So yes, a new fic! It's supernatural with the mythology of the show, but has some Mafia AU influences as well I guess.
Anyway, some important stuff before you read:
- This chapter contains a lot of flashbacks, showing were Caroline is now and how she got there, you'll find out before the end of the chapter why that is...
- This contains the mythology from TVD, but not the story.
- The beautiful cover of this story belongs to Romanoffsbite on tumblr.
Everything else you probably figure out in this chapter and if you don't, shoot me a message so I can explain it the next time!
Happy reading!
Chapter 1
With a gasp Caroline woke up and sat immediately upright. She found herself in a king-sized bed and looked around in confusion. This wasn't her bed or her room. She didn't recognize the place and she definitely did not remember ever setting foot into this place.
For a moment she wondered if she had gotten drunk the night before, maybe she had forgotten going home with someone? She instantly looked down and let out a sigh from relief when she noticed she was still wearing her clothes. That didn't remove the other mystery however. Where was she and what was she doing there?
She quickly jumped out of the bed, wanting to get away from the unknown room or at the very least get a better look at the place. The second her feet touched the ground, however, she found herself staggering. She felt dizzy and she rested against the bed hoping it would help her stabilize herself.
She took some deep breaths while she looked around. She hoped she could see anything that was familiar and that's when she noticed her suitcase standing in the corner of the room.
"Caroline there's something we have to tell you."
The moment Liz Forbes uttered those words Caroline knew something was really wrong. Firstly there was the fact that her mother sat down next to her on her bed, setting foot in Caroline's bedroom, a place she rarely entered. Secondly there was the part that her parents were barely ever present in general. There wasn't much they found worth telling her so if it was something they founded necessary for her to know than it couldn't be good.
She was proved right when the next words were spoken. "We need you to go away for a little while."
Why? Where? When? All questions that had come to her mind immediately but she had remained silent. Her parents had made it clear many times before that there was a lot that they wanted her to stay unaware of so she trusted their word. She had always trusted their word.
"The Mikaelsons are staying in town for longer than we had anticipated and-" she had noticed how her mother spoke without emotion when she talked. It was like she wasn't talking to her daughter, she was in business mode and Caroline mentally prepared herself for a task. "You're staying with them for the time being," Liz finished.
"You want me to stay with the same people you have been trying to get out of here since the moment they set foot into Mystic Falls?" she couldn't understood her mother's reasoning. If there were people you feared, for whatever reason, you kept your loved ones far away from them. You shielded them, protected them, hell you possibly even sacrificed yourself for them. What you didn't do was throw your only child at them and hoped for the best. Caroline could feel anger brewing deep within her but kept silent.
"We have made a peace treaty, Caroline. You're the condition, they asked for you and if you don't do this we can all be in great danger. Is that what you want?"
Of course she didn't want her friends and family to be in danger. Liz Forbes knew exactly how to manipulate her daughter and a part of Caroline wanted to rebel and deny her compliance, she had to think of herself as well, but she couldn't do it. She cared too much and she would never forgive herself if anyone got hurt because of her stubborn nature. "Okay I'll stay with them," she accepted, looking down at her hands intertwined in her lap. She couldn't look at her mother right now.
"There's one more thing, Caroline. They expect you to be like family and that should give you some access to their secrets. We need you to-"
The Mikaelsons. That must be where she was now. She remembered the conversation clearly now and she couldn't understand how she hadn't thought about it right away. Everything after that conversation was still hazy however. We need you to-? What did they expect her to do, and why were the Mikaelsons even considered dangerous?
She looked at the room that she resided in. Clearly they couldn't be that evil if they hadn't treated her as a prisoner. She had a nice room and seemed to have been left alone. Well there was still the missing memory bit of course…
There were so many questions she had no answer for and she knew she couldn't leave the room and enter the unknown without those. She hoped her memories would return soon because her head was starting to hurt and it was a lousy distraction. She wished her friends were here. They could put her mind off everything. Oh how she would love to have Katherine beside her now. She would come up with some crazy plan to help her out. The girl was fearless.
