Disclaimer: I don't own anything, all of it belongs to those who created 'The Vampire Diaries.'
A/N: I'm so surprised by the response to the previous chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I wrote a long chapter because I will be gone for a week on vacation and won't update until I get back. Also, the question of why six instead of seven originals will be answered in this chapter. Also I'd like to mention that this is all happening during which Rebekah has been placed back in the coffin by Stefan and Damon on Klaus's orders.
As usual, just so you know this chapter contains adult themes and some dark themes. Just so you are aware.
I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
Tyler sat down on the old cement floor and stared blankly at Rebekah's coffin. He had spent all this time searching for her and now he knew what had happened to her. Bonnie glanced down at him and frowned, her eyes worried as she watched his expression change multiple times of the course of five minutes.
"He has her daggered somewhere…doesn't he?" Tyler said quietly without looking at Elijah.
"Not exactly," Elijah said as he turned his gaze towards Rebekah as the color began to return to her face. The three in the room watched Rebekah silently, waiting for that moment when she would awaken. It was as if time was suspended here, the shock of knowing that Caroline was truly an original brought devastation to the thoughts of Tyler and Bonnie.
"We could have killed her," Bonnie said with a frown as she thought of the night they killed Finn.
"Don't," Tyler said sharply and put his head in his hands, the very thought of it unbearable.
"Tyler we nearly killed Caroline and we had no idea…" Bonnie said softly as the horror of it began to show in her expression.
"Where is she?" Tyler demanded quietly as he rose his head up to meet Elijah's gaze firmly, "You tell me where she is or I break down Klaus's front door and go looking for her myself."
"You are in no position to threaten me Mr. Lockwood," Elijah said smoothly as he leveled his gaze on the hybrid before him. Tyler opened his mouth to reply but at that moment Rebekah inhaled deep and sat up, her eyes wide with shock.
"Where am I?" she breathed as she shifted her gaze over the room and upon the people who stood around her.
"Your safe sister," Elijah soothed as he met her gaze.
"Elijah," she said with a hopeful tone, a smile gracing her features, "I'm so happy to see you."
"And I you, sister…" Elijah smiled in return.
"Nik….he had them dagger me…" Rebekah said, her eyes flashing with anger, "he betrayed me!"
"Why does that surprise you?" Elijah asked her with a quirked eyebrow as he helped Rebekah climb out of the coffin.
Rebekah glared at him and said nothing, her gaze shifting over Bonnie and Tyler's faces. "Why are they here?"
"They brought you to me, as a trade," Elijah explained easily, "for information about Caroline."
Rebekah stared hard at the other two in the room before letting out a long sigh, "We'll I suppose some secrets can be divulged."
"We want to know where she is," Tyler told her firmly.
"But not all," Rebekah said with a half-smile at Tyler's words.
"You said that there were six originals?" Bonnie cut in, trying to shift the conversation back to what it had been before.
"Ah yes…" Elijah smiled, nodding his head in understanding, "My Father."
"Yeah…" Bonnie said with a frown, "What about him?"
"We do not consider him one of us," Elijah said with a shrug, "he is not part of this family and neither is our mother."
"Bit harsh…" Tyler said with raised eyebrows.
Rebekah sneered in his direction as she fixed her gaze on his face, "He tried to kill us all…he hunted us down for a thousand years…and our mother tried to kill us as well so you haven't any right to say anything to us."
"Alright look," Bonnie cut in before Tyler could retaliate, "We just want to know where Caroline is."
Rebekah quirked an eyebrow at her and then glanced at Elijah expectantly. He smiled at his sister and then nodded his head, "I remember the night we woke up as vampires…" Elijah began thoughtfully.
The first thing Caroline noticed when she opened her eyes were the strange glittering objects floating in the air. At first she was awed by their beauty, and stared at them in wonder. Such fascinating things they were as they drifted on the wind. Caroline reached out to touch one reverently, amazed by the soft texture of it.
"What are you?" she mumbled aloud, though her words came out slurred and tired.
"She must feed!" Caroline heard Mikael say somewhere in the background.
"No!" Klaus cried out, trying to shove his father away from Rebekah.
"What?" Caroline mumbled as she turned her gaze towards the sound, the blurred images of Klaus, Mikael and Rebekah standing before the fire only a few feet away from her. Rebekah let out a gasp and backed away from the frightened girl in Mikael's grasp, blood running down her chin. Klaus was the next to feed, staring at Rebekah and Mikael in fear as the blood sang to him and he gave into his bloodlust.
"Now her," Mikael said, nodding towards Caroline. Klaus walked over and knelt next to her, gently lifting her up into his arms and leaning her against him as Mikael forced the girl in his grasp to offer Caroline her arm.
At first Caroline couldn't understand what was going on; the world was still blurred and loud. She could hear the cattle miles away grazing on the open field, the sound of crickets in the bushes, and the wind in the trees just outside the hut. The smell of blood was overwhelming as she leaned forward, her fangs dropping as she bit into the girl's wrist and thrilled in the taste of the blood that her body so desperately craved. After several moments Klaus gently pulled her away from the girl and held her close to him while he watched Mikael take the girl to his other sons and feed them her blood.
"Nik…" Caroline said weakly but he hushed her, soothingly stroking her hair back away from her face. She took in the scent of him deeply, pressing her face against his chest in relief. He was alive and well and he was holding her once again. She vaguely remembered when she saw him drop to the ground beside her.
Caroline struggled against the sluggishness she felt as she forced herself to sit up. "Wait…" Caroline mumbled as she tried to process everything that was going on. "Be careful…you could kill her if you take too much…" she told Mikael as she slowly got to her feet, Klaus just behind her with his hands on her hips just in case she fell. Mikael ignored her and proceeded on with his task, while Caroline took in the scene around her. Rebekah was watching her with hooded eyes with Kol admired the scenery, his expression awestruck as he ran his fingertips over the wooden table. "I can see the grain…" he said with surprise, "in such fine detail…"
"Believe me," Caroline said with a sigh, "That's only the beginning."
"How would you know?" Kol asked curiously, a frown on his lips.
"Never mind," Caroline said with a dismissive wave as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
"What are we?" Rebekah asked in a whisper, staring at her own hands in amazement.
"Were vampires," Caroline explained easily and then muttered under her breath, "again."
"What's a vampire?" Rebekah asked with a frown.
Did she just invent another word centuries early?
"It's…well it's what we are." Caroline explained with a shrug.
"Oh don't vague up for us or anything," Kol responded sarcastically.
"How do you know what we are?" Rebekah asked as she watched Caroline move about the room.
"Well…" Caroline said with a frown, "Well…that's a long story and I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to tell you…or if you'll even believe me."
"Try us," Kol said dryly, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched Caroline.
"I'm from the future…" Caroline said frankly with a sigh, "Only Aiyanna, Mikael, and Esther ever knew," she explained as she gazed around the room at the shocked faces of her family. "You know how I often times say and do things that are a bit odd….things that you don't understand and when you ask I explain it's just something from that strange land I'm from? Well that's because I'm from a thousand years into the future."
"Impossible," Rebekah scoffed.
"Witchcraft," Kol snorted rudely.
"Nonsense," Elijah added with a raised eyebrow.
