A/N: Hey guys :) So this is a quick update because I'm excited to get this chapter out. I'm going to warn you right now that the end of this chapter is where the plot gets a little bit confusing and complicated. Remember when I told you that this time travel story is different? Hold on to your hats and glasses and keep your limbs inside the ride at all times ;)
I hope this chapter explains a bit better why this story is strictly Caroline's POV and why we can't have flash forwards to 2011 (there were some questions about that).
Thank you to justanotherfiveminutes for beta-ing. You are amazing!
Enjoy!
-Angie
1493
She stood up, her dress trailing on the wet ground, her shoes soaking in the cold snow, and blurred towards the shed.
She might not be able to feel cold as well as humans, but she still didn't like having wet feet.
Throwing open the thick wooden door, she peered inside, and then walked through the doorway without trouble. The tiny dwelling was apparently either abandoned or not owned by a human (or owned by a dead human). Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, she closed the door tightly behind her and observed her surroundings. Despite its outwardly dilapidated appearance and size, the one room shed was well-furnished and seemed to be in good shape.
She took inventory of her knowledge of the situation. She had her daylight ring still, but she'd expected that, since she hadn't lost it on her journey from 2011 to 970. She was in a place with snowy winters that probably didn't have English as its national language, judging by the sign outside the door. Although, the letters on that sign weren't even slightly familiar to her.
She decided that, for the moment at least, the location didn't really matter. She just needed to figure out what she was doing there.
She decided to search the shed for information, and her eyes quickly found a large wooden trunk, which was at the foot of a sturdy wood-framed twin bed with a faded quilt. She walked over and opened it hesitantly. There were three dresses, all in much richer fabrics than her own, a pair of thick leather boots, a small messenger bag, two jars, one full of white powder, the other empty, and an oddly shaped spoon.
The first order of business, she decided, was to change out of her wet clothes. She pulled the old dress off of her body and let it crumple on the ground, slipping into a pretty blue one from the trunk, sighing at the softness of the fabric against her skin.
She flopped onto the bed and felt something crinkle over the blanket. She stood up quickly to see an envelope resting on the quilt, her name written across it in familiar slanted script. Snatching it up, she felt the weight of the paper in her hands and slid open the envelope.
My sweet Caroline:
This envelope has a message that you wrote to yourself. I was told that it explains everything. It will open only for you.
I never had the chance to respond to your confession on the night he was lost to us, but I have by now confessed my love to you at least a thousand times.
When you arrive here, I will await you at my home near London, England.
With affection,
Niklaus
How could she have contacted him before she arrived? She didn't remember him confessing his love to her before, let alone a thousand times. How was she supposed to get to London from wherever she was? Where was she, anyway?
She quickly pulled out the second envelope, which had been tucked behind Klaus's letter, and slid it open. The page was initially blank, but writing began to appear as soon as she touched it for a few seconds.
You are currently in the north of England in winter 1493. Yes, I know the sign is in weird letters. They're magic symbols. The runes bind the spell to the shed (which is hidden from everyone but you and Nik).
The spell seems to pull us through time randomly, though we always end up within a month's travel of Nik's location, I'm not sure why (though it's obvious that the spirits have a hand in it). When you land during the first Crusade–although, obviously, they won't call it that–you must tell Nik to build this place, and give him the dresses in the trunk. The bag that's with them should hold everything.
So, brief history lesson: Nik has just failed in sacrificing Katerina—don't call her Katherine—and he has just killed her family. Nik and Elijah are not on the best of terms, and Elijah left to be on his own for awhile. Rebekah is still with him.
Drink your vervain. There's a bag of it in the knapsack. Just add it to water.
Good luck, little me.
Future Caroline had drawn a happy face at the bottom of the page. If nothing else convinced her that she wrote the note, that did it.
Though she'd just had her body and soul ripped through time after comforting the man she loved after his brother died, who she could have saved, and had just processed a huge amount of information, she was anxious to see Klaus as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, her future self had conveniently neglected to mention how she was supposed to get to London, though Caroline was slightly thankful that it was at least apparently guaranteed to take less than a month, and trekking through the snow in an as-of-now unknown location was not within her limits.
