Chapter 7

The first week was probably one of the most hectic weeks of Caroline's life. She learned pretty early on that her life was no longer her own. A life in servitude was hardly a life. She waited on Lord Niklaus every waking hour of her day. He specifically asked for her each day, leaving Alexandria out of it until feeding, or so Caroline assumed. Alexandria would almost always send Caroline a hateful glare when they would pass each other in the hallways or down in the sleeping quarters. Caroline felt emotional whiplash so badly that she was having problems keeping up with her emotions. Although she was almost always in Lord Niklaus's presence, it never got any easier to be there. He made her anxious, pensive. The way he looked at everyone with disinterest, almost as if they were the very dirt under his feet, it was deeply unsettling.

The only joy she could find in the lonesome hours by herself was finally getting to catch up with Samantha again. She and her sister had been separated for so long, they had plenty to talk about. Most of the conversation was about how life in the town was after Samantha had been summoned. How father took to alcohol and mother buried herself in work to try and forget about losing not only a daughter but a husband as well. She spoke of Tyler and his proposal, she spoke of Matthew and Elena. She even brought of Bethany.

"Bethany.. Bethany Bennett?" Samantha asked curiously.

"The very one," Caroline replied with a sigh. "It was the weirdest thing, though. After I was summoned she came to visit me at the house. She gave me a going away present. I'm not even sure that I really want it."

Samantha leaned in quickly, instantaneously giving Caroline her whole undivided attention. "What was the gift?" Samantha asked quickly.

Caroline raised her eyebrows. "Just some herb she said it would help me with my survival in this house, and that I should drink a tea made of it every morning."

Samantha sat back with her eyes wide, and her mouth was forming a smile. "That is wonderful news, sister. We haven't had that herb in this house in months. Do you think you could share that with me? I could make the tea for us in the mornings," Samantha pleaded as her eyes shone with hope.

Caroline was a little taken aback with her sister's sudden interest in her herbs. She was also slightly wary. If these herbs meant so much, than the others in the house would want it as well if they found out they were there. The best option was for Caroline to accept her sister's offer and hope that no one else would find out.

"As long as this stays between us…" Caroline started, not even finishing her sentence before Samantha had her in a crushing hug.

"No one shall know but us, I promise!" she squealed softly, keeping her voice low. Caroline could hear the excitement in her sister's voice, and it made her heart jump. It was the first time she had heard such a beautiful noise since moving into the House. "Can I see how much you have?"

Caroline opened her trunk and pulled out the small cloth bag. She hadn't touched any of the herb yet, so it was still relatively full. Samantha grabbed the bag and peered inside at its contents. "This could last us a good long while," she said happily before grabbing a few leaves and pinching them in between her fingers. She gave Caroline a wink before leaving the room.

"Where are you going?" Caroline asked quickly, getting up to follow her.

"To make tea. I'll teach you," Samantha said without stopping as she continued up the stairs and into the kitchen. Caroline tried to keep up with her. She stood next to her as she mixed the herb into the other herbs used to make tea. "The key is to try not to put too much vervain into the tea. If it is too potent, it does its job too well. This could cause you to get in trouble with the masters. You must not use enough to draw attention to yourself," Samantha said as she poured out the steaming hot cups.

"Thank you," Caroline said as she took her first sip. The tea tasted mostly normal. There was only a small difference. The tea left a burn down her throat, one that you would expect from tea. However, the burn turned to ice in seconds; it was so bizarre that Caroline's reflexes tried coughing up the liquid.

"Shh, shh," Samantha begged. Caroline tried to stifle the sounds into her fist. "That's enough for now, you must get back to your master before he retires. I'll put your cup in your room for later. You must remember to drink at least a few sips for every meal."

Caroline nodded before walking out of the kitchen to head up the stairs. She hadn't seen Alexandria in a short while, which meant that she was currently with Lord Niklaus. The stairs seemed a much shorter distance. Caroline took a deep breath and steeled herself before entering the bedchamber after two loud taps on the door.