Caroline sighed and looked at them all, catching sight of Klaus's dark look as he gazed at her. He was the only one in the room who believed her, she knew it. He was angry too, for keeping it from him.
"I know you all…in the future…" Caroline said quietly.
"You mean to tell me," Rebekah began as she got to her feet, her eyes narrowed in anger, "That you know the truth of our lives, knew this would happen to us….knew about Henrik, and you never said anything?"
"I couldn't," Caroline said sadly, "I couldn't say anything without blowing up the whole universe in some weird cosmic paradox."
"What?" Rebekah asked in confusion.
"Never mind…" Caroline said with a sigh, "Look…I couldn't tell you…"
"You just let him die," Rebekah snarled angrily.
"I couldn't stop it from happening!" Caroline snapped angrily, "I couldn't prevent his death! I tried…I tried even though I knew it would kill us all!"
"You speak in riddles and fancy words but all I hear coming out of your mouth is lies!" Rebekah shouted, moving in a flash to stand before her. She gasped, not expecting the sudden movement and looked at Caroline with wide eyes, "How did I get all the way over here?"
"You have supernatural speed now," Caroline explained calmly, "You will be stronger…faster…then the humans."
"Who are we," Klaus asked quietly, "to you in the future?"
"You're the original family….the from which all vampire bloodlines descended." Caroline explained quietly.
"So were like royalty?" Kol said with a smile.
"No," Caroline said irritably, "you're not."
"What are we then? What do you mean when you speak of the bloodlines?" Rebekah demanded with a frown.
"All vampires are descended from you," Caroline told her frankly, "including myself."
"You were human when we met," Klaus said quietly, watching her with dark eyes.
"I believe I can explain that," Esther cut in quietly as she entered the room.
"Please do mother," Kol said with raised eyebrows, "Enlighten us."
"The spell that I created to remake you is a spell on your blood," Esther explained easily, "If Caroline came from the future as a vampire, she became human again because the spell hadn't been created yet. The spell on her blood was lifted and she was changed back into a human."
"I see," Elijah cut in as he listened to his mother's explanation, "Mother what have you done to us?"
"I made you powerful," she explained firmly, "I wanted to protect you from the wolves."
"You had us all murdered!" Klaus said angrily, "You sent our Father to kill us all, I watched him murder my wife right before my eyes!" Klaus shouted as he pointed at Caroline.
"It was necessary," Esther said quietly, "the spell required the blood of the doppelganger…and your death."
"What doppelganger?" Caroline said with wide panicked eyes, "No…please no….you didn't…." Caroline said as she shook her head, meeting Esther's sad gaze.
"I remade you," Esther explained as she looked at her family, "I did it to protect you all."
"I can't bear this," Rebekah said sadly, "I need to go for a walk."
"No!" Caroline cried sharply as she caught Rebekah's arm just before she opened the door to the hut, "You can't go out there."
"Why?" Rebekah asked with a frown.
"The sun will burn you…" Caroline replied easily, "Esther used the power of the son…and the immortality of the white oak tree to remake us….the white oak tree can kill us and the sun will burn our skin."
"How did you know that?" Esther said with wide eyes, "and further more….the bloodlines….you spoke of bloodlines…you claimed you were a vampire…please tell they're won't be more of you?"
"You know there will be," Caroline said quietly without looking at her, "I told you as much just now when you explained to them about how I was human before."
"I broke the laws of nature to remake you all," Esther said firmly, "Promise me…" she demanded firmly as she looked at her family, "promise me you will not make any more vampires."
They all stood silently staring at Esther without saying a word, unable to meet her gaze. Finally Klaus spoke up in a quiet voice, "I promise."
"I promise," Caroline said with a nod.
"As do I," Kol replied.
"And I," Elijah said.
"Me too," Rebekah said with a nod.
"Me as well," Finn said as he emerged from his room.
"Good," Esther said with a nod and turned away from them, tears burning in her eyes.
"We'll need daylight rings if we intend to go outside." Caroline told them all quietly.
"You will tell us everything before we do anything you say," Elijah told her quietly, the anger burning in his eyes as he gazed at her.
Caroline let out a long sigh and turned to face them all, "Alright…you want to know? I'll tell you."
When Caroline finished her story they all stared at her with a mixture of awe and anger. Klaus held the darkest look as he stared at her, unable to meet her gaze from across the room.
"I'm sorry I lied to you all…but I hadn't any choice. I couldn't tell you." Caroline said sadly.
"You could have told us the truth," Klaus said coldly.
"I couldn't have," Caroline said as she shifted her gaze to him, "Nik…" Caroline said with a frown as he shoved past her and went into his room.
"Damnit…" Caroline breathed as she closed her eyes.
"He's right," Rebekah said with narrowed eyes, "You could have told us."
"Listen to me," Caroline began gently as she looked at the others, "Your all new at this but I've done this before…I know how to control it and I can teach you all how to control it."
"I shan't be listening to anything you say anymore," Rebekah snarled angrily, "Not until you can prove that you are trustworthy."
"Rebekah," Caroline said sadly.
"No!" Rebekah snapped, "You played us for fools Caroline!" she shouted as she stormed off into her own room.
"Let them go," Elijah said quietly as Caroline turned to go after them.
"I can't…Nik…" Caroline said, tears burning in her eyes.
"They will get over it…but for now," Elijah said quietly, "You need to help us."
Caroline nodded quietly, "In the future, you and Finn have the most control…I'll need you to help me teach them."
"I've got control," Kol said indignantly.
"You haven't even begun yet Kol," Caroline said dryly, "you wouldn't know how to control it."
"What is there to control?" Elijah asked with a frown.
"The bloodlust most of all, and our abilities." Caroline explained easily.
"The bloodlust?" Elijah said with wide eyes, "what bloodlust?"
"The one that will start to kick in as soon as we get around humans." Caroline told him firmly, "which means we need to keep everyone away from humans until we can come up with some way of securing blood for ourselves."
"This was never meant to be part of the spell," Esther said quietly from her room, "Aiyanna said there would be consequences..." she said as an afterthought with a frown on her lips.
"We can get some of the sheep I suppose," Mikael suggested as he came into the room, "Use their blood."
"We'll need it on a daily basis…it is the means to which we survive." Caroline explained.
"This is madness," Kol scoffed with a shake of his head, "I'm not drinking anyone's blood."
"Yes you are," Caroline told him pointedly, "you won't have any choice in the matter. You'll die without it…and your instincts will demand you drink it."
"I'll not do it," Kol said with narrowed eyes and then turned his gaze towards his mother's room, "Mother…you've turned us into monsters!"
"I quiet agree…" Finn said quietly, "The situation is deplorable, but we must survive."
"We don't have to hurt anyone," Caroline told them all calmly, "we can make this work."
Deep down Caroline knew this was a lie. She knew they wouldn't refrain from human blood for long but she could at least try and teach them a better way. Now she had to worry about Klaus, who wouldn't speak to her and Rebekah who probably hated her right now.
Caroline turned away from the others and went to Klaus's room where she found him sitting on his bed in the dark, the covers drawn over his window tightly. "Nik," she said gently but he didn't answer her and kept his gaze on the floor.
"I know I lied to you…" she said gently, "and I'm sorry….I just couldn't tell you."
