Dear readers! (hopefully there are some of you still interested in this story...)
First of all, thank you for the support of my last chapter (I know it was the beginning of the year, so a hell of a long time ago...oops). You are all my moose, oh, I mean muse. (Sorry, I'm not trying to be funny, just really tired since it's the middle of the night...funny thing I always write as night...)
Secondly, sorry that it took me so long to update. I wanted to but the chapter just didn't want to be written, it's such a pain and honestly, I would love to promise a more regular update but knowing me, I'd probably break the promise...so all I can say is that I'll try my best!
Lastly, I cannot tell you how great I feel to have this up in time for Christmas! (Thank goodness it didn't take me a whole year to write a chapter XD)
Anyways, I wish you all~~
xxx A Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year xxx
Oh, sorry in advance for any spelling, grammar and general mistakes!
Happy reading!
A knocked over wooden bowl and splattered out food laid across the middle of the cold hard floor, in one of four darkly shaded corners was a faint lighter black outline of a curled up figure. As the sun rose, light spilled into the room revealing the figure to be a girl with a head of messy golden hair in a muddy blue dress.
It was Caroline. After she woke from the constant replay of that dreadful nightmare of seeing her shredded up mother, she found herself back in the mansion she ran away from last night and in a room with the unwelcome presence of the owner.
Klaus was stood a foot away from his bed, staring at the sleeping form of the blonde until she stirred from her sleep. He hadn't been there the whole night but he was there long enough, longer than he would care to admit. He had good reason to be there, of course, it was the screaming that pierced through his bedroom wall into the hidden study he had down the hallway that brought him here. Her voice went so loud that he didn't need the hyped up senses to hear it.
Both looked intently into each others eyes, neither of them spoke but for completely different reasons, Caroline was still feeling disorientated from the sudden change of location and muddled between real life and the horrid dreams. Klaus was confused at how the attraction grew each time he saw her, an irresistible drawn, something he had never experienced before.
This seemingly peaceful exchange between the two was short lived because Caroline quickly came to her senses, realizing who she was alone in the room with. Grieve and anger flared up as she jumped to confront the man standing over her, who was now only inches apart.
"You couldn't have left me alone, could you, not even just for a day?" She accosted him, "Are you so desperate in completing your schemes that you would deny a child's last moments with her mother? Did you not have family of your own? Have you not loss any loved ones? Have you no sympathy?"
Klaus remained silent, if her words angered him it did not show. In truth, he was more shocked and a little offended than anything. The one time he had done something marginally nice to protect someone, to try relief them of pain. This was not the reaction he had expected to say the least.
Giving him a detested look, "Go ahead, put me in a cell. That's you brought me back, isn't it?" She said through her newly formed tears, "For I am nothing more than your prisoner. A tool to get what you want. A thing you couldn't care less about." Her body trembled with each sob as she realized she did not know the whereabouts of her parents' bodies, and unable to laid them to rest with the proper rituals to say a final goodbye. Sorrow overflown her whole being at this very thought.
Annoyance took over his features as he grew frustrated at his misunderstood good intentions.
"Fine, as you wish." His voice low and uneven, "I will treat you as my prisoner, if you insist of being one."
So here she was, locked up again, though not exactly in a prison cell with sliding window for meals to be pushed through or the incredibly narrow space which left you feeling claustrophobic like the walls were going to crush you at any second, it certainly felt like one.
The young girl sat with her back to the wall, legs tugged tight to her chest, neck crocked up. A sadness spread over her delicate features as she stared at the small barred window at the top on one side of the room.
The light from the sun glistened against the glass pane, hitting it at a particular angle creating a stream of colours reflecting off the wall. This once brought a smile to her face but it no longer held the affect it once did; her eyes were blank and emotionless adding to an odd stillness to her posture far too mature for her age. It seemed as though she went through centuries of bitter solitude overnight.
The blonde girl circled the room with her hollow eyes, and took in the enclosed space with the bare necessities of a bed and a wooden tub to bathe in. There were no sharp objects in sight, not even a reachable candle or oil lamp. The room was installed as a precaution in preventing any intentional "accidents" or anything that could cause self inflicted harm.
If she could muster the energy to snicker at this useless measure, she would. Since being a descendant of the Forbes family meant that the cowardliness of taking one's own life was not inherited in her blood nor was it taught by her father. Not even this never ending stabbing pain at the centre of her heart that had drained out her will to live nor how the dawn that she had loved so much was now a mocking reminder of the beginning of the rest of her life spent lonely, lost and abandoned, would drive her into suicide.