She needed to feed and then sleep. She wasn't going to take her vervain on an empty stomach, but she would feel uncomfortable without it, so she needed to find some blood as soon as possible. She poked her head out of the door and found that if she squinted, she could see what looked like houses far in the distance. She stuffed the dresses, jars, letters and spoon into the knapsack, pulled on her boots, and started running.
It only took about ten minutes to get there, though she felt drained once she'd arrived, and she knocked on the door of the closest house that had light coming out of the windows.
An older woman opened it, and Caroline pasted a desperate look on her face. "Excuse me, I apologize for intruding, but I am traveling to a town not far from here and I need a place to stay. Is there an inn somewhere in the village?"
The woman's face softened and she nodded. "Yes. There's one on the other side of town. Just follow the path that way," She said, pointing.
Caroline thanked her profusely before setting off to the inn. The couple who ran it obligingly gave her a room, and she compelled them to not ask for payment.
She also fed on the innkeeper, her stomach twisting with guilt as she did so. She was careful to only take when she needed, and healed him with her blood, hoping that he wouldn't die in the next twenty-four hours.
Henrik, for her, had died less than twenty-four hours ago. She hadn't had much interaction with him, but she still felt partially responsible. She'd known that he would die, and she'd done nothing to stop it. She could have warned Klaus, or kept Henrik back, but she did nothing. Did she murder him by proxy? Had that been her task? Did she fail her task?
What if Klaus blamed her for his death? He seemed to still love her in the letter, so maybe he didn't, but she couldn't help feeling as though something was missing. He couldn't be "over" Henrik's death, because he had still been uncomfortable talking about it in her original time, so what if he was burying his resentment? What would happen when he let it go?
She needed to find him, to reassure herself that he didn't blame her, and she needed to figure out her task. She had thought that her task was to get the grimmoire, but she seemed to be in the wrong time for that.
She would have to find a witch and try to find out. But first, she had to find Klaus.
She asked for some water, which he brought to her, and she scooped a tiny bit of crushed vervain powder into it and took a sip, careful not to drop the jar. Carefully replacing the lid on both jars and storing them away, she decided to figure out everything after she slept, collapsed into bed, and let herself dream of forests, caves, and Klaus.
XXX
She had some serious admiration for the people of this time. How was she supposed to get around without airplanes? Walk all the way to London? No way in hell.
She needed a way to travel.
She gathered all of her belongings and decided to walk around the town to see if she could get anything that might help her. After an hour or so of wandering she stumbled on what seemed to be a ranch. She decided to investigate the barn–no one would let horses out in this weather–and she was pleasantly surprised to find more than a few horses separated off.
She walked up to one, which immediately backed away, apparently scared.
Perhaps horses instinctually knew that she was a predator?
She decided to look at the rest of them, and only two didn't immediately back away. She chose the larger of the two–figuring that larger meant stronger, and stronger was better for the way they were going–and checked the side of the barn for any riding equipment.
She tried to remember what horses looked like in movies when people rode them, and carefully tried to recreate that, laying a blanket on the horse's back, followed by a saddle. She debated with herself on whether she really wanted to attempt using equipment that she didn't know how to put on the horse, but ultimately decided that she'd rather not end up galloping in the wrong direction because the horse wouldn't go where she wanted it to, so on the reins went.
After she'd equipped the horse as best she knew how, she searched for anything that she might need, and ended up improvising some sort of saddle-bag from a blanket to carry hay and other things she could find. She took the reins and led the horse outside.
Could she compel animals?
She walked carefully in front of the horse and looked into its eyes. "Don't move."
She backed away slowly and sighed when the horse started walking in the other direction. She sped up, managing to not surprise it, and held it back with her vampire strength, before pulling herself on top and grasping the reins, immediately shifting uncomfortably at the feeling of riding in a dress. She took a moment to try to re-arrange her clothing more comfortably, and when she decided that it was as good as it was going to get, she held the reins more firmly, guiding the horse away from the ranch.
