abby0503 - There will most likely be some Caroline/Kol scenes in the story. Just haven't written any yet. I'm still working on what to do with Kol right now.

nolechic512 - On Stebekah...there is always more than meets the eye. ;)

EpicFantasyStories - lol Klaus the tour guide is most definitely making a return. I promise.

brittskitz - Aw! You're too sweet!

ilovetvd - Oh my gosh, when I was writing the takeoff I was literally getting anxiety from remembering my first flight. Eek!

br0flove - lol It's going to take him a long while to say it back, sorry. :P


My loves! You're all too sweet with your kind words and hearts. I really appreciate it all, and thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I'm making a resolution not to make any excuses or sob stories in this story so these notes won't be so long and you can get on with reading. So if an update takes longer, just assume I'm procrastinating writing a description, drained from all the emotions, or busy with reality. And by no means ever ever assume that I have abandoned this story, because I never will, so never lose faith!

Gotcha all guessing who the mystery man compelling hybrids and working with Grecia is, don't I? Notice I didn't answer anyone who asked about it either? Mwahahahah! Speculate, my pretties! Speculate away! (Sidenote: I think I accidentally started shipping Bonnie with my OC. Oops?)


Chapter 2

As the ten hour long flight came to an end, the plane made it's final descent, landing at the Florence-Peretola "Amerigo Vespucci" Airport. Kol, the widest awake of them all, decided to take on the role of the flight attendant, announcing their arrival.

"Ladies and gentlemen, It is five thirty AM on December the 27th and we have just arrived in Florence, Italy. Please be sure to take all carry-on luggage with you as you exit the plane. That means you, Bekah."

She glanced up, dully. "I didn't bring a carry-on, you nit."

"You brought Stefan," he pointed out, both figuratively and literally.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "How is it 5AM when we left at 11:30?"

"Time differences, mate," Klaus informed him. "We're 6 hours ahead here from the US."

"Come on. Get me off this bloody plane," Kol demanded after they'd stopped, beating at the door relentlessly. "I need a fresh neck to bite into."

And on that parting note, the door to the plane opened and a set of stairs rolled up to let them exit. The group was quickly escorted outside into the dark, early morning where two cars waited for them. It took less than an hour to drive through Florence to Tuscany, but Klaus had to wake Caroline again when they'd reached the villa.

Still groggy from the flight, Caroline took his hand for help getting out of the car and followed him up the walkway, looking but not really seeing anything. It finally hit her midway up the path and caught her breath at the sight of the breathtaking villa before them. It was bigger than the mansion in Mystic Falls, by far. It was all white, two stories high, in the shape of a backwards U. The snow covered the red clay roofing tiles and the entire villa was glowing in white.

"This...is a villa?"

Klaus smiled, endeared by her sheer astonishment. He urged her forward and she stumbled over her own feet as she walked with him, almost tripping in shock. He held her arm tightly to keep her steady but finally resigned to putting his arm around her.

"It's had some renovations done. Let's get inside out of the snow."

The group collectively walked into the villa, led by Klaus. Inside the foyer, Nate and Dean appeared at attention. While Klaus gave them their orders, Rebekah sped up to see to her room and show Stefan to his, and Elijah and Kol had both taken off without a word, both for very different reasons. Caroline looked around the foyer, feeling immensely out of place in such luxury. The crème colored marble granite flooring was covered by a long, genuine Persian rug which had a centerpiece table with a giant vase of Tuscan wildflowers like poppies, lavender, and cypress. Off to each side were two grand staircases, wrapped in intricately designed iron railings. Beneath the staircases, an archway led down a long hall with rooms on either side. She was staring up at the black, crystal chandelier illuminating the room when she felt Klaus' hand on her arm. His touch brought her back down to Earth and silently led her through the archway where she got a glimpse of the other rooms. On her right they passed by the kitchen with a conjoined dining room fit for at least twelve. On the left was a great room, similar in design to the one at the mansion in Mystic Falls – dark brown hues, leather couches, lines of bookshelves and a bar at the back with a pool table, if she wasn't mistaken. Kol's added touch, she guessed. There was a ballroom past the dining area which she only got a tiny peek of. Interesting. Maybe she should expect many a soiree to be held here? Strangely, as they walked past every room, it seemed like there were more and more hybrids on guard.