"Long ago," he said quietly, "I promised you there would be no secrets between us and you agreed to the same….and now you tell me about this strange life you once led in the future….that's a terribly big secret don't you think?" he said coldly as his dark eyes met hers.
"I couldn't tell you," Caroline insisted firmly, "I couldn't tell anyone…"
"Lies," he snapped, making Caroline jump at the sharpness in his voice, "You are a liar."
"Nik," Caroline said as tears burned in her eyes and she shook her head, "Please listen to me."
"No!" he shouted at her as he got to his feet, "I won't hear anything come from your beautiful mouth anymore. No more of your poisonous lies woman, leave me!" he shouted, pointing towards the door to his room.
"Nik please," Caroline begged, reaching out for him as tears ran down her cheeks.
"Leave!" she shouted angrily, gritting his teeth.
Caroline blinked back her tears and stared at him for a few moments. She knew that being a vampire heightened his emotions and what he was feeling was being amplified. She reached down and took the daylight ring from her pile of clothes by the table and then left the room without another word to him.
"Esther," Caroline said quietly as she approached her room, "This is called a daylight ring…I don't know what spell Bonnie used when she made this for me…you'll have to figure that out yourself….but she used lapis lazuli to make it."
"We'll have to go to the city for that," Mikael said with a frown as he gazed at the ring in Caroline's hands.
"It will take weeks," Esther surmised with a nod as she took the ring from Caroline's hand, "You'll have to travel by night and hide somewhere by day…" she told Mikael as she turned her gaze to him.
Mikael nodded thoughtfully, "Yes….and what of blood?" he asked Caroline as he raised an eyebrow.
"Feed off the animals in the woods," she told him firmly, "the humans will be tempting but breathe deeply and just…stay calm."
"This is madness," Kol snorted derisively as he sat down at the table.
"You'll get used to it," Caroline told him with a sigh.
"Well if I'm going to go I'd better go now," Mikael said tiredly.
"Wait till nightfall," Caroline told him firmly, "Then head out…avoid humans as much as you can…or at least until you get to the city."
Mikael nodded and turned to start packing his things. Caroline watched him for a moment before going back out into the main room. "How are we to do our chores?" Kol asked suddenly with a frown on his face. Caroline turned to look and him and sighed, shaking her head, "We can't."
"But I don't want to stay in here all day," Rebekah whined, a frown on her face.
"You can't go outside Rebekah," Caroline told her firmly, "not without roasting in the sun that is."
"Then what are we supposed to do all day?" Rebekah said irritably.
There's the Rebekah she knew.
"I don't know," Caroline said in exasperation, "Go knit something."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rebekah said indignantly.
Caroline rolled her eyes and shook her head, choosing to ignore the suddenly very irritating and vibrant reminder of who Rebekah will be in the future. She knew Rebekah was still angry with her and that's why she was being so snide. Caroline wasn't entirely sure what to do with herself at the moment with everyone staring at her expectantly. She let out a long sigh and looked at them all, "Ok, look…I have an idea."
An hour later Caroline sat at the table watching with mild amusement as they all practiced the supernatural speed of their kind.
"Little less strength Kol," Caroline chided him gently as he all but slammed into the far wall rather than stop.
"I can't control it!" he said irritably, as if bothered by the fact he had to admit his failure at all.
"You'll get it eventually," Caroline reassured him as she turned her gaze towards Elijah and Rebekah, "Ok when I say compel…I don't mean staring contest," Caroline told them with a laugh, "You can't even compel each other….it only works on humans. I just want you to practice the ability without actually compelling anyone."
"We need a human to practice on," Rebekah said tiredly as she turned to look at Caroline.
"Not until I know I can trust you around them," Caroline told her pointedly, "nobody can ever know what we are…ever. If they ever found out, they would rise up against us to destroy us."
"Well you're the expert," Rebekah said snidely as she listened to Caroline, "teach us control."
"Wait," Tyler said as he held up a hand, "are you telling me that Caroline taught you all control?"
"Yes," Rebekah said plainly, "Her life is weaved into the fabric of ours so much that her very existence is the reason we exist."
"So Esther sent her back because she knew she had too?" Bonnie surmised.
"Exactly," Rebekah said with a nod, "however there's more to it than just that."
"Ok, are we ever going to get to the part where you tell us where Caroline is?" Tyler interrupted irritably.
Elijah frowned at him before reaching into his coat pocket and retrieving his cell phone. He nodded towards Rebekah to continue the story and walked out of the room, talking quietly into the phone. Rebekah watched him go before turning her gaze back to Tyler and Bonnie. "You really want to know what happened to her?" Rebekah said snidely, a wicked gleam in her eyes, "she died."
"What?" Tyler and Bonnie both said simultaneously, a horrified expression on both their faces.
"Burned alive in a fire five hundred years ago," Rebekah said with a casual shrug.
"You're lying," Tyler growled dangerously, clenching his fists.
"Am I?" Rebekah said with a smirk.
"Rebekah," Elijah said chidingly as he reentered the room, "don't be rude."
"I owe them nothing brother," she told him frankly, "I don't see why we have to tell them a thing about Caroline. It's none of their business, they're not family."
"We owe them an explanation Rebekah," he told her firmly, "they deserve to know the truth."
"What other truth could there be?" Rebekah said in exasperation, "she burned alive in a fire five hundred years ago."
"Enough Rebekah," Elijah snapped, glaring at his sister, "let me finish my tale."
"Fine," Rebekah said with a glare and fell silent, waiting for her brother to continue his story.
A week had passed and the others were slowly learning to control their abilities. Caroline found that she could be a good teacher when she put her mind to it. It was almost surreal, teaching the originals who were once much older than her and now the same age as her, to learn how to control themselves and their abilities.
Tonight would be the night that she would take them outside into the village and test them. She was nervous, as the family all ventured outside, including Klaus who despite his anger towards Caroline and his amazing ability to sulk for hours on end, resigned to hear Caroline out and learn from her.
"Kol," Caroline said quietly when she caught him staring at one of the women from the village.
"I can't help it," he murmured quietly, "I can hear her heartbeat."
"It doesn't mean you turn her into a snack," Caroline murmured back quietly.
"We've been feeding on animals all week," Rebekah whined irritably, "You've been out catching them for us but now we want to try."
"We will," Caroline reassured them, keeping track of the villagers around them. She knew they were suspicious, considering none of the family ever go outside until nightfall and they don't go very far from the hut either. Caroline was scared to let them out of her sight, she didn't trust them just yet not to hurt someone.
"Ok," Caroline told them as they entered the woods and went deep enough into the forest so they were out of sight of the village, "Do what I taught you, use your hearing…your sense of smell…follow it…use it…and feed from animals, not humans."
"I can smell the deer now," Rebekah breathed hungrily and rushed off into the thicket, Caroline watching her go with wide eyes, "Wait a minute!" she called to Rebekah only to have both Kol and Klaus dart off in different directions as well. "Now hang on a second!"
"I'm afraid they have the least control of us all," Elijah mused from beside her while Finn stepped up to her other side.
"Shall we go and find them then?" Finn asked her expectantly.
