Title: I belong with you, you belong with me (You're my sweetheart)
Category: The Vampire Diaries
Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama
Ship: Caroline/Elijah
Chapter Rating: NC-17/Explicit
Overall Rating: NC-17/Explicit
Word Count: 7,764
Summary: [AU, set in 1492] Elijah has spent five centuries at Niklaus' side, doing everything in his power to help his brother find the doppelgänger. But when his chance to find happiness is found dancing in the forest, he has to decide whether love or loyalty will be his companion for eternity.

I belong with you, you belong with me (You're my sweetheart)
-Novel-

IV.

Preparations for Niklaus' party were well underway. Servants pestered Elijah repeatedly, asking for his direction, for his approval. However, Elijah could not focus; he could not give his brother's birthday due attention when all he was wondering about was whether Caroline could forgive him for being what he was. She had listened patiently as he had shared his history, which was a feat in itself since Caroline was far more prone to interrupting, asking questions, and giving her opinion, rather than quietly listening. He had spared no detail and was careful not to paint himself as a heroic figure; he wanted her to know all of it, to know him completely. If she truly loved him as he did her, would she be able to accept him? And more, did it matter if she did accept him? She was to be married as soon as her father decided on a suitable husband. He found, despite that, he still wanted to know what her decision would be, if she could love the monster as she did the man.

He returned the following morning and the next, but Caroline did not. He told himself that she simply needed more time and that her absence was not her true answer, but he feared her actions spoke louder than any words. Still, he waited, seated in the grass, next to the lopsided flag she had made for them. He wondered briefly, as he sat in the shadows of the tree branches, if he had known what would come of it, would he have still gone to the clearing in the first place? Was the heartbreak worth it? Truthfully, he knew the answer.

He could still see her dancing in his mind; carefree, unrestrained, beautiful. He would not give it up for anything.

He returned home to the chaos of the estate, wherein servants were rushing to and fro, trying to appease their Lord Niklaus, who was quite apparently in a foul mood. Elijah tried to walk past the dining room, but he was not so fortunate.

"And where has my dearest brother been all day, I might ask," Niklaus bellowed, standing from his seat at the end of the table, lit with elaborate candle displays.

"Were you in need of me?" Elijah asked, appearing completely calm. He cast his eyes around at the humans gathered, their heads bowed, backs against the walls. "It would seem you have a large, eager staff who could have been of service."

"Yes, well, quite clearly, they are all idiots," he snapped through clenched teeth. "I was under the impression that you were planning this party, Elijah, but it seems that you are still distracted by an unknown event that you seem unwilling to share with me." He leaned forward, resting his fists on the table beneath him. "I tire of questioning you about it and learning so little."

"And I tire of being questioned as though my whereabouts are any of your concern." He walked casually toward the table. "I pray Trevor brings good news so this journey you are so keen to take can reach its end." He picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and rubbed it to a shine on his tunic before taking a bite, his eyebrow raised at his seething brother.

"And with its end, what exactly do you hope to find?" Niklaus glared. "Will you so effortlessly leave my side after all these years?"

Elijah stared back at him, his expression dark, before finally he let his gaze drop and turned to leave.

Niklaus slammed his hands down on the table, causing the skittish staff to jump before scattering out of sight. "I will not have you walk away from me!" he yelled, his voice echoing to the rafters. "You would leave me, is that what you are telling me?"

In that very moment, Elijah knew.

He would. He would leave Niklaus and take Caroline with him. Whether Trevor brought with him the doppelgänger or not, Elijah would not be around for any fallout. He and Caroline were going to leave, to the other side of the world if they must, but they would not be within Niklaus' reach. He could not, however, tell his brother that, and so he shook his head.

"After all my years of loyalty, you still question me." He raised his chin and stared at him squarely. "Remember this, Niklaus, in your darkest hours; I was always by your side."

Slowly, letting that sink in, Niklaus gave a short nod, accepting it as a sign of Elijah's unending fealty, before he took his seat and barked an order to a nearby servant. He wanted wine, and plenty of it. Elijah turned on his heel and left, a pang of remorse and guilt stabbing at his chest. Perhaps Niklaus would never forgive him, but Elijah knew for certain he would never forgive himself if he did not take this chance.

Now, all he had to do was convince Caroline he was worth loving.

…

The day he found her lying in their clearing, he thought he was dreaming.

The sun had barely risen, casting the forest in a pale glow, and yet she lay still on the ground. Her hands were stacked atop her stomach, her blonde hair spread out around her head, bright against the dark blanket of grass.