"All right," She said quietly, more to herself than to her new horse, "I have no idea where the hell we're going, but we're not going to get anywhere by standing around."
XXX
It had been two weeks, and Caroline was honestly astounded that her horse was still alive. It was a good thing, obviously, and she had been trying really hard to take care of it, but she was still giving herself a rather undeserved pat on the back.
Who gives themselves a pat on the back for not accidentally killing their pet?
Her, apparently.
She had decided that his name was Maximus, after the horse in Tangled, and so far he was putting up with her complete cluelessness on the subject of horses rather well.
Either way, she had been compelling her way into farms to let her horse rest, and earlier that day she'd asked a kind looking woman how to get to London from there, and she told Caroline that she had less than two days of travel time to go.
She was just getting ready to leave when she felt someone watching her. She stilled, turning around slowly, and saw a man lingering near the side of the road next to a carriage, staring at her.
If he was going to approach her, he would have, she decided, and mounted her horse before trotting off in the direction the woman had indicated earlier, before pulling harshly on the reins when the man stood directly in front of her. Her horse jumped, clearly spooked, but quickly calmed down.
Not only was her horse not dead, it also seemed to have no sense of self-preservation when faced with a threat, which was handy when random vampires jumped out in front of it.
"Who are you?" She asked, trying to sound polite.
"My name is Samuel. And you are Caroline."
"Are you sure?" Caroline asked, wary of someone who knew her name without it being given. Was he going to try to kidnap her? Because she didn't feel like dealing with it that day.
Samuel held up a sketch, and Caroline smiled slightly when she saw it. It was clearly Klaus's work. "Lord Niklaus has asked that I wait here for you and then escort you to him."
Caroline eyed the other vampire, weighing her options. She could take the risk and go with him, which, if it paid off, most likely would result in her getting to Klaus much more quickly. If it didn't, she could be in danger.
Although, if she thought about it, if they were kidnapping her to get to Klaus, then Klaus would inevitably show up to save her. So really it was just up to whether she'd have to endure vervain ropes for a few days before Klaus found her.
"All right, then. I'll follow you," She agreed, before frowning when the vampire held out his hand, presumably to help her off the horse to the carriage, "No. I'm keeping Maximus."
Samuel gave her a confused look.
"The horse," Caroline elaborated, glaring at him.
"Very well, then. Shall I have it pull the carriage?"
"Yes, please," Caroline said, elegantly dismounting the horse, a move she had perfected two days into riding.
She led Maximus to the carriage, and soon enough she was seated inside while the other vampire drove. Klaus–if it had indeed been him who sent the carriage–appeared to have planned ahead, and left her some books in the carriage to pass the time. The day and a half went by quickly, as Caroline was mostly left on her own besides stopping occasionally so that the horses could drink, and when they stayed overnight in an inn on the way.
When they finally arrived at the large manor house, the door was opened for her and the horse detached from the carriage and led away, presumably to the stables in the back.
She had only taken a few steps on the path when Klaus blurred to her and gathered her into his arms, holding her close. "I'm glad you're here."
"Me too," She said, slightly choked up.
She let him lead her into the house and direct her to the sitting room, trying not to laugh when he fussed around with everything trying to make sure that she was comfortable.
She had never seen so many sofa pillows in her life.
"Why are you trying to smother me with pillows?" She asked, pulling him down to sit next to her, partly to snuggle into him and partly because she just couldn't stand him moving around any more.
"Your journey was long. You must be tired."
She shrugged. "I guess."
She had a cup of tea immediately thrust into her hands by (who she assumed was) a servant. Klaus tucked an arm around her, and she had the feeling that he was checking to make sure she was really there every time he touched her. "I assume you have just come from the time when I was human?" He asked.
She nodded, a flood of emotions immediately hitting her all at once.
"I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"Henrik. I knew it was going to happen...and...and I could have done something…"
Klaus immediately pulled her closer to him, rubbing her back as she tried to suppress her tears.
