Hey, everyone!
Here's chapter 9! Ohhh and you might wanna read the A/N at the end...
Enjoy!
I jolted up and clutched my chest, gasping for air. The dream I had woken up from still consuming my thoughts.
I began thinking back to the day before- the escape, the wolves, Klaus. It hadn't been a dream.
I looked over at where he was, still laying asleep on the couch that I had been sleeping on the night before. His face looked so at peace and rested. Each feature was still his- his chiseled jaw with it's scruffy whiskers, his rough, sun-tanned skin, his curly blonde hair. The rays of the morning sun fell upon his face, ironically making him look innocent.
I felt a small smile forming on my face, thinking about his own perfect smile and his sapphire eyes- anyone could get lost swimming in those blue eyes.
But his eyes had been yellow last night. I had turned the aspect over in my head a thousand times, blaming the change of his features on the lighting or the adrenaline of the moment.
But he had had yellow eyes. His canines had elongated, his body became burly and big. He already had strong arms and prominent abs- but they had increased perceptibly last night.
He had an animalistic look in his eyes, but once he had seen me, he had stopped and controlled whatever erge had come up within him. He had thrown off a pack of wolves relatively easily- but were they even wolves? They were much bigger and stronger than any wolf I had ever seen.
This only enhanced the fear that had been accumulating all over my body. He was dangerous, and I was in the middle of nowhere- with him. Alone.
I stood up quickly, needing to get out of the cottage which now felt too small.
The cool morning air hit me as soon as I threw the door open, clearing my mind of any worries I had had seconds ago.
The clearing was so beautiful. There was a variety of trees surrounding the area, ranging from pines to maples and oaks. There were small patches of flowers here and there- white and violet.
The grass was so green and fresh, the lake glistened in the sun ( and at night, in the moon). Since part of the lake cut into what seemed like the border of the clearing, I could hear the sound of a river rushing nearby and a brook was slightly visible through the trees.
I stepped towards the lake, holding the bloodied cloak in one hand.
I found a smooth rock and kneeled down, carefully dipping the cloak into the cool water, beginning to scrub. Gradually, the water around the cloak was tainted in a translucent shade of red. I moved from stain to stain, each one was deep and crusted into the fabric, and I had to scrub hard and long to get them out.
I finished and wringed out the cloak, the water making it so heavy that I had to stand up and put all my strength into it.
Standing up and moving away from the lake, I shook the cloak out forcefully, getting the wrinkles out of the fabric. Then, going to a much larger rock a distance away from the smooth rock on which I was kneeling, I lay the cloak on it to dry. The sun would be up high in the sky and hitting the rock for a better part of the day, and the cloak should be dry by nightfall.
Before going inside, I decided to stay around the lake and enjoy the nature surrounding the area. It was all so beautiful and foreign. The meadow on which my own home was located was beautiful, and during the spring and summer, much of it was covered in yellow flowers.
But this place was much more mysterious and magical- different from the beauty of the meadow. Leaning over and looking at my reflection in the lake, I caught a glimpse of my appearance.
I hadn't been able to properly bathe for over a week (since I had last come across a lake), so the wild haired and dirty girl staring back at me was no surprise. There was dried blood on the sleeves of my dress, as well as all over the skirt. I hadn't given that much thought to it and therefore hadn't noticed- maybe because I was so busy with other things.
I sighed, looking over at the cottage and wondering how long it would take for its resident to wake up. I pulled the dress over my head, leaving me only in undergarments. I was just going to wash the stains out of the dress and then just simply wash my face and hair.
Once I looked at the dress, that changed. There was blood all over the back, from where Klaus had been resting against while we were riding back, and all over the sleeves and skirt.
There was dirt covering my face- leaves, twigs and dirt in my hair.
I took a deep breath and jumped into the depths of the water, the cold sending a shock through my entire body. While submerged, I started running my hand through my hair, massaging my scalp and getting all the grime and grit out of my long blonde locks.
Swimming up to catch my breath, I scrubbed at my arms and legs, over my tummy and my feet. I swam to the shore and sat in the shallow area, grabbing my dress and beginning the same task of cleaning it, getting the bloody stains out.
A nice breeze passed through the clearing, sending a shiver down my spine and causing me to go deeper into the water, avoiding the now cooler weather.