"What's with all the heavy artillery?" she whispered.

"They're keeping this place secure in case Grecia makes a move."

When they reached the end of the hall there was a glass sliding door overlooking a patio. He slid it open and let her out. A light flurry of snow was falling but Caroline kept walking up the three steps that led to an in-ground olympic sized swimming pool and a view of miles and miles of land. She stopped, taking it all in in the faint blue light of near-dawn.

"It's hard to make out right now, but..." Klaus pointed outward towards the left. "There's a vineyard out there that produces the finest Italian wine you will ever taste. And just beyond that to the right is an abandoned old stable that once prevailed in horse breeding."

"Okay, I get it," she laughed, and turned away from the horizon to face him. "This is the most amazing place with everything a small town girl like me could ever dream of."

She slid her hands up his neck and caressed the back of his head, leaning in to kiss him sweetly. He smiled, adoration in his eyes, when they parted and tugged gently at her chin.

"There's nothing I couldn't give you, Caroline."

"I know." She stroked the back of his head, sifting through his curls. "You don't have to keep trying so hard, you know. You already have me."

He gazed at her, a nervous flutter in his stomach, then broke his gaze to look out at the dark landscape. When he turned his sights back to her, his expression was neutral.

"Let's go inside. I'll give you the grand tour."

He held the door open for her and she looked up at the villa, smiling in awe, her heart fluttering in her chest as she let out a stream of breath.

Upstairs were an assortment of bedroom suites and living areas. The right wing was completely Klaus', off limits to any of the other residents, save one. His master suite was the largest in the house, windowless, as per request, with an conjoined bathroom and a connective door to his study. Beside that was his painting studio where all of his canvases resided. Across the hall was another living area and a guest suite, tailored for Caroline. There was one last locked door at the end but he dismissed it, giving her only a name for the room: "the Dragon's Hoard".

The left wing was where his siblings would live. There were three master suites for Rebekah, Kol and Elijah – the bigger of the three for Elijah – and two guest rooms, one which Stefan would be taking up residency in. In between was a living area with a small kitchen, two bathrooms and at the end of the hall was a greenhouse with a doorway out to a balcony overlooking the pastures of Tuscany.

He took her to the door where her room would be, pausing for dramatic effect. "I wasn't expecting you when the renovation plans were being sent in. You'll forgive me if it's not quite to your tastes?"

She rolled her eyes. "How bad could it possibly be, Klaus?"

He smirked. "I'm just saying. I had no say whatsoever, so if you don't like it, you can't blame me."

"Okay, just move."

Growing impatient with him, she brushed past him to push the door open and came to a dead halt, gasping at what she saw. The room was splashed in porcelain pink with white and gold moldings. The details in the wood moldings and painting were intricate and gave the entire room an elegant, luxurious appearance. A smaller, golden chandelier dripped from the ceiling with a sun shaped centerpiece and crystal beading, not overpowering the room but definitely an eye-catcher. A restored antique looking ivory chaise with gold legs strategically sat off to one side of the room just beyond the door to her personal bathroom. Yellow calla lilies filled a vase atop the creme colored nightstands, taken straight from the 40s, which matched the dresser and vanity. But the centerpiece of the room was the enormous king sized bed covered in champagne colored silk and mounds and mounds of pillows. Amidst the mass was one small throw pillow, front and center, embellished with a pale watercolor running stallion, it's mane waving in the wind, bordered by floral designs. The walls were littered with scenic paintings, all of Italian landscapes and villages but the only one that caught her eye was the one above her bed – it was the landscape of New York City that Klaus had painted, the one that had spurred their first time. Her heart swelled at his two little personal touches. The room was bright and happy, just like she was. It was exactly to her tastes and felt...right. Caroline giggled and gave into her urges to run and jump into the bed, rolling over to sigh happily.

"This feels like a dream."

He smiled, leaning in the doorway watching her. "I'm glad you're happy."

