Her hand whispered across the page, taking diligent notes as she listened intently to the art professor discuss Monet's inspiration for the Water Lilies. Okay, so she wasn't diligently taking notes, nor was she listening intently. And it was all his fault!

"Tyler is now free to return to Mystic Falls."

How arrogant of him to declare that Tyler was allowed to return to Mystic Falls. Granted, he was the reason Tyler was even gone to begin with. Yet, as arrogant as the declaration was, it was also quite simply, the sweetest gesture anyone had shown Caroline.

And, shockingly, it had come from him of all people. She wouldn't allow herself to say his name, even in her mind, because if she did, all hope of getting anything out of the Claude Monet lecture would be futile. Caroline shook herself free from her thoughts and focused on the professor's words: "The meaning of the painting is to inspire nature and give great beauty to whoever …"

"He's your first love; I intend to be your last, however long it takes."

Caroline dropped her pen, giving up all hope on the lecture. She quietly gathered her belongings and slipped out of the lecture hall. She slung her canvas bag on one shoulder and started the brief walk back to her dorm room. Caroline knew that once her mind focused on those words, there was no hope in getting anything else done. She'd battled with those words too many times in the past four months and knew better.

Not for the first time, her thoughts always came back to this: Seriously! Who actually says that to another person? Who says that … and then walks away?

"Yeah, yeah, the whole set something free and if it comes back to you deal," Caroline mumbled to herself as she slid the key into the lock of her dorm room. Cheap trick from the thousand year old Hybrid, she thought. Upon entering the room, Caroline breathed a sigh of relief at its emptiness. Of course it would be empty. Not only was Elena taking more classes than required in their first semester of college but she was also majoring in all things Damon Salvatore.

Caroline wrinkled her nose in disgust. How Elena could have chosen Damon over Stefan was beyond her, but she had accepted her best friend's choice. A tiny voice inside her head told her that Elena wouldn't be quite so accepting if Caroline were to …

"Stop it, you are not going to do anything" she chided herself out loud. Caroline set her bag and keys on her desk. She hadn't told Elena about the talk she and Klaus had on graduation day. She hadn't told anyone. It was too confusing and God only knew the reactions she would get from everyone. Hence, she was left with a permanent repeat of the conversation in her head.

As she walked past the mirror on the wall to hang up her jacket, she caught her own reflection in the mirror and told herself, "Just because you aren't with Tyler doesn't mean you have to be with … him."

Thinking about Tyler didn't hurt, not anymore. Caroline briefly thought back to only three months ago, when she had finally tracked down Tyler with Damon's help. She gleefully told him that nothing was keeping him from home, from her anymore. It had shocked her that he didn't come home right away. It took him weeks. And, when he finally did come home, it was different. Their connection was gone. They chalked it up to the distance, Tyler's alpha role in his new found wolf pack in Tennessee and, if she was really, truly honest with herself, the promises made by the other Hybrid.

Caroline groaned as she dropped face first into the pillows on her bed. This was so unfair! Here she was enjoying her independence for the first time in her life, away from little town Mystic Falls and working a part-time job, thank you very much, yet all she could think about were the possibilities.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. There's a whole world out there waiting for you, great cities, and art, and music; genuine beauty and you can have all of it."

Caroline rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. Did he mean it? Or was he just full of shit, really beautifully stated shit, but shit nonetheless? Was he interested simply because she hadn't immediately swooned at the flowery prose flowing from his deliciously red lips?

Caroline huffed as she thought to herself: why did Klaus have to be so devastatingly gorgeous? And ruthless? Why did he have to look at her like he knew her every thought, and desire, and insecurity?

Despite the tongue lashing she was sure to get, Caroline needed to talk to someone about this. She grabbed her phone and scrolled down the list of names. Bonnie. The tears flooded her vision instantly. It took Jeremy Gilbert three weeks before finally breaking down and confessing to Elena and her that death was the price Bonnie had paid in bringing him back to life. Caroline never even had a chance to say goodbye to her other best friend. Matt. No way. He would never understand, even though he was still off galavanting across Europe with Rebekah, the only female Original. If anyone could understand the draw to the complicated Originals, it was him. But, like all of her other friends, he had no trouble drawing distinctions between every horrible thing each of them had done and Klaus. Mom. There was no way in hell she could talk to the Sheriff about Klaus. The Sheriff would likely shoot her full of vervain and lock her up in the same room her father had when trying to "fix" her of her vampirism. Stefan. Caroline frowned at the name. She couldn't shake the feeling, but there was something going on with him, something more than Elena choosing Damon over him. She had made several attempts to talk to him but he always brushed her off. She made a mental note to try harder with him.

