Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty. With martial valor, if one becomes like a revengeful ghost and shows great determination, though his head is cut off, he should not die.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Caroline knotted a red scarf on top of her head, she settled for a cute 50's like bow around the bundle of hair that was caught in a really loose bun, she checked a few times to make sure that her hair was perfectly trimmed and that she was showcasing her new earrings that resembled a white blossom flower, she was happy with it and after applying a bright red lipstick on her lips she scooped up Dickens in her arms and left the house in a good mood, the smile was effortless for Gloria as the other greeted her from her porch. "Good morning Gloria."
Gloria rested her book for a bit. "Good morning sunshine, how is my fluffy friend this morning?"
After a small chuckle Caroline stroked the cat's tummy. "He was rubbing his head against the door ready to leave the house." She released the cat to watch him regally leap his way to Gloria.
"We have a good thing going on, he likes to sleep and I like to drink." She smiled while Dickens cuddled next to her. "And he's a great listener when he's awake."
"That's sweet." Caroline was sold on the tenderness of that friendship. "Thank you so much for babysitting him by the way."
"It's for a good cause." Gloria's smirk was wisely on cue with the arrival of Klaus' car.
"I will see you tonight." Caroline rushed to the car with a big smile.
"Or tomorrow morning." Gloria said between lips and while she waved at the couple goodbye.
"Hi." Caroline sweetly greeted Klaus as soon as she closed the door of the car.
"Good morning sweetheart." He started their journey smoothly.
Curious Caroline inquired about their destination. "Where are we going today?" She narrowed her eyes at the grey weather. "It's not too inviting to go over to the beach."
"After a bit of snow last night I decided that an icy environment is mandatory." He teased a clue about his intentions.
Caroline was excited about the hint but as they arrived to the famous Yerba Buena Ice Skating Center her enthusiasm faded. "It's closed to the public because of a tournament." She read the small sign with sadness.
"And so it says."
Instantly she noticed the amusement in his voice. "There's a Klaus twist in here somewhere." She exited the car with a dubious look at him.
Cackling he offered his hand for the take. "It's open for us."
With a joyful expression she hid her hand in his.
After a small standoff there was no other option for Katherine but to come clean with Elijah, she would hand over the stakes but they would have to take a small trip to a famous hotel among their circle.
The Abode was a five-star hotel where many supernatural beings stayed whenever in the city because it was a haven, the owner was a famous warlock called Papa Tunde that established a simple rule, it was forbidden to conduct any type of violence inside of the hotel and the rules were to be respected by everyone or he would hex the offenders personally.
Katherine didn't have a permanent address but she often used one of the suites in here and she was known by everyone, it was with a smile that they all welcomed her and there weren't any questions made when she asked for her room.
On the way to the elevator she had a small glance back. "You don't have to walk so close to me Elijah."
Indeed he followed her while leaving only a few inches of distance between them. "We've left the house because you assured me that the stakes were in this location, with that in mind it's highly unlikely that I will let you out of my reach."
Lusciously she held her glance for a bit longer. "If you're planning on staying so glued to my back, I expect to get something out of it as well."
He stoically left his eyes on her face instead and deviating to her inviting cleavage. "I'm not a selfish man by nature."
She gracefully made her way into the elevator. "The last thing on my mind right now is a pair of stakes." She sighed while touching the number she wanted on the panel.
As he had done in the lobby Elijah stood very closely to her back and chuckled. "I assure you that your blunt implications have not made me deviate an inch from what I'm after."
Her naughty mind took over and she smiled shamelessly enjoying her dirty thoughts. "I was counting on a perfect aim." She strutted out of the elevator and securely made her way down the hallway, she knew how tight the dress was on her and she imagined Elijah licking his lips knowing that she wasn't looking. "And I bet that the thought is burning in your mind right now." She stopped at the end of the corridor and reached for the door with the electronic card key.
Elijah was fast as a bullet and grabbed her wrist. "Allow me."
"You want to be the one to push?" She seductively whispered her words out.
It was impossible to contain his smile but he kept his trail of thought pure. "You're a frequent client at this hotel therefore I'm not allowing you inside of this room first."
She sighed pulling back her hand and her posture. "Go ahead then."
Elijah opened the door cautiously and took the lead inside, after his first two steps there was a whooshing sound that he wasn't able to anticipate and he was hit in the chest with five stakes that were launched from a weapon that was activated by motion.
"You wanted in first." Katherine said as she stepped over a momentarily lifeless Elijah.
