A/N: G'Day ladies and gents! Hope you're all ready for a new chapter.
As always, I'd like to mention that I do not own The Vampire Diaries. Only this FanFiction story inspired by the TV series, and my OC Grace. Your numerous reviews have been a godsend, and I appreciate each one of them, but due to a couple of less than positive or constructive comments for previous chapters, I continue to stress the importance of no flaming! It WON'T be tolerated.
I also don't own the quote from the gothic horror novel Bram Stoker's Dracula. Or the lyrics to 'Every time', sung by Britney Spears.
Please continue sending in your reviews!
Lots of love xx
DEATH TAKES A MIKAELSON
"When you lose someone, it stays with you. Always reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt."
~Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev [The Vampire Diaries]).
Mikaelson Mansion.
Afternoon.
I lay in plush comfort on one of the couches in the living room, after pinching an apple from the Kitchen. I promptly lost myself in the gothic adventure that was Bram Stoker's Dracula, while snacking on the apple.
"…I could feel the hot breath on my neck. Then the skin of my throat began to tingle as one's flesh does when the hand that is to tickle it approaches nearer, nearer. I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the super sensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth just touching and pausing there. I closed my eyes in languorous ecstasy and waited, waited with beating heart." I read Jonathan Harker's journal entry in my head as I raised the apple to my lips and sank my blunt human incisors into its crisp, hard flesh and tore a chunk from it. I began smirking when I realised just how similar that action was to what I had just read as I chewed thoughtfully.
"What are you reading?"
I lowered the novel a little and glanced up to see Kol's deceptively cheerful upside-down face grinning down at me.
"Bram Stoker's Dracula." I responded after swallowing my mouthful of apple. Kol's deep brown eyes lit up with interest the second I spoke the word: 'Dracula'.
"Really? There's a book written about Vlad III Dracula?" Kol snatched the book from my hands and started flicking through the pages. "How interesting." I sat up, scowling and brandishing my hand at him.
"Kol! Give that back, I was reading it!" I demanded. Kol glanced up at me, ignoring my request.
"Did you know that I once knew the man?" He asked me, excitedly.
"Rebekah mentioned it at some point." I sank my teeth into the apple to hold it temporarily while I successfully took back the book from an unresisting Kol. "I hope you didn't lose my place…" I muttered in annoyance, after pulling the apple from my mouth so I could talk and started inspecting the page.
He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Did she? What exactly did Beks tell you?" Kol asked, taking a seat beside me on the couch, and making himself comfortable. I placed my bookmark into the spine of the book and set it aside before giving my brother my undivided attention.
"Only that she, Elijah and Nik knew of him when they travelled through the Ottoman Empire on their way to England back in the 1400's." I explained, curling one of my legs underneath me as I angled myself towards him. "Rebekah also mentioned that you and he bonded over his cruel but creative ways of dealing with his enemies." I shuddered at the mental image.
Kol got a nostalgic look on his face.
"Oh yes. Vlad's impaling technique. Memories." He grinned and I pulled a revolted face. "Very effective torture as I recall. It helped him win that war against the Turks." I swallowed hard, trying to stop the bile from rising in my throat as I threw my half finished apple into the fireplace having lost my appetite.
"So why didn't you change him into a vampire?" I asked, mostly out of curiosity. Kol shrugged, picking up my book and examining the cover idly.
"He didn't want to be one. Shame really, he had such talent and his brutality was inspiring. But he was happy and content spending his life with his bride." He frowned slightly, deep in thought. "Elisabetta of Transylvania*, I believe her name was." My eyes widened in disbelief. "I miss him. But hey, at least he was the inspiration for this novel." He waved my book around in the air, a pleased smile spreading on his puckish face.
"Which was turned into a successful movie in 1992." Kol and I both turned towards Nik who walked into the room and came to stand behind the couch, looking down at us with curiosity and a hint of amusement.
"Seriously?" Kol looked surprised.
"Why are you boring Grace with your history with Vlad III?" Nik questioned him.
"I asked him a few follow up questions to the information Bekah told me." I defended Kol, who grinned.
"And I resent the implication that I was boring her. My stories are never boring." Kol retorted, 'pouting' a little.
"Just a little gory and graphic." I pointed out, feeling a little green around the gills. "I wonder if Francis Ford Coppola's depiction of what possibly happened on that battlefield was exaggerated." I wondered, thinking back on that bloody war scene from the movie.
"Not really. I actually think he was rather accurate if memory serves." Nik relayed as he wrinkled his nose at the memory. "Although, I personally think spiking victims on a spear while they are still alive and screaming is overkill, if I'm honest."
Nik earned an annoyed scowl from Kol.
"And giving Rebekah the disembodied head of one of her lovers as a gift isn't, I suppose?" I pointed out, evenly. Nik looked at me with surprise, then chagrin.
"Oh. She told you about that, huh?" He asked me, rhetorically. My knowing smile hopefully summed up my point.
I looked over at Kol. "I'll watch the movie with you later, if you want?"
"Sounds like fun, sister." He grinned.
"Wonderful. Hate to break this up, but we better get going if we're going to separate ourselves from Mother's blasted spell." Nik stated, gesturing to the foyer. Kol's playful expression immediately sobered, and he nodded.
"Let's get this sorted then." Kol leaned over to kiss my cheek before getting to his feet and heading out of the room without another word.
"Are you going to be okay here all by yourself while we get this sorted, darling?" Nik asked me, and I nodded also getting to my feet.
"I'll have Jeremy and Henrik, Nik." I reminded him of his brother and our guest, hidden away upstairs in Jeremy's room. "What about Rebekah? Or Finn and… Sage." I asked, making a face.
"Rebekah mentioned that she was going out to find Damon. Didn't bother to get the details." Nik explained, frowning a little; probably at the thought of Damon hanging around with Rebekah. "As for Finn and Sage, they've gone for a walk."
"Oh, alright then."
"So, you're sure?" Nik insisted and I rolled my eyes, turning and pushing him towards the foyer.
"Go already. I was going to do a bit of painting anyway." I explained, earning a smile from him.
"My study is at your disposal." Nik offered and I grinned at him.
"If I invite somebody round, can they come in there too?" I asked, cautiously.
"As long as they do not touch anything, I don't see the harm in it. But only if you're in there with them." Nik warned me, and I nodded.
"Of course." I replied. He reached over and cradled my face in his hands before kissing me gently. "Hurry back."
"Always." Nik winked before striding from the room.
