A/N: It was a long January filled with colds and sickness but I can now bring you a Klaroline filled chapter so I hope that makes up for the long wait! Enjoy!
And she finds it difficult to believe-that any person would love her even when she isn't trying. Trying to figure out what other people need, trying to be worthy.
Margaret Atwood
Actually riding on an airplane would have been enough of an experience for Caroline. It was something she'd wanted to do for ages, had countless dreams about getting out of Mystic Falls and seeing the world. Though she'd never quite expected them to really happen. Maybe she'd manage to get away for college but she had honestly thought she would end up sticking around town after graduating, just like everyone else that she knew had done. Get married, have kids, continue to organize the town's social calendar.
But then she'd died and been reborn and the simple path that she'd seen laid out before her didn't quite work anymore. She'd tried to continue putting her new square peg into the circle hole of her old life, but after the events of the last week it was obvious that she wasn't ever going to fit back into her old role again. Figuring out a new path was daunting, nearly overwhelming her with everything that was being ripped away from her, nearly all of her old comforting techniques gone and even those that she managed to hold onto hadn't quite worked the same as before.
Riding a plane though, that she could allow herself to become excited about. The fact that they were on a private jet instead of some commercial airliner was throwing her for a bit of a loop, but Caroline was trying not to let that show, to keep her excitement at the forefront.
She strummed her fingers along the white leather armrests as she took it all in, trying not to look wide eyed at the various buttons, monitors, and everything else that was on display. The urge to push all of them, to see what each one of them did was overwhelming, but she worked to stifle it. The last thing Caroline wanted to do was look like an overeager child, especially when she was fully aware of how young she was compared to Klaus who sat across from her.
He had a sketchpad propped up in his lap and was currently doodling away. Caroline picked up one of the magazines that were neatly stacked on the table beside her seat, biting her bottom lip as she realized that they were all the latest copies of ones she usually liked to flip through plus a few others she'd never seen before but looked intriguing.
She picked up the top one and started to flip through it but gave up on that after a few minutes. Nothing was quite capturing her attention and the urge to push the buttons was too hard to deny. Maybe if she touched one then she'd be able to focus on other things? Of course the button she pressed just had to reveal a large flatscreen tv on the wall, the sound the paneling that had been hiding it created as it lowered causing her to cringe.
"The buttons along the armrest on your right will allow you to change the channels. There are several movies to choose from as well as TV programs at your disposal," Klaus told her and Caroline blinked, realizing she hadn't noticed that he'd put the sketchbook down and moved to the chair beside her. "There are headphones if you'd prefer those or you can simply turn on the speaker feature in the headrest."
He reached over, sliding back a piece of the headrest to reveal the built in speakers. "You'll find that when Kol is on board that the headphones are your best bet," Klaus continued as he settled back against his seat. "Elijah as well if you'd rather not listen to him drone on. He does that quite often."
Elijah. That was another of his siblings. One she hadn't actually spoken one on one with yet. "Kol is working with Bonnie, right?" Caroline asked, sighing as she remembered the conversation she'd had with her friend before leaving the mansion with Klaus.
She couldn't fault Bonnie for not quite understanding her need to get out of their hometown, but the way her friend's eyes had narrowed in determination, power seeming to ripple through the air around her as she'd mentioned something about 'fixing everything' had Caroline worried. The last thing she wanted was for Bonnie to push herself too hard. She doubted that anyone else really would care about her friend's well being but like hell was Caroline going to let Bonnie lose herself in the apparent quest to make her truly immortal.
Not that she was going to bring that up to Klaus just yet. Caroline had a feeling he wouldn't care what happened to Bonnie as long as she was okay in the end. So it was going to be up to her to make sure that Bonnie came out of everything better than okay.
"The little wi-" She glared at that, pleased when Klaus arched a brow before rethinking his words. "Your friend." Much better. "Has hardly even begun to reach her full potential. Kol's worked with countless witches throughout the centuries, helping them to learn their craft. It helps soften the blow of losing his own magical prowess when our mother turned us into vampires."
