Hey guys!
So this is possibly one of my favourite episodes of The Vampire Diaries. It's the Mikaelson ball *sigh*
There's just something about seeing your OTP dance together that makes you fuzzy inside ^-^
Thank you guys again for just taking time out of your day to read this fanfiction! It means a lot to me!
Now let's get started. This chapter is based on 3x14!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries that honour goes to Julie Plec
It had been five days since Caroline's father had died. She had cried many tears. She had hardly left her room with her mom, Liz, bringing her daily meals and some blood bags, much to Liz's disgust. Every time she had to give Caroline a blood bag she would pass them to her with her arm outstretched, holding the package between her forefinger and thumb.
Caroline had resolutely refused to eat for the couple of days. She spent all her time crying into her pillow. It had been so hard to resist the urge to 'flip the switch'. She would have given anything not to feel the pain that cut so deeply.
Caroline and her father had not been close for years. Not since he had moved out to live with Steven. She didn't think that it would hurt this badly but it felt like a piece of herself had been ripped out.
Caroline had forced herself to get out of bed that morning telling herself that she was done being weak! And that her time mourning was up. She would not be like Elena and use it to her advantage. She would pretend like nothing happened. She would be the upbeat Caroline that she usually was.
She walked out of her bedroom getting ready to start the day. She went to the kitchen counter where she found a note from her mom. Gone to work. Oatmeal in the fridge have a great day, honey xx.
Typical, Caroline thought. It's not like the man that she was married to for 12 years had just died?! A wave of sadness came over her.
"No." Caroline said firmly out loud, as if she was trying to get it into her skull that she would be happy Caroline again. Happy, smiley Caroline. Yes. Caroline sighed. She stood still for a second then she walked around her counter and opened up the fridge.
Just as her mother had said, there was oatmeal. She could not scrape the feeling that she was being watched as she took out the oatmeal and started eating it. She was starving. She had not eaten anything and had only drank the blood of a couple of squirrels. She hadn't even killed them so the blood wasn't fresh. Caroline let out another sigh.
Why was life so hard?
She took the oatmeal, grabbed a spoon and sat on the couch. She ate the food ravenously. Was she pity eating? Caroline thought. She had never pity eaten. She shook her head mentally and physically.
She got up and placed the bowl in the sink and started washing it ferociously. Her skin started to get raw with the hot water sinking into it. The bowl was clean but she kept scrubbing it. She was stress cleaning. Was this what it had come to? She stopped but the unfamiliar feeling that she was being watched was still with her.
She heard her phone ring so she walked into the hallway to pick it up, she saw a text from Elena. 'Want to get a coffee in the MG? Xx' honestly … Caroline didn't want to get a coffee. She wanted to crawl into her nice warm bed, close the curtains and just lie there. But today Caroline was going to be active. She started to reply to the text when she was interrupted by a call coming through. It was from a phone number she knew well. She answered it quickly.
"Caroline, it's Tyler. I know, I know, I should have called sooner."
Just hearing his voice made her feel better. It made her feel safe. Her mind immediately drifted to how extraordinarily safe she had felt just a few weeks ago. On her birthday. She remembered the strong arms that had held her close. She remembered clearly the English accent whispering "Happy birthday, Caroline." She shook her head and listened closer. She could not be thinking about him when she was speaking to Tyler.
"I just kind of freaked out and left. But I heard about your dad, and I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Caroline. I'm out doing what he said. I'm going to fix myself and come home to you. I love you."
Klaus was stood at the doorway watching Caroline. He could see her blonde hair, how the light reflected off it. He stood there for a second, wanting a glimpse of her blue eyes. He had been watching her from the shadows while she went around her morning routine. He could tell that she thought that she was being watched. She was a smart girl. Not just stunningly beautiful. But intelligent too. He would not allow her to see him. He was holding a large black box with a white velvet ribbon around it. He carefully placed the package on the floor and knocked on the door and with vampire speed he 'whooshed' away.
