꧁𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬꧂

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AURORA WATCHES QUIETLY AS GRACE WRITES SOMETHING DOWN IN HER NOTEBOOK. She was doing last-minute wedding preparations which shocked Aurora. It seemed like this whole thing was very last minute. "I get that you can create the venue very quickly because we're vampires, but isn't having your wedding in a day pretty soon?" Aurora asks curiously, just staring at the blonde. Grace meets her gaze, shrugging her shoulders.

"I have been pushing it off so not really." She responds with a sigh. Grace knew that there was always going to be something happening. If she kept pushing it, they would never get married. And Grace didn't need this extravagant wedding, she just needed Klaus.

"Are you not afraid that my brother will pull something?" Aurora asks, not trying to plant seeds of fear in her mind but it was a very real possibility.

"Not if he values his life." Grace denies, raising an eyebrow. Tristan wouldn't be stupid enough to attack on Klaus's wedding day. Not when he knew Klaus would kill him instantly.

"True," Aurora says with a light chuckle, her eyes moving over to the Christmas tree in the center of the courtyard. "You know, I've never had a happy Christmas." She admits, crossing her arms against her chest. Grace glances toward the tree, a feeling of dread filling her.

"Me either," Grace says, her tone low. Aurora furrows her eyebrows, looking over at her with a bit of a confused expression on her face.

"Not even with Hayley in the past?" Aurora questions, she would've thought that they would have a happy time together. When Hayley wasn't being a complete bitch to her.

"I'm not really someone who gets into the festive spirit." Grace states, fiddling with the paper in her hand. Christmas had never really been a merry time for her so she never really celebrated. Hayley and her would get each other gifts but that was about it.

"Maybe this year will be different," Aurora suggests, offering a small smile. Grace meets her eyes for a second.

"Maybe." Aurora saw the distant look she got on her face so she decided to change the subject.

"Nik didn't kill you then." She points out, raising an eyebrow. Grace smiles, shaking her head.

"I was more worried for you." Grace retorts, knowing Klaus would never harm a hair on her head but Aurora was a different story.

"I was thinking he would at least shout at you," Aurora says with a small pout. She understood that he loved her, but he at least had to have gotten a bit angry.

"Oh, he did," Grace admits with a small laugh, leaning back against her chair.

"I stand by our prank," Aurora says with a firm nod. She wished it had lasted for longer but she knew Klaus wasn't that stupid.

"It was hilarious."

"Is Hayley gonna be at this little Christmas gathering?" Aurora asks, not being able to stop herself. She really just wanted to slap her across the face or rip her heart out. Whatever Grace would allow her to do.

"I would assume so." Grace answers her with a small sigh.

"We can bitch about her in front of her face," Aurora suggests with a smirk growing on her lips.

"You don't have to hate her by association." Grace denies it was her own reasoning and she didn't expect anyone else to hate her out of 'obligation'.

"Sure, I do," Aurora says with a smile making Grace return it. "Nik should do the same." She points out, not understanding how Klaus wasn't constantly defending her.

"Well, she is Hope's mom. It's harder for him." Grace states with a shrug. Klaus had to communicate with Hayley because of their daughter.

"You can despise the mother of your child." Aurora retorts with a small roll of her eyes.

"I appreciate you sticking up for me, Aurora," Grace says, knowing she was just trying to be on her side.

"Doesn't this seem like the blossom of a beautiful friendship?" Aurora asks her with a smirk. Grace just raises her eyebrows.

"Never once did I think you coming here would turn to this."

"Oh, me neither." Aurora agrees with a laugh, tilting her head. Being friends with her ex-love's fiance was not on her New years plan. "But I'm glad." She adds, smiling at the blonde who returns it. "And if anyone tries anything at your wedding, I'll kill them." She points out, narrowing her eyes.

"I think Nik already has that covered," Grace admits with a small laugh.

"He's the groom. He shouldn't be the security too." Aurora denies it, furrowing her eyebrows. Although, no one would be able to stop him from being overprotective. "What is it?" She asks as she notices the way her eyes are just staring in front of her.

"I just can't believe I'm getting married." She admits, not able to stop the happiness from filling her up inside. Grace never thought she would ever find someone who loved her unconditionally,  let alone get married. But she had, and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Well, believe it darling," Aurora responds as she wraps an arm around the blonde's waist. Grace just smiles as she rests herself against Aurora.

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GRACE STANDS IN FRONT OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE, just simply looking up at it. She was waiting for Klaus to come back because she really just wanted to spend the holidays with him. Maybe see Jenna and baby Lily as well.
"Grace." She hears from behind her. Grace turns her head and sees someone who she hasn't in quite a while. It brought a smile onto her face, more because she was seeing that the woman was really okay.

