꧁𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝꧂
☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎

GRACE WAS STOOD A LITTLE BIT AWAY FROM THE BONFIRE AS IT WAS BEING LIT. Her eyes stared at her phone though as her father's name came on the screen. She rolls her eyes, a scoff leaving her lips as he seriously didn't know how to leave her alone. "Take a fucking hint." She mumbles before pressing decline and putting her phone back inside of her pocket.

"You okay, love?" Klaus asks from beside her as he had noticed she was by herself. Grace turns her head to him, putting on a smile.

"Perfect." She responds as she takes his hand in hers, squeezing it. Klaus smiles softly back at her. Grace only glanced to the side, noticing how Elijah was looking at them. "Elijah." Grace says with a slightly sharp tone and he only raises an eyebrow at her.

"I didn't say anything." Elijah replies and she only squints her eyes at him.

"But you're thinking it." She retorts and Elijah only chuckles before walking over to Hayley. Klaus looks at Grace, lifting his hand to her cheek.

"We don't have to." Klaus says once they were alone again. Grace looks at him with a confused expression.

"Do what?" She asks him curiously and he only looked down at their hands.

"Be together, in public, if you don't want to be." Klaus tells her and Grace only stared back at him, amusement in her eyes as she only smiles lightly.

"For being a thousand years old, you're such an idiot." Grace admits before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips. Klaus kisses her back, his hands moving to her waist in order to pull her closer.

"I honestly did not see that coming." Hayley says as she watches the pair in front of her. Her eyes move to Elijah who was standing beside her. "Did you know?" She asks, wondering if the man had found out before her.

"Vaguely. I knew it was a possibility and well, I knew they were spending a lot of time together."  Elijah informs her and Hayley nods her head before smiling.

"I still can't believe she's slept with half of your family." Hayley admits with a small laugh, looking towards Elijah. He just puts on a tight smile, glancing back over at his brother and Grace who were now walking towards them.

"Hey, look what I found!" Rebekah calls out as she exits the house, closing the door behind her. "Wonder if it'll work." She says as they see the camera in her hands. Klaus immediately turns away from her.

"Oh, bloody hell." He grumbles as he shakes his head. Rebekah walks over to them, holding the camera out.

"Here, let's try it. Nik, do you think you can cram us into a selfie." She asks him but Klaus didn't seem too fond of the idea. Grace stares at him for a moment before she raises her eyebrows.

"Yes, he can." Grace states as she takes the camera before putting it in klaus's hands. Klaus gives her a playful glare but she only smiles back at him.

"Well, Niklaus is the virtuoso of cramming is siblings into confined spaces." Elijah states with a smirk playing on his lips. Klaus only looks towards him.

"Im so glad that I traveled hundreds of miles to visit my mentally ill brother, only to have him insult me to my face." Klaus mutters as he looks down at the camera. Rebekah only rolls her eyes at him.

"Oh, come on, just take the picture." Rebekah tells him as she pushes him a little bit. Klaus sighs as he holds it up while everyone gathered beside him. Grace puts her hand on his back, her chin resting on his shoulder as she smiled brightly.

"Aww, see?" Hayley says with a smirk as Klaus brings his arm down, taking the photo that was printing out and looking at it.

"I wish that it could always be like this." Rebekah admits with a sigh as they had barely had time to be a family.

"If wishes were horses." Elijah states as he looks down at the ground.

"Beggars would ride." Klaus finishes as he glanced towards his brother before looking back at the photo. "You'll realize we'll have to burn it. You want me to make a wish for the family, Rebekah. I wish it didn't have to be like this but it does." He explains and everyone just stared at him, they knew they had to burn it but it didn't make it feel any less worse. "We can't risk it falling into the wrong hands." He tells them and Hayley grabs the photo from him, slowly making her way to the fire before tossing it in.

"Well, this took a depressing turn." Grace admits as she glances towards the ground.

"No, this isn't right." Rebekah admits as she shakes her head. "We deserve this. We've earned this. I won't let it slip away." She says as she glances over at Hope who was still in Hayley's arms. "I know what to do to stop Esther." She tells them but Elijah immediately denies it.

"Rebekah, no." He says but she only ignores him while the rest of them look at her with curious eyes.

