Klaus kept a strong grip around her arm as he led her down towards the prison cells. Her continued pleas and whining went unnoticed by him and he pushed her into the cell with enough force to cause her to stumble.

"You will stay here until I figure out what to do with you," he snapped and without a second glance at her frightened face he turned around and stalked out of there.

Caroline's "pleases" and "don'ts" rang in his ears as Klaus left the prison behind him. The cells were as secure as they could be. This ship had once belonged to a pirate that was more of a pyshocotic control-freak than Klaus himself. There was no way anyone could break through the heavy metal bars and her screams would not be heard from above.

Klaus pushed a few people out of the way and ignored or snarled at the few comments shot his way. He hurried into the salon and straight through to the office space. Stefan had already gathered the people he needed to see in there. While the young Salvatore lad came with more complications than anything else Klaus could not deny that Stefan was good to have around.

The Salvatore brothers were sitting side by side by the table, Stefan looking brooding and Damon bored. Kol was resting his legs on the table and his one visible eye that wasn't covered by a black patch was twinkling with mischief. Elijah stood in the corner, his hands wrapped behind his back with a solemn look on his face.

"Aye," Klaus greeted them and kicked the door shut behind with his boot.

"Did ye get it?" Kol excitedly asked. "Did ye get the necklace?"

Klaus gave his youngest brother a stern look that wiped the grin right off his face. It only left him feeling slightly better about the situation.

"No," he snapped and tried to ignore the way his men quickly exchanged looks of dread. They knew their captain well enough to understand what a failed mission did to him – and to the poor souls that he decided to punish. "The gal doesn't have it. But I know who does."

Relief seemed to flood through the room and Kol clapped his hands together in an excited manner. If it had not been for the importance of this object Klaus would have been happy about the prospect of an adventure as well. They had been doing the same thing for so long and he was in desperate need of some old fashioned adventure. But as it was he needed the necklace and the sooner he got his hands on it the better.

"Where is Finn?" Elijah asks quietly from his corner.

Klaus shot him a nasty glare before taking his seat at the head of the table. He pulled his hip flask out of his pocket and took a long gulp before bothering to give Elijah an answer.

"I don't trust him," he said. "He might be our brother but he's still a traitor. If he wasn't good at what he does I'd had made him walk the plank a long time ago."

Stefan's eyebrows furrowed even more and Klaus rolled his eyes at the lad's brooding expression. He knew that the Salvatore brothers would never understand the relationship Klaus shared with his own family. Damon and Stefan had their own share of complicated history that, to be honest, amused Klaus to no ends but they always blindly forgave each other and threw their lives away for the other at every chance they got. While they valued family over everything Klaus valued staying alive.

"So who are we hunting down?" Kol asked.

A slow smirk spread across Klaus' lips but he took his good old time giving them the answer they were all leaning forward in anticipation for. He took another swig from the small flask and enjoyed the feel of the rum burning down his throat.

"A dear old friend…" he revealed mysteriously, keeping them all on edge. "Rebekah."

Not even Elijah, who was the master of controlling his emotions, could hide the shock on his face. Klaus stayed silent, enjoying the surprise he had brought out of his men. Being one step ahead of people and seeing the surprise his actions brought out of people was almost as pleasing as the finest rum of the seven wild seas.

"Ah little sister," Kol was the first one to speak. He leaned back and put his hands behind his head and shook his head. "Always such a trouble maker."

"How are we supposed to find her? She's been off the grid since Tortuga" Damon inquired doubtfully.

Klaus glared at the sailor, annoyed with the clear doubt in his voice. Klaus trusted Damon and his skills with a sword had turned out to be quite useful over time but that did not mean he liked the man very much. He got on his nerves almost as much as Kol did.

"Oh she will be right where I expect her to be," Klaus said dryly.

"Right. So where are we setting sails for, Captain?" Damon asked and for a moment Klaus considered drawing his sword and beheading the foolish pirate for using that tone with him. He decided against it however because if he did he would have to settle for Finn and that would be even worse.