"Rebekah, you're really back," Grace responds, immediately enveloping her in a hug as she walks over to her. Rebekah smiles as she pulls back for a second.

"You didn't think I'd miss the wedding, now did you?" Rebekah asks, narrowing her eyes. Grace laughs, shaking her head.

"Oh, definitely not." She denies she knew how much Rebekah wanted to be here. "I'm glad you're all right," Grace says, glad that Rebekah ended up being okay.

"Me too," Rebekah says, placing her hands on her hips.

"It hasn't been the same without you around," Grace admits, knowing it's been kind of weird not having Rebekah around.

"Are you still at odds with Hayley?" Rebekah asks, knowing they weren't on the best of terms when she had left. Grace got a bit tense, looking down at her hands.

"Uh, yeah," Grace responds as she fiddles with her fingers. "It's hard to just forgive her, you know?" She mumbles. It wasn't like she didn't want to forgive Hayley. She just didn't want to do it so quickly because what Hayley said had really hurt her.

"Yeah," Rebekah responds, nodding her head. "Trust me, I've had my fair share of family drama." She points out with a small laugh. Anyone could tell that her family wasn't exactly all sunshine. "I've also heard that you've made friends with Aurora." She adds, raising an eyebrow as that did surprise her. "She didn't compel you, did she?" She asks, narrowing her eyes.

"No, no. I just.. " Grace trails off for a moment.  "I think she just needed a friend all these years. Someone other than her brother who only uses her and locks her away." She explains to the blonde original, still a bit wary of Aurora.

"Hm, I guess so." Rebekah hums as she bites the inside of her cheek. It's not like she didn't want to believe Grace, it was just hard since she knew Aurora from a long time ago. "I still don't trust her." She admits and Grace smiles as she laughs a bit.

"Don't worry, Nik doesn't either." Grace states, knowing Klaus was not exactly ready to open his doors to Aurora.

"Has he gone off at Elijah again?" Rebekah asks, wondering if Klaus had put Elijah in his place for hurting her.

"No, they're relatively okay right now," Grace tells her which just makes Rebekah a bit confused.

"And you're fine with that?" She questions and Grace sighs, shrugging her shoulders.

"Elijah and I have our issues, but that doesn't have to become Nik's," Grace says, not wanting to cause more of a rift between them.

"He'd support you if you said you didn't want Elijah around, you know that," Rebekah states, knowing Klaus would gladly not speak to Elijah unless he had to. Grace sighs, shaking her head.

"Just, with this prophecy, it's just better not to add any fuel to the ever-growing fire." Grace points out, running a hand through her hair. Rebekah groaned as she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Don't tell me you believe this ridiculous prophecy too," Rebekah says, thinking they were all stupid to believe it.

"I did think it was insane. That doesn't mean it's not true."

"Of course, yet another thing has come to destroy our family," Rebekah mutters with a shake of her head. Grace crosses her arms against her chest.

"A very twisted family, but.. " She points out with a small smirk. Rebekah laughs as she nods, agreeing with her. The Mikaelsons could have their odd moments at times.

"That is true," Rebekah responds as she reaches over and grabs Grace's hand. "It's so good to see you." She admits, having hated being away from everyone for so long.

"Yeah, I've missed you." She says with a smile, tilting her head. "Did you ever find a way to bring Kol back?" Grace asks, furrowing her eyebrows. That was why Rebekah had left in the first place. Well, before she was taken.

"I had the spell in my hand... but it's gone now," Rebekah admits with a frown, feeling like she let her brother down. She promised to bring him back and it seemed like it was never going to happen.

"Don't give up."

"I won't." Rebekah denies it, squeezing the woman's hand. Grace smiles at her before bringing her into another hug. She was glad that Rebekah was back. She has truly missed her. It wasn't fair that Kol had to suffer because Lucien and Tristan wanted to make sure they locked all of them away. Grace just hoped that they would get the situation under control before it was too late.

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SITTING ON HER BED, Grace was on the phone with Jenna who was basically threatening Hayley every two seconds. Grace understood why, she was just being protective but Hayley wasn't going to do anything at the wedding. She knew it was lucky that she was even allowed to be there. "No, because if she makes any moves, I will end her," Jenna states with a scoff, clenching her jaw. She didn't understand how Hayley could blatantly choose the side over a man she'd known all of two seconds, rather than the woman she'd known for years and called her sister.

