A/N: Hey guys, this is my first fanfic ever so I'd really appreciate any reviews you have for me! Thanks a bunch :)
Oh also Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they're all from TVD
New York City, New York
It had only been two weeks since Giuseppi Salvatore had died. She hadn't even had time to process it when her brothers dropped yet another bombshell in her lap.
"I'm sorry, Caroline. But it's for the best for everyone." Damon said, somewhat ashamed. Stefan lurked behind him, letting his brother do the dirty work at least having the decency to look somewhat abashed.
"I am not going to marry a Mikaelson. Let alone Niklaus Mikaelson! Are you crazy? He'd kill me!" she responded, shocked at the suggestion. Her cousins, though they were more like brothers to her looked at her with pity, but said nothing. Damon was now head of the Salvatore Corporation and Stefan was his man in the boardroom. Caroline, Giuseppi's adoptive daughter (both of her parents had died five years ago and being her closest living relative took her under his wing) had been the closest to him out of the three but his death had come as a shock, a heart attack at 53, and so he had never had time to revise his will.
It was not something Caroline would have thought would be a problem, Damon and Stefan loved her, she was a Salvatore in all but name. But now they were trying to get her to marry a Mikaelson?
Mikaleson Industries is Salvatore Corporation's biggest competitor, but it goes much farther than that. There seemingly eternal feud between the families now reaches far past the business deals and cordial lunches. Back alley stabbings between associates, muggings of related members of either family, occasionally even fighting between members of their respective immediate families. But Caroline had only ever heard whispers, she was never directly involved. However, she had a knee-jerk hatred of all things Mikaelson that had been drilled into her since before she could remember
"There's no point in dragging this out, Barbie. In order to end this feud-" Damon started. Caroline winced internally at the moniker then spit out,
"Why the hell do we have to end the feud now? What's changed? No more backbone, Damon?!"
"Of course not! But I do recognize other threats when I see them. Larger threats. Pentacorp is challenging the two of us for dominance and not just in business deals, though they're hurting us enough there! They're picking off our men left and right in the streets. Father talked about this before his death, he knew we would have to ally with one of them before long and we know the Mikaelson's! We may despise them, but we know them and I can't say the same for Pentacorp!" Damon finished angrily.
"You can't make me do this, you know." Caroline said defiantly, "I am not your property!" There were a couple of moments of silence, Stefan had stayed silent this whole time, he'd always had a difficult time making a decision when the path was not black and white. But this should be, I'm your sister! Caroline thought furiously. But maybe they don't think of me that way...
Damon had walked over to his wood paneled desk and thumbed his way down to a switch, after a moment's hesitation he flicked it and it revealed a live feed of Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennet, it was as if they were being watched from behind some trees.
"We knew you wouldn't want to do this. But this is what needs to happen. We're all making sacrifices here, Caroline. If you want your friends to stay safe, you will do what I say." Caroline stared at her best friends on the screen for a moment. Then without saying a word, she turned slowly towards Damon, walked a few feet towards him, and with deadly calm hauled back and punched him in the face. He staggered and grabbed his jaw but it did not seem to have a large effect on him. She then turned to Stefan. Et tu, Brute? She thought bitterly. He had always been her knight in shining armor. When she had felt one-upped by Elena, when Matt and Tyler had stomped on her heart, when she remembered her parents on their birthdays...
She walked out of the room calmly but once she had made it safely into her room, the storm that had been brewing beneath the icy blonde exterior melted and she collapsed, silent tears streaming down her face as she struggled not to make a sound.
She had been like this since her parents' tragic deaths. Animal attack in the forest apparently. She had been a happy, bright and affectionate child. Playing with her cousins, now brothers, skipping with Elena and Bonnie. But at 12 years old that had all changed. The five years since then had been spent retaining all emotion, except in solitude. But even then she did not allow herself to make a sound or feel all that she could feel, for it would be an insult to her parents' memory to let anything hurt her as much as that had.
Caroline walked into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She calmly wiped her face dry and schooled her features into a pale mask. She was stronger than anything the Salvatore's could throw at her. She could best anything the world could shove down her throat. She would figure all of this out.
But for now, all she really could do was sleep.
Well, I hope you all like where this is going! I published this without editing but I just went back through it and fixed some sentences I didn't like. I know it's rather short but I'm pretty sure it's going to be super long and I'll update pretty frequently so you'll see short tidbits two or three times a week!
