It Was Fate

Prologue || First Meetings

"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."
― William Ernest Henley, Echoes of Life and Death


She had been traveling the world for a while now – three years, to be exact – and it was everything she had ever dreamed of. She had already been to London (her first stop), Barcelona, Moscow, and now she was in Berlin. She had been avoiding Paris, Rome, and Tokyo for obvious reasons. Those were her three dream-cities, and she was determined that – instead of a boring tour guide – she'd experience them with someone who was actually there during their history.

It all started with a ticket that had shown up in her mailbox one day, and a letter that said; "Why not enjoy the world?" There had been no return address on the envelope, and it was only one ticket, but she was certain she knew who it was from. There was only one person in the world who would send her a ticket to travel the world. At first, she had scoffed and put the ticket in the box that held her momentos, but when Elena announced she was leaving Whitmore, Caroline didn't try as hard to hold onto her college experience.

Within a week, Caroline had visited her mother and told everyone her plans, and for once they didn't try to talk her out of them. By that Saturday, she was enjoying the London night clubs. Eventually, Stefan joined her for a while, and she even met up with Elena and Damon who were visiting Bulgaria. However, she still felt like something was still missing. Eventually, she left her friends altogether, and experience everything on her own. It was nice to be by herself for a while, without having to worry about Silas or a supernatural apocalypse.

She was taking so many pictures of herself at various places, but she didn't know who she would give them all. Yes, her mom would love pictures, but there would be too many to hang on the fridge, so Caroline started to send them to the man who gave her the ticket in the first place. She only received one response from him – a silver key on a golden chain. She didn't know what it meant, but she wore it everyday.

She loved Europe so much, and she couldn't believe that all of this had been waiting for her. She liked Berlin so far, except that she always had a weird feeling when she would walk around the city. She felt like she were being watched – constantly – and it had her on edge. Eventually, the nervousness settled into the background, and she was able to focus on enjoying her time before she moved on to the next city.

She didn't think she'd like the migrant lifestyle, but it made her feel liberated. Her diet had changed, however. It was difficult to raid for bloodbags when you were on the move – especially when you didn't speak the local language – so she had to change to fresher game. Sometime during her stay in Moscow, she moved from the local wildlife to barflies and the drunk patrons in the clubs.

Thankfully, the sky had cleared this morning, and she was able to get out of her hotel and enjoy the sun before moving on to Brussels. The sun warmed the mild weather slightly, and she was able to break out the sunglasses and enjoy it. She was walking back to her hotel, after enjoying the cuisine at a small bistro, when the feeling of being watched returned full-force. It almost made her stop mid-step when the breeze blew onto the back of her neck. It felt like someone was standing right behind her, breathing on her.

She turned to look, and saw no one there. In fact, the street was a bit too empty, in her opinion. She moved closer to the buildings out of habit, and it would turn out to be a big mistake. She walked faster – looking behind her every few seconds – and was grabbed before she could react. Someone was pulling her into an alley, no matter how much kicking and biting she did. Her screams were being silenced by the person's hand over her mouth. She kept trying to break their hand – or something – with her strength, but nothing was working. They were obviously a vampire, and they were obviously older than her.

They stabbed something into her side, and it burned like fire throughout her entire body. They had injected her with vervain, but why? Why were they doing this? Before she blacked out, she felt her body falling, and what sounded like shouts between a man and a woman. Someone was fighting her attacker. She heard what sounded like an awful tearing sound, and then a thud, and she could only hope it wasn't her attacker who had won.

The last thing she remembered seeing before blacking out were brown eyes looking back at her, and an accented voice telling her that everything was going to be okay.


Jo was confused. She had been a vampire for over two centuries, and she had never seen anything like this. This was the third vampire she'd saved from kidnapping, all within the span of two months. It wasn't uncommon for a hunter to pass through - they littered Europe with their self-righteous ways - but these weren't hunters. These were vampires kidnapping other vampires.

She had sent her brother and sister to different continents, and they both reported the same things happening in Asia and Australia. For now, North America was safe from the kidnapping ring, but Jo knew that it wouldn't be long before it reached their shores. She needed to find the Originals, but no one had seen them in Europe for quite some time. She had planned to contact a witch when she crossed the path of Caroline.

Caroline wasn't like the other mundane humans that frequented Berlin. She was bright-eyed and naive. She was completely oblivious to everything happening around her, but she did show promise. She was young, but she could be taught. She would teach this young vampire how to defend herself, and she would show her Europe at the same time. After all, when she lived with the Original family, it was her job to take care of the baby vampires and teach them right-from-wrong. It didn't last, but she never gave up her job.

When the vampire attacked Caroline, Jo was there to help her out. She wouldn't let Caroline be taken like so many others. However, now that she'd been found, she would be on the radar. Jo would need to get her out of Berlin, quickly, and try to find Klaus or Elijah while she was at it. It wouldn't be easy, but if anyone could do it, she could. This is what she had been tasked with, and she wouldn't let the Originals down.


When Caroline woke, she someone humming and flipping through some sort of book. When she finally found the strength to open her eyes, she saw a girl lounging on the other bed. She was reading a magazine that looked to be entirely in French, and she didn't notice Caroline until the baby-vampire moved to sit up in the bed.