Caroline blinked. "You were witches?"
"I was not." Klaus shrugged, though she noted the dark flash in his eyes. "But Rebekah and Kol took after our mother. As did…" She watched as his look grew sullen for a moment and she wondered what could have caused such a dark cloud to cast itself over him. "The two of them missed their magical talents once they were gone. Though Kol is the only one who managed to make his loss work for him."
"By tutoring other witches?" Caroline frowned, because that didn't seem right at all to her. She might not know Kol all that well yet but she seriously doubted that his motivation for helping others was for their benefit.
"Something like that," Klaus replied, the sharp angles of his smile reminding her of the power that he held. It softened though as he looked at her, giving way to adoration that she didn't believe she'd ever get used to.
Caroline looked away and picked up the headphones, the fact that she'd asked Klaus to take her away from Mystic Falls, that she was about to be utterly alone with him truly hitting her. It'd hardly been all that easy to keep any kind of distance from him back home, how was she supposed to keep her distance now?
But most importantly, did she really want to?
No. She didn't and that fact alone was daunting and something she wasn't quite ready to consciously think about now.
Caroline fiddled with the headphones for a moment before glancing over at him. "I think I'll watch something now." Because the reality of the situation, of the choice she'd made, was too much to endure right then and there.
Klaus nodded, picking up the sketchbook that he'd laid down on his previous seat, though he didn't move back to it, preferring to stay at her side. That shouldn't have made her grin, but she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips as she settled down to watch The Notebook.
Any pretense with trying to hold back her curiosity and enthusiasm seemed to vanish as soon as they stepped out of the airport. He was nearly entranced as he watched Caroline's wide eyed gaze as she looked around at everything, taking in the humidity of the Florida summer while following him to the limo that was pulled up to the curb for them. The thirst for life that he saw in her eyes as she looked around the car after sliding onto her seat left him breathless, reminding him of when he'd first seen the goddess of spring running in the fields with dandelions sprouting up wherever she stepped.
The hunger for something more had shown brightly, then and now, and Klaus wondered which particular shade would capture that when he worked to paint her later. He had countless sketches of Persephone, numerous paintings he'd done throughout the centuries, and while all of them showed her likeness, none of them were good enough. None of them had truly captured all that Klaus had remembered, missing a vital ingredient that he couldn't quite seem to figure out.
His recent sketches were far more to his liking and Klaus figured that having Caroline there in the flesh before him helped him to put all of her little idiosyncrasies down onto paper. But they were black and white with flecks of grey. He wouldn't be satisfied until he figured out the exact mixture to match her eyes, her hair, the monster that he could see lurking beneath her skin and dying to come out.
"You've got a ridiculous house here too, don't you?" Caroline asked, breaking Klaus from his thoughts.
He quirked a brow at her, lips curling into an easy smile as he leaned back against the seat, watching her press the various buttons on the armrest. "It's hardly as grand as the ones we own on the Mediterranean but it should suit our needs just fine."
Her brow furrowed at his words and it took him a minute to understand why she was doing so, guessing it had to do with his use of 'we'. Everything he'd built, everything that he strived for since learning of his past had been for her. To either be able to break the curse so her own memories would be unlocked or to give her the life she deserved, the one that had been so cruelly ripped away from the both of them because of the whims of the fates.
"This garden is smaller and connected to the pool as well as a walkway down to the beach." Two things she had wanted to enjoy while they were away. "There are several bedrooms." And while he'd prefer if she stayed in theirs, Klaus was aware it might be too soon to expect that. The previous night of her sleeping in his bed had been a fluke, born out of terror and anguish. "You can have your choice of them when we're there."
"No specially made rooms in this one?" Caroline asked, her fingers stilling as she looked at him, lips quirked in amusement.
"It's not one I ever brought the family to." It had been his private oasis in the States, one his siblings knew not to venture to.
"Why are there so many rooms then?" she murmured, trying to figure out why he'd buy a place with more rooms than he needed.
