Here you go! R&R. Thank you all for the lovely reviews, they mean the world to me. Thank you thank you!
"What is the time?" Caroline asked as her and Rebekah pushed out of the forest, and back into the bright town.
"Oh somewhere between one and two in the morning," Rebekah said, as she pulled Caroline in tighter, as they walked past a group of drunk men.
Caroline felt exhausted, it had been a long day; and between the excitement of kissing Kol, and finding out that Klaus was a werewolf, she was ready to sleep. Although, Rebekah seemed to want none of that, because she continued to pull Caroline down through the streets. It seemed that the festivities hadn't winded down at all since Caroline had left. Jugglers still filled each corner, and loud music wavered out of some bars and onto the street. Both men and woman were stumbling over each other as they went from one place to another. Men on stilts easily stepped over Caroline, as Rebekah giggled beside her. Caroline's town had never celebrated this late, although she was in the kingdom of darkness; where they thrived on the moon and stars, and usually kept inside during the day.
As the two girls made their way from a side street to the main street, Caroline was about to inform Rebekah that she wanted to head off to bed, but then she saw Kol.
He was lounging on one of the bar counters, by himself, his head tilted back, and his eyes closed as he listened to the very bad and very loud music. She saw he had a beer in his hand, and he took a swig of it ever few seconds or so. Something about his demeanor told Caroline that she should let him be. So she tried to steer Rebekah in another direction, away from Kol, but she wouldn't have it.
"Do you not want to see my brother?" Rebekah asked, looking in Kol's direction. "He looks awful lonely."
"Oh, let us not." Caroline said, trying to walk away. "I am awfully tired."
"Oh nonsense," Rebekah said, pulling Caroline back, as she began to drag her toward Kol. As they approached, Caroline saw Kol open one eye and stare down at her. He then smiled brilliantly, as if he were the happiest man in the world.
"Ah there she is," Kol said, as he slid off of the counter, stumbling as his feet hit the ground. "The girl of the hour."
"And what of me?" Rebekah said with a pouty face. "Am I not worth a hello?"
Kol smirked at her, as he stumbled forward, Rebekah catching him just before he fell to the earth floor.
"You are drunk brother," Rebekah giggled, standing him up straight.
"Not nearly drunk enough," Kol said, his eyes swooping from Rebekah to Caroline, who was standing silently, watching the scene unfold. He then held out a hand for her to grab, although Caroline hesitated, he had a look in his eye, as if his intentions were anything but good.
"I think not," Caroline said, shaking her head as she turned to leave. "I should be heading back-"
As she turned to leave, halfway in between her sentence she felt Kol's cold and hard hand clasp onto her arm, and turn her around.
"Oh come now Caroline," Kol said, pulling her in close, so that her head was tucked under his chin. He began to pet her hair, as if she were a small child; she could smell the alcohol on him, and she knew he had far too much to drink. "Do not tell me you intend to leave."
"Oh Kol, just let her go." Rebekah said, moving in close to the pair. Caroline knew she had pleading eyes, and her stomach churned in response to her current situation.
"You," Kol said, his finger extended out toward Rebekah. "Stay out of this."
Rebekah seemed to be silenced by this as she watched Kol spin Caroline around.
"Look at you," Kol said, his hand coming up to her face, as he ran his thumb along her cheek. "My beautiful fiancé."
Caroline's heart beat quickened, and she felt her breath become shallow; she began to feel the same way she did when Kol had brought her down to the dungeon; completely and utterly frightened. His tone hinted that he wasn't in his right mind, because his voice grew louder as if he were announcing something to everyone.
"Is she not perfect for me?" Kol yelled, and it was now that people turned to look at the both of them, their eyebrows rising. "Do we not look happy?"
Kol took turned Caroline, so that they were standing side by side, his arm wound tightly around her waist. Caroline tried to pull away, as her cheeks began to redden.
"Stop it," Caroline hissed, pulling her arm free of Kol. Kol looked confused, as if she had said something preposterous.
"Well isn't this what you wanted?" Kol yelled again, he then began to laugh. "I mean, isn't that why you kissed me? So people would know that we are the happiest couple in all the kingdom!"
