Chapter 2
Klaus Mikaelson does the one thing he can do when he finds his mate. He takes her away and keeps her locked away from all unsolicited dangers of the world.
Warning: DARK KLAUS! (Only for violence. Nothing else… Probably)
The next day that Klaus woke up, he felt a high he had felt before many times. It was the bloodlust. He remembered that he had drained three or four unfortunate souls last night all because of her.
Honestly, he didn't understand why she couldn't just go along with his rules. They were made only for her own safety and betterment. But no… she just always had to do something unpleasant to make him angry.
He realized that he might have been a bit too harsh on her but seeing her yesterday at some bloody frat party had tested his limits. Seeing her smiling though he'd been tempted to let her stay and enjoy for a few moments but then he'd seen the way the boys were looking at her while she danced around with her friends in that bloody dress and that had really snapped his control.
So he'd marched straight in and dragged her out of there before the song could even end.
He had also seen the look of terror on her face along with the disappointment as soon as she'd spotted him but he had ignored it. Even though it stung how her looks changed from affection to horror upon seeing him.
He still remembered the days as little Caroline would jump and squeal with delight on his arrival.
Rebekah looked in front of her and smiled sympathetically as she gazed upon the little blonde girl in front of her. Caroline had been the same, sullen girl for the past four days ever since Klaus had left to deal with some supernatural business.
Caroline had bawled, cried and protested when he had first announced that he would be leaving but he'd quickly placated her promising her that he'd be back within two days and she wouldn't even notice his absence.
However, it had taken longer than expected and today was the fourth day that Klaus was still gone.
Rebekah watched as Caroline uninterestedly poked the vegetables on her plate before pushing it over and dropped her head on the table.
"Not hungry?" she asked conversation sake.
Caroline's shoulders dropped. "Not really" the little girl replied, softly. "Can I go to my room?" she asked, dully, her manners from Elijah's lessons kicking in.
"You have to eat something, Caroline" Rebekah said, trying to placate the young child. "I don't think Nik would appreciate you starving yourself. Besides he said he'd be back today" she said, reassuringly.
The little girl sighed. "That's what he said yesterday" she commented sadly. "And the day before that" she said before shrugging.
"What if he says he's back with lots of presents for a certain beautiful, blonde princess?"
Caroline whipped her head around quickly as she heard his voice and all but jumped off her chair, squealing, as she ran to him. He welcomed her with open arms and swung her around as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. "Niikk!" Caroline giggled happily. "You're back" she said, a little breathless as he stood up and settled her on his hip.
"I am." He agreed showing her a hint of a smile. "Now I heard you've not been a good girl" he admonished narrowing his eyes at her. "Why is that so?" he asked, staring at her for an answer.
Caroline moved her hands towards his neck and fiddled with one of the many necklaces in his neck as she looked down. "You said you would come early" she pouted adorably.
"I did. Didn't I?" he pursed his lips, as if in deep thought. "But then again, a certain little girl promised me to be good while I was gone" he came back to his point and gave her a meaningful look at which she sighed.
"I'm sorry" Caroline mumbled in a little voice, looking down. Without wasting a second, she perked up and smiled at him. "Can we play now?" she asked excitedly.
Klaus threw his head back and laughed wholeheartedly.
It was that moment that kept rewinding in his head, forcing him to be angry and frustrated that everything between them had changed so much. All because of her.
He walked into the dining room of the estate and everyone went quiet. Somehow it fueled his irritation. He sat down in the head chair and swept his gaze over the table. At the opposite end, the chair was empty which meant Elijah still had to come. Rebekah sat on Elijah's right and right across her was Caroline.
It infuriated him to no end that she chose to sit so far away from him but he remained quiet.
Finn sat next to Rebekah while Kol was nowhere to be seen.
"My apologies for being late. I was a little busy packing" Elijah said as he came into the room and fell into his seat with grace.
'You're leaving?' Caroline wanted to ask but she simply ducked her head low and chose to remain quiet. She couldn't look anyone in the eye after last night's mortifying episode. Although, a part of her believed she would've been immune to it by now but call her a fool, she still had some dignity.
"Going for a trip brother?" Klaus asked, twirling a goblet of blood in his hand.
Elijah narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Something requires my immediate attention in Virginia" he answered diplomatically.
Klaus stiffened at that for a moment before glaring Elijah. "When will you be back?" Rebekah interrupted their pissing contest.
"Next week" he replied, smiling when he saw Caroline gripping the spoon tighter in her hand. He placed his hand on hers in a placating gesture. "Don't worry, I won't forget your charm and next time I'll even take you along with me" he said reassuringly but Caroline only smiled halfheartedly before focusing back on her soup.