About a minute later, I heard the front door slam shut and I looked down at my book, picking it up with the intention of resuming what I was doing before Kol interrupted. I decided against it; choosing to call up Caroline instead.
I was concerned for her well-being, since witnessing her falling out with Elena back in the woods. I went to pull out my phone to access her name from my list of contacts, when I belatedly remembered that I never got details from her the last time we spoke.
Idiot… I scolded myself before heading for where I knew Nik stored the phone book in his study. Walking over to his large oak desk, I searched for the large heavy blue book and let it fall with a loud thud on the desktop when I eventually found it. I flipped to 'F' and trailed my finger down the long list of surnames.
"Forbes—Forbes—Forbes—Forbes," I muttered to myself, before finding an 'Elizabeth Forbes' followed by the home phone number and immediately snatched up the cordless to dial. Caroline picked up after a few rings.
"Forbes residence. Caroline speaking." Caroline's dull, bored but polite voice spoke up.
"Hey Caroline. It's Grace, how are you?" I responded, trying to hide the hesitance from my voice as I perched on the edge of Nik's desk. She had sounded despondent, probably since that little group meeting in the woods early this afternoon.
"Grace? Hi, what's up?" Caroline was both surprised and a little suspicious.
"I had an inkling that you needed to talk to somebody." I invented an excuse; not wanting to particularly reveal the truth just yet. Caroline already had issues trusting people; so revealing that me, Jeremy, Kol and Henrik had been spying on her and the other Scoobies might not go down so well at this moment.
"This isn't your weird Medium powers influencing you to call me, is it?" Caroline asked, bitterly. "Because if it is, I don't need your charity."
"Not at all. I've been meaning to call you to follow up on how you've been going since our little conversation at the ball. But I guess it sounds like it's not going so well?" I responded with a little improvised white lie.
"Oh. Well, I guess it depends on what time of the day you ask me." Caroline said, awkwardly.
"Do you wanna come round here for a chat? Sounds like you need a friend right now." I suggested, hoping that she'd take the bait hovering underneath her nose.
"Er…I don't know. Is Klaus gonna be there? Or his other siblings?" Caroline hesitated.
"No, they're carrying out some errands right now. Besides, even if they were would it really matter?" I questioned.
"Nah, I guess not. Sure, I can come over. Any time specifically?" Caroline asked, as I heard her doing something on her side of the line.
I smiled, pleased.
"Anytime from now onwards. I'm about to do a bit of painting and then maybe watch a movie or two later." I said, trying to entice.
"Cool. See you soon." Caroline chirped, already sounding happier than she did when she first answered the phone.
"Be seeing you then." I hung up and replaced the receiver into the charger. I sighed, pleased that Caroline had not firmly rejected my invitation as I hopped off the desk and headed for the door to the study. I rushed to Nik's bedroom to change into some old clothing, grab some art supplies and my Bluetooth speakers, before heading straight back downstairs and nearly colliding with one of his hybrids. "Oh, sorry!" I automatically blurted out.
"No harm done. Is there anything I can assist you with?" The hybrid asked me with a polite smile on his face.
"I'm expecting a friend. When she arrives could you direct her to Klaus's study? I'll be in there having some down time." I requested.
"Sure." The hybrid smiled, and I nodded, taking to the staircase. Once safely inside Nik's study, I put on Spotify and connected it with the Bluetooth speakers. I jumped and flinched when 'Cradled in Love' by Poets of the Fall loudly blared all around the room. I hastily scrambled to turn down the volume on my phone.
"Ow." I winced as I walked over and placed the speaker on the mantel and pocketed my phone. I picked up a blank white canvas from the supply Nik had in the room and perched it on an easel as I lightly sketched out what I wanted to paint on the canvas.
A satisfied smile spread across my face, pleased with my rough sketch after a few minutes, before I turned away from the canvas and headed towards where I had set aside my palate board, oil-based paints and my collection of paintbrushes; twisting my hair up into a messy bun that I held in place with my pencil.
As I was squirting blobs of paint onto my palette, there suddenly came a knock at the study doors. "Come in!" I called out, wedging my paintbrush between my teeth as I reached for another paint tube and then mixed two colours together. One of the double doors opened and in stepped the same hybrid from before that I nearly bowled over in my haste to get back down here to the study.
"Your friend's here. Shall I send her in?" He asked, politely.
"Absolutely." I replied brightly, pulling the paintbrush from my mouth and the hybrid nodded and withdrew. Two seconds later, a tentative Caroline walked slowly into the study, glancing about the room with obvious interest; since this was technically Nik's private room that he retreated into when he needed peace and time to gather his thoughts without interruption. "Hey hon! Make yourself comfortable." I greeted Caroline who smiled a little at me and took a seat on one of Nik's armchairs, still rubbernecking around the room. "Can I fix you a drink?" I asked, trying to put Caroline at ease.
"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Caroline responded, absently. "Did Klaus paint these?" She gestured at the various art pieces dotted around the room amongst Nik's belongings. I nodded as I set down the palette and paintbrush, walking over to Nik's collection of bourbon, whiskey and scotch.
"Most of them. Others were gifted to him generously by the artists themselves." I explained, causing Caroline's eyes to widen in shock.
"Woah." She muttered, sounding reluctantly impressed.
"Yeah. That was my reaction too when he first brought me in here." I chuckled as I handed her some bourbon and went back to mixing paint. 'Carnival of Rust' began playing as I started to paint. "So, what's new with you since we last talked?" I asked, as Caroline got up from the armchair and walked over to the nearest painting to examine it up close.
"Nothing special." Caroline responded a little too quickly, and I raised an eyebrow at her as I looked around the canvas.
"Okay, quick-draw. Take a moment to think about your answer, then try again." I insisted, hearing Caroline sigh. "Something bothering you?" I guessed.
"It's just been a bad day. I learned some things I really didn't need to know." Caroline confessed, vaguely. But thankfully, I already knew what she was going on about.
"You too?" Caroline turned and looked at me with surprise. "We learned something bad from an unexpected source today as well." I told her.
"What? Who?" Caroline asked, curiously.
"Which question do you want me to answer first?" I chuckled. "The 'what' was the news that Rebekah and I hadn't gotten rid of the White Oak from Wickery Bridge like we first thought. Somebody sent the sign to Damon and Stefan." I responded before Caroline could bitch me out for being a smartass. "The 'who' was Damon. He gave Nik the heads up earlier this morning."
