A/N: Welcome back! Hope you're looking forward to reading this new chapter update. We're very close to Grace and Klaus reuniting. But I'll let you know when ;)
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I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters (except for Grace) are owned by L.J. Smith.
Let the daydreams begin :)
A STAB IN THE DARK
"I closed my eyes and spoke to you in a thousand silent ways."
I was sitting on my couch doing some sketching, and waiting for both Damon and Elijah to show up. It had taken Elijah a while to get back to me, but when he did, it was a promise to make an appearance to hear what both Damon and I had to say. I was particularly impatient to put forward our proposition towards my brother so we could move forward with our plans to bring Niklaus to town, help him break his curse, and then figure out a way to stop Elijah from killing him; reasons why unknown at this point. I hoped that Elijah agreed to go along with our plan, otherwise we were screwed. A polite knock came from the front door. But who was it?
"Damon's here." Henrik reported, walking into the room and flopping down on the couch.
"How do you know that?" I asked, frowning at him with bemusement.
"I was keeping watch for him outside the apartment. It was something to do." Henrik replied, like it was no big deal. I smiled.
"Thanks, sweetie." I answered him, and he gave me the thumbs up gesture as I put down the sketchbook and pencil and got to my feet to answer the door. I glanced back at Henrik and observed him. He had crossed his feet at the ankles and sat back with his arms folded across his chest, closing his eyes. I absently wondered if he realized that that position make the bloodied rips and tears on his tunic top look all the more obvious. But then dismissed the thought almost entirely, as it wasn't important. "Hey Damon." I greeted him, and stepped back so I could let him passed. He frowned at me with confusion.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"Henrik." I responded.
"He's here? Where?" Damon looked around for a glimpse of him. I smirked.
"He's always here. Currently sitting on the couch. What are you looking for?" I asked him, amused.
"Evidence." I rolled my eyes, and walked back over to my sketchbook and scooped it up.
"Can't you just take my word for it and let it go?" I asked almost exasperatedly. I walked towards the kitchen and promptly seized an old-fashioned glass and fixed Damon some bourbon. I made a point of always having a bottle of Wild Turkey for whenever Damon or any other vampire would potentially pay a visit to my place. He took the glass from me and takes a large sip. I absently grabbed a second glass and filled it to hand to Elijah when he got here. "So, what's going on?" I asked him, curiously. Damon paused, staring out of the window to the Town Square outside. I saw the corners of his mouth rise slightly with amusement.
"I'm having the oddest sense of de-ja-vu right now." He mused out loud. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Stefan just asked me the exact same question when I called him ten minutes ago." Damon explained. I nodded, and took a seat at the island bench.
"Uh-huh. And what was the answer you gave him?" I prodded, getting impatient because Elijah could be here at any moment; if he wasn't already and decided to eavesdrop on our conversation.
"Tyler Lockwood ran away from home last night." Damon reported. That was surprising.
"Woah. How'd you find that out?" I asked.
"Sheriff Forbes. She heard it from a very distraught Carol Lockwood early this morning." Damon replied soberly. I grimaced, finding it hard to imagine the depth of pain that poor woman was probably feeling. First her husband is killed, now her only son makes a disappearance.
"Man that's lousy. The woman's a pain in the arse, and a huge gossip. But nobody deserves that." I commented, and Damon nodded, agreeing with me.
"Well, Tyler's disappearance ends the werewolf chapter, bringing us to…"
"Elijah." I finished, taking in a deep breath when it meant that it was now time to focus upon what we wanted to put forward to Elijah; and whatever we asked, had to be worded in the right way or it's possible Elijah could take it the wrong way.
"What about me, precisely?" Came Elijah's voice unexpectedly from behind my front door. Both Damon and I jumped and looked at each other nervously. I hurried over to open it, stepping aside to allow my brother entry into the apartment. Elijah eyed both of us, one to the other and focused suspiciously on Damon. "Mr. Salvatore?" Elijah greeted him politely. Damon nodded, but otherwise didn't say anything in response. I immediately made a beeline for the pre-made drink I had waiting for Elijah and held it out to him.
"Would you care for a drink, Elijah?" I offered. He smiled and graciously accepted the drink.
"Thank you." Time to cut to the chase.
"Would you like to sit down?" I offered once again. Elijah nodded and moved to sit on the couch, unknowingly sitting next to a delighted Henrik, and I went and sat on his other side. If Henrik had been alive, this would've been a very odd and a very interesting situation. Damon remained standing at the window, much to my annoyance. An unpleasant pause reigned supreme while I gathered my thoughts, only to be broken by Elijah's inquiry.
"So what is it that you both wanted to talk to me about?" My brother asked, taking a generous sip of his bourbon and making a slight face at the flavor. Mental note: Elijah is not a fan of bourbon. I cleared my throat, nervously.
"Um, we, uh…" I stammered. Elijah places a calming hand on mine, looking concerned about my flustered state.
