A/N: Hey, another one, I know! But had to get this out of my head! More parts to come to finish this saga off. There's more to everyone's story that meets the eye in this, so don't take it as face value. Please tell me what you think in a review. Thanks. Also, if anyone knows of someone who may do a gif for this in Tumblr, please let me know :)
Strong, Ageless, Fearless
Part I
"...and again I ask, what's in it for me?"
"You'll get the one thing you want most in this world," began Bonnie, realising she had to give Katherine something so that she would do what Bonnie wanted her to do. "Freedom, survival, never having to run from anyone again. Once I've dropped the veil I can speak to Qetsiyah. She created the spell that made Silas truly immortal; invulnerable to any weapon. You'd like that for yourself, wouldn't you?"
Katherine leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, staring at Bonnie with scrutiny.
"I can give it to you."
"Bonnie Bennett, we have a deal."
Bonnie saw the destruction she'd caused. She saw her friends fighting for their lives against foes from the other side. The vampires from the tomb were trying to kill everyone responsible for their untimely deaths, the Five (Vaughan, Alexander and Connor) came back to do what they had been called to do, to kill Silas and all vampires alike.
But even they couldn't help tip the balance.
Jeremy had appeared too, just at the moment when Elena needed him, but he wouldn't be able to stay. So Bonnie took it upon herself to make sure that Jeremy stayed.
But the spell was too much. She should have known better than to want the impossible and that magic came with a price.
At the graduation, when things were at their peak, Qetsiyah finally appeared. Bonnie had thought it was too late, but Qetsiyah was someone that could do the impossible.
After Bonnie had watched her friends fight for their lives, after school was finished and all the happy moments were over (not that there were many), she realised she would have to break the deal she'd had with Katherine.
Qetsiyah didn't need to speak to Bonnie to know what she wanted. And instead of fighting her on it, she granted it without question, as well as her life. It was Qetsiyah's punishment for what she had done to Silas; to everyone. It was her fault vampires existed, it was her fault immortality existed. Well that's what she'd told Bonnie. But in reality, she could see that this supernatural team were the only ones capable of killing Silas once and for all, so, she would grant them a gift.
All Qetsiyah had to do was touch Bonnie's head and the younger witch had the same knowledge she did.
Bonnie knew what she had to do.
She told everyone to gather once more at the Salvator's house. She helped them escape their enemies, using her abilities and allowed them a small window of peace.
They all looked to her, wondering why they were there. Matt and Rebekah sat on a couch, holding hands, silently looking at the ground. They'd shared a kiss today and neither knew what to do about that right now. Elena and Damon sat opposite them, holding hands since she'd chosen him. Stefan sat in the middle of Caroline and Lexi with his usual brooding expression; both depressed about Damon and anxious because he should have been on the road by now.
Beside Bonnie were five glasses, filled with bourbon and some of Qetsiya's blood that she'd siphoned off the tomb stone. A drop was all she'd needed in each glass.
"You all need to drink this. You're dying out there and I can't protect all of you all the time. This will give you strength...just long enough so I can bring the veil back up," explained Bonnie. So we can say good bye to Jeremy and Alaric...and Lexi.
Caroline was the first to drink, which opened the floodgates so that the others would too.
This was her penance for everything that she'd done. She would make a new Original family, better than the first. Better than Silas.
As her eyes went to every one of them as she sipped her drink, a small smile came upon her lips. Because although she wouldn't be able to speak with them directly anymore once the veil came up, she was happy that they would survive.
She remembered looking upon their empty glasses in their hands and then her eyes went white, using her abilities to stake them all in the heart with wooden stakes simultaneously.
She knew that what she was doing was wrong but for once, she was being selfish. She could see that the people she cared about that were still alive were fragile. She couldn't lose anyone else; she wouldn't survive for eternity on the other side knowing that she could have done more.
When they awoke, they felt better than before. They didn't question what Bonnie had done, not even when they realised that they were faster and stronger than older vampires.
Jeremy had come to Bonnie, not being able to say good bye to his sister, and that's when it happened. He was alive again and she...she was dead.
Since Bonnie had turned Silas to stone, they needed to bury him and so Stefan was tasked with disposing of him.
Once it was done she breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, Silas was biding him time since Bonnie had died, but none of the others knew this; no one did.
And now the veil was up and Bonnie was gone, which is why her friends could never find her. Jeremy was the only one capable of finding her now...and Silas, but she didn't know that.
Silas had taken up someone else's life.
OOO-OOO
A month later Damon had been drinking, wallowing in his sorrows from the ordeal from a month before. He had picked a fight with a few vampires, not realising they were much older than himself. They'd travelled through Mystic Falls on a 'holiday', thinking that it was a boring town...until they'd met Damon.
He'd been self loathing as he usually was when he was on the piss. The whole ordeal of seeing his best friend and then knowing that he was gone again had taken a toll on him.
They staked him and he'd turned blue and cold at the back of the Mystic Grill in the dead of night.
Stefan had found him and carried him home. Elena was hysterical and Caroline held her tightly on the ground in front of Damon's dead body, stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. Stefan paced the living room of their shared house, punching the walls, destroying the bookshelves; anything to stop him feeling the hole in his heart at the loss of his brother.
