•.•.•.•.•

Mystic Falls, circa. present day

"GRACE! Grace, are you ready to go?" Caroline asked, entering her own bedroom.

Grace had just finished pinning up her hair. She turned to Caroline, twirling slightly.

"What do you think? The feather is kind of old, but-" "Oh, my God! You're a stunner. I'm a little jealous."

With a smile, Grace replied, "Don't be. I'm your date, after all. I'm ready."

Five minutes later, they were on their way.

Grace's phone buzzed with a text message.

Nik

Save a dance for me, will you?

Grace

If you've improved, then sure.

Nik

The twenties were much more my style, thank you.
Rock n' roll, not so much.

Grace laughed and smiled, putting her phone away.

"So, what were the Roaring Twenties like?" Caroline queried.

Grace smiled. She remembered those days fondly. It really was quite the time to be alive.

"Insane. Especially if you were a young woman like me. Some of us chose to be flappers, which was sort of the start of a feminist movement. Most people today don't know that. Most girls just want to dress as a flapper because their dress is appealing. But, in short, it was wild."

Caroline giggled. "So, you were a feminist?"

Grace shrugged, then nodded slowly. "I- yeah... yeah, I guess."

She laughed with Caroline as the pair pulled into the parking lot of the school.

"So, do you coordinate these school functions? You seem to be quite knowledgeable on the topic."

Caroline unbuckled, checking through her bag. "Eh, most of the time. If you came to more of these then you'd notice that the school dances which actually have some class and elegance were appropriated by me."

Grace was sent into a brief fit of laughter. Together, the two walked inside, already hearing the boom of jazzy music in the gym.

However, when Grace stepped inside, she nearly had a seizure.

There were multiple supernatural entities in this room.

Too many.

Grace sensed them all at once, and it was too much for her to take. She fell against the wall for a moment, blacking out and having a sharp and ringing pain in her ears.

Someone was shaking her. She could not tell who until her vision cleared.

"Grace? Are you okay? What happened?" It was Caroline.

Straightening up, Grace nodded quickly, smoothing out her dress.

"I'm fine. Totally fine. It's just a psychic thing-" "Your nose is bleeding. Are you sure you're alright?"

Grace wiped her nose with her hand, and she saw the blood.

That had never happened before.

"Y-Yeah, yeah. Let me just get some tissues. Why don't you find some friends? I'm sure they're all looking for you."

Caroline frowned, visibly concerned. "A-Are you sure-" "Caroline, please. Go, okay?"

She did not give her a choice, as Grace walked away to the bathroom.

Although she kept telling herself she was fine, Grace was on the verge of tears. She had never experienced this kind of pain before. It scared her.

But the pain and ringing seemed to be fading now. That was a good sign to Grace. She wiped away the excess blood from her nose.

And then she walked out as if absolutely nothing happened.

The decorations were definitely not spot on, but there was something charming about the scenery. Grace scanned her eyes around for people she recognized.

Namely, Nik.

She had been trying to steal a moment with him ever since she knew he was here. And then she saw him. Smiling to herself, she took off in a stride toward him, standing in the corner and looking around.

However, someone stopped her. Grace gasped, her eyes falling upon the figure in front of her.

Intuition told her it was not Elena.

For some reason, some stupid reason, the only thing Grace was truly afraid of was Katherine.

After being forced around for years with the girl, Grace learned things. She did not realize how Katherine managed to keep her all those years. Grace could not figure out why she felt the need to stay. Compulsion was out of the question.

It had been manipulation.

But Grace, to this day, had yet to realize it. She only knew that there was this fear of Katherine, some blank but utmost terror.

"Look here. The bitch is back," Katherine spat, analyzing Grace thoroughly.

It struck Grace as curious, but more idiotic, as to why she could never say anything back. Not in person, anyway.

"Grace, I'm joking. We used to be best friends, remember? I could never forget you!" Katherine exclaimed, stepping forward to wrap her arms around the other girl.

Grace immediately froze up, unable to move.

Finally, Katherine pulled her arms away.

"Grace? Are you okay? Are you finally so dumb that you forgot how to talk?"

She was shaking with fury. But anything she thought of to say she would just choke up on.

"I- I..." And that was it. Strangely enough, this had an impact on Katherine.

"You know what, I'm gonna go. You're obviously a basket case now, so... see ya."

And she simply walked off. Katherine Pierce, the girl that Grace had so desperately wanted to get away from for two hundred years, simply walked away from her.

Grace finally shook her away, searching for Nik once more. He had disappeared, much to Grace's dismay. She was a little shaken up after what happened.

"Nik, where the hell are you?" Grace muttered under her breath.