That was one of the main reasons why Grace wasn't forgiving her so easily though. The first time, it was about her past. But this time, it was all because of Elijah. Sure, Grace did defend Klaus but that was literally because she was literally trying to take his daughter away. She was on the right side while Hayley was just with Elijah because she had a crush. Even though, right now even Hayley was mad at Elijah for attacking Grace and not saying one thing about it to her.

"You're acting like she's gonna charge at me," Grace responds with a small laugh, shaking her head. She knew Jenna would always protect her, but Hayley would never hurt her. Physically at least.

"You never know." Jenna retorts making Grace roll her eyes a bit. 

"Jenna."

"I just don't understand why she's gonna be there." She admits, running a hand through her hair. Jenna didn't believe that Hayley deserved to be at the wedding. All she's done was bash both Klaus and Grace and they're the ones getting married.

"It's fine," Grace assures her, not needing Jenna to do anything drastic at the wedding. "It's not like she's a part of it." She points out. Grace had replaced her as maid of honour and she wasn't even going to be near the front at the ceremony.

"I guess not.." Jenna responds hesitantly. Although, if it was up to her, Hayley wouldn't be able to even step near the wedding. "But she will still try and talk to you." She says, rolling her eyes just thinking of the lame excuses Hayley comes up with.

"She knows she's not getting forgiven anytime soon." Grace states as she's made it abundantly clear to Hayley where she stands.

"Are you sure about that?" Jenna asks her curiously.

"What?" Grace asks, confused one what she was trying to get at.

"Last time she did shit like this, you forgave her in no time." Jenna points out with a sigh. She loved Grace to death, but sometimes she didn't make the best decisions. Grace knew exactly what she was referring to and yes, she forgave Hayley quickly. But that was because it was the first time Hayley did something that hurt her. This time, there was no excuse.

"It won't be the same this time." Grace denies, but Jenna stays silent. "Jenna, if I was gonna forgive her, I would've done it by now." She states, rubbing her hand on her leg. It had been a few months and sure, Grace had thought about just letting Hayley back in, but she hadn't gone through with it.

"Maybe you'll do it just before the wedding."

"Think what you want." Grace replies with a small sigh before hearing a huge crash come from downstairs. She furrows her eyebrows, glancing toward the door.  "I'll call you right back." She tells her best friend as she stands up from the bed. 

"Why what's going on?" Jenna asks, concern now in her voice as she walked a bit faster. Grace just makes her way to the hall, trying to peek her head around the corner.

"I don't know."  She admits as she hangs up the phone. Grace should've just kept Jenna on the phone because she knew the woman would be worried about her. But she hadn't really been thinking about that.

As Grace moves across the balcony, her eyes glance over to the courtyard. She could see a few people but with the commotion, she couldn't really see what was going on. Heading down the stairs, a confused expression on her face, she crosses her arms against her chest. "Is everything okay?" Grace asks, trying to make sense of what she is seeing. But when Rebekah turns to her, her eyes go wide when she sees the veins on her face and the way her eyes are pitch black.

 As Rebekah moved in her direction, Klaus was quick to stop her. "Not her either." He denies, seemingly pissed off by what was happening. But Grace just didn't understand why Rebekah was attacking everyone.

"What the hell is going on?" Grace questions, her eyes moving around the room. She could see Hayley with her hand pressed against her bloodied chest. It was clear that Rebekah had attacked her as well.

"She's marked," Elijah answers as he gets up from the ground. Grace didn't even know what he meant as she turned her head to meet his gaze.

"Marked?"

"Apparently it makes her go crazy," Hayley mutters with a scoff as she sees Klaus try and keep Rebekah still. Elijah moves over to help him but the blonde woman just smirks at both of them, tilting her head.

"You're so afraid that you'll ruin her," Rebekah says and it didn't take a genius to figure out who she was referring to. "You keep her behind glass like some breakable object. She's not precious. Nik, every woman that you and Elijah bring into our lives turns to poison. She'll grow toxic too." Rebekah explains to him with a laugh at the end. Klaus had faltered slightly which allowed Rebekah to push them both off of her.

She speeds over to Grace, about to attack her but she is suddenly screaming, her hands going to her head. Rebekah falls to the ground in pain, which makes everyone confused for a split second. But when they looked near the entrance, they saw Jenna with her hand out, chanting under her breath. It gave Freya enough time to come out with the knife she enchanted,

"Hold her," Freya tells Klaus and Elijah who instantly do what she says. They hold the woman as Freya grabs her arm and starts to cut the mark off of it. Rebekah screams, trying to yank her arm free but she wasn't able to.