Alexandria was lying on the floor with a large bite mark marring the right side of her neck. She was not facing Caroline, so if she was unconscious, or even dead, Caroline did not know. Caroline did not let her eyes rest on the poor older girl for long, no more than a second or two. Her expression did not change, she would not give him the satisfaction. She looked toward the desk in the right corner of the room, where her master stood, looking right at her.

"M'Lord," Caroline addressed him formally, before stooping into a curtsy. She could feel his all-seeing eyes on her. It made her skin crawl, but a small part deep inside her pined with some feeling she couldn't distinguish. Perhaps the complete wanting to see him and his entire family dead, never to give another order. All the same, she kept her eyes glued to his feet, as it was considered rude to look at him in the face.

"Miss Caroline," he greeted before he chuckled lowly to himself. "Are you nearly finished admiring my shoes?"

Caroline bit her tongue, holding back her sarcastic reply. She then let her eyes wander to his chest, keeping her gaze there as she nodded her head politely.

"Is there anything else you need to be completed this evening, sir?" she asked monotonously. She kept her voice low. She wondered if he could hear the rage bubbling beneath the surface.

He chuckled again, which only made her even angrier. She couldn't stop herself from looking him dead in the face. She dipped into another curtsy; his eyes didn't leave hers. "I request your permission to help Miss Alexandria back to her room," Caroline said. Her voice cracked in rebellion on the word permission before she bent down to wake up her fellow servant, breaking the eye contact. She heard her Lord grunt in confirmation before he swiftly made his way from the room.

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief. She hated him. It was almost crazy how much she hated him. Alexandria stirred in her arms, coughing as Caroline helped her sit up.

"I thought for sure he was going to kill me that time," Alexandria said flatly. She didn't seem as upset as Caroline thought she would've been, but Caroline made no remark as she helped Alexandria to her feet.

"I'm sorry, Alexandria," Caroline said quietly as she helped her down the stairs.

"Do not pity me, young Caroline. For I am just his servant. You are his prey," she responded in hushed tone. Caroline gasped quietly, almost losing her grip on the injured girl.

"What do you mean?" she inquired breathlessly.

"Your singular goal when you are summoned to this Hell is to avoid snatching their attention, and unfortunately you've done just that," Alexandria said.

Caroline shook her head, as if she was attempting to dislodge the words from her head. She had gotten the attention of the most evil being to ever be created.

They walked the rest of the way to the servant's quarters in silence. Caroline could not offer up a reply to Alexandria's observation. Caroline could barely wrap her head around it.

"I will go get some dap cloths to clean your wound. We need to avoid infection," Caroline said as she gently helped Alexandria into her bed.

Caroline walked up the kitchen to retrieve the rags. She heard whispers coming from the dining area. She stuck her head to the door and held her breath, trying to hear as much of the conversation as possible. She easily recognized her master's voice.

"What do you mean? Tatia cannot possibly still be alive. You and I both know that," he said lowly. Caroline's ears could barely catch the words.

"No, brother. It is the doppelgänger. She has manifested," she heard a voice respond.

She heard her master let out a gasp of shock. "Do you know where?" he asked a little louder in response.

"No. But you must believe that I will do everything in my power to find her and bring her to you," the voice said slowly, almost as if the news was bad.

Lord Niklaus grunted in response. Caroline quickly walked to the other end of the kitchen and back to the servant's quarters to tend to Alexandria.

"There you are, Lexi, good as new," Caroline said as she finished the patch job on the neck wound.

"No one has ever called me 'Lexi' before…" Alexandria thought aloud, "but I like it."

Caroline gave her a soft smile and wave before she exited the room and headed to her own. She did her routine check to make sure everything was in its proper place. When she was satisfied that nothing was missing, she removed her work clothing and slipped into her nightgown. She lay down and instantly felt unconsciousness overtake her.