"Why are you nervous, Grace?" He asks, patiently. "Surely what you have to tell me, can't be that bad." Damon and I exchange looks, and I couldn't help but privately think:
Depends on what your definition of 'bad' is…
"Damon and I have become aware of your plans regarding Elena's future." I eventually blurted out. Elijah raised an eyebrow at my unexpected statement.
"Go on?"
"We just wanted to inform you that we're on your side, and we want to help you with your plans to lure Niklaus to Mystic Falls, and help break the Hybrid Curse that Esther placed upon him." I clarified, deliberately not adding the knowledge that we also knew he wanted to kill Niklaus as well. Elijah looked taken aback.
"You'd be willing to sacrifice Elena Gilbert?" Elijah questioned.
"If that's what it takes. Yes, I would." I confirmed, confidently.
"Besides, Elena clearly has no sense of self-preservation, so why not assist her in her suicide attempt?" Damon added, taking another sip from his drink. Elijah said nothing for several moments. But by the calculating expression on his face, it was clear that he was trying to figure out if he was being duped.
"And what pray tell is the catch?" He enquired, sternly. I glanced over at Damon, who knocked back the last dregs of his drink and placed the glass on the coffee table, before reaching into his leather jacket and producing the silver dagger, still wrapped up in its protective cloth. The second Elijah saw the dagger he was on his feet. I had never seen him look so afraid before. "Where on earth did you get that?" He demanded.
"It was given to Damon by Elena's father, John Gilbert. Along with a vial of white oak ashes." I confirmed. Elijah looked at Damon suspiciously.
"And do you know how John procured this dagger?" Elijah was extremely serious. It rang alarm bells.
"I believe the bastard got it from Isobel Flemming, Elena's biological mother. She's apparently very knowledgeable about Klaus and the rest of your family." Damon sounded rather put out. Nobody spoke for several minutes, before Elijah smiled; obviously accepting that neither Damon nor I were up to no good, and made himself comfortable so he could hear what we had to say.
"Alright then. What is the plan, and how does it involve this dagger?" Elijah asked, holding it up. Damon and I sighed in relief; both of us glad that Elijah agreed to work with us.
"In order for Damon and my plan to work, we need to enquire what your plans for today are, so we can work our plan around it and make it work." I ventured, cautiously, still on tender-hooks around my polite, but very unpredictable brother. Elijah absently played with the dagger and starting concentrating on it, instead of us as he replied to our question.
"I believe today is the day that delightful Jenna Sommers woman is taking me on a tour of some of the historical sights of this town." Elijah responded easily. Damon nodded in acknowledgement.
"Okay. We can work with that. I could 'ask' Alaric, to 'spy' on you and report back on his 'findings'." Damon suggested. Elijah frowned thoughtfully.
"Alaric? Isn't he the historical teacher at the local High School?" He asked, curiously. I nodded, confirming this.
"Yes. Alaric Saltzman. He was also Isobel's ex." I explained. Elijah's eyes widened with interest.
"Really? How interesting." He commented. "Then what will happen after he reports back to you?"
"Make the suggestion to Jenna to go to the Mystic Grill for a drink after the tour." Damon continued. "We will both be there waiting with Alaric, and then we will come up with the idea of throwing a dinner party; to properly welcome you to town."
"And what will happen at this dinner party? I assume it has something to do with this dagger." Elijah asked, still holding the dagger.
"The Dinner party will be like any other, except during dessert; one of us will dagger you, then after a specific length of time, Grace will revive you." Damon explained. Elijah nodded, placing down the dagger and getting to his feet.
"I accept these terms." He stated. "When would be an appropriate time to 'suggest' a trip to this Mystic Grill?" He asked.
"I'll text you." I told him. Elijah nodded, and drank down what was left of his drink before putting down the glass on the coffee table. He extended his hand towards Damon in what was supposed to be a friendly gesture. Damon cautiously took it and both vampires shook hands.
"I look forward to working together with you and my sister with this plan. However, I don't have to remind you, that should you betray me in any way; the plan will be void, and the consequences will be dire." Elijah warned him, narrowing his eyes slightly. Damon frowned.
"Why are you just warning me? This is Grace's plan as well." Damon pointed out. I went over and hugged Elijah around his waist and in return he wrapped an affectionate arm around my shoulders.
"Because apart from my own loving parents, Elijah helped to raise me when I was a child." I explained to him, and pointed out the portrait painting of Elijah, Niklaus and myself as young children. "I would know better than to betray one of my older brothers who has practically been there for the entirety of my reincarnation's life." I pointed out.
"Having said that, of course, I know from experience that Grace was, and possibly still is, no saint. People make mistakes. It just depends on the manner of the mistake that was made. If it was accidental or deliberate." Elijah added. He takes a glance at my wall clock and frowns. "I must leave now if I am to meet up with Ms. Sommers on time." My beloved older brother makes his way over to the front door and opens it. He turns to me, and gives me a pointed look. "I await your text." He says, then looks up at Damon. "Mr. Salvatore." Then he leaves.