"No," Caroline sighed, "Just keep track of them…don't let them near the humans…I need to hunt too…you two go and find something…I'm going that way," Caroline said, pointing in the direction to which Klaus had run.
"I wish Father were back with the lapis lazuli already," Elijah said with a frown.
"Me too," Caroline said with a nod, "the sooner we can stabilize their lives, the easier the transition will be."
"Be careful," Elijah said with a nod as he and Finn ran off into the woods. Caroline watched them go before darting off after Klaus.
It felt good to have her vampire strength back, the feeling of the night breeze in her hair and the rush of cold against her skin. The best part is that the cold didn't bother her but she could feel it and it felt amazing. She ran a mile or two in the woods before she caught up to Klaus, who had ensnared a deer into his grasp and was feeding from it vicariously.
"Easy," Caroline said gently as she watched him, "you don't want to kill it."
"I will do as I please," he snarled with blood running down his chin as he looked up at her.
"You will do as I say," Caroline snapped with narrowed eyes, "and I'm telling you to be gentle."
He glared at her angrily before curling his fingers around the deer's neck and smiling at her wickedly. The moonlight giving his face a sinister look to it, "you don't get to tell me what to do."
"Nik," Caroline said with a frown, "don't."
"I will do as I please," he snarled at her angrily, his eyes turning black with rage.
"Nik please…" Caroline said with a frown and closed her eyes at the sickening crack she heard when he snapped the deer's neck.
"I warned you not to bother me," He said darkly as he got to his feet.
"You know," Caroline said with a sad frown, tears burning in her eyes, "this is why I couldn't stand you back in the future." She turned and stormed off in the other direction, tears running down her cheeks. She ignored the hurt and angry look on his face even as he followed right behind her, grasping for her arm. She easily evaded his grasp, throwing a glare at him over her shoulder as she kept walking. "Leave me alone," she snapped irritably, "you want me to leave you alone Nik? I'll leave you alone!"
"Caroline!" he growled at her as he watched her go, "you come back here right now!"
"Piss off," she snarled and kept walking.
"I'm ordering you to come back here right now!" he shouted at her.
"I don't have to do anything you say!" she shouted back, clenching her fists as she whirled around to face him.
"Yes you do!" he shouted back, glaring at her, "You're my wife, you have to do as I say!"
"Oh I'm your wife now am I?" Caroline said with a bitter laugh, "Wow…you are a piece of work Nik."
"Stop it!" he shouted at her, his jaw set, "Just stop fighting with me!"
"How?" Caroline said with tears burning in her eyes, "You've barely spoken to me in a week Nik, and when you do speak to me it's just formalities….you've treated me as nothing but a burden to you. What ever happened to you forgiving me no matter what…It would always be that way with us….Nik I know I kept something from you but I couldn't tell you!"
"You lied to me Caroline!" he shouted back, "I trusted you!"
"I'm sorry!" she shouted back, tears running down her face, "I'm sorry Nik…I've told you a hundred times I'm sorry…I couldn't tell you…I couldn't change anything…it's all my fault…" she whispered sadly as she turned away from him, wiping the tears from her face.
He was beside her in a flash, gripping her shoulders so tightly she winced, "I don't trust easily, you know that. You are the one person I trusted everything of myself too and yet you couldn't do the same! It breaks my heart to think that you kept such things from me…that you did not trust me enough to tell me."
"I…" Caroline said sadly and then pulled away from his grasp, tears blurring her vision as she walked off in the other direction to get away from him, "I couldn't risk changing anything…the whole balance of everything was resting on the fact that I didn't get involved."
"Oh, so marrying me was considered sitting on the side lines?" he snarled angrily as he followed her, "fucking me, you would have bared me children one day, wouldn't that have been considered a bit of a change?"
Where did he learn that word?
"Get away from me," she said quietly, unable to face him, "I know I screwed up and I'm sorry."
He glared at her darkly for a few moments and Caroline thought at first he was just going to let her leave. Then without warning he had her pressed up against a tree in seconds, his grip painfully tight on her hips as he lifted her legs up to wrap around his waist. His lips were pressed roughly against hers, his tongue pushing against her lips and forcing her to open her mouth. "Nik," she gasped against his lips as she winced in pain. His grip would leave bruises she knew, and she realized that he'd never had sex as a vampire. He had no idea how strong he actually was or how much he was actually hurting her.
He growled into her mouth and kissed her again to silence her, rousing Caroline's anger in return. She snarled back and kissed him harder, determined to hurt him as much as he was hurting her. She dug her nails into his shoulders and dragged them across his skin until she saw thin streaks of blood staining his shirt. His hands were tearing at the fabric of her undergarments until he reached her most sensitive places, sending fire racing through her blood as he prepared her.
He feathered kisses down her shoulder, his fangs scrapping against her skin. He pressed her harder into the tree while he used one hand to undo his breeches, the sudden heat of him making her gasp. He bit down on her shoulder without warning as he took her, their lovemaking rough and passionate in the moonlight.
Angry sex.
She was fairly certain she'd never had angry sex as a vampire before. She was also fairly certain that they should fight more often if this was the outcome of it.
When they'd finished he leaned his head against her chest and they both panted heavily for several minutes before he allowed her to slowly slide down to the ground. Once they both straightened their clothes, they stood their quietly for a few moments before Caroline spoke, "We need to go find the others."
He nodded quietly without looking at her, though he offered her his arm. She weaved her arm through his with a faint smile and allowed him to walk her back to the village. When they reached the village it was quite and without disturbance, which was a relief to Caroline. She had worried that her family would have wandered to close to the humans and become distracted by the call of their blood.
"There you two are," Rebekah called from the hut as they approached.
"Where is everyone?" Caroline asked worriedly as she glanced around.
"Everyone's back except Kol," Rebekah told her quietly.
"What happened?" Caroline asked tiredly.
"He's just being Kol," Rebekah said with a shrug, "he's still adjusting."
"I'll go get him," Caroline said with a nod but Klaus caught her arm and stopped her, "I'll do it," he told her quietly and released her arm, walking off into the darkness.
"He hates me," Caroline said quietly, a frown on her lips.
"No, he's just angry…give him time," Rebekah reassured her.
"I thought you hated me too," Caroline added.
"I didn't hate you; I just didn't particularly like you at the moment. You deceived us all…but in the long run I suppose I understand why you did it." Rebekah told her quietly.
"I just wish Nik would understand that," Caroline said sadly as she watched his retreating back.
"Caroline," Rebekah said nervously from behind her.
"What?" Caroline asked as she turned to look at her. Rebekah stared at her for a moment before speaking, a frown curving her lips, "I didn't mean to kill it…"
Caroline sighed softly, "Rebekah…we can't help what is in our nature to do…but we can control it. So you killed the deer…Nik killed a deer tonight too."
"He did?" Rebekah said hopefully, relief in her eyes at the fact that she wasn't the only one with control issues.
"Yeah," Caroline said quietly, "he did."
Though it wasn't because he was feeding on it and couldn't stop however.
Caroline knew it was only a matter of time before they began to resemble the people she knew from the future. Kol was already exhibiting those traits, as well as Rebekah and Klaus.
Klaus.
