Death, Power, Knowledge
2. The Comet and the Brothers
Popping into existence in the middle of an already existing life cycle is impossible. Like the saying, "A single flap of a butterflies wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world", a new life must be applicable in every sense of the word. Extending down to the last atom of being. Faith Potter's atoms and power, having been blasted across the cosmos in a burst of ritualistic energy, set off the creation of - not just a new world - but an entire universe.
The "Big Bang" as mortals would call it was her magical energy initiating the formation of Life and Death, with her magic seeping into the pores of all the deepest crevices in the commencing Chaos. The mortal body of Faith Potter could not survive in this Chaos, so, the emergence of Darkness protected her and cloaked her from prying eyes.
As the Universe grew, these first beings established minds and a conscious of their own, due to the influx of Faith Potter's magic. It constructed and moulded all life around them.
The human peoples known as the Greeks would call these first beings the Primordial Gods, they though would also have names in all different cultures which emerged over the millennia. These beings considered it their sacred duty to protect the frozen figure of Faith Potter within the developing Universe, as their creator, until the time came for her to live life truly once again.
Erebus, the Primordial of Darkness, transformed into a possessive being. He was enthralled by the mortal left in his care and how she had created an entire new Universe with her own power, giving them all life. Her beauty enraptured him and, over time, his obsession grew further than any of his fellow Primordial beings could have envisioned.
Darkness had claimed her ...
... and he refused to let her go.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Mystic Falls, 2009 - Present Day
-x-x-x-x-x-
Grace stood in Jenna's bedroom, helping her aunt curl her hair for the day. Having found little sleep, she'd been awake for hours and had started a new sketch, gone on her morning run, showered and readied herself for school. Jenna found her as she'd sat down to continue her sketch and asked for help getting ready.
"You have to make sure I look adult. As in, respectfully parental." Jenna flapped her hands as she spoke.
"Which is why I'm curling your hair," Grace soothed her. "We're going for 'hot soccer mom'. Putting your hair up implies 'sexy stewardess', with is a look you can save for when you're in your forties. Experience in teenager care needs to be present, but not so much that it looks like you're trying too hard."
Jenna laughed and leaned back. Her relationship with Grace had always been easy. They'd spent many nights having sleepovers and huddled together under blankets as she'd grown: movies and popcorn, shopping for outfits and accessories. Jenna had feared it would change after the last few months.
"Where did you learn to take care of your hair so well?" Jenna had never asked. Her niece had always had an instinctual knowledge of self-care and personal hygiene. Getting her to brush her teeth and stay in the bath had never been a problem like it had been with Elena and Jeremy.
Grace set the curlers down to smooth out one tangled strand. "Ancient techniques can be the best. I remember my first life here - my sister and I would sneak down to the local river to bathe in secrecy three times a week. There wasn't much in the way of soap available to us, and we had to treat our hair with care, but we had access to the oils and perfumes of the lady we served. It was my second life where I learned the best techniques, though. The culture I was born into prided themselves on good hygiene." Considering the times, Grace had found the techniques to be rather exceptional.
In the mirror, Jenna caught Grace's faraway and clouded eyes. It was rare for Grace to speak of her first few lives here - all she had mentioned was her sister in her first, the number of siblings in her second and minute details of her third - so the facts she had revealed to Jeremy the other day were new to them. Now, seeing the suspicious shine in Grace's eyes - half great joy and half terrible sadness - did Jenna believe the reason to be more than simply secrecy.
Although a smile settled onto her lips, nothing else in her demeanour reflected it. "My mother would never let me leave home without the most extravagant of braiding in my hair. You should have seen the styles my brothers would help her with."
Jenna, noticing the tremble in Grace's hands, steered the conversation away from the past. "What should I expect from your asshat of a history teacher?"
Grace took a deep breath and returned to the present. "Tanner is a man who doesn't feel good about himself unless he's putting someone down. Ignore whatever he says and take deep breaths. It's how I get by. Who the hell holds a parent-teacher conference three days into the school year?"
Before Jenna could say any more, Elena poked her head into the room. "Where's Jeremy?"
Grace gave her sister the barest of glances. "He left an hour ago. He wanted to get to the library before school. He was talking about needing to do research for his extracurricular chemistry project."
Elena huffed and left the room.
Jenna met Grace's eyes in the mirror. "Is he at the library?"
Grace shook her head.
At the lack of concern about Jeremy's true whereabouts, Jenna decided it would be best for her to leave it alone. If Jeremy was getting into trouble again, Grace would have told her.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Jeremy sat with Tyler and Matt at a café close to school. In front of him was an old journal by Jonathan Gilbert. It dated back to 1850, which was the year Temperance had been found in the woods of Mystic Falls. He'd planned to go to the library this morning and research the town's history, before he'd remembered the family journals they kept in the attic.
"How's your sister?" Tyler asked, knowing Matt had stayed the night at the hospital.
"They're keeping her overnight," Matt told them, "to make sure there's no infection. If all goes well, she should be able to come home in the next day or two."
"Did you call your mom?" Jeremy asked, skimming the page in front of him as it mentioned the Salvatore's being away on vacation.
"I called and left a message. She in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so we'll see how long it takes for her to come rushing home." Neither of his parents were winning any awards for best parental figures. He held no expectation either of his - their - parents would make an appearance for months.
Jeremy rolled his eyes, reading the unspoken words hidden between the lines.
"Vicki's lucky." Tyler may not like her, but he would never have wished her harm in this way.
"Yeah, I know - and now there's talk of some missing campers ..." Matt shook his head, not able to comprehend the events having taken place in Mystic Falls in the last few days.
Jeremy knew about the campers. Grace had warned him before he left, after Liz had called her about the developments in Vicki's case. Grace had a strange relationship with the Sheriff and Jeremy had long since stopped questioning it, even during the times he wondered how much Liz knew. She had a habit of treating Grace as a fellow adult and not a teenager.
"Did she say what animal attacked her?" The three boys' head turned as Caroline walked over to them. Stealing a chair from the next table, she sat and put a plate of small muffins in between the journals for them to share.
"Oh, hey, Caroline," Matt greeted, snagging a muffin. "See, it's weird. Last night, Vicki woke up, said something about a monster and then passed out again. This morning, she asked me if they'd found the animal yet. It's been on my mind all night and since leaving the hospital this morning. I can't make sense of it."
"Why don't we ask Grace?" Caroline asked. "I mean, if there's any weirdness going on, won't she know?"
Jeremy flashed back to the graveyard the other day; the fog, the crow and the man hiding in the treeline. Grace hadn't been frightened, or worried. He believed there was still a lot being hidden from them, but he didn't know why.
"Which is why we've got these journals." Tyler held up another of the journals Jeremy had brought with him. "Grace let slip her last life was here in Mystic Falls. Here, look at this." He handed her the piece of paper they'd written all the information found in the last hour.
Scanning the page, Caroline was fascinated to see the name Temperance. "I know about this girl. She was mentioned in my ancestors' journals." The ones her mother had let her see, at least.
"It's right here." Jeremy had found the page he'd been searching for.
... told Giuseppe there was no one within miles of the area of where the young girl was found. Lillian has formed an attachment to the young girl and given her the name Temperance ...
"That's ..." Caroline couldn't find the words. "She was abandoned?" How could anyone do that to a child?
None of them were comfortable with the description of Temperance when Giuseppe Salvatore had found her, shifting in their seats as the passage was read out loud. Ratty hair, torn dress, bleeding feet ... it sounded as though she could have been stumbling around for hours on her own. Any number of atrocities could have occurred.
"Woah." Tyler backtracked, pulling the journal closer to himself. "Stefan Salvatore?"
"Stefan?" Matt leaned in closer to make sure he'd read the word right. "He had an older brother called Damon."
A shiver ran down Jeremy's spine. "Families use the same names all the time - like my uncle, John." His father, Grayson, had been an unusual name for the family, but his grandmother had refused to change it, despite her husband's protests. "Even though Stefan has an older brother, doesn't mean his name will turn out to be Damon."
