Chapter 2
Thank you so much for continuing this story and for your support! I'm afraid there won't be a lot of Klaroline scenes for the next few chapters but I hope you like the flashbacks. Enjoy!
Caroline is flipping through her guidebook, trying to make up her mind on where to go first. She's leaning towards the Eiffel Tower when a hand reaches over her shoulder and points at an area on her map. "Montmartre," whispers Klaus into her ear in an impeccable French accent, "The artistic centre of Europe for decades. I lived there myself for almost ten years. Let me show you Montmartre, love."
She presses a kiss softly on his cheek. "I appreciate you helping but I really think we should start with the big landmarks," she told him. "I want to see the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre and the Orsay Museum and the Arc de Triomphe." She's practically sighing. These are places she's dreamed of visiting her whole life from her bright yellow bedroom in Mystic Falls.
Klaus pouts. "In all fairness, love, I am the expert on Paris here."
"Which is why I'm choosing," Caroline reminds him. "Besides, you picked the landmarks in Rome, Florence, Tokyo, Venice, Barcelona, and Cairo." She begins to count on her fingers. "And Mumbai and Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, and Rio." She kisses him teasingly on the lips.
He deepens the kiss hungrily and adds, "And London," (kiss) "Dublin," (kiss) "Montréal," (kiss) "New Orleans." Caroline is nodding, her smile shining. She finally gives up the argument altogether and they begin to make out on the couch of his private jet.
Caroline jerks awake from her dream. She was so contented a few moments ago but now she cries for all that's lost and for the cold space and the pillow beside her.
A few minutes later, she pulls herself together and walks out into the shining moonlight. It's the perfect time to find vampires and hopefully where there are vampires, there are potential hunters. The truth is Caroline is beginning to get nervous. She has no clue how to find a human who most likely doesn't know he has a gift for killing vampires.
She walks around all night, surprising only one deadbeat vampire. On top of everything, it's raining and as the streets get lighter, mist descends on the city. She's tired but isn't ready to retire yet. Instead, she sits on a bench and watches as the Parisians wake and the city comes alive. There's an artist across the square who is drawing a portrait of an elderly woman with vivid pastels. Her breath catches.
It's stupid. She can't avoid art for the next decade, can she? But one painting sends her mind spinning back down the rabbit hole of the past. Caroline sits back on the bench and takes a deep breath. I need a drink, she thinks.
Finn arrives around midnight. Then Kol two hours later. Finally Elijah and Rebekah. They don't say a word as they sit watching him. Their skin is ashen and cracked like it was as they lay sleeping in their coffins. They don't blink, don't move so much as a muscle and yet every time he turns away, one of them stares back into his face. As the sun dawns, they speak in a perfect, ghostly chorus, "Why you? Why do you yet live as our mother and father lie dead? You, who repeatedly stabbed us with the daggers?"
"You, who did not lift a finger to avenge my death?" accuses Finn.
Kol continues, "You, who considered the punishment of a werewolf pup more important than the death of those who killed me?"
Next is Elijah: "You, who was born a bastard and, worse still, an abomination!"
Rebekah concludes, "Why do you yet live while our parents and three of our brothers lie slain because of you?" As if to prove her point, she grabs a steel frame hanging nearby, breaks it and drives the makeshift metal stake into Klaus' heart.
Klaus growls and wrenches it out of his body. "You call this living? I am tortured by you night and day. For once will you just leave me alone?!" he roars, lying back onto the Egyptian silk sheets of his bed.
A soft voice seems to hiss into his ear, "Niklaus, it does not have to be this way." It is Esther. Klaus briefly opens his eyes and finds himself staring up into his mother's soft, comforting ones. Her hair is long and falls down in waves like it did when he was still a child. She smiles encouragingly. "You do not have to go through this pain, not anymore. We can be together as a family again."
"Rebekah, Elijah," he croaked. His throat was dry. His body craved blood but he pushed the dull pain away and focused on Esther's words.
"Your brother and sister will join us soon enough," said Esther in that same soothing, calm voice. "Now listen closely my son. In an hour or so, a vampire will come to bring you blood. He is to be your last kill. When you are free..."
It's been six months since they landed in Paris and they're still there. Caroline is looking down on the city from the great steps of the Sacre-Coeur Basilica. It is sunrise and all she can think about is how fleeting time is, how this is the last time she will see this for some years.
They've been in Paris for six months and Klaus is growing restless. He doesn't say anything but she can see it. She knows him now. Yesterday, he received a call from Elijah. A hunter is searching Virginia from top to bottom for the vampires he thinks remain from the Civil War. Instinctively, Klaus scoffed but he quickly hid his smirk when he saw Caroline's worried face. She hasn't been in the United States since her mother passed away two decades ago but, come hell or high water, Caroline would do anything for her friends.
Klaus sighed and decided to make the best of their last night in France. Remembering the dinner in the incredibly-expensive-not-compelled-for restaurant of the Eiffel Tower and the private tour of the Musée d'Orsay, she snuggles deeper into Klaus and sighs deeply.
"What are you thinking about, sweetheart?" he asks, pressing a kiss to the side of her temple.
"Just about how much you spoiled me this evening," Caroline laughs. "I won't be able to look at normal food for a week!"
"You should never have to," he declares. "Only the best for you, sweetheart."
Caroline rolls her eyes and after a pause, she continues, "But it's not just the food: it's the music and the art and Paris. And you, Nik. I wish it could go on forever."
