Grace - Elijah Mikaelson -

Chapter 61

When Grace woke up this morning, she had a strange feeling. For the last year, whenever she woke up, she wished nothing more than to close her eyes again and fall back into the dreams she had. In those the pain was weaker and most of the time she was reunited with her family.

It felt as if this wish fulfilled. She had a task again. Protect the family at all cost. Make the city safe for the child's return. It gave her a sense to live again and despite all the chaos the Mikaelsons brought with them, she felt good. She was needed and not just a senseless killing machine in deep despair. This thought made her want to get out of bed. But of course it also made her think about all the horrors she had done back in Mystic Falls. 

Quickly, she pushed it aside before it could darken her mood. She finally was out of that crap town. Here she could be who she wanted to be. That was the grave difference between her siblings and the Mikaelsons. Elijah, Nik and Beks would never try to fix her into being a different person and judge her for the things she did. She belonged to them, they were her family. To be honest, she couldn't really say that about Jeremy and Elena. The distance may let their grievances rest, but there surely was some unrepairable damage. For the last year she had been nothing more than a burden for them and still she could hear it every time she spoke to Jeremy: they felt like Grace left them alone when she moved to New Orleans. Now that they knew that she was back with the Mikaelsons, she probably wouldn't receive much more phone calls and Christmas cards anymore. 

With a sigh, she hopped out of bed. No one had called until now, so Grace wanted to fetch some breakfast at one of the famous New Orleans' cafes. After getting ready, she climbed down the stairs to find Ariana at her usual place behind her desk. 

"Good morning, Ariana. Have you slept well?" 

An amused smile crossed the elderly woman's face when she looked up to the young woman that flipped through the pages of the local newspaper. 

"Not that well after I figured that your 'family' are the Mikaelsons. That actually robbed me off quite some peaceful sleep." 

Grace just lifted a brow and scanned some of the articles. Sometimes she still couldn't really get how they got the media and newspapers clean off all the bloodshed they caused here. Yesterday they slaughtered a bunch of witches in the cauldron and no soul noticed. She got why that was possible in Mystic Falls but here they were even better keeping their tracks clean. 

"Well, they're the family I chose. They can be quite nice if they want to." 

"...and quite murderous, if I remember right. What I also figured is that you're the girl that went on some werewolf killing sprees with Niklaus Mikaelson and hooked up with his brother, right? The queen they call you."

She kept her gaze on the newspaper to not show any emotions now that some memories were triggered. The queen...she hadn't been called that in quite a long time. 

"Never thought the stories spread that far." 

Mumbling, she looked at the witch, who was still smiling. She obviously liked Grace, she reminded her of herself when she was younger. 

"Stories of your family always spread really far. You'd be surprised. It makes you kinda famous. But what I wonder about is, if the rumors are true...why haven't I seen a suited Original around my place?" 

Grace laughed bitterly and shook her head. 

"Elijah and I aren't together anymore. Even if you know that man is the love of your life, it sometimes just doesn't work out..." 

Her voice faded and she took a deep breath. The last day showed her that she probably was never able to truly shake him off. He was way too deep under her skin.