He walked hesitantly toward her, fearing that if he got too close, she might disappear altogether, fade into the ether. He stopped a few steps short of her and simply stared, his hands twitching at his sides, his mouth desperate to open, to grab her and share with her his new plan, the future they could have. Instead, he stood silently, listening to the wind whistle through the trees.

"That morning, when I found you dancing, I thought I had found my equal…" Her voice carried in the silence, seeming so loud. "I thought perhaps God had seen fit to send my other half to me, to the one place I let myself be free." Her lips curled up in a tiny smile. "And for a time, that seemed true. Meeting here with you, dancing, laughing, sharing our lives… I— I waited, like the silly girl my father always thought me to be, hoping you would see that I was your other half… Hoping you would realize what I already knew to be true."

His feet shifted, wanting to go to her, kneel at her side, tell her he knew it too, but he folded his lips to let her have her say and clasped his hands at his back.

"But time after time you made it clear that I would never be your wife. And still I loved you, still I prayed…" Her smile faded and she swallowed tightly, closing her eyes. "And finally… Finally, you admitted you loved me too."

He could hear her heart thump loudly.

"When we joined here in this clearing, I let myself dream that it would go on for a lifetime. That perhaps God would let us live here, forever in that moment, just us, and we would never have to face the outside world again…" She shook her head. "But that is not what happened… All of my praying and hoping and my silly dreams cannot and will not change reality."

His brow furrowed. "Caroline—"

She did not let him continue. "When I was twelve years old, I saw my father cleave a man's head from his shoulders… all for trying to steal one of our goats." She twisted her lips up as they trembled. "He told me that a man who stole had no right to life if he would not fight for it fairly… And I h-hated him in that moment because all I could think of was whether that man had a family to feed, whether his children would starve to death, whether his wife would cry herself to sleep each night knowing that he did not return because he no longer lived…"

He refused to look at her then, turning his head away, thinking of the blood that soiled his hands, the many deaths that were tallied under his name.

She would not forgive him. And he did not deserve for her to.

"I tried to remind myself of this in the days we were apart… I tried to imagine you tearing the head from a man's shoulders because he dared to steal from you…" She opened her eyes but kept them on the sky. "I'm not so blind with love for you that I have convinced myself you would never hurt someone, that you would not behead them for wronging you…"

Elijah swallowed thickly, his shoulders slumping with defeat.

Caroline shook her head. "But the difference between you and my father is this…" She turned to look at him, her eyes ringed in red with brimming tears. "If you caught a man stealing a sheep, you would ask him what he needed it for. You would discern whether he was telling you the truth or if he was attempting to lie to you…"

She searched his face and he raised his eyes to meet hers steadily, letting her gauge the merit of his soul.

"If he was honestly starving, if he had no other way and there was a family waiting by a hearth for any scrap of food he could gather, I think you would let him take that goat, with a warning that it was the one and only time you would allow him to steal from you… And I say this not because I am silly, but because I know you… I know that even if your heart does not beat, it is still far more compassionate than my father's is…" She sat up then, her hair drifting down her back, speckled with grass. "Tell me differently if you must, but do not lie to either me or yourself."

He stared at her a long moment, at the hollows of her cheeks, embellished by the faintly lit sky. "I believe in weighing my options… In honor, integrity, and honesty… If a man stepped on my land and stole from my stock, I would question him…" He tipped his head, his eyes narrowed. "I am not always compassionate, Caroline. There have been people who have begged for my mercy, and I have ignored their cries."

"Because their deaths helped you or Niklaus?"

He bowed his head in agreement. "Or they threatened my family, yes."

"And the thirst…?" Her lips pinched. "There have been victims due to your… affliction?"

He nodded. "The number is not small by any means."

All was silent for a long moment, only the faint chirping of birds waking in the distance, of animal feet skittering across the forest bed.

"Is it wrong…" she asked in a whisper, "that a part of me does not care who else dies, because I know, in my heart of hearts, that you would never hurt me?" She raised her eyes to meet his. "Is it selfish, Elijah? That I would ignore those deaths in favor of loving you?"

"Can you love me?" he queried, moving to kneel in front of her swiftly. "Knowing what you know, what I am, can you truly love me?" He searched her face, hesitant to hope.

She smiled faintly, staring him in the eye as she shook her head. "I have loved you the entire time… Even as the blood of a man's heart stained your arm… Was I afraid? Yes, of course! And I was—I was angry and confused and I did not quite understand, but… The world is full of war, of death, and when I am with you, our world is the opposite of that." She reached for him, her hand smoothing over his face, rubbing her thumb along the curve of his cheek before drifting down to trace the seam of his lips.

