Death, Power, Knowledge

by xXxAngel-With-A-ShotgunxXx

Grace Gilbert, once Faith Potter, knows this will be her last life. Armed with her magic and a deep tie to the supernatural community, will the weight of her past lives consume her? Can she survive in the modern world, or will her enemies finally get the chance they have been waiting for to destroy all she holds dear? Part 4 in the Magic and Power Series (UNDERGOING REWORKING)

1. Pilot

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries, or any of the other shows referenced in this story.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Death, Power, Knowledge

1. Pilot

In one world, it had been years since a war had ended and the truth had been revealed to their secret world: the Wizarding World. Ten years since Molly Weasley had seen her self-proclaimed eighth child. Since Faith Potter had left them all behind, having defended them once again from their own arrogance and faults.

Unbeknownst to the majority of people, Faith did not struggle with her decision. She had known the possibility it was coming and had prepared for far longer than anyone else. It had pained her to leave those she loved - her young son most of all - but they were her primary driving force to do what needed to be done.

Faith's childhood with the Dursley's had left more than mental scars and once she returned to the Wizarding World, the adventures she went through did not help her mental health. It was hard for her to trust, and she had to suppress so much of herself, to be the perfect Golden Girl the world still chose to see her as.

Her loved ones saw how much she was cracking under the strain to keep herself contained.

Two of her greatest friends in the magical world - Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom - were among the first to learn of the arising danger and possible opportunity it could bring. They loved Faith with all their hearts and were distraught her happiness with her only son was to be cut short. When the sacrifice happened, they missed her with all their hearts but vowed to help her son become all he had the potential to be: Good and Bad.

The conversation which had once taken place between Faith Potter and Hermione Granger, long before the sacrifice and when one part of the incoming danger was the only problem, would remain private. No one would ever learn the muggleborn girl's opinion on the matter and Faith never revealed it.

Fred and George Weasley were the next to learn of the approaching danger. They adored their adopted sister and saw how she struggled with her decision. They would often find her curled up in a ball, in a corner of a room, trying to keep herself and her emotions at bay. To keep her magic contained. The world and the people in it had destroyed her to the extent that she no longer knew who she was. Her sacrifice for the world was its final crime against her, taking away her own sense of self and autonomy. They vowed her son would not suffer her fate.

It didn't take long for more of her loved ones to learn of the situation at hand: Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Arthur and Percy Weasley, Luna Lovegood and so many more ... But the one person whose support and love Faith wanted and needed the most, as the day of disaster drew closer, struggled with her own demons.

Molly Weasley refused to believe that the situation was as dire as it appeared, and she was doomed to lose someone else she loved. Molly - who had lost her brothers in the first war, who had come close to losing her children and husband in the second war - was terrified and in denial at the prospect of losing her chosen daughter.

Faith was twenty-one when the first signs began to be visible to those around her. In the months leading up to the disaster, Molly Weasley fretted and worried. She tried to bring her family in closer, to hold onto them with an iron grip, but she was forced to face reality when their world began to tremble.

Naught more than a week before the inevitable happened, Faith was hugged by Molly Weasley and given her wholehearted support. Along with a promise that Faith's son would grow up happy and loved.

Faith Potter was twenty-three when she made the ultimate sacrifice, and the Wizarding World was forced to face the consequences of their arrogance. Faith had long since said her goodbyes; to the family she had carved for herself, to the friends she had fought beside and trusted with her life, to her school rivals who were just as dismayed at the thought of her loss, to her greatest enemy who turned out to be her greatest ally.

Faith went to the sight of the sign of destruction, to where the flames of death slithered and threatened destruction for all magic and was never seen again. Faith Potter had vanished and, in place of where the destruction once threatened to be wrought, a twisting ball of energy remained behind. Everyone knew she was gone, and all believed her to be dead.

Until her son was thirteen and he went to the sight on the sixth anniversary of his mother's sacrifice. In his presence, the energy ball grew agitated and writhed violently, instead of coiling slowly and lazily. Previously invisible, runes appeared - in the air, on the ground, twisting in the very energy ball itself - and glowed, reacting to his magic. They were reaching out to him.

There, among the remnants of his mother's ritualistic sacrifice, her son learned a truth which rocked the foundation of the Wizarding World.

On the day Faith Potter vanished, she did not die as was widely believed. Her own magic, having fought against death so many times, twisted and warped in a way that none of them knew it could - though Faith, herself, had expected and anticipated for. Her magic, desperate to save her life, sent her away to a whole new world.

A whole new universe, from which the entry point was the twisting ball of energy, which reacted only to the power of her first-born son.

On that day, with friends and family surrounding him, he saw a glimpse of the mother he had lost; whom he loved and was desperate to see again, whatever it took. He saw her, hearty and whole, talking to someone else who was indistinguishable in a cavernous room. She spoke of several lives she had lived, of having powerful men on their knees before her, of fighting and dying and loving and losing. She spoke of him, of her darling boy, whom she was desperate to see again; how she wanted to introduce him to his siblings, to hold him in her arms even once more. He and all around him saw a powerful woman, warped and twisted by love, loss and pain, but still fighting every day for those she loved.

The briefest of glimpses is all he had but, to Faith Potter's son, it was all he needed. This proof of his mother's undying love and devotion, no matter who he became or what he did, invigorated him to become the most powerful Wizard his world had ever seen.

On a personal note, her loved ones worried. Did her experiences in her new world mirror the hardships and struggles of this one? There was no guarantee she had loving families, who would tuck her in at night and comfort her through the hard times. Did she have siblings? If she did, were they kind?

One day, the Wizarding World would find out. They would be able to see it. They would be able to view her life in her new world and learn whether their wishes for her happiness had been fulfilled, or whether their hopes were in vain, and all their worries were brought to life.

But this is not that story.

Faith Potter entered a forming universe and was left in the care of great beings until it was time for her to live again. From the beginning, even her own expectations did not turn out as anticipated and she used each opportunity to forge herself in a person greater than she had been. She was reborn into a world with different magic, different creatures, and different hardships.

This is her story. This is her life. For the magic of her sacrificial ritual worked far different than initially believed and these great beings who cared for her twisted all her expectation on her head when they deemed, they would not let her go without a fight.

Through them and their aid, she experienced something far greater than set out for …

… and several mortal lives to change the face of a new, vastly different world.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Faith Potter's New World

-x-x-x-x-x-

Night. A thick fog had descended upon the dense woods, obscuring the muddy paths and dense woods from view. An unnatural silence filled the gloom. A car travelled along the main road, the female inside singing along to the upbeat track playing through the speakers.

"An hour's drive to hear that crap," the male, Darren, complained. "You know, it wasn't even a band. It was a guy with a guitar. An hour each way."

"He wasn't that bad," Brooke denied.

"He sounded like James Blunt."

Exasperated, Brooke shook her head. He was always like this. "What's wrong with that?"

"We already have a James Blunt. One's all we need."

"So why did you come?"

"Because I love you."

Brooke's eyes softened as her gaze met Darren's own. "Nicely done."

Turning to face forward again, her brow furrowed. She couldn't even see ten feet in front of the car. "What's with all this fog?" It hadn't been there a few minutes ago.

Darren was unconcerned. "It'll clear in a second."

A split second later, a silhouette appeared standing in the middle of the road. "Watch out!"

Darren couldn't stop in time. As he slammed his foot onto the brake, the car swerved and spun, hitting the silhouette and sending them flying over the roof, before landing on the hard concrete behind them. They skidded to a stop almost twenty feet away, left trembling with shock and adrenaline.

"Are you okay?" Darren asked.

Tears blurred Brooke's vision. "We just hit someone! Oh, my god!"

Darren unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. "Call for help."

Running back to the still figure on the ground, he knelt and tried to feel for a pulse. "Please be alive."

Unable to find a pulse at the neck, Darren reached for the figure's wrist. As he grabbed the hand, he paused, taking note of the ring worn on it. The strange crest caught his attention, recognizing it as an heirloom of sorts. He peered closer, finding a stone set into the metal.

"Oh, my god." Horror filled him as he recognized the gem set into the ring - the meeting revealing this information to him had only just occurred tonight, before the music started! - and he opened his mouth to scream out to his girlfriend - to tell her to run - but didn't get the chance. The figure sprung up and grabbed hold of his neck, cutting off his yell. Sharp fangs bit into his neck and his life was over.

Back in the car, Brooke kept attempting to dial for help - the police or an ambulance - but remained unable to get through. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she stepped out of the car.

"There's no signal! Darren!"

As she tried to peer through the fog, she was unable to see her boyfriend or the injured figure on the road though it all. "Darren?"

With a loud crash, the body of Darren landed on the hood of the car; neck mauled and at a ninety-degree angle. At the dight of his disfigured, unmoving body, Brooke screamed and tried to run away.

She wasn't fast enough.

A dark figure swept upon her, and she was gone.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 2009 - Present Day

-x-x-x-x-x-

After she finished dressing for the day, a young woman stood in front of a floor length mirror. She wore form fitting clothing, accentuating all her curves and her ankle boots had the slightest of elevations. Her whole wardrobe held simple, yet tasteful fashions; classy and sophisticated, stylish and never too revealing. The jewellery she wore on that day was a pair of diamond studded earrings and a deep black, jagged stone hanging from a coarse thread around her neck, resting low between her breasts and mostly hidden from sight.

Her chosen hairstyle of half her hair in a crown braid on top of her head, with green coloured threads woven into the plaited strands and the other half flowing down her back in curls was one she chose often.

Above her mirror was the name 'Grace', in a mix of royal purple and royal blue block letters which were stuck to the wall.

Smiling to herself, Grace strode from her room and entered the hall, stopping for a moment outside of her sister's bedroom. With the door open, she could see Elena writing into her diary. Clenching her fists, she continued down the stairs with a renewed vigour. The snakes she'd secretly had embroidered on the spine of the journal had whispered enough for a picture to emerge of Elena's current mindset.

Elena still had no idea that the journals weren't as secret as she believed, and Grace planned to keep it that way. Despite her realization that Elena's mind was a cesspool she preferred not to decipher, she knew better than to be caught off guard as she had been before.

Entering the kitchen and turning on the coffee pot, Grace smiled as a gentle brush ran across her ankles. Crouching down and taking hold of the most recent addition to the family, she held the black and white fluffball close to her chest. Leaning against the kitchen counter, she kissed the top of the furred head. "Good morning, sweet girl."

"Don't strangle Muffins."

A hand reached over and gave a small scratch to the cat's ears, leading Muffins to purr and curl her head toward the new edition. Jeremy smiled and sat down on a stool next to his older sister, wanting to relax before having to leave.

"Ready for school?" Grace asked.

Jeremy wasn't able to give a verbal answer before their elder sister walked into the room, heading straight for the coffee pot, with their aunt Jenna following immediately behind her. Grace and Jeremy exchanged humorous smiles at the sight of her usual frazzled morning panic.

"Toast," Jenna said, bustling about the room. "I can make toast."

"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," Elena responded, taking out a single mug and pouring herself a steaming cup.

Jeremy took a deep breath and stood up, reaching for the cupboard to pull out two more mugs. "Is there coffee?" he asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm, as he poured some for both himself and Grace. He sat back down and waited for Grace to release Muffins - who ran out of the room - before handing her the steaming beverage.

"Thank you, Jeremy." They knocked their mugs together; neither of them glanced over at Elena when she winced, having realized her mistake.

"Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared." Jenna pulled out a couple of dollars, offering them to the three siblings. "Lunch money?"

"I'm good," Elena denied.

Grace shook her head. "It's Tyler's turn to buy lunch."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and grabbed the money, muttering a 'thank you' as he did.

"Anything else?" Jenna asked. "A number two pencil? What am I missing?"

Grace picked up a discarded book on the counter behind her. "You have your presentation today. I called your thesis advisor and rescheduled your meeting for you. If you leave within the next ten minutes, you'll have time to visit your favourite coffee shop and still make it on time to your meeting."

Jenna glanced at her watch and heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Grace."

"Go ahead," Elena insisted. "We'll be fine."

Jenna smiled, blew them all a kiss and left. Grace and Jeremy waved her goodbye, wishing her luck, and drank from their beverages while they were still hot. After they had all heard the front door shut, Elena turned to face her younger siblings, her whole demeanour echoing with sadness.

"You two, okay?" she asked, soft and cautious.

They didn't offer her a glance; Grace scoffed and left the room, taking her coffee with her, but Jeremy knocked back the rest of his - ignoring the burn. "Don't start." He followed Grace and ignored the tingling sensation of Elena's persistent stare at his back.

Elena leaned back against the counter and sighed, knowing it wouldn't be wise to follow them and attempt to get them to speak with her. On the muted television behind her, a news report flashed up reporting Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton missing.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Grace sat in the back of her friend Bonnie's car, thumbing through her worn copy of historical letters sent by the emperor Augustus and those closest to him. It was the only copy she read, as all the letters were still in their original Latin and not the censored translations historians were fond of. Elena was in the passenger seat, having grabbed it before Grace had even walked out the front door.

