So I'm struggling with the next chapter of In Another Life right now. I have it started and I know what needs to happen but it just isn't coming. This semester of grad school has also mega kicked my ass so I'm hoping that I'll find some inspiration during my winter break. In the meantime, I was strangely inspired to write a series of oneshots about Klaroline in which she is a small-town girl from Virginia and he is a prince of England. This first entry is about how they meet at a pre-wedding event for Katherine's marriage to Elijah. I have ideas for the next few but I'm definitely open to ideas you might have as you read for what you'd like to see for our favorite couple. Also, this is all totally AU/AH. Let me know what you think in a review. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

"I still can't believe my sister is marrying the Prince of Wales," Elena muttered as she walked through Heathrow Airport with Caroline and Bonnie; her parents and Jeremy walked ahead of them. "I mean, Katherine is going to be the queen of England someday."

"Queen consort," Caroline corrected. "It isn't exactly the same. And it's not like you should still be so surprised, Elena. She's been dating Elijah for five years and he told her his intent to marry her a year into the relationship. She's been preparing for this since she was twenty-one."

"Still, it's strange," Elena said.

Caroline didn't respond. She knew Elena's bigger issue was that Katherine had asked Caroline to stand beside her during the ceremony instead of her own twin sister and Elena felt slighted. Caroline had told Katherine it would upset Elena but Katherine stood firm. In Katherine's defense, it shouldn't have been too big of a shock; the Gilbert sisters had never been close and were polar opposites.

"I'm more nervous about meeting King Mikael and Queen Esther," Bonnie admitted. "They always look so cold and regal."

"Katherine says they're awful," Caroline whispered, as if someone nearby would turn her in for speaking against the monarchs. "Apparently they were devastated when Prince Finn died because he was their mutual favorite and they wanted him to be king."

Bonnie frowned. "It can't be easy to lose a son so young. I remember being sad and I'm not even British. What else does Katherine say about them? She's barely come home since she started seeing Elijah and she and I have never been as close as you two, Care."

"Well, Henrik is her favorite of Elijah's siblings. Rebekah is snobby and has a superiority complex but they've gotten closer over the years. Kol is vulgar and irreverent. And she hates Niklaus," Caroline explained. "He's smug and cool and distanced from the rest of the family."

Elena nodded. "He does always seem closed off from them. Except for Rebekah and Henrik."

"It can't be easy," Caroline reasoned, "being the first spare, knowing you matter a little less than your older brother. You know, your parents would never say that they love you more than Katherine or Jeremy, or Jeremy more than you and Katherine, but Niklaus instinctively knows his parents love Elijah more because Elijah will be king."

"But the others don't seem to mind it," Bonnie pointed out. "Kol is always in the news, stumbling out of bars at three in the morning with various women."

"I just think it's different," Caroline shrugged. "I don't know how else to explain it."

"Girls, hurry up!" Grayson called back to them. "We have to be at the hotel and ready in an hour and a half."

Outside the airport, photographers were waiting, ready to pounce on the family for any possible information they could get.

"Who's her dress by?"

"Elena, are you her maid of honor?"

"Where will they honeymoon?"

"God, can you imagine if we lived here all the time?" Jeremy grumbled once they were all loaded into a chauffeured SUV. "They're parasites."

"Katherine probably loves it," Elena stated. "She loves the attention."

Miranda eyed her daughter. "No one likes their privacy invaded. The royal family tries to keep their personal lives as private as possible so Katherine has to abide by that now, as well."

"I guess," Elena sighed, pulling out her phone to text Damon, her boyfriend of two years.

Bonnie gave Caroline a knowing look but said nothing as she turned her attention to the window to take in the sights of London.

"You nervous?" Jeremy asked Caroline quietly. "You'll be standing up there with just Kat, Elijah, and Niklaus for all the world to see. And then you have to ride in the processional back to the palace and stand with us on that balcony."

"Please, Jer," Grayson grinned. "Caroline Forbes was born for the spotlight. She's a former Miss Mystic Falls, after all."

"Ooh, Care, maybe you'll fall in love with Prince Niklaus and get your own fairytale wedding?" Miranda added with a wink.

Caroline laughed. "I wanted to be a princess when I was seven; I think I've grown out of that now."

"It would be nice for Katherine to have some touch of home here," Miranda sighed. "I worry about her sometimes and you're her best friend."

"Trust me, if there's one person I rarely worry about, it's Kat," Caroline assured her. "She has Elijah wrapped around her finger."

"Yes, but I know she struggles with the king and queen," Miranda went on. "They're disappointed that she's American and younger and common. Katherine doesn't take well to criticism so I can only imagine how it truly is for her here."

"She says she has Henrik on her side," Caroline offered. "And he's the baby so Queen Esther dotes on him. Elijah's other siblings don't care that she's American either; it's just his parents but King Mikael has already consented to the marriage so there's nothing that can be done now. Katherine can handle it."

"Still, you've always been her mediator when things get rough," Grayson spoke up. "I'm sure she could use that now."

"Dad, Kat is tough," Jeremy added. "I'm with Caroline on this one; she doesn't need worrying about."

