^ Warnings:
Rated Very Mature.
This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.
Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.
A Song of Chaos and Eternal Night
Her own kind had disowned her and their betrayal led to her fall. From a protector of the light to a fallen angel in Hell. And now she was caged by the King of Hell with no hope of escaping him. Heaven/Hell trope. Klaroline AU. Dark Themes.
Additional Warnings for this story:
No offense to the Christian faith or any other faith is intended.
Klaus is practically the devil so do not expect him to be nice or good.
Chapter II: On the Brink of the Abyss
x
"Farewell happy fields,
Where joy forever dwells: Hail, horrors, hail."
― John Milton, Paradise Lost
Was this heat coming from brimstone and fire? Was this burning sensation Hell's embrace?
Caroline could not tell because she had forgotten even how the gates of Heaven looked like. They had taken that away from her and yet right now she knew beyond doubt that whatever she felt in her weakened state was Holy. She was not here to walk the fire. She had succumbed to a sky that belonged to the stars. The bed she rested her body upon was made from Holy water and Unholy flame. It was warm and in her unworthiness it was leaving her in the Divine's mercy but the eyes that pierced her soul reaching down to her core and stilling her breath belonged to another blood. To the Devil that cast her here.
The image of Klaus' eyes attacked her with so much force that she wanted to scream but instead the veil was lifted and she remembered again. Her sight was once more restored as she claimed knowledge again to the light of Heaven. Flashes of memory invaded Caroline's mind. All the memories she had lost from Heaven during her fall to Earth were now returned to her and she felt like her old self again.
And there was also something else. An instinct that awoke and told her that the Ruler of Darkness had not taken her to Hell. She felt so tired and sleepy and she could not even open her eyes but she could feel deep in her bones, in the dust and in the iron they carried within her, the calling of the Old. She could feel it in the way she felt her spirit soar and her blood roar. She had returned to sacred ground but that did not change how her wings were still cut and how her grace was still gone.
An absence that still bled deep in her soul leaving her crippled and in agony. Her suffering was not only prolonged but it was also increased as she was now once more at grounds where her kind thrived once upon a time but she did not belong here anymore. Not with her grace forever gone.
No, she realized with an ache that pierced her heart like a scorched blade melting the ice that entombed her in stillness. Her grace was not gone or lost. It was in the Serpent's hands.
Caroline's eyes flew open and her heart almost exploded inside her chest. She could hear her heartbeat echoing inside her eardrums. She was lost inside colors of grey. She was lying in a bed of smoke and fog that was wrapped around her body like a shroud. She felt boneless and weightless as if she was floating on air and inertia.
She tried to move but she felt so weak and unable to command her body to break even into a stir. She moaned and her eyes fluttered. The colorless nebula was licking her skin but it was not tainted by the burning sensation of the Holy Fire Mikael's child had used to hold her hostage before. There was no more heat and no more flames licking her skin. Rebekah's laughter did not accompany the suffocating fire. The arms of the Devil were not caging her anymore.
'No', she realized in horror. She was not in sacred ground. She was floating in the void.
As the memories of the Devil danced inside her mind like a hurricane her body spurred into motion. It was terror that took her out of the haze and finally brought life back to her.
"Oh God," Caroline lamented in terror and rose from the mist. The steaming haze cascaded down her body and hair as she sat up. She frantically looked around and her eyes widened.
She was not in Earth anymore. But she was not in Hell either. She remembered everything about Heaven once more even though the knowledge of the Divine had been concealed from her when she fell and yet she was not in Heaven either.
When the Deceiver tore her from the prison of the Holy Fire she expected to be thrown to the deepest pits of Hell. When he held her her eyes saw inside His visions His dark domain. The horrifying images were enough to taint her eyes and to take away her sight before she fell into excruciating darkness and nothingness.
She expected to wake up blind in Hell but she did not expect to open her eyes and see the Unseen.
She felt the cold stones beneath her body and got up. Her legs were trembling and she felt restless as she looked up to the sky and realized that above her head laid a twirling shade of chaos and dreams. A web of time and space. The plane that held creation in suspension.
She had heard of it only in legends. The world between worlds that was the map and the lock and key that led to the Garden of Eden. Some even believed that before the Garden was locked away from everyone its wonders thrived in the Between and were a bridge between all dimensions. When the tree of the Garden -and with it everything in its close proximity- was sealed away and became unseen, even by Heaven, the rest of Eden withered into the Unseen and its wonders perished into Chaos.
She looked around and gasped in awe.
There was no air to breathe even though she was still breathing. Dust and mist danced at her feet. A choir of cloud and wind beneath her knees.
Caroline realized that she was in the between. The only place of solidarity and balance for all creatures. Divine or not.
No one was allowed to enter this place unless ordered by Elijah himself or….the Father of Lies.
Caroline had doubted that this land even existed.
She took some tentative steps forward and wrapped her hands around her torso. Shivers ran down her spine. She had heard of Hell and of the lost Garden of Eden many times. She had even dreamed of those places and she knew they existed but this place was different.
She should not be here. She felt like an intruder. She noticed how beneath her steps and above her head the infinity was spread to the beyond and even further away. She had once talked about this place with Elena. When they were young and despite the fact that it was forbidden to speak of it. Some called it Chaos. Some called it the final ground as it was the end of the Abyss that was once used to cast Him…the Devil… in Hell.
If the legends were true should she keep walking she should meet up in the North of Eden's Shadows and across the Event Horizon the Gates of Heaven. And on the opposite direction across the Unseen Declivity and the Black Steepness the Abyss that led to Hell also lied ahead.
What was she doing here? Why had the King of Hell brought her here? Why not cast her straight to Hell?
She was afraid to even speak or think of his true name. And yet she had fallen into his trap. Tears gathered in her eyes as she remembered everything that happened. And now she was lost once more.
She started walking. Towards North. Her heart hoping beyond hope to find the Gates of her Home first. A home that had its doors closed for her.
Mist was swirling up with her every step and Caroline picked up her pace. The winds howled around her, a portent of chaos and disastrous pandemonium. A turmoil that always halted time and brought across the skies blood stained clouds. She might have lost her wings but now that she was here to the great divide between Heaven and Hell her senses were more alert and she could feel the presence of evil lurking on her every step. She clutched her neck with her fingers and looked around while still keeping a fast pace and for some reason she felt as if she was walking straight towards her doom. It was a sensation closer to premonition and her whole body shivered as she felt the vibes of danger pass through her.
She heard thunder and felt the blackness and the world around her shook as wings of decay flattered and distorted her vision with their bleak aura.
She screeched and stepped back, her first instinct telling her to spread her wings and fly away but she had no wings any more. Instead she looked up at the shadows that were about to swallow her and tried to run to the opposite direction when the figure of a man landed in front of her, his thorny knee breaking the stones beneath the mist with a thud. His hooves scratched the ground and he lifted his head up to stare at her with a sinister smirk while his bloodshed eyes roamed over her with lust; his black wings flapping behind his back. His forked tongue was flicking in and out his mouth repeatedly in a continued terrifying hiss.
"Going somewhere little Angel?" he taunted her with a hoarse voice and terror gripped Caroline's heart and she tried to move away from him but before she could another demon with fox ears and scales landed behind her and grabbed her by the shoulders. She felt that demon's hot breath against her ear and heard the sexual whistle that turned her stomach. Bile rose in her throat when the demon that held her licked the side of her face with a moan and she screamed with all her might realizing that this was her end; tears burned her vision when the two demons laughed and she felt her body been thrown between harsh claws that treated her like a rag doll. Her strength did not compare with theirs and when their inhuman hands groped her she opened her mouth to helplessly scream again when a thunderous command broke through the demonic roar.
"Enough!"
The sound was harsh even to her ears; the demons flinched and pushed her away when their ear drums bled at the Holy battle cry that followed. Caroline stumbled back and fell down on the ground too but sighed in relief when she glanced up to the familiar white feathers that swept the air.
"Step back!"