Caroline turned around. She put her phone on the table and walked towards the door. She couldn't see anyone. She guessed it to would have been kids pulling a prank, some local kids had been putting bags of dog shit on people's porches and setting it on fire, so she walked cautiously towards the door.
She opened it and where she had expected a mess she was surprised to see a black box with a velvet white ribbon wrapped around it. Her whole body flooded with excitement. She looked up knowing that he would be hiding somewhere in the shadows. She did not want to show her pleasure at seeing the gift or the letter on top of it.
She picked up the box and carried it through her house and into her own room. She placed it carefully onto her cream sheets and picked up the envelope. It had two words very carefully written in the most perfect calligraphy she had ever seen.
'Caroline Forbes'
Caroline held the envelope to her for a second and then opened it, taking no notice of the 'M' wax stamp covering the seal of the envelope. This was the most formal letter she had ever received. When she ripped it open two words jumped out at her at once. 'Mikaelson family'.
'Please join the
Mikaelson Family,
This evening at seven o'clock,
for dance, cocktails and celebrations.'
"What the-"
Who the hell were the Mikaelson's? Caroline was confused to say the least. She the envelope onto the bed and re-read the invitation. Caroline turned over the invitation, not expecting anything but a blank side of paper but instead there was a scribble of writing. She was surprised.
'Save me a dance, Fondly, Klaus'
Caroline scoffed at this. But inside there was an unwilling twinge of excitement. This excitement grew only when she was about to open the box.
"Seriously?"
She threw the letter down exasperatedly. But this did not stop her from opening the black box curiously and carefully. She was excited. What expensive gift had he given her now? She asked herself, her excitement growing.
As she opened the box and there was a sky blue dress facing her. There was a jewelled bodice just under where her chest would be. There was white lace which looked soft and enticing. She could not imagine herself in it. Yeah she had worn expensive dresses before, like at Miss Mystic Falls. But that was nothing compared to this dress. She could tell that he had put some thought into it. She felt like she was going to be a princess.
"Woah." She let the words escape her. She did not want to show her liking to this dress but it was extraordinary. She was already thinking about accessories. Some white gloves, a necklace and that beautiful bracelet that Klaus had given me.
Then she realised what she was doing and she shut the box quickly trying not to think about it. No. She said Even though I would love to be Cinderella I can't. If it was anyone else yes, but this was Klaus Mikaelson for god sake. Caroline shook herself mentally as she sighed. She was already thinking about what she was going to wear. Because she would not appease to his 'Cinderella fetish'. She was a strong independent vampire.
She went back into the hall but yet she could not get that dress off her mind. She sighed as she took out her phone.
'Sure, see you soon x' She replied to Elena's text message. She gave a heavy sigh.
A couple of hours earlier…
Rebekah had tried to kill the doppelganger? His doppelganger... The one he needed. She would pay. Even if he had to go through all his siblings and mother to get to her.
He could hear his younger brother and sister nattering to each other. This just made his rage worsen. He was storming down the corridor that he had so lovingly decorated. All for them. He had reunited them and this is how they repay him? He pushed open the door and stormed inside.
The scene that met him was one he had not expected. Had never thought he would see. It was his whole family reunited. He saw his sister lounging on the sofa, lazily making snide remarks to his younger brother who was getting his suit fitted. Then there was his older brother, Finn. He had had his hair cut from the long, tangled mop of hair to a short, crisp cut. He was still adjusting to this new time era. Elijah was looking at a pair of shoes. When Klaus walked in he gave a half smile before his eyes settled on Rebekah.
"You went after Elena? What is wrong with you?" he shouted at her.
It enraged him further to see her smiling face looking at him. She had been with him so long that his temper tantrums were insignificant to her. He walked up so that he was looming above her, menacingly.
"Here we go." Rebekah smiled sarcastically.
"Do you want another dagger in your heart?" Klaus' voice was low with rage.
"Again with the dagger threats, brother?" sneered Kol. Klaus should have guessed that his insolent little brother would jump in at one point or another. "Don't you have any other tricks?" Klaus turned to face his brother who was lounging lazily on a coffee table.
