+ WOW, got 12 reviews for the last chapter, you guys really know how to make me happy :D
++ I actually wanted to write this in the annotation of XI but forgot: Camille in this story has nothing to do with the Camille that's going to be introduced in the spin off. Since the role hasn't been casted, I don't even know how she looks like. I planned the character of the Camille of this story long time ago but actually wanted to name her Charlotte – after the Camille-spoiler got released, I decided to rename her though because I felt like it fitted better ;)
+++ Just to be clear: Klaus hasn't heard about Caroline's engagement yet. Sorry if this scene was misleading!
++++ Enjoy this chapter!
„I dont know who I am, who I am without you
All I know is that I should
And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you
All I know is that I should."
~ ‚Where I Stood' by Missy Higgins ~
I spent the most part of this night being wide-awake, tossing and turning in my bedsheets while I thought about what had happened today.
After Tyler and I had told everyone the news, Elena hadn't stopped squealing and my father had gotten a champagne bottle out to celebrate the occasion. During all this chattering and laughing my apathy luckily hadn't attracted anyone's attention.
Would anyone become aware at all of how miserable I really was? Not even my parents or my best friend seemed to notice, so apparently I was a better actor than I had thought.
Exhausted I closed my eyes and promised to do my best to have fun tomorrow. No matter how everything went down.
To my surprise it was my mother instead of Lucy who turned up in my room the next day to help me get dressed for the tea party.
„This is going to be a very special moment in your life, Caroline", she told me and started combing my hair. „Right after your actual wedding, the day on which your engagement is announced is probably the most important event you're ever going to attend. You need to look absolutely stunning."
I didn't respond because I actually didn't care at all how I looked like. The old Caroline would have obsessed over her wardrobe the whole day and threatened Tyler to not show up at the party unless the colors of his suit matched her dress perfectly but right now the only thing that interested me in my outfit was whether or not it was comfortable and how easily I could doff it in the evening again.
„Are you excited, sweetie?" My mother got a curling iron from the drawer of my toilet table and began working on my hair with it.
„Very much", I answered her dispassionately.
She rolled her eyes. „Caroline, stop it. I don't know why you're behaving this way but I hope you are aware that you really need to improve your jolly face a great deal until this afternoon. Otherwise people will assume we are scaring you into marrying Tyler Lockwood."
I knew she had a point so I flashed her my perfected fake smile. „Is that better?"
She sighed. „It is at least good enough to fool the world, but not me, honey. If you are really that unwilling to betroth Tyler, then this is the last time to make a retreat now. After the announcement later it is simply impossible to break off the engagement without causing a bigger scandal than your stay at the Mikaelson's estate already has. The name of the Forbes can only stand so much, you know."
„I'm sorry that I brought you so much trouble the past days", I apologized low-voiced. „But I'm going through with the engagement, you don't need to worry about that."
„But if Tyler isn't the one who makes you happy..."
„Please stop it, Mum." I closed my eyes. I was in absolute no mood to talk about my happiness right now.
„Well, all right", she said hesitantly. „Your hair is done. I've picked the cerulean gown with the round neck for you. Blue suits you always so well."
Blue, like Klaus' eyes. And like Camille's dress.
Would they be showing up together at the Donovans? As a couple ...?
„Do you know if the Mikaelsons are invited, too?", I asked my mother, pretending casualness.
She snorted very unladylike in response. „Of course they are not invited. But when has that ever stopped them from coming anyway?"
Usually tea parties were commemorated outside but since it was currently way too cold for that the Donovans had relocated this one to their saloon and living room where several tables with chairs around them were arranged next to a giant, delicious looking buffet with a various selection of cookies, cakes and sandwiches.
The sight of it was a feast for the eyes and although I wasn't even very hungry, I grabbed one of the cookies and nibbled at it while I joined a group of girls my age, in which I had discovered Bonnie and Anna, for the usual tattle.
"Have you seen Victoria Donovan's dress? So tight it really doesn't keep you guessing."
"... I think the real reason why the Winfields aren't organizing the tea party this year is because they are running out of money. Their son is wearing the same shoes he wore at the ball, can you believe it? That is proof that ..."