He killed that deer tonight to spite her, to hurt her as she had hurt him. She feared the day when he discovered his werewolf half, and with that thought she knew what she had to do. She would have to tell him the truth, so that when that day came he would know about it already. She wasn't going to keep secrets from him anymore even if it meant that some of those secrets were hard to handle.
Later that night when everyone had returned Caroline sat by the fire and stared idly into the flames. She didn't want to go into Klaus's room because she feared he'd just throw her back out again. It made her heart ache to stay away from him, but it is what he wanted. Their brief moment of intimacy out in the forest seemed to be a fluke, and now they were at a stalemate. She knew the only way to get him to trust her again was to tell him the truth, even though she feared she might just make it worse.
Caroline let out a long sigh and got to her feet, brushing the dirt off her gown before going into Klaus's room.
"Nik," she said gently as she watched him lay in the dark on his bed. His eyes were closed and she wondered if he were sleeping until they opened and his blue eyes peered at her in the darkness.
"What?" he asked quietly.
"I'll tell you everything," she said softly, "everything you want to know…but not here."
He sat up on the bed and stared at her with a frown on his lips, "Why not here?"
"I can't tell you that," Caroline said with wide eyes as she motioned with her hands towards the direction of his family out in the main room.
He nodded and got to his feet, pulling his boots on, "the sun will be up soon," he said as he stood up from his bed and followed her out of his room and towards the door to the hut.
"We won't go far," Caroline reassured him as they stepped outside.
She motioned him to follow her and darted into the woods, using her supernatural speed to take her deep into the forest. He followed closely behind her and once they were far enough away from the hut she stopped and turned to look at him.
"So tell me why you brought me all the way out here," Klaus said quietly, his jaw set.
"You want to know the truth Nik? I'll tell you everything but you're not going to like it." Caroline told him pointedly.
"Why?" he asked with a frown.
"It's about your mother….and you." Caroline said with a sigh.
"What about Mother?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"Nik…look…you have to promise me you won't say anything to anyone…" Caroline told him firmly.
"Why?" he asked again.
"Nik," Caroline said with a sigh.
"Fine, I promise," he replied with a nod.
"Your Mother…." Caroline began quietly as she looked up to meet his gaze, "you're mother had an affair with one of the werewolf villagers in the other village…" she told him, watching his face twist into shock and suspicion, "Now…listen to me….before you get angry…you asked for me to be truthful with you and I am…I know all of this because I'm from the future."
"You're lying," he growled, clenching his fists.
"No," Caroline said sadly with a shake of her head, "I'm really not."
"Mother would never…how dare you slander my mother's good name!" he snapped angrily as he glared at her.
"I'm not Nik!" Caroline growled back, "You wanted the truth and I'm telling you it. You want me to be honest with you and I am. You're a werewolf Nik."
"I'm a vampire," he told her firmly.
"And a werewolf," she added gently, "you're a hybrid."
"Is….is that possible?" he asked with confusion.
"Yes…but…." Caroline said with a frown, "your werewolf side doesn't surface until you make your first kill."
"What does that mean?" he asked with a frown, his expression both confused and angry.
"It means," Caroline began gently, "it means that if you kill someone…you become a werewolf."
Klaus stared at her hard for a few moments and then promptly turned around and savagely kicked a tree so hard the wood creaked and the tree began to splinter down the center.
"Nik!" Caroline hissed as she turned to look for anyone nearby who could have seen him, "you can't just do that out in public!"
"I don't care!" he snarled angrily as he savagely kicked the tree again, "my mother has betrayed us! She slept with another man out of wedlock. Do you know what that makes me Caroline? It makes a bastard…an illegitimate child. I have no rights…I have no money…I will have nothing if Father ever finds out. I suppose I can't even call him father now can I? He never treated me as a son anyways…he never cared about me. He hates me!" he spat viciously as he tore a tree branch right off the tree and threw it down to the ground angrily.
"You're not a bastard Nik," Caroline said gently as she watched the anger and pain burn in his eyes.
"You've married a worthless man my love," he told her plainly, "I can never give you anything because I have nothing."
"You're not worthless!" Caroline shouted angrily, "Not to me!"
He fell silent at her words and stared bitterly at the tree, "We'll run away…you and I…we'll leave this place behind. Father need never know of mother's clandestine relationship."
"He'll never know as long as you don't say anything," Caroline told him firmly, "or kill anyone."
"What else is there?" he asked her quietly, "what other secrets do you have for me?"
"I dated two other boys besides Damon…two other suitors," she told him plainly, "Tyler and Matt...I slept with them too. I loved Tyler once…" she said quietly, "he was the boy I told you of long ago…the one I cared about."
"You've lain with more than one man?" he asked her with a quirked eyebrow, "What sort of world do you come from exactly?"
"Sex isn't reserved for just marriage anymore…it's for pleasure too." Caroline explained gently.
"These two men…gave you pleasure?" he asked with a frown.
"No…" Caroline giggled nervously, "Well…I mean Tyler…but I cared about Tyler…and Matt…I supposed I loved him too but he was just…really sweet and gentle…"
"Damon?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I slept with him once willingly…the rest of it was under compulsion." Caroline told him firmly.
"He forced you?" Klaus snarled dangerously.
"Yes," Caroline said as she shifted her gaze to the ground.
"What else?" he asked with a dark expression, "what other secrets?"
"I have a Mom…named Liz…she's a sheriff...my Dad is dead…he became a vampire and refused to go through the transition…I have a best friend named Elena…who is the doppelganger's descendant….Tatia's descendant."
"Tatia bore a child?" he asked with shock as he stared at her.
"Yes," Caroline said quietly.
"What else?" he demanded.
"Bonnie…she's my best friend…she's Aiyanna's descendant." Caroline said with a smile.
"She is a witch too?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yes," Caroline said with a nod.
"How did you get here?" he asked suddenly as he turned to look at her.
"I don't know…I just know your mother pointed her finger at me and told me I'm not supposed to be there and then suddenly I was here," Caroline said with a sigh, "she was trying too…" Caroline frowned but continued at Klaus's hard look, "kill you all…she said that creating you broke the laws of nature and she was trying to undo what she had created."
"She turns on us does she?" Klaus said calmly, almost too calmly.
"I think…that might be my fault," Caroline said with a frown, " she did kind of flip out when I told her about me being a vampire back in the future before I came back here before the curse started and I was turned into a human again."
"Did you love me in the future?" he asked her curiously as he met her gaze, "were we lovers?"
"No," Caroline laughed, "You wanted to be…but I loved Tyler at the time…and I just didn't try to get to know you. I wish I had now…." Caroline smiled reassuringly at him.
"When you said I'd see the world one day…you actually knew I would, didn't you?" he asked her with realization in his eyes. Caroline smiled and nodded, "you really will Nik."
"As long as you're with me," he told her quietly.
"Always," she reassured him gently as she reached out and took his hand.
"The sun is coming up," he told her as his gaze turned towards the horizon.
"Run," Caroline told him firmly.
He tightened his grip on her hand and the two of them ran back towards the hut together, taking shelter there from the sunrise.
Klaus drummed his fingers idly on the finely polished mahogany table as he waited for Stefan and Damon to return home. He held a crystal glass in his other hand filled with bourbon, his gazed fixed on the fire in the hearth.
