Elena just reminded me of the many fights I've witnessed father having with Niklaus. Only theirs was more violent." He explained. I immediately feel guilty.
"I'm sorry, brother. I should've been more observant." I stated.
"No, don't be sorry. You're doing the right thing. Elena is being completely idiotic, and far too reckless. I don't think you or Damon are going too far at all." Henrik told me, and I felt relieved. Suddenly, Damon re-emerged from a set of double doors and exits what I assumed was Slater's bedroom. Elena and Rose look up at him from their seats in the living area, while I stand up from the couch beside the front door with Henrik by my side.
"Time to go." Damon declared firmly, and with no room for arguments. "Alice is soundly sleeping and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day." He tells us. But before he can take another step, the front doors burst open and in walk three unfamiliar men. Damon gives them his full attention as Rose and Elena stand up from their chairs and Rose shields Elena protectively. One of the men, obviously this Cody guy Alice had phoned up for Elena, speaks up.
"We're here to meet the doppelgänger." Cody says, looking like a cat that got the cream.
Elena immediately walks over to them.
"Thank you for coming." She says graciously. Damon pushes her back, before leaning down to whisper harshly into her ear. Elena falters, as Damon looks at Cody. "There's nothing here for you." He insists firmly. But before anybody else could move, one of Cody's buddies suddenly drops to the floor, dead. Elijah stands behind him; with a stony expression on his face.
Both Henrik and I light up like Christmas trees at the sight of our older brother.
"Elijah." We say in unison; momentarily grabbing his attention before he focuses on the other two vampires, who are starring at him looking petrified. Elijah vamp-speeds towards them, looking from one to another. Rose immediately panics and vamp-speeds from the apartment, as Elijah looks over at Elena and Damon, then finally on me (and Henrik).
"You were right." Damon muttered, look at me with surprise. I scowled at him.
"Don't act so surprised." I retorted. But Damon shook his head, clearly in complete denial despite what was clearly in front of him.
"But I killed you. You were dead." He told Elijah, who nods.
"For centuries now." He agreed. Henrik sniggers as Elijah focuses upon Cody. "Who are you?" He demands. Cody trembles.
"Who are you?" He returns the question.
"I'm Elijah." My beloved big brother replies, matter-of-factly. Cody immediately starts groveling when he realizes who is talking to.
"We were gonna bring her to you. For Klaus. She's the doppelgänger. I don't know how she exists, but she does. Klaus will want to see her." Cody sings like a canary, and I knew that he was doomed.
"Does anyone else know that you're here?" Elijah asks, calmly.
"No." Cody replies, relaxing a little. I shook my head.
"Well, then, you have been incredibly helpful." Elijah commends them before plunging his arms into the two vampires' chests, removing their hearts. Both of them fall to the floor, dead like their friend; and Elijah lets the hearts in his hands drop to the ground. Damon readies himself for a fight against Elijah, but instead Elijah merely turns and vamp-speeds out of the apartment.
I cursed.
He wasn't getting away that easy. I immediately race for the door.
"Grace, wait!" Damon shouts, but I ignored him focusing on my current goal; despite the fact that it was probably pointless.
"Elijah!" I race down the corridors, and out into the fading sunlight. "Elijah, come back please!" I call out into thin air. I glanced about for a glimpse of my brother; but there was nothing. I scream with frustration and brutally kick a nearby garbage bin, hurting my foot. I limped over to sink down against the brick wall; succumbing to tears.
"You called, little sister?" I gasped and turned towards the voice, seeing Elijah standing there, smiling fondly at me. I immediately scramble to my feet and practically jump into his arms. Elijah easily catches me and holds me close. "I see. You haven't changed one bit." Elijah whispers into my ear, before putting me back on the ground.
"I missed you so much. I've missed all of you!" I tell him, tears still streaming down my face. Elijah wipes them away like he used to when I was a child.
