Summary: AU. Transformation shattered her mind. She cannot be fixed. And he understood that well.

Rating: M for safety

Note: Around season 2. Random shot. I own nothing except imagination. No offence, no beta. Please review!


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"Sweet one, I have returned." Klaus purred as he entered a small, isolated house which was reeking of something strong. Blood and something rotten. For a moment there, he stood there with callous expression on his face. Every wall had gotten dried blood stains - some looked like splashed, and a few appeared like they were drawn. Klaus crunched his nose and chuckled a bit when he finally found bodies in a corner.

Caroline made clear that she didn't like this place, in her style, or maybe she had something in her mind. Maybe she remembered a thing or two from her past. Only God would know what she thinks.

Klaus had been observing her for days now, still he failed to estimate her - even for someone like him, who lived for centuries, who was at least a step ahead of others. From the very beginning, Caroline managed to surprise him.

Distantly Klaus then heard humming. Shaking his head, he went up to her room and found her brushing hair while sitting near dressing table. That baby pink colored nightie hugged her curves in perfect manner. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Caroline's eyes immediately lit up with happiness. Her lips stretched to their extremes and turned around to his side. "You came back!" she squealed and sped to him. Klaus wrapped his arms around the baby vampire and kissed on the crown of her head. "I can see light again." She smiled as she pulled back. "Like you said, I didn't step out of my castle even though it smelled." She pouted like a five year old. "It needs a wash very badly."

"But you made a mess down there, love." Klaus knocked her cheek playfully and made her to widen eyes in realization. "Speaking of which, why didn't they clean that already?" he inquired about vampires he appointed to look after her.

Caroline sucked her lower lip nervously. When Klaus gave her a questioning look, she sighed. "You won't be mad at me if I tell you something?"

"Why would I be mad at you? Tell me, where are they sweetheart?" Klaus pressed his lips into a thin line as a way to contain his smile. She really thought he would get upset with her? Because it was not possible.

People might think of her as an aberrant vampire - or in better words 'a baby vampire who lost her mind' for some unknown reasons. But to him, she was more like a toddler. A strange toddler. Maybe her ways were different and she could turn into a volatile person, he would agree, but in Klaus' presence she never did.

When she hesitated, Klaus smiled lightly. "Did I ever say at least a thing to you, Caroline?" Probably the softness in his voice could help her to loosen up a little? Klaus was not accustomed to comfort people before now. Before Caroline, he might say.

Caroline shook her head as no, and still looked anxious before she clasped his wrist, dragged him toward the bathroom.

Klaus raised his brows looking at a beheaded vampire, and then next to him two pale vampires were lying across the floor - staked. None of them was alive, of course. Caroline made sure of it.

She snuggled close to him and curled hands around his waist. "I'm sorry because I'm not sorry for what I did." She mumbled blinking her bright blues up at him.

Klaus observed that only one was attacked viciously. He knew that pattern - Caroline's way of killing someone who would try to hurt her. He had seen the way when he met her for the first time - in an abandoned warehouse.


Klaus didn't understand how all of sudden unusual amount of familiar metallic smell in the air increased. He walked to the deserted warehouse when he sensed someone's presence in it. And when he did, he spotted blood on that dusty floor, bodies were severely damaged. The humans' heads were thrown beside recklessly. The killer was definitely a heartless one. Klaus, being the Original, had never opened his preys' insides in such a way, but this one -

His thoughts ended when noticed the killer's presence. Needless to say, he was surprised to see a lady circling the dead bodies and it caused a smirk to his face.

Young vampires.

Definitely they were the amusing pieces, according to Klaus. He remembered the first few days after his transformation. He had almost killed everyone he came across. It had become so hard for him to control his cravings. Blood, blood and only blood - was the thing that had run in his mind.

The woman's silhouette stopped at one point and at the same time Klaus turned torch to her face. Half of her face was covered with blood itself. Her fangs were down and she let out a deep menacing growl. Klaus chuckled at that. "Certainly, I missed the show."

She stepped back and hid her face behind her arms. "How will you treat me?" she asked after a minute.

Klaus frowned slightly in confusion. "What?"

Keeping her hands down, she asked again. "Will you be good to me or bad like them?" she pointed at the bodies.

His frown deepened observing the way she acted. Her body-language was not normal. Either she was playing or - Impossible. Some sick bastards had transformed a mentally retarded woman into vampire? He didn't know, he couldn't conclude so.

And then, the woman started to cry softly. "Bad scares me. Please, don't be bad." She pleaded weakly. "Even I'm so bad now. And they said I'm terrible." She sped to him suddenly making him to take a back step. "I don't want to be bad." She hiccuped as she reached out for his hand.