But then Damon gasped for air and the blue veins disappeared. He was alive again.
Caroline had gasped as Elena rushed out of her arms and into Damon's. She distinctly remembered looking over at Bonnie, watching as her eyes fell to the ground with guilt. And then she realised. They were invincible.
It hadn't been a temporary thing to protect themselves in the short amount of time they'd had when Bonnie was going to bring the veil back up. It was forever.
They were...they were the new Original Family, except they weren't. They were nothing like them.
They'd all wanted to question Bonnie but she'd disappeared a month ago with out a trace, with Jeremy in tow. That in itself hurt Elena but there was nothing she could do. At least her friends stuck around.
Stefan watched the others check Damon for damage but there was none. He watched on curiously as they all discussed their situation.
OOO-OOO
The Salvator's had parted ways from Elena and Caroline. Elena had gone with Caroline to see the world, just the two of them. With Katherine being human, Elena had decided it was time to move on. Katherine couldn't harm anyone anymore.
Caroline tried to convince her mother to come with them, but she refused. She'd almost contemplated using compulsion to get her mother to leave Mystic Falls but it wasn't her way. She couldn't.
And Matt stayed in Mystic Falls. Deep down Caroline wished it could be all of them together forever but she knew that Matt and Jeremy were the lucky ones. They would grow old and die.
But none of them had the option of dying any more, because they were immortal and invincible. They would never die.
OOO-OOO
A year later, she found herself in New Orleans. She'd been there before, for quick visits of course throughout the year following on from the incident with Silas (to visit Klaus). They'd seen the world and it was great, being with your best friend through all of it.
But there was something missing.
It was here that she met Marcel finally and learned about what was really going on in New Orleans. And the baby. She'd run out on Klaus without thinking; he'd tried to run after her but found that oddly, he couldn't keep up.
And so she told Elena she'd met someone and was going to stay with them for the night. Elena had foolishly smiled and felt happy for her friend and so stayed alone in their hotel room, wondering when she would be so lucky as to meet someone to stay with.
Caroline found herself outside where Hayley had been staying. Not to hurt her, no, to simply ask her why.
But when she'd come face to face with her she knew why. She was an orphan, she didn't know her parents. She wasn't like some random girl who just sleeps around for the sake of it. She had a plan.
"You're different, Caroline," drawled Hayley, a mischevious glint in her eye.
"I am. But so are you."
Hayley smirked as she walked into her kitchen. "Drink? I have some blood, if you'd prefer."
Caroline shook her head, wondering if she kept blood here for the sake of Klaus.
"Let me guess, you're here to hurt me..."
"No. How could I do such a thing?" snapped Caroline, shaking her head. "You're the mother of Klaus' child, I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate that."
Hayley frowned, not understanding why she was here. "Then why are you here? To warn me not to hurt him? I couldn't possibly...he's invincible," said Hayley with a roll of her eyes.
"I know. I wanted to hurt you, I did, but I find myself here and I just realised what a miracle that baby is," said Caroline slowly. "None of us will ever get the chance for something like that but here you and Klaus are with something most of us wish we could have."
Hayley regarded Caroline oddly.
"But why Klaus? Why did you just sleep with him like that? Because I know you despised him from what Tyler said and I'm pretty sure you loved Tyler," said Caroline, her blue orbs searching Hayley's for an answer she could accept.
The werewolf clenched her jaw at the hard hitting questions.
"Why should I tell you? You're nothing to him anymore. I'm his life now, his son is his life. There's no room for you anymore, Caroline," snapped Hayley defensively.
She honestly didn't mean for her words to be so heartless and in any other situation, she never would have said that. But she had always been a bit envious of the blonde because she'd always have Klaus' undivided attention and Tyler's too, if he were around.
And she was so beautiful and always would be.
Hayley could see tears form in Caroline's eyes and suddenly feared for her life. But shockingly, Caroline shook her head and smiled her tears tragically.
"I hope...I hope your child lives. I hope it gets the life that none of us will have. I dislike you, I do and I guess I always have because you're blunt and selfish. But I can see that you're scared," explained Caroline with as much empathy as she could manage when she looked into Hayley's confused eyes.
Hayley couldn't understand what Caroline wanted. Why was she here? Why was she being so damn...nice.
"I'm jealous of you, in more ways than one. Because you will get to have a life with Klaus and because you will get to be a mother. I can hate you for being a bitch, but I can't hate you for this."
Caroline looked out of Hayley's window to see the daily hustle and bustle of the French Quarter. She really had a good spot here and she was envious that Klaus would do so much for her. But it was understandable too.
"I thought you hated him," whispered Hayley, confused by Caroline's big reveal.
She was right. She'd hated Klaus from the moment she learned of him from rumours throughout the various wolf packs she'd visited over the years. She hated him because he took people away without a second thought as to who he killed.
But there was one thing stronger than her hate of him and that was survival. So she'd done the only thing she could think of at the time. She'd never intended to be impregnated since she didn't think it possible at the time. She had however wanted him to fall for her; for him to hold her dear so that he would protect her.