And then, out of nowhere, he came to her like an unanswered prayer.

Grace felt a hand clasp around her arm, and she turned, face to face with the man himself.

"I do believe I deserve that dance now," he remarked wittily, sweeping Grace away. She rolled her eyes, having no choice.

"She's here, Nik. Katherine is here," Grace said in an unusually stressed tone.

Nik took notice of this, and frowned. "Now that's not the Grace I know. You're supposed to be having fun, love. I didn't think I'd have to tell you that."

Grace returned the frown sourly.

"I don't like her, Nik. I really, really hate her, actually."

The pair swayed back and forth to the music, meeting the other's eyes as if communicating telepathically.

"Let's kill her, then," Niklaus simply said.

That brought a small smile to Grace's face.

"You don't have to do that. Not right now. We focus on Elena first."

Nik shrugged. "I think we could get them both in one sweep-" "Nik!" Grace exclaimed, laughing a bit.

Her laugh, light and twinkling and beautiful, brought a grin to the face of the hybrid.

"Don't get a big head over this. But, I've missed you," Grace said truthfully, then continued, "although I feel like I hardly know you anymore."

That brought yet another frown to Nik's face, despite being happy only seconds ago.

"I'm sorry, love. It's been too long, I know. Once this is all out of the way, we can spend as much time together as you'd like."

A grin gradually spread across Grace's face. She was flooded with memories of 1956, when she ended up staying with the Mikaelsons much longer than she intended.

Well, more so Niklaus.

New York City, New York - 1956

GRACE woke up suddenly, almost in a state of panic. She had been having nightmares again, and they were always so realistic that it made her wake up in tears.

Sometimes, but not all, these nightmares were visions. The majority of her visions would predict the future. There were some instances, however, where she would see something from the past.

And Grace thought it was the latter.

She took in her surroundings, giving a stretch and a grateful smile as she fully came to.

After many anxious thoughts the night before, Grace drifted off to sleep. In her mind, she saw only the worst of what would come the next day.

And now it was here.

Grace had been provided with clothing to wear, although it was by a reluctant Rebekah. ("I'll be having those back," she had said.)

So, the young woman composed herself and dressed in a wine-colored off the shoulder dress, flaring at the waist and with a quaint black leather belt.

She slipped on her black pair of heels from the previous night, giving herself the benefit of a doubt with hair and makeup.

Even for Grace, who had stayed in many luxurious places throughout her lifetime, was slightly breathtaking at the beautiful home. One glance in the mirror later, Grace was descending the flight of grandeur wooden stairs.

However, she had no idea where any of the Mikaelson siblings might be. Once more, Grace checked the time, wondering if they had not waken up. It seemed unlikely, considering it was nine thirty in the morning.

To pass the time until someone else fulfilled it, Grace took a look around at the beautiful history of the home. Her visions could sometimes work in that way, seeming to give her a small background story on places she visited. Other times, it seemed that the place was simply not worth getting to know.

And finally, she sensed a second presence in the room.

"Good morning, love. Where have you been?" Grace turned slowly, raising her eyebrows with a small smile.

Despite not being entirely happily with Niklaus Mikaelson at the moment, she was willing to talk and get this deal out of the way.

"I haven't been up for long. I was beginning to wonder, though," she remarked, mustering a prolonged smile.

"Maybe if you stayed longer you could get to know the place," Nik said shortly, then laughed at Grace's doubtful demeanor.

"I'm joking, love. Could I interest you in breakfast perhaps? Are there any certain... meals, you're craving?"

She could not help but to laugh, approaching Niklaus.

"I'm still quite full after last night's snack. But please do, show me to your dining room."

Nik returned her full smile, gesturing for Grace to follow his lead.

Leading up to moments of silence, Grace said, "May I ask you something, Nik?"

He glanced over with a moment's hesitation, although Grace did not notice. She was not particularly skilled in reading emotions and catching hints.

"Go for it, love. Although there is not a complete guarantee that I'll answer." To Grace, this sounded as more of a caution than simple statement.

"How long have you been in America? And how old are you?"

Niklaus fixed Grace with an amused smirk. How he had quickly become accustomed to this girl. He fancied her a good bit.

"Well, let's see. To answer your first question, too long. Europe is much more scenic and ideal for me. But under certain circumstances, I've been cursed with following a wretched woman for hundreds of years. Secondly, my guesses would be in the thousands, by now. We're the Originals."

Grace scoffed impulsively, raising her eyebrows.

"What the hell does that mean?" she asked.

Nik raised an eyebrow back.

"We are the original vampires. First ever."

NOTES
i updated... yay