"So, Grams is telling me I'm psychic," Bonnie told them. "You already know my ancestors were from Salem - which isn't something to brag about, considering how many people died - but she won't let it go! I tried to follow your advice, Grace, and listen to her, but she makes it so hard."

Grace chuckled, wiggling her fingers. Bonnie rolled her eyes as a braid weaved itself on the right side of her head, created by Grace's magic.

"You're different, Grace," Bonnie insisted, smiling. "You brought your magic with you. If I were like you, wouldn't it be different?" Bonnie met Grace's eyes pointedly in the mirror.

Grace caught the thought which ran across Bonnie's surface thoughts and gave her a gentle smile. Elena never wanted to talk about the fact that this wasn't Grace's first life in this world, so they were all careful with how they brought it up whenever she was in earshot. Elena had been the first to say she needed professional help when Grace gained the courage to speak to them about her strange dreams. If it weren't for the revelation of Grace's magic, she would no doubt believe her past lives to be a fabrication of her younger sister's imagination.

She projected her conviction to Bonnie, letting her friend know they would discuss the harder facts that weren't being mentioned when they were alone.

"But, anyway," Bonnie continued, having received acknowledgement for her worries, "apart from the witch ancestors, I think Grams might be onto something. I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands."

Grace shook her head. "I'm not sure that counts, Bonnie; global warming is telling us that."

"That's true." They both hated the effects Global Warming was having on the planet, but Grace had a particular aversion to it. Having lived through various different times had allowed her to develop a profound disgust for the way the modern world worked.

Glancing at the other Gilbert, wondering at her silence, Bonnie saw Elena wasn't listening. "Elena! Back in the car." A secret relief ran through Bonnie, as she realized Elena had tuned out most of the conversation.

Elena spun her head around and focused her attention back on Bonnie. "I did it again, didn't I? I - I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling us that ..."

"That she's psychic now." Grace's tone was sharp.

Elena winced, before giving a small smile. "Right. Ok, then predict something. About me."

Bonnie caught the neutral expression settle on Grace's face and didn't meet her eyes. She was annoyed, as well. She had been wary about sharing this with Elena for this exact reason - becoming a circus freak on demand. Real magic was dangerous, as Grace had proven time and time again. "Elena -"

Out of nowhere, a small dark object hit the windscreen of the car. All three girls gasped in surprise and Bonnie slammed on the breaks, sending the car to a squealing stop.

"What was that?" Bonnie gasped. "Oh, my god! Elena, Grace, are you both okay?"

Elena leaned back in her seat, while Grace sat rigid in the back seat, gripping her book tightly and trying to regulate her heartbeat back to normal. They both hated cars for different reasons.

"It's okay," Elena assured Bonnie. "I'm fine."

Grace took a deep breath and tried to smile. "I'm fine, as well, Bonnie. Don't worry."

"It was like a bird or something," Bonnie told them, trying to reassure them and herself and the same time. "It came out of nowhere."

Elena shook her head. "Really, I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life."

Grace met Bonnie's eyes through the rear-view mirror again. "Bonnie, seriously, we're fine. Are you okay?"

Her hands were shaking as she gripped the steering wheel, but Bonnie gave them both a tentative smile. "I'm okay. Let's get to school and make this a kickass year."

They all chuckled and smiled. Bonnie leaned back and turned on the ignition. As they drove away, Grace took a brief glance out of the window and saw the crow watching the vehicle from on top of the Laurel Avenue sign. Letting out the slightest of tendrils of her magic, she sensed the supernatural presence within the crow and smiled.

As she returned to reading her book and focused on the letter Augustus sent his third wife after the Battle of Alexandria, she knew the time of hiding was over.

-x-x-x-x-x-

When they arrived at Mystic Falls High School, they made their way through the halls of students and headed for their lockers. Bonnie made most of the commentary.

"There is a major lack of male real estate in this place - oh, look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beach." Grace glanced over and grimaced. She knew Kelly's cousin had favoured those fashions and, since the girl had passed away last year, she honoured her by wearing her style of clothing. Grace just hoped she returned to her own vintage look soon, because she wasn't doing herself any favours with her current style. "She looks like a hot - can I still say, 'tranny mess'?"

They paused by a set of lockers.

Elena shook her head. "No, that's over."

"It was never in," Grace corrected.

"Ahh," Bonnie sighed. "Find a man, coin a phrase."

Bonnie and Grace opened their lockers at the same time, as they were only three apart. As they sorted out their textbooks, Bonnie was the one who spotted a classmate watching them from across the hall. Elena and Grace caught the expression on her face and turned to see Matt Donovan watching them. Elena gave a small smile and wave.

Matt gave no response other than taking a textbook out of his locker, closing the door and walking away.

Elena slumped back. "He hates me."

"That's not hate," Bonnie denied. "That's 'You dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but I'm secretly listening to air supplies greatest hits'."

Grace couldn't help herself. "I believe that's his 'I'm secretly relieved' look."

Elena flinched and curled in on herself, while Bonnie shot Grace a glare "Grace!" which would have made anyone else wither - but not Grace.

Grace closed her locker door after putting the necessary books into her bag - keeping the book she had been reading in the car in a back pocket. "I'm not going to pretend I ever approved of their relationship, Bonnie; you know me better than that. Even so, the way Elena chose to dump him was completely uncalled for. Do not pretend you don't agree."

Bonnie bit her tongue, because she knew Grace was right. They'd all known Elena had stopped being happy in the relationship long before it ended but had continued to string Matt along for weeks. When she had finally ended it, it hurt Matt a lot worse than it would have had she bitten the bullet and gotten it over with earlier.

It was like Grace had said when Elena first confessed her waning feelings for him, "Tell him you want to take a break. He's not stupid, Elena; he knows you're not happy. The longer you take, the more he's going to convince himself it's all going to be fine."

So, yes, Bonnie did agree. It was just Grace who was vocal about it.

Before the conversation could continue to heat up, a voice called out and approached them. "Elena! Oh, my god."

Grace smiled as a beautiful blonde rushed over and wrapped her arms around Elena. Caroline Forbes gripped her friend in a tight hug and asked, "How are you?" She released Elena and stepped back. "Oh, it's so good to see you." Turning to Bonnie and Grace, she asked, "How is she? Is she good?"

"Caroline, I'm right here," Elena answered, with an exasperated smile. "And I'm fine. Thank you."

"Really?" Caroline was unable to hide her scepticism.

"Yes. Much better."

Grace was unable to keep from rolling her eyes at Elena's unconvincing words. Hiding away for the whole summer and coming out on the first day of school was not a great indicator of how 'fine' a person was. Elena was going to have a tough time of she tried to keep selling those lines.

Caroline didn't buy it. She gave Elena another firm hug. "Oh, you poor thing."

"Ok, Caroline," Elena murmured, straining from the pressure of Caroline's arms.

Caroline pulled away and turned to Grace, pulling her into a firm embrace without warning. Grace chuckled and wrapped her arms around her friend, gently squeezing back.

"You saw me yesterday, Care."

"I know. Twenty-four hours is too long without a hug from you."

They pulled away and kissed each other's cheeks.

"Ok, see you guys later?" Caroline gave short glances to each of them.

They all smiled. "Ok. Bye!"

As Caroline walked away, they waved. Once she had disappeared from their view, the three of them chuckled.

"The force of nature that is Caroline Forbes," Grace commented with fondness. "What would we do without her?"

"Chaos," Bonnie agreed, amused.

Elena just shook her head. "No comment."

Grace bit back a retort at Elena's casual dismissal of their friend and decided it was best for her to walk away.

"I'm going to find Jeremy." She didn't wait for a reply and, as she left, she overheard Bonnie scolding Elena. She grinned.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Grace headed straight for the crackhead's hangout. She saw Vicki Donovan with some random sophomore, getting handed pills Grace knew weren't paracetamol. Shaking her head in disgust, she turned and walked around the corner, spotting Jeremy sorting through his book bag on a bench a good distance away.

"You got all your stuff?" Grace asked, stopping next to him.

Jeremy was pleased to see her before their classes. "Yeah. I promise, I'm going to go to all my classes. I'll do better this time."

Before they'd died, their parents had applied Jeremy for summer classes in history and art. Jeremy enjoyed both subjects - he loved hearing about Grace's past lives and how she described living in those times, which is what had kicked off his passion - and wanted to get extra credit for both, hoping to be placed in AP classes. He aimed to graduate top of his class and get into a great university to study historical art and objects, to restore old artworks and more.

After their parents' deaths, Jeremy hadn't attended any of the classes and had fallen in with a bad crowd, who introduced him to heavy drugs. Grace hated that it had taken her so long to notice the crowd he'd fallen into and the habits he'd formed. She raided his room searching for the drugs - on a weekend Elena and Jenna were spending together, due to Elena's slow recovery from the accident - and had given Jeremy such a scolding he felt about ten inches tall afterward. Grace had been sobbing hard as she scolded him, which had made it worse. She apologized for not being there for him and, the same day as they walked home from getting coffee and a batch of muffins, they found a stray kitten.

They took the kitten to the vet and, after a few days of deliberation, went back to adopt her. Jenna went with them, signed all the legal paperwork and they took Muffins home the same day. They chose the name because, if Jeremy hadn't stepped into te alley to throw out the rubbish from said treat, he never would have heard her cries.

The vet told them a cat had been run over by a car the day before they found her. It was a guess said cat had been the mother of the kitten they found. She had grown well under their care and was always found in either Jeremy or Grace's rooms. The growing bond with Muffins had allowed Jeremy a different outlet than drugs or booze.

Jeremy vowed never to let his sister down in such a way ever again.

"I know you will." Grace could see the conviction in his eyes. "Don't let Tanner get to you. He's an ass to all of us."

Tanner would never forgive Jeremy for skipping his classes for booze and drugs, but the other teachers had all offered him ways to make the extra credit he'd wanted. It would just take time.

"I heard you moving around last night. Did you have another nightmare?" Jeremy asked, concerned.

Grace was quiet for a moment. "Bad dreams. Don't worry about me, Jeremy."

But Jeremy did worry. Grace spoke of her past lives with a great fondness and didn't like going over the bad points, but they all knew there were horrors she never spoke of. During a sleepover a few years ago, she had woken them all, calling out words in a language they hadn't understood - screaming and crying. It had taken them hours to get her to speak the Queen's English again.

"I want to know about it all," Jeremy told her. "I'm old enough now, Grace. I can handle it. I know this is a different time and the beliefs aren't the same now, but I want to try and see it the way you do. You're my sister and I want to help you."

Grace gave a tentative smile, touched. She gave him her word. Her last life had retaught her to mistrust even those closest to her. It had been reinforced by Elena's dismissal of her magic and past lives; but she wanted to be able to talk to Jeremy about all she had experienced. She wanted him to prove worthy of her trust, unlike Elena.

"I knew I'd find you here," a male voice called out.

Grace and Jeremy turned around to find Tyler Lockwood approaching them with a grin. Tyler threw an arm around Grace's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek. All he graced Jeremy with was a quick, dismissive glance.

Jeremy rolled his eyes, focusing on his schoolbag and sorting it out. He never understood the relationship between Grace and Tyler; they weren't dating but still participated in activities regular friends did not. He'd walked in on them enough times to prove it, mentally scarring himself in the process.

"You didn't call me this morning," Tyler complained to Grace, his tone playful.

Grace smiled. "Had a busy morning. I'll make it up to you."

Tyler's sly grin showed his thoughts had taken a more personal turn. Jeremy risked a glance and cringed; Tyler had brought his sister closer for a slow, passionate kiss - including tongue. Tyler had pulled Grace so close that you wouldn't have been able to fit a sheet of paper between them and his hands were creeping lower than Jeremy was comfortable with.

"Really?" Jeremy complained. "In front of me?"

Tyler pulled back and glared. "You know, Pete Wentz called; he wants his nail polish back." He had noted the black colour of Jeremy's nails - the last evidence of his difficult summer - which was chipping away.

Grace put herself between them to stop the brewing fight. "Don't do it. Both of you need to get along. Vicki played you against each other. Let's not walk down this road again."

Tyler and Jeremy both knew she was right.

Tyler agreed. "I'll see you later, Grace. Gotta find Matt before class. See you, kid." Jeremy didn't need to be a genius to know the last part was directed at him.

As Tyler walked away, Jeremy let out an exasperated sigh and met his sister's eyes. "Pete Wentz? That's his go to? He a Carlson Daily fan?" Grace laughed and they walked inside.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Bonnie and Elena stood outside the front office. Bonnie was the first to spot a guy they hadn't seen before, getting his papers checked.

"Hold up. Who's this?"

Elena didn't know. "All I see is back."

"It's a hot back."

Elena chuckled and agreed.

Inside the office, the secretary scanned the documents in front of her. "Your records are incomplete. You're missing immunization records and we do insist on transcripts."

The young man took off his sunglasses and met the secretary's gaze, his pupils fluctuating. "Please look again. I'm sure everything you need is there."

For a few long seconds the secretary stared into his eyes, her expression void of all emotion, before she scanned through the papers again. "Well, you're right. So it is." She smiled.