"I missed you too, Gráinne." Elijah responds automatically, but I immediately shake my head. "What's wrong?" He asks.
"I don't go by that name anymore. Sorry, I may be reincarnated, but I go by a different name now. Please call me 'Grace' from now on, Elijah. I'm still the same person, but I prefer to go by my new name." I tell him. Elijah smiled again.
"As you wish, little sister."
"I'm also just relieved that you're okay." I told him sincerely. He frowns at me, slightly confused.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Elijah asked. Now it was my turn to be confused.
"Because, Damon staked you. I watched you die before my eyes." I told him. Elijah chuckled his deep warm chuckle that I remembered so dearly, before kissing my forehead with affection.
"I cannot be killed, Grace. At least not like that." Elijah reassured me. "And I'm not going to tell you. Your friend is close by." He tells me, pointing to his ear to indicate enhanced vampire hearing. I nodded. Elijah glances at the entrance to Slater's apartment block again and frowns. "I must go now. But I will see you soon." He reassures me before kissing my forehead again and turning to go.
"Wait!" I call out, and Elijah turns and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "May I have your phone, please?" I asked urgently. Elijah nods and hands it to me.
"Whatever do you need it for, Grace?" He asks, sounding a little impatient. I immediately access his contacts and add my phone number before pranking myself.
"I've added my number to your phone; just in case I really need your help, and because I would like to remain in contact with you. Even if it's not physically in the same room. At least for now." I explained. Elijah looked surprised, but then smiles graciously at me.
"I would like that. Thank you." He says to me. I walk over to him and place his phone back in his hand, and kiss him chastely on his cheek.
"I'll text you tonight." I promised him. "See you later."
Elijah nodded before vamp-speeding away. I picked up my phone from my purse and accessed my phone history. An unknown number sat in the canceled phone calls list and I immediately save the number into my contacts under the name 'Elijah'.
"Grace!" I quickly shove my phone back into my purse, in time to see a frantic Damon appear in my face. I glanced idly over his shoulder to see a sulking and bewildered looking Elena glancing over at us. "What the hell did you think you were doing!?" He demanded, angrily. I smiled at him, unable to feel annoyed with his overprotectiveness, and threw him off a little.
"Just catching up with my brother." I replied simply, before wondering over to where I could see Damon's Camaro waiting nearby.
I was just so happy that I had seen my brother again, that I almost didn't notice the waves of anger emanating from both Damon and Elena. Neither of them would make eye contact with each other. Not wanting to be involved any more than I already was, I simply stared out of the window. I rested my head against the window and allowed my eyes to drift shut as the rocking motion of the car lulled me to sleep. Until a few hours later when I suddenly heard:
"Grace, wake up. We're back." I opened my eyes sleepily and glanced about for a sign of where exactly we had arrived. It had been Henrik who had whispered those words into my ear, and I smiled at him in gratitude. He also looked like he had been woken up from a sound sleep too, due to the fact that he looked grumpy. Henrik always looked grumpy whenever he woke up before he intended to. It was the one thing that hadn't changed in a thousand years.
It turned out 'back' was directly in front of the Gilbert House. Elena was preparing to get out of the car. I decided to make my waking state known.
"What's going on?" I mumbled, gaining Damon's attention. He smiled and leaned forward from the driver's seat to smooth back a loose piece of my hair that had fallen into my face during my sleep.
"Go back to sleep, Grace. I'll be back in a minute." He promised before getting out of the car and following Elena. I frowned and wound down the passenger window a crack so I could listen in to their conversation. I heard Elena sigh.
"Thank you for bringing me home." She said to Damon, begrudgingly. Damon leaned back against his car, making it wobble a little and causing me to smack my head against the window. I yelped in pain; cussing a little, earning peals of laughter from Henrik, whom I wished I could kick in the shin for being such a little shit.
"Well, your ride left you. I didn't want to leave you and Grace stranded." Damon responded like it was nothing. Then the conversation turned towards Rose and her abrupt exit the second Elijah turned up.