Caroline might had been naive to everything around her and helpless in the deaths of her parents, but she was not going to let her ignorance of the situation result in something she would regret again. There was no use in playing the damsel in distress because there wouldn't be a knight in shining amour to rescue her, not anymore. It was time for her to fight for herself. To start with, she needed to be out of these mud stained clothes and rid herself of the stomach wrenching scent of blood.
Pushing off the ground, Caroline dragged her fatigued body towards the steaming tub that had been brought in with the food earlier. Stripping bare, she stepped into it letting the burning sensation shot through her skin. Taking in a large gulp of air, she sunk her head underwater then closing her eyes, she let the water clasp her senses.
The insulation underwater allowed her to shut out every bit of sound, giving her time to think, to clear her head, to make sense of recent happenings and more importantly what she would do next.
Time flew as her breath slowly bubbling away, an aching pain spread across her chest as her lung struggled without oxygen. Hands grabbed tightly to the edge of the bath, Caroline stopped herself from surfacing. Not yet, she thought. She needed this, it meant she could still feel something, still alive no matter how dead she felt on the inside and that would give her the strength to fight. To alert her natural instinct of survival.
"Caroline," a strange crisp female voice rang through her eardrum which she dismissed as it was impossible to hear anything under water, but it called out to her again. This time it sounded closer, so close that she could feel the warm breath at the back of her neck which caused her to tore open her eyes.
It was then Caroline realized she was now standing, in essence, at the centre of a powder drawn circle surrounded by a black hollow emptiness, a place in a different dimension. The only illuminant was the figure-like object a few feet away in front just outside the edge of the circle. She could only assume that it was what brought her here, though she should've been scared, this surreal encounter triggered more curiosity than fear.
"Who are you?" The young girl questioned in a somewhat composed manner, and when there was no response she asked again. "What is it you want?"
A light shone from behind her, she twirled around to see another figure entered and it begged with a desperate tone. "Please, you have to help me. You are the only one who can." It was a woman but not the one who had called for her.
"Esther, Do you understand what you are asking of me?" the same crisp female voice from before replied.
As Caroline stood between the two women with their voices echoing around the space, it all became apparent to her that whoever brought her here wasn't trying to communicate with her. They were showing her something, the scene playing out before her eyes was an energy residue from the past.
Suddenly the space they were in started spinning, the light reflecting from the figures merged with the growing large swirl when a big bright blinding light blasted out transforming the place into a moderate size wooden shed.
Blinking until the white spots in her vision was gone, she focused on the two women before her. One that stood behind her looked her mother's age, with long brownish blonde locks that falls over her shoulders onto the olive green cotton dress. Caroline could only assume that it was Esther, the figure asking for help, as distress was evident on her face and her green pleading eyes fell upon the elder woman on the other side of the room with her back turned. Only her long ash grey braided hair against the back of her dull black dress could be seen. Though her face was hidden away the young girl felt drawn to her, a sense of familiarity stroked her nerves. She knew this person, somehow she had a connection with her. This woman was no stranger to Caroline. There was no explanation, it was just a simple gut feeling.
"Surely, you must know how it feels, how I feel. You have loss like I have." Esther urged, "You have done it before, you of all people should know. We protect our own, at all costs." She came striding down the room, passing straight through Caroline as though she had no substance and stopping right beside the elder woman. "Circe, please. We have to fight back this time and the only way is to become stronger and faster. To surpass them. So we won't have to be afraid no more."
"And this is the only absolute resolution?" Circe muttered to herself, questioning if it would be the right choice to make.
"We have no other option but to adapt and survive." The younger woman stated. Then they both stood in silence, letting the weight of the decision crashed into their whole being. The light around the two women dimmed and the place reverted to the blackness before.
Caroline had believed, or hoped, that this conversation would somehow provide clarity to her current situation and where she stood in the whole scheme of things. However, the only purpose this served was to trigger a whole new set of questions but she came to an apparent conclusion that Circe, whoever she might be, would be the key to the answers she was searching for. Ones that would make Caroline wished she had never found out, ones that would force her to accept the fate that arose as the consequence of past actions that were not her own. For now, she did not care what awaited in the path ahead as it had given her the new found strength needed to crawl out of this hole of despair. A hope that she could cling onto, a reason to wake up everyday and a purpose to live on. She felt stronger, the life and that fire had returned.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that only when the last breathe expelled causing her to breathed in large gulps of water did she briskly resurfaced. The burning sensation in her chest from the water filling her lungs choked her to the point of almost suffocation. Then she realized she was back in the bath but still oblivious to the rough hand holding onto her forearm. It wasn't until the pressure increased sending sharp pangs of pain up her brain that she became completely aware of her surroundings and of the stoned face man in front of her.