"I will always be a monster, Caroline…" He covered her wrist, his thumb swiping over her pulse, and thought it fitting that he focused on the skittering of her heartbeat, rapid with emotion, given what they spoke of. "A killer."

"And you will always be mine," she whispered fiercely, raising her eyes to meet his. "Will you not?"

He smoothed his hand up to cover hers. "Forever."

She leaned forward then, her fingers burying in his hair, and her lips slanted across his, heavy, bruising, and he gathered her in tight, his arms squeezing around her, desperate, hopeful.

She sat in his lap, their bodies twined so tight together he could feel her chest expand, pressing into his own, as she breathed. Her forehead touched his as her kisses slowed to sweet, sipping passes, before finally they were still, nose to nose, eye to eye, and he could count her lashes in the slow draw of time that passed.

"I feared you would never return."

She dragged her nails down the slope of his neck. "I am not sure I will ever leave."

He brushed her hair back from her face and swallowed. "Soon, my brother will be distracted… The doppelgänger may be on her way here… Regardless, if you will come with me, we can leave here…" If his heart could still beat, it would be pounding. "Niklaus will have his hands full, leaving us free to escape."

He could hear as her heart skittered, picking up speed.

"Where would we go?" she wondered, but he could hear the excitement tingeing her voice.

"Anywhere. Everywhere." He smiled at her, stroked her cheek with his knuckles. "You wanted to see the world, so I will show it to you."

Her eyes widened joyfully, but faded quickly. "Elijah…" She shook her head. "He is your brother. I cannot—"

"I have spent my entire life serving Niklaus… And if he calls on me for anything in the future, I will be the first to answer." He shook his head. "But I cannot dedicate every day to him and his search. If the doppelgänger comes, then I will help him end his curse before you and I take our leave. If she does not, then we will sneak away while he deals out the repercussions…" He cupped her face. "Will you come with me, Caroline?"

Her eyes fell and she took a deep, shaky breath.

He worried for a moment that she might still turn him away; that she thought only to love him until her father picked out her suitor and then take her leave, relieving herself of the burden he would be to her.

"It does not have to end?" she whispered, raising her teary eyes to him.

He shook his head emotionally. "We can leave this clearing and still be together," he promised.

A tear spilled down her cheek as she laughed. "Yes."

His brows rose in surprise.

"Yes!" she repeated cheerfully.

He hugged her, his arms squeezing her tight to him, one hand coiled itself in her hair desperately, his face buried at her neck as he let out a thick sigh.

Relief flooded him, heavier than the guilt could.

In just under a week, Trevor would arrive with what he said was the doppelgänger; regardless of whether she was or not, Elijah and Caroline would be setting off for their future, together.

…

That morning, they celebrated. It was a frenzied, desperate coupling with most of their clothes still on. Elijah's pants ringed his thighs, his tunic simply shoved up to his waist, while Caroline's underclothes and dress were pushed up to her hips, as she sat in his lap, her hands loosely gripping his sides. Her head was tipped back as she panted, her skin flushed pink. He could still feel her shaking around the length of his cock. Elijah kissed down the length of her neck, sucking at her pulse, his tongue stroking over it.

"Does it hurt?" she wondered.

He hummed, distracted.

She raised her hand to run her fingers through his hair. "When you bite, does it hurt?"

He paused. Drawing his head back, his brows furrowed, he stared at her uncertainly. "It can, when done improperly…" He ran his finger down her neck. "When a vampire is vicious, blood-thirsty, he can tear the flesh and the blood comes easier… The human dies, more often than not."

She was quiet for a moment, letting that resonate, before finally she asked, "And if you are careful?"

"Then it can be easy, even pleasurable…" He ducked his head to press a kiss against her throat. "And if one sees fit, he can compel them to forget it ever happened."

She nodded, her fingers still running through his hair.

He turned his head, letting it rest on her shoulder, while his fingers played over the top of her dress, dancing between fabric and soft skin.

"Would you bite me if I asked?" she finally queried, her voice hesitant.

Despite a part of him that wanted to argue against it, another part was desperate to sink his teeth into her. "There is no rush, Caroline… If you are doing this because you think I want it—"

"Do you not?" she interrupted, tipping her chin down so she could see him. "Tell me the truth, Elijah… You want to bite me."

"Of course I do." He felt his eyes flicker. "It is in my nature."