However, even as they exchanged glances around the table, none of them were convinced. Grace was a reincarnating witch and had a close relationship with the current Stefan Salvatore. Stefan hadn't lived in Mystic Falls for years - in any of their memories - and yet, knew Grace. She claimed to have met him when she was visiting her cousins out of state, but they all believed the closeness was too strong for the length of time they claimed to have known each other.
"What else is in these journals?" Caroline asked, grabbing one and flipping through it.
Jeremy glanced at his watch. "We're gonna be late for school. Why don't you all take a couple of journals and flip through them? Let's talk about this later."
They agreed.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Grace placed her history book back into her locker and smiled as Stefan leaned against the locker next to hers. "It's times like this when I wish I could blow Tanner's mind and tell him the comet was discovered thousands of years ago."
Stefan chuckled. "Didn't you tell me the natives used its power for their protection rituals?"
Grace nodded. "For centuries, they used the power of the comet to increase the power of their spells. When the Vikings came over, there was a mutual exchange of rituals and beliefs - which included celestial events, the uses of certain herbs ... the list goes on. A few of the travellers had my personal translation stones, which they used to make peace with their new neighbours. Leif Erikson arrived to find a thriving metropolis of villages and re-established their connection to the homeland."
Stefan was fascinated as Grace's eyes became alight with enthusiasm. "Was Mystic Falls one such village?"
"Mystic Falls was handed back to the natives." Grace closed her locker. "A few years before Leif arrived at the village, a prominent and strong Viking warrior had committed a crime against their neighbours; an atrocity not even his fellow villagers could explain away. To keep the peace of the land, the Viking dwellers departed to other settlements and the natives remained the sole inhabitants of this land in the Americas until the 'Founding Families' came here to form the village of Mystic Falls." This had all followed the comets appearance but a few years before the incident.
"Didn't the Vikings have graves here?" The Founding Families were so certain they had been the ones to settle in Mystic Falls first and, as there had been no evidence to the contrary, were given all the credit.
"They did. Both the settlers and the natives protected these sites with strong magic. It's why there's been so little evidence of Viking occupation in the New World."
It was astounding to hear these stories of the past. Grace held such a wealth of knowledge in her head and Stefan often debated with himself how she could handle it all. It must have been frustrating to get facts wrong in history exams on purpose because the modern world hadn't progressed as far in their archaeology.
"Speaking of times long passed us by," Stefan pulled a book out of his bag, "I thought you might want this back."
Taking the novel from him, Grace smiled. "Wuthering Heights by Ellis Bell." Opening the cover, she saw the handwritten note on the first page; a gift from Damon to her. It was a first edition and had been kept in pristine condition over the years, due to the historical and personal value. As Temperance, she had been drawn to the Brontë sisters works, recalling they had been written by women due to her memories as Faith Potter.
"Many of your old belongings have survived," Stefan told her, "if you'd like any of them back."
"Since I'm coming round the Boarding House later on, I can sort through my old stuff while I'm there." She would love them back, as many held sentimental value for her. Few of her personal possessions had survived the years and, those which had, were held in museums as ancient artifacts. Or no longer belonged to her person.
"Why do you want my father's journals anyway?" Stefan asked.
Grace placed the novel in her bag. "My last death. I have a new perspective on the events leading up to it." She cursed herself for not seeing it before.
Stefan remained silent as they entered their next class.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Caroline closed the journal and marked her page with a bookmark, before facing Bonnie. "I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant?"
Bonnie leaned closer. "I wanted to be sure of myself before telling you, but Grace has been teaching me for a while now. Grams showed me the family Grimoire for the first time. It's real, Caroline. I'm a witch, like Grace."
"Bonnie, that's fantastic!" Caroline was elated. "Have you told Elena?" She hoped this would be what made Elena stop with her opinions about Grace having to live a normal life, ignoring her past and her magic.
Bonnie grimaced. "I want to wait a while longer and learn more before I talk to her."
"About what?" Elena asked, as she walked in and sat at the desk in front of them both.
"Our history homework," Caroline cut in, seeing Bonnie freeze. "Can you believe Tanner has given us a full-length essay on the comet?"
Elena rolled her eyes. "I know, right? I mean. I can't wait to see the comet, but is an essay about it necessary? What are we going to write? It was discovered on this date and seen again on this date. He wants to put us all to sleep."
As Elena turned back to face the front, Bonnie mouthed 'thank you' to Caroline for the save. Caroline smiled and opened her notebook as the teacher walked in.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Sitting at a picnic bench with Jeremy, Grace flipped through the pages of the journal he had shown her. "Jonathan Gilbert was a prick."
"But it's true?" Jeremy asked. "He's talking about supernatural creatures."
"Yes," Grace confirmed. "You're not stupid, Jeremy. You knew it wasn't a witch in the graveyard the other day. Have you given these to the others?"
Jeremy shook his head. "I gave them the ones you'd marked with yellow, so there's no concrete information. They'll figure it out, though."
Anticipation filled her. "I hope so. If I'm right, Mystic Falls is about to become far more interesting, and I'd like you all by my side."
Eyes met over the table. "Even Elena?"
Grace grimaced. "It's unfortunate, but Elena's involvement is a must."
Jeremy groaned and ran his hands over his face. He and Grace been trying to implement distance with Elena, even as they lived in the same house. He should have known it was going to be harder than he'd hoped it would be.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"As their teacher, I'm concerned. Jeremy is spacing out and Grace's anger management has gotten worse." Tanner leaned against his desk, in front of Jenna. "It's the third day of school and a pattern is already emerging. How is her therapy going?"
Jenna managed to prevent herself from gritting her teeth. He was Jeremy's main teacher and not Grace's. Not even one of her niece's other teachers had called her expressing any concern. "Mr. Tanner, are you aware Jeremy, Grace, and Elena's parents just died?"
"Four months ago," he spouted off, like he would in class, during a lesson. "Great loss. Car accident. Wickery Bridge, if I remember correctly. And you're related to the family how? The, uh, mother's kid sister?"
Jenna caught the mocking edge to his words. "Yes, the younger sister." She leaned back. "It's three days into the school year. A manageable routine was established during the summer and was thrown off with the return to school. I'm sure they'll settle soon."
Tanner's eyebrows rose. "I would agree with you, but this is not the first time issues have arisen in the Gilbert family, is it, Miss. Sommers? Are there any other relatives in the picture?"
Jenna's right eye twitched. Of course there was. The issue was the other family member had no legal right to take Grace in, despite the legal adoption. "I'm the sole guardian for all three of them."
Tanner caught the twitch and the avoidance. "The only one for Grace, you mean."
"Why do you keep coming back to Grace?" She had believed this meeting to be for Jeremy. Other than her nephew's spacing out in class and other minor details, the topic hadn't returned to him since.
A mocking smirk settled on Tanner's lips. "Are you aware of Grace's relationship with Tyler Lockwood?"
"Yes." The whole town was aware. They flaunted it wherever they went.
"Interesting, don't you agree? The allure the Lockwood family holds over your niece."
Ice ran down Jenna's spine, chilling her to the bone. The hair along her arms and the back of her neck stuck on end like a frightened cat who had found themselves faced with a snake. The Colour drained from her face.
"Three years ago, wasn't it? Mason Lockwood. Tyler's uncle."
Though her lips were moving, Jenna's voice had abandoned her.
"Didn't the scandal drive him out of town?" Tanner asked. It was rhetorical. They all knew it had. "I believe Sheriff Forbes even got involved. Wasn't it at the request of Mayor Lockwood - his own brother - along with Miranda and Elena Gilbert, Grace's own mother and sister?"