Because it was easier to have several going unused instead of only one that wasn't shared as it was supposed to be. "I liked the architecture." Not a lie, but not quite the truth either.
Klaus watched her nod, sensing that she was all too aware of his real reasons, before she looked away, attention back on what she could see in the back of the limo. Her hand found his though, fingers interlacing with his so she could give a gentle squeeze. Klaus looked down, intent on memorizing the way their hands linked together so he could capture the image for on paper later that evening. Even though it was already emblazoned in his mind.
The house was located in the middle of a very upscale neighborhood right near the water in Miami beach, the outside of it and even parts of the inside having a bit of a modern touch to it. Or maybe it was simply that certain styles seemed to appear new no matter how old they might be, the stonework that Caroline could spot all around the mansion coming back into style every couple of decades. Stuff she saw in countless shows on one network or another when she couldn't sleep and stayed up watching renovation and decorating reality shows until the sun came up.
There were bits of it though that screamed older, ancient even, and she had a feeling that those particular pieces that exuded an air of age to them weren't treated to look that way. These were probably century old pieces picked up over the years and displayed on purpose, because they had some sort of meaning to Klaus.
She'd stopped in front of a few, trying to decipher why this one was there, what story could possibly be behind it but gave up after the fifth old looking vase. Her answers would only come once she actually got to know Klaus, not just the memories she had of Hades that twisted around in her head showing her glimpses of the hybrid. These pieces weren't tied to Hades though, not remnants of a lifetime destroyed-she could pick out the ones that were linked to a memory easy enough-but actually a lifetime lived. A life she didn't know anything about really.
One she was realizing she wanted to learn about.
Caroline been in the room she'd chosen to use for the stay for about an hour already, slowly putting away everything from her luggage. She was not going to live out of a suitcase for...however long they were there and unlike the other place, this one didn't have hundreds of outfits hanging up in the closet for her. Or maybe it did in another room, but it was nice to be able to put up things she'd decided on without having to think about how well Klaus knew her style.
If she listened closely enough she could hear Klaus moving about in other parts of the house as she'd unpacked, overheard bits of a conversation he had on the phone before deciding she didn't really want to eavesdrop just yet. There was no point in hiding away in the room anymore though, not when it was just the two of them, and the silence was beginning to get on her nerves.
Caroline followed the sound of music-classical, though she couldn't name the piece-and ended up in the back of the house. Her footsteps faltered as she approached the large french doors that were left open, showcasing the view of the backyard. A pool was only a few feet away, surrounded by a bustling garden, and beyond all of that she could glimpse the water.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in the salty air, letting it wash over her. She couldn't help but relax a little, the taste and smell of salt a nice reminder that they were far from Mystic Falls and all the turmoil that was wrapped around her little town. "I hope this meets your requirements," Klaus started, and Caroline glanced over her shoulder to find him leaning against one of the stone columns in the hallway.
The intensity in his gaze should have been overwhelming, that devotion and calculation that seemed to go hand-in-hand with him. But it washed over her, actually helping her relax that last little bit.
She grinned, whole face practically lighting up with how serene she felt in that moment. "It's perfect."
"What would you like to do first?" he asked as he pushed away from the column and headed toward her.
Caroline arched a brow. "You don't have to entertain me," she replied with a shrug and looked back out at the yard. "I'm pretty sure I can find my way down to the beach as soon as I'm ready. Or just enjoy the pool. And you can do whatever it is that you do."
"Sweetheart, I want to spend time with you," Klaus told her as he stepped in front of her, lips curling slightly in amusement. "Though now I am curious about what it is that you think I do."
She studied him for a moment, trying to figure out the angle, confused by his genuine wish to spend time with her just because he could. Not because they were doing some project or they had to save Elena or another million little things that seemed to be why the people in her life usually had anything to do with her. Which, okay, maybe that wasn't entirely true, but it sure felt like it most days.
