I know it's a slow start but I'm building it up. This story will potentially include characters that have been announced for the Original spin-off and a few others I make up from Klaus' life in New Orleans, including a girl from his past there that can give Caroline some insight into a life with Klaus. I hope the characters don't seem too OOC but I'm new to TVD writing so I'm figuring it out as I go. Everything in italics is a flashback. I love reviews because they let me know what you all think so if you're up for it, leave me one. Thanks!
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Klaus looked over at Caroline as they flew somewhere over Tennessee. She hadn't said much since coming to him to be whisked away but he'd decided to let her be; she would talk to him when she was ready. Rebekah, on the other hand, had made her sentiments known on the subject of Caroline joining them in New Orleans.
"What is she doing here"? Rebekah demanded as she finally emerged from her room twenty minutes later.
"Caroline will be joining us in New Orleans," Klaus explained.
Rebekah glared at the young vampire. "What?"
"She would like to see the world and I promised her just that once," he continued.
"Can SHE speak for herself?" Rebekah snapped. "How do your pathetic friends feel about you leaving with my brother?"
Caroline cleared her throat. "I don't have to tell them everything."
"You mean to say you're leaving Mystic Falls with the enemy and the rest of your band of misfits doesn't know?" Rebekah smirked. "I imagine that will go over well."
"Yeah, well they won't even notice," Caroline muttered.
Klaus kept his cool but it hurt to hear she was only leaving with him because her friends seemed to have abandoned her, not because she wanted to see the world he could offer.
"And when they do?" Rebekah demanded. "Stefan will come to New Orleans on his white horse and save the day. You're his best friend, Caroline, and there's no way he'll let you be anywhere near my brother if he can help it. And we don't need these people to coming to us."
"That would require Stefan to remember I exist," Caroline grumbled. "But it's fine, I get it. Elena has lost everyone and everything so she needs Stefan and even Damon more than I do. But I can't keep trying to fix things that I can't fix."
"Caroline will be my guest as long as she likes," Klaus declared with finality in his voice. "You're also a guest in New Orleans, Rebekah, so don't push it because we both know which one of you I'd send away first."
"I'm just going to wait in the car," Caroline sighed. "I don't need to hear you two fighting; that's not why I came." She hooked her bag onto her shoulder and walked outside.
Rebekah shook her head. "It's sad, really, that you're letting her do this to you, Nik. She isn't coming because she wants to be there with you. She's doing it because her friends aren't paying any attention to her and she wants them to."
Klaus moved to stand directly in front of her. "Remember this, sister: I will dagger you without a second thought if you sabotage this for me. Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal," she sneered, stepping around him to follow Caroline out to the SUV.
Caroline sat in the very backseat of the vehicle, hoping neither Mikaelson would attempt to sit beside her. She was wrong.
"Where exactly does Sheriff Forbes think you're going?" Rebekah demanded as she slid in beside her.
"My mom is at work and won't be home until late tonight," Caroline answered. "By then we'll be in Louisiana and she won't be able to do anything about it."
"And you think she won't come after you either?" Rebekah scoffed.
"Why don't you just shut up?" Caroline demanded angrily. "If you don't like that I'm coming, you can go somewhere else."
"What I don't like," Rebekah explained coolly, "is you, once again, taking advantage of Nik's feelings for you. How many times do you plan on doing it?"
"I'm not," Caroline denied. "He offered to show me everything the world has to offer and now that I've graduated, I'm taking him up on it. This has nothing to do with what his feelings for me may or may not be."
The female Original rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You're a vampire, Caroline; you can go off and see the world on your own. You're going with us because you know he'll take care of you and give you whatever you want. That's called 'taking advantage.'" She eyed Caroline. "Why not look for your hybrid boyfriend?"
"Tyler isn't interested in being found and I'm not interested in searching the four corners of the globe to find him," Caroline snapped. "And you're right- Klaus will take care of me and right now, that's what I'm interested in. But I'm not going to make him do anything he hasn't offered me."
Before Rebekah could say anything else, Klaus climbed into the seat in front of them. "Ready?"
At that moment, Caroline's phone vibrated, indicating a text from her mother: Chinese for dinner?
"Yes," she finally answered, tucking her phone away sadly. "Let's go."
"What's on your mind, love?" Klaus asked, breaking Caroline's trance.
She looked away from the window. "Huh? Oh, nothing. I just realized I've barely been out of Mystic Falls and this is my first time on an airplane. And I'm with y—. She stopped herself. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he shook his head. "I know I'm not the most ideal travel companion for you, Caroline, but I can show you places you've only dreamed of. You deserve that. You're so much more than that small-town."
"Why do you say that?" she asked. "No one else seems to believe it."
"They don't know you like I do," he replied.
"You don't know me," she whispered.
Klaus stared knowingly into her eyes. "Yes, I do."
They arrived in New Orleans midday so Klaus compelled a driver to take them to the one place he knew would still be standing, even after more than two centuries away: his house just outside the city.
Caroline stared up at the building in awe. The mansion back in Mystic Falls was modern and expensive but this house had beautiful antebellum architecture and a porch that wrapped around the entire first level.
The front door opened and an attractive man with smooth, caramel-colored skin emerged. "Klaus, welcome back."
"Marcel," Klaus greeted his former protégée. "You remember Rebekah. And this," he went on, "is Caroline."
"Welcome," Marcel smiled darkly, tipping his head in her direction, "to New Orleans."
Caroline shuddered at the sinister tone in his voice. "Thank you."
He stepped towards her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, causing an involuntary flinch. "I think you're going to like it here, Caroline."
Klaus took Caroline's hand and led her up the steps to the door. "Thank you, Marcel, that will be all."
Marcel frowned. "You're sure?"
"Yes," Klaus confirmed. "I'll find you later."
"This is beautiful," Caroline told him as she gave her a brief tour of the house. "I can't believe you've been away for two hundred years and it looks like this."
"Well, Marcel is very capable," Klaus said. "I taught him everything he knows."
She looked around pensively. "Is there a room for me?"
"Of course," he nodded, leading her up the grand staircase to a room at the end of the long hallway. "This will be your room."
The room was breathtaking. There was a large canopy bed in the middle and a matching armoire and vanity in opposite corners. The walls were painted a soft gray and there were light green and blue accents everywhere else. French doors opened to a balcony that overlooked the expansive backyard and she had a suspicion that the closet to her left was bigger than her entire bedroom in Mystic Falls.
"It's amazing," she whispered. "And it's for me?"
Klaus chuckled lightly. "When will you realize I'd give you the world if I could?"
"Don't," she warned. "Coming here with you is strange enough and I'm not ready for you to tell me those things. I know that you mean it but I just can't hear it yet. I'm sorry."
He shook his head. "Don't be. My intent is not to make you uncomfortable. I'm simply glad you came with me at all so I don't want to push you away." He cleared his throat. "I'll give you time to unpack and rest and then we'll go out."
"Okay," she agreed. He was at the door before she called to him. "Klaus?"
"Yes, Caroline?"
"Thank you," she murmured.
"For what?" he asked, looking back at her.
She smiled softly. "Everything, I guess."
"You're welcome," was his simple reply before exiting the room, leaving her to her jumbled thoughts.