Enigmatic Fears: A Klaus Mikaelson Story {7}

Chapter 65: The Hatred Inside

~Grace POV~

Grace watched with a demonic glee as her father poured a bucket of ice-cold water on the newly chained up Roman. Her former crush struggled in pain as he tried to get out of his bonds, but Grace took delight in knowing that it was her turn to decide the fate of someone else.

"Have you decided how you're going to kill him yet?" The hybrid asked with an unfeeling glare directed at the hostage.

"Slowly." She answered soberly, hoping to keep her excitement at bay for the time being.

"Grace?" Roman called out as he finally saw her, lurking in the shadows. "Grace! Hey!"

She chuckled grimly at his futile attempt to engage her lighter side. But her brother was denied his mom because of the boy she stupidly fell for. And she would not be that stupid ever again.

"You know, you should really tell your mother about all this." Klaus told Grace.

"She wouldn't understand." Grace replied dismissively.

"On the contrary." Her father refuted. "As docile as she appears, she has very intricate ways of exacting torture."

"That she wouldn't want for me." Grace said with a sigh. "She can't know about this, or she'll stop it. I need this."

"Grace—"

"I want to do it alone." She said definitively.

Roman looked at the tribrid, clearly unable to recognise even one iota of the girl that stood before him now.

"What's wrong with her?" Roman asked her father.

"She has an affliction," Klaus answered as he menacingly stalked the restrained vampire. "For which your pain is a momentary comfort."

"My pain?" Roman asked nervously.

"Uh-huh." Grace said as she stalked closer towards Roman. "But I don't want an audience."

"Grace—"

"You wanna help me, Dad? Then go!" She insisted.

"Fine." Her father said with a pout. "I was rather hoping to be part of the show."

"Maybe next time." Grace said with a bitter smile.

"You should consider starting small." Klaus instructed. "Fingernails, perhaps the tongue—whatever you can to build the suspense."

He smiled at his daughter before leaving her to her devices with the enemy that stood before her. She took the knife that had been clutched tightly in her palm and put it onto the table beside him with a wavering smile.

"Hey Roman."

~Anastasia POV~

Anastasia sat in a booth at Rousseau's trying to decipher the best way to get on Josh's good side when she caught the end of his conversation with a boy. Gushing about his lost love, Aiden. The man departed and left Josh to his own devices which allowed the witch to seize her opportunity.

"We've not met." Were the first words the Gemini told Josh who watched her with great concern. "Anastasia Gemini."

"I know who you are." He replied.

"I also know who you are, Josh." She told him. "I know a lot about you in fact."

"Why?" The bartender asked nervously.

"Because I like to know as much about my competition as possible."

"Competition?"

"Elliott." Anastasia elaborated. "He is the only person I have ever loved and is the only person I will ever love. I used to think the same could be said for him and yet you managed to find a way into his heart. A shame your feelings for him are those of a charlatan."

"I love Elliott." Josh told her determinedly.

"Yet here you were, flirting with one patron whilst alluding to your real true love. Aiden." Anastasia replied calmly. "That does not strike me as love."

"It's complicated." Josh replied in embarrassment. "And nothing was every gonna happen with that guy."

"I don't care." The curly-haired witch dismissed. "In fact, I prefer it. And with your permission, I will bring back your Aiden."

"What?"

"Aiden is dead, one of my abilities entails me resurrecting the dead." She continued. "And I am very willing to bring him back for you."

"What's the catch?"

"You leave my Elliott alone." Anastasia warned darkly. "I do not like to share. Elliott has been mine since the beginning of time, I will not allow you to undo that for me. Be happy with Aiden, without him, that is not a problem of mine. As long as you're not with Elliott."

"Does he know you're doing this?" Josh queried.

"No."

"I figured." Josh replied with a scoff. "I don't take threats, Anastasia. And if I end up with someone else instead of Elliott, I'll be damned if it's because of your manipulation."

"Fine." She got to her feet and tapped on her arm, showing Josh a countdown clock. "This is how many hours you have left on this physical plane. Think it over. If you change your mind, I'll know."

~Grace POV~

Grace sat cross-legged in front of Roman who was still frantically trying to plead his case to the tribrid's deaf ears.

"I know you won't believe this, but I've been trying to see you, okay?" Roman told her.

"You're right. I don't believe it."

She clenched her fist and glared with an intensity as she felt his restricted airways desperately try to crawl free from her unwavering grip.

"I-I swear." He continued as he panted breathlessly. "My sister, she wanted me to leave the country, but I wouldn't go until I got to talk to you."

"I doubt you thought it would go like this." Grace replied as she slashed her hand, drawing a large cut against his chest.

"Look!" He screeched in agony. "Taking part in your aunt's capture and tricking you, that was wrong, and I know that."

"So why did you do it?" She asked incredulously. "Because knowing that it was wrong only makes it worse!"

She flicked her wrist and with a chilling crack, the bones in his right arm shattered, causing the vampire excoriating pain.

"You have to understand." Roman said once he regained the strength to speak. "For years I've been told to fear you, every day, every night, stories of what your father did to mine, what you and your kind have done to us."

"My kind?" She asked with a sarcastic laugh.

"Grace, I like you." Roman confessed. "I like you, I really do. I just didn't know whether to listen to the voice in my head that said you were good or my mother's voice that said over and over y-you and your family..."

"My family is what?"

"Evil." She turned to face the dismayed vampire and as the whispers subsided, she almost wished she hadn't. "And I wasn't strong enough to fight her. And I don't want you to forgive me. I just want you to know that I know what I did was wrong. Okay? So, if you need to, just kill me."

And now she was officially torn. Because whilst she felt no sympathy for the perpetrator...the hatred inside seemed to burn a lot less.

"Grace..."

"Shut up."

"Grace—"

"I said shut up!"

"Your arm!"

Grace glanced at her arm that had now been clouded by dark blue veins that were no doubt a bad omen of what was to come.