Year 17 – The Training
"Never waste a minute thinking about people you don't like."
"Are you ready, Love."
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Seriously!? I can handle it, trust me."
"Alright then; on the count of three. One….Two…"
Slam.
She cried out as her back hit the ground, and heard a distinct crack when her head made contact with the concrete.
Caroline heard his laughter fill the room.
"You said three." She groaned, getting to her feet slowly.
"I also said that you should be prepared for anything…did they count to three?"
The humour died from his face at these words, and a dark look replaced it. Caroline looked down and away from his intense gaze, because they both knew he was right.
"Again," he stated evenly, but venom coated his voice now.
She knew that he was still angry, and this was his way of channeling that rage which boiled within him. If he wasn't so adamant about it she wouldn't be here, but unfortunately for Caroline the only way to get rid of Klaus this time was to listen to him.
Caroline braced herself and put her body back into a fighting stance, however before she could even contemplate following the movement of her target, she was punched hard in the chest and pushed to the ground.
The air left her lungs as his weight pressed down on her.
"A fighting stance is unnecessary. Generally, an attack will be a more planned routine that is designed to take you by surprise. If you have time to get into a fighting stance you have time to run." He got off her and she pulled un-needed oxygen back into her lungs. "Sometimes flight is the safer option. People think that bravery is a good thing, but if you're unevenly matched, no matter how brave you are Caroline, you still end up just as dead."
He walked out of her line of vision and she quickly got to her feet once more.
"You do not use you other senses enough, Sweetheart. I am sure that as a young vampire, you were taught to shut them out so that you could focus on remaining in control." He shook his head at her. "But it is different now. Now that you have established your control over the bloodlust, you must slowly let back in the senses that you've muted. What is the use of being a vampire if you suppress the things that make you what you are?"
Caroline rose once more from the floor of the warehouse, touching at the blood which covered the back of her head, and groaning.
"Perhaps if you went a little easier on me, I'd be fine. I don't need my skull cracked each time to understand the lesson."
"I am already downplaying my own strength so that I have that of any ordinary vampire. If you can't keep up, then perhaps a few hits to the head might knock some sense into you, love."
She scowled at him as he said this, but slowly relaxed her body in such a way that her senses were slowly raised.
As she stood there and concentrated on her surroundings, everything slowly changed. Drops of blood hitting the floor from her head suddenly sounded like a waterfall; The air felt like hands on her skin as it swam around her body with the breeze that came from several open windows, and from across the room the musky, forest smell of Klaus' scent hit her nostrils.
She closed her eyes and shivered as she adjusted, before opening them and spotting him watching her with an appreciative expression. She had been so used to keeping her guard up constantly, that it felt like a relief to finally let her body relax to its full potential.
Her senses had already been heightened before, but this felt like an additional boost which left her feeling like an adrenaline and hormone fueled teenager all over again…perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all.
"Again." Was all he said once she appeared ready, grinning slyly as he noticed her eyes sweep his figure for far longer than necessary.
Over the course of the next few days, Caroline found herself becoming increasingly familiar with the hard stone floor of the warehouse in which they trained. She didn't know why she thought Klaus would go easy on her - perhaps because he fancied her she thought he'd be hesitant to hurt her in anyway. Instead, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy the struggle she had returning to her feet each time she was knocked to the floor.
Hours upon hours of being struck in every region of her body left an ache that stayed even after she healed. Caroline wondered, after he finally dismissed her at the end of the second day, if a vampire could actually die of exhaustion.
The thought that this could go on for weeks until he was satisfied to let her go off on her own again made her want to tear out her hair.
It was the morning of the third day, after her face was smashed into the ground and her nose broke, that she finally cracked. Usually, once she hit the ground it was seen as a defeat and Klaus stopped his attack, however before he could get off her, she pushed back with all her strength and growled. Slightly surprised, he flew backwards - stumbling on his feet, but remaining upright.
When his surprise dissipated, he raised his eyebrows at her with an amused smirk.
"Something wrong?"
She scowled, and straightened the cartilage in her nose with a wince so that it would heal properly.
"I've had enough. This is completely ridiculous. I'm not learning anything other than how to fall on my butt repeatedly and all the different ways to break every bone in my body!"
"It was inevitable that you'd have a few falls. It's called training for a reason. You learn from your mistakes until eventually you don't make them anymore and you can outwit your opponent."
He shrugged as he said this and placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans, strolling towards her as if she wasn't giving him a glare which probably would have sent lesser men running.
"You cannot expect to learn in a day what took me a thousand years to refine." He continued.
"And you cannot expect me to spend a thousand years with you in order to perfect my skills. Less than three days in your company and already I'm considering taking off my ring and striding out that door."
He rolled his eyes at this.
"Don't be so dramatic, love."
"I'm not being dramatic, I'm being realistic Klaus. For three days my body has been slammed into that floor, and however many moves you teach me there is no way I can overpower you. You're delusional if you think that I'll get any better at this in the time I'm willing to spend in your company." She spoke, as she turned to make for the door; adamant on leaving for the night.
