Weak
Chapter 10
A/N: Please excuse the mistakes!
This chapter is dedicated to chaosslayerx, who described Klaus' behavior in the last chapter as 'normal is the setting on a dishwasher'. I loved it!
For you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do.
Caroline reached the compound at the same time Alaric arrived in a taxi. She had left him a text message earlier that the girls were safe and gave him a shortened version of what happened. Seeing his familiar, comforting face, she threw her arms around him and held him tight.
Alaric sighed and hugged her. "I'm sorry for what I said, Caroline."
Caroline released her hold and considered him, blue eyes searching brown. "No, if I had just listened to you-"
"Stop." Alaric interrupted. "The girls will always be supernatural magnets for trouble, Originals or not."
Unfortunately, his blessing to be with Klaus was a little too late. "I appreciate it, but Klaus and I are..." she struggled to explain what happened and decided on an explanation that begot less questions. "In different places right now."
Alaric frowned. "I want you to be happy, Caroline. You deserve it."
Caroline's smile morphed into an abrupt yawn. She looked at him with large owl eyes, panic showing on her face. "A-Alaric!" She fell to her knees, Alaric catching her before she could face-plant.
Alaric saw her eyes closing sleepily, body going lax. Already asleep. "Caroline! What's wrong?! Someone help!"
Hayley got to them first, picking Caroline up and flashing inside. Alaric followed hastily, watching the female hybrid lay Caroline down on a leather couch with ease. Last he checked, the two women couldn't stand each other. He made a mental note to ask about that later.
A blonde woman checked her over, eyes closing in concentration. "The adrenaline isn't working anymore; the curse is too strong."
"Where's Klaus?" Hayley asked her.
Freya shrugged and looked at Alaric. "You must be the twin's father. I'm Freya."
Alaric nodded and stood by the back of the couch. "What curse?"
"It's more like poison embedded with magic." Freya answered and began quietly chanting over the blonde vampire.
Elijah and Rebekah entered the room, taking in the scene. "Rebekah." Elijah said, "Find Klaus and bring him here."
The blonde Original nodded, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Elijah approached Alaric. "Mr. Saltzman, I regret that such circumstances brought us together again."
"Like I told you last time, just Ric, please." He replied. "If it's magic, can't Lizzie and Josie just siphon it?"
Freya stood with a huff. "Every time I try to touch the spell it becomes stronger. I don't know what would happen if we tried it." She crossed the room to a bubbling pot that filled the room with an awful, soured smell. "I'm trying to break the poison down to make a cure, but I fear it'll be too late. The deeper she goes into sleep the harder it will be to pull her out."
The balcony doors slammed open, rattling the room and revealing the Original Hybrid with blood-smeared lips and huffing Rebekah. "Calm down, Nik!" she demanded, grabbing his elbow. "You won't help her like this!"
Klaus shook her free and let loose a terrifying growl. "What happened?" Elijah rolled his eyes as he handed him a napkin for his blood-stained mouth.
"The adrenaline stopped working, the curse is getting stronger." Freya answered with frustration. "I don't know this kind of black magic."
Alaric stepped up to Klaus. "Dark magic? I know a vampire fluent with it."
Klaus was in no mood for Alaric after he heard what he said to Caroline, but the once-hunter just proved his worth. His lips thinned over his teeth in a smirk. "Kol."
"I know the curse." Kol said over his cellphone. He was on a hotel balcony in London, holding his precious little witch as she slept.
Elijah exhaled in relief.
"Don't celebrate just yet, brother." Kol told him. "That's a nasty little curse. There is no cure, potion-wise."
"Else-wise?" Elijah asked, motioning for Klaus to give him some space. He'd only seen his brother this desperate a few times before and it always involved family. Which lead to the question; What exactly was Caroline to Klaus?
"Have you ever watched Sleeping Beauty?"
"I can't say that I have."
Klaus jerked the phone from his brother's hand. "I have. Why?"
"Why hello, Nik, good to hear from you too."
"Just spit it out!"
"Fine, fine, no need to start threatening me. Some beautiful princess falls into an eternal slumber because of a spell from on evil witch? You know this ending."
"You've got to be kidding." Klaus hissed. "That's not a possible!"
"And witches, vampires, and werewolves are just fairytales, too, right?"
Klaus handed the phone back to Elijah with disgust plain on his face and went to the balcony silently. Alaric followed him out. "What did Kol say?" he asked the hybrid.
With lips curled over his fangs in a sneer, Klaus quoted, "'Not in death, but just in sleep, the fateful prophecy you'll keep. And from this slumber you shall wake, when true love's kiss, the spell shall break.'"
Alaric looked at him like he was crazy. "The Sleeping Beauty Curse? That's a Disney movie, it's not real!"