"That is not all it is though, is it?" She rubbed her fingers over his cheek. "You said… You said it could be pleasurable."

He nodded slowly. "Some use it to coax their victims into false comfort."

"But if it were us… If you bit me and I—I encouraged you to…" She searched his eyes curiously. "Could it be pleasurable for us?"

Elijah pushed up to a seated position, drawing her into his lap easily, the fabric of her dress falling over their legs to cover her modestly. "If you are so sure, why not wait?" he suggested, his brows raised. "Until we have left here, until you understand more about it."

She smiled slowly. "There you are, doing it again, questioning me and my vast understanding of the world at large," she teased.

He shook his head, sighing patiently. "Caroline…" He rubbed his hands up her back soothingly. "This is not to be taken lightly… The trust you would have to impart in me to bite you… The trust I would need to have in myself that I would not be overcome…"

"I do trust you…" She cupped his waist, shifting in his lap, her eyes wide.

He grunted; he was still inside her, could feel every move she made, and all of this talk about blood, her blood, was making him hard again.

Her eyes dropped to her lap. "I can feel you," she reminded him. "And I want this." She reached for his hand and brought it up to her chest, sliding his fingers along the length of her neck. "I want to know all of you… I want to feel all of you."

He swallowed thickly, his gaze stuck on her throat; he could hear her heartbeat rising steadily. "I will be careful," he murmured, brushing her hair back and out of the way.

"I know you will."

"You can tell me to stop… If it hurts, if you are not sure…" he promised, licking his lips.

She nodded, watching his face.

Veins rippled under his eyes as they darkened, his teeth lengthening, straining in his mouth. "Are you certain?" he asked once more.

She tipped her head to one side in reply.

He kissed her neck; long, sucking kisses along the skin he was so very familiar with now. He let his teeth graze over it and heard her heartbeat stutter. He waited for her to stop him but she did not, and so he let his teeth pierce her skin. Slowly, delicately, until he felt the warm dribble of blood drain into his mouth, wetting his lips. He buried a hand in her hair, gripping it around his fingers, and drank leisurely, licking and kissing her skin as he went. He followed a drop down her chest before it could meet her dress. His tongue traced the trail back up to the holes in her neck.

His hands met her shoulders, tugging her dress down her arms, massaging and kneading her flesh as he went. He pushed the fabric to her waist and ducked his head to her breasts. She arched her back for him, and he circled a pale pink nipple with his tongue, his teeth grazing. He ran a hand up her spine to cup the nape of her neck, fingers lightly stroking her hair, while he rubbed the other hand up her front, from the top of her navel, through the valley of her breasts, to her throat, still dripping blood down her flawless white skin. He smeared the blood across her chest, caught it on the tips of his fingers and painted circles all over, only to follow each of them with his tongue.

He was fully erect as he sucked biting kisses all over her breasts, puncturing the skin just enough to draw a bead of blood here or there. She rocked against his hips, her fingers gripping his neck, blunt nails scraping. A hand fell to her waist to guide her movements as she pressed her knees down into the earth and lifted herself off his cock, only to sink back down, taking him inside her. She was murmuring again, nonsense and his name, all of it encouraging, as she watched him, his lips red with her blood, his tongue coated with it.

She was stunning. She always had been, but now she was resplendent. The glow had not faded, it had simply condensed. She was his; his love, his soul mate, his everything. He understood now, why men went to war for love, why they laid down their lives for it, why bards wrote so animatedly of it. Caroline did not shy away from the darkness of his soul, she embraced it wholly. She opened her arms and let him have of her what he needed, what she could give, and he knew true trust for the first time in his life. She, unlike Rebekah's love, clutched no dagger in her fingers. There were no conditions to Caroline's love; she understood that he was a killer, that lives would be lost because of him, and she loved him regardless.

Elijah's hands braced on her shoulder blades as he met the desperate rocking of her hips, sinking inside her as deeply as he could reach. He dropped one hand to her thigh, squeezing and kneading before he slid his fingers between them to stroke her clit, pinching in the same moment his teeth sunk into the other side of her neck. She cried out, squeezing his cock, her hands burying in his hair, and he felt her whole body shudder against him.

She panted, her heartbeat erratic, and he knew she was on the cusp. He licked up her neck and nipped lightly at her chin. She lowered her head to meet him, slanting her lips over his without hesitation. She climaxed with a scream that was caught inside his mouth. He laid her back against the grass, his hips picking up speed until he had joined her, until he was consumed by pleasure, sight and sound escaping him for a minute.

