"It was supposed to be a one-time thing, a mistake. But, when you're a vampire, life is blood and blood binds."
Caroline wakes up curled into Klaus, a beaming smile stretching on her lips as her eyes flutter open and focus on the hybrid right next to her.
Of course, he's already awake. In all honesty, she doubts he has slept at all.
"Hey," she whispers, laying a soft kiss on the exposed skin of his neck.
He looks down at her, trying to appear calm and comforting, but she immediately sees right through him—it's another one of their things—and sighs.
Even if just for a handful of fleeting moments, she really wanted to be able to pretend that the two of them were nothing more than a normal couple awaking next to each other in the morning, she wanted to be able to briefly forget that they were about to get ready for a war–
–for a funeral–
–instead, and that their lives were the farthest thing from perfect that there is.
But worried, dark shadows are clouding Klaus' stiff features, and the illusion of bliss that she has created in her mind bursts right in front of her still half sleepy eyes, broken as soon as their gazes meet.
A warm hand cups her cheek, titling her head upwards and bringing her back to the present, away from the troubled recesses of her madly spinning mind.
Klaus' thumb gently caresses along her bottom lip, and she attempts a feeble smile.
"How are you feeling?" he asks after a few moments of silence, wearing a small frown.
What she answers isn't exactly an answer, and they both know it.
"I will be okay," she nods with conviction, really trying to make herself believe it more than him.
"I know you will," he immediately responds, his lips pressed tightly together in what she assumes is supposed to be somewhat of a smile.
His words reassure her, and she feels a content warmth spreading throughout her chest at the knowledge that he has faith in her, in her strength to face whatever is about to come.
"What about you?"
For a long moment, he doesn't reply, instead bringing her slightly closer and tenderly resting his forehead against hers as he exhales.
"As long as you are safe, I am happy."
She nods minutely and then surges forward, closing the small distance left between them and softly taking his lips with hers.
It's a slow, languid kiss, both parts taking their time to really savor the other's taste, their lips meeting over and over again in a lazy and yet passionate, familiar dance that they have perfected beyond excellence by now.
Soon enough, everything could be different, and it's a thought too heavy to bear.
Klaus' hands move down Caroline's neck and back, temptingly, taking a firm hold of her thin hips as the blonde stealthily lifts a leg up underneath the covers to curl it around his waist.
She feels him grin against her lips at the motion, his tongue finally peeking out and asking entrance to her mouth, an entrance which she gladly allows as her fingers find the hem of the shirt that he wore to bed the night before.
The garment is up and off his body in a matter of seconds, their lips briefly disconnecting as he helps her skim out of her pajama shorts and quickly disposes of the white Henley that she has stolen from him days ago now and that she sneakily loves to sleep in.
Her chest is gloriously bare underneath the flimsy fabric, and the hybrid immediately takes advantage of that, his head lowering towards the valley between her breasts, eagerly licking and sucking, covering every single inch of her soft, flawless skin with his adoring lips.
But Caroline is not exactly in the mood to be patient. She doesn't at all care for foreplay for once, because there is nothing that she wants more than the utter completeness that she experiences whenever he's inside of her.
So she rolls them over in one swift and smooth move, firmly positioning herself on top of him as she happily drags his dark gray boxers down his long, taut legs. With a knowing smirk on his lips, Klaus reciprocates, ripping her panties to pieces in the blink of an eye and quickly discarding of their pale pink shreds.
Together, they guide his ready, throbbing cock towards her warm center, hands firmly intertwined.
They need each other. Right now–
–always.
The blonde pushes down just as her lover arches his hips up, their bodies effortlessly connecting in the most beautiful and intimate of ways as their moans and sighs start playing like an elegant, ancient melody throughout the otherwise silent room around them.
It certainly isn't the first time that they are together this way, but it somehow feels like it is–
–in this very moment; now that, after so—too—long, they both fully know the depth of the other's feelings for them–
–because it could be an ending, but it's their beginning.
And so on time goes slowly, as they make love.
:
:
"I don't want to speak to you."
"Oh, you don't want to speak to me?"
Stefan's quirked up left eyebrow and slightly amused-looking grin, signs that he will not let her go until he has said his piece, make Rebekah pause, a heavy sigh leaving her lips.
"What do you want, Stefan?" the blonde asks, arms haughtily crossed over her chest.
The younger Salvatore's features seem to shift at her question, becoming somewhat hesitant and much more genuine.
"I want to apologize."
She scoffs. "Why? Because we might all be about to die in a few hours? Spare me. Repenting for your sins is not going to grant you a last minute halo, anyway."
He flinches at the jab, and then his jaw clenches.
"You compelled me."
"After you used me," she promptly yells back, outraged. "You do remember sleeping with me only to get some of my blood, which you needed to kill me and my entire family, do you not?"
Stefan grinds his teeth together and closes his eyes for a brief moment.
"I'm sorry, alright?" his tone slightly raises in volume, mimicking hers.