"I know." he ground out.
Elijah joined them. "Kol is completely serious, unfortunately, but he did say Miss Forbes- excuse me, Mrs. Salvatore rather, could be most likely stabilized by the siphoning. It should keep her from slumbering too deeply."
"Where are Lizzie and Josie?" their father asked.
"In Hope's room; asleep." Hayley said from the study. "Follow me."
Klaus reentered his study and sat across from the blonde vampire. To think he'd never see her smile, or laugh, or tell him exactly where to shove it...it was too much. He felt like he'd go mad if she never opened her beautiful eyes again. The echoing numbness would swallow him whole.
He was an idiot. Would he rather not have her than to wait five meager years? He'd basically called her stupid to her face. The last words he'd said to her? Shameful. How could he have done that?
Klaus had thought he'd gotten past most of the worst abuse from Mikael, but apparently, it was still there, waiting to ruin his life even more. Would he ever be free of that evil man?
His head dropped between his knees as he held it tightly, squeezing painfully. Anything to numb the myriad of emotions within him. A rueful chuckle escaped his lips. Anything with Caroline was better than nothing.
"Nik?" Rebekah said from crouched beside him.
He looked at his younger sister. Worry shined in her eyes. "Yes, Rebekah?"
"It will be okay." she rubbed his shoulder and left with Freya to get a box of dark objects from storage.
"Well?" came Elijah's expectant voice. He stood at Caroline's head and brushed a curl from her cheek. To think a creature this angelic looking had his brother all twisted up inside. Caroline would be good for Niklaus, now all he had to do was wake her.
Klaus glared at him. "Well, what?" he hissed.
"Kiss her, brother."
He felt a painful pang in his heart. "It's a true love's kiss, meaning two true loves kissing each other."
Elijah didn't deter. "You love her, do you not?"
Looking into her peaceful, perfect face, Klaus nodded, but he knew she didn't love him. "It's not requited."
"Will you not try?" Elijah asked. When Klaus shook his head, he exhaled slowly for patience. "Then you're a fool." He told Klaus and turned on his heel to leave.
To Caroline, Klaus murmured, "I don't deny it."
After losing a game of rock-paper-scissors, Lizzie shuffled behind her dad to Klaus' study to siphon the bad mojo from her mom. They had siphoned dark magic before –it was as horrible as you could imagine-, but never black magic. Black was the dark of dark magic, right up there with Expression.
Dark magic left her feeling dirty and miserable. Was it powerful? Of course! But was the cake worth the bake? Not in Lizzie's opinion, though if she had no other choice like most witches that succumbed, she could see the appeal.
When they entered Klaus' study, she saw her mom lying motionless on the couch and felt a spike of alarm. "Mom's just sleeping, right?"
Alaric nodded and brought her closer.
"Mom?" She whispered and turned back to her dad. "Can she hear me?"
"I'm not sure, Lizzie."
Klaus sat in a chair opposite of her mom, quietly drinking a tumbler of brown spirits and watching them. His eyes glowed yellow in the darkened room and he looked like he was on the razor's edge.
Lizzie kneeled before her mom and laid a hand on her shoulder. It glowed brightly in red hues as she siphoned the dark magic.
"Oh!" She cried, tensing in pain. Alaric quickly tried to pry her hand away to no avail.
"Klaus!"
In a flash, the hybrid bent over the back of the couch in front of Lizzie and studied her expression. Her eyes were screwed shut and her mouth open in a silent cry. "Can you do this, girl?" He demanded.
"Are you serious?!" Alaric shouted. "Help me get her hand off!"
Lizzie shook her head, tears dripping down her cheeks. She struggled to speak. "It... hurts!" It felt like boiling black tar was pouring over her head as she siphoned. The black magic was the most painful thing she'd ever experienced. Her skin was melting off!
Strangely, she couldn't hear her dad, but Klaus' low voice came to her, "You can do this, Elizabeth, you have to do this."
An immortal that powerful believed in her? Lizzie gritted her teeth and shouldered the pain. He was right, she could do it! She would do it.
Suddenly, the pain was gone and Lizzie collapsed back into the arms of her father.
"Lizzie!"
In between consciousness, she heard Alaric yelling at Klaus, but she saw the hybrid studying her. His eyes had returned to their original color as he peered down at her. "Look at her eyes."
Alaric replaced Klaus in her field of vision and he paled.
"What's...wrong?"
Her dad attentively stroked her face. "How do you feel?" Her blue eyes had completely turned black from the magic, even the whites of her eyes. Luckily Alaric had seen this before with strong magic. Until her body become accustomed, she would be in this state and would otherwise be fine until she used the magic.