The order came from a familiar voice and Caroline saw the white robes and the golden sandals and her eyes travelled up until they landed to familiar faces that shone in grace and light.
"Bonnie, Elena," Caroline exhaled relieved and Elena stepped towards her making sure that her ivory wings would shield her from the demons. Caroline's breath caught in her throat and her heart ached at the sight of those majestic bright white wings that used to be part of her too. Her whole body ached for them.
The two demons regrouped and their claws elongated. They hissed but Bonnie and Elena did not back down. Instead Bonnie gripped the hilt of her blade in warning.
"She is to be delivered to our Lord," the bald snake demon said and licked his lips and he sniffed the scent the angels emanated and moaned in pleasure. The demon next to him mimicked his reactions.
"She is to attend the trial," Bonnie sternly retorted with an unyielding tone that made Caroline frown as shivers erupted on her skin.
"Trial?" Caroline mumbled confused and felt tingles of fear blooming all around her.
"Come with as Caroline," Elena softly prompted and extended her hand towards her with a nod and Caroline smiled at the warmth her friend cast her way but as she tried to touch Elena's fingers the fox demon intervened and threw Caroline to the ground harshly.
Elena's wings spread and tension rose. Elena was ready to fight and Caroline stared up at the Angels and the Demons fearfully when Bonnie put a hand in front of Elena shaking her head in a gesture of silent forbiddance.
Bonnie stepped forward and Caroline stood up feeling the need to find refuge in Elena's arms once more but this time Elena stepped back and averted her eyes.
"Elena what is going on?" Caroline questioned feeling cold and afraid at the way the demons leered at her.
"There is no need for any kind of confrontation here. We want the same thing," Bonnie relented and one of the demons laughed and approached her. Bonnie and the snake tongued demon stood face to face and the demon snickered.
"If so…" the other demon smugly chirped with a satisfied voice and before Caroline knew what was happening two heavy manacles forged in Holy Fire had chained her hands and the demon's claws grabbed her by her upper arm. Caroline did not dare move. Terror filled her whole and was stunned when Elena came by her other side and held her from the other hand.
The demon and Elena propelled her forward and the other demon and Bonnie led the way in front of them.
'What is going on?" Caroline asked with a trembling voice and Elena opened her mouth to speak but Bonnie turned her head back and stared at Elena with a forbidding glare and Elena bowed down her head and remained silent.
They kept dragging her along and Caroline felt her toes sliding on the smoke and mist as she was too numb to even resist or even walk. Like a puppet she was caught in strings and moved towards a destiny that brought her only desperation. She looked down and tears fell from her eyes when she stared the chains that were locked around her wrists.
Caroline did not know what to expect but surely the last thing was for the demons and for her sisters to bring her to the Circle of Justice.
She did not know what to make of it. She stood before the Ruins where the Angelic Pact of Peace had been signed by the Original Archangels eons ago and ended the Great Apocalyptic War. The last Third War that had almost decimated all angels and demons alike. Countless eons before she was even created.
Everyone was taught about the Wars and their repercussions and everyone bowed to the Pact but none was allowed to speak of those things. Not ever.
Caroline had read everything about the Circle in the sanctified scriptures but nothing prepared her for what she saw now.
Among the mist, the chaotic nebula and the stars, engulfed in shadows light and darkness, pillars without beginning and end stood. The pillars of creation seemed to be rooted in mist and brume and rose up to infinity. The structure was intimidating and grandiose. The mist seemed to recoil around the pillars and the air seemed to vibrate.
The Ruins existed even before the recording of creation. No one knew who created the stones of Judgment. Some relic documents that Caroline had read in secret a long time ago -despite the fact that it was forbidden- claimed that the existence of the Ruins predated even Divinity; but how could that be possible?
Most said that the Ruins was what was left from the Grand Towers, the Columns, the Pillars, the Citadels, the Terraces and the Circles that supported the Hanging Gardens of Eden. A whole city of beauty, miracle and grandeur. Forever lost. Now only Ruins and Remnants stood as Chaos had swept over everything locking the Garden of Eden somewhere no one even knew. Not even Elijah.
Caroline was so absorbed by the breathtaking and terrifying sight; her eyes kept taking everything in and for a while she forgot that she was in chains and was dragged to this site by demon and angel warriors.
She should not be here. If they were taking her chained here and were stepping inside the Circle of Justice then everything could happen.
Caroline did not understand what was happening. The demons looked ecstatic but Bonnie and Elena both shared stony expressions.
Caroline gazed up at the colossal Archway that led inside the Circle and as she walked through the smoke escorted by black and white winged creatures she started hearing a lot of murmuring. The buzz and the whispers were becoming louder and clearer with every step she was talking until bright harsh luminance assaulted her eyes. The demons and the angels that held her did not even flinch but now that she was subjected to mortality Caroline could not adjust that easily to such harsh conditions. She turned her head to the side and closed her eyes. The light burned.
She heard a lot of chatter and even chuckling and felt thousand of eyes focus on her and when she was able to open her eyes again she gasped.
A teeming crowd was gathered inside the Ruins creating a cacophony of chatter and howling. Unearthly shouts and laughter bounced on the Pillars and the stones disrupting the Chaos that loomed above the Circle.
Demons and angels were sitting in the stone seats that created circles around a vast stage that seemed to be lowered to the writhing mist and surrounded by more Pillars. The seats were separated by horizontal walkways and vertical steps and getaways that led to the lower level where a semi circled platform from stone and marble was set in the very center of the stage that was the very center of the Circle of Justice.
An elevated podium was facing the platform that wedged down in the mist and above the circles of seats on the North and South side were elevated temple looking balconies under monumental mammoth domes with throne like seats that faced the stage. The prodigious structures were surrounded by more pillars with never ending beginnings and ends. Everything was made from marbles, stone and stardust.
The acoustic in the place was perfect and even the slightest of whispers could be heard loud and clear.
The Ruins were packed with demons and angels. The seats had been divided in half dividing the Circle into two equal half moons. The one half on the East and South side was filled with demons and the other on the West and North with angels. Both sides separated.
Caroline peeked at Elena that still held her and tried to look at Bonnie that now walked in front of her with one of the demons that had shackled her but no one was looking at her. They were leading her towards the semi circle platform in the center of the Ruins. At the stage.
Caroline blinked when they led her to the center of the Circle and made her step into it.
She looked at Elena that said nothing. Those that stepped into the Circle of Justice were meant to be seeking for Justice or Justice was meant to be cast upon them.
With uncertain steps she stepped in the semi circled platform opposite to the podium and she jumped up when a blend of Holy Fire and Hellfire erupted all around her through the belly of the mist at her feet and imprisoned her. She stilled.
There was a lot of chatter from the audience especially from the side of the demons that were even pointing at her with glee. Caroline was horrified. The demons formed an enormous riotous crowd.
Some of the demons that attended the Circle were practically naked. Many of them were disfigured. Some had horns and long thick tails. Claws and paws and tentacles. Barbs and scales and talons. Some had wings that seemed to dissolve on their backs. While the wings of the Angels and the Archangels were majestic and beautiful giving away glorious luminance and showing feathers that seemed to be made by grace and glory the demons seemed to have bat wings that were made from rot and ash and gooey veins. Some of them had snake tongues and others spider limbs. Eyes all black or filled with blood or empty gaps in the places where eyes should be and all that only if their features were somewhat similar to that of a human or an angel creature.
There were other demons that were beasts and monstrous. The seats were swarming with such vile creatures. Snakes with heads of dragons. Crocodile heads with bodied ending in goat feet. Horse bodies with the heads of wolves. Centaurs and giants. Fairies and Vampires. Zombie looking monsters and succubus females with bare breasts and bodies that ended in fish tails. Creatures that were made of slime and blood. Harpies with pointed ears and noses that spat venom. The list was grotesque and kept going in indescribable ways. Darkness was leaking out. Caroline could never even believe that these Hell creatures could ever even exist. Heaven was shielding the light angels like herself from ever facing such monstrosities.
