Author's Note: This is an idea I had a few months ago, when I was thinking about the current trend of reworking traditional fairytales. I loved coming up with the concept, though I'm not sure how well that translated into a fic. I planned for this to be a two-shot, just a bit of an experiment, and hopefully, it's not completely terrible. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's sad.


Once upon a time, in a forest far away, a young maiden slept soundly while the spirit of an old witch stole her life. For four years she lay in rest, never aging, never changing, all alone in the tallest room of a great castle. She had seven keepers, but none could truly rescue her, for none dared to face the wrath of the old witch's powers. All hope seemed lost for the fair maiden, until one day, the man who could save her appeared within the forest's boundaries. But her saviour was no prince, nor was he even a true man. In truth, he was a monster…


DOBEL, GERMANY
2018

Klaus sighed, checking his watch for the tenth time in the span of a minute. The world was quiet around them; the small German town was as pretty as a picture, if not very busy. The scent of fresh baking wafted into the street from the café outside of which he sat, waiting impatiently.

"Stop fidgeting, Niklaus." Elijah was staid and calm beside him, completely at ease. His brother's scolding irritated him to no end, but then, Elijah was never one to hold back. He just wished his older brother was as annoyed with this whole arrangement as he was, but to his chagrin, Elijah was playing the part of the understanding and complacent brother, leaving Klaus to pick up the role of the antagonizer.

"I don't understand why our presence here is necessary, Elijah," said Klaus, casting a keen eye up and down the narrow street. "Our sister has managed quite well without our approval in the past; she has no reason to suddenly seek it out."

"Our sister has never been on the verge of marriage before," said Elijah patiently, and the fondness in his voice did not go unmissed by his younger brother. "She wants our blessing. We should respect her choice, and do whatever we can to help her."

"Her choice was to go and get engaged to Stefan Salvatore, are you proposing we simply smile and welcome him into the family?"

Elijah sighed, not wanting his brother to throw a temper tantrum here and now. "That is precisely what we're going to do, Niklaus. We owe it to our sister, or have you forgotten how she stood by your side while you took New Orleans?"

Klaus frowned, irritated once more by the truth of his brother's words. Rebekah had indeed been loyal, she had stood by his side while he fought a long war with Marcel and despite his selfish nature, he could begrudgingly admit he was grateful. The scowl on his face never lessened but he made no more move to leave, and Elijah smirked, satisfied that they could get through this meeting with minimal bloodshed.

"Relax, Niklaus. If I recall, Stefan Salvatore is hardly the worst person she could have chosen. At least she gave up her human paramour."

"The quarterback? We knew that was never going to last," said Klaus with a snort. "But one Salvatore means we have to put up with the other, to say nothing of the doppleganger." The grimace was back at the thought of his impending reunion with Damon and Elena, two faces he had thought himself long rid of. Of course, there was one more person that he idly wondered if he would be seeing today. He supposed she was close enough to Stefan to want to be there throughout this process of reconciliation, but he wasn't too sure how she would take seeing him again.

After all, it had been a long time since he had last laid eyes on Caroline Forbes.

For a moment, Klaus let his mind wander, careful to keep his expression neutral in case Elijah caught on to his daydreams. If she were there then he would smirk at her the way he used to, five years ago. He wondered if she had taken up again with his old hybrid, but he reasoned that Caroline had moved on by now, realized that the world had more to offer to her. They would suffer through awkward pleasantries throughout which everyone attempted to be somewhat civil for Stefan and Rebekah's sakes. With any luck, he would be able to disentangle her from the rest, take her into a private corner and really talk to her. She would tell him about college, how much fun she had, the clubs she ran, the people she met. Her face would light up; she would practically burst with energy. And then he'd tell her his story, how he was now the king of New Orleans, but she would just scoff, and then they'd laugh. Only in the silence that followed would he lean in close and tell her that the one thing missing from his life was having a proper queen by his side…

He shook his head slightly, trying to oppress the optimistic thoughts, for they were too naïve. The last time they had seen each other, she had been more than happy to see him go. But the same circumstances that had caused their drift were the very reason he now hoped so badly she would be there with the others today. At the very least, he wanted the chance to tell her the truth of what had happened, she deserved it. If there was one thing he was not soon to forget, it was the look of sadness and regret she wore on her face the last time they said goodbye.


MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA
5 YEARS AGO

"Thanks for this," said Caroline softly; inspecting the worn leather bound cover of one of the grimoires Klaus had given her.

"It was my pleasure, love," Klaus replied. Although his task was done, he made no move to leave her living room, preferring instead to watch her fondly as she gingerly leafed through the weathered pages. The silence stretched, and he quickly became aware she was making a concerted effort to not look up at him, but he was having none of it.

"Tell me, how's your summer been?" he asked inching closer.

"Oh, you know, Stefan is actually an evil immortal warlock, Elena is dating a sociopath, Bonnie's dead and Tyler's not coming back. Everything's peachy." Her complacent tone had turned bitter and she spat out her words. Slamming the grimoire she was reading shut, she placed the books on the coffee table and stood to face Klaus.

He was almost alarmed at the look in her eyes. Her spark had faded, he could tell. It was still there, but the trials of her life were catching up to her and for a moment Klaus feared she might lose her light all together if things got much worse.

