It was 1450.
Klaus saw her across the crowded hall, somewhat lost and confused. She seemed to be looking for someone. She had to be a princess, he was sure of it. A princess dressed in layers and layers of gauzy lilac material, satin but not quite, with every fabric draping her curves. It would've been extremely scandalous if it weren't for her radiant beauty. It was an indescribable innocence that clouded her face, and a luminescent feeling that she exuded. Years later the lady would confess to him that she wasn't supposed to meet him that night. She was a little too early, a little too young.
Every once in a while, she'd close her eyes, and touch her shoulders. It wasn't pain that he saw on her face, but something else completely. He couldn't quite put a finger on it though. That very night he'd realize what it was: Longing.
No man dared to approach her, even though all of them could not keep their eyes to themselves. A lady of her elegance and beauty must be at the banquet for one reason and one reason only: Lord Niklaus. There was no chance in the world she would be there for someone else.
Klaus stared at her, and stared some more.
"She's a beauty, isn't she?" he said to Elijah, who was himself attracting very amorous glances from the ladies.
"She certainly is, brother. Perhaps you could spare her?" the slightest hint of pleading in Elijah's voice.
"Not a chance."
Elijah was dreary, knowing how the night would end for the lady. Klaus would beguile her with words that could melt any woman's heart, they would spend a night together, and just when she thought he would be the love of her life, he will pull her heart out of her chest. It was the same thing, over and over and over again. Still, he did nothing to stop his brother. How could he, when every night he is tempted to shut down everything and do the same as him?
Klaus may have been momentarily dazed by the lady's striking unlikeness, but he was still confident that he was in no way out of her league. He, like all the other men in the banquet, knew that the unnamed lady was for him, and only for him.
The lady caught his stare, and stared back. And it was the moment she knew. It was him. He was the reason she was there.
Klaus was ready. He had a line in mind, this was routine. She would giggle, blush, and smile some more. Maybe he would even ask her to dance, with the music of Ockeghem ringing in the hall. He had done this countless of times. This should be easy.
And it was, because he didn't even need to ask her to dance.
As he neared her, she herself took steps towards him, took his hand and led him out of the hall. He was taken aback. That has never happened before. That was not the way 15th century women acted around noblemen. Nonetheless, he followed her to the gardens. She stopped in front of a lost white stallion, most likely a runaway, but exquisite nonetheless.
"Have you ever talked to them? To the horses?" the lady asked him. She raised her sleeve, and touched the creature's face. Again, she was a surprise to him. Her voice, was with an accent he has never heard of, somewhat clearer than his own.
Klaus raised an eyebrow, and tried to go along her seemingly random spirit. "What do you mean? That would be ridiculous."
"They can be very friendly, you know. They are loyal, and serving. They would always put themselves first before their masters."
There was a tugging in his heart. A certain desire to know more about this curious young lady, who not only disregarded the customary ways of a banquet, but also spoke of the creature in a way he has never heard of. Plus, no woman has ever started a conversation with Klaus about horses, and if he could just ignore the seriousness with which she described them, it would have been quite funny.
"You're staring at me." she said, turning her attention from the stallion to the man beside her.
"Forgive me. In all my travels, I do not think I have ever encountered a lady of your kind. Tell me, where are you from?"
"From the moon, from the stars, from the highest of heavens, Lord Niklaus." she grinned, saying his title with a mocking tone.
"I could not agree more, but then, I guess, that I would be from the very depths of hell." Klaus laughed. As far as he knows, she has no idea of the truth behind his little joke.
"I doubt that." she said to him, looking down and smiling.
"Well it seems unfair that you know my name, but I have no knowledge of yours."
She stopped at the question, and seemed to be in deep thought for a while. "Caroline. Call me Caroline."
He eventually led her to his bedchamber, and she obliged. It really was unusual, for a lady to follow as easily as she did to his request, without his compulsion. He was intrigued, but also troubled, doubting her dignity. But as he looked at her face, her golden locks cascading down her back, and her skin so incandescent, he knew that she was, unmistakably, honorable.
She was just… different.
Caroline looked around the chamber, taking in the unfamiliar space. It was humungous, not a surprise considering the size of the castle the brothers were residing in. Red and gold drapery hung from every window, and candles lit every surface available. The bed was gigantic, almost comically so. Paintings hung above it, depicting shapes and symbols that must mean something somewhere. Beside the bed was a desk, cluttered with illustrations and letters in different handwritings.
"Letters, from… admirers." Klaus explained as he saw the question on her face.
"You must have a lot then."
He came closer to her, and brushed with his finger the part of her shoulder he'd seen her touch that night. Even though they were both facing the same direction, he could just imagine her eyes closing to his touch. As his fingers grazed the back uncovered by her clothing, she grabbed his hand and turned around. He couldn't help the excitement that rushed through his body when hers so closely pressed against his. This girl was special, he knew it. Caroline might just be his greatest one time lover, and his greatest kill of all time.
The sight of her lips was almost too much for him. The room was growing warmer by the second, and the slight breeze from the windows did nothing to help it. Klaus slowly lowered his lips to Caroline's as if there was a pull of gravity, strong and magnetic. The lingering moments before their lips touched were enough to send him over the edge.
And when it finally happened, it was euphoric.
Klaus has never experienced a simple kiss that strong and that powerful. The feeling can only be rivaled by his first taste of blood. It was as if her lips possessed a surrealistic power.
It was a kiss that would leave any man wanting more.
That was until it wasn't anymore.
As soon as his lips touched hers, and after the euphoria settled in, his lips were burning. Literally. Klaus quickly separated his lips from Caroline's, and touched it with his fingers. It was reminiscent of the pain Vervain gave him before he developed immunity to it, but the kiss burned much worse.
"What? What in world-" he stuttered in disbelief and pain. Caroline looked at him innocently, but then her face turned into a smirk. Clearly, she was not the person he thought she was. Or was she a person at all? That burning was not natural. Klaus grabbed her arms, which burned him even further. Caroline looked as normal as any, but her skin felt like fire to Klaus's fingers. She was ablaze.
"What are you? Where are you from?" Klaus shouted, his temper flaring and fear rising up in his throat for the first time in a very long time.
Caroline took a step closer to him, and sneered when he slightly took a step back.
"I have already told you. I am from the heavens."
"What do you mean?" Klaus growled, confusion all over his face. Was she a witch, some crazy human form of Vervain? Of Wolfsbane? A thousand possibilities raced through his mind, but he never could have guessed the words she would answer him with.
"I'm an angel, Klaus. And I am here to save you."