"I'm gonna take her deal. And when I do, I'm taking her down with me."

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"IT'LL WORK. SHE'LL BE DISTRACTED DURING THE SPELL. SHE'LL BE VULNERABLE." Rebekah states as they stand in the living room of the house. Hayley was outside feeding hope, leaving them to discuss. Klaus shakes his head as he didn't like the plan.

"No, if we kill her, she body jumps." Klaus points it, it would not be that easy to get rid of Esther. Rebekah groans as she looks towards him.

"Then stop her from jumping." She responds and Klaus brings his hand up to his head, obviously frustrated.

"If I knew how to bloody stop her from jumping, don't you think I would've happily murdered her ages ago?" Klaus asks with a scoff as he couldn't see Rebekah's logic.

"Well, ages ago you didn't have a harvest girl or a Mikaelson witch. Kol knows all of her tricks." Rebekah points out as they weren't completely alone in this. They had people that could help them take down their mother.

"Are you both insane?" Elijah asks them with a scoff as he glanced between the pair. Grace was just listening to the conversation since she didn't really have anything to contribute.

"Hardly, Elijah. It was your idea." Rebekah points out and they could see that klaus was upset with the both of them for not talking to him sooner. "You were the one who said she needed a win, and if we get this right, then she'll have one." She explains to them and Klaus only scoffs.

"And if we do it wrong, you're no longer in your own body." Klaus retorts and Rebekah only shrugs her shoulders.

"Would that be the worst thing? You were ready to do it yourself." She says as she points to Elijah. The man shakes his head.

"It was a foolish moment. And one that humour sagely dissuaded me from." Elijah states as he glares lightly at his sister. Rebekah sighs as she runs a hand through her hair.

"Hopefully, we'll get lucky and stop the spell before I jump." Rebekah tells them and Klaus only squints his eyes at her.

"And if we're not, you get what you always wanted." Klaus points out and she only looks towards him. "I mean, that's what you're saying, isn't it? You're willing to lose." He says, his voice angry and Rebekah only clenches her jaw.

"I'm willing to risk losing, yes." She admits, if she was stuck in a human body, so be it. At least she would get to have a family of her own.

"Well, we need to find someone for her to jump into. Some anonymous, someone who could disappear with Hope." Klaus states as they couldn't just make it obvious. That would make Hope more of a target than she already was. Elijah shakes his head as he looks sadly towards Rebekah.

"Rebekah, we've been together for centuries. If you were human-"

"When I'm old and wrinkly, you can dump me back into my old body. Nik already has a coffin that he can stall me in." Rebekah states as she looks over at Klaus who still seemed a bit wary of it all.

"A plus side is that I'll have someone to grow old with." Grace points out as it was going to be Hayley but now that she was a hybrid, it was not going to happen. She had Jenna but having a few people wasn't always a bad thing.

"See?" Rebekah says as she gestures towards grace. Elijah only sighs as he shakes his head.

"But to trust Kol." Elijah states, not seeing how they could put everything on the man not completely screwing them over.

"It's not about trust, Elijah. It's about finding the proper leverage." Rebekah tells him, she knew her brother would help them if they had something that he wanted.

"She's right. Kol will do what's best for Kol. We just have to meet his price." Klaus states as he takes out his phone, calling Marcel. Grace sighs as she heads out of the room, needing some air. Her phone suddenly rings and she furrows her eyebrows as she takes it out of her pocket.

Her fists clench as she sees it was her father calling her, yet again. Rolling her eyes, she pressed accept before bringing the phone up to her ear. "Are you not getting the hint to leave me alone or do you have a death wish?" Grace asks him as she seriously didn't see what his goal was. He was out of her life for years and suddenly wanted to come back and annoy her.

"I am not allowed to speak to my daughter?" Robert asks her, his voice like nails to her ears. Grace scoffs as she leans against the wall next to her.

"No. And you aren't allowed to talk to my friends either." She tells him, she didn't need him interfering with the people around her. It was clear he was trying to mess up the little of a good life that she had.

"Afraid I'll tell them the truth about you?" He questions and she only clenches her jaw.

"Hayley doesn't care. You are the one thats the monster." Grace points out as she found it ironic that he was the one exposing the 'truth' about her, when all he did was torture her.