Outside the office, Bonnie and Elena were still watching, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fresh meat. Bonnie's stance tensed as she continued to observe him. "He's lonely. So much pain."

Elena scoffed with a lack of humour. "You're going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, aren't you?"

Bonnie clenched her jaw and didn't speak. She hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud and wondered if Elena understood how condescending she sounded.

Over Bonnie's shoulder, Elena saw Jeremt and Grace walking through the hall, talking to each other with smiles on their faces. Grace stopped walking and waited, while Jeremy walked into the boys' toilets.

"Hey, Grace, can you ask Jeremy-?"

"Fuck off, Brandon," Grace cut off the blonde who had approached her. "Not a chance."

Brandon was a hardcore crackhead, always after his newest fix. He glared at Grace and shoved passed her. Elena heard the exchange and narrowed her eyes. There was no way. A suffocating and blinding fury enveloped her.

"I'll be right back," Elena told Bonnie and stormed away. Bonnie gave her a vague acknowledgement, still staring at the new guy and trying to puzzle what she could sense from him.

Grabbing Grace's elbow "Hey! Elena!", she pulled her into the boys' toilets and over to where Jeremy was washing his hands. One guy noticed them and quickened his steps to escape as he left without washing his hands.

Grace glared at Elena and pulled her elbow away. "What the hell, Elena?"

"Are you dealing?" Elena asked Jeremy, before whirling on Grace. "Are you helping him?"

"No, I'm not," Jeremy denied, at the same time Grace snarled, "You actually think I'd let him?"

Elena didn't believe them. "Where is it? Is it on you?" She began to bodily search Jeremy, raising Grace's ire further.

Jeremy pushed Elena away. "Stop! You need to chill yourself, all right?"

"Chill myself?" Elena repeated in disbelief. "What is that, stoner talk?"

Before Elena could say any more, her shoulder was grabbed in a bruising grip, and she was pulled away by Grace. "Enough, Elena! He's not taking and he's not dealing."

"Don't lie to me! What the hell was that with Brandon?" Elen accused, not believing a word. "I gave you both summer passes. I'm done watching you" she pointed to Jeremy "destroy yourself and you" she pointed to Grace "allowing him to."

Jeremy stood straighter, ready to defend himself and Grace, but Elena pushed him back against the sink. "No, no, no, you know what? Go ahead. Keep it up. Both of you. But know that I am going to be there to ruin your buzz every time, am I clear?"

A toilet flushed and another guy walked out of the cubicle, quick to leave the room to avolid the family spat - what was it about teenage boys not washing their hands? Elena watched him leave, making sure he shut the door behind him. Grace and Jeremy were trembling with the force of their fury.

As Elena turned back to face them, Grace had had enough. "Now you've said your piece, get the fuck away from us." Grace had always had issues with her temper - it carried over into all her lives - but, in a horrifying moment, instincts she had buried deep raced to the surface. She had to get out of there before she did something she wouldn't be regretting but would have far reaching consequences.

Grace shoved passed her, pushing Elena back into the sinks. Before she could say any more, her siblings had walked away. Jeremy turned back to face his eldest sister; countenance frigid.

"You gave me a summer pass? Grace didn't even give me that. I've been clean for six weeks. If you took your head out of your journal and left your room for long enough, you might have known."

Elena watched the door click shut, eyes open wide in shock. In the ensuing silence, she sagged back against the sink.

Outside, Grace waved good to Jeremy as they went their separate ways. Grace turned and saw Caroline by her locker, the perky blonde's attention drawn elsewhere. As she changed directions, hoping to talk to her before class, she stumbled into a hard chest.

As she scolded herself for allowing her temper to dull her senses and awareness of her surroundings, the hair on her arms stood on end, cold ice trickled down her spine and a similar darkness from the crow crept upon her. Grace gasped. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It was my fault."

Grace stilled as she recognized the voice. As her gaze snapped up, she was met with familiar light brown hair and forest green eyes. She smiled, relaxing. "Stefan Salvatore."

Stefan's eyes were soft, a gentle smile set on his lips. "It's good to see you again, Temperance."

"Grace," she corrected him, allowing him to pull her in for a hug. Stefan's arm was firm around her waist and his other hand was in her hair for a few seconds. "As I already told you. I was unaware you'd be coming back this soon. Did something happen?"

Stefan shook his head. "I decided it was time." His gaze moved over her shoulder. "Isn't that the men's room?"

Grace heard the swish of a door and glanced over her shoulder to see Elena leaving the toilet, apologetic and distraught. Ignoring her, Grace turned back to Stefan. "Yes, it is. Long story. I'll tell you later, if you'd like to catch up?"

"I'd love to. I'll see you in class." Stefan knew he shouldn't have returned to Mystic Falls, but he hadn't been able to resist. She was here. She was alive.

He wasn't going to fail her again.

Grace smiled and they continued going their separate ways. She walked over to Caroline, knowing she would want all the juicy gossip about the new guy in town.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 1850

-x-x-x-x-x-

The stars sparkled as a dark carriage travelled a paved path. A family of four were inside, eager and restless to get home after a small holiday. It was the Salvatore family.

"As soon as we get home," Giuseppe was saying, "you boys are going straight to bed. The journey has been long and hard. We all deserve a rest."

Lillian Salvatore sat opposite her husband. In her lap was her youngest son, Stefan, who was struggling to keep his eyes open. Her eldest, Damon, was next to her and watching the trees go by outside.

Giuseppe had been growing more irritable by the hour and Lillian knew better than to question him, even though Stefan's sleep routine had not been kept to with the long journey - he had been falling to sleep for an hour or so at various intervals all day. Damon, she knew, would not complain as he was tired himself.

"Of course, Giuseppe," Lillian agreed. "It has been a long journey, and we are all tired. It will be relieving to be back in our own beds."

Giuseppe leaned back in his seat, satisfied.

Damon, who had been ignoring the conversation, tensed. A movement had caught his eye, outside, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Father, there's a girl in the trees."

Giuseppe's sharp gaze snapped to his eldest. "What, son?"

"Over there." Damon gestured to the treeline where, sure enough, a girl no older than his youngest boy was stood by a tree.

"Stop the carriage!" Giuseppe called out, before opening the door and jumping out while it was still moving.

Ordering his family to remain inside, he was cautious as he approached the little girl. He knew, without needing to give the order, his carriage driver had his hidden gun drawn and his personal slave would defend his wife and children, should this turn out to be a trap by the native of this land.

The young girl appeared to be in a daze, not seeing the world around her. Her dark hair was matted with dirt; leaves and twigs caught in the tangles. She was covered in mud and other filth, while the moon shinning down highlighted her porcelain skin still visible beneath it all. The dress she wore was naught more than rags now, though it was evident to have been of high quality. Her feet were bare and oozing blood onto the grass.

As Giuseppe approached the young girl, her eyes met his and he was taken aback to see emerald orbs shinning so bright. Tear tracks glistened on her cheeks and more swam in her eyes.

Giuseppe crouched a few feet from her. She took a step back, hunching in on herself and trying to shrink as if not to be seen. He didn't want to imagine what could have put a young child into such a state. So focused on her, he didn't see the figure hidden deep within the trees, not leaving until the girl was taken care of.

"Do not worry," Giuseppe told her. "You are safe now."

He would never know what made him use those words. It took him over an hour of coaxing the girl with kindness to get her into the carriage, to take her home. He ordered his slave to get the physician when they arrived back at the manor. Damon gave her his jacket to keep her warm.

The physician's arrival was prompt, and the rest of the village alerted to the news of a young girl being found in the woods. They would never find out where she came from, and she did not appear to recall her own name.

Within days, the Salvatore family took her in as a ward. She was never given a last name, as hope was still held out for her family to be found. However, Lillian Salvatore grew attached to the young girl and gave her a name of her own within days, treating her as the daughter she never had.

From that day, the young girl was called Temperance.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 2009 - Present Day

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Once our home state of Virginia joined the Confederate Rebellion in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state."

Grace was doodling in the margins of her notebook, trying not to fall to sleep during Tanner's speech. She loved history, but she'd lived through this era, and he made everything sound so boring. Taking a glance around the room at her fellow classmates - having been put up a year meant she was in the same classes as her sister - she rolled her eyes as she saw Matt Donovan keep glancing over at Elena.

She had hoped he'd grown out of it during the summer. It wasn't hard for her to say, even about her own sister, but he was better off now he wasn't with her.

"People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the Crown's Union ..."

Grace tuned out the rest of the speech. The American Civil War had almost succeeded in breaking the United States from the British Crown in a way previous wars had failed. It was thanks to Abraham Lincoln and the Crown's Union that America was still protected and considered a domain under the British Royal Family. For a long time, any Confederate State had suffered harsh penalties for the break in faith and taxes had been horrific for decades.

Though the United States was a country which operated on its own most of the time, by the grace of the Crown, they were never again allowed to forget they were part of the British Empire.

Grace was amused at the difference in history. The small ripples had changed a vast majority in this world, when compared to her old one. He had certainly done his job well in her absence. Her plans were coming together.

Drawn back to the present, Grace noticed Elena kept sneaking glances over in Stefan's direction. Her eyes narrowed, realizing Elena wanted a new relationship and was searching for one with blatancy in front of Matt. It pleased her to see Stefan ignoring the brunette and her obvious attempts to eye-flirt with him.

She wasn't concerned when she saw Matt following Elena's glances. Perhaps it would be the kick he needed to get over her sister.

Grace stared back at her notes, trying to get caught up with Tanner's speech in case he asked a question, missing Stefan glance over at her as she did. Bonnie and Matt didn't. Bonnie was discreet in taking her phone out of her pocket and sent a quick message. Grace's phone buzzed in her pocket and, taking it out, she hid it behind her history book.

HAWT-E. STARING U.

Grace smiled and shook her head in amusement. Matt's eyebrows rose in surprise.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Neither Grace, nor Jeremy, wanted to follow Elena on her daily trip to Mystic Falls Cemetery, so they went ahead of time. Grace heard the squawk of a bird and glanced around, not seeing it, but hearing the flap of wings and sensing the same presence from earlier. Jeremy glanced upward after she looked back down and saw the crow land on the sign.

They made it to their destination and stood there.

IN MEMORY

GRAYSON GILBERT - MIRANDA SOMMERS GILBERT

MAY 23RD, 2009

LOVING PARENTS

Jeremy gripped his sister's hand and fought back tears. He'd not been able to come here alone since the funeral. Grace had helped him, by coming with him once a week and allowing him to spend time at their parents' graves. Grace found it easier with her brother beside her, as well, for vastly different reasons.

Wiping the dust and dirt off from the top of the headstone, Grace placed the bouquet of white roses they'd bought on their way there on the grave. Their mother had loved white roses, and their father had always made sure a bouquet was in the house. It didn't matter whether they were happy, or they were fighting, a fresh bouquet of white roses would be in the house every week.

Seeing the tears in her brother's eyes, Grace pulled him in for a hug.

"We're going to be okay, Jeremy," she whispered in his ear. "I promise."

Jeremy allowed the tears to fall and held her tight, burying his face into her hair. Although Jeremy loved his parents and grieved for their loss, he had since come to a harsher realization which made him more upset - he would survive this and move on. If it had been Grace instead, he knew he would have followed her without hesitation.

Pulling away and looking back at the grave, a morbid thought crossed Jeremy's mind, and he shivered. Grace noticed and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I was thinking about your other parents and how you lost them. About how it was a modern car accident and what could have taken all the others from you." A subject she avoided talking about was the deaths of those she loved in the past.

Grace glanced at her mother's name on the tombstone, having long since stopped caring about offending the woman. Although she had always had a complicated relationship with the women who birthed her, the one she shared with Miranda Sommers Gilbert had been the worst of the lot.

"In my first life here," Grace began, "I was raised mostly away from my parents. My sister and I were given into the care of a powerful family, who did not treat us well and made sure we ... earned our way. After my sister died, I was returned to my father's care - my mother had already passed away from a fever. My father was a complicated man" the kindest words she would use when describing the man who sired her in her first life here "and a fierce soldier. Only a few years after I was returned to him, he perished in a fight."

She didn't tell Jeremy that her father hadn't met his end in a sanctioned military battle but had met a far more sinister end. She certainly didn't tell him what had driven her parents to give her away, nor why she had been returned. Despite her love for him, Jeremy was not the one who deserved to hear the truth from her first.

"In my second life, my parents were powerful and influential people in our culture. You already know that four of my brothers and I were born of our father's second marriage; what you don't know is this marriage was the result of our father having an affair with our mother. His first wife had given him two children - a boy and a girl - with their daughter having died of plague long before I was born. My father was killed by an enemy of our people and my mother by my father's first wife." It was the one thing she and her eldest brother had the hardest time reconciling with each other for. He had protected his mother from the consequences of her actions, whereas she and the rest of their brothers had wanted the woman dead in recompense. It had caused problems which had echoed for years, even long after all parties involved were dead.

Jeremy longed to ask questions, but a shadow in her eyes stopped him. She had always been vague about all of her lives and would never mention any names. She made no illusions to time periods, or any historical facts they could use to pinpoint when and where she had lived. What was she hiding? Why was it so difficult for her to talk about?