She had the rink all to herself and although Klaus wasn't really planing on hiring a teacher he was still surprised with how well Caroline could skate, she was effortlessly gliding across the ice like she was merely preparing to fly.
The first minutes were only for her to get the feel of the arena, once she had that covered Caroline started doing small spins, they came one after the other and she started giving extra speed to her motions, Klaus was watching from the sidelines and she passed him with a smug turn that had her skating backwards while her eyes were on him.
"You're not a stranger to the sport." He called out.
Caroline shook her head with a smile. "When I was ten or so I wanted to do this for a living but then I discovered that I liked drawing more than skating…" She prepared to do a tighter circle on a corner of the rink. "Still I never forget how much I loved doing this." Once she had that done she gave it a little speed to the turn creating a really fast spin that lasted a few seconds.
She was breathtaking to watch and he thought that she looked just like a princess sliding across the ice. "I was right to guess then that your merriment over the snow yesterday was connected to a childhood sport of some sort."
She made a little break with her skate as she neared him. "I was a lot happier about what was happening under the snow."
He smiled smugly as he couldn't stop it. "I wasn't too off the mark in anything then."
She skated closer to the rail where he was standing. "Skating is all about keeping balance and knowing how to make your body light and using speed to move." She did a few spins that were faster than the previous ones. "Being a vampire helps with that." She prepared for a jump and when she nailed it perfectly she giggled.
He was going to point out that she was showing-off but Caroline came closer to him with a disarming smile.
"Skillful abilities help a lot with coordination and processing something that my body already knows but it doesn't give me the coolness of reading someone's mind." She stopped with a sliding brake just in front of him. "Which you seem to do a lot."
"It's not entirely intentional." He wasn't happy if that was making her uneasy.
"I guess it's not really mind reading, it's more like paying infinite attention to the tiniest of my sighs or my smiles and little words." She looked at him thoughtful.
"I would call it being entirely rapt with fascination."
Caroline neared to the rail, stopping only when she was far too close to him but she wanted to make the giant location somewhat smaller. "I'm really just a simple girl with a small background and a big baggage."
"There's nothing simple about you sweetheart." He noted with a smile.
She leaned her head forward, it was a way to fully take in his smell which she had come to realize that she adored. "Two out of three." She smiled pulling away from him and starting another twirling routine.
He had a small laugh and rested his elbows on the rail watching the show peacefully, seeing her so carefree was like taking a weight from his soul, she was a soothing balance to his brutal reality, he was a man who inflicted fear with his presence but when he was around Caroline he couldn't be anything else but protective.
"What are you thinking?" She asked him from the middle of the rink.
Klaus had this cute little fluster moment and looked down with a smile that only came after he licked his lips.
"I want to know…" She reached him fast, so much that she bumped into the rail.
Before she bounced back Klaus took hold of her with an embrace that had her secured in his arms. "That I'm not exactly baggage-free myself."
Softly she let go in his arms. "You're perfect." She smiled at ease.
Klaus touched her forehead with his for a few moments. "Oh… sweetheart."
He obviously struggled with a slip that would have been voiced all too naturally for him and Caroline's breath gave her away, she was about to swoon although he replaced the endearing name with something more mundane at the last second.
"I want to kiss you Caroline." He was at least outspoken about that.
"I would like that a lot." She left her lips at his reach and completely answered back when he pressed her lips.
Compared to their first kiss it was a longer share of heat and a bigger pressure of lips that lasted more as well, she wasn't in a hurry to break away and he was being kind to her, he was just passionate enough without pressing for a full kiss, logically his protection extended to each and every limit that Caroline had.
It was the third time that Rebekah read the message but it was like reading something over and over until the words lost meaning and she only put her phone away because Matt was returning with Davina from a trip to the bathroom inside of a bar located in a dusty place in the middle of literally nowhere and she genuinely felt bad for the human because the location seemed as dirty as Davina's discontent face showed.
Still the little annoying brat decided that she found Matt a much more friendly kidnapper and preferred to be handled by him instead of Rebekah, it wasn't something that would affect Rebekah that greatly and she sort of understood the girl's preference, after all Matt was polite and told her to watch her head while she scooped back into her back seat.
Rebekah rolled her eyes perhaps too unconsciously which was a treat for Matt. "She's not going to last for much longer without sleeping on a proper bed…" He checked the map on his phone. "There's a small hotel two hours away and we should make a stop there."