It was so horrific that Caroline could not even look at them. And all of them were staring at her. Some naked, some in rags, some in flimsy provocative clothes and others in fine clothing. Black, gold and red and dark shades were the colors that prevailed in their hordes. All of them having cruel gazes and horrifying grins. All of them shouting and making vulgar gestures at her and the angels. Their excitement was nothing less than feral and it was terrifying. Should they attack it would be a blood bath.
And on the other side sitting silently on the stones were so many of her brothers and sisters. Their side was hard to look upon. The shine they emanated competed with the Sun. Ethereal creatures made of beauty and light. Warriors and pacifists have both gathered in the Circle. Messengers of joy and angels of light like herself. Pristine and delicate. Champions of faith and protectors of the Divine. Some wore modern day clothing. Suits and modest dresses and others wore old chitons, togas, robes and tunics. Many were wearing armors and coats that carried angelic weapons. A selection of silver, white and grey colors blended in harmony.
Women and men and children. Elders and youth. Their beauty sublime making the mortal eye ache and bleed upon their dainty and celestial appearance. Their skin glowed with their inner light and their eyes were bright like stars. All of them looked refined and unworldly. They emanated both serenity and godly danger. However in comparison with the demons they remained stoic and silent. Their spines held steel and they all were rigid. Their gazes were mournful as they directed them to her. Many of them looked at her however with pity and seemed offended by her appearance.
Caroline just realized how she must be looking to them. With self-conscious eyes she started down and looked at the dress she was wearing. The dress Claire had given her to wear. No, not Claire. Rebekah. Archangel Rebekah. And something told her that the dress she now wore was not even given to her by Rebekah. It was probably a gift from the King of Hell and that alone made her whole body cringe underneath the luscious silk.
The dress screamed of seduction and everything that was carnal and unholy and she knew that her brothers and sisters were not approving of her sight. Her curves were pronounced; her legs bare, her breasts pushed up under the tight revealing décolleté. All her back was exposed.
The naked angelic flesh in Heaven was cherished for its purity and its beauty and for hosting the soul and the grace.
But a human body trapped in fine revealing silk and covered in tantalizing perfume was not revered or known for its chastity. The way she was dressed was all about sexuality and arousing femininity and enhancing her mortal fragility; everything demons craved and angels castigated and Caroline was now unable to believe that she actually wore this dress on her own free will and even enjoyed wearing it and took great pleasure at watching her reflection trapped in her own vanity.
What was she thinking? How had she allowed herself to act that way? And surely her angel brothers and sisters thought of that too and it reflected in their chiding gazes whilst the demons kept lewdly whistling at her.
Caroline shivered and looked down in shame; she bit her lip in an attempt not to cry just as three guardian angels landed on the stage followed by three demons.
The angels stood at Caroline's right side and the demons at her left. All six of them standing at attention, creating an imaginary circle around her. All of them were holding shields and spears that carried the symbols of their power. The angel shields where polished carrying the Enochian Sigils of Heaven. The blades on their backs and the angelic spears they held were crafted in Holy Fire. In contrast Klaus' Crest, the wolf, was on the surface of the black and red demonic shields that carried the mark of Hell. The blades and the spears the demons yielded were forged in Hellfire.
The two demons that had brought her here from the in Between along with Bonnie and Elena flew at the temples. The demons flew at Temple in the South and Bonnie and Elena at the Northern Temple.
Horns were sounded and everyone in the Circle stood up in reverence and silence prevailed. The sound of the horns was so harsh to Caroline's ears. It took time for her to adjust to the resounding shrill noise. Without her Grace and with her wings cut she could not get accustomed to these conditions easily. It took time for her to adapt to the horns. She was also so cold and tired.
Caroline looked at the chains in her hands that reflected the fires that trapped her and felt nausea attacking as she started realizing what was happening.
But if the horns almost brought her to her knees what came next shuttered all her fragile mortal defenses. The booming sound of wings was earth shuttering and brought Caroline down to her knees making her shield her ears that bled. The chains on her hands were making it difficult for her to keep her hands on her ears despite the deafening noise.
When the horns stopped their punishing blast Caroline looked up at the Angelic temple through blurry eyes and her body convulsed.
The Seraphic Court with its entourage had entered the Northern Temple. They stood in their fine clothing and Caroline held her breath when Elijah himself stepped on the front seat of the Temple followed by his retinue.
On the Southern Temple the Tribunal Satanica occupied the Temple of Hell followed by their courtiers and comrades; all dressed in Black Royal garbs.
The Judicial system of both sides, Heaven and Hell, was present.
Caroline stood up with difficulty. Her tongue tied, her nerves twisting, drawing sharp breaths. The Seraphic Court was wearing their official uniforms. Beige and gold robes. The attire they wore when they passed judgment.
Elijah silently stood before his throne. In comparison with the Seraphic Court he was dressed in a modern black suit with a white shirt and a grey tie. Next to him Bonnie, Elena and his advisors wore simple white robes.
Only when the Seraphic Court sat the crowd of angels below at their seats also sat.
For some reason the demons both at the seats and the Temple did not sit. They remained standing upright. No one made any noise. Everyone waited silently.
And Caroline understood why when the darkness that was cast by the Black Wings of the King of Hell spread almost at the whole Circle. Every demon at the Circle kneeled and bowed in respect and obedience. They all kept their heads down.
The flutter of dazzling darkness cast a heavy shadow before Klaus gracefully landed on the stage. The stones beneath the soles of his black leather shoes cracked and the mist rose.
Caroline could not look away from the vibrant obsidian wings. The feathers looked like polished blades dipped in dark blue and black ink and smoke. Every inch of light was swallowed by the darkness of those wings that glittered with intense incandescent light that resembled the reflections of twilight, dusk and dawn. The wings seemed to be alive and seemed to be a mirror of Night.
Those were not common wings or demonic wings. Those wings were not rooting and were not in decay. Those wings were not even angel wings. They were Archangel wings like Elijah's. But while Elijah's wings were frosted in sunlight and alabaster ivory Holy Grace, Klaus' were black and dark and crafted in starlight carrying sin and the venomous aura of Hell. And yet for some reason Caroline could not look away from those dark wings and seemed to call to her. Klaus glanced up at her almost fondly and his lips curved to a taunting smirk as the wings on his back faded in a haze of smoke and fog leaving only the man behind.
A man impeccably dressed in modern clothes. And while Elijah looked serious and classic in his suit Klaus somehow looked intimidating and dangerous. There was something about him that Caroline could not describe but made her feel vulnerable and made her legs tremble. He was provoking weird sensations deep inside her belly that she had never felt before and did not even know what they even meant.
Klaus wore all black. No tie. The top buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned and a lot of necklaces seemed to hang around his neck.
And he was beautiful. So very beautiful. It hurt to look at him. But Caroline could not look away.
Out of everyone that gathered in the Circle Klaus' beauty could not be compared. With his angelic features and dirty blond short hair. With his stubble and bright blue eyes and those raspberry lips. His lean physic and sinister demeanor screamed sin and ungodliness but his face and his beauty spoke of his birth right. He was an Archangel. One of the Originals. The fallen brightest star of them all.
Caroline seemed mesmerized by him and could not understand how such a beautiful angel could be so corrupt and could have created such abominations as the demons that now stood in the Ruins. Klaus had created these beasts. All of them that now bowed down at his presence were his handiwork. He had sired them in Hell and Earth. He twisted souls into demons and he created beasts in Hellfire. He spawned legions of monsters and even though some of them were beautiful most of them were grotesque and atrocious. And there he was. The King of Hell that in comparison with his subjects was a vision of beauty. Of angelic beauty. How could he have created such abominations? How could such evil even exist?
Klaus looked straight at her and Caroline almost stumbled back. He seemed to be able to read her thoughts and his crooked smile gave many promises. Promises that spoke of unspeakable things that made her blood turn to ice before igniting wildfire that rushed in her veins disintegrating the ice and leaving her breathless.