The moment Elijah leaves, Damon immediately whips out his phone and speed-dials Alaric.
"Hey Ric? Yeah, I need a favour." Damon requested, and I raised an eyebrow at the singular. Damon walks back over to the window with a view of the town's square. I looked at him with confusion, but Damon shook his head; indicating that he'd tell me in a second before Alaric started speaking again on his side of the conversation. Damon looked a little surprised, but easily recovered. "Well, okay. Awesome, I'll see you soon then." He hung up and I practically pounced on him for the information.
"What's up?"
"Apparently, Jenna was very forthcoming about playing tour guide with Elijah today to Ric. It seems I didn't have to ask Ric anything at all." Damon explained, scratching the back of his messy inky hued head and looking a little shocked.
"That's lucky." I mused. Then I frowned at him. "And what with the 'I' before? I thought this was a team effort." I stated, slightly accusatory. Damon looked sheepish.
"That was deliberate. Just in case it blows up in our faces, then only I would get the blame for it." Damon admitted. I sighed in annoyance.
"It's a nice thought, Damon. But I shouldn't have to remind you that I can take some of the heat, you know." I reminded him. Damon smiled at me, slightly.
"It's not a problem. I'm used to being blamed for things going wrong. It's been happening long before you moved here." Damon insisted.
"Seems a bit unfair. What if you weren't to blame for things going pear-shaped?" I asked, frowning a little. Damon snorted.
"Given my track record, I'm nearly always the instigator for things going wrong."
A few hours later, Damon and I went across the road to the Mystic Grill, instantly snagging the next available booth; and both of us equally as impatient for Alaric to rock up so he could spill what information we should already know about Elijah. But we were careful to pretend that we were ignorant, to keep up appearances with those not in the know. I immediately sat up straighter the second Alaric swaggers into the Grill, and spots us. I nudged Damon who turns and looks at Alaric, waving him over.
"Operation: stab-in-the-dark is a go." I quipped, earning a weird expression from Damon, as Alaric slid into the booth next to him, and immediately flagged down the nearest waitress for his usual bourbon. Damon immediately cut straight to the chase.
"Other than your lecture on the history of Mystic Falls, did you get anything out of Elijah?" Damon asked. Alaric frowned, looking a little pissed off about something. I immediately texted Elijah to start making his way over to the Grill with Jenna.
Come down to the Grill now. – G :)
"No, it was boring." Alaric admitted. "Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming." He sounded a little bitter, and I 'oh'ed in realization. Clearly, Jenna was either flirting with or paying too much attention towards Elijah; thus making her boyfriend, Alaric, very jealous. But thank God Alaric is no idiot, otherwise we wouldn't be talking with him right now.
On my way. – E.
"You sounded jealous." Damon commented. Oh, good. So it wasn't just me who noticed. My best friend turned to me, looking curious. "Does he sound a bit jealous?"
I nodded. "Kinda do." Alaric looked defensive.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here." I didn't know whether or not to be annoyed or flattered that Alaric didn't want me to be part of this conversation. I chose flattered; mostly because I already knew what was going on in regards to Elijah.
"Grace is Elijah's sister, remember? She's already fully informed about everything." Damon reminded Alaric who nodded.
"I know. It's just a bit awkward discussing killing her brother in front of her." He observed. I pretended to look resentful, as I noticed Elijah entering and holding open the door for Jenna.
"Speaking of…" I gestured towards Elijah who nodded inconspicuously at me, before plastering on a pleasant smile. Damon smirked, and I frowned when I realised that he was about to tease Alaric.
"Ah, there's Jenna with her new boyfriend." He commented casually, earning an unamused scowl from Alaric and a hard kick in the shin from me. "Hi!" Damon greets Jenna and Elijah, wincing a little from the pain. I smirked triumphantly; I can kick really hard when I want to. Jenna offers Damon a polite smile.
"Hey, guys." She greets all of us, and slides into the booth next to me, and Elijah snags a chair from a nearby table and pulls it up to the booth.
"So I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today." Damon stated, airily. Elijah raised an eyebrow as Jenna responded to the question.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." She confirmed.
"Well, as much as I'd like to continue this, I've got papers to grade." Alaric dumps down some money and gets up from the table. I took this as a cue to suggest the dinner party idea.
"No, you know what? We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party." I suggested, glancing at both Damon and Elijah for back up.
"That's a great idea. I'll be happy to host." Damon immediately piped up. "Say tonight. Maybe?" He glances around at all of us for our answers.
"I've got nothing on. Jenna?" I responded. However, Alaric looks extremely hesitant, and glances not so subtly at Elijah who is more than aware and looked unconcerned.
"I don't know if tonight works…" He looked at his girlfriend, trying to get her to take the hint. But Jenna is oblivious.
