Thanks from the bottom of my heart to my beautiful and amazing betas Anastasiadreams, EternityofKlaroline and. Thanks to the talented Klaroline-fantasies for the awesome artwork.
I hope you like it and enjoy it.
Jay
~0~
Prologue
In the Belle Terre of New Orleans, the occult was the norm. The city had been built by the biggest monsters and had witnessed the rise of one equal in evil proportion; it had seen the birth of plenty of abominations, especially in the last two months. It would take something inherently macabre to make this southern belle tremble.
Tonight, she shook violently.
It started when the lights went out and the thickest of clouds shaded the light of the moon. Complete silence gripped the region, only an ominous chant could be heard near the swamp areas. The sudden scream of an infant child cut through the air sending fear down the spines of the witches in the area. They heard it like it was next to them, sending tremors into their hearts. The fear was palpable; they could taste it and all knew this was a sign.
Yes, it was a sign; of what, they did not know.
Everyone remained in place for the 3-minute duration of darkness. It was as if something was holding them to the floor. They couldn't move and barely breathed. The sounds of their own hearts pounding against the walls of their chests, was torturous, tormenting. Their blood ran wildly as if trying to flee their angry hearts, only to be pulled back in.
When the lights finally came back on, horror awaited their eyes. Bird carcasses lay on the floor as if they had rained down. Every bird within a 50-mile radius had died.
The Vulkodlak had risen.
~0~
A month before
The Lockwood Cellar
"Tyler?" Caroline called out as she came down the steps.
"I'm here," He answered in a low voice.
She came in to find him sitting in a corner. She looked at the bottles around him on the floor and felt her stomach clench with tension. The little voice in the back of her head telling her she shouldn't have come was screaming now.
"Uh…You wanted to talk?" She asked him tentatively.
He struggled to get up, stumbling a little before regaining his footing, and walked to her. "You can't leave me Care. I need you. I don't want to be alone in the world. Please let's try again." Tears pooled in the corner of his eyes.
The tension she had been feeling, eased up and she felt herself softening.
"You will never be alone. I am still here for you. We just don't work as a couple anymore. I told you when you left the last time that if you walked out that door, everything would change. I meant that. But we're friends and that never has to change. I'll always love you Tyler," She said, placing her hand on his cheek. Even as she said the words and her eyes remained compassionate and caring, she knew she was been naïve. She knew deep down they would never be friends. But she had to try to make this work. She did care for him and she wanted to stay friends. The guilt would eat at her forever if she didn't try to make this right.
"No, no, no. I need you there all the way. Come on, Care. Please. I know you're pissed that I didn't come back right away and then left again, but I'm so sorry. I just needed to try to get revenge for my mom. He just killed her and took her from me. Then, you went and slept with him. I lost it when I found out. You know I could never really hurt you, don't you? It was a rash moment. I didn't mean it. Please don't punish me like this," He pleaded desperately as his hands went around her arms.
"I'm not punishing you," She said softly, feeling the weight of guilt descend upon her yet again. "It's just we can't keep doing this."
She watched as the emotions began to gradually dry out of his face and his body went completely still. His hands were still holding her arms tightly.
"You're going to him," He declared.
"What…what do you mean?" She asked, though she knew. Dread filled her until it almost choked her.
"Don't play games Caroline. I don't even know you anymore. Have the guts to tell me the truth."
"Tyler…"
She watched his eyes change, glint with yellow. Fear traveled quickly through her. That's when she knew she had to get out. He wasn't going to listen to anything she had to say and this would only end in disaster. She freed herself from his grasp and began to back away. "Tyler, we'll talk about this another time."
He followed her. She began to feel the panic rising. He pinned her to a wall. She knew she could fight him but she also knew it would only take one bite. He kept repeating he just wanted some time to convince her. Survival mode kicked in and her fangs dropped, the veins around her eyes protruded, and her baby blues became tinged with blood. She shoved him and tried to run. The animal instinct kicked in and he had her on the floor. They struggled. She kneed him and he reacted, snapping his jaw at her.
She felt the rip in her skin and gasped. He gasped too, immediately realized what he had done.
"I'm sorry. Oh my God Caroline. I'm so sorry." He jumped back from her. His hands on both sides of his head.
She swallowed the fear that was rising up her throat. He was already panicking enough for the both of them.
"It's ok Tyler. Just go. I'll take care of it."
He shook his head violently and she grabbed his chin so he could look at her human face. Her eyes conveyed a message. He shouldn't be here when help came. He nodded, his shoulders sagging. He kissed her forehead and left.
She waited until he was far away to make the phone call. She wanted to give him time to run. She reached in her pocket for her cell phone. It wasn't there.
~0~
Bonnie stood in the park waiting for Jeremy when she looked across the way to see a woman with her back to her. She smiled, recognizing the familiar set of curls.
Caroline
She was about to call out to her best friend when Caroline turned to face her.
