Caroline's heart beat faster the further she got away from that damned archangel. She felt keyed up and uncomfortable. As though all the hurtful things she said to Rebekah, took a toll on her. It was a strange, disconcerting feeling to... feel... anything at all, about anyone, other than herself. Caroline was accustomed to sating her curiosity and doing as she pleased.
There was something about the girl's innocence that intrigued Caroline. Rebekah wasn't shy or naive. She was a curious creature too. She just wanted a taste. She wanted to play. And Caroline couldn't quite wrap her mind around Rebekah wanting her to be her playmate. It was as though Rebekah didn't see her as an evil, vindictive demoness... not spiteful and a little bit insane... not until Caroline made her see it.
Now Rebekah would be terrified of her. Closed off and uninterested. And wasn't that quite a shame.
Caroline quite liked the girl.
It was a reminder of exactly why she had to say hurtful things and be mean. It was much better for Rebekah to not find her appealing or attractive or to not be afraid. Caroline couldn't afford to like the archangel. She couldn't afford to have a weakness... not now. Not now when she was so close to getting everything she always wanted in one single move.
She couldn't afford to be distracted either.
Caroline heard him when he was much too close. She should have sensed the demon when he first entered the anti chamber. Obviously he had sensed her, having chosen this path to follow.
"Stefan," she acknowledged, when he was only a few feet behind her. Caroline didn't slow her pace, staring straight ahead, as though thoroughly uninterested in his company.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Stefan asked, sounding far too amused.
"My thoughts are worth much more than a penny," Caroline commented wryly.
Stefan chuckled lightly.
They walked in silence until the wroth iron gate came into view. Two guards stood at either side, holding torches. They weren't given a chance to react before, with a wave of her hand, the gate opened. Caroline walked in, with Stefan following closely behind her.
Caroline felt a bit peeved. She didn't especially want an audience. But maybe she could use this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
Casting Stefan a glance, she said, "quite convenient you being here. You'll help me with the interrogation. I left my pretty little pet all alone and I'm impatient to get back to her."
Stefan misstepped, but easily fell into pace again. With a subtle tightening of his jaw, he opened his mouth to respond, but Caroline didn't give him a chance to.
"I'm surprised you didn't ask for her yourself," Caroline continued. "The demonesses here don't seem to interest you. I'd think an ethereal archangel would suite your fancy."
"I don't fancy creatures in my bed who could easily kill me in my sleep," Stefan responded calmly, after skipping a beat.
Caroline smirked. "I don't plan on wasting my time with her sleeping..." Caroline said, placing emphasis on the last word. "I'd like for you know how she tastes. I'd so hate for you to let an opportunity go to waste. After these are gone, who knows when next we'll be graced with the presence of archangels."
"Rebekah's father will come for her Caroline, and when he does..."
"Oh," Caroline breathed, allowing her surprise to colour her tone. She stopped short, effectively making Stefan stop as well, before turning around to face him. "I don't remember telling you her name."
As laughter escaped her, Stefan took a step back. His jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists at his sides.
They stood there facing each other until Caroline's laughter subsided. She cocked her head slightly, looking at him curiously.
"Caroline, you have no idea..." Stefan started, shaking his head.
"But that's the point, Stefan," Caroline said, cutting him off. "You're going to tell me everything you know and everything you think you know, about them."
"It's not that simple," Stefan spat, but there was an undercurrent of panic in his voice. "They already know she's gone. They're already on their way, and when they come... we're dead! Dead! Unless we can make some sort of bargain. You need to leave her untouched... offer her up untainted, protected. Give her to them."
"Sorry," Caroline sang, not sounding very sorry at all. "Rebekah is mine now. She belongs to me," she stated, and suddenly she had never felt more possessive about anything. An emotion so strong that Caroline took a deep, steadying breath.
"Caroline," Stefan tried again, obviously intent upon convincing her.
But Caroline knew what she wanted. She just didn't know how to achieve it, and she was almost certain that Stefan knew how to. He had seen, done things, in his over five hundred years of life that could serve her now. Stefan had lost years... years that not even his brother knew about. Instead of serving the Forbes bloodline, he had exiled himself. But he was young and his council not needed just yet. When it was time to step in and take his place at his brother's side, Stefan was there. No one had questioned anything. It was long before Caroline was born, but she had always been interested in her family history. With her idle research yet extensive reading, it wasn't much of a stretch to connect the dots now.
"You're going to tell me how to kill him," Caroline ordered, the threat inherent in her tone.
But there was no defeat in his eyes or acceptance of his situation. Instead, his shoulder sagged as if with relief. "I'm dead anyway," he said without feeling.
And it was at that moment, Caroline knew. Not just a vague theory, one of many that evolved in her mind as new tidbits of information presented itself. But Stefan had always been easy to read.
"You're going to tell me how to kill him," Caroline repeated, but this time her tone was placating. "Or, I'm going to find her, whoever she is, that sweet little angel who made you feel, and I'm going to hurt her. I'm going to hurt her so bad Stefan, you're gonna want to kill him yourself, just so I'd stop."
Stefan had stopped breathing, his entire body stiffened. But his eyes... they bled with emotion. Full of pain and regret so intense, that Caroline was almost affected by the savage loss that showed there.
The baby angel was already making Caroline weak. And Caroline really wished she could hate her for it.
"Do you understand me, demon?" Caroline asked, forcing herself to sound cold.
Stefan gave a single nod.
"Good," Caroline acknowledged, before turning around and continuing onward as if the entire conversation hadn't just happened.
After a moment, Stefan resumed following her.