Soon, all the stains are out of the dress and I slowly step out of the water to wring it out, again having to use all my strength to get the excess water out.
By the time I finished with the dress, the cool breeze had dried the water off my skin. I decide that the dress was dry enough, and pulled it on again. I pulled my hair over one shoulder and wringed out all the excess water in it, too. I pulled my hair back again and begin to braid it out of my face, tying it with the ribbon that had been previously tied to the front of my dress.
I looked back at the cottage and decided it was time go back inside and stop avoiding him. I had only been out for about an hour, but he was bound to be waking up at any moment.
I reached the door and pushed it, walking into the parlor and looking for Klaus. He was still laying where I had left him, but he was looking around the room, waiting for something.
"Good morning" I said, stepping into his line of vision. He regarded me, looking from my eyes to my feet.
"Good morning. I see you went out for a swim" He said, smirking.
"Yes, I was quite dirty from...yesterday" I added the last part quietly, kneeling before him again.
"Can you sit up?" I asked. He easily shifted and sat, resting against the back of the couch. I got closer and started untying the knot at the end of the gauze I had secured the night before.
"What are you doing?" He said quickly, placing a hand over mine. I looked up at his expression. He was being defensive.
"I'm untying the gauze" I said, pulling my hands out from under his and pulling his hands off of the knot, beginning to work on it again "I need to see if it's healing correctly" I finish untying the knot.
"Lean forward" I said, grabbing his forearm and helping him shift forward, but he seemed to have no trouble at all. I frowned a bit, noticing that he seemed to be completely comfortable. He had easily sat up and now he shifted forward as if he didn't have ten deep cuts all over his torso.
I began to unwrap the gauze. It started to reveal his chest first, my frown deepening as I failed to see any ripped flesh. I began to unwrap the gauze faster, anxious to see what was under it. There was an astonishing lack of blood on the cloth- actually, there was no blood on it whatsoever. I looked at his face, he was staring at me curiously.
I finished pulling off all the gauze, letting my eyes roam over his chest and abdomen, nothing but a few shallow scars remained as opposed to the deep cuts that had been there only hours before. I moved to do the same with his arms, where there had been multiple cuts as well.
But his arms were completely healed, not even a scar or scratch remained.
I moved away from him, sitting down on the couch where I had been sleeping that night, trying to piece it all together. I glanced up at him again, his eyes were still on me, looking at my face, my hands, seeing how I would react.
"Explain" I said simply, not knowing what else to ask. Why are you completely healed when you should be bloody and uncomfortable? What happened to you last night? Why are we alive?
He sighed and began to move closer, making a move to get off the couch.
"No." I said quickly, holding up my hand to stop him "Sit and explain to me why you are completely healed when you should be laying there in pain" I added. He settled back into the couch, a serious look on his face.
"Why should I? I don't owe you. If anything, you should be explaining to me why you were running away last night, and why I shouldn't punish you for doing so and going against your promise."
"I wasn't running away! I was going to find my father and leave him my horse so that he could return to our village safely. I was going to return on foot." I said, raising my voice and sitting on the edge of the couch. "But that was obvious. Anyone with half a brain could have figured that out! And I don't care if you punish me- either way I'm going to have to stay here, no matter what you do to me" I was already yelling, but he continued to stare at me with an unreadable expression.
"I am asking you to explain because no matter how much I turn the situation and events that have been going on in the past twelve hours in my head, I have failed to explain to myself what is going on" I said, sitting down with a huff on the couch "Now, explain. Please"
"I was born here in the woods in what used to be a village not too far away from here. I lived with my mother and father and my siblings." I stopped and looked at her expression. She was just listening intently, waiting for me to continue.
"Have you ever heard of werewolves, Caroline?" I asked, enjoying how her name rolled off my tongue so easily- it was the sweetest word I had ever uttered. Her eyes grew slightly wider and her eyebrows shot up.
"Yes."
"How?" I inquired, cocking my head to the side, intrigued by the look on her face- she had definitely heard of them.
"You were telling a story, were you not?" She said and proceeded to smoothing out the front of her damp dress. "We can talk about that later. Now, continue" She looked back up, the look on her face gone and replaced with a mask of indifference, yet the curiosity in her eyes was evident.