"You couldn't have done anything, Caroline."
"But I could have told you not to go. I could have saved him."
"No, you couldn't have," Klaus said gently.
"Why not?"
"According to what you told me some years ago, it would upset the balance."
"What are you talking about? I've never said anything about the balance to you."
He smiled slightly. "Of course, you do not know yet."
"Know what?"
"When your spirit is pulled through time, you often go forward and backward. The last time I saw you was almost 150 years ago, but you had already been here. It's honestly all rather complicated, and though I will deny I said this if ever you should tell someone, I also don't understand it very well."
"So you're saying that the letter I found from my future self was from my future self in the past with you?"
He grimaced. "Yes."
She groaned. Time travel made her head hurt.
"So, I'll be yanked around time more?"
"Indeed. I already know of two other times you've been in. The one where I last saw you, and in Spain a little over a hundred years after I was turned."
"How long was I with you last time?"
"Ten years."
Her eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Well don't act so excited, love. I don't think you enjoyed the period much."
"Why?"
"That was the beginning of a war between England and France, as well as the plague."
She wrinkled her nose.
"I can see why I wouldn't like it."
He laughed quietly. "I should hope so. You always have been too kind-hearted for your own good."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked sharply.
He regarded her seriously for a moment. "You grieve for others' pain."
Caroline frowned and was about to ask what that meant when she heard a screech from the doorway. "Caroline!"
Rebekah practically tackled Caroline in a hug, and they both laughed. "Where have you come from this time?" Rebekah asked excitedly, sitting on the couch on the other side of the coffee table.
"When you were human."
Rebekah's face fell slightly before she rearranged it into a grin. "That's lovely. Though I assume it has been only weeks for you, I have missed you a great deal, as has Nik."
"I missed you too, Rebekah, even if it's only been a few weeks," Caroline hastened to reassure her friend.
"If you are willing to wait until this evening to chat, I would like to show Caroline to our room," Klaus said, standing up and offering Caroline his hand.
"Of course," Rebekah said, a knowing smile on her face as she left.
Caroline took his hand, frowning, "Our room?"
"We have shared a bed since the first time I saw you after you...left. I suppose it has only been weeks for you. If you are uncomfortable, I can show you to a guest room."
He pulled her to him suddenly, smirking as she squeaked when she collided with his chest, his hands on her hips. He leaned down, his breath hot on her ear. "However, I do recall you wanting to become more...intimate."
She rolled her eyes, pushing him off her. "Trust that to be the first thing you bring up, Klaus," She said, throwing a grin over her shoulder at him.
Something like uncertainty flashed through his face when she used his name, but he schooled it back to a pleasant smile so quickly that she might have imagined it.
"Fine, then. Show me to our room," She said primly, folding her hands together in front of her.
He grinned and set his hand on the small of her back, leading her to a large door, which he pushed open to reveal a large room decorated in darker tones, with a large bed resting against the center of the far wall and a door that she guessed led to a bath.
The first thing she did was fling herself on a bed. He laughed as he watched her let out a deep breath of contentment. "Hey, don't laugh! I haven't been anywhere close to an actual bed in six months. Okay?"
It was true. Though the inns technically had beds, they weren't beds like this.
"Do you want to see the rest of the estate?"
"This is so comfortable, though."
"Well, that is generally the point of beds, love."
She pouted and he sighed before sitting down on the edge of the bed, still smiling slightly at her antics. She tugged him down so that he was lying beside her and snuggled into him.
"I missed you," She mumbled.
"And I, you, Caroline."
She yawned, and looked up to see him fighting down a smile. "Would you like to retire for the night?"
She nodded sleepily, but still held him to her when he tried to shift away.
"Caroline…"
"Stay," She ordered.
He sighed dramatically, as though she was asking too much of him, but pulled her even closer to him so that her every curve was molded against the hard planes of his body.
"Always and forever," She heard him mumble before she drifted off.
XXX
There was a knock on her door early the next morning, and Caroline groaned at the rude wake up call. She sat up, noticing that Klaus's side of the bed was empty and sighed, figuring he had things to do.