"A SPY!" Caroline exclaimed while she buried her head in Elena's pillow. Bonnie, Elena and Katherine looked at her with concern but they allowed Caroline to rant it out first. They all knew how volatile an angry Caroline Forbes could get.
"What is this? Some bad action movie? They can't expect me to just move into the house of strangers, live with a CRIMINAL family, and look around for information that my family can use against them. I'm not some spy and I can't just go undercover and infiltrate this family. This isn't like in the movies, and it's not like I haven't heard the whispered conversations either. I'm not as oblivious to what's going on, as my parents like to think. Everyone is terrified about this family for some unknown reason and now they expect me to do what? Live with them and look through their drawers while they're sleeping in the room next to me?"
"Caroline-" Bonnie tried to move in and comfort her friend but she pulled away, not ready to be pulled back in her world again. The rage distracted her and made it all seem like a bad dream, a creepy realistic one, but a dream nonetheless. If her friends started to talk sense into her it would become real and she would have to accept that this was something she was truly going to do. Still. Even though she knew she couldn't delude herself forever, she could still have one more moment.
"I'm eighteen. We just graduated. I'm supposed to worry about college starting soon, not trying not to get killed by my new roommates!" She threw herself back on the bed, "Okay so maybe I had having a homicidal roommate in college had been a weird nightmare once, but how big would those odds have been anyway? I've been planning my life since I was four, I know exactly what I want to do in the next five years and never did this scenario appear in any of my plans."
"Then don't do it," Katherine spoke, throwing a pillow at Caroline's head. "If it's so bad, just say you're out."
Katherine's words sounded tempting but she knew she had to do it. Besides, her parents wouldn't throw her in this situation if they believed it was truly dangerous, right? Maybe she just heard it all wrong. Her mother was the sheriff, after all. If the Mikaelsons were truly believed to be dangerous, she could have just locked them up from the start. No, clearly Caroline had over exaggerated the tales and her mother just needed some help with gathering evidence for a minor crime.
She sat upright and wiped the tears from her face. "That's not an option. Okay I'm good. Sorry for scaring you all. I probably need to talk with my parents now."
"Caroline I'm serious," Katherine stopped her from walking out of the room. If you don't want to do this, then don't! No one can force you to do anything you don't want to do."
She threw herself in Katherine's arms, hugging her goodbye. "Thank you! That's what I needed to hear, but I already made my decision."
Either Caroline heard wrong and the Mikaelsons were harmless and she could talk them out of whatever 'war' was going on between their families, or she heard right and they were dangerous. If it was the latter she preferred it to be her in the crosshairs than her friends. She wouldn't let anything happen to them.
So she decided; she would go to the Mikaelsons.
She couldn't believe she had forgotten about that. Her parents had exchanged her to the Mikaelsons in return for "peace". If only she remembered ever seeing a Mikaelson before she had to move in with them. She knew that it was a family of five living in the huge mansion near the Lockwoods at the outskirts of the woods. If she remembered correctly, they consisted of a father and his four children, a daughter and three sons. If she remembered correctly… right now she doubted the credibility of her memories.
Didn't she remember because she was drugged? Was this how it felt to be drugged? She wasn't certain but she doubted it. She could already feel her strength regaining, memories returning but at the same time she still felt weak. It was like she needed something, and she couldn't place what exactly that something was.
When she returned from the Gilbert house, she found her suitcase already packed and her parents waiting for her in the hall. When she heard about the arrangement she figured it would be soon, but she expected to at least have some time to prepare. Maybe she would have been able to meet the family first, before moving in and all but it appeared she was already out of time. What she wouldn't give for a couple more days or even better, a whole week. At the very least they could have given her enough time to pack her own suitcase, but no! It appeared she was expected to leave everything behind and move in with the Mikaelsons right away. At least she saw her friends before she had to go.
