DISCLAIMER FOR THE STORY IN ITS ENTIRETY: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.
"Please! Help her. I love her too much to let her go."
I anxiously looked up at Qetsiyah as she peered down at the lifeless body of my beloved.
"Now, you out of everyone knows just how fickle love can be, Niklaus. Your mother never loved you, your siblings are afraid of you, and even with all that love you held for Caroline, you couldn't even control yourself enough to keep her alive."
I felt my face transforming into the beast I try to hide as I quickly stood up to face the witch.
"You tricked me! You told me if I told her about myself that she wouldn't leave! I couldn't let her go!"
A smirk appeared on Qetsiyah's lips as she looked down at Caroline's paling figure.
"So, instead of letting her go, you murder her instead; trying to force what you are upon her? Wonderful."
"You know I didn't mean—"
"But you killed her regardless. What's done is done. But…luckily for you, it can be undone. I only ask one thing of you."
"Anything." I answered without even allowing myself to think.
"Kill me."
"Why?"
"I have lived for a long time, Niklaus. Far too long. I have done many things, and a lot of those things I am not proud of. I only wish for one thing: peace. If you give me that, I will give your love the gift of life in return. I will reunite you with her."
I didn't question Qetsiyah any further as she crouched down and pressed her hand against Caroline's heart. I felt my eyes go wide as Caroline's skin ominously glowed, and then her body seemed to deteriorate into the ground beneath her.
"What did you do?" My voice cracked from my body as I felt myself starting to transform into the monstrous being I truly am.
"Silence, Niklaus. I said I would undo it, did I not?"
I say nothing as my body is racked with labored breaths.
"Undoing something as permanent as death is not an easy task. There is no immediate solution. In fact, you'll find that the solution is quite complicated. Or rather, that I've just chosen the complicated route. I had to go out with a bang. Be it a subtle one."
Qetsiyah let out a laugh as she stood up and looked me in the eyes.
"In a couple of centuries, you'll meet Caroline again. Now, it's time to hold up your end of the bargain."
"Centuries? Qetsiyah, that's not—"
"Would you rather not meet her again at all? Because that can be arranged."
"No! I just—Will she know who I am?"
A grin split across Qetsiyah's face as she began to walk in no direction in particular.
"Who knows, Niklaus Mikaelson? You'll just have to wait and see."
Qetsiyah stands with her back towards me, and I could smell the adrenaline pumping through her blood. I know what she is asking me to do. I let the beast takeover as I sauntered toward the witch. I stopped inches away from her.
"Good bye, Qetsiyah." I whispered into her ear as I leaned into the crook of her neck. I could hear her heartbeat increase.
"Tell Caroline hello for me."
Before Qetsiyah's painful shriek could ring out completely, I felt her warm blood splash across my face as I tear into her neck. I am met with complete silence except for the faint sound of the rushing of the witch's blood from her body.
As I let her body slip out of my arms, I can do nothing but drop to my knees and allow myself to sob over the loss of the love of my life. For the first time in a long time…I am completely and utterly alone.
..
400 Years Later
I stood in silence as I watched the woman in the wooden, antique casket sit up straight and immediately take a deep breath. Her breaths violently left and re-entered her body as she looked around the area of the cave dwelling.
"Hello, little sister."
My younger sister turned her hatred filled gaze toward me, but I saw the softness she had tried to hide leap forward. She quickly blinked, and climbed out of the casket. She left her back turned toward me as she crossed her arms over her chest and began to speak.
"So, you've un-daggered me. What wonderful occasion has crept upon us this time, Nik? Have you decided to permanently exterminate me now, too?" I could hear the sarcasm drip from her voice, but I could also hear the hurt and fear.
Blatantly ignoring her, I began to walk toward the exit of the cave.
"The Roaring 20's are calling your name, Rebekah. We best not keep them waiting."
..
I looked across the bar at the Bennett witch in annoyance as Rebekah used this time to scamper off onto the dance floor.
I admired my sister's love of life. For all intents and purposes, I had to admit that I was jealous of her.
She embodied everything I could never be. The way she took any bad situation and made it into a good one…the way she attempted to find the good in everyone…She was everything I could never be and more. She was everything I wanted to be.
But it was too late for me. It would always be too late for me.
As I watched Rebekah dance with a gentleman, I felt a slight pang in my heart. To add to the jealousy I felt for her, I also felt sympathy.
Even though it was centuries ago, I could still remember the exact moment when my younger sister's heart was broken. I could remember the way her blue eyes seemed to crack, then rebuild themselves into hard ice as she realized she would never be the one thing she had always wanted to be: A mother. She would never grow round with my niece or nephew, and she would never age a day more than the seventeen-year-old she was when she was changed.
These facts were what made Rebekah into the sister that I knew and loved, and they were also the same facts that lead to my sister not having the heart to leave me; no matter how many reasons I gave her to.
"So, are you going to tell me or not?" I asked the witch as she hummed and proceeded to dry liquor glasses with a soft towel.
"Niklaus, as I've already told you, I can't tell you about what's not there yet."
"What do you mean "not there"? Qetsiyah sent her somewhere over four hundred years ago, and you want to have the audacity to tell me that she's not there? I ought to rip your throat out myself, witch."
"Oh really? And what would that solve? You'd still be out here scouring the world like a madman looking for a woman who probably deserves better than you anyway."
Without thinking, I reached cross the bar and wrapped my right hand around Helene Bennett's neck. I roughly pulled her towards me.
"Listen to me, witch. Tell me what you know, and tell me now, or the line of Bennett witches stops tonight with you and your future protégé." I glanced down at her still flat stomach as she furiously nodded her head in the affirmative, and tried to take in a frightened breath. I could feel the life draining out of her, and it gave me all the power I needed to know she would not try to do me wrong again. I slowly released my grip on her neck and let her move away from me.
She rubbed her neck in fear as she began to speak.
"The spell Qetsiyah used was a rare one. In fact, it is only in the Bennett family's Grimoire. The reason I can't tell you anything more is because there is literally nothing more to tell. When Qetsiyah brought back your Caroline, I will tell you without a doubt, that she did so successfully."
I felt a weight lift off of my chest as I heard Helene's assuring words.
"I will advise you though," Helene added, "That searching for Caroline will bring nothing but disappointment. She will not be found until the time is right."
My teeth gritted together in frustration.
"And just how will I know when the time is right?"
Much like her ancestor had done to me four hundred years ago, Helene Bennett made eye contact with me and smiled
"Oh, you'll know."