"I'd say order around minions but you seem to be lacking them here." At least she hadn't heard anyone else in the house besides the two of them. "I don't really have a clue what you do. Aside from breaking curses." Killing her friends...saving her life. "I mean there was Rebekah's whole 'we're royalty' thing but I doubt you're out there making public appearances like William and Kate."
"The supernatural world is much more in the shadows than the humans who consider themselves to wield any sort of power," Klaus replied, gesturing for her to follow him out onto the veranda.
Caroline followed, sitting down on one of the plush couches that was angled to take in the view and watched as Klaus took a seat opposite from her. "We can easily have help if you truly wish it."
She shook her head, even if she was a little blown away at the implication that he could have people at their beck and call so quickly. She preferred it being just the two of them, not having to deal with the pretenses that having others around seemed to bring up. "So this is your sanctuary, right? The place you go when you need a breather from everything else?"
She watched him nod before glancing back out at the expansive view. And yet he'd brought her here. Though she was beginning to realize that a sanctuary for him would include her. Otherwise why would he have built the garden? Caroline wasn't stupid, she knew the one in Mystic Falls had been put together just for her and this one would have been as well. The antiques all screamed him-dark colors and with intricate carvings-the architecture a glimpse into what he preferred, but the rainbow of colors she could see just beyond her reach was a testament to her. It was a glimpse into the longing he'd had for her to be alive again for more centuries than she could even imagine.
"Do all your places have gardens?" Caroline asked as she glanced back over at Klaus, watching him arch a brow at her as his answer, knowing smile tugging at his lips. "Of course they do."
"They were a reminder of you. Something to breathe life into until you finally appeared," Klaus told her.
"Until Persephone appeared again," she murmured and Klaus shook his head.
"No, Caroline, until you appeared." He rose at that. "I know how confusing it is to have all of those memories suddenly whirling about. I can only imagine how much more difficult it is for you to reconcile with considering how the world is now and the circumstances that brought them about. For all intents and purposes, Hades is gone and I am all that is left of who he once was. My power and his are different." The way he said it had Caroline thinking Klaus saw his own as better than the power the god had contained.
"And yet you did all you could to bring Persephone back." She couldn't help but wonder how many had died through the years so he could break his curse.
"The only true remnant that remained from him besides the memories of lifetimes lived was his love for his wife." Klaus replied and she frowned, not at all liking what he said. "The desire to find you, to ignite those memories in you never faded. Every house I built, every place I saw, all of them reminded me of you."
"Like you said though, Hades is gone. So is Persephone." She wasn't that goddess. She wasn't the one Klaus had been yearning a thousand years for. The memories were there but that fire the other woman had wasn't inside of her. "Maybe they loved one another and maybe it was one of those great loves that stories are written about or whatever. But...I don't even know you. Aside from bits and pieces that don't add up at all to what you apparently want me to see."
He tilted his head at that, studying her carefully. "Ask me anything you like, Caroline."
"Yeah, no. Twenty questions is so not going to be the way to get to know you." She'd played that game enough in her life to know that it never really gave the answers that were needed anyway. "Learning what your favorite color is really isn't 'getting to know you'."
"We have to start somewhere, sweetheart," Klaus pointed out as he leaned back, arms spread out along the length of the couch.
"Technically we don't have to." They didn't need to get to know one another just because their past selves had. Her insides twisted violently at the idea of not knowing him though, of never seeing him again and she tried not to squirm.
He was watching her carefully, the intensity from before still there for a moment before his gaze softened. "I want to."
Caroline calmed a bit at that, the turmoil inside of her disappearing at the genuineness to his words and tone. "Okay." It was weird for someone to actually want to get to know her, so far from her realm of reality that she didn't quite know how to go about dealing with it. "But we're still not doing twenty questions for this." Though maybe starting with that game would help her figure out what to even ask him.
Part of her expected Klaus to start asking her things, but he seemed to know more about her than she did him, and not just because he'd lived far longer. It was obvious that he'd been watching her and her friends before making himself known in Mystic Falls. His reasons for watching her just happened to be different than when he'd done the same with the others. He'd have been able to see what she liked though, what her routines were, and it left her feeling a little off kilter.