Bonnie's face began shaking before her mind had time to process. She had seen it so many times in the past few days alone that she could recognize death immediately.
Horror began to set in and her eyes widened as Caroline smiled and began to take steps towards her. Bonnie shook her head violently at her and held her hand out to signal her to stop.
She was prepared for this. She chanted loudly not caring who heard her. Then she watched as Caroline seemed confused and stuck in her last step.
Without looking back at her, Bonnie turned around and ran.
~0~
He was on his way. If the reason she wasn't picking up were because she changed her mind, she would have to tell him to his face. Then he would take her with him by force. Enough was enough.
He hated himself for feeling so insecure when it came to her. He had not even allowed himself to feel happiness that she had finally called to say she had made up her mind; she had missed him and wanted to be with him. He dreaded something going deadly wrong and when she had not picked up his last three calls, the feeling in the pit of his stomach was telling him many things, none that he wanted to hear. So he picked up his phone and hit the dial button, again. He would keep calling until she answered.
"Klaus." Damon's voice came through the phone.
"Why do you have her phone?" Klaus snapped.
"She's gone," Damon said sadly
"Where?" Klaus asked confused.
"She's…dead Klaus. She died a few minutes ago."
~0~
He was frozen. Nothing in him moved, not even a thought. His phone kept buzzing but he just ignored it. The incessant noise continued until he finally gave in and answered.
"She's not gone. We can bring her back." The voice on the other end said. "Hello? Klaus?"
He didn't answer. He could hear the woman on the other line but he couldn't seem to answer. It felt like nothing mattered or made any sense.
"It's Bonnie, Klaus. Caroline has not crossed. We need to act fast. Where are you right now?"
That finally got through to him. A voice he didn't recognize as his told her that he was on the plane on the way to Mystic Falls.
"I'll meet you at the airport. Try to keep your thoughts off her. We need to keep her away from me right now," Bonnie told him.
He didn't answer her right away.
"Klaus! Snap out of it. That part is important. Stay on task," She bellowed.
"I heard you, witch," he retorted gritting his teeth as anger surgeed through him. "Tell me what's the plan."
On her end, Bonnie let out the breath she was still holding. He was receptive and that's all she needed from him.
"Just so you know, we're about to break every rule. Nature won't be happy with either of us."
"Shocking," He replied dryly.
~0~
Chapter 1 - Rites of passage
Her mother wasn't making any noise, just letting the tears free fall. She had gone through different moods in a short time span and Caroline had sat there observing her and trying to send vibes of comfort but feeling mostly impotent. It was heartbreaking hearing Liz screaming, asking why she had to lose her twice and what was she supposed to do with her life now. Her mother had passed out in her bed from crying while hugging Caroline's favorite stuffed animal. The teddy bear she had bought for her when Caroline was born.
Unbeknownst to her mother, she was being watched.
The hooded figure climbed through the window the minute Liz's breath evened out. It was Klaus. He walked towards the bed and watched her mother sleep. He reached to touch the teddy bear Liz cradled. He faintly smiled and Caroline remembered how he tucked it under her arm the night of her birthday. It was the night that had changed everything.
Still, Liz continued to wrestle in her sleep until he began whispering in her ear. Caroline thought this must be his way to help her mother cope. It was a benign compulsion. He told Liz she needed to remember who Caroline had been. Caroline had been someone who brought light to the life of others and who loved fiercely. He also told her, she should leave town and go somewhere where she didn't have to deal with supernatural creatures. She should open her heart to love and find herself a good guy to be happy with away from Mystic Falls.
Caroline was shocked he had come to take care of her mom. She didn't even want to dwell on the fact that he knew Caroline's wishes for her. She was just happy to see him, though he didn't look well. He stopped to look at the photos dwelling on each image and she could see the hurt in his eyes. He grabbed the hairbrush on her nightstand, smelled it, and placed it in a drawstring cloth bag he pulled out of his coat pocket. She had forgotten to clean it, her mind lamented. She wondered why he would take that but people had their own idiosyncrasies and this was Klaus after all. Maybe something to remember her by?
Then instead of going out of the window, he went into the hallway. She followed him to her mom's room. Caroline frowned, just watching him. He opened her closet and looked up. He felt his hands against the wall until something clicked. He reached in and brought out a wooden box. He brought it to the dresser and opened it. Inside there was a leather-bound box. He pulled out the contents. There were papers, photos, and finally something that made him smile. In a tiny jar, there were little white rocks. Caroline was confused. He set it aside and put everything back in the box. As he was returning the box he found it, Caroline moved closer to the dresser and saw the jar was labeled with the words 'Caroline Age 7'.
He came back and took the jar. He walked back to her room. He moved closer to Liz once more and whispered, "I'm sorry I failed you and her but I will rectify my actions." He pulled a syringe from his pocked and extracted some blood from her.
Caroline gasped and he raised his head as if he heard something.
"I'm not hurting her. I never would," He announced.
