A/N: Elijah gets to see where Grace lives in this chapter. He will be the first Original to set foot in the apartment, but not the last.
Reviews are welcomed, flaming is not appreciated.
I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters (except for Grace) are owned by author L.J. Smith.
Enjoy xx
FORESHADOWING
"Perhaps I will see you in another life." ~Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)
Tonight would've to the ignorant, been romantic. What with the cloudless, night sky with an endless carpet of glittering stars and a large beautiful glowing white full moon. The perfect atmosphere for first dates, proposals, romantic trysts underneath the moonlight or an artist's dream masterpiece just waiting to be permanently captured on a blank canvas for all time.
But for those in the know; it wasn't.
It really wasn't.
The full moon in the supernatural world was a direct indication to get indoors, lock yourself down and brace yourself for the worst. Danger lurked behind every corner on a full moon; in the form of an unpredictable, snarling wolf or pack of wolves. But not just any kind of wolf. The lycanthrope, or known more commonly referred to as the werewolf; the number one enemy and immediate threat towards vampires, since the moment a young fifteen year old Viking boy was mauled to death by one, a thousand years ago.
His family has not been the same since.
And neither had I.
"So this is where you live now?" Elijah observed as we finally made it back to my apartment block, making perfect time in the process. He set me down onto my feet, and made sure I was steady before releasing me. I smiled.
"Yep. This is home." I confirmed, giggling when I saw Elijah farrowing his brow and showing genuine disapproval.
"I must say I expected better." He commented, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit jacket and following me upstairs to the residential area.
"Oh, be fair, Elijah. I do the best I can considering I live on a college student's wage." I retorted, turning left at the top of the staircase; warily eying Alaric's apartment a few doors down, and praying he didn't open up to witness the fact that I was willingly allowing a vampire to enter my apartment. Never mind that he was my brother.
"You're studying?" Elijah sounded surprised. I nodded, proudly.
"By correspondence. I'm studying to become a writer, with minors in fine art." I replied. Elijah looked slightly confused.
"I'm not familiar with the term." He confessed. I reached my apartment and took out my keys.
"I study off-campus and send my work to my professors and lecturers online through e-mail." I explained, finally unlocking my door and walking in.
"Took you long enough, Grace!" Henrik blurted out the second I stepped past the threshold. I rolled my eyes, ignoring him in favour of talking to our older brother who was standing patiently at the door, unable to come in.
"Please come in, Elijah." I called out, setting my keys and my purse down on the counter in my kitchen. Elijah took a deliberate step forward over the threshold and closed the door behind him. "Make yourself at home. I'll be right back." I told him before disappearing into my bedroom to change into my pajamas.
"This is a vast improvement to what I saw outside on the street, Grace." Elijah complimented me as he walked around the studio apartment inspecting my belongings.
"I can't take all the credit for the décor, unfortunately." I responded. "This place was almost fully furnished when I first rented it." I told him. I came out of the bedroom tying back my hair into a loose ponytail. Elijah raised an eyebrow.
"Unusual."
I winced, "Yeah, well. The realtor told me that the previous owner had been attacked and mauled to death by a wild animal." I reluctantly answered. Elijah politely ignored my awkward explanation in favor of focusing on my canvas painting of our entire family, minus Henrik.
"What inspired you to create this?" He asked gently, pointing towards the painting. I bit my bottom lip.
"Memories. I've been getting them ever since I was born." I explained. "And when I was old enough to hold a pencil and then later on a brush, I became determined to document them every time I got one, into my sketchbook." I walked over to my purse and withdrew my sketchbook, just as Elijah spoke up again.
"Why is my face the only one completed here?" He looked confused.
"Because your face is the only one I can remember clearly." I replied simply. "My theory is when I see every member of our family face-to-face again, not only will their faces become clearer to me; but the memories associated with them will come back too." I confessed. Elijah looked genuinely touched. I handed him the sketchbook. "Here's some more of these memories, and visions I had that I decided to document." I told him. Elijah takes the book from me and immediately flips through it. I look over his shoulder, and held my breath when he stopped at the sketch of Henrik asleep in unsuspecting slumber.
"Henrik." Elijah whispered in awe. I glanced over at our brother who was perched at the island bench, watching his brother solemnly. "Is this your memory of him?" Elijah asked softly. I shook my head.
"No, I drew that quite recently." I explained. "Just like this picture." I turned the pages of the sketchbook to the sketch of Henrik and I huddled together in front of a couch. "This was drawn the day Elena and I were kidnapped by Rose and Trevor with the intention of delivering Elena to you."
"I don't understand." Elijah looked bewildered. I sighed, trying to find the best way of revealing to him that I could see our dearly departed brother.
"I'm a Medium, Elijah." He tore his eyes away from the sketch and looked at me with shock. "I can see Henrik's ghost; have been able to since I was a baby." I revealed. He nearly dropped the sketchbook. "I don't know how and I have absolutely no idea why. But I can. I think he's my guardian angel." I concluded.
"Couldn't you have chosen a better description, Grace?" Henrik complained. I couldn't help it, I jerked my head in his direction and fixed him a look. Unfortunately, Elijah noticed.
"He's here, right now?" I nodded. Elijah immediately looked angry. "If you're trying to deceive me, Grace. This would be a very foolish decision." Elijah warned me, and I backed away feeling the danger mounting. Henrik immediately hopped off his stool and came over to me, realizing that I was in dire need of assistance to prove that he was really here.