But he never did. He could never love her or care about her in the way that he cared about Caroline. She was the mother of his child, that was it. She didn't know how many times she'd tried to get back in his bed but it seemed the one night stand was all they would ever have.
"I did, once upon a time-"
"Careful, Caroline. You're showing all your cards, don't you know how this game works?" chided Hayley in an amused and condescending tone. Her green orbs penetrated the back of Caroline's head, trying to get a rise out of her for old times sake.
Caroline sighed as she turned to face Hayley with pity in her eyes. "Game?" questioned Caroline, now finally understanding Hayley a little better. She'd been playing games this whole time. The game of survival. She'd always been on the side that would benefit her the most.
"I'm tired of games, Hayley. Do you know how old we are?"
Haley frowned in confusion. What the hell was she on?
"We're too young to worry about stuff like this...vampires, werewolves, death...its all so much for us, don't you think? But now we'll live forever and nothing will matter because we have all the time in the world," said Caroline softly as silent tears fell down her cheeks. Luckily she was facing the window once more as she watched the comings and goings below.
Before Hayley could respond, Caroline was gone. The thing was, her life would be fleeting and maybe deep in her heart, she pitied the blonde because werewolves were not eternal beings.
OOO-OOO
As Elena and Caroline left New Orleans the next day, the Salvator's arrived. They were always a day or so behind.
They were trying to find them, to try and mend their friendships because Caroline and Elena were all they had left in this world that mattered.
Instead, after a lot of drama, they stayed in New Orleans in favour of joining Klaus and Elijah's crusade on Marcel. But it had been mainly Stefan's idea.
Stefan had missed familiar faces and although Klaus wasn't exactly a friend, he was familiar and he needed that right now. Damon was along for the ride since Stefan wouldn't let Damon out of his sight, since the incident where he almost died scared him too much. They never talked about it, but Damon knew that was why Stefan and he got on so well now. And why Stefan protected him so much all the time.
Sometimes it got on his nerves and he'd leave Stefan for a while. But he would become self destructive and ripper-ish and so stayed, to keep him sane.
But this time, they decided this would be a fresh start for them. So they stayed in New Orleans.
OOO-OOO
"Why are we here Caroline?" asked Elena with a huff as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Caroline sighed as she rummaged through some old books. "We're not here, I am. I told you I'd meet you at Macy's right?"
Elena rolled her eyes behind Caroline's back. "I know that but you've been keeping something from me, so I followed you."
After learning about Hayley's baby, it occurred to her that Hayley or the witches may have orchestrated such a thing. And after a bit of research, she'd found some sort of legend, depicting the birth of a child where its parents were from supernatural origin. They were said to be from enemy clans, so a werewolf and vampire, and that it would start some sort of epic apocalypse or something but she doubted that were true. It was also said that he could control all the supernatural, werewolf or vampire.
It was a child. He was a child. He was innocent in all of this and if anything, he needed to be protected. If people found out, they would want him. The legend said he would be the most powerful being born into the world, being born of both vampire and werewolf, who would not want such an ally? And who would not want to kill that which could have power over all supernatural creatures?
Klaus was powerful, but he had been born of human and werewolf as Esther had been a human at the time of the affair. Which means this child was special.
She didn't know why she was even caring about this when she could be having the time of her life.
But she cared about Klaus, more than she should; she knew that now but they could never be together. Not with what had happened since he'd left. The baby, Hayley...someone named Camille that seemed to have caught his eye.
But she still cared about him (still cared about him) and just wanted to make sure that he knew everything.
OOO-OOO
"Elena!" exclaimed Caroline.
Elena turned her eyes wide with guilt. She compelled the man away and looked toward Caroline.
"I'm so sorry, Care. I know I shouldn't have but I was so hungry and...I just can't take this anymore," said Elena quietly, her eyes glued to the ground.
Caroline looked at Elena and could see she was breaking. It had been a further year now of travelling, meeting new people but never staying in one place more than a few days.
"Oh Elena," sighed Caroline as she brought Elena in for a hug.
Elena gripped Caroline tightly as tears slipped out of her eyes silently. "We're never going to die, Care. Everyone's gone but us! Jeremy ran away, Matt isn't even in Mystic Falls anymore, so he's god knows where..."
Caroline shushed Elena and rubbed her back in a circle like motion. She pulled Elena away and Elena shook her head, trying to shake some sense into herself. She'd been drinking tonight and after her second bottle of bourbon, she'd began to feel the effects.
"Its going to be okay. We have each other. At least that's something," said Caroline softly with a small reassuring smile. But all the while curious about Matt and why Jeremy had fled Mystic Falls without a word.
Elena nodded. "Any news on Bonnie?"
Caroline shook her head. "No. We'll find her, I promise. Then we can ask her why," said Caroline, bitterly.
She began to usher Elena out of the dark alley way and as they stepped onto the streets of St Petersburg, Elena gripped Caroline's arm, causing the blonde to meet her best friend's eyes.
