Author Note: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited this story, it seriously makes my day when I see them :)
I know we all want Klaroline, and I promise I'll deliver, but I think that the stuff they've gone through makes it improbable that they would get together very quickly/without much hassle. I swear there will be plentiful Klaroline in this fic for you all, but I want to show their relationship realistically develop, and also explore other character's reactions and responses to what happens in the fic. Also, Caroline being kidnapped is one of the main events in the story and I don't want to resolve it in a chapter.
In case of confusion, this is set after 5x05 in The Vampire Diaries, but after 1x08 in the Originals. For this story, I'm ignoring the ending with Davina running away to Cami.
Disclaimer: I don't own TVD or the Originals, or the characters.
Credit and my everlasting thanks to my heaven-sent beta Ashley, or addictedtofanfic . Check her stories out, they're seriously amazing :)
Please R&R!
Caroline woke up in a black room. Her neck ached from being brutally snapped, and her wrists and ankles sizzled from the tightly bound vervain ropes. Caroline was almost used to pain by now, and while it hurt, she was almost able to put it out of her mind. How many times had she been tied up with vervain, after all? Ever since her roommate Megan had been killed by a vampire and fell in front of her, she had been almost anticipating something like this. Caroline always seemed to find herself, more often than not, tied up and tortured in these situations.
But she seriously did not need this right now. She hadn't heard from Bonnie in months, was dumped by Tyler, lost a year of memories with Stefan, and now probably had lost Elena too, with the way Elena had been acting lately. Ever since she had switched Salvatores, Elena had turned into someone Caroline just did not like. She had hardly even reacted when Caroline had told her about Tyler, hardly seemed to even care despite the rushes of tears Caroline had spewed out. It hurt, after so many years of friendship, after all Caroline had done and sacrificed for Elena. Caroline hadn't realised how much it had hurt her until now, being unable to do nothing but think.
Caroline closed her eyes, preferring her own darkness to the gloom of the place she was trapped in. The physical pain from the vervain on her skin was painful but not excruciating, but consistent, and she felt her screaming thoughts smother and overwhelm it. A pounding headache beginning to resonate in her left temple. She couldn't stop herself from thinking. One second she was walking through the Whitmore College campus, and the next she was being strangled and tied up by a pack of vampires she didn't know. She hadn't recognised the skinny black one that had grabbed her throat, or the vicious blonde one that had held her hands, or any of the rest of them, in fact. She wondered who they were, what awaited her, and if anyone had realized she was missing. Imprisonment? Interrogation? Death? She shifted in her seat, and her bound wrists protested painfully. Why had this happened? She hadn't done anything to anyone lately, not that she could think of. She had been trying to keep her head down, to live a normal life. She knew that there were people at Whitmore onto her and Elena, knew that as soon as Megan's corpse had been delivered at the party, but she couldn't understand why she had suddenly been ambushed and brought here. In the past, Stefan, Klaus or someone else from Mystic Falls would always pull through and save her, just in the nick of time.
With a growing feeling of dread, Caroline realised she couldn't rely on that happening this time.
A loud creaking noise sounded, and light flooded in as the room's lone door swung open. Caroline's eyes blinked rapidly and followed a young, good looking man, as he walked in and stood in front of her. He wore a wide grin, showing off two rows of pearly white teeth.
"Caroline! You're awake." He smiled, his voice welcoming and friendly. Caroline narrowed her eyes.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Marcel." He winked, his voice presumptuous as if she should know who he was.
"Is that supposed to mean anything to me?" Caroline snapped angrily, the thin amount of patience left in her already fading away.
"No, but my name might." Caroline's head snapped back to the door at the familiar snooty-sounding accent to see Rebekah lean against the doorframe, her expression triumphant and calculating. The dread in Caroline's stomach increased, and gave her feelings of nausea.
"Rebekah." She spat. The irony didn't escape her that last time, it had been Rebekah captured alongside her, heading to their death.
"What's going on? What are you doing?"
"Oh, do be quiet, Caroline." Rebekah said irritably, rubbing her temples. "I'd forgotten how amazingly annoying your voice was."
"Rebekah-" Caroline started angrily, but was cut off by Marcel.