"He did? I'll bet Klaus was suspicious." Caroline snorted.
"How'd you guess?" I replied rhetorically. "So suspicious, that he sent out spies to gather intel." I told her.
"Great. That'll put Elena in a good mood." Caroline stated sarcastically.
I shrugged, "What she doesn't know, won't hurt her." I dipped my paintbrush into the black paint and applied it to the canvas.
"So you know who Klaus sent to spy?" Caroline was curious.
"Uh, yeah. Kol and me. We overheard everything." I replied, not meeting Caroline's eye in case she looked betrayed or hurt.
"You were there? You heard everything?" Caroline sounded more fearful than hurt or betrayed, which shocked me more than anything.
"Pretty much. Good on you for standing up for yourself. It wasn't fair for Stefan to just assume that you'd drop everything to play spy on Nik." I congratulated her. "Nik wouldn't be appreciative at all." I added.
"You're not mad?" Caroline pried.
"About what?"
"We were planning how to kill Klaus and the rest of his family. If I were in your shoes and they were going after Tyler, I'd be pissed." Caroline explained and I looked at her sceptical and worried face. I couldn't help but smile and shake my head as I continued painting.
"I'm definitely angry. But not at you, so don't worry." I reassured her. "Their plans are not likely to succeed anyway." I added.
"How do you know that?" Caroline asked.
"For starters, Nik is impossible to kill because of his Original hybrid status. And, because Damon had the right idea to inform them of the imminent danger. They'll be keeping sharp eyes out from now on." I pointed out.
"Oh."
"Although…" I trailed off when I realised that there was one member of our family that wasn't privy to the danger, and I swore underneath my breath.
"What?" Caroline was alert. I placed my paintbrush into the water jar Nik had specifically for rinsing off his brushes and I backed off from the canvas.
"Finn." I mumbled.
"Is he their eldest brother?" Caroline asked.
I nodded, "Yeah. He hates the fact that they are all vampires and has tried many times to end it all. Which is why Esther chose him to be the sacrificial lamb for her spell."
"What spell?" Caroline looked confused, and I looked at her sternly, berating myself for not checking first before revealing this. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm trusting that you are on our side, Caroline, and that you're not going to suddenly go running to Elena, Stefan or Bonnie to blab about any of this." I stated, and Caroline immediately looked defensive.
"Paranoid much?"
"It's protected the family for several centuries. Nik more so. But the fact that you reacted like that, tells me that I can trust you. Don't make a liar of me." I urged.
"Fine. I promise." Caroline agreed, mulishly. "What spell are you talking about?"
"Esther cast a linking spell upon her children using Elena's blood as the special ingredient to make it stronger." I explained, hesitating only a little. Caroline's eyes widened in surprise.
"What? When did she do that?" Caroline demanded.
"During the ball that 'welcomed' the family to Mystic Falls. That was why Elena was so determined to go and talk to her, and why Damon and Stefan were trying to stop her." I explained.
"Linking them to who?" Caroline asked.
"Each other." I replied simply. "Esther mixed Elena's blood into the champagne they passed around when she made that little speech with us surrounding her on the stairs."
Caroline made a revolted face, "I knew that champagne looked and tasted weird. How did you know that Elena's blood was mixed in?"
"I could smell it. Plus, my sixth sense was telling me that something wasn't quite right, because Esther seemed a little too fixated to see if they actually drank the champagne. I managed to stop them from drinking, and to fake it instead." I said, despondently.
"So they escaped getting linked?" Caroline guessed. I shook my head, and Caroline's face fell looking at me with dread. "Oh, shit."
"They must've still consumed the champagne by doing something as simple as licking the liquid from their lips absentmindedly." I said. "We realised they were linked after Kol was daggered by Alaric and Meredith Fell back at the Grill. I was there when it happened, but I was knocked out. Nik came bursting in from out of nowhere to save us, and then later Elijah after we undaggered Kol. Nik looked like he was in pain, as well as pissed."
Caroline blinked, "That explains why he went from being nice and understanding, to fierce and accusing that day." Then she shrugged. "What happens if Klaus and the others aren't separated from this linking spell?" She asked, curiously.
"Do you remember what I told you about Finn?" I asked her, causing Caroline to frown that I responded to her question with a question. "Well, if Esther manages to get Finn back, and uses him in her spell; when he kills himself, it won't just kill him … it will kill them all. That's why it's called a linking spell." I explained, gravely.
Caroline looked at me with horror.
"She's their mom! Why would she want to kill them?"
"I cannot speak for Esther because I'm not entirely sure of her reasoning. But I suspect that she believes it's her responsibility to fix what she thinks is a mistake." I answered, feeling disgusted.
"By killing her own kids?!" Caroline was appalled. "That's so sick and twisted."
"You're not wrong." I agreed, dryly.
"We've got to stop her!" Caroline declared. "It's not their fault they're vampires!" I reached out and placed a calming hand on Caroline's shoulder, smiling at her approvingly.
"They're not completely without fault, Caroline." I reminded her, as I walked back over to the canvas and picked up my paintbrush to resume filling in the blanks as the blonde looked at me quizzically. "Most of them spent almost a thousand years torturing, killing and causing mayhem wherever they went after leaving Mystic Falls." I told her.
"And you." Caroline looked at me with pity, and the smile dropped from my face.
"And me. But I was dead; I hasten to remind you." I responded.
"Hasten? What's with the old-fashioned words?" Caroline made a face, as I blushed a little out of embarrassment as the synthesizers for Linkin Park's 'Leave Out All The Rest' began playing over my speakers.
"I'm an old soul, Caroline. I sometimes revert back to how I used to speak back then unconsciously." I stated. "But we're digressing. Nik is already working on a way to unlink himself and the others from the spell. That's why he isn't here right now." I explained.
"So that's why Stefan was so gung-ho about training us all to take out at least one of them." Caroline came to the grim conclusion. "If Klaus is linked together with Rebekah and Elijah, then any of them are an easy target." She realised.
"Easy? Hardly." I snorted. "They've got several years of experience and 'life-experience' to fall back on, thus it would make it difficult to eliminate them."
"Stefan and Elena aren't gonna stop until Klaus is dead. You realise that right?" Caroline pointed out, bluntly. I didn't respond, because the answer was obvious. Caroline sighed, realising that I wasn't going to answer and walked over to where I was still painting. "What are you painting anyway?" She asked, frowning.
