A/N: Welcome back to 'A Thousand Years'. Rest assured, I have not abandoned the story; I've just been busy and I've had a bout of writer's block, as well as new plot bunnies for a potential new story that I'm researching at the moment.
If you've been keeping up with this story, I'm chuffed! Thanks for the loyalty, and I hope that you continue reading up until the end. Please review, and no flames will be accepted.
I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters from the T.V. show belong to author L.J. Smith. Grace belongs to me. Yay!
Enjoy xx
LIES MY BROTHER TOLD ME
"PTSD nightmares aren't always exact replays of the event.
Sometimes they replay the emotions you felt during the event,
such as fear, helplessness, and sadness." ~Alice Cariv.
I knew something was up when Rebekah looked up from her homework the day after Elena interrogated her about Mikael, and cheerfully asked me if I would assist her in finding a homecoming dress for the upcoming dance at the High School. I agreed naturally, because two different opinions were better than one. The fact that she was planning to invite Elena over to help, made me think that she had an ulterior motive. I glanced over at her from behind the latest painting I was creating of Rebekah and Henrik relaxing contentedly on the couch.
"Okay. What gives, Bekah? You loathe Elena, why the hell would you seek her opinion about your fashion choices?" I asked, frowning at her.
Rebekah shrugged nonchalantly at me.
"It's a ruse. She wants to know more about why Nik and I have been running from Mikael for so long, I figured I would humour her and hopefully get an answer to why she was idiotic enough to even think of waking up Mikael in the first place." Rebekah explained.
I frowned. "But I've already done that when I first moved here to Mystic Falls." I explained. Rebekah smirked, obviously knowing something that I wasn't privy to.
"True. But you don't know what happened after you were killed, sister." She reminded me.
"No, I agree. I don't know what happened after Mikael killed me. But still, why you giving in?" I asked, confused.
"Curiosity." Rebekah replied, simply.
"Fantastic." I muttered, sarcastically. "When are you planning on doing this? And where are you doing this charade? The Boarding House?" I asked, deciding to just indulge her whim.
"Today, here. If you don't mind of course." Rebekah replied, smiling sweetly.
"Pretty sure I do mind, Bekah. But I suppose you're going to do it even if I objected. So have at it." I said, earning an even broader smile from my sister.
"I knew that you'd understand." She beamed at me.
Hell no, I didn't understand why I had to play hostess to something that wasn't even my idea in the first place. But I supposed familiar territory was probably wiser, and going along with a highly temperamental vampire was better for my health as well. There was a random knock at the door and Henrik barreled up off the couch and went to answer it.
"I got it!" He announced, loudly. He pulled open the front door revealing the cheerleaders from the high school, all looking dazed. "Uh, what the hell?" Henrik frowned at his sister with confusion, and I glanced over the canvas to blink curiously at the girls as well.
"My sentiments exactly." I agreed, and looked at Rebekah for an explanation. Rebekah immediately got up off the couch and wondered casually over to the door to usher the six dazed girls inside the apartment.
"Ah, girls! Right on time. Come this way." She greeted them, breezily. The girls wordlessly marched their way into the apartment and came to a stop in front of my island bench. I set down my paintbrush and walked over to one of the girls for a closer inspection.
She barely reacted to my presence.
"You've compelled them, haven't you?" I stated, questioning why I wasn't at all surprised that Rebekah had done something like this.
"Of course. How else am I going to make a decision?" She asked like it should've been obvious. I was about to ask her to clarify when I noticed six different dresses laid out on Rebekah's bed and put two and two together.
"Right. Of course, what was I thinking?" I drawled sarcastically and went back to my painting. Henrik shook his head and wondered back over to the couch and flopped back down onto it, resuming watching the T.V.
"Girls…" He mumbled underneath his breath, and I raised an eyebrow at him for the comment. His response was to stick out his tongue at me, and I rolled my eyes.
"Follow me." Rebekah compelled her entourage and wordlessly, the girls mindlessly followed Rebekah like ducklings into her bedroom to get ready for her personal improvised fashion show.
About an hour later, there came a tentative knock at the door. Only this time, Henrik wasn't as eager as last time to answer it. Presumably because we both had an inkling that it was going to be Elena on the other side. In the end, I let out a frustrated sigh and put down my paintbrush to answer the damn door.
"Hey, Elena. Come in." I said, politely. Elena eyed me with some surprise and caution as I rolled my eyes and shut the door behind her before returning to the canvas. Rebekah walked into the living room, carrying two champagne glasses. She beams falsely at Elena when she sees the teenager.
"Hey! What's up?" Rebekah greets Elena cheerfully, handing me one of the champagne flutes. I absently take the glass from her and take a sip as I focused intently on my painting.
"You invited me over? To talk?" Elena questioned Rebekah, warily. In response to this, Rebekah lounges casually beside Henrik on the couch. By this time, Henrik had taken up reading and glanced at Rebekah to half-heartedly scowl at her before resuming where he had left off.
"All right girls, have at it!" Rebekah calls out to the six cheerleaders waiting for their next instructions in Rebekah's bedroom. I paused to watch them parade out wearing jewel-toned homecoming dresses of various styles and shapes, and stand at attention. Rebekah smiles approvingly. "Okay, now twirl please." She instructs, and the six compelled girls obey without question, showing off the dresses Rebekah was making them model.