"Oh, go back to admiring yourself." Klaus turned back to Rebekah who was still grinning.
"And who are you, my father?" Kol said defiantly. Klaus hated being compared to Mikael. He was the one who had killed him and freed them all of their murderous father and this was how they acted towards him? They would be lucky if they did not end up in a coffin by the end of the week.
"No, Kol. But you are in my house." Klaus turned to Kol and walked towards him. Kol did not shrink away but stood up and walked towards Klaus.
"Then perhaps we should go outside." Kol was slightly taller than Klaus and he looked more sophisticated in his newly fitted suit. But Klaus knew from his extended time on this earth with his younger brother that he was very capable of fighting Kol. And winning. Kol and Klaus stared at each other, looks of distaste on both of their faces. They stopped only when a commanding voice came from the doorway.
"Enough! Niklaus, come." His mother was looking at him. What she said was not a request but a command. He was still not completely at ease with his mother, not sure of whether he could trust her. She too had changed her style to suit the current trend, cutting her hair short and wearing an elegant, cream dress.
She turned and walked from the room. Klaus followed her. He heard Kol snigger to Rebekah.
"Uh-oh ickle wickle Nik is in trouble." They both chuckled while Elijah had taken Kol's place and was looking in the mirror.
Klaus followed his mother into a room with a grand piano in, though none of them played.
"Rebekah wasn't even out of her box a day before she tried to ruin my life." It was not until after he had said it that he had realised how childish it sounded. "What happened to peace, acceptance, family?" Klaus looked at her as she turned around to face him. She looked at him with a face of one trying to explain to a four year old that two plus two equalled four.
"You put daggers in their hearts." She emphasised this last word. "You want them to go down on their knees and kiss your feet for reuniting them?"
"So it's a crime to want our family to be as we were?" Klaus said honestly? Esther looked at him. She sighed.
"You need to give it time, Niklaus. I've had a thousand years on the other side to be angry and to heal." Klaus looked at his feet for a second, he had been the one to rip out her heart. "I'm here to make sure this family does the same." Klaus looked up at her again.
"I just don't understand. I killed you, and still you forgive me?" This was a question that had been on his mind since her return. Surely she wanted revenge of some sort? On himself or his family. She looked at him, pityingly. Klaus' paranoia had grown since becoming a vampire. Now she saw that. But he did have a right to be paranoid. Esther thought. She walked towards him.
"It's been my dream for a thousand years that this family could be as one. Forgiveness is not a chore," She looked at him he head tilted forward slightly. She had the same eyes as he did. "It's a gift." Klaus gave a half smile. Her voice changed to a soft, airy one and her expression was one of curiosity and happiness. "Now, who are you taking to the ball this evening?"
Klaus sighed and smiled but in reality only one face came across his mind. One with bright blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. He felt a slight flush come to his cheeks. He never blushed. Esther had never seen him like this. He obviously had a girl on his mind. Was he embarrassed? His smile quickly turned to a grimace.
"Don't be ridiculous. You're lucky I'm even going."
"Well, I wish you would reconsider." She was interested in this mysterious girl that he was so taken with? "It's going to be a magical evening."
With that Esther strutted from the room. Klaus stood there for a moment and sighed. He knew that his mother would try to push him together with some insignificant floosy if he did not invite anyone, just for pure spite. He used his hybrid speed to zoom out of the room and past his siblings. He grabbed an unsigned invitation and took it with him. He could have sworn that he saw a faint smile on his mother's face as he went past her.
He sped down the corridor until he was sure that he was out of earshot of his siblings. Then he started walking. He was walking towards Rebekah's room. She had a great magnitude of clothes dating back to the dark ages. He was sure that she would not notice one missing garment.
He entered the room. It was very light with an aroma of perfume in the air. He had always disliked the part of his sister that acted… like a girl. She was always so feisty but when she was dressed up or was with a male companion she simply kissed their feet. That was why he supposed he would always get rid of them all. They were not worthy of his little sister.