"My third life was right here in Mystic Falls."

"What?" Jeremy's contemplations screeched to a halt. "But we're the founding families. How it that possible?"

"The Vikings found this place first," Grace told him. "Many years before Leif Erikson was said to have discovered the West, Viking warriors and settlers migrated to the Americas. All he did was re-establish the connection back to the homeland."

"Wow." Jeremy's ideas about history were blown wide open with these facts. Why wasn't this in their history books? "What happened? Why don't we know this?"

"No one wants to admit the Vikings were so proficient they settled in places other than the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland and Greenland. It's all about politics and religion, Jeremy. Two topics which turn the greatest of men to corruption."

Jeremy acknowledged this. "So, your parents?"

"I was twelve when they died," she admitted. "We had an uneasy peace with our native neighbours. Many of our people had intermarried with them and they became a thriving separate community. They suffered from, what my parents called, an illness" she spat the word in disgust, still angry at the lack of understanding and acceptance "which made them unapproachable at times. It was involuntary on their part. My parents lost track of time one night and were caught out after dark. My sister and I were the ones who found their bodies the next morning - not that there was much to recover."

"What happened to you after that?" Jeremy questioned, concerned. He couldn't imagine there were many options available to her at twelve.

"We were taken in by two separate families. I was close to the family who had taken me in, so I had a good life."

She hadn't just been close to the family who had taken her in; they had meant the world to her. She would have died for them, as they would have her. She did die for them.

"In my fourth life, my father was a nobleman in the land which would become known as Italy and my mother was his wife's personal handmaiden. When my mother died in childbirth, his wife took me in as her own - no one outside the family knew the truth - and raised me with my brothers. They were killed when I was thirteen and my eldest brother took care of me after." It had been what ignited her brothers' unending hatred of the vampire species.

Jeremy remembered her mentioning this before. If her father's wife hadn't been willing to raise her, she would have been sent to a convent. Any time she fell short of his standards, he had threatened to send her away. She had always considered herself closer to the woman she called mother than to the man who sired her.

Grace didn't have to say it, but Jereny knew she had been relieved when her father had died and regretted not having the power to save her 'mother' from what had killed her.

"In my next life ..." something flashed through her eyes too quick for Jeremy to catch "... about a year after I was born, my mother travelled to Bulgaria to see her brother and his family. She never made it to her destination. I exchanged letters with both of my cousins throughout my childhood and we often discussed what could have happened to her. My father passed away from old age when I was five and I was given into the custody of my godparents to raise. I lived a long life."

She didn't tell Jeremy her father had been a Prince, or her godparents had been reigning King and Queen. She had been beloved and adored, treasured and hated, supressed and given exceptional opportunities at each twist in the road. She wasn't sure he would appreciate the decisions she had made in her fifth life, nor comprehend how much of her blood still ran through the nobility of Europe today.

Jeremy didn't know what she meant by long life. In times long passed by, old age could even mean when you were of marriageable age, which was as soon as you hit puberty.

"My last life was - once again - here in Mystic Falls."

"Seriously?! What is it about this town?"

Grace laughed. "Magic, I suppose. I never knew my biological family, I'm afraid. I was taken in by a 'Founding Family', after they found me wandering on the side of the road. I was never given a last name of my own."

Jeremy's memory clicked onto an old story he knew. Grace had read the history of Mystic Falls to him one night when he was ill, attempting to get him to sleep. Giuseppe Salvatore had taken in a young girl and raised her alongside his sons, giving her the name Temperance. Not much was spoken of her today and she died young - at around seventeen or eighteen. She had caught an unknown illness and perished within a few short weeks.

Jeremy did not admit to knowing this. He would have to do more research but, to have her last life solidified and the chance to find out more, left him lightheaded and his heart racing.

Grace was about to tell him more, when -

"Grace? Jeremy?"

They saw Elena walk out from behind a tree. Grace didn't blink; she had sensed and heard her approach minutes before. She had taken it as an opportunity to force Elena to hear more about the subjects she always tried to make Grace forget.

"We were just leaving." The accusations from earlier were still ringing through Jeremy's mind and he did not want to continue the conversation which had, to be frank, hurt him in a way neither of his sisters had ever hurt him before. Today had been one day in a long line of problems emerging. Lines had been drawn in the sand and he knew where he stood.

They walked away from the grave and Elena didn't try to stop them. As Grace walked by her, Elena pressed a gentle touch to her shoulder. It was all the apology Grace would get and made her temper commence boiling once again. Continuing to walk the path, they left Elena to sit in front of the grave and pull out her journal.

"What's she writing now?" Jeremy asked. He knew of Grace's ability to speak to snakes.

She was unconcerned and beyond the point of caring. "That she made it through the day. That she's not okay, even though she told everyone she was. You know, Jeremy, if she'd spoken to more people than Bonnie, Caroline, Jenna and the two of us this summer, she wouldn't have had to put on a front today. Did she even cotton on to the fact no one asked me or you if we were okay, because they'd seen us around and spoken to us before the first day of school?"

Jeremy shook his head. "She was more absorbed in how people reacted to her, than to our own days."

A bird squawking caught their attention, and they stopped to see a crow resting on the back of a bench. Grace stared at it for a long moment, not sure whether to be amused or annoyed. As a fog began to roll in, she rolled her eyes and settled on mild irritation. "Come on, Jeremy; let's keep moving."

As they continued on their way, Jeremy found the crow and the fog difficult to ignore; the crow flew over their heads, squawking and demanding to be heard, and the fog thickened around them. His palms became sweaty, and a cold chill broke out on the back of his neck. "Grace."

Grace gripped his arm. She could see a recognizable figure standing in the trees, facing their direction. Unable to stop her lips from twitching into a small smile, she just huffed a laugh. He always did enjoy the spooky games. "We're fine, Jeremy. Trust me."

Jeremy did trust her. However, his trust did not stop him from increasing their pace as they walked away and turned a corner. As soon as they were clear of that section, the fog disappeared. The sun shone of them again and Jeremy breathed easier.

He scanned the area, hoping they hadn't been followed. He had seen the same figure Grace had. He knew he was safe with his sister, but he didn't want her to be in the position where she had to protect him.

"Was that a witch? Was that another witch trying to frighten us?" He knew magic existed in many forms and there were others like Grace out there. He wasn't stupid, nor naïve, like the rest of them.

"No," Grace denied, shaking her head. "Other witches wouldn't engage in such frivolities - their words, not mine. Even so, magic belonging to a witch has a different feel to it."

"Hey."

Grace and Jeremy both spun around and saw Stefan Salvatore standing behind them. Jeremy's heart jumped straight to his throat and he took a deep breath to calm its racing.

"Hi, Stefan," Grace greeted, as if the strange events of a second ago hadn't happened. "Are you visiting family?"

"I'm paying my respects." He was hesitant to tell her, as he wasn't sure how she'd react.

There was a single person Stefan would pay his respects to in the cemetery and Grace wouldn't begrudge him, even though she refused to do the same.

Jeremy took a deep breath. "Okay. This day needs to stop trying to give me a heart attack."

"I agree. Jeremy, this is Stefan. Stefan, this is my brother, Jeremy." She'd wanted to introduce them for the longest time.

"It's nice to meet you," Jeremy greeting, shaking his hand.

"And you."

"That's a nice ring. Is it a family heirloom?" The Gilbert's had several similar pieces themselves.

Stefan glanced at his finger and fiddled with the ring. "It is. Always found it a bit weird, though."

Grace chuckled. "It's like I told him; there are rings and there is that."

Stefan smiled. The ring had been made for him in an emergency by Temperance and she joked it could have been better. Neither himself nor Damon had found it funny, considering she was weak and dying at the time. It made Jeremy laugh, though, which was what Grace had been aiming for.

Stefan's eyes snapped up to look over Grace's shoulder. "Has your sister hurt herself?"

Grace glanced over her shoulder and saw Elena approaching them, blood staining the jeans around her left calf. Jeremy turned around and shook his head. Typical Elena.

Grace turned back to face Stefan. His sclera had turned blood-red, dark veins had grown under his eyes and fangs had descended into his mouth. The moment he saw how unimpressed Grace was, he forced it back and his features became human again.

"You should go and take care of her," Stefan told her, before vanishing from sight.

Grace's eye twitched. "You need to stop doing that where people can see you, Stefan." She knew he could still hear her.

As Elena mentioned the fog and the bird, Grace turned around. She would have to help Elena get home before heading out to meet with her friends.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Stefan Salvatore sat in his room, writing in his journal. Meeting Grace again before returning to Mystic Falls had been the greatest blessing to happen to him in over a century. It had allowed him to enter the situation with a clear head.

While he was happy to be with her again, he worried about the consequences of returning to Mystic Falls. Even more so with his control weakening as time went on. The monster within was roaring to the surface more and more. If he didn't gain the necessary restraint, he was going to become his worst nightmare again.

Closing his journal, his gaze flickered to the corner of his desk, where a green bound journal was resting. He'd found it after getting control of his bloodlust in the cemetery and recalled Elena Gilbert carrying it around in her bag all day. Noting the embroidered snakes decorating the spine, he knew Grace was far less trusting this time around. He vaguely wondered how many hidden snakes there were around Mystic Falls.

He would have to return the journal.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Grace sat at a table with Tyler and Matt, eating a burger and fries. Vicki, who worked at the Grill, brought over Tyler's meal and smiled.

"Do you need another refill?" she asked, attempting to flirt with him.

"Sure," Tyler replied, his tone bland. He didn't want to encourage her, but still wanted a drink.

Vicki recognized the dismissive tone and frowned, grabbed the glass and left.

Matt ate a fry. "I am so pleased you stopped hooking up with my sister. It was weird."

"Please tell her to stay away from me. I don't want to get into it again." Tyler turned to Grace. "What's up with you and the new guy?" He wasn't accusing, just curious. After all, it wasn't like the two of them were an exclusive pair. They both had flings on the side.

"I met him a few months ago when I was visiting family," Grace told them. "He was passing through town, got on the wrong side of the wildlife and I helped him out. He took me to lunch a couple of times in thanks. He didn't tell me he was moving back this soon."

Tyler and Matt latched onto a single word. "Back?"

Bonnie and Caroline were talking as they walked through the Grill in search of a table. Caroline was telling Bonnie all the information she had found out throughout the day and from Grace herself. "His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with his uncle at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived there since he was a kid; military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini and his favourite colour is blue."

"You got all that in one day?" Bonnie asked, incredulous.

Caroline scoffed. "Oh, please, I got all that before third period. I'm thinking he might be a June wedding kind of guy. Did you see him watching Grace? Finally, a new guy who is not interested in Elena."

Not giving Bonnie the chance to reply, Caroline turned around and walked away to continue the search. Bonnie watched her go, conflicted. She didn't like that their once strong group of four was splintering. However, at the same time, was also more on the same page as Caroline and Grace, than with Elena.

"Elena was interested in him," Matt commented to Grace, as they waved to Caroline passing-by their table.

Grace rolled her eyes. "Elena's putting on a front, trying to convince everyone she's fine. She's using her journal as an outlet and, though it's a healthy alternative to other focuses she could have chosen, she needs to get her head back in the real world. I know my sister, Matt. She's latched onto the first new and shiny thing she can. Let's hope it's a phase."

Tyler gripped her hand in comfort, knowing there was a part of Grace which mourned the once close relationship she'd had with Elena. Their parents' deaths hadn't been the catalyst, but it had been the final straw. He'd been there through the worst of it and was more aware than most how much Elena had shattered her sister's trust.

"Will Stefan go for it, do you think?" Matt asked, persistent.

Grace shook her head. "Let's just say that Elena reminds him a bit too much of an ... old friend." They understood it wasn't the good kind.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"I'm meeting Bonnie at the Grill," Elena told Jenna, as she walked to the front door.

"Ok, have fun." She didn't get far before Jenna round on her again. "Wait! I got this. Don't stay out late, it's a school night."

Elena chuckled. "Well done, Aunt Jenna."

Jenna smiled and walked into the kitchen, satisfied. Elena, still chuckling, walked to the front door. Opening it, she gasped in shock as she saw Stefan standing on the other side. "Oh."

Stefan smiled. "I'm sorry, I was just about the knock. I was hoping to catch Grace. I wanted to apologize to her for my disappearing act earlier."

Elena managed to hide her disappointment that he wasn't there to see her. "It's not a problem. Grace isn't here right now, but she did tell us you have issues with injuries."

Stefan chuckled. "Yeah. We didn't meet under the most ideal of circumstances, Grace and I, but I'm pleased she was there." Unbeknownst to Elena, he wasn't talking about her current life. "How's your leg?"

"Oh, it's fine," Elena assured him. "A scratch. I would ask how you knew where we lived, but Grace must have told you."

"True," Stefan agreed, "and it's a small town. All I would have to do is ask the first person I saw." He pulled a small journal out of his back pocket. "Another reason I'm here is because I believed you might want this back. I found it on the path."