When Klaus gaze roamed over her body, sensually and slowly, Caroline felt as if he was undressing her inch by inch leaving her exposed and weak. Unlike his minions he seemed to look at her with appreciation and fondness and the longing in his gaze was not only littered with lust but with something that Caroline could not translate and left her hanging between the need to run away and to somehow go to him. It was terrifying and magnetic at the same time.
Caroline gulped down uneasily when Klaus gave her, her, a slight bow. And the angels except Elijah either gasped or stilled and watched with wide eyes. Elijah on the other hand inspected the scene that was unfolding in front of him with sharp eyes.
Klaus did not bother even going at the South Temple where his throne waited for him or paid any attention at the North Temple or at his bowed followers.
With a dangerous smirk he walked closer to Caroline and the guardian angels that stood by her right rose their shields and aimed their spears at the King of Hell. The warrior angels at the Circle also rose ready to fight if necessary. However none of the demons even moved, they remained bowed. As if they knew that the treat the angels posed against their King was as harmless and amusing as Klaus seemed to find it. Or maybe it was because they waited orders from their King. Either way their behavior added more mystery and danger to the Prince of Darkness that looked at the angels with a smile that seemed to grow wider by the moment. An amused smile while he stared down the angels as if they were nothing but ants he could easily crash beneath his shoe.
"Stand down."
Elijah's stern authority was not one that could be ignored; his voice forced all angels to take a step back and resume their neutral stance.
Klaus turned and looked at Elijah with a mocking sigh. As if the Ruler of the angels had just spoiled his fun. Elijah remained seated and unmoved by Klaus' theatrics and Caroline took a deep breath. Elijah did not seem to fear Klaus and he was her mentor in Heaven. Whatever Klaus had planned maybe he would be able to put a stop to it.
Klaus eventually gestured to his demons to sit. All of them, including those at the Temple, followed his command and sat. Silently and without making any fuss.
All except one.
Before Caroline could even blink one of the demons of the Tribunal Satanica had jumped from the banister of the Temple's balcony and landed on the Stage below on his one knee. Caroline watched cautiously as the man that had human characteristics rose and walked towards Klaus. He did not look like a demon. He had black skin and beautiful features. He, like Klaus, wore modern clothes and not the Black Royal garments.
He walked with confidence and eventually joined his master. Caroline regarded the man warily. He was dressed in an elegant black suit with a black shirt and a red tie. She then noticed that at the left lapel of his suit he had fastened the Magistrate gold metal pin along with the ornamental brooch with the Wolf Crest that named him the Devil's second in command. He was the Royal advisor of the King of Hell. The Hand of the King.
Caroline watched in half fascination half mortification as all the demons bowed their heads when the King of Hell and his Counselor shook hands.
Both men shared conspiracy grins before Klaus looked at her and gave her a wink. Caroline glared at him and did not even notice how all angels scrutinized her behavior with doubt and awe. Even Elijah seemed to be analyzing her silent interaction with the Devil.
Caroline however only glowered at the King of Hell. Anger and frustration lingering in her fiery gaze. Emotions unbecoming for an angel and yet she remembered how Klaus had trapped her in the cabin in the woods and taunted her with her grace. How he had terrorized her with visions of Hell and kept her in his arms. How his touch set fire to her skin and how her fear was sidelined by erotic sinful images he compelled into her mind before she lost consciousness. It was he that was responsible for the chains that were wrapped around her wrists.
Klaus in comparison with the rest of the angels however seemed to be enjoying her reactions and while his Counselor talked to him in hushed whispers Klaus quirked his eyebrow up at her indicating that he was finding her indignation and anger a refreshing challenge.
Finally Klaus nodded to whatever the demon next to him said and took a step towards the podium. He clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed the Ruins as he leisurely strolled around.
When he spoke the angels tensed and more so when he looked up at the North Temple. Even listening to the Devil's voice was an abhorrent thought in Heaven. Klaus had retreated for centuries in Hell. No one has even heard of him for centuries and now here he was.
"So many fond memories of this ground," Klaus recalled cynically manipulating his voice into a melody of fondness and nostalgia. He looked at Elijah sharply and grinned when Elijah's calm facade cracked and a flash of discomfort appeared in his features.
It was a known legend that the last time both of them had been here together was right before Klaus' Fall to Hell.
"Marcellus. Present our case if you may," Klaus addressed his second in command spreading his hands wide open in a theatrical gesture before he went and leaned over at one of the pillars nonchalantly. Not bothering with the formalities everyone else followed.
Marcellus' eyes shone red and he grinned revealing his white teeth and fangs. He marched forward to the podium demanding everyone's attention. He stepped up at the rostrum and pompously straightened his jacket.
The Counselor cleared his throat jokingly making some of the demons in the stone seats chuckle and shake their tails and wings flippantly. The angels watched them with revulsion and all the demons hissed at once making Caroline wince.
"As Hell's Supreme Magistrate I've come to you demanding ...Justice," Marcellus claimed, feigning seriousness. Klaus had crossed his hands casually in front of his chest and enjoyed the show even though his eyes were keenly focused on Caroline.
"One of your angels did unspeakable crimes," Marcellus accused before he turned around and pointed a condemning finger at Caroline that gasped in disbelief, "and you ignored her transgressions over and over again. You accuse us for corruption and wickedness and condemn out sins. You always attack us and kills at the edge of your blessed blades without even allowing us to defend ourselves in trial but you do not do the same with your own! At least we the unjust ones brought the sinner to be judged fairly," Marcellus jeered sarcastically. His every word an insult that made the angels sit at the edge of their seats contemplating of reaching for the blades.
"You all know what your servant did," Marcellus blamed all the angels, "whispers have been spreading in your domain for weeks. Your angel," Marcellus spat the last world with disgust and so much menace that Caroline shuddered. Klaus on the other hand had made himself comfortable against one of the pillars and kept his gaze fixed on the restrained angel, "sold the last remnants of her grace in exchange of shelter, food… money," Marcellus taunted the angels, "she allowed her grace to be crafted to spelled objects."
"My grace was gone!" Caroline rebuffed him angrily and Klaus' simper reflected something akin to pride at her reaction.
Marcellus glanced at her wryly.
"Let me rephrase then. She allowed the last ties to her grace to be severed as she sold-"
"I did not sell-"
"As you SOLD your angelic aura! the last remnants of your grace, to the highest bidder knowing all too well that those could even lead to your grace and even to your precious pearly gates!"
Caroline opened her mouth to protest but Valerie, Elijah's advisor, gave her a scathing look.
"Let the demon speak Caroline. You know the law. He must make his claim," Valerie, one of the high hierarchy angels scolded her and Caroline glowered at the angel that always stood by Elijah's side and had always tried to stall her progress and ascension to the ranks of Heaven. If anything Caroline did not doubt that Valerie deep down must have been enjoying this immensely.
Caroline pressed her lips and Klaus rose a knowing eyebrow at her. He was watching her attentively and acted as if he was on her side and sympathized with her when he was the one that was trying to destroy her.
Marcellus bowed at the angel on the Temple and continued as if Caroline had never interrupted him.
"Renegade demons banned from Hell can now find amulets full of angel juice in the black market and disrupt our dominion. Hell has been tainted by rebellion and your angel provided the rebels with weapons!" he accused Caroline furiously.
A buzz of hushed whispers spread between the demons and the angels.
"And that angel, the False Prophet, is brought in front of you today to be judged. She broke your rules and ours! She caused the death of many of my brothers and sisters and even the death of many of your precious humans! She might as well have murdered them herself! And you sat back and did nothing!" Marcellus bellowed.
"That's not true!" Caroline yelled. They were accusing her for murder and rebellion? For inciting war in Hell and breaking the Pacem Aeternam?
If their accusation were to stand in front of the Seraphic Court Elijah had brought with him then they would-
Caroline finally understood what was happening and the shackles on her hands rattled as she thrashed against them. Marcellus glared at her with his red-shot eyes but Caroline refused to be intimidated by her prosecutor.
"Did you not sell the leftovers of your grace? You angelic aura?" Klaus intervened knowingly leaving the pillar and Marcellus stepped down from their confrontation.