"Yeah, I'm free." She chirped, brightly.
"It'd be a pleasure." Elijah agreed, following the plan; despite the expected outcome for him in the end. I managed a smile, but didn't feel much like celebrating when I knew that one of us was going to be jabbing a tainted silver dagger into my brother's heart. Damon however, grinned from ear to ear.
"Great." He said, pleased.
Another couple hours later, and a quick detour to the nearest supermarket, Damon drove me back to the Boarding House. I volunteered to prepare the meal – after threatening to gut my best friend who had the nerve to question if I could actually create something edible – and promptly made preparations. Another hour went by and Jenna and Alaric arrived. I had just finished making the meal and was letting it brown in the oven, so Jenna and I began preparing the table for the dinner party.
Judging by the tension I could sense radiating from the young couple; I decided to undergo a friendly interrogation with Jenna about Alaric.
"So what's going on with you and Alaric?" I questioned, aiming for sensitivity. "I feel there's some tension." Jenna frowned as she laid out the cutlery and glasses on the table. I instantly regretted asking. That is, until she unexpectedly owned up; despite the fact that she barely knew me.
"I don't know." Jenna admitted, a little miserably. "I really like him. It's more than like and I want it to work, but I can't help but feel that he's hiding something from me." Jenna stated, scooping up some linen napkins and arranging them at every placement. "And then I've got John whispering things in my ear about him." I froze. Anything coming from the mouth of John Gilbert, was probably nothing good.
"Like what?" I replied, warily.
"Things I don't want to believe. Things I don't believe, not if they're coming from John's mouth." Jenna responded, and I couldn't help but grin.
Smart girl…
"In some cases, I tend to agree with you. Trust is the key to any relationship." I confided with her. Jenna looked at me with skeptical eyes.
"And how long did it take for you to trust your fiancée?" She asked, curiously. I paused, trying to remember the moment that really sealed the deal for me about Niklaus. The moment when I realised that despite his faults (which were many), his paranoia, moments of self-doubt, insecurities and trust issues; that I knew that he was 'the one'.
I smiled wistfully.
"With Nik? No time at all actually, because we grew up together, and I already knew almost everything about him. But it did take a while for him to completely trust me; but it's probably because he had a hard time trusting people because of his harsh childhood and upbringing." I explained. "But I believe the moment he completely gave in and trusted me with his whole heart and soul – without being sappy, mind you – was the evening he proposed to me at a mutual friend's wedding." I trailed off, remembering that moment that I shall never forget.
~:Flashback (A thousand years ago…):~
It was an absolutely beautiful wedding ceremony. One that I believed the bride – a mutual friend of both Rebekah and I – would remember until her dying hours; and perhaps even after that. It was just after the feast, and the happy couple had invited everybody to join with them dancing. Naturally, Rebekah – who loved to dance - was one of the few who immediately got to her feet and stampeded to the makeshift dancefloor in the meadow where the ceremony took place.
She was beautiful, as always: (still blurred to me) dressed in a heavy long sleeved olive green tunic dress with a coronet of wildflowers on top of her golden head. Her hair had been tied back in a thick braid that trailed down her back as usual, and her baby blue eyes were bright and joyful as she celebrated her friend's happy marriage. We danced with each of her brothers (all dressed in formal long sleeved tunics and breeches, furs, leather belts, and their traveling boots) and even managed to drag me to my feet and clung to my hands as we both spun, jumped and danced in circles, laughing.
I spied Niklaus (also frustratingly blurred out) not too far away from where Rebekah and I had been dancing with Kol (blurred out), Elijah, dour-faced Finn (blurred out) and Henrik (this was before he was viciously mauled by werewolves). He was being far too quiet, as he was just as joyful and vivacious as Rebekah was at parties, feasts and celebrations like these, when the mood took him; and I was concerned. Particularly when I realised how nervous he looked; even more so when Elijah kept whispering to him with a reassuring expression on his face.
"Gather round, girls. Gather round!" The bride yelled, clutching her bouquet of wildflowers in both of her hands. I clamped both hands over my ears when Rebekah squealed excitedly into them.
"Oh! Quickly, Graínne!" She hastened, seizing my wrist and launching the both of us into a sea of unwed females; just waiting for the chance to snatch the bouquet out of thin air. I was less enthusiastic than Rebekah was, but stayed to humor my best friend, who was pushing and shoving away girls in her bid to grab the flowers.
I chuckled fondly.
"Ready? One, two, three!"
The bouquet soared through the air, and I momentarily looked away to glance over at Niklaus; who had walked over to stand where his brothers were observing the bouquet toss with amusement on their faces. I turned back in time to receive a face-full of multi-colored flowers, and fell backwards with a surprised shriek, landing in a heap on the ground. In some strange twist of fate, I had caught the bouquet; which traditionally meant, I was the next to marry. Momentarily stunned, I heard disappointed awes and congratulatory cheering as helping hands seized my upper arms and pulled me to my feet, while I spat loose petals from my mouth. Then I was nearly suffocated to death when Rebekah wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me as she jumped around with excitement.
