Hey :) Just wanted to say thanks to all of you who took the time to review. I really do enjoy reading those amazing reviews.

Also, a friendly reminder that the Original baby has been renamed Ivantika Rose Mikaelson, for the purposes of this story. In case there's any confusion.

"Where are we going?" she giggled.

"Come on, it's a surprise," Stefan laughed. He took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers and began pulling her along. "Okay, close your eyes."

"What?" she asked, puzzled, "why?"

"It's a surprise" he said, smiling. The forest was dark, barely illuminated by the moonlight because there were too many trees blocking the light. But Caroline could make out a little cabin in the distance.

"No offence Stefan, but an old abandoned cabin in the woods in the middle of the night, is a little too Syfy horror movie for me."

Stefan laughed, "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. I just don't trust there not being a big scary monster in there" she joked. She couldn't stop the nervous chuckle that escaped.

He looked at her, smiling affectionately. "Hey, don't be afraid" he said soothingly, noticing her badly hidden distress "I won't let anyone hurt you. And I'm pretty sure I'm a bigger monster than any we'd find in there. Ripper of Monterey remember?" He laughed.

She gave a breathy laugh at his bad joke. "Okay, okay, fine" she said. As she closed her eyes, she reminded herself that she was a freakin' vampire with super speed who could run really far away really fast, "my eyes are closed. What now?"

He didn't reply. Instead, he continued to pull her along until they were walking on a hardwood floor. They stopped and he let go of her hand. She heard a key and the sound of him unlocking a door. Then she heard him swing the door open. She felt heat on her face, instantly warming her cheeks and held her breath in anticipation.

"You can open your eyes now Caroline."

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She was over come with emotion by the straight out of a rom com movie scene. She saw a full kitchen and a sitting room, equipped with sofa, coffee table, big flat screen TV. There were other rooms behind closed doors. So the little cabin in the woods wasn't so little at all.

But what completely caught her off guard was that the place was illuminated by candle light. Looking around, Caroline saw that there were candles, on the floor, on the kitchen counter, on the coffee table. And in between, there were tall clear vases full of big red roses. Dozens of roses and candles. The air smelled too sweet. On the kitchen table, there were chocolate truffles, macaroons, chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

She was so captivated by the scene before her, she didn't even notice that Stefan had taken her hand again and led her inside. She could feel his eyes on her, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from the room. No one had ever done anything remotely as romantic as this for her. She heard Adore You by Miley Cyrus playing softly in the background. What? Stefan hated the music she usually listened to.

"Stefan..." she asked. It was barely a whisper and tried to find her voice. "Stefan, what's going on?" she tried again, a little louder this time. They were standing in the middle of the room. She looked at him, completely dazed and confused.

He was looking at her, as if he were seeing her for the very first time. He lifted his other hand to her face and gently stroked her cheek. After taking a deep breath, he finally spoke.

"I enjoy every second that I spend with you," he confessed, utterly sincere. "And when I'm not with you, you're always on my mind."

"When I'm not with you, I miss the sound of your voice. Your carefree bubbly laughter."

Caroline laughed. She tried to keep the hysteria at bay. She couldn't believe what was happening. This moment was just too surreal.

"Like that." He smiled. "And when I do see you, after missing you..." he looked away, as if hesitant to continue.

"What, Stefan?" she asked, genuinely curious but absolutely terrified all at once.

"It's hard... for me to..." he frowned and he looked as though he was struggling to explain.

"It's hard for you to..." her voice pleading him to say what he clearly brought her here to say.

He looked at her again, almost vulnerable, with a bit of fear in his eyes. But then it was gone and confidence lay in it's wake. Caroline braced herself for what he was going to say. "It's hard for me," he continued, "to pretend that you're just a friend, when you mean so much more to me..."

What did he mean? Caroline's mind was reeling. She stood shock still, waiting for him to explain.

"I want you, Caroline" he whispered, seductively.

She didn't know what to say.

He had said, "I want you, Caroline."

You, Caroline.

Caroline.

"Caroline."

"Caroline."

Caroline slowly opened her eyes, completely disoriented. The bright sunlight blinded her for a few seconds. She blinked rapidly. They were sitting in the back seat of a car, Elijah was looking at her worriedly.

"Are you all right?" Elijah asked concerned.