"No untoward behaviour occurred between Grace and Mason Lockwood." Jenna found the words hard to get through her swollen throat. Mason had helped Grace through one of the roughest patches of her current life. Jenna praised him with every fibre of her being, as had Grayson, once Grace explained it to him. It had been Mayor Lockwood, Miranda and Elena who had insisted on the investigation, saying it was more than it appeared.
She had never understood why.
"A doctor had to confirm his innocence, if I'm recalling right."
Jenna had heard enough. As she stood to speak, a red-hot flush rose up her chest, throat and face. She trembled with a rush of adrenaline. "I'm leaving. On my way out, I will be stopping by the principal's office. For any future meetings, I will request the presence of another teacher." Tanner tried to speak, but Jenna refused to allow him to gain the upper hand again. "And if, at any point, I hear you harassing my family for unfounded accusations, I will be going to Sheriff Forbes. You are their teacher. You have no right to instruct me on any other matter of their lives."
She walked out.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Stefan saw the photo of himself and Temperance when he was nine and took it out of the box. "Didn't my mother take this one?"
Grace nodded, flipping through the book she had found. It had been another gift from Damon. If Giuseppe had found this one, they'd have been whipped within inches of their lives. Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland had caused a scandal when it first can out in 1748. Grace had no idea how Damon had managed to get his hands on one of the first published editions, but she'd about laughed herself hoarse when she found the book hidden within the pockets of her newest dress.
At the time, the book was illegal. Damon must have spent a fortune to acquire it, although she suspected his gambling habits had played a part in his mysterious purchases. There had been no note but the red rose which had come with the book.
"He was always encouraging you," Stefan commented, seeing the book she was holding. He pulled out several more books like it - all scandalous, several of them illegal at the time. Daniel Defoe's essay on the education of women was one such work he'd gifted her. Defoe's works had been of particular interest to her as Temperance.
When it had come out, opinions on the essay had been split. There had been those among the higher class who agreed with Defoe on equal education between men and women, while there had been those who did not. Giuseppe Salvatore was one such man. Despite one of the greatest monarchs of Britain being a woman - the lead nation of the British Empire - there were men among the higher class who believed it had been the men around her who had been responsible, and not the woman herself.
Grace smiled. "He was."
Despite all the caution they had taken, Giuseppe became aware of the state of affairs by the end and it hadn't been Stefan who'd told him. He'd been furious to learn his own son had been hoodwinking him and released all his rage on her, after he'd believed both Stefan and Damon dealt with. When Damon had seen her after, he'd been furious and distraught he hadn't been there to protect her; to take his father's rage himself.
"Oh, wow." Grace had found her old jewellery box - a gift for her first birthday in the Salvatore household. Carved from oak and decorated with Greek gods and goddesses, it had been her prized possession. Though it had once glistened and shined, the box was now dull and worn from lack of care. Flipping open the lid, she was pleased to find all her belongings still intact, though her joy lessened at the sight of a string of pearls. The single piece of jewellery she owned which she despised. "You can get rid of these. Pawn them or give them to charity. Whatever you want."
She handed them to Stefan and placed the jewellery box with her keepsakes. Behind her back, Stefan gripped the pearls and remembered how she'd received them. The moment he had, after years of denial, recognized the truth of the monster hiding beneath his father's skin.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Mystic Falls, 1861
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Temperance sat at the dining table, at the end across from Giuseppe Salvatore. The main meat of the evening was venison, killed by Giuseppe himself. The finest of wines had been out of the wine cellar for their pleasure, imported from Italy, which was the ancestral homeland of the Salvatore family. Temperance's glass had been refilled for the third time at Giuseppe's insistence, while Damon had long since moved onto stronger liqueurs.
When the cheese was brought out, Giuseppe rose to stand and lifted his glass in a toast.
"The future of this family is bright still. Despite the hardships of recent years, we have moved forward with the grace our station demands and now, a new chapter is to begin." Giuseppe met Temperance's eyes across the table. "In the new year, Temperance and I shall be wed. I have found no suitable husband from any of the other families we inhabit this small town with, so I have taken it upon myself to provide the life she had grown accustomed to."
Damon's knuckles turned white as he gripped his glass, his jaw clenching. His father was talking as though he hadn't been planning this for years, since long before Temperance had even shown signs of becoming a woman.
"To new beginnings."
Temperance was quick to raise her wine glass to toast him, but Stefan was frozen in shock. His face had turned a sickening grey white at the - to him - unexpected announcement. It took Damon giving his shin a kick under the table for him to regain his senses, to raise a glass alongside Damon and Temperance.
"To new beginnings," Damon echoed, before downing the rest of his drink and holding it out to the servant for a refill.
"I have a gift for you," Giuseppe told Temperance, gesturing for the slave in the corner to move forward. The young man - no older than his youngest son - laid a velvet pouch beside her, bowed and stepped back into place. "Open it." It was not a request.
Temperance unfolded the velvet fabric to reveal a string of pearls, with an "S" pendant hanging between two of them to mark the name Salvatore. Her hands trembled as she lifted them and ran her thumb over the pendant. "They're beautiful." Bile clawed its way up her throat, and she took a sip of wine to prevent the reappearance of the evenings meal.
Giuseppe walked around the table, stopping behind Temperance's chair. "You are to be a Salvatore, and we shall now declare it to the world. Your dedication will be expressed for all to see."
Holding his hand out for the pearls, Temperance allowed him to take them from her and unclasp them. Giuseppe moved her hair to the side and, with deft hands, placed the pearls around her throat. Though light, they settled like the weight of a prisoner's chain, linking her to a fate she wished she could have avoided. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her cheek and whispered into her ear, too low for Damon or Stefan to hear.
"I gave you everything and it would be easy for me to take it all away. You will do your duty."
"Thank you," Temperance managed to speak as he rose. "I will treasure them."
"I am certain you shall." He walked back to his seat.
Damon watched all this transpire as though he were underwater. As his father placed the pearls around her neck, Damon had recognized his father's actions as a sign of his power over even his own sons, towards Damon in particular. No matter how much he fought, no matter how much he raged, he would never be able to win against him.
In a brief moment before they continued the meal, Temperance's eyes met Damon's own, shining with unshed tears, yet hard and sharp as flint, with no desperation nor sadness. A shiver ran down Damon's spine. Temperance's temper could burn hot or cold, depending on the mood and the situation. When she burned hot, Damon could handle it and help her through it. When she burned cold? Well ...
Damon decided, then and there as he watched his father dig into his cheese with a gusto, that Giuseppe Salvatore may have won the battle, but he would not win the war.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Mystic Falls, 2009 - Present Day
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she says the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time the comet passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death; so much carnage it caused a bed of paranormal activity." Bonnie added another folded leaflet to the pile in front of her. This was another of her attempts to ease Elena into the idea of Bonnie being a witch like her sister.
Caroline was fascinated. "Grace was telling me about it. Speaking of, why isn't she here?"
"She texted saying she was heading to the Salvatore Boarding House. Stefan gave her a first edition Emily Brontë book today. It used to belong to a girl his family took in back before the last Civil War. Her name was Temperance." Caroline's gaze snapped back to Bonnie. "He's trying to sort through their old junk and offered to give her anything she wanted, before they got rid of it all."
"Oh, wow," Caroline said, shocked. "How sweet of him. Grace loves all sorts of history stuff." On the inside, her mind was racing a mile a minute. Temperance had been what Grace was called over a hundred years ago. Stefan was handing her belongings already her own by right. She itched to bring the Gilbert journal out of her bag and continue reading to find out what else it was saying about her.
Elena rolled her eyes. "Grace needs to focus on the present and not events long since passed. She's already lived through it. I don't understand why she wants to keep thinking about people and times already dead. I'm worried enough about Jeremy; I don't need Grace wigging out on me, too."
Bonnie and Caroline both paused as Elena refocus on her pamphlet folding. It irritated them all how little Elena wanted to connect to her sister's supernatural heritage and previous life experience. Jeremy's issues were an excuse; Elena had never wanted Grace to acknowledge her past.
