A Thrill I've Never Known ✔️

~Twenty Four~

twenty four

After Kol had calmed down, he leaned back and looked into Gracie's ice blue eyes. She stroked his cheekbone and smiled sadly, "It'll be okay, dear heart."

"Why did she run?" He murmured, wearing the face of a kicked puppy.

"She will tell when she's ready, Kol." Gracelyn's smile widened, "but she does love you."

"She does?"

"Of course she does, idiot. Why else would the witch have done what she did for you if she didn't." Klaus grumbled, with a 'duh' look on his face.

He then turned to Gracie, "Have you any other pretty relatives, that you're willing to share?"

The songstress scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully, "Even if I did, sweetheart, I would not pass them out like candy."

The hybrid pouted childishly.

The blonde looked down to Kol who had looked up at her, "She'll come to you when she's ready, dear heart."

Gracie had spoken too soon, when suddenly a crack sounded behind her, she and the younger Mikaelson turned to see a shy looking Hartley Potter.

The green-eyed immortal witch smiled, guilt painted on her face. Harry held out her hand for Kol and immediately the Original took it and brought to it to his face to cup his cheek. His other hand then moved to rest on her hip, before she kissed him ever so sweetly.

:3

Over the next few days, everything had settled and everyone who had prepared themselves for another crack of Kol's sanity, let out a breath of relief.

The immortal, yet still young witch had tamed the Reckless Mikaelson...with the help of a certain blonde songstress of course.

But after another few months... Things took a turn for the worse. Whenever Hartley disappeared, Kol would lose his nerve around Gracelyn and run off.

And for some reason... Elijah started to believe that his youngest brother was showing guilt for a past event. One that was close to Gracelyn's heart.

The only thing closer to his Grace's heart...was Isabelle.

:3

Elijah followed Kol into a hallway and cornered him, "You killed her, didn't you? You killed Isabelle and then you pitied Gracelyn, so that is why you befriended her. Why you've been so nervous around Hartley lately. And why she left for so long."

His brother wore a face of rage at his confrontation, "How dare you accuse me of such a horrid thing. I met Angel before I even knew of her sister. I had no idea what she even looked like until she showed me her sketchbook. And this has nothing to do with Harry or the reason Gracie disappeared."

Kol grabbed the Noble Original's arm and yanked him to Gracie's room, with veins starting to crawl down his cheeks. Yes, he felt guilty for invading her privacy, but how could his brother think that he would do that to his Angel?!

He'd done a lot of bad things. Too many to count. But never, ever, would he hurt his Gracie. Or Hartley for that matter.

The Reckless Mikaelson went straight to the old clutch purse that belonged to Isabelle and had carried with her forever. He knew that it was where the picture that Angel always kept.

Anger still boiling in his blood, Kol threw Elijah across the room and he slammed into the wall, the oldest brother letting out pained grunt. Then he snatched the small clutch and opened it to grab Gracie's drawing from all those years ago.

He shoved it in the older Mikaelson's face, "This is Isabelle. I had no idea who she was, until I found Gracelyn weeping over her coffin. How dare you, brother!! How dare you treat me in such a way! Thinking I would do that to the one and only friend who had cared for me as a person and not as a monster."

Kol stormed away and Elijah was stunned to have his brother react like that for a single person and to see the picture.

The woman couldn't have been younger than twenty. Her face similar to Gracie's, but instead of gold ringlets like her older sister's, Isabelle had messy black locks. Her eyes were a light blue colour and her lips a darker shade of pink. Kol's beloved Hartley was a mirror image.

But the worse part was... He recognized her, but not from Miss Potter. It was the eyes that tore the two apart.

Kol came back into the room to take the picture back from Elijah's hand, to put it back in Gracie's clutch when he caught sight of his brother's expression.

He knew that face.

His eyes widened and Elijah's brown-eyed gaze met the identical colour of Kol's.

:3

Klaus was sitting at the bar, pouring a drink for himself when his sister and Gracelyn came into the room and immediately it brightened. She just had that air about her that made one happy to simply be in her presence.

All three looked up to the stairs as the youngest Mikaelson brother almost stomped down them with the oldest slowly following him.

"Come here Angel. Please." The Reckless Original said, his voice holding a restrained tone of anger and she did, then Kol turned to Elijah, looking murderous as he glared at his brother, holding the blonde songstress in his arms. He knew his Angel wouldn't be able to stand after this.

"Admit it, brother! Tell her what you've done. What you did!" The youngest Mikaelson brother spat.

Gracelyn looked between him and Elijah, who carried the most guilt-ridden look she had ever seen on one's face. The Noble Orginal clenched his jaw and his fists, his gaze falling to stare at the ground.

Rebekah and Niklaus stood off to the side of the dining room, confused as to what was happening. Kol had asked Rebekah to collect Gracie from her room. That something important needed to be said.

"Tell her, Elijah. Or I will and trust me that will make it ten times worse since you didn't have the balls to tell her yourself." Kol growled, angrily.

The now oldest Original sighed sadly and looked into Gracelyn's very confused eyes as he took her face in his right hand and her right in his other, "Grace, my sweet Grace." He whispered, stroking her cheek, "Kol did not take your sister's life."

There was a twitch of her eyebrow as she looked at him confused. This wasn't the reason for why Kol had been so nervous around her lately. Where was he going with this?

But Elijah wasn't finished, and his next words shattered her heart, "I did."