"Oh, I knew it!" She shrieked. "I knew that it would be your turn!" I smiled out of mortification, and took a step back from Rebekah as I clutched the bouquet in my hands. I buried my face into the spray and inhaled its natural scent as the music started playing again, and everyone resumed dancing, laughing, drinking etc. I decided that I needed some space, and I turned to Rebekah.
"I'm going to go for a walk. I will return soon." I reassured Rebekah, who nodded and immediately tugged poor Henrik in to dance with her; much to his embarrassment. I laughed before turning and taking a walk through the nearby wood; trying to wrap my head around the knowledge that I was, now eligible to be married.
But was I ready?
"Well caught, Graínne. I'm very impressed." I turned to see a smirking Niklaus following me, both hands casually wrapped behind his back. He looked very handsome in his black poet shirt, midnight blue tunic top, dark breeches and traveling boots, a dark brown belt wrapped around his waist and an animal's pelt was wrapped around his shoulders to keep warm in the slight chill of the early spring air. I poked my tongue out at him.
"Thank you, kind sir." I responded playfully, before wondering over to a fallen log and taking a seat upon it. Niklaus followed suit. "Shouldn't you be at the feast?" I asked him. He shook his head, readjusting my traveling cloak so I didn't catch a chill too.
"I just escaped Rebekah's clutches. I needed a moment to myself." He responded, chucking a little as he stared at the sunset in the distance. I nodded, understanding the desire myself. I admired the beautiful reds, oranges and yellows disappearing behind the trees. I noticed him fidgeting with something out of the corner of my eye and I frowned.
"Something the matter, Nik? You're not yourself this evening." I observed and finally turned to face the man who had been courting me for several months. Niklaus took in two deep breaths before steeling himself and turning to face me also.
"There something that I have been wanting to ask you, Graínne. I-I've been practicing how I would ask you over a hundred times in my head, and I still don't know how it's going to sound so…" He held up a ring and my eyes widened in surprise.
"Niklaus…" I breathed, feeling my heart jumping in my chest. Was he really doing what I believed he was doing? The ring he was holding in his hand was pure silver with a lapis lazuli stone that had been fashioned to a heart-shape forged in the centre of the band. Either side of the heart, Viking runes had been engraved around the band, and in the inside of the band were both our names in Viking script with runes for love and forever engraved.
It had obviously been made with a great deal of care and dedication.
I looked into his eyes, feeling joyful tears forming in mine.
"Graínne …" Niklaus took my left hand in his. "You are my best friend, my love, my life, my everything. I've loved you for as long as I can remember, and no matter how long I live; I'll never love anybody else as much as I love you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" I was speechless, as I cupped my hand over my mouth, abandoning the flowers in my lap and I nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes!" I whispered. Tears were streaming down my face as he slid the homemade ring onto my left ring finger, then cupped my face with his hands as pulled me into a very passionate and loving kiss.
~:Reality (Present Day):~
"Grace? Grace!" I was jolted back to the present by a highly amused and curious looking Jenna.
"Huh? Sorry, what was that?" I blurted out, earning giggles in the process. I flushed red with embarrassment.
"Did I interrupt something?" Jenna teased. I grinned coyly, as I turned and walked into the kitchen to check on the process of dinner. Jenna followed. "Well, don't leave me in suspense." She urged.
"I was just remembering when Nik proposed. Or at least the events leading up to it." I admitted. "I remember he looked so nervous." I pulled the pasta bake from the oven and set it aside to cool for a bit, as I continued with my story. "We were both at a friend's wedding, and the bride was about to do the bouquet toss. I was unwillingly dragged into the group of single girls by Nik's sister – my best female friend – and nearly ate the bouquet when it was thrown in my direction."
Jenna giggled.
"How did he propose?"
"After I finished spitting up flower petals, I decided to take a walk in the nearby woods. Nik had the same idea. We joked about the way that I had actually caught the flowers, before we eventually sat down together on a fallen log, and he – very awkwardly, but determinedly – proposed and offered me a beautiful ring." I told her. Jenna's hazel eyes zeroed in on my left ring finger and frowned.
"Where is it?" I raised my hand to my face and quickly wracked my brains for a suitable answer. It wouldn't exactly go down well if I told her the real truth. God only knows what happened to it that night I was killed.
"My brother had to take the ring to get it re-sized." Both Jenna and I looked back to see Elijah standing there with a warm smile on his face. He was obviously remembering that evening too.
"Oh." Jenna responded, sounding a little disappointed.
"Jenna. Wonderful to see you again." Elijah greeted her, warmly, and kissed her knuckles. "How are you?" He adds, making her blush a little at the gentlemanly greeting. I was relieved to see him and more than grateful when he saved my arse from giving Jenna an awkward and probably harried explanation for why Niklaus' ring wasn't on my finger.
