Keeper of Promises

A/N: This is what happens when I listen to depressing music. It's about to get angst-y in here, ya'll been warned.

Klaus was sixteen hundred and eleven years old when the love of his life died.

The world would know his pain.

And it was painted red.

They begged him to just turn it off, anything would be better than this torture.

But he wanted the pain; he deserved it for letting her die.

All the T.V. stations dubbed him 'The Ripper' and followed his bloody path through the States until he took his pain out on all her favorite places across the ocean; Paris, Italy, Tokyo, just to name a few.

He knew the supernatural world would be forced to deal with him soon enough.

Let them come.

Klaus had always assumed he'd go straight to hell when he died. The devil probably held him a VIP ticket.

He pushed through the heavy French doors of his New Orleans compound, the light blinding him from seeing through to the other side. He absently wondered how he got here.

"Klaus?"

The blinding light faded until a silhouetted woman slowly came into view. He squinted against the fading light and placed his hand above his eyes to see better. The black silhouette began to turn into blonde hair and a floral sundress.

"Who's there?" He called out, still confused.

The light faded completely and it took Klaus a minute to adjust to the normal lighting. What he sees takes the breath from his lungs.

But was there any breath anyway? He has an idea where he's at now.

"Caroline?"

The baby vampire he loved is smiling at him from the center of the foyer and finally everything makes sense.

He remembers what happened now. "I...died."

Caroline throws her arms around him and presses him close. "It's too soon for you to be here." She said, though she hasn't stopped smiling.

Klaus cupped her face and kissed her with all the love he has for her, the love he burned down the world for. "I told you I'd love you forever, even in death." He replied.

"And I told you not to follow me." She quipped back.

Klaus smirked. "I didn't...immediately." He corrected. He grew serious. "I promised you I wouldn't live without you on our wedding night."

Caroline pressed a kiss to his cheek and laid her forehead against his. "I made that promise too. The witches had one shot to kill you and I wasn't about to let that happen."

"Your hero complex murdered us both."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You loved my light, remember?" She reminded him.

"I avenged you, love." He said quietly. "I made them watch as I murdered their whole family. They begged for the end and I denied them for days."

Caroline sighed and stepped back. "I didn't want that. I was happy to give my life for yours."

Klaus grabbed her hips and brought them back together. He laid her head on his chest and lovingly stroked her hair. "I know." He replied. "I did it for me. A descendant of your beloved Bonnie Bennett hunted me down and created the spell to put me down. It took the twelve great covens and the seven werewolf packs to finally do the deed. I'm flattered, really."

He didn't remember the specifics exactly, but he could remember those last minutes. His siblings bared witness; Elijah and Kol held back a frantic Rebekah, whose screams was only drowned out by the witches' chanting. He remembered thinking, finally, as the tears of happiness slid down his red-stained face.

He'd told her he'd see her again.

He kept his promises.

Caroline kissed him again and took his hand, leading him back towards the door he came through. If death had taught him anything, he would follow this woman where ever she went. She pushed open the door and this time there was no blinding light, just the sound of a large crowd.

Together, they stepped outside.

Stefan was the first person he saw, alongside his brother and the doppelganger they both loved. Camille and Marcellus give him a bright smile, Joshua, Davina, Bonnie, and Vincent offer timid waves and encouraging smiles. Someone collides with him and Hayley appears beside him, her begrudging smile in place.

"Took you long enough."

Klaus peered down into his daughter's face, realizing just how much he'd missed her. He gathered her in his arms, fighting the tears from spilling over.

"How are my children?" She asked; she was a great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother after all.

"Living like royalty, as promised."

Hope released her father and stood by her mother again. "I've missed you, Dad."

"We all have." Said Caroline, taking his hand. "But now we're all together, finally."

Klaus smiled and for the first time, he felt free. "Forever."

The bright light engulfed them once again.

...I'm just going to leave this here. Idk about it, stuck between loving it and wanting to delete it from existence.

Tiffy-wa~