"Tell him about the time I got into Niklaus' paints and painted Rebekah's hair blue." I looked at him with shock.
"Wait, that was you!?" I exclaimed. Henrik nodded hastily and pointed at Elijah, who was looking at me like I was a loon. "You want proof that I'm not deceiving you, brother. Well here it is: Henrik apparently pranked Rebekah by turning her hair blue when he got into Niklaus' paints. When she realised what had happened, she chased him around the village swearing to get even when he came across you…" I relayed. Elijah's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes, of course. I remember that day. Henrik begged me to hide him, and I reluctantly gave him asylum and turned Rebekah away when she came over to me demanding to know where he was." Tears started forming in his eyes.
I sighed with relief.
He believed me. Then I turned and scowled at Henrik who looked at me sheepishly.
"Thanks for that by the way. Rebekah wouldn't shut up for weeks after your little adventure. We tried for ages to get it out, but it only turned her hair purple." I paused remembering that. "Mind you, she eventually starting liking the colour; but I digress." Elijah came over and refocused my attention back on him.
"Is he okay? Not suffering any long term trauma?" He asked me urgently. I turned to look at Henrik who shook his head, smirking at my misfortune.
"None. He's made peace with what happened to him. Doesn't even blame Niklaus for what happened." I replied.
"I came back as a ghost a second after I died that day Niklaus brought me back after I was attacked." Henrik spoke up.
"Henrik said that he came back as a ghost a second after he had died that day in his mother's arms." I translated to Elijah who paled.
"He was still alive?! Henrik was practically shredded when Niklaus brought him back to the village. He must've been in so much pain." Elijah looked positively horrified. Henrik immediately looked guilty. Good, and so he should; making me relay his point of view of our painful personal past to him. So completely insensitive.
"Yeah, don't remind me…" Henrik mumbled. He walked over to the couch and flopped down on top of it, looking miserable.
"According to what Henrik told me all these years passed, he's been with all of you every step of the way since you left the village to explore the world all those years ago." I paused, remembering one significant event. "He was even there when Mikael murdered me." I saw Elijah wince at the memory, even more so when he saw the angry glare on my face. Now seemed as good a time as any to give him a piece of my mind about that night.
"Grace. You must know that if I had known Mikael's intentions that night, I would've done everything within my power to stop him. I am so sorry." Elijah groveled. I sighed.
"I forgave you a long time ago, Elijah. It was partially my fault what happened, happened. I was always too curious, and it was always going to be my downfall." I reassured him. "But I'm not the only person you need to apologise and make it up to." I reminded him.
"I intend to, Grace. Bringing you back to him is the first step." Elijah insisted. I took a step back from him.
"See this is where I have to stop you. I'm not a package to be delivered by a postman, Elijah. I'm a grown woman. If Niklaus wants me as badly as you say he does, he can come to me. I'll be waiting for him with arms wide open." I told him. "But I confess, I feel that I need to thank you for what happened that night also." I told him, soberly.
"Thank me? For what exactly?" Elijah sounded appalled by the suggestion.
"Being killed that night opened up new avenues for me: first and foremost, I was reincarnated so I could start over and learn from my mistakes, and so I could be with Niklaus in a better world; at least I'm hoping it will be. Secondly, I've acquired two new skills: art and…" I paused and picked up my duffel bag, dumping it on the floor and unzipping it, pulling free a leather wallet which when unfurled revealed my collection of daggers and swords. "Sword-fighting skills."
"Impressive." Elijah commented, reaching towards a large machete and examining it. "Why learn such skills, sister?" He asked curiously.
"It was sparked when I discovered this as a child." I lifted up my T-shirt and revealed my birthmark to Elijah who blinked at it. "I asked my mother where I had gotten this, and she didn't know. So I did some research. Turns out in some cultures; birthmarks can be seen as the trauma spot for where a person was harmed in a former life." I told him. Elijah's eyes widened.
"That's where Mikael stabbed you…" He muttered, horrified. I nodded curtly.
"So after learning this, I started getting nightmares about that night almost every night. I never wanted to feel that amount of pain and fear again; so when I was old enough, I 'expressed' an interest to study sword fighting to my parents. The rest is history. Now, I am an expert in sword fighting." Elijah looked impressed.
"Skjoldmø…" (Shieldmaiden) He muttered underneath his breath in Old Norse. I smirked, and sifted through my arsenal for the more discreet weapons.
"Hvorfor, Elia. Du vet hvordan du smigrer en jente så!" (Why, Elijah. You know how to flatter a girl so!) I responded back in the same language. Elijah looked at me with shock.
"You know the old language?" I nodded.
"Only recently. Since we reunited, my memories have been returning, including how to speak the old language. When I reunite with each member of our family, all my memories should return." I told him. Elijah looked at what I was doing with confusion.
"What are you doing with those daggers, Grace?" Elijah asked, mildly.
"Tomorrow, I'm executing my own personal brand of punishment upon the bitch who wounded me, and is the reason why Rose is now dying a rumoured painful death." I replied, firmly. If Elijah protested to my plan, he didn't say.
"Well in that case, I recommend this blade." Elijah leaned forward and selected a dagger from the pile and flipped it over in his hand so that he presented the hilt to me instead of the blade. I smiled graciously, taking it from him.
"Thank you, Elijah."
"You're welcome." Elijah replied, smiling a little. "I must say, you've changed drastically from who you used to be." He observed, looking a little mystified.