He walked through the room until he came to the walk in wardrobe. He looked at the doors for a moment, this was unfamiliar ground for him in more ways than one. He prepared himself and opened the doors, the sight that greeted him was dazzling. The wardrobe was full of sparkles and colours and different dress styles. There were cocktail dresses from the 20's, great ball gowns from the French courts, styles from every era you could think of. There were revealing dresses that he tried to imagine Caroline in, and with his artists mind it was not too hard. He grinned to himself as he ran a hand over all of the dresses. There was a sheath style, red dress with a slit that finished at the thigh that he liked. He grabbed it and walked out of the wardrobe but he stopped short, there was an in front of him was his sister.
She was sitting on the bed with a nail file.
"Honestly Nik, if you wanted a dress you could have just asked," She said looking at the dress in his hand. "But I don't think that is quite your size … or your colour." She smirked up at him as a look of anger took over his face.
"Nik, why are you rooting through my wardrobe?" The smirk fell off her face and was replaced with one of curiosity.
"It's none of your business, little sister." he scowled.
"Well I guess you will be wanting that hideous dress to give to some poor dear" Klaus was walking across the room when she said this but one hearing her, he stopped.
"Fine. What dress do you think I should give the 'poor dear'?" He tried to make it sound as if he did not care but in all honesty ... he cared. He cared more that he wanted to allow or admit. Rebekah laughed. "Honestly Rebekah." His voice lowed barely more than a whisper. She was taken aback by his humility, she had not seen it before.
"Well that would depend on the 'poor dears' eye colour, hair colour and body shape." She said getting up. She walked towards Nik and took the dress from him and held it in her hands. She stroked it softly with her fingers.
"Her hair is bright blonde," The sun shines off it although she was a thing of pure light. Klaus added in his head. "She has curves but she is very slim." He could picture her now. Her hips swaying from side to side. There was a soft purr in his throat but he passed it off as a cough. "And her eyes… what to say about her eyes. They are sky blue and they sparkle like diamonds." He had gone too far. He had said too much. Rebekah smiled gently at her brother, nodded and walked into the wardrobe.
She came out with a black dress with a revealing slit at the front that Klaus could imagine her in. He smirked. Rebekah scoffed at him.
"What." Klaus wiped the smirk from his face immediately.
"It's you." She said walking over to sit next to him. "Nik, I have never seen you get a girl a bracelet let alone a whole dress for her. She must be special." Rebekah smiled at him.
She is. Klaus thought.
"Anyway, what about this delight of a dress. I see that you liked it." She smirked at him.
"No. Black is not her colour." It wasn't, she was an exceptionally bright woman and in black she would just fade into the background. And it may be due to the fact that Klaus would not be wanting anyone else see her like that. He was too focused on Rebekah and the dresses to realise that he was protective of her?
"Oh, so now you know that black isn't her colour? Should we be expecting a big announcement soon?" She smirked and chuckled. Then seeing Klaus' face she walked back into the wardrobe and brought out a selection of garments. None of them were right for Caroline.
"Fine Nik, what is her colour then? It isn't red, it isn't black, it isn't green. What is it then?" She said getting frustrated at how difficult her brother was being. She had her hands on her hips in the middle of a circle of dresses that she had tossed aside after Klaus deemed then not worthy. This girl better be something extraordinary.
Klaus thought for a second. Going through all the colour choices in his mind that he had learned off by heart.
"Blue." Klaus said looking up at her.
"Finally we have a result." She sighed exasperatedly. But she did not hesitate to go into her wardrobe.
She came out a few minutes later carrying a blue dress. It was stunning, how had he not noticed it? It did not take much to imagine Caroline in it. Not as pleasing an image as some of the other dresses had given him, but he wanted to give her something that she would want to wear. It was stunning. He got up from the bed where he had been sitting and waiting. He practically bounded up to Rebekah, she quickly concealed the look of surprise on her face as he took the garment from her and kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you, sister."