"I need to get back as fast as I can." Rebekah declined his offer with a shake of her head. "Kol caught Marcel and he's bringing him back."
"Do you need to be there when they burn his body?" Matt quickly confronted her with a bit of a mocking tone.
"I would certainly love to be the one holding the match." She tried to be as fast as he had but she lost speed when her phone vibrated with another message.
"He already got away?" Matt wondered about her expression.
Annoyed Rebekah dropped her phone on top of the hood where she was seated. "Kol is only leaving tomorrow."
Now Matt knew why he liked that particular Mikaelson so much. "We're going to stay the night at the hotel and I'm driving." He rushed around the car to take the wheel.
"Why is her beauty sleep so vital out of thin air?" Rebekah asked with a look back at him.
From inside of the car he answered with a smile. "My obscure intentions are all based on my plan to seduce you and to have an entire night of sex with you."
Rebekah slid down the hood with a groan. "You're my best soldier Matt, can't you just stick to your guns and leave your fantasies locked away in the dark corners of your mind?" She closed her door with a huff. "I've had some really good news today and I would love to keep the momentum going."
"I could say yes but I would be lying." He simply replied.
Davina threw her head back to rest it on the seat and to stare at a cream roof. "You two should just rip each other's clothes and go at it like savages. If you did it I would finally stop listening to all this sex talk."
Matt smirked at Rebekah. "Even the hostage knows how predestined we are to do this."
"You need to start driving before I send you back to the others and ask for someone to replace you." She warned him with a pointy eyebrow.
"Nah…" He chuckled richly. "You find me too adorable."
"Borderline insolent." She clarified but without maintaining a harsh tone.
She actually crumbled into a laughter which only made him grin.
Although he adored the skating show Klaus had to step a bit aside to conduct a few calls and to inquire about the hunt that was happening in Aya's name, it was during that last call that Caroline joined his side, she had exchanged her skates for her ballerina shoes and she had a warm smile for him.
"You look taken by something." She tried to know the reason behind his tense look.
"One of the vampires that killed Aya's daughter escaped."
"If you need to go back to the Brotherhood house I'll go with you, that way I get to spend some time with Sage while you rile up the troops." She waved her fists in encouragement.
"They are trained assassins and I expect them to sort out a solution before I arrive ready to express my frustration." Artfully he smiled. "It's in their best interest that I don't return just yet ."
Caroline wrinkled her nose. "Another hour that we waste is another hour that Aya doesn't get piece."
"You're full of arguments." He grumbled in an ill-manor.
Caroline laughed in a soft way. "You had a big date-day planned, didn't you?"
He answered with a heavy grunt. "I arranged for an exclusive tour at the Legion of Honor."
"And I love the museum very much but today I rather have a walk on the aisles of your headquarters."
"Instead of visiting the exact location where they filmed Jimmy Stewart spying on Kim Novak?" He was appalled.
She smiled wondering why he hadn't playfully wiggled his eyebrows as well. "We can watch Vertigo later if you want to but right now you have leader things to do." She ended with a cute serious nod.
His endeared look lasted for a while, it was a new nuance of Caroline's character that he was uncovering today and he was excited to get more of that spirit.
It was a heavy wake up for Elijah, it never was a good feeling to die and it was a far less enjoyable one to come back to life with a splitting headache and a sore chest, he had a small group around him and from it he recognized no one but when they parted ways for a tall slender black man it was clear to him that he was about to meet the leader of the squad.
"I never even thought that a proud moment such as this would come under such circumstances." The man ordered everyone to give Elijah more room to breathe. "I'm the owner of this hotel and I'm honored by your visit."
Elijah was still in the same hotel room where he had been pierced. "On a leap I'm assuming that the triggered death was not meant for me."
Papa Tunde nodded to evict the room and sat across the seat that Elijah was occupying. "I knew that Katherine would come back sooner or later, she's audacious like that."
"She has something of yours." Elijah tried to measure the other man's grudge.
"A valuable item that she refuses to give back."
"She likes keeping things that aren't hers to keep." Elijah looked down on his shirt, he wasn't presentable and he had to change from his bloodied clothes.
"I'll get her the next time." Papa Tunde stood up with a respectful tiny lowering of his chin. "As for what you came here for…" He pointed at something that was wrapped in a towel and lying on top of the coffee table. "I have replaced the stakes that she had on the safe with fake ones."
Elijah moved the fabric to reveal his present.
