Author's note: This was written for Klaroline AU Week and is also a gift for 3tinkgemini, who is a wonderful sounding board for ideas and just an all-around lovely person! I also encourage you to go check out her incredibly creative, marvelous works! In this multi-chap story, human!Klaus has been whisked away to a secluded resort to live out what he assumes are his final days in peace. However, his meddlesome brother, Kol, has other ideas and seems to believe the foolish legends about the mysterious resort run by an intriguing blonde.
Chapter 1: A Strange and Marvelous Path
It looked like a nice place to die. The gently rolling green hills were bursting with fragrant clover and the surface of the lake sparkled like diamonds in the mid-day sunlight. Klaus was pleased his headaches had followed their predictable pattern established over the past year and lessened as the morning wore on. He actually could sit upright in his brother's Porsche without the familiar searing pain. Kol had taken a look at his overly pale, sweaty face when he first piled Klaus into his car and cheekily told him, "Brother or no, you splash any sick on my leather interior and your bony ass is walking to the resort, Nik."
Klaus had appreciated his brother's attempt at humor; in fact, ever since he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Kol had been the one sibling he could count on not to treat him any differently. While everyone else looked at him with pity in their eyes, he knew he could count on his mischievous brother to give him a wink and dare him to pretend to be a foreign diplomat while chatting up a pretty bird in whatever pub he'd dragged him to.
His smile was bittersweet as he thought of the surgeries and seemingly endless rounds of chemo he had endured — all for the doctors to tell him he'd only bought himself another five or six months. Which is why he had agreed to live out the rest of his days at a peaceful, remote resort called The Traveler's Path that Kol had heard about a few hours from where they grew up. With an appreciative eye, he took in the rustic, reddish-brown cedar logs of the enormous cabin, enjoying their signature scent as they walked through the lobby.
A stunning blonde was perched on top of the tall counter, carefully dusting several clay pots in varying shades of orange and red so vibrant, it appeared as though she was surrounded by a sunset. She flashed the brothers a blinding smile and gracefully jumped down, holding out her hand for Klaus to shake as she greeted, "Welcome to The Traveler's Path. I'm Caroline."
Klaus held his breath as he waited for her to register his condition and then see the predictable pity and waves of sadness overtake her impossibly blue eyes as she recognized that he was living on borrowed time. It was an uncomfortable, maddening dance he had been doing with strangers and acquaintances alike for months now and he did his best to tamp down the first stirrings of anger. However, the longer she stared at him, the more she surprised him by her reaction. Rather than misguided sympathy he saw reflected in her gaze, she instead seemed to be searching for something within him, something that brought a faint pink blush to her ivory cheeks as she finally let go of his hand to tell him, "You look familiar somehow."
He could feel his smile curve into a seductive smirk, an expression he hadn't felt the urge to use in far too long. "I'm fairly certain I would've remembered meeting you, love."
Caroline raised an eyebrow, that same, penetrating gaze sweeping over him as she replied enigmatically, "It's as though your face is one I've almost met."
Klaus was puzzled by her words, but before he could comment further, Kol elbowed him out of the way, clearly put out that his brother was getting all of the blonde creature's attention. "I'm Kol by the way. Since things look a bit dead around here, what do you say you come join us for a drink once we get settled in?"
She seemed somewhat reluctant to shift her gaze from Klaus to his brother, but she finally shook herself slightly and told Kol in a tone that was equal parts amusement and irritation, "I'm not thirsty." She made a sweeping gesture around the empty lobby and explained, "Our guests appreciate solitude — that's why they stay with us while they find their path. In fact, you likely won't see many guests during your time here."
At her words, Kol visibly perked up and comically craned his neck around Caroline as though she might be hiding employees behind her back. "You said 'us'. Does that mean there are more tasty little things like you flitting about the grounds?"
Klaus resisted the urge not to pinch the bridge of his nose in embarrassment at his brother's clumsy flirting. However, Caroline seemed to take it in stride, as though she anticipated his younger brother's antics. "I run this resort with two others, but I sincerely doubt you will become acquainted with our taste." Her blue eyes slid over to Klaus once more, appraising him with a frank interest that left him speechless.
She turned to the wall behind them, reaching for a set of keys on one of the narrow shelves. Klaus observed how her floral blouse dipped low, exposing two small sets of jagged lines tattooed on her shoulder blades. Curious about the symbols, Klaus asked, "Your tribal tattoos are unusual — what do they mean?"
"They're pictograms," she said with an odd hitch to her voice, adding, "They're the symbol for lightning." She handed him the room keys with a hard look that indicated the subject was closed and said sweetly, "I hope you enjoy your stay with us as you find your own path."
As Kol led him to their suite, Klaus couldn't help but mutter, "Why did she keep banging on about 'finding a path'? What kind of bloody hippie commune have you dragged us to?"
"That's what I'm going to find out, Nik," Kol said quietly, his boyish face uncharacteristically serious as he set down their bags in the entryway to their suite.
Klaus was too fatigued to question Kol's odd comment further, rubbing his head tiredly as he felt the wisps of dirty blonde curls stubbornly trying to grow back.
The next day, he stayed in bed until the headaches somewhat subsided, taking his usual prescriptions to combat the familiar pain and nausea. A thunderstorm had started as he managed to get dressed, thick rivulets of rain streaking the tall windows. He noticed Kol had left him an obnoxious note telling him to come downstairs for breakfast or else he would pay the oldest, hairiest nurse he could find to give him a sponge bath. Chuckling, he managed to make his way down the hall to the glass elevator, spying the mischievous devil flirting with a lovely caramel-skinned girl in the lobby.