She bit back the tears that threatened to fall again, since there was no point in crying. It clearly wouldn't stop anything from happening and she needed to be strong to make it through. It was either that or faking it. If she looked strong, maybe they would leave her alone.
She grabbed her suitcase, unable to look at her parents before she left. They hadn't even waited for her to process the decision and she couldn't respect that. She could feel her father's hand on her arm, putting her to a halt.
"There's something you need to know," Bill said before she fully left the house, "The Mikaelsons aren't normal." Caroline paused her steps, taking in the last words, hoping they would prove to be useful. "You will see and hear things in that house, things that won't appear natural. We need you to tell us everything you see and hear there."
"Yeah, mom covered that?" Caroline rolled her eyes, "You want me to spy on your enemies. That's why you allowed the trade. Convenient for you guys, right?" she bit out.
Her father stepped forwards, wrapping his arms around her, the closest thing he would come to a hug. "I want you to help us protect this town from some seriously dangerous people. Can we trust you to do that, Caroline?"
She nodded. She didn't know what was expected of her but she had no choice, she knew she couldn't let her family down.
"We're proud of you Caroline. You have no idea how important your part will be."
Her part in what? In brokering a peace between two stubborn families? Did they even realize what century this was? These memories were worthless. They didn't help her at all, and all she had now were a lot more questions and a budding headache.
What made the Mikaelsons so different? Why did her parents need her to spy on them and what did her father meant when he said that she would see things that weren't natural? Nothing was making even a little bit of sense to her and she knew it was because she was missing an important puzzle piece. She hoped that it was buried somewhere in her mind, because if she knew one thing from The Art of War, it was to know your enemy. She was nothing without her knowledge and she needed the rest of her memories to complete the story.
There must be something that triggered them but what?
She looked around the room hoping to see something that could help her but she couldn't seem to focus on anything in specific. She could feel her stomach growl and she wondered when the last time had been that she had eaten something. In no surprise, she couldn't remember that piece of information.
She chuckled; she seemed to have more important matters that she couldn't remember and all she could focus on was the last time she ate. She needed to know for sure where she was, and she realized she could at the very least confirm that she really was with the Mikaelsons.
She walked towards the window and opened the curtains expecting to see the edge of the woods but instead she jumped back at the harsh light that peered through the window. It was too bright and it hurt her eyes so she quickly closed them again. While she covered her eyes with her hand she turned away from the window. What was happening to her?
With trembling hands she stood in front of the doors of the Mikaelson mansion. She took a deep breath before knocking on the mahogany doors. If she was going to enter the lion's den she was refusing to be an easy prey. They said that lions could smell fear and Caroline Forbes would die before she showed an ounce of it.
She was the first sophomore chosen to be captain of the Cheerleaders, Prom Queen, president of several committee's and reigning Miss Mystic Falls. She hadn't gotten those positions by rolling over and showing her insecurities. Instead, she had learned to hide them, put a big smile on her face and work her ass off. Criminal families, possible serial killers, secrets organizations, they were only a bump in the road. If she maintained strong she could handle all of it, or so she told herself.
She knocked on the door and immediately it was opened by a guy about her age. He had a smirk on his face while he looked her over. "Well we're in luck brothers, she's at least a pretty lamb," he called into the room and she tried to tune him out.
"Kol!" she heard a girl yell back from inside the house while she entered. She looked around the marvelous interior and observing the place while she could. She had seen many of the old houses in Mystic Falls, she had organized events in many of them even, but she had never stepped foot into this one before. Something about the house felt ancient. Like it had been a part of the world for centuries, it could have been the large collection of antiquities that were stored everywhere that gave it that essence, though.
She preferred to focus on the house than the people but she knew she had to look up at one point. Especially since two more people had joined them in the hall and were currently busy observing her. Forbes don't show weakness, she told herself one last time before she looked up and caught the eye of a blond guy. His eyes were taking her in and she could feel a shiver run over her skin. There was something in those eyes, something dangerous, but she couldn't let that distract her.