"The Brotherhood is always welcomed in my hotel." Papa Tunde was hoping that the gift would hide the fact that he actually attacked one of them.
Elijah broke one of the stakes in two, the tiniest splinter fell on the table and he rubbed his finger over it, when it didn't start burning his skin Elijah looked at the other man.
"I swear that those were the ones I found inside of the safe." Papa Tunde immediately gulped down.
"To be tricked by Katherine once is on her but to be tricked twice is on us."
"I can find her." The warlock said determined and ready to take action.
"You can sit down and tell me everything that you know about Katherine."
Papa Tunde had the strangest flash, like a memory creeping in unwillingly. "I can make a location spell..." He rubbed his left temple.
"As much as you could hex her." Elijah brought the fake white stakes to the mantel where he started a fire to destroy them. "She was a former witch and with that I have a hunch that she has protected herself."
The other man had a bigger flash of images that left him dizzy, in all of his wisdom he had no idea what was happening until he recalled that he was in the presence of an Original.
"I seldom resolve my matters without using torture but giving you the sensation that you are losing sight is something that I can live with."
Papa Tunde knelt in pain. "You haven't even touched me."
"I can make you think that I did." Elijah stood in front of the man with his hands inside of his pockets. "Try to be concise because time is important." He gave the man the illusion that he was digging his eyes out.
"Are you sure that this is the right time to pursue this?" Finn couldn't even count how many magazines rested over the table, not to mention that Sage actually had a white board ready to be used.
"Kol and Bonnie are coming back with Marcel as a prisoner, that's one matter that was dealt with and now Kol told me to prepare an unforgettable day for Bonnie, he wants her to have the perfect wedding day and I have less than four weeks to organize it."
Finn inched closer for a kiss. "Where there's a Mikaelson there's a will." He gave her a serious look. "Still try to remember that Bonnie is the bride…" He softly mused.
"She is going to choose the stylist and the wedding dress, and I'll obviously ask her opinion about everything before I make any major decisions." She padded Finn's chest. "While you prepare Marcel's quarters for his dismemberment I will create my mood board for the festivities."
"I'm on my way out since I can't tell a carnation from a tulip." He kissed her again. "But I leave you with the best help in all the kingdoms." He smiled hearing Caroline approaching the vast study room.
"I love flowers." Caroline arrived with a big enthusiastic smile just as Finn left.
Excitedly Sage clasped her hands together. "We have so much to do, the wedding date is set a month from today and we have to think about the location, the flowers and what everyone will wear."
"What flowers does Bonnie like?" Caroline started to have a better look at a magazine with floral arrangements.
"I'm assuming that she won't be very supportive of Champagne roses."
"I can do a dossier for her…" Caroline started to visualize it in her mind. "With a lot of flower choices and the decoration in case she chooses to have the wedding in the garden." She looked at Sage. "I can also draw a few cake options after I talk to her and find out what she wants."
"It's very titillating to see you so lively." Sage focused on a magazine.
Sweetly Caroline made the bridge to what she was dying to tell Sage. "There was an exciting lip-lock yesterday…"
"I know!" Sage dropped her magazine entirely. "Finn had to drag me away from the window because I was gawking."
Caroline laughed imagining it clearly.
"The two of you looked so ethereal, under the falling snow…" Sage tilted her head enamored and with a bit of a sigh.
"I liked kissing him." Caroline shared. "It felt honest."
"It's quite funny how something that is so seldom taken as granted can make such a difference." Sage responded thoughtful. "I have such a strong connection to Finn that I foolishly forget that not all men are sincere when they choose to show a vulnerable side of themselves."
"Was it really love at first sight between the two of you?" Caroline asked curious.
"I hated him in the beginning." Sage confessed. "He was part of a ship crew and he used to stay away at sea for months and moths, whenever he was back on land I was annoyed and I hated how we always bumped into each other in the market. Then the years started passing and he became the leader of a knarr and I started to realize how I would count the moons for his return from the sea so that I could hate bumping into him in the market." She giggled. "So in a way I think that I always had a world of feelings for him."
Caroline lowered her voice as she aimed at a more delicate question. "You come off so maternal to me and the other day I was wondering if you were turned before you could be a mother or if you chose not to be one?"
Sage's constant glow faded the tiniest as the subject touched her in a different way. "Within our first year together I had a miscarriage and I couldn't find the courage to risk going through that pain again, as for Finn he was just supportive of whatever choice I made so I decided to become a vampire and to leave that possibility behind."