"Rebekah is very predictable," Klaus began, ignoring the snort his comment brought out from Kol. "The only thing my foolish sister listens to is her heart which is why I know exactly where she'll be. Brothers… we're going home!"

Damon grinned, Stefan looked confused and Kol cheered. Eliah met Klaus' eyes and gave him a questioning look that Klaus decided to return with a stern narrowing of his eyes.

"That sounds dangerous," Elijah mused from his corner earning an eye-roll from Kol.

"What's wrong with a little danger brother?" the youngest Mikaelson leered. "Are ye a pirate or a mouse?"

"Mikael will be sure to have spies stationed there," Elijah continued as if Kol had not said anything. "He will know about our whereabouts the moment our ship is spotted."

Klaus knew that his brother was right. He hated to admit it but Elijah had spent more time than anyone else by Klaus' side and had learned the ways of Mikael just as Klaus had. The previous owner of the ship they now called theirs was always tracking their steps. He would be sure to have some of his best men placed in their old home town, even though the thought of returning there made Klaus want to rip someone's head off. It was most likely one of the reasons Rebekah had chosen to go back there, other than that damn sentimental streak that dictated her every move.

"We'll have to take the risk," he finally said and his tone left no room for arguing. "Set sails and get the men up on deck. We are going home."

"What about the girl?" Stefan asked and Klaus' hands stiffened on his flask for a second. He quickly brought it to his mouth and swallowed a larger than normal amount of rum. "What should we do with her?"

"I'd be happy to take care of that," Kol snickered.

"No," Klaus barked immediately. "No one touches her. Someone bring her bread and water and I'll figure out what to do with her."

Kol huffed but Klaus did not spare him a moment of pity. The thought of Kol having his way with Caroline bothered him more than it should and his jaw clenched at the thought. Caroline was his prisoner and if anyone would put their hands on her body it would be him. The thought of their kiss all those years ago still burned fresh in his memory. There was something about her that made his cock twitch and his imagination go wild. Kol would not touch her.

While Elijah was serious, Kol impulsive, Finn silent and Rebekah sentimental Klaus was possessive. What belonged to him belonged to him and no one else.

"Meeting adjourned," he declared, banging his fist down on the table. Everyone began to scatter to get the ship moving but Klaus could feel Elijah's remaining presence in the back of the room. "What do you want, brother?" he asked once the door shut for the final time.

Elijah stepped forward from the corner so that he could look Klaus straight in the eye.

"We are running straight into Mikael's trap," he spoke. His tone was casual but his expression serious. "Are you sure it's worth it?"

Klaus glared up at him. Elijah was his closest man and his brother but that did not give him permission to question his orders as captain. Elijah seemed to understand what his glare said because he bowed his head respectfully.

"I don't mean to question you but –"

"Then don't," Klaus barked before Elijah had time to finish. "Tell Kol to get the cannons ready and make sure everyone knows we might be facing trouble, I want the crew prepared. Tell no one why or who," Elijah did not argue or say anything else. He clearly understood the finality of Klaus' words. He simply gave his brother a last, searching glance before leaving the office.

Klaus sighed and leaned back. He drank the rest of the rum in one last gulp and shook his head. The thought that he might be going face to face with Mikael unnerved him but he would not back down from the fight if that was what awaited him. He needed that necklace and it did not matter what he had to give up in order of getting his hands on it.

He stood up and straightened his hat. His hand reached to make sure his sword was still at his side and with a grim look on his face he left to go command his crew towards their next adventure.

Caroline stopped screaming for help once her throat went soar. She realized pretty quickly that either no one could hear her or no one wanted to help her. Seeing as she was on a pirate ship her money was on the latter. She had rattled the bars again and again but just as quickly she had realized no one was coming to rescue her she had also come to realize that they would not move.

Instead of continuing to scream until she lost her voice entirely she had sat down in the far corner of the small cell she had been locked into. The cold floor was wet and water kept washing in from different creaks. Caroline was cold and miserable. The fright had begun to fade away because all she could think of was how uncomfortable she was.