She slid out of bed and opened the door to see two women outside, one holding a bundle of fabric, the other with a large bucket of hot water. She stood to the side to let them in and they both walked to the door on the side of the room. She followed to find a room with a large, empty tub. Her bath was poured and the ladies waited expectantly, apparently waiting for her to strip.
"It's all right, I can wash myself," Caroline said impatiently, gesturing towards the door.
"Lord Niklaus requested that we help you."
Caroline sighed. "Wait outside the door then, and I'll call you to help me get dressed."
The women exchanged a wary look before leaving, and Caroline had her bath, very happy that she at least had hot water now.
When she was done and had dried herself with what she assumed was a towel, she pulled on the linen smock provided and then called them in, her arms over her chest.
They helped her into her gown, and Caroline thanked every deity she could think of off the top of her head that corsets weren't a thing yet.
"Where's Klaus?" She asked.
Both women looked horrified at her casual reference to him, but quickly schooled their features back to pleasant ones. "Lord Niklaus is in his study, I believe."
"Where is his study?"
They exchanged wary looks again and Caroline huffed. "Just tell me."
Once she'd gotten the information she swept down the hall and up the staircase as directed and found Klaus sitting behind a desk, penning a letter.
She walked through the study door and closed it softly behind her, smiling at him when he looked up at her.
"What are you up to?" She asked, walking up beside him to peer over his shoulder at the letter.
"Just writing to a friend of mine. Do you need something?"
"No. Just bored," She said, sighing.
"That seems to be your main complaint whenever you arrive. I assume that wherever you have come from has many more options on which to spend your time?"
"Yes. Why are you writing to your friend?"
"I am trying to locate someone."
"Katerina?"
He sighed. "Of course you know of her. I'd assume then that I did not succeed in locating her?"
Caroline shrugged. "Well, not in my timeline."
He gave her a small smile, and she had the distinct feeling that there was something he wasn't telling her. "How did you know her?"
Caroline debated with herself for a few seconds. Was she supposed to keep Klaus from capturing Katherine? Was her task to change the timeline? Well, if her future self had been back in time, that meant that the timeline was preserved because her future self had already gone through it… Ugh. Her head hurt.
"She turned me," Caroline said.
Klaus scowled. "Well, I most definitely cannot kill her then," He mumbled, "I don't want to risk you not turning."
"You could always just condemn her to an eternity of misery instead."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Just make her think that you're chasing her," Caroline elaborated, "She won't be able to rest. She'll be on the run."
Klaus smirked, tugging Caroline down to sit on his lap. "I knew there was a reason that I loved you."
"Because I know the future and can make excellent suggestions?" She teased, laying her head on his chest.
"Because you're just as intelligent as you are beautiful, my love. But that as well, I suppose."
"You have the worst pick up lines."
"Pick up lines?" He asked, frowning.
"Pick up lines. Like, lines to pick up women?"
He was still looking at her blankly, and she sighed. "Never mind."
"Future slang?" He asked, although she had the feeling that he was repeating a term she had taught him.
"Yes."
"Am I successfully picking you up?" He asked, a smirk on his face as he playfully tugged her even closer so that her whole body was resting against him.
She laughed. "You'll have to try a little bit harder than that."
He captured her lips with his, nibbling on her bottom lip lightly while his arms encircled her waist before pulling back again. "How about now?"
"Nope."
His lips brushed against her cheek now, and they slowly traveled down to her jaw, leaving soft light pecks against her skin. She sighed, tipping her head against his shoulder to give him more room. "Now?" He mumbled against her skin.
"Not yet. Try harder."
She felt him smile against her before he lifted her to sit on his desk and stood between her legs, his hands resting on her thighs, and molded his lips to hers. She moaned, opening her mouth for him and he thrust his tongue in, lifting one hand to cup her breast through the fabric of her dress.
She arched her back as he pinched her nipple lightly and sighed as his lips traveled down to suck harshly at her collarbone, leaving red marks that quickly healed in the wake of his lips.
