DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
CHAPTER 5: HALLUCINATIONS
I'm not completely sure
we aren't all living in a hallucination now.
- Marc Maron
"Thank you for tonight…" Caroline said smiling up to him briefly. They were on the porch now. Damon and Elena had already left and a new pack of hybrids were all around the house again 'guarding' it, guarding her. The other hybrids' shift was over an hour ago and they had already left to report to Klaus in person. Not that he didn't already know. He was instantly informed about what had happened, the moment the hybrids woke from their brief death, but for some reason he didn't immediately react. The verdict about her friends' punishment would probably be known by tomorrow, first thing in the morning and after the "trial", they would be punished properly so the world would see what happened to these who broke his rules.
It was really odd that he hadn't have them committed yet. After all, it was a one of a kind thing for someone to break his rules, the compulsion prevented them from it, tough there were always loopholes and memory lapses. The mind was a really strange thing and compulsion was something many people - well, vampires - tried to understand and explain. No such luck though. Even the therapist hadn't manage to crack the case. She only had theories. But she didn't need to have masters degrees in psychology to know that Klaus should have reacted by now. Something was terribly off, or he was just doing it on purpose so they would tremble in fear and anticipation, though Damon and Elena looked perfectly at peace before leaving. Maybe he wanted to torment her with anticipation so she'd accept whatever he'd propose to her to do in return of another free bee for them. He was managing it perfectly, she was nervous.
Why hadn't he attacked them yet?
She sighted, suddenly feeling that she held the weight of the world on her shoulders. Which, in a way, she did. Whatever his plan was, she decided not to let it get to her. He wouldn't ruin tonight for her, not after what her friends went through to make it perfect.
"Damon shouldn't have done that tonight, you know..." Caroline murmured looking down at their entwined fingers.
"I know…" he replied cautiously, clearly wanting to say more but deciding against it. The hybrids were eavesdropping as demanded by their job description "Well, let's just say that when he drinks he's doing the things he doesn't have the guts to do sober, like this other person I know..." he said meaningfully and she laughed realizing he meant himself. Enzo went serious "He really wanted to do this though, badly..."
Caroline giggled. "Yeah, whatever…"
She had to downplay it so the hybrids wouldn't realize the hidden meaning. Hurriedly she turned herself away from the vampire, and the viewpoint of the hybrids, taking out her keys and opening the door. She was glad the lights were out, these bastards could see clearer than vampires and her flustered face would be too easy to spot in the dim light of the front door. That's why she make no move to turn them on as she turned around once more to hug her... friend. It would probably be reported, but what the hell, she had done this before numerous times anyway! Right?
Enzo was caught by surprise, but he did - eventually - hugged her back.
"Thanks for everything tonight Enzo…" she whispered softly, inhaling in his warm scent. He always made her feel so wonderfully normal. With everything going to hell, he was her normalcy. Her routine. Her safety.
"You are very welcome, gorgeous!" he replied closing his eyes and savoring her scent, as well. Images of them making out in that scare house flashed through his mind as a sly smile spread on his lips. Little did he know that she too was thinking the same at the same instant.
"I hope we'll be repeating that soon…" he said finally letting her go and winking at her scandalously, after making sure that no one saw it.
Caroline thanked god she couldn't blush and replied a clumsy agreement in return, realizing exactly what he meant.
She closed the door slowly, drawing out the moment as much as she could, all the while keeping eye contact, looking at him till the last possible moment.
Smiling like a lovesick fool - he was - Enzo turned around to leave, when from the corner of his eye he saw a glimpse of a familiar hybrid face.
It was Tom.
Tom made a gesture with his head towards him, indicating to follow him, and Enzo complied intrigued. He whooshed silently following the hybrid deep in the woods. Was that the smart thing to do? Follow a hybrid into the woods? He didn't get the time to think about it as the man stopped abruptly and turned to face him.
"Here's fine, she won't be able to hear us." Said Tom while leaning against a tree.
"What could you mean, mate?" Enzo inquired.
"Klaus wants a word with you, alone. And he didn't wanted Caroline to know…" Tom stated shrugging.