"Just something I sketched in my book a month or so ago. I decided to transfer it to canvas." It was the sketch I had made when I had been waiting for Stefan to tell me that Damon was dying from Tyler's werewolf bite, and they had been desperate to find a cure which Nik turned out to have all along.
"You drew a picture of a girl sitting with a wolf and a crow?" Caroline looked cynical.
"Obviously."
"Why?" She asked. "What was your inspiration?" I rinsed the paint off my brush and selected a different colour as I thought of an answer I could give her.
"It's mostly symbolic." I shrugged, using a tiny brush to put detail into the crow's ice-blue eyes.
"Of what?" Caroline's eyes squinted as she tried to figure out the answer for herself. I pointed carefully at the painting, so I didn't accidentally smear the paint.
"That's me." I indicated towards the girl sitting on the grass in the middle. "The two animals represent two men in my life that you should know very well." I hinted, as I continued using the blue paint to emphasize the crow's eyes. Caroline watched this for a few more minutes before her eyes widened in realisation.
"That's Damon?" Caroline guessed, indicating towards the crow.
"Very good." I praised.
"But I'm not sure who the dog is supposed to represent—"
"Wolf."
"Pardon?" Caroline looked at me with surprise.
"You were close. It's a wolf." I corrected her. "Nik specifically." I decided to cut to the chase, knowing that Caroline was prone to getting impatient very quickly. Even more so since she became a vampire.
"Why did you draw that?" She asked, curiously. I thought back to that day, trying to remember why I made the decision to create this sketch in the first place.
I smiled.
"Stefan asked me to meet him at the park across the road from the Mystic Grill. He needed to talk to me urgently about something that turned out to involve Damon." I explained. "This was before the shit hit the fan and lines were drawn between him and Nik." I switched colours and began focusing on the meadow background as Caroline perched on the side of Nik's desk, looking at me impatiently. "Anyway, while I was waiting for him to turn up, I saw a girl walking her dog, and this crow perched on the park bench I was sitting on to stare at me." I said, casually. "It was only after the crow flew towards the girl and her dog, and the dog started snapping and chasing after the bird - despite her attempts to restrain him - that I was struck with inspiration to draw them in my book."
Caroline wrinkled her nose, "Were you that bored waiting for Stefan?"
"On the contrary, it actually helped me deal with my issues and allowed me to escape into a sense of calm and peace. At least until Stefan eventually showed up." I enlightened her. I was then struck with an idea of how I could help Caroline with her issues. I glanced around the room at the art supplies Nik had lying around. Luckily, there was a spare drawing pad that Nik had discarded on his desk at some point. "Why don't you give it a try?" I asked, momentarily setting down my paintbrush, still wet with green paint, on the easel.
"What?" Caroline looked taken aback, as I darted around the table and snatched up the drawing pad. I turned and offered it and a spare sketching pencil to her, and she reluctantly took both, looking at me doubtfully. "You want me to draw?"
"That's up to you." I replied, nonchalantly. "I just thought that it could be a way to distract yourself from your problems for a while." I suggested, half-expecting Caroline to immediately reject the idea.
"What would I draw?" Caroline asked, awkwardly.
"Again that's up to you. I can't tell you what to draw, just draw whatever comes to your mind and it should help you relax." I instructed her, not unkindly, focusing both on my painting and on Caroline who still looked hesitant. Suddenly, the delicate piano melody of Britney Spears's song 'Every time' came on and it seemed to be the inspiration Caroline required to throw caution to the wind and make herself comfortable on one of the armchairs, with the sketch pad and pencil.
"Notice me. Take my hand. Why are we strangers when our love is strong? Why carry on without me?" Britney's Mississippi drawl softly sang, as Caroline's face scrunched up with a determination as she started scratching away with the pencil, focusing intently on the page. I smiled, patting myself on the back for the idea and continued painting as Britney continued singing the melancholy song.
A few hours later, I was almost finished painting when somebody knocked, jolting Caroline out of her creative trace and causing her to start staring at the door like it was a particularly dangerous snake about to strike.
"Come in!" I called out, unfazed. Caroline looked at me, a little nervous.
"Am I allowed to be in here?" She asked, cautiously. I nodded as the door opened, but the visitor didn't immediately step inside.
"Nik gave his permission. You're fine." I reassured her, as Nik stepped in and smiled at the both of us pleasantly. "Hey! Find what you were looking for?" I asked him, curiously. Nik nodded and walked deeper into the room.
"Hello, love. I trust you're having a pleasant afternoon?" He asked, smiling politely at her but there was obvious sign of impatience reflected in his blue-green eyes. I raised an eyebrow as Caroline returned the smile; albeit uncomfortably.
"Yeah, I am. Thanks." She replied.
"Wonderful." Nik took notice of our separate projects and reached for the sketch pad that Caroline still held in her possession. "May I?" He asked, politely. Caroline nodded, willingly handing it over to him as Nik appraised the picture with an expert eye. "This is very good." He told Caroline who made a face, believing he was just humoring her.
"Really?" She questioned, doubtfully.
"It needs a bit of work." Nik replied, truthfully. "But a good effort for a first time. What was the inspiration?" Caroline looked at me out the corner of her eye, and I nodded in encouragement.
"I drew what I was feeling at the time." She replied. "It was Grace's suggestion." Nik looked over at me with a raised eyebrow, obviously intrigued by this. "She explained that drawing sometimes helped her deal with her issues and believed that it would help me too." Caroline elaborated. Nik looked pleasantly surprised.
"And did it help you?" He asked, curiously.
"Yeah. I feel a little better." Caroline smiled a little but did not elaborate further. Nik hummed thoughtfully before carefully removing the picture from the sketch pad and handing it to Caroline.
"You should sign that." He encouraged. "Use it as inspiration for when you're finding it tough in the future." Nik suggested, sincerely. Caroline nodded, slowly reaching for the picture and stood up. She wondered over to the desk and scribbled something on the lower right-hand corner of the drawing.
"I'll keep that in mind." Caroline promised, carefully folding the picture and putting it into her pocket. "Are you finished with your painting yet, Grace?" She asked, wondering over to look while Nik headed for the wet bar to fix himself a drink.
"Just about." I acknowledged as I flipped over a protective sheet and started packing away my art supplies. I glanced at Nik's back, sensing that he wanted Caroline to leave for some reason but was respecting that she was here at my request. "Hey, I'm kinda hungry. Do you wanna head to the Grill and grab a bite to eat? Continue our conversation?" I suggested to Caroline. Nik almost immediately turned, giving me a sharp look behind Caroline's back.