"Why don't we go for dinner, love?" he asked gently. "We can talk – you can tell me everything in detail, please, I'd like to know if there's anything else I can do-"

"Don't you have to go back to New Orleans?" she interrupted, sounding impatient. "I mean you've definitely got more important things going on there than here." She couldn't look him in the eye.

Klaus held back an angry retort and tried to focus on why she was seemed to tense with him. They had left things on relatively good terms after her graduation, and he was here to lend his help to the Silas problem, but he sensed there was something else bothering her. "Caroline, I'll be going back to New Orleans in good time, might I ask why you've decided to be so hostile when I've been just been so generous?"

His words seemed to cause an inner war; he could see her struggling with what to say, restraining herself from lashing out again. Finally she seemed to realize that hostility wasn't worth it and sighed, running a hand through her golden hair. She seemed weary now, the tiredness was more prominent. It worried him.

"I'm sorry," she said, lifting her chin to face him. "Thank you for your help. But it's getting late, so maybe we should just say goodbye-"

"Why are you trying so hard to get rid of me?" Klaus asked, frustrated. There was something seriously bothering her, and for a moment he wondered if she held him responsible for Lockwood's apparent unwillingness to return to Mystic Falls, but if that was the case, then he wasn't about to be held responsible for the mutt's actions.

Caroline scoffed at his words, shaking her head in disbelief. "Why am I trying to get rid of you? Why are you still here Klaus? Go back to New Orleans, I know it's where you need to be."

"And why exactly are you so sure that's where I need-"

"I know about Hayley and the baby."

The penny dropped. Silence stretched between them, it might have been minutes, it might have been hours. Caroline couldn't meet his eyes, she stared at some spot on the floor, but his gaze never left her face, heart clenching at the look of woe.

"Caroline…you have to know, Hayley and I, we never – it was never like that between us-"

She looked up again and a mask of indifference greeted him. "It's fine Klaus," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

Klaus gritted his teeth, cursing everybody from the damn wolf girl to the witches in New Orleans to his own brother for getting him into this predicament. Most of all, he cursed his own foolishness. "Caroline, please…" he said, trailing off when he realized he didn't know what he was pleading for. A second chance? For her to wait? To not give up on what they could've had? Whatever he wanted, he knew it would be too much to ask her. Numbly, they both moved towards the front door, sensing the imminent goodbye.

"Caroline…this isn't permanent, you know. I'm going to see you again one day." His voice held conviction, and he prepared himself to follow through on that promise. Caroline stood in the doorway, shaking her head a little sadly.

"You're going to be a father, Klaus," she said with a small, sad smile. "I'm not going to be that important anymore. And that's okay – that's how it should be."

Klaus frowned, coming closer to her until he stood a breath away. Slowly, he raised his raised and gently brushed his knuckles across her cheek. "You will always be important to me, sweetheart," he whispered softly, and he watched as her eyes closed shut for a moment.

With a deep breath, she opened her eyes and managed a wider smile. "Goodbye Klaus. And…good luck."

As much as he wanted to stay with her, he knew that now she needed some measure of space to come to terms with the reality of the situation. So, reluctantly, he pulled away from her and strode out the door, pausing at the bottom of the porch steps to turn and look at her one last time.

"This isn't the end," he whispered, mostly for his own benefit, but he knew that there was a good chance she had heard him. Forcing himself to turn away, he disappeared into the cool September night.


DOBBEL, GERMANY
2018

It was awkward, to say the least. The brothers were still outside the small café, now sitting opposite Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore, the latter eyeing them suspiciously, the former looking anywhere but at them. At the two ends of the table were Stefan and Rebekah, who alternated between trying to find neutral topics of discussion and preparing for a scuffle to break out.

(Three comments about the weather later, Rebekah gave up and settled for subtly positioning herself to intercept Klaus should he decide to throw himself across the table and rip out Damon's heart for any reason.)

Silence stretched before Damon finally broke it. "So, whose genius idea was it to meet in the middle of nowhere for the family reunion anyway?"

"It's not the middle of nowhere!" Elena hastened to add in case one of the more short tempered Originals took offense. "It's just very…rural."

The small town was indeed removed from the major trappings of the larger German cities which Klaus usually frequented, it was bordered by an expanse of forest that the locals were known to stay away from, but there was an underlying motive to his choice. "I picked this place, actually," he said with a smirk. "I have business here."

"Buisness?!" said Rebekah indignantly. "I thought you were here to support your sister?!"

Klaus shrugged, smirk widening despite the threat of Rebekah's wrath. "Two birds, one stone, it seemed efficient."

Out of the corner of his eye he can see Elijah pinch the bridge of his nose and Rebekah readying herself for a tirade, Damon smugly settling in for the show while Elena just looked lost. Stefan quickly interjected before his fiancée could do too much damage.

"Whatever the reason, we're glad you're here. All of you," he said, with a pointed look at his brother. His words settled Rebekah, who leant back in her chair, regarding her brother coolly.

Klaus glanced at the faces before him, a question hanging on the tip of his tongue. 'Tell me, where is Caroline, at the moment?' But he couldn't bring himself to say the words; he wasn't in the mood to incur their scorn. Besides, someone was bound to bring her up eventually.

"Well go on then, tell us what you're here for and what's so important you can divert your attention from my upcoming wedding," said Rebekah with a sigh.