"I didn't..it was not like that!" Caroline denied with fervor and Klaus smiled at her. His eyes filled with mock sympathy.
"How was it love?" Klaus played along enjoying the anger that shone in Caroline's eyes.
"I-" Caroline hesitated, her voice trembled," It was your sister!" she spat and Klaus prowled closer to her. She stiffened at the close proximity. The flames around her lit up Klaus' face and shadows danced between them. It was as if the heat from the Holy Fire and the Hellfire did not affect the Devil at all.
"Did you know she was my and Elijah's sister?"
"No..I-"
"You thought she was a witch and you made a deal with her without caring of how your aura would be used. Even against Heaven and Earth," Klaus manipulated the truth. Caroline's eyes filled with tears.
"My grace was gone. I thought she was going to use my aura to help witches. Witches that sided with the light," she exclaimed frustrated.
"If that was the case you would have not asked for anything in return. You did not even check if she was telling you the truth. You did not care," Klaus guided a confession out of her in ways that made her feel guilty. How was he doing this? He was saying the truth but it was not the truth. These had not been her intentions. She looked up and saw how her fellow angels looked at her with wide eyes full of disbelief. She shook her head wildly.
"I- I was confused," she begrudgingly agreed. She was so confused. She did not mean to say this like a confession and admittance of guilt but this was how it sounded even to her ears, "I didn't-"
"You willingly gave away your last grace?" Elena intercepted their banter. Her friend from the Temple looked at her incredulously.
Caroline cried and nodded making Elena look at her as if she had betrayed her. As if she had betrayed them all. But it wasn't like that. It wasn't! They had to understand! She didn't mean for this to happen.
"You sold it," Elena realized horrified, tears brimming in her doe eyes and Caroline felt as if somehow had thrown her into Holy Fire.
"Elena I-"
"For so I created them free and free they must remain." Klaus quoted a line from John Milton's Paradise lost interrupting her.
Elena turned her head to the side refusing to even look at Caroline as she took away her compassion from Caroline effectively muting her. Tears streamed on Caroline cheeks. Klaus' irony was a knife that twisted inside her heart shredding it to pieces.
"Personally I prefer the 'better to reign in hell than serve in heaven' part but this one will also do. Sweet Caroline has free will now and she made her choice. Didn't you love?" Klaus provoked her and licked his lips at the way Caroline glowered at him despite the tears that kept falling on her face.
"No I- This is not as you try to make it seem!" she yelled in so much outrage that Elena stared at her again and gasped at her uncouth behavior.
Klaus only laughed.
"Freedom. Such a lovely concept," Klaus sighed and placed his hand over his heart ironically. "Your angel sinned. She became a False Prophet among angels" he said turning his attention at Elijah with mirth, "and your Court granted Caroline freedom for her sins. I had been lenient enough to let it pass in an effort to uphold peace," he mused feigning mercy and then looked back at the beautiful blonde creature that would soon belong to him for all eternity, "but you, in your free will my darling sweet Caroline, were free to decide for yourself and so you did. You decided to side with earthly desires and my Kingdom's promise. Your actions broke the Old Laws and even after that your brethren has not decided the cost that should be paid," Klaus scoffed and Caroline gulped at the promise of retribution in his words, "No judgment for the wicked it so seems. The cost that the rest of us.. all of us are bound to pay…but only when it is convenient," Klaus' sarcasm made Caroline flinch. His voice was smooth but his eyes carried so much wretchedness in their depths. It made her soul weep.
Caroline felt as if she was suffocating. Klaus was twisting everything. She desperately uttered Elijah's name in an effort to make him understand but Valerie placed her hand over Elijah's shoulder and berated her, telling her to be silent, and when Elijah said nothing and did not even spare Caroline a glace she looked at him speechless.
Elijah treated her as if she had never been his student or his friend. In that moment she felt the sting of betrayal the most and she pinched her lips.
"We did punish her. Her wings are clipped. She was banished in Earth," the angel, Valerie, that ordered her to not speak advocated.
"But not excommunicated," Klaus enunciated the last word steadily keeping his gaze locked on Caroline that in return stared back at him mortified. This is what he wanted. It was finally out in the open. For her kind to excommunicate her and banish her to his Reign. With the blessing of the Original Archangel and their High Court. God no! There would never be any chance of atonement for her. She would burn. Forever. Klaus would torture her for eons and would turn her to a...demon! No! Oh God!
"You expect us to burn in eternal damnation but your kind is sent to live in the wonders of earth. Some would say that this is not a punishment but a reward," Klaus drawled and his eyes roamed over Caroline's body sensually making her look at him fearfully and uncomfortably. Shivers ran down her spine. She could not even move. She could not even breathe. This could not be happening.
Elena stared at Caroline with the same horror that had appeared at the faces of all angels now.
"Exile is punishment enough!" Elena's voice carried pain and dread. Caroline looked pleadingly at her. Bonnie now stood next to Elena and was holding her hand.
"It is already for you to break the rules then?" Marcellus spoke again, "You the keepers of balance that can't maintain it. You have walked the earth for ages but accuse us for doing the same. You obviously manipulate and misuse your power to your advantage but we are the ones that belong to Hell and you to Heaven," he cursed and the demons let the true forms appear in their face. Their bodies twisting into more grotesque creatures. The angels stood ready to fight.
"If you are so different from us why are your actions the same? No consequences then? Why should we banished to Hell when the same like us rule the Heavens. Unpunished. Unchallenged!" Marcellus roared and all the demons growled.
Klaus snapped his fingers then and the demons fall back in silence. The angels remained uncertain of what they should do until Elijah gestured for them to sit down again.
Klaus squared his shoulders and stepped forward.
"You need to choose," Klaus said, taking charge. His voice was coated with venom and cruelty. Marcellus' menace seemed like a mewl in comparison. Klaus' rule was now unfolding itself as the King of Hell pulled the strings of everyone in the Circle, angels and demons alike, "either you abide by the rules your Liege created in the dawn of existence or we are free to challenge them," Klaus challenged and his wings spread behind his back. Black shadow and devastation sucked the light and the hope from the Circle.
The Angels paled. The Demons bowed. The message was clear. War. Klaus was threatening with Holy War.
The black and blue of his eyes turned to gold. It bled into his eyes and blended with blood. It was hypnotizing and terrifying. It tantalized the senses and made the Angels sick and the demons watched their Lord with awe and fear.
"There would be no reasons for us to not come to break your gates and enter where we belong," Klaus forewarned, his tone a lover's whisper.
Silence prevailed. Eerie silence.
"What is it that you want Niklaus?" Elijah finally spoke. His words laced with power that breathed into every Angel and weakened all Demons expect Klaus. Even the smug expression from Marcellus' face fell.
However Klaus only snickered and the smile that appeared on his lips was wide and devilish. While everyone else feared Elijah he did not.
"Caroline," Klaus only drawled in a sinful tempting voice and the Angels stilled. Caroline stared at Klaus breathlessly. He couldn't possibly mean...
The gold in Klaus' eyes fell on her and Caroline's heart started beating faster. He did not only want to send her to damnation and fire. He wanted her for himself. In ways that made her blood turn to ice. Turning her into a demon would not be enough for the King of Hell. He wanted to turn her to his slave. To his concubine.
It was known that demons abducted witches and humans and forced them to slavery in Hell forever keeping them as their concubines but this had never happened to an angel before. More so to an angel that would be enslaved in that abhorrent way by the King of Hell himself. It was treachery. Blasphemy.
"You can't do this," Caroline breathed out almost without a voice but when she searched for comfort and reassurance in Elijah's eyes she knew that Klaus had won. "Elijah please!"
Klaus narrowed his eyes at how Caroline pleaded only with Elijah and so directly. He did not linger on his little angel however. He would have time for that soon enough. All the time of the world. Instead a lopsided satisfied smirk grazed his lips and he directed his infamous mockery towards his brother with a challenging gaze.
Before Elijah could pass judgment however Bonnie spoke first.
