Welcome to Royal Sacrifices everyone! Fair warning, I have taken some liberties with the timeline and switched it up from cannon to fit with the period I wanted to write in and I know some people really don't like that so if you're one of them then this probably isn't the story for you. For the rest of you, enjoy…

Chapter 1:

Everyone loves fairytales- stories full of magical creatures, beautiful princesses, far off kingdoms, and charming princes, we were all told these stories as children and they always ended with those three magical words; happily ever after. There were evil witches to hate and brave heroes to root for- but sometimes those lines can blur, after all most of your favorite fairytales were altered before being told to you. They were made happy and bright; watery graves became beautiful wedding gowns, impregnating rape became slaying a dragon and an eye opening kiss, blind and abandoned in a dessert became a simple haircut. All of these stories have been watered down from their original versions to be made inoffensive to tiny ears, but I refuse to do that. Believe whatever happy delusion you would like about the life of Ariel, Aurora, or Rapunzel, but there is a princess who's story you haven't heard because I can assure you, there is very little happy about it. This story has magical creatures but not the kind any Disney artist would animate, it has a beautiful princess at its heart but not one who counts on love or a man to save her when her life falls apart, the kingdom is certainly far off but I guarantee you will find no happy fairies flying around it, and of course there is a prince and he is very handsome and very charming, but that just might be what makes him so dangerous.

Caroline Forbes is a princess who defies tradition and so her story must be told in a way that does her justice. This is not a traditional fairy tale. The princess' best friend is not a colorful fish, she is a powerful witch, and as for the hero? Well you may need to broaden your definition of the word. Or choose a new word all together, perhaps one of the following: Power, love, blood.

We begin of course how all fairy tales do: Once upon a time…

there was a magical kingdom cursed by many dark forces but equally blessed with prosperity and magical gifts. Many things happened there that could not be explained. Since its founding the Mikaelson family had sat on the throne of the Mystic Kingdom, but a time came over a century ago when the king was found to be unable to produce children. Though he went through as many wives as England's own King Henry, no heir could be conceived and when the king fell ill the kingdom was weak. In this time of weakness a new family rose up, a family that brought hope to the people, a family that was good and just and respected within the Kingdom. They swiftly claimed the throne for themselves and thus began the reign of the Forbes'. For over a hundred years now the kingdom has been at peace under the rule of this new royal family.

But there is a piece of this country's history that no book will tell you. What nobody knew was that the final Mikaelson king had not been born sterile but rather became that way as the result of a vengeful witch's spell. In the days of his youth the foolish king impregnated a village girl named Ayana and left her to be disgraced with the illegitimate child, a baby boy whom she named Mikael so that he would never forget that though he was destined to grow up poor, he was a royal. The child's mother cast a spell upon the king decreeing that until he accepted this child he should bear no more. And so he didn't.

Mikael grew up very poor and angry, resenting the king who he knew to be his father and that he could not take his rightful place as ruler. The only one who could keep his rage under control it had seemed was a beautiful village girl by the name of Esther. The two married and had 6 beautiful children- Finn, Elijah, Niklaus, Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik. Their poverty and low standing in society forced Finn to leave home very young in search of work and he never returned. Henrik died in his infancy as a result of malnourishment and Mikael made a decision because of this that would change his kingdom and the world forever.

His pride overtook him and he refused to allow his children to feel the weakness that he did so he went to his mother, begging her to join her powers with his wife and make his children strong enough that they could take back what rightfully belonged to their family. After some convincing both women agreed and performed the dark spell. The magic transformed the children but was too strong and exhausted Ayana and Esther to an early grave. Overcome by grief Mikael took his own life, leaving his children to avenge their family.

