Hey guys!

I know I am the worst as keeping up with stories and I am sorry for that. But I have already written many chapters for this one so I am hoping to keep it going to the end, you can hound me all you want as well, it shall keep me writing! :D

This is set 1000 years ago, Caroline's family is friend's with Klaus' - If anything is confusing make sure to tell me in your reviews.

Thanks for reading!

(I don't own Vampire Diaries!)

Elsa Forbes never believed she could have children. At the age of 17 she had become pregnant and both she and her husband, Arthur, had been elated at the news. However, it was not to be, months after she had begun to show she began bleeding in the midst of the night, it ran down her legs and soaked through blankets. The baby had died. They were devastated.

So in the year of 928 when she became pregnant once again, it was not elation she felt this time, but anxiousness and fear. She could not allow herself or her husband to think of the baby as anything but a thing, not a person, or a baby, or even theirs…it was too hard for her. How could she hope again?

Yet alas, 9 months later, Elsa and Arthur Forbes welcomed a daughter into the world. She was beautiful, baring her mother's blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Arthur stared down at his wriggling daughter; he stroked her baby soft cheek with tears in his grey eyes. Reaching for his wife's hand Arthur brought the baby to give it to Elsa. But upon looking at his wives feverish brow and glassy eyes his heart began to beat erratically in fear.

"Elsa?" He breathed clutching the child to his chest with one hand and with the other began stroking her hair. She didn't respond.

Arthur lay their daughter down onto his wife's sweat ridden chest and told her through his tears to see their child. He pleaded with her to just take a look, maybe it would help her, he thought.

She was unresponsive, sweat spilling from every pore in her body and beginning to bleed rapidly in-between her legs. Arthur took their daughter from his wife's chest and kissed her head, tears pouring down the man's face. Placing his forehead onto hers, his tears streaming down his cheeks and onto hers he began to shout.

"Elsa, Elsa, my love." He pleaded. "Don't leave me. Please." His voice broke and trailed off as shouts came from the surrounding villagers. Never taking his eyes from his wife's Arthur watched, clutching their daughter to his chest, as the light went out of his darling's eyes.

He slumped onto her chest, making sure not to crush his daughter, he cried and cried. Sometime later, he felt several pair of hands on his back attempting to pull him from her chest. But he refused to move an inch. This was the last time all his family would be together, she'd want this; she'd want them to be together.

The hands never ceased however and finally Arthur let them haul him up, his daughter still clutched to his chest. He pealed his aching eyes from his wives dead body and faced his villagers.

"I'm so sorry Arthur." Esther whispered placing her hand on the man's arm. Arthur barely felt it; he was numb in body and mind. Esther Mikaelson and her husband Mikael had been good friends with the Forbes' ever since they had moved here many years ago, the Mikaelson's had 4 sons already and were expecting at the moment. Elsa had bonded very well with Esther from the start, but Arthur did not seem to take too Mikael, or rather the brooding man did not seem too friendly towards Arthur.

Turning back around to his cold, dead, wife, Arthur handed his baby to Esther and knelt down beside Elsa. Brushing his big calloused hand down her cold, fair cheek Arthur kissed his wife on the forehead and whispered:

"Good bye, my darling." He paused, as tears rolled down his muddied cheeks. "I will take care of her; I know you shall be watching over us. I love you; I shall never stop loving you."

With that the big man stood back up, nodded his head and swiped a hand over his face to shoo the tears away. Turning back to a teary Esther who held his naked child in her arms, Arthur Forbes took the baby from her with a thank you, and kissed the child's smooth forehead.

"I shall name you after your mother's mother and your mother too."

The villagers crowded around Arthur and the baby, pinching at her cheeks and stroking the fine blonde hair upon her head.

Smiling at them sadly, he turned back round towards his wife, and smiled down at her, hoping she would approve of their daughter's name. He imagined Elsa looking down at them now with a smile of her beautiful face with tears of happiness in her ocean blue eyes and saying:

'Welcome to the world, Caroline Forbes.'

Niklaus thought the new baby in the village was funny.

She had funny hair which stuck up everywhere, in every direction and it was so blonde that Niklaus had thought she was bald, which was even funnier. She had a funny laugh, it was high pitched and when she 'cackled' as his mother had put it, anyone who was listening just had to laugh along with her. She had tiny hands and tiny feet which Niklaus loved to squeeze and hold, they were so small, it was fascinating to the 5 year old.

She cried a lot too, mostly at night, which Niklaus didn't find very funny because it kept him awake and he liked to sleep. She would cry and cry and Niklaus wanted to squeeze her feet or feel her hands just so she was happy and he would hear her laugh, not cry and not keep him awake.

His mother was expecting a baby too; she had a huge stomach so he expected her to have it soon. He hoped it would be like the blonde baby and laugh but he hoped and hoped it would not cry like the blonde baby, he could not deal with that.

Caroline Elsa Forbes was a novelty in the village for the first few months of her life. She was petted and cooed at, passed around and snuggled, by possibly the whole village – he father beamed at her every glance he took, she was sweet and loved.

Esther gave birth to her first daughter only a few months after Caroline had been born, the new baby had the same blonde hair, blue eyes as Caroline and the two were then passed around as if they were twins.

By the time Caroline was five years old, the Mikaelson family had almost become part of her own. They had cared for her when her father was ill or working and she spent most of her day playing with the children, but mostly Rebekah and Niklaus, they would spend hours running and tripping through the long grassed fields of their home land. Esther watched in glee as her older boys watched them from where they sat carving wood, laughing as the three fell clumsily into the soft grass.