"Alright," I regarded her carefully "Well, the village that we lived in wasn't so far away from another village- one that was particularly crawling with werewolves. Every full moon, the people of my village, including my family and myself, would travel to a series of caves. They were all protected by magic." I stopped, not sure of how she would react. Her expression stayed stoic.
I laughed "I guess you know about witches as well."
"I suspected they existed." She said simply.
"Right, well the caves were charmed so that only people of the village would be able to enter" I sighed, thinking of what I was getting myself into.
I had never retold this story to anyone, much less a girl that had tried to kill me on multiple occasions. I wouldn't even be able to compel her to forget, or to never tell anyone of what I told her because for some reason my compulsion did not work on her.
She herself was not a witch, I could smell it from a mile away- no, she was human. But the night I had tried to compel her into accompanying me to dinner, she hadn't bat an eyelash. So for some reason, my compulsion did not work on her, and it drove me positively mad.
The sound of Caroline clearing her throat pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Well? Are you going to continue or are you going to keep staring off into the distance?" She quipped and I chuckled at the little ball of fire she could be.
"One afternoon, while everyone was getting ready to journey to the caves, my brother Henrik approached me" I caught myself looking out to the space behind her, imagining Henrik running up to me that day.
"'I want to see the wolves tonight, Nik' he said-"
"Nik?" She questioned, her eyebrows pulling together.
"Yes, my birth name is Niklaus."
"Oh" She said and nodded slightly. "Continue"
"Well, me being the courageous older brother I was, said yes. So that night we snuck off and found a spot where we would be able to see the wolves. We climbed up onto a tree and waited"
"A little past midnight, the wolves appeared. They paid no mind to Henrik and I, as if they had not seen us. But then Henrik leaned forward on the branch we had been on, and his hand slipped, drawing blood." I looked down at my hands and pulled at my fingers "They noticed us then and started circling the tree, jumping up and trying to catch us."
"I forget what happened because it was all just a huge blur of fear blood, but it ended with me on my knees with my brother's limp body across my lap" I said, feeling the emotion of the story weigh on me, like it always did.
"When I returned to the caves that night to face my mother and Mikael, it tore them apart" I signed and ran my hand over my face.
"My mother, Esther, was a witch. She loved our family very much, and the death of Henrik made her realize that one day, we would all die and be separated for good."
"That night, she cast a spell on as all, and we awoke as what people have come to recognize as vampires" I said, and her face took on a similar expression as the one when I mentioned werewolves. "Ah, you know of vampires as well? How does that not surprise me?" I laughed. She waved her hand dismissively.
"Right, for later." I said, remembering her words from before.
"Since we had no idea what was going on, we were unprepared for the consequences" I said and the look in her eyes told me she knew exactly what I was talking about "The bloodlust was too much, especially without control or experience. We tore apart the village in less than a day"
"That night I also discovered that Mikael was not my father" I said, disgusted with the fact that I had to say his name "My mother had been unfaithful towards my father with a man from the village, a man who so happened to also be a werewolf" I added, but I knew she wouldn't know what that meant. Many people knew of werewolves, few knew of vampires, but only a handful knew of hybrids.
"A hybrid, my dear" I gestured toward myself "The werewolf gene I carried was triggered with my first kill as a vampire, making me a werewolf as well as a vampire"
"I have never heard of hybrids" She said, trying out the word.
"That is because I am the only one in existence" I said and she adjusted herself so that she was sitting further into the couch.
The lack of fear she was demonstrating was rather incredibly- I didn't know whether to peg her as courageous or just plain stupid.
"So, let me see if I understand" She started, sitting up straight and readjusting herself, her hands splayed out in front of her as she stared at the ground.
"The day that I killed you in the dungeon, you didn't die because you can't die. You have both the abilities of a vampire and a werewolf, which I guess includes healing?"
"Yes, that is correct"
"Alright, is there anything else I should know?"
I shook my head.
After that, she remained quiet and still, turning the ideas around in her head. She seemed strangely calm, almost as if she was alright with the idea of being stuck in the middle of the woods with a beast. Or maybe she was figuring out a way to escape. She had her horse, she knew where all my food was, and she could adapt to survive- that much I knew.