"She was just scared. She didn't mean to run." Elena insisted, coming to Rose's defense. I frowned at Elena's words; nobody was blaming Rose for ditching us. Apparently, Damon disagreed, as they both walked up to the front door.
"Yes, she did. She's been running for 500 years." I sat up and looked out of the slightly fogged up window and saw Elena leaning up against one of the Grecian columns that held up her front porch. She had a troubled frown on her face.
"I can't believe that Elijah is alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires and just let us go?" Elena questioned Damon who shrugged.
"If I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprised me." I bristled when Damon labeled Elijah as evil. Elena glanced over in my direction.
"I also can't get over how blindly Grace ran off after Elijah after he killed those vampires. Doesn't she realise how stupid and dangerous that was?" Elena asked, walking towards the front door, but Damon catches her arm before she could open it and turns her around so she faces him.
"Not as stupid as what you did today." He corrected her, angrily. "And don't even think for one second, that you're getting out of this. Besides, as much as I don't like it; I doubt Elijah would actually harm Grace. I saw the fond look on his face when he looked over at her back at Slater's apartment." Damon told her. Elena made an ugly face that made both Damon and I look at her dubiously as a result.
"Actually, the only thing that was stupid was that I got caught." Elena retorted, seeming to ignore the comment Damon made about the likelihood of Elijah harming me. Damon smirked.
"Which reminds me. I gotta find some way to thank Grace for saving your ass from an unnecessary situation. Considering she was the one who 'caught' you; with some assistance from Rose mind you." Damon thanked her. Elena wriggles her arm out of Damon's grip and he lets her go.
"I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else tries so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of you." Elena makes another bid for freedom and Damon lets her, rolling his eyes and he turns on his heel to get back to his car so he could drive me back to the Boarding House where my car was. "Damon…" He pauses and looks back over his shoulder to Elena. "Good night, okay?" But then both of them freeze when they notice Jeremy coming out of the house, looking grim faced.
"What?" Damon asked, as I got out of the car, sensing trouble mounting.
"It's Stefan." Jeremy said, reluctantly.
"What about Stefan?" Elena asked, immediately frantic. Jeremy seemed to be refusing to look his sister in the eyes. But Damon made a point of making sure that the youngest Gilbert didn't look away from his.
"What happened?" Damon demanded. I got of the car and approached them to make sure that Damon didn't accidentally hurt Jeremy in his haste to learn what had happened to his brother.
"I stole some of the powder Bonnie had created to temporarily paralyze Katherine, and went to go get the moonstone myself." Jeremy confessed, looking guilty. Damon's eyes widened, and Elena stormed over to her brother.
"You did what?" Elena shouted. I scowled at her, and came over to Jeremy's side.
"Easy, Elena. Lower the decibels, and get rid of that judgmental tone; I'm sure your brother already feels horribly about what's happened." I chided her, and pulled the teenager to the side. "Continue, Jeremy. What happened next?" I asked him gently.
"Katherine caught me and started draining me of my blood, but I managed to throw the moonstone from the tomb before she got me. She then used me as leverage so that Bonnie would lower the barrier and let her escape." Jeremy continued.
"What's this got to do with Stefan?" Damon demanded, looking like he was just barely holding on his temper. Jeremy managed not to quake underneath the glare.
"Bonnie was losing control, and in order to save both my life and hers, Stefan rushed into the tomb to free me from Katherine." Jeremy told us, and all three of us immediately understood what happened.
"And got himself trapped in the tomb." I guessed. Damon swore and Elena immediately freaks out. Without saying a word, Damon, Elena and I walked straight back to Damon's Camaro and he put the pedal to the medal in an effort to drive us to the tomb.
Once we got there Elena bolts down the stairs of the tomb.
"Stefan! Stefan!" She hollers, sounding like a tormented soul. I moved to follow her when Damon grabs my arm and turns me to look at him.