"I think this will work best with...let's call them props," Klaus started as he rose and she arched a brow at that.
"Props?" Really?
"Stories tend to take on more meaning for others when they can see an actual connection to something here and now," Klaus replied as he offered his hand to help her up.
Caroline walked with him back into the house, away from the serenity of the outdoors. She didn't expect for him to stop nearly as soon as they'd entered the hallway, but she followed suit and looked at the small iron object displayed on the table that he was standing in front of.
"Is it a horse?" She was fairly certain that's what it was supposed to represent, fingers nearly touching it before pausing, not sure she was supposed to do that. It looked old, even older than some of the objects in the Mystic Falls historical society's museum.
Klaus picked it up, fingers brushing against hers as he set it down in her hands. "This belonged to our mother. One remaining remnant that she'd had of her childhood in what was considered the Motherland when I was young. I don't remember who made it and I have nothing else of hers aside from her grimoire. It was decades before I ever saw a real horse, my mind making up countless tales about what creatures they were from the stories she would tell us."
Caroline looked it over, felt the indentations in the iron that had been carved to help show the animal's limbs. "It was one of the few things she didn't lie about," Klaus continued, a bitterness to his tone that had Caroline looking up at him. "They are majestic creatures."
"They're actually my favorite," Caroline murmured as she handed the carving back to him. "I'm still not over the fact that Elena got to have some at her ninth birthday party." She laughed at the memory before remembering what had happened to her friend, mirth falling flat. "But yeah, anyway. I'm a fan of horses."
"They're loyal," Klaus told her as he set the horse back down on the table. "One would think those born of the same blood would be as well, but we've both seen how easily the ties of family can be dismissed."
She flinched at the reminder of her mom and glanced at the horse again. "My mother chose loyalty to her husband who wished me dead, all because she'd born a son who wasn't his. How that was my fault I'll never know," Klaus continued, reaching over to run his fingers along her arm. His caress was gentle, a stark contrast to his tone as he spoke of his past. "But they're both dead and I live."
"Your siblings are loyal," Caroline pointed out. At least in her opinion they seemed to be.
"My siblings crave power," Klaus replied with a shrug before nodding for her to continue further into the house. "Together we're more powerful than when we are separated. That was an easy enough lesson to learn during our first century."
She frowned as she followed him, not quite sure how to take the fact that he thought that way about his family. Not that she knew the lot of them at all besides a few encounters with Kol and an impromptu shopping trip with Rebekah. Power had seemed to be something both were fond of, though in different ways. Rebekah seemed to enjoy the kind that came from riches and their status in the supernatural world. While Kol seemed to enjoy magic or at least be tied to it if what Bonnie said was true. But surely they loved one another? There had to be more keeping them together than a common craving for being the strongest.
They walked down the hallway and Caroline couldn't help but notice the various paintings hung up along it. They seemed odd to her at first and yet familiar at the same time. A shoulder with blonde hair draped over it, the back of a hand, the side of a foot, a smile. It wasn't until she passed by one of the mirrors that she realized where she'd seen all of the pieces before. She was looking right at them in her reflection.
She never had a chance to ask Klaus about them though as they continued through the downstairs and she listened to him talk about various pieces in his collection. Each one revealed a small piece of himself, some of them beautiful, some of them far more dangerous than she could have ever imagine, but all of them added up to create the man who stood before her. She ran her tongue along her teeth whenever her monster strained to break out, delighting in a tale that should have disgusted her, that would have before her transition.
Caroline had to step back at the intensity of Klaus' gaze when he finished, his eyes nearly gold as he took her in and she wondered how dark her own had grown. It was taking all of her effort to keep her fangs in place, back behind her gums where she wanted them to be. Instead she managed to distract the both of them by stopping in front of a framed sketch that definitely wasn't of Persephone.
It was a boy with dark hair grinning impishly. She almost thought it might have been a young Kol but the features weren't quite right. "Who's this?"