"Well is anyone going to introduce their selves or do I have to guess who everyone is?" she asked impatiently while she put down her suitcase in the hallway, putting up a confident front.
"Kol Mikaelson," the one who opened the door for her told her cheerfully. He grabbed her hand and kissed the palm of it and for a second she thought she caught him smelling her wrist but she knew she had to be mistaken of that matter.
"Kol let the girl go. She's not yours to taste!" a voice called from above and Caroline head snapped up to see two more men walk down the stairs. "Miss Forbes, welcome," he spoke when he reached their group, "Why don't you join Elijah and me for some tea. I think we have an alliance to discuss."
"Uhm," Caroline noticed how the other two were already ready to leave with the arrival of their father but Caroline refuse to give in that easy. "We were still doing some introductions actually. I mean if I'm supposed to live here, some names would be helpful and I don't think I caught your names," she said to the other siblings and she noticed the girl stare at her in surprise. Clearly people didn't refuse Mikael's orders often.
"I'm Rebekah," the girl called over. "And he," pointing at her brother's retreating back. "Is Klaus." She was relieved to find the girl seemingly nice, maybe she was just like Caroline, stuck in a family with an agenda she knew little of.
"Well I'm Caroline Forbes, but I'm sure you already know that at this point," she replied with a faux-smile before facing the other two men again. "I believe your father said your name was Elijah?" Caroline asked the figure in front of her and shook his hand before turning to the oldest man. "Which leaves you to be?"
"Mikael," he told her. "I must say, I'm surprised you don't already know this."
"My family doesn't tell me much about their business," Caroline admitted. "I can't say I know much of anything about your family."
"Well Caroline, I'm sure we're going to change that soon," Mikael promised with a sinister smile.
So she had met them. Well at least now she was able to put some names and faces to the mysterious Mikaelson family she had heard so much about. In all honestly though, they hadn't seem as threatening as her family had made it sound. Well there was the one brother, Klaus, that gave some weird vibes but she didn't know much about him at all. Then of course there was Mikael. It was clear he wielded all the power in the family and she didn't trust him one bit. She shoved it aside for now, it was like Mikael had said; it was all about an alliance, nothing more or less.
She rested on the bed again. The returning memories were starting to overwhelm her. Some came in flashes and they were pieced together but all were from the same period of time and all were about the Mikaelsons. How could someone forget the last twenty-four hours or so of their life? Was it the tea they were supposed to be drinking? Had it been laced with something?
"How's your tea Caroline."
She took a small sip, it tasted a bit too sweet to her liking, but she had her Southern manners and nodded politely. "It's great, thank you Mr. Mikaelson."
"Call me Mikael. There's no need to be formal when you'll be one of us soon enough," he looked over at his son. "Isn't that right Elijah?"
Elijah looked up from his place at the side of the room and for the first time locked eyes with Caroline. There was emptiness in his eyes, and she couldn't exactly place it, but that look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. Elijah wasn't looking forward to the terms of this alignment, anymore than she was.
Mikael had been the instigator, the head of the family and she knew she had to beware of the man. She could feel a darkness inside of him, and if she had felt danger radiate from the other son, Klaus, than it came in tenfold of the father. At least this answered one of her questions. Now she knew the rumors about this family were not rumors at all. They were dangerous and she would have to live among them.
"What do you exactly know about us?" Mikael suddenly asked and she was dragged from her thoughts. "I know you said your family hasn't told you much, but surely you have heard some stories?"
"Like I mentioned before, I know very little," she admitted. "I've only heard about your family in passing…" she paused, raking her brain for some information to share. "I mean know you're new to town," she tried.
"Hmm, somehow I doubt that's the only thing you've heard about us. What is it that your parents told you about my family, before you left your home?"
"Nothing. Only-" she caught herself. She knew she couldn't throw around accusations to her hosts.