She knew that even if Elijah wanted to, Klaus would never allow him to take her anywhere away from their spelled estate.
It was because of him, she had never been anywhere. He deemed it too dangerous for her to travel while she was human. So he'd promised her that after her transition, he would spend eternity showing her all the different places of the world.
Till then, everywhere Elijah and Rebekah went; they got her a charm for her bracelet. She'd add it to her ever-growing bunch and hope that one day she'd see the sight with her own eyes.
"I wouldn't make such hasty promises brother" Klaus' voice boomed authoritatively throughout the dining room and Caroline immediately dropped the smile from her face and averted her eyes to her plate.
"I don't make promises I can't keep. I think you, of all people, should be aware of that Niklaus" Elijah retorted back with barely concealed irritation.
Sensing a feud that would no doubt leave Elijah daggered, Rebekah quickly spoke up. "So Caroline, when does school start again?"
"Two weeks"
At that point, Klaus had had enough and eagerly called out for one of the servants to feed on. Caroline fidgeted in her seat ever so slightly and Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brother's antics.
"That's a long break" Rebekah commented turning her attention back to the human. "So what are you going to do till then? Any plans?" she asked and immediately regretted her question as she saw Caroline's face fall even further at the question.
Obviously the girl couldn't have any plans.
Not without Klaus breathing down her neck. And that was in a scenario if Klaus was feeling especially generous.
"Elijah got me a book last week" Caroline said with an appreciative smile at the elder Mikaelson. "I'm probably going to finish that" she shrugged and her heart sank, knowing that she would finish the book within a couple of days and then all she'd be left to do would be aimlessly wander throughout the estate.
"Why don't you invite your friends over and have a sleepover?" Rebekah suggested as if reading her thoughts.
Elijah's eyebrows rose at that. "That… would be an excellent idea" he praised and Rebekah lightly smirked at that.
Caroline let out a nervous, forced chuckle and focused back on her plate. "I'm not sure how I'd explain to them why I live in a castle" she tried saying it casually but it actually came out weak and pathetic. Quickly shaking off the thought, she shook her head. "Besides, no one comes to this part of town anyway" she dismissed the idea.
"Fine. Then we can go shopping. You and I. Girls day" she said with a wink.
"It's okay Rebekah. We don't have to go" Caroline said, ducking her head as her hand unconsciously flew to her neck where the vicious wound still lay, bandaged.
A reminder of the punishment of daring to want some freedom.
Her attention was quickly diverted as she heard the quiet gasp of the young maid who had sliced her arm open to fill up Klaus' cup.
Rebekah scowled at her brother who smirked deliberately trying to catch everyone's attention. Finn excused himself and left before he could witness anymore barbarity. Noticing Caroline's tense posture, Rebekah tried her diversion tactic again.
"Of course, we do. It's been ages since we've gotten new clothes" she tried but Caroline just looked up once desperately and shook her head.
"I think I'm done. Can I leave now?" she asked getting up from her chair and before Elijah had even uttered a whole yes, she was out of the room.
It was later that afternoon when Caroline was sitting on the couch, aimlessly gazing out of the window that Klaus approached her. Initially she stiffened in tension, not knowing how to react but then she chose to let it play out in front of her, itself.
"You know I would never stop you from going out with Rebekah" he started and Caroline almost wanted to bang her head against the wall. Everything she did literally had to be approved by him. If she even blinked the wrong way, he would have a say in it.
Oh he would! If only he knew the things Rebekah allowed her to do. The rules she allowed her to break. "I know" she lied, quietly.
"You should go with Rebekah" he replied ignoring the way he felt her heart beat rise. "I've given her my credit card- he started, most probably feeling a little guilty for the harsh way he'd treated her but she cut him off.
"I don't need to go shopping" she said, cutting off his insistence. "I have lots of clothes- she was cut off this time.
"Then you can get new ones, perhaps" he suggested coldly, as his eyes darkened at her distant tone. Why was she being so tough when he was trying to make amends with her? Maybe she deserved the way he treated it.
"And what should I do with them?" she questioned, rhetorically. "I don't have the permission to go anywhere and it's not like I can wear them and keep parading around the house" she said and shrugged but there was not even a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Like I said, it's… okay"
Just sadness and acceptance.
It didn't bode well with him in the slightest, though. "Be ready around 8, sweetheart. I want to take you out for dinner" he said and turned around, already mentally preparing what to do and what not.
It was her voice that stopped him. "Your dinner or mine?" she threw out a snarky comment, unable to help herself.
Klaus smirked at that. "Both" he replied, smugly before flashing off, leaving Caroline standing there stunned as she began to dread their approaching dinner.
