My first full-length Klaroline story, I'm so excited! :D
So a few notes before you get to the fanfic:
1) This is set the day after Klaus heals Caroline with his blood after Tyler bit her. But then it will skip to when Esther throws the ball, so I'm basically skipping the whole Stefan, no-humanity plot because I couldn't figure out how it would tie into the story.
2) In this story Esther and the other Mikaelson's are undaggered earlier than in the show.
3) Mikael is dead, and basically everything takes off from there. Don't be surprised if you read this and find things straying from the canon (basically the entire plot haha).
It won't be confusing when you guys read it, trust me. I'm just really awkward with explanations.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.
The Spotless Minds: Chapter 1
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Caroline Forbes, former human, couldn't agree more. Her stomps were violent, pants forcing its way through her mouth in a curt rhythm, like it couldn't keep up with the fire that coursed through her veins. The exhaustion that threatened to collapse on her only fueled her fury and, though she denied it with all her might, sorrow. Always in control of her actions, Caroline focused her emotions onto one outlet and she'd soon enough die once again before she let the cause of all her disappoints get away with it.
The dirt beneath her, soft from a light drizzle that passed just a few hours ago, hours where things were okay, soon turned into hard concrete. A white so pure coated the ground and mansion up ahead, making Caroline wonder how could such demons reside inside. It was all appearance she decided. Like an angel that only needed a single temptation to attack.
For just a split second, as she stood at the front door, the knob like a face that stared up at her, Caroline hesitated. Her rational mind was quick to remind her that she was heading into the house of monsters: immortal creatures that held no regards for human life.
A.k.a: Klaus Mikaelson, she thought with contempt. Just the name sent shivers down her spine. Not from fear, far from it actually, but rage. It was easy for Caroline, to place the blame of dragging her and her loved ones into the world of the supernatural, onto the Salvatore brothers. But the true source was the hybrid that was just a few steps away from her. Almost all the anguish her and her friends had suffered could be traced to him.
The knob was taunting (you coming in or what?)
She grasped it, the power now in her hand, and pushed the door open.
It shouldn't have surprised her to find him waiting at the top of the spiral stairs. The way they curled upward gave Caroline the sense that they led up to somewhere horrid, as if hell wasn't beneath them, but above. And the devil, staring down at her with lips twitching, leaned against the top railing.
"Caroline," his voice, smooth yet daunting, a dark undertone that reminded people of his power, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Caroline's own voice betrayed her, trembling out of her mouth like a toddler, "W-Why did you make Tyler bite me?"
His lips were now set in a satisfied smirk. "You could've called for a simple question like that, you know?"
His arrogance helped Caroline gather her courage once more. She stared hard at Klaus, questioning how a man of many, many years, could remind her of a child.
"You think this is amusing…don't you?" she asked him, arms crossed.
His face wry, Klaus began to take deliberate steps towards her.
Each step down was like an echo in her mind that tried to get her to succumb to fear. But her pain was stronger, and Caroline's gaze born into his own, not wavering. Finally, he reached the bottom step; close enough for her to see just how much kicks he truly got out of her visit. She was determined to knock him down a peg.
"What's amusing to me, Caroline," he began, "is the courage you demonstrate coming here with absolutely no backup. In fact, it's easy to come to the conclusion that this lovely visit was an act of impulse."
The way he spoke her name baffled Caroline, as if they were old friends sharing an inside joke between one another.
"I'm not here to fight," she admitted, earning satisfaction from the surprise in his raised brow.
"Then why have you come, love?"
Why had she come?
If not to fight, then what?
Talk?
Yell?
"I came…to make you understand."
Klaus hadn't been expecting that. His next words seemed to have originally been a scoff, but they instead wavered with uncertainty. "Understand what, if I may ask?"
Caroline swallowed against her dry mouth. "Understand just exactly what you did, and why you should leave town, now, and never come back."
Something flickered like a phantom in his face, but he hid it well with his usual hubris.
Caroline didn't give him a chance to retort though, bravely taking a step forward. "Tyler Lockwood, my friend, my boyfriend…is sired to you. You told him to bite me, to kill me, and he did it. And just a few hours ago he left Mystic Falls, with nothing but a note, telling me to find someone better in case he never comes back."
Tears burned in her eyes, and it shocked her that Klaus remained silent. Standing there, regarding her with a blank expression. For some reason, this kept her speaking.
"Elena Gilbert, one my best friends, my sister, lost not one, but two family members; because of you." Her words began to grow muffled, trying to escape past the large lump in her throat, but she continued. "You've brought pain to those I love, and you don't care. You bring death whenever you go, and you don't care. That's why you should go. That's what you have to understand. Because this arrogance you have, this power that you think you hold over people, it doesn't exist. It's why everyone hates you. So you should just…just leave."