Klaus had other ideas, however, and he flashed to stand in front of her with hands gripping her shoulders tightly.
"You are the one who is delusional if you think I won't have you make time, and if you don't wish to be permanently injured I suggest you quiet yourself."
He paused for a moment in his speech, realising that he'd taken her off guard when he'd flashed in front of her, and he growled angrily releasing her shoulders.
"My patience grows weary with your lack of effort! You aren't even trying, Caroline."
"What!? Yes I-" she interrupted, but he held up his hand with a stern look; warning her that it was not a time to talk.
"I took you by surprise just now, and that should not have happened. Just as a human can easily keep track of other humans' movements, vampires can and should attune themselves to easily follow the speed and movement of their own kind.
"You may see me as a monster, and I do not deny that I am one, but don't go so far as to think that this brings me any kind of joy or satisfaction. This is about survival, sweetheart, and at the moment I'm doing my best to overlook your stubbornness so that I might transform you from prey into predator."
He stepped so close to her that Caroline could feel his breath fan over her face, and her own hitched. When he reached up to touch her lips she flinched, but he took no notice and instead wiped at the blood that had originated from the cut lip she received along with her broken nose. Slowly, and deliberately, he put the finger in his own mouth while staring intensely into her eyes.
"You want realistic?" he asked her finally, lowering his hand and pulling her back to her senses. "Realistic is knowing that if I hadn't shown up that night, you would be dead."
A rage built in Caroline so strong that it was as if she were a new vampire all over again. He was using her attraction to him as a weapon, and his words in addition to that embarrassed her. She knew what happened that night would have been far worse if he hadn't shown up, but she'd be damned if she let him lord it over her.
"That's it. I'm through. I'm sick and tired of your holier-than-thou act. Just because you're over a thousand years old doesn't mean you're God. I don't have to do this you know, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt…turns out you're too much of an egotistical alpha freak. Go back to playing with your hybrids, I'm out."
Caroline stepped around him and made for the door, but she didn't get far before he had her arm in his grasp.
When they have a hold of you like this Love, you need to free yourself immediately. You're disadvantaged by having only one arm to attack.
Caroline remembered him teaching her a move to counter such an attack on the first day, and without even thinking twice she utilised it, using her small frame to duck under his arm and bend it backwards until he was forced to let go.
He raised his eyebrows at her in surprise and she grinned for a moment, before continuing her path to the door, running as fast as she could. Her adrenaline was suddenly pumping.
She hadn't even made it half way before he had her around the waist with arms locked by her side.
This is one of the worst positions to find yourself in, so I'll teach you to escape it early. Many people make the mistake by struggling to free their arms at this stage when what you have to focus on is the resources you CAN utilise.
Your legs are free to move. Use them.
She raised her foot immediately, smashing it hard into his instep and as he grunted, loosening his grip, she pulled her elbow back and slammed it backwards into his stomach.
Once free of his arms, she laughed as she raced to meet the door, taking the handle in her grasp but not having time to turn it when he swept her legs from under her.
Never put yourself at a disadvantage to your opponent. Either find higher ground than theirs, or make it an even playing field. If you're knocked to the ground, either get back up as quickly as you can, or take them down with you.
What he hadn't counted on in his attack was the fact that now that her senses were on high alert, Caroline had felt the movement of air around his body when he'd come for her. She hadn't made it in time to avoid him completely, but she'd had enough time that she'd twisted toward him. As she fell to the ground she put all her strength into her other leg and aimed it toward his knee.
The sound of the crack ricocheted off the walls like the bang of a gun, along with his yell of pain, and they both fell next to each other on the floor breathing heavily.
There was a long silence as they waited for their bodies to heal and stared at the high ceiling.
"Well that was different, Sweetheart."
"Yeah."
"You really went for it that time."
"Yeah." She said again, because even she was in shock at what she'd just achieved.
There was another pause before either of them said anything.
"Perhaps rage is the key." He chuckled.
She turned her head sideways and rolled her eyes at him, and they both slowly sat up and stood.
"Well, lucky for you it's something you tend to bring out in me."
"Then by all means, when fighting your enemies you may think of me as often as you like."
She snorted at this, before a grin slowly spread across her face.
"I did it." She said to him proudly, and he returned her smile with one of his own.
"You still have a lot to learn." Was all that he responded, but she saw the admiration shine in his eyes that she often shied away from. She knew she wasn't even close to being ready for what he wanted, but it didn't stop her from wondering what it would be like to give in…
She looked down at her hands nervously before meeting his eye.
"Then…I'll see you tomorrow? She said.
"I look forward to it." He said with a smirk, and she hastily made her way out of the door.
Secretly, so did she.
A/N: So there you have chapter 2 :) I hope you liked it, and please do review :D It's better than a naked JoMo and gives me reason to keep writing.
I may discontinue posting it here if there isn't much interest and keep it exclusively for my tumblr blog, so please do tell me if you like it :)
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