After a moment, Rebekah goes quiet, her eyes closing. When they reopened, they weren't pitch black anymore. She glances at everyone, her breathing slightly heavier. "Well, that was annoying." Rebekah admits with a scowl on her face. Klaus and Elijah let her go after they were sure that she was back to her original self.

Grace looks back over at where Jenna was walking toward them. "How'd you get here so fast?" Grace asks her curiously as Jenna stops beside her.

"I was already on my way," Jenna admits with a sigh as she places her hand on the woman's shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asks, looking over her to make sure that Grace had no injuries. 

"Yeah, I think so," Grace assures her with a nod, taking a deep breath. Her eyes moved to the originals, her eyebrows raising because that surely wasn't what she was expecting when she came down those stairs. "Now, could someone explain what the hell just happened?" She asks them, crossing her arms against her chest. She didn't understand what Elijah meant when he said she was marked.

But they were sure as hell going to tell her.

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GRACE FELT ARMS WRAP AROUND HER AS SHE STOOD IN FRONT OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE. She smiles as she leans back, turning her head slightly. Her eyes meet Klaus's gaze as he rests his chin on her shoulder. He sways them slightly as his hold on her tightens. "I can't believe we're gonna be married tomorrow." She admits, a steady breath leaving her lips. Grace blinked and it was time for their wedding.

It was like it was just yesterday that he was proposing to her. And now, she was about to spend the rest of her life with him. If someone told her when she was a kid that she would find someone who genuinely loved and appreciated every part of her, she would think they were insane. Or a ploy sent by her parents to trick her.

"I guess there's still time to back out." Klaus teases as he chuckles underneath his breath. Grace gasps as she hits his arm playfully. The man just smiles, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "You'll be mine forever, love." He assures her, squeezing her hips. Grace stays silent for a moment before turning in his arms.

She looks up at him, hesitant to speak but she knew she had to address it. "You know, what Rebekah said--" Grace starts to say but she could feel Klaus tense beneath her touch, shaking his head.

"We don't need to talk about that." Klaus denies, his gaze dropping from hers. Grace sighs as she takes his hand in hers, tightly squeezing it.

"I don't think it's true." Grace states as she reaches her other hand up to stroke his cheek. She could feel him soften as she moves her thumb over his skin. "Sure, you are very overprotective but you don't treat me like glass. And I most definitely will not turn on you." She explains to him with a small smile, hoping to get through to him.

It wasn't that Klaus didn't believe her, it was just that he didn't really have a good past. And what Rebekah said, in his mind, was true. "Everyone has eventually." Klaus says, a bit quiet but she did end up catching it. Grace narrows her eyes, tilting her head.

"You have no optimism, do you?" Grace teases him, rolling her eyes playfully. Klaus shrugs his shoulders, a hint of a smile forming on his lips.

"I guess i need some of yours." He admits as he brings her ever so closer, their lips hovering near each other. Grace gazes up at him, running her hand through his hair.

"I love you." She tells him, not ever wanting to have to find anybody else. He was it for her and she was so glad that she had found him in her life.

"I love you more." Klaus responds but he saw her scrunch her nose up.

"One-upping me the night before our wedding?" Grace asks him, not knowing if he did it on purpose or not. Klaus chuckles, his eyes running over her for a second.

"Guess you'll have to find a way to change that, my love." Klaus tells her before connecting their lips together. Grace smiles into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. He squeezes her hips, bringing her closer to him as their lips melt together. The moment didn't seem to last very long though.

"Ew, no pda." They could hear Hanna say from beside them. Klaus pulls back from Grace, his head slowly turning in the direction of the teenager. To say he was not impressed would be an understatement.

"Always one to ruin a moment." Klaus points out as he glares down at the girl. Hanna just smiles, nodding her head as she places her hand on his shoulder.

"Anytime."

"You are like a little Jenna mini-me." Klaus points out, a bit of a scowl on his lips. Sure, Jenna had begun to grow on him, but that's after a lot of impatience and annoyance from both sides. As well as Grace telling them to get along.

Hanna gasps as she places her hand on her chest. "That is such a compliment, thank you." She responds with a smirk. Klaus rolls his eyes, looking away from the teenager.

"Nik, can you not be nice for one single day?" Grace asks him, raising an eyebrow at the man. Klaus clenches his jaw, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Pick either today or tomorrow, it's your choice." Klaus admits, not feeling like being nice to Hanna two days in a row. Grace just bluntly stares back at him, unamused by his comment.

"You're annoying." She tells him with a sigh, but he could tell that she wasn't really frustrated with him.