"April Young and Rebekah Mikaelson really seem to have bounded, don't they?"
At the mentioning of Rebekah I immediately turned around and searched for her with my eyes. She was indeed standing across the room, looking pretty as always, and talking to the daughter of Pastor Young. Klaus however was nowhere to be seen...
I couldn't tell if that relieved or disappointed me.
Rebekah also saw me, gave me a quiet smile and waved at me. I didn't blame her at all for her brother's actions so I waved back.
"What was that about?"
Elena arrived at our group in a pale pink dream of a dress and observed me suspiciously. "Since when have you stopped giving the she-devil the cold shoulder?"
"Since I discovered that she's no she-devil at all underneath the surface but someone who could actually be our friend", I explained calmly.
Bonnie seemed skeptical whereas Elena was downright annoyed. "A friend? Are you sure none of the Originals has compelled you to believe that nonsense? The next thing you're probably going to tell me is that Klaus is your lover now."
Ouch. I winced at that. For a moment I forgot to control my expression and to hide my feelings but this one second I hadn't been on guard was enough to tell my friends the ugly truth.
"No way." Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "Caroline Forbes, don't tell me you have fallen for this man!"
"Are you insane?", Elena hissed. Her annoyance was now replaced by sincere anger. "Caroline, this is Klaus we are talking about. He is –..."
"Can you just stop judging me for once?", I yelled at her, taking both of them but especially me at surprise with my strong reaction. "This whole situation is already exhausting enough for me without you complaining about something that I can't change anyway. But you know what? You can be happy, Elena!" Tears collected in my eyes. "He doesn't love me at all. So you don't need to worry about that part of the story! Be content!"
"Oh, Care ..." Compassion was reflected in her face. "What have you gotten yourself into?"
"Shh, don't start crying." Bonnie caressed my back gently. "If he doesn't love you, he is the one missing out on something, not you."
Her kind words made it even harder for me not to cry. "Well, I don't know about that. The last time I saw him he didn't appear very lonely."
"Good afternoon, ladies."
Damon Salvatore suddenly joined us and slouched at Elena's side. "Having fun?" He patterned my shaken appearance. "Or ... not?"
"This isn't the right moment, Damon", Elena sighed. "We're having some girl talk."
"Oh, I absolutely love girl talk! Just pretend I'm not here."
"That's very hard if you're standing so close to me I have barely any space left."
"I would go if something didn't tell me that you're actually enjoying this intimacy and would be dashed if I kept my distance."
"Keep on dreaming!"
They fought like an old married couple and Bonnie shot me a "didn't I tell you before?"-look. I was wondering if she was right. Did Elena have feelings for Damon? I needed to have an eye on her today to figure that one out.
"Well, well. Now look who has arrived", Damon suddenly said with a low voice.
We all wheeled around at once. The conversations around us were interrupted. Everyone craned their neck to get a better view at what everybody was staring at.
I knew the reason for this strange commotion already before I discovered them in the crowd.
The Originals stood at the doorway of the saloon, glancing around and clearly enjoying the riot they caused.
I had only eyes for Klaus.
Three days without him had almost made me forget how handsome he was. His white clothing suited him very well and he had beard stubbles now that were enhanced by his dimples. My heart tensed up at his familiar yet breathtaking sight.
Hooked into him was Camille, curiously eying the lot in the room. Klaus had obviously brought her as his date.
My hands clotted into fists. With satisfaction I noticed that this time I saw them together, I grew angry instead of sad.
Behind them stood five other men. I only recognized Kol and Elijah; I had never seen the other three ones before. Mr. Donovan came up to them and bowed. "Good to have you here", I heard him say before he engaged them into a short conversation. Most people around us started to prescind slowly from the scene again.
"Do you know who they are?", I asked Damon.
"As it happens I already had the questionable pleasure to come across them." His face darkened. "They are the second Original Family."
Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "The second? You mean there is more than one?"
"Three to be exact." Katherine's hands twined playfully around Damon's torso from behind. She grinned and fell in with us, completely ignoring Elena's frown. "And if I were you, I'd stay as far away from this one as I could. They are dangerous."
I got the feeling that her last sentence was meant specifically for me. "Is that a warning?"
