Hey guys! I am back with an update :) I was blown away by the response and I am so glad you guys are liking this fic so far :)
I would like to thank Cindy for the amazing and sexy cover that she made for me and I would like to thank Gail for being a lovely beta!
Enjoy :D
One of the guards went around to the side of the carriage and he opened the door. He kept his posture straight.
The guard outstretched his hand for Caroline to take and once she was standing outside, her breath hitched in her throat.
She was surrounded by greenery which consisted of a variety of different trees and shrubs. The daffodils were slowly growing near the trees and shrubs. The amount of people that stood a good distance away from her was overwhelming.
She could see the French Royal Family standing a short distance away from her. She saw four men, two women, and a teenage boy. They looked like royalty because of the silk robes and gowns that they wore.
In that moment, she didn't know what to expect. Her palms were sweating and her eyes were snapping in between the Royal Family. She could feel her erratic heartbeat drumming in her ears.
"My lady?" The guard questioned as she stood her ground and made no move towards them.
Caroline was no stranger to being the center of attention, but this... this was something completely different. She didn't know where to look or how to act even though she was trained for this all her life.
"Princess?" He asked again.
"Um... Thank you." She thanked him before she looked down at the green grass.
She inhaled a deep breath and once her rapidly beating heart returned to its normal state, she looked up.
As the princess began to walk towards them, she could feel her anxiety returning.
Hoping this feeling would subside before she actually had to converse with the Royal Family, she inhaled another deep breath.
"Princess," the king greeted her.
"Your grace." She curtsied before him just like she was taught to do.
"Please do follow me inside," he told her as he motioned towards the entrance.
"Of course. I thank you," Caroline replied as she graced him with a smile.
Once Caroline followed Mikael inside, the rest of the Royal Family followed.
"I am sure you are quite tired from your travels," Mikael began.
Caroline nodded as she smiled at the king innocently.
She thought that he would be a vile man, but it turned out that he was quite kind.
He was kind in the way that he graced her with a comfortable smile.
Mikael motioned for one of the servant girls to come forward.
The servant girl had long curly brown hair and brown eyes. She looked like a fair maiden.
"Katerina, please do show my guest to her chambers."
"Of course, your grace." She bowed as she looked over at Elijah through hooded eyes.
Elijah looked back at her and he subtly motioned to the secret passageway that they always met in.
"My lady?" Katherine started even though she loathed having to work for the French Court.
The only reason why she was there in the first place was because of the king's eldest son and the love that she harbored for him.
Caroline nodded and threw the Royals a smile before she followed the girl.
Once in her chambers, Caroline thanked Katherine and she nodded before she excused herself.
As the Princess got settled in, her eyes wandered around the bed chambers that would now be hers until she wed to one of the king's sons. Her bed chambers looked quite cozy, but she felt out of place. The walls were a light shade of brown and the four-poster chaise stood in the center of the bed chamber. Unfortunately, this bed chamber did not have a balcony. The Princess sighed heavily because the only thing that was actually able to relax her was watching the sun set and the different colors that swirled around the sky.
Walking over to the aperture, she peaked out and saw the garden from below. She saw the greenery and the bright colored flowers, as well as a statue of an angel that stood some distance away from where all of the greenery was. She admired the statue of the angel because she believed that it was sculpted perfectly.
Perhaps, the garden would be the place where she could go to just think and sort everything out.
Caroline walked over to the chaise and sat down with her hands clasped together on her lap.
Deciding that she would feel better if she went outside, she walked towards the double mahogany doors.
As she left the bed chamber, she turned to both sides of the long corridor. She realized that she hadn't even paid attention when Katherine was leading her to her bed chamber because she was so lost in thought.
The Princess spotted a guard standing some distance away from her and he quickly walked over to her.
"My lady." He bowed.
The guard had brown hair and forest green eyes with a strong jaw and was of large stature.
"Hello, I—this is my first day here in a decade and I can't quite figure out how it is I can go into the garden," she told him.
"Allow me to show you the way, my lady." He bowed before he left his post and led her down the stairs.
"Do you have a name?" She asked desperately in need of at least one friend at least in the big castle.
"I do, indeed. Stefan Salvatore," he informed.
"It is a pleasure, Stefan. My name is Caroline."
"I know, my lady." He smiled.
"Call me, Caroline," she insisted. She has had enough of being called 'my lady' or 'princess'.
"Of course, Caroline," he said as he threw her one of his signature smiles.
As they approached the back door that would lead into the garden, Caroline sighed.
"Caroline, I have to return to my post, but I can find a guard to stay with you in the garden."
"Do you think that it is a possibility if I just stay out there alone? I just need some time to think, and I would really appreciate it if nobody was standing above my soul."
"I believe that that can be arranged, but please do not leave the garden. You are a Royal, and your protection is our top priority."
"I understand. I thank you for showing me the way."
"Of course," he chuckled as he outstretched his hand and said, "here we are."
"Thank you."
"It was my pleasure," Stefan replied before he excused himself and quickly went back inside.
Once the Princess of Scotland was alone, she walked over to the stone bench that she spotted. As she sat down, her eyes roamed around the garden.
The variety of plants and flowers in the French Garden were outstanding. The beautiful garden had roses, daisies, tulips, amaryllis, carnations, daffodils, and more.
The blonde felt the urge to smell the beautiful read roses that seemed to be calling to her and she quickly made her way towards them.
She hoped that the Queen of France wouldn't mind her being in the garden that the Queen was the one that started the beautiful garden.
As Caroline bent down to smell the rose, she heard approaching footsteps and she paused.
"Oh, love. Do not stop on my account."
Caroline turned around sharply and came face to face with a man that she did not recognize.