Klaus knew he should've just let her be, what was it to him if she thought of him as an evil heartless beast, many others did though most of them were dead now. It wasn't her fearless attitude towards him, he was sure, as it seemed to be a well established quality in quite a few of the witches he crossed paths with. Dismissing the possibility of feelings he might had developed for her, the hybrid decided it was nothing more than an artist's natural appreciation of attractive beings.
As he stood outside the room Caroline was kept in, hand half risen just over the doorknob, he stopped. He was aware that he didn't have to see her, especially not after their spat a couple of nights before. Also mainly of what he was going to do to her and needed from her, he usually avoided unnecessary exchanges with his subjects. But this time he managed to convinced himself that things would operated more smoothly if he got back on her good graces, which he understood would take a lot more than a charming smile or friendly gestures to do so, being the man who sacrificed her father and all.
With a hard push, breaking the handle and the lock, he swung the door wide open and entered the room with long strides. The blonde girl was nowhere in sight, Klaus made use of his other senses which if it was even possible had further intensified after the hybrid transformation. Sniffing the air, searching for the smell of green earth in the morning sunrise mixed with scented daffodils of a delicately sweet aroma but all he found was a dampness in the air. He walked right to the only container with water and no doubt he found Caroline suspended in the bath, eyes tightly shut and hands clamped onto the side of the wooden tube. His hand quickly grabbed onto her forearm and in a splash she sat up coughing violently.
It wasn't his intention to walk in on her wet and unclothed but now that he had, it wouldn't hurt to have a glance at her exposed form. He didn't expect to see a marking on her chest, between her breast and above her heart. It was small, with a diameter just about the size of a thumb, made up of the sun and moon symbols merged together positioned in the circular center of a pentagram. In different shades of light, the black ink tattoo showed a tint of a dark crimson red. If his memory served right, then it would seem that the Forbes witches had more hidden family secrets than he thought.
Just as Klaus was leaning in to inspect it more closely, his left cheek was struck hard, well, hard as to the best ability of a human girl.
"Stop staring," Caroline shrieked, "and get your hand off me!" Pulling back from the man, she jumped out of the bath and grabbed the closest thing to wrap herself in, a large black cloak that laid on the floor at the foot of the tube.
He'd rarely refrain himself from hitting back even if he deserved it, this time though, the slap evoked more admiration than anger which of course was a fact he chose to ignore, again. Clearly his throat, Klaus spoke as calmly as he could. "What do you think you are doing? Drowning yourself?"
"Wha..." baffled by his questions, she clung to her chest trying to catch her breathe from the coughing fit before.
"Is this how you wish to honour your father's death?" he uttered, "I thought you were stronger than that!"
"Drow...drowning? I was not drowning myself!" Her voice rose with bewilderment, "What in the world gave you that idea? I...I was simply too deep in thought an...and I loss track of time, that's all." She fiddled with the cloak, making sure every inch of her body was covered
He stared down at her, a skeptic look on his face. "So deep in thought you forgot to come up for air?"
"What are you doing here?" Caroline diverted with a question, she wasn't sure if letting him know what she had seen was the best chose to make. "I wasn't aware people visited their captives."
It was obvious she didn't want to tell him what was clearly troubling her mind, and usually he would've pressed on the matter but this time he decided to let it slide. He enjoyed watching a mystery unravel itself, just as long as he was in control and he was always in control.
"I am only treating you like one because you wouldn't have it any other way." He replied lightly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "And if you want me to regard you differently, all you have to do is ask."
Caroline stood studying him for a while. Trying very hard to remind herself of the rage against him and how this man deceived her with that dashing smile and good looks, it was also this exact same smile and look that left her parent-less. She knew caving in for what he was offering would be a sign of weakness, somehow, on her part. But on second thought, surely it wouldn't hurt to take advantage of accepting it under these circumstances. Knowing that she would be under his watch for the foreseeable future, this was the only logically choice, for a smart girl, like herself. Though she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of thinking she'd submitted herself to him, he was already arrogant enough.
"Don't you, for a second, think things are different. I still loathe you no matter what." She said pointedly to him, "And I'd rather be alive and well when your end comes. Which would be impossible given my current living conditions, alive and well, that is. So..." She looked at him expectantly.
His smile widened, "Very well then, m'lady." Looking straight into her blue eyes, he noticed the dullness was gone and the girl he first saw in the garden was back. "As you wish."
An oddly comfortable silence fell upon these two as they continued to gaze at each other. Caroline didn't know what this connection was between them two, or at least she didn't want to understand it. This stirring of emotions each time he was near both scared and thrilled her, but she couldn't let that happen or would she allow herself to admit that if he was somebody different then she would gladly fall into his arms. Shaking the thought out of her head as guilt filled her heart, she looked away, pulled herself together and turned back to him with a harder look.