She leaned up on her elbows and looked at him curiously. "Are you just gonna stand there or are you going to let me properly thank you?"

His lips lifted in a smirk and he meandered his way over to lie beside her, pulling her against his chest. She held onto the collar of his jacket and kissed him with all of the passion of her heart. He blinked, slightly dazed when she drew back causing her to giggle again. The sound floated through him, making his heart do flips.

"Thank you," she whispered, turning to lay with him and look around. "This is perfect. I love it."

Klaus laid in silence, thinking that exact thought to himself, but not about the room. There she went throwing that "love" word out in the open again, making him want to squirm. But maybe he just needed to allow himself to get used to it. Somebody loved him, despite all of his flaws and demons. It was an unfathomable notion, but it was the truth. And he'd believed it. That was the real clincher. Then again, when things seemed too good to be true, it was because they usually were.


Several hours since landing had passed, Elijah finally stumbled upon what he was looking for. There among the masses of people crossing over the Rialto bridge to hide from the sun, was a mane of dark curls that he'd secretly come to grow fond of. His eyes narrowed with desire, letting out a visible breath in the cold. Her back was bent as she leaned over the railing to watch the gondola riders drift downstream, passers by paying her no mind. She wrapped her pea coat closer around her as she righted herself, preparing to move on when he walked up, uttering her name like an enchanted melody.

"Katerina."

Katherine turned, glancing from beneath lashes over her shoulder, the corners of her lips turning up at the sight of him as he always was – perfect hair, perfect tailored suit, perfect smirk. And just a hint of rosiness in his nose and cheeks from the nip of the winter air.

"Elijah," she greeted just as formally with a curt nod.

He took two steps toward her, closing the distance between them and grazing her cheek with the back of his hand. "I didn't think I'd catch you so quickly."

She smiled up at him, eyes sparkling with just a tinge of humor. "You were always meant to catch me."

He slowly beamed, his heart twisting with nostalgia. "But then the game is over," he delivered his line accordingly, inches from her lips, before swooping in to kiss her lovingly.

Her hands slid up around his neck as she leaned into the kiss, humming a low happy laugh. "You sure know how to greet a girl," she teased once they broke apart.

He smiled, coiling one of her curls in his fingers. "I've missed you."

She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Me too." She smoothed his jacket lapels and tilted her head with a question in her eyes. "Why are you back early?"

His smile withered slightly. "We had a run-in with Grecia."

She frowned, all previous bliss leaving her face. "What happened?"

"She attacked Kol to send a message to Niklaus and kidnapped one of Caroline's friends."

Katherine lifted a hopeful eyebrow."The doppleganger?"

"The witch."

"Figures."

He pursed his lips, peering at her curiously. "Where were you when you called?"

Her breath made a smoke-like stream as she hesitated. "I was tailing Grecia and her newfound accomplice."

Elijah's lips pressed together in disappointment. "I told you to keep your distance."

"And you know how well I listen to orders." She shrugged and began walking across the bridge, Elijah keeping up easily. "So why would she need another witch? She's powerful enough on her own."

He pressed his hand to the small of her back, urging her forward so they could walk a little faster away from the crowds. "Grecia's thirst for power exceeds her. But it is my personal belief that she wants to utilize the direct connection to the Bennett bloodline to channel the spirits. With her continuous usage of Expression, she'd been cut off from their power as punishment."

"And now you have no idea where they are," she guessed.

He shook his head woefully. "I'm not even sure what she wants with Klaus any longer, but the damage to Kol wasn't minute or without reason."

She scoffed and turned around at the base of the bridge. "You should have just let me kill her when she attacked you."

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he watched her expression harden. "You would be willingly helping Klaus in the process. I thought you were against that?"

"Well I'm not against keeping you alive."

He smiled again, taken with her protectiveness. "Those rare times when you show your humanity always throw me for a loop."

She rolled her eyes, brushing off his comment. "So why come here unguarded with the wicked witch on the loose?"

