Sent Away: Chapter Four

What had she gotten herself into? Caroline was dodging around trees as she followed Klaus's directions. He knew his way around the woods surprisingly well, and Care was not sure if she found that comforting or terrifying. After all, if he spent a lot of time in the woods, perhaps his randomly finding her was not so unlikely, yet still if he knew this forest like the back of his hand then he would have no time hiding a body.

She wasn't sure why she had decided to meet this man, if anything it would only put her in a bad situation, but still there was something to him. It was as if a thousand voices rang in her head, telling her he would either be her end or her salvation. After she had gone back to her little home, her mind wandered to the way his eyes had looked at her. They were with such an intensity one would think he was a lion waiting to separate the weakest from the pack.

Yet still with all of the danger and mystery that surrounded him, there was something else. Something Caroline could not quite put her finger on. His accent indicated that he'd already seen one hundred percent more of the world than she had, and that was endearing. Beyond what lay on the surface, there seemed to be no logical explanation for why the most sought after girl in Mystic Falls was now swatting at bugs and stepping over mud puddles to meet a strange man in the middle of the woods.

He had challenged her. Treated her her like she was more than some flimsy damsel who needed to be prompted to know what to say or how to talk. "Maybe that is because he had no interest in you that way," Caroline said to herself. Yet still, she wondered, could this be the kind of epic love story that would last through her family for generations? Would her grandkids' grandkids know the tale of how she'd met her one true love?"

"Doubt it," Care grumbled to herself.

She came around the last landmark that Klaus had told her of, and stopped. The pond was beautiful, shimmering like diamonds from the noon sun. Caroline was struck with how much beauty had surrounded her. There was no telling what the world would be like if more people took the time to find places like this, and once, just once, decide not to destroy them.

Klaus had not arrived yet, but that was as Caroline had expected, she'd come early to set a trap for him. She was curious; her mind burned with the need to know what he was planning to do when he came to this clearing. If he had any sort of visible weapon, she'd bolt. But if he just looked around in anticipation, and if she could see in his eyes that he wanted her there, then maybe, just maybe, she'd emerge from her hiding spot.

Finding a particularly thick plot of trees, Caroline hid herself behind the massive foliage. Then she waited for her prey to emerge.

Niklaus knew he was sinful. A murder. A killer. Yet when he walked up to see that Caroline's cabin was empty, he was shocked. Hope. For the first time maybe he could have something that was his and his alone. His whole life he'd been diminished to a lesser form of his brothers, not as noble as Elijah, not as calm as Finn, not as courageous as Kol; yet this one insignificant human girl had made all of that go away. Even though she had entirely rejected him, she still made the original hybrid feel whole.

He wasn't entirely sure of what he was going to do with Caroline, she was far too interesting to kill; however, she hadn't proven herself worthy of being a vampire. For now he would watch her, taunt her, play with her. This game of chase was far more fun than that which he'd tormented Katerina with. His obligation to himself to end Katherina's happiness was becoming all-consuming. He had no peace, and at the end of the day he cared nothing for the Petrova doppelgänger either way, he just would not be deemed the loser of any battle; that he could not stand for.

Eventually this little vacation would have to end, and Klaus would snatch Katerina from the Salvatores, and be on his way. That is all this human is, Klaus thought to himself, a distraction. The fact that her courage, strength, and light all stirred something in Klaus meant nothing. He came to Mystic Falls for the doppelgänger not a love story.

As he came upon their little rendezvous, Klaus was over come with a wave of confusion. She wasn't there. A part of him –the part he wanted to ignore— was disappointed. Then he smelled it; he smelled her. She smelled of spring and freedom all mixed into one tantalizing batch. He strode towards the sent and spotted her, hidden semi-decently behind some trees. Had he been human he never would've found the lovely Caroline, Klaus counted his blessings and made his way towards the hiding girl.

As he approached her Klaus was caught of guard. He'd expected her to run. Every time one of his targets (be they to kill, feed from, or otherwise) had realized they had been caught, they would run. But of course Ms. Forbes had to find a way to make him even more obsessed with her; for as he stalked over to her, she stepped out of the woods as gracefully as if it were her gold chariot.

Klaus froze. She was even more beautiful than she was yesterday. Her hair was down and natural, and her dress was much simpler, yet she was the prettiest he had ever seen her. By dressing in normal attire she had allowed her natural beauty to shine. He had seen more than his fair share of gorgeous women, all of them poetically different with deep rooted insecurities that Klaus could play like a well-tuned violin, each one of their faces faded way in a blur as every ounce of Niklaus's focus was on the lovely blonde before him. As Caroline approached him, she had a determined look in her eye, the look of a hunter.

In that moment, Klaus knew, he would not being letting her return to the cabin again.