"Finally," he said dryly as Damon walked in through the door, "I thought I was going to have to go and find you."
"Klaus," Damon said with a raised eyebrow, "I'd say this was a pleasant surprise but it's really not."
"Where is she?" he demanded calmly, his gaze still on the fireplace.
"So you've heard I take it," Damon said with a sigh, "Tyler stole her from us Klaus."
"You were charged with keeping her safe," he replied calmly as he down the last of his bourbon and set the cup down on the table beside him. He stood up and turned to face Damon, "I asked you and your brother to do one simple task and you couldn't even do that?"
"We were at Caroline's memorial service," Damon snapped irritably, "how were we to know the little traitor would skip out on his girlfriend's funeral to steal your sister?"
"Ah yes, her funeral," Klaus said with a nod, "Sheriff Forbes finally gave up searching for her daughter after a year? Such a pity…Caroline deserved more than that. She wasn't even really looking was she?" Klaus remarked coldly.
"She knows that Caroline's disappearance is a supernatural thing. She gave us a year to find Caroline and now she's accepting that she probably won't ever see her daughter again and is giving her daughter a proper funeral." Damon told him firmly.
"Find my sister," Klaus said abruptly, cutting Damon off, "Or I'll kill you both."
"Elijah has her," Stefan said as he walked in with Elena and looked at Klaus, "Tyler made a deal with him that if he gives him Rebekah….then Elijah would tell him where Caroline is."
"We'll that'll be a thrilling tale I'm sure," Klaus said snidely as he looked at them all, "If you'll excuse me, I need to go find my brother."
"Please….go," Damon said sarcastically as he motioned towards the door.
"You should mind what you say to me," Klaus told Damon darkly, "you might get away with talking like that to my brother but I assure you I won't tolerate it."
"Bye," Damon said with a sarcastic wave.
Klaus glared at him for a moment before turning to leave, a satisfied smirk curving his lips as he did. Damon may not remember the torture he suffered at Klaus's hands, but Klaus most certainly did.
"Nik," Rebekah whined allowed as Klaus entered the room. He looked at Damon who was dangling from manacles that Rebekah had attached to the ceiling. "He's boring now," Rebekah said dryly, "I'm off to find something else to do."
"Alright then love, have fun," Klaus smiled at her and watched her go before turning to look at Damon again with a dark glint in his eye. "You know," Klaus began casually as he circled Damon, "I happen to be an expert at torture."
"Good for you," Damon slurred tiredly.
"You have something of mine," Klaus told him firmly, "you've stolen it from me and it is only fit that you suffer the consequences of your actions."
"What are you talking about?" Damon said in confusion, his face twisted in pain, "I never stole anything from you!"
"Oh but you have," Klaus insisted as he stepped in front of Damon and met his gaze, "you've stolen my flower….it was mine and you took it. You had no right to take what did not belong to you. It belonged to me."
"I seriously….don't know what you're talking about," Damon said frankly as he stared at Klaus.
"That's alright mate," Klaus smiled cheerfully, "I do…and that's more than enough."
"I didn't steal anything from you!" Damon insisted.
"She belonged to me," Klaus snarled dangerously, "you aren't worthy of her, you are nothing! You are a mere half breed…she was magnificent…worthy of so much more then you and you dared to touch her anyways."
"This is about Caroline isn't it?" Damon chuckled as blood dribbled down his chin, "you have got to be kidding me." He let out a howl of pain as Klaus tightened the manacles, a sadistic grin on his lips as Damon's face twisted in pain.
"I will make you rue the day you ever thought to force her into your bed…and use her body and her blood for your own purposes. She is not a toy to be tossed aside when you're bored with her…she is so much more then that!" Klaus said with a satisfied grin as blood ran down Damon's arms.
"You're crazy!" Damon spat angrily, "She hates you! She thinks you're disgusting!"
"She might think it now…but she hasn't met me yet…at least not properly…but she'll love me one day…she will!" Klaus insisted with a dark gleam in his eyes.
"You're delusional if you think she could ever love someone like you," Damon spat hatefully.
Klaus only smiled up at him and tightened the chains, Damon's screams filling the room. Tonight he would make Damon pay for his mistakes. Tonight Damon Salvatore would know once and for all that Caroline Forbes belonged to him.
Klaus returned to his home, pleased to be able to live in it once again. Now that his things had been moved back into it he didn't have to stay at the Lockwood house anymore. The question was now, where was his brother? He was certain that Elijah was still in town and by now he would have undaggered Rebekah. His sister would no doubt be out for vengeance after what he did to her, and so he had to be ready for them both. He rummaged through his desk in his upstairs study and found two daggers. He would have to dagger them both before they could tell the whole story; he didn't want Bonnie and Tyler to find Caroline.
He wouldn't let them.
Weeks had passed and Mikael had returned with the stones that they needed to make daylight rings with. Esther was nearly finished with the spell and Caroline was excited about the fact that she would be able to walk in the sun again soon. Technically she could right now but Esther needed her ring to make the others, so she had to stay inside with everyone else. Life had returned to normal somewhat, the family had slowly begun to forgive her for lying to them all. Rebekah was being civil once again, and Klaus was actually letting her sleep in his bed again. Elijah and Finn had been the only two of the family who hadn't hated her for lying, but merely wanted to understand why she did it instead. Kol was being difficult as usual, he had come to love his new abilities and relished in them. Caroline worried that Kol would get carried away with it, and constantly reminded him that he had to be careful.
"All done," Esther said cheerfully as she came into the room with several rings in her hands. "Try them out," she urged her family as they all took their rings and put them on.
"Are you sure about this Mother?" Rebekah asked nervously as she tentatively stepped towards the door where a ray of sunlight was shining through the cracks between the wood and the leather flap of the door.
"I am," Esther reassured her, "go on Rebekah…try it."
Rebekah tentatively held her hand out into the light and let out a delighted giggle when her hand didn't burn in the sunlight. It took all of a couple of seconds for everyone to be right next to her, marveling in the feel of the sun on their skin.
"I'm going to go get water!" Rebekah said brightly as she burst out of the hut and went outside.
"I'm going with her!" Caroline added and ran after Rebekah.
"I suppose we can go and do our chores then," Kol said with a shrug as he glanced towards Elijah and Finn.
"We don't exactly need any of it do we though," Klaus commented thoughtfully, "I suppose we should still keep up appearances."
"Exactly dear brother," Kol said with a nod.
"Then by all means," Elijah said with a smile, "let's go."
It had been a productive day with the family out doing chores and finally being able to walk in the sun again. The villagers were different towards them though. They were suspicious of their actions and everybody knew of Tatia, who had mysteriously gone missing. Caroline tried not to think of poor Tatia, knowing what had become of her.
"You're awfully quite," Rebekah said as they filled their buckets.
"It's just nice to be outside in the sun again is all," Caroline said with a shrug.
"What do you think happened to Tatia?" Rebekah asked with a frown as they walked back towards the village.
"Your Mother killed her," Caroline told her frankly as they walked.
Rebekah stared at her aghast with shock, "what?"
"Your Mother said she used the blood of the doppelganger to remake us," Caroline said with raised eyebrows as she looked at Rebekah, "Tatia is the doppelganger."
"Oh," Rebekah said with a frown, "I never liked her much…but I never wanted her killed."