"I never denied that." Robert states with a chuckle. Grace felt chills run through her body. "But like father, like daughter." He adds and she only shakes her head.

"I am nothing like you." She snaps at him, trying to fight back the tears in her eyes. Grace knew to never hurt anyone, especially little kids. She had nothing in common with her father, no matter how much he said she did.

"Keep telling yourself that, maybe one day you'll actually believe it." Robert replies and Grace could not stand to hear the sound of his voice any longer.

"Just stay the hell out of my life." Grace sneers at him and Robert only chuckles which causes her blood to boil.

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't." Robert responds and Grace scoffs as she clenches her jaw.

"And maybe I'll just shoot your ass if I ever see you again." She tells him and she could just feel Roberts sickening smirk through the phone.

"Doubtful. If you wanted to kill me, you would've already." Robert retorts and Grace only tightens her grip around the phone. She was completely over her father but it seemed that he just wanted to keep coming back like a virus. Obviously he never had a life of his own.

"Go to hell."

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IT WAS WELL INTO THE NIGHT AS REBEKAH, GRACE AND KLAUS DROVE BACK TO NEW ORLEANS. Grace was sat in the front while Rebekah was in the passenger seat and Klaus was driving them.
"You are mad to give Kol that diamond." Rebekah admits with a scoff as she shakes her head. Looking towards her brother, Rebekah still didn't understand why he did it.

"Our little brother has been plotting against me for years and he hasn't got a lick of it right. I'll take my chances." Klaus retorts as he stares infront of him before glancing towards Rebekah. "Do you know what to do?" He asks her cautiously and she just nods her head.

"Yes. But if it doesn't go to plan, will you handle my body with care please?" Rebekah asks as she rests her head against her seat. "I may miss the old model." She admits and Klaus nods his head before giving his sister a sincere look.

"If everything goes south, I'll be there to pull you out." He assures her and she softly smiles at him. "We just have to take Esther down before she body jumps. I don't want all this to have been for nothing." Klaus admits as he looks back in front of him at the road.

"You and I on the team. It must be Christmas." Rebekah states with a small laugh before she glances back at Grace. "So, what is going on with you two?" She asks them as she had heard some of their conversation with Hayley but not all of it. The two of them just smile at each other. "Don't vaguely smile." She scolds them, wanting to know.

"Do we really have to spell it it for you, Bek?" Grace asks her curiously and Rebekah just thinks to herself for a moment.

"I suppose not." She admits as she looks back at Klaus. "Why is she coming again, though? I'd thought you would want to keep her safe." Rebekah points out as Klaus usually never allowed Grace to come along on dangerous missions.

"Oh, I am gonna be safe. I'm just going back to talk to jenna." Grace admits and Rebekah was still a little confused but she nods her head. "I was not staying in that house." She says as she shakes her head. Rebekah furrows her eyebrows, curiously staring at the woman.

"Why? Don't you want to see Hope?" Rebekah questions her and Grace moves her eyes to the originals.

"Yes, but theres too much tension between those two and I was not about to stay behind." Grace admits as she really did not want to listen to them fight and then have sex. She knew it was going to happen, anyone could see it.

"So, you and my brother." Rebekah changes the topic, smirking at the pair. "I kind of saw that coming." She admits as she knew Klaus had feelings for Grace, he was just too afraid to say anything for a while. "She still picked me first though, Nik." Rebekah teases the man who only playfully glares back at her.

"Oh, my god. Can we stop talking about my sex life?" She asks with a sigh as she seriously has had enough with everyone talking about her personal life.

"I'm sorry, it's just so funny." Rebekah admits with a smirk playing on her lips. Grace groans as she rests her head back against her seat. "Kol, me and Nik?" She asks as she looks back at the girl who only glares at her. "It's just.." She trails off for a moment, analyzing the girl carefully. Rebekah wasn't stupid, she saw the subtle smirk Elijah wore when they were speaking of it all. And she saw the glances that they had exchanged. Luckily, Klaus had not.

"We can drop it for now, Rebekah." Klaus tells her and Grace only moves her eyes towards the man.

"Uh, no. Drop it indefinitely. You are the reason this whole thing started." Grace points out and Klaus just looks towards her innocently.