"It was your sister that crafted the amulets. Why is she not brought before us today too? Unless you conspired with her and orchestrated everything," Bonnie accused him and the demons hissed aggressively at her. The Angels stiffened ready to face the onslaught but Klaus rose his hand in the air and his demons stopped their hissing.
"Do you have proof for this sweetheart?" Klaus challenged the angel that did not respond and he chuckled. His face turning back to its humane characteristics, the monster gone from sight. Klaus' wings smoked away into nothingness but no one felt safe. His angelic looking face was nothing but a mockery of all that was Holy. A facade that was meant to lull everyone into a false sense of safety before he would rip them apart before anyone could every blink.
"What Rebekah does on Earth is not my problem or my responsibility. It was your kind that gave her and Kol full impunity in the first place. What was it? A sacrifice for maintaining the peace and the greater good? I cannot touch her and neither can you," Klaus ridiculed the angels and took great pleasure at the way Elijah pressed his lips in a thin line.
"Rebekah is the only daughter of Mikael. One of the Original Archangels," Klaus reminded Bonnie and then pointed at Elijah, "she is not only mine but also Elijah's and Finn's sister. She is not bound to Heaven, Hell or Eden. If you suspect her connection to me because of our shared blood then you must also investigate Elijah's intentions when he was the one that instead of punishing his angel as he should he simply sent Caroline to Earth to become Rebekah's prey."
"Rebekah did not surrender Caroline to Elijah," Bonnie objected indignantly making Klaus give her a taunting smile all teeth.
"He never asked did he?"
Bonnie said nothing to that. Should Elijah had asked Rebekah for Caroline he then would have to descend to Earth to retrieve the fallen angel and then he would have to pass judgment and punish Caroline.
"Should I suspect Elijah then? Maybe he was the one that orchestrated everything in order to fan the flames of rebellion in my domain," Klaus shrugged, his eyes gleaming with maniacal excitement, "You have endured no losses," Klaus shut the Angel down, "It was I that had to pay my sister handsomely in order for her to surrender me the angel and the remaining talismans. The talismans I already gave to your Court without asking anything in return may I add. All that so I could show the benevolence of my intentions as I brought Caroline to your justice; while I could have very easily used her as leverage for igniting war and challenge you all into a never-ending battle that would last for centuries upon centuries. At least," Bonnie swallowed hard and Klaus saw how the angels blanched. It was one thing to battle against demons and another to have the King of Hell attack their gates and declare War.
" If you want to judge Rebekah by all means do so," Klaus continued, "if you can find her and if you are willing to break the pacification commandments the Archangels signed in blood. Truth to be told Sanguinem Pax is quite antiquated is it not?" Klaus finished smugly making his audience gape at his audacity and it was Elijah that stopped Bonnie from retaliating any further with a forbidding glare.
Marcellus took advantage of that opening and stepped up.
"It is not my King or his sister that are on trial today. It is an angel of your ranks that was brought here with your consent. An angel may I add that has just admitted in front of everyone of being guilty of all the charges! And here you are trying to trick yourselves out of the consequences by falsely accusing my Lord."
Caroline was stunned by what was actually happening thinking that it had to be a nightmare and she opened her mouth to disagree but Elijah's voice did not give her the chance.
"There will be no confrontation or violation of the Angelici Pacem Aeviternus today. Anyone that has any claim to make must speak only by presenting evidence," Elijah decreed making Marcellus incline his head at him.
No one would lay a finger on the Archangels. Even those that were stranded on Earth either by choice or exile. No one would dare to stare a new War like the Great one that lasted for millenniums and brought devastation and ruin to both sides. The balance would be kept by all costs.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Klaus bemused unfazed by the havoc he had created by even implying of defying the Old Laws, "we still have the pressing issue of sweet Caroline's pending judgment. What will it be….brother?" Klaus sing sang and his smirk widened at the collective gasp he heard from the angels when the Prince of Darkness called Elijah his brother, "Justice or…war?" he challenged. His tone soft and laced with honey hiding lethal daggers ready to be unleash just underneath the surface.
Alas he would never get his War. The game was rigged from the start. His brother's cowardliness was about to give him such a lovely gift. Sweet little Caroline would be his for the taking. Too bad he would not claim her as a tribute of war but nonetheless possessing her would have to do.
Oh...he would make such a fine example out of her. For all Heaven to see. And weep. An angel odalisque bowing down to the King of Hell.
As expected he looked with immense delight at the way Elijah looked at Caroline with something close to pity for a moment before his brother's eyes hardened.
Elijah, the Archangel. The first born half-breed. The everlasting hypocrite. He would throw the light angel to Hell without sparing her even the slightest mercy as he had once done with him.
"For her crimes Caroline is to face banishment and penance in Hell," Elijah's strict booming voice shook the foundations of the Circle. He passed judgment without even daring to look at Caroline that fell on her knees in shock. Klaus beamed as he expected this reaction from Elijah. His demons cheered and clapped but sweet angelic Caroline remained broken on her knees. Tears falling from her face.
Elijah looked at him with so much enmity that was unfitting for a servant of the Lord.
"Elijah! You can't allow him to take her!" Elena protested shocked making the demons laugh at her shrill indignation.
"I can't," Elijah agreed and he only had to cast one glare at the riotous demonic crown and soon silence fell again. Klaus only rolled his eyes and leaned over at a pillar amused, "the decision must be unanimous Elena. Anyone that has any objections should speak now but remember that we are servants of the Divine. This is not about us or Caroline. And it most certainly is not for the pride of the fiends that want to force our hand. We are here to serve and those that break the sacred laws must also pay the ultimate price. The law is hard but is the law," Elijah concluded his self righteous speech and Elena averted her eyes from Caroline. Her plea forever silenced. Grief already etched upon her features. Elijah's decree was the law and everyone would fall in line. So much for free will.
"Anyone that wants to object should speak now," Elijah proposed in a strict voice but his tone did not leave any room for objections. It was an order and everyone had to obey his command.
The angels bowed down their heads. Silently condemning Caroline to Hell.
Two demons guards and two angel guards had taken Caroline away from the Circle of Justice and left her back in the mist in the between to wander without purpose and direction. She had no way to escape anyway. She was bound to mortal bones. Her wings were clipped and her grace was last seen in Klaus' hands.
Caroline looked down at her shackled hands. Everything that happened in the Circle of Justice was starting to sink it. She would become Hell's token. There was no way for the final verdict to exonerate her. Elijah himself had proposed excommunication and his word was the law in Heaven.
Caroline fell on her knees. She looked up and the nebulosity that spread its magnificence to the chaotic infinity and prayed.
Excommunication. Becoming the prisoner of the King of Hell himself. She could not even begin to comprehend what that actually meant.
Elijah just sacrificed her to avoid war. All Klaus had to do was threaten Heaven with retaliation and they offered her to him like lamb to the slaughter to avoid any further escalation. They had yielded to the King of Hell so easily. They barely defended her.
But why?
Why would Klaus' leave his seclusion in Hell so to take her to his domain? Why her?
Caroline closed her eyes and prayed knowing that soon enough she would never be this close to the Divine and to Heaven again. So close and so far away.
For hours upon hours each side presented their objections and concessions in private keeping Caroline in the dark. Each council from both sides conversed and disagreed and fought until they came to an agreement and deciding her fate. The representatives of each council withdrew and discussed and decided on the verdict.
After Elijah's motion it was a given that Caroline would end up in Hell but Caroline still hoped that maybe it would not have to be forever. Maybe her martyrdom would not have to be everlasting. Surely her people would not surrender her to Klaus' clutches forever.
Her thoughts were a tangled mess of dread as the demon and the angel guards led her back to the Circle.
Everyone in the Circle was standing now. Caroline did not dare look at her brothers or sisters or at the demons. She refused to look at Klaus that stared back at her with an expression of delight. His smirk was taunting.
No. Caroline did not look at them. She only looked at Elijah. At her mentor, her protector, her friend. Her teacher that had already clipped her wings and exiled her to earth once.