Elena blinked with confusion.
"You compelled your own private runway show?" She commented. I glanced up from the canvas to smirk at her in amusement.
"Shocking, isn't it?" I said. Rebekah ignored my comment, although I did notice the tiniest smirk appear on her face as well.
"I need a homecoming dress." She explained, waving a careless hand at the girls. "So, what do you think? Pick one." Rebekah orders Elena, who frowns at her in annoyance.
"I'm not here to help you shop. I'm here to talk to you about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael." She said.
In response to Elena's refusal to cooperate, Rebekah immediately got to her feet and vamp-sped behind one of the girls, grabbing her neck and vamping out. Elena jerks in alarm.
"I said "pick one", Elena." Rebekah orders, sternly. I eyed Elena over the nearly completed canvas, feeling bored.
"You better do what she says, Elena. Rebekah tends to get impatient very quickly." I suggested.
She glares at me accusingly.
"You allowed this to happen?" She said, and I finished my final touches to the painting before pulling a special protective sheet over the top to prevent smudging while it dried.
"She's not going to harm them, Elena, unless you give her cause to. Just answer her bloody question." I replied, sitting on the armrest of the couch and taking another sip from my champagne. Elena sighed before scanning each girl and making a decision.
"The … red one." She said, impatiently. Rebekah immediately releases the girl in her grasp, and shakes off her vampire face.
"There. It wasn't so hard, was it?" She told her, patronizingly. Rebekah turned towards the six girls and compels them once again. "Go away. Remember nothing." She instructs, and the girls one by one turn and leave the apartment. Rebekah turns and walks over to Elena, causing the girl to take a step back. "You do not threaten me, my brother or Grace. You'll learn what we allow you to learn. Is that clear?" Rebekah lays down the rules.
Elena is taken aback.
"We?" She blurted out in surprise.
"That's what she said, Elena. Deal with it." I stated. Elena could obviously see that she had no choice, and she nodded. Rebekah walks back over to the couch and takes a seat beside Henrik, who was seemingly oblivious to what was happening around him.
"So what do you want to know?" Rebekah asked, already looking bored and Elena hadn't even asked her question yet. I added in my own two cents.
"That I haven't already told you." I said. Elena raised an eyebrow, obviously trying to recall exactly what I had recounted to her.
"Well, clearly I need a refresher course on your 'shared' life story." Elena stated. I shook my head, irritated, but waited for the question. "Grace mentioned and Elijah confirmed that your father was a landowner in Europe. How did you guys end up here?" She asked.
I blinked, surprised that Elijah was that forthcoming with information about his family. Rebekah, Henrik and I exchanged glances, trying to decide how to relay this. In the end, it was Rebekah who kicked things off; with Henrik and me adding bits and pieces to the 'history lesson'.
"My parents had just started a family, when a plague struck their homeland." Rebekah began, rising from the couch and walking over to reach for the champagne bottle on the island bench. She indicated if I wanted more, and I nodded reaching out my glass. "They lost a child to it. They wanted to escape and protect their future family from the same fate." Rebekah added, pouring some more champagne into my glass, and setting aside the bottle staring off into space as she reflected on her family's history.
"So how did you end up here? This part of the world hadn't even been discovered yet." Elena questioned. Rebekah and I exchanged smirks.
"Clearly, somebody needs to brush up on their history. Vikings came to the North American shores back in 985 when Erik the Red founded a settlement in Greenland. This persisted up until the early 1400s when Christopher Columbus 'founded' North America. That's probably the part of history that you know." I told a gobsmacked Elena. "But I digress, this is not part of the story." I stated. "The Mikaelsons and my parents immigrated to what would be known as 'Virginia' in the late 10th Century, after Rebekah's mum learned from her friend, a witch known as Ayana, about spirits of a mystical land where everyone was healthy … blessed by the gifts of speed and strength." I said, reminiscently.
"And we lived harmoniously amongst these people." Rebekah added.
Elena frowned, curiously. "The werewolves?"
The three of us nodded.
"To us, they were just our neighbours. Our families lived with them for over 20 years, during which our families had more children, including us." Henrik said, smiling sadly. Elena looked dumbfounded.
"You three make it sound so normal." She observed and we chuckled, not unkindly.
"Were you expecting anything less?" I asked, light-heartedly. Rebekah came over and perched on the armrest beside me.
"Once a month, our families retreated into the caves beneath our village." Rebekah continued. I eyed Elena sternly, causing her to raise an eyebrow.
"The same caves where you found Rebekah's name chiseled into the wall. And probably other names as well." Elena flushed red, and avoided direct eye contact with us.
"The wolves would howl through the night and by morning we'd return home…" Rebekah trailed off, and I immediately grabbed a hold of Henrik's hand, since this was where the story went into sensitive territory. He squeezed my hand reassuringly.
"At least, until one night when it all went horribly wrong." I said. Elena frowned, thrown by my dull tone.
"What do you mean?" She asked. I glared at her.