"I'm so sorry Sage." Caroline felt bad for touching such a deep wound.
Sage touched the corner of her eye to stop any furtive tear and smiled at the Caroline. "I had my work cut out for me either way, Kol and Rebekah were a handful from the second I joined this family, and Elijah and Niklaus are the very definition of complex so that was always something that kept me busy. That and food of course." She explained the major reason behind her passion.
"I wonder if they know how really lucky they all are."
"I remind them quite often of it." Sage started to look at a few pictures of flower crowns. "Like your smooching partner who likes to pretend that his mess is organized and that he can find a single thing in that office of his."
Caroline was looking at bridesmaid gowns. "I had to clean and put some order into that mess but I bet that today the clutter is back."
"That one just needs a Shellan to keep him in line."
Caroline looked up at a subtly grinning Sage.
Sage laughed when Caroline narrowed her eyes at her. "But a Shellan at a time, right now we have to focus on Bonnie." She took the marker and walked over to the board where she started writing down in topics everything that they had to do.
"I'm sorry to interrupt the ladies." Naoki greeted them from the door, respectfully inclining his head forward as they faced him, Caroline was the one with the bigger smile for him and it was for her that he was here. "Klaus asks if you can join us in the office."
"No problem." Caroline glanced at Sage before she left with Naoki.
Sage stopped her notes with a stun enveloping her, Klaus bringing someone outside of the Brotherhood into one of his meetings was an unforeseen happening.
Klaus was in the office with a girl that Caroline had seen in the house before, she didn't know her name but she knew that she was important.
"Caroline, this is Mai." Klaus made the introduction. "She's my most valiant soldier and she was in charge of capturing Mohinder's crew."
Caroline smiled at the girl, she had a natural beauty but also a strength that was visible by the way that she stood in the office, she was confident and she really looked ready to start a fight that she would win for sure.
Mai smiled back at Caroline. "My work is not over yet, I still have one last deject to kill."
"We had them cornered but Mohinder stepped in, during the fight his sired vampire escaped." Naoki informed Caroline.
"Did you kill Mohinder?" Caroline asked Naoki.
He looked at Klaus which made Caroline follow his line of sight.
Klaus chuckled amused. "I'm waiting for him to bite me so they were instructed not to harm him."
"You want to fight him?" Caroline made an effort not to lower her voice in worry.
Klaus smelled a glass to make sure that it was clean. "Most ardently."
Caroline looked at Naoki.
"He has a penchant for challenging fights." Naoki said in a sigh.
"I also have a fight to end." Mai was far from giving up. "And I need to leave again to find Darren." She pronounced his name nauseated.
"Is there a valuable lead?" Klaus got ready to enjoy a bit of bourbon.
Mai nodded. "I placed a tracker on his car and I've punctured the fuel deposit." She showed Klaus her phone. "I've arranged for an accident just at the end of the bridge so it's going to take him at least another hour to cross the Golden Gate, if I can get to the first gas station after the bridge before he does, I can kill him then."
"Arriving before he does shouldn't be a problem for someone who drives a motorcycle so well but by now he knows and is expecting you." Klaus poked the only flaw in her plan.
Disheartened Mai lowered her shoulders.
"He doesn't know me." Caroline softly made herself heard.
Klaus gulped down the alcohol imagining that he had misunderstood her.
But Caroline pushed on. "He won't be expecting me and I can keep him distracted enough for Mai to do her thing." She easily explained the part that she could take in the new plan.
"You should leave at once if you intend to be successful." Naoki prudently gave the girls a green light.
Quickly they left, one excited that she had a good plan and the other excited that she was going to help.
"I wanted Caroline to meet the Brotherhood, not for her to make errands for it." Klaus dropped his glass upset that Naoki instigated her adventure.
"You shouldn't ask a dragon to light up a candle without expecting to have your hand burnt from it." Naoki turned away with a smile.
Unhappy Klaus refilled the glass with bourbon, some days he couldn't stand Naoki's wise-mouth.
Stuck in a traffic block for two straight hours, running down on gas and with a sting on his throat Darren was in a bad mood, he pulled over to the small road place scratching over the place where Mai had cut him with a knife, the little bitch really had a taste of his blood but luckily for her Mohinder showed up in time to save her fine ass.
Darren spit on the floor, Mohinder was wrong to send him away like a dog, he wasn't afraid of Klaus' hounds and he should just turn back and avenge the death of his friends.