He pulled his mouth away, his hand still lingering on her breast while the other stroked the inside of her thighs under her dress.
"Now?" He asked quietly.
She nodded slowly, the intensity of his gaze making her flush.
"I love you, my sweet Caroline."
Though she knew that it was not the first time he'd said it, it was the first time she'd heard it, and she suddenly felt choked up. He'd loved her in Mystic Falls, she'd told him so, and she'd been right, but there was something final about this. He'd loved her in the future, he'd loved her in the past...She had been gone for hundreds of years, and he still did.
That kind of love never dies.
"I love you too."
XXX
"Is there a witch I could talk to?" Caroline asked abruptly as she snuggled next to Klaus on the couch in the library.
"About what?"
"Why I'm here."
"Why you're traveling through time, you mean?"
"Yes."
"There is one that lives not far from here, shall I send for her?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"I shall send someone later."
There was a dramatic huff that came from outside the library before the door slammed open to hit the wall, and both Caroline and Klaus turned to look to see Rebekah in the doorway, her eyes narrowed in anger. "Did you kill him?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Klaus said, turning back to his book.
"So that would be a yes, then," Rebekah said angrily, her hands on her hips.
"What happened?" Caroline asked, frowning (although she had a very good idea even with the lack of context).
"Edward was found dead this morning in the garden."
"Oh, you mean the stable boy you've been fraternizing with for the last month? How unfortunate," Klaus said, feigning innocence.
"Klaus!"
He turned to Caroline, keeping the innocent look (that didn't fool her for even a second). "What? It is unfortunate."
"Did you kill him?"
"Oh please, of course he killed him. Nik just has to ruin anything that could possibly make me happy," Rebekah said, tears filling her eyes, "This always happens."
"Really, Klaus?"
"What?" He asked defensively, "He wasn't good enough for her."
"The decision of who is good enough for me is my choice, Nik, not yours."
"I'm your older brother," Klaus said shortly, as though that excused his behavior completely.
"So what you are trying to say is that you have the fundamental right to control my life because you were a man who was born before me?"
"Yes."
"Klaus!" Caroline snapped, "Are you serious right now?"
He turned slowly to Caroline, seeming to be inwardly debating how to respond. "From your reaction, I assume that in the future there are different standards of behavior. However, we are in a time where it is perfectly acceptable for me to make this sort of decision."
The look on her face could not have been kind, and he seemed to realize that his "logic" was not an acceptable response.
"I think that you owe Rebekah an apology," Caroline said slowly.
"I don't."
Caroline's eyes narrowed.
"It's all right Nik," Rebekah said through her sniffling, wiping her eyes, "I'll just find someone more appropriate, and then you'll have absolutely no excuse."
"I'll take that as a challenge," Klaus said, turning back to his book.
Rebekah let out a strangled sob and flashed away from the room, slamming the door behind her.
"No, you won't," Caroline argued through gritted teeth, "Unless you think that the consequence of me not speaking to you is acceptable."
Klaus smirked, though it wasn't his usual playful one. It looked almost venomous. "You'll forgive me."
"How do you know?"
"You forget, I know your future in my past, and you were most definitely speaking to me, if not screaming."
"You're unbelievable."
"And you love me anyway," He shrugged, "Now, why don't you run along and comfort Rebekah while I contact the witch."
"Run along?"
He took a deep breath as though she was trying his patience. "Apologies. Rebekah seems to be in need of comfort. I would very much appreciate it if you would console her so that I may contact your witch without interruption."
"Whatever," She said, standing up and speeding out of the room behind Rebekah.
She could hear Rebekah's loud sobs from her room upstairs, and quickly made her way there, knocking on the other girl's door.
"Rebekah?"
"Come in," Rebekah said, sniffling.
Caroline entered and sat down on the bed next to Rebekah. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. There's nothing you could have done," Rebekah said, shrugging, wiping away her tears.
"What have I missed?"
"Since you were here last? Or since we transitioned."
"Since you transitioned, I guess."