"Do you seriously not recall anything that I told you the first night I moved into this apartment?" I growled, angrily. Elena scowled at me, but before she could open her mouth to retort back at me; Henrik unexpectedly spoke up, since he knew that it was his story to tell, and that the only people who knew this part of the story was he himself and Nik.
"What Grace means is: that one night, I disobeyed orders to stay in the cave and snuck out to see the werewolves for myself." Henrik explained, looking almost reluctant to tell this part of the explanation. Elena's eyes widened comically.
"Then the morning after; all hell broke loose." I said, gravely.
"One full moon, Klaus and Henrik snuck out to watch the men turn into beasts." Rebekah frowned at the memory. "That was forbidden, and Henrik paid the price." All heads swiveled in Henrik's direction and we were shocked by the vacant expression that had come over his face as he stared off into the distance. Rebekah was immediately alarmed and came over to her brother's side.
"Henrik? Sweetie?" I talked to him in a soothing voice, hoping that he wasn't spiraling into a traumatized state over remembering the last moments of his death. He swallowed thickly.
"I was curious." He said, dully. "None of us had ever seen a werewolf in wolf form before, and the mere thought of being able to shift into a beast fascinated me." Henrik confessed, and both Rebekah and I realised that he was definitely remembering that night … just not the part of the event that we initially believed he would start remembering. Both of us watched him, riveted; and yet unsure if we really wanted to know all the gruesome details of what really went down that night. And we both knew better than to ask Nik. We weren't that insensitive.
Elena was frowning at us with confusion.
"What happened that night?" She asked. Both Rebekah and I turned on her, eyes flashing with anger that she would even think of asking such a question.
"You don't have to answer that, Henrik." I reassured him. "How dare you?" I hissed at Elena who stared at me blankly. However, Henrik seemed to ignore this as he continued telling us all about what really transpired that night he had been brutally and savagely killed, despite all of Nik's efforts to protect his baby brother.
"I couldn't sleep. The memory is a little fuzzy, but I vaguely remember that the reason why I wasn't able to sleep was because I had a rock or a root digging into my back. The howls and sounds of thudding paws coming from the werewolves outside didn't exactly help either." Henrik revealed what truly happened that night.
~:FLASHBACK (HENRIK'S P.O.V):~
The loud howling sounded in the distance as I groaned and rolled over, trying to make myself more comfortable so I could fall asleep again. But it seemed like a useless endeavor, mostly because no matter where I chose to sleep in this stupid cave, everywhere I lay there was a dirty great big root or a stray pebble digging into my back.
In the end, I gave up and sat up to lean against the wall.
The rest of my family and the other villagers were attempting to sleep as well and I turned my head towards the left when movement caught my eye. Niklaus was curled up with Graínne not too far away from where I had been attempting to sleep. It also looked like they were having just as much difficulty as I was, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.
I smiled at them, glad that for once my brother was going to be happy and at peace with his life. It appeared that he finally had everything he needed; there was nothing that could possibly go wrong for him now.
I jumped when another howl pierced the night air, and I decided to risk father's wrath by going and investigating the werewolves shift back into their human forms. I bet that it'd be so cool to be able to become a wolf, and have the freedom to roam wherever you wanted to and just have fun for once. Cautiously, I got to my feet and with a glance at the rest of my family, started to creep towards the entrance to the cave.
"What are you doing?" I flinched and turned back to see Niklaus had crept up behind me, and was frowning with disapproval. "You should be sleeping, brother. Do you want Father to punish us both?" He asked me. It was more likely that he'd get punished, not me. I bit my bottom lip, but stared my brother down defiantly. Niklaus, Elijah and Finnik had the authority to punish me if they deemed it necessary. But I could tell that Niklaus wasn't angry with me, just curious.
"I cannot sleep. And anyway, shouldn't you be sleeping with Graínne?" I asked him, evenly. Then paused when I realised exactly what I had just said and looked sheepishly at my slightly amused brother who looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "That did not come out right…"
"You should be sleeping as well. But I have the feeling 'not sleeping' is not the only reason why you are awake." Niklaus pressed me for an answer, and I immediately caved.
"Okay, you win. I was going to sneak out to see the werewolves." I admitted, and felt guilty at the horror that passed over my brother's face.
"Are you mad? You know we're not allowed to do that. It is forbidden." Niklaus sternly scolded me, causing me to roll my eyes.
"I know that. But what is the harm in taking a look?" I asked him. Niklaus scowled at me, stubbornly.
"I dare not find out. Seriously, get back to sleep." He insists and turns to head back over to where he had left an oblivious Graínne sleeping in unsuspecting slumber.
I did not follow.
Niklaus growled with frustration and started to follow me out of the cave. I already had a head start on him, and once we got out of the cave there was really no turning back. We were bound to be caught anyhow; and the punishment was likely to be severe. Although were not entirely positive that this would be the case, as nobody had dared before now to disobey the Village rule.
Very reluctantly, Niklaus took point and started leading me out of the safety of the cave entrance and along a hidden path through the woods towards where it had been rumoured that the werewolves congregated during the full moon. It was a very tense moment, and we were jumping at shadows and eerie noises of wolves howling all around us; as though they were corralling us into a trap.
