Thank you so much for the response to the last chapter! I'm so glad you guys like this so much. Thank you to Kaitlyn for being born and to garglyswoof for betaing. I didn't do a last draft check-through with her, so any errors are probably things I added at the last second. ;)

Just as a quick note, unlike in canon where Klaus and Caroline's shared flaw is insecurity, Klaus and Original!Caroline both lived for a thousand years with someone who gives them unconditional love. Their relationship here will be a bit more dark and twisted as a result. So, just a warning.

Also, here is the promised viking wooing.

Mystic Falls, 1043

Klaus leaned against the stone wall of the cave, his sketchbook balanced on a knee. He was tracing the line of Caroline's cheek, trying to be subtle as he glanced up at her for reference. Her face was shadowed in the firelight, her smile bright as she spoke to his sister, and he carefully outlined the curve of her eyebrow. He glanced back up and realized that she was looking at him. He held her gaze, tilting his head to the side as he drank in her wide-eyed stare, and she blushed, quickly turning away.

He grinned, turning back to the pages and spinning the charcoal between his fingers. Caroline was Rebekah's age, and he'd minded them every now and then when they were small children. Caroline had made a point of ignoring his general existence since declaring him a dirty cheater at pick-up sticks when she was six. Her accusation was completely true, of course, and in the ten years since, she hadn't changed her opinion.

Or, at least, she hadn't admitted it.

He knew that she was warming up to him. He wasn't oblivious to the curious glances and flushed cheeks that indicated she found him attractive, but Caroline was the rare sort who would value silly qualities like compassion and loyalty over who was handsome or best with a sword. Luckily, he was capable of at least putting on a good show of it.

After an hour or so of sketching and avoiding Finn's attempts to engage him in conversation, he casually went to sit down next to Caroline and Rebekah. "How are you faring?"

"Well enough," Caroline said coldly, chancing a glance at him through thick lashes before going back to inspecting the stack of pick-up sticks, the gears clearly turning in her head. He watched as her brows furrowed, her hand slowly reaching out, fingers perfectly steady.

Her hand withdrew abruptly, and she whirled around to glare at him. "Must you stare? You're making it difficult to concentrate."

"Does that mean you're nervous when I'm looking at you, love?"

She shot him a withering look before turning back to the game, her teeth worrying her plump lower lip as she reached to slide one of the sticks off the pile. When the pile didn't fall, she grinned, adding the stick to her small stack, and Rebekah shifted to reach for one.

Klaus let out an obviously fake sneeze, and Rebekah squealed, withdrawing her hand and jostling the pile.

"Nik!" she shrieked. "That was disgusting!"

"Sorry, love. Can't be helped."

"Niklaus! I could have won without your half-arsed help," Caroline hissed.

"Caroline! Language," her mother called from the other side of the cave, and Caroline gritted her teeth.

"Apologies, mother."

Klaus fought down a grin, and Caroline glared at him again before tucking a blonde curl behind her ear and looking back at the game. "You can go again, Bekah. Niklaus's attempts to earn my favor in this instance have failed spectacularly," she said dryly.

"Have they ever succeeded?"

Caroline flushed. "No," she muttered as Rebekah slid another stick off the pile.

"I get the impression that you're lying to me, sweetheart."

She huffed before lowering her voice. "Well, you can take your impressions and shove them up your-"

"Caroline!"

"I sometimes think the gods blessed my mother with better hearing than the average human," Caroline muttered.

Klaus was unable to suppress a smile, and she determinedly didn't meet his eyes.

"Though your mother may not appreciate it, I find your blunt honesty rather charming."

Rebekah looked away from the conversation, clearly suppressing a laugh as Caroline turned ever-so-slowly to pin him with unimpressed eyes.

"May I ask that you take what is clearly about to turn into a spat somewhere else? I have no wish to listen."

"Yes, Bekah," Caroline said immediately, and Klaus stood, offering Caroline his arm.