Klaus leans into her ear and whispers as if he were telling her a secret, "It doesn't ever have to stop!" Caroline looks slightly confused and begins to protest as Klaus springs to his feet but his earnest look hushes her. He takes her hand and pulls her gently to the bottom of the flight of stairs. She is completely and utterly bemused until he kneels down in front of her and pulls a box out of his jacket pocket. Almost nervously, he murmurs, "Caroline, I've only loved you for half-a-century but it feels like I've been waiting for you since I was born. You are the light to my dark, the breath to my life. Will you marry me?"
It's been six months since she landed in Paris and she's still there. Caroline is looking out at the city from a bar in the heart of Montmartre. It's sunset and all she can think about is how time stretches on before her, how she won't see Klaus again for years, possibly decades. She's thought about going back and she's decided that she would just be torturing herself that way.
She's been in Paris for six months and she is growing restless. She's been trying so hard to find something, anything about a hunter but nothing's turned up. It's time to move on to someplace new. She's resolved that tonight will be her last night and these days she'd much rather drain her sorrows away than see the sights. Just as she's about to order her fourth glass of wine, her phone rings. It's Rebekah.
"Hello?" Caroline says cautiously. Every time she gets a call from Mystic Falls, her heart metaphorically stops beating. She waits for Rebekah's news, hoping for the best but knowing the possibility that the worst has happened.
"Caroline, it's me," Rebekah starts. Caroline wishes she'd just hurry up and say whatever she was going to say. "Listen; there's been a bit of a problem over here."
Caroline stays silent, waiting.
"Nik got out of the basement. He killed his guard and he went upstairs to search for the white oak stake. I found him there and he staked me but Elijah managed to get him back downstairs safe and sound. But that's not the worst bit: the white oak stake is gone!"
She almost giggles in relief and giddiness. "Rebekah, it's fine. I took it."
Rebekah laughs a bit too, probably just as relieved as Caroline. "Caroline! You scared me half to death. You could have told us! Where are you?"
"Still in Paris but I'm heading to Athens tomorrow morning," she tells her.
"Good luck, then. And if you ever need help, just ask."
"Okay. Bye Rebekah." Caroline presses the end call button and leans back on the bar stool. She's exhausted. It feels like she ran ten marathons. She's thirsty too but she decides to stay in the bar just a little longer, ordering a bottle of beer to numb her thirst. But however the liquid feels in her throat, it doesn't take away the worry she now feels for Klaus. She closes her eyes for a minute, trying to convince herself that everything will be alright, that she's doing everything she can for him right here.
When she opens her lids, there's someone sitting next to her. If someone had asked her before she turned what she imagined a vampire to look like, she would probably have said like her new neighbour. He has rather, pale skin, ice blue eyes and hair like a raven's wing. He's wearing a red shirt with several buttons undone and black slacks. To top it all off, he has an earring, an honest-to-God earring! As she takes him in he grins at her, showing straight, perfectly white teeth. "Either I'm dreaming or you're Caroline Forbes," he says. He has a very laid-back voice with a smart Australian accent.
Caroline stares at him, puzzled. "How do you know who I am?" she asks.
"I make it my business to know the girlfriend of the most powerful creature on the planet," he says without skipping a beat. His eyes roam over her curiously, finally stopping to meet her square in the eyes. He grins again and extends a hand. "My name is Turner, Jack Tuner to be more specific."
There's something friendly in those cool eyes; a little sparkle that tells her Jack isn't a man searching for trouble. So Caroline shakes his waiting hand and asks, "And are you an expert in vampires, Jack Turner?"
He makes himself more comfortable on his stool and gestures towards the beer bottle. Caroline nods and he pours himself a drink as he begins, "I was born in Brisbane, in Australia in the late '80s. When I turned 30 years old, I went out with my mates for a pint and..." He clears his throat. "...other entertainment when a blacked out outside the bar. Turned out this vampire, Julia did the drink-compel thing on me only she lost control and fed me her blood too late. As a result, I became the charming vampire you see before you today, who has nothing better to do with his time than become a regular supernatural Wikipedia."
"So you are an expert?" Caroline repeats, intrigued. Turner shrugs and takes another swig of his drink. "Would you happen to know anything about The Five?"
"The hunters? Oh, yeah. I mean, they try to kill us and when we kill them, they haunt us until another hunter is created, so to speak." He's only showing off a tiny bit.
Caroline is digging now. "Do you know of any potential hunters now?" she asks eagerly.
He shakes his head. "They're hard to spot if you don't have a tattoo to show them or anything to identify them. Besides, why pursue someone who could potentially slay me?" He raises an eyebrow at her. "You know someone who's under the curse, don't you?" Caroline slowly nods her head. Turner lets out a low whistle. "That must be tough. I bet you could use something a bit stronger than right now. Why don't I go compel us some tequila and you can satisfy my curiosity by telling me more about this friend of yours?"
"You know what, that sounds great, thanks." As she waits for Turner, she drums her fingers on the counter and checks her messages again. There's a short text from Stefan telling her that he's on his way to Nairobi. She's been getting a lot of updates from him lately and she thinks he probably wants her to join him and not 'mope around' –his words. She replies with a three word text: Great! Love, Caroline.
Turner returns about three minutes later holding large beer glasses full of a dark amber liquid. "That's the ticket," he says. "Bottoms up!" He takes a long drink, probably partly to show her that it wasn't poisoned or vervained. A lot of vampires were indeed crazy enough to trick the lover of the most powerful man of the planet. A little known fact is that Caroline rendered herself immune to vervain a long time ago.
She sips the drink delicately, soothed by the alcohol until she tastes the blood. It's fresh and still. Her eyes widen in surprise and she stares at Turner. He is turned away but she sees him watch her out of the corner of his hungry eyes. Under his breath, he asks "Want to feed from a more direct source.
The blood is still on her tongue and Caroline relishes in it. On an impulse, she whispers back, "Yes."
Who's there to be so full of light for now?