Caroline was being followed.
Survival instinct tells her to put as much distance between herself and the stalker as quickly as possible. But she flips around, fangs elongated, and attacks without warning. Caroline is thrown to the ground by a hybrid before she makes the split second decision to rip out his heart. He's not the first hybrid she has been forced to kill in the past three weeks, and if Klaus doesn't stop sending them after her, it won't be the last.
"Great," she grumbles. "Now there's blood under my nails."
Caroline hides the body in the forest – she knows someone finding it is inevitable, but it's not her problem anymore. She runs home to get some clothes; while staying with the Salvatore's, living in a mansion, is fun and all, there's only so long a girl can go with having two or three outfits at her disposal. There's a subtle change in the atmosphere that's as obvious as it is menacing. The moment Caroline turns to run, new change of clothes be damned, a familiar voice stops her.
"That's the fourth hybrid you've killed," he says. "We talked about this, love."
Caroline shrugs, careless. "You should have thought about that before you sent them to follow me every where I go."
She flits around her bedroom, throwing outfit after outfit into bags to take back to her new home. Klaus leans against the doorframe. "I would stop sending them if you accepted my offer."
"To stay with you at your mansion so you can 'protect' me?" Caroline scoffs. "Get real."
Klaus narrows his eyes. "Is it so hard to believe that I would want to keep you alive?"
"Whatever. I don't have time for this," she mutters, zipping up the last bag. "See ya."
As she moves to the front door, Klaus stands in her path. "I'll give you a ride."
It's better than having to walk all the way back to the Salvatore Boarding House. "You swear to take me straight to Stefan's?"
"You have my word."
Well, alright then. Caroline tosses her luggage in the backseat of the Maserati waiting outside her house. Klaus holds the passenger open and she rolls her eyes before slipping inside. The engine purrs to life. They're clothed in an awkward silence for a moment when Caroline, because she can't stand silences, decides to break it.
"This is a little flashy for Mystic Falls, don't you think?"
Klaus smirks. "I do. It's not mine. I prefer vintage. This is much too modern for my taste, sweetheart. It belongs to a dear friend of mine."
"You have friends?"
"Cute."
Caroline smiles. "But seriously. Which friend? Do I know him?"
"She," he stresses the word, "just got into town a few days ago, so no; I wouldn't expect you to know her. Her name is Helen. She was a great ally in a past, a very trusted friend, and an exceedingly powerful witch. But if you want to know more, you'll have to ask her. After all, I haven't seen her in over four hundred years since she was killed."
"Wait," says Caroline. "How can she be here if she was killed?"
The car stops. She looks up; they're outside the Boarding House. "That's a story for another day."
Even though the words taste like acid in her mouth, she quietly thanks him for driving her home – and don't think it doesn't feel peculiar to call this place home – and then grabs her belongings in the backseat.
"Goodnight, Caroline," is his only reply before he's zooming away.
The blonde vampire zips inside the house, where Damon's sitting on the couch with a glass of bourbon in his hand. Stefan's with him and she can tell straight away that there's something wrong. Then again, when has anything ever gone right when these two are involved?
"Is Elena okay?" Caroline demands, because it seems the only reason for their glum attitudes.
Stefan drags his hand through his hair. "She's still the same. Are you?"
"What's the supposed to mean?"
"It means," says Damon, "are you still the same Caroline, or has Klaus gotten under your skin like we all knew he eventually would?"
Caroline glares at him. She refuses to even dignify that with an answer.
"Actually, I meant, are you okay? We shouldn't have let you go alone. Did you have any trouble along the way?"
Caroline shakes her head. "Not really," she answers. "I had to kill another hybrid."
"That's our girl," says Damon, smirking.
Stefan and Caroline walk down to the cellar together, both uncharacteristically anxious and quiet, to visit the girl they've mutually agreed to keep locked down there. Elena as a vampire is harder to manage than anyone would think and Damon's no help with his suggestions to unleash her upon the town.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Caroline?"
"Yes," she says. "Elena would never forgive herself if she killed someone. So, until we can force her to turn her humanity back on, she's staying in this room. It won't be long, Stefan, trust me. Elena's just doing what feels natural – as a human, she took on the emotional baggage of more than half this town. It's normal, and quite frankly a little smart, for her to want to turn it off."
There's a crash on the door and Elena's suddenly standing there, with her face between the bars, fangs dropping. "Don't stop on my account. I do love it when you talk about me like I can't hear you."
"Yeah, well. As a vampire, you'll be hearing a lot more, so you better get used to it," says Caroline, smiling sweetly. She opens the door and, as expected, Elena tries to run past her to escape. Caroline blocks her way. "I'm sorry, were you planning on going somewhere?"
"Move," Elena snarls.
Caroline taunts her best friend with a smug smile. "Or what?" she asks. Without taking her eyes off Elena, she speaks to Stefan. "Can you go get us a couple of blood bags?"
"Are you sure I should leave you… alone?"
"I'll be fine," she looks at Elena. "I'm stronger than her, after all. She wouldn't dream of hurting me. We're best friends." The sarcasm in her voice is noticeable.