"Do you ever consider that's why she doesn't talk to you anymore, Elena?" Caroline asked, unable to help herself. "It's like asking you to forget about your mom and dad."
"It's been four months, Caroline," Elena protested, her eyes filling with tears. "I don't know why you're trying to make me the bad guy here. I'm trying to protect her."
"Which might be the problem," Caroline retorted, folding her own pamphlets. "In trying to protect her, you're the one who's hurt her the most."
Elena shook her head in denial, staring at Bonnie in a silent plea for backup. Bonnie gave a sign of apology and focused on her work. After all, she didn't disagree with Caroline. Angry at the lack of support, Elena shoved her chair back, grabbed her bag and moved to walk away.
"You're both wrong," she snapped.
"Where are you going?" Caroline asked, exasperated. This was typical Elena; running away after conversations or events didn't go her way.
"To the Boarding House," Elena called back over her shoulder. "To make sure my sister is okay, considering I don't know who this Stefan Salvatore is."
Before either of them could stop her, she disappeared from view. Caroline grabbed her phone and sent a message to Grace. She had to be warned of Hurricane Elena sweeping in.
"Maybe you shouldn't have put it quite like that." Bonnie grabbed Elena's unfolded stack and split it between them.
Caroline scoffed. "We're going to be eighteen soon, Bonnie. If Elena doesn't learn she isn't always right, she's going to find herself in a lot of trouble one day. I can call her out, because I'm her friend and I care about her."
Bonnie sighed, in agreement. They weren't kids anymore.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Jeremy sat in the kitchen, watching Jenna fill the fridge with ingredients for their dinner. "The accusations were proven false, though. The whole town knows that."
Jenna was still trembling. "I know. I spoke to the principal on my way out and was promised I would never have a one-on-one meeting with Tanner ever again. Tanner had received a strike on his record and the next one will be the end of his career at Mystic Falls High School. Grace's main teacher will also be told of what transpired in our meeting."
Jeremy winced. He would not want to be a fly on the wall for the meeting between those two.
"How are you feeling today?" Jenna asked, closing the fridge and leaning against the counter in front of Jeremy.
"I'm still craving, but I'm doing better. Walking past the stoner pit is hard."
Jenna could sympathize. "Same as me. Whenever I got high, Nachos were my munchy food. Had to abandon them altogether when I stopped. Kept making me crave more."
"I get it. I've had to stop eating the Grill's brownies."
"Does Grace know?" Jenna asked, knowing the two of them talked before bed each night.
"I didn't want to tell her, but she caught on when I stopped asking for them during lunch. We get cookies instead now." He'd been afraid of disappointing her.
"You don't need to worry about telling her, Jeremy. She'll always be on your side."
Jeremy found his hands fascinating and was unable to meet Jenna's gaze. "I know. I keep picturing her face when she found the pills in my room. She had a nightmare the same night. She was calling out in her old language again."
They called it the 'old language' because Grace never told them what it was. They didn't know how to spell the words and the dictionaries they could get their hands on hadn't been helpful. "I wonder why."
Jeremy believed he knew why, but he refused to say. He was already pushing it by investigating her life as Temperance and including the others with the search - even if Grace knew and didn't mind. He would respect her privacy until she was willing to speak more on the subject.
Because he was certain the loudest of the words she'd called out had been old speak for brother.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Tyler trembled as he stared at the piece of paper he'd found within the pages of the Gilbert journals. A heaviness settled in his stomach as the words registered in his brain.
The Salvatore Family
Request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of
Miss Temperance
to
Mr Giuseppe Salvatore
on Thursday, January the Second,
at twelve o'clock
Fells Church
Reaching for his phone, Tyler called Jeremy to let him know his sister had been married to the man who had taken her in as a ward when she was child in her last life. After he ended the call, he ran to the bathroom, unable to suppress the bile rising in his throat.
Giuseppe Salvatore had helped raise her and then he'd decided to marry her. Tears pricked in Tyler's eyes as he realized Grace had spent her last life being groomed by the man who had been meant to protect her.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Using the knocker on the door of the Boarding House, Elena gasped as the door swung forward and open of its own accord. She walked inside and called out.
"Grace?"
At the end of the hall, Elena saw Grace's backpack on a chair. As she examined the antique furniture, the quality of each piece was evident - and would be, even for those without a keen eye for antiques. The Salvatore's must have been collecting for years. Elena heard a creak behind her and turned to see the front door had blown wide open, so she moved to shut it. Her heart jumped in her throat when a crow flew in and she ducked, spinning around, intent to see where it landed -
- coming face-to-face with a dark-haired man who had not been there a moment before.
"I - I'm sorry, for barging in. The door was" she turned her head to see the front door shut behind her "open."
Facing the unknown man again, Elena froze. His eyes drilled into her own, a hard edge set to them, reminding her of the deadness of a sharks, like the documentary she had watched for class. The hair on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end.
"You must be Elena." Despite his stone-like eyes, his voice was warm and charming. "I'm Damon; Stefan's brother."
"He mentioned you." She struggled to work her mouth to speak but was pleased when the shakiness in her limbs wasn't evident in her voice. "I'm here for my sister; Grace."
"I'm surprised," Damon admitted. "He's not usually one to brag. Please, come in." He guided her to the living room, not willing to let this opportunity escape him. "I'm sure my brother and your sister will be along any second."
Elena allowed him to guide her, despite her instincts screaming at her to leave the house and get away from him. She shifted to move in front of him, wanting any excuse to stop looking into his eyes. She entered the living room and - forget the hallway - an antique collector would have sold their soul to get their hands on the pieces she was surrounded by. "Wow. This is your living room?"
"Living room. Parlour. Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste." Damon watched Elena marvel over the room. If Elena believed his eyes had frightened her before, she would have been terrified at the force of the glare he had focused on the back of her head.
"It's beautiful." Elena turned back to face him.
Damon smiled. "Grace loved it, as well. It's nice Stefan had found someone to talk to. Those therapy bills were beginning to put a dent in the bank."
Elena stared, not sure what to say at the turn of conversation.
Pleasure curled like a sleeping kitten in Damon's gut when he saw the confusion intermingling with the still present fear in her eyes. "Because of our foster sister? I thought he'd never get through it. Nearly destroyed him." It certainly would have continued attempting to, had Grace not appeared when she had.
"Foster sister?" Neither Stefan, nor Grace, had mentioned a foster sister.
"Yeah." Damon watched every micro change of expression on Elena's face. "We lost her a while ago. Around the same time as my ex-girlfriend, Katherine. Not that she was much of a loss."
Uncomfortable was a veiled way to explain the emotions which ran through Elena as Damon spoke his last statement. His eyes were set straight on her own, not moving or giving an inch. Her mouth ran dry, and she knew she had to get out of there.
"Hello, Stefan. Grace."
Elena's head snapped to the side as Damon greeted the two standing in the doorway. Her heart was pounding; she hadn't even noticed Stefan and Grace arrive.
"Elena," Stefan greeted, pleasant and cordial.
Grace crossed her arms, eyebrows raised and stance tense. "Caroline sent me a text. Why didn't you call before coming up?" Caroline had described the whole argument leading up to Elena's departure.
Damon grinned. "Oh, don't be silly, Grace. She's welcome whenever she wishes. You caught us in time! I was about the breakout the family photo albums. I have to warn you, Elena - Stefan wasn't always such a looker."
"You can drive me back, Elena," Grace cut across, ignoring Damon's invitation. "I was about to leave anyway."
Elena wanted - needed - to get out of there but hadn't forgotten the manners her mother always drilled into her. "Of course. It was nice to meet you, Damon."
The warm, charming - false! every buried instinct screamed in Elena - smile was back on his lips. "Greet meeting you, too, Elena."
Elena scrambled up the couple of steps into the hall and passed Grace. "See you at school, Stefan. I'll wait in the car, Grace."