Caroline was walking into the Mystic Grill. She looked at the bar seeing all the day time drinkers. Alaric was, for once, not there. He had been spending a lot of time with Meredith, it was good for him. She saw Elena clutching a cup of coffee talking to Matt who was holding a dish tray. Caroline walked over to Elena and sat on the chair opposite her.
"Okay bye Matt." Elena smiled at him as he walked away from the table.
"Okay so Care we have to talk." Elena looked seriously at her.
"Yeah I need to get something off my chest too." Elena looked confused at Caroline.
"What is it Care?" Elena said curiously, her brows furrowed as she took a sip of her cup of coffee.
"Well I'm sure that your news is bigger than mine..." Elena looked at Caroline.
"Care."
"Fine. Well I was at home this morning just doing my thing when I heard the doorbell ring. I go thinking that it's some prank-"
"Yeah I got a mysterious knock on the door to this morning." Elena interrupted her. Caroline was interested but she went on with her story.
"Well, I open the door and there was this package with an invitation on top of it, so I grab them and take them into my room. Then when I open up the envelope, I find that the 'Mikaelson's' -if that is their real name- have invited me to their ball -a real freaking ball !-."
"That's what happened to me but I didn't get a package… what was inside it?" Elena interrupted again. Honestly if you want to hear the story just be quiet! Caroline thought frustrated.
"Well I was getting to that." Caroline looked at Elena seriously. "And on the back of the invitation a see this scribble, and it reads 'Save me a dance, fondly… Klaus'" Caroline paused for dramatic effect. Elena almost spat out her coffee.
"Klaus?" She spluttered.
"Yes, Klaus. And then in the big box there is this big blue dress. It's absolutely beautiful 'Lena." Caroline said looking down at her coffee. She felt guilty of a terrible crime as she felt Elena's eyes boar into her.
"You know that you can't go Care. Right?" Elena said. Caroline could still feel her gaze on her.
"Yeah I know…" Caroline sighed. Looks like there will be some pity casserole with my name on it. Caroline sighed. "What happened with your letter?"
"Well the original witch -Esther- would like to talk to me about something." Caroline was concerned. She did not want her best friend going to talk to an evil psycho witch.
"It's all so weird." Elena sighed. "The originals are throwing a ball, like an actual ball." Her eyes widened as she said the last line.
"It's all some twisted Cinderella fetish is what it is." Caroline's thoughts drifted back to the blue dress sitting on her bed at home. "And why does the evil witch want an audience with you?" Caroline asked Elena.
"I have no idea." Elena replied earnestly. "There's only one way to find out."
"I thought you told Damon and Stefan that you weren't going."
"I did," Elena replied mischievously. "Which is all more the reason why I need a drama-free bodyguard."
"Well, I think a Salvatore would look a lot better in a tux," Caroline said exasperatedly. She had just remembered how Elena and Damon had kissed but that Elena still hadn't told her. She was beginning to get angry. "And by that, I mean Stefan."
"I can't deal with either of the Salvatores right now." Elena groaned. "Whatever Stefan's feeling, he's channelling it all against Klaus, and … Damon…" Elena looked like she was searching for words. "It's just not a good idea." She sighed.
"Why?" Caroline could feel her anger sky rocket. She was still not wanting to tell her? "Cause you two made out?" Elena's eyes widened to look at Caroline. "Bonnie spilled the beans." Elena looked apologetically at her.
"I was gonna tell you." Sure you were. Caroline was hurt. Elena shook her head. "It's just after everything that happened with your dad-"
"Elena, when you and Matt kissed for the first time freshman year, you called me the second it happened. But I don't hear about this from you but from somebody else?" Elena looked down at her coffee in shame.
"I'm sorry." Elena said shaking her head. "It's just I-I don't even know how I feel about it yet. All I do know is that…" She sighed wistfully. "It just used to be so much easier."
Caroline turned to see the blonde blood-slut strutting over to them. The light was shining off Rebekah's leather jacket.
"It's all well and good till she stabs you in the back." Caroline did not know what this meant? She looked over at Elena wanting her to answer the unspoken question, but Elena was looking at Rebekah loathingly.
