A/N – I hope you guys enjoy this – it's kind of a filler chapter before we see Caroline go off the deep end. As always reviews are love! T-
XIV
Caroline didn't sleep the rest of the way to New Orleans, instead opting to take the wheel so that Klaus could get a break. With the female voice of the GPS guiding the way, Caroline drove mindlessly through the night on the back roads of the Deep South. Klaus was silent most of the trip, mulling over in his mind what he could do to get his Caroline back. Admittedly, he was a little surprised with himself that he wasn't fully embracing the new, darker, Caroline, and was in fact missing the bright light and bubbly innocence that radiated off of her not 24 hours earlier. He had decided to avoid bringing up the matter to Caroline directly, knowing that she was more than likely in complete denial over the situation and wouldn't listen to a word he said anyway.
As they approached the Louisiana border, Klaus pulled out his phone from his pocket and scrolled through the contacts, hesitating for a moment when Stefan's name appeared. Should he reach out to Stefan? Tell him what happened to Caroline? Surely he would have some insight on the matter. Klaus exhaled loudly and continued scrolling, deciding that was not a viable option at this point. He was an Original, he could fix this. Finding the number for the witch that was going to do the spell on Caroline, he pressed 'dial' and put the phone to his ear, glancing at Caroline from the corner of his eye as the phone rang. After the third ring, a familiar voice picked up.
"Nik, I was expecting to hear from you a bit sooner than this."
"We ran into a snag in Georgia, but we're coming into Louisiana now Elisa. We should be in New Orleans in about another hour," Klaus said, noticing that Caroline had almost rolled her eyes into the back of her head, surely due to the vagueness in his re-telling of the incident at Jack's. Klaus smiled slightly at her reaction. At least she still had her wit about her.
"That's fine. I'll be here. I'm looking forward to meeting the girl, Nik." And with that the line went dead. Klaus slipped the phone back into his pocket. Reaching over, he gently squeezed Caroline's thigh, receiving a sidelong glance in return from the pretty blond.
"We're almost there, Love." Caroline nodded as she bit her bottom lip. In the very near future she would finally be able to truly disappear. All she had to do was get as far away from Klaus as possible once the spell was done and no one would be able to track her.
"I'm hungry," Caroline said simply. Klaus reached in the backseat and pulled a blood bag out of the cooler and handed it to Caroline. Not taking her eyes off the road, she pulled the plug off of the bag with her teeth, emptying the bag in less than a minute. "More, please," Caroline said as she tossed the empty bag to the floor. Klaus frowned slightly as he eyed Caroline warily.
"Easy, Love. You just went on a binge. You don't want to overdo it." Caroline rolled her eyes and extended her hand out to Klaus, palm up.
"More," Caroline said firmly. Klaus hesitated for a moment before reluctantly reaching into the cooler for another bag. Once the bag came into Caroline's peripheral, she quickly snatched it out of Klaus' hand and sucked that one dry as well. Caroline frowned as she threw the empty bag to the backseat. Klaus raised an eyebrow at Caroline's sudden appearance of disappointment.
"Something the matter, Love?" Klaus asked as he eyed Caroline curiously. Caroline shrugged and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.
"There's something wrong with those blood bags. I'm still hungry." Klaus smiled and shook his head slightly. She really had no clue that she had begun the decent to The Dark Side.
"It's not the bags, Love, it's you" Klaus said. Caroline turned her head with raised brow, clearly not grasping what Klaus was telling her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Caroline asked slightly defensive. Klaus sighed quietly and ran his fingers through his hair.
"You very recently drained the life out of half a dozen people, Caroline. God only knows when the last time was that you actually fed off the flesh. You're natural vampire instinct is trying to take over, causing your body to crave the real stuff, rather than these," Klaus said as he tossed another blood bag onto Caroline's lap. Caroline quickly snatched it up and drank the red liquid. Caroline was used to having control over her urges, but at this point the urges were obviously controlling her. Caroline tossed the third empty bag and looked at Klaus suddenly feeling a little helpless.
"What do I do?" Caroline asked quietly. Klaus, feeling a little bit sorry for the girl, rubbed her thigh comfortingly.
"You have to control the hunger, Caroline. You can do it. You've done it for years already." Caroline nodded as she let out a breath that she wasn't aware she had been holding in.
xXx
"We're here," Klaus said as the GPS directed Caroline to pull into the driveway of a small house. On the lawn was a sign, 'Madame Elisa – Fortune Teller'. Caroline rolled her eyes as she cut the engine.
"Madame Elisa? Fortune Teller? This is your all-powerful witch Klaus?" Klaus merely shrugged before stepping out of the car.