Caroline opened her eyes. She sat up and realized she was sitting outside of her old residence. She looked around, confused. 'How did I get out of the House?' she asked herself.

She walked through the front door and headed to the room she used to sleep in. Her little sisters rested there silently. Caroline smiled softly before leaving the room and walking out of the house. She walked down the path that led to the village's center.

'I might as well visit everyone I can before they realize I'm gone,' she thought as she made her way to Elena's house.

"Caroline," she heard from behind her. She turned and saw the most evil person of all.

"What do you want?" she asked with venom. Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Now, now. There is no need to be like that, especially when I've come to bring you warning," Esther said. The smile on her face was one of the fakest Caroline had ever seen. She found herself caught in the eyes of a snake.

"Warning of what? I should be scared of you. You're the one that fed me to those- those things!" Caroline yelled in frustration as she threw her hands into the air.

"Watch your mouth, child. Those 'things' just happen to be my children."

Caroline stifled an eye roll. "What is it you want, Esther?"

"Your beloved 'friend', Elena, I need you to kill her," Esther said matter-of-factly. Caroline's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You are insane, if you think I am going to harm my most dear friend. I could never do that," Caroline refused, re-crossing her arms.

"Then this is your warning. I will kill your family, starting with your beloved little sisters," Esther disinterestedly replied while she turned to walk toward Caroline's house.

"Wait!" Caroline screamed as she ran after her and grabbed Esther's arm.

"That is your choice, Caroline. Kill your 'dearest friend', or I kill your entire family," Esther paused.

Caroline stood behind her for only a moment before turning and walking to Elena's house. The tears were already falling down her face. She walked into her friend's room, choking back a sob when she saw that Elena was sleeping soundly.

"Do it, Caroline."

Caroline grabbed the knife that Elena always kept under her caught and brought it out, holding it to her throat.

"Caroline?" Elena said groggily.

"Do it now!" Esther screamed.

Caroline took the blade up and stabbed her best friend straight through the heart. Her sobs were unstoppable as she watched the life drain out of her dearest friend's eyes until they were unseeing, but looking right at her.

"You stupid child," Esther laughed. Her laugh was full of evil spite. "I knew you would be useful to me."

"You're the monster," Caroline whispered through her tears. "MONSTER!" she screamed.

"I was not the one to take a life tonight," Esther said coolly. Caroline looked down at her hands, covered in her friend's blood. She closed her eyes and more tears fell.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in her bed in the same position she'd fallen asleep in. "Just a dream," she chanted to herself, "just a dream." When just under the blanket, her hands were stained red with the blood of her best friend, the doppelgänger.

.-.

Just on the other side of the house, Niklaus is sitting awake in his bed. He woke from the scream he'd heard downstairs. Caroline was having a bad dream again. He suppressed the urge to go to her and attempt to comfort her. It probably would just be more disastrous. He thought about a few hours earlier. She'd looked at him with such loathing. Her eyes were so beautiful, but they were so full of hate.

His thoughts shifted to the doppelgänger. She was close. He could feel it. This was the closest he'd been to breaking his stupid curse since it was put on him all those years ago. He settled his breathing so he could drift to sleep. Tomorrow promised to be a very long and important day.

AN:

I am so sorry. I know I've been completely awful. TWO MONTHS. If I ever meet any of you, you can punch me.

Anyway, my fingers just kind of did their own thing on this chapter, but I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

Next Chapter is probably going to be a bit on the different side, I hope you guys like it. AND I PROMISE I WILL NEVER LET YOU WAIT TWO MONTHS AGAIN.

Don't forget to review. 84 followers and 32 favorites? You guys are the best.

Thanks to reviews from: LoTS-Fanatic, MysteryGirl3, cupcakesweetheart5, Clarity23, BeneathaMoonlessNight, Midnight349, dhh, Pinkgem2, lizzie, Sissi, and my guest reviewer.

Also, shout out to JamieAnnieCarter. Your DM meant the world to me.

~ Esther is an awful bitch. ~

Happy Reading,

RL