She didn't take it, simply sweeping from the small cave area to the underground passage that connected it with the others, taking a deep breath before she spoke.

"While I understand that my prospects are few due to my unladylike conduct, I must confess that you would not be one of them no matter your level of interest."

"And why's that, love?" he asked, bristling. He was used to her shutting him down, but she'd never done so in such a firm way, and for the first time it occurred to him that she might not actually wish to be wooed. Had he been investing his time and energy into a woman that would never love him?

"You put on a good act of being a kind man around me, but I hear the stories, Niklaus. I know what activities you partake in among the trees at night. You claim to want me, and yet you tempt those of lesser status with pretty promises before leaving them in tears. Is that what I should expect if I succumb? A flash of dimples and glinting teeth before you leave me ruined and ashamed?"

"Do be careful, Caroline. You wouldn't want to insult me."

She gave a sharp laugh that was anything but kind. "And here I thought you found my 'blunt honesty' charming..."

He didn't have anything to say to that, and she gave him a knowing look. "I know you find me appealing in looks, Niklaus, but I simply do not think you would like the woman who comes with them."

He swallowed. "You are so much more than a pretty face, Caroline."

"So you say," she whispered.

He could see how vulnerable she felt from the way she held herself, her arms crossed protectively over her chest as she refused to meet his eyes, and he sighed. "I will convince you of my intentions."

"I would love to see you make the attempt," Caroline said dryly, and he restrained himself from making a biting remark.

Though he hadn't meant to leave any room for argument, Caroline always seemed to find a way to slot her contempt into places it did not belong, and he knew he had to keep his temper if he had any hope of convincing her. If that failed, he knew that her father would accept his offer for her hand regardless. Though his mother had confessed that he was a bastard son, it was a shame the rest of the village would never know, and Mikael was one of the most important men in the village.

Caroline could not hope for a better match, unless Elijah or Finn were to offer, but both were too wrapped up in their own interests.

Their loss, really.

Still, he'd prefer that she agreed, knowing that taking away her choice was a transgression Caroline would likely never forgive. The question was how to convince her.

"I will convince you," he repeated. "Now, may I walk you back to the rest of the village?"

"You may accompany me, yes," she said, the rejection falling heavy between them.

He didn't press. She'd come to him eventually.

XXX

"Come to the forest with me, Niklaus," Tatia said, her smile bright as she threaded her fingers through his. "I have missed you."

"I cannot, I'm afraid."

"Why?" she asked, her pretty face pulled into a frown.

"I have decided to limit my attentions to the woman I plan to court."

A brief look of surprise passed across her face before she pressed her lips together, clearly offended. "Are you not courting me?"

"Not at all."

"Why not?" she asked, apparently genuinely confused as to why he wouldn't want her.

"I want Caroline."

"The horse-tender's daughter?"

"Yes. Though I feel that I must tell you: even if I was not interested in Caroline, you're all but promised to my brother, and I am not a man who betrays family."

Tatia narrowed her eyes for a moment before her lower lip extended in a pout. "Fine. If you want to chase the one woman in the village who won't have you, I suppose that is your right."

"It is," he said, watching impassively as Tatia stalked off before returning to his work.

The mid-afternoon sun was uncomfortably hot on his back, his tunic sticky with sweat and clinging to him like a second skin. After a lengthy debate with himself, he decided that he was at the very back of the property where no one would see him anyway, and he might as well shed his tunic. The relief was instant. He knew he'd be burned the next day, but it would be worth not having to deal with sweat-soaked fabric. He was lost in his thoughts for awhile before he heard the pounding of feet as someone approached.

"Niklaus," Caroline hissed, storming up to him, her cheeks flushing when he turned around, her lips parting slightly as she stared at his chest with darkening eyes.