A single teardrop spilt, trailing down her cheek.
Klaus's eyes followed its movement, his face still like a statue. His hand reached, pausing when Caroline flinched, then, with a familiar tenderness that stunned her, wiped the tear away.
Where had she seen tenderness like before?
Stefan, she realized.
He had always displayed such tenderness towards Elena. Seeing the same act being delivered from Klaus Mikaelson almost had her taking a step back, but she held her ground, her light blue eyes clashing with his dark ones, like opposite sides of a spectrum.
"I understand," Klaus breathed. He seemed to be getting closer as if floating, steps so light and silent. "And you're right…I don't care. So I'd appreciate it if you'd leave."
She almost believed him, but his face, his lips set in a deep frown, the crease between his brows, they contradicted his words heavily. She reached her own hand out and pressed a finger to the crease, earning a wide-eyed stare from him.
Then he was gone.
In a flash, he stood with his back turned at the top of the steps once again.
"Leave!" he shouted.
Caroline bit her lip, but obeyed his command this time around, shutting the door gently behind her.
Outside, it had begun to rain once more.
She sighed, not caring enough to run at the speed of a vampire, instead choosing to walk back home.
When the door shut, Klaus remained rooted on the spot, his mind still processing Caroline's abrupt visit. His hands trembled against his sides and he crushed them into fists, willing them to still. Though slightly impressed, he was absolutely furious at the girl's stupidity. How dare she barge into his home as if there was no danger? How dare she speak to him as if he couldn't rip out her heart before a word was even uttered?
But he allowed her entry, hearing the rage she possessed a mile away. It amused him: her anger. She was a blonde angel of death and anyone at the receiving end of her fury knew that she wasn't one to be trifled with. She was a fighter; that much was obvious.
Her greatest weapon though wasn't her power, but her words.
They pierced into you as effectively as a blade. But unlike a blade, the wounds they left didn't heal, instead leaving an invisible scar. They left doubt and thoughts swirling through a person's head, driving them to madness or, in Klaus's case, guilt.
He'd never admit it to her though: the truth.
It was too late anyway. Too many years had gone by for it to matter.
His steps bounced off the empty walls of the mansion, like a ghost from the past trailing behind him, reminding Klaus of its presence. Reaching his bedroom, his body dragged him to the worn closet at the far end. The wood was chipped, the color faded almost to a white that resembled the exterior of the mansion from years of use.
No one besides him ever opens this particular closet though, Klaus protecting it with his very life.
He leisurely opened the double doors, the items inside scattered in an order only he knew. His hand, like many times before, reached out to grasp the dainty box that sat behind a folded parchment. It was made from a simple oak tree, with a tiny crank at the side, rusted from the history.
The box was like a newborn in his callused hands, so delicate and fragile. Rare is the day that Klaus Mikaelson is afraid for something he had in his grasp to crumble into oblivion.
"You bring death whenever you go, and you don't care."
Klaus bid the memory away, his trembling fingers turning the crank. With a frown, he slid the top of the box open, and a melody welcomed him like an old friend. The music box emanated a song so haunting, it drew Klaus from the present reality to the past he often wished he could forget. His eyes shut themselves, getting lost in the memories of flowers, lakes, ice cream and laughter.
"You haven't taken that out in a while," a voice spoke out, forcing him back to the present time.
Klaus cut the song off with a growl, "What do you want?"
Elijah Mikaelson stood at the doorway, regarding his brother with a blank expression.
Klaus wasn't one to be easily fooled though. His brother had clearly come bearing horrible news. "Whatever is it that will upset me, Elijah, get out with it already," he said with malice.
Elijah sighed, leaning against the doorway as if the news were a literal weight on his shoulders. "Mother has informed me that she will be hosting a ball this coming weekend. A celebration of some sort at the union of our family."
Klaus raised a brow, his brother's tired expression almost comical to him. "And…you don't think it's a good idea? I'm sorry if I missed the reason for your contempt at parties Elijah."
Elijah grinned, shaking his head. "Mother says she wishes to celebrate and get the people of Mystic Falls to think of us as friends. Tell me Klaus, do you truly believe that is the reason for the party?"
"You don't trust her intentions then?" Klaus asked.
"Don't pretend that you do," Elijah replied. "If anyone here is known for their lack of trust in family, I'd say you hold that throne, Niklaus."
Klaus kept a straight face, tackling his brother's words with a question, "So what exactly is your plan, brother?"
With a knowing smirk, Elijah stepped into the room, shutting the door softly behind him.
Thoughts? I'd love to hear them :)
If you guys wish to listen to the song the music box played, the link is on my profile. Hopefully I can get the next chapter out by next week!