She didn't expect for Klaus to stiffen at the question, for a sadness to seem to sweep over him that she had never seen before. "Henrik," he murmured so low that Caroline wasn't sure she'd have heard it without her enhanced hearing. "My youngest brother."
There was a story there, she knew it, and canted her head, watching him carefully. "His death is why my mother turned my family into vampires. She didn't want to lose another child." Klaus shook his head, laughing bitterly. "She lost us all in the end."
Caroline looked back at the sketch, trying to see pieces of the rest of the Mikaelsons in the boy, but there was an innocence to him that none of the others seemed to have.
"He was the best of us." Klaus turned to look at her better and reached out, tucking a curl behind her ear. "Perhaps it's best he died. He never would have liked what we had to become."
"What you had to become? We need to drink blood. We don't have to kill. You chose that path." All of the stories he'd told her, his family had picked the path that led them there. Their choices had carved out the world they lived in.
She didn't like his smile then. It wasn't condescending like Damon had always directed at her but Caroline still felt like Klaus found what she said to be amusing, naive. And maybe it was in a way but she still hated that look. "I wouldn't change a minute of it," Klaus told her as he canted his head, looking her over. "After all, I have you and that is all that matters in the end."
She scoffed at that, crossing her arms. He was in her personal space quicker than she'd anticipated, nose nearly brushing hers from how close he was standing. "I'd have burned the world to the ground in order to free you, Caroline. To break you from the curse that was placed on both of us, preventing you from knowing the truth. The world would have been caked in ash until you were in my life again. Nothing was allowed to stand in my way. Nothing could stop me."
Her breath stuck in her throat as she looked at him, unable to glance away from his piercing stare. Centuries of pain seemed to burn through his eyes, of a loneliness that she couldn't even fathom, a loss that she'd never felt because once she remembered Persephone he had been there. There had been no searching for a lost piece of herself, no craving for a touch she'd known like the back of her hand that had been ripped away by fate.
It was too much to feel though, to accept as truth, and so Caroline stepped back, looking anywhere but him to try and ground herself in reality again. "I'm tired," she murmured after a moment before looking back at him. "Thank you." For showing her around, for revealing pieces of himself that she hadn't known an hour before.
Klaus simply nodded and she hurried past him and up the stairs to the sanctuary of the bedroom she'd picked out, needing the space from him to be able to breathe again.
The stroke of the brush against the canvas usually was enough to calm Klaus' thoughts. The almost rhythmic motions usually helped him push out everything else, to almost forget all that was happening around him. He could capture almost anything he wanted with the stroke of a brush, with a bit of charcoal, the flick of a pencil. Everything and anything had been his as a child when he'd been able to represent it on the walls of the caves, on bits of deer skin that Rebekah had managed to commandeer for him. It'd been his way to escape the harshness of the reality of his situation, the bruises Mikael left and that his mother turned away from.
He'd almost given it up after transitioning into someone infinitely more powerful, didn't bother with it for a decade or so before turning to his art to capture the destruction he and Kol had doled out on a village. He had learned then that there was power in his drawings as well. That he had sole discretion over how someone was portrayed, how they were remembered by the flick of his hand.
And it allowed him to see his Persephone more clearly, a link to her outside of the dreams that had haunted his nights.
Klaus had thought that once her memories were returned to her that they would be able to easily fall back into certain rhythms, but that was obviously not the case. He understood the complexity of the situation, was willing to give Caroline the time to wrap her head around it all, but his hands…
They ached to touch her, to slide through her hair, to run across her back as she laid in their bed like he remembered doing countless times before. He missed the ease with which he'd been able to touch her after she'd come to accept who she was in life, to accept him, and having her right there but being unable to simply reach out and brush the hair behind her ear was torture.
There had been a few brushes here and there, but nothing like they'd had before, not enough to quench the desire to hold her that rippled through every inch of his being. He'd gotten a taste of it again the other night after Stefan had tortured her, but that had been focused on offering her what comfort he could as he ruminated on how precisely to make the Salvatore's life a living hell for the next few centuries.