I suddenly began to realise that this was not such a good idea after all, and wished that I had listened the first time when Niklaus insisted that we ignore the noises outside the cave and gone back to sleep. It would've happened eventually, and I hated my impulsive nature. It had gotten me into trouble before and apparently, I had not learned from the last time.
"This is creepy. Maybe we should go back?" I whispered, nervously. Niklaus nodded and we were about to turn back and head for the cave when suddenly, in the clearing three fully grown wolves darted into view: one white with a grey pattern on its flank and a russet coloured one who was whining and nuzzling up with the third wolf which was a midnight black. "Wow…" I breathed, feeling my mouth falling open in genuine awe. It was obvious that these wolves were completely oblivious to our presence here hidden in the bushes; and both Niklaus and I wanted to keep it that way.
"They're magnificent. But I really think we should be heading back now, Henrik." Niklaus suggested, and I nodded; satisfied that I had seen what I had wanted and we turned to go. But I found myself thudding right into my brother's back.
"What is it?" I asked. One glance at my brother's deathly pale face, made me question what was wrong. Harsh panting and the sound of a guttural growling noise attracted my attention and I paused and turned in the direction that Niklaus was looking in: it was another wolf; this one a beautiful tan and dark brown … and it was not happy to see us. Its golden eyes narrowed dangerously on us and drool was dripping from its chops as its fangs were bared. "Niklaus… what do we do?" I asked, appalled by how small my voice sounded.
"Don't move. Whatever you do, don't move." My brother warns me, with a firm tone in his slightly shaky voice. I found myself nodding and unable to break eye contact with the wolf. Then without warning, the wolf took a single step forward and an overwhelming urge to run came over me, and I immediately bolted. "Henrik, NO!" I heard Niklaus shouting at me from behind. But I did not look back; I was completely terrified of the sound of the wolf chasing after me, and the sound of my brother grunting as he hit the ground with a thud. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I heard Niklaus yelling at the wolf and I chose the wrong moment to look back at the wolf and tripped on an exposed root.
The next thing I knew was excruciating pain…
~:REALITY (GRACE'S P.O.V):~
Nobody dared to breathe. I didn't have to look over at Rebekah to know that horrified tears were streaming down her flawless face when she heard Henrik's final hours from his own point of view. But I did take a glance at Elena, and she had gone ashen and looked like she deeply regretted asking the question and wanted to be anywhere but here.
I glared at her with uncontrolled fury.
"I won't even begin to describe the amount of pain and fear I was experiencing at that moment. All I could see apart from the wolf that was mauling me; was Niklaus trying desperately to pull that infernal wolf off of me." Henrik explained. "I must have lost consciousness, because the next thing I knew, I was being carried somewhere and it was morning." He said, dully. Elena swallowed hard, and managed to regain her composure.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you." She told Henrik, who looked at her in astonishment. "But my question hasn't been answered." Elena said, stubbornly and defiantly. Rebekah and Henrik were astounded by Elena's reaction, and I dreaded to think what expression was on mine. All I knew was that I was baying for her blood.
"You don't have a compassionate bone in your body, do you?" Rebekah snarled, angrily. "My brother did not have to reveal exactly what happened that night he was killed. So how dare you, demand more from us!" Rebekah was livid and I didn't blame her at all. "Surely what Henrik had just revealed to you, should be enough evidence to why we do not want Mikael to return to Mystic Falls. It is folly." Rebekah stated. Elena opened her mouth to retort when I raised my hand to silence the both of them.
"No, wait a minute, Rebekah. Fair is fair." I reminded her, earning a scandalized look from my sister. "If Elena wants to learn more about why you and your brothers have been running from Mikael for so long; then by all means, let's indulge her." I said, my voice as smooth as silk. Elena was lucky that Nik was not present. But then again, if Nik was present, none of this bullshit would be happening. Rebekah was silenced for a moment, still looking at me like I was crazy. But eventually she nodded and continued on with her family's personal story.
"Klaus brought Henrik's bloodied and mangled body back to the Village; screaming for our mother. He was immediately greeted by both Grace and myself." Rebekah begrudgingly told Elena.
"Both of us were beside ourselves with grief and terror. But that was nothing compared to their mother's reaction." I indicated to Rebekah and a very quiet Henrik. "She begged Ayana to save him, but the damage was already done. And that was the beginning of the end of peace with our neighbours." I said.
"And one of the last moments my family had together as humans." Rebekah added. Suddenly, Elena's phone started to vibrate, bringing us crash landing back into reality. I glared at the phone like it was a potentially venomous snake about to strike. "You better get that. That'll be Damon checking up on you." Rebekah pointed out, with disgust.
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Is it really?" I immediately snatched up Elena's phone and answered it, before Elena had the change to do so herself. Rebekah and Henrik were looking at me strangely.
"What the hell?" Elena yelled out in protest, but I ignored her; focusing on Damon's slightly stressed out voice talking down the line.
"Elena?" Damon sounded confused.
"No, actually. This is Grace." I responded, evenly. Elena was glaring holes into the back of my head.
"Can you put Elena on?" Damon sounded frazzled, but I was determined to get my point across to him, since it was obvious that Damon was having trouble picking a side and staying there. His little animosity towards Nik was becoming tiresome.