Elena was shocked to see her journal in his hands, having not even realized she had lost it. "Ooh, I must have dropped it. I - thank you."

"Don't worry," Stefan continued, "I didn't read it."

Elena's eyebrows rose a tiny bit. "No? Why not? Most people would have."

"Well, I wouldn't want anyone to read mine."

"You keep a journal?" Elena couldn't hide her shock.

"Yeah. If I don't write it down, I forget it. Memories are too important."

Elena continued staring at him. With each word coming out of his mouth, she believed she could feel a strong connection forming between them. "Yeah. I'm just, um, you don't have to stay out there." She backed away and walked into the house, to put her journal away.

Stefan stood at the door and looked at the line where it would close. He couldn't get in and he didn't want to. Taking a few steps back, he leaned against the railing.

Having seen he hadn't entered, Elena came back to the door, a confused and bemused expression on her face.

Stefan didn't want to get into a full conversation of why he didn't go into the house. "I only came to give you your journal back. I was hoping to catch Grace before she went to the Mystic Grill, but I suppose I'll have to meet her there." He wasn't there for Elena, and he wanted to make sure she knew it.

Elena couldn't disguise how disgruntled she was, but Stefan ignored it. He'd seen that look before on another woman and it sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine.

"I'm heading to the Grill myself," Elena told him. "I'm meeting a friend."

Stefan gave a small smile, hiding the discomfort settling in his stomach. "Well, I am a gentleman, and I don't believe your siblings would like it if I let you walk alone, since we are heading in the same direction."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Bonnie and Caroline had joined Tyler, Matt and Grace. They'd all moved to a larger table, knowing Elena would be there soon and they would need more space. Matt held off on asking anymore questions about Elena. He knew he was annoying Grace with his pestering, but it was hard for him to move on after a relationship he had invested so much into.

As they were chatting about their first day back at school, Grace saw Elena and Stefan walk into the Grill. She gritted her teeth at the bliss Elena exuded. She grimaced at Matt in apology, and he gave a small 'what can you do?' shrug in return. Elena and Stefan approached the table and Matt stood, holding his hand out to Stefan.

"Hi, I'm Matt," he greeted. "It's nice to meet you."

Stefan shook his hand. "Hi. I'm Stefan."

Matt gave a motion of greeting to Elena, but otherwise said no more as he sat back down. Her smile faltered a bit, but she shook it off. Grace moved aside, so Stefan could shift his chair next to her a bit more. This caused Elena to be on the opposite side of the table and it was clear she wasn't happy about it.

As soon as introductions and greetings were out of the way, Caroline commenced the expected interrogation. "So, you were born in Mystic Falls?"

Stefan made a sound of agreement. "And moved when I was still young."

"Parents?"

"My parents passed away," Stefan stated.

Elena was the sole person at the table who didn't notice the tone in which it was stated, the cool indifference. A sheen of tears was present in her eyes, surmising this was another matter they had in common, with her own parents' deaths still fresh on her mind. "I'm sorry."

Stefan gave her a quick, dismissive glance. Tyler and Matt both met Grace's gaze, asking the obvious question with their eyes. Grace's eyebrows twitched in acknowledgement, letting them know Stefan hadn't had a good relationship with one or both of his parents. They understood parental problems. Grace, on the other hand, knew the real reason Stefan didn't want to linger on the subject. It was for the same reason she never tried to remember Giuseppe Salvatore.

"Any siblings?" Elena asked.

Stefan gave a sardonic smile. "None that I talk to."

Grace snorted. "You two need to sort that out. Preferably soon."

Stefan grimaced, having caught the undercurrent of anger in her tome. He knew she was right. "I hope you said the same to him."

Grace acquiesced. Not long after she'd met Stefan again, she'd run across the other Salvatore brother. He'd been even more enthusiastic in finding her alive again after all this time than his brother had been.

"I live with my uncle," Stefan told the others, continuing the interrogation disguised as a discussion.

Caroline was smart enough to steer the conversation away from family. Each of them at the table had family issues and, if Stefan didn't want to talk about his, then it was his own decision to make. "So, Stefan, if you're new, you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's a back-to-school thing at the Falls," Bonnie interjected.

"Of course, he's going," Grace cut in, before turning to Stefan. "You'll be there. There are a lot of social events in Mystic Falls, and this is going to be your first."

Stefan smiled.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 1858

-x-x-x-x-x-

Temperance had snuck into Stefan's rooms. She was laying on his bed with him, in her nightclothes, trying to be quiet so Giuseppe wouldn't wake from his drunken stupor in the study.

"I finished the story," she told him. "I am not sure I liked the ending."

"Why?" Stefan asked, confused. He was sure she would have liked it. "The girl was happy. She had her brother back and they were able to grow up together."

"I liked that part. I didn't like the horrible man not being punished for what he did. Everyone forgot all the bad he'd done against them when the boy and girl found each other again."

Stefan considered this. "Maybe they did not wish to remember anymore? They had each other. What was the point in looking back at the end?"

"Because their past is what made them so strong," Temperance explained. "Without their past, they would not be who they became. Making sure the man was punished would have been justice. He would never have been able to do it to anyone else."

Stefan understood. "That makes sense."

They were both quiet for a moment.

"Do you think Damon has calmed down?" Stefan asked. "He was angry with father earlier."

"He should be fine. I am certain it was a misunderstanding."

They both knew it wasn't. Damon and Giuseppe had been arguing with more frequency; it was getting worse as Damon grew older and developed his own opinions outside of Giuseppe's influence. The tension in their relationship had grown since Lillian Salvatore's death from consumption earlier in the year.

Stefan held Temperance's hand in his own, needing the comfort. He had always seen Temperance as a sister-like figure, as they were close in age and had been playmates as they grew. After his mother died, his father had called a family meeting to tell them Temperance would take over all the duties which had once belonged to Lillian Salvatore.

Temperance and Stefan hadn't understood Damon's anger at this announcement, as it had seemed logical for her to take over the household duties leftover by Lillian's absence. Stefan was still confused over Damon's growing anger, but Temperance had long since been told the truth. Gertrude - the slave woman who Giuseppe had bought to serve her five years ago - had gently explained the meaning behind Giuseppe's words. Ever since, Temperance had feared the day she would be deemed a woman under the eyes of the law.

Unbeknownst to Stefan, Damon's arguments with their father had all been about Giuseppe's plans to take Temperance as his second wife.

"Stefan?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me, we will always be friends."

"Of course. We shall always be friends. Why would we not be?"

Temperance continued to stare at the ceiling. Her future was guaranteed, even though Damon objected at any opportunity he could find. Within the next few years, she would be the wife of Giuseppe Salvatore and expected to give him more children.

Outside the room, a tall, shadowed figure with icy blue eyes listened to the preteens talking and clenched his fists. Unlike Stefan, he heard the uncertain tone behind Temperance's words. As he stood there, he made a vow to keep her safe - even from Giuseppe Salvatore, the man who should have been protecting her the most.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 2009 - Present Day

-x-x-x-x-x-

Later in the evening, Grace was with Stefan in the Salvatore Boarding House, in his room. Stefan changed his shirt and sat with her at a small table.

"Are you sure you're okay with being here?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah. I'm staying with Tyler tonight. He's agreed to cover for me until I get there. My family won't know."

"Are you seeing him?" He was curious, because Grace had told him there was no permanent romantic attachment in her life and yet Tyler acted like it was different. He was concerned, considering what he knew of her past relationships.

Grace shook her head. "No. Tyler and I know how to have fun with no strings. He's an asshole, but he's always been good to me. We're both free to see other people if we want."

"Good." He was quiet for a moment, his mind drifting elsewhere. "All you told me about Elena is true. I can tell she's a good person, but ..."

"I love my sister, Stefan," Grace was quick to say, "but in the abstract sense. I don't like her as a person. She has this unconscious habit of making every concept about herself. Elena has a black and white way of viewing the world, which clashes with my own views. I'm not pretending to be better than you - I have my own faults, as you well know. I've committed atrocious crimes in my past and made horrible decisions, which is highly unlikely to change in the future. I am what I am and, it's unfortunate, but she is what she is."

"You have loved and cherished worse people than Elena. You've defended them against anyone who would harm them. What's the actual issue, Grace?" Stefan asked. It couldn't be a moral issue - he knew her better than to believe it was morality - so he wasn't sure what could have made her so angry when it came to Elena.

Grabbing hold of her bag, Grace pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Stefan. He saw it was a newspaper clipping when he unfolded it and a younger picture of Grace greeted him, alongside a man he didn't know. It was a local Mystic Falls paper, which made sense, as he'd never seen this article in any of the country wide news.

When it registered what he was reading, the muscle in his jaw jumped in response to his fury.

... inappropriate behaviour ... disgusting actions by one of Mystic Falls' own promising sons ... the truth exposed by whistle blower sister, Elena Gilbert ...

"Elena did this?" Stefan questioned, his tone quiet and controlled, anger rolling through him.

Grace sipped at her water.

"You were thirteen," Stefan continued, rereading her age at the time of the article. "Did she not know what she was doing?"

"She knew." Grace was blunt. "Sheriff Forbes was the one who took her report and told her in no uncertain terms what this would mean for both me and the accused, especially if it proved untrue - as Liz knew it would. Elena pushed forward and told her - along with everyone else - she had to protect me as my big sister, even from my own actions."

"You start your cycle at thirteen." It was the same in all her lives, without fail. "It's the worst time for you, in body and in mind. Your body goes through the worst of the changes and your mind shifts to accommodate the mentality necessary for you to be in sync with your past lives."

Stefan remembered this time with vivid detail. Temperance had placed wards around her room, so her worst episodes wouldn't reach his father's ears. His brother, Damon, had been her best support during this time and Stefan believed this was when their relationship changed into the deeper affection they became known for.

"If you don't have a solid foundation, your magic risks bursting out of you and becoming like the problem you suffered with as Faith Potter. It's what almost happened your first life here, when you lost the people who could help anchor you. Which is what this guy was doing, right?"

"Yes," Grace confirmed his suspicions. "I had to find another foundation. Unfortunately, you know how impossible that is. The requirements are different in each life. In my first life, it was my sister. In my second, it was my father and brothers - which how I came to the realization there even could be more than one. I've never had to search." A lie. But one to protect. "It was this which was the beginning of the end when it came to my relationship with my sister."

Stefan was in shock. "She could have killed you."

"She could have, yes," Grace admitted. "She's never apologized. She still insists she was in the right and he was taking advantage of me." She shook her head. "My childhood has been harder this time around. People are raised different these days."

Stefan scoffed. "I've noticed. My father never would have let us get away with the behaviour kids exhibit nowadays."

"Not to mention any of my other parents."

"How do they all know, by the way?" Stefan asked. "About your magic and past lives? It's clear they don't know everything, but I'm surprised they know anything considering what happened in your last life."

Grace grimaced. "I had a strong magical outburst when I was eight and destroyed this abandoned house we'd all snuck away to play in. They kept it a secret for me, though kept pestering me afterwards. I've told them bits and pieces throughout the years. Elena never wanted to hear any of it and, considering she's always around, I've not been able to tell them much before she shifts the conversation. I've been telling them more in recent times, but it's slow going. Modern ideals make it difficult."

Stefan winced. He understood more than he wanted to. Newborn vampires these days held to beliefs the more experienced of their kind scorned them for and it was similar with other supernatural's. The witch hunts had been - and still were - a real, terrifying event for their kind and even the best of them struggled to make it out alive. The young ones hadn't experienced such levels of fear. Stefan gave it less than fifty years before the face of the supernatural world became too human and beyond the help of those able to save it, unless they got their act together.

"Who all knows?"

"Elena, obviously: Tyler, Matt, Bonnie, Caroline and Jeremy among my friends - family, in Jeremy's case. My aunt, Jenna, is aware and both of my parents knew, as well - Grayson a bit more than Miranda, because of the family journals and him listening to me more than my mother did. As do Sheila and a few other people. You don't know all of them. My biological father knew most of all."

Grace grimaced and explained. The worst kept secret in Mystic Falls was Grace having been born from an affair. Miranda Gilbert had, not long after Elena's birth, walked out on her husband and child in a rare moment of weakness. Elena hadn't been an easy baby, and it had taken its toll on the new parents - Miranda worst of all. She had left one morning, naught but a note on the kitchen table and driven away from Mystic Falls.

From this point, all anyone knew was she returned home from her four-month disappearance, her second child within her womb. Grayson had welcomed his wife back with open arms and raised Grace as his own, even adopting her before her second birthday with her biological father's permission.

"Not long after my first birthday," Grace continued to explain, "my mother went back to search for my biological father. Greyson knew they needed to know if there would be any medical problems from my paternal side, as he was a doctor. My mother knew how to find him. My father had known about the pregnancy and had waited for news ever since my mother had returned to Mystic Falls. He hadn't expected it to take so long. Nor, I expect, was my mother expecting him to fight for his right to see me."

"Why not?" Stefan asked. By law, he would have had the right to.

