'     '     '     '

THE ball was set to begin in ten minutes. Grace and Caroline had seen Elena out as she went with Stefan and Damon, to which Grace gave a knowing smirk.

He rolled his eyes and gave her a nice gesture.

Caroline pinned Grace's hair into a curled updo with pearl clips, then tended to her own hair like an expert.

Grace had been instructed she was doing makeup, since apparently she had a 'skill' for it after all these years of practice.

She gave Caroline a lighter look that made her have a flowy feel, and for herself, Grace went a little more bold.

Finally, the two put on their dresses, and marveled at the other. In such a short time, the girls had become very good friends.

"You look..." the two began in unison, then sharing a laugh.

"Stunning," Caroline said first, to which Grace could not help but to smile.

"You're absolutely gorgeous, Caroline. Any guy or girl would be lucky to have you."

"Oh stop, you might make me blush. Come on, we're running late."

Grace followed Caroline, and the two were quickly on their way to the Mikaelsons' mansion.

"God, this is such a huge house. Plenty of room for you and Klaus to getaway-" "Caroline," Grace stopped her, cutting her eyes.

Caroline raised her eyebrows, parking the car. "What! The two of you are so painfully, obviously in love. Please, just do it already if you haven't."

She paused, feeling a bit bad for putting Grace on the spot like she had.

"I- Sorry. Sometimes I let my mouth come before my brain."

Grace nodded knowingly, checking her hair and makeup. She looked over with some empathy.

"I know. It's okay. Now- you ready to dance?"

The girls approached the doors together, and something strange happened when they stepped inside.

Grace took in the ballroom that she had so pertinaciously decorated. With the help of Rebekah.

If there was not a feeling of impending doom hanging over her head, Grace might have made herself the center of attention at this event. It was something she was good at.

At once, her eyes brushed another pair of familiar ones. She reeled back, staring at the one and only, Niklaus.

He was a good ten feet away, but their thoughts and feelings almost felt... intertwined. With her dark red dress and well-done hair and makeup, Nik felt like he was having flashbacks to 1700's Paris.

Grace drew in a breath, then walked over. Heads turned, but she seemed to have tunnel vision at that moment.

Niklaus smiled in an almost giddy way, holding out his hand expectantly.

With another breath, Grace took it in her own, gripping it tightly.

"Care to dance with the devil?" he asked, pulling her in.

A smirk formed on her face.

"Funny... I was going to ask you the same thing."

The two fell into each other perfectly, their rhythm in sync like a heartbeat. And then they danced, but it felt like more than that. Something indescribable was shared between the old lovers, but nothing needed to be said to express it.

Some might call it love.

But to Grace and Niklaus, there was no need for a definition. This was simply living in the moment, and letting it take them as it pleased.

So far immersed, they had gotten, Grace almost did not notice Elena ascending the stairs, following behind Esther.

Grace placed her chin on Nik's chest, then whispered into his ear.

Pulling away, Nik gave a curt nod and released her from their lovers' embrace.

Yet, he kept his hand entwined with hers, guiding her around the room.

"We're going to find Elijah and from there, hopefully come up with a plan."

"Best make it quick," Grace muttered, turning back to see no trace of Elena nor Esther.

And they did find him, conversing politely with a couple of guests.

"Brother," Niklaus greeted, gesturing that this was urgent.

Then, once it was just the three of them, Nik turned to Grace to explain.

"Uh, I think Esther is planning something. Well, that's quite obvious. But, she's using Elena to do it. Has anyone else gone missing?"

The Mikaelson brothers scanned around the room, then looked to each other at the same time.

"Finn," Elijah remarked, pursing his lips.

"Figures. He worships mother. Grace," Nik said, turning to her with a sympathetic smile, "I think we'll need you, love."

"I suppose I can help out. What am I doing?"

"Try to find out what Esther's up to. And don't get caught."

Grace crossed her arms, trying to be serious yet she could not help but to give her infamous wink and a smirk.

"Would I ever? Meet me in ten?"

The two Mikaelsons nodded, so Grace turned and traveled up the grandeur staircase, to see if she could not play a little game.

Concentrating, Grace strained her supernatural ear to see if she could hear anything. It was unlikely, because Esther was notoriously smart. Or, so she had heard.

This meant Grace would have to rely on her other skills, so she tried to summon other energies that might be around here.

Unfortunately, she had nothing. Grace was feeling frustrated, now.

"I have not been alive for three hundred years just to let a simple mute spell get the best of me," she muttered to herself, pacing for a moment.

"Phasmatos auferat," Grace chanted multiple times, still walking up and down the hallway. To any normal person, she most definitely would have looked insane.

She felt something, which either meant Esther's spell was dropping or there was another thing trying to interfere.

And suddenly, Grace stopped, feeling like a force was choking her. Opening her eyes, she did not see anyone.

"You simple, mediocre witch. If I can even call you that. An abomination would be more appropriate. Thinking you can interfere with me? I'll give you props for your courage, but you're more stupid, I think."

Esther made her way around to where Grace could see her, although immobile from Esther's spell.

"So, what, you're going to take me out with your children? Because we're all 'abominations?' Guess what, Esther? So are you-" "Silence. I think I had better just finish you now- it will save me much more time."

Grace would never go down without fighting for herself. It just so happened that Esther's spells did not have all the effects she thought.

Closing her eyes, Grace muttered something under her breath, until it began to rise rapidly and take over her body.

Opening her eyes now, Grace could not see but her eyes glowed a mysterious purple color, something Esther had never seen.

A smile came across Grace's face, right before she released all of her built-up energy onto Esther, sending her across the hallway with a thud. Which, accidentally, was a lot louder than expected.

After a moment, every Mikaelson was upstairs to see what had happened.

Esther was already getting back on her feet, flushed with anger and embarrassment.

"Alright, fine. Let's see what you've got."

a/n: place ur bets who's gonna win in the epic showdown of the most powerful witches on the earth (excluding freya)