Pain and desperation in her voice made Klaus to think of her situation. It was damn clear; she needed help. At one point, she referred the dead people as bad and now she told about herself. Her mind was so unclear; she was not even fully aware of her condition. What kind of rogue did this to her?

Klaus was called worst but this was something unacceptable. To him.

Also leaving her in this state would cause severe troubles. He took a minute or two to contemplate and finally decided.


"What he did to you?" Klaus asked pointing at the beheaded vampire.

"Andy's bad to me, said mean things when I painted the walls with my food. I only wanted to have fun." Caroline replied in a meek voice. "Andy pushed me onto bed like him and tried to do something with me." She glared at Andy's head. "I didn't like it."

Klaus immediately understood what she meant. He shouldn't have trusted Andy too easily. He was gone for a week to finalize things with his witches and to prepare for his ritual. And he thought Andy would look after Caroline when he was gone to Mystic Falls to break the curse. Bastard.

Something then crossed his brain.

'- Like him -'

That piqued his interest. Klaus squinted at her. "Like whom?"

Caroline looked up at the ceiling as if she was trying to recollect. "Like him." She repeated blankly. "Like the one who did the same to me in past."

Now it made a little sense to him. Klaus scrunched his nose in disgust and tightened his grip around her and took her out of that bloodied bathroom. And Caroline knew where she came from. He thought to find by compelling out information, but he didn't know if it could damage her mind further.

"They were not here to protect me. They failed at it. So, I said that I don't want them." She added, satisfied with what she did. Klaus took a moment to understand that she spoke about the other vampires that were staked. He made her to sit on the bed while he dragged a chair close to her. Looking at his composed face, Caroline sucked her lip before she asked with a pout. "Are you upset with me?"

Settling down in chair, he huffed out a smile and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm actually proud of you, love."

Caroline widened her eyes and gasped like a kid who was appreciated. Klaus chuckled at her reaction. This one, this particular one would always bring smile to his lips. Her company was rather a peaceful one.

"And I want you to be like this." He said leaning back and stretching his legs. "My strong little warrior."

"Seriously?"

Klaus chortled a little and shook his head. A minute later he blurted. "Caroline, I'll be gone." Her smile vanished and began to shake her head vigorously as no. "I have to go, sweet one." He said in a clipped tone. He had to break this stupid curse placed by his mother. Recently they found that the doppelganger was living in Mystic Falls, and so he made arrangements for his departure. "Once I told you, remember?" His lips twitched slightly. "I'm going to be more powerful one day. And that moment has come, love."

Caroline pouted at him again and asked. "My light disappears?"

"No!" his reply was instant. Astonished with his own reaction, Klaus cleared his throat and told softly. "I have to do this alone. For your own good. As soon as I'm done, I will return. I will return before you know and we can-"

"Caroline don't want good!" she argued, cut his sentence in middle, stood up from the bed, kneeled beside him and uncurled her lower lip. "Please, Klaus take me with you. I- I will behave, I will not make mess." She began to count the things he said to do in past while she looked up. "Um, yes! I will not paint walls with my food. "

Klaus gaped at her for a minute. He still had no idea how she believed him above all in the first place. And positively, he didn't appreciate Caroline growing fond of him. He should not suppose to have this soft spot for her. But the day he took her under his wing was the day he began to protect her automatically.

"I don't want to be in dark, Klaus." She bent head to her right and blinked her teary blue eyes. "It is frightening in there, I cannot see the path without you. Will you be my light? Always?" she asked expectantly. "You have been my light from the day I turned bad."

Klaus cupped her cheek and she leaned into his hand quickly. He looked into her hopeful eyes and smiled, confined his mind to something. A person who lost her mind apparently believed him more than anyone, more than self. This feeling - it was different. Needless to say, he liked it.

"I promise, Caroline." He assured with a firm nod. "You won't be alone from now on. And don't you worry about it - " he smiled lightly and placed a soft kiss on her forehead making her to giggle, "- even in your dreams, sweet one."

"Really?" her eyes sparked up with light. And when he confirmed, she mumbled with a distant smile. "Stars are shining more brightly now, I can feel them. I can feel to the flapping sounds of birds in my mind. I can feel all of it, Klaus!" she jumped up and twirled in circles while smiling. "I'm like the floating leaf on water. Can you feel it too?"

She asked, but didn't pay any attention to him. Klaus sat there watching her with a fading smile. He wondered how she was in the past. Perhaps, one day, one fine day he could get single chance to meet people who did this to her. Grinding his jaws together, Klaus thought - they would see hell. No, wait. It should be worst than hell. Yeah.

Klaus snapped out of it and smiled. "Sweet one, get ready. We need to leave right away."

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