XXX

Niklaus Mikaelson's face knits itself easily into the murderous glare that it has become so accustomed to wearing as he nods his head toward his siblings, his partners in everything. The four siblings stand a mere hundred feet from the castle, their stolen destiny staring them in the face. The young (on the outside at least) man's brows draw even closer together as he scoffs at the small mote which provides the sleeping royal imposters with a false sense of security. The amount of space between him and the large brick building is one he and his siblings could close in seconds thanks to what Ayana had made them.

"Are you all prepared?" he begins in a hushed tone that he knows only they can hear "we have waited far too long for this night" he says thinking of that insignificant space he was just looking across. He has waited decades for this night and will not allow anyone's incompetence to take from him what he knows to be his "hiding in the woods like animals as we learned to control our new gifts" he ignores Elijah's snort of derision at the word 'gifts' "training to take back what is rightfully ours. We are strong enough, but we must get in and complete our mission quickly, it is not about the blood, it is about the kill." His eyes flash briefly to his youngest brother who gives him a cheeky grin "the king and queen must die tonight. William and Elizabeth Forbes have lived their last day as the unrightful rulers of our country." He pulls his sword from its sheath, grinning with malice as the light of the full moon bounces off the heavy silver of his blade "tonight we make all right again in the Mystic Kingdom"

A slow sarcastic clap pulls Klaus out of his murderous thoughts and he grits his teeth, truly not in the mood for his baby brother to deliver his usual useless commentary "as much as I applaud your malice I believe you may be overlooking one tiny detail that you would know if you had left the woods in the last century" Kol chimes in annoyingly

Klaus glares at his brother, his entire body filling with rage as he resists the urge to throw the boy to the ground, grasp his throat and growl in his ear that the reason he had not left the woods in so many years was because he had been training and planning instead of playing with and murdering commoners, he settles instead with a tight lipped "and what is that?"

"There is an heir" Elijah says simply, knowing Niklaus is far less likely to lunge at him than their younger brother "a princess in her seventeenth year"

"Then we kill her as well" he growls, angry that his siblings bothered to slow themselves down with this news, a pathetic little girl makes no difference in his plan, so he will have to bathe in the blood of three Forbes' rather than two, the more the merrier. "Anyone you find inside that castle you kill. No questions asked."

"Can we please just get this over with? I'm bloody tired of living in the woods and I would like to move in to my palace as soon as possible thank you" Rebekah cuts off the argument in her usual petulant tone and they all nod.

"For the family name" Elijah says drawing his sword and placing it in the middle of their four-person circle

"For mother" Rebekah adds drawing her own

"For power" Kol declares adding his blade to the middle

"For us" Klaus smirks putting his on top.

"Always and forever" they say in unison

XXX

The four Mikaelson's descend upon the castle like vultures to a corpse, leaping the moat and landing effortlessly on the other side with satisfied grins before fighting silently past the outer security, slitting guards' throats so quickly that their cries of warning die with them. Once inside they remain unseen as long as possible, sinking their sharp fangs into man after man attempting to stop them. They leave a pile of bodies in every room of the palace, stepping over the corpses in an attempt to find their true target- the royal family.

Kol is the first to find the Queen's rooms and is taken aback only momentarily by the fact that the king is not with her, but rather in a whole other set of rooms which Niklaus is now entering (if his hearing has not failed him), clearly the marriage is only for show, perhaps he will be helping this woman by ending her miserable existence he thinks as he steps slowly into the room, leaving crimson footprints on the white plush carpet. He looks down at the sleeping woman and lets four slow drops of blood to fall from the tips of his fingers onto the white of her skin, just enough for her eyes to open slowly before he buries his hand in her chest.