"Only what Caroline?" Mikael looked her into the eyes and she found it hard to look away. Before she could stop herself the words had already spilled from her lips. It was like she couldn't keep them in.
"Only that you're not normal. Dangerous."
Mikael let out a booming laugh, "Oh we're very dangerous, alright! Now tell me, sweet Caroline, do you believe in vampires?"
She scoffed at that, "If you're asking me if I know of them? Than yes, I've read Twilight. I also know that it's all a bunch of fiction."
"Those are very made up indeed, but those writers did get one thing right," he told her while walking towards her. She noticed he held something in his hands, but she couldn't catch what it was. He paused in front of her seat and hovered over her. She tried to etch away from him, feeling the back of the chair press against her and keeping her locked in her seat. "We crave blood," he told her and she felt a shiver run over her back.
He showed the instrument he held in his hand and she noticed a syringe containing a red fluid. Surely that couldn't be- Before she could question what he would do with the syringe, she felt a small prick in her left arm and when she saw the syringe again it was empty.
With what kind of psychopaths had her parents left her behind with? What had he just given her? Was it as she feared? Oh how she hoped not. She glanced to her right and noticed how Elijah was just observing the scene from his place in silence, never even attempting to help her out. What a great family was she supposed to live with.
In her rage, she pushed Mikael aside, ready to bolt out of the room and go back home when she reminded herself of her friends and family. If she couldn't bite through this it would be they that suffered, and she couldn't allow that.
She paused in the middle of the room with Mikael behind her and was ready to turn around and start the actual negotiations for their alliance, when she felt two hands being wrapped around her neck. "Welcome to the family," were the last words she heard before she felt darkness surround her.
She could feel herself start to hyperventilate when the memory returned. Her suspicions had been right; she was drugged but with what? Clearly it knocked her out cold right away but she couldn't understand why the Mikaelsons would drug her. She was already in their custody, what more could they want with her?
A delicious smell started to creep into her room and she could feel her stomach growl once again. She was just so damn hungry! Her gums started to hurt and her hand flew to her mouth. Did they do something to it? Was she drugged so they could perform some weird surgery on her?
The door to her room opened before she could explore the possibility and two men entered, Elijah and Klaus. Between them was a young girl whom she recognized. It was April Young, now a junior at her old High School.
"I'm sure you're starving sweetheart," Klaus spoke and Caroline felt unease crawl over her skin. A good meal felt like a great idea to her, but she had the sneaking suspicion that there was more to it than he led on. Those eyes kept a secret to her and she wasn't sure if she was ready to uncover it just yet.
They walked closer to her and she backed away, feeling the bed press against her knees before she fell back on the bed. She resisted the desire to scramble back to the end of the bed, but she knew she had to appear strong. "What did you do to me," she demanded while she looked around the room for a possible weapon.
"You'll find out soon enough, little one," Klaus said and shoved April Young to the floor. "Now, eat."
Caroline looked from Klaus to the girl in disbelieve, "Her?" she looked at him and let out a hysteric laugh. "Omg you guys are absolutely mad. First your father, talking about vampires, and now you want me to… what? Drink some innocent girl's blood? Have you guys never read the disclaimers on those books?" she shook her head incredulously. "They're freaking fiction!" she yelled, ready to throw one of those books at their heads.
Klaus smirked, amused by the courage the blonde appeared to possess. Then again, she had no idea about the reality she now lived in. He kneeled down in front of the girl on the floor and brushed her hair aside, putting her bare neck on display for their new guest and he could feel the blonde staring daggers in his chest. He showed his true colors to the compelled girl, allowing his fangs to drop and his face to transform and he knew Caroline still couldn't see him.
"Niklaus," Elijah warned, "Maybe we should allow her some explanation first." His brother, always the diplomatic one, but there was no time for formalities. Besides, the girl needed blood, or she would die. The quicker she understood that, the better.
