A/N: First I'd like to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews. They really mean a world to me! To all those people who found the beginning interesting - I am really happy you did, I hope you will find the rest of this story intriguing as well.

This chapter is dedicated to Laura (kcaccola15 on tumblr) because she's the best friend I have ever made on tumblr. She's also the author of this beautiful cover for my fic you can see here. You guys should totally check out her blog and the rest of her edits, they are truly flawless.

Oh, I also wanted to thank team-originals-always-and-forever for answering to the desperate request I posted in the Klaroline tag and also making a cover for And He Called Darkness Light.

In short - you are all guys amazing and I hope you will enjoy this chapter (: I just want to hug all of you for reading this.

chapter first

Blow the smoke right off the tube
Kiss my gentle burning bruise
I'm lost in time
And to all the people left behind
You are walking dumb and blind, blind

And two thousand years I've been awake
Waiting for the day to shake

"Where were you all night?" Allison asked, pouring Caroline a cup of tea. She shrugged her shoulders, drank a little and licked her lips.

"At the Lockwoods'," she lied. Her sister opened her mouth in order to say something but no word left her throat. The girl nodded her head.

"You know you are not allowed to spend nights with Tyler until the wedding. Do you really wish to bring shame on our family?" Allison hissed in disbelief, staring at Caroline as if she wanted to kill her with her eyes only.

"I wasn't with Tyler," Care said calmly. "Mister Lockwood wanted me to join their family for a dinner and so I did. When we finished it was too late for me to come back home. You know our town is not a safe place these days. They were worried and did not want to send me away until morning. I slept in one of their chandlers for guests."

She knew that Allison didn't believe in a word she said but she wouldn't believe in the truth either. It was good because Caroline wasn't even sure what the truth actually was.

"Besides, Allison… We all know you are not exactly the innocent, sweet little thing as you claim to be either."

Her sister wrinkled her eyebrows and shook her head.

"What is wrong with you today?" She asked, sending her an irritated look and she left the room, still not able to believe what did she just hear.

Caroline touched her lips as if she wanted to put those horrible words back somewhere deep down her throat. Then she felt something warm streaming down her fingers and she reached out her hand to see it. She almost started to screaming as she realized it was blood. She started touching her face like a crazy person, and with each touch there was only more and more of the scarlet slime everywhere. On the table, on her dress, on her hands.

She got up from a chair and ran straight to her chandler. She could hear the sound of blood trickling down from her entire body, leaving a red-stained path behind her. She was sobbing, not able to catch her breath. She leaned her hand against the wall as she entered her room, in order not to fall. Then she looked at it and took it back immediately. She almost screamed as she saw the bloody trace it left on the pale-white wall.

She almost crawled her way to her dressing table. She was terrified but she wanted to see her face in the mirror. Maybe it was all in her head.

Or maybe it wasn't.

Caroline let a silent groan out of her mouth as she saw herself in the sheet of glass and fell down on her knees. She felt the taste of blood on her tongue, she could see its color under her eyelids as she closed her eyes.

"Please, stop this." She whispered although she knew there was no one left to help her. She did that to herself. Now she were just going to die here, in a pool of her own blood. How long did it take to bleed out? How long to die? And was a death really a solution when she knew that she wouldn't just pass away and rest in peace? She would burn in hell.

She knew the torment of burning. She was on fire for a few minutes last night, she couldn't imagine going through this hell over and over for eternity. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to die for what she did last night. She didn't want to die for him. She didn't want to die for Tyler.

"You look like you are in need of help, love." A soft voice said somewhere inside of her head. She pressed her hands into her ears so she couldn't hear anything but whoever was talking to her.

"I am in need of death," She snarled through her teeth gritted.

"And you will die… someday. But not today, Caroline. You still have to wait."

She felt him, this cold ghost inside her brain. She felt him touching every bare part of her skin. She was trembling under this touch, she was craving for it. She was craving for a touch of somebody who probably didn't even exist.