"Sure. I'll meet you there. I just have to take care of something first." Caroline replied, looking weary but determined.
"Do you need any help?" I asked. Caroline smiled, but shook her head.
"Nah. I'm just delivering something to Alaric. Some herbs he needs to drink to keep his homicidal alter-ego at bay." She explained.
"You sure that's a good idea?" I asked her, while Nik frowned at the back of her head with concern as well.
"I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself if Alaric tries something." Caroline attempted to wave away my concerns. "Vampire remember?"
"That's not what I meant." I elaborated, folding my arms across my chest.
"What do you mean?"
"Alaric killed your dad. Are you sure that you're gonna be able to set that aside?" I questioned her. Caroline sighed heavily, turning to walk over to the doors.
"I can deal." She insisted. "I'll see you at the Grill." Caroline then quickly left leaving me alone in the study with a scowling Nik.
"I know what you're going to say, Nik. But you obviously wanted Caroline out of the house, and I assume me as well. This was the first idea that came to mind." I attempted to save face. Nik sighed, shaking his head and perching on the side of his desk as he looked at me sternly.
"Unfortunately, it seems like the best idea at this point in time." Nik reluctantly agreed. I frowned at him, surprised that he had caved in so quickly (and begrudgingly).
"Why? What's going on?" I asked, alert.
"Kol and I found the witch required to break the spell Mother placed on us." Nik explained.
"Who?" I pried.
"Bonnie Bennett. It seems that Bennett magic is the only thing strong enough to help sever the link between us. Apart from Mother of course."
My eyes widened in alarm.
"Seriously? You do realise that Jeremy is upstairs right now with Henrik?" I pointed out the obvious flaw in the plan.
Nik smiled.
"I know that. I've already worked it all out with Kol before we returned. He's gonna take Jeremy and Henrik out for a walk and hopefully, Jeremy's gonna pretend that he's in Denver." Nik laid it out for me. "So when I call Kol to 'persuade' Bonnie to break the spell, it should be convincing enough to make her believe we're threatening his life." I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Bonnie at this point, considering what she's been through recently. But not enough to stop Nik from getting the results the family required to break the spell Esther put them under.
"Do you have an idea about how we're gonna get back those White Oak Stakes?" I asked Nik, who nodded, still smiling.
"Rebekah and Damon are working on that." He confirmed. "But there's no need to dwell on the details right now, sweetheart. Right now, you're gonna get changed into something a bit more decent and follow through on your plans with Caroline."
I blinked at him, surprised. "Wait! You're actually okay with that?"
"With a Hybrid escort, of course." Nik added, and I deflated a little.
"I knew that was coming." I grumbled. Nik chuckled and leaned forward to kiss my forehead affectionately.
"Those are my conditions."
"Fair enough. Excuse me while I get changed." I told him before turning and heading for the doors, tugging my hair free from the pencil and letting it fall free down my back. I heard Nik chuckling as I went, and I raised an eyebrow; wondering what he found so funny.
Town's Square
Late Afternoon.
I took a quick shower and quickly re-dressed in what I wore earlier this morning, before looping my crossbody purse over my shoulder and headed back down to the foyer to greet the hybrid that was going to be shadowing me between here and the Grill.
I paused halfway down the staircase when I overheard a muffled argument coming from the living room. I cautiously continued down the stairs, making sure that my boots made as little noise as possible on the white marble. When I reached the bottom step, the doors that lead to the living room opened and out stepped Nik who immediately shut them behind him.
"Who's in there?" I asked, frowning a little.
"Bonnie." Nik replied succinctly. An unfamiliar hybrid immediately appeared by our side, standing at attention like an obedient soldier waiting to take his orders. "Ah, Daniel. Right on time." He beamed at the stoic looking hybrid, who nodded but did not say anything. "Ready to go then?" Nik asked me, and I nodded hiking up my purse strap higher on my shoulder. Nik turns back to Daniel, looking fierce.
"Remember what I told you." He reminds him, and I scowled sighing when I noticed Daniel subtly swallow hard. Obviously, whatever Nik had threatened him with wasn't exactly pleasant.
"See you later, Nik." I bid him before striding towards the entrance, followed by Daniel who didn't crowd me, much to my relief. I hunched into my jacket trying to avoid the cold afternoon air, and took off at a casual stride down the street, much more familiar with this neighborhood than I had been previously when I needed Damon to drive around and come find me. When I eventually got to the town's square, it was full of bustling locals, going about their business.
I decided to take a short cut through the park in the middle of the square to get to the Grill quickly. I glanced behind to see where Daniel was, and paused when I realised that he had seemingly disappeared.
"Grace?" I turned and spotted Matt walking towards me, with a friendly smile on his face. "Hey, how you going?" He greeted me, politely.
"Not too bad. Yourself?" I replied. Matt shrugged, shoving his hand into the pockets of his hoodie when a sharp wind blew past.
"I'm getting by. Just going to work actually." Matt jerked his head in the direction of the Grill, and I glanced over there as well, hoping to catch a glimpse of Caroline. But then figured she would probably be waiting inside to avoid the cold.
"Oh, I'm going there too to grab a quick bite." I acknowledged, causing Matt to raise a confused eyebrow.
"Aren't you living with Klaus?" He asked me, and I nodded.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Doesn't he have like a personal chef or somethin'?" Matt questioned.
"Yeah, but I decided to eat out for a change." I replied, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Fair enough." Matt smiled, then tensed up when he spotted something over my shoulder. I frowned and turned to see what caused his random change in mood and noticed a worried looking Elena talking on her phone.
"Wonder what's wrong with Elena." I mused, thoughtfully, only half-curious. Elena's eyes swiveled in our direction and immediately hardened when she saw me talking with Matt.
I rolled my eyes.
"Not sure. But whatever it is don't sound good." Matt replied. He glanced in yet another direction and nudged me lightly in the ribs. "Uh, isn't that your brother over there?" He asked, pointing.
I turned and felt my eyes widen when I spotted a semi-relaxed Finn walking hand in hand with a bubbly looking Sage, both lost in conversation and presumably walking down memory lane.
"Yeah. It is." I confirmed, turning back around to face Matt.
"Do you want to go over and say 'hi?'" Matt asked, and I shook my head almost immediately.
"Nah, I'll probably see them when I get back to the Mansion. I'll leave them be for now." I decided.
Matt shrugged, "I better get going. You wanna walk together to the Grill?" He asked, hooking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the bistro. I smiled but shook my head.