"I think you can wait a few minutes to hear what I have to say to you, Damon." I stated. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong. But are we friends, or were you lying to me when you told me that you loved me?" I demanded. Elena stopped fighting for her phone, to look at me dumbfounded. I heard Damon groaning.
"Of course I do, Grace. Don't be ridiculous." Damon answered.
"Ridiculous? Really?" I was dubious. "I'm ridiculous that I don't want you to help those trying to lure a notorious vampire hunter to hunt down and kill both my family and me?" I said. "Yeah, I'm ridiculous." I agreed. There was silence over the other line. "You better decide where you stand, Damon. Or you could lose everything." I warned him, before tossing the phone to Elena and retreating into the kitchen. I was followed closely by Rebekah who looked worried.
"Are you alright?" She asked, cautiously. I glanced up into her blue eyes and gave her a tight smile; which would indicate how not alright I was feeling at this moment.
"Will be." I reassured her as we both listened to the one-sided conversation between Damon and Elena. The second she hung up, I reemerged from the kitchen with my arms folded cross my chest. Henrik looked at me with deep concern, as Elena turned to give me her full attention. "Are you through with your phone call? Can we get on with the story?" I asked her. Elena frowned.
"You know what, I'm just gonna go." She decided and started heading for the front door, but Rebekah stepped into her path.
"You haven't even heard half the story." She tells Elena, who placed her hands on her hips and scowled at her.
"And you are not going to tell it. You're just bored and looking for someone to push around. Find someone else to play with … maybe Rebekah, you can compel the both of you a friend." Elena suggested snidely, before making another attempt to leave.
"No. You wanted to know their story; so you are going to shut up and listen." I insisted. Elena just looked at me, before continuing her bid for freedom. Rebekah tried a different angle.
"The necklace wasn't Stefan's to give, you know. It belonged to the Original Witch." Rebekah told her. Elena paused and turned around to face us. Henrik had chosen that moment to get up from the couch to approach us, and wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders, which I leant into.
"The one who put the Hybrid Curse on Klaus?" Elena asked, walking back over to the couch to sit down. I nodded in confirmation.
"The one and the same." I said.
"Except that it wasn't just the Hybrid Curse that she performed on Klaus. She's the one who turned us into vampires." Rebekah added. I took a seat at one of the bar stools surrounding my island bench.
"I have a vague memory of Rebekah confessing to me her fears one afternoon a thousand years ago, about her parents plotting something sinister with Ayana." I said, grabbing Rebekah's attention. "Do you recall that, Bekah?" I asked, curiously.
She nodded. "It's not something that you can forget that easily." Rebekah admitted. "I was preparing for bed, when like Grace said, I eavesdropped on a heated conversation between my parents and Ayana." Rebekah picks up her discarded champagne glass and pours herself another glass of the golden liquid.
"So vampirism was a form of protection?" Elena deduced.
"What else could it be?" I asked. Elena shrugged.
"A curse?" She suggested, like it should've been obvious. Rebekah shook her head, dismissing the idea entirely.
"My parents only saw a way of keeping their children alive." She insisted. Elena focused upon Henrik, curiously. That made him uncomfortable.
"I get that. But why stay if you were so afraid of the werewolves? Why didn't you just leave?" Elena asked.
"Pride." Henrik responded, much to Elena's surprise. It was the first thing he had said since revealing what really happened the night he had been killed. "Our father's fatal flaw." He said, grimly.
"He didn't want to run anymore. Our father wanted to fight and be superior to the wolves." Rebekah said. "Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster." She listed.
"Agility. Strength. Senses…" I reiterated. "But Ayana refused to be a part of that. So their fate rested in their mother's hands." I said. Elena blinked at us, probably wondering if she had heard me correctly.
"In her hands? How could your mother do anything?" She asked both Henrik and Rebekah, in confusion. Henrik shrugged; like it was no big deal.
"Our mother was a witch." He confirmed, as Elena's mouth dropped open in shock.
"What?"
"The witch of the Original Family. The Original Witch?" Rebekah translated, taking a sip from her champagne. Elena still looked confused.
"But if your mother was a witch, then…" She trailed off, but we all knew where she was heading with her thoughts.
"Nope." Henrik confirmed. "We used to be, but not anymore." He said.
"A witch is nature's servant; a vampire is an abomination of nature. You can either be one or the other, never both. Our mother did this for us. She did not turn." Rebekah explained. Elena turned to look at me.
"Obviously you didn't turn. Where were you when all this was happening? Or don't you remember?" Elena was spiteful. I glowered at her.
"Grace was ignorant of what was happening to us; an innocent. And after we turned, we created a temporary berth from her for her own safety. But it was hardest on Klaus to do so, because the both of them were newly betrothed." Rebekah said, not impressed with Elena's attitude towards me.
"Why?" Elena asked.
"Think, Elena. Think very hard; what do we feed on?" The teenager immediately paled, earning an unkind smile from Rebekah. "None of us would be able to live with ourselves if something should have happened to her during our newborn months." She said.