She dared him to look at her. To see what he was doing to her. To show her even a glimpse of regret. To acknowledge that he was sacrificing her when he should be fighting for her. She has done mistakes but she did not deserve this. Not this. And everyone knew it.
But Elijah did not look at her. He remained expressionless.
It was Valerie that stood up from her seat as the representative of the Seraphic Court.
Valerie stared at Elijah for a last time. Her expression grave. The Archangel gave her a curt nod and Valerie's wings led her to the stage where she stepped forward addressing all demons and angels. Marcellus stood next to her. Both of then standing as equals facing all demons and angels alike.
The members of the Seraphic Court and the Tribunal Satanica rose for the announcement of the verdict.
Caroline looked at Valerie frightfully and for the first time in her existence she saw in the eyes of the other angel sadness and sympathy. However her features were scolded back to impassiveness and Caroline finally glimpsed at the pale and gloomy faces of all the angels that stared at her with matching gazes of grief. Especially Bonnie and Elena.
Valerie spoke in a firm unforgiving voice.
"It is done. Both sides have agreed. Heaven's edict is that Caroline no longer has a place among the Glory of the Lord. She is disowned and will have to face Hell's Anathema for her sins. Till the end of all time. No appeal in her name shall be allowed. May the Divine grant her mercy in the final day of judgment." Valerie ruled as the official representative of the angels.
Marcellus next to Valerie grinned and his eyes roamed over Caroline, that was left speechless, with a depraved sinister gleam. The Magistrate spoke next in a booming voice.
"My King's will be done. Both sides have agreed. Hell's edict is eternal damnation. For her crimes against Earth, Heaven and Hell the angel Caroline will begin her servitude and penance in Hell starting from today until the end of time. May her condemnation appease our Lord, may her wings burn. No clemency will be granted." Marcellus decreed as Hell's Regal Counselor and as the personal advisor of the King of Hell.
"No," Caroline managed to utter in absolute dread, her voice breaking. She fell on her knees unable to believe what has just happened. She looked at her brothers and sisters with imploring eyes but it was as if she was invisible to them.
Klaus looked at her and his eyes slit into pools of darkness and pity that contradicted the satisfaction his stance was showing but then his lips curved to a pleased depraved smile. Caroline was staring at her brethren with disbelief and terror. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. A lamb ready to be sacrificed and to be led to its slaughter. One that surprisingly enough did not ask for mercy.
Klaus straightened his body and clapped his hands satisfied making Caroline stare up at him in absolute mortification. He returned her stare with gentleness that only promised sin. He rubbed his hands arrogantly.
"Take her," Klaus commanded. His voice had a sweet and yet ecstatic edge that made Caroline's eyes widen in undiluted trepidation.
Snarls and sneering exploded. Lewd jokes and cheering reverberated in the Circle as Klaus' demons surged forward shouting excited. Pandemonium broke loose. The boom of the demons' rotting feathers made the angels screech. Evil laughter and anarchy prevailed. Thunder and wind that carried the stench of darkness engulfed everyone.
Hooves hit the stones over the mist repeatedly making the ground quake and Marcellus' retinue flew over to the shackled angel that stared at the demons horrified as countless of clawed hands forcibly picked her up. Caroline resisted and screamed for help looking at all the angels that stared at the horror that unfolded in front of them without moving an inch. Some cried and some lamented as beastly tails wrapped around Caroline's limbs and the demons bounced Caroline's body up and down in the air throwing her higher and higher enjoying her desperate cries. Some of the angels stood frozen and some bowed their heads quietly praying but none of them did anything to help Caroline.
Caroline's struggling body was now prey on the claws of the fiends and the hellions that were groping her weak body and were tearing what was left from her dress as they carried her away from the Circle of Justice with hurrahs and yells of obscene vulgarities.
Klaus only cast a warning glare at his minions. The angel only belonged to him.
However he let his demons have their fun for now and watched with glee the way Elijah's features had turned to stone. Marcellus stayed by Klaus' side also looking pleased. Soon enough the riotous crowd left only but heavy silence as they distanced themselves from the Circle and ran towards the Abyss.
Klaus clapped his hands behind his back and simply looked at his brother.
Elijah's lips twisted in an unbecoming mask of fury. He soared with grace to the lower level. Elijah ordered Valerie to return back to Heaven and he sent away all his angels with her except those that stood by his left and right side as his protectors and advisors.
Klaus and Marcellus faced Elijah and his retinue with matching sarcastic smirks on their faces. Klaus' scoffed at the council of Angels that were nothing but a pitiful excuse of subjects that blindly followed his brother's will. Those that remained next to Elijah now were no exception.
Klaus prowled close to the angels. Darkness rising over his every step.
Both Bonnie and Elena stepped in front of Elijah ready to protect him even by surrendering their lives. Knowing that should they fall in battle for their noble cause they would still be rewarded and would not have to face Caroline's fate. Marcellus behind him chuckled and did not move at all. He knew he didn't have too.
Klaus smirk was a song of intimidation and he saw how the angels almost cowered before him. Their beauty did not compare with that of the angel he now owned possessed. Caroline was a magnificent prize.
Elijah ordered Bonnie and Elena to step down and Klaus smiled at him contently enjoying at the bitterness that now adorned Elijah's features.
"You should really be glad I am here to guide you to your preordained path Elijah and show you the way of lawfulness," Klaus mocked Elijah and saw how his brother's jaw clenched.
"Manipulating the law of Heaven is not Justice," Bonnie bit back. Her judgmental tone amused Klaus that only rose an eyebrow at the angry angel.
"Did someone just speak of hypocrisy?" Marcellus mischievously joked earning glares from the angels.
Klaus stepped forward and Elijah shielded Bonnie with his body giving a warning glower at him.
"And why do you think you are so easy to manipulate angel?" Klaus asked Bonnie with a soft alluring voice. He looked at Elena and huffed a chuckle at the way her cheeks blushed.
"You took what you wanted Niklaus. It is time for you to leave," Elijah commanded him with an imperious tone.
Klaus' eyes glistened dangerously. Gold flashed in them and Elijah tensed and stared at him with pity. Klaus held back his laughter. Elijah could keep his pity and his white wings. He would keep everything else. Especially Caroline.
"Chaos does not belong to you Elijah. You can't cast me out any longer," Klaus whispered mere inches away from Elijah's face, "you should return to your domain and hide behind your gates but I would advise you to raise the walls higher," he advised, "as you have seen my reach extends far beyond Hell."
Klaus kissed Elijah's cheek and Elijah did not move or say anything despite the gasps that escaped Bonnie and Elena. Klaus stepped back, his intense gaze still locked with his brother's before he grinned at the angels. He gave them a mocking bow and he and Marcel strode away with satisfied victory smiles.
When the demons put some distance between them Elena immediately reached for Elijah. She grasped his elbow.
"What have we done? We can't forsake Caroline!" she cried and Elijah covered her hand with his palm showing his support and torment at last.
"She was already lost to us Elena," Elijah whispered crestfallen. His voice already plagued with grief, "despite all his flaws Niklaus was right. Free will is not ours to command and Caroline has made her choice. Even long before she was cast out of Heaven."
"That does not mean she should be sent to Hell," Bonnie whispered with tears in her eyes, "all the things they will do her!" she bemoaned horrified, "the things he will do to her!"
"He will destroy her," Elena deplored; her sorrow and regret could not be contained even in her tears.
"Every choice has a consequence. It is done," Elijah resolutely said and left the two angels behind. His white untainted wings taking him to Heaven.
Bonnie and Elena looked towards the direction Caroline was taken but both of them knew that they could not witness what would follow next. It would break their hearts to see Caroline's demise and so they followed Elijah in silent mourning for the friend and comrade that would be forever lost to them.
As they reached the vast darkness far across Unseen Declivity and the Black Steepness where no angel ever dared to cross Caroline lost all her will to fight. They had hauled her from the Ruins kicking and screaming, dragging her to the edge of the Abyss far away from the Circle of Justice. To the forbidden grounds. The same grounds that led to the chaotic Abyss Elijah had thrown Klaus in eons ago. They had brought her to the Brink of Hell. No matter how much she fought and cried there was no going back. All that was left was the darkness. And her imminent demise. She would never see the light again. She would never touch Heaven. She would burn.