"It's nothing personal, Caroline, strictly business." Marcel assured her. Caroline groaned inwardly. Basically the basis for every other time I've been held somewhere against my will, she thought bitterly. In fact, the last time she had been in a situation like this, hadn't she heard words almost exactly the same? 'Nothing personal, love.' Klaus had saved her many times, but he had also endangered her life too. Klaus… An idea occurred to her, and her eyes flicked to Rebekah. If Rebekah was here…
"Is this New Orleans?" Caroline blurted.
"Well done, Caroline." Marcel praised. Caroline's mood uplifted slightly, but not by much, and she wasn't exactly sure why. It's not like her being in New Orleans meant she would be saved by Klaus. In fact, for all she knew, Klaus could be behind this whole thing. She wouldn't put it past him. Conflicted thoughts arose in her head, but Caroline shooed them away and tried to focus on the matter on hand. Which was; who was Marcel person, and why he had sent out a gang of vampires to lock her in here. Everything else could wait. She had to know what was going on.
"So, what kind of business deals in the form of live vampires?" She asked sarcastically.
"All business in this town." Marcel chuckled, not bothering to answer her question.
"Why am I here?" Caroline was beyond frustrated now. Her glare flicked between this Marcel guy and Rebekah, demanding answers now.
"Don't worry. You're in a position you're familiar with, Caroline." Rebekah moved from the doorway to stand next to Marcel. Her hip rested on his, and Caroline realised they were together. But I thought she liked Matt…Caroline shook this thought off, too. Stop getting distracted. Sort out this first, and worry about everything else later.
"You mean being tied up? Well, it gets old fast."
"Not tied up… though I didn't realise you were so familiar with that." Rebekah smiled again, cruelly and suggestively. Caroline flushed red. She hadn't meant it like that, and Rebekah knew it.
"What, then?"
"Klaus bait." Rebekah's words hung in the air in the long silence that followed. Caroline struggled to comprehend this notion.
"What?" She cried finally. "Klaus bait? Seriously? I was dragged out of college, ferried across the country and tied up for, what? A family spat?"
Rebekah's eyes flashed angrily. "Something beyond that, Caroline."
"We're sorry about this, but you should be able to return to your life quickly." Marcel assured. His words rolled off his tongue like honey, but Caroline didn't believe them for a second. At least with Rebekah, you got the truth. Now was no exception.
"Well, Marcel, that is if Klaus cooperates, which no one here really expects, in all honesty." Rebekah's voice dripped with mock-sympathy. "And if he doesn't… well,it's going to be an inconvenience to us all, but most of all you, Barbie." Rebekah grinned again and Caroline fumed silently at the nickname.
"And so why is 'Klaus bait' needed? If I'm being held against my will, I at least deserve to know why."
"Nothing out of the ordinary for my brother. Klaus was on the path for power, and he didn't care who he hurt in the process. And now we want him out of Marcel's territory."
Caroline cocked her head to the side. "I never imagined you to go to such lengths for a boy, Rebekah. Working against Klaus? I thought you came to New Orleans to help him, or live with him, or whatever."
Rebekah bristled. "I came to New Orleans to find Elijah, who had been daggered and traded off. Now Elijah intends to stay and I…" She trailed off. Her mouth set in a line, but quavered uncertainly. She glanced at Marcel. Caroline sensed unease.
Marcel placed a hand protectively on Rebekah's shoulder. "Rebekah and I are a team. We're in this together, and we'll both benefit from Klaus leaving." He informed Caroline.
Caroline cocked her head to the side. "Funny. Rebekah was in a 'team' with my ex-boyfriend not so long ago." Rebekah's face turned red with anger. She lunged at Caroline and pulled her back by her hair, drawing out a gargled scream.
"I don't owe you reasons at all for what I do." Rebekah spat, her words venomous. "You're the one at my mercy. Despite your self-important person, you deserve nothing from me." She turned and stalked out of the room, Marcel following her. As she leant back in to grab the door handle, she smiled cruelly at Caroline. "For your sake, I hope Klaus cares about you. But I sincerely doubt it's more than he cares about himself."
The door slammed shut and Caroline was once again left in the darkness, with nothing but her tangled, wretched thoughts to keep her company.
Klaus paced through his house, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Something wasn't right. He had felt it as soon as he had woken up. Something was amiss, and Klaus didn't know what, which made him angrier than ever. Klaus had earned his crown and control in this city through literal blood and sweat, and he deserved to know every detail of what went on in his kingdom. The thought that he didn't enraged him.