"Stay behind me at all times." He warned me and I nodded, not being an idiot. Damon descends the stairs and intercepts Elena before she could enter the cave, and pins her against the wall. "Don't you dare." He warns her. Elena glares at him, and shoves him away from her; but Damon doesn't budge an inch.
"Stefan's in there, Damon! How could you let this happen?" Elena throws accusations at him, and both Damon and I look at her in outrage.
"Don't come down on him about this! This isn't his fault!" I advised her, angrily.
"I should've been here. But I was too busy saving you and Grace from your crazy kamikaze mission." Damon defended his actions.
"You didn't even have to go after the moonstone in the first place!" Elena argued.
"It sounds to me like it was the right call, Elena." I attempted to reason with her. Elena looked like she wanted to launch herself at me. I narrowed my eyes on her, prepared for any ill-conceived attack she was likely to hurl at me.
"The right call? How was any of this the right call!?" Elena screamed as she started hitting Damon's chest with her fists. "Let go of me! Damon, let go of me! Let go of me! Let go of me!" Damon maintains a calm face, restraining her while she continues to repeatedly beat her fists into his chest. Eventually Elena becomes tired and looks up at him, desperately. "Please…" She begs. Damon raises an eyebrow at her behavior.
"Are you done?" He asks her, mildly. Elena is breathing heavily as he releases her from his grip and backs away a little. However, Elena uses this to her advantage and looks into the cave, then makes another desperate attempt to move towards it. But Damon had obviously anticipated this, and holds his hand up to block her way. "Don't." He tells her, his voice bristling a little. I sighed heavily, this could potentially go on all night; but thankfully, Elena merely snarls at Damon and stomps out of the tomb in a childish rage. Stefan appears at the entrance, looking solemn. Damon glowers at him.
"How you holding up, Stefan?" I asked him, smiling sympathetically. Stefan shrugged, but doesn't respond to my question.
"Of all the idiot plans, Stefan." Damon stated, frustrated.
"Yeah." Stefan nodded, agreeing with his brother. Damon sighed.
"I'll find a way to get you out." He promises his brother. Stefan looks appreciative, but waves his hand dismissively at the idea.
"Ah, it's all right. I'll handle myself." He reassures Damon. "Bonnie has the moonstone. Work with her, try to figure out how to de-spell it." Stefan advises. Damon reacts like he got the shitty end of the situation.
"You martyr yourself in a tomb and I get partnered with a semi-competent witch. Wonderful." He retorts sarcastically. Stefan rolls his eyes, before getting serious.
"Keep Elena away from here." He requests.
"Easier said than done, Stefan." I replied, and Damon nods in agreement.
"Promise me. No matter what happens. You'll protect her." Stefan insists. I smirked.
"Hey, there's no need to break out the violins just yet. We'll find a way to get you out of there. Just hang ten." I told him. Stefan smiles. Damon and I were about to walk out of the tomb when Katherine suddenly makes her appearance.
"That right there was the biggest mistake you've ever made." She tells Stefan. I froze gawking at her with shock.
"No way. This is too freaky. You look exactly like her." I blurted out, earning a sarcastic smirk from Katherine.
"I know that I look like poor little Elena. This is old news." Katherine taunts me. Stefan defends me.
"Leave her alone, Katherine." He growls, but I hold up a hand to him.
"No let her go, Stefan. She'll be eating crow in a moment." I reassured him. "I also wasn't referring to Elena, my dear." I told Katherine, letting my 'Elijah' voice seep through and causing the bitchy doppelgänger to freeze. "I meant Tatia Petrova, the first doppelgänger." I walked towards the entrance with slow calculated steps, relishing in the fear on Katherine's face, and the shocked and intrigued looks on both Damon and Stefan's faces.
"How do you know Tatia?" Katherine demanded. I looked at her with boredom.