"And why should I do that?" He retorted. "Last time I saw him he left me with lethal werewolf bites on my neck, why should I even consider conversing with him?"
"Because you have no choice…" retorted the hybrid. "He said to ask you politely before dragging you to him. Do me a favor, I`m an old man, don't force me to use force. I will if I have to but I prefer if I don't…"
Enzo sighted. He wouldn't chicken out now, he wouldn't give Klaus that satisfaction. Plus, he couldn't blow his cover. The King shouldn't suspect he was able to refuse a royal command. To resist his compulsion.
"Where and when?" asked the Brit.
"At the place you first arranged to meet." he said. "At dawn…"
"Tell him I'll be there…" Enzo simply said before turning his back to him and leaving the way he came.
This couldn't be good.
"It's time for your punishment, love…"
"Klaus, leave her be!" Stefan defended her. "Take out your anger on me, but let her go…"
"Silence Ripper!" Klaus yelled shoving him to a wall with one single twist of his hand. Caroline yelled his name and run towards him but Klaus had another idea. He stood in her way grabbing her from her throat and glaring down at her.
"YOU!" he roared murderously, spitting the word like it was venom. He ignored Caroline's struggles under his hold and tightened his grip as he brought her face impossibly close.
"What am I gonna do with you?" his voiced cracked in too many places and the tears Caroline was holding had now escaped her. Not only because of the grief she felt at knowing how much she had hurt him, but also because of everything she knew he would do to them because he was hurt…
"I should kill you…" he slowly lifted her in the air by her throat, looking at her with frenzied eyes "I should rip that treacherous little heart of yours out and squeeze it until it's nothing but a pile of ribs and blood…"
Caroline looked at him with pleading eyes but said nothing.
"Klaus, please stop!" Stefan begged on her behalf again "If you have to kill someone, kill me…"
He didn't even spare him a glance, he was too busy piercing Caroline's eyes with his own causing shivers of fear to spread all over her body for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. He tightened his grip and felt his anger grow when he saw Caroline resisting the urge to scream in pain. He wanted her to scream, to beg for his mercy – although he wasn't considering showing her any. She refused him that pleasure… she refused to give into him and that only angered him even more.
"Klaus…" Stefan made another attempt.
"I said enough Ripper!" he yelled this time, still not wasting a look at him. "I'll take care of you when I'm done with her… Now, love..." his voice turned into fake tender one as he spoke to her, which could only be bad news "I believe you're out of vervain, correct?"
Caroline recognized the dangerous edge in his voice and her eyes widened realizing where he was going with it. His smile widened, pleased with her reaction. At the same time, Stefan had tried to whoosh towards them but some of Klaus' men restrained him and a fight began. A fight he was losing outmatched and outnumbered as he was.
Klaus didn't shift his gaze from the blonde vampire. He didn't even blink when Caroline finally started struggling against his hold again.
"No, Stefan!" she yelled eyes fixated on the younger Salvatore.
It made his blood boil that in times when she was in danger, she was more worried about Stefan than herself. He grabbed her by her arms and yanked her on the wall behind her with force. Caroline could swear she could hear bones cracking and she finally screamed in pain.
"PAY ATTENTION WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" he yelled inches away from her face. Caroline suppressed her cries and tried to look at him.
"I'm sorry…" she breathed understanding that the more she resisted the more his men hurt Stefan.
"Good girl!" he said smiling approvingly. "Now… answer my question, love."
"Yes…" she whispered while looking down. "I'm out of vervain."
"Don't do this!" Stefan begged again, straggling in vain to reach them "Please don't do this…"
In a flash Klaus dumped Caroline on the floor and whooshed to grab the ripper by his throat.
"What would it take for you to shut up?!" he yelled annoyed.
"Just hear me out!" Stefan begged grabbing his hand with both of his own "Let her go… Let her go and I'll do whatever you want, I swear!"
"Yes, you will…" said Klaus smiling viciously "But she's not going anywhere mate."
With his last words he snapped Stefan's neck.
"No!" Caroline yelled and run to him again.
"Going somewhere, love?!" Klaus whispered venomously as he caught her by the neck with one hand again turning her around so her back was to his front...