In the year of 934, Esther had another child, a boy, whom they named Henrik.

Niklaus was excited about having a new brother and was forever trying to capture the boy's attention. However, his mother and mostly father seemed annoyed at his attention towards Henrik.

One day as Niklaus was laughing as Henrik put his foot in his mouth, the little one laughing with him. Mikael came up behind Niklaus, grabbed the back of his hair and hauled his out of the house.

"Will you ever learn boy!" Mikael spat throwing a sword at him. Niklaus just barely caught it and stared at his father in confusion, too scared and dumfounded to speak.

"You shall never be able to wield a sword and become a man if you spend all of your time with babies!" Mikael continued, he began to pace around his son, his knee's bent and stance ready to fight, like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey.

Niklaus remained silent just following his father's movements.

"You are pathetic!" Mikael snarled stepping closer to him. "A pathetic excuse of a man you shall make.." Mikael laughed in his sons face before launching back and brandishing his sword, pointing the tip of it at Niklaus' face – centimetres from his nose.

The boy stayed where he was, he did not want to give Mikael the satisfaction of a flinch. The older Mikaelson stared down at the boy menacingly.

"Pitiful human, nothing will ever become of you." He spat, nudging the end of the sword into Niklaus' cheek before throwing it as his feet and stomping off into the house.

Niklaus was happy today, his father hadn't beaten him. He could take threats, they didn't hurt as much.

When young Caroline came up to him, tugging on his shirt pointing towards the field in which his sister was catching racing with Kol, Nik did not hesitate to pick her up and run into the field to join the games.

A year later, on a cold October night, Arthur Forbes went out collecting fire wood, hours passed and the man did not return. His body was found days later, ripped apart by wild beasts. The villagers were terrified and seldom left their homes for the next few months. Young Caroline, only 7 years old, was taken in by the Mikaelsons. Much to Mikael's dislike.

Esther came back into the front room after settling the children, including Caroline, into their beds for the night. Mikael, hearing his wife enter, turned on her with sheer vexation on his face, pointing a finger at her he growled.

"It is not our responsibility to take care of that child!"

"The Forbes' were good to us Mikael, we owe them to take care of their orphan!" She shouted back, stepping towards him bravely, Mikael was strong and if pushed too far, would use his strength to hurt her. She knew this yet persisted.

Mikael shook his head and drew closer to his wife, his face only inches from hers. His hot breath ran over her face as spoke. "We owe them nothing!"

"They were our friends, they were good to us!" She cried, tears streaking down her face, remembering her lost friends.

His wife's tears did not deter Mikael however, he slapped her cheek and snapped, "That does not make us accountable for their wretched child! She has caused enough distress to this family, corrupting Rebekah into playing in the fields and causing Niklaus to make friends her, such an ugly child wouldn't you say?" He said matter-of-factly. Esther quickly fought in the girls defence, they fought on and on.

Caroline could hear the commotion unfolding in the other room and it made her feel awful. She was a burden on this family, a family that was not hers.

Tears slid down the girls face as she pictured her father. Why did he have to die? He was a good man, not evil. He didn't deserve it…why had he left her all alone?

Caroline's small body wracked with sobs, she tried muffling them, pushing her head into the straw pillow, but it was no use.

Niklaus stared at the ceiling of the children's room. He could see the stars through a gap in the wood, he tried to focus his attention on the beautiful sky but it was no use. He could not focus on anything but the sorrowful cries of the girl across the room. He never did like her crying, it always kept him awake.

A few more minutes passed and Niklaus could not take it any longer, his own eyes had begun to water of their own accord after listening to Caroline's sobs. He lifted himself of the straw bed and made his way quietly over to her, carefully avoiding waking his brothers and sister.

Caroline gasped as warm hands encircled her wrists and drew her hands away from her tear stained face. She pulled them free of their grasp in fear and made to stand up, her heart racing.

"Ssssh, Caroline, calm down…it is only me." It was Niklaus; she would recognize his voice anywhere. She, having lived here all her life had a different accent to him, she much preferred his, and Caroline would recognise it anywhere. She slumped back into the straw and sighed. Niklaus drew closer towards her, she could feel his warmth beside her and it felt so comforting that she almost forgot about her worries. Tears sprang in her eyes as reality hit her again, no mother, no father, unwanted.

Unwanted, Unwanted, Unwanted. Alone, Alone, Alone.

The words rang in her mind. Mikael and Esther's argument had ended some time ago but their words had stung and they remained engrained in the girls mind. She sniffed and wiped at her face as more tears fell. Niklaus moved beside her, turning on her side, Caroline could just about see his face in the darkness.

"Why are you here?" She whispered her voice thick from crying.

Niklaus had no idea why he was here; he just felt it was his place. He had no idea why…Caroline was much more than an acquaintance to him, but she was better friends with Rebekah than he.

"I heard you crying…" he replied, trailing off as not knowing what to say. Turns out it didn't matter, he saw Caroline nod her head in the darkness and move minutely closer to him. Before long another fit of tears over came her and Niklaus wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tousling his hand in her curls, which were damp from sweat though he did not care, and drew her into his chest.

Caroline felt warmer and calmer inside, at least for a moment, when the tears threatened again she clenched her fists into his soft shirt and cried into his chest. Niklaus had never felt so content. He was receiving and giving affection…and for the boy who had only ever felt rejection from those he loved, it was a remarkable moment. It felt like he belonged.