"Brother! I've just made the acquaintance of this delightful little bird named Bonnie," he told him, sending a saucy wink at the unimpressed resort employee.
Clearing her throat, she announced, "And I was just telling him that his table was ready." She quickly busied herself at the monitor, clacking away on a keyboard as she pointedly avoided his wiggling eyebrows.
Catching the stubborn gleam in his brother's eye, he left him to continue his likely unsuccessful pursuit, shaking his head as he walked to a large screened-in porch where brunch had been set out for them. Sitting down on the comfortable rust-colored sectional, he grabbed a plate but wrinkled his nose slightly when he saw several lumpy-looking mini bagels, non-fat yogurt cups, soymilk and a bowl of fruit.
"Buckwheat-raisin bagels," Caroline said in an amused voice behind him. "They're an excellent source of complex-carbs along with light dairy and fresh fruit, which will help keep your energy stable." She reached into a shallow bowl off to the side and plucked out a handful of sunflower seeds to nibble upon while he regarded her skeptically.
Klaus took an experimental bite of the questionable-looking bagel. Catching the blonde's eye, he sighed dramatically, "There's probably worse ways to die...none come to mind at the moment, though."
The twitch at the corners of her peach-colored lips was immensely gratifying to him as she replied, "Still, it's best not to face death on an empty stomach." She glanced at the screen door, staring at the raindrops as though she was counting each one. "It's going to be a beautiful day once the storm clears off; what are your plans?"
"Well, I have a couple of exciting naps planned," he wryly offered as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.
She leaned over, her simple blue tank top shifting just enough that Klaus had to remind himself to keep breathing, and she whispered conspiratorially, "I suspect if Kol heard that, he'd inquire if there was a personal turn-down service I could offer you."
He could feel a flush creeping up his neck and marveled at the way Kol could embarrass him without even being present. Not to mention the imagery her words had conjured. He hastily said, "Yes, well, I try to pay no mind to Kol. I sometimes suspect he's been nosing through my meds to produce that level of charm."
Her musical giggle tugged at Klaus' heart. He studied the gentle curve of her neck as blonde tendrils escaped from the careless knot at the back of her head. His fingers twitched as he imagined what it would be like to touch her ivory skin, to brush along those elegant lines of her until she trembled. He was surprised by his reaction to Caroline; ever since his diagnosis, he'd been caught up in the panic and the anger of constantly fighting to live, and while he still appreciated beauty, it had been a long time since it truly had touched him. "Would you join me for breakfast, love," he ventured, hating how his tone was so hesitant and unsure.
She looked behind them, craning her neck to observe the vacant entryway to the back porch and shrugged her shoulders to say, "Sure — after all, it seems you've lost your breakfast companion." Blue eyes twinkling, she added, "It doesn't appear that your brother can read the room and know when to give up. I may have to go rescue him before too long though so that Bonnie doesn't peck out his eyes in irritation."
Klaus chuckled, slathering on more butter than was strictly necessary onto another of the unappetizingly healthy bagels. "Confidence has never been a problem for Kol."
"Or for you, if that devilish smirk of yours is anything to go by," Caroline quipped, biting into a shiny green apple as she made herself more comfortable across from him.
He felt his cheeks grow warm at her observation, and before he could control his foolish tongue, he blurted out, "Maybe once, before everything became...this." He inwardly cringed, mentally preparing himself for the inevitable flash of pity he'd see in her eyes and the clumsy way she'd trip over words meant to comfort but instead only served to whittle away at whatever self-respect he had left.
However, Caroline surprised him once again, taking another large bite of her apple and chewing thoughtfully without commenting. Her gaze, however, seemed to deepen, as though her fascination with him was growing. A crack of thunder startled him, and he watched in awe as a bolt of blinding white lightning split the sky. Another quickly followed, this time grazing a space on the clover-filled lawn as though giving it an electric kiss.
Not fully understanding this newfound impulse to blurt out his random thoughts to her, he said, "I wish I could stand there, in that space."
"Really? Because contrary to the quaint expression, lightning often strikes the same place twice," Caroline commented, watching him with an unreadable expression.
Klaus ran his thumb over the tops of his knuckles, watching the storm continue to light up the gray sky. "You mistake me, sweetheart — I believe I would welcome it. It would be nice to feel something again."
She clinked the rims of their glasses together, murmuring in a thoughtful tone, "What a strange and marvelous path you seem to be on, Klaus Mikaelson." Taking a sip of her orange juice, she added knowledgably, "Lightning is caused by an imbalance in nature — between the sky and the ground or among the clouds themselves. Balance is so crucial that without it, nature will roast you alive with lightning bolts five times hotter than the sun's surface."
"You're oddly informed about thunderstorms," he said with a raised brow, still trying to piece together her enigmatic words about his 'path'.
She shrugged nonchalantly, "Storms occur fairly regularly out here, so it's best to be prepared." Standing up suddenly, she rolled her shoulders back, a strange popping noise emitting from them as she explained, "I should get going. The storm will blow over soon and apparently, no amount of wishful thinking on my part is going to clean out our gutters."
Frowning, he recalled the multiple stories of the resort and asked, "That's a rather steep order of business — I hope you'll take care while dangling from the roof, sweetheart."
She tucked a few blonde tendrils behind her ear, a curiously knowing smile on her lovely face as she told him, "It's fine — heights have never really been a problem for me."