"Thank you. When everything was simple and we were human, I used to think you were such a..." began Elena, trying to find the right words without trying to sound mean.
Caroline laughed. "Bitch?"
Elena laughed along with her and nodded. "I guess you could say that. But then you changed into this strong person who everyone could rely on and sometimes I forgot that, so I'm sorry. You've been my constant companion since this whole thing started and I can't thank you enough, I just needed to say that so that you know that I never meant to hurt you before."
Caroline shook her head and smiled. "Its fine. You were in a dark place, it happens."
Elena pursed her lips. "Yeah but you don't go into a dark place. Everyone else does, but not you. Our chips are down most of the time but you're always there to bring our hopes back up. And now that its just the two of us...just the two of us."
Elena's voice began to break and then she began to sob as she began to realise the full extent of how lonely their lives were going to be because of the eternity that now awaited them. Caroline quickly pulled her in, holding her up so that she wouldn't fall to the snowy ground.
"Don't worry, maybe when we find Bonnie, she can reverse what she's done."
But neither of them held hope of that scenario.
OOO-OOO
They stood at Elizabeth's grave. Caroline had missed the funeral purposely. Elena held her hand and Matt stood on the other side with his arm around her back as she sobbed. Rebekah and Matt had come back to Mystic Falls after hearing the news about Elizabeth Forbes.
They hadn't had any backlash yet about their 'secret trip' but they both expected it afterward. Elena had already been staring daggers at Rebekah for about twenty minutes or so.
Elena and Matt comforted Caroline, worried that perhaps this could be her trigger to turn it all off. After all, every other vampire would have done the same.
But that was the thing about Caroline. She would cry but eventually she would get over it. Eventually. And that's what Elena admired most about Caroline because she knew that she herself could never do that.
Caroline knew her mother was doing her job but after learning of how her mother died, she knew she couldn't let it slide. Not this time.
OOO-OOO
They'd decided to go to New Orleans for a while. Caroline knew that Stefan and Damon were there and she wanted Elena to resolve her issues with the Salvator's, so they could be friends again.
But there were other reasons why she wanted to go back. To tell Klaus what she'd found out and because her mother's killer was supposedly being protected by the infamous Marcel.
She'd turned up on his door with a smile. When she'd looked past Klaus' form, she could see Marcel sitting at a dining table in the distance. So it seemed they were working together now, which would set Caroline's plan back a bit.
After her quick assumption, she turned her attention back to Klaus with a smile upon her face.
"You've forgiven me?" he asked incredulously.
Caroline nodded. "I was never really angry with you, it was more with myself," she said as they sat by the fireplace, talking about how she'd run out of his house in a hurtful rage.
"But I've grown."
Klaus looked her over and noticed the different way she held herself. More confidently. She was as beautiful as ever, always keeping up with the latest fashions of course, but there was a maturity about her that had been missing before. Sure she had been above her years before, but this was different.
"I can see that, love," he smiled, walking over to his alcohol stand to pour them a drink.
Caroline decided to get straight to the point. "I talked with Hayley."
Klaus immediately frowned. "Why?"
"It was a year ago and I wanted to know why. Why she slept with you when she despised you. She loved Tyler I was sure of it, but it was because she was looking for her family and she was scared. She needed your protection and although she didn't realise that she'd end up pregnant, she did and it was the best thing for her," explained Caroline with a shrug.
It wasn't anything he didn't already know, but he let Caroline carry on, he owed her that much at least.
"I'm sure you know all this and I'm sure you know this too, but I'll tell you anyway. Your child is special. There's a legend about him, that he will bring about an apocalypse which is of course rubbish but something else caught my eye about this legend. It probably isn't true, but he's supposed to have the ability to control werewolves and vampires," she explained, crossing her legs as she sat in a relaxed position in the reclining chair opposite to where Klaus was sitting.
He nodded.
"I've heard about it, yes," he said with a smile. The fact that she'd 'come across' this information showed him just how much she cared. That sort of information would have to be followed up; researched. Why would she do that?
Caroline frowned. Klaus knew about it?
"Oh, good," she said as she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "You're lucky, so I hope-"
"I'm sending him away. The child. Until things settle down here," explained Klaus as his blue orbs focused on the fire.
Caroline stared at him, wondering how this man could have killed Elena's Aunt, sentenced Tyler to a life of eternity, killed Tyler's mother...and everything else.
And Klaus was here, Tyler wasn't. Klaus had let Tyler come back to Mystic Falls two years ago and sent word to all the vampires he knew; Tyler never came back.
"Good idea. So you've decided to work with Marcel now?" asked Caroline, trying to suss out
OOO-OOO
They remained in New Orleans. Elena had chosen Damon and Stefan was somehow relieved.
Not because the woman he loved, loved Damon but because she'd chosen. And he wouldn't fight Damon anymore about it because his brother deserved happiness. And now they could all be a family.
Initially, he'd thought that idea was a little sappy. They were simply friends and although he was best friends with Caroline, he wasn't that close to Bonnie and his ex-girlfriend had just chosen his brother over him.
But when they'd reunited after nearly over two years, he could see that it was worth the wait. They were going to live forever, so he might as well get used to the fact that Caroline, Elena and Damon were all he had left.