Rebekah bit her lip. "Well, that's a lot of ground to cover. I heard you and Nik in his study, so I know that you are aware of Elijah's betrayal...Although, between you and me I think that Nik's overreacting a tad-"
"I can still hear you," Klaus called from downstairs.
"I'm glad, now you know without a doubt that I think you're an absolute prick," Rebekah shouted back without missing a beat before continuing to Caroline, "So Elijah's been gone for a while, I'm not sure where he is, though Nik most likely does. Kol is...not here."
"Daggered?" Caroline asked dryly.
Rebekah shook her head. "He's in Italy at the moment, I believe. He often runs off without us to cause mayhem somewhere or other. I'm sure he would come back if he knew you were here, though."
"Why?" Caroline asked, confused. She hadn't spent much time with Kol when they were human. As far as she knew, Kol had only spoken about ten sentences to her total.
"Oh. Right. You weren't you...You and my brother became very good friends. I'm not sure how, neither of you would tell any of us, but I know he does miss you. I suspect that you haven't told us why because you know that it drives Nik up the wall that he doesn't know. It's rather annoying actually."
"Oh."
Caroline tried to recall the Kol of her time, and realized that she didn't remember all that much. Kol had been with Klaus that one day at the bar, and they'd met in passing at the ball… But besides that she didn't remember any other time she'd spent with him.
"Would you like me to show you the rest of the estate? The gardens are beautiful," Rebekah said hopefully, perking up, "And I can tell you more about what has happened since you left us?"
"I didn't leave you, I was pulled through time."
"So you say," Rebekah said, though she had a smile on her face, as though this was a common conversation, "Well?"
"Yes. Show me," Caroline said, grabbing her friend's hand.
XXX
"The witch is in the sitting room," Klaus said quietly, poking his head into the library, where she'd been reading.
She made a humming sound and set the book on the end table before getting up to go meet the witch.
It had been almost a week, and she still wasn't speaking to Klaus. He had been trying to get her to talk to him, but she hadn't budged on the subject.
He had to apologize to both her and Rebekah.
"Caroline, I understand that you're upset, but-"
"Is a variation of an apology about to come out of your mouth? Because if the answer to that is 'no,' then I don't want to hear it."
He sighed. "I apologize for speaking to you in that manner. I did not mean to be condescending or to come across as though I thought you were below me."
"By 'come across', do you mean that you think that I'm below you but didn't want me to know it?"
"No. Do not twist my words. You are not below me, and it was not my intention to make you believe that I felt that way. Forgive me, my love?"
He had the hopeful puppy-eyed look on his face that could probably get him the world if he wasn't already powerful enough to take it himself.
"I accept your apology. You should go talk to Bekah while I talk to the witch."
"I am not going to apologize to-"
She glared at him.
"I will consider it," He said, and she nodded, suppressing a smile.
That was basically a "yes" from him.
They arrived at the door and Caroline waved him off when offered to come with her.
The room was filled with the strong smell of burning sage, and Caroline resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," Caroline said politely, taking a seat at the table in Klaus's-well, their-sitting room opposite the witch.
The witch didn't answer, but simply looked at her with a piercing stare that made Caroline incredibly uncomfortable.
"Look, I need to speak with Ayana Bennett. She was a witch, and she's-"
"On the Other Side," The witch said quietly, "Yes, I know of Ayana."
"Great!" Caroline said happily, "I need to talk to her."
"That is not necessary."
"Why not?"
"Because I know that you are with me because you are not...shall we say, from here?"
Caroline narrowed her eyes. "How do you know that?"
"The spirits tell me much about the world."
Caroline huffed. "Right. The spirits. Whatever. This might be asking too much, but did they by any chance tell you what I'm supposed to be doing here?"
"That is something that you must discover for yourself."
"Are you kidding me right now?"
"Beg pardon?"
"Look. I don't have time for a scavenger hunt, okay? Just tell me what I'm supposed to do."
"You know the answer already, you simply have to discover it."
Caroline rubbed her face with her palms and tried to remember everything she knew. The balance revolved around the natural order. Strengths and weaknesses, loopholes, and cycles. Ayana had said that her task was to restore the balance.