"For the better, or the worst?" I replied, worriedly.
"Oh, definitely the better. Niklaus chose the right person to be his bride. You are his match in every way. I will be proud when you officially become a member of this family." Elijah confirmed. I wrapped up the wallet and placed down my chosen weapons before getting to my feet and hugging him. I giggled when Henrik hugged the both of us as well.
Elijah raised an eyebrow.
"What on earth is so funny?" He asked.
"Oh, nothing brother. Henrik is just giving us a hug." I replied gleefully. Elijah disentangled himself from me and cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"I must be going." He declared before turning for the door. "I have business I must attend to."
"Speaking of, what were you up to before I called you, Elijah?" I asked curiously.
"I paid a visit to Miss Gilbert to have a discussion with her, before I liberated the youngest Salvatore from the tomb upon her request." Elijah replied casually.
"You saved Stefan?" I was surprised.
"Yes. I also had the oddest confrontation with Katerina. Apparently, she was still frightened by a message I do not recall telling her. May you shed some light upon this?" Elijah looked at me enquiringly. I felt sheepish.
"Katerina was giving me cheek. So I may have put her back into her box by revealing my relationship with you and Niklaus." I revealed. Elijah looked amused.
"I see. Well, next time a little warning would be best." Elijah advised me, winking.
"Consider it done." I agreed.
"Godnatt, Grace." (Goodnight, Grace) Elijah left, and I couldn't help but ponder when I would see him next.
I woke up the next morning sporting a rather unflattering new fashion accessory on my shoulder curtesy of Jules, the soon-to-be neutered bitch with the arrogant cheek to believe that she would have the last laugh. Apparently, this was Elijah's way of telling me that he was not impressed with what had happened last night and was punishing me by leaving me a rather painful and memorable reminder.
I shrugged. My first war wound; I'll wear it with pride.
I decided that today I would take a feather out of Damon's cap and wear all black. It matched my feelings right at this moment. I chose a pair of black skinny jeans that I could move in like a second skin, black boots, a black and purple spaghetti strap top – which showed off the werewolf bite deliberately - and a black hoodie with an oversized hood. I put on my vervain bracelet, which I also coated in a layer of liquid wolfsbane as well, my cheap plastic wolf necklace that I had won on a whim at the High School Carnival, outlined my eyes with black kohl and put my hair up into a severe high ponytail.
I meant business.
"Wow. I'm glad I'm not that wolf…" Henrik commented, looking at me with wide eyes. I must've had a pissed off expression on my face. But frankly I really couldn't care less as I strapped on my two daggers to my inner thighs. My first stop was to the Boarding House, so I could let Damon know that I hadn't disappeared off the face of the earth, and so I could check on Rose. I went to sleep last night feeling worried about her condition. Having been the recipient of a werewolf bite, I sort of understood how much it hurt. I turned and smiled slightly at Henrik.
"If you wanna see me put Jules back into her place, meet me at the Grill when you hear me pull up later on." I told him. Henrik's shocked face, shifted into one of glee and he nodded; obviously eager to observe the smack down of the wolf who had hurt his sister. I left the apartment, now feeling in a good mood.
I decided to take my car the long way to the Boarding House, since it was a lovely day after the full moon; and I was feeling guilty that I was feeling great - if not slightly sore still from where Jules had clamped down her jaw on my collarbone - and Rose was probably suffering. It was also rather obvious to blind Freddy that Damon was fond of Rose, especially when she had strutted down the stairs tying together a silk bathrobe to hide what little she had been wearing.
Plus, I was suspecting that Damon would also probably be out for my blood too since I went AWOL from the bedroom he had placed me in, bleeding out from my injury.
Well, sorry not sorry. I needed help, and Elijah was the first vampire I could think of who could help me. It was just a coincidence that he was also my brother. If last night happened to be my last night on this earth; I wanted it to be with family, which for the time being included just Henrik and Elijah.
As I was a regular visitor to the Boarding House due to Damon's paranoia and tendency to overreact a little; I simply let myself into the house and strode towards where I could hear voices, shrugging off my hoodie when I was hit with a warm blast of heat that was blanketing the entire household. I soon found myself standing just outside Stefan's room, and I smiled; feeling relief that Stefan was in fact okay. Elena was in the room with him.
Surprise, surprise.
"How can Elijah compel another vampire?" I heard Elena asking her boyfriend curiously. I heard more than saw Stefan shrug.
"He's an original. I don't really know what that means. I don't think anybody really knows what that means." He paused for several seconds. "Well, except maybe Isobel. Maybe we should ask her." Stefan suggested. I knocked lightly on the doorframe, drawing their attention.
"Or you could ask me?" I said. Stefan looked surprised to see me, but just as quickly relaxed and smiled, while Elena's face remained blank. "Good to see you out of that tomb, Stef." I greeted him.
"Thanks, Grace. How are you?" Stefan gave me his undivided attention. I grimaced, not enjoying the memories of last night's fiasco.
"Recovering nicely, thank you." I responded. Both Elena and Stefan frowned.
"Recovering from what?" Elena asked. I stepped away from the doorframe, revealing the hideous werewolf bite forever on my shoulder. Elena immediately got to her feet and rushed over to me. "Oh God! What is that?" She gingerly touched the scar and I flinched a little.
"Careful, still tender." I grimaced. Stefan frowned grimly and came over to inspect it for himself.
"That's a wolf bite." Stefan confirmed.