She tested her limbs, finding everything in working order and sat up. The fog began to lift from her brain and she felt better than she ever had. "I feel great, epic even!"
Alaric helped her stand, chuckling. "I think we need to keep an eye on you for a little while. Let's get you back to bed."
Klaus watched them go and settled back down to watch Caroline. She didn't seem any different from before, but her brows were crinkled and her lips thinned. He'd seen this expression before -Caroline was displeased.
Curious.
As soon as Klaus entered Caroline's mind, he was watching Damon walk down the darkened high school hallway through her eyes.
Damon sensed her and turned around. "Oh, hey Blondie."
Caroline only stared at him, angry and unafraid.
"They let you out?" He continued and started walking again.
Inside, Caroline struggled to rein in her fury. She was going to make him pay for what he did to her. "I remember everything." She called.
Damon halted, turning to face her again. "What do you remember?" He asked, like he was indulging a child.
She was more than glad to tell him. "I remember how...you manipulated me." Caroline began stepping forward menacingly with each word. Damon blinked in confusion and furrowed his dark brows. She continued, "You pushed me around, abused me..."
Damon turned away from her dismissively.
"Erased my memories, fed on me."
"You're crazy." He accused over his shoulder with a smirk, walking away again.
Red covered Caroline's vision, but she knew she'd had to be careful. Damon could overpower her easily. "My memories have been coming back...in pieces." She told him.
Damon finally turned and gave her his full attention. "You can't remember. It's impossible." He began to approach her. "I mean, unless you were...becoming a..."
Caroline smirked.
Damon studied her, narrowing those blue eyes she used to admire so much. Now they just reminded her that he took away her free will purposefully.
Caroline closed the distance between them, standing toe to toe with the other vampire. "I have a message from Katherine. She said, game on."
She turned to walk away from him -for once, but he grabbed her elbow. "Wait-"
Caroline couldn't control the powerful hate this time. Just the thought of his hands on her again was enough to send her into a rage. She gripped his stupid leather jacket lapels and tossed him down the length of the hallway.
The sound of his rough landing on the hard-concrete floor and his grunt of pain was more satisfying than she could have ever imagined. Damon raised onto his elbows and gazed at her with surprise.
"You suck." She told him, stalking out of the hallway.
Klaus withdrew from Caroline's mind, careful not to alert her to his presence. He felt strangely calm after learning Damon had compelled Caroline while she was a human and apparently abused her. He knew he had to make Damon pay, physically and mentally.
A plan formed in his mind as a sinister smile spilt his face.
Rebekah and Freya enter the study, stopping at the look on Klaus' face. "Someone's going to die a horrible death, aren't they?" Freya asked.
Rebekah looked gleeful. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, Freya." She sung as she pranced to Klaus' side. "Who are we torturing, dear brother?" She perched on the side of his chair.
Klaus smirked and held the pads of this finger tips together, leaning forward threateningly. The pair of them were a frightening sight –with their gleaming eyes and sharp smiles- Freya felt sorry for whoever they were going to target.
"Why, none other than the infamous Damon Salvatore."
"Oh, goodie! It's been a tad boring lately."
"But not yet."
The blonde Original pouted, whining, "You wanker. You had me so excited."
Klaus stood and held out a hand to help her up. "Never fear, 'Bekah. We still have a lunatic and her lackey to kill."
A smile made its way back to her face. "Oh, I will relish in it."
Freya shook her head. Would her family ever be normal? What was normal anyway? As far as she was concerned, normal was the setting on her dishwasher downstairs.
"What are we going to do about Caroline?" She asked her siblings.
Klaus pulled out his iPhone and tossed it to her. "Call Bonnie Bennett and explain what's happened. Tell her to get on a plane with the doppelgänger and be here tonight."
Freya nodded. "Great idea, Klaus. We need all the help we can get." Bennett's were a powerful witch bloodline and doppelgänger blood was a witchery jackpot.
"The Bennett witch is now a Gilbert." Rebekah remarked. "And six months pregnant."
"A bus, then!" The hybrid snapped. "Just get them here!"
"Don't you have someone to murder somewhere?" Freya shot back. She detested when Klaus ordered her around. Rebekah sniggered.
Klaus overlooked his sisters with a small grin and motioned for Rebekah. "Come, 'Bekah, we've got someone to murder, as Freya kindly phrased it."
Rebekah laughed merrily, singing, "Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a-hunting we will go." as they walked through the doorway.
Wow, this came out fast. I love the dynamics of the Original family. Coming from a larger family myself, it's like 'I would murder someone if they hurt you, but I would also murder you if you eat my leftovers again'. XD
If I have any Supernatural fans out there, check out my Klaroline/Supernatural crossover, Little Shadow.
What did you think? Let me know!