No. Keep the balance.
Keep, like maintain?
"Is my task to change time, or keep time the way that it's supposed to be?"
The witch smiled approvingly. "Time is but a construction-"
"Of the human mind, yes, I know," Caroline said impatiently, "But what does that mean?"
"What is a minute?" The witch said abruptly.
"A unit of time," Caroline said slowly, "What does this have to do with-"
"No, child, what is a minute?"
"Sixty seconds?" Caroline guessed.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why?"
"Why is sixty seconds a minute?"
Caroline blinked. "I don't know, at some point someone decided that sixty seconds was a minute?"
"Who?" The witch asked.
Her head hurt. Badly.
A minute is a unit of time, made of sixty seconds, another unit of time. Time didn't just...come with the earth. Someone defined time. Someone made those measurements…
Time is but a construction of the human mind.
"You're saying that time doesn't exist?" Caroline asked slowly, frowning, "No...No wait. You're saying that nature didn't create time. Nature just...just is. And so if time is but a construction of the human mind...or whatever…"
The witch raised her eyebrows, as though encouraging her to go on.
"Time...Time cannot be changed. It can't be altered, because time doesn't exist unless we define it," Caroline said excitedly, putting it all together, "I wasn't sent back in time. I mean, I was, but this was always meant to happen…I'm keeping the balance by existing."
The witch smiled. "You are a very intelligent girl, Caroline."
"So to keep the balance I have to…exist?"
"Partly."
"And the other part?"
"Just because time and history cannot be altered does not mean that changes cannot occur."
"Okay. You lost me."
The witch smiled. "Let us say, for example, that a book was to be destroyed. It would disappear from existence."
"Right...?"
"If the book were to be taken before it was destroyed, but never used, time-"
"Would stay the same," Caroline finished the witch's thought.
The witch nodded.
"I'm assuming that the Lakestrom grimmoire must have been destroyed in the original timeline? So I was sent back to get it first?"
"You could assume that, yes."
"Any other parts of this that I should know about?" Caroline asked dryly.
"Every being has strengths and weaknesses, and those who have nothing to live-"
"For are often the most dangerous. Yeah, so I've heard."
The witch just stared at her.
"It's because Klaus was born in 948 and I was born in 1992?" Caroline suggested hesitantly.
The witch nodded.
"Well, why couldn't Klaus have been born in my time? Or me in his time?"
"I do not know. I'm not omniscient. Time simply works in interesting ways."
Caroline sighed. This was such a mindfuck.
"So my task isn't just one task?"
"I do not know. What do you think your tasks are?"
"I think that I have to keep Klaus grounded in whatever time I'm in, and get the grimmoire before someone destroys it."
"That seems reasonable."
Caroline suppressed the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. This would have been so much easier if the witch had just said this at the beginning.
"What am I supposed to stop Klaus from doing? I am I just supposed to be myself or whatever and react the way I would anyway?"
Caroline didn't like surprises. She didn't like not knowing what was going to happen. She liked to be in control. This whole situation was already spiraling out of her hands, and she didn't like it one bit.
"My best advice to you, Caroline, is to live in the present."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed that :P I'd just like to say now that Klaus is NOT changing. He is the same big bad we know and love from the (TVD) show (fuck TO). He will not become cuddly. :)
Also, yes, tea wasn't in England yet. Suspend your disbelief. I know that bathing wasn't as frequent there either, but I feel like Caroline wouldn't put up with that bullshit. She'd be like, "NOPE. BATHS EVERY DAY."
Also, keep in mind that we're in the late 15th early/16th century, and feminism isn't a thing. I've been trying to be mindful of how things were back then, but I've been inserting Caroline commentary because I feel like she would not be okay with it :P
How do you guys feel about the way I'm constructing this? Does it make enough sense? Am I explaining it well enough? Do you like it?
Any predictions? :) Let me know what you think! The only way I get better is with reviews telling me how I'm doing ;)
Hugs!
-Angie