"Close. It's a werewolf bite. Got it from the same mongrel that got Rose downstairs as well." I corrected him, still feeling bitter about it.
"How are you still alive?" Stefan wanted to know. "This bite is very deep, you must have been bleeding excessively." I nodded.
"It did yeah. I was healed by vampire blood." I explained. Stefan frowned.
"Obviously not enough. Didn't Damon give you enough of his blood?" Stefan looked appalled, but I shook my head.
"Damon didn't heal me, Elijah did." I said. "He is more than capable of healing it all the way, but this is my punishment for putting myself in that situation in the first place." I told them. Elena looked horrified.
"That's sick!"
"That's family." I corrected her. "I should've known better, considering what happened to Henrik." I told her. "This is just Elijah's way of reminding me to be careful in the future, and a way to ensure Niklaus' wrath against Jules (and possibly me) when he eventually sees it." I probably looked a little sheepish. But Elena still had that judgemental look on her face. I rolled my eyes, changing the subject that was bound to be brought up again when I went down to see Rose and Damon downstairs. "And to answer your question: Elijah is one of the first ever vampires like his brothers and sister; which means they essentially invented compelling and they are immune." I told them.
"Did he tell you this himself?" Elena asked, sounding a little catty. I scowled at her.
"No, he didn't have to. It should've been obvious." I retorted, not in the mood for her petulance. "Were you just about to leave, Stefan?" I asked him, casually.
"Yeah, I was going to find Alaric to see if Isobel had more information. Why?" Stefan asked politely.
"He'll probably be at the Grill. That's where Damon and I found him when we investigated the possibility that another werewolf was in town." I advised him. Stefan nodded gratefully at the info. "I'll meet you there, I've got a suspicion that the 'bitch' that bit me and Rose will return there today. I'm gonna have a little word with her." I told him, darkly.
Stefan shrugged.
"Okay. See you down there." He kisses Elena goodbye and leaves, leaving Elena and I standing awkwardly in his bedroom. We look at each other for a moment, before I abruptly turned and walked out of the room in search for Rose and Damon to see how she was fairing.
"Wait, Grace!" I paused on the stairs, and turned towards Elena, waiting for her to get on with what she wanted to say. "I just wanted to say thanks for what you said to Katherine the other day. It helped us free Stefan safely from the tomb." Elena told me. I didn't smile.
"No thanks is necessary, Elena. I would've done it even if Stefan hadn't have been trapped in there." I told her before continuing the descent. I could feel Elena's dagger eyes burrowing into the back of my head as we walked towards the Library where both Rose and Damon were.
"I was born in 1450; that makes me 560 years old." Rose explained to Damon.
"Well, if you were a bottle of wine…" Damon trailed off, making an attempt at light hearted banter to ease the tension of an increasingly hopeless situation. Rose brushed it off, barely acknowledging the humour.
"So I can die. I've lived long enough." Rose declared. Damon made an irritated noise underneath his breath.
"You know, if you're gonna be mom, I'm just gonna kill you myself just to put me out of your misery." He promised. I looked round the doorframe and saw Damon pouring a little of the bloodbag he held in his hand into a glass, offering it to Rose. "Come on, it's just a little werewolf bite." Damon insisted, sounding obviously in denial that his latest fling was dying right before his eyes.
Rose looked at him flatly.
"Just a little, fatal to a vampire werewolf bite." She amended his description. Damon shrugged.
"Well, according to a legend which is a notoriously unreliable source. Drink up." He urged her. Rose looked hesitant. "Blood heals." He reminded her, and Rose takes a sip from the blood. She pauses for a moment, before brightening a little.
"Yeah, it does feel like it's working." Rose declared. Damon scooted forward.
"Let's have a look, come on. Let me see." He urged. Rose sits forward, allowing Damon to pull aside her shirt and look at her bite mark. My heart stops when I see how much worse the wound looked. It had started spreading down her back, and I counted my blessings that I was not a werewolf myself. Elena walked passed me and into the room. She had not seen the wound just yet, but freezes and looks a little bit sick. "Definitely … better." Damon lied, then looked up when he saw movement. His eyes lock onto mine. "Right Elena?" Elena returns to reality.
"Um, it's not bad." She trailed off. I decided to withdraw from the room; I had noticed the furious expression on Damon's face and knew that I was in deep shit.
"Excuse me for a second." Damon spoke up, and I hadn't even taken a single step before Damon had blurred into my path and without uttering a word, snatched me up from where I stood and blurred me towards the kitchen. He practically pushed me inside, and blocked any escape. "I oughta kill you where you stand." Damon told me in a low, angry voice that held a hint of anxiety. "Where the fuck did you go last night?" He demanded.
I bristled at the tone.
"Home." I replied succinctly.
"You were bleeding heavily from your fucking shoulder! How could you possibly manage to do that without bleeding out!?" He growled.
"I called my brother. He healed me, and then brought me home upon my request." I didn't see the point in lying to him. Damon's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline.
"You invited him into my house!?"
"It was either that, or you'd have been burying a corpse this morning, Damon." I stated.
"I said I would be right back!" Damon protested, looking anguished.
"I was dying, Damon! Not like Rose is at the moment. I was literally fading away." I snapped. "Elijah wasn't happy that what had happened to me occurred, and this is my punishment!" I pulled aside my strap to draw his attention towards the bite mark on my shoulder.
"He didn't heal you completely?" Damon was outraged, but I wasn't done with my explanation.