"A few months ago, I became aware of rumours of a castle in the forest near here; the library is supposedly in possession of a grimoire dating back to the thirteenth century. I was hoping to acquire it for my witches' records."

"You never said a word about this to me," said Elijah, sounding mildly affronted.

"It's hardly a pressing matter, just a point of interest. It took a bit of research to even reach one of the caretakers, she assured me she would meet me here."

His words were prophetic, for just as they left his mouth, a woman came up to the café and stood next to their table. She looked to be in her early thirties, though her prim clothes made her look older, her hair was wound in a tight bun and she surveyed the table clinically over a pair of square glasses.

"Klaus Mikaelson?" she asked hesitantly as she eyed each of the men.

"That would be me," replied Klaus as he stood up to greet her. "A pleasure to meet you in person, Diana. Do you have the grimoire with you?"

She shook her head, "I was unwilling to bring it along in the event that you weren't here – there aren't a lot of people who seriously come searching for us. I'll escort you back to the castle now, though I didn't know you would have guests with you."

"Oh, they're not my guests-"

"A castle? Fabulous!"

Klaus glared down at his younger sister, but Rebekah just met his menacing stare with a small smirk. "You're the one who brought this up Nik, now I want to see this mysterious castle. That won't be a problem, will it?" she asked Diana, her tone of voice implying that she didn't much care if it was a problem or not.

Diana shook her head, "You're all more than welcome, there's certainly enough room."

Damon turned towards his brother, "Are you going along with this?" he asked scornfully.

Stefan shrugged and looked over to see Rebekah putting on her best pout. He sighed, knowing that there wasn't a whole lot he wouldn't do when she gave him that look. "Guess I am," he said in reply to his brother who rolled his eyes.

"I kinda want to see this place too…" said Elena hesitantly, causing them all to turn to her, some angrier than others.

"I didn't intend for this to be a group outing," snarled Klaus, his anger quickly mounting.

"Nevertheless, the fact remains that we are all going to be family soon, so I see no reason we cannot avail ourselves of our host's hospitality," said Elijah calmly with a polite nod towards the woman who was observing all of them carefully.

"Well, that's that!" Rebekah stood up and strode past her growling brother. "Lead the way," she ordered, and the older woman could only turn and guide the group down through the small village and to the edge of the forest line.


The small band made their way to the dark forest, the place where fairytales are born and magic still holds great power, with one of the keepers as their guide. They did not know it, but they were being watched very carefully by the trees, and the wind listened carefully to their words. And through the darkness, came the soft sound of the sleeping maiden's cries, calling out for someone to free her from her prison.


There was no hint of a road or path; instead, the caretaker strode into the dense wall of trees with no hint of the uneven ground being a hindrance.

"Exactly how far in is this mysterious fortress?" whined Damon from the back of the group.

"It's quite a ways in, it's meant to be hidden from prying eyes," called out Diana.

"So how long is it going to take us to walk there? Can't we just run?"

"I wouldn't recommend that, you'll never be able to find it without me guiding you, but that's hardly a problem. It's only about twenty more minutes at our speed."

"I thought you just said it was well hidden!"

"I did."

"But then how…" Damon trailed off, sensing that her short evasive answer was hiding a deeper story. There was something just so off about the forest they were trekking through, the tall trees pressed in on them, obscuring the light until only a few hints of the sun managed to make their way through. There was the distinct hum of energy in the atmosphere, the air crackled with a quality none could identify.

No one said a word, sensing that silence was more appropriate. The somber note in the air would have been more at place in a cemetery, but the forest had an edge of foreboding to it. As much as Klaus concentrated, he realized he could hear…nothing. Nothing past the shuffling of the vampires and the human around him, no birds, no leaves – there was just a thick, heavy silence. As they went deeper in, the silence was broken but it happened so gradually, none of them trusted their own superior hearing.

"Does anybody else hear that?" asked Elena timidly, darting furtive looks into the distance.

Rebekah nodded, her hand instinctively going for her fiancé's. "It that the sound of somebody…crying?"

Indeed it was. It was faint at first, but as they concentrated they could make out the soft sound of a woman's sobs. Whoever she was, she sounded young, and completely devastated. But as they tried to make out where it was coming from, it slowly faded away.

"Did you hear that?" Elijah asked their guide, who was staunchly marching ahead, seemingly unaffected by the sounds of distress.

"Ignore it," she said stiffly, and quickened her pace.

"But it sounds like somebody's hurt!" said Elena worriedly, and Diana sighed, never breaking stride, though she looked over her shoulder.

"Listen, we need to get into the castle, it's not safe to spend too much time in these woods after sunset." It was getting darker, the sun had dipped below the horizon and the hues of twilight were giving way to the faint light of the stars.

"How long have we been walking?" asked Stefan quietly. It had been the middle of the afternoon when they left the town and they hadn't been walking for that long…

"There's something weird about this Nik," hissed Rebekah, making sure to keep her voice low enough for only the vampires to hear.

"Well, I hardly invited you along," replied Klaus sardonically, though even he was uneasy, and that was no small feat.

"You know, I think Care would've loved this – it's like something out of one of her storybooks…" Elena's voice was no more than a whisper, she spoke only to Damon, though Klaus immediately perked up. He debated for a moment on turning and bringing up the blonde beauty but again, he hesitated.

