His eyes followed the loose strands of her blonde hair as he proceeded to trace the line of her jaw, taking in the details of her face, her lips. A century in a catatonic slumber made everything alluring to the vampire but more so the exquisite blonde whom his half-brother had taken up in a dance. Even now, suppressing a scowl, he found her attractive.
Kol remained at the bottom of the staircase. He had no desire to mingle. His mere presence at the event was only to humor his mother; to please her. Had he his way? He would have gone out for a bite to eat. He had a desire, a thirst, that had yet to be quenched no matter how much blood he consumed since his awakening. The original blamed his years in the coffin. If this was how he was feeling he couldn't bring himself to imagine how his brother, Finn, was coping.
"Brother," Elijah's voice did not go unnoticed by Kol, but he continued to watch Niklaus and his dance partner with intensity. The vampire was itching for revenge, to put Niklaus in his place. He's a Hybrid, what of it? Kol would not let such a minor detail(minor in his eyes) change his opinion on how superior he was to his half-brother. "What is it Elijah?"
"I wish a conference with Klaus. Rebekah is..." Elijah furrowed his brows, going through his broad and ancient list of vocabulary for the right word. "...occupied at the moment and Finn is with mother."
"And what would you have me do?" at this, Kol turned to his brother, Elijah, whom he respected as equally as he did Finn.
"Fetch him for me, discreetly," he added quickly, remembering all that were in attendance of this ball. "See to it he separates from Miss Forbes. My contract with the Salvatore's includes the girl. I will not have Niklaus mess it up." Kol nodded in agreement then followed the gesture with the act of pushing the wrinkles off of his tuxedo jacket. "I'll have him meet you upstairs then." He maneuvered around the crowd of guests, every so often the thought of sucking them dry rose in his thoughts but he quickly dismissed them. When finally he reached the Hybrid, the girl looked relieved to be interrupted. "Niklaus," Kol placed a hand on his shoulders, his grip tightening in intimidation after each word. "Elijah wises to exchange a few words...upstairs."
Klaus allowed a look of annoyance to pass him, he and Caroline had stopped dancing but he continued to uphold the stance; an arm on her waist and the other intertwined with hers. "I'm otherwise occupied, Kol. Tell Elijah-"
"Niklaus." Kol added a cold and bitterness to his tone that almost made it sound more like he was growling than speaking. Klaus' jaw tightened in reaction as he let go of Caroline hesitantly. "Very well." He turned to Caroline, "Excuse me, love." The moment he had turned his back on her, Caroline's form relaxed. Her heart had been racing a mile a minute and the fact was made obvious by anyone with super hearing who was paying attention.
Kol allowed a chuckle to escape him, "My brother does not please you?" Though he didn't have to ask. "May I?" he extended a hand to the younger Vampire and he could already sense her heart racing again. "Not to worry, I am not Niklaus."
Caroline studied the elder for a moment, then slowly slipped her hand into his as he picked up on the tempo of the music and lead. She kept up with his steps and in a move that surprised Kol, she pressed her body against his and moved to speak next to his ear. "Listen, bucko-o." Her annoyance was something he had not expected. "I've had enough of dancing around this scenario-pun not intended. Why are we all here? Hmm? Don't tell me you originals decided you want to play nice now that Momma's back in town." She separated from him, still dancing, her eyebrows raised impatiently. Kol couldn't help what he did next. He laughed.
"What's so funny?" She looked offended, like he wasn't taking her seriously. He seemed to catch on to that quickly and regained his composure.
"Forgive me, I just did not expect such a delicate looking thing to speak to me so furiously." Caroline relaxed, like she was comfortable with the assumption. No doubt, she had gotten it many times before. "There is nothing going on," he assured. "Nothing that is suppose to involve your lot-that I know of." He was quick to add that bit.
"So what? You guys wake up from a long sleep and have a ball?" she shook her head in disbelief in tempo to the music. "I'd be more concerned with making up for lost luncheon time." Now that was something he could relate to and so he nodded in agreement. "Believe me...Caroline is it? My last intention would have been to throw an event."
A moment of silence past between them until she spoke again, this time she seemed a bit less guarded then previously. "So which one are you?"
"Kol," he answered. "Just Kol."
"Can't you originals have, I dunno... normal names?"
He gave off a fake look of offense. "And Caroline is normal? It sounds like a name for a feline. A southern, inbred feline." He should have been more gentle with his words.
"Hey, it's a family name!" She was quick to respond with vice.
"Fair enough," he chuckled once more. "My you really are a spitfire, I can see why Niklaus has taken an interest with you." She scowled, moving her gaze down to the hem of her gown. "I can see the feeling is not mutual."
"Mutual?" she looked up with narrowed eyes, like the assumption was more farfetched than a flying pig. "Of course it's not. When it comes down to it, he ruined my life. Sure, he gave me a new outlook on it, now, but what about everything else? I'm just playing nice for his sake and my own. The last thing I need is for you guys to mess up my family and friends-more than they already are."
It was Kol's turn to look offended. "Do not assume to include me in Niklaus's inner circle, little girl. I'll have you know I act of my own accord and rightly so. " He scoffed, silence filling the space between them again. They had slowed their dancing to a stop before she apologized.
"My bad."
He raised a brow, "You're what?"
Now it was Caroline's turn to laugh, only hers was a bit more indulgent. "It's a saying," she remembered that Kol wasn't around to pick up on the recent trend of linguistics. The entertainment of it was enough to distract her from the look he was giving her. A mixture of intrigue and disbelief.
"Well, it seems I have a lot more to catch up on. Perhaps you will do me the honor of bringing me up to speed?" he lead her off the dance floor. "In return, I'll help conceal you from my brother for the night. Seems like a fair trade, yes?"
She thought it over, tugging on the bait. "Okay then," she pointed a firm finger into his chest. "But I should warn you, I've got a pepper spray bottle full of vervain and protective friends. You know... in case you wanna try anything."
"Not to worry, Caroline. I fear more for my safety from you than yours from me."