She sped out the front door and to the car, wanting to put as much distance between herself and Damon Salvatore as she could. Slamming the car door shut, Elena tried to calm her erratic heart and still shaking hands. Inside, the trio listened for the sound of the car door closing before they faced each other.
"Damon," Grace snapped, her tone as sharp as a knife. "You're already on thin ice with those two campers this morning. Do not test me with my sister."
Damon rolled his eyes, not flinching as her own glowed with her power, knowing she was on edge after digging through the boxes. Her temper was burning hot. "I didn't touch her."
"Keep it that way," Grace warned. "I'm already doing enough damage control with Vicki. Matt won't be happy when he learns it was you who attacked her. Let's not shoot ourselves in the foot more than we already have." She turned to face Stefan. "'ll pick up the stuff this weekend."
"Sure. See you tomorrow."
Grace turned. Before she could manage another movement, Damon had taken those few steps, gripped her wrist and spun to face him. Grace fought a smile, as she knew it was what he wanted.
"Don't I get a goodbye?" Damon teased.
Grace didn't fight it as he lifted her chin and brushed a gentle kiss against her lips. Next to them, Stefan rolled his eyes and turned away. Grace could never stay angry with Damon for long, not even when they were human.
"Goodbye, Damon." Grace walked away.
Waiting to hear the car drive down the road, Damon smirked and faced Stefan, whistling. "Great gal, though too quiet for my liking." Which was the kindest phrase he would use when it concerned Elena Gilbert. "Did Grace find what she was looking for?"
"She wants me to throw out dad's engagement gift to her," Stefan told him, as they moved back into the living room, tired of the small talk Damon was so fond of. "How long was Elena here?"
Damon sat on his favourite armchair. "Good. Those pearls were a metaphorical collar - even the dogs knew it. And Elena? No more than a few minutes. She'll have to learn in the future, Stefan. With that face, she won't be in the dark forever."
Stefan agreed, though he wouldn't admit such to Damon. "Let's leave it to Grace, shall we? I'm sure she has her reasons."
Damon hummed. Unlike Stefan, Damon was aware of those reasons. Or, at least, he could make an educated guess. "She always has her reasons. I have never lost faith in that."
At Stefan's flinch, Damon stood and left the room, leaving his brother to his thoughts. Neither one of them could comprehend how Grace had forgiven Stefan after all he had done.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Did you know about it?"
Grace sighed at Elena's persistent questioning. Less than three minutes alone with her and Damon had been unable to resist talking about the past, bringing Elena's curiosity to the forefront. "Yes, I knew. As you can imagine, it's left a few lingering issues."
"I wouldn't have guessed." Sarcasm and incredulousness dripped from her words.
Jeremy pretended to be focused on his food but was fascinated with these revelations. If he was right, there would be an allusion to a Katherine in the last year or two of Temperance's life in the Gilbert journals.
Jenna, however, brought herself into the conversation. "At least it's not mommy issues. Or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues."
Grace pointed her fork at her aunt and hummed in agreement. "So true."
"Who is this sister?" Elena asked, not to be deterred.
Grace took a bite of her chicken. "She wasn't their sister, Elena. Damon and Stefan's parents took her in when she was young."
"They must have cared about her," Elena persisted.
Grace took a deep breath and gripped her fork tighter at the continued prodding "Yes, Elena; they did. So much so, it ruined any brotherhood affection between them when she died. In truth, it was Damon's ex-girlfriend who got the ball rolling."
"Katherine. What happened to her? Damon didn't seem to think well of her, at all."
Grace sat, lost in memories, and tried to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say. Elena, Jenna and Jeremy, all watched her gather her thoughts in expectation.
"Damon's relationship with Katherine was toxic from the start. They both used each other for their own means; Damon wanted something from her, and Katherine found Damon to be a convenient distraction. You can imagine how he grew to despise her when Katherine's own actions were the catalyst for the death of their foster sister."
"So, Katherine is the one to blame?" Jeremy asked, desperate to know more. To assign blame to someone for Grace's early death in her last life.
Grace shrugged, catching his intentions and not wanting to add anything to them. "Everyone was at fault. Damon, Stefan, Katherine - even the sister. I'm not sure if Damon or Stefan will ever be able to come to terms with it."
Away from Damon and his harsh gaze drilling into her, Elena had a burning desire to find out more. In Mystic Falls, she knew everything about everyone. She'd never had a mystery to unravel before and wanted to know all she could about these mysterious brothers - including the sister and ex-girlfriend.
The other three rolled their eyes, knowing what was running through Elena's mind. However, dinner continued without any more of Elena's invasive questions.
Later in the evening, as Grace and Jenna washed the dishes together, the conversation took on an even more sour note.
"He what?"
Jenna hadn't wanted to tell her about Tanner's accusations, but believed Grace had the right to know. "He all but said the words. The allusion was there."
Grace's plate cracked in her hands, and she shoved an illusion over her eyes, to keep Jenna from becoming alarmed at the change she knew was occurring in response to her rage. "Mason was cleared by three separate doctors. My mother and Mayor Lockwood almost lost it all with their accusations against him - as they bloody well should have - and Mason hasn't been able to show his face in town since." Not that he wanted to.
He used to return for a few weeks at a time, but there was no chance he could risk it now. Neither of them could be sure how many people had similar minds to his accusers and were being careful to keep their silence. Her mother, Miranda, had been ousted from all her social circles in the immediate aftermath and Mayor Lockwood - Richard - was now scrutinized by the police on a regular basis. Sheriff Forbes took a special delight in the task. Tyler's mother, Carol, was Mayor in all but name.
Elena had been lucky to escape without major repercussions but had been distrusted by the majority of their peers since.
Mason called Grace on a regular basis. He'd been struggling before she'd sent the strongest of her paternal cousins to keep an eye on him and help him through the difficulties he'd encountered. When he told her who he'd run into around the time she'd seen Damon and Stefan again, she'd warned him to be careful and not let on he was in contact with her to anyone.
Jenna didn't jump as Grace slammed the plate onto the counter, cracking it further. She had expected worse; it being the reason they hadn't used the better plates for dinner.
As they continued their task, Jenna remembered the trauma Grace was put through, forced on her by Miranda. Taken to the doctors, a test was performed to make sure Grace's virginity was intact. Richard had insisted upon a second test and, when they both failed to produce the desired results, a third. All by elderly male doctors.
Thanks to the Sheriff and Grayson's interventions, it had stopped at three. Grace had consented to the first test, having wanted to clear Mason's name, but not to the following two.
Grace scrubbed the dishes with more gusto, imagining they were all Tanner's face. In a dark corner of her mind, one she was careful to keep hidden, she considered allowing for one more victim before the attacks stopped.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Vicki ran through the trees, trying with all her might to get away from the predator behind her. The high-pitched growls caused her to gasp and stifle screams. The lights from the party were visible and Vicki knew, if she could get there, she would be safe. Among the crowd, she wouldn't be noticed or found.
As she got closer - believing she might make it - she was hit from behind and a jaw secured itself around her neck. Her world turned black.
Vicki screamed as she woke from the nightmare. No one else was with her, as Matt had gone home for the night, and the nurses didn't hear her when she cut herself off with a choked gasp.
Her heart pounding in her chest, she hoped whatever animal attacked her would be caught soon. Remembering the sensation of the fur against her skin was not what she wanted to keep dreaming about and a capture would give her closer.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Night of the comet! Would you like a programme?"
Bonnie and Elena handed flyers to a group of four and continued walking.
"I didn't like it, Bonnie. It was ... he was ... dangerous."
Bonnie bit her lip. As much as she trusted Grace to keep herself and all of them safe, she was now aware there were dangerous creatures which went bump in the night other than witches. Her Grams had told her about the supernatural creatures inhabiting the world and she was desperate to talk to Grace about it. "Are you sure it wasn't a misunderstanding, Elena? I mean, you've been wrong before."