At that moment the doors burst open and Caroline heard her friends bursting in and freezing at the sight. She could hear their gasps of terror and saw their mixed emotions, but all she could care about now was the way Klaus hummed annoyed against her neck…
"Caroline!" Elena yelled at the same time that she heard Damon scream: "Let her go!" and that's when she realized that Klaus' hybrid face had come out to play.
"If any of you two little lovesick fools will do as much as to move a muscle…" he threatened bringing his fangs close to her neck, careful not to pierce her creamy skin. He didn't need to finish his threat, the innuendo was clear. And they both froze. Not that they had a choice with that many hybrids around, anyway.
"You're on time for the show though…" he announced like the happy host he was, glancing at them and dropping Caroline on the floor uneasily…
"Don't do this to me…" she whispered looking up at him with pleading eyes.
Klaus smiled wickedly and turned his gaze towards her again. It's what he wanted, she had finally cracked.
"Beg me..." he commanded still smirking.
He sat on his toes right in front of her, one elbow rested on his knee while he gently lifted her jaw up with his other hand so she looked straight into his cold blue orbs.
"I want to hear you beg, Caroline…" he said with his dangerously soft voice.
The room went utterly silent. No one spoke, no one breathed, no one dared to even move a muscle.
'Just do what he says, Care!' Elena wanted to scream at her. 'Just do what he wants and he'll let you go… alive…"
The two former lovers exchanged a long lasting look. Klaus' eyes spoke of amused impatience, Caroline's on the other hand, fierce defiance.
"No" she said simply her words matching her stance.
In a sudden elegant move he grabbed her again, attempting to compel her to comply. His hold got unbearably tight and Caroline fought for her breath. She watched with terror while Klaus' pupils dilated, but that instant, someone made an appearance interrupting his mind compulsion.
"Brother! Nicklaus!" yelled Elijah as he entered the room.
Everyone turned to look at him with renewed hope. Elena even sighted with relief floating over her body. She always liked Elijah best from all the other originals and his presence was always reassuring and hopeful. Though Klaus didn't even flinch at the sight of his elder sibling, he didn't even spare him a glance.
"Nick, what the hell are you doing!" yelled Rebekah also entering the room with Kol running right behind her.
"Oh, great, a family gathering!" said Klaus sarcastically while loosening the hold over the blond girl, not quite letting go though. "See love? They've all come to your rescue…"
He then let go of her throat and watched with disdain as she collapsed on the ground coughing and massaging her neck. He slowly slid down sitting on his feet once more and grabbed her face with two fingers to force her look up at him for the thousandth time. His eyes sliced into hers, cold as the ocean's breeze and ruthless as the beast within.
"Don't ever look away from me again!" he commanded. "I want you to look at me as I punish you! They think they can save you love, but we both know the truth don't we?" he whispered in a husky voice, only it was too loud to be considered a whisper. "We both know no one is going to save you from my wrath now…"
Caroline kept looking into his terrifyingly cold eyes. She couldn't look away, as hard as she tried, she couldn't. The coldness that radiated from his glare made her shriven and she felt her blood slowly turning into ice. She started shaking and a small sob escaped from her trembling lips.
"Please…" she whispered as she kept looking into his eyes with her watered ones. "Please don't hurt them…"
Klaus' eyes melted over her pleas, for an instant, but when he realized that she was begging to show them mercy instead of herself, he went even crazier than he already was.
He shot up and started pacing up and down the room like a caged animal ready to pounce, a bomb ticking right before it explodes.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" he finally roared leaning down towards her "HOW DARE YOU DEFEND THEM?! DEFEND HIM?!"
Caroline slowly looked up and stared helplessly into his eyes willing him to show mercy on her friends… on her lover… on her... the two of them kept staring at each other wordlessly before someone else finally broke their silence.
"Let them go, Niklaus…" Elijah intervened once more looking sternly towards his brother who didn't move an inch from the staring competition with the blonde vampire.
"Nik please, you may not see it now because you're clearly blinded with rage, but you'll regret it if you hurt her. Trust me!" it was Rebekah who spoke to everyone's surprise.