And he could live with that.
It had been a god send to come to New Orleans because he'd found purpose. He was living the life he'd always wanted; he was free, powerful and even though Klaus never said anything about it, the Salvator's were getting a name for themselves. People even said they were Klaus' right hand men.
To be honest, Damon wasn't even sure what he'd do if it came down to letting Klaus burn or saving him. But for now, he helped him. Stefan however, probably would save him, if given the choice.
They owned half the city now; Marcel owning the other half.
"What are you doing, Damon? You look so broody, I thought that was Stefan's gig," laughed Caroline, patting him lightly in the arm as they sat at the bar with Elena and Stefan as well.
Stefan rolled his eyes. "What ever, I don't look like that," he said, taking a sip of his drink, causing Elena to laugh lightly and rested her head on Damon's shoulder.
Caroline smiled. It was good to see Elena and Damon together. They needed each other. The fact that Elena chose Damon over Stefan was a surprise and initially, not her preference. But it wasn't her life, it was theirs.
She'd fought with Elena on many occasions about how Damon wasn't her 'epic love' but now that they were going to live forever, even if they didn't want to, it put things into a different perspective for them all. So she'd let it go because she just wanted all of them to be happy.
OOO-OOO
"We have to unanimously agree," snapped Damon as he slammed his glass down on the table, his eyes narrowed at Stefan.
They all sat at the table, located in the Salvator's new home in New Orleans. Elena and Caroline had somewhat moved in, Caroline sleeping on the couch (sometimes with Stefan if she needed the comfy bed), but they stayed with each other most of the time.
Damon denied it if asked. To be honest, he didn't really care what Caroline did or so he said and didn't care that they were living with each other.
At the moment, the subject about the events of Silas' demise had come up and Damon realised that they hadn't really talked about it. And although they were technically invincible, they had no idea if they had weaknesses so it was best to keep their situation on a 'down low' status.
"Shouldn't we just tell them?" asked Caroline. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Elena nodded. "I'd like to see the look on Klaus' face, in fact, I'd love to see the fear in his eyes when he realises that his family's status isn't special anymore," she said somewhat bitterly.
Stefan sighed. "Elena I get where you're coming from but we don't really know what our weaknesses are. Maybe its the white oak too or maybe something else entirely," explained Stefan and as the girls turned their gazes to Damon, he was nodding in agreement.
They both sighed and nodded too. "Fine. I vote we keep it quiet too...for as long as we're able that is," added Caroline at the end of her vote, her blue orbs looking pointedly at Damon.
Damon regarded her carefully, before nodding and then looking at Elena.
"I agree too," said Elena finally, not that she really wanted to agree. But it was three to one so she might as well go along with it. "But if he gets on my nerves, I swear to god I'll use my new found strength to show him what he did to me."
Stefan smiled, finding it odd to hear Elena say something like that. She was always the kind one but when it came to the Original Hybrid, she was not as forgiving.
Caroline placed a hand on Elena's shoulder. "He's not like that anymore-"
"Oh please. He's a killer, Care," exclaimed Elena, angrily and then sighed as her anger ebbed away. "But so are we."
"You do realise you've been helping him, right?" asked Stefan with a raised eyebrow.
Elena frowned in confusion. "What?"
"Well, you've been helping Caroline lately with those recon jobs and she was helping me so..." started Stefan as he finished his bowl of chips and took the bowl to the sink behind them.
Elena's eyes didn't stop staring at him as he went and then she turned her anger toward Caroline.
"Is that true? Are you helping him...helping Klaus?" she exclaimed, clenching her fists and drawing blood at her side. Her half empty bowl of takeaway fried rice, forgotten.
Caroline frowned. "But you know that Stefan and Damon help him, right?" asked Caroline, not sure why Elena cared if she helped the Originals when they did it on a daily basis.
Elena pursed her lips in annoyance. "Yes but I just...I thought it was our thing to not help, Care," said Elena with disappointment in her tone.
Damon smirked. "Ah yes, but helping is Caroline's thing with the 'big bad', isn't that right Barbie? To help each other, or didn't you know? She's pining after a guy who's got a baby to take care of now. She's a bit of homewrecker like that," said Damon mockingly, as he always did.
However this time, Caroline did not appreciate it.
Elena looked to Caroline; she watched as a sad expression enveloped her best friends face. And even though she was angry about the fact that Caroline seemed to have given in and had begun to care about Klaus, she couldn't be angry with Caroline for this.
"Can we get back on topic for a minute?" asked Stefan, trying to get the conversation away from Caroline since he could see the subject was upsetting her.
And Damon didn't have tact.
"There's one other thing. Bonnie," said Stefan, causing Damon to roll his eyes.
"Oh, here we go!" exclaimed Damon.
"Oh shut up Damon! You may hate her for what she did and I can't say I like it or what ever, but she's our friend. I'd like to know the reason for why she did this to us and then disappeared, its not like we can kill her, Damon," reasoned Caroline.