The thought gained weight and Darren decided to check the diner, it looked empty judging by the parking lot and he could use the snack, the blonde fixing up the tables only made him smile hugely.
"Those are some really long legs." He admired her happy that they were all alone.
"I just made a pot of fresh coffee." Caroline smiled at the man sitting at a table that she just cleaned. "Can I interest you in a cup of coffee?"
"You have all of my interest." His smile was as sly as his wandering eyes.
Always smiling Caroline poured steamy hot coffee into a big mug. "Are you leaving San Francisco or going back to it?"
"I haven't decided yet." He attentively watched as the cute uniform hugged her body so well and how the red scarf matched the fiery red that she had on her lips. "What's your name gorgeous?" He couldn't find a tag with her name but he kept his eyes on her big breasts.
"Caroline." She answered with a bit of a seductive tone.
"Why don't you sit down and have a cup of coffee with me Caroline?"
"I'm not allowed to fraternize during my shift." She maintained a professional denotation.
Darren laughed. "You like reading magazines with big words, huh?"
"It's like you know me." She had a tiny gasp.
He laughed again. "You're really cute… I like cute girls with cute names."
Caroline smiled while struggling to keep her repulse hidden.
"I just lost my Leeland and I'm on the scout for a new one." Darren prized Caroline like she was a raw dish being served on a platter.
"And what's that?" Caroline played naive.
He licked his lips. "A steady bed and breakfast."
Caroline's hand tightened around the handle of the coffee pot. "It's Leelan and you're despicable." She smashed the pot on his face.
Darren screamed with a burning face but as he leaped at Caroline he was swiftly knocked out by Mai who snapped his neck.
"I hate when rats distort culture like that." She picked up a knife and held Darren's head up by grabbing his hair.
Caroline stopped her before she sliced his neck. "I think that Aya would like to do that herself."
Mai looked up inquisitive.
"She's a mother and she needs closure so she should decide if she wants to be the one who gets to end that sad excuse of existence." Caroline cleaned her hands smeared with coffee on a towel.
"I will tell Aya that it is an offering from the Brotherhood." Mai injected Darren with vervain to keep him unconscious, then she looked at Caroline pleased with the new girl in the ranks.
After leaving Davina in her room Rebekah met with Matt in the hotel's small pool. "Wonder girl is sleeping." She sat next to him and took off her shoes so that she could splash her feet on the blue water, it was surprisingly a good hotel and the water was crystal clean.
"Hopefully she sleeps all night." Matt liked that they had a little time alone again.
"If not I had a very supportive conversation with her." Rebekah circled her feet soaked in water. "I told her that if she decided to be brave I would rip her spine out while she was conscious."
"I think that you would do that just to slow us down." Matt gave his opinion with a shrug.
"How do you see that?"
Matt smiled. "You said earlier that you wanted to hurry back but we're driving home instead of taking a quick flight back." He cocked his eyebrow. "You're stalling because you don't want to see Marcel again."
"How would you like to lose all of your teeth?" She simply asked with a deadly stare.
He laughed. "It's inevitable that you will see your old fling but you could use me to forget about him while we are on the road, out of sight and all."
"We have a hostage." She looked up as Matt stood on the edge of the pool.
He started to take his shirt off. "You make too many objections for something so simple."
"There's nothing simple about sex Matt."
He dropped the shirt and jumped into the pool, he stayed immersed for a few seconds before he came up to face her with water dripping from his head and bare chest. "So you're not going to join me?"
Rebekah stood and slowly turned away from him, the temptation was there but she was smart enough to walk away, although she sneaked a look at him while she was going up to the rooms.
"Do you bring back a sword dripping of blood?"
Caroline smiled at the question, it made sense since she was walking into the Temple where Klaus was entertained with a variety of cutting weapons. "We spared him for Aya." She tapped her way lightly across the casings on her left. "What are you doing?"
Klaus decided between two very pointy daggers and while he returned one to the glass stand behind him he left his choice on the table where he already had a big armament. "I'm preparing the arrival of our incoming guest."
Machetes, bats, hunting knifes and stuff that she clearly knew that was used in torture made Caroline frown. "I'm going to avoid coming to the house for the next few days, if you don't mind…"
He instantly searched for her eyes. "I will miss you."
Slightly she tilted her head. "We can meet wherever you want, just not here."
"My point still stands."
"Mine as well." She stood by her choice.
"Marcel's capture has left everyone in an upheaval. Small outburst of violence have spread out in Saint Petersburg and I expect the same to happen as soon as Kol returns with Marcel."