No one else dared to talk. They knew that if anyone was able to get through him at this dark hour, it was his family. Anyone else would only damage the situation more. But even the closest comrades of their valued always and forever didn't know how they could reach out to him now.
"Nik…" Kol said for the first time making a small move towards him with both hands in the air, indicating he meant peace.
"ENOUGH!" Klaus yelled and abruptly turned to face them freezing his brother in the place, making them all to hold their positions, as they were uncertain about what his reaction would be to an unexpected movement. "Don't you have anything better to do than to play advocates to that treacherous creature?!" he pointed at Caroline with an untold disgust.
"Leave her be!" Rebekah exclaimed taking a threatening step closer.
"Leave her be?!" he laughed without humor before he grew serious again. "She betrayed me, sister! I will not tolerate-"
"You two were on the outs then, Nik!" Rebekah yelled back. "You practically kicked her out of the compound; she had every right to move on. What did you expected she'd do?!"
"I expected her to have the decency to at least wait a decade before she found a new suitor!" he retorted with certain hatred in his eyes. "I expected her to be more loyal and less hasty while choosing her next lover…"
But Rebekah wasn't fooled by his act. She could clearly see the hurt and disappointment into his eyes and she knew he was just acting out. Don't get me wrong, Klaus had put up a convincing show, but Rebekah had lived a thousand years by his side and she knew perfectly well when he was hurt.
"Listen to yourself!" she spat bemused "Are you really going to kill her because she fell in love with the wrong man?"
Klaus laughed again but once again his laughter didn't reached his eyes.
"Is this why you're so eager to protect her little sister?! You feel some foolish sentimental attachment towards her because once you were in the same position? Because I killed all of your incompetent suitors, who would only have broken your heart in the end?!" Klaus asked amused.
"Stop this Nik!" she yelled. "This isn't about me and we both know it, Caroline isn't like me!"
"As for killing her…" he said as if Rebekah had never spoken. He circled around her, hovering above her, looking down with a predatory glare. "I see no point in doing that…" he knelled again stroking her right chin tenderly with one finger before leaning close to whisper in her ear from behind. "I will simply punish her."
"You're a fool if you think she'll ever forgive you if you hurt her precious friends…" his sister spat.
Klaus ignored his baby sister, his attention fully focused on the blonde vampire in front of him as she turned her head slowly towards him. Their eyes met again and Klaus' smile widened at the fear he saw in them. He - of course - knew that she feared only for her loved ones and not herself, but still.
"Niklaus… Brother think!" Elijah made one last attempt on reasoning. "Our sister is right; you have no reason to harm the young lady... Now, I don't wish to fight with you on this matter but I will if I have to-"
"I don't care about your wishes Elijah!" he spat suddenly stepping towards his brother aggressively. "I don't care about justice and I certainly don't care if she forgives me or not! Let me make myself perfectly clear, I will do as I see fit to her and all of you either stay and stand icily by enjoying the show or you'll gonna have to leave… But if you try, in any way to sabotage or stop me, I'll box the lot of you in the caskets for the next nine hundred years. Am I making myself clear?!"
A considerable amount of time passed without anyone daring to even breathe the wrong way.
"All right then…" It was Klaus who broke the silence "As it seems it's time for your little lesson…" he said angrily while turning to one of his hybrids. "TONI! Bring them in, would you?"
Klaus looked back at Caroline with an arrogant smile, watching her reaction with amusement as her face paled and the words caught in her throat.
"Tyler?!" she asked in disbelief as one of the hybrids carried the werewolf boy inside. "MOM?!" she yelled and tried to run towards her when another hybrid brought her in, but her way was blocked by Klaus. He looked down at her with his werewolf features on, his sharp fangs and golden eyes on display.
"I wouldn't!" he warned.
"Screw you! she's my moth-" she screamed as the back of Klaus' hand connected forcefully with her right chick and if he hadn't reached out to catch her she would've flown to the other side of the compound. However he hadn't caught her to stabilize her. His hands held her too tightly while he shook her violently, his chilling eyes darting into hers as he said "Stop resisting or I'll kill them both…"
It was a statement made as simply as he would've said that outside was raining.
Rebekah made an attempt to flash at Klaus but was stopped by her elder brother. He shook his head at her. If anyone was to go against Niklaus, it should be himself.