"You are saying this as if it was a good thing," She told him, closing her eyes and trying to picture him under her eyelids.

"Because it is." He said, stroking her cheeks. "It is truly the best thing that could ever happen… To me."

Caroline opened her eyes abruptly, suddenly wanting to get out of his arms. But before she started fighting him she realized that he was already gone.

Gone with the blood.

She was walking down the street, looking up at the sky and letting the sunshine dance on her face, stroke it fleetingly with its warm light. Her dress rustled with each step she took. Her breath was calm and slow. She was just going ahead, engrossed with all of those sounds and surrounded by the beauty of this day.

All that happened in the morning seemed irrational and unreal then. As if it was some sort of a nightmare, a dream she could learn to wake up from. She was trying to keep it out of her mind but she knew it wasn't exactly the best thing to do. According to the witches, there would be more consequences. She needed to find out how to stop them as soon as possible. She could be denying it as long as she wanted but denial couldn't erase what she did last night.

I need to find those witches and make them tell me what to do to take this back, she thought naively as she approached the church. She had many things to plan. The wedding was getting closer and closer and she still didn't even have a guest list. It was all making her nervous. Back then she considered what the people could see with their eyes much more important than what she could see in her head.

She sighed as she opened the gates of the temple. They moved and she took a step forward to get in. And then she hit the invisible wall.

"What the hell?" She muttered under her breath, hitting the transparent barrier. It only caused her pain. She started to knocking on it harder and harder until she couldn't even catch her breath. What was that supposed to be?

"Caroline? What are you doing?" She heard behind her back a familiar voice. She let a sigh out of her throat and turned to look at her friend.

"Nothing, why?" She sent her a surprised smile, trying to hide how jittery she was inside. Elena wrinkled her eyebrows, shaking her head, clearly intrigued by Caroline's strange behavior.

"Why don't you come in?" Her look was getting even more questioning with each second of this conversation..

"They are closed," Caroline lied as she slammed the door and leaned against it.

"Oh." Elena didn't look convinced but she finally understood that her friend wasn't exactly going to stop answering with riddles. "Would you like to take a walk with me then?"

Caroline looked at her and then back at the church and she smiled.

"With pleasure."

"So you must be worried. You know, about the wedding." Elena said but Caroline wasn't really paying attention to her words.

"Yeah, I guess," She murmured in answer.

"You are so lucky though. You are in love with Tyler, aren't you?"

Caroline smiled gently and she felt pink blushes appearing on her beautifully pale face. She wished it was that simple. She didn't get to answer though because she saw the witches' cabin, looming right in front of them. She was truly surprised – getting there took them barely half an hour and last night it lasted almost for an eternity.

"What are we doing here?" Elena asked, staring at Caroline with a concerned look on her face.

"Do not worry. I only wanted to check something. You can wait here if you wish." She calmed her friend down and she approached the house. She was hoping that the witches came back here at some point. Or left her some sort of a message at least. Instruction what to do. Or maybe some predictions so she knew what to expect in case there was really nothing to stop the consequences.

She pushed the handle, surprised how easily the door opened. She got inside without any troubles this time. She looked round the house, filled with hope of seeing someone. Anyone. Anyone who could tell her the truth, who could give her some hints.

But there was not a living soul.

Caroline sighed as she started to leave but once she touched the handle she realized the door was closed. And it didn't seem to open. She started kicking them and hitting them, hoping Elena would hear that and do something. But the minutes were passing and no one was coming to rescue her.

She turned towards the room, considering leaving this horrible place through the window. But then she realized there was no windows in here. All the lights faded out and there she was, drifting in the dark. Her eyes couldn't recognize a shape.

"It must be truly annoying," A woman's voice said. Caroline took a deep breath and looked towards the place where this sound was coming from.

"Personally, I would have lost my mind if I were you. You are imprisoned and you keep bruising, striking against the bars of your own cage. How could this happen to you, you cursed little thing?" The demon in front of her was wearing her face. She took a step back. Her body hit the wall.