Her dress was pretty but not very warm. The beautiful fabric had also gotten dirty and wet and her sitting on it didn't do much to help the cause. Her whole body ached from sitting in the same position for God only knew how long, her stomach kept rumbling and her tongue was dry from lack of water.

To pass time Caroline had begun debating with herself about what she most wanted now. She couldn't decide whether water, food or something soft and dry to wear was most preferable and kept comparing the cons and pros of the different options.

The sad truth was that she would most likely get none of it but she tried not to think of that. If it was one thing Caroline was good at it was remaining positive in dark situations. And being locked in a cell on a pirate ship definitely counted as being dark as night.

Her ears picked up a creaking sound and Caroline's head snapped up immediately. Not long after she heard the heavy door Klaus had closed behind him open and steps move towards her.

"Hello?" Caroline called, managing to sound a lot braver than she felt.

"It's just me," Stefan's voice called back and Caroline's shoulder heaved in relief. At least the pirate in question was nice. She was still scared for when she would have to deal with the ones with toothless grins and missing body parts.

A moment later Stefan appeared by her cell. Caroline shuffled a little closer but her eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"Bread and water," Stefan said and put his hand through the bars to hand her a loaf of bread and a dirty cup. Caroline wrinkled her nose but nevertheless she greedily accepted it.

"You sure take the prison thing seriously," she muttered before taking a long sip of the cold water. "Bread and water," she added under her breath with a small huff.

She noticed that Stefan's lips twitched into the beginning of a smile which relaxed her a little more. As much as Caroline wanted to hate him she couldn't help but feel relieved that he was there. At least he was friendly and if she was going to sit in a cell and rot she was happy she had something pretty to look at. The thought made Caroline giggle.

"What are you laughing at?" Stefan asked. To her surprise he had sat down and was leaning back against the wall opposite of her.

"Oh nothing," Caroline said quickly as mall blush creeping onto her cheeks. "So tell me, how long will I be sitting in this god forsaken cell?" she demanded.

"I'm afraid I don't know," Stefan shook his head slightly. "The Captain is being most… mysterious, about you," he added on afterthought.

Caroline's eyebrows quirked up and she smirked slightly but she didn't say anything. Stefan seemed to have noticed her odd reaction but he remained silent. They sat in comfortable silent while Caroline ate her bread and drank her water. Once she was done she pushed the cup towards Stefan.

"You're not like the rest of them," she said and the surprised look on Stefan's face was enough to make her smile.

"What do you mean?" he asked but she had a feeling he knew what she was talking about.

"Well I cannot say I have a lot of experience with pirates but you're different than any I've ever met or heard of," Caroline kept her eyes on his face, searching it for any signs or secrets.

Another moment of silent stretched between them and Caroline could tell Stefan was surprised by her comment. Or maybe put off. She continued searching his face for an answer, expecting him to refuse answering the question but to her surprise he started speaking.

"That's because I wasn't always a pirate," he said quietly and there were too many emotions clouding in his eyes for Caroline to be able to tell what he was feeling. He was smiling sadly but there was something happy about it as well.

"Tell me more," Caroline requested eagerly. She had always liked a good story – or piece of gossip, as her father would say with a judgmental shake of his finger – and this sounded like the beginning of one.

"Maybe another time," said Stefan. "I have to go now. We are taking off to a new destination."

He picked up the cup she had been drinking out of and stood up. Caroline was suddenly gripped with panic at the prospect of being left alone again. She searched her scattered brain for something to say that would make him stay but found nothing. Before she had time to plead for his company Stefan had left and the door shut with a loud thud.

Caroline sighed and settled back into her corner. The fear that she had managed to forget made itself comfortable once again. She was cold, lonely and her stomach still ached from hunger. She missed her father and the lack of information about what was going on made her head spin while it worked on overdrive trying to figure out what was going on.

With another sigh Caroline closed her eyes and tried to get into a comfortable position. That proved to be nearly impossible but after a while her body gave in and she fell asleep.