"Mai told me that Kol delayed his return for a day because he wanted to take back control of the city first."
Klaus warmly smiled. "Kol is the better fighter of us all but also the proudest, he's not willing to leave his cherished city without cleaning it first."
"What's the reason behind Kol's strong connection to Russia?" She asked while having a small walk around the room.
Naturally Klaus followed her with his blue pearls. "By now you've noticed that we've all found an inclination towards a certain culture or mentality, and we have roots in all of them. Rebekah still has a valuable presence in the Chinese Triad and Finn's connection to the Italian web of crime is as important as Elijah's umbilical attachment to politics, for Kol it was all about the raw fighting brutality of Russian lords, he fell in love with the organization and gut-wrenching way of fighting for what is ours."
"Everyone has a dirty hand on something dirtier." Caroline stopped near his sword. "But you're the leader and I'm not convinced that you only branched out to Japan."
He left his side of the room and approached her with a smile. "I'm the middleman."
She squinted a bit, that didn't sound as opulent as she anticipated.
"If someone has a problem they speak to me and I will decide if the Brotherhood will help them or not, depending on the location and how it will suit me better I give the assignment to one of my siblings. Usually petty small nests are resolved between them and my intervention isn't necessary but still everything goes through me."
"At the Mayor's party…" She moved her eyes to the sword. "You were there to buy guns…"
"For us and for two gangs in Mexico that wanted to kill each other."
Heavily she looked up at him. "A sponsored gang fight is what saved me?"
His breath left him in a soothing way that matched the smile. "In exchange for the arms they gave me access to a vampire nest that was abducting girls and selling them as blood-slaves."
"It only gets worst every time that I learn more about the world…" She sighed. "There are so many women getting hurt out there and I thought that my dungeon was horrible." She looked up when she felt this amazing soft touch under her chin, it was a world of difference from how Damon touched her and she looked at Klaus vulnerable because of that.
His hand was still soft as he moved it across her cheek. "We level the scales whenever it's possible."
Still vulnerable Caroline leaned her face against his palm, she couldn't be that broken if his warmth and his touch was so inviting that she searched for it instead of sustaining it and Caroline's hope skyrocketed, this would be her starting point to something more substantial with Klaus.
"You were out today leveling on your own." He commented as his fingers started to test her limit.
The second he brushed the side of her neck a whirlwind of sensations, such as Damon chocking her, came to mind and Caroline looked down recoiling the tiniest to his touch. "I was happy to help." She said lower than she wished.
Klaus' hand returned to her face. "You need to tell me when you're not comfortable with something Caroline."
She looked at him regretful that they were actually having this conversation. "Two seconds ago things were looking very promising in my head."
"I had my goal set on a smile and your company, if touching you will make me lose that I won't insist on that. I expect many triggers and I'm willing to give you adjustment space but I can't do it if you keep silent about what makes your skin crawl in trial."
"The possibility that you would wrap your hand around my neck pushed me into a bad place in my head." She recognized. "It doesn't mean that I don't like how you touch me and how you kiss me." She crooked out a smile hoping that he would act on that tiny bit.
He moved his lips to occupy hers with small kisses that were gradually prolonged as she pressed his lips harder, his hands were away from her body but he was really close to her, Caroline was wrapped in heat and a portion of that came from inside of her as well, she loved how soft and round his lips were and with a voluntary wish she peeked the tip of her tongue lightly touching his lips.
Klaus didn't rush anything, he let her set the pace and how she wanted to do this, he parted his lips but waited for her decision, only moving his tongue to meet hers when she looked for it.
It was a slow encounter and a soft brush of tongues, Caroline was comfortable with was happening between their mouths but she had no clue what to do with her hands, she was about to touch his chest but old habits were wining and she kept a distance between them, that didn't match the kiss because Klaus was different, everything was different.
She stopped the kiss with too many things in her mind but she smiled as Klaus kissed the corner of her mouth and her cheek next, it had been an amazing kiss but she ruined it from being perfect and with a grunt she leaned against him ready to bury her head in his chest.
Klaus soothed her back with his hand. "Sweetheart?"
Caroline grunted harder, she ruined it and he was still being picture-perfect. "I want to touch you but I was trained not to touch Damon." She looked up steadfast on getting this out of her chest. "He didn't like being touched and if I wasn't tied up and touched him during sex he would punish me so right now you're being this amazing and unselfishly kissing me and instead of appreciating that I'm thinking that I don't know what to do with my hands." She brought them up with emphasis.