"I'm good. But I think Elena wants to chat with you, so you might want to hang about for a moment." I suggested, and Matt groaned looking impatiently at the doppelgänger. "I'm gonna keep walking for a bit. I'm meeting up with somebody at the Grill and I don't think they're here yet." I invented a little white lie as I thought I heard Matt mutter something that sounded suspiciously like 'she better hurry up, I can't afford to be late' underneath his breath. I waved goodbye and headed down the dirt path, intending on waiting until Elena left before even thinking of setting foot in the Grill.
I walked around for a good twenty minutes before eventually heading back to the Grill; hoping Elena was gone. The second after I had left Matt, Daniel suddenly returned and I scowled at him.
"Where did you go off to?" I demanded, a little annoyed.
"Nowhere. I kept my distance like I was told to by Klaus. Besides, I figured that kid was a friend of yours and you wanted to chat without me breathing down your necks." Daniel replied, defensively.
"Oh, I'm sorry then. Thanks for that." I acknowledged, earning a nonchalant shrug from Daniel in reply. We both continued walking in the direction of the Grill, and I paused when I spotted their black gothic-style wrought iron fence. "Would you be able to tell if Elena has left already?" I questioned Daniel who nodded and subtly inclined his head to listen out for her.
"No, but that Stefan Salvatore guy is there." Daniel reported, looking uneasy.
"Stefan?" I frowned.
"Yeah, he's looking through his phone." Daniel added, and I immediately headed closer. "You sure this is a good idea?" Daniel questioned my actions, and I rolled my eyes.
"Gotta find out what's going on somehow." I retorted, hiding behind a nearby tree. "Just give me a heads up if he suddenly gets wise to me spying on him." I instructed.
"Whatever." Daniel muttered. "I'd rather avoid getting killed by Klaus if I could help it." Rolling my eyes once again I turned and focused on Stefan and saw Elena walking up to him.
"Hey." Stefan glances up from his phone and looks at Elena impassively. "How is he?" He? Stefan immediately shuts his phone and shoves it into his pocket and he gives Elena his whole attention.
"He's just banged up. Caroline's gonna stay with him and make sure Alaric stays Alaric." Stefan reported. "Matt texted me and said Finn is still in the Grill. We need to plan our next move." My eyes widened in alarm and I swore underneath my breath. It was clear that they were planning on targeting Finn to get rid of the family. However, Elena unexpectedly objected much to Stefan and my surprise.
"Wait! Rebekah has Damon; our next move should be finding him." Elena insisted, and Stefan scowled at her. Apparently (and rather sadly), she had conveniently forgotten that Damon made his allegiance clear early this afternoon that he was siding with Nik.
"Damon has already made it clear where his loyalties lie, Elena. So no, we're going to stay on point." He told her, firmly. "See an Original, kill an Original remember? That's the plan."
Elena was stubborn, "Yeah. That was the plan before Damon's life was hanging in the balance." She insisted, causing Stefan to look at her like she was a moron. Did she not hear what he had just told her only seconds ago?
"Look, Elena, I understand that you're concerned about my brother's life and his sanity. But I doubt he's in any immediate danger." Stefan insisted. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's probably safer with Rebekah right now; assuming she's the person he's involved with. I think you should let this go and focus on the plan at hand." Elena scowled at him, scornfully. "He's made his choice."
"If the roles were reversed, he would stop everything to save you." She stated, confidently.
"I think I know my brother better than you, and I know what he would want." Stefan was just barely holding onto his temper.
"What he would want and what we should do are two different things."
"Geez, she can't take a hint, can she?" Daniel muttered, and I snorted at the understatement.
"I think it's more that Elena can't stand the thought that Damon is more than capable of finding another love interest that isn't her. I think it's an ego thing." I elaborated, fairly confident that Stefan was thinking along the same lines if the irritated expression on his face meant anything.
"You gonna help me with this or not?" Stefan asked Elena, who continued looking at him with scorn and denial. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, I'll figure it out myself." He walks around Elena and disappears out of sight, presumably into the Grill where he mentioned Finn and Sage were, to plot his next move. Elena merely looked hurt and betrayed before walking away from the Grill and out of our sight.
"That's a lot of drama I'm glad I don't have to deal with. I don't envy any of them at all." I observed, as I stepped out from behind the tree; making sure that Elena wasn't lurking nearby.
"Agreed. I'm glad I'm not that Damon guy." Daniel looked a cross between amused and disturbed by Elena's spurned behaviour. When I wasn't stopped and had wild accusations thrown at me by a jilted teenage doppelgänger, Daniel and I casually walked into the Grill; making our way over to a vacant booth and sitting at it. Almost immediately Matt came over to us, order pad in hand, and all smiles.
"Hey! Enjoy your walk?" Matt greeted me, and I nodded returning his smile, while Daniel observed us unemotionally.
"Yeah. I really needed the exercise." I replied, as I continued shrugging out of my jacket and laid it beside me on the seat with my purse. "Busy yet?" I asked, indicating to the dining area.
"Not really. It'll get busier later tonight." Matt stated, before putting pen to paper. "So what can I get you two?" He asked, indicating towards the menu. Daniel, who had grabbed the menu when I had started asking Matt questions about his shift, looked back up.
"I'll take a scotch on the rocks." He requested.
"A bourbon straight up, please." I added to the order. Matt scribbled it down and nodded.
"Awesome. I'll be back." He informed us, taking the menu from Daniel.
"Great!" I acknowledged and glanced around the bistro when Matt walked off to fill our orders. I froze when I unexpectedly caught Finn's slightly frowning gaze from across the room where he was sitting at a secluded table with Sage. I nodded in greeting towards my brother and waved, receiving a small smile back before Finn returned his attention back to Sage.
Apparently, she was attempting to teach her sire how to do tequila shots, and I giggled at the thought. It was an unusual way to introduce the very reserved eldest Mikaelson sibling to the 21st Century after being dormant for 900-years. I continued rubbernecking around the room and frowned when I spotted Stefan sitting at the bar with his back to the room, trying to be discreet.
"Stefan's at the bar." I said to Daniel quietly, who looked at him out of his peripheral vision.
"Your brother and his girlfriend are at the table near the jukebox." Daniel pointed out in return after acknowledging what I said.