The SUV pulled up in front of the Goring Hotel fifteen minutes later and the family was ushered inside quickly before any photographers could hound them.

"Welcome to the Goring," the concierge greeted them politely. "We're so pleased to have you stay with us while you're in London for the wedding. My name is Julian and I'll be here for anything you might need during your stay."

"Thank you," Grayson accepted.

"I will have Erin show you up to your rooms," Julian continued. "If there's anything you should need, don't hesitate to call down to the desk."

Caroline and Bonnie were taken to their junior suite while the Gilbert's were shown their family suite one floor up.

"Oh, my God, that dress!" Bonnie gushed when Caroline unzipped the garment bag holding her dress for the rehearsal dinner the following evening. "Are you sure you aren't interested in hooking your own prince?"

"Stop," Caroline rolled her eyes, pulling the blue long-sleeved Stella McCartney dress from the bag. "It's pretty and royal family-approved. Katherine showed Elijah a picture and he liked it."

"I'm sure every other male in attendance tonight will like it, too," Bonnie smirked. "You know Prince Kol has a hard time turning away from a beautiful woman."

Caroline sighed. "Kat said Kol saw a photo of all of us from last summer when she visited home and apparently, he was far more interested in you."

Bonnie let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "Whatever."

"Exactly," Caroline smirked. "So let's see what you're wearing tonight."

"Fine," Bonnie murmured, unzipping her own garment bag to pull out a black dress with leather panels down the sides.

"Yeah, I don't think Kol will even notice me tonight," Caroline teased. "Bonnie Bennett, you little vixen. Where did you get that dress?"

"I ordered it," Bonnie admitted. "Nothing in town was good enough and I didn't get to come here with you last month to shop."

"To shop?" Caroline repeated. "I had two hours to shop for the entire four days I was here. The rest of the time was spent signing confidentiality agreements until I developed carpel tunnel in my wrist. I'm pretty sure that if I were to write a single word about any wedding details before the actual wedding, the royal family would own my first-born child. I barely even spent any time with Kat."

"You did all that wedding stuff and still haven't met any of Elijah's family?" Bonnie asked, unpacking her things quickly before she started to get ready.

Caroline picked up her bag of toiletries to head to the bathroom for a shower. "Nope. Everything I did was through a palace liaison or Katherine. She wanted me to meet Niklaus but it never happened. He wasn't interested in spending time with another "American commoner," as he so politely referred to me, seeing as one is about to marry into his family; that's apparently his quota."

"Now I can understand why he's always so walled off from the rest of them," Bonnie murmured, checking the time. "We should hurry now."

Just over an hour later, the two girls, along with Elena, her parents, and Jeremy, were escorted by guards into a reception room at Buckingham Palace for the first event of many for the weeklong wedding extravaganza. Though Bonnie wasn't family or a member of the wedding party, Katherine had fought Queen Esther herself to have her there, knowing it would make Elena more comfortable to have her best friend in attendance since Caroline would be focused on her wedding duties.

Caroline spotted Katherine immediately upon entering the elaborate room and smiled brightly at her best friend of almost twenty years.

"Hi, guys!" Katherine beamed as she approached the group, followed closely by her fiancée. She hugged Miranda and Grayson first. "Mom, you changed your hair."

Miranda touched her newly shortened hair self-consciously. "It looks okay?"

"You look lovely, Miranda," Elijah complimented her, always the gentleman. He shook Grayson's hand. "It's nice to see you again, sir."

"Katherine, it would be terribly rude of you not to introduce me to your family," Kol reported as he snuck his way into the group.

"Everyone, this is Kol," Katherine introduced wryly. "Kol, these are my parents, Grayson and Miranda; my younger brother, Jeremy; my twin sister, Elena; her best friend, Bonnie Bennett; and my best friend and maid of honor, Caroline Forbes."

Kol shook everyone's hands, holding Bonnie's in his just a tad longer. "It's lovely to meet you all. I can see where Katherine gets her good looks from," he added cheekily to Miranda.

"Ignore him," Elijah advised. "We all do."

"Would you like to finally meet Klaus?" Katherine asked Caroline moments later once their group had split up to walk about the room.

"I guess," Caroline answered. "Are we going to ambush him? Because he wasn't interested in meeting me last month."

Katherine smirked. "He was being a prick that day but he promised Elijah he'd be on his best behavior tonight, which is like mediocre behavior for any other civilized human being." She led Caroline through the room. "He likes blondes so you might be in luck."

"I don't need luck," Caroline said. "I just need him to be nice enough for the next week."

"Just don't fall in love with him," Katherine warned softly. "He'll break your heart."

"Kat, I won't fall in love with Prince Niklaus," Caroline assured her, confused by her friend's sudden concern. "I can take care of myself."

Katherine cleared her throat and dropped the sentimental look from her face. "Good. Also, call him Klaus. Only his parents and Elijah call him 'Niklaus' and that's only because they won't not. The other three call him 'Nik,' but he likes them best so don't call him that either. He prefers to be called 'Klaus' by others."