She shifted in her seat, but kept her eyes fixed on the wall behind me, lost in thought. I supposed that I appeared the same way- but my motives for not looked at her straight in the eyes were much different.
She had the ability to intimidate me with just one stare- not because I was afraid of her, but because those light, forest green eyes seemed to be looking right through me.
She would know that I wasn't telling the truth, or the whole truth, for that matter.
And she could never know- it would not work if she knew.
We had been sitting in the same position for what felt like hours when my body suddenly started to shake. I looked down and remembered that I still wore the damp dress. Another shiver passed through my body, leaving goose bumps on my skin and an uncomfortable aching in my bones.
"Come," he said, standing up and breaking out of his trance-like state. "I'm sure you would like some dry clothes."
"Yes but I don't see how-" I began arguing that he couldn't possibly help me in that aspect when he grabbed my hand and pulled me up from my sitting position, practically dragging me behind him. He pulled me down a hallway that lead to the dungeon and I began to panic.
He was going to throw me in there again. He had been acting friendly towards me so that he could lure me back in and trap me in that god forsaken hole. He would probably punish me, torture me like he had surely tortured my father.
We reached the fork in the hallway- the door to the dungeon and two other doors stretched out before us. Instead of going for the dungeon door, he went for the one on the far left. Unconsciously, my muscles had clenched and I had begun to pull at my arm, trying to tear out of his grasp. But he hardly flinched, and didn't even show any amount of effort in trying to keep me with him.
He pushed open the door to reveal a bedroom. A large four poster canopy bed decked with luscious fur and cream colored silk stood in the center of the room against the main wall- a fireplace crackled in front of it. There were two windows on the wall to the far right- both had intricately woven curtains draping over them which had been pulled aside to reveal the wooded landscape that was behind the cottage.
He slipped his hand out of mine as he walked towards a large wardrobe and I, not that I would ever admit it, missed his warmth. I cursed myself mentally, knowing that I couldn't miss anything about him or get too attached. He was a monster
"Here," He called over from where he stood next to the wardrobe. He had pulled on a white chemise similar to the one he had been wearing the day that I saw him in the dungeon.
"Where did you get these?" I asked while looking at the collection of dresses he had towards the back of the wardrobe. There was about ten different dresses- two were simple peasant dresses, two were evening gowns, and the rest were in between.
He never replied, but instead, stepped towards a mirror that was a few feet away, hanging on the wall. He began to loosely tie the strings at the top of his chemise and then bent down to pull on a pair of leather boots that were set on the ground. I stood there watching, waiting for him to answer. Eventually, it became evident that he wasn't going to, so I waited for him to finish.
"You still have not changed?" He asked as he turned around.
I crossed my arms over my chest "Well I do not intend to in front of you"
"I was turned around for some time, love" He smirked.
"That is not my name" I growled, annoyed that I had to remind him. And even more annoyed of the thought that he might be doing it just to get a rise out of me.
"My apologies, Caroline" He let my name roll of his tongue.
"Yes, well I am not undressing with you in the same room"
"Why not?" He said, tilting his head to the side and pulling a confused face.
"Well, because- that's- you know!-" I began to stutter, looking around the room as I felt my cheeks burning up, surely turning red.
He chuckled, causing me to snap my eyes back to him, throwing him a dirty look.
"Fine, alright, I will leave and give you your privacy" He said, putting his hands up in defense and moving to leave. But when we were shoulder to shoulder, he stopped and turned to me "But do not try anything you might regret" He added in a dangerous tone, reminding me that he was far from injured and twice as far from clueless. His voice had dropped to a growl, and a flash of gold glistened in his eyes, sending shivers up my spine from the memory of the night before.
He left the room and I quickly pulled the brown dress over my head, grabbing an emerald green peasant dress. The material was worked, and there was a hidden pattern within the fabric. It had short sleeves but started just off the shoulder, leaving my shoulders and part of my back exposed. I sifted through the dresser one more time, biting my lip as I realized that the dress I was holding was among one of the most decent ones. I looked back down at the brown dress that was now a heap on the floor, scrunching my nose at the memory of the feeling of the starchy fabric and dirt that clung to my body.
I closed the wardrobe and picked up the dress, folding it neatly and placing it on top of the wardrobe. I walked towards that mirror pulled on the dress, fiddling with the sleeves, trying to find a way to make it look more decent. But the dresses cut was made to have the sleeves slightly off the shoulder, leaving the skin of my chest, shoulders, and back exposed.