"Nice to see you." Jenna sounded a little flustered.
"You look incredible." Elijah complimented her.
Okay, now he was just showing off.
"Thank you." Jenna smiled. The doorbell rings, and both Elijah and I frowned. Everybody who should be here, was already in attendance. "I'll get it." Jenna announces and heads out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the front door. Both Elijah and I follow unhurriedly, and I turn and offer him a grateful smile.
"Thank you for your assistance back there, Elijah. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to answer that question before." I told him.
"You're welcome." Elijah responded, but then frowned a little. "However, I shouldn't have had to if Ms. Sommers was informed sooner rather than later about the supernatural." He warned me.
"That would be logical, and smart. But unfortunately, Elena is the one who is refusing to tell her aunt or her brother anything that is remotely related to the supernatural." I responded, feeling a little irritated. Elijah didn't look very surprised by my reaction to his observation.
"Yes, I assumed that would be the case." Elijah mused.
"I think Elena believes that the less people that know about this world, the more protected they are." I ranted, as Elijah listened. "But what she fails to understand is that the people she loves are, in reality, in more danger if they're ignorant."
"Agreed." Elijah responded. Both of us turned towards the front door when we hear Jenna's annoyed voice, but decide to hang back for now.
"Who invited him?" She demanded. Damon appeared from out of nowhere and backs up Jenna. The unexpected dinner guest turned out to be John Gilbert. He was like a rash that continued coming back.
"John! What a surprise! Leave!" Damon greeted and dismissed John in the same sentence. He proceeded to close the door in his face. But like two nights ago, John held open the door with his hand and practically shoved his way inside.
"When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games." John explained, all smiles. Alaric steps into the hallway to help.
"There are not going to be any games tonight, John. It's just a friendly dinner party." Alaric confirmed firmly, and fixed John with an unfriendly smile. I bit my bottom lip; if only he really knew what the agenda was tonight. It was just a relief that Elijah was in on the plan and willing to cooperate.
"What he said." Damon echoed Alaric. However, they were unable to persuade John to piss off, so we were stuck with him for the night. Damon and I exchanged panicked looks with each other when he, Jenna, Alaric and John walked into the parlor. But infuriatingly, my brother looked unperturbed by this last minute addition to the plan. I wished I felt the same. I just really hoped that arrogant dick didn't screw things for us.
Dinner was well and truly underway, and everybody sat around at the Salvatore's expansive dining table. Surprisingly enough, the atmosphere was extremely relaxed; even though John was here. Jenna pours some wine for Damon.
"I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town." She informed him. Both of us froze, and I looked at Elijah questioningly as Damon recovered.
"Hmm, do tell." Damon requested. Both he (by an explanation from moi) and I knew that the original founders of this town were in fact migrant Vikings from across the seas from what was formerly called the 'Kingdom of Norway'. I was interested to see what tale Elijah was about to spin for us. Elijah paused momentarily to take a sip from his ruby coloured wine before taking on the mantel of storyteller.
"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s." I looked at him with shock which was ignored. "Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."
Jenna nodded. "Hmm. Because they were witches."
I knew that I had to speak up.
"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem." I pointed out and looked at Elijah for a reason why he wasn't offering them a half-truth about the real founders. Again, my look was ignored as Damon looked at me with curiosity.
"How do you know that?" He asked.
"I had a history class as part of my college degree." I explained, truthfully, grabbing Elijah's attention. "I'm a bit of a history buff. Big on the facts." I added.
"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighbouring settlement, so these witches were rounded up." Elijah lectured to us like he was a college professor. I found myself intrigued by my brother's seemingly endless fountain of knowledge. "They were tied to stakes in a field together, and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around." Jenna and I paled slightly. "They were consumed by the fire."
"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society." Jenna pointed out as John made a face at the story.
"It's starting to sound like a ghost story to me." John scoffed, as Damon made an attempt to gather further information from Elijah.
"So, why so you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon wanted to know. Elijah smiled indulgently at him, causing Damon to bristle a little at the slightly condescending expression.
"You know… a healthy historian's curiosity, of course." Elijah replied easily. Damon managed a rather weak smile.
"Of course." He eyes something behind me. "Would anyone care for some cognac?" He asks, brightly. "I have a bottle that I've been saving for ages." Damon gets up from the table and moves towards an antique liquor cabinet. Alaric immediately gestures no.
"None for me thanks. Nine bottles of wine is my limit." I raised an eyebrow at the flippant comment. Damon, Elijah and I head for the library. Along the way, Alaric's phone starts to ring; but all three of us ignore it. It was time to prepare Elijah to be daggered, and to make sure that it was an Academy Award performance.
"So far so good." I commented, flopping down on one of the black couches in the Library. Damon poured himself another drink, and turned towards me gesturing if I wanted one. I shook my head. "Although, I'm not looking forward to temporarily killing you." I directed this towards Elijah.