"He's exhausting." Hanna adds with a nod of her head. Klaus just glares over at her, bringing his hand up to mess up her hair. Hanna groans as she slaps his hand away from her. Grace laughs, shaking her head as she smiles at the two.

"Merry Christmas little one." Elijah's voice cuts through the conversation. When Grace glances over, she notices that Hayley and Jackson had joined them with Hope. Klaus didn't miss how it made her mood diminish a little bit.

"Thank you, for helping Freya." Klaus says as he looks at Jackson, holding out his hand. He could see that the man was hesitant but shook it, nodding his head. "Unfortunately, we're all out of Mason jar moonshine." He jokes with a chuckle. Grace just slaps his arm, scolding him silently.

"Well, nik, you are positively merry tonight." Rebekah says with a smile on her face as she walks into the compound. Everyone turns to look at her. "All that therapy must be paying off." She tells him, glancing toward Camille.

"Eh, I don't think so." Hanna denies as she shakes her head. Her eyes immediately going to Camille who was standing next to her. "Not saying you're a bad therapist Cami." She assures her, seeing how it could've been interpreted badly.

"You're indicating he's a bad patient, I get it." Camille responds with a small laugh. Klaus frowns as he turns his head to the blonde.

"You're supposed to be my friend, not hers." Klaus points out, narrowing his eyes. Grace hums as she brings her finger to her chin.

"Technically she was mine first." She corrects him which makes his annoyed face transfer over to her. But before he could say anything, she saw the way his eyes widened.

"Oh, no." He mutters. Grace furrows her eyebrows, looking to see what he was reacting to. Sure enough, she saw a fire pit burning outside.

"Yes, I know it's not exactly a bonfire but I improvised." Rebekah says as she places her hands on her hips but she could see Klaus wasnt too happy. "Come on, it's tradition." She points out with a huff.

"Tradition?" Camille asks, a bit confused as she glanced around the group.

"We write our wishes and then burn them for luck." Klaus explains to her, a sigh leaving his lips. "Strangely, I don't remember wishing for an influx of enemies, and yet year after year." He states, clearly joking although it was a real fact.

"How odd. Forever on Santa's naughty list." Elijah points out, raising an eyebrow at Klaus.

"And yet you got yourself the perfect fiance. Now how is that fair?" Camille asks, looking toward Klaus as she places a hand on her hip. Klaus just smirks as he shrugs.

"The universe works in mysterious ways." Klaus answers her. Camille rolls her eyes, looking back toward Grace.

"I hope we're not too late." Jenna says as she and Mark walk into the compound. Grace gasps as her eyes set on Lily who was in Jenna's arms.

"Oh, my favourite person is here." Grace announces as she begins walking over to them. Jenna immediately knew who Grace meant by the way her eyes didn't deter from Lily once.

"Great, I've been overtaken by my own daughter." Jenna mumbles, shaking her head as Grace stops in front of them. Mark smiles as he had his arm wrapped around his wife's shoulder.

"By a long shot." Grace states in a teasing manner, smirking at Jenna. The woman rolls her eyes playfully but allows Grace to take Lily in her arms. "I'm gonna spoil you so much, yes I am." She says as she smiles down at the baby. Hanna just raises her eyebrows, waving her hands a bit.

"Uh, hello, you can spoil me if you want to." Hanna suggests, wanting to be able to have free stuff as well. Grace just looks toward her, narrowing her eyes.

"Are you my god daughter?" Grace asks her, obviously knowing the answer was no. Hanna presses her lips together tightly before turning to face her dad.

"Dad, make her my god mother so she'll spoil me."

"That's not exactly how it works." Paul denies with a small chuckle while as Hanna groans.

"Why not?" She asks, clearly wanting that to be how it worked.

"Cause I don't want you." Klaus states firmly, shaking his head. Grace knew he was just playing around with Hanna, at least she hoped he was. She didn't want him actually having a disliking for her. Hanna places a hand on her hip.

"I didn't ask for a godfather" She points out, sticking out her tongue at him.

"And I didn't ask for a parasite." Klaus retorts, smirking down at her. Hanna scowls up at him, honestly wanting to just wolf out on him. But unfortunately she couldn't just do that on a whim.

"We best get on with it before we all kill each other." Rebekah points out with a smile, looking around the room. They had really grown into a family. A lot of new additions this past year but all good.

Of course they still had their ups and downs but it was nice to know they would all be there for each other. Rebekah just hoped that didn't change. But by how their lives usually went,

She knew that it was just a matter of time before something drastic happened.

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I think Kol may just not be at the wedding because he comes back after Klaus's sireline is broken in episode 14 and I'm on episode 10... Oh well, he'll just have a lot to catch up on