Her brothers and sisters abandoned her. To uphold the peace. 'And to salvage their pride' a voice whispered in her mind and it became one with the screeching noises the demons were making as they carted her around like she was a weightless feather they wanted to burn to ash into the eternal fire.
But she had no feathers left herself. They had been plucked one by one by the angels long before the trial and she was left with nothing now that she was standing on the precipice of her damnation.
Caroline became a mute after tearing her lungs out. She was sure that her shrill screams and her despair would reach the Divine. The demons had taken her. Their claws broke her skin and their tails felt like whips striking flesh. And no power came down to save her. She had served and bowed and obeyed the greater good and now she was left alone to fend for herself in the hand of monsters.
Tears broke from her eyes. She had no bravery left to face this agony. Scratched and bruised she had nothing to hope for. She was passed down to demon hands and talons as they kept throwing her around their clutches as if she was a broken doll.
The leering faces, the vulgar gestures and the crude promises of her suffering in the mouths of demons were cruel and harsh but Caroline knew that they were honest. They would break her. They would tear her to shreds and would feast on her body and heart. Worse than that they would give her to the King of Hell himself.
"Let her go."
The sharp command cut through the air like thunder. Steel forged in Hellfire.
Through a blur of canines and beastly limbs she was thrown to the ground. The demons immediately obeyed at the order of their King that passed through them with grace and unyielding determination. The soulless beasts dropped her immediately and knelt down with respect in front of their Lord.
Caroline bit back a moan. The shackles in her hands were so heavy. Her dress was in tatters. Blood was pouring from scratches and cuts all over her practically naked and abused body. She did not move or looked up. Through the tears that blinded her she saw the black shoes in front of her.
Everyone around her had turned silent. She stared up and saw Klaus looking down at her. He was not smiling anymore. His face bore no expression as he intently locked his gaze with hers.
Caroline grounded her teeth and rose on her trembling legs. There was no point in running. That much she knew. Klaus would catch her. His demons would catch her. And yet every instinct she had was screaming at her to make a run for it. To escape.
She was an angel of the light. A pacifist. She was not a warrior angel and she knew that in a battle she would not last even a few seconds against demons and more so against the Prince of Darkness but not all battles were about fighting. She would not give him the satisfaction of becoming his prey. Of having him chase her and enjoying the hunt.
Klaus snapped his fingers and the manacles fell from her wrists. They clung to the stones beneath their feet. She was free. But it was an illusion. She was doomed. There was no one that could save her now.
She looked back and saw the gaping void that waited to swallow her. She stared at the King of Hell and took a step back. He followed. One step ahead he went and one step back she took.
She stumbled and almost fell but Klaus' hands caught her before she lost her balance. She gasped at the softness of his grip as he steadied her and her heart started beating fasted.
She should be strong. She should not give him the satisfaction of begging but the words that spilled from her lips had no way to remain trapped in her throat. Maybe she was weak. Maybe she was a coward. Maybe this was her cry for help. For mercy.
"I do not want to die," she pled with teary eyes and for a moment she could swear that she saw something almost human pass through Klaus' eyes.
"You won't. You are meant for greatness Caroline. You are like me. Immortal," he promised her and Caroline shook her head. Klaus' immortality for her meant only death.
The greatness he promised came with a heavy price. She would be condemned. Punished. Even thinking of all the things he would do to her was a torment she could not bear.
Klaus brought her closer to him and she struggled to get away but when his lips touched hers, soft and hot, she felt light.
Beautiful painful light. It illuminated the darkness like a falling star that burned through its fall. The light drew her in. Caroline kissed Klaus back and wings grew on her back. Klaus was restoring her grace. Emotion burst inside her. Alive. She felt alive. And her heart was set free. She felt desire and beauty and whispers of longing. She felt warmth and things that belonged to dreams and nightmares. His kiss was sin. But his sin brought fire and light. So much light. Her light. Beautiful and ageless and a rapture of love and heaven.
Her wings flapped on her back and their shine had all the demons except Klaus shy away as a web of divine soft feathers weaved her new wings that sprouted and expand in ivory colors that hid in them the light of the sun and the stars. Her wings expanded and her skin radiated with harsh luminance.
Klaus breathed new life inside her restoring what had been taken away from her.
Her eyes flew open as their kiss deepened and her light blended with his darkness. She had never been kissed before. She moaned and a tear, a diamond of light, fell from her eye. New life was poured again in her very core making her soul sing as her grace healed her wounds and soothed the ache of the part that she was missing ever since her wings had been clipped. That emptiness inside her vanished and she was whole once more. Her angelic powers were restored.
But just as she felt that she could breathe again in relief and joy a knew weight was forced upon her soul. Like black ink that swirled in clear waters and infected them with darkness. It burned through her wings and skin. She felt Klaus' mark taking over like an chain that was wrapped around her spirit deep inside her. His brand on her soul. An irrevocable part of her grace that got tainted by the Devil's touch. Klaus tongue in her mouth demanded submission and battled for dominion. His kiss corrupted. His lips punished. He had marked her soul. With one hand he gave and with the other he took.
Caroline broke their kiss just as the light died out. She panted. Her skin sparkled with the light that ran in her bloodstream and yet she felt the Devil's clutches gripping her soul tightly. It was an anchor pulling her down to Hell. A searing blade pushed deep into her darkest desires, twisting in her insides, raping her innocence.
"Much better," Klaus complimented and licked his lips slowly savoring the taste of their kiss that left bitterness and venom on her tongue. Her first kiss. The first carnal pleasure. To give her back what she lost and to stigmatize her with Hell' infamy. A brand to mark her as Klaus' possession. Angel once more but one that belonged to Hell.
Terror spread all over and her wings fluttered ready to lift her body and make her soar away from all this terror but the feline smile that appeared on Klaus lips turned her blood to poison and the shine that glossed over her body shimmered out. Her wings did not obey her. They obeyed their master now. The one that had given her the Devil's mark. Deeply rooted in her soul. Heaven had taken away the shield of divinity from her grace and their excommunication gifted her soul to the King of Hell.
Caroline tried to escape somehow from that despicable spell but Klaus' thrall was unbreakable. Caroline's legs remained rooted to where she stood and Klaus prowled closer. He traced her arms with gentle fingers and her wings flapped violently as he led her backwards. She looked back and dread was the only thing that replaced the sense of fulfillment she felt when Klaus restored her angelic grace.
Wind and the breath of fire engulfed her wings on her back. The Abyss was spitting out Hell's heat. Klaus had taken her to the edge of the cliff. Her eyes widened as she remembered all the tales and the legends of his fall and she realized what was going to happen to her.
"No," she cried in panic but could not resist Klaus' enchantment.
She looked at him and tears fell.
"Please no!" she beseeched but Klaus' fingers pressed against her lips.
"God no!" she whispered over his lips and Klaus gave her a smile full of teeth.
No one except him had ever been cast to Hell by falling in the Abyss. His demons were condemned souls or spawns sired by him in Hell. A few angels before him had fallen from Grace but they descended through chaos and stars in the same way she had when the Court of Angels had clipped her wings. All the fallen resided in Earth as mortals or even immortals but none but Klaus fell to Hell and more so by being thrown in the Abyss. Caroline would be the only one after Klaus to take the most painful of falls.
Caroline looked at Klaus with big wide eyes. Tears soaked the ground beneath her feet as they dropped from her cheeks. His lips touched her ear. His whisper caressed the pulse that throbbed on her neck violently.
"Let go."
The King of Hell's words pushed Caroline over the edge more than his hands did.
The chasm stretched into infinity beneath her falling body as Caroline's hands reached for Heaven but no one was there to catch her.
Blackness devoured her, down the rabbit hole she went. White feather wings caught on fire soaring in cinders and falling embers and smoke, as the angel of light followed Klaus' Fall and was thrown into the Abyss. Straight into Hell.