It was then Caroline realised that she was almost hyperventilating, her eyes full of unshed tears. "I'm fine, Elijah" she answered softly, willing herself to calm down and breathe evenly.

"We're almost there. I thought you'd like to take in the sights, the grounds are rather picturesque." He gave her a warm reassuring smile.

She nodded and turned to look out the window. She had been dreaming of Stefan. It felt so real. Her heart ached at the memory and she tried to control the tears that were threatening to fall. She was not so weak.

The plane ride had been long and she struggled to stay awake, as she was both emotionally and physically exhausted. Klaus and Elijah had left her to her own devices and she paid no mind to what they were talking about, even when they were shouting and were clearly having a heated argument.

She kept replaying the conversation she had with Stefan, over and over in her mind. He told her that he loved her and she didn't say it back. He told her he wanted to stay with her, but she had sent him away. He looked completely heartbroken. Caroline had broken his heart and she knew that he would never forgive her. How could he? She was a horrible, horrible person, who didn't even deserve his love in the first place. She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry her eyes out, and she did. She cried the entire plane ride over. Which was probably why Klaus and Elijah had left her alone.

Then as soon as they got off the plane, Caroline scrubbed the tears off her face and promised herself that she'd never cry again. She made a decision and she'd stick with it because it was the right decision to make. She didn't have any other choice. She had to make sure Elena was kept safe. Klaus had left them, without an explanation. Elijah and she, shared the back seat of a car, where they were still being driven to another one of the Original's properties. She didn't even ask where they were going, not that they would've told her anyway.

Looking out the window, Caroline realised that they were driving through a market. She rolled down the car window and was immediately wafted by the smell of fresh produce, spices and animals. The road was unpaved, with stalls and shops on either side. The place was bustling with activity. Tie-dyed pieces of cloth were hanging from lines, billowing in the breeze. Half naked little boys were running around with sticks. They stopped to look at the car in awe, waving when they saw her. Caroline smiled and waved back. They were pointing at the car and talking to each other in a language she couldn't understand.

There were chickens, cows and horses. She could decipher which stalls sold vegetables, which ones sold fresh milk, eggs and meat, and which ones sold clothes and jewellery. Caroline could swear that there was a tavern next to a voodoo shop, and a pottery barn on the end of the street. The wooden shops and home made dress, gave Caroline the distinct notion that they were on the outskirts of a village with an indigenous population. The air was so clean and fresh, Caroline took a deep breath and felt her mind instantly clear.

They drove until the village disappeared, continuing along an unpaved path, dense forest on either side. She threw Elijah a questioning look but he merely smiled in response. She was becoming restless and after a few more minutes she couldn't help herself. "Are we there yet?" she asked.

Elijah chuckled, amusedly, "We're almost there."

"How long again?" she asked impatiently.

Elijah laughed. Then he scooted over to her side, in a very un-Elijah like manner, until his face was mere inches away from hers. "Just there," he pointed out the window, "over the hill."

This property was very different from the London estate. The long driveway was unpaved, but clearly marked, with the most elaborate display of topiary on either side. Leading up to a large house, which was more like a work of art. Upon entering, Caroline was taken aback by the intricate detail of every single thing. It looked like, what she imagined the inside of a palace to look like, with a strong Indian feel. There were no doors, only archways, separating each room. This room must be the sitting room. It was an expansive space, with two stairways on either side, leading upstairs. Some walls were painted, others were wallpapered with fabric. The ceiling was painted, with an assortment of coloured lighting fixtures hanging from the centre of the room. And every piece of furniture looked hand made, with detailed carvings of animals and flowers. Elephants and peacocks were a familiar theme.

The colours were so bright and bold. But there was nothing new age about it. This place looked like the remnants of a dynasty, restored to perfection. Elijah led the way, leading into the kitchen. On the left was a large fully furnished modern kitchen. Looking through the kitchen window, Caroline saw a vegetable garden. Through the kitchen, there was a parlour with a fully stocked bar. Elijah showed her the study which had a vast library, Klaus' art room, the entertainment room which had a TV, before finally leading her up to the bedrooms. She would be staying in Ivantika's room, directly opposite was Klaus', two doors down was Elijah's room. Caroline was about to protest staying in Klaus' daughter's room, but Elijah quickly explained that the guest rooms were in a guest house, nearer the stables, on the other end of the property, and if she stayed there, she'd be too far away.