"Now… where were we?... Ah yes your lesson… Choose sweetheart… Either I will rip Tyler's heart out from his chest, or I'll turn your mother into a vampire…" he stated cheerily.
Caroline stared at him in disbelief.
"You... What?" a whisper escaped her mouth.
"Your choice sweetheart…" he said smiling as if doing her a favor. His dimples appearing on his face, eyes glowing with dark amusement. "You have ten seconds to decide… Or I'll kill them both!"
The blonde vampire stared at him in disbelief while he smiled back with his most characteristic sadistic grin reaching his ears.
Caroline shot out of the bed screaming. She tried to calm her breathing and failed. Her heart was beating so loud she thought even a human could've heard it. Her entire body was covered with sweat and her neck ached like hell. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing.
Just a dreadful hallucination, Caroline… She told herself. But it was not just a hallucination; it was a memory, her worst nightmare and reality.
She listened carefully and realized that her mother wasn`t probably back yet. It was twelve o` clock on the dock and she was probably working late. She sighted relieved that she wouldn't have to explain herself to her. It was enough that Damon of all people knew. She didn't wanted her mother to worry because of Klaus' foolish games. He probably wanted to prolong this moment. He would certainly let her suffer till the last possible second.
But he would heal her… Right?
She sighted.
"Brace yourself Caroline, this is only the beginning…" she told herself as she threw the covers away to go get a shower.
Liz Forbes woke up with all of her senses on alert.
"MOM!" she heard her daughter scream like she was in at most pain. Her brain went slack at the thought of someone hurting her baby. The girl's scream was so desperate, that the Sheriff felt a gruesome chill pass through her body for the first time in awhile.
"No, please don't do this! MOM!" she screamed again, but this time the Sheriff was already on her feet and outside her daughter's bedroom door in no time. She fiercely kicked it down expecting to find someone attacking her with a stake. Or someone - presumably Klaus - torturing her.
Imagine her surprise when she found her daughter turning and twisting in her bed, perfectly unharmed, covered up in sweat and screaming with a heart wrecking sound.
"What's going on?!" Tom asked as he entered the room, looking genuinly concerned.
"I think she's having a bad dream…" Liz told him while running immediately at her daughter's side and trying to wake her up. "Sweetie, wake up sweetie it's just a bad dream! It's just a dream Caroline! Wake up!"
Caroline's eyes shot open and Liz sighted with relief.
"Mom…" she mumbled looking up at her with apologizing eyes...
"It's okay it was just a dream…" she kept saying but was silenced by her daughter's cries.
"I'm sorry mom! I'm so sorry! Please… Klaus, please don't do this! NO! NO! NO! PLEASE STOP!"
"Your choice sweetheart…" he said smiling with the dimples appearing in his face and eyes glowing with amusement. "You have ten seconds to decide… Or I'll kill them both!"
"No…" she whispered. "You won't do this…." She said shaking her head like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him. "You won't do this to me…"
"Oh really?" he said seemingly amused.
"What is going on here?!" a surprised and exhausted voice came from behind her.
"Stefan!" Klaus exclaimed smiling at him. His tone and stance would indicate that he was an old friend who just happened to show up to a party. "I was wondering when you would join the land of the living again."
"What are they doing here Klaus?!" he asked angrily looking at the Sheriff and the werewolf.
"Oh, them? Nothing it's just a little extra something I prepared…" he said still smiling. "You know, like a surprise item… but you know all about cliff changers don't you, Rippah? Or at least you did… in the twenties…"
"Caroline?" he asked knowing that he would not get a real answer from the hybrid.
In a flash Klaus stood in front of him, pupils dilating.
"You will not speak to her until I grant you the permission to do so…" he compelled and Stefan nodded in agreement.
Klaus smiled self consciously.
"So… Where were we? Ah, yes… the sweet Caroline was about to make a choice in about… ten seconds, right?"
"Nik are you out of your freaking mind?!" yelled Rebekah and at the same time Elijah whooshed at him pinning him on a wall.