He was tall and he had dirty blonde hair and blue-grey eyes. He had a smile on his lips and his dimples were visible. His stubble was peppering his jaw.
"Who are you?" She questioned as she straightened her posture and looked him right in the eyes.
"That does not matter, trust me," he assured her as he took a step forward.
"Actually it does, considering that you are a stranger. For all I know, you are some sort of assassin that has been sent here by the English to end my life."
"If I can say so myself, you have quite the imagination," he stated as a smirk crept onto his full and luscious lips.
"That is not my imagination, I assure you. I am simply looking out for myself."
"Are you, now? I have to disagree because of the blood that is currently falling from that scratch on your finger." He said as he motioned to her bloodied finger. "I assume you got it from the thorn in the rose."
Caroline furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and quickly looked down at her finger. Surely enough, she saw several drops of crimson liquid oozing down the pad of her fingertip.
"Now, let me ask you something, Princess. If I was an assassin as you so kindly put it, I wouldn't have told you that you were bleeding, now would I?" He asked as he turned away from her and removed a daffodil from the garden.
A smirk played on his lips, fully aware that he was angering the Princess with his sass and he couldn't help, but feel a sense of victory.
"Before I bleed out, why don't you tell me who you are?" he heard her say from behind him.
"Like I said before, that is not important." He turned around and shrugged nonchalantly.
"You are quite stubborn, aren't you?" the blonde questioned as she pressed on the small scratch on her index finger.
"Perhaps." He shrugged. "That is a lovely gown by the way," he complimented as he admired the blue and violet colored dress.
"Well then, if you are not here to kill me, I should be going inside," Caroline said as she began to walk away from him.
"Wrong way," he chimed from behind her.
Caroline turned to him angrily and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well then, why don't you show me the correct way?" she suggested.
"I would, but I'd rather not have the king see me."
"And why is that?" she wondered. "Did you betray him? Bed his wife? Bed his daughter?"
"I must say, I was right in my assumption. You do have quite the imagination," he chuckled.
Caroline rolled her eyes at him and he genuinely smiled before she walked away from him.
"You should come to my birthday bash tonight."
Caroline stopped in her tracks and she slowly turned around.
"I would, but I do not accept invitations from strangers. Especially those with a tongue like yours."
"Fine, I will tell you." He shrugged.
She raised one eyebrow at him and he smiled.
"Niklaus Mikaelson, the king's bastard." He bowed. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, future queen of France," Klaus added.
"Now that wasn't so difficult, was it?" She asked and felt her chest grow lighter now that she knew that he was not a threat.
"I suppose..." His voice drifted off. "So, will you come?"
"I will think about it." she replied with finality.
"That is all I wanted to hear. Now, do allow me to show you the way," Klaus offered before he approached her and placed a hand around her shoulder.
"Keep your hands to yourself," she ordered even though she felt an electric shock run down her spine at his simple touch.
"Just my luck... another nun to lecture me about the sins of human contact." He sighed heavily.
"Hey!" Caroline pouted as she slapped him on the wrist, softly.
Klaus chuckled as he watched the Princess through hooded eyes.
She was interesting. He thought.
As the evening approached, Caroline looked down at the red gown that was sprawled on the chaise.
She could not seem to get him out of her mind. He called to her for some reason and she knew not what to do.
A knock on the mahogany door, brought Caroline out of her reverie.
"Come in," she called.
The king's only daughter stood there. She was dressed elegantly in a flowing navy blue dress.
"Can I help you?" Caroline asked as she walked towards her.
She had blonde hair and big doe blue eyes. She was of average height and she didn't look like the type to smile often.
"You are not yet dressed. Why?" Rebekah questioned as she walked further into the Scottish Princess's bed chambers.
"Dressed?" Caroline questioned.
"It is my older brother's twentieth birthday and he told me that he invited you. Listen, I get that you are probably a spoiled little princess who goes places when she feels like it, but Nik has the worst life out of us all. He is my father's bastard, and no one lets him forget that. He is treated like family only when it is his birthday, so if he invited you, you better bloody accept his invitation!"
"I can tell that you are very protective over him, and I appreciate that, but let us not forget who the future queen here is," Caroline reminded her even though she knew that it wasn't something to say to her future sister in law.
"I do not care if you are the future queen. All I care about is making my brother's birthday bash a night that he can remember. At least praise us all with your presence. It is not like you have anything better to do," she stated and with that she walked out of the room.
Caroline looked straight ahead, even after the Princess of France was gone.
Shortly after, she walked towards the chaise and picked up the red gown.
Caroline made a decision to go and so she quickly got ready.
Half an hour later, she was set for the party as she looked in the full-length mirror with a smile displayed on her lips.
The red gown that she wore was strapless and it had a silk design that went through the upper right to the lower left.
As she left her bed chambers, she followed the sound of the music.
She descended the stairs and shortly after she came to a halt, when she spotted the ball room.
Inhaling a deep breath, she made the rest of the way.
Caroline entered the ball room and the music stopped. All eyes were trained on her and she swallowed the lump that she felt in her throat.
Klaus looked her away and he was struck speechless.
"Wow," he breathed out as his eyes roamed over the princess's body.
"Don't even try it, Nik." He heard his best friend say from beside him.
"Is that a challenge, Salvatore?" Klaus questioned.
"No." He shook his head. "It is a warning."
Stefan had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, despite not being born of the aristocracy. He'd always been there for his family whenever they needed a friend and due to their close relationship, they were generous to him when they recently offered Stefan a position as a castle guard.
Klaus smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.
This was going to be fun. He thought.
There you have it! So, what did my lovely readers think about Klaus and Caroline's first meeting? Also, the next chapter will hopefully be klaroline heavy!
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~Hana :p