"No, he didn't. But it's better than what could've happened. I would've ended up dying like my youngest brother did; and not only would you have had to deal with a pissed off Elijah when he found out, you would have been dealing with an enraged, devastated and vengeful Klaus as well when he eventually got wind of the situation!" I reminded him, not bothering to use Niklaus' proper name. Damon immediately crushed me into his arms, practically suffocating me in his distress.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realise…" He muttered.
"But that wasn't the only reason why Elijah took me home. I was gathering the weapons I needed to deal with Jules." I told him. Damon stiffen almost immediately after I mentioned Jules, but didn't make a comment. He technically didn't have to; I knew for a fact that he was also eager to tear her limb from limb. I pulled away from him wiping my eyes, surprising myself because I hadn't even realised that I had started crying.
"You're going after Jules? Are you insane?" Damon wanted to know.
"Hardly." I responded, heading for the kitchen door with Damon following me closely. "But she threatened a Mikaelson and satisfaction indicates that I retaliate." I declared. Damon frowned.
"But why you specifically?"
"Because Jules frightened two members of my family. I almost died, and it reminded them of what happened to Henrik." I replied. "Nobody should have to be reminded of that horrifying day. I know I won't forget it." I muttered miserably. I glanced at Damon, and saw him looking at me pensively. "What?" Then without warning, Damon shoved me up against the wall and looked me in the eyes. "What are you doing?" I demanded, trying to get away from him.
"Trying to understand." Damon replied simply. "And the only way I can do that is to see it for myself." I looked at him like he was crazy.
"How are you going to do that?" I demanded.
"Doing what I did when I eavesdropped into your dreams. Only you're going to have to describe it to me so I can project into your memories." Damon instructed me. I immediately protested.
"I don't want to." I whimpered. Damon's face fell sympathetically, but still he persevered.
"Please, Grace?" He insisted. I hesitated before nodding and relaxing when Damon focused unblinkingly onto my eyes. "Visualise the memory. I'll do the rest." I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath.
~: GRACE'S MEMORY (DAMON'S P.O.V):~
I opened my eyes and found myself standing in a very rustic house. I glanced about in confusion before focusing upon an unfamiliar girl with very long blonde hair and wearing a very old fashioned dress. I heard an innocent giggle and I whirled around clapping eyes on Grace. But at the same time, I knew that it wasn't her. This girl was the same tall beauty I had seen in Grace's dream that day before we went to Richmond with Rose. She was wearing the same style of dress as the unknown blonde girl who was still standing at the window, examining some jewelry and what looked like talismans dangling from the frame. Her normally short dark brown hair was also just as long as her friend's.
'Grace' smiled sweetly at me.
"You look surprised to see me, Damon." 'Grace' observed, using an unusual European accent. I frowned.
"Grace?" I asked her. She smiled again.
"Or Gráinne. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Salvatore." She greeted me, formally. "But if it makes it easier, you can continue calling me 'Grace'. After all, we are one and the same." I was shocked.
"I thought this was a memory. You can see me?"
"Of course I can." She replied. "But don't worry my sister and Ayana can't." Ayana? I turned and saw an older woman who looked similar to that old Bennett witch, Sheila, moving about the room; observing Grace and her 'sister'.
Great! Another ancestor of Bonnie's.
I came over to Grace, already feeling irritated and I hadn't seen anything yet.
"What's going on? I thought we were here to relive your brother's death?" I demanded. Grace frowned at me.
"Patience is a virtue. That's exactly what we're doing here, Damon. You wanted to understand, and I'm showing you." She indicated for me to step outside the house and pointed to the villagers darting around, going about their business. "This is the morning after the full moon. Last night Henrik and Niklaus snuck out of the caves to see the werewolves turn from beast back to man. But leaving the caves was expressly forbidden. I don't think I have to tell you why." Grace explained to me. I nodded, already getting the picture in my head because of what I've seen happen to both Grace and Rose when they faced off against Jules. It made me wonder what had happened to this 'Henrik' kid.
"But they disobeyed the rules, huh? Sounds like something Stefan and I probably would've done; just to piss off Giuseppe." I responded.
"It was a great risk to disobey Mikael. He was a very cruel man." Grace agreed. We both reacted to a pained yelp, and I turned to see the blonde girl clutching at her fingers, which were slightly red, like she had been holding too long to a hot plate. 'Blonde girl' glowers at Ayana.
"Ayana, you burned me!" She whined, in an irritating European voice. My eyes widened when a second 'Grace' reached out and examined her fingers. I glanced between the girl in the house, and the one standing beside me observing me.
"But? Wha..?"
"Did I forget to tell you that I'm here to guide you through this memory?" Grace asked innocently. I glared at her.
"I think words escaped you conveniently." I corrected her.
Grace laughed. "Rebekah always did love trinkets." I watched the 'memory Grace' playfully telling off this Rebekah.
"Your sister is hot." I smirked, leering at the oblivious blonde.
"And her brothers would emasculate you in seconds if you so much as approached her with less than good intentions." Grace warned me.
"Spoilsport." I muttered. But before I could say anything else, I heard somebody screaming.
"MOTHER!" I turned my head in the direction of the sound and saw the guy Grace had referred to in her last dream as this 'Niklaus' who was seeking out Elena to kill her for the Sun and Moon Ritual.