"I haven't misunderstood this, Bonnie," Elena insisted. "Damon Salvatore has made it clear he doesn't like me. I don't know why. I've not done anything to him. Grace must have been telling them stories."
Bonnie heaved a sigh. Whenever it didn't go Elena's way, it was always another person at fault. Not every Tom, Dick and Harry they met was going to like them. However, the way the Salvatore brother's disliked Elena on first sight niggled at her. Grace was not the type to let others get between the problems she and Elena had because, despite it all, she loved her sister. What was going on?
Caroline watched Bonnie and Elena walking around from where she stood by a few kids getting their faces painted. She didn't know why they weren't doing special designs of stars, or planets. Instead, insects and animals held the main theme.
Scanning the area, her gaze caught Grace with a dark-haired man she hadn't seen before - Grace was holding a stack of flyers, which she was handing out to people as they walked past her. They stood by a convertible, talking and laughing. It was easy to guess who the man was: Damon Salvatore. She'd heard about him from Elena before she'd gone over to Bonnie to complain, and from Grace, on two separate occasions.
As she watched them, Caroline jolted. The way Damon ran a hand across Grace's shoulders and stopped at her elbow, after giving her a hug, before getting into his car and driving away was intimate. The whole picture, careful and loving.
Her heart jumped to her throat as an impossible idea overtook her once again. Were Damon and Stefan Salvatore the same two brothers from over one hundred years ago?
-x-x-x-x-x-
"What is Damon doing here?" Zach asked Stefan, as they stood in his bedroom. "Why did he come home?"
"Because I came home." It was the only answer Zach would get from him. There was no need to get into the explanation of Grace an Temperance being the same person, or Damon's eternal hatred of Katherine. "He's restless in a small town. He'll calm soon."
Zach shook his head and sighed, doubting the capability of his more wild uncle to remain contained. If there was ever an eternal curse on the Salvatore family since 1864, it was Damon Salvatore. He despised the whole family line since the discovery of his father's bastard son not long after he became a vampire. "And what about this girl in the hospital? What if she talks?"
"She won't," Stefan assured him. "She's been taken care of."
"You're sure?" Zach had a vague idea how Vicki Donovan had been dealt with and didn't believe, for one second, it had been Stefan.
"Yes." There was no doubt in Stefan's mind that Grace had covered every possible loophole. "She's no danger."
Zach nodded. He held no animosity towards Grace and trusted in her power. If Stefan said it was taken care of, he would believe it. "I know it's none of my business, Uncle Stefan, but I hope everything works out. I hope it's all worth it in the end."
Stefan stared at Zach for a moment, before turning around and walking away. He didn't bother replying to him in any way. Zach sighed as he was left alone, his thoughts full of the town and people he had grown up with, hoping beyond hope his darkest fears didn't become a reality.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Grace walked through the crowd, an unlit candle in her hands. Matt, Caroline, Bonnie and Elena stood together and, as she approached them, Matt smiled and used his own candle to light hers.
"Thank you, Matt."
"You're welcome."
Matt turned back to talk to Caroline, Elena walked over to see Jeremy who was stood with Tyler, and Bonnie gestured for Grace to follow her. They sat themselves on a bench and Bonnie's gaze moved to the passing comet.
"Grams told me about vampires," she confessed.
Grace showed no reaction. "I thought she would. Your Grams doesn't trust me, does she?"
"She trusts you to keep me safe but, no, I think she fears your power."
Grace chuckled. Sheila wasn't the worst of them, but she was still wary. It had been that way for millennia, as the Bennett line continued and met her in different incarnations. There had always been this line in the sand. Bonnie was the third witch of her family line to feel it and not let it interfere. The others believed they understood the whole kit and caboodle with but a few scraps of information. "She's right to fear it, Bonnie; never doubt that. The Bennett line has always produced powerful witches, as well, though it has been fading in recent generations. Your mother and grandmother have less power than you."
"I'm not as strong as you," Bonnie protested, but quieted as she met Grace's sharp gaze.
"You're untrained, but powerful. The last time I came across a Bennett with your potential, she was part of a group who changed the face of the supernatural world. All you lack is experience and knowledge. I can help you with this, but it will be your Grams who teaches you your family traditions."
Once again, Bonnie's eyes rose to the comet in the sky, not wanting to linger on the family aspect of her magic. The grimoires which now belonged to her pointed towards a group of people she wasn't comfortable identifying with; with lack of acceptance, the staunch belief they were right even when they were wrong and making enemies with people who always wound up outsmarting them. The narrowminded view wasn't one Bonnie could conform to.
By knowing Grace, Bonnie was different than her ancestors and she shuddered at who she would have been without her.
"Will this comet really help?"
Grace gestured to Bonnie's necklace. "Your talisman will be a focus for you to channel your power. By drawing energy from the comet, we can store it in our talismans and call upon it when necessary - but only when necessary. These prevent us from overextending our power and killing ourselves by accident."
Bonnie held her necklace in a tight grip. Grace had helped her craft it and she hadn't taken it off since her sixteenth birthday. "How does it work? How can magic be in a comet?"
"Magic is in all atoms around you," Grace told Bonnie, her eyes far away as she watched the sky. "From the dawn of the known universe, magic has continued to grow and stretch with it. Are you researching the Greeks in your mythology class, yet?"
"No."
"Pay attention when you do. There are aspects of the truth in all belief systems, but I've always been fascinated by how the Greeks saw it."
"Are they all intertwined?" Bonnie asked, curious.
"In a way," Grace admitted. "They're all real. They all existed. By certain groups, all the old gods were believed to be witches with exceptional power. However, it's the higher beings you need to be weary of. Magic and human imagination gave them more physical forms, but they always existed in an essence: Life and Death, Light and Dark, Heaven and Earth."
"What higher beings? What could be higher than god-like witches?" Bonnie hadn't caught onto the double meaning.
Grace didn't answer. Her gaze remained focused on the night sky above and the stars twinkling in the blackness. Bonnie noticed Grace's own talisman pulsing with a low energy, the stone seeming to be an endless hole of darkness. Her friend's necklace had always sent a chilling discomfort through her but, on this night, it terrified Bonnie to the depths of her soul as she saw strings of light intertwining in together and disappearing into the stone as though it were a black hole.
"This is the third time I've seen this comet," Grace spoke after a few minutes of silence. "It has always left a trail of destruction in its wake."
"When was the first time you saw it?" Bonnie asked. Jeremy had mentioned her third life was here.
Grace was wistful as she smiled, lost in the memories. "I managed to track it back to the year 994 A.D. I was twelve at the time. I was with my father, my mother and my older sister. It was a few weeks before my parents' deaths and the last true happy memory we shared together. My name was Rika."
"Jeremy said you and your sister were taken in by separate families after they died. Was it difficult?"
"No," Grace denied. "Though it was hard to lose them, you have to understand what the beliefs were at the time. The Chief assured us our parents had died warriors' deaths and would be welcomed into Odin's Hall - Valhalla - where we would be reunited in the afterlife. My sister went to live with her betrothed and married him within weeks, whereas I went to live with mine."
The world around Bonnie slowed and stilled as Grace's words registered. "Betrothed?!" Alarm raced through her entire body.
Grace winced, realizing how it sounded to Bonnie's modern mind, but continued as though she hadn't spoken. "The elders suspected my sister was pregnant before the marriage, as her son was born in the seventh moon after the ceremony. They were mistaken, of course, as the child was born premature and lucky to survive. However, they refused to listen to reason and grew worried I would act out in the same manner they believed she had. As soon as I was deemed a woman under the law, I was wedded and bedded."
Bonnie couldn't comprehend how Grace could keep her tone so blasé. On an intellectual level, she understood Grace had lived in times where a woman could be married young and even to men twice or three times their ages. However, knowing these facts in an abstract sense and being confronted with it happening to her own friend were two different things.
"And when were you married?" Bonnie questioned, a tremor in her voice.