"This isn't exactly going to be an enjoyable experience for me either, sister." Elijah reminded me. "But I hope that things will continue moving as scheduled while I am under the effects of the dagger." Both Damon and I nodded, as Damon comes over and takes a seat next to me on the couch.
"So, in addition to the moonstone, the doppelgänger, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe…" I threw him an unamused look, which he ignored. Typical. "You need to find this witch burial ground." Damon confirmed. Elijah nodded.
"It is only because of Grace that I feel as though we've grown so close, Damon, so I'll tell you yes." He gave my best friend a sarcastic smile, and I groaned. They were just as bad as each other. "Do you know where it is?"
"I might, if you tell me why it's so important." Damon responded vaguely. I shook my head and got up, heading for the liquor cabinet and fixed myself a scotch after all and gestured towards Elijah if he wanted one too. He nods.
"We're not that close." Elijah responds, accepting the glass of scotch from me and clinking with me. Then he turns around and peruses the collection of books on the shelves. "It's quite a collection you have here." Elijah observes, looking impressed. I grinned.
"Henrik certainly thinks so, that's for sure." I muttered off handedly. Both vampires look at me with surprise and curiosity.
"Henrik was here?" Damon blurted out.
"He sometimes tags along with me when I go places. The Salvatore's private collection of books is one of his favourite places to be. But we're not attached to the hip. Henrik comes and goes whenever he pleases." I responded, taking a sip of the scotch and enjoying the burn as it slid down my throat.
"Not surprising. Whenever he finished his chores early, you could find him curled up underneath a tree or in our barn with his nose in a book." Elijah reminisced fondly. "Is he here now?" He asked, sounding hopeful. I smiled sympathetically at him but shook my head.
"No, he didn't want to see you get daggered. I can relate." I explained. Elijah looked a little disappointed, but understood and continued scanning the spines of the books.
"It's a funny things about books. Before they existed, people actually had memories." Elijah mused, a little sadly. I nodded in agreement, finishing my drink and psyching myself up for what was gonna happen next.
"Do you have the dagger, Damon?" I asked, reluctantly. Elijah turned towards where Damon was now walking towards a tray of glasses and withdraws the silver dagger from them. He offered me the dagger.
"Do you want to do the honors?" He asked, and I glared at him. Damon took the hint and I turned away, not wanting to see what was going to happen next. Somebody came up behind me and placed their hands on my shoulders. The subtle scent that wafted into my nose told me that it was Elijah. He didn't say anything just held me, trying to comfort. However, before Damon could do anything, Alaric burst through the study doors with a panicked smile on his face.
"Hey, we forgot about dessert." He announced, looking meaningfully at Damon who frowned at him with frustration, while hiding the dagger behind his back to keep the pretense that Elijah had no idea we were going to stab him. Both Elijah and I looked at him quizzically, but at the same time I was relieved … even if it was momentary.
"Shall we?" I asked Elijah, stretching out my hand for him to take.
"Of course." Elijah responded warmly, taking my hand and handing his glass to Damon, who drains it and glowers at Alaric. Elijah and I leave both men in the study in favour of seeking something sweet in the dining room. We find Jenna serving John a cup of coffee.
"Sorry, guys. Dessert is taking longer than I thought. I usually just unwrap food." Jenna says apologetically, before disappearing back into the kitchen. My phone dinged and I frowned and retrieved it, peering down at the screen.
I can't stab Elijah with the dagger. If I do, I'll die. – D.
I raised an eyebrow.
Stupid fine print details.
I nudged Elijah who was listening to a conversation involving John, and showed him Damon's text message. He read it briefly, and nodded looking slightly sheepish. I scowled at him, trying to translate that he should've spoken up about this little factoid earlier.
Alaric's gonna do it instead. So, I'm gonna 'stall'. Let Elijah know the change of plans. – D.
I glanced over at Damon who looked less than impressed too and sat down at the table, glaring at an oddly quiet John. I showed Elijah the message. He nodded curtly, and eyed Alaric who was looking nervous.
"Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena's uncle-slash-father?" Damon asked casually, still glaring at John.
Elijah eyed John. "Yes, I'm well aware of that."
"Of course, she hates him." I noticed John wince at this. "So there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list." Damon stated, and I looked at him with confusion.
"Endangered species list?"
"Yes. Miss Gilbert has made a list of people she wants protected against any threats until the situation with Niklaus is over." Elijah explained to me.
Oh. What are the chances I'm not on this list? John decided to make his intentions known.
"What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how you intend on killing Klaus?" John asked pompously. Elijah looked offended by the question, as did I.
"Gentlemen, there's a few things we should probably get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena. I allow Elena to remain in her house living her life with her friends as she does, as a courtesy." Elijah narrowed his eyes at John. "If you become a liability, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her again." John's eyes darted over to me.