Caroline knew that Elijah was watching her intently the entire time, but he didn't comment and for that she was grateful. She was a complete mess and needed some alone time to sort herself out. After her conversation with Stefan, she barely had time to change her clothes before everyone was on their separate ways. The last few days were such a blur and she couldn't believe that just a week ago, she was in Mystic Falls. Now she'd been to Paris, to London, to here. Where ever here was. It was all so new and beautiful and she'd barely had a moment to enjoy and take any of it in.

Looking around Ivantika's room, she noticed the differences between this room and the one at the London estate. This room was just as light and airy, with an en-suite bath on one side of the room, a walk in closet on the other side. The floor was covered with bright mosaic carpet, shades of red, blue and green. Above the bed head was a large painting of a Buddhist temple.

After taking a long warm bath, she bundled herself in a fluffy white robe and went in search of clothes. She felt so out of place searching through Ivantika's clothes for something to wear. She should have asked Elijah to stay in Rebekah's room instead, she realised much too late. Not that she would have felt any less awkward going through Rebekah's clothes. There were an assortment of dresses, various styles and colours, shawls, and plenty strappy sandals and heels. No jeans or boots. Caroline guessed that here must be somewhere in South East Asia. Although she really had no idea.

And where was Stefan, Elena and Damon? Did Rebekah meet up with them yet? And Matt had said that he was going to help Jeremy and the hunters catch up on two leads. What did that mean? Caroline didn't have the slightest clue how the time difference worked. But she needed to get her head in the game. Between the emotional turmoil and the fact that she was starving, she wasn't okay with being hidden away like a new found lost treasure. She needed to find out what was going on.

Donning a long blue hand woven sun dress, she finally decided to go downstairs.

She found him in the parlour like she knew she would, but sitting quietly, reading, instead of drinking. Elijah lifted his head to greet her politely. "Good evening Caroline."

"Good evening Elijah."

"You look lovely." What was up with the unexpected compliments?

Caroline had never been too friendly with Elijah over the years. Every time he decided to pay them a visit, he'd gravitate towards the Salvatore residence to spend his time in the company of Elena. But Caroline decided that it was purely coincidental. Elena and Elijah some how became friends, even Bonnie had warmed up to him, but Caroline was just always too busy working, organising some event or spearheading a project, to sit down and chat. Plus, she was always a little wary of Klaus joining Elijah on one of his visits, and Caroline had made a vow to never see or speak to Klaus again.

Well that had been shot to hell, by one over protective Salvatore, whom she was already dearly missing. Caroline realised that this would be the first time in about twenty years that she'd go over a day without seeing him or talking to him. Stefan had been an important part of her daily life since she became a vampire.

"Um... thanks" she muttered.

He searched her face. "You must be starving. Come" he motioned, as he stood up and walked back to the kitchen. He took out a jug of blood from the fridge.

"I didn't realise Klaus came back," she said, looking around.

"He didn't" Elijah stated, pouring her a glass of blood. "Werewolf blood," he explained.

"How'd you get werewolf blood?" she asked.

"I asked, nicely" he chuckled. So Klaus wasn't the only one with a sense of humour. She rolled her eyes.

Caroline accepted the glass and took a long drink. The blood didn't taste very good. In fact, it tasted bad, dirty. She scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"Yes, it's not every good" Elijah agreed.

"But thanks," Caroline amended, "I still appreciate it." She could feel the blood in her system, healing her from the inside out. There was a heaviness that was weighing her down and now it was completely gone. She felt light, completely rejuvenated. But it was not nearly as satisfying as drinking from Klaus. Klaus' blood didn't just make her feel strong, it made her feel powerful.

"Where's Klaus?" she asked, pouring herself another glass of blood.

Elijah had taken off his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves. After taking a few ingredients out of the fridge, she assumed he was making dinner. "Niklaus will be back shortly" he evaded.

"You two are keeping secrets from me" she stated matter of factly.

"It's best if you not know."

"You don't really believe that" she said, shaking her head.

Elijah looked at her curiously. He offered her a smile, but didn't comment.

"How about I tell you what I'm thinking and you tell me how right I am?" she offered.

"Is there no doubt?"

"None at all" she added confidently.

Elijah laughed. "All right."