"Yes and – believe it or not – it's a deep one." She became a little serious. "I know Gabriel, Camille and the others. Don't mess with them if you can avoid it."
"Enough with this depressing talk", Damon said impatiently. "This is a party, go have fun! There is a string quartet in one of the upper rooms - does anybody want to dance?"
His 'anybody' was obviously adressed to Elena and he didn't wait for her response but took her hand in his and pulled her away. Over her shoulder she made a face to us but her eyes still sparkled. Whatever she was pretending, she didn't mind his demanding behaviour at all.
"Ouch", Katherine mewed. "And here I thought I was Damon's first choice." She shrugged, sounding not the slightest bit afflicted by it. "Never mind, I will go to search for this delicious brother of his then, simply to annoy Rebekah."
With that she vanished into the thong again and left Bonnie and me alone.
"Want to get another cookie or something?", my friend sighed. "Matt isn't paying any regard to me today, I need to drown my sorrows or rather: eat them."
"I can't resist this buffet any longer anway", I smiled although this wasn't completely true: the only thing I found really hard to resist right now was going over to Klaus and slap him.
Bonnie and I roamed around from room to room, here and there pausing to greet someone or to talk with people we knew. After a while a good looking gentleman asked her to dance and kidnapped her from me. Not sure what to do and still not very keen to go looking for my fiancé, I went to the toilet instead. I powedered my nose and looked distantly into the mirror. I was paler than usual and my eyes looked fiver-bright.
Preferably I had just went to Tyler and told him to get this announcement over with, so I could leave already, but I had promised myself last night to at least try to have a nice time. Damon was right, this was a party for god's sake.
I closed the bathroom door behind me and wanted to go downstairs again, when someone appeared in front of me in a flash.
"Where are you going, beautiful lady?"
I gave a start as I recognized the man with the ash-blonde hair, the white skin and the red eyes – he was one of Camille's relatives, her brother assumably. Another Original. I needed to be on the lookout against him.
"None of your business", I told him roughly and tried to go past him but he blocked my way.
"Don't be rude, precious." The dishy albino gave one of my curls a slight tug. "I only want to talk. Is that such a bad thing?"
I shivered at his touch. He was definitely scaring me. I remembered Katherine's advice to stay away from this new Original Family. "I'm not in the mood for a conversation."
"That's too bad. Because I am and I want some entertainment. But first let's have some privacy." His pupils dilated and his voice intensified hypnotically. "Open the door behind you quietly and get back in there."
I realized that he attempted to compell me and made the mistake to roll my eyes at that. "Seriously, you come into a town full of vampire hunters and expect no one to have ever heard of vervain? We aren't stupid, you know."
He leaned back, definitely looking angry now. "I see. Well, that's too bad because compulsion or not, I'll find a way to bend you to my will." He covered my mouth and was just about to violently shove me into the ladies room again, when a manicured female hand held him back.
"Raphael, stop it, please. Not this one."
It was Camille who had came to my rescue out of all people. Raphael's grip on my me loosened, even though he didn't seem to be particularly happy about it.
"Why not her, Cam?", he grumbled, sounding like a little child who wasn't allowed to get a second portion of dessert.
"Because she is a friend of Rebekah's", Camille replied sweetly.
"Rebekah?", he spit out. "I really don't care about that bitch!"
"Still because she turned you down that one time? Come on, Raph, that's too immature. Besides she's my future sister-in-law so you have to learn to live with her. Give that one free now."
"Fine", Raphael hissed – and then disappeared in vampire speed from the room.
Camille and I faced each other now. Again she was scrutinizing me disparagingly.
"Thank you." I almost choked on my words and she noticed that with a smile.
"You're welcome. What was the name again? Ah yes, Miss Forbes." She giggled. "My brothers are all a bit ... bored sometimes. They just like a good chase, that's all. I do hope Raphale's not bothering you again. I'm sure that would upset Rebekah. And now please excuse me, my man is certainly waiting for me. We haven't danced yet since I arrived, can you believe it?" She didn't wait for my response and just left.
Her man. Did she really had to remind me of that?