I was stunned to see tears rolling down his face, and horrified at the sight of a teenager not much older than Jeremy Gilbert lying limply in his arms. It was then that I remembered a drunken conversation I had had with Grace the night after the carnival debacle. This 'Henrik' had been mentioned then too; and through my own memories I recalled that Grace had been particularly weepy then too. Both 'Memory Grace' and Rebekah immediately came to the window, and gasped when they saw Klaus and Henrik, and ran out to meet them.
"Is that your little brother?" I asked Grace, who was watching the scene with sorrowful eyes. She nodded, and walked calmly towards the gathering crowd. I followed; not sure if seeing this memory was such a good idea after all. There was so much blood – and I'm a fucking vampire – and all of the wounds I saw looked worse than the bite that Grace and Rose had.
"Niklaus! What happened!" I heard 'Memory Grace' ask him. I looked over at Grace standing beside me; she was stone-faced.
"It turned out that Henrik was still alive at this point. But only just." She explained. My eyes widened in horror. "None of us knew. It won't be long now." She explained. I turned back to the large crowd to observe as 'Memory Grace' began ripping strips of fabric from her dress to use as makeshift bandages. But even I knew it was pointless.
"No, no!" I stepped out of the way in time to see an older woman who looked like Rebekah and Klaus running to the group and demanding what was wrong. While an explanation was given, Grace placed a hand on my shoulder.
"It's over. He's now dead; succumbed to his wounds."
I jerked my gaze back towards the dead teenaged boy. I squatted beside the body, and took in how young he really looked, and now how peaceful he was. I looked over at Klaus; he and his sister were attempting to comfort 'Memory Grace' who had wondered off. Somebody stood beside me looking at the body, and I glanced up and saw Elijah; looking very different to how he looked in the present. Gone was the aloof, composed expression in his dark eyes that I remembered glaring back at me when I pinned him against the front door of the abandoned house. Now all I could see was an alien vulnerability and utter devastation.
I suddenly understood.
As I watched the older woman – who reminded me so much of my own dear mother before she died giving birth to Stefan – become inconsolable when she learns her child had just died, I saw Elijah walk over to console his mother and grieve with her. I realized that I shouldn't have been so judgmental of Grace wanting to have Elijah heal her from her wounds.
If Grace's injuries reminded Elijah of this particular scene, then I had no business being angry.
I did not have the right.
"You've seen what you needed to see, Mr. Salvatore. I hope that it was informative." Grace said.
~:REALITY (Grace's P.O.V):~
Tears were streaming down my face, when Damon and I came back to the present. But I wasn't alone; Damon was also crying. I was so angry that he made me remember that.
"Oh, knull. Hvorfor måtte du få meg til å huske det, Damon!?" (Oh, fuck. Why did you have to make me remember that, Damon!?) I yelled at him in Old Norse. Damon looked at me with confusion.
"I don't understand. What was that?" He asked. I wiped my eyes and walked away from him, angry.
"It was my mother language: Old Norse." I replied, resentfully. "Did you see what you needed to see?" I asked him, and Damon nodded looking guilty. Good.
"For what it's worth…" Damon called out, causing me to pause mid-step. "I am sorry for what happened with your little brother. That bite you have on your shoulder looked just as gruesome as the ones on Henrik. I think I can understand your brother's desperation and anger better now." Damon admitted, quietly; probably thinking back on how worried he felt when he saw me screaming and writhing in agony, and the amount of my life that had spilled from the wound as a result.
"Thank you, Damon." I replied. "And I hope that if something like that happened to Stefan that you'd react just the same as Elijah and Niklaus did." I told him, seriously. Damon didn't respond with his usual caustic remark regarding anything involving Stefan, and it gave me hope that it meant he was giving it some serious thought. Both of us returned to the living room, where Rose and Elena were waiting and the vampire would occasionally whimper and wince whenever she moved and disturbed her werewolf bite.
"So, where's Stefan?" Damon cleared his throat and asked Elena the very second he stepped into the room. Elena looked suspiciously at both of us; particularly when she realised that we both had been crying at one point due to the red and puffy state of our eyes.
"He left. I need you to talk to him. He's convinced that he has to find Isobel, but I think that's gonna upset Elijah." Elena explained. I nodded in agreement.
"He would be correct. Elijah would be pissed." I told her, earning a dirty look from Elena.
"No, can do." Damon responded promptly. "I'm with Stefan on this one, despite how much it will piss off Elijah." He looked at me apologetically, and I rolled my eyes. "However, if you could play nurse for a little while with Grace…" I flashed him a look to indicate how not happy I was with his plan as I had my revenge against Jules to dole out. But then I realised that I had forgotten that there was one crucial part of Niklaus' ritual that required sacrificing a werewolf. So I decided to spare Jules' life on a whim.
Perhaps she would get her comeuppance in a different way?
Wink wink, nudge nudge…
Rose smiled gratefully at Damon's suggestion that both of us – vulnerable and very fragile humans – would stick around and play nursemaid for a vampire with an unknown aliment.
"It's not necessary." She insisted, but I shook my head.
"Regardless of whatever slight you did towards Elijah and Niklaus five-hundred years ago, nobody deserves to die like this. It's just too bad there's no known cure for your condition." I told her.
"I agree. It is necessary." Damon backed me up, ignoring what I had said about the lack of a cure. "Besides, Elena is a do-gooder. It's in her nature, she just can't resist." Damon stated, a little dismissively, before leaving the room. Elena looks at both Rose and I for a second before following Damon. I was about to follow when Rose unexpectedly stopped me.