"Does that apply to Miss Williams, as well?" He enquired, obviously ignoring the dangerous tone in Elijah's voice. Elijah's eyes flashed with anger, causing John to recoil slightly; realizing he had just pissed off one fifth of the Original family with that question.
"Are you threatening my sister?" Elijah asked, menacingly.
I went to calm down my brother when suddenly Alaric comes up behind him and stabs the dagger through his heart through the back of his chair. Both Elijah and I screamed, before he turns a ghostly grey. Dark veins spread over his entire body and he shrivels up like a prune, before pitching forward, dead.
"NO! Elijah!" I shrieked, as Alaric pulls the dagger out and places it on the table. Damon comes over to my side and pulls me to him in an effort to stop me from flinging myself over Elijah. But even he looks horrified. Alaric gives me a sympathetic look before looking at Damon.
"Now, get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert." He instructs.
"All right." Damon nodded, before pulling me to the side and winking at me. I realised that it was his way of telling me that everything was going to be okay. I smiled weakly, before Damon kisses my temple and turned to help Alaric heave up Elijah's body and take him downstairs to the basement.
I followed to help.
"You said there wasn't going to be any violence." Alaric bitched at Damon after they set down Elijah's body in one of the basement rooms. I frowned as I crouched down beside my brother's desiccated body and smoothed back his brown hair from his face. Clearly, Alaric and Damon had had a separate conversation from the one Damon had with Elijah and I about this plan.
"Says the guy that did all the killing." Damon retorted back, and goes to walk out of the room. However, Alaric stops him.
"Hey, I took the shot because I saw an opening, not because I planned to do this with Jenna in the house. Now, you can't lie to me like that." Alaric insisted, angrily. Damon makes another attempt to leave, but once again Alaric grabs him. "Hey, I am your friend, damn it. And you don't have any friends. So, no more lying!" Alaric growls. I immediately stood up and turned on him.
"Hey!" Alaric turns and looks at me with surprise. "You're forgetting about me, Miss. Chopped Liver." I shouted at him with annoyance. "I've been Damon's friend long before you decided to give him a chance. So clean your ears out, and cut him some slack!" I turned and crouched back down beside Elijah's body, missing the delighted smile spreading across Damon's face when I defended him. Alaric doesn't respond; instead he looks down at Elijah's body and walks out. Damon is about to leave too before he stops and turns to look at me.
"Are you coming, Grace?" He mutters. I looked up at him.
"I'll be along in a minute. Just gonna sit with him for a while." I promised. Damon nodded, and closes the cell door behind him. I sat forward and placed a kiss on Elijah's forehead before getting to my feet and moving to the opposite wall and sitting down and watching him for a while.
It couldn't have been more than about ten minutes before suddenly, and unexpectedly, Elijah gasped and sat up looking around in bemusement. His brown eyes immediately clapped onto mine.
"Grace?" He croaked, tenderly touching the place he had been stabbed and frowned. I got to my feet and came over to his side; relieved but also confused.
"What the hell is going on?" I demanded, fretting about why the dagger hadn't worked. Was it defective?
"That is an excellent question." Elijah seconded the confusion. "What happened to the dagger?" He asked, calmly. I raised an eyebrow.
"Why didn't it work?" I returned the question.
"It indeed worked." Elijah confirmed. "My question is: why wasn't it left in?" He demanded.
I paled. "Was it supposed to be?"
"You didn't know?" Elijah frowned at me. I shook my head, fearing that I was in hot water.
"John never said that the dagger had to remain in the body. All he said was that the dagger was capable of killing any of you as dead as a doornail." I explained. "Please don't be mad." I pleaded. Elijah looked at me like I was insane.
"Why on earth would I be mad at you, Grace? It was an innocent mistake. But you do realise that I'm going to have to pretend that I felt betrayed and confront Miss. Gilbert and Mr. Salvatore about this, just to keep up appearances?" Elijah told me, reassuring me at the same time. I nodded, relieved that I wasn't in deep shit.
"Fine with me. Elena needs to be scared straight." I responded, smirking a little. Elijah smirked back and leans over to hug me just as Damon burst into the room. His mouth drops open when he sees Elijah alive and sitting upright.
"You're alive. This isn't good." Damon stated. I got up, and helped the partially weakened Elijah to his feet as well, before I explained the situation to him.
"Don't worry. It's just an innocent mistake. The dagger needs to stay in the body in order for it to work." I told him. "Elijah just told me two seconds ago." I reassured him. Elijah brushed himself down to remove any dirt or dust.
"Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to 'retaliate' now." Elijah explains to the both of us. I nodded, but Damon steps into his path.
"What do you mean retaliate?" He asks, suspiciously. Elijah looks a little irritated.
"I need to 'play my part'." He responded cryptically, and vamp-speeds from the room.
A/N: What's gonna happen next? If you've seen the TV series, you should probably already know.
TTFN xx