By now people were gathered around; the women's eyes grew wide at the soon to be juicy gossip, and the men began to laugh with Kol, as if Caroline were truly being ridiculous. Caroline felt tears pool in her eyes; she tried to contain them as the town's eyes fell on her.
"Come," Kol said, as he began to walk toward her. "Give me a kiss just like you did on the field."
Caroline turned away from him, trying to quicken her pace to get away, but Kol was faster, he grabbed her again, and turned her around.
"Prove to these people that this isn't only a façade." Kol whispered in her ear as he brought her close.
"No," Caroline said, as he tried to lean down and kiss her; she tried to pull away, but he had a firm grip on her, and it appeared that no one was going to try and help her. Suddenly though, Caroline felt Kol's grip on her loosen as a hand came down strong on his throat.
"Release her," Klaus said, his voice was deep and menacing. "Now."
Kol merely laughed in response, his hand refusing to let go of Caroline's arm. Klaus' eyebrows rose, and in a matter of seconds, Kol's hand freed Caroline's arm as he was flung backwards into a wheel barrel full of hay.
The entire town 'aw'd' as Kol groaned trying to sit up, a handful of hay stuck in his hair.
"Get him out of here," Klaus hissed to Rebekah who nodded quickly, walking over to Kol and attempting to haul him off the wheel barrel.
By this point Caroline was already halfway through the crowd of people, as soon as Kol had let go of her arm she had quickly left, not bothering to watch the aftermath. Caroline scanned the faces of the people who didn't even attempt to save her.
Cowards. Caroline thought as she held back tears.
"Come now princess where are you going?" A few drunken men laughed, trying to grab at her dress; Caroline didn't stop though, she kept pushing forward.
Once Caroline had successfully made it through the crowd and began her climb up the palace's stone steps, she let her tears fall freely. She had never been more embarrassed. She hated Rebekah for making her talk to Kol, and she hated him for not only trying to kiss her without permission, but mocking her in front of the whole town. Although, the sad part was, he was wrong about it all; she didn't do it to show off to the kingdom, she did it because she wanted him to like her, to show that she cared enough to try and make it work; although that appeared to have backfired now.
Caroline let ugly sobs escape her mouth as she rushed toward the castle, hoping that no one would see her, and that she could rest easy for the remainder of the night.
"Caroline," Caroline heard a voice calling out to her, but she blocked it out. She especially didn't want to see him. He always seemed to make things more complicated; on top of her incident with Kol, there was also Klaus being a werewolf, and although she had tried to push it into the back of her mind, the sound of him just brought back more unanswered questions.
"Caroline," Klaus said again, now though he was closer. Caroline didn't respond, she didn't trust her voice to not give away that there were tears in her eyes. Although suddenly there was a gust of wind, and the next thing she knew, Klaus was standing right in front of her, his eyes full of worry.
"Move," Caroline finally said, her voice cracking; he had already seen her tears, they were racing all over her face, and by the sound of her voice he knew she was highly upset.
"Not until you speak with me," Klaus said, his voice calm.
"I have nothing to say to you," Caroline said, trying to move past him, but every step she took, he matched that, always bringing them face to face.
"I understand that you're upset," Klaus said, as he finally let Caroline pass him.
"Upset!?" Caroline screamed, turning to him, her tears flowing faster. "I am humiliated!"
Caroline tried her best to control her emotions, but they over took her. She felt pain in her chest, as if a thousand knives were stabbing her and as much as she tried to break free they kept her down. She knew she shouldn't blame Klaus, he had done nothing wrong in this situation, in fact he had saved her; but now, all she wanted was to be left alone.
Klaus stood there, watching tears fall from Caroline's face, but they didn't fall just because of Kol, they fell because of her entire situation. She wanted to go home, to her family and friends, she belonged in the kingdom of light, not the kingdom of darkness; and the longer she stayed here, the more she felt like giving up. But she wouldn't, she couldn't, and she was stronger than that. So she wiped away her tears, and looked down at Klaus from the top of the staircase she stood on.
He watched her closely, without saying a word; maybe it was because her tears said it all, or maybe because he realized how pathetic she was. Either way, she didn't care; so she turned away from his expressionless face, and climbed the rest of the stairs to her bedchamber.