"I remembered feeling hurt and confused about why I was being avoided, and when I did eventually catch a glimpse of them from dusk onwards, they would immediately disappear without a word. I didn't learn the truth until it was too late." I said, wincing at the memory of Mikael's snarling face. Rebekah nodded, reaching for and squeezing my hand in what I assumed was a very belated apology for putting me through that all those years before, on behalf of her brothers and herself.
"None of us wanted her to go through what we went through when we were first turned." Rebekah stated, firmly.
"How did you turn?" Elena asked.
"Our mother called upon the sun for life, and the ancient white oak tree, one of nature's eternal objects, for immortality." Rebekah said. "That night, my father offered us wine laced with blood. Your ancestor's blood, actually. And then he drove his sword through our hearts." I flinched and pulled away from Rebekah, as the memory of cold steel passing through my side came back to me. Rebekah looked at me with worry and surprise.
"He killed you?" Elena whispered, sounding stunned.
"And he wasn't delicate about it either." Rebekah confirmed. "What is it, Grace?" She addressed me, setting aside her champagne glass. Elena eyed me curiously as well. Henrik's eyes widened in horror. Wordlessly, I began unbuttoning my old flannel shirt that I used whenever I was painting and turned to show the three of them my birthmark that I had only shown to both Damon and Elijah previously. Rebekah gasped in realisation.
"No. That bastard!" She yelled, furiously.
"What's so special about a stupid birthmark?" Elena frowned.
"Because that is no ordinary birthmark. That birthmark represents how Grace had been killed in a former life." Henrik explained to Elena with a grave expression on his face. Elena shrugged.
"So? What does that have to do with your story?" She was impatient. I rolled my eyes.
"It's not entirely relevant. But it is a representation of exactly what happened to them, and what Mikael is capable of. Tell me, Elena. What does that mark look like to you?" I asked, dryly.
"A stab wound." Elena replied, then paused when she realised what she had just said. "Are you telling me that Mikael killed you with his sword?" She demanded.
"Pretty sure I did tell you that before, but yeah pretty much. I relate wholeheartedly to what both Nik and Rebekah had gone through when they first became vampires. Only I never woke up afterwards." I said. Rebekah broke the champagne bottle in her hand in her fury.
"He will pay dearly for this. Does he not realise the pain and turmoil he caused that night when Klaus brought her lifeless body back to the caves?" Rebekah exclaimed, mostly to herself. I was touched by Rebekah's concern for my wellbeing, but it was also not good to reflect upon something that was part of my past, and as I was determined that I wasn't going to have a repeat performance of that night ever again; I wasn't going to let her reflect upon it for much longer.
"You said that he wasn't delicate about your transition? Why? What happened?" I asked her, aiming for distraction. Rebekah eyed me strangely, but hastily cast it aside and resumed the story.
"We woke up on the floor, with blood staining our clothes where our father had stabbed us with his sword. We were very confused and scared, more so when he came into the room leading a girl with him." I shuddered at the mental picture Rebekah painted for us, and I could clearly visualize the horrified expressions on Nik, Rebekah and Elijah's faces. "We had to drink more blood to complete the ritual, and I was the first one forced to complete transition." Rebekah confirmed.
Elena looked appalled.
"Forced?" She blurted out. Rebekah just fixed her with a condescending look.
"We were young, vulnerable and had just endured something horrific that was thrust upon us without knowledge. Tell me how you'd be feeling had you been in our position?" Rebekah retorted, scathingly.
"You could've resisted." Elena protested. Both Henrik and I snorted, earning a glare from her.
"Against Mikael? Get real. I'd like to see you try." I challenged her.
Rebekah smiled.
"It was euphoric! The feeling of power was indescribable … but Ayana was right about the consequences of my parents' actions. The spirits turned on us, and nature fought back. For every strength there would be a weakness: the sun became our enemy, it kept us indoors for weeks." The clouds parted outside, allowing sunlight to filter through the window Rebekah was sitting in front of and wash over her. Specifically, on the daylight ring on her right ring finger which glowed brightly; drawing our attention towards it. "And though my mother found a solution…" She raised her hand and wiggled her fingers to indicate the ring. "…there were other problems.
'Neighbours who had opened their homes to us could now keep us out. Flowers at the base of the white oak burned, and prevented compulsion. And the spell decreed that the tree that gave us life, could also take it away." I noticed Elena taking exceptional interest in this factoid and I narrowed my eyes at her, warningly. "So we burned it to the ground. But the darkest consequence was something that my parents never anticipated: the hunger." Elena turned slightly green. "Blood … had made us reborn and it was blood that we craved above all else. We could not control it, and with that the predatory species was born." Rebekah downed the rest of her champagne, and looked at Elena for comment.
Elena swallowed hard, obviously having a hard time taking in the information Rebekah was relaying to her before looking at me accusingly. For once, I knew it was just a reflex action: Rebekah's personal story had obviously had an effect upon her, and was taking it out on me.
"How are you being so calm about this? After all, their father killed you?" She was extremely accusatory.