"No, it's not," Rebekah retorts icily, the two vampires wordlessly looking at each other for a few, long moments, before the Original finally re-gathers herself and walks away.
It takes Stefan less than a second to turn around and watch sadly as she leaves, his lips parting as if he means to say something and try to stop her, although only a sigh of defeat manages to escape past them.
He doesn't deserve her forgiveness, he knows that; he doesn't deserve anyone's forgiveness. His goodness has always stemmed from selfishness, after all, from a skewed sense of morality that he should be ashamed of.
So he waits just a little bit longer and then follows behind her, hands tucked into his jeans pockets, gaze lowered in deep remorse.
They both silently join everybody else in the adjacent living room.
Rebekah immediately sits next to Klaus on one of the leather couches, trying very hard to focus on the dreary situation that they are currently facing and on nothing else.
She takes a deep breath, steadfastly avoiding to look at either of the two Salvatores or at Elena. It wouldn't do her any good.
Despite everything that has happened between them throughout the years and especially in the past month, she is well too aware of the fact that she still has feelings for Stefan. She tremendously wishes that it wasn't so, and she hates herself for being so weak when it comes to love, but she cannot help it–
–she never could.
The heart wants what it wants, after all. Or so they say.
Part of her refuses to believe that, after all the centuries that she has lived on this Earth, she is still not able to exercise control over an organ that isn't even supposed to work for her anymore. How does it happen? And, most importantly, why?
Maybe her brothers were right all along, maybe she's too naïve.
But, if there is anything that watching the two other Mikaelsons together with Caroline and Katherine has taught her, it's that everyone can find their special someone eventually, even when it feels like it might take an eternity (and a literal one, in her case) to do it.
She refuses to ever settle for anything less than epic and consuming love, she has decided that; she knows that she will get her own happy ending one day. But, right now, she needs to fight for that one day.
"Are we all ready?" Bonnie asks from the center of the room, determination ringing loudly in her words as she looks around and confidently meets everybody's gaze, efficiently garnering their full attention.
It's Lydia who answers her, the other witch standing right beside her together with Sophie.
"We are," the redhead nods resolutely. "We have all the blood samples that we need and definitely enough magic to complete the spell."
"Which would do what, exactly?" Caroline asks, a hint of desperation laced in her voice.
She knows what the spell is for already—of course she does—but the neurotic control freak that is inside of her, always nagging at her sanity just beneath the surface, is way too nervous and worried to not question every single thing that is currently happening around her.
There are too many dreadful what-if scenarios playing on a loop in her mind, and she needs to make sure that everything is going according to plan, reviewing every single aspect of their attack strategy before it's too late to right what might be wrong.
"The spell will fully unbind the original witch from the other Originals, and therefore from this world as well," Sophie gives the blonde an understanding, sympathetic smile as she explains.
Caroline nods gratefully, returning the brunette's gesture with a strained smile of her own. She feels one of Klaus' hands resting on her right knee then, caressing the uncovered skin there in a reassuring manner; she covers it with both of hers and inhales deeply.
"For good," the hybrid adds after a moment, sharing an unreadable look with both Elijah and Rebekah.
They certainly are no saints and probably deserve the threat and anguish plaguing them, but having always had their parents out to kill them is something that nobody else can truly understand.
Maybe the Salvatores do on some level, Stefan especially, and Caroline. But their experiences have been brief, and they now feel like nothing more than far memories that have helped making them stronger, molding them into the people—the vampires—that they choose to be today.
For the Originals, it's different.
They have never had a chance to turn things around like Caroline has with both of her parents. They have never managed to leave it all behind like the Salvatores have. Theirs is a never-ending nightmare, and the nightmares of monsters are a pretty scary thing.
After some silence, Elena clears her throat, tentatively turning towards the three witches.
"So, is it–uhm," she gives Damon a sideways glance, "is it going to happen now?"
"No, not yet," Sophie answers. "We want to channel the power of the opposition surge just to make sure, so we still have a few hours to wait."
"What if Mama Original decides to move up her schedule, what if she finds a backup plan?" Damon rebuts defiantly, arching his eyebrows up at the olive-skinned girl.
"She won't," the witch states harshly, annoyed. "She can't. She's counting on Bonnie for the spell, she can do fairly little on her own."
"So our plan is basically foolproof?" he quips, impressed.
Bonnie immediately shoots him a sharp, reprimanding look.
"Nothing is foolproof, Damon."
"Oh. So mine have just been the famous last words?" he tauntingly uses air quotes.
Klaus wastes no time doing what everybody else in the room is dying to do as well in that moment; he leaves the couch in an instant and speeds right in front of the immature, raven-haired vampire, angrily throwing him against the nearest wall.
Damon groans in pain and Elena gasps, taking an automatic small step forward towards her boyfriend before thinking better of it as Klaus growls dangerously at him.
"If anything goes wrong tonight," the hybrid snarls, holding the other vampire's neck in a crushing grip as he threatens him and consequentially everybody else present who might even just think of defying him as well, "I will find a way to make you beg me to kill you, before the spell even has a chance to. Do you understand?"