XXX

"Princess, princess you must get up immediately" Caroline Forbes is shaken roughly out of a beautiful slumber by her maidservant and friend Bonnie Bennett, she sits up quickly rubbing her eyes

"What? What is it? I was having the most wonderful dream" she begins sleepily, wondering how late it is, it is unusual that she sleeps passed when she is supposed to be at breakfast

"No time for that your highness!" the fearful maid says as she drags the princess from her bed, putting all of her energy and brainpower into getting her friend out of the castle rather than focus on the pile of bodies she just tripped over on her way to a midnight washing room trip "the castle is under siege, half the guards are dead and the rogues will be coming for you!" The princess' eyes grow wide in fear as she hastens to follow her friend into the study that connects to her private chamber "I have spelled the door shut but that will only last so long! You must hurry through the secret passages, I shall keep them at bay as long as I can"

"No!" the princess yells, finally getting her senses about her as the reality of the situation comes crashing down on her "I am not leaving without you, Bonnie" Caroline shakes her head vigorously as her friend pushes aside the large painting of her grandmother to reveal a hidden escape tunnel.

"Do not worry about me princess, I am right behind you I promise! Just run while I finish a protectant spell" she pushes the blond girl into the tunnel, she pauses briefly, about to protest but a bang at the door has her nodding her head quickly to her best friend and begging down the corridor at a sprint.

Adrenaline shoots through Caroline's body for the first several minuets and all she can think of is running. It is clear this is a dire situation, but once she regains her common sense she truly understands how serious this must be if Bonnie is so candidly talking about her magic, something that she usually tries to hide. She whips her head around, hoping to see Bonnie rushing up behind her, but she is fiercely disappointed with a dark and empty tunnel. It is impossible to not think of how worried she is for her friend, but a small sense of comfort can be taken from how powerful she knows the Bennett girl is and so she allows her mind to drift to her mother. Is she alright? Did her parents get into the tunnels? She assumes that the king and queen would be target number one, but perhaps only one of them was found because of their separate rooms? She could hope. What a horrible thing it is to be seventeen and praying that only one of your parents has been murdered. These thoughts are not helpful though and so she tries her best to abandon them in favour of faster running.

By the time the princess reaches the end of the first tunnel her entire body is covered in the cold sweat of fear and she can barely breath, but she pressed on, turning the corner and willing her feet to carry her far away from the people upstairs.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Caroline stops dead in her tracks as the pained scream reverberates throughout the entire castle; she would know that voice anywhere- her mother. Caroline cannot stop the tears from streaming down her face in that moment, blurring her eyes and making it impossible to maneuver in the dark tunnels. Her mind knows that if she can just press a little farther she will come out a few minuets run from her friend's estate (years of playing in the tunnels as children taught her that), but her heart does not understand this logic and it seems to take over her entire body in that moment, cancelling out the logic with deep pangs of loss as her knees buckle and she falls into a ball on the concrete, sobbing quietly into her nightdress.

XXX

"Where is she" the man with the dark hair and features she is unable to make out in the extreme darkness demands of Bonnie yet again, this time grabbing her by the throat and tossing her up against the wall to prove just how thin of ice she is on.

"I told you I do not know, she often sneaks out in the night, I found her chamber empty I swear" The young girl says clawing desperately at the man's inhumanly strong hand, terrified for her life but secretly glad that the man is wasting so much time interrogating her, Caroline should be nearly outside of the castle by now

"Why do I not believe you, darling?" he inquires lowering his voice and squeezing tighter

Bonnie decides in that instant that her death will not do anybody any good and prays that her friend is too far away to be caught. She closes her eyes for a moment; summoning every ounce of strength she has in her body her and mutters indistinguishable foreign words under her breath. In a moment the man has dropped her to the ground and is gripping his head and screeching in pain. The witch scrambles to her feet and begins to run but his hand fastens itself onto her ankle and she pitches forward.

Bonnie looks up in utter shock as her assailant pins her arms beneath her "you should be dead! I gave you an aneurism!"

The brown eyed man smirks down at her "you will find that my siblings and I are much more resilient than the average human"

"I should rather not find anything out about you" She says glaring at him

"Well then you should not have done that little trick," he smiles cruelly "see I am under orders to kill every person in this castle, but we both know that you are more than human. We can always use a witch" The man reaches behind her and everything goes black in Bonnie's world.