T-H-E V-A-M-P-I-R-E D-I-A-R-I-E-S
"Poor girl," Klaus heard a voice say behind him. He turned around, his eyes falling on Katarina, who picked up her skirt and playfully skipped over to Klaus. "She seems so desperate."
"No," Klaus said, bringing his hand up to his face, and touching his index finger to his lips. "She's just lost."
Klaus could feel Katarina's eyes on him so he looked down at her; she was frowning, her eyebrows scrunched together.
"Where have you been all night?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "I missed you."
"I was away," He said, turning his attention back to where Caroline had fled; his mind kept trailing back to her; even when he had been in his wolf form, she didn't leave his mind, and when he had seen her in the forest only hours ago, his heart had soared. She had looked so delicate in that moment, and he thought that she would have fled, but when his brother's fiancé ran in a hurry, Caroline had stayed. He had thought about running, so she wouldn't see it was him, but he knew he owed it to her, if she had stayed, then so would he; and besides she looked so kind in that moment, when her eyes fell upon his wounded body; he had felt possessive, just like he had on the field.
"I was worried after you left the field," Katarina said, her arm winding its way around Klaus'. "You seemed so upset."
"I was," Klaus said, trying to keep his voice even.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Katarina said, her cheek resting on his arm.
"No," Klaus said, his eyes still on the palace.
"Well then," Katarina purred in his ear. "Maybe you need to get all your frustration out, in bed."
Klaus looked away from the palace and down at Katarina. She smiled up at him, her seductive charm at it's best. She reminded him so much of Tatia, she was confident, selfish, and desirable. Any man would want someone like her, but whenever he looked at her, all he saw was betrayal, and the pain swooped in like it did every time he thought about the past. Memories could be a gift but they could also be a curse.
"I wish to be left alone tonight," Klaus said, his eyes bright as he took in her pouty face. He then broke free from her, climbing up the stone stairs where Caroline had been moments before.
T-H-E V-A-M-P-I-R-E D-I-A-R-I-E-S
Caroline tossed and turned in her bed, her mind racing as the night's events unfolded in her mind. When she had entered her bedchamber and thrown on her nightwear, Caroline had hoped that sleep would find her, although that did not seem to be the case. It had been an hour since she had climbed into bed; her eyes burning from all the tears, as she closed them. Now though, her eyes no longer felt as if they were on fire, instead her throat felt dry, as if she had been screaming for a long period of time; something she had been doing in her head for the past hour. She needed water; so she swung her legs over her bed, knowing that the sun must be coming up soon, and she would be getting no sleep tonight, and made her way down toward the kitchen.
The marble floor was cold against her feet as she walked along the halls, she had become familiar with the layout of the palace by now, and in order to get down to the kitchen she would have to go through the second royal wing, where she knew Klaus, Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah slept. She hoped that she wouldn't come across either four, and as she made her way down the wing, she thought she was almost in the clear; until she heard a woman's laugh.
It was soft, but loud enough for Caroline to hear, and it was coming from the room to the left of her; she saw that the door was partially cracked open. Caroline moved closer to the door, she knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but she couldn't help her curiosity.
"-you're right." Caroline heard Kol's voice say, is sounded raspy, and Caroline knew he must be coming down from his drunk night.
"Then why did you do it?" Caroline heard a familiar voice say, it was a woman, and it took Caroline a moment, but then she finally put a face to the voice.
"Because I love you," Kol said, his voice was tender; she had never heard him sound like that before.
Bonnie laughed, something that Caroline had also never heard before; she remembered the night before how angry Bonnie had been with her, and now she understood why. Bonnie and seem them kiss, and Bonnie and Kol were…
"That still doesn't give you permission to be an ass," Bonnie said, her voice was light.
Caroline moved her head forward so that she could see inside the room, the first thing she saw was Bonnie, who was wearing a slip, her hair up. She walked over to Kol, who was sitting on his bed, his head down as he fumbled with his shirts sleeves.
"I know," Kol said, his voice tender, he then grabbed her hand, and pulled her to him. She fell onto his lap, her mouth falling on his own in the process. That was when Caroline looked away; she stood up straight, and continued forward, her mind racing.
