Perhaps One Day...
It was hard to believe that only a few days ago Caroline and her friends were celebrating. Finally, the hybrid that had made all of their lives miserable was desiccated in his coffin. But just a few days later, they were protecting his corpse from Alaric who threatened to exterminate all things of the vampire nature.
News of Klaus's death brought forth despair Caroline did not expect to suffer alone, if at all. Everyone thought his death meant they would all die, at least the vampires and hybrids among their group of friends. Nonetheless, Damon and Stefan, alive and well, remained by Elena's side to guide her transition. Tyler who had somehow survived Klaus's death but skipped town before morning came. Like so many times before, he had left Caroline to figure things out on his own.
Blankly staring at the walls, Caroline tried to shake away the thought of Klaus, with his arrogant but seductively menacing glare now apparently but ash in some secluded warehouse. Perhaps one day, a year, or even a century you'll turn up at my door…, he had said at the night of the school dance. There was a certain sadness she would not admit out loud with the thought of those words unfulfilled. It was different from when they had put him in his coffin with the dagger. The finality of his demise presented a reality that was surreal to the young blonde vampire. The world Klaus praised to be filled with genuine beauty seemed emptier somehow.
As she lay down, preparing to catch up on some much needed sleep, she felt utterly annoyed at the particular memories that kept flooding in when she closed her eyes – the sketch Klaus had made of her, the bracelet that used to belong to a princess, and that moment of relief she felt in Klaus's arms when she ran away from Alaric in the school hallway. They were tiny glimpses of his humanity that left an impression in her mind and made one believe that even he could have been saved. If only.
But before she could succumb to sleep she heard a crackle of paper under her pillow. It was the same parchment Klaus used for his sketches. It read:
Dearest Caroline,
If you are reading this then I am gone. Although the only reason any of you have tried to protect me was to save the lives of your friends; I send my thanks to you. I have lived centuries and I have never come this close to true companionship – even as adversaries.
Caroline, you are indeed full of light, one that will consume me even after I rest. I have seen vast wonders on several continents, often with the luxury of money and blood, but your beauty is one that cannot be bought. Yet even with this knowledge I have coaxed and teased you for your affections; still, you remain strong and unconvinced. And I, in turn, grow fonder of you. Take it from someone who had lived a thousand years – there will be plenty of Tylers and the disappointment never ceases. I fear though that it may change you. Not at first, of course, because you are strong, but sooner or later the fire in you may go out from tears better shed for worthy men. So my parting words for you may only be this, you are meant for greater things. Perhaps one day, a year, or even a century, I'll turn up at your door and show you what the world has to offer.
Fondly,
Klaus