"Thank you, Grace." She said, smiling a little. "And I'm sorry that you had been dragged into this mess that night you were kidnapped along with Elena." She told me, looking regretful. I grimaced.
"Yeah, I understand where you're coming from, Rose. But at the same time, I don't regret being kidnapped accidentally." I reassured her. Rose frowned with surprise.
"Why?"
"Because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have seen Elijah again. At least not right away. I also wouldn't have witnessed Elena's true colours as well." I explained. Again, Rose frowned at what I said.
"That's harsh. She's just trying to survive your fiancé in any way that she can." Rose defended Elena.
"Sure, she is. By following my advice." I stated, smirking a little.
"Your advice?"
"Before Elena conned the both of us into taking her to Richmond, I advised that Elena accept that she was going to die by Niklaus' hand." I told the dying vampire who looked horrified.
"You're on Niklaus' side in all this?" Rose sounded outraged. I frowned at her assumption.
"I'm not on anybody's side. I've chosen to remain neutral in all of this." I corrected her. "All I suggested to Elena was to not run, but try to find a loophole in the ritual that would allow her to live after Niklaus killed her." Rose still looked confused. I sighed, feeling slightly exasperated. "I know you find this hard to understand, Rose. But, Niklaus is just as much a victim in this ritual as Elena is. I was there when Niklaus was first cursed in this ritual." I told her.
"So that justifies taking somebody's life, does it?" Rose sounded disgusted.
"I'd curb that self-righteous attitude if I were you. Neither one of them are saints; you of all people know this about Niklaus, and you're just learning this about Elena also." I warned her. "I don't condone killing, but if it means giving somebody their life back, I'd help find a solution that makes both parties happy in the long run." Rose looked at me curiously, obviously trying to figure out what made me tick. I grimaced a little, not really enjoying being observed like a specimen underneath a microscope.
"You are a very strange person, Grace. But somehow, I have this feeling that you'll be a good influence on Klaus someday." Rose eventually concluded. I nodded; accepting that assumption. Elena walked back into the room, looking sulky.
"If you wanna go with Damon you better hurry, he's just left." Elena suggested. I shrugged.
"I'm not in any hurry. I drove here." I reassured her before I smiled at Rose. "Come on, let's get you upstairs and into bed." I said to her, and the vampire made a face; reluctantly getting to her feet with some assistance from Elena and myself. Together, Elena and I worked together to escort a rapidly weakening Rose up the staircase and into Damon's large luxurious bedroom. We walked Rose towards his large bed and eased her down onto it.
"I hate this. I'm a vampire, I haven't had a cold in five centuries." Rose grumbled.
"Just get in bed." Elena retorted. But Rose wasn't through with her tirade.
"We don't get sick. When we die, it's fast and sudden and it's certainly not drawn out in illness." I made a face.
"Makes me glad that I'm not a vampire yet." I stated. Elena looked at me, aghast.
"Wait, you actually want to become a vampire someday?" She sounded appalled by the idea. I looked at Elena like she had sprouted two extra heads, and one of them started speaking in Spanish and the other Swahili.
"If you want to be with somebody forever, Elena, you kinda have to live forever. It goes with the territory." I reminded her. Elena frowned.
"But have you considered what you'd be giving up? The chance to grow old, have children?" She pointed out the possibilities.
I didn't bother pointing out that the children thing might still be on the cards if my unexpected vision was to be believed. Being a Medium had both its curses and its blessings; and right now, yeah, I had doubts. Because Niklaus was technically dead and therefore sterile. But why would I get that vivid image in my head of myself carrying my child towards Niklaus if it wasn't meant to come true?
"I'll have my family and my love. The ones I lost a thousand years ago." I smiled, feeling triumphant. "That will be all I'll need." I responded instead; ignoring the questioning look Rose threw at me. She knew that I was lying, but it didn't mean she knew what I was lying about. I noticed Elena glancing curiously around the room. Rose noticed Elena's curiosity too and grinned.
"You've never been in Damon's room before, have you?" She guessed. Elena flushed in both annoyance and embarrassment before picking up a book and raising an eyebrow at the blurb. I snorted at her reaction.
"What were you expecting exactly?" I asked her. Elena looked at me with shock.
"You've been in here before?" She sounded appalled. Even Rose looked surprised and just a little pissed. I smirked, knowing that she was jealous. But she had nothing to fear; Damon was like another one of my older brothers to me.
"I had had a bad headache and Damon found me and fed me some of his blood to help clear it up. I must've passed out after drinking some, because I woke up in this room … and cussed out Damon when he eavesdropped on one of my dreams." I explained. Rose nodded, accepting that answer before turning to Elena.
"What about you? Not what you expected?" She asked Elena, slightly teasing her.
"It's just a room with a bed." Elena shrugged. "Maybe I expected there to be silk sheets." It was a fair assumption. Plus, I really wouldn't be surprised if Damon really did have silk sheets. Both Rose and I smiled at the thought, as Elena continued inspecting Damon's bedroom. I walked over to the open window, allowing the cool breeze to wash over me.
"You're lucky, you know. No one's ever loved me the way you're loved." I naturally thought that Rose was talking to Elena, since it was not possible that Damon would show me that kind of interest.
"I doubt that." Elena responded, evenly.
"I wasn't talking to you." Rose corrected Elena. I froze and turned to look back over at Rose propped up on Damon's pillows, and then at an astonished and miffed looking Elena who was gaping at me. My eyes widened in shock.