I gritted my teeth and randomly pushed one of the doors in the corridor open, with more effort than necessary. It was the music room of the Donovans that had been transformed into another bar today. Except for a servant who was pouring out strawberry champagne into the glasses of two younger girls I didn't know, the chamber was empty so I decided to stay: I needed some quiet time for myself right now.
I sat down on the window bench, ordered a glass of champagne and downed half of it it in one swig. Outside the window I could see the trees moving in the strong wind. Leaves broke away from the branches and flew through the air. A storm was coming up.
The door burst open again.
My heart stopped beating – and then starting racing again way too fast. It was him. It was Klaus. What was he doing here?!
"Leave – now.", he compelled the outraged servant and the girls all at once. "And close the door behind you."
He hurried towards me but stopped immediately as he saw me backing away from him.
"Are you serious?", I snarled. "I don't want to be alone with you."
I walked up to the door but he cut me off, just like Raphael had seconds ago. What was it with men and 'not getting a hint' today?!
"Get out of my way", I said slowly. My voice was thick of fury. "Get out of my way or I'll punch you in the face."
He was standing too close to me. Even though I really hated him in this moment and I knew that I needed to get away from him as fast as I could – inspite of everything he had done to me, I was still not smart enough to fully dispise him. Every part of me literally yearned for him to touch me again. The betrayal of my body was downright cruel.
"Do it, if you must", he responded resignedly. "I don't mind and I can't blame you for it." His eyes locked with mine. The cold aloofness I had seen in them the last time we had talked was completely gone. Everything in there was pain and despair.
I grimaced. He had no right to do that to me. I was the one who was entitled to be hurt and distraught, not him.
My jaw was trembling. He reached for my cheeks with his fingers and steadied them.
"Stop it", I whispered and closed my eyes. "Haven't you hurt me enough already?"
"I'm sorry, Caroline." Desperately he pulled me towards him. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I wish I could undo it but it's not possible. I had to protect you at all costs."
"Protect me?", I repeated angrily and bashed his arms away. "Why? You don't even care about me. As soon as you saw Camille, she was all you could think about. You were so damn worried that she would learn about me that you were even willing to risk losing me. You ... how could you do that to me? How could you kiss me and tell me all these sweet lies, when ... when in reality it is someone else you love?"
His presence reopened my ols sores and I felt tears streaming down my face. Ashamed I brushed them away. How much more could I humiliate myself in front of him?
Klaus stopped my hands and held them captive in his. Insistently he looked at me. "Nothing I've ever told you was a lie, Caroline. Nothing apart from my pretending to be glad that Camille returned. When I saw her in the library, I knew she was suspicious why you were at my home. I knew I had to think of my feet and so I tried to guard you against her by letting on that you don't mean anything to me. But that couldn't be further from the truth." Emphatically he cupped my face. "You mean the world to me, Caroline."
His words were balm for my soul. I wanted to believe him so badly that it physically hurt. I snuggled into the touch of his hand and his soft skin felt perfect on mine. "Why are you here with her?", I whispered. "How can you do that to me?"
"Do you honestly think I like bringing her here?", he asked fiercely. "I hate being with her, I hate being apart from you, being the reason for your pain. But I know Camille. She is very jealous and possessive. If she thinks you're a threat to her, she will dispose of you, in one way or another. And I could never, never, forgive myself if it was my fault that she hurt you."
"But ...", I protested. "There has to be another way to protect me. Why can't you fight her from going after me?"
He shook his head. "I wish it was that simple. But actually ... if I picked a fight with her family, not only you would lose your life but also all my siblings and probably this whole town. Their destructiveness knows no limits."
Doubtfully I pulled back. I still wasn't entirely sure if I could trust him. What if he was only stringing Camille and me both along? As much as that thought hurt me, I had to consider this possibility. "Damon told me they're an Original family. But how can they be stronger than you? They're not older, aren't they?"
"No, that's not it." Klaus noticeably hesitated. "They are subsisting differently."
I frowned. "What do you mean, differently?"
"I mean, different from us. They don't take human blood." His voice sounded disgusted all of a sudden. "They're feeding on other vampires."
Somehow this chapter was the hardest one to write so far, I don't know why :O Very anxious to hear what you think of it!
xx