I blinked at her. "I've spent most of my life ignorant of the supernatural; believing that Henrik was my imaginary friend for a good part of it until I realised what he really was." I told her, bored. "From the moment I decided to move here to Mystic Falls, I began having dreams about a former life that I barely remembered. And by the time I was reunited with Elijah that day we were both kidnapped by Rose and Trevor, and I started getting my memories of him back; there wasn't any point in being afraid, because there was nothing for me to be afraid of." I said. "As far as I was aware, Mikael was gone and wasn't a threat towards me anymore." I locked eyes with her, trying to get her to understand. "But bringing that monster back to where it all began, would be a colossal clusterfuck of epic proportions." I emphasized. "Nothing good can come from luring him back here, you should know this." I pleaded, quietly.
Elena just looked at me with a deadpan expression before turning to look at Rebekah, who seemed to be irritated with how quickly and easily she had dismissed my warning.
"Why did Mikael start hunting Klaus?" She demanded. I sighed exasperatedly.
"He triggered his werewolf gene after making his first human kill." Rebekah explained. "As a result, he became Mikael's greatest shame." Elena rudely waved a dismissive hand, and I could see Rebekah bristling with anger.
"Yeah. Elijah already told me this part of the story. Your mother had had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers. Klaus wasn't his son." Elena said.
I nodded. "And as you know, she placed the Hybrid curse on Nik to suppress his werewolf side. But what you don't know is that I witnessed this firsthand, and it resulted in my own untimely demise at the hands of Mikael." I answered before Rebekah could, pointing towards my birthmark.
"Why? Was it to leave no witnesses, or to shut you up?" Elena asked, and I noticed the tiniest smirk threatening to appear on her face.
"It was to teach Nik a lesson actually." I retorted. "But your question would be best asked after Rebekah, for obvious reasons." I stated.
"After Grace was brutally murdered, by my father it seems, my mother turned her back on Nik; which was decidedly the worst thing she could have possibly done when he had just lost the love of his life. It was one thing to have your werewolf genes suppressed to hide the shame of your infidelity, but it is another thing entirely to reject your son after he had suffered a traumatic loss." Rebekah sounded ashamed of her mother's actions, where I was speechless.
"What happened next?" Elena pressed for more information. Rebekah sighed.
"Mikael's greatest weakness as a human was his pride. As a vampire, that was magnified. He went on a rampage and killed half the village. Then he came home and killed her." Once again, Elena looked stunned. But I frowned, realizing that Rebekah was still to learn the real truth. After all, everything that she had just described sounded exactly like something that Nik would've done, rather than Mikael. Especially the killing Esther part of the story.
"Mikael killed your mother?" Elena whispered.
Nope. Nik killed their mother … justifiably, of course. I thought privately to myself. Rebekah nodded; sad tears welled up in her eyes.
"He said that she broke his heart, so he would break hers. He tore it from her chest as Nik watched." Her voice broke, as I closed my eyes and shook my head with disgust.
Was it a coincidence that Nik just happened to be there when this supposedly happened?
No. Not at all.
I can see your reasons for doing it, Nik. But why lie to your sister? I scolded him, mentally.
"Afterwards, my father took off in a rage, and the rest of my family scattered. Nik stayed, so he could help me bury her. He knew I had to say goodbye to my mother. Elijah had stayed behind too, and from that moment each of us made a pledge to stick together as one: always and forever." Rebekah gave a weak smile, while Elena just scoffed with disbelief.
"Always and forever … even though he locked you in a coffin for ninety years?" She pointed out. Rebekah just looked at her with distain.
"We're vampires. Our emotions are heightened. I'm stubborn, Elijah moral, and Nik—" I cut her off, just wanting to end this pointless conversation and get Elena the hell out of my apartment. It was clear that she was hellbent on bringing Mikael to Mystic Falls, and this entire visit was just a painful waste of our time.
"—Nik doesn't suffer fools lightly, or have tolerance for those who disappoint him." I said, impatiently. Rebekah blinked at me with shock, but recovered and nodded in agreeance to what I had just said.
"Over a thousand years as a family we've all made that mistake at least once. I've made it several times." Rebekah said, grimly.
"But you all still love him?" Elena sounded skeptical. There was a dead silence as Rebekah, Henrik and I looked at Elena in disbelief.
"That is possibly, by far, the most idiotic thing that has ever passed through your lips." I decided, angrily.
Henrik got to his feet, retreating away from Elena and disappearing into the living room. Rebekah nodded, in agreement.
"He's my brother. And I'm immortal. Should I spend an eternity alone instead?" She questioned Elena. I immediately got to my feet and headed straight for the front door, pulling it open with a flourish.
"Right. You've heard the story, and you've overstayed your welcome." I gestured for her to leave. Elena didn't immediately get up and go. "Damnit, Elena! I said leave! None of us know what you are up to, but we don't want to play along." I yelled in frustration, as Elena stubbornly stayed where she was. I was about ten seconds away from grabbing her by the upper arm and tossing her out of there.
"I'm just looking for one good reason why we shouldn't wake Mikael." Elena protested her innocence.
I scoffed. "Rebekah and I have given you thousands of reasons! But we might as well be talking on deaf ears, because you'll wake him up anyway." I stated.
"I know you want him to help you kill my brother, I'm not stupid." Rebekah pointed out, as Elena frowned back at us.