She was still spasming around him when he slid out of her slowly, smoothing his hands down her thighs and resting his head on her stomach, where her dress and underclothes were clustered. She rubbed her fingers through his hair and lay limply beneath him, one arm over her face as she tried to catch her breath.

"You were right," she said, her voice shaky.

He raised his head, an eyebrow raised curiously.

She grinned. "It was quite pleasurable."

He laughed. Climbing up her body, he kissed her, once, twice, before finally laying at her side, and gathering her up beside him.

"I made the right choice," she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. "I will always choose you, and I will always be right."

He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead and hoped that would be true.

They spent much of the morning stripped bare and exploring one another before he took her down to the lake to wash up. He fed her some of his blood to heal the bite on her neck and sent her home, already counting the days until they would never have to part again.

…

The following morning, Elijah brought with him a surprise.

"Is that a sword?" she asked, reaching out to touch it.

"Mind the blade," he warned, drawing it away from her fingers. "I had the smith sharpen it."

Her brow furrowed. "But you already have a sword, and a handsome one too."

"I do. Which is why this one will be yours," he said, turning it over to slide it back into its sheath.

"Me?" She laughed incredulously, her eyes wide. "A sword? What would I do with a sword?"

"Defend yourself," he explained, giving her a short nod. "The other morning, with those… men." His mouth twisted up as their words, their intentions, echoed in his mind. "I will not always be by your side, Caroline. You are too independent to keep me as your shadow. This way… I will be comforted to know that you are safe and can take care of yourself… And you will feel safe knowing that you can fight anything that means you ill will."

"I…" She nodded slowly. "I think that is a wonderful sentiment, Elijah, but I have no idea how to wield any weapon, let alone a sword."

He smiled. "Which is why I will teach you."

She giggled, her face lighting up. "Like dancing, good sir?" she said, her voice warm.

He reached for her hand and twirled her as he brought her near. "More structured than our dancing lessons, but just as important, I assure you," he said against her ear.

She leaned into his chest. "I trust your judgement… If you think I can wield a sword, then I will be the fiercest lady warrior in all the land!" she declared.

He chuckled under his breath and squeezed her hip affectionately. "Of that, I have no doubt."

"Can I hold it then? Test it out?"

"Soon. We will practice with something less deadly first…" He walked away from her to the sack he had brought along with him, and from it he drew out two wooden swords, the kind young boys would often use in play. "I will teach you technique first, and then you will become familiar with the weight of a real sword." He flipped the wood sword in the air, caught it by its tip, and held it out to her until she wrapped her hand around the hilt hesitantly. "Do not be afraid… Neither of us will be hurt in this endeavor."

"So says you now…" She smirked teasingly and put a hand to her hip. "But I plan to become a master swordswoman under your teachings…" She poked his chest with her wooden sword. "And then I fear I will not go easy on you."

He grinned warmly and circled her, his head cocked. "I look forward to the battle."

They spent the morning just like that, bantering lightheartedly as Elijah taught her footwork and how to carry herself. He righted her hands, her wrists, her hips, until she was standing properly, holding the sword in a way that would lessen the weight and heighten the ferocity of each blow. Even in her dress and new to swordsmanship, Caroline was a swift learner. She hesitated in the beginning, fearing she might somehow hurt him, but as her confidence grew, she sloughed off her fear and began to use the skills he taught her. With only one morning's teachings, she likely would not win any battles in the near future, but he felt certain that she would become a strong fighter with time and effort.

They walked down to the lake to bathe, as she complained she stunk of sweat, before sitting on the shore together. He plaited her hair as she sang for him and he wondered if this would be his future. Just like this. He could still remember her smile as she tapped his side with her sword and declared herself the winner of their battle.

He would never tire of that smile.

A daisy sprouted from the grass within reach and he plucked it from the ground, tying it in the braid that hung down her back. She took his hands and brought them forward, his arms wrapping around her, as she lay back against his chest.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He ducked his head, chin resting on her shoulder. "For what?"

"The girl who wields the sword is not silly." She looked up at him. "You make me brave."

"You were always brave," he argued, kissing her cheek. "And stubborn." He kissed her chin. "And loud." Her neck. "And smart." Her shoulder. "And completely lacking in propriety."

She giggled, reaching up to press her fingers to his cheek. "Am I so few things?" She watched his face. "I have so much more for you to kiss that I wish the list were longer."

He buried his face at her neck, kissing and sucking her skin as she gave a laughing cry, wrapping an arm around his head.