"What are you doing here? I know your mom's rules. No hurting the locals." Elena said icily.
"Get over yourself, Elena. It's not all about you." Caroline silently agreed. Rebekah walked off out of Caroline vision. Elena looked at Rebekah in disgust. Caroline swivelled round in her seat. Rebekah was talking to Matt. She handed him a letter identical to the one Caroline had received.
"Oh, my god. She's inviting him to the ball? Why is she inviting him?" Caroline turned to Elena but Elena was still looking at Rebekah in surprise her mouth dropping open in shock. Caroline was scared for her friend. He did not want him involved with any of the Mikaelson's.
"Probably to get this reaction from us."
Caroline sighed loudly.
"Well I guess I should get going. I have a take-out pizza with my name on it." Caroline said frustrated and slightly disappointedly. Caroline grabbed her bag and got up and without a second word to Elena she walked out of the Grill and home.
A little while later Caroline had just settled herself on the couch to watch 'The Bachelor' when she heard a text message come through. She grabbed her phone and saw it was from Elena.
'Talked to D' Yeah 'D' for dick. Caroline thought 'and he says you should come to keep Klaus occupied Xx'
Wow, was she just a distraction? That was exactly what she was. She got up and ran to her room. She quickly ran and jumped into the shower. She felt anxious anticipation start to weigh in. Could Elena waited any longer to tell her this? Ugh.
She got out of the shower, put on her black robe, and quickly dried and curled her hair as best she could with the time she had. She had the perfect idea of what she was going to do. She started applying her make-up, carefully drawing her eyeliner. After she was content with the way her face looked she started rifling through her wardrobe.
She pulled out a dark blue dress and held it against her. She sighed.
"Ugh." She put the dress back on the hook. Why did Elena wait until the last minute? She let out a great sigh. She turned around and looked at the black box on her bed. She did not want to appease him but it didn't look like she had a choice. Plus, she thought it was a pretty dress...
Caroline walked over to it and opened the box. The diamonds embossed on it glittered more than ever. She smiled to herself. Caroline picked it up. It was silky and cool, the material moved like water in her hands. She took off her robe and slipped on the dress. It fitted her perfectly. She was surprised. How did he know my size? Caroline thought. She felt her skin crawl and pushed this thought to the back of her head.
She turned to look in the mirror. The dress wrapped around her perfectly. Every curve was flattered, the colour of the dress matched her eyes perfectly making her look even more beautiful. She walked to her mirror and pinned her hair up in an elegant bun.
Caroline heard the doorbell ring from down the hallway. Who the hell…? Caroline had not invited anyone and wasn't expecting to be picked up. She checked herself in the mirror. Like a child she imagined herself a princess ready to go to a ball with her Prince Charming, she shook her head gently to bring herself back to reality… Klaus was no Prince Charming.
She walked down her hallway and saw the silhouette of Matt. She let out a sigh of relief. She opened the door and saw Matt looking down.
"Okay so, Elena told me to come and… Woah." The look on Matts face was comical. Caroline looked at him and laughed.
"Your face!" She said giggling.
"What about it." He crossed his arms across his chest.
"It's just how you looked, your face was super funny." Caroline wiped a tear from her eye. "Anyway, you were saying?"
"Well what I was saying was that Elena sent me over here to pick you up." He said scowling. Caroline could see his old blue truck behind him. It looked like there were other people in there.
"Who-" Caroline started saying but then Matt interrupted her.
"The jocks. Rebekah invited them." He sighed but he quickly plastered a smile on his face. "Well anyway, Miss Forbes. Would you allow me to escort you to the carriage?" He smiled.
"Of course, Master Donovan." Caroline giggled as he held out his arm to her and she took it. As they walked up the path she heard cat calls and wolf whistles from the car. She scowled.
"Did they have to ride with you?" Caroline asked Matt. Matt nodded. She sighed. This was going to be a long ride.
Yeah I know that I'm mean leaving it on a cliff hanger. The next part of this will be up soon.
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Thank you and have a great day!