"That is enough, Niklaus…" the eldest Mikaelson hissed. "I will not tolerate this kind of behavior. You're gonna let this girl go and we'll discuss this-"
Before Elijah could utter another word Klaus had the dagger stabbed deep into his heart. He fell on the ground with a loud sound.
"Nik!" both Rebekah and Kol yelled disapprovingly. The former flashed to grab her brother and lift him up by his arms.
"What is wrong with you?!" she yelled at him.
"Try and take the dagger out of him without my permission and you're next in line Rebekah!" he yelled back. "You know the drill!"
Before the other original could say anything, Caroline was on him, punching her clenched fists on his chest using all the force she had, wanting so badly to hurt him with something, anything... To her disappointment he didn't even flinch. If nothing else he seemed to enjoy it.
"You son of a bitch!" she cursed as she continue the blows on his chest. "Just because your mother was a screwed up psychotic bitch, that doesn't give you the right to kill everyone else's mothers!"
Klaus simply looked down at her indifferent at the insult towards his mother as he effortlessly removed her wrists from his chest locking each of her wrists in his iron hold. He looked impassive at her insults. But his eyes were serious and deadly as he spoke.
"Five seconds sweetheart…" he whispered.
"Don't do this!" she begged crying on full sobs now. "Please don't do this to me…"
"Two…" he said coldly as he enveloped her trembling body into his arms and placed a tender kiss on her forehead, as if he wasn't the one threatening the dear ones she loved.
"Klaus… please…" she cried out.
Elena was full on tears but she dared not utter a word fearing Klaus' reaction. She was simply sobbing in Damon's arms. Damon looked at Liz reassuringly. He knew that she would get through whatever happened but he really hoped Caroline said the correct words.
Elijah lay flatly on the table where Rebekah had put him, while the blonde original girl averted her tearful eyes from the scene unfolding in front of her, Kol sat on the table next to his brother's lifeless body and was staring at the floor. He had no magic to stop them and even if he could, he wasn't sure he wanted to mess with his big brother while he was like this. He wanted to be by the baby vampire's side, though. He had grown to like her over the past decade and couldn't bring himself to just walk away from the room where she suffered… Same for Rebekah… She would never admit it but Caroline was as close to a friend to her as anyone could be. Well, she was actually second, Hayley was the first in that list.
"One…" Klaus's voice brought everyone on planet earth again.
"Okay, okay! Just stop!" she yelled panicked as she tried to push herself away from his embrace. "I'll do it… I will choose just, please, stop… stop counting…"
Klaus looked down at her harshly, allowing her to take a step away from him…
"Time is up, love… choose" he stated.
"Sweetheart it's okay…" Liz reassured her.
"No, Care! You don't have to-" Tyler started to say but received a punch from the hybrid holding him, after Klaus nodded to their direction.
"I…" she trembled out. "I…"
How could she do that, how could she condemn Tyler to death? But she couldn't force her mother to be an immortal creature she had spend her entire life hating… But then again being a vampire was better than not being at all…
"Come on, love, we don't have all day!" Klaus said irritated.
"I… can't choose…" she said finally looking up at him pleadingly.
She hoped that her pleas would get through his walls; she hoped that he would stop, for her… She even thought she saw him hesitate for a moment, she thought she saw his eyes melt before they turned into ice again.
"Very well then…" he said coldly and tried to pass by her. "I'll kill them both!"
"No, please wait!" Caroline yelled when she figured that Klaus was going to actually do it. "Please stop…"
Klaus froze and slowly turned to look at her.
"Turn her… Turn my mom, that's my choice…" she whispered defeated.
She tried her best not to collapse on the ground crying and screaming all the while. She hated him so much in that moment that if she had a white oak stake she would've staked him in a heartbeat – no questions asked. She felt something clenching in her chest as she struggles to breath.
"I'm sorry mom…" she whispered while crying her heart out. "I'm so sorry…"
"It's okay sweetheart…" she said with a faint smile as she drank Klaus' blood. "I'll be fine…"
The moment she finished her sentence Klaus snapped her neck and caught her as she started to fall down. Caroline couldn't help but look the other way as she heard the crack. Klaus gently put the Sheriff's unconscious body on a chair before turning to look at the 'stage'.