"Are you going to stand there all day watching me, or will you leave me to get decent and out of this cell?" One eyebrow raised.
Sensing the change in the mood, he cleared his throat again. "As you wish." He started towards the exit and before shutting the door, stealing once more look at her, he added. "Earl will come fetch you, when you're ready."
Closing her eyes, she let out a long sign. She really wished he'd stop saying 'as you wish' she didn't like the way it made her heart jump every time, especially when coated thick with his husky voice and smoothing accent. This wasn't a good sign, he affected her too much. From then she needed to be kept at a distance from him, she couldn't lose sight of what was most important.
Soft chimes of mental against ceramics from the dining room echoed around the eerily still mansion, judging by the noise made, it was only a one person meal. In a house which inhabitants consisted of vampires and a hybrid, this could only be a certain female resident. Stefan made his way towards the large double frame door with the faint light seeping through the edges, he opened the door expecting to see the blonde young girl but instead was greeted by a brunette.
Sensing the presence of the vampire, the woman asked, "Would you like to join me for dinner, Mr Salvatore?" Her voice rang clear in the quiet room, as she carried on with the dish of meat and roasted vegetables. "Or are you full from sucking the life out of unsuspecting young girls of this town."
"Miss Bennett?" He was surprised she was still here. "You said you'd be gone when the deal you had with Klaus is over."
"I changed my mind," she said decidedly, "I thought I should indulge in a little luxury after all the hard work I've done for him. A maid, a butler, a housekeeper and a cook with divine skills, how could I refuse?"
"Oh come on now," taking a seat next to the woman, "the Bonnie I know would've sped off right away putting as much distance as she could between her and Klaus."
He sat thoughtful for a while, "You stayed for the girl, didn't you."
Dropping the cutlery beside the plate, she looked up at the vampire. "She is a witch, a Forbes witch. And after what I did, I just want to make sure she's..." she couldn't say the word 'fine', how could anyone be 'fine' seeing both her parents murdered. "...make sure she's, well, still walking and breathing."
"You'd never cared before," he replied, sounding a little too harsh than intended. Seeing the downcast expression on her face, he spoke, in a softer tone this time, "I mean, you haven't cared about the other witches, not for a long time. Not after that happened. You said they are not worth it, and that no one can be trusted, especially your own kind. That's the reason you chose to help Klaus, wasn't it?"
"She's different. She's young, naive and she reminded me of..."
"...myself." "You." They shared a small smile, cast over with a subtle sadness, a sign of the torment of their past that followed them and pain that lingered no matter how many years had passed.
Stefan rolled back his slumped shoulders, he changed the subject in attempt to shake off whatever it was that either of them were wanting to face. He informed her lightly that he was sent to bring her back as her service was needed again, "Since you are still here, I won't have to make my trip out of town any longer than necessary."
A smirk appeared on Bonnie's lips as she teased him, "So after 175 years you are still his errand boy. I thought you were better than that, Salvatore."
He rolled his eyes, "Actually, I have business to attain to of my own. And I didn't know you were that good with numbers."
"Women are always sensitive with time and age, particularly, a woman of my years." Giving him a playful glare, "I honestly don't know why you stayed with him. The way he orders you around, if it was me, I would've walked out long ago."
He sighed, "Klaus and I are friends, some see us as brothers. It's not something I expect you to make sense of but in certain situations, he is just a misunderstood character."
"Oh please, wild bears that attack human once in a blue moon are misunderstood creatures. A half vampire, half werewolf being who likes to hunt down people whom he treats like his little playthings and threatens then chewed on, is just plain mad. Psychotic even."
"I'm sure you two will get along just fine while I'm out for a couple of days." He chuckled, "and I trust that you will also protect our little blonde guest like a hen would her chicks."
"Don't bet on it," Shaking her head in disagreement, "by the time you are back. I might've taken the girl and made a break for it."
Giving her another smile, he stood. "If you'll excuse me, better get going."
As he made his way to the door the witch stood and called after him, the easiness of her tone taken over by concern. "Be careful, Stefan." She warned, "He is getting impatient. And from what I heard, a few of the witches have changed sides. So just, watch out and really be careful."
So hopefully, you enjoyed it (and it didn't suck too badly)...
If you are unclear about anything, feel free to ask. I'll try my best to answer any questions.
I'd really appreciate any reviews/comments on this, e.g. things you don't like, hate or annoys you or whatever.
Anyways~
Thank you so much for reading and if you aren't put off from it, I'll see you next chapter ;)
xxx