"None of us did," Caroline told her firmly.
When they returned to the village Klaus was waiting for them with Haldis. Caroline looked at him curiously and he only smiled at her and put his finger to his lips. She set the water buckets down and walked over to him, her gaze shifting between Klaus and Haldis.
"What are you up to now?" Caroline asked curiously.
"I wanted to take you somewhere," he said quietly as he looked at her, "I've been an ass lately."
"You have," Caroline said with a nod, "but not without good reason."
"I've still treated you deplorably," he insisted he helped Caroline up onto Haldis and then climbed on behind her, "let me make it up to you."
"You don't have to apologize to me Nik," Caroline told him as they rode off out of the village, "I deserved it."
"I told you once," he said as they rode down the old dirt path, "that I would always forgive you…and I have…I've just been treating you terribly and when you forgive someone you don't treat them as I have you…clearly I haven't let go of the topic…but I am now…and I want to make it up to you."
"You don't have too," Caroline said quietly as they turned up a hill towards her favorite tree overlooking the village.
"I want too though," he insisted as they came to a halt and he climbed off. He helped her off of Haldis and she went to sit under her favorite tree while he tied Haldis's reins to a nearby tree.
"Why are we up here anyways?" Caroline asked him curiously.
"We have your dowry," he explained as he sat down next to her, "you and I don't have to stay here anymore…we can do anything we want now."
"Nik," Caroline said, sensing where he was going with this, "we can't just leave your brother's and sister behind."
"You said I would travel the world…and I will…with you." He said firmly as he looked at her.
"It doesn't work like that," Caroline said gently, "your brothers and sister will go with you."
"When?" he asked tiredly as he looked at her.
"Soon," Caroline told him quietly, knowing that the peace they had now in the village could never last. Soon enough Klaus would make his first kill and become a hybrid. He'd kill half the village and his own mother.
"Nik," Caroline said gently as she lay her head against his shoulder, "let's just enjoy this moment," she said quietly, "let's just be here and now…and remember this day."
"Alright," he said quietly with a nod as he kissed her forehead.
"Is that the white oak tree?" Caroline asked with a frown as she stared down at the village. Why had she never noticed that tree until after she became an original?
"Yes," he said with a nod, "why?"
"Why?" Caroline asked with wide eyes, "Why haven't we burnt it down yet?"
"Why would we burn it down?" he asked with a frown.
Really?
"Nik," Caroline said gently as she looked at him, knowing that she was the cause of yet another event in their past now, "we have to burn that tree down. It is the only thing that can kill us all."
He stared at it thoughtfully and then nodded his head, "alright."
"That's it?" Caroline said incredulously, "no deep thoughts or monologue…just…alright?"
"Yes," he grinned at her as he kissed her gently on the lips, "just alright. You asked for a simple day to relax and enjoy…and that's what we're doing."
"Oh…Ok…" Caroline said with a nod as she turned her gaze back towards the tree.
That night the tree burned, and as the family stood around to watch Caroline couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. She knew that it wouldn't be long now till Mikael knew the truth and Esther would be forced to disown her son. Klaus could pretend all he wanted that what she'd told him didn't bother him but she knew it did. Even after everything they've talked about so far she knew deep down it still bothered him.
"Where's Rebekah?" Caroline asked with a frown as she gazed around the village.
"She's probably gone back to the hut," Kol said with a shrug as he watched the tree burn.
Caroline frowned up at him and gasped at the sound behind her, her vampire hearing picking up the sound of a man's cries nearby. She darted towards the sound, arriving just in time to see him fall to the ground as Rebekah let out a gasp of satisfaction, blood running down her chin.
"Damnit!" Caroline hissed as she grabbed Rebekah by the arm, "I warned you!"
"I couldn't help it," Rebekah said with wide eyes as she shook her head, "I was so hungry!"
"You need to feed," Caroline told her firmly, "that's why you lost control…why aren't you hunting?" she demanded angrily.
"I don't want to hunt deer," Rebekah said with a frown, "they taste awful."
"I know," Caroline said with a sigh, "It takes horrible but you'll get used to it."
"What about him?" Rebekah said with a frown as she gazed down at the body at her feet. Caroline checked the pulse and let out a long sigh of relief, "he's still alive, let's give him some blood and get him somewhere safe…we'll compel him to think he was drunk and fell asleep against a tree or something," Caroline told her firmly as she lifted the man up and leaned him against a tree. She bit into her own wrist and held it against his lips, letting her blood flow down his throat. When she was satisfied that he'd had enough and that he was healed, she shook him awake.
"You remember nothing of Rebekah and I, you fell asleep against the tree because you got drunk."
"Alright," the man mumbled and fell asleep against the tree.
Caroline stood up and dusted off her dress before glaring at Rebekah and taking her by the hand, pulling her towards the hut. "You need to be more careful," Caroline told her firmly.
"I'm sorry," Rebekah said quietly as they entered the hut.
"Stay here, I need to go and check on your brothers," Caroline told her and left the hut.
The tree was nothing but ashes by sunrise, and the villagers put out the remaining flames with buckets of water they'd brought up from the creek. Once the family was satisfied that the tree was gone they went on with their daily lives, spending their time keeping up appearances and feeding off deer at night. One day however, Caroline had been walking to the creek and caught Kol in a particularly irritating situation.
"Kol!" Caroline hissed angrily as he held a woman up against at tree. It was clear to Caroline that he'd compelled her.
"What?" he asked with a chuckle as he turned to look at her.
"Compulsion is not to be used as a means of entertainment, only for survival purposes." She told him firmly as she compelled the girl to forget that she saw them both and everything that Kol had done and leave. Kol watched her go with a frown on his face and glared at Caroline. "I was bored," he told her pointedly as he walked with her to the creek, "I was surviving my boredom."
"You had no right to do that Kol," Caroline snarled at him, "don't take away her choices like that."
"I didn't do anything," he said indignantly, "I was just practicing my compulsion skills…I wasn't going to actually make her do anything."
"I don't care," Caroline snapped, "You don't compel anyone unless it's for survival purposes only."
"You're never any fun anymore," Kol said with a frown as they walked.
"I can't be fun anymore Kol," Caroline said tiredly, "I'm too busy trying to keep all of you out of trouble."
"We can handle this you know," he told her pointedly, "you don't have to protect us."
"I do," Caroline insisted, "I want you all safe."
"You sound like Niklaus," he chuckled lightly.
"I'm beginning to see why he is the way he is," Caroline said dryly.
"You really need to relax, you know?" Kol told her frankly, "Enjoy what you are a little bit."
"I've done this before Kol, I know what I'm doing," Caroline told him firmly.
"Still," he said as Caroline filled her water buckets and turned to walk back up to the village, "you need to relax."
"I suppose your right," Caroline said with a nod.
"You'd better get back up to the village," Kol said with a nod towards the village.
"Yep," Caroline smiled at him, "be careful ok?"
"I will," Kol said with a smile and a nod.
Caroline smiled at him and turned to head back to the village, hoping that he would.
That night as Caroline lay in bed next to Klaus, her bare skin against his as her head lay against his chest, she wondered how much longer she would get to have this peaceful life with him. She decided not to worry about it, as he lifted her chin up and pressed his lips against hers. Tonight she would simply be with him, and not worry about anything else.