Damon snorted in disagreement. "I can find ways. We have to find out what our weaknesses anyway, Blondie, and she drank from a glass too so she's one of us!" said Damon smartly, causing Caroline to glare in his direction.
Unfortunately, nobody knew that she was dead; she had been for a long time. Bonnie just wanted them to think that she had gone into hiding.
Elena narrowed her eyes at Damon. "Please Damon. At least give her the chance to explain," she reasoned, her eyes pleading for him to do as they were asking.
Damon's expression softened somewhat, but he was still debating his decision on the matter.
"We have to find her first," said Stefan as he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. As his thoughts turned to the witch in question, his expression changed. Caroline looked over at Stefan and felt an overwhelming feeling of pure evil.
Caroline remained silent as the others pondered where Bonnie might be and why she wasn't with them.
They would never be able to find her, but maybe, she would come to them.
OOO-OOO
Hayley watched from her window as Caroline, Stefan, Damon and Elena walked across the street. Caroline and Elena were talking animatedly, while Stefan and Damon seemed to be talking placidly.
She was envious that she couldn't have close friends like that but the situation she was in meant that she couldn't get everything she wanted.
Her green orbs focused on Caroline's form. Hayley watched as Caroline held a coffee cup to her lips, excitement in her eyes as she waited for Elena to spill some juicy news, or at least, that's what Hayley imagined was going on. After all, she didn't have vampire enhanced hearing.
Caroline Forbes was a free spirit. Klaus would only ever see her as an angel, an amazingly beautiful, bewitching, benevolent woman.
But Hayley simply saw a girl. A naive, silly little girl who still believed in the good; believed that people could change and do good things without reason. And that was why she had to go, because Klaus would forget about her, forget that she was the mother of his child.
OOO-OOO
Caroline sighed boredly, leaning against the corner of a sandstone building. It was dark but that was the point. She'd waited for ages, waiting for the right moment to approach Sophie Devereaux.
She was in her apartment. She'd managed to convince Rebekah to ask Klaus where she lived and so here she was. She hadn't gone in quite yet, contemplating on how she would use her words to get Sophie to send a message to her coven, whom would then spread the word to another coven and so on and so forth.
The cold didn't bother her, which was obvious since she wore a sleeveless long white singlett, a brown leather jacket, leather tights and black stiletto's.
The only thing she liked about being immortal was that she could eat what she wanted and not gain one pound; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to wear these form fitting tights. And although, her main food source was blood, she still ate human food too. Luckily when she'd died, she was pretty fit.
Caroline's blue orbs focused on the building in front of her.
She looked above and could see the 'night walkers' on the roof above. She had to hurry.
OOO-OOO
"Who are you?" asked Sophie after inviting Caroline in.
Caroline smiled. "No one really, I just need a favour. Me and my friends can give you protection, I promise-"
"Are you insane? I've got protection with the Mikaelson's," explained Sophie as she shut the front door.
Caroline sighed. "Really? How long do you think that'll last? Klaus will only protect you if he knows you will give him something in return. So far, the only thing you've done is predict Hayley's pregnancy and help him with some spells," said Caroline with a shrug.
Sophie's eyes widened as she took in Caroline's form. "Y-you're Caroline," stuttered Sophie.
Caroline snapped her gaze toward Sophie in confusion. How did she know who she was?
"Hayley said he talks about you...draws you...you're the reason he has a thing for blondes, she says," said Sophie softly as she circled Caroline with curiosity, looking her up and down.
And Sophie could see why the big bad Original would be drawn to her. Caroline's beauty was not over-exaggerated.
Caroline smiled. "Did she? I doubt that. He's moved on and that's great," she said with a smile, but inwardly her heart was breaking again. "But that's not why I'm here."
After Caroline explained what she wanted, Sophie frowned at her request.
"Why?" asked Sophie in confusion.
Caroline got up from her spot on the couch, grabbed her hand bag and went for the door.
"Because she's family," said Caroline as she reached for the door handle.
"I will need protection sooner or later when Klaus decides I'm not useful, as you say. You will protect me...and Hayley," said Sophie, getting up from her sitting position on the couch.
Her eyes penetrated Caroline's to show her she was dead serious.
"Hayley is not part of the deal, I don't care what happens to her," said Caroline snippily.
Sophie raised an eyebrow. "You will. She's the mother of his child and she has a great deal to offer," explained Sophie.
"Are you serious right now?! What exactly does she have to offer?" snapped Caroline, regarding Sophie with anger.
Sophie smiled knowingly. "She knows the identity of your mother's killer, for one."
OOO-OOO
Caroline lay on the grass beside Elena as they looked up at the clouds. Blood spilled onto the grass next to them, from their wounds which were now healing.
"So far we've tried steel, silver, wood and none of those can hurt us. We keep staking each other in the heart with wood and so far, all we've achieved is that we wake up faster," sighed Caroline.
Elena looked over at Caroline and shrugged. "Well, at least we know we really can't die," said Elena in a dark tone.
"C'mon ladies, no need to be so doomy and gloomy," said Damon's chirpy voice from a few metres away. "I say we try and steal one of Klaus' daggers and some white oak ash and try to dagger one of us."