"And now…" he said as he flashed behind Tyler again. "The last piece of art…" he stuck his hand inside Tyler's chest from behind him and squeezed his heart.
"Klaus no!" Caroline yelled and tried to reach out.
She froze in the middle of her step, it was already too late. Tyler dropped down with surprise and terror still in his eyes and a bleeding chest that missed a heart. Unlike Liz Forbes, Klaus let Tyler drop on the floor flatly and threw down his hart nonchalantly.
"There…" he said as he took a towel to clean his bloody hands. "Now you've learned your lesson!"
"NOOOOOOOO!" Elena's scream echoed into the room as Damon struggled to restrain her.
"No…" Stefan muttered looking down at the body.
What no one could predict was Caroline's reaction.
She felt like she was on autopilot. For the first time in the history of her vampirism, Caroline Forbes lost control of herself. She felt her vampiric features appearing on her face, her fangs coming out to play as he rushed towards him in rage.
"You Bastard!" she yelled.
Rebekah was quicker than her though and she caught her at her second step, covering her mouth with her palm to choke out her other insults.
"Shhh..." said the blonde original girl as she struggled to restrain the baby vampire. "Stop it Caroline! Stop! Don't you get it? That's what he wants…" she said in a reasoning tone. But Caroline saw no reason anymore. "He wants you to provoke him so he'll keep killing the people you love. And he's never gonna stop until there's no one left… If you want to protect them, do what I did for centuries now, and keep your mouth shut…I know it's hard, impossible, even... but you've got to play by his rules…"
Caroline finally stopped struggling. Her pained eyes never leaving Klaus's. He, on the other hand looked amused as he watched the whole girl bonding display. Rebekah let her go reluctantly and the young vampire walked closer to Tyler's dead body. She felt like she was sleepwalking. Her aching heart was her only proof that this wasn't just a terrible nightmare.
"Tyler…" she whispered as she leaned from above. She made his eyes close and added "There… No he could be just sleeping…"
Caroline seemed to hear Elena's sobs but couldn't really bring herself to think of calming her best friend down. Her mom was all she saw…
"Caroline…" Stefan whispered tearing up for the first time as he watched her break down. She didn't scream, she didn't cry, actually the tears seemed to have miraculously disappeared. She felt numb, which was good, right? But she was broken, and he knew that… he could literally feel her pain…
She ignored everything and everyone as she caressed her mother's face. Klaus watched everything with fake indifference, but deep down, he was the one who was hurting the most… it destroyed him to watch her in so much pain. And the fact that he had caused every bit of it made him feel even worse. He had slipped to his villain role easily, it was like a second nature to him. After all these centuries he had reached perfection. But for someone who knew him well enough, someone say like his little sister, it was obvious that his actions were on autopilot… He was going through motions, almost mechanically. As if reading his mind Rebekah caught his eyes while he was pouring another glass of whiskey and shook her head at him disapprovingly. He could almost hear her voice in his head "Don't do this, Nik…"
Caroline finally stood up and turned at him. He broke the eye contact with his sister and looked at the baby vampire in front of him.
"All right…" she said with tired voice and blazing eyes. "How do you want to do this?"
Klaus smiled at her evilly. He approached her slowly and predatory stalk, but he remained silent until he stood right in front of her.
"I thought you'd never ask!" he said as his smile widened.
"I hope you have a great reason for interrupt my seven minutes in paradise with my incredibly sexy and irresistibly beautiful girlfriend, Sheriff…" Damon said with his flirtatious tone and the eye thing on – even if Liz couldn't appreciate it, Elena still could.
"Damon!" his girlfriend scolded him, saying his name through clenched teeth.
"Damon, it's Caroline, something's wrong with her!"
Sheriff's alerted voice made Elena jump off the bed and Damon frown.
"Let me guess…" he said wrinkling his nose. "Hallucinations… a huge werewolf bite on her neck…"
"What?!" Elena screamed at the same time Sheriff Forbes asked "How did you know?!"
"It doesn't matter." He answered to the both of them. "Did you call Klaus?"
"I tried to get a hold on him but I couldn't. Tom reassures me that one of the hybrid guards went to inform him about her conditions but…" Liz said.