Klaus was casually painting when he heard a loud, bloodcurdling scream which made him drop the palette to the floor and flash to the source. Once he reached his destination, much to his relief, he saw Caroline unharmed but crying. Looking at him, she ran to him and grasped his legs, hiding behind them.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, putting his arm around her trying to make her come out from behind him. But she kept shaking her head and sobbing into his legs.
Sobs racked the four year-old's body as tears wet her pink cheeks. Seeing her shivering and so petrified, Klaus was almost in the mood to kill someone. But before, he could do anything, there was a wisp of air and Kol stood in front of him.
Caroline yelped loudly at his appearance and fisted Klaus' jeans in her tiny hands more tightly, keeping herself glued to him.
Kol rolled his eyes at that. "It's alright, little one. It's only me" he faked worry and cheeriness in his tone as he tried to bent down to look at her but Caroline only shied away from him, using Klaus' body as her shield.
"Nik!" she cried out loudly, bursting into tears as Kol tried to inch closer to her.
Growling, Klaus pushed Kol back when he inhaled the scent of fresh blood on his brother. "Get. Back. Kol" he warned, threateningly.
"She's just overreacting Nik" Kol tried to take a step closer, shaking his head casually.
"I SAID GET BACK FROM HER NOW!" Klaus growled loudly enough for Rebekah to flash into the room.
Glancing at both her brothers and the crying baby girl, Rebekah turned to glare her brother Kol and pulled him out of the room.
"If you so much as a take a step in her direction that makes her feel unsafe, after this, I will remove your organs one by one from your body and only then dagger you" Klaus threatened menacingly but low enough only for the vampires to hear.
Once Kol was gone, Klaus exhaled before crouching down to pick up the still sniffling girl in his arms and cradling her head against his chest as she wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"Do you want to tell me what Kol did so that I can punish him for it?" he asked, calmly walking out of the room towards her playroom.
Hiccupping, Caroline clung to him and told him how she saw Kol beheading one of the family's favorite worker. "There was blood everywhere Nik!" she sobbed into his chest as she settled against him.
Not knowing how to comfort her, Klaus patted her back and tucked her wild curls behind her little ears. "Kol's an idiot" he muttered, not knowing how he was going to explain this to her.
"Julian was so hurt" Caroline complained, crying. "He was crying and he asked Kol to stop but he didn't!" she rambled on and on, crying wildly. At that point, Klaus knew that neither Kol was at fault nor Caroline. Julian was a traitor who had been feeding information to their enemies and it was Klaus who had ordered his execution. He just hadn't expected Caroline to happen upon the proceedings.
And Caroline… Well she was only an innocent little girl.
"Shh! It's okay. I'm here right now" Klaus murmured as he sat down in the rocking chair in her room and settled her in his lap.
She quieted down for around ten minutes but clutched at him for dear life. "Will he hurt me too, Nik?" she asked, shivering involuntarily and at that moment Klaus wanted to dagger Kol for letting this innocent girl witnessing what she had as she gazed up at him with her innocent, big, blue eyes full of fright and terror.
He kissed the top of her head and shook his head. "As long as I'm with you, no one will hurt a hair on your head" he vowed, stroking her hair affectionately.
"Do you promise?" she said, holding out her little finger for him. "Pinky swear on it" she demanded which made Klaus smile, showing his dimples.
Obediently, he held out his own finger and she quickly wrapped hers around it. "I promise" he said, out loud and inwardly smiled that the only place she felt safe was in his arms.
Caroline sighed loudly as she saw Klaus barking orders at his minions. She was dressed in a simple black dress which ended just on her knees with black heels. To be honest, she had been feeling a little excited for this dinner because she literally rarely ever went anywhere and now that she was getting an opportunity, she didn't want to miss it.
But by the looks of it, they weren't going…
"What?" Klaus barked loudly which pulled her out of her thoughts and she stuck her head through his office door.
"Um… I- I… You said we had to go" she stuttered nervously as she gazed at his frustrated face. Clearly, he was busy. "It's okay… if you're busy" she mumbled as realization hit her.
"Nonsense" Klaus said, calmly standing up and picking up his jacket. "I'm sure Kol can handle everything while I'm gone" he said before heading over to her.
He looked her up and down and smiled charmingly. "You look ravishing, love" he said and pressed a kiss against her cheek.
Blinking up in surprise, Caroline took a moment to respond. "Thanks" she said, awkwardly as Klaus kept his arm wrapped around her waist and led her towards the exit of the house.
"Do you have a jacket?" he asked.
Caroline shook her head. "No but it's okay. I don't really- he cut her off before she could complete her sentence though.