Elena scowls. "You know, I never liked you. You talk too much. You're always whining about how your life is so unfair. Well, newsflash; life isn't supposed to be easy." Sticks and stones, Caroline thinks. "I can't stand to be locked in here for another second."
"That's too bad," Caroline coos. Stefan returns, giving Caroline a blood bag, which she hands to Elena. "Drink up."
When the doppelganger refuses to drink, Caroline opens her own. She knows the scent is overpowering Elena and it's not long before the new vampire rips into her own blood bag. She empties it in seconds, so Caroline hands her a second.
"Stefan, can you give us a few minutes alone, please?" Caroline asks. When he leaves, she closes the door before sitting on the ground and leaning back against it. Elena stands there, furious. "You're not going anywhere, so you might as well just sit down. Good girl. Now, was that so hard? I know you're in there, Elena. I will get you back and when I do, I expect a new pair of shoes."
Elena says nothing. She's only been a vampire for approximately two months and Caroline battles the constant need to stake her best friend on a daily basis. There's a fine line between love and hate when it comes to friendship. It's mostly about accepting the other person, because of their faults, not despite them. Caroline understands the temptation to feel nothing all too well, but that's just not the type of person Elena is.
"Loads happened today," Caroline begins, speaking quickly since she knows Elena's just dying to interrupt her with a snarky comment. Maybe she's been spending too much time with Damon; he has to be a bad influence. "I went to school, right, even though Damon was totally against it, but let's be real; I have to get an education somehow and no one in this house is willing to help me out. Plus, we were organizing our graduation dance, but so many things were going wrong. It was out of control. And then, I was walking home, and this random guy jumps out and tries to kill me."
"Too bad he wasn't successful," she deadpans.
Caroline raises her eyebrows, amused. "And here I thought you didn't care about me. By the way, you should know, we have a new teacher. You know, to replace Alaric." The name adds a change in Elena's eye. It's hardly noticeable, but Caroline sees it. She smiles internally; perhaps getting her best friend back won't be so hard. "He's a bit of a jerk, to be honest, but nice enough, I suppose. I told him you've been out with a cold for the past few weeks, but you'll be back after the weekend."
"And will I?"
"Yes. I'm betting on you turning your emotions back on before then. If not, and you kill one of our classmates, you'll just have to live with it, just like I've had to live with murdering that guy at the carnival. You're a big girl now, Elena. If you make a mistake, it's on you." Caroline gets up. "I'm going to bed now. You should sleep, too. We've got loads of stuff to do tomorrow."
Caroline retires to her new bedroom. It's far more extravagant than what she's used to. The boys insisted she have the second largest, after Damon's room, to fit all of her things. It took some time to convince Damon to agree to let her stay. But after reminding him that Elena wouldn't want to lose any more people she cares about, he seems set on making sure Caroline stays alive, no matter what.
Still, Caroline's not even sure Elena cares whether or not she lives or dies.
But if it's possible to compel Stefan to turn off his humanity, perhaps a certain some one will be willing to force Elena to turn hers back on.
-}
"Did you find it?"
Klaus glances at Helen, and then throws her the car keys. "Thanks for the loan. I searched her entire house. It's not there."
"That's impossible," she snaps. "It has to be there. I cast a spell."
Shrugging, he walks into his studio, realizing that the house is eerily quiet. Kol had company when Klaus left, which was just over an hour ago; it seems strange that his younger brother's playthings would have departed so soon.
"Where are my siblings?"
Helen licks her lips. "I could care less where Elijah is. Kol was getting on my nerves, so I daggered him and put an end to his toy. She's on your bed, by the way, if you get hungry. I'd hurry, though; she might start to rot. As for Rebekah, you daggered her and gave me your word that you would rip my head off if I freed her. So I refrained. I happen to enjoy life very much."
"She will stay that way until I'm ready to wake her up."
Helen grits her teeth. "You would discard a thousand years of loyalty because of one bad incident?"
"You've been gone a long time, love," he replies. "A lot has changed."
Klaus walks out of the room and summons the witch with a simple command. "Perhaps you'd like to explain now why you're in Mystic Falls. I know you, Helen. You're up to something."
"I am," she admits, a ghost of her smile on her face. "That, I won't deny. But until I know beyond a doubt that I can trust you, you'll be getting no information from me. You'll need it if you really wish to survive for much longer. Believe me; what I know will change your lives forever."
"Tell me."
"No. If I give you what you want, then I won't get what I want."
"And what is it that you want?"
"For you to free Rebekah," she says. "To give me your word that you'll never dagger her again, no matter what she does. And I want your help in killing one of your brother's, permanently."
Klaus is well aware of which brother she would want dead – the same one that murdered her centuries ago. A lot may have changed, but her vengeful tendencies obviously have not.
"And how can I be sure that you have anything I want?"
Helen meets his gaze, challenging. "When have I ever disappointed you?"
Because of the absolute truth in her statement, Klaus isn't sure what to feel. She's not one to brag about information she doesn't have. And if Helen can be depended on for anything, it's always managing to come through when Klaus needs it most.
She stands up. "I need you to find that stake. When I've had my vengeance, I'll stay with you and Rebekah, and it'll be just like old times."
-}{-
a/n: so. i bet it's obvious that i miss the vampire diaries. more klaroline coming up. also, more about helen.