Warrior | Stefan Salvatore

Chapter 28

She ended up seeing Freya.

Graciela planned to be with Hope in the Kenner apartment since the start of the day. She imagined she would be alone and that maybe Hayley would take some time to herself, given she and Graciela weren't close enough to spend a whole day together.

But when she arrived at the Kenner Apartment, she found Freya inside with Hope.

"Hello there," she said cautiously. "What's going on?"

"Hayley is aiding Elijah in torturing Tristan," said Freya, smiling as Graciela moved closer to Hope. "I am on babysitting duty, it seems."

A moment later, they heard a pained yell.

"Oh, fuck," said Graciela. "She's biting him, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," said Freya. "I told Elijah not to overdo it... otherwise he will die before we can get any answers out of him. My opinions weren't welcome."

Graciela hummed. "Well, I'll keep you company, and we can try to pretend a guy isn't being hurt severely across the street."

"Elijah tells me you don't like the idea of Tristan being tortured."

"I'd rather... nobody be tortured. I'd rather they just try to apologize and see if that changes anything. I still feel really shocked, knowing what the compulsion did and how it happened in the first place. I would be bitter, too, if I was Tristan. I mean, didn't Aurora go crazy because of it?"

"Something like that," said Freya. "I only hope that we have Rebekah's location by the end of the day. Once Klaus finds Cami, he will surely rain hellfire down on Aurora, and extract the information from her mind. Provided Tristan does not die before giving his half of the coordinates... we will be in good shape to get my sister back."

Graciela made them lunch, after they spent quite a while watching Hope walk around, having conversations with her stuffed animals. They had finished eating when an old woman walked in.

"Hi Mary," said Graciela politely. Freya didn't recognize her, so she added, "This is Jackson's grandmother."

"Graciela," said the old woman, nodding. "You must be the sister... Freya?"

"Yes," said the witch warily.

Mary walked over to Hope, smiling and picking her up. "Where's Hayley?

"Across the street," replied Freya. "Helping with a... family matter."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Was that Elijah's idea?"

"Not that I know of," said Graciela a bit stiffly.

The Crescent focused her attention on Hope. "I can take it from here. If you could, ask Hayley to come and see me. I need to talk to her about something."

The two decided to go to the Compound together. Hayley was in the upper study with Elijah, wiping her mouth after having bitten Tristan again. Graciela could count three bites, which she took to be a very bad sign for the ancient vampire.

Freya pulled her aside to tell her that Mary was there. Graciela was in the doorway, having been motioned by Elijah to not enter the room. Tristan stared at her, as if wondering if she might rescue him. Graciela made sure not to look into his eyes.

Elijah stepped out once he saw Hayley was leaving. "You are not supposed to be here," he told Graciela, motioning for her to head downstairs. "Return to the loft if you won't be in the apartment."

"How much longer is this going to take?" she pressed. "He's got three bites, and a whole lot of venom in him. You told me yourself these ancient vampires are good at blocking their minds, at putting up defenses against Originals. How long until he dies from the infection?"