"I was thirteen," Grace confessed. She wasn't concerned with how Bonnie would take this news. This was the first life she had lived where a woman couldn't be married so young. Even as Faith Potter, the Wizarding World had seen marriages of such ilk. Several of her classmates had been married as early as their third year at school. It had sent many a muggleborn reeling.
"Who was your husband?" Bonnie didn't know how she managed to ask the question, as it was as though the world around her was spinning and contorting in on itself.
Grace's lips twitched with humour. "He was of similar age."
Bonnie wasn't sure whether to relax at the news or not. Grace had mentioned having children but, for a reason which alluded her, Bonnie stupidly hadn't acquainted the news with being married. How many other times had Grace been married young? Had she been willing, or not, in any of them?
"Do you miss any of them?"
"Yes." A sheen of tears was visible in her eyes. She knocked Bonnie's shoulder with her own and smiled. "Husbands, lovers ... oh, I could tell you some sordid tales, Bonnie Bennett."
Bonnie's laugh was choked, and she wrapped an arm around Grace's shoulders, pulling her closer. Grace had a big heart. When she loved a person, or cared for them, she never let them go. It was becoming clearer to them all how much Grace had lost over the years. More than Bonnie could ever comprehend.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Mystic Falls, 994 A.D.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Are we in agreement, daughter?"
Rika found it difficult to meet her father's eyes, as all he had revealed ran in a continuous loop through her mind. Promised to a boy she had grown up with and without her consent, sobered any true happiness she experienced over the evening. She had known the day would come - her body was changing, and it became known throughout the village she would be deemed a woman within the next year or two - but she had hoped her father would respect her enough to discuss it with her beforehand.
"We are, father," she assured him, able to meet his gaze after a fortifying second. "I will do my duty."
Canute smiled in relief. His eldest daughter, Tatia, had not reacted will to her own betrothal a few years previous and he feared his youngest daughter would be the same. He should have known better. Rika had always been the stronger of the two, which had been a relief to the warrior within him as she grew.
They both glanced at the passing comet. The power of this event would be felt by their people for years to come. Rika's own talisman was hanging around her neck, taking in the power to further help her studies with the witch elder, Ayana.
"I have done the best I can as a father," Canute told his youngest, "and I hope I have given you a match worthy of you."
She hugged him and sagged in relief. Her father may have given her away without her consent, but it was to a young man she had formed a deep connection with since the time they were children. As time went on, she hoped he would see how well he had done with her future, even though she wasn't happy with how she had gone about it.
With their conversation at an end, Canute turned to his wife. They would have to find a way to get their eldest under control, or she would find married life may not always be kind. Her rebellion had put the union off for long enough. He had given her the best prospect he could have; it was now her job to keep it maintained and happy.
For a long time, Rika stood on her own, her talisman pulsing with magic and listening to the conversations of those around her. As the comet was fading from sight, she senses a presence approaching her. Knowing it was not her betrothed, Rika made sure she was in position to bring her dagger out if necessary.
"Rika."
The father of her betrothed was a violently cruel man, and Rika kept her careful stance as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He had always accepted her as a friend of his children, but the circumstances were different now. He was not fond of magic, though he believed in its necessity. He had five sons, all of whom he had complicated relationships with. Giving her to the particular son he had meant he had plans she hadn't yet guessed at.
"Mikael."
-x-x-x-x-x-
Mystic Falls, 2009 - Present Day
-x-x-x-x-x-
Grace, Damon and Stefan stood on the roof of the Mystic Grill. A few minutes after Bonnie had left her to find Caroline, Damon appeared next to her and pulled her to the roof without explanation.
"This feud has gone on long enough," Grace was telling them. "You are brothers and this war between you must end."
"It's his fault you died!" Damon yelled, his inner beast coming to the forefront. Grace wasn't startled by the scream, having expected it. Telling him he had forgiven Stefan wouldn't work - he had to come to the realization himself. "If he hadn't opened his mouth, none of it would have happened!"
"Damon-" Stefan tried to speak, but Grace cut across him.
"Stefan was fighting a strong compulsion," Grace remined him. "He didn't know what he was saying. There are many people to blame, Damon; Stefan is last on the list. Even if he hadn't spoken to your father when he did, no matter what happened, our fates were already sealed."
"What do you mean?" Stefan asked, as Damon turned his back on them and began to pace the length of the roof.
"When Katherine appeared in Mystic Falls," Grace explained, "she had a far more powerful beast on her tail. One not even she could fight against."
Damon stopped next to Grace and glared. "What beast are you talking about?"
Grace shook her head. "I don't know if I'm right-"
"You are," Damon interrupted, assuring her. "You wouldn't have asked for dad's journals if you weren't sure. How bad are we talking?"
Grace was grim. "Bad."
Damon and Stefan met each other's gazes and knew what they had to do.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Caroline, Bonnie, Tyler and Matt sat around a table at the Mystic Grill, talking about the Gilbert journals. Jeremy was across the room with Elena, arguing about Vicki trying to get some pills from him when she was there to sort out her shifts after leaving the hospital.
"... believe you were giving her pills ..."
"Yikes," Tyler muttered, ducking his head. "I wouldn't want to be in his shoes."
Matt rolled his eyes. "Elena was the only person who didn't know. Jeremy's apologized enough for it. She needs to let it go."
"Well, she won't be letting this go for a while," Caroline reminded them. She turned to face Bonnie. "Married?"
́The reminder of why they were all there sobered the conversation. The boys turned to face Bonnie in question. "Yeah, when she was thirteen. I couldn't believe it when she told me. Even more, how ... matter of fact she was about it."
Matt sipped his drink. "We've learned about this in History class, Bonnie. Young marriages weren't uncommon." He faced Tyler. "Did you know about this?"
Tyler shrugged. "A little. Mason would have known more - I was the backup." He held no animosity towards Grace for being second choice. His uncle had done the lion's share of the work before the accusations screwed them both over. Grace had needed him to be there - not to ask probing questions.
"How much has she been through?" Caroline asked. "Married to a man old enough to be her father in her last life - according to what you found in the journals - married young in another ... I still can't believe we never considered she might have had children of her own."
"I know what you mean," Tyler agree, still sick at the revelation of the monster Giuseppe Salvatore had been. "Why did we never consider her silence to be because of grief and not secrecy?"
"I couldn't picture it." Matt shook his head, unable to comprehend the idea of one extra life, let alone several.
"All we need to go now," Bonnie told them, "is be there for her. I think we're right. I think this Stefan and Damon Salvatore are the same people. Something is coming - I know it - and we need to be ready for it. We have to begin with trust."
They were all in agreement, but Caroline was unable to keep one final question to herself.
"So, if Zach's not their uncle, what is he?"
She was surrounded by sighs of exasperation.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Half an hour later, Grace walked into the Grill and made a beeline for Tyler. He grinned and pulled her back outside as quick as she had entered. Caroline and Bonnie chuckled from where they were still sat drinking their evening nightcaps, relieved and happy to have a form of normalcy return after their talk. Matt waved them goodbye, as he dragged Vicki outside. He was tired and wanted to get his sister home; the vagueness in her eyes a telling sign that she was high again.
"Ever notice how druggies are the biggest attention whores?" Caroline asked, as she spotted this. "I'm glad Tyler and Jeremy found out what was going on. Vicki can't care about them because she doesn't even care about herself."
Bonnie pitied Matt. The problems with Vicki had gone on for too long and they could see how he grew more disheartened as time went on. As the days passed without improvement, the light in his eyes dimmed more and more. "Yeah."
"Stefan!" Caroline called out, as she saw the youngest Salvatore brother walking passed.
He turned to face them with a smile. "Caroline. Bonnie. I was about the head home. How are you both?"
"We're good," they both replied. Bonnie grabbed a notepad and a pen out of her bag. "Hey, is there a chance we can get your cell number? There's a lot going on right now and it would be nice to be able to get in touch with everyone to make sure they're safe."