Scrolling back up her list of contacts, her eyes finally landed on his name. Klaus. She had started, and promptly deleted, dozens of texts to him. She had no idea what to say. She wasn't ready for him to be her anything, let alone her last love.

You're lying to yourself, Caroline. The voice in her head was loud and clear. She was ready for him to be something to her, she just didn't know what. Would he even accept something lessthan everything from her? Her whole body tingled at the thought. He didn't do anything at half speed. It was all or nothing with him. What if she offered him friendship and he refused her? What if he demanded more? Whenever her mind even began to drift towards being physical with him, her face flushed and she immediately forced her mind to shut down. She was certainly no virgin, but her experience paled in comparison to his thousand years of conquering.

But her greatest fear was this - would his darkness consume her? He told her that he fancied her light, but how could that withstand his millennia of death, torture and pain? In all of their conversations, never once did he express regret for a single vile act he had done. Did he feel remorse for killing Carol Lockwood, or Jenna? Did he lose a single second of sleep over nearly draining Elena of all her blood or ordering Tyler to bite Caroline?

She knew the answer to her very core. No. He didn't feel remorse. And, in the end, how could she even consider giving someone who felt no remorse a chance?

Caroline sighed. Maybe it was time to see a shrink because she was getting nowhere with her repeated thoughts. She sat up abruptly and exclaimed to the empty room, "I need closure. I need to see him again so that I can let go of all of these lingering thoughts."

Acting on pure impulse, and perhaps insanity, Caroline booked a flight on Expedia to New Orleans for that evening.

Staring at the confirmation page, she exclaimed: "I can't believe I just did that!"

"You're doing it again."

Klaus sighed and dropped his head onto his steepled hands that were resting against the balcony railing.

"Doing what, Elijah?"

His older brother, looking dapper in a dark navy suit, stopped beside Klaus and grasped the railing with a single hand before stating: "Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders." Elijah briefly paused before continuing: "Are you thinking about Hayley and the child?"

Head still resting on his hands, Klaus groaned his response: "Unlike you, brother, I do not spend my every waking moment thinking about that girl or my heir. I was simply trying to enjoy the quiet night New Orleans has offered this evening. As always, you've ruined that for me with your talk of the ramifications of my drunken one night stand."

"I apologize. I didn't intend to add to whatever seems to be troubling you."

Klaus lifted his head and looked his brother in the eye for the first time.

"Nothing is troubling me."

Elijah smirked. "We both know that's a lie. There has never been a time in our thousand years that I've known you to not be troubled by something, Niklaus."

"Yes, well, not all of us have the luxury of devoting our life to meddling in other peoples' affairs."

"I do not consider my concern for you and Rebekah to be meddling. Frankly, I believe I failed you both as your older brother for so many years by not being more involved in your lives. I will not make that mistake again."

"Elijah, as noble as that sentiment is, I think our dear sister and I are old enough to make our own choices in life, don't you?"

"Not when you're headed into self destruction."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Where is all of this doom and gloom coming from? Have I not stepped up where my child is concerned? Have I not provided Hayley with suitable accommodations?"

"She should be here with us, Niklaus. She is family now."

"No! She is not family. She is but an incubator for my child. Once she gives birth, I have no intention of having her be a part of our lives. No one, not even you, dear brother, will convince me otherwise."

"You are being rash. The child will need its mother."

"Nonsense."

"Oh really? Do you intend on providing for the child's daily needs?"

"He will want for nothing."

"I don't mean material needs, Niklaus. I mean love and affection. Will you be providing that?"

Klaus looked away from his brother and stared into the night. "He will have you and Rebekah for that."

"We don't even know if Rebekah will come here."

"All Rebekah has ever craved was to be human. There is nothing more human than an infant. Once this child is born, she won't be able to stay away."

"Do you not wish to give your child what our parents failed to give us?"

"Enough, Elijah! This child isn't going to change who I am or what I desire."

"And what is it you desire?"

Klaus slowly took in the view offered by New Orleans. "My kingdom."

"And do you intend to stand alone once you have reclaimed what is yours?"

Her face flashed through his mind.

"Perhaps one day I will have a Queen."

Elijah studied his brother's face for a long while.

"And this Queen, is it someone you have already been acquainted with?"

The brief upturn of his mouth would have been missed by anyone but his older brother. Elijah started to say something, but stopped himself. He hadn't seen Klaus look this close to happy since, well, he couldn't even remember. Elijah decided to leave it alone, for now.