"They burned down the white oak tree because Caroline told them too," Tyler said tiredly, "why did she do that?"
"Why wouldn't she?" Bonnie said with a frown, "that tree could kill her too."
"This is so messed up," Tyler said with a frown, "Caroline would never do this to me…to us…."
"Yes she would," Bonnie said with a nod, "if she thought she was never coming back…if she was trying to start a new life there she would."
"She's right you know," Rebekah commented lightly, "Caroline was trying to start a new life with my brother Nik, and I know you think he stole her away from you…but she did try…too remember you that is. She thought she lost you Tyler…and she had to move on."
"This is bullshit," Tyler snarled darkly.
"Mind you language," Elijah chided sharply, "there are ladies present."
"So what happens next?" Tyler asked curiously.
"Well," Rebekah began thoughtfully, "More of the same I suppose…"
"More of the same?" Tyler asked incredulously.
"Yes," Rebekah said with a smile, "I don't see why your bothering…I've told you all that you need to know."
"I don't believe you," Tyler said firmly.
"I don't care," Rebekah said with a cold look, "It's none of your damn business."
"Kol was protecting her wasn't he?" Bonnie asked suddenly, "when Damon and Stefan were trying to find out who made Rose?"
"Yes," Elijah said with a nod, "he was…however Caroline never made another vampire."
"Then why did they he kill Mary Porter?" Bonnie asked in confusion.
"Mary Porter was quite mad you see," Elijah said calmly, "she couldn't be trusted not to tell Stefan and Damon about Caroline."
"Will someone please just tell me if Caroline is alive or not?" Tyler said tiredly.
"I've told you already," Rebekah said irritably, "She's dead!"
"Not exactly Rebekah," said a voice from behind Bonnie and Tyler. They turned to look shocked to see Caroline standing in the doorway looking at them all expectantly.
"Hello Tyler," Caroline said with a soft smile.
"Caroline," he breathed, relief in his eyes, "you're alright!"
"I'm alright…yeah," Caroline said with a smile as she looked at him.
"How is this possible?" Rebekah demanded angrily, tears burning in her eyes as she looked at Caroline, "You died…Mikael killed you and your body burned in the castle…how can you possibly be here?"
"Rebekah," Caroline began gently as she approached the other woman, "just calm down and let me explain."
"You were talking to her on the phone just a moment ago," Bonnie stated as she looked at Elijah expectantly.
"Yes, I felt it was time that she come down here and reveal herself. She could explain better then I the events of the past I suppose." Elijah said with a nod.
"Does Nik know?" Rebekah demanded angrily as she stared at Caroline.
"No," Caroline said with a shake of her head, a sad look in her eyes, "and he can't know until our plan is complete."
"What plan?" Rebekah asked with a frown.
"The plan to finally take down Esther once and for all," Caroline told her firmly.
"That's it," Bonnie said with wide eyes, "The spell Esther was doing…" she began thoughtfully, "if she tried to use that spell without Caroline present…the spell would backfire and the magical backlash would nearly kill her."
"Making her weak enough to be destroyed once and for all…which is why I need you Bonnie," Caroline said with a nod of her head.
"So right now she thinks you're dead because you faked your death…" Bonnie said as she tried to understand what was going on, "You had to be there when she created the originals and become an original yourself…in order for her to complete the spell now because you had to go back and become and original and die in the past or so she believed…in order for her to do the spell now?"
"Yep," Caroline said with a nod and laughed, "something like that."
"That's not confusing at all," Tyler said sarcastically.
"It's simple," Caroline said with a shrug, "If Esther thinks I'm dead then she'll try to complete the spell and it will blow up in her face. We kill her…I come out of hiding, it's easy."
"You let us believe for five hundred years that you were dead!" Rebekah shouted at her angrily.
"Yep," Caroline said sadly, "although I must admit I didn't do it on purpose. At first I went looking for you all but I couldn't find you anywhere. I spent centuries searching for you but Nik must have daggered you all and went into hiding himself."
"It was just Nik and I for a while," Rebekah said with a nod of her head.
"I found you back in the nineteen twenties," Caroline said with a nod, "but by then I realized what Esther was up too, and I couldn't come out and say anything even though I wanted too. I just had to watch you from afar and hope for the best."
"It destroyed Nik to lose you," Rebekah told her firmly, "it broke his heart."
"I know," Caroline said sadly, "It broke mine too."
"Why did you do it?" Rebekah said sadly, "you could have done this another way."
"I couldn't have," Caroline said with a shake of her head, "Esther would have known."
"She's right sister," Elijah said gently.
"So what's the plan now?" Rebekah asked her firmly.
"How about you three tell us what's going on yeah?" Tyler cut in irritably.
"I need Bonnie to take out Esther when the time comes…and I need you to keep Klaus busy and not catch on to the fact that I'm still alive," Caroline told Tyler pointedly.
"He won't figure it out," Elijah reassured her, "I've kept him away from you this long."
"He's on to you Elijah," Caroline said as she looked at him, "he's already out there looking for you. He knows you have Rebekah; I was at his house earlier. He was pacing the rooms again."
"Pacing is never a good sign," Rebekah said thoughtfully.
"He's restless," Caroline said with a nod.
"Then we have to work quickly before he discovers Caroline," Elijah said with a nod.
"Alright," Caroline began as she looked at them all, "Elijah and Rebekah leave town, and Bonnie goes and tells everyone at the Salvatore house what's going on, excluding the part that I'm still alive that is. Tyler, you come with me."
They all nodded and left the house accordingly, Tyler following Caroline through the woods behind the house towards a black town car that waited for her.
"Elijah knew you were alive the whole time?" he asked curiously.
"No, I contacted him recently...a couple of months ago actually." Caroline replied as they got into the car and it drove away.
"Where have you been?" Tyler asked sadly as he looked at her.
"Everywhere," Caroline chuckled, "I've had a thousand years to explore the world."
"You married him," Tyler said with a frown.
"Tyler," Caroline said with a sigh, "I'm sorry…for all of this. I know this is hard to deal with…I know you've been looking for me. Tyler….I watched you grow up…I watched Elena and Bonnie grow up…I watched Stefan and Damon grow up….I was there when Katherine came to town…I actually met her when she was still human," Caroline said with a chuckle, "totally different person back then believe me."
"So what are you saying?" Tyler asked with a hard look on his face.
"I'm saying that Klaus is my husband and I love him," she told him gently, "I'm sorry Tyler…but things are different now."
"He's crazy," Tyler snarled at her, "After everything he's done!"
"I know," Caroline said sadly, "I know what my husband's done…I've watched him for years."
"Yet you still love him?" Tyler demanded angrily.
"Yes," Caroline said with a nod, "I do."
"Stubborn as ever I see," Tyler said with a half-smile and a shake of his head.
"Always," Caroline laughed.
"Tell me more," he began quietly as he looked out the window, "What happened all those years ago?"
"Well…" Caroline began thoughtfully, "I suppose we can skip to the major parts of the story yeah?" Caroline asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Tyler said with a nod, "tell me about how Klaus became a hybrid."
"Alright," Caroline said with a nod and began her story.