"Sure." He grabbed the pen and pad from where Bonnie had set them and wrote two different numbers. "The top one is mine and the other one belongs to my brother, Damon. You can pass it around to your friends, if you want. Tell them to send a message, to let us know who is who."
"Of course." Before he could pull his hand away, Bonnie extended her arm and touched the notepad. Her hand brushing his, she froze as a horrible cold, hair-raising sensation trickled through her. Gaze snapping back to meet his, she forced a smile.
"Thank you, Stefan. I'll make sure we all have both numbers." Bonnie put the notepad and pen back into her bag. Stefan watched her, cautious, having noticed the change in demeanour. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."
"I will. You two, as well." Stefan's smile was tight and his stance tense as he walked away.
Bonnie waited until he was far enough away before turning to Caroline, who was concerned. "What is it, Bonnie? Was it your witch mojo again?"
Bonnie's eyes were full of tears. Both Grace and her Grams had warned her of the consequences of touching a vampire, but she hadn't expected it to be so all-encompassing. It was all the confirmation she needed. "You remember when I told you Grace feels like death?"
"Because of her past lives, yeah," Caroline recalled. "She's died so many times, it left a stain on her soul. Why?"
"So does Stefan."
Caroline shuddered at the implications.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Elena ran straight to her room as soon as she got home, ignoring Jenna in the kitchen. Jenna watched her go in concern, before returning to her phone call.
"What was that?"
"Elena coming back home. She must be tired. Is Grace there?"
"She is. Tyler took her to his room. Why did you call, Jenna? I know that tone."
Jenna sighed. "I'm having a bad day. Tanner was talking about the rumours yesterday and ... I don't know how to deal with it, Carol."
Carol Lockwood, Tyler's mother, set her glass of wine on the table. "The same way you always have, Jenna. The same way I have, and Grace has. We smile and don't let the accusers know they're getting to us."
"I don't know how Grayson dealt with it." Jenna brushed a tear away. "Despite the face she wasn't his by blood, he and Grace shared such a special relationship. I don't know how to be there for her the way he was."
Carol winced. She agreed with Jenna about Grayson having been an amazing father, but he had his own private complications with Grace they hadn't revealed on a wide scale. "You can't be Grayson, Jenna. You're doing well with those kids. Better than you believe you are."
"I'm not cut out for this," Jenna confessed in a rush. "Jeremy just got sober, Grace's temper is flaring more than I can remember it ever doing and Elena is more distant than she's been in years. I'm going to say or do the wrong thing and it's going to make them all worse."
"You're afraid, Jenna," Carol consoled her. "Anyone in your situation would be. Losing Grayson and Miranda as you did was traumatic for you all. It won't go away so soon. This will take time."
Jenna blinked away more tears. "You might be right. Tanner shook me yesterday."
"He's a despicable man and already on his second warning. Before Christmas, Liz and I are going to do our best to make sure he's replaced." Carol took a sip of her wine. "You're not alone, Jenna. Liz and I are here; we'll help you whenever you need it."
"Thank you, Carol." She would need it.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Pouring another glass of bourbon, Stefan watched Damon as he stood by the fire. "Are you going to ignore me all night?"
Damon scoffed. "I have nothing to say to you. A few fancy words won't change what happened."
Stefan had to concede the point. No one, not even a witch, could reverse time.
Damon had returned home before Stefan and brought out his vintage bourbon, which was how Stefan had found him. When his brother remained silent after he joined him, it became obvious this wasn't going to be an easy conversation.
So he would have to go first. "I'm sorry, Damon. I am so sorry. I can't change what happened, but I would take it all back if I could."
Damon stilled as his brother spoke. Stefan had never uttered one word of an apology to Damon, even in his clearest and most sober moments. Knocking back the rest of his glass, he poured himself another.
"It's going to take more than an apology. If you want to move forward, you're going to have to help me."
Stefan's nod was slow as Damon turned to face him.
"I'm gonna kill the bitch, Stefan. Forget what she did to us. She crossed a line when she conspired against Temperance. She's not getting a free pass."
Stefan agreed, sipping his own drink and letting the silence stretch. "We let her down, Damon."
The elder brother couldn't contain his flinch. He'd come to the same conclusion on his own. As he waited for Stefan to come home, the traitorous thoughts had run through his mind at light speed. There was more than one reason Damon didn't like Stefan's so-called best friend, Lexi, and it wasn't because of their different attitudes towards life.
"We can't make up for the past," Damon told him. "All we can do is move forward from now. This can be our new beginning. All of us."
An all-encompassing relief made Stefan weak at the knees. Despite his problems with his older brother, he had always wanted their relationship to transform back to the strength it had once been. When they were human, they had been at their strongest until Katherine came. Many years has passed since 1864, and the road wouldn't be easy. They were different people now and they may not like what they found in each other, but they would try.
Pouring two more bourbons, the brothers clinked their glasses.
"First order of business," Damon began, "is the destruction of Katherine Pierce."
A dark shadow passed through Stefan's eyes. "On this, we are in utter agreement."
-x-x-x-x-x-
Elena grabbed her diary and wrote:
Today I came to a harsh realization. My siblings have thrived in my summer absence and have been able to rely on each other instead of me. I haven't taken the emotional risks they have, and I can't bring myself to begin trying - now is not the time for me.
For now, they don't need my interference.
This isn't an excuse to give up, but it is a necessary step I must take. Grace and Jeremy have shown me they want to go on without me. They don't talk to me anymore and find any reason to leave the room if I enter it. Our friends are even on their sides and are shutting down any conversation when I approach them.
The world has fallen out from under me, and I hate them for being able to move on. For being able to pick up the pieces of our shattered lives and put them back together. I can't follow them on this path because, if I do, it will be a betrayal to our parents. Mom and dad loved us too much to be forgotten.
Grace is so focused on the new family in town and her affiliation with the Lockwood's will be her ruin - I know it. Jeremy will fall back into drugs and drink when she leaves him behind and, this time, I'll have to be the one to drag him back from self-destruction. She's becoming even more caught up in herself and she'll fail him.
Her relationship with Tyler Lockwood makes me more uncomfortable by the day. I don't understand how anyone can allow it to continue, after what happened. I know what I saw and even mom agreed. We were telling the truth! Tanner was right to bring it up to Jenna and remind her. Why can't Grace understand we were trying to protect her? I know dad paid off those doctors to lie. I know he did!
It's time for me to let Grace and Jeremy continue with their lives. When they realize the mistakes they are making, I'll be there. Like our parents would have wanted.
Welcoming them back with open arms.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Is this ending?" Tyler asked, as Grace rested next to him. Both naked underneath the sheets and covered in a sheen in sweat from their activities, they settled in each other's arms. "Is this it?" Since the Salvatore brothers had come to town, there had been a change in the air, and he wasn't stupid.
Grace smiled and turned on her side, facing him. "Soon. You're amazing, Tyler, but we both knew this wasn't going to last."
Tyler chuckled. pulling her closer. "I know."
"You've helped me so much, but I'm stronger now. I've become myself again and there are things I must do."
Tyler had known this day was coming and had hoped to prolong it as long as he could. Grace had also helped him become better and he never wanted to go back to the guy he was before. Though he had helped her, he would always believe it had been a mutual alliance.
"What do you mean?" he asked, staring at the ceiling.
Because he did this, he missed the cloud shifting and the light of the moon shining through his window, onto Grace's bare back. As this happened, an old branding was revealed for a split second. A crow, as animalistic as it was majestic, its wings rippling with energy and its eyes endless tunnels of black. On the spine of the bird was branded but a single word, which was unreadable to mortal eyes. Held in its claws was an hourglass, with sand trickling down and nearing the end.
Time was no longer on Grace Gilbert's side.
-x-x-x-x-x-
End of Chapter Two
-x-x-x-x-x-
Edited: Wednesday, 2nd October 2024