The group halted suddenly, breaking through the trees and coming to the edge of a lake. They were in front of a footbridge which led across the water and to the middle of the lake where it stopped in front of a giant stone fortress. The gray walls stretched high up, several turrets lining the night sky. Stained glass windows were spread across the front walls, and a giant set of wooden doors beckoned them to the entrance. The group gaped at it in awe, it was like something out of a children's story.

"You live here?!" asked Damon incredulously, straining his neck to take in the huge building. "How did we not see this earlier?"

"I told you it was hidden," said Diana, her voice lined with amusement.


The grand castle was indeed hidden from the world, shielded by the old witch's powers for she could have none disturb the source of her power. Many enchantments prevented the ordinary people from stumbling upon the secrets hidden within, but that dark night, the keeper led six newcomers into its walls. The maiden watched over them, and wept with hope that her imprisonment might come to an end.


The fire roared in the large library where they all sat. They were still uneasy, but if the exterior was intimidating, the interior was at least somewhat inviting. Rich tapestries lined the walls, depicting knights and princesses, and rows of bookshelves held musty tomes, their spines cracked and leather weathered. They sat in silence, interrupted only by the library doors banging open as an older gentleman came in with a tray of food, which he slammed down on the table in front of the fire, eyeing each of them suspiciously.

"Don't you all have better things to do?" he grumbled, making his way over to a decanter of scotch on a table and pouring himself a liberal amount.

The vampires looked at each other in confusion, but two more sets of footsteps interrupted.

"Just ignore Garrett, he's always a grouch," said Diana, her stern glare earning some muttering from him. Behind her, a young woman was carrying a huge book with runes on the cover, and she held it gingerly, as if afraid she'd drop it.

"This is the grimoire, as agreed. It's been in this collection for over six centuries, but to be honest, no one's never been able to understand it. May you have more luck," explained Diana, and the girl holding the book held it out to Klaus, who took it, giving her a charming grin. The girl blushed and looked at her feet, scurrying out of the room quickly.

"Was it something I said?" asked Klaus, amused.

"That's Beatrice, she's a little shy."

"Tell me, what exactly are your roles here?" asked Elijah, leaning forward. "My brother mentioned you were a…caretaker?"

"That's one word for it, yes. Sometimes we're called keepers. There are seven of us all together; you've met me, Garrett and Beatrice. Simon's in bed with a cold, Stuart's probably dead asleep as usual. Duncan's the youngest, he's only seven and he doesn't really understand it all. And then there's-"

"There's me!" The voice belonged to a young girl, no older than ten, who had come into the library and appeared to be bouncing on her feet in excitement.

"This is Hilda," introduced Diana, "she's a bit…energetic."

"You've got the book, now leave!" The gruff command came from Garrett, who was nursing his drink, taking in the scene with quite a bit of displeasure.

"Oh, we'd hate to be rude," said Damon in a lazy drawl, smirking at the man's glare. Stefan sighed at his brother's antics and stood up.

"Maybe we should be going… we had rooms at the inn in town," he said pulling Rebekah up with him, though she looked less eager to leave.

"But we just got here!" she whined, "and I like this place."

"Yeah, Stef, let's enjoy a night!" said Damon, practically gleeful as the old man in the corner started muttering under his breath in German.

"Please stay!" said Hilda quickly. "No one ever visits us, it's so boring!"

"You should stay for the night at least," said Diana, her tone indicating no room for discussion. Rebekah tugged Stefan back onto the sofa and he reluctantly went along with her.

"What about the crying?" he asked. "We all heard it, a woman crying in the woods. What was that?"

"That was the probably the sleeping girl!" said Hilda with a little gasp, her eyes widening. "Did you hear her say anything? Sometimes she says things, she asks for-"

"Hilda!" cut off Diana angrily. She turned back to the vampires, but they were watching her carefully, and she sighed, sitting down in an armchair in front of the fire.

"It's a bit of a long story-"

"One we're not supposed to tell!" said Garrett angrily, clutching his drink tightly.

"Would you relax? They're hardly going to be able to do anything." Diana took a deep breath before continuing. "Centuries ago, a powerful witch lived in these woods. This castle was her home, but she lived alone. She was obsessed with the idea of eternal youth, but her spells could only prolong her life for so long – so she took to using dark magic. Expression. You've heard of it?"

The others nodded, Elena ducking her head at the reminder of the magic that had taken the life of her best friend.

"Well, the spells she used required the sacrifice of human life. The witch would lure young women here, and steal their youth. She was discovered and some of the townspeople from whose families she found her victims called out for blood. Her magic was powerful, but it was nothing against their anger and grief. Together, they managed to get close enough to kill her."

"So that was her ghost, crying?" asked Stefan.

"Oh no. Shortly after the witch died, anotehr girl disappeared. Seven men formed a search party and they came into these woods, into the castle thinking that she had gotten lost and sought shelter and they found her body here. She wasn't dead though – she was asleep. No matter what they tried, she wouldn't wake. So they placed her in a tower and watched over her, for many years. She stayed asleep, but her body aged and eventually, she died. They thought that was the end of it. But as they walked through the woods, they found another woman, the same age as the first had been when they found her."