He sighed, looking out at the river in perplex. "Klaus has it in his head that he can take her down on his own. He expects to lure her out of hiding and attack when her guard is down." He half frowned, wearily, and started walking again. "And in the meantime, he still means go about as usual, treating the situation less dangerously than it truly is."

She stopped, looking at him in dull disbelief. "Klaus is on a suicide mission? Now I've heard everything."

"I believe he's only doing it to protect Caroline. But...I think he's also scared, for the very first time since he became a hybrid."

She snorted. "I think you're the one who's a little too humane."

He shook his head, meeting her gaze again. "It's there. In his eyes."

Katherine's eyes turned cold. "You want to see real fear in his eyes? Piss her off enough to the point where he has to run for his life for the next 600 years, praying every day that he won't die the next."

He frowned at her implication. "You are aware he isn't hunting you down? He hasn't been for quite some time." She rolled her eyes and continued walking but he stopped her and turned her toward him. "He had you in his grasps for days, Katerina. If he'd truly meant to kill you he wouldn't have let you walk free."

"Being compelled to stay in one country isn't exactly free," she pointed out bitingly.

He looked down, abashed, licking his lower lip in shame. "My...actions were guided by the temper I seem to have inherited from my father. I shouldn't have compelled you. ...And I'm sorry."

"Why did you send me off in the first place?"

His head cocked slightly, the look in his eyes unfriendly. "You betrayed me. Looking at past experiences, I would think you'd realize by now I do not take that lightly."

"I already told you my reasoning for giving you up to her, Elijah. I wasn't about to die for Klaus, again!"

"But you would let me."

"You had a better chance of surviving than I did. You're an Original."

"And you still don't understand." His eyes grew tired with regret. "This is what keeps me from wanting to give you an opportunity, Katerina. Your selfishness keeps you from letting yourself trust anyone. Your thirst for survival will always come first, whereas I would always put you before anything."

She shook her head, putting a hand to his cheek. "Elijah, you know I love you."

"But not enough." He peeled her hand from his face and held it, frowning sympathetically. "Forgive me," he whispered, meeting her gaze as his eyes dilated, compelling her. "You are free to go wherever your heart desires. ...But do not come to me."

She blinked, letting out a breath of disbelief. As her vision cleared, she saw the back of his jacket as he walked away from her. Fury boiled in her chest as her fists balled.

"You need me, Elijah!" she called after him.

He paused, hesitating before turning around with a stolid expression. "Perhaps I do. But right now, I don't want you."

Katherine pressed her lips together with a defiant snub of her nose ignoring the glaze of tears forming. She turned away from him and sped off, leaving Elijah alone, staring at an empty bridge.


Just as Bonnie was beginning to feel her toes again, the flames in the fireplace were beginning to die down. Lukas had fallen silent for the last hour but he kept his word and kept his eyes strictly on her, wherever she moved in the room. But it was too cold not to do anything. Chancing it, she glanced at him quickly and started lifting her arms to do a small spell to make the fire bigger.

Lukas sped forth, grabbing her wrist. "No magic."

She looked at him in disbelief. "I'm cold."

He looked at her dully, clearly not budging. "There's a blanket on the bed."

She looked back at the bleary, old quilt it's blue and orange zig zags faded from wash and wear. Tearing her wrist from his grasp, she sighed in defeat and turned back to the fire. He turned his back and walked across the room away from her.

"What happened to being civil?" she asked snidely.

"I am being civil. But rules are rules. And the rules say - No. Magic."

"And who makes these rules? Your mysterious boss?"

Lukas walked back over and tossed a log into the fire then squatted beside her, his height making him loom over her. Their eyes locked, hers wide and afraid, his narrow and threatening.

"If you ask me one more question about who I work for, you're not going to like the way I answer it."

"You can't hurt me," she said, but her voice was almost a whisper.

He held her gaze a moment longer then let his eyes scan over her. "I don't want to." His eyes traveled back up to hers. "Please don't ask again."

She swallowed and nodded, blinking nervously under the tremendous weight of his gaze. For a brief moment the room fell silent except for the crackle of the fire and their breathing. His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something more but another voice spoke instead.

"Lukas," Grecia called from behind him.