He fought down a smirk at her reaction, knowing that he was already on thin ice from the look on her face. "Easy, love. What-"

"Tatia seems to believe that we are to be married. Explain," she said tersely, still shaking with what was probably a combination of rage and embarrassment, her cheeks a delightful shade of red. He tried not to react and treat her as he normally would, knowing that calling attention to her embarrassment would not endear him to her.

"While I admit that I do hope for that to be the case in the future, I would assume that she simply inferred too much from my rejection. You expressed disgust in regards to my...indiscretions. I listened."

He saw her eyes wander to his forearms, her tongue running over her lower lip before she seemed to snap back to herself.

"Oh. You listened," she said with another of her withering looks, and his hands curled into fists as he tried to calm himself, slowly relaxing his body.

"Indeed, I did. I told you that I would convince you of my intentions. My intention is to be yours, and only yours, just as you would be mine."

She stared at him for a few seconds before giving him a sharp nod. "Fine, then."

"I will continue to do what I can to earn your affections," Klaus continued, ignoring Caroline's suspicious glance.

"May I ask how?"

"You think that I only value your beauty and not your heart or mind, and I would like the chance to prove you wrong."

She held his gaze, her head tilting slightly to the side. "Again, how?"

"Get to know me," he said quietly, taking a step towards her, and her eyes widened slightly, her breath catching.

"I..."

"Take a chance," he whispered, cupping her cheek in his palm. "I am not a good man, Caroline, but I promise that I will be good to you."

She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch before she seemed to catch herself, her eyes flying open. "Niklaus-"

"Please," he whispered, and she gave him a searching look, her big blue eyes drawing him in.

"Fine. One chance," she allowed, and he gave her a dimpled smile.

"I am pleased to hear that. Perhaps you should wander back to the village now, however. You wouldn't want anyone to catch you alone with a half-naked man, future husband or no."

She wrinkled her nose. "You bounced back to arrogant rather quickly for a man so earnest."

"Confident, not arrogant," he said, brushing his palm down her arm and smirking when he saw goosebumps spread across her skin.

"We shall see," she whispered.

He succeeded, and when he saw her on the day of their wedding, her hair beautifully plaited, her lips stained with berry juice to make them sweetly bright, he knew that the image would be perfectly imprinted in his memory as long as he lived.

He wasn't wrong.

London, 2052

Klaus woke up to a blinding pain between his legs, and he swore, sitting straight up to see Caroline frantically pulling on clothes. "Where are we? Where did you take me?" she snarled, and he nearly groaned at her faint accent.

His Caroline had obviously made a wish on that damned necklace, though he had no idea what it was, and it was already abundantly clear that this new Caroline was not at all pleased to see him.

"We're in London, and I believe that you're in an alternate universe," he said lightly, the pain ebbing away quickly.

"Very funny, Niklaus. Did you dagger me while I was asleep?"

"Dagger you?" he asked, pushing himself out of bed. Was she an Original in the other universe?

She scrambled back a few steps as he approached, and though her jaw was set in a charade of stubbornness, he could see the genuine fear in her eyes. "I believe that I deserve to know before you hold my heart in your hands, as you so kindly promised me."

He sighed, walking to Caroline and grabbing her wrists, ignoring her shrieks as she attempted to tug her hands away as he led her back to the bed. She dug her heels into the carpet, but he simply slipped his arm around her waist, lifting her.

"What did you do to me, Niklaus? Did you cast a spell? Weaken me?"

"No, Caroline," he said patiently, dropping her on the bed and holding her still with one hand as he plucked his phone off its charger one-handed and unlocked it. "As I said, you are in an alternate universe. In this one, you're a baby vampire who was born in 1992. I'd assume in your universe you're quite a bit older."

"I am an Original," she hissed before suddenly deflating. "Or I was. How do you know what's going on?"