"Because of his condition, among other reasons." Grace rolled her eyes, having long since comprehended, when she was young, those reasons had to do with Miranda's embarrassment about the affair and her strong pride. "I'm lucky my father had good people on his side to fight for me, or I might never have known him."

Stefan understood who those people were, having met a few of them.

"He died when I was thirteen." Grace's eyes showed her grief. It had been profound at the time, as the incident with Elena happened weeks after she had lost her father.

Before Stefan could comfort her, a door opening made them pull away from each other and turn around. Zach Salvatore entered the room, holding a newspaper. He ignored Grace and threw the paper in front of Stefan.

"You promised."

The front-page article was about Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton. The headline reads 'BODIES FOUND MUTILATED BY ANIMAL'.

Stefan was confused. "This was an animal attack."

Zach didn't believe him. "Don't give me that. I know the game. You tear them up enough, they always suspect an animal attack. You said you had it under control."

"And he does." Grace was calm in her reproach, understanding Zach's fear, yet still insulted on Stefan's behalf. "I'm helping him, Zach; you know that."

Zach wanted to falter at Grace's assurance, but he wasn't hopeful. "Over one hundred years of animal blood hasn't kept him from falling off the rails. How do you know you can?"

"Because animal blood is never meant to be a permanent solution," Grace explained. "A bit of human blood at a time and he'll be able to build to where he needs to be. This wasn't him, Zach. If it had been, he wouldn't be sitting here, talking to us in a civil manner."

Stefan would never be like other vampires. There was a high chance he would relapse in the future, but Zach didn't need to know the details.

Zach trusted that Grace knew what she was doing, but he had heard all the stories and knew his relatives too well to relax. "Grace, Mystic Falls is a different place now. It's been quiet for years, but there are people who still remember - as you well know. Stefan being here will always bring Damon. The both of them being here will inevitably bring trouble."

"That's not my intention," Stefan interjected.

Zach didn't turn away from Grace. "Why now? Why does it have to be here?"

Zach didn't know the whole truth about Grace. He knew of her magic, but he held no knowledge of her past lives, which is by special design. None of the Salvatore's since 1864 knew the truth and that was the way it had to stay.

"Whatever is happening now," Grace told Zach, "is none of your concern. Your only involvement in the supernatural is that you happen to have relatives who are vampires. That is the sum total of the extent you play in this game."

"I can't tell you what to do," Zach's tone was defeated, as it always was when it came to the supernatural, "and I know Mystic Falls has always been a supernatural hotspot. It just worries me."

Leaving the newspaper behind - and wincing at the sight of the old clipping next to it - he patted Grace's should in apology and left the room. Stefan watched him leave, resigned.

"He might be right," Stefan admitted. "What if I can't be helped?"

"You'll never be like the others," Grace reminded him, "but you can be helped. I'm not going to abandon you in this, Stefan, no matter how long it takes. The world is not black and white, good and bad. Anyone who judges you isn't someone you need to worry about."

She stood, walked over to a cupboard and opened it, seeing all of Stefan's journals throughout the years. She grabbed a simple leather-bound journal and walked back over to the table. Opening it, they inspected the picture inside, labelled 'Katherine, 1864'.

Grace turned the journal and picture to face Stefan. "Every action has a consequence. Don't let this one haunt you forever."

The picture was of a woman who was identical to Elena Gilbert.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war, in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?"

Back in History class with Tanner, Grace tuned out most of his speech, sketching in the margins of her notebook. She was working on ideas for her next joint piece with Jeremy. It was how they had bonded as children and a habit they continued as they grew.

"Ms. Bennett?"

Bonnie peeked over from where she was also doodling in her notebook, appearing like a dear in the headlights. "Um ... a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

Tanner wasn't impressed with her non-answer. "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett."

Bonnie's face fell, as she was shamed in front of her classmates.

"Mr. Donovan. Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

Matt let the insult fly right over his head. "It's okay, Mr. Tanner; I'm cool with it."

Grace snickered and she shot Matt a thumbs up over her shoulder.

"Hmm. Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

Elena bore resemblance to a small animal caught by a large predator, before she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I - I don't know."

It was this which made Tanner finally lose his cool. "I was willing to be lenient at the end of last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break. Grace? What about you?"

The pencil Grace was using snapped into two at this statement, because Tanner hadn't been lenient in the least. He had not been less of an asshole by any degree of imagination. She gave her teacher a false little smile. "There were 346 casualties, unless you're counting local civilians."

"That's correct," Tanner concurred with her. "Apart from the civilian casualties, of course, as there were none."

This time another voice cut across, before Grace could elaborate. "Actually, there were twenty-seven, sir." Stefan caught the entire classes attention. "Confederate soldiers, they fired on a church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss."

Tanner regarded him for a moment. "Our new student. Mister ...?"

"Salvatore."

"Salvatore. Any relation to the original settlers here in Mystic Falls?"

"Distant."

"Well, good. However, you are incorrect. There is no evidence that the twenty-seven civilian casualties occurred on the same night as the battle."

"There is, sir," Grace spoke again. "Both the Gilbert and the Forbes families entered the information into the founder's archives a few weeks later, due to the cleanup from the tragedy, but it's still there today if you want to go and brush up on your facts." The class gawped at Grace, grins growing on their faces. "Mr. Tanner."

Tanner remained blank. It was a simple running battle between the two of them, who could get the better of the other. Grace was winning. Tanner was an excellent historian, but some things slipped through the cracks, and he hated being outed when that happened. "Hmm."

As he turned back to the chalk board, Grace and Stefan smiled at each other. Their eyes, however, reflected the pain of the memories this lesson had brought to the surface.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The same evening, the party was in full swing.

Grace was with Caroline, stood in the gazebo, watching Bonnie and Elena by the bonfire. She refined the hearing in her left ear and listened in on the conversation the other two were having. Caroline browsed the area, covering for her by chatting about nonsense and giving the illusion they were in conversation.

"Just admit it, Elena."

"Oh, okay, so, he's a little pretty."

"He has a romance novel stare," Bonnie teased. "Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul. Come on, admit you like him."

Grace scoffed. "I'm going to be sick."

"What are they saying?" Caroline asked, curious.

After having a gulp of her beer, Grace took a deep breath to calm down. "When did Elena become the girl who needs a guy in her life to function as though she's a normal human? This is not Twilight. Bella Swan is not a role model for young girls."

"Hey!" Caroline protested. "I happen to like those books."

"And I still love you in spite of your atrocious reading choices, Caroline."

Caroline's expression of mock offense sent Grace into peals of laughter.

By the fire, Elena and Bonnie were still engaged in conversation, with Elena unaware Grace was listening in on them.

"Are you sure you feel there's a connection, Elena?" Bonnie asked, her gaze meeting Grace's as she stood in the gazebo, before turning back to Elena to not alert her.

Elena sighed, a slight smile on her lips, as she contemplated her private conversation with Stefan and all he had revealed at the Grill. "I feel like we get each other, Bonnie. I can't explain it, but ... this is right."

It didn't sit right with Bonnie. Although she had teased Elena a second ago, there was no real basis for Elena to feel this way. They both wrote in journals and had both lost their parents. Elena was still suffering with the loss of hers, while it was clear Stefan had long since come to terms with losing his own and even sounded as though it was a poor relationship in the first place.

In fact, Stefan acted as though Elena were invisible unless she put herself in his path, where he was polite and a gentleman - even returning her journal when he knew it was hers.

"Wait!" Elena grabbed hold of an empty beer bottle from the floor. "Why don't you tell me what you see?"

Bonnie scrutinized the bottle in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Elena beamed. "With your psychic abilities. This can be your crystal ball."

Bonnie gaped at her, unable to comprehend what she had just heard. It took a second for her to come back to herself. "Maybe later, Elena. I need a refill."

Elena was taken aback, her smile fading. "Oh, ok, can you-?" But Bonnie had already walked away.

Walking by Grace and Caroline, Bonnie gave a small shake of her head, letting the other girls know she needed time alone. When Grace whispered to Caroline what had happened, the blonde girl gritted her teeth.

Standing alone by the fire, Elena was confused. She didn't know what could have made Bonnie so upset. Scanning the students around her, Elena decided it might be time to check on her sister and have a chat but, as she caught sight of Grace and Caroline, she stopped.

Stefan was with them.

"Hey," Grace greeted, as she saw Stefan approach. "You made it."

Stefan smiled. "I did. Hi, Caroline."

"Hi, Stefan." Turning to Grace, Caroline made her excuses. "I'm going to go and see if Bonnie's all right; she left Elena pretty quickly there. I'll see you later." She wasn't lying. She was going to see if Bonnie was okay and if she needed a shoulder to lean on.

After watching Caroline's retreating form, Grace smiled at Stefan and gestured with her head for them to walk.

"You're the talk of the town," Grace told him, as they moved away from the party, hoping for quiet.

"Am I?"

Grace gave an affirmative hum. "Mysterious new guy in town. People have questions."

Stefan chuckled. "Brings back memories."

"It does."

"I still remember the day we found you. Did you ever find out why you were there?"

Grace shook her head. She often wondered why she had been left there - whether it had been typical child abandonment, or it had been someone in the know who had sent her away to protect her from her enemies - but she had given up on finding answers. The spirits weren't talking, and she couldn't ask him, yet, without risking bringing the wrong kind of danger here too early. Even so, even though she regretted much of her last life, she was pleased to know Damon and Stefan.

"What about your life now?" Stefan asked. "I've been hearing rumours. People still talk about the affair."

Neither of them could stop the roll of their eyes. Gossip was central to life and, in small towns like this, it was worse.

"I've had a good life. If anyone holds the circumstances of my birth against me, I've never caught a whisper of it. Except from people like Tanner, of course." Grace scoffed. Tanner's opinion meant naught to her. "My mother told me the story once. She changed between living out of her car and living out of motels. One night, she found a party in the middle of the woods and was invited to join. She scolded herself for it later, knowing they could have been anyone, and she turned out to be right. She was drunk enough to land in my father's arms, but not drunk enough to forget what happened a few hours later. You could say it sobered her."

Stefan winced, remembering the first time he had witnessed the truth of Grace's paternal family. Miranda must have been terrified. "How did she react?"

A muscle in Grace's jaw jumped. It was answer enough. Miranda hadn't returned to Mystic Falls until she was weeks along in her pregnancy. He didn't ask how she had been kept quiet, or where she had been in those weeks, as he could make several educated guesses.

"Did Grayson Gilbert know?

Grace gave a wry smile. "He was an intelligent man." It was all she would say on the matter.

Stefan watched Grace with careful eyes as they sat on a bench away from the party. Hidden emotions swirled in her eyes and her shoulders were tense. He found it difficult to see, as he knew this had not been an easy life for her.

He found it sad. She had arrived in this world hoping for happiness; instead, finding hardship, sacrifice and loss. There had been moments of joy, of love, and where she was content, but this world had not softened her in any way. She had grown harder, colder, and less prone to forgiveness.

He held her hand and let her know he was there for her.

She smiled.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Tyler and Jeremy had been drinking beer and talking in low voices. They had never spoken like this, but they owed it to Grace. As they shook hands, agreeing to hang out more and get to know each other - having found a shared love for art - the brunette they had avoided with great success all night took the opportunity to approach them.

"Tyler, Jeremy." She was smiling, as if she hadn't done them wrong.

"Why are you here, Vicki?" Jeremy asked. "Need another fix?"

Tyler snorted. "Or are you already high and other needs have made themselves known?"

Vicki's smile vanished. "I-"

"You what?" Tyler's prominent temper overtook him. "Forgot you already had a boyfriend, when you went for Gilbert? Forgot I was friends with his sister, so I'd inevitably find out about you screwing us both?"

"You're more than 'just friends' with Grace," Vicki spat out, angry. Even when going with her, if Grace called, he'd drop her and run. She suspected he was even still screwing Grace on the side if the need arose, so she didn't believe he had any room to judge her.

"That's got nothing to do with you anymore," Jeremy snapped. "Leave us both alone. Go and play another fool. You want to complain how bad you've got it, Vicki? How about the fact you don't even attempt to change it?"

Vicki's eyes filled with tears. He said he understood.

"Nothing will change unless you want it to, so don't come crying to us when you fall down the same hill again."

They left it there. This was Matt's sister, and they had enough respect for him not to throw all their anger at her. They walked away and left her standing there, trying not to cry over the consequences of the choices she had made.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"You've got good friends here."

Grace had taken a moment to speak to a girl called Cheryl, promising her she was first choice replacement if any of the cheer team got hurt during practices or events this year. Cheryl had been ecstatic, promising to do her exercises every day and to not allow her GPA at school to falter. Grace had laughed and told her to make sure she turned up to all the practices, so she could keep all the routines fresh in her mind. It wasn't typical for the reserves to make an appearance for more than a few practices to make sure they understood the technicalities of all the routines.

"I do." Grace was still smiling from Cheryl's enthusiasm. She pointed out Caroline and Matt watching them from a distance. "When we were younger, Caroline, Bonnie, Elena and I wanted to be friends forever. The four of us against the world. We've all changed as we've grown older, even though we're still close. Caroline grew into the eccentric young woman she is now, and I've stuck by her through it all. Bonnie became the peacemaker, while Elena became the perfect girl next door type."