Elijah basked in the happiness he had found with her. He had never known anything quite like it, and he was sure he never would again.

…

With only four days until Niklaus' birthday and Trevor's arrival, Elijah was distracted with planning, but it had little to do with the actual festivities. Over the years, he had collected a number of properties around the world and these seemed a good place to run to when he and Caroline took their leave. However, Elijah knew as soon as his brother realized that he had gone, he would search for him. At the very least, Niklaus would send scouts to everywhere he thought Elijah might go and then find his way there to demand his return. Or, more likely, dagger him for his disobedience. Thus, he needed somewhere that Niklaus did not know of, somewhere safe and hidden from him. He also needed somewhere that Caroline would enjoy, that she would feel happy to explore and not like a prisoner, hiding from the wrath of a man she had never even met.

He spent much of his night going over papers, all of which granted him ownership of various lands. He had to piece together his vast memory to see if Niklaus knew of them, if he had visited them, and with each memory that betrayed his brother's knowledge, he made a pile of useless papers, of places to which he would never be able to return.

Frustration built. Time was of the essence and it seemed only to mock him. A part of him hoped that Trevor brought the doppelgänger, that Niklaus would be so overcome with finally achieving his goal that he would let Elijah leave with no ill will between them. However, a far more logical part of him knew that it was quite unlikely. Niklaus could be petty, jealous, and far too controlling for his own good.

They would have to leave and never let him know where or why.

He prayed only that Caroline's identity, that his true reason for leaving, stayed quiet, as he was certain that his brother's disdain for humans and love would only destroy what Elijah had finally found.

And that, miraculously, was when he found exactly where he and Caroline would go.

He stared down at the old, frayed piece of paper and a smile turned up his lips.

Home.

This would be their home.

…

Elijah felt more hopeful than ever when he met Caroline the following morning. He had decided not to tell her where they were going, only that he had a place in mind that he was sure she would enjoy.

"Do you think I should leave a letter for my parents?" she wondered, chewing her lip as she walked aimlessly around the clearing. "Perhaps only that I fell in love and have run away… They need not know all the details, but at least it would put my mother's mind at ease."

"It would be considerate not to tell them with whom you are truly running away with."

"Which part do you think would shock them more? That you are a Lord or a vampire?" Her eyes lit up with teasing.

"I would rather think being a Lord was in my favor…" he mused.

She shrugged, sighing. "Perhaps if it were not for Niklaus you could have asked for my hand, and Father would have forgotten his search for the right suitor."

He raised an eyebrow, taking her hand in his and pulling her closer. "And what news do you bring of that? Has he made any such decision?"

She shook her head, reaching an arm around his waist and squeezing as she laid her head against his chest. "Not yet, but he has been busy of late… He spends much of his night going over papers and he mutters to himself. He always does when he is deep in debate with himself."

"It is only three more days," he assured.

"Unless she is the doppelgänger," Caroline reminded, turning her head up, chin perched on his chest. "How long until the full moon? That is when the ceremony must take place, is it not?"

He nodded, stroking his fingers through her hair. "Two weeks."

She sighed, her eyes falling. "Elijah… What if he chooses?"

"I could compel him, your father…" he offered, his brows arched thoughtfully. "I could compel both your parents to give up their search for your suitor."

"Are you certain it would work?"

"Unless your parents have knowledge of vervain, they will do as I tell them…" He turned down his chin to look her in the eyes. "But it is not to be taken lightly, Caroline… I would be taking their control away, do you understand?"

She bit her lip and cast her eyes away, brow furrowed. "What… What if you compelled them to forget me entirely?" She offered a weak smile. "They would not hurt then; they would not ask questions."

"When we leave, you mean?" he asked, keeping his voice carefully level.

She nodded. "I know I said I could leave a note but… I do not want them to worry, to be upset with me…"

"You instead wish they would not remember you at all?" He shook his head. "Caroline, they love you… You are their only child."

"Which is why it will hurt them all the more that I chose to run away from them," she cried, pulling away from his arms and wrapping her own around herself. "I could keep them from feeling it… I… You could compel them to forget and then they could move elsewhere, somewhere people would not ask after me… They could start over, just the two of them, away from here… Father could leave behind work and Stephen and focus on my mother, on being a good husband to her…" She wiped quickly at her cheeks, ridding them of her falling tears.

He walked to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, feeling her shake against him. "Even if they forget you, you would not forget them…" he whispered, his tone touched with apology.

She squeezed her eyes closed. "I know…" She nodded. "And I will live with that."