Klaus paused mid stroke, canting his head as he listened to her soft steps as she moved about the floor above him. He'd heard the bath filling earlier, listened to bits of her conversation with Bonnie before focusing on his latest piece to tune them out. The pattering of her feet stopped though and he sighed, picturing her curling up on the expansive bed of the room she'd chosen.
There would be no rest for him that night, no point in heading to the room that was supposed to be theirs. He knew he wouldn't manage sleep without her at his side, there was no reason to even attempt it. Thankfully he didn't need it either.
He refocused on the painting, frowning as he took in the shade of blonde he'd been putting to paper. It still wasn't quite what he wanted, not precise enough for his liking. Perhaps it would have been enough to satisfy his need for her a century ago, but now, it wasn't enough. The highlights weren't correct yet, not enough honey in them.
Sighing he moved to remix the palette he'd created, needing to get the shades of yellow just right.
"How many of your paintings are of me?" Caroline asked and Klaus blinked, surprised that she'd managed to make it down the stairs without him picking up on it. "I noticed that the other ones in the house are mostly of me. Well, parts of me."
Klaus placed the palette down and turned so he could look at her. She was curled up on the sofa, blanket wrapped around her body. "Too many to give an accurate number," he told her truthfully, wiping his hands on the towel he kept handy. "It was the only way for you to live outside of my own memory for centuries, Caroline."
"I'm not just a memory anymore and you're still painting me," she pointed out, brow furrowing a bit in contemplation and he smiled at that, enjoying that she was speaking her mind.
"None of the colors from before are quite right." Klaus glanced back his current canvas with a sigh. "Neither is this one." He looked back at her, watching her quirk a brow, contemplation giving way to curiosity which he was happy to try and satiate. "Your hair color is a source of much frustration for me."
"It's probably the highlights." Caroline laughed and his hands clenched, aching to reach out and touch that hair, to brush along her lips as she continued to make that sound. "They're not exactly natural."
"They suit you perfectly," Klaus countered and watched her purse her lips. "I thought you were going to bed?"
She shrugged but he could see the glimpse of fear in her eyes, had a feeling that she worried about nightmares creeping back in. "Your dreams will not disturb you, Caroline," Klaus promised and she nodded but didn't move from the couch.
"Mind if I watch you work for a little while?" she asked after a moment, shifting to get comfortable on the couch.
"You're free to be wherever you wish in this house, love," he assured her as he mentally picked out the shades of red he'd need to capture the curve of her lips in a smile.
Klaus turned back to continue his work, feeling her eyes on him for a few moments. He was hardly self-conscience, enjoying the fact that she wanted to watch him, that she didn't seem to want to be alone anymore than he did. The sound of her breathing evening out as she fell asleep had him putting down his paintbrush though. He slipped into her mind, orchestrating her dreams so they would be nothing but pleasant before slipping back out again.
He turned to look at her then, paintings forgotten for a moment as he watched sleep on the sofa. Klaus couldn't quite hold back the urge to touch her, running his fingers along her cheek. He smiled as she leaned into the gentle caress before he picked her up and carried her up the stairs to the room she'd chosen.
He laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers over her so that she'd be comfortable as she slept and stayed there for a few moments, needing to watch her sleep. Klaus drew his fingers gently along her arm, watching her smile at his touch before she curled onto her side facing away from him.
Tomorrow he would start working with her on the skills she needed to acquire to live better as a vampire, tear down the shackles the Salvatore brothers and others seemed to have left imprinted on Caroline's entire being for how she should behave and what she should do. She already embodied the bits of the goddess of Spring, from the compassion he'd seen her display to her aching to feel the flowers beneath her feet as she used to.
But it was time for her to remember what it meant to be Queen of the Underworld and Klaus had every intention of ensuring that Caroline would embrace what she had become. There would be no hiding what she was, no taming of a monster that yearned to be released.
She would thrive. He would ensure it.