"JOSHUA! Get Caroline's jacket from the closet!" he barked loudly and within seconds a young vampire had handed a knee length grey coat.
"- need it" Caroline completed her sentence as a sarcastic snide but Klaus ignored her and held out the coat for her until she sighed and wore it. "So, where are we going?" she asked as they sat in the backseat of an SUV while two of Klaus' hybrids sat in the front, driving them to their destination.
At that question, Klaus gave her a smirk. "Patience, love" he said, soothingly. "All in good time" His hand went over to her hair and he soothed them down, curling some strands around his finger occasionally.
"You lied to me the other day" he said, casually, looking at the way her hands clenched into fists.
She stayed quiet, hoping he would leave it alone. But as always, he didn't.
"I'm not mad" he replied, surprising her because lately he was always mad at her for one thing or another. "Simply surprised you'd take the blame for Rebekah" he replied with a shrug as his fingers kept playing with her hair.
Before she could answer, however, he added another reservation of his.
"I'm more shocked that you would lie to me"
At that a scoff escaped her mouth, involuntarily and she immediately regretted it but it was too late to take it back.
"You can speak to me, sweetheart. You know that I've always appreciated your honesty" he encouraged gently.
She sighed at that but not because of relief but because of disappointment. Was he really that delusional? He had only appreciated her honesty when she was younger. Ever since she got older, she had been repaid with punishment and harshness for her blunt, honest opinions.
She wanted to tell him that but refrained from doing so and repeated what she said at every turn in her life. "Sorry" she replied in a small voice, turning her head to look out of the window.
"Caroline, I'm not looking for an apology" Klaus said, shaking his head as he grasped her chin and turned her face towards him. "I'm simply asking you the reason" he coaxed.
"I was covering for Rebekah. You would've daggered her" she replied, hoping that he wouldn't do it now.
Klaus let out an amused laugh at that. "She's used to it, love. But… you … You took punishment for her" he regarded her with his curious eyes. "And you lied to me" he said, disappointed by it.
"I said I'm sorry" she repeated suddenly feeling unsafe again. Maybe he had brought her out only to make her suffer again because thinking about it now, when was the last time he did something for her pleasure and joy.
"Calm down, sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you" he reassured her, hearing her heart beating wildly against her ribcage. "You know I would never do that" he added, quietly.
She turned to look at him with a sad look in her eyes. "But you do punish me" she countered. "A lot" she added, shaking her head.
"It's all for your own good, sweetheart" he replied, trying to justify himself. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "Do you honestly feel so bad about it?" he asked, knowing her answer.
"I hope you're not really asking me that" she said, in shock. Now she was sure that he was completely insane. Did he really think she enjoyed his cruel treatments? And it wasn't even about that. She hated that he overreacted at such small things and punished her the way he did. "I hate it. Every minute of it and what's more is that you think you're right in doing so" she mumbled before looking out of the window, wondering when their journey would come to an end.
"I punish you so that you learn from your mistakes" he explained with a long suffering sigh.
"Learn what? Not to enjoy life?" she countered, turning her face to him genuinely interested in his answer. "What's the point of going to school if I'm not allowed to make friends-
At that point, Klaus interjected. "I have never forbid you from making friends" he pointed out, seriously.
She rolled her eyes at that. "Yeah. But who would want to be friends with a girl who comes to school with two bodyguards lurking over her shoulder, every second. Who doesn't ever attend any party or function after school timing. Who's not allowed to have friends invited over at her house or to go to their house, herself?" she questioned rhetorically and now that she pointed it out, Klaus could see some reasoning in her complaints. "I'm not even allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities. I reach school just in time for class and make it out before anyone even sees me in the corridors"
Klaus thought about it for a few seconds before hesitantly looking at her. "I'll make you a deal, love" he said, cautiously. "You stay completely honest with me for the duration of our date and once we go home, we will… re-discuss… your reservations regarding your security detail" he offered diplomatically.
"Will we only re-discuss them or will you actually change something too?" she asked cleverly, catching on to the little detail.
Klaus smirked at that. "So cunning" he murmured in awe and appreciation. "Fine. We will discuss and negotiate the terms again" he relented and smiled at the bright smile she gave him.
"Okay" she agreed, smiling unable to hide her happiness.
It wasn't long after that they reached their destination. Klaus, trying to be a gentleman, opened the door for her and helped her out, ordering his hybrids while Caroline's eyes scanned the sign of the establishment.
Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled as he saw the recognition flash in her eyes. "Let's go inside" he said before pulling her inside. It was then that Caroline let a genuine smile spread across her face.
Maybe the day wasn't so bad, after all.