"It was a mere accident." He states and she only squints her eyes at him, seeing the smile playing on his lips.

"Mhm, right."

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JENNA AND GRACE WERE SAT ON THE COUCH IN THE COMPOUND, they hadn't really talked much as neither of them really knew how to start. It was still a little awkward between them with everything going on. Jenna plays with the glass in her hand before her eyes move to Grace, deciding to make the first move. "What was it like seeing your niece?" Jenna asks the woman, she was sort of in shock that the baby was alive since everyone thought she was dead. But Jenna knew there was a reason for it.

"Look, Jenna. You can't tell anybody that she's alive." Grace points out as Jenna only found out because Klaus didn't notice her before he had said it.

"I'll even let them compel me." Jenna tells her as she holds up her hand. She knew that they were just protecting Hope, she wouldn't jeapordize that.

"Thank you." She says with a smile as she knew Jenna would never put Hope in danger. "But it was so surreal, actually seeing her in person." Grace admits as she knew she held Hope in her arms, but it all still felt like a dream.

"You have feelings for Klaus, don't you?" Jenna questions as she stares at the woman who meets her eyes. She could see it in Graces eyes, it was hard to cover up.

"Yeah."

"Its okay to admit that you want to stay for him." Jenna says, she wanted Grace to be honest about it all, but more to herself than anything.

"It's not just him. It's this whole situation, I can't just leave." Grace points out as she fiddles with her fingers.

"You feel more at home here." Jenna states as she now understood what the girl and meant. Grace let's out a sigh as she nods her head.

"Yeah."

"Okay." Jenna says with a nod. It wasn't that she didn't understand that, she just hated how Grace kept her in the dark. "I haven't talked to Mark yet, he's in a meeting." She admits, she had called him but he was still in the office and she didn't want to bother him. Especially with something that should be talked about in person.

"I'm not trying to force you to come here, Jenna. You can make your own decision." Grace states as she didn't want it to seem like she had to move. Jenna only smiles softly at the woman.

"Truthfully, I am a little tired of New York." She tells grace who laughs lightly. Her mood because more serious though as she grabs Jenna's hand.

"But you understand that coming here may put you in danger." Grace says as she wanted Jenna to know the risks. She barely used her witch powers as it is, if she came here, she would practically have a target on her back.

"Who else is going to kick out the horrible excuse of a human being, which is your father?" Jenna asks her with a smirk playing on her lips.

"Klaus. Elijah. Hayley. Camille. Even Marcel." Grace lists as she raises her eyebrows. Marcel didn't know much about what happened, but he knew everyone despised her father. They also weren't the closest but they did have a truce, and Marcel would do anything to gain more of her trust.

"Well, not if I do it first." Jenna retorts as she wouldn't let them take all the glory. Especially since Jenna knew about him first, well, everyone except for Hayley.

"He called me." Grace admits and Jenna sits up slightly, raising her eyebrows.

"What, today?" Jenna asks her and grace nods her head as a sigh leaves her lips.

"Yeah."

"You should just get rid of him, it's not like you don't have a whole group of vampires who will do it in an instant." Jenna points out, really not understanding why she was letting her father live.

"I know. I just want him to realize that he can't break my happiness." Grace says, but it was almost like a point to herself. That she wasn't like her father. That she wouldn't stoop down to his level.

"Okay. But if you can't get him to see that, then can we kill him?" Jenna questions as she looks at the girl expectantly. Grace laughs lightly as she looks at the girl.

"Fine." Grace states and Jenna class her hands together.

"Thank you." She replies with a smirk playing on her lips. Grace rolls her eyes playfully but smiles at the woman. "I hope Klaus knows that I am your wife and no one is taking my place." Jenna states as she crosses her arms against her chest. She didn't care if they dated, but she was not about to be pushed to the side.

"Are you going to at least be civil with him?" Grace asks her with a sigh as she really didn't need them bickering twenty four seven.

"If he doesn't annoy me." Jenna replies with a shrug of her shoulders. Grace squints at her before shaking her head.

"So, that's a no?"