It looked like Elijah was making chicken pasta Florentine. Caroline decided to grate the cheese, as she sorted through her wayward thoughts.

"I don't think the witches who took Bonnie are going to kill her" she started. "I don't think they need to tear down the witch plane to the other side. I mean, the witches have all the power to cross over anyway" she reasoned.

She hadn't been thinking that. She was going to remind Elijah that Bonnie was a Bennett witch and her ancestors would never use her in some grand evil plot. But now that she said it out loud, it actually made a lot of sense. Elijah nodded. A sign that he was listening to her, so she continued.

"I think the witches are trying to kill me and Elena, because they want to tear down the vampire and werewolf planes to the other side," she explained. "Because they want us to fight amongst ourselves," she added as an afterthought.

When Caroline had seen the visions, the witch had smiled at her, as if there was some inside joke Caroline hadn't been privy to. But now, Caroline realised that the witch was being cocky. The witches thought that they would've killed her and Elena, tear down both planes and the vampires and werewolves would fight, while the witches stayed safely on the other side.

Elijah was looking at her intently now, brows puckered in dismay. Caroline noticed that he had stopped cutting up the vegetables. She took the knife from his hand and continued the task.

"I'm right, aren't I" she said, idly. Not waiting for a reply, "that's why you split Elena and I up. The witches can easily find us, but the odds of them taking us down at the same time..." she didn't want to finish her sentence. It wasn't a matter of if. It was a matter of when. They had no idea who they were up against. Unless...

"Do you think they're trying to find a way to unbind us?" Caroline looked at Elijah worriedly. The blank expression he wore that gave nothing away, was exactly what caused the panic to sink in.

Caroline had it all wrong.

At first she thought that the witches were using Bonnie to find her and Elena. Then she thought that the witches already knew where they were and were just trying to kill them. But if she and Elena were killed, effectively allowing all dead vampires and werewolves and hybrids to come back from the dead, then she and Elena, as vampires, would just automatically come back anyway. Albeit dead, she and Elena would still be the anchors. There would be a never ending loop. Death would not be permanent.

But if the witches found a way to unbind her and Elena, then there would no longer be anchors to those two planes. There would no longer be an other side, for vampires, werewolves and hybrids. So what would happen to those who died? Without any where for dead vampires, werewolves, hybrids to go, they'd be sucked into oblivion, gone for good.

"They're trying to find a way to unbind Elena and I" she stated, affirmatively, capturing Elijah in an unwavering gaze.

It had been easy enough to find Anna, but difficult to get the information they needed out of the witch. She was expecting them, but made no effort to defend herself. It was as though she resigned herself to her fate. The members of her coven looking on, as Kol spent nearly an hour peeling flesh off bone, feeding from, threatening to turn her. But not a single one of them dared to say a word. Kol's patience quickly ran out and he slaughtered the lot of them in a few short minutes.

They'd spent the entire day locating witches that Ivantika had associated with over the past few years. And nearly all of them were adamant, either steadfast against helping them, or wanting to stay out of it entirely. But all the witches they came across ended up dead. Auntie Bekah was right, uncle Kol's penchant for brutality was far worse than hers. They usually enjoyed the thrill of the kill. But not so unnecessarily.

The number of witches that ended up dead was almost wasteful. It seemed like uncle Kol was on a personal vendetta.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to be killing entire covens?" Ivantika asked, clearly annoyed. "I don't think we should be pissing them off any more than they already are."

"Afraid darling?" Kol ribbed, "don't worry I won't let them put a spell on you."

"I'm not afraid," Ivantika corrected, "just wary of the unknown."

"And you should be too" she added. "So far, we have a rather far fetched theory and no hope of proving it."

Kol laughed. "So be it" he said, "but still, they'll all come back eventually, when the other side is torn down again."

"You really think we can't stop that from happening?" Ivantika asked, genuinely curious.

"We're fools to think that witches aren't in control of everything," Kol said seriously. "Witches wield magic, the magic that created us. A certain level of respect is owed."

Ivantika rolled her eyes. "You're respecting them by killing them?"

"Like I said, they'll all come back any way." He smirked mischievously, "I'm sending a little message to my friends on the other side."

"And what would that be?"

"That there will be consequences..." he said, cryptically.

After a moment, "now enough with this witch business," Kol said, "let you and I are going to have a little chat about the company you keep."