"Who are you?" Caroline whispered. She tried to make her voice sound firmly but it trembled and broke in the middle of the sentence.

"It depends, really. They call me the jealousy that burns down your mind. They call me the one that binds… They call me Rebekah."

Caroline squinted her eyes because she couldn't see her face anymore.

"It's good, do not look at her." She heard inside her head. She looked round and her eyes stopped at Rebekah's silhouette. Caroline could feel her concern and insecurity. She hears it, Care thought, a smile danced across her lips, she hears it too.

"Do not think you are able to run away from me. You are not. I am you. You cannot escape yourself." The demon said as she started fading away and disappearing.

Caroline closed her eyes and started repeating some prayer she had learnt once. It was the most beautiful one she has ever heard. She wasn't a believer but she somehow did believe in this prayer.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take."She was repeating until the sunshine broke under her eyelids and made her mind bright and safe again. She was repeating it even though now she was sure there was no redemption for her anymore.

"What took you so long? I was worried." Elena said when she saw Caroline leaving the old house. "It is not safe to visit abandoned cabins, especially these days."

The Gilbert girl made this sound warm and nicely, traces of laughter were dancing in the air when she spoke. Her face was lightened with relief but as Caroline got closer to her, all the shining lights left her eyes and her gentle smile slipped down her chin.

"What happened? Hey, what happened?"

Caroline shook her head, not able to speak. Her skin was so pale, almost transparent. Her teeth were chattering so hard that it managed to cut her lips already. They were literally white, its beautiful pink shade disappeared and the only color on her face was the color of blood, covering her mouth. The cold sweat was streaming down her forehead, getting under her eyelids.

"Caroline?" Elena asked worried, putting her hands on Caroline's arms. She grabbed them as she trembled under her friend's touch.

"It's—it's nothing. I'm—I'm fine, I just—I just need to get out of here—" She assured, removing the teardrops from her cheeks.

"You do not look like you were fine."

Caroline took a deep breath.

"I know. I need to come home and change that. Tyler is visiting me tonight and he cannot see me like this."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened in there?"

Caroline nodded her head. "I am. Oh, and Elena… Do not tell anybody about it. Don't you say a word. They cannot know."

She did part of her wonderful golden curls up and let the other one spread her back and fall down her shoulders. Her eyes were shining bright and she hoped it was not because of the tears she was holding back in them all evening. She managed to cover the wound on her lips and bring some color back on her face. Each time she blinked her eyes they were rustling quietly, making the same sound as the butterflies' wings do while they're about to take off the ground.

Caroline looked down, to check out how did she look in her dress once again. She was absolutely in love with this one. She loved especially its blue color, bringing sapphire reflections out of her emerald-green eyes. She also found its bodice really pretty. It was so tight she could barely breath but still, simply ravishing. All woven with laces, pearls and bright zircons. Down, under the line of her waist, the skirt of this dress was widening and its color was changing with each thread, turning fairer and fairer, until it was completely white. As white as the pearls pinned in her hair.

The décolleté of this gown was square and rather low, thanks to what she could put on her neck just as much jewellery as she liked.

She turned to look into the mirror once again, aware of the fact that in a minute or so she would have to go upstairs and everyone's eyes would be on her. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that. Not after what she did, not after she found herself talking with imagined voices living inside of her head and not being able to get into the church.

Be strong, she told herself, letting a smile dance across her lips. It wasn't genuine at all but still, it lightened her face a bit and she was in desperate need of some light.

"Ready?" Caroline heard suddenly behind her back. She cringed at the sound of this voice. She wasn't expecting him here, she thought he would wait for her downstairs.

"Tyler." She said, smiling at him. "Of course."

He smiled back but Caroline knew that it wasn't honest. He was about to say something. Something he didn't think she would like to hear.

"I need to talk to you about what happened last night in the woods."

She felt sweat streaming down her back.

"An animal… attacked us. You got hurt. I didn't know what to do so I took you to some peasants' cottage, hoping they would find a way to save your life. And they did and… It turned out your wounds weren't as serious as I thought." Caroline said firmly, surprised how easy it was to lie to his face.

