Disclaimer: Own nothing but the TVD DVDs. All copyrights belong to writer, and creators of the books and shows, and all that jazz.
Chapter 1: Do Do that Voo Doo You do so well
Inspiration: Song: You Do Something to Me by Cole Porter ( 1929)
Caroline Forbes' head pounded with the pain. She couldn't remember much of the night before, when sleep was forced upon her. Her stomach still stung from where the knife had sliced through her. It had healed quickly, but the sudden dizziness and subsequent fade to black had meant there had been something much more sinister at work.
"Caroline?" she could hear Elena's voice a few feet away, a sign that the other vampire was waking up as well. Beneath them, they could hear the hum and throbbing of a wild party. Caroline looked around, eyes adjusting to the darkness. They seemed to be in an apartment; simply furnished, mostly with antiques. The dust collecting vanity held a few items: perfume, a brush, but nothing to betray the owner's identity, nothing to betray where they were. They were certainly not in the Mystic Falls Grill anymore- and that was the last place she remembered.
The sound of roaring jazz echoed through the floor boards; a woman's voice, deep and sensuous, she seemed to be singing about all the darkness in the world. Caroline could smell an overpowering stench of alcohol and smoke.
"How long do you think we were...dead?" Elena asked, as she rose and dusted herself off, feeling another sharp pain in her stomach with the movement. "Why do you think we were dead?" she commented, trying to rack her brain for an idea as to how a simple stomach wound would have incapacitated them for so long.
"Some voo doo witchy knife thing?" Caroline shrugged. "I don't know" she admitted.
Elena remembered it in flashes; the witch who had her down on her knees screaming, approaching with a knife, when Caroline leapt in front of her. Then he had shoved the knife through her stomach and Caroline fell; limp. After that, he started to approach Elena, and she remembered that she was screaming, our of pain, fear and worry. The pain ripped through her when he forced the blade into her. It felt like the blow reverberated through her soul, but those were her last thoughts before the cut to black.
"Let's just find out where we are and get home" Elena said, never thinking for once that it would become her mission. "Wait," Elena paused, thinking as another piece of the puzzle came hurling back into her mind. She vaguely remembered Stefan being there with them. Stefan, who should have been lying on the ground beside them.
"Stefan…..he was here, he was with us, did he escape?" worry clouded her features; and Caroline bit back the comment she most wanted to say; how she wanted to point out that maybe fate and prophecies existed after all. That Damon, Elena's boyfriend was far from her mind. She held the comment in and ignored the impulse; now wasn't the time. It was time to find Stefan and figure out where they were, not to play matchmaker.
"The weird knifey torture thing? I hope so!" Caroline responded.
"Let's try to find him" Elena muttered aloud.
He shouldn't have left their impromptu party at the grill without saying goodbye, Stefan thought as he packed for his trip. But when the girls had disappeared in a pair to go to the washroom, he had decided to make a phone call. After, he had no desire to return; just to say goodbye and make excuses and explain just exactly why he wanted to get as far away from Elena, her boyfriend Damon, and his home town of Mystic Falls as possible. He'd gone home to pack then, not thinking twice about the young man who passed him on the way out of the grill. Not imagining that soon, the guilt would gnaw at him until he was sore.
Klaus Mikkelson felt beautiful and damned, and as he had his dinner for the night- he couldn't help but think how much he loved this decade. At tonight's affair, the jazz was loud, the booze free, and the dresses seemed to be getting shorter by the hour. Arguably the best part was the all you could eat buffet. A quite ingenious idea, he thought, pity it hadn't been his. He would be sure to include it as the centrepiece for his next party. He pulled away from the blonde woman, wiping the blood from his mouth. She was delicious, he thought, and looked delectable in her flapper dress. There were about a dozen humans in all and the guest of honour had compelled them to stand up on chairs, and stay there as each vampire in the joint had their fill. Klaus had quite enjoyed sampling Layla, the Irish treat next to the door. But then again, she had left something to desired. He was contemplating trying the blood of the Malawian gentleman next, but he needed a drink first. A strong one.
"Oh my god" Caroline's words burst from her mouth as she dropped down to the last step of the stair case. The scene in front of them was too hard to ignore. The party was a massive, raging affair, so large it didn't see the newcomers, no one cared what anyone else was doing. A few hundred people had been cramped into the small bar for the event.
"Wow." Elena commented, unable to look away from the scene in front of them, it was unlike anything they had ever seen before.
The jazz was blaring loudly, the point of origin a live band to the left of them, led by a beautiful woman who sang into the microphone in French. Her hair was a jagged bob cut of black hair that barely reached her shoulders; the dress a deep v cut, embellished with gold and red sequins, or perhaps diamonds, Caroline couldn't tell.
She looked in shock through the crowd; gasping when she spotted the humans, compelled to stand on chairs- some had more than 5 vampires on them at once with a line waiting for their turn beside them. Elena caught sight of the throne beside the band; it was illuminated brilliantly by a spot light that gave off gold light. Covered in red drapes, the thing was an eye sore, Elena thought. Whoever ruled the bar had decided to leave the chair empty, for the time being. The whole thing was a whirlwind of gold and booze, jazz and smoke and Caroline felt suddenly as if she was going to be sick.
"Caroline, we are so-"
"If you say "not in Kansas anymore', I will hit you" Caroline threatened, interrupting her.
"Not in 2014" Elena finished, nervousness assaulting her. Everything pointed the the truth. The attache of women seated at round tables next to the bar, long cigarettes and drinks in their hands, their clothes, the jazz.
"Let's split up. Try to find out if Stefan is here too" Elena suggested. Caroline nodded, knowing her first stop was going to the be bar. She didn't want to admit how badly she wanted to feed; how she couldn't handle the sight of the humans propped up on chairs, the over flow of blood. It was something like a chocolate fountain, she thought, then became quite disgusted with the idea. She could feel the cravings settling in, ready to rip her apart, it had been too long since she fed.
"Then maybe we can figure out a way to get out of here" Caroline added, before heading towards the bar.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted her. Unable to ignore the recognition. He held back, decided to watch her for now. Then he would make his move. He knew Klaus would kill him if he told her to run. But the heart wants what the heart wants and Elijah had decided long ago that he would do anything for family; there were sacrifices to be made. Even if he would be making them for always, and forever. Family endured. Love was a fleeting emotion.