"Got it," Caroline nodded as the two girls approached Klaus and Henrik in a corner of the ballroom. "Should I curtsy or something?"

"No," Katherine shook her head. "I mean, you'll have to when you meet the king and queen because they require it but their children are pretty laid back about it. They're a pretty modern royal family."

"Hi, Kat!" Henrik, the youngest of the House of Mikaelson, beamed. "Is this the Caroline we've heard so much of?"

"It is," Katherine confirmed. "Caroline Forbes, this is Prince Henrik and Prince Klaus. Henrik, Klaus, this is my best friend, Caroline."

Caroline shook Henrik's hand first. "It's an honor to meet you both."

"You, too," Henrik nodded, clearly besotted by her already. "Katherine says you're the only good thing about her hometown these days."

"Oh, I'm sure that isn't true," Caroline smiled. "I know she misses her brother especially; she says you remind her of him a bit."

"Except that her brother is a common boy from a no-name town in Virginia and Henrik is a prince of the United Kingdom," Klaus smirked.

Caroline looked to him. "I happen to love Mystic Falls."

"She's a former Miss Mystic Falls, as a matter of fact," Katherine added.

"Well, you would like it," Klaus nodded. "You're a small town girl. You've probably never been outside of it until now."

"Except the four years I studied journalism in Chicago," Caroline deadpanned, turned off by his pompous attitude.

"Nik loves Chicago!" Henrik interrupted. "I've only been twice but he goes whenever he can."

"I doubt Caroline here knows the Chicago I frequent," Klaus said. "I imagine her to be the Magnificent Mile-type."

"Actually, I lived in Rogers Park," Caroline told him coolly.

Klaus seemed surprised by this. "That's a very diverse area, love. How'd you end up there? It doesn't seem like your kind of neighborhood."

"My college boyfriend grew up there," she snapped. "And what 'seems' like my type of neighborhood? I'd love to hear your opinion, Your Highness. You've known me all of five minutes now so surely you're an expert."

Katherine knew she should stop her friend from arguing with a high-ranking member of the royal family but if there was anyone who could put Klaus in his place, it was Caroline. And Klaus deserved to be put in his place.

"Well, you seem like the type of girl who needs to be taken care of," Klaus observed, circling around Caroline like a predator around its prey. "I'm sure your college boyfriend was a big football star, though what you Americans consider football is a disgrace to the actual sport. He probably made you feel like a campus celebrity but behind closed doors, he treated you like nothing more than another trophy, all while sleeping with his psychology tutor behind your back. And when you finally wised up enough to leave him, he went on with his life as if you'd never been a part of it at all. You, however, were heartbroken and spent weeks depressed, feeling as though your life had no purpose. Which, let's be honest, it probably doesn't. I mean, you ended up back in your small town, probably writing for a newspaper that's likely used in the bottom of birdcages." He smirked. "Am I right?"

Caroline was stunned by how cruel he could be upon just meeting her. Tears threatened to fall but she held her head high. "No, you weren't. I didn't leave Tyler; he dumped me. But thank you so much for walking me through it all over again." She looked to Katherine as she backed away. "I'm going to get some air."

"Surely that's a new record, even for you," Katherine chastised Klaus. "God, you can't even meet new people—people as good and decent as Caroline—without immediately alienating them. All she wanted was to meet you and try to make this week pleasant for everyone. Way to ruin that, jackass." She glared at him a moment longer before going after her friend.

Henrik sighed. "You'll never get it, Nik, will you?"

"I suppose not," Klaus murmured, walking away.

Caroline left the ballroom and found herself in an art gallery of sorts, showcasing official portraits of long-dead members of the royal family.

"My father's father."

She jumped at the sound of the voice behind her and spun quickly to see Klaus standing at the threshold of the room.

"He was a much better king than Mikael is," Klaus continued softly. A better person, too. Elijah takes after him. Mikael, on the other hand, is a monster."

"Great," she muttered, turning away from him once more. "If Mikael is a monster, does that mean you take after him?"

That stung Klaus; he hated being compared to his father. "I apologize for how I spoke to you in there. It wasn't fair and I shouldn't have assumed anything about you."

"No, you shouldn't have," she agreed. "I realize you're a prince and I know I'm supposed to bow down to you or whatever, but you aren't my prince so I don't care what title you hold or what family you belong to. You shouldn't talk to people like that."

"You're right," he nodded. "Would you believe me if I said it's nothing personal?"

"No," she denied. "You seem like the type to make everything personal."

"Now who's assuming?" he teased.

Caroline frowned and was quiet for a long moment before speaking again. "You were right about a lot of it though; about college and Tyler. I guess I'm fairly transparent."

"You're beautiful actually," he interrupted her, stepping further into the room.

"Oh, God," she scoffed. "I'm too smart to be seduced by you, prince or not."

He smiled. "Well, that's why I like you."

"I'm sure that line works on British girls who grow up hoping to marry a prince and live in a castle but I'm not one of those girls," she assured him, walking past him to return to the party. "I'm not going to fall for it."

Klaus just watched her disappear out of the room with his signature smirk. "All right then, Miss Forbes. Challenge accepted."