"Wait what?!" Damon asked. "Klaus doesn't know about her being bitten?! What does that Barbie vamp has in her blonde head, cotton?! I told her to go straight to Klaus!"
"Wait when this happened?!" Elena asked looking at the clock panicked.
"I`m guessing yesterday, when she went to see him…"
"Damon, it`s six a.m.!" Elena stated already panicking.
"Oh, my god!" Liz exclaimed.
"Okay, Liz don't panic. Okay?!" Damon said while motioning to Elena to get dressed. "Elena's coming to your house right now. If that hybrid has already left then that means that Klaus is probably on his way. He won't let her die, okay? She's the last person he would let die…"
"Okay… It's just… will he make it?!" Liz asked still obviously too scared.
"Of course he will… He always does… It's Caroline…" Damon reassured her a little more before he hang up.
"So you knew this the entire time?!" Elena asked angrily as she vamp sped to get dressed quickly.
"This is so not the time for this…" Damon said as he dilated Enzo's phone number.
Elena scoffed and Damon sighted.
"Look, we'll talk about this later but right now, we have to fix this… I swear that Blondie's stupidity is unbelievable sometimes - Pick up Enzo!" he growled to the phone. He had to try three more times before he answered.
"Where the hell are you…" Damon growled.
"Out with a friend…" came his sarcastic reply "Why what's wrong?"
"What friend? I'm right here!" he exclaim with a classic Damon tone.
"Is there a reason why you called me?" he asked annoyed "I'm kinda busy right now!"
"Long story short, Blondie is dying, we are going on a rescue mission in which we have to find Klaus, so he can save her Barbie ass… If you care to join the team Resque Damsel-" he started saying as he watched Elena exit the room.
"What do you mean she's dying?" said an unexpected voice.
"Hey, that's my phone!" Enzo protested in the background of other line.
"Klaus...?" Damon recognized the first voice a little shocked. "I didn't know you were friends with my buddy-"
"You have two seconds to tell me what happened to Caroline…" he growled from the other line. "Or I'll rip Enzo's heart out…"
"So much for friendship…" Damon teased. "Wait, how can you not know what happened to her? You're the one who bit her…"
Damon heard a weird loud sound and then nothing…
"Hello?!" he called in hopes that someone would answer. "Klaus?"
"He's on his way… and so am I…" he heard Enzo say before hanging up.
Damon stood staring at the phone for awhile. Enzo and Klaus, together, this hour… Phones down, no one knew where Klaus was while Enzo was reluctant to answer his phone.
"Hm…" Damon said to himself after awhile. "That`s an unexpected turn of events…"
One hour earlier...
A dark figure appeared in the Mystic Fall's old graveyard approaching a man standing in front of a gravestone.
"Took you long enough." Said a British accent not turning around to face the intruder. "I was beginning to think you were too afraid to show your face…"
The other man chuckled before answering:
"I'm not one of the other leeches who would've scuttled at your sight… It'll take a lot more than that to scare me off Klaus…"
At that point Klaus turned around to face the man he had summoned and smiled at him.
"I knew you wouldn't be afraid of my reach or of my power and that makes you an almost worthy opponent…" he then smiled and bought a finger to his lips before going on. "But as it is I know what scares you the most… And if you won't do as I ask, you will lose more than your head…"
The man stared at the hybrid unaffected by his threat just yet.
The hybrid made a few steps closer to the other man.
"Tell me…" he said in an amused and low voice while smiling. "What do you think Caroline would do if she knew that you are the one who destroyed her life, Enzo?"
Enzo looked at him with a slightly astonished look on his face.
"You wouldn't…" he replied a little taken aback.
"Oh I would…" Klaus said mockingly before getting serious again. "Keep your hands off of her, or Caroline will know you were the one who gave her and Stefan in. She'll know you betrayed them to me!"
Next Chapter: "The truth"
We will be learning more about Enzo and Klaus`s first agreements and you`ll be astonished by the revelations.
More info about the steroline story – flashbacks – and some klaroline vs carenzo moments
Some Kennet too.
The reviews are keeping me going and knowing that people still like this story… or not…
Let me know what you think.
Love, T.J.