XXX

Down in the tunnel Caroline grips her hands into the fabric of her nightdress until all blood leaves them and they turn as white as the garment itself, her mind is racing, nothing more than a jumble of grief and fear and then in an instant of clarity she snaps her head up "no. I will not let these deaths be for nothing. I will survive" she declares to herself and drags her body up, moving as quickly as she can through the tunnels, willing herself to think of anything except her parents until finally, what feels like hours later she feels fresh air on her skin and trudges the mile she must to knock firmly on the Pierce's front door and collapse in an utter mess at their entryway.

XXX

The Pierce's housekeeper Pearl has only just managed to get into bed when she hears a frantic knocking upon the front door. She drags herself from bed and flings the door open with a very unimpressed look on her face "I do not know who you are but it is unforgivably rude to knock upon a door at this hour and- oh my goodness, your majesty, what happened!" The woman's tone changes in a second upon the sight of the crumpled and sobbing princess

Large blue eyes stare up from the ground in fear as the traumatized princess attempts to speak "I- the castle-it is-they" Caroline gasps out random words, not quite able to form a full sentence or describe exactly the horrors that she is fleeing from

"Come inside, come inside" Pearl says immediately, helping the princess stand and ringing for her daughter to bring up a blanket which she wraps carefully around her "Anna darling please go put on some tea for her majesty"

"Th-thank you" Caroline manages to say weakly as Pearl leads her to the plush armchair in the corner of the room. Caroline sits down carefully, pulling her knees into her chest, staring into the fireplace.

"Lucky for you I was on my way to bed so the fire has just been stoked, should bring some warmth back into you, your skin feels like ice" the woman says in an attempt to make conversation, when there is no response she decides on another tactic to comfort the royal "would you like me to wake lord Jonathan? Or the girls?"

Caroline thinks for a moment, a million different emotions and thoughts flashing through her eyes before she nods her head slowly "would it be possible to wake only Lady Katherine?" she says in a soft voice, feeling almost guilty for the request. In many ways Elena is actually her best friend, and though not requesting her does feel like a small betrayal she cannot deny the truth. If she wanted to go horseback riding she would have called for Elena, but anyone who knew Katherine was aware that she would handle crises situations better than her sister. After all, Caroline was a princess and she needed someone to inspire her not allow her to wallow.

"Of course your highness, I will be right back"

XXX

Niklaus smiles widely as he looks around the blood splattered walls of the King's bedroom, a long sought after feeling of satisfaction and relief washes over him. It is done. The King and Queen are dead and the Mikaelson's are free to take back their kingdom. Less than a minute is spent reveling in the blood and chaos before he flashes immediately down to the throne room where he meets his siblings.

"Just one question Nik, in your little 'kill everyone plan' did you ever stop to consider that we would need servants to clean all this up!" Rebekah says in an annoyed tone, it was just like her brother to completely disregard practicality in favour of blood.

"Calm down little sister" Klaus says waving his hand in dismissal having already gone over this in his mind "anyone here would have been loyal to the Forbes'; tomorrow morn we will personally travel to the outlying villages and pick up young men and women as poor as we used to be to come work at the castle and they will be so grateful for the income that we shall have only loyal employees and then the next day we will announce to everyone in the capitol that we are the new rulers. We will simply have to threaten the lords if any of them try to stand against us" throughout his speech Klaus moves closer and closer to the ornate throne, sitting himself right on top of it as he finishes speaking

Rebekah nods quietly in agreement "you really were thinking during all that time you spent alone in the forest. My brother the genius" she smiles

"Your brother the king" Klaus says confidently as he pulls William's crown from his jacket and places it grandly atop his head

"That crown does not belong to you" an indignant voice sounds across the room and all three heads turn quickly to face the girl that Kol is currently dragging into the room

"My apologies, I had knocked her unconscious but I suppose I lost track of time draining that lovely kitchen hand and she woke up" Kol says wiping leftover blood from his mouth

"Why is she alive at all?" Klaus growls, honestly was nobody capable of following a simple order!