"It's no secret that I want Klaus dead. He has a hold over Stefan's life and over mine." She persisted, stubbornly.
"And our hearts bleed for you, but it's not our problem." I insisted.
"Do what you need, and wake Mikael at your own peril." Rebekah gets to her feet and walks over to Elena, seizing her by the arm and forcibly escorting her to the front door. "But make no mistake, if you come after my brother, I will rip you apart. And I get my temper from my father. Now leave!" Rebekah practically tosses Elena out of the apartment and snatched the front door from me to slam it in her face.
They say that bad things happen in threes; and Rebekah, Henrik and I were about to learn the hard way. Not an hour had passed before there was another knock at my front door. I heaved myself up from the couch – where I had been the middle of watching a movie with Rebekah and Henrik – disturbing Henrik, who had been nodding off against my shoulder.
"What now?" He grumbled, sitting up and peering over the back of the couch to see what was going on. Rebekah stepped out from the kitchen, after pouring herself a glass of scotch. I opened the front door and nearly slammed it shut again when I saw that Elena had returned.
"I thought we told you to leave. Twice." Rebekah pointed out, casually. Elena barged straight in, without waiting for my permission to enter. However, I noticed some more photos of the cave drawings clutched in her hand; this time depicting the story mural. I felt the blood leave my face.
Oh, shit…
"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" Elena got straight to the point. Rebekah looked at her suspiciously.
"Nik was there. He told me." She replied, missing the suddenly alert expression on Henrik's face as he got up from the couch and came over to stand beside me; both waiting for the blow to descend upon Rebekah. You've really cocked it up now, Nik… I thought.
"He lied to you." Elena told her, causing Rebekah to frown deeper.
"And how do you know that?" She demanded. Elena hands Rebekah the photos Alaric had taken back in the cave.
"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols. The story of your family: how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this." Elena reached over and pointed to several of the pictures. Henrik and I approached and looked over her shoulder at the pictures for ourselves. "This is the symbol for 'hybrid'. It's a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol. And this is the one for your mother." Rebekah's eyes widened.
"Her necklace." She whispered.
Elena nodded, "And this is the story of her death. The hybrid killed the Original Witch. Not Mikael. Klaus." The doppelgänger looked concerned, but I knew better than to trust her. Rebekah looked like she was in denial.
"No! No, he wouldn't." She was horrified. Elena moved in for the 'kill', and Henrik and I were standing near a ticking time bomb.
"She put the curse on him, made it so that he would be the only one of his kind, and then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence … when he turned, all of that was heightened. He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father, so that he wouldn't lose you." Elena said, 'sympathetically'.
Yeah right. Sympathetic, my arse… I thought.
Rebekah was silent for several minutes as she stared at the photos with horror and disbelief, letting the facts sink in. Then she completely lost it.
"These mean nothing! They're just stupid drawings, done by stupid people who had no idea who my family was!" Rebekah shouted, angrily. She then started to rip the photos to pieces.
"Then why are you so upset?" Elena asked, cautiously.
Rebekah glares at Elena, causing her to take a step back.
"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you!" She snarled at Elena.
"Klaus killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone. He has for a thousand years. We have to make it stop!" Elena insisted.
"You seriously think that you have been hard done by, just because Nik killed you in his ritual to free himself from the hybrid curse?" I stepped in, furious but not at all surprised that Elena could be so low. She was proving to be a very manipulative and selfish little cow. Much like how Katherine had been when she was still 'alive'. "You're alive aren't you? You're in one piece. And you most certainly, do not have the right to come into my apartment and try to persuade someone, who you just dropped a shocking fact about her brother, to just kill him to get your own bloody way." I growled at her.
Elena turned and looked at me vindictively.
"You're just saying that because you don't want your boyfriend to die." She said, snidely. Then without warning, Rebekah grabs Elena by throat and vamps out.
"Shut up! Shut up! Don't talk anymore! Nothing!" Rebekah snarled at her. Elena's eyes widened with fear. I swore underneath my breath and both Henrik and I moved to stop her.
"Rebekah, stop! She's not worth it! Nik will never forgive you if you kill her!" I reminded her, urgently. Rebekah didn't break eye contact with Elena.
"I don't care what Nik wants! He killed my mother!" She said, tearfully. I nodded, trying to gently pry her hand away from Elena's neck.
"I know he did. But he had a good reason for why he did, we both know that." I pleaded, using calming tones. Rebekah stops and calms down slightly, before eventually letting go of Elena. She begins to gasp, before turning and throwing herself into my arms and sobbing into my shoulder. "Shush … everything's going to be okay, sweetie." I promised her as I glared venomously at Elena, who was staring at the three of us looking horrified.
Henrik was the first to speak.
"You've worn out your welcome. Leave, and don't come back." He spoke, with a low concentrated tone. Elena didn't need telling twice and immediately bolted from the apartment and disappeared down the stairs. Henrik sighed with relief and quickly closed the front door, and leaned against it; looking at Rebekah with deep concern.
A/N: I completely made up the flashback involving Henrik's final hours. So I hope that it doesn't suck. Thanks for reading. Next update should be done soon.
TTFN! Xx