Stefan snapped his gaze to his brother, clearly not amused by his idea. He was sitting underneath a tree, enjoying the break from all the pain.
"And who would volunteer to do it? You?" asked Stefan incredulously.
"Course not Stefan! I vote Blondie," he said snidely as he turned to see Caroline's angry expression.
"Stop being a dick Damon, she's not doing it. I'll do it," said Stefan, knowing that there was a chance he could die.
Damon shook his head. "Stefan-"
"Damon stop! No one is doing it. Lets just focus on surviving for now, then we'll work on how we can die," said Stefan calmly. "I think we should show them how to pull out a heart...just in case they need to know."
OOO-OOO
Klaus, Stefan and Elijah were out meeting with Marcel. Damon and Elena were out on a date, so Caroline decided to take things into her own hands.
She'd find that dagger and then they could draw straws on who would be the one to be daggered.
She'd been to his mansion a handful of times, since she was trying to avoid Klaus as much as possible. Caroline hated seeing him because it reminded her of how much she cared about him - and she hated feeling hurt.
She stopped at the entrance, took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut as she thought about Klaus. She hated it and wondered if this is how he felt before, when Tyler was around.
Caroline shook her head as she began to focus. She pulled off her heels, holding them in her left hand as she crept stealthily around the mansion. She would imagine he would keep the dagger in his safe which was located in his study, either that, or in his bedroom.
Once she managed to find the study, after going into almost every room on the ground floor, she opened all the drawers first. When she found nothing there, she went straight to the safe, wondering what the combination may be.
Of course she wouldn't know, so she ripped off the door with ease; throwing the door to the ground. Her eyes lit up when she noticed the dagger inside, however, none of the white oak ash was there.
She picked up the dagger, twirling it in her fingers as she turned to find Elijah standing there with rage in his eyes.
Caroline gasped in surprise.
"The ash isn't here," he said calmly, but Caroline could see the anger beneath his calm exterior.
"I can explain-"
Elijah began to walk forward slowly with a creepy smile upon his face.
"I'm sure you can, Miss Forbes, however, I don't think I'll be able to listen," he said as he rushed forward, using his vampire strength, to grab Caroline by the throat.
However, he was unpleasantly surprised to find that she caught his hand before it reached her delicate skin. His horrified expression was met with her serious one. This was not the time to gloat. She had explaining to do now and it would ruin the pact she had with her friends...but it was necessary.
"Please, just stop," she said, almost pleadingly but he wasn't going to give up.
It was a fluke that she'd caught his hand. He pushed her backward into the wall next to the desk. She gasped in pain but used the momentum from hitting the wall to push Elijah off her.
He stumbled backward a metre or so in confusion, when suddenly Caroline was in front of him and her hand entered his chest cavity; her slender fingers rested gently around his heart. His eyes widened, since this had never happened to him before.
She leaned in and put her slender hand around the other side of his neck to hold him in position, whispering something into his ear.
"I'm sorry, but this seems to be the only way to get your attention. I don't want to fight and I wasn't trying to retrieve this dagger to hurt Klaus or you or even Rebekah. Something happened to us, Elijah," she said as she pulled her hand out of his chest slowly, to show she didn't want to really hurt him.
She backed away to give him space and she watched as Elijah put a palm to his chest, feeling as he began to heal rapidly.
"You...you have the strength I have and the speed...how?" he asked, his brown orbs finding hers instantly. "Even if the same spell was cast on you, we still have a thousand more years of experience and strength than you."
Caroline pursed her lips. "But Silas was stronger than all of you. Qetsiyah granted Bonnie the power to make immortal, invincible beings. It was the same spell used to make Silas what he was. Her spell was far more superior...no offence, than the one that your mum did a thousand years ago. Look, we don't know what our weaknesses are exactly so we've been testing ourselves. This is the next test," explained Caroline, hoping that Elijah would understand.
Elijah seemed to be taking it in slowly and nodded. "Why didn't you just ask Niklaus?"
Caroline paused from answering for a moment as her eyes searched Elijah's almost pleadingly.
"You can't tell him...you can't tell anyone," said Caroline, looking up at Elijah. "I know you don't know me, only through what Stefan has told you-"
"And Niklaus."
"-yeah and him. But Elijah you'll need us in this fight. No one knows that there are others like your family, its an advantage. I don't want Klaus knowing because, well, he's got enough to think about," said Caroline quietly as she began to walk past him.
Elijah frowned at her last comment but decided to agree for now. It was in all their best interests for this to remain a secret, even from Klaus.
"Very well, Caroline. I will uphold your request. But in return, you will be loyal to us. I am aware that you and Elena have been helping in a somewhat small capacity, it is time you took a more permanent role," said Elijah as he turned, adjusting his tie.
Caroline sighed. "God! You Mikaelson's seem to know everything that everyone is up to!" she said, frustratingly. "I'll agree. But the thing is Elijah, I'm Klaus' friend but Stefan is loyal to him too. And because Stef is, I am as well because I support my family in what ever they want to do."
Elijah frowned at her comment. "Family?"