"She dated Matt Donovan."

"All through High School until now," Grace confirmed. "As freshmen, Bonnie and Elena began to be more of a duo. Caroline and I didn't mind, as we aspired to join the cheer squad and made it in our freshmen year. Caroline asked Bonnie to try out as a sophomore and my mother encouraged Elena to do the same. Bonnie made it onto the team with ease - Caroline and I had been helping her with the routines - but Elena was placed into the reserves. She wasn't happy."

Stefan had a funny feeling. "What happened?"

"Sophie came to me a couple of weeks later," Grace told him, "and asked if we could get Elena to back off. Sophie, Kim, Chloe and I were all fliers on the team. As it turns out, Elena had been making subtle hints about how dangerous being a flier was and how any of them could break a leg, or worse. She didn't come to me, because she knew I'd brush her off. Kim's younger sister happens to be a gymnast. She lives with their aunt in New York for the opportunities it affords her and went to the Olympics last year, winning a silver medal at thirteen. Kim has seen some of the worst accidents in gymnastics and Elena's hinting was causing all her worst nightmares to come back." Grace gave a vicious smile. "Sophie also happens to be a Barry."

Stefan didn't get the reference, and it showed.

"Sophie belongs to a family who still remember the old ways." It had been a surprise for her when Sophie approached her a few years ago; a happy one. A lot of questions had been answered. "She graduated last year and is off in college now. Anyway, I told the girls to stick to their guns and I'd have a word with the coach, so long as they backed me when I did. They did."

"What happened?" Stefan asked.

"Coach was furious. We were on track to win Nationals for the first time in years and she didn't want Elena's desires screwing with her plans, so she arranged a team meeting. During this meeting, she had the whole team show off their skills so she could combine all our best attributes to contribute to the routines we'd be most necessary for. When it came to Elena showing off how she could handle the flying aspect, she failed. Grace winced as she remembered the incident. "She under rotated, giving herself a concussion and, when Troy tried to save her from cracking her skull open, he fractured his arm."

The thump as Elena hit the ground had been horrifying for Grace, Caroline and Bonnie. The nurse, who had been on standby during the team practice, had rushed over to check on each person involved in the stunt. Elena had been taken home by Grayson and Miranda due to her concussion, while Troy was taken to the hospital to scan him arm and was in a cast for six weeks. The other two people involved had been fine.

"Elena was restricted to the reserves for the rest of the school year," Grace continued, "and, when she practiced in case a member of the main squad had to withdraw, she was stuck with parts of the routines which left her mostly out of contact with the rest of us. When she tried to complain about this, coach told her she would have to earn the squads trust back to be more involved and spend more time practicing if she was serious about wanting to be in the thick of the routines."

"Did she?" Stefan asked. "Earn the squads trust back?"

"She's been given a starting position this year. We'll see how it goes but, as you can see, Cheryl's on standby. No one holds out much hope for Elena. She didn't even go to Cheer Camp this summer, so about half the squad want to use her absence as an excuse to kick her off the squad. Caroline and I are holding them off, reminding them she's still grieving, but they've stopped caring."

"Because they're looking at you by example," Stefan guessed. "In their eyes, you've handled your grief better than Elena, so they don't understand why she can't push through, as well."

Grace grimaced. "Dog eat dog world."

"Did you win?" Stefan asked. "Nationals."

"We did." Grace grinned. "We pushed out the reigning champions. It was amazing. We hadn't made it passed qualifying in my first year, so coach pushed us extra hard, and we were better than ever. It's probably the reason why she and the rest of the squad were so angry with Elena." Among other reasons.

High School was worse than politics.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Walking through the woods, Vicki knew she'd screwed up. Using Jeremy and Tyler was always going to come back and bite her.

Jeremy had been there, hurting as much as she was, and it had been nice having someone who understood the pain. Tyler was a jackass, but he had always been good to Grace, and she had hoped he could be good to her in the same way. She had never believed they would find out they were both with her at the same time.

When it did, it was over.

Hearing a creek, Vicki spun around. "Jeremy? Tyler?"

She was hoping they had followed her. Seeing a fog crawling in by her feet, she continued walking to get back to the party. Vicki failed to see the dark clad figure appearing behind her, but the sharp sting of pain on her neck let her know she was under attack.

Terror and pain filled her as she screamed.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Matt decided it was time to bite the bullet and approach Elena. He deserved answers and not half explanations anymore.

Walking over to her, he caught her attention as she was casting an eye over the crowd. "Hey. Yeah, I was trying to find Grace."

Matt didn't buy it. Grace had been with Stefan on the bridge a few minutes ago and Elena was making her interest in the new guy clear. "When you broke up with me, you said it was because you needed some time alone. You don't particularly look like you're searching for solitude to me."

Elena tried to make excuses. "Matt, you don't understand, it's -"

Matt shook his head. "That's okay, Elena. You do what you have to do. Just ... next time you decide to break up with a guy, do the both of you a favour and don't lie to him. It would hurt a lot less."

Walking away, he ignored Elena trying to get his attention again. He hadn't meant to say any of the speech he'd given. He had wanted to say he wasn't giving up on them and he still believed they could work out. As soon as he opened his mouth to say the words, he realized he no longer meant them. He might have listened to Grace too much, but he realized she was right; he deserved better than the way Elena had treated him.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Grace was laughing with Stefan in the gazebo when she heard the smash of a bottle close by and saw Jeremy stumbling off into the woods. Even worse, Elena was following behind him.

"Oh, dear lord."

"What is it?" Stefan asked.

Grace gestured. "My brother and sister."

Stefan was worried for her. "Do you need help?"

Grace shook her head. "No, let me deal with this. Jeremy! Elena!" She ran off after them, leaving Stefan standing there, smiling as he watched her.

As soon as she entered the treeline, her senses became hypervigilant as she smelled the blood. Rushing to catch up to Jeremy and Elena, she realized they were approaching the source. Elena was trying to apologize, and Jeremy didn't want to hear it. Grace grabbed Elena's arm and stopped her from walking.

"You've done enough, Elena. Leave him be."

"He needs to listen to me," Elena insisted. "I'm sorry, but how was I meant to know any different when he never speaks to me anymore?"

Before Grace could reply to her sister, Jeremy let out a grunt and fell to the floor a few feet away. Straight away, he came face-to-face with Vicki Donovan lying there, with a huge bleeding wound on her neck.

"Vicki? Oh, god!"

Grace and Elena scrambled over, kneeling beside her. Jeremy moved a little to the side, letting Grace access the situation. As soon as Grace touched Vicki's shoulder, her eyes snapped open.

"Jeremy, grab her legs," Grace ordered. "Elena, her shoulders. I'm going to try and stop the bleeding, but we need to get her out of here."

She knew the type of wound she was seeing and could hazard a guess as to how it occurred. She focused on getting them all to safety.

Jeremy and Elena followed her instructions and grabbed hold of Vicki. Grace took off her outer blouse, leaving her in a vest shirt and pressed it against Vicki's bleeding wound. Silently, in her mind, Grace began to go through a spell to slow the bleeding down.

As they left the treeline, Elena yelled out, "Somebody help!"

Everybody moved out of the way, staring at them in drunken stupors of shock and fear. Matt's heart dropped out from his chest as he saw who they were carrying.

"Vicki?" he called out in a panic. "Vicki, what the hell?"

Tyler, who was close by, cleared off a food table and helped them lay Vicki on it. "What happened?" he asked.

Matt ran over and stood by his sister's side, ogling at her injury. "Somebody, call an ambulance!"

Tyler turned around and snapped at the people surrounding them. "Everybody, back up - give her some space!"

Grace continued pressing her shirt to Vicki's wound, the magic of the spell continuing to aid her in slowing the flow of blood. "It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood."

Grabbing Matt's hand, she guided him to pressing on Vicki's wound. He switched places with her and tried to speak to his sister, who was struggling to stay awake. "Vicki, Vicki, come on, open your eyes, look at me."

As the group were taking care of Vicki and trying to keep her conscious, Grace glanced at Stefan. He was hiding in the crowd, scrutinizing the scene before him in disbelief. His eyes met hers and he gave a small dip of his head, before turning and leaving.

He needed to get out of there and find out what was going on. No one saw him leave.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Running into the Boarding House, Stefan glanced at Zach who was sitting at his desk doing paperwork.

"What's going on?" Zach asked, concerned.

"Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me."

Stefan bolted up the stairs and headed straight for his room. Closing the door behind him, he walked a few feet, before coming to a halt. He heard the squawk of a bird and the flapping of wings, before he saw the crow. It flew in through his window terrace, landing on the rafters. As he watched it, all the muscles in his body tensed and he needed no further explanation.

Turning back around, he faced the dark clad figure now standing in his open window. "Damon."

The dark-haired man smirked. "Hello, brother."

As Damon took a few steps into the room, the crow flew over him and landed on the small railing of the window terrace.

"The crow's a bit much, don't you think?" Stefan questioned.

Damon examined the objects on the table. "Wait until you see what I can do with the fog."

The brother's eyes - icy blue and forest green - met for a long moment, before Stefan asked, "When'd you get here?"

Damon walked around; his manner nonchalant. "Well, I couldn't miss your first day of school." He leaned against the shelves, scanning the artefacts his little brother had accumulated throughout the years. "Your hair's different. I like it."

"It's been fifteen years, Damon."

"Thank god," Damon exclaimed, in overexaggerated relief. "I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look?" He chuckled. "Did not suit you." He walked around the room again, peering back and forth from his brother as he did. "Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."

"Why are you here?" Stefan demanded, sick and tired of the small talk.

"I miss my little brother," Damon told him, as if it could explain his actions to the first of the two people who knew him best.

"You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."

"I've managed to keep myself busy." The last few days had been entertaining for him, though perhaps not for anyone else.

Stefan glared at him. "You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you."

Damon leaned back against the desk, giving a fake 'oops' expression. "Ah. That could be a problem ..." his eyes once again met Stefan's "... for you."

Stefan shook his head. "Why are you here now?"

"I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word ... Grace."

As Stefan's face remained blank, Damon smirked.

-x-x-x-x-x-

An ambulance. The police. Animal control.

Every potential service had arrived. Grace was stood in the gazebo with a beer, while Elena leaned against the railing, watching the ambulance drive away with Vicki - and Matt - inside. Bonnie approached them. "Hey, Caroline and I are gonna go Mainline Coffee and wait for news."

"Will you give me a couple of minutes, Bonnie?" Grace asked. "I'd like to come and help Caroline get sober before she goes home."

"Sure."

Elena regarded her little sister. "I'm gonna take Jeremy home."

"Up to you. He's over there."

Elena was quick in walking over to their younger brother, leaving Grace and Bonnie alone. Watching Elena leave, Bonnie turned to her confidant. "I need your help, Grace. I don't know what's going on, but I have this feeling ..."

Grace didn't need Bonnie to finish her sentence. She did it for her, already knowing. "It's just the beginning."

Bonnie swallowed, fear exuding from her pores.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"She took my breath away, Grace," Damon continued. "Her hair is styled different, but it's still her." His eyes turned hard. "Now, her sister - Elena - she's a dead ringer for Katherine."

Stefan kept quiet. He'd had the same thought when he first saw her. It was why he hadn't called Damon. When Grace said she'd seen his brother in Louisiana after he'd left, it hadn't mattered anymore.

"Is it working, Stefan?" Damon goaded, approaching his younger brother again. "Being around them, being in their world? Does it make you feel alive?"

"Elena is not Katherine," Stefan told his brother, his voice slow, even though he still wasn't sure himself. He could see the growing temper in his brother's every move.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended." He was contemplative now. "You know, I can't believe it took us over a hundred years to know Grace's kind existed and you know I'm not talking about her magic."

If Stefan was tense before, he was even more so now. It had frightened him, the lack of knowledge he still had about the supernatural world. To impulsive Damon? He didn't want to imagine his reaction.

"Tell me something, when was the last time you had anything stronger than a squirrel?"

An hour ago. A couple of drops from the tip of Grace's finger. "I know what you're doing, Damon. It's not going to work."

Damon hits his shoulder, hard. "Yeah? Come on. Don't you crave a little?"

"Stop it."

Damon hit him again. "Let's do it. Together. I saw a couple of girls out there."

Stefan stepped back as Damon landed another hit.

"Or just, let's just cut to the chase, let's go straight for the bitches clone."

This made Stefan angry, because he knew where Damon's fury as coming from. No one hated Katherine more than they did. He shoved Damon back. "Stop it!"

"Imagine what her blood tastes like!" Damon continued, not deterred. "I can."

As Damon watched, Stefan's face slowly changed to reflect the beast beneath the surface: vampire fangs, black veins and bloodshot eyes. Stefan glared at his brother in fury. "I said stop!"

Growling, Stefan pushed Damon back and they both went flying across the room, out of the window and landed hard on the asphalt outside. Amidst the shattered glass, Stefan was quick to pick himself up and get to his feet.