"Will you?" He turned her to face him, his hands stroking up her arms, squeezing her shoulders. "Caroline, you must be certain this is what you want… That I am truly what you want…" He shook his head, staring at her searchingly. "When we run from here, there is no returning… If Trevor does not bring with him the doppelgänger, we will be leaving Niklaus in his time of need… He will be vengeful and he will direct that toward us… We may always be running from his wrath."

She stared up at him, her tears calming. Finally, she nodded. "I only want for them not to hurt… I do not regret my decision to be with you." She pressed her hands flat against his chest. "I will spend the whole of my life running with you if that is what it takes."

He read the sincerity on her face before breathing out a sigh of relief and finally bent to kiss her. He cradled her head, his fingers tangled in her hair, as their lips slanted with desperation. When he finally drew back, he pressed his forehead to hers and promised thickly, "Whatever you want… I will erase their memories, compel them to be happy for us, send them away… anything, Caroline."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly and whispered, "Thank you."

…

Elijah spent more than just the morning with her; he tempted fate by spending the whole day, from sunrise to sunset, completely entranced with her. He told her of all the places he had been, of all the places he planned to take her, while she listened raptly, her head perched on his chest as he played with her hair.

They made love atop the blanket she always brought with her, and he lost himself in her silken skin and her drugging kisses. She bared her neck and drew her hair out of the way as his mouth found her pulse and his teeth sunk through her flesh to reach the warm ambrosia of her blood, letting it wet his tongue and flow sweetly down his throat. He had never seen a woman enjoy his bite as much as she did, arching up into him, legs squeezing his waist as she climaxed with his teeth puncturing the soft flesh of her breast.

She lay beneath him, a lazy, satisfied smile stretching her lips, watching as he lapped at the still bleeding bite. His fingers danced up and down her side, his head resting against her while his tongue periodically flicked out for a taste.

Her fingers ran through his hair soothingly. "Do you enjoy being a vampire, Elijah?" she wondered.

His eyes rose to meet hers, brow furrowing. "How do you mean?"

"When you first told me of it, you spoke of how control could be such a struggle… How you were a monster… Do you not like being one? Living for an eternity?"

He considered the question, giving it due thought. "It is not all bad, certainly," he admitted. "I have seen the world change and grow… I have seen far more than any mortal man could wish…" He smiled then. "And if I were not one, I would not have met you."

"A terrible fate, that," she murmured, grinning.

He chuckled lowly, nodding his head. As his gaze fell back to his bite atop her pale skin, he sobered. "But there are things I do not like…"

"Killing?" she said quietly.

"At times, yes…" His lips pursed. "And when you have forever, there are times that you take for granted the present."

"Is that why you stayed by Niklaus' side so faithfully…? Because you thought you would find your own happiness later."

"Perhaps." He frowned. "I do love him. He is, and will always be, my family."

"Of course." She nodded, running her knuckles down his cheek. "Do you ever wonder though…? I mean, would you change it? If you could be human, would you?"

"As a vampire, I am stronger, faster, and better able to keep myself and those I care for safe…" He stroked a hand over her stomach. "But there are things that humans have that I never will…" His jaw ticked as his fingers stroked circles atop her skin. "There was a time when I wished to have a family of my own… To have children at my feet, to teach them things… To see them become good, honorable, loyal people."

She covered his hand with hers, pressing it flat. "You would have been a wonderful father," she told him sincerely.

He tipped his head back, offering her a half-smile. Reaching up, he tucked her hair back from her face. "I will have to comfort myself with being a wonderful husband."

She squeezed the hand she held in his hair and bent to kiss him, turning him onto his back and climbing atop him.

He laughed against her lips, his hands smoothing up her body.

"Do you know what I think marks a good husband?" she asked, kissing her way down his neck.

"I am eager to learn," he murmured, his fingers skimming over the flair of her hips and dragging up and down her back.

"A good husband keeps his wife constantly pleasured," she teased him, kissing a path over his chest. "He tells her he loves her every day, once in the morning and twice at night."

He raised an eyebrow, hardly quelling his grin. "My wife sounds insatiable."

"She is." She leaned up to bite his chin playfully before kissing his lips once more. "Do you think you can meet her standards of a good husband?"

"I think I am very willing to try," he said, before flipping them over easily, until she was flat beneath him. He hooked his hands beneath her knees and drew them up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He bent his head, pressing a whisper soft kiss to her temple, her cheek, and the corner of her lips. "Have I told you this morning that I love you?"