Bonnie let her breath trickle out slowly in relief. And in that moment, just before he righted himself and turned around back at attention, Bonnie could swear there was a flicker of fear in his eyes.

"That's close proximity for a guard."

"He didn't hurt me," Bonnie said before he could answer.

"Silence," Grecia demanded. She looked up at Lukas with a disdainful sneer. "You're free to go."

He gave one small nod and sped up the stairs without every looking back. Grecia glanced over at Bonnie on the floor with suspicion.

"What did he tell you?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not. He couldn't tell me anything. He was compelled." Bonnie's brows furrowed when Grecia didn't even blink. "Which...is strange because hybrids can't be compelled, unless an Original is the one doing it."

Grecia stared at her long and hard before she smiled. "You're a clever girl. And you must be famished."

She turned back toward the stairs and Bonnie scrambled to her feet, having had enough of her games.

"When are you going to start giving me some answers, Grecia?" The witch turned around, surprised at her audacity. "You keep saying you want to help me but you won't answer any of my questions. How can you expect me to trust you?"

Grecia crossed her arms, wrapping her fingers around them one by one. "Fine. What would you like to know?"

Bonnie's heart pounded in shock that she was cooperating but she held onto her courage. "Who is Lukas working for?"

"I can't tell you that." At Bonnie's protesting gesture, Grecia clarified. "I've been bound to secrecy and I cannot betray their trust. Not this late in the game."

"Then how did he become a hybrid if he doesn't know who Klaus is?"

"I cannot tell you that either."

"Then what can you tell me?"

She pursed her lips, eyeing Bonnie curiously. And just like that, her minx-like smile returned. "You're cold. I'll bring you something to warm you up and we'll talk."

Bonnie sighed in frustration after Grecia disappeared. Defying her so-called rules, she lifted her arms and chanted under her breath until the fire roared in the fireplace. As a by product, all of the candles in the room flamed to life as well. Oops. Well, if Grecia was going to kill her, it probably wouldn't be over something this small. As she warmed herself up again, she began to wonder whether or not her message to Kol even worked. And if so, what was taking so long?

Barely ten minutes had passed when Grecia had returned with a bowl of steaming vegetable broth with carrots, celery and diced potatoes. It wasn't the most filling of meals but it was sustenance. Grecia sat at the table with her, eyeing the lit candle for a moment but dismissed it and folded her hands neatly on the table. As Bonnie began to sip at the soup, Grecia pondered where to begin.

"The thing you should know about my relationship with Klaus is that it wasn't ever cordial."

"That's not hard to believe."

Grecia watched the candle's flame dance around the wick as she picked her words. "This whole quarrel started because he murdered my younger sister in cold blood."

Bonnie paused her spoon in the air, eyes wide. "He what?"

"Her name was Sevilla. She was barely sixteen when she had the vision of him coming to town. It was nearly a hundred years ago, in 1902. We were living in Florence when he appeared. We had fled Spain to avoid the prostitution rings. They had outlawed it for those under the age of 18, but that didn't make us safe. And Italy was even poorer then, but it was on the rise and we were content there." She smoothed her skirts, taking a moment to muster the courage to go on. "Sevi was my younger by six years. She was a clairvoyant, and I always envied her for it. One day she came to me and spoke of what she'd seen: a charming blond man that was more than he appeared. She said that he would come to seek my help to lift a hex from him. And she was right."

"The werewolf curse," Bonnie guessed softly.

Grecia nodded. "But when he came to town, he sought her out first. A clairvoyant witch seemed perfectly suited to his causes. And he took her. For ten years he kept her with him and Elijah as they traveled around the world in pursuit of the moonstone. He left Kol and Rebekah to watch over me in case he needed a back up plan. Which was fine, because it had given me a chance to learn the ins and outs of who he was and what their family ties were made of. It was an advantage, later on. To this day I have no idea what he asked of Sevi in their time together. She never got the chance to tell me because when he finally returned to our small town he told me he'd murdered her. He was furious that they couldn't locate the moonstone he'd needed for the ritual. He'd been patient enough with her, he decided, and grew tired of her excuses as to why a witch that was supposed to be all seeing couldn't see the one thing he needed. So he disposed of her and moved on to me." She swallowed, a nerve clearly struck. "I never got to give her a proper burial. He wouldn't tell me where he left her body and I never forgave him for that. So, in secret, I met with other witches in the regions he took me to and we created an international coven. We made taking down Klaus and his family our sole purpose. But the only way to take down an Original, with white oak in such short supply, was to find a spell or a magic that was strong enough."