"I know." I replied, pulling out my phone and accessing Facebook to flick through so it didn't look obvious that Daniel and I were staking out both Finn and Sage, and Stefan. "Do you think you can relay to me what Finn and Sage are saying to each other?" I asked Daniel, who grunted in approval and subtly inclined his head in the direction of Finn and Sage's table, as I sat back and observed them.
Finn wrinkled his nose at the amber coloured spirit Sage had ordered for them in two shot glasses. She giggled at his wary expression.
"You've never had tequila before?" She asked him, as she reached for the saltshaker their waitress had provided for them to do tequila slammers.
Finn nodded.
"Mm-mmm." He replied as Sage reached for his arm and sprinkles salt on his wrist. He watches as she licks the salt from her own wrist and then shoots the tequila, before mimicking her.
"Happy now?" He croaked, as Sage grins at him and nodded in approval and hands him a lime wedge. He promptly sucks on it and I smiled, pleased at how quickly he was fitting in. "I'm truly awed by the evolution of mankind." Finn observed as Sage laughs. An unfamiliar man with sandy brown hair and moustache suddenly walks up to their table, smiling politely at Sage who acknowledges him with a nod while Finn observes him silently.
"Hey Sage." He greets her.
"Hey Troy." Sage responds, before Troy nods at Finn who reciprocates as the other man then continues on his way and leaves the Grill. Finn watches him go with a curious expression on his face.
"You know him?" He asks Sage, who nodded.
"I turned him."
Finn blinks at her in astonishment, "You turned him? Why?" Sage shrugs before responding to his question.
"I'm in enemy territory." She replied as I scoffed, feeling slightly insulted and reacted when Daniel clears his throat, causing me to glance up at him enquiringly. He shook his head, indicating for me to stay silent and not draw attention towards myself. "When your brother and sister called, I thought I might need a little back up. You can't trust anyone here." Sage admitted, and I bristled.
For good reason… I thought, feeling disgusted. The chef rings a counter bell, announcing a completed order and Matt immediately strides over to deliver it to the correct table. Sage intercepts him by grabbing his wrist. "Two more tequilas?" She requests.
Matt nods, "Yeah cool. I'll let your waitress know." Sage lets go of Matt's wrist and he immediately heads for the kitchen and bar area. As he passes by Stefan, I frowned when I spotted Stefan pulling a small vial from his pocket. I gawked in outrage when he pushes it towards Matt who grabs it with his freehand quickly, along with a coffee cup. I immediately schooled a pleasant expression on my face when Matt approached us with our drinks.
"Thanks, Matt." I thanked him.
"Let me know if you need anything else."
Daniel and I waited for Matt to move out of earshot before Daniel resumed telling me Finn and Sage's conversation. Finn was still frowning at Sage thoughtfully, obviously still fixated on the fact that she had turned somebody. Realising that Stefan was up to something, I divided my attention between him and my brother as Daniel spoke.
"So how many people have you turned, Sage?" Finn asked her, disapprovingly.
"I don't know. A lot." Sage frowned a little, getting slightly defensive at the disapproval she could hear in her sire's tone and see on his face. "Don't judge me, Finn, you turned me."
"Exactly Sage, I turned you. My passion overtook my morals." Finn stated, looking like he had a bad taste in his mouth. Probably regretting his actions for every second that passed.
Both Sage and I rolled my eyes.
Quit being such a bleeding heart, Finn. It's becoming tiresome… I let my thoughts trail off when I saw Stefan suddenly pull his phone from his pocket and started texting somebody while glancing on and off at Finn and Sage. What are you planning, Stefan?
I watched as Finn and Sage's waitress approached their table and set down two more shots of tequila. Sage immediately hands Finn his and takes hers with a 'Finally' uttered from her lips. My suspicions deepened when Stefan suddenly gets up from his bar stool and makes his way towards the entrance. My eyes swiveled back towards my brother and Sage.
"To living life to the fullest." Sage made a toast as she raised her shot glass into the air, and Finn followed suit and clinks it against hers.
"To living life." Finn echoes her, smiling a little when Sage laughs and both of them shoot their shots. Immediately, they spit them back up and start choking.
"Oh, shit…" Daniel swore, and looked at him in alarm.
"What?"
"There was vervain mixed in those shots." Daniel revealed and I looked back at Finn and Sage in both shock and concern.
"Oh, that is not good." I muttered as both Finn and Sage spot Stefan leaving and narrow their eyes at him, suspiciously. I started rising from the booth when I saw Stefan deliberately staring them down defiantly and then walking out of the door. "Finn, stop!" I yelled out as he and Sage immediately gets up and go after him. I snatched up my coat and purse and tore out of the bistro.
"Grace, wait! Come back here!" Daniel yelled after me, alarmed as I ignored him and tore after my brother and Sage.
I nearly collided with them as I came tearing out of the Grill and saw Stefan, who had been hiding around the corner to ambush them, attempted to stab Finn with one of the White Oak Stakes. I was about to scream the word 'no!' that was on the tip of my tongue when Sage immediately intercepts Stefan; grabbing him and throwing him on the concrete. The stake falls from Stefan's hand and clatters down the staircase leading to the Grill's basement.
Both Sage and I stare at the stake and then at Finn.
"Finn, the stake!" Sage alerts my brother, who immediately pounds down the staircase to grab it. Rough hands suddenly grab me and pull me to safety, and I find myself looking into a frantic and stressed Daniel's face.
"Damnit, Grace! Klaus will have my ass if anything happens to you. Stay here where it's safe!" He urged, but I aimed a swift hard kick at his shins and managed to slip away when Daniel buckled underneath the pain. I can kick really hard when I wanted to. I ran towards the top of the staircase, in time to see Finn about to grab the stake, when Elena (whom must've doubled back after her argument with Stefan) and Matt suddenly burst out from the backdoor of the Grill, surprising Finn.
Elena shoots Finn in the stomach with one of Alaric's crossbows, and before Sage could do anything to stop him; Matt darts in and stabs my brother with another White Oak Stake, directly in the heart.
"NO!" Sage and I screamed out in anguish and denial, and Sage rushes down the stairs to Finn's side. Finn managed to look up at me with pure agony reflected on his face before he crumples lifelessly on the stairs. Enraged, and blinking through tears gathering in my eyes, I turned my attention towards a smirking, remorseless Elena and a guilty looking Matt.
"You BITCH!" I snarled and pounded down the stairs towards the teenagers who immediately go back in the building and closed the door behind them. I pounded furiously on the door with my fists and attempted to get inside but paused when I heard Sage's anguished sobs and stopped to look at her. She was stroking Finn's grey, veiny face as she cradles his body in her arms. I heard footsteps approaching the top of the stairs and I glanced up to see Stefan looking down at us with a blank expression on his face. "Why?" I demanded.