I sighed, frustrated, pulling at the tie that had been holding my braided hair together and tying it to the front of the dress. I shook my hair out and made sure that it fell over most of the exposed skin. It was still semi-wet from the bath in the morning, but it would have to do.
I left the room with a smile on my lips. I hadn't noticed it there before, but just imagining the look on her pretty face when she saw that the only clean gowns I could provide for her were a little less than what she was accustomed to amused me.
They had belonged to a few beautiful women- the ones that were unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But none of them could hold a mere candle to Caroline's natural beauty. The way her eyes shone and her skin glowed and her hair cascaded down her back. No, not even all of their appearances put together could compare to her light- to her kindness and livelihood.
I had honestly never expected her to help me the night before. She had to perfect opportunity to run away- not that I would have let her get far- but it would not have been a desirable event. She had thought that I was truly in danger and had nursed my wounds and me back to health- well, not by herself.
But what could that mean? Surely it was only because she was a kind soul, that much was evident in her eyes. Since the first time I saw her, I knew she wasn't the type of person to leave another behind. Yes, she is skilled in many areas and is far from helpless- but she is not cold.
I heard the door creak and the tell tale signs that she was walking out of my bedroom. She wasn't trying to be quiet. On the contrary, her steps were light (naturally, like every skilled hunter) but brisk as they came down the hallway. I set myself down on the couch where I had been lying the night before and waited for her to emerge.
What I wasn't expecting was for the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on round the corner and come into view. In the back of my mind I already knew she was beautiful, of course. But now, as she stood there- clean- her long blonde tresses had been pulled out of the braid she had had moments ago and now cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, framing both her face and figure. She wasn't smiling or frowning, but instead had a peaceful expression on her face and her eyes sparkled as a sunbeam dance across her face. Her skin glowed in the light.
I looked down at the rich green dress- one of the simplest and yet most beautiful out of the collection- like her. It dipped low into her chest, not as much as I hoped, but it left more of her flesh exposed. Her shoulder blades peaked out under her hair and I stepped forward, realizing I had been dazed before and she had noticed. I self satisfied smirk tugged at the corners of her lips.
Time to change that.
I was now in front of her, staring down into her eyes, the smirk still on her lips.
"You look beautiful" I breathed intentionally "Caroline" I added, and her face changed immediately. I slowly raised my hand moved it behind the curtain of her hair, my fingers skimming over her collarbone and that slender neck. I began to push her hair aside, making it a point to keep my fingers in contact with her shoulder as I moved her hair behind it.
To say that I wasn't enjoying this would be a lie. Her breath caught slightly and she froze, not exactly tensing but anticipating. I let my hand slide down the deliciously soft skin of her back, playing with locks of her incredibly soft hair while doing so. It was intoxicating. Her touch, her scent, she was intoxicating.
My fingers trailed down her forearm, slowly sliding my hand into hers. She gasped softly, her eyes darting down in the direction of our intertwined fingers, but quickly looked back up, the confusion evident in her eyes.
"Come, we have work to do" I commanded, my voice low and gruff. I tugged her towards the front door, the fact that she had yet to pull away being very much prominent in my thoughts.
So originally I had planned on making Klaus' story a little different, but I decided to keep it the same just so that there wouldn't be any confusion.
In other news, we are about half way done with this fic! Sad? I know.
But, but, but... I have better news: I already have another Klaroline fanfic planned! It's not going to be as long as this one, it'll probably just be 3-4 chapters, but it's going to be entertaining.
And, and, and... it'll give me some time to write/plan my next BIG fic! It's going to be on Klaroline (of course) and I still have yet to work out details but I have a general idea.
I'll give you more information as we come to the closing of We Are the Same, but just know- there is more to come.
Next chapter will be a bit longer because we go back to the village and see how everyone is reacting to Caroline's disappearance. And maybe what happened to Bill...
Bye for now!
~M
P.S.: Thank you to Aaaammber, KatieDesignerShades, SONY (Guest), DreamsBeatReality, oehret, and Coolgirl1015 for reviewing! And of course I'd also like to thank those who favorited and reviewed 3