"These girls, they just wandered into the forest and died?" asked Klaus skeptically.

"They were tricked, one way or another, all of them. The men were no fools; they knew that this was the work of that old witch they had thought dead. Her connection to nature was so strong that her soul took root in the forest where she hid, and the magic she practiced was too strong to stop continuing its dark work. Some thought the old witch didn't know she was dead and was simply going on with what she knew to be her life. Others thought this was her revenge, continuing to take the lives of the young women from the town that killed her.

"Eventually, those seven men aged, but they knew that somebody had to watch over the witch's victims. So a child of each man took up the post. The tradition continued until now, and here we are."

The vampires were lost in the story. "So, each of you are from a line of these caretakers?" asked Stefan.

"Basically. Over time, it became tradition. We are each dedicated to our legacy."

"And these girls continued to be sacrificed over the centuries?" asked Elena, frowning.

"Unfortunately. Regardless of what we tried to keep them out, somehow, they were lured in and put under the curse. All we can do is bring them here where they're in some degree of comfort until their bodies wither."

"Wait…is there one right now?" asked Damon, slightly creeped out by all of this.

Little Hilda nodded enthusiastically, jumping up from her seat. "Come see her! No one ever looks for her, she's really lonely!"

"You read too many stories," said Garrett disdainfully. "She's as good as dead. She doesn't feel anything."

"But she is lonely, that's why she cries!" said Hilda earnestly. Turning back to the guests, she beckoned them towards the library's doors.

"You might as well follow her, she'll never let you hear the end of it." Diana followed the younger caretaker out of the room and after shooting some very confused glances at each other, the Original siblings followed, leaving the Salvatores and Elena to trail after them.

"Why are we going along with this?" asked Damon as they made their way up a grand staircase.

"We're doing this because this is a form of magic I've never heard of," said Klaus. His interest had been sufficiently piqued, "I have to know more about this."


Higher and higher they went, and then higher still, heading for the tallest room in the tallest tower, for that was where the most precious things were kept. And nothing was more precious than the eternal maiden, whose never-ending life gave the old witch's spirit much joy. As the band of outsiders went up and up, none could have foreseen that the sleeping maiden was in fact one of their own.


As they ascended through the floors the staircases became narrower. Soon they were confined to a single file, carefully making their way up a steep flight of stairs. It led to the castle's tallest tower, according to Garrett, who trailed behind all of them, insisting on coming along to make sure none of them 'got lost and decided to nick the antiques.'

"Ouch, watch where you're going!" snapped Rebekah as she walked into her older brother who had stopped suddenly in front of her.

"Be quiet Rebekah," said Klaus, waving her off. In front of him, Diana had reached the wooden door at the stop of the stairs and was fumbling with an intricate golden key, carefully turning it in the lock. The door swung open and she tiptoed in, Hilda following. Slowly, they all filed in, remaining near the door, all sufficiently uncomfortable.

"Well, you're not going to see her like that," muttered Garrett, slamming the door behind him.

The tower room was much larger than its entrance would've indicated, the circular walls lined with high windows. Flaming torches cast light over the dark room, illuminating the most prominent feature. A marble altar was placed in the very center, on which lay the figure of a young woman. The flames cast shadows over her face, but they could make out golden hair splayed across a pillow, her hands clasped neatly over her waist. She wore a blue sundress; it was stark against her pale skin.

"You can come a little closer, you know," said Diana gently. Hilda was practically bouncing on her feet, standing next to the altar and she beckoned them forward.

Klaus was the one who took her up on the offer, striding forward. At first, he thought that he was hallucinating. That five years of separation with no contact had actually driven him to see her face everywhere, even here. But upon closer inspection, this was no vision, this was real and he could feel his anger and confusion rising.

She was supposed to be happy, she was supposed to be seeing the world…

But instead, the truth stared him in the face. Lying on the altar was the slumbering body of Caroline Forbes.


The man who was a monster stared into the face of the maiden, unwilling to believe his eyes. Their lay the body of the girl he had once loved, whom he had hoped to love again when she was ready to accept his advances. He was torn apart by rage and guilt, knowing that he had not been able to protect her, but swearing then and there; he would find a way to save her life.


"Wake her up! NOW!" The careful silence of the room had been shattered, Klaus' fury breached the peace and his roar echoed off the stone walls. The others were stunned before they hurried forward and he barely registered Elena's shocked cry behind him.

"Oh my God, Caroline!" The doppelganger was practically sobbing, and they watched as she reached forward to take one of Caroline's hands ignoring the sharp yell of the caretakers.

"You can't touch her!"

Surely enough, just when Elena's hand met Caroline's she jumped back as if shocked. Klaus growled and turned to Diana who was watching the scene, stunned.

"You know her?!" she asked in disbelief, "you actually know her?"

"Yes we bloody well know her, now wake her up before I personally destroy you and raze this castle to the ground!" Klaus ordered harshly.

Diana shook her head, frazzled. The other vampires were turning, some with similar looks of desperation.

"Please, she's our friend, you have to let her go," pleaded Elena.

"How did this even happen, she's a vampire," said Stefan, looking between his old friend and the hybrid who was clenching his fists. Klaus' temper was mounting every second he spent staring at her, and they knew he would reach his boiling point quickly.

