Sent Away: Chapter 3
"Hello, love." A voice said from behind her.
She didn't look, she didn't move, she didn't breathe.
"I promise I'm not a serial killer," the voice spoke again, "just turn around."
Slowly she stiffly turned to meet his gaze.
Blue. His eyes were a dark blue, as if they were filled with storm clouds ready to erupt at any moments. His hair was a darker blonde, and his full lips were pulled into a smug smile as he appraised her reaction. With his back leaning against a tree, he went to speak again.
"Who are you? What are you doing out here?" Caroline demanded; cutting him off before he would realize how truly terrified she was.
The man's brow furrowed, this was certainly not the way a normal lady would react, but then again Caroline was anything but typical.
"Who are—"
"Niklaus, but you sweetheart, can call me Klaus." The man interrupted, regaining his smug demeanor.
Caroline looked him over, he didn't look like the kind of person one could justify being in the woods. He wasn't dressed in the clothes of a hunter or traveler, but rather his attire was that which would belong to someone with an expansive amount of money on their hands. With his thick British accent, and rich garments, he gave off the impression of power; this Klaus had the air of a nobleman.
"Klaus," Caroline said his name carefully, "what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" Her father's words echoed in her head, there wasn't supposed to be a soul out here.
Klaus gave out a hearty laugh; stepping closer to her, he gazed into her eyes.
"Caroline," he began.
"How do you know my name?" She half asked, half screeched.
Great Klaus thought to himself, vervain, he shouldn't have expected that this would be simple. Ready to throw here over his shoulder and drag her with him, he was shocked when she started to walk away.
"Where are you going love?"
"Away from you." She answered simply.
She was fascinating.
"And why would you want to do a thing like that?" Klaus inquired in a playful tone.
"You are obviously not going to answer my questions, so I am going home." The last word came out more like a question than she had intended. Still, she was surprised how irrationally courageous she was being; fear did strange things to people.
"I heard you talking to yourself as I approached." Klaus said, coming up with a semi-honest answer.
I really need to stop doing that Caroline thought as she continued to walk.
"I've had a long day, and I could really use the rest so if you don't mind…" she hinted.
Caroline surprised herself, why was she so comfortable with walking away from a complete stranger that had approached her alone—with no buggy in sight—in the middle of the woods?
"Oh by all means love don't mind me, just let me make a proposition." Klaus was enjoying this far more than he should; the original plan was much simpler. Take the girl, drain the girl, and watch the family disintegrate. Now Niklaus just seemed to be making it up as he went along.
With an exasperated gasp she turned around, unwilling to meet his gaze, she uttered a single word.
"No."
As she continued with the path she was on just a few minutes ago, Klaus sped up to match her pace and walk by her side.
"Come on Caroline, take a chance."
Those who knew her well enough thought Caroline was saint-like. Sure she had her faults, at times she could be overbearing, but she believed everyone could be saved. What if the man in the woods—Klaus—was telling the truth? What if he was just trying to help out a seemingly helpless woman? No, she told herself, it is thoughts like those that will get you killed.
As she wandered around her little shack, she began to wonder what it would be like to say yes for a change. Back home there was too much she'd lived without. In many ways she was privileged, but it was the basic human needs that she missed out on.
Growing up she had only known her mother for a short time, Elizabeth Forbes had been a modern woman in the wrong time; she didn't last long. Caroline's father had forced her to learn from her mother's mistakes, turning her into a ball of neurosis that couldn't distinguish love from lust. Her father was so willing to see her married off as soon as possible so that she could have "the life she deserved," that he hadn't seen what was really going on.
Stefan was her best friend, and Damon (although incredibly annoying) had no interest in her other than the fact that she was a woman (though at the time she was just a girl). As their parents tried to force matrimony between them, it put a strain on Caroline's relationship with the brothers. She wished she could simply laugh at one of the rare jokes Stefan made without it being seen as flirting, but that was just the way things were.
Care's mind went to the last time she had seen Stefan, he was so distracted, so empty. It was as if his entire planet orbited around a new sun; a sun named Katherine Pierce. From what Caroline had seen, Ms. Pierce was fearless, and flirtatious, but in the end all she would bring was sadness to the Salvatore brothers. When she brought this to Stefan's attention, he grew angry and asked her to leave.
A tear slid down her cheek, hoping that the Stefan she knew would still be intact when she finally got back home.
Klaus was returning to his temporary house, going through the memories of the little blonde distraction he'd officially met in the forest. She wasn't as brave as she wanted him to leave, but she was strong, beautiful, and practically iridescent with the light that shone from within her eyes.
Whether she took him up on his offer to meet him at the little pond or not, Klaus knew he would see her again.
He would come out of their game victorious.