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KLAUS WALKS INTO GRACE'S BEDROOM, noticing that the girl was asleep on her bed with notes beside her. It looked like she has passed out before being able to comfortably settle in. He lets out a sigh, walking over and sitting down on the bed beside her. Bringing his hand over to her, he brushes the hair out of her face softly before looking in front of him. They were able to keep Esther from body jumping but the spell on Rebekah was already set.  He just wished that everything went as planned.

Grace could feel someone beside her, her eyebrows furrowing. As she looks in front of her, she notices it was Klaus. "Hi." Grace says softly, her eyes barely open. Klaus glances at her, smiling softly as he brings his hand to her shoulder.

"Go back to sleep, love." He tells her as he looks away from her. Grace only brings herself to sit up, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

"Did everything go okay?" She asks him as she yawns a little bit. Klaus slowly nods his head but his face told a different story.

"We got my mother locked up, in transition." Klaus states and Grace squints he eyes a bit, raising her eyebrows.

"Transition to be a vampire?" Grace questions and the man nods his head. "The irony." She mumbles as she knew Esther would turn into the thing she hated the most if she drank blood.

"But Rebekah... We couldn't stop her from body jumping." Klaus adds and grace let's out a sigh, she knew they didn't want her to switch bodies. But it wasn't like they could do anything about it now.

"Well, bad news for you, good for me." Grace jokes a little bit. She could see the unamused look on his face causing her to clear her throat. "Bad timing, sorry." She apologizes as she looks down at her hands for a moment. "It isn't your fault, Nik." She assures him as he did everything in his power to stop it.

"I know I should feel more proud since we got my mother but.. I don't know." Klaus says as he shakes his head. Grace brings her hand to his, rubbing it lightly.

"Mikael is still out there." She states, knowing that Klaus was still worried about his father getting a hold of the stake.

"She made a deal with him, he works for her, he gets to kill me." Klaus tells her as he stares at his hands. Grace clenches her jaw, she didn't even feel any sort of shock anymore. Parents could be horrible people, she's known that for a while now.

"That bitch." Grace says with a scoff and Klaus smiles lightly. Grace climbs onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as he grips her waist. "I'm sorry." She admits, rubbing the back of his neck before leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips. Klaus kisses her back before they pull away from each other.

"Were you ever going to tell me that your father called?" Klaus questions as he had known since earlier but hadn't decided to bring it up until now.

"You eavesdropped?" She asks him as she raises an eyebrow at the man.

"It's not eavesdropping if you talk incredibly loud, love." Klaus teases her and she slaps his arm as he just laughs lightly. Grace rests her head against his shoulder for a moment before shaking her head.

"I just... I'm getting to my last nerve with him." Grace admits with a groan as she brings her hand up to her face. Klaus holds her closer, looking at the woman.

"Say the words and I'll happily torture and kill him." Klaus states as he runs a hand through her hair. Grace smiles back at him as she places her hand on his cheek.

"I know you will." Grace replies as she gazed into his eyes. She lets out a sigh as she tilts her head. "You know, part of me feels relieved that everyone knows." She admits, knowing now that she didn't have to worry about how Hayley would react. And she didn't have to hide the feelings that she felt for him.

"Me too, love." He retorts before watching a yawn leave her lips. "I'm sorry I woke you up." He apologized as he never meant to disturb her. Grace only shakes her head.

"It's fine." She admits as she rubs her eyes. "At least I can move underneath the covers now." Grace points out as she moves off of his lap.

"Goodnight, love." Klaus says as he stands up from the bed.

"Are you gonna stay in here?" Grace asks him as they didn't need to sleep in seperate rooms anymore incase anyone barged in unexpectedly.

"I have something to do quickly, but I'll join you soon." Klaus admits as he watches the girl climb into bed. Grace rests her head on the pillow, nodding her head softly.

"Okay." She says tiredly as she closes her eyes, bringing the covers up her body. Klaus smiles down at her, leaning in order to press a kiss to her forehead. Stroking her hair out of her face, he admires her for a moment longer before leaving the girl to sleep.

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omg how is this book at 100k? I went to sleep and suddenly it went up like 2k 😭 thank you all so much for your support on this book, I hope you are all enjoying it. And literally, I made a silly edit about last chapter and that blew up too. Like bro ahhhhhhhhhhh.

also, yes. Klaus will find out soon about Elijah 🤭