Surprisingly, Caroline felt anger; she felt betrayed, even if she had never felt anything romantic for Kol to begin with, it was merely the fact that she had been made a fool. Caroline knew though, that there was one person that must have known, but hadn't said a word to her about it. Caroline moved to the end of the wing where she saw a bedroom door open, and sure enough Caroline spotted Klaus. He was bending over his dresser, his eyes scanning his wardrobe.
"You knew," Caroline said, as she walked in the room, catching Klaus by surprise. He looked up at her, his eyes full of shock at her presence.
"I'm sorry-" Klaus began to say, but Caroline let out a frustrated groan. She balled her hands up into fists, she wondered if the entire palace knew about it, and were just watching her make a fool of herself, when her future husband was already in love with another woman.
"About Kol and Bonnie!" Caroline yelled, her chest rising and falling quickly. "You knew."
Klaus remained frozen as he scanned Caroline, his mouth opening and closing ever so often, then his eyes turned to understanding.
"Yes, I knew," Klaus said, his voice hard.
Caroline gasped, walked a few paces forward before bringing her hand up to connect with his face; a lour smack echoed throughout the room, as Klaus' head turned to the side from the impact. His jaw clenched, as he turned to look at Caroline.
"You just watched me stand by and make a complete idiot of myself!" Caroline said, her hands rising up. "When you knew that he was never going to want me."
Klaus' features darkened as he moved toward Caroline, she backed away, he had never looked so intimidating to her, and he spoke his next few words in a low whisper.
"I didn't tell you" Klaus said, his eyes narrowing. "Because I knew you would react this way,"
"Don't pretend to know me," Caroline said, backing away. She shook her head, knowing that she couldn't marry Kol, she couldn't pretend to be with someone who loved another woman. "I'm calling off the engagement."
Klaus' eyes lit up at this, and as she turned to leave, Klaus grabbed her by the arm pulling her back.
"You will not," Klaus said, his voice was angry. "If you do that everything will be ruined, you will have set our entire country back on the path of war, and they would kill you within an hour of your announcement."
Caroline let out a frustrated sigh, she knew he was right, but her feelings were over taking her logic.
"Do not let your emotions get the best of you," Klaus said, his features were still dark, but his voice was tender. "None of us wanted this arrangement, we are doing it for our families."
Caroline knew that Klaus was also right about this; she was doing this for her family; so that they could live a good life. But it appeared that not everyone was as upset with their marriage.
"You and Katarina seem to be getting along just fine with the arrangement." Caroline said, her voice becoming higher. Klaus released her, his eyes becoming angry again.
"And now who is pretending to know who?" Klaus said, referring to her previous comment. "You were trying too hard with Kol, he is of the predator species, he prefers to do the hunting."
Caroline couldn't help but laugh at this.
"At least I tried; at least I fight for what I want," Caroline said, throwing her hair to the side. "Not everyone is as easy to please as Katarina."
Klaus' eyes grew more narrow at this, as Caroline's mouth set into a frown; she was completely exhausted, and although her fighting with Klaus had given her slight adrenaline, she could feel herself winding down. This seemed to hit a nerve in Klaus because he didn't say anything back to her, but as she turned to leave, she felt him grasped her wrist hard, and pull her back slightly.
"Be careful with your words Caroline," Klaus whispered in her ear. "Although I admire your fight, others may not be so keen on it." He then released her, as she stumbled forward, she looked back at him, watching him make his way over to his dresser, his shoulders tensed.
She knew that she shouldn't have said or did some of the things she had; and that maybe she shouldn't be fighting him and instead should be trusting him, but in a world where it seemed everyone was against you, sometimes the only person you can depend on is yourself.
Caroline reminded herself of this as she exited his room, and made her way down the wing toward the kitchen; her mind was racing with her conversation with Klaus, and she was so distracted that she didn't hear when someone came up behind her, a firm hand covering her mouth. She struggled under the pressure, trying to gasp for air, but soon the remainder of the corridor became a blur, and the princess of light was suddenly surrounded by darkness.
Thanks for reading another chapter! Heart you all.
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