"I think the correct question should've been what do you know of Tatia? And the answer to that would be too much, unfortunately." I responded. "She was such a trashy little thing too. Always needed men to validate her pathetic little existence." The expression on Katherine's face got very dark just then, and both Damon and Stefan instantly got nervous.
"Uh, Grace. Maybe you should stop." Stefan urged me. I smiled at him.
"It's okay, Stefan. She can't do anything to me. After what I'm about to reveal to her, she won't dare." I promised him.
"What do you mean?" Stefan was confused, but Damon seemed to understand.
"Oh, that's gold. I like you." Damon sounded positively gleeful. I focused on Katherine again.
"You see, like you Katerina, Tatia liked to pit two brothers against each other to see who could gain her attention the most." I glanced at both Salvatore Brothers, apologetically. "No offense, by the way boys." I said. Damon shrugged dismissively, while Stefan still looked confused. "Take a wild guess as to the names of those brothers. I've been told that you know both of them quite well." Katherine's eyes widened in horror.
"But that's impossible. You're not even a vampire!" Katherine whispered.
"No, I'm not. But I've been reincarnated. I am the younger sister of Elijah Mikaelson, and the lover and fiancée of Niklaus Mikaelson." I confirmed Katherine's worst fears. "And I promise you sweetie, you will get what's coming to you." I straightened up and moved to leave the tomb with a smirking Damon following close behind. "Elijah sends his best." I told her.
Despite the show I put on back at the tomb unnerving Katherine; I wasn't an idiot. I was actually scared shitless of whatever retaliation Katherine was probably cooking up for me right now. It would be naïve of me to think that I would always have Elijah or even Niklaus on hand to protect me should she eventually come back at me. But it sure felt good, making Katherine squirm.
"You do realise that you've just marked yourself against Katherine, right?" Damon felt the need to remind me as he drove me back to the Boarding House so I could pick up my car. Henrik had materialized himself back to my apartment before we went to the tomb, so I wasn't worried about scaring him about the possibility of retribution. I just looked at him.
"Of course I do. But I'm also comforted by the knowledge that should she do anything to harm me, and Niklaus found out about it, she would need to continue running for another 500 years." I told him, huddling against my seat and watching the world turn into a multi-coloured blur outside the passenger window. Damon snorted.
"You seriously have that much faith in a guy who is trying to kill one of your friends?" Damon sounded skeptical. I frowned.
"Elena stopped being my friend the second she learned that she was in danger of dying and started manipulating people to get her own way." I told him. "Plus, I love Niklaus, with all my heart and soul; not even death or the limited memories I have of him, is able to extinguish that." I confessed. Damon scoffed the second I mentioned love. I frowned. "Haven't you ever been in love?" I asked him, concerned by how bitter he sounded.
"Yes, I have. But not anymore. Love is painful, pointless and overrated." Damon insisted, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Love doesn't always have to strictly be romantic, Damon. It can also be family and friendship as well." I reminded him, turning to face him. "So I'll ask again: have you ever been in love?" Damon was quiet for a moment, before he eventually offered a very small smile.
"Yes, I am." He reached over and picked up my hand and kissed the back of it; pouring all the affection he had into it. I smiled.
Eventually, we got back to the Boarding House and I was able to retrieve my car after hugging Damon tightly and headed home. There was just one thing I needed to do before I went to bed tonight. After I quickly showered and changed into my pajamas, eying Henrik who was deep in slumber, I quickly used my phone to take a picture of the three children sketch and the one of Elijah, Niklaus and me laughing and holding swords, and immediately sent them to Elijah.
Along with the pictures, I also asked one question; an important one.
Does he miss me? – G.
Almost instantaneously, I received a message back.
Every day. – E.
My eyes immediately welled up with tears of joy and happiness. I nearly dropped my phone when Elijah sent me an additional text.
Thank you for the beautifully drawn pictures. – E.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this update. Until next time xx.