Without a word but with a smile dancing in the air Klaus took her hands and placed them on his chest. "That's a good start."
Baffled by his boyish simplicity Caroline cracked into a laugh, she shook her head next while laughing in a bubble way. "I don't know if you're making fun of me now."
"I'm being helpful." He brought her closer by circling his arms around her in a sheltering way.
Caroline fell into a safe niche. "If this is only for a kiss… I don't know how I will react to the rest." She crumbled her lips a bit. "Or when I will be ready for it."
"Eternity is our ally."
"Are you saying that just because it sounds pretty?"
That crook way of his to smile while showing his dimples was back. "I'm confident enough to know what I want."
Her eyes absorbed all the blue in his. "And what do you want Klaus?"
"To have you in my world."
"Well… I saw your Persephone painting in the library and I thought that it was curious how I was a guest in your world as well and that my first meal in here was fruit."
He wasn't cocky about his art so he was nurturing a curving smile on his lips that touched the coy side of his personality. "What's your interpretation of that painting?"
"That Persephone is a kickass goddess who plays with flowers and doesn't take crap from anyone, not even from a death lord. She's worshipped but she's also feared. That's respect and she has that from Hades and from everyone around him."
"Such as warriors that work for him?" He squinted bringing to a circle a few of her actions.
In a slow motion of her eyes she held his attention and unleashed this flame of fire that she had inside of her, it wasn't a glimpse anymore of what she could be, it was the acceptance that she wanted back what was stolen from her and she was owning up to that wish. "Whoever you introduce me to will show courtesy because of you but I want to earn my own respect."
He smiled gazing at her perfection. "The strongest light in a sphere of dark..."
She melted against his strong body. "Yeah, those blonde curls of yours really brought some sunlight into my life."
With an easy flow between them Klaus chuckled. "I was favored by the gods."
She agreed to that by giving him a slow peck on the lips. "And I want to look good next to you so I'm going home to change and I will be back for dinner."
"It's Gloria's night to perform so we could get away while Sage is distracted and swing by the club."
She liked the idea of that. "We have a late date then." She started to pull away from him.
"You know…" He said before she reached the door. "In ancient mythology, to eat the fruit of one's captor meant that one would have to return to that captor or country so you had that right but your first tasting in this house was my blood."
"There's nothing simple about me Klaus." She used his words on point. "And I come and go as I please." She dropped her statement nailing the strength and the fire that she was clawing her way into and she walked away proud that she had control over that moment.
Klaus broke into a small enchanted laugh, she was chipping off those broken edges and showing who she really was.
Saint Petersburg
They could hear the fight outside, it was messy and loud and the screams from the other side of the door were coming as fast as the jittery hands in here were checking for ammunition.
"I'm out of bullets." Someone mumbled.
There was another big rumble, clearly the fight was having a second round in the lobby and the man nearest the elevator panel started pushing every button repeatedly, any floor would be good as long as the elevator moved but for some reason they were stuck without moving while a thud was heard just above their heads.
"They're on top of us." Another man said and started to empty his gun against the roof of the elevator.
When he was done there was a lot of smoke inside of the elevator but the heavy footsteps on top of them continued until the roof gave in to reveal Jackson smiling down on them, still that wasn't troubling enough as hearing the little bell sound of the elevator door opening.
As they all turned around they saw Kol standing by the door, he was all smeared with the blood of the twenty something men he slaughtered, drops of it were still running from his hand down to the axe that he was holding and from that to the floor there was a small pool of blood forming.
The men stepped back inside of the tiny elevator, it was too small to hide from a menacing Kol who smirked, face covered in blood and will to kill the ten men remaining from this lot.
Caroline was done curling her hair, the makeup was also finished so she only had to slip into a white and blue flowery dress to be ready, she was just picking up her shoes when there was a knock on her door. "Just a second." She yelled from her bedroom, she knew that Gloria had to leave to the club but she wanted to pick Dickens on her way to her car, quickly she grabbed her keys and her clutch and hurried to the door.
She opened it with a big beaming attitude but her world cave in and the ground shook under her feet, her heart plummeted to an abyss when instead of finding Gloria at her doorstep she found Stefan.
"Hi Caroline." Stefan smiled at her. "It's good to see you alive."
Soundtrack:
Castle in the snow – Kadebostany
Do you no wrong – Richie Campbell
Take me home – Jess Glynne
Run boy run – Woodkid