"When I woke up there was no one in this cottage. Only you. I went there today to check this and guess what? It was gone. There was no cottage." Tyler was almost yelling but he wasn't mad. He was worried and exhausted. And he needed answers.

Caroline sighed and she sat on the bed, prepared for a longer conversation.

"Perhaps you got to the wrong place, I don't know. I visited those peasants today to thank them for everything and their house was exactly where it was last night."

Tyler snorted.

"Perhaps. But then again… Would you please explain to me how a bunch of peasants managed to heal me so well that there was no wound on my body this morning? It is not rational. You are lying to me, aren't you?" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, trying to be gentle after all.

"I—I have no idea, Tyler. I am telling the truth. You know I would never lie to you. Besides what do you think the truth is, you think I am some witch that used magic on you?" Caroline's voice broke in the middle of her speech. She gritted her teeth, she couldn't tell him any more. She was prepared that he would start shouting and cursing but he didn't. Instead he just sighed and hid his face in his hands.

"I don't know, Caroline. I am—I am sorry, I don't know what I was thinking, I should not—I shouldn't yell at you."

"No… No, it's fine. Last night is over, right? Another one has just started. We cannot spend it here, crying over something we do not understand. We were both frightened yesterday, our fear messed up in our heads. We cannot let it overwhelm us. Not tonight." She whispered. Her voice sounded like a melody. Tyler looked at her and nodded, trying to remember every word she said and keep them all in his heart. She was so good, she would never lie to him. She was right, he knew that.

Caroline reached her hand out for him, trying not to cry because of all the lies she just said to him. How could she? She hated herself for that. Surprisingly though she found herself hating him even more because he actually believed it. He didn't force her to tell the truth, he didn't want to know it. He wanted a simple answer, a simple explanation, so he could stop worrying about it and go back to his life. Did he even care about her?

"So… Let's go there and dance finally, shall we?"

Her smile was only another lie but this one she actually wanted him to believe in.

He watched her go downstairs with her man, cursing him in his mind and blessing his soul at the same time. Cursing, because he had her. He owned her, he could put his hands all over her body, he could whisper promises into her ear, he could play with her gorgeous hair. And blessing him because he was such a hopeless fool. Thoughtless, unreasonable. Stupid enough to let her beauty out of his hands. And so naïve, he believed in every word she said. And he didn't seem to realize where those sweet lies would lead him – straight into the death's den.

Demon smiled, safe in the darkness, ready to leave it, get her and bring her all the misery she was supposed to drown in. He followed Caroline and Tyler downstairs. His steps were as silent as if he wasn't taking them at all. His silhouette was as transparent as if he didn't exist at all.

"Caroline," he said her name, putting his hands on her waist. "Caroline, love, did you miss me?"

She cringed and let go of Tyler's hand, looking round the ballroom like a madwoman. Concerned. Lost. Demon found this amusing.

"Are you real?" She muttered under her breath while her companion was too busy talking with her father. Her mouth barely moved as if she didn't let a word out of it.

"Why won't you leave him and find out yourself?"

"Because I cannot."

"Don't you wish to see me?" He asked, his cold fingers stroking her fragile neck. She felt it as if his fingertips were living traces all over her skin and each one of this traces was burning and making her crave for him to touch her again and extinguish this fire.

"I only wish for you to leave."

"As you wish then."

Caroline grabbed Tyler's hand and she clasped it tightly. Before the voice left her head though she already managed to miss it.

"Excuse me for a while," she whispered into Tyler's ear, smiled at him and then she ran out of the ballroom, following the temptation that most likely would also lead her to what she might had lost last night.

A/N: You were probably surprised that I made Caroline have a sister, so here's the word of explanation - I came up with her because I needed someone very close to Caroline, who could see what is happening to her. Also, I will need her in the future chapters. Thank you all for reading!

Reviews are always awesome so feel free to leave one! (: