Caroline Forbes was picking through a large wooden box of flowers, humming to herself as she daintily sniffed each sweet flower. Niklaus Mikaelson would never forget the image of the beautiful farm girl before him, oblivious to the world around her, admiring the sweet flowers of the summer.
She picked up a small pink peony and walked over to the owner of the small shop, digging into the pocket of her blue dress. Klaus walked over, dumping a handful of coins into the expecting hand of the salesman. She looked up at him with confused blue eyes, bright and glistening ones that matched the color of the sky perfectly.
"Oh. No it's quite alright thank you. I can pay for that." She pulled three coins out of her pocket, reaching to hand them to the salesman.
"It's my pleasure to buy such a beautiful flower for such a beautiful lady." Klaus purred, taking the flower from the man and handing it to her with smile. "I'm Klaus. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Caroline Forbes." She greeted with a shy smile, taking the small plant from him and cradling it in her hands.
"You're new in town. I don't think I've seen you before." She noted, taking in his appearance for the first time. He was dressed up in a fancy suit, complete with a tie.
"Very observant, my lady." He said with a delightful laugh. Caroline's small tinkling laugh joined his, and she found the noise to be quite harmonious. "I'm in town on business I'm going to return to Chicago in a week."
Her eyes lit up. "Chicago?" She asked, stunned. "What's it like? Do you live there?"
Klaus found her naivety sweet,and decided to indulge her before heading downtown to talk with the mayor. "It's quite amazing. Have you ever been to a speakeasy before? Plenty of dancing, plenty of drinks." He said, deciding to conceal what else he usually drank at speakeasies besides alcohol.
"A speakeasy?" She asked confused.
He chuckled, "You know a blind tiger?" She raised her eyebrows, still confused.
"It's a place where the sell alcohol illegally. Like an underground bar." He explained, amazed by how little this girl had probably experienced in her short life.
"Alcohol is illegal." She said in a whisper, seemingly shocked.
It was Klaus' turn to be shocked. He looked at her bemused by her soft innocence "Have you ever had a drink before?"
Caroline shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting away, embarrassed. "No." She murmured quietly. Her eyes landed on the setting sun, and she said, "Oh! I'm sorry! I have to get home. I'm late!"
She walked as fast as she could, hoping her father wouldn't be too angry. Klaus shouted "Wait!" and jogged to catch up with her. "Let me give you a ride." He pointed to a large automobile.
Caroline wasn't sure at first, but she had never ridden in an automobile before. She bit her lip and finally agreed, and he grabbed her hand helping her into the automobile. "This is amazing!" She yelled out over the roar of the engine.
Klaus grinned and pulled off, Caroline pointing her in the direction of her farm. When the pulled in, Caroline was beaming, her face flushed with excitement, making her even more beautiful. Her hair was perfectly wind-blown and her she laughed lightly. She climbed down form the automobile, and turned to thank Klaus.
"That was so much fun! It's so amazing. I've never ridden in an automobile before."Caroline babbled. Klaus let her prattle on, but she stopped when she saw her father on the porch of her large, white house.
"Uh oh. Daddy doesn't' look happy." She frowned and greeted her father, who lumbered over looking Klaus up and down.
"You're late Caroline." , he berated her, and she apologized quickly, and then he asked, "Who's your guest?"
"I'm Niklaus Mikaelson, it's wonderful to meet you, Sir. I was just escorting your daughter home, she seemed to be in quite a rush to get here." he shook his hand, and Caroline's father frowned before greeting him back.
"William Forbes. You can call me Bill." He said gruffly, returning the handshake. "What brings you into town Mr. Mikaelson? Sure got an an interesting accent there. Where you from?"
"I'm originally from England, but I currently reside in Chicago. I'm here on business, with the mayor. I've been looking into buying a few properties down here." Klaus decided to keep some details to himself, the entire thing wasn't a lie after all, he reminded himself.
"Well, I should be going." Klaus said, excusing himself. Caroline frowned, reaaizing she didn't want him to leave. She wanted to know more about Chicago, and life outside the farm, and she wanted to know more about him.
"You could stay for dinner if you like." Bill offered, curious to know more about the business Klaus was conducting.
Klaus hesitated knowing he shouldn't waste any further time with the humans, but something abut this sweet, beautiful, naive farm girl made him want to stay. "I'd love to." Klaus agreed offering a smile and falling in step with Caroline's father, Caroline trailing behind, her stomach twisting in knots, not sure what to expect of the meal ahead of her.
The four of them sat around the table, eating a large meal of steaks and potatoes that Caroline's mother had prepared for them. Her parents seemed oddly fascinated with her guest, peppering him with questions that he answered politely with enthusiasm. Caroline stayed quiet for most of the meal, content to listen to Klaus' stories of all his travels, listening to the smooth, velvety sound of his heavily accented voice. He sounded so different and foreign, it excited her. It made her dream of other places, places far, far away.
After dinner, Mrs. Forbes served an apple pie that Caroline had made earlier that day. "This is delicious Mrs. Forbes." Klaus complimented.
"Caroline made it." She boasted, beaming at her daughter.
Klaus smiled at her under the dim lighting of her dinning room, and said, "Good job Caroline." She like the way his eyes sparkled genuinely, mesmerized by the sound of his voice, she blushed furiously, and returned to her own pie.
"Dinner was amazing Mrs. Forbes. Thank you all for having me, but I must go now." He got up, pulling on his suit jacket and straightening his tie.
"Why don't you walk Mr. Mikaelson to his automobile, Car." Her father suggested and she followed him outside obediently.
They waked together across the long stretch of Caroline's front lawn to the dirt road Klaus' automobile rested on. "You home is lovely." He said, walking next to her, their arms brushing frequently.
"Thank you. It's nice, but it's not Chicago." She admitted sheepishly, not thinking much of her small town life. She looked up at the stars, her favorite part of living here, and marveled at their twinkling beauty.
"I love standing out here, looking at the stars. It makes me feel small, but at the same time, it's like there's a whole world out there waiting for me to explore." Caroline's voice was sweet and wondrous and Klaus didn't want to leave her. They had reached the long winding dirt road.
"I hope to see you again, Caroline." He smiled and waved before driving off, leaving Caroline breathless, and slightly shaken. "I hope so too." She said quietly to herself. Caroline slowly to the back of the house, and took the plant Klaus had bought her, planting right in the middle of her garden. She took a small stake, labeling this flower like she does the rest. Adding to her collection of a variety of different flowers each one unique and special to her.
In small, swirled writing she wrote, Peony and underneath that the date, September 7th 1922, and then The day I met Niklaus Mikaelson.
Hello! Thank you for reading this! This is my first Caroline and Klaus story. It will be short, only about 10 or so chapters long. Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think, I love feedback! :) I plan to update sometime again this week! Happy Holidays! :)