She smiled, her eyes following him as he kissed her chin and started a trail down her neck. "You have not."

"My respectful apologies…" He slid his hands beneath her waist and lifted her into the air as he sat back on his haunches.

She gave a shriek of surprise before her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her hair fell, cascading around them, shrouding them like curtains on either side of their faces. She stared down at him, her lips turned up in a smile, as he stared back at her reverently.

"How I love you, Caroline…" He shook his head, swallowing thickly. "There is no end."

She lowered her forehead to his. "And so it shall stay."

He kissed her, sipping from her lips, his hands splayed across her back, keeping her desperately close.

He would not let go.

Not ever.

…

Caroline returned home that night feeling as though her heart might burst from her chest, so excited and hopeful was she. She looked over her shoulder one last time as she crossed from the edge of the forest to where her small village lay. Though she could no longer make out Elijah's figure, she knew he was still there; he always watched until she reached her home. Her heart skittered; her appreciation for him and his love was bone-deep. Though he worried about her, Caroline felt much safer now that she had reached the village. The boys who had attacked her that fateful morning had not been from her village, and had only happened upon her as she walked through the forest. Now that she was on familiar ground, she felt at ease.

She passed the pen where her neighbor Mary kept her prized pigs locked away, and patted the head of Gregory the goat, tied to a post by Mortimer's rickety shack. She could see the hearth's warm glow through the window of her house in the near distance and smiled. In two days' time, she would know what fate had brought them. If this Trevor fellow brought with him the doppelgänger, they would stay two more weeks, but if he did not, then she and Elijah would be taking their leave.

She would miss her parents. Though they had often had only criticisms to share with her, she still loved them. The memory of her father telling her she was silly compared little to how he would keep her on his knee and teach her the ways of the world. Her mother's disappointment in how she rarely followed rules would be forgotten in favor of her soothing voice singing Caroline to sleep each night of her childhood. William and Elizabeth Forbes had done their best to raise a good, respectful daughter, and while Caroline was sorry she did not always meet their standards she hoped that they would be happier afterwards. Elijah would erase any memory of Caroline and send them off to begin anew, she had decided.

Tonight, however, she would do her best to make them happy, make them proud. She would help her mother with dinner and listen to her father's stories about his trials hunting with Stephen. She would bask in every look they gave her, every smile, and even every frown. They would be memories to last her a lifetime and she would not waste one of them.

However, as Caroline climbed the stairs to her shack and stepped inside, closing the heavy wooden door behind her, she was not confronted with her mother's disapproving frown or her questions of where she had been all day. She was not comforted by her father's hunched over figure at the table, a pipe between his lips, as he went over paperwork for a betrothal that would never be.

A scream caught in her throat as she stared at her parents' beheaded bodies sitting grotesquely in their respective chairs on either side of the hearth. Her heart hammered, her eyes wide, tears clouding them. Her lips moved, to call their names, to rid herself of her nightmare, but no words escaped.

"Ahh…" a deep voice drawled, drawing her attention. "You must be Caroline."

A man stepped from the shadows, a sinister smile pulling at his blood-wet lips. He might have been handsome if not for the terrible darkness that clouded his features. He tipped his head and gave her a mocking bow, his hand at his stomach. "Do not dally, darling…" He held his arms out as he rose once more. "Is that any way to greet your future brother-in-law?"

Caroline choked, her hand pressed hard to her chest, where her heart beat painfully. "Niklaus?"

His grin widened, eyes flashing gleefully. "A pleasure, I'm sure."

[Next: Part V.]

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope you're all as excited as I am with the direction this is going. For those of you who were hoping this would become an Elijah/Caroline/Klaus story, um... No... That is definitely not at all where I'm going with this. While I respect those who ship Caroline/Klaus, in this story, trust me, he is the villain. As shown above when he kills her parents. Niklaus is quite vengeful and there's going to be so much of him to come. Especially in this next chapter. You have no idea how excited I am.

Huge thanks to everyone who read and especially those who reviewed. You have no idea how happy I am each and every time I get a review for this story because I'm honestly so happy with it and so proud of what it's become. Shout out to Shannon (itsvolcanoday) for being such a fantastic beta and so encouraging. And to Mel (dhfreak) who made such a lovely graphic for it and who reads every new chapter, without fail, and leaves me such lovely feedback.

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and you liked this update. Please leave a review to let me know!

For those of you wondering about Second Chance, I will be working on the next chapter this weekend, so have no fears!

Thanks! Tons of love!

-Lee | Fina