He was draining a skinny male servant dry when Rebekah walked into his room. Klaus' head shot up, and he let the human crumple and collapse at his feet.
"Klaus." She said. Her expression was neutral, but she was shifting from heeled foot to foot, something Klaus knew she did when she was nervous. He narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, sister?" Klaus questioned. He studied her, his fool of a sister, whose traitorous acts he had forgiven again and again Her eyes shined defiantly back at him, and Klaus knew that the off feeling he had been sensing all morning had come from something Rebekah had done. He wondered, casually, where Elijah had stored the dagger he had given him. Perhaps Klaus would need it again.
"I have a proposition for you." Rebekah started. Klaus's raised a solitary eyebrow.
"Go ahead." He invited, his voice silky and dangerous.
"Leave New Orleans." Rebekah's voice was flat and cold, but he could hear the tremor of nervousness, or perhaps fear. Oh, he would definitely need the dagger. Klaus shot Rebekah a mocking smile.
"Now, why would I do that, my beloved sister?"
"To keep Caroline alive." The word's shocked him. He was not expecting that. He recovered quickly, and the shock dissolved into pure rage. How dare she bring Caroline into this? He sped over to Rebekah and stood over her, staring down at her from mere centimetres away.
"This is a new, dangerous game you seem to be playing, Rebekah."
"I'm done playing games, Nik." Rebekah sounded tired, and slightly frightened from his icy voice, and his fingers that were nearing her throat. Good. She should feel frightened.
"I, on the other hand, never tire." In a sudden movement, Klaus slammed Rebekah against the wall.
"Perhaps it is because I always win, sister. Now, why the sudden lack of devotion to your own blood? Just when I thought we were really getting closer here, reuniting in our old home." His face was a depiction of mockery, his hand a tool of cruelty as it tightened around Rebekah's neck, blocking off her windpipe.
"Klaus." Marcel strode into the room, his eyes flicking anxiously to Rebekah, despite knowing that Klaus didn't have the dagger to kill her. Klaus turned his head, his grin growing larger and a bitter chuckle spilled through his teeth.
"Ah, Marcel," He said lightly. "My brother in arms, my protégé. I should have known you were involved in whatever this is. I thought you had admitted defeat to me? Anything but that is futile, as you should know. And if you do not know-" At this, Klaus' voice rose and he threw Rebekah across the room angrily. Rebekah hit the opposing wall and tumbled to the stone ground, her small gasps of pain audible in Klaus' purposefully dramatic pause. Klaus grinned again at Marcel, his flippant façade sliding back in place.
"Well, you'll find out soon." He said, the warning lingering.
"We'll kill her, Nik. We will." Rebekah said from behind them. Klaus and Marcel turned and watched as she picked herself up from the floor and brushed dust of her clothes. She shot Klaus a triumphant, but weak, smile.
"Will you now?" He hoped, for their sake, that they had not touched a hair on her body. However, they would have had too if they had trapped Caroline. She was extremely resilient for a vampire of her age. The thought of these two…touching Caroline. Where was she now? He had to go get her, but first, he had to kill these people who did nothing but betray him.
"Well then, Marcel, mate, come here so I can rip your throat out." He said pleasantly, directing his gaze back on his former friend, and current, number one enemy. His blue eyes were full of wrath, and Marcel could see them begin to fleck with yellow. Marcel fought the urge to take a step back. No. Rebekah and he still had the upper hand here.
"If you kill me, you'll never find her." Marcel pointed out. Klaus titled his head to the side.
"Are you trying to blackmail me, Marcellious?"
"It's a trade." Marcel said. "You leave town, and we'll allow Caroline to leave with you, unharmed."
Klaus felt fury tighten in his muscles, pump in his bloodstream, echo in his head. How dare Marcel and Rebekah think themselves better than him, in a position to blackmail him? How dare they try and play him, like a pawn? They were over their heads, and needed to be taught.
"You're mistaken in how much you think I care for Caroline." His words were lies, but he would not allow himself to be seen as weak, or losing, in front of them both. He walked out of the room, pausing at the doorway and staring at the two of them. The traitorous, foolish people that he had mistakenly thought were loyal.
"What of the girl, Klaus?" Rebekah's face had traces of smug. His blood boiled. He would find a way to find Caroline without their help. He would never ask for either of their help.
A cold smile slid over his lips. "Kill her, I couldn't care less either way."