"It's how she makes a living, Love," Klaus said quietly as he gently pressed his hand to her lower back and led her to the front door. Before they even stepped foot on the porch, the front door swung open, revealing an older woman with long wavy grey hair and a caramel complexion.
"Nik, it's so good to see you again," Elisa said with a warm smile.
"Elisa, it's been too long. I'd like you to meet Caroline," Klaus said as he nudged Caroline closer to the witch. Caroline extended her hand and smiled politely. Elisa gently took her hand and smiled.
"I've heard so much about you," Elisa said. Caroline shrugged slightly.
"There's not much to say, really, but it's a pleasure to meet you," Caroline said as she pulled her hand from the witch's grasp.
"Well let's get started shall we. Please come in," Elisa said as she led the pair into her home.
The home was cozy enough, filled with antique furniture. The walls were painted a coral pink, while brass table lamps offered a warm glow. Elisa led them into a small room in the back of the home, offering Klaus and Caroline to sit on a cream colored sofa while she stood next to a table. On the table laid an old grimoire along with a couple of candles that were lit, a large ceramic bowl, and a shiny silver knife. Klaus held onto Caroline's hand loosely while Elisa read quietly to herself from the grimoire. After a few minutes, the witch raised her head and smiled at Caroline.
"Come here please, Caroline. I'm ready to begin." Klaus squeezed Caroline's hand reassuringly before letting go. Caroline stood and walked over to the table, taking her position next to the witch. Elisa gently took Caroline's hand, taking a silver knife from the table she turned Caroline's hand over so that it was palm up and sliced through her skin. Caroline didn't blink as Elisa drew blood from her hand then held it over the ceramic bowl so that the blood dripped down into it. The witch began to speak in Latin as she picked up one of the lit candles and let the hot wax drip into the bowl along with the blood. Caroline began to feel dizzy as the spell continued and the magic wove its way around her body. Gripping onto the table with her free hand she struggled to remain composed. The witch's words became louder as she got deeper into the spell and Caroline felt her hand slipping from the table as her mind started to go black. Suddenly she felt herself falling backwards, in the fog she could hear Klaus yell just before her body hit the floor. In her state of unconsciousness Caroline could feel a dark powerful force pull down on her. Caroline struggled to pull away from it and slowly her mind began to clear.
"Caroline, Love, wake up please," Klaus said in a pained voice as he cradled her head in his lap. Blinking, Caroline opened her eyes and tried to focus on Klaus' face. Sighing in relief, Klaus leaned down and kissed Caroline's forehead.
"What happened?" Caroline asked, her voice cracking slightly. Klaus gingerly helped Caroline up into a sitting position then onto her feet after a moment or two. Caroline eyed Elisa who had a strained look of concern etched across her face.
"There's a powerful witch on the Other Side. Her magic is very dark. She tried to pull you over, Caroline," Esther said as she looked at Caroline seriously. Klaus sighed heavily as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Esther," Klaus mumbled through gritted teeth. Elisa nodded slowly.
"Well, did the spell work or not?" Caroline asked the witch. Elisa smiled thinly.
"It worked," Elisa said simply. Caroline sighed in relief.
"I'm going to wait outside, I need some air," Caroline said as she turned and walked out of the room. Elisa turned to Klaus with a look of concern.
"I know that you said the girl is full of light, but there is darkness around her so thick that I can't see that light Klaus." Klaus nodded slowly as he sat back down on the sofa.
"The incident in Georgia, what held us up, it damaged her," Klaus said as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"What happened, Nik?" Elisa asked as she took a seat beside him.
"We were out, and this group of werewolves attacked us. Caroline never feeds off of humans, and she most certainly doesn't kill," Klaus took in a ragged breath. "Well she did both that night and when I returned to her after cleaning up the mess I noticed that she wasn't acting like herself." Klaus paused for a long moment before speaking again. "She's turned her humanity off Elisa, and I don't know how to fix it." Klaus slumped forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, defeated.
"You're going to have to find a way Nik. It seems that Esther is aware of Caroline's situation and is trying to take full advantage of it," Elisa said. Klaus nodded and stood.
"Well, I appreciate your help, as always," Klaus said. Elisa stood and hugged Klaus tightly.
"Take care of her. She's in a delicate position right now," Elisa said before letting go. Klaus exited the witch's home feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders. Caroline was sitting in the SUV, waiting patiently for Klaus, no emotion traceable on her face.
"Where are we going now?" Caroline asked as she fished in the cooler for another blood bag.
"We'll find a hotel, and figure out what our next step is tomorrow," Klaus said as he started the ignition and headed for the heart of New Orleans. A feeling of despair and desperation overwhelming him as he drove.