"Wake. Her. Up." His voice was no longer a roar but a cold whisper. Elijah moved forward to put a hand on his brother's shoulder but was shrugged off immediately.

"Hilda, go to your room, now," order Diana firmly. She had locked eyes with Klaus, and remained unflappable under his angry glare.

"But I don't wanna-"

"Go! Now!" Diana's voice was sharp, and the little girl trudged out, sulking. Garrett followed her, pausing to look back at Diana.

"I'll meet you in the mirror room?"

Diana nodded tersely. Once he had left, she turned back to the vampires. "I'm sorry, but I can't wake your friend up. What I can do is show you how she ended up here."

"Do it. Now. And I would rethink that earlier statement if I were you." Klaus' threat hung in the air, no one else willing to contradict him. Diana sighed and made her way over to the door.

"Follow me," she said quietly. Everybody except Klaus filed out, the hybrid remaining behind to look upon Caroline's face. She looked…sad. Even in sleep, there was a melancholy that hung over her, and Klaus vividly recalled the soft sobs that had floated through the forest as they walked through. To think that it was her…

"Niklaus?" Elijah stood at the door, waiting expectantly for his brother. "You're not going to be able to do anything for her right now. We have to hear how this happened."

Finally managing to tear his eyes away from the sleeping beauty, Klaus took a deep breath and followed his brother out of the tower.


They were taken quickly to the room where the mirror was kept, the mirror which knew all and showed all that happened within the boundaries of the forest, a tool forged by the old witch herself through pain and blood. It held the image of the sleeping maiden's capture, a day long ago when she still laughed and sang, only to be tricked by the duplicity of the old witch who coveted her youth and beauty.


The mirror was large, reflecting the angered, tense stares of the group of vampires. The room in which it was kept was cramped, and stuffy, with heavy tapestries over the walls depicting scenes of a vicious looking woman doing magic, and more disturbingly, slitting the throats of various young women.

"Come close," said Diana, as she picked up a small dagger from a table beside the mirror. Carefully, she nicked her thumb, allowing blood to pool on the cut, and then she smeared it across the face of the mirror. For a moment, nothing happened. Gradually the reflection of the room dissolved in a black void, the blood on the surface seeping through the glass.

"This place is so fucked up," muttered Damon, squeezing Elena's hand, feeling her fear.

"Shut up," hissed Klaus, his eyes intent on the mirror. The darkness was giving way to a new scene, the image of the forest they had walked through emerged. It was a bright day, some rays of sunshine had managed to permeate the thick branches of the evergreens, and into this idyllic scene came two women, one a sobbing brunette and the other the familiar blonde they knew so well.

"Is your boyfriend close by? How badly is he hurt?" asked the image of Caroline, whirling around, looking for someone, presumably the person she was trying to help.

The brunette ceased her tears, her cold grey eyes clearing instantly while her dark red lips twisted into a smirk, though Caroline was too preoccupied to notice. As he watched, Klaus clenched his fists to keep himself from crying out and warning her, he already knew it was too late.

"I have to say, I really do appreciate this," said the brunette, and now Caroline did take notice of the other woman's altered state, and immediately stiffened, probably sensing something was wrong.

"What's going on here? I thought you needed my help?" she asked warily. The brunette laughed, the sound was high pitched and cold.

"I do need your help. You're going to make a donation of sorts. Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." A split second after she stopped talking, a root of a nearby tree sprang from the ground and wrapped itself around Caroline's ankle. The others could only watch in horror as she was dragged to the ground, more roots grabbing at her wrists, around her waist. She struggled, but whatever advantage her supernatural strength afforded her was useless against whatever magic was working against her now, and slowly, the fight left her as she stopped moving.

"Who are you? What are you doing to me?" Her voice was soft, but loaded with effort. The brunette walked forward slowly and crouched down to twirl one of Caroline's golden locks around her finger.

"Worry not. I told you that you wouldn't feel a thing. Just…go to sleep." And despite her best efforts, that's exactly what Caroline did, her strength gone, her eyes fluttered shut and she succumbed to whatever enchantment was keeping her down. Laughing again, the brunette turned and walked away, vanishing into thin air.

With a deep roar, Klaus rushed forward and slammed his fist straight through the mirror. Despite the web of cracks, as soon as he withdrew his hand the glass merged and fixed itself before their eyes. Klaus' anger rose again and he was close to destroying the thing one more time before he felt Elijah's hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down," his older brother said firmly. "You're not helping matters."

Klaus scoffed and shrugged off his brother's hold. "How did this happen?!" he snarled, turning on the Salvatores and the doppelganger. "How long has she been here, aren't you supposed to be her friends?"

"Four years." They all swiveled their heads to see Garrett leaning against the door, a deep frown on his face. "We found her body entangled under the roots a few hours after she was cursed and brought her here. She's been asleep for four years."

Klaus narrowed his eyes, and Damon took a step in front of Elena, knowing just where the hybrid was planning to attack.

"Listen dick, you don't know what happened four years ago; you don't get to fly off on the rest of us."

"Oh? Enlighten me then – what happened?"

Stefan came forward, his hands raised in a calming gesture. If anybody was likely to get through this story without being killed, it was him, though Rebekah could only do so much to stave off her brother's temper.

"It was just before we defeated Silas," Stefan started. "Things had gotten really, really bad and…there were some casualties."


MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA

FOUR YEARS AGO

"MOMMY!" Caroline's cry pierced through the night, her sobs racked her body. Her friends surrounded her, all staring at the gruesome scene – in the middle of the town square lay Elizabeth Forbes, eyes glazed in death.

"No, no NO! Please, please wake up-"

"Care..." Stefan approached his friend, his heart clenching as he watched her crouch over her mother's body, trying desperately to feed her blood.

"Care, I think she's-"

"NO! This happened before, Silas tried this before, but I saved her then, I can save her now, I can…"

But it was quickly becoming apparent that Liz Forbes was not going to wake up, no matter how desperate her daughter was.

"No, please Mom, please come back, please…" Caroline sobs took over again, and Stefan gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up.

"Come on Caroline…we need to get her body inside, before people see, we don't know where Silas is…Caroline?" The blonde had gone limp in his arms. Her sobs had stopped, and she was eerily silent. Stefan shifted her around so that she stood facing of him, and he cupped her jaw.

"Caroline, are you okay?"

She raised her head, and Stefan stiffened at the blank look in her eyes. "I'm fine Stefan," she said, her voice a flat monotone. "I'm going to be just fine."

"You flipped the switch…" he said, taking a step back.

"Oh don't say it like that Stefan – I feel fine. I feel good." She raised her head and smirked, her hands still covered with her mother's blood.

"Caroline, no, you have to turn it back on!" Elena rushed forward, her eyes wide and pleading. "Please, you know what I was like; you can't go down that road."

Caroline just laughed, the sound devoid of her usual warmth. "Oh please, Elena. Do you have to make everything about you?" she sneered disdainfully.

"Watch it, Blondie," snarled Damon, as he came to Elena's side.

"Oh, there he is, Damon the virtuous," said Caroline with a roll of her eyes. "What're you going to do – torture me until I become good little Caroline again?"

"Like we'd waste the time," snapped Damon, ignoring how Elena grabbed his arm. "We've got enough problems around here Blondie so if you're going to be another one of them, then take a hike."

"Shut up, Damon!" yelled Stefan, doing his best to get a hold of Caroline again, but she quickly evaded him.

"Please Care, I know what this feels like, it's feels powerful, it feels liberating, but it's not. It'll just be more painful when-"

"More painful?" she asked sarcastically. "More painful than every fucked up thing that's happened to me because I stayed in this goddamn town to help my 'friends'?!"

Elena flinched back at the vicious way she spat out her last word. "Please, Caroline, please don't do this, think of everything we've been through. We need each other."

Caroline laughed again, caustic and bitter. "We need each other? Are you sure about that? Isn't it just you Elena, who needs everybody? You can't get through the day without a Salvatore on each arm."

Damon growled, fangs bared and he ran forward to grab Caroline by the throat but she had been expecting that, and she managed to dodge his attack. She snarled viciously, speeding forward and slamming into him, sending him flying into the pavement. Elena screamed and Caroline grabbed her arm, twisting it until a resounding 'snap' was heard.

"Caroline, stop it, these are your friends!" yelled Stefan, trying one last time to plead with her, but she was having none of it.

"Save it Stefan – Damon's right. Why should I stick around?" I'm going to see how much fun I can have, far, far away from here." And with that, she spun on her heel and sped away.


"She left, and we haven't seen her since. We thought she was seeing the world, or dealing with everything that happened." The younger vampire was contrite, he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Did you even look for her?" Klaus spat. "Did you put even an ounce of effort into making sure she was alright?"

Stefan's face was loaded with guilt, but Damon was still putting up a fight. "What about you – what were you doing for her?" he snarled. "Or were you too busy playing happy families back when that werewolf slut was pregnant? Last I checked, Hayley didn't even make it to six months, so what've you been doing while Sleeping Beauty was stuck here?"

There was a deathly hush in the room, though it was punctuated by Elena's scream. In a blink, Klaus stood in front of Damon, chests touching, his hand buried in the Salvatore's chest, clenching his heart. "Mind your words," he said, his voice low and dangerous. The issue of his unborn child's death was not one that was often brought up, this reaction being the norm when it was. Truthfully, he had thrown all his energy into defeating Marcel after that, with his family by his side, he hadn't thought much about going after Caroline – he always thought she would come to him when she was ready.

She was supposed to rule by my side…

"Stop it, Nik, now." Rebekah's voice was firm and she wrapped her hand around her brother's wrist, pulling it from Damon's chest.

"We didn't know who she was," said Diana quietly from the corner where she had observed all of this. "Usually when a girl goes missing here, there are some people looking – there was a time when magic was accepted as reason enough, but now we have to make sure no one comes looking here. We can usually leave a false trail, and divert people away, but with her, there was no one. And when we noticed that her body wasn't withering like the others, we realized she was a vampire. After that, we just thought all her family and friends were probably dead."

The heavy silence that descended was rife with guilt and regret. They had let her go without a second glance, and never questioned her disappearance. "She had turned it back on," said Elena softly, tears running down her cheeks. "In the mirror, she thought she was helping that girl…she wouldn't have done that if she had no humanity. She had turned her emotions back on." Elena choked down a sob while Damon tried to comfort her, and Stefan buried his face in his hands, Rebekah standing close. Klaus displayed no such grief, he stood still, his face blank, though his mind was still in the room with the cursed girl in the tallest tower, wondering how he had ever let this happen to her.