"Expression," Bonnie read her mind.

"Yes. I had managed to get Kol to do two out of the three sacrifices. He killed almost the same amount of humans each night, so it was of no difference to him when I gave him a reason. The wolves were a bit harder, but he enjoyed the challenge. But the last - a set of 12 vampire souls - was the hardest. Kol wouldn't go against his kind just for magic, and I knew that. So I had to con Klaus into doing it. It took patience and a lot of reasoning for him to see my point of view. I told him the power of Expression supersedes regular magic, that it could be beneficial and substituted for the ritual. Eventually he believed that unless he did it, he would never unlock his werewolf side. Once I felt the rush of power, once he saw its potential, he realized his mistake. And so did I. Expression needs to be controlled and I was too new to it. It drove me to my own death. In trying to kill them, in trying to use all that power and channel it into killing an Original, I had killed myself."

Bonnie was silent, in shock. "So...Klaus didn't even kill you."

"No. But he would have. He spent a year locating and killing the rest of the witches linked to me, preventing me any ties to coming back to this plane."

"Plane?"

"Death isn't an ending, Bonnie. There are two sides to every story. The living are on one side, and the dead are on the other."

"Like a purgatory?"

"Essentially."

"Then how did you come back? If all of your ties were cut, how were you resurrected?"

"Someone else had to resurrect me."

"Who?"

Grecia stood, offering no answer as she took the empty bowl away. "I've told you too much already."

"But you told me for a reason. ...Didn't you?"

"I told you because I want you to trust me. The last thing I want is for history to repeat itself and another witch to fall under the weight of Expression's power. You need to understand, I'm not trying to hurt you, Bonnie. I'm trying to help you."

"By hurting my friends?"

"I know you're not seeing eye to eye with me right now, but you will. Witches and vampires cannot coexist. There needs to be a balance in nature, and vampires defy that balance. They're an abomination."

"And how are we any better, having to kill 3 dozen innocent people for Expression? The spirits wouldn't have cut us off if we were good."

Grecia sat back down, taking her hand. "Because the spirits don't condone murder for the sake of gaining power, even if it's to protect ourselves. But that's all it is, Bonnie." She squeezed her hand, pleading with her eyes. "We have to protect ourselves."


For the first couple of days, Caroline stayed inside the confines of the villa. She spent the first getting over her jet lag and getting used to the time differences in Italy. The second day she began exploring her new home. It took the whole day to learn where everything was but she was 90% sure she had the floor plans down.

In the afternoon there was a minor mishap when she walked into the kitchen for a blood bag and found Kol at the fridge, completely in the buff. She immediately shrieked and covered her eyes, yelling at his lack of respect but he merely shrugged with his trademark smirk and offered the simplest of explanations: "It's my house too. I have every right to be comfortable."

She ran off in disgust, and partially to hide her burning cheeks, setting off in search of Klaus. She found him in his study, his back turned, flipping through one of his sketchbooks.

"Kol is running around the house naked," she announced.

He paused, lifted his head and smirked as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, then resumed looking through his drawings. Caroline's shoulders slumped and she walked further into the room.

"Aren't you going to yell at him or something?"

He closed the book and tucked it back into the shelf, turning around with an amused expression. "I imagine you did a good amount of that for me."

She crossed her arms with a challenging grin. "Well, at least now I've seen the family resemblance..."

Klaus' eyes heated, his parting smiling lips pressing together. "You had better be joking."

Her smile widened, head tilted coyly. "And what if I'm not?"

"Then you won't get to join me on my trip to Paris tomorrow." His grin turned smug. "I figured out a way we might be able to locate Bonnie."