"Me?" Rose nodded her head, looking completely serious. "Not possible." I insisted. But then I really gave the idea some thought. Damon had been acting a little weird recently; like yesterday at the Grill, when he wrapped an arm around my waist when I stepped in between him and Alaric, so I could join in on their conversation about Jules. Or how possessively he reacted when I invented a scenario revolving around Elijah cancelling a 'family catch up' dinner between us when I was helping both him and Alaric distract Jules, so one of them could slip some wolfsbane into her glass. Or the fact that he would sometimes brighten whenever I walked into the room or when we'd playfully tease or fight with each other. "We're just friends."
"Trevor was my best friend. Nothing more. He never looked at me, or paid me as much attention as Damon does you, Grace." Rose insisted. "I've seen devotion, and that's exactly what he has for you."
I was speechless.
But I knew that I had to nip this in the bud pretty quickly. I don't think Niklaus, Henrik or Elijah would be particularly pleased to know that Damon had started developing feelings for me. Don't get me wrong, it was bloody flattering and a great ego boost; but it was also dangerous, not to mention I only saw him as my best friend and a 'big brother figure'.
I didn't want him to die because of me.
"It would be a really stupid move. Niklaus or Elijah would rip him to shreds; and I don't want that to happen to him. I love him, of course I do. But like he was my much older brother." I told Rose, who nodded approvingly. She obviously saw the flaw in Damon's feelings also. "I don't want to hurt him." I whispered, fretfully. Elena rolled her eyes while Rose sighed.
"I hear you. But forgive me for saying so; Damon would probably be the better choice between him and Klaus." Rose suggested. I scowled warningly at Rose as Elena finally decided to pipe up.
"But I thought you liked Damon. Why are you suddenly shoving him at Grace?" Elena wanted to know. Rose looked at her like she was an idiot.
"In case it has completely escape your notice, I am dying. I've accepted that I am. The same way that I've accepted that Damon has obviously developed feelings for Grace that I could never hope to achieve from him, even if I had never gotten bitten by that werewolf." Rose told her, logically. "Even if Grace lets him down gently and they remained strong friends; neither of us would be able to achieve the strong feelings Damon has for her." I bit my lip, realising that despite Rose accepting that Damon didn't feel for her in that way, I still felt guilty about it. Rose, sensing the awkward atmosphere, changed topic. "But speaking of giving up: why are you so eager to give up?"
"I'm not giving up on anything. Here." Elena seemingly ends the subject by handing Rose a heated mug of blood. But thankfully, Rose is stubborn and dodges the dodge.
"What do you call this whole deal with Elijah?" Rose asks.
"I call it my best option." Elena shrugs.
"Your best option is encouraging my brother to spirit you away to places unknown so that he could give you to Niklaus, who is going to kill you as soon as gets the opportunity?" I pointed out the facts to her dubiously. "Yeah, that's not at all defeatist." I drawled, unimpressed.
Rose nodded in agreement. "It's your easiest option."
Elena looked defensive.
"That's not fair."
"Those are the words of a person who know they are wrong, and just don't want to admit it to themselves because of a guilty conscience, or because they are too stubborn to admit it." I stated, logically.
"Let me put another question to you: Do you really think that your witch friend destroyed the moonstone?" Rose questioned Elena.
"I spoke with Bonnie." Elena responded. "I know that she had the help of another witch; unless you mean it's Elijah's witch, so no, I don't." Rose looked at her with pity.
"You really are determined to die, aren't you?" Elena said nothing.
"Rose at least ran for her life, you're not even trying." I pointed. "You're just taking the easy way out." Rose suddenly groaned, getting both of our attention and we hurried over to her side, concerned.
"I'm so tired…" She mumbled, closing her eyes and sinking down into the pillow she was reclining on. I lay the duvet over Rose and turned to Elena.
"You go and get Rose some more blood. I'll stay and watch her." I suggested. Elena nodded and leaves, just as Rose starts talking in her sleep.
"No, stop, wait." I paused, frowning her in confusion and very much alert. "Tell them to prepare the horses." My eyes widen when I realise that she is hallucinating. I shush soothingly at her.
"It's okay, Rose. Just get some sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." I lied. Rose cracked open an eye and frowned at me.
"Trevor, don't be so stupid. You're never going to make it there before the sun." Rose slurs deliriously. I gulped, feeling uncomfortable just as Elena reappears, and falters at my grave look.
"What is it?" Elena asks, warily. But Rose sits up abruptly, moaning from the pain.
"Elena, Elena, I need more blood." Rose urges. Elena immediately rushes over with the mug.
"Yeah, of course. Here." She pushes the mug into her hand and Rose drinks it down greedily. But almost instantly starts vomiting it up again. Elena rubs Rose's back, soothingly. "It's okay, everything's gonna be alright." She promises. While Elena was attending to her, I rushed into the bathroom to fetch a clean, damp face-washer to wipe up the blood smeared around Rose's face. Elena walks in after me to wash her hands; some of the blood Rose had thrown up had ended up on her. "She's not going to get better, is she?" Elena asked me rhetorically.
I shook my head sadly.
"This is not how I wanted to observe the effects of the werewolf bite." I muttered before we both went back into Damon's room. We froze. Rose wasn't lying in the bed where Elena and I had left her. "Rose?" Elena walked over to the bed, while I cautiously glanced about the room for a sign of Rose's whereabouts.
Where'd the hell did she go?
A/N: End of chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. The next update will be soon :)
TTFN x