When the girl looked at her, Caroline recognized her eyes as the ones she'd seen before passing out. Her face was childlike, and she didn't look like she could be much older than Caroline. She probably barely reached Caroline's shoulder in height, and Caroline thought she was adorable. After thinking about it, the young lady looked a bit like Elena. As Caroline looked from the girl, to the door, and around the rest of the room, the girl smiled.

"You can leave if you want to," she said. "I won't stop you." She had an accent that Caroline had become familiar with when she stayed in London.

"You helped me," Caroline said.

The girl nodded. "Yes, I did. I'm Jo, and judging by the passport in your pocket, you're Caroline," she replied.

Caroline nodded and said; "You looked through my pockets?"

"Only for identification, I promise."

"Oh... okay," Caroline said, still a bit disoriented. "What happened? Why did he grab me?"

Jo gave Caroline a side-eye, and said; "How long have you been a vampire, Caroline? You don't know how to fight off another vampire, so you can't be too old, but your control is impeccable. He wasn't the only vampire that's noticed you since you've been here... I am quite impressed. So, I'd wager you were turned some time in the 90s? Twenty years a vampire sounds about right for you."

Caroline couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her. "I was born in the 90s. I've only been a vampire for, like, six years."

"Wow," Jo breathed. "You really do have impeccable control."

"Um, thanks. But, why was he after me?" she asked.

"Because he liked you. He thought you were pretty, and he wanted you for his own. I've been following that bastard ever since he tried to take my sister and me two months ago. I finally caught up with him."

"Well thank you," Caroline said. "Really, it means a lot."

Jo nodded, and a big smile broke across her face. "I have the best idea ever!"

"Okay, what?" Caroline asked with a slight laugh.

"You should travel with me! I've been all over the European continent, and you could use someone to show you around," she said.

"I literally know nothing about you – and you don't know anything about me," Caroline said.

"That's not true. I know that your name is Caroline and you've been a vampire for about six years now, and you know I'm a vampire named Jo, and I've been a vampire for over two centuries! Plus, we also know that you don't know how to handle yourself against older vampires, and you need to learn," she replied.

"I don't need you to teach me!" Caroline said, a bit uncomfortable with the critique. Jo looked dejected, and Caroline sighed. "Look, I am very thankful that you helped me. I hope I can do the same for you one day, but I can find my own way to learn self-defense, okay?"

Jo smiled, but it looked forced. "You're totally right. I'm sorry about that. I've just always loved showing people around Europe – especially when they've never been before. But it is kind of creepy of me to ask you to travel with me when you don't know me from Adam." Caroline didn't get a chance to reply before Jo seemed to remember something. "Oh! I almost forgot! You'll need your strength."

She handed Caroline a bloodbag, and she took it gratefully. She had the entire thing drank in under a minute, and Jo looked amused. "Thanks," Caroline said.

"No problem."

Caroline stood and prepared to leave, frowning at her dirty clothes. Her shoes were now completely ruined, and they were her second favorite pair. She thanked Jo again, but her hand froze before she could turn the knob. "I just have one question," she said.

"Hm?"

"Why would you choose me to travel with?" Caroline asked. "I mean, you said yourself, you're over two centuries old. You have to have made friends during that time, right? What could I possibly offer?"

Jo sighed. "Caroline, most people walk around this city and they only pretend to care about its significance. They're tourists who will come here once and be done with it. They might think they care, but many of them won't even remember this stop in their European tour. They're more focused on Paris and Rome. But you, Caroline... you look. At the risk of sounding creepy: I've noticed you since you came here. You're curious, and you savor the time you spend here. The world needs more people like you, Caroline."

"So you want to show me Europe because you're lonely, and I'm curious?" Caroline asked.

"I never said I was lonely..." Jo replied.

"It was subtext," Caroline replied, before thinking back on the Sherlock episodes she replayed on Netflix for the past year. "You said you had a sister, but she's not here with you. You got a two-bed room, which means you're used to traveling with someone. You're way too outgoing to enjoy being on your own with no one to talk to... so I deduce that you're lonely."

"Well, aren't you just a regular Sherlock Holmes," Jo replied, trying to look angry. Instead, she just looked sad. She sighed. "You're right. I am lonely. My sister left to do her own thing, and I haven't heard from my brother in decades. It would be nice to have someone to show around these old cities."

There was a pregnant pause between the two girls before Caroline said; "Okay."

"What?"

"Okay. I'll travel with you. I mean, being on your own is fun for a while, but it'd be nice to have someone who knows the area... and I like feeling safe against possible attacks."

Jo laughed, and her smile was so big it was almost painful. "This is so great! You are not going to regret this! We're going to have so much fun!"

Caroline left Jo's room to pack her things. If her mother could see her now, she'd probably give Caroline the biggest lecture of her life. The number one rule that the sheriff's daughter learned was to never speak to strangers. So, what did Caroline do? She agreed to travel Europe with a centuries-old vampire that she didn't know. It wasn't one of her smartest moves, but for some reason, she knew that the energetic, petite vampire wouldn't harm her. Caroline had a feeling that this was a good decision. What she didn't know was that this wasn't only a good decision.

This was fate.