"I have no blood family left and Stefan, Elena and even Damon are all I have now. And I will have them forever. I have to cherish what I have and that's why we have to figure out what can hurt us so we can make sure we will always be together," explained Caroline, pleading with Elijah to understand.
And he did. All too well. That's all he'd ever wanted for his family too. He had been Caroline once but he'd failed somewhat. He'd hate to see young Caroline fail.
He pulled out of his slack pocket, a vial full of white ash. The White Oak ash. Elijah handed it to Caroline, after he walked over and placed it in her hand.
"But if you betray us, there is no where you can run," he warned dangerously.
Caroline laughed. "You're right. But you can't kill us now. No one can...that's the problem, isn't it?"
Elijah watched her leave and realised how true her last statement really was.
OOO-OOO
She'd knocked on his door, deciding that she needed his 'permission' to go to Marcel about her mother's killer. She didn't want to start a full on war because of her actions.
"Caroline," said Klaus in a surprised manner. He opened the door wider to take in her form.
"Klaus," she said, pushing past him to enter his mansion.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, sweetheart?" he asked softly from behind her.
"I have to go to Marcel, he has something I want," she said, trying to seem up front.
Klaus was taken aback but her bold statement. Just what did Marcel have of hers? Slight annoyance and anger crept into his emotions as he wondered how his protege had managed to hurt Caroline without his knowledge.
"And what exactly is it you want from him?" he asked sternly, walking toward her and stopping only half a metre away. He looked down at her, trying to work out her play.
"Not what...who. I came here to let you know I'm going to him and that I don't want to start a war, that's all," she said as she walked passed him and toward the front door once more.
Klaus was about to walk forward to demand her reasoning.
"Why would it start a war? If you haven't noticed, love, I work with Marcel," he said, still quite intrigued by her sudden interest in Marcel. This caused her to spin to face him with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Its probably best you don't know," she said quietly as she averted her eyes.
Klaus could see a sadness in her eyes, something that he was quite akin to.
"I think you'll find it is, Caroline...did he hurt you?" he said in an almost demanding tone. His icy blue orbs flickered with rage at the prospect of anyone touching a hair on Caroline's beautiful head.
He'd tried to move on, he had. Camille was starting to really be a big part of his life but she wasn't Caroline. He had resigned himself to believing it could never be...but then she turned up on his door around two years ago, and he began to hope once again.
Caroline thought about her 'side quest'; to avenge her mother. Her last blood relative that mattered and now she was dead.
Before she knew it, tears were forming in her eyes, unwanted tears that she blinked away.
"Just know that its a personal vendetta," she said quietly, avoiding his gaze.
"Caroline...I'm sorry about your mother...truly-"
Caroline shook her head as the tears began to fall. "Sure you are. I wouldn't expect you to help me, we're not friends anymore...not really. You have a different life now, one that doesn't involve me and that's cool," she said, before grabbing the door handle and pulling the door open.
Klaus wasn't exactly sure what had happened, was it something he said? Either way, he didn't like her words one bit, though, he never had. Her words usually had a bite to them but it was usually masking her true feelings.
"Caroline," he snapped angrily as he walked after her. "You know that's not true. I know that you help Stefan, love, and in turn that helps me."
Caroline turned, her face devoid of a diffinitive emotion. It was true, she did. And maybe inadvertedly, it helped Klaus. And perhaps thats what she intended sometimes.
"No, I help Stefan because I have no blood family left. I won't allow him to get hurt in your war and so yeah, I help him sometimes. But so does Elena and for the same reasons. And I can see why he stays. Its beautiful here or at least, it could be once the war is over," explained Caroline, trying to show him that she didn't care about him anymore.
Klaus was hurt, she could see it in his eyes.
"You're hurt and I guess that was my intention. But you hurt me too. I've been hurt too many times by men who claimed to love me. I'm over that, I won't stand for that anymore, Klaus. But I expected you to hurt me the most because you're you. And I'm happy for you. You have a life here, a child...Hayley and Camille and I'm glad," smiled Caroline as she looked up into Klaus' eyes. He was surprised by her words of encouragement.
"You've found happiness. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we'll still be wondering around trying to find what you have right now," said Caroline bleakly as she turned and began to walk down the stairs.
Klaus watched her leave, because something she said just wasn't true. He wasn't happy here. Camille made the time pass a little faster and sure, before Caroline arrived, he thought that Camille could make him happy, eventually. She was quirky, abrupt, strong (like Caroline) and was a beauty to be sure.
But Caroline's appearance in New Orleans made him realise that no one compared to her. And so he found his legs moving until he was standing in front of Caroline, blocking her from passing any further.
Her blue eyes widened in surprise as he placed his hands either side her cheeks.
"I'm not happy. I meant what I said when I left Mystic Falls. I intend to be your last love and I'll wait for it," he said softly, wishing he could just lean in and kiss her.
Caroline's gaze softened, as it did the first time he said that to her. A small smile crept onto her face and this time she placed a hand on one of his, squeezing gently.
"I know, Klaus. I know."
A/N: I'll end it here. Thanks for reading, please review!
Bullet2tm