She knew that was meant for her. Somehow she knew. With that, he was gone leaving Caroline to stare at him for a few seconds before she ran after him.
Klaus had disappeared by the time she got outside.
~0~
The funeral
The first time she died, Caroline Forbes didn't have a funeral. She didn't need to; no one had known. She had gasped awake as a creature of the night. She had been all-alone in a hospital room, not knowing what happened to her and fighting urges she didn't understand. But she had learned because that's who she was. She wasn't what people thought of her. She wasn't one who let life dictate to her what she should be. She was a fighter and a warrior. She took what life had to dish out and she made it what she wanted
That's what she would do now. Life had dished out death; she would make it what she wanted. She would stay by her loved ones and find ways to communicate with them.
But not before she went through this rite of passage. Caroline was big on them. She believed in the landmarks of life. So here she stood, watching her mom and friends bury her body. Matt stood next to her mom with tears rolling down his cheek. How sweet was Matt? His blue eyes clouded with tears. Elena was there, flanked by a Salvatore on each side. Caroline watched the absolute grief in Stefan's eyes and it filled her with sadness. Elena was crying softly and Damon put his arms around her. He looked sad and regretful but his focus was mostly in the woman he now held. That was obvious.
Bonnie ran away from her and she didn't come today. It hurt Caroline not to be able to see her again. Why had she left her in the park? Why couldn't Caroline follow her? Why couldn't she follow Klaus? She would worry about it later. Now, she wanted to concentrate on her mom.
Liz just stared at the glass coffin in front of her. Caroline didn't want to look at her dead self but it was impossible not to follow the direction of her mother's eyes. That morning, Rebekah had come in with Matt and helped her mother arrange everything. Caroline was shocked to see the Original there and had rolled her eyes at her planning attempts but she was more than pleased with what the woman had come up with. Though the glass case was completely a Snow White rip off, Caroline kind of liked the idea of it. It was open to allow everyone to say goodbye. The beautiful flowers were a nice touch too.
She was brought out of her musings when she felt the mood shift in the group. Elena stiffened and Damon looked down after wincing. Stefan looked away and Matt just held her mother's hand. Klaus looking grief-stricken and tried to come closer, but Elena stepped forward.
"You need to leave. Sheriff Forbes is dealing with enough right now; we all are, and we don't want to have to deal with you at the moment," She said angrily.
He remained impassive.
"It's ok." She heard her mother say, "He can stay. Everyone who loved her should be here." Her voice cracked.
So he stood by her mom as everyone said individual goodbyes and words about her. She watched the movement of his jaw and the bobbing in his throat.
When the moment came for him, everyone else averted their eyes. He walked to the casket, lifted the lid and leaned in. He whispered how sorry he was for leaving her unprotected. Caroline moved closer and saw with widened eyes as his fangs dropped and sank into his lower lip. No one else seemed to notice.
He moved even closer to her lips and touched her chin placing a kiss on her lips. She witnessed the blood as it dropped in her mouth. Then he took her hand and placed the princess diamond bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet he had given her on her birthday.
"You took everything with you when you died. Forever would mean nothing without you. That's why you can't go," He whispered
~0~
Everyone else was gone but Caroline was still at the graveyard. She couldn't seem to go anywhere else. She wondered if this was her purgatory. Would she hang out here forever where her body was buried? That had always been her worst nightmare.
She had been 7 when her grandma died. She didn't sleep for weeks with thoughts of her sweet Grammy forever hanging out in a cemetery. So Caroline would sneak out during the day and go to her grave to keep her company. She would talk to Grammy and tell her about all the things she was missing. At night she couldn't sleep and would cry thinking of the loneliness people went through when they died. Her mom finally figured out what was happening and told her about heaven. That brought back her peace but sometimes, the fear would sneak in. She had forever been relieved when she realized that she died and came back after Katherine smothered her.
A movement brought her back from the memories and she saw a truck being slowly backed in facing her grave.
She saw Klaus. He walked slowly and stood back as he instructed his men to remove the casket from the ground.
She frowned watching his grief. She reached to touch his shoulder thinking that maybe, just maybe he could feel her comfort. He tensed. Could he feel her?
His men removed the casket from the ground and he moved away from her. Two other men brought out a brand new casket. He took out her body himself and placed it in it. He was gentle with her, touching her cheek softly as he laid her the padded silk. He warned the men they better do the same as they carried the coffin inside the truck. He sat with the casket in the back of the truck. She watched as his tears fell.. He wiped them away furiously before he raised his head.
Caroline was so focused on him, she didn't notice someone else had walked inside the truck until he looked up.
"This better work or this world..." He said trying for harsh but just sounding pained and hurt.
"It will work. She will come back," Bonnie reassured him staring at the casket. Then she looked up and smiled. "Go to sleep Caroline," she whispered a few words the ghost couldn't understand.
Caroline opened her mouth to speak but everything went black.