Klaus scoffed, "She doesn't need more words that she can blame to madness. No, I think a demonstration is in order." He grabbed the girl's wrist and in one sharp movement, bit through the flesh. Blood started to flow and he could hear a gasp leave Caroline's lovely lips when she caught the sight.
He knew she wouldn't be able to resist the sight and smell of blood and stepped away from the girl. "Be my guest," he directed towards the bleeding girl and was surprised to note that the girl was still standing on her place. He noticed how her fists were balled together and he could see her nails almost drawing blood from her own flesh but she managed to stay somewhat in control, resisting the hunger that would soon overwhelm her.
She looked up at his face, noticing the veins leaving his face and she almost hoped she had imagined it, but his blood covered face didn't lie. Vampires. They were apparently very real and she had just met at least one of them. She looked back at April Young and noticed how the girl hadn't made a sound even though she was still bleeding, why didn't she scream out in pain?
Caroline glanced at the girl's wrist, blood still flowing from the wound onto the carpet and she could feel her legs automatically guiding her closer. She kneeled in front of the girl and she heard Klaus walk up behind her, probably in an attempt to keep her in place, but it was already too late for her to change her mind. She lifted the bleeding wrist up to her mouth and caught a few drops before she could feel the taste overwhelm her.
The unease in her gums intensified while she felt fangs start to grow inside of them. She was freaked out but her hunger overwhelmed her senses. She bit back in April's wrist, tearing into another vein and allowing more fresh blood to flow from the vein. She drank eagerly, finally feeling her sense of hunger wane but she still wanted more. The small veins in the wrist didn't sate her and her eyes eyed April's neck.
She released the wrist were it fell down beside April's side and in a quick movement buried her head in April's neck, biting down and capturing more of the enticing nectar in her mouth.
"We should stop her," Elijah warned his brother. "We made a promise, not to kill any of the residents of this town."
"We promised that we wouldn't kill them," Klaus retorted with a smirk, "They never forbade her." He looked down at the blonde in front of her, she looked glorious. While her show of strength was admirable, the true beauty lay in the giving in. She was one of them now, and there was nothing she could do to change that.
When she heard them talk, Caroline's bubble was broken and she looked down in shock of the girl that lay down in front of her. She could hear how April's heartbeat had slowed down and she could still taste the blood in her mouth. She wanted to throw up but she couldn't deny that she had liked it.
She backed away and felt herself collide with Klaus' chest, turning around in horror and looking at him with wide eyes, "What did I just do? What did you made me do?" she demanded and turned to Elijah when Klaus refused to answer. "Tell me!" she exclaimed, hitting against his chest without getting a reaction.
She fell down on the floor, tears streaming down her face while she felt someone pick her up and laying her back on the bed. "Tell father the transition is done," Klaus told Elijah while he sat on a chair in the room. Someone had to keep an eye on the girl -before she did something stupid like walk into the sun- even if it was while she was a sobbing mess on her bed.
Elijah left but not before turning back to Klaus, "You could have handled that gentler," Elijah criticized Klaus and his brother scoffed at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know I was known for my gentle touch," Klaus retorted before rolling his eyes. "Besides, she got more information about what she's becoming than we ever did. She should feel lucky." He glanced back at the girl whose face was pressed against her pillows. She moved and glared at him.
"I don't feel lucky. You made me into a monster," she hissed and turned on her side with her back to their enemies. "I hate you," she muttered before she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the brother still left in her room. "I hate you, I hate you, and I hate you."
She cursed herself for her naivety. She had wanted answers, and now all she wanted was to forget, to take it all back and live in blissful ignorance. She had her answer, the Mikaelsons were vampires, and now so was she.
So that was the first chapter... yeah Klaus and Caroline aren't off to the best start. But well, Caroline had enough to deal with right now and she will need someone to help her understand what this all means. Who will she turn to in the house?
For those of you that read my other fic, Fatal Bite as well, and have been patiently waiting for an update. I'm sorry, I was occupied with starting this fic, but the new chapter of Fatal Bite is finished and will be updated on Wednesday.