"Well, my Caroline found a necklace that grants wishes, and I'd assume that she wished for something that sent her spirit to your universe, therefore sending you here," he said, bending down so that they were nose-to-nose, ignoring her sharp inhale. "Now, you're going to tell me everything about your world. The first thing she's going to do if she's in trouble is to try to find me, and considering that you just did your best to injure me before you ran, I'm going to assume that in this other universe, we're not on good terms."

"You could say that," she said, her eyes narrowed.

"Right. Tell me why that is. Now."

She swallowed. "Let go of me," she whispered, and Klaus chuckled.

"I'll do no such thing until I have answers. Talk. Now."

Venice, 1992

Caroline burst into Rebekah's room, ignoring her shriek of indignation. "You have to leave," she said firmly, roughly shoving Rebekah's clothes and belongings into a suitcase. "Now."

"What? Why?"

"Niklaus...He's angry."

"Nik is always angry," Rebekah said, supremely unconcerned in a way that made alarm bells go off in Caroline's head.

"He's dagger-level angry, Bekah."

Rebekah stilled for a moment before she whirled around to face Caroline, her teeth bared. "What have I done, exactly?"

"Every man within a ten-mile radius," Caroline said, knowing her tone was nasty, but not particularly caring.

Rebekah still clung too intently to her human dreams, hoping for an epic love story, and it was tiresome to watch the endless train wrecks. Rebekah wasn't close to a saint herself after all, and her constant judgmental comments about Klaus and Caroline's admittedly tumultuous relationship had never ceased to grate on Caroline's patience. Though she and Rebekah had been friends long ago, their relationship had been soured by Klaus's slow descent into paranoid insanity. She blamed Caroline for enabling him, believing that Caroline's willingness to sink with him rather than keeping him afloat had doomed them both to being beyond saving.

Caroline, for her part, didn't particularly want to be saved.

She occasionally wondered what would have happened if she hadn't been there. Would Rebekah have taken her place? Let Klaus spiral and gone down with him? Or would she have kept him tied to his humanity?

"Claws away, sister," Rebekah said pointedly.

"It should be enough that I'm warning you. He'll be back soon. You need to run."

Honestly, Rebekah should feel lucky that she was getting a warning at all, considering what she'd done. One of her little conquests was working for Mikael. Rebekah should have known better.

"How do you know? He's been gone for days."

"We talk every night on the telephone, as I'm sure you've realized."

"Bugger off," Rebekah muttered, now helping Caroline pack, despite her initial resistance.

"If you'd like, though I'd assume that you'd want to get as many belongings in your suitcases as possible, and you have about..." she checked the time on the clock in the corner. "...half an hour to make it to the airport."

They packed in silence after that, both of them having had a lot of experience prioritizing belongings from the years they'd spent on the run from Mikael, and Caroline watched as her sister-in-law drove away.

Ten minutes later, Klaus was looming over her as she attempted to keep a blank face. "Where is she?"

"She left," Caroline said, not meeting his eyes.

"You told her," he hissed, and she didn't deny it, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps I know that you love the chase."

"Now, Caroline... We both know that you dislike seeing her hurt. I do not either, of course, but I simply cannot allow her to get away with what she did."

"The boy did not have a chance to tell anyone anything. It is of no consequence, really."

He sighed, beginning to pace, and she didn't bother to keep an eye on him, picking her nails as she listened to the constant rhythm of his footsteps. "I suppose I can forgive you for your betrayal," he said a few minutes later, coming up and pressing his chest against her back. "Especially as I've missed you so..."

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes closing as he brushed her hair from her neck to press a lingering kiss to the hollow of her throat. "...but if Mikael does end up finding us, I must keep you safe."

She knew what was going to happen a split second before he drove the dagger into her heart, and she could hear his final words whispered in her ear as her skin greyed and her limbs went heavy: "What's a few more years without you when we have eternity?"

I hope you guys liked this! Any feedback? Thoughts? Favorite parts or bits of dialogue? Predictions?

Please let me know what you thought. It's the only way I know what I could be doing better or what I'm doing well!