Stefan doesn't respond. Instead he turns and leaves without another word.
"Finn, no…" Sage sobs.
He spontaneously combusts into radiant tongues of flame, taking the stake with him just as Mikael did before him during Homecoming. This causes Sage to drop Finn and back up to the wall as she continues to sob. My eyes widened when I realised that Nik was still 'working' with Bonnie on figuring out a way to sever their link, and I frantically snatched my phone from my pocket, trying to call his phone and check to see if Bonnie was successful.
"Oh, God. Nik…" I whispered, grabbing Sage's attention as I fumbled clumsily for my contacts. She looks at me with pure resentment on her face, and I take an instinct step away from her just Daniel blurs in front of me, hissing warningly at the grieving 900-year old vampire.
"Don't think that your Hybrid bodyguard can protect you from me, dearie. As soon as I take care of those who killed my beloved, I'm coming for you!" Sage vows, taking one last look at Finn's charred body before blurring away.
I let out the deep breath that I had been holding in the entire time Sage had been threatening me and glanced at my phone. I had just been about to stab at Nik's name, but decided to call a different sibling to confirm what I'm dreading. I stabbed at Jeremy's number, and put it to my ear just as I slowly and timidly headed over to Finn's body; crouching beside it.
'Hello?' Jeremy's laughing voice answered, pulling me out of my despair. Daniel hovered nearby, respecting my personal space, but also keeping an eye out for potential dangers.
"Hey Jere, is Henrik nearby? I need to speak to him for a moment." I somehow managed to avoid my voice cracking as I made my request.
'Uh, yeah. Hold on.' Jeremy responded. I suddenly heard the phone being transferred to somebody else, as I waited impatiently for Henrik to speak.
'Grace? What is it?' Henrik's curious voice questioned me, and I had to stop myself from dissolving into tears so I could get my question out.
"Can you tell me if Nik has successfully broken the linking spell your mum placed on him and the others?" I asked, quietly.
'Yeah. I'll go find out—"
"Don't ask him, just confirm with your eyes and ears." I instructed him, before he could go and arouse suspicion in Nik. I didn't want to reveal Finn's death until I had all the information.
'Alright. Hang on a minute.' A suddenly very serious sounding Henrik agreed, and I could hear movement down the line, and Jeremy asking him what was wrong. I turned my attention towards Finn's body and reached out to stroke what was left of his hair as I waited.
Tears started streaming down my face.
'The linking spell was severed a few minutes ago. Looks like Nik, Kol, Rebekah and Damon are celebrating.' Henrik confirmed, and I let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank god." I replied, wiping the tears away from my eyes with my sleeve.
'Are you going to tell what's going on now?' Henrik demanded, not fooled for a minute.
"Not right now. I'll explain everything soon." I promised him, as I stood up from my crouch still staring at Finn. "See you soon." I hung up and shoved my phone into the back pocket of my jeans.
"What are we gonna do now?" Daniel broke the silence, and I turned and looked at him. I must've looked positively formidable, because he took an uncertain step back from me looking wary.
"I'll tell you what you're gonna do." I began. "You going to take me to the Salvatore Boarding House, as fast as you can run. And I mean double time." I ordered him, and Daniel's eyes widened when he realised what I intended to do.
"No way. Uh-uh. I'm not doing it." He protested. "I'm a dead man if I do and Klaus finds out." I grabbed him by the lapels, summoning strength I didn't know I possessed in my grief, and slammed him up against the wall, getting right into his face.
"I have a hunch that there is a reason why my friend failed to meet up with me tonight when she said she would, and if I am right. Then she is in danger, and I need to get there to warn her before all hell breaks loose." I raged before letting go of his jacket and stepping away. "So, do what I ask and get me there, NOW!" I yelled.
Daniel differed for a grand total of two seconds before sighing exasperatedly and scooping me up into a bridal hold.
"Been nice knowin' ya." He quipped before he blurred us out of there.
Salvatore Boarding House
Night.
Daniel rushed me as fast as he could to the Boarding House. But obviously wasn't quick enough, as Sage had already beaten us here by several minutes. We arrived just in time to see Sage (accompanied by Troy) viciously grabbing Stefan and throwing him back through the front doors he had just stepped out of, taking him by surprise.
"Oh, Christ!" I cursed and sprinted quickly towards the doors, with Daniel reluctantly following me at my heels. I took one step up to the threshold and instantly locked eyes with Caroline, who looked both horrified and confused as all hell. But before we could say anything to each other, Sage immediately spoke up; fueled by her rage-induced grief causing Daniel and I to quickly hide before Sage could see us.
"Ding dong." She drawled, sarcastically. Caroline rushes at Sage to subdue her but is easily smacked down. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for him." Sage declared pointing right at Stefan. Elena makes a cowardly bid for freedom but is blocked by Troy.
"I don't think so." He sing-songs, grinning at her sadistically. I watched Sage approach Stefan, who looks at her with slight fear in his green eyes.
"I had to kill him, Sage." Stefan tried to plead his case to Sage, who sneers at him.
"Oh, you remember me." She kicks him hard, causing him to fly and crash into a chair. I risked being seen by walking further into the room and looking around the corner, despite Caroline and Daniel frantically gesturing and whisper-yelling for me to stop and go back. "Good. Then you know I like to go all ten rounds." She tells him, and goes to attack him again when starts coughing, and her nose begins to bleed. Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Troy, (and Daniel and I from the foyer) look at her in disbelief.
"Sage?" Troy approaches her, cautiously. Stefan uses this moment to get to his feet, dodging a punch and throwing Sage to the ground when she attacks him again. Sage coughs again, this time spewing up blood. She looks at Troy, eyes wild in fear and confusion.
"Troy, help me!" She urges frantically. Troy drops Elena in a heap and rushes over to aid her, but then freezes and bends over to cough up blood too.
What the hell is going on? I thought fearfully.
"What is happening to me?" Sage gasps before falling to her knees and falling face first to the ground and stilling.
Within a couple of minutes both she and Troy are dead.
A/N: The shit has hit the fan, boys and girls. What's gonna happen next? Updating when I can. Please review generously with your thoughts until then. TTFN xx
*The name of Vlad III Dracula's first wife isn't specified. Elisabetta of Transylvania is completely from Bram Stoker's imagination.