"She is a witch" Kol shrugs in defense "figured we could use her"

"Are you positive?" Elijah says growing serious, flashing right in front of the girl

"Based on the little headache she gave me earlier, I would say I am pretty sure"

"That should have killed you," she hisses

"Ah well should have does not usually work with my family love" Klaus breaks in, forgiving his brother in an instant "you'll learn that with time, just as you will learn that from now on, this certainly does belong to me. All of this belongs to us" he smirks

"The people will never support you!"

"Oh I think they will" he says with dark eyes as he gestures to the bodies strewn carelessly around the room "you see people who try to stand against my family and I have a nasty habit of ending up quite dead"

The witch swallows hard at his words and tries her best to avert her eyes.

XXX

A million panicked thoughts fly through Katherine Pierce's head during Caroline's tale, but unlike her fair friend she possesses a rather impressive poker face. Panicking was not going to help this situation, and right now Caroline was panicking "Ok calm down, the way I see it there is not really anything we can do until we learn more about who these people are and what their deal is" Katherine says sipping her tea casually as if it's the middle of the afternoon and they are discussing dress patterns

"Are you suggesting I merely sit here playing croquet with you and Elena while those intruders parade around my palace!" Caroline says angrily, she may no longer have tears streaming from her eyes but with the amount of pain she has swirling around inside her there is no way she will simply do nothing!

"Absolutely not. I am sorry to tell you this my dear friend, but you are going back into the tunnels" the Pierce girl says with a cunning look on her face

"Excuse me?" Caroline nearly chokes on her tea

"Just listen to me," Katherine says rolling her eyes and wondering why people even bother to question her anymore, obviously she has a brilliant plan. She just needs to be given the opportunity to explain it "if these people are after the crown, which I can only assume they are then they will be very upset when they find out you escaped, they will come looking for you. Our tunnels are not like yours; they lead to safe rooms instead of exits. Once we are done talking and before the sun rises I am going to tuck you away in one of those so that you are safe. There is plenty of food and water and I will visit as often as I can, but Elena and my parents cannot know anything about you being here, we both know Elena is incapable of keeping her well meaning mouth shut and my parents may give you up to gain favor with the new rulers-"

Caroline's angry voice interrupts her "they are not the new rulers! That is my-"

"shhhh, shh I know, and we are going to get it back for you but you need to be alive to be Queen, okay!" Caroline nods slowly "I will snoop around the city for the next week or so and find out what the deal is with these people. That will be enough time for them to assume you are dead or far enough away to not be a concern. Then once their guard is down we will figure out how to handle this, alright?"

Caroline nods once again and before she can say a word Katherine has clamped her hand onto her wrist and is dragging her down through cement tunnels again.

XXX

It takes less that an hour for Katherine to show the princess everything the safe rooms have to offer (which isn't much) "ok, I have to go ensure Pearl's silence and be back in my chambers before anyone wakes up, you should get some sleep. You must be exhausted"

Caroline nods, which seams to be all she can do tonight as Katherine turns to leave "Kat" the princess calls out softly and the brunette turns around "thank you. For everything, I do not know what I would do without a friend like you. You saved me".

Katherine smiles kindly, realizing that in all of this she never actually said anything to comfort her friend "my devious mind is only getting started. Worry not, we will have your pretty little butt back in that castle and coroneted in no time. I promise," Caroline tries to smile but she just can't make it look real "hey, I mean it. We are not alone, how many of these people can there be? We will have the Salvatore brothers on our side at the very least, my brat of a baby brother might not look like much, but he can hold his own in a fight and I even bet Elena can bat her eyelashes at that stable boy Matt if we need some extra muscle. Two sides can play hostile takeover".

Princess Caroline manages to hold it together just long enough for Katherine to close the door before she collapses to the floor and weeps for a week.