"I'm going to wake her up," he said decidedly.

Diana sighed, her normally analytic demeanor was now haggard. "Look, I'm sorry, but it's impossible."

"Don't tell me what is or isn't possible!" Klaus snarled, flashing so that he stood right in front of her. To her credit, she didn't back down.

"Do you think we haven't tried?" she cried. "For centuries, our ancestors have tried asking witches, vampires, anybody with any connection to the supernatural to try something, anything that can stop this! We don't like seeing them like this. We want to leave, to do whatever we want with our lives!"

Composing herself, Diana drew herself together and looked at the others. "I understand that this must be difficult for you, but nothing can be done now. You are welcome to stay for the rest of the night."

They were exhausted, so one by one; they nodded, and filed out the room after Diana. Klaus was last, but before he could follow the others, Garrett clapped him on the shoulder.

"Not you," he said gruffly. "You look like you could use a drink."


The man who was a monster – his name was Niklaus – was in despair over the loss of his love. Although he had made his vow to save her, he knew that powerful magic was often hard to break, especially when it has had centuries to grow stronger. So he fought his anger, until the possibility of saving his love was presented to him.


Ten minutes later, Klaus was by himself in front the library's fire, a tumbler of very strong scotch in his hand. His thoughts were a mess of blonde curls and a smile that seemed a million miles away. The sound of her crying which had been half-imagined at first now resonated through his head, his heart twisting at the thought of her being in pain in whatever prison her soul was trapped in.

"You can save her, you know?" His solitude was interrupted by the sound of a little girl's voice and he turned around to find Hilda standing behind him, holding a thick, leather-bound book.

"Go to sleep little girl," Klaus said, not sure that he wouldn't rip her tongue out in his present state.

"No, but you can save her! Here, read the story," she said excitedly, coming forward and thrusting the tome in front of him.

Not waiting for him to read the information himself, she continued, "There's a lake, hidden like this castle, and the water can heal curses! Some people have tried, but no one's ever been able to bring the water back to the castle." Her face fell, and for the first time, she looked less than happy. "My parents tried, when I was a baby – they were killed by the forest. But you're special! You're stronger and you can bring the water back to save her!"

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Garrett had ambled into the library, swigging from a flask. He took the book from Hilda's hands and read through the story, scoffing.

"Is it hopeless then?" asked Klaus, his voice tinted with desperation.

"No, it's possible. See Hilda's great-great-great grandfather liked to tell stories – he and his brother told lots of stories once their children had taken up watch and they could leave this godforsaken place. Most things weren't true, some were. One thing they got right was that lake. It's somewhere in these woods, and if you find it, you could probably wake her up, and break the cycle to boot."

"Are you serious?" Klaus asked, setting down his drink and giving the old man his full attention.

"Listen, most of the time, these girls wither away and die. But the one upstairs – she's going to live forever. If you don't save her, then we're all fucked for eternity, while this entire forest goes on living. The bright side is that if she's eternally young, then there's a good chance you can bring her back with her mind intact."

"What do I have to do?" asked Klaus immediately, his mind racing with the possibilities.

Garrett eyed him carefully, as if assessing him. The old man's features looked even more grizzled in the firelight. He took another long swig from his flask. "It won't be easy, you know. The woman your girl was helping – that was the witch's spirit. She may not be alive anymore but her magic is so strongly tied to this place that she has managed to kill every single person that's ever tried to do something to help."

"But the only people who tried have been humans, like us," interrupted Hilda excitedly. Her eyes shone as she looked up at Klaus, "you're different, you can save her, like in the stories!"

A groan came from Garrett, "That girl's family loves happy endings. It's bloody irritating."

Hilda ignored him, and babbled on. "You can be just like the princes I've read about. The knights in shining armour!"

Klaus grimaced, turning his head towards the fire. "I'm no knight," he said tersely.

"Well that's good!" said Garrett, and for the first time that night, he laughed, albeit drunkenly. "That girl upstairs doesn't need a knight in shining armour. She needs a knight in rusted, dented armour. Those are the ones who've fought dragons."

Klaus contemplated the old man's words. He was no knight, or a prince. He was a king and while he didn't particularly care for fairytales, all he knew was that Caroline needed his help, and he was damn well going to save her.


Niklaus knew the journey would be dangerous, but he did not much care. The chance to save the sleeping maiden was too good to overlook and he knew he must seize his opportunity before the old witch's spirit became wise to his plans and did everything in her power to stop him. Still, he was not daunted – for the maiden, he would go on a quest through the forest. For the maiden, he would have gone on a quest to the ends of the earth.


So there's Part 1! Honestly, I'm not sure how well this is going to go over, I can't tell if the concept is good or completely terrible. Few important notes:

1) I wish I could say that line about "A knight in dented armour" is original, I love it, but it's a paraphrase from a line of dialogue from a PC game, Nancy Drew: The Captive's Curse. I love those games-any chance anybody reading this plays them?

2) Please tell me the fairytale concept that inspired the caretakers was obvious?

So, there's that-please let me know what you think! I'm not sure when I'll be adding part 2, I'm aiming for sometime before October, but rest assured, Klaus is going on that quest. Have a good weekend!