He dusted himself off, scanned the area around him and saw Damon by the hedges. Damon was staring at him, with no readable expression. He had noticed a difference in his brother's recovery.

"I was impressed," Damon told him, giving Stefan a critical eye. "I give it a ... six and a half. Missing a little style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole" he made a growling, squeal of a sound "thing. It was good."

Stefan had had enough. "You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die."

Damon shrugged. "That's a given."

"Not here," Stefan denied. "I won't allow it."

"I take that as an invitation." When would Stefan learn?

"Damon, please," Stefan begged. "After all these years, can't we give it a rest? I get it; you blame me - I blame myself! But she's here now. She's alive!"

Damon, who had been quiet as Stefan, stepped forward. "I promised you an eternity of misery and I am not someone who breaks my word."

Stefan gritted his teeth.

Damon glanced down and inspected Stefan's hands. "Where's your ring?"

Stefan stilled as he realized his finger was bare.

"Oh, yeah." Damon played around with his own ring, faking concern and nervousness. "Sun's coming up in a couple of hours and, poof, ashes to ashes."

Stefan stared at him, apprehensive, and Damon chuckled.

"Relax," Damon instructed, walking over to him and holding out his hand, where the ring rested in his palm. "It's right here."

Stefan was cautious as he took it and placed it back on his finger. Damon's hand shot out and gripped Stefan's throat, the beast within snapping out in an instant. As he was thrown through the air, Stefan hit the green wooden fence where the cars were parked. He was lucky he had enough strength to land on his hands and knees.

Damon was right next to him as he rose to his feet, scrutinizing him. "Are you cheating in your diet, little brother?"

Stefan glared and said nothing.

Damon was going to say more, but a rustling noise caught his attention, and he grinned. "I think we woke Zach up." He turned and walked away, calling out, "Sorry, Zach!"

Stefan watched him go, before pulling out his phone and sending a text.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Jeremy wished he had decided to go with Grace, instead of waiting with Elena. Finishing the last of his beer, he tried to ignore his oldest sister as she stood next to him.

"I called Jenna," Elena told him. "She's on her way."

Jeremy threw his beer bottle away and pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack. He needed to keep hydrated if he didn't want one hell of a hangover in the morning and he made a promise to Grace he planned to keep.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy."

Jeremy shook his head. "How about saying you're sorry you weren't there for me? Even Grace, dealing with her own shit and her own grief, managed to notice the spiral I was in. You talk about wanting to be better, but we've both seen you in the cemetery writing in your diary - and not just yesterday. Is that supposed to be you moving on?"

Elena was quiet for a moment and shook her head. "Mom and dad wouldn't have wanted this."

Jeremy scoffed. "How about this, Elena? When you figure out how to be our sister again, come and talk to us. Until then, do what you want. Throw yourself at the new guy, even when he's made it clear he doesn't want anything from you. Keep pushing away the people you grew up with - your friends. Keep acting selfish and putting people down. Try to ignore Grace's magic and the other lives she's lived, even when she just needs someone to listen." What other reason did Elena believe this fling between Grace and Tyler had begun? "But, until you get off your high horse, stay away from us."

Jeremy stood and walked away, leaving Elena watching his retreating form in shock, with tears forming in her eyes. It was time she worked out the rift between the siblings hadn't been caused by their parents' deaths and she held a lot of fault herself.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Are you sober, yet?" Bonnie asked.

Caroline had her head in her hands. She'd overdone it on the booze and, based on the rolling in her stomach, it threatened to make a reappearance. "No."

Grace chuckled. "Keep drinking your coffee, Caroline. We've all got to get home."

Caroline gave a small smile. "How do you keep doing it? Living again and again? One life is difficult enough."

Bonnie hummed in agreement.

Without waiting for an answer, Caroline continued. "Having different parents each time, having to learn new languages ... how do you do it? Losing so many people and being able to start again. I don't think I could. You're so strong."

Grace's heart gave a painful thump. "I must be better at hiding my emotions than I thought, because it's not as easy as you seem to think I make it look. I have lost so many people; parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, friends ... even children."

Bonnie and Caroline both jolted, tears filling their eyes and their mouths going dry. In all the talk about Grace having lived several lives, they had never paused to consider the fact she could have had children in any of them. In an instant, they gripped her hands in their own to offer comfort.

"I miss them all every day," Grace confessed, her eyes prickling as she held back tears. "I had a twin brother in my second life and all I could do in the end was hold him in my arms as he died. I lost my god sister to childbirth in my fifth life and, before she passed, she made me swear I would care for her own children. I've learned to cherish every moment and protect those I love with all I can, even if people don't always agree with how I choose to do it."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

Grace gave them a sad smile. "I've not always been a good person."

Caroline leaned over and hugged Grace, wanting to reassure her. She had long since decided Grace was her truest friend and she vowed to always make sure she knew it. The strength she exuded was a factor Caroline was drawn to and admired. Damn to the whole world if it thought it could separate them.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Matt sat next to Vicki's bed in the hospital, after his talk with the doctor. Vicki had lost a lot of blood and would be kept for a few days of observation. They expected her to make a full recovery.

He had been so afraid he was going to lose her. When Grace, Jeremy and Elena had carried her from the woods ... her condition ... Vicki was all he had. Their parents were both screw ups and, although his sister was headed the same way, he loved her all the same.

Hearing a small moan, Matt's gaze was drawn back to the bed as Vicki stirred. A weight lifted off Matt's shoulders as her eyes opened. "Vicki. Hey. Hey, it's okay. You're gonna be okay."

"Matt," Vicki managed to whisper.

"Shh. Hey, don't try to talk, okay. You're fine."

Vicki stared at him, true terror in her eyes. "Monster."

Matt's eyes furrowed.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Sitting in his bedroom, Jeremy held a pair of scissors and a cut up picture in his hands. Making sure to be careful, he finished stripping away the parts he wanted to remove. It had been a family portrait taken in the last year of their lives. He'd taken it from the hall when his parents had died, wanting to keep it close. It had sat on his bedside table for the last few months.

He took the remains of the picture, placed it back into the frame and put the parts he'd cut away into the bowl in front of him. Lighting a match, he threw it in and watched as the cuttings burned to ask.

Outside the door, Jenna watched through the crack and shed tears as she saw which parts Jeremy had burned. Back in the frame, Grayson Gilbert and Jeremy both smiled with their arms around Grace's shoulders.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Are you sure?" Bonnie asked. She didn't want to leave Grace alone after the confessions she had made.

"Yeah. I've called for another ride. You get Caroline home and focus on yourself tonight. I know I freaked you out."

Bonnie was hesitant, peering back at Caroline in the car and at Grace again. "I'm not stupid. From the little you have told us; I know you've lived in times where the rules were different. I've seen you in your martial arts classes and how amazing you are with weapons. In our politics classes, you dominate. You've always had this more ruthless side, which is admittedly terrifying. But it doesn't change things, Grace. You're my friend and, without you, I don't know where I would be."

Grace hugged her. "There's still a lot I have to teach you, Bonnie. We'll get there."

Bonnie pulled away first. "I don't want Elena to find out about me yet. I want to be stronger than I am before telling her."

Grace grimaced. "You're a witch, Bonnie, not a circus performer. Tell her no."

Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe she did that tonight. She knows how dangerous it can be - she's seen you get spells wrong before. You've always warned us about the effects of magic on the mind and how it can cause permanent damage if you aren't careful. Even if she thinks what I can do is a joke, to ask for such a vision out of humour ..."

Bonnie had always paid attention to Grace's lessons on magic. She's been fascinated watching Grace use extraordinary magic - moving objects without a word, creating a fire with her mind - and had come to her the moment her Grams began talking about their family's witch heritage.

"Talk to your Grams, Bonnie," Grace instructed. "There's still a lot I haven't been able to teach you and it's time for you to see your family Grimoire. There's more than magic in it. Your whole family history is there, too." She leaned in close and whispered a few names into Bonnie's ear. "When you find those names, let me know."

"I will," Bonnie promised, not questioning why. In the future, she would wish she had.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Watching the car turn a corner, Grace dropped her hand from waving goodbye. She had sensed his presence while drinking her coffee, before even reading Stefan's message. Turning into a small alley, Grace stopped and waited.

"Are you going to come out?" she asked.

For the length of ten heartbeats, there was not a sound to be heard, until a hand grazed her shoulder. Turning her head, Grace met the eyes of Damon Salvatore.

"I've missed you, Gracie." Damon was gentle and sincere.

Grace spun around to face him in full. "I've missed you, too. But you've been reckless tonight, Damon. You're lucky I was able to implant a false memory in Vicki's mind."

His hands moved to her hips. "I knew you would. I suppose you want me to be more careful."

Grace pursed her lips. "If you have the ability." Meeting his gaze, her eyes reflected an old pain. "You were right. I investigated it when I came back and found the place. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Damon's eyebrows rose in surety.

Grace hummed. "I'll come round yours tomorrow. I need to have a thorough search through your father's journals. I know I misread our experiences at the time, and I need to know if I'm right."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it," Grace assured him. "It's a theory I need confirmed."

Damon knew she would tell him when she did find out. His grip tightened as his own previous theory ran through his mind again. "Are you giving Stefan your blood?"

Grace pulled herself from his grip and made direct eye contact - a quirk he had always admired about her. "You already know the answer, Damon."

"How could you forgive him?" Damon asked, through his teeth.

Grace folded her arms. "The same way you have." At sign of Damon's protest, Grace shook her head. "You forgave him years ago, Damon. Do not lie to me. I kept my eye on you both."

Damon's mouth snapped shut and Grace leaned forward to give him a light kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

As Grace walked away from him, Damon pondered her words. He wasn't ready to admit she was right.

Grace had always been special to him. It was why he was so angry to see her current sister could pass as the twin of the woman who had caused all their problems in the first place. They were months away from completing their plan, when Katherine came and ruined it all.

Damon would let Grace find out the truth she needed. When she did, he would find the one who had ruined their lives and drive a stake into their heart.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 1861

-x-x-x-x-x-

Walking through the garden, Temperance was reading a small novel. She was careful where she stepped while her eyes devoured the written words with a vigour. While Stefan was out hunting with his father, she had time to relax and enjoy her favourite hobby. Her intricate cream dress was dirtied with grass stains from where she'd stepped, and her hair was pinned back to keep it out of her eyes.

"Be careful; you would not wish to trip."

Startled, Temperance's eyes snapped over to the open doors. Leaning against a solo pillar, the appearance of a tall, dark-haired man made her grin. "Damon!"

Damon Salvatore smiled, opened his arms and Temperance threw herself at him.

"When did you get back?" Temperance asked.

"A few minutes ago," Damon told her. "I had to see you before I unpacked."

As they walked, Temperance placed her book inside a secret pocket of her dress. Damon caught the movement, and his lips twitched. His father didn't approve of how much she read, thus the need to hide her books. Although he had made sure she received a top education alongside his sons, emphasis was placed on the more feminine attributes.

"Where is Stefan?" Damon asked, as they ascended the stairs, heading to his rooms.

"Out hunting with your father." Temperance knew Damon was concerned at to why no one other than herself was there to greet him. "Giuseppe wanted to hunt for tonight's meal himself."

"For my return?" Damon oozed scepticism.

"No, I doubt it. I was not even aware you were returning today." Temperance took a deep, fortifying breath. "He had decided to go ahead with his plans to take a new wife."

Damon stopped and grabbed hold of her hand, his brows furrowed and shoulders tense. "Has he hurt you?"

"He has not so much as touched me," she assured him. "We have been lucky so far, Damon. He refuses to wait any longer. Stefan's recent illness has him worried."

Damon's grip on her hand tightened. "He will never treat you as you deserve."

"I have endured husbands far worse than Giuseppe Salvatore," Temperance reminded him.

Damon shook his head. That wasn't the point.

Damon's hands framed her face as he brought her in for a forceful and fierce kiss. Temperance melted into it, gripping his wrists. She loved it when he was forward with her; something deep within her singing at the action. As he pulled away, Damon gave her the assurance she had been searching for - assurance Stefan hadn't known to give.

"You won't have to suffer him for long. I promise."

Temperance allowed him to pull her into his rooms, closing the door behind them. All the servants knew not to enter without express invitation, though they would know to alert them to the Master of House's return.

Neither emerged for hours.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 2009 - Present Day

-x-x-x-x-x-

As Grace walked towards her front steps, she smiled. Stefan was sat on her front porch, appearing no worse for wear.

"It looks like Vicki's going to be okay," she told him. "She got to the hospital in time."

Stefan stood, his tense stance relaxing. "Good. Do you know why Damon's back in town?" He didn't question if she'd seen him, as he could smell his brother all over her.

"I do. You won't like it. Come inside, Stefan. We've got a lot to talk about."

Neither of them spotted - nor would they have cared, if they had - Elena staring at them from her bedroom window, her eyes narrowed and neck stiff, gripping her journal so hard her knuckles turned white.

From his position hiding in the shadows, Damon Salvatore did.

-x-x-x-x-x-

End of Chapter One

-x-x-x-x-x-

Edited: Wednesday, 2nd October 2024