The eldest Salvatore coughs and chokes as the Original's hand tightens around him with every single word. He barely manages a weak nod, and Klaus finally releases him in response, letting him fall down to the floor with a loud thud and slowly moving away from him and towards the center of the room.
Everybody is looking at him almost expectantly now. For once, although forced, they are all on the same side, and they just cannot afford to lose.
"Get to work," he orders, people immediately scattering through the mansion, attending to their assigned tasks, making the most of what could be their final hours.
Only Caroline stays, the baby vampire standing up from the couch and approaching him.
He immediately takes her in his arms without a second thought, her pliant body modeling itself around his as they both sigh.
"I love you," she reminds him in an almost inaudible whisper.
Klaus nods and holds her closer.
He loves her too, and he is not going to lose her. Hell would sooner freeze over.
:
:
When the sky finally starts to darken hours later, they all leave the mansion, walking somberly towards the edge of the forest.
Everything depends solely on the witches, and it really isn't necessary for everybody else to be present as well, but none of them was willing to remain behind at the house and anxiously wait for their possible doomsday, their presence therefore making the situation feel all the more grave.
The time for goodbyes has long passed, and Caroline, Bonnie and Elena only share one last look of sad understanding. The witch's eyes also swiftly flicker to Klaus for a fleeting moment, the conversation that has taken place between them in the very early morning traitorously replaying itself in her mind. She doesn't want to fool herself, but hope does always die last.
Silently, the brunette reaches the point where Lydia and Sophie are already standing in the middle of the vast clearing, dead leaves crunching quietly beneath her boots as she treads on them almost reluctantly.
The three witches pour a drop of each one of the Originals' blood on their skin, using it to mark a series of ancient runes symbols on their bared wrists. Once that's done, they join hands, carefully positioning themselves to create a perfect circle, and wait.
The seven vampires who have come with them together with Katherine remain a few feet away, observing their movements with apprehension. Their lives depend on this spell, after all, and such knowledge is slowly eating away at them.
For a few, long minutes, everything is eerily silent around them, leaving them waiting with bated breath for the chaos that they know is about to be unleashed.
At last, a burst of lightning cracks the evening sky open above their heads, a loud thunder following seconds later. It's barely a moment before an unintelligible chanting starts echoing throughout the forest, the three witches' voices immediately merging together and almost resounding as one.
But worry quickly settles at the pit of Caroline's stomach when the Earth begins to quake unnaturally underneath her feet.
"What's happening?" she shouts, using one of her hands to hold onto Klaus' left arm and the other one to shield herself from the strong wind that has suddenly picked up.
Each and every single one of them has already gone through their fair share of life or death situations by now—they are all unwilling veterans when it comes to such games—but it has never before felt so scary, it has never before felt as if Nature was literally rebelling against them.
Rebekah's voice is barely a whisper as she finally answers, but the other blonde's heightened hearing manages to catch it anyway.
"Our Mother is fighting back," the Original wanly murmurs, her pale complexion marred with dread and her icy blue eyes fixated on nothing in particular, appearing almost listless.
Caroline has never seen the female Mikaelson look so scared of something before, and it makes her already dead heart freeze in panic.
"Come on, Bonnie," Elena softly urges in a low voice, adding to the other baby vampire's uncertainty.
Even if the spell was to work, her other best friend would die because of it, how can nobody else realize how terribly messed up that all is? Does being gray mean that she will constantly be at war with herself from now on?
Finally, the darkness surrounding the clearing seems to start to dissipate, the opposition surge reaching its peak and the moon becoming noticeably brighter, almost blindingly so, right at the center of the now pitch-black sky that is looming menacingly over them.
They all avert their gazes and try to cover their eyes, still keeping their full focus on Bonnie, Lydia and Sophie, whose chanting has gradually turned into loud, desperate cries as the ground starts to shake even more forcefully in protest.
Esther's rage is almost alive and palpable, and certainly terrifying. And maybe someone like her–
–someone who has time and time again turned her back on her own children, on her own flesh and blood–
–should have expected it—the betrayal—but, then again, how could she have ever foreseen someone sacrificing themselves for love, when love is a concept that she has no chance of comprehending?
A deafening roar rumbles loud through the foggy air then and a ring of fire suddenly erupts from the Earth, caging the three witches in and startling everybody else, stealing rough gasps from their parted lips. But the chanting does not cease for one single moment, blood starting to mar Bonnie's dark-skinned features as it runs down her eyes and nose, painting her once white teeth a terrible, scary red.
Caroline feels herself shaking at the sight, violent sobs wracking her thin body, and all that she wants in that moment is to find a way to save her best friend. After all, being a vampire means that she has cheated death more than once, and it allows her to play with other people's lives as well–
–to drain them of their blood and kill them (which—no), to bring them back to health when all hope seems lost–
–and the fact that, despite all of that, she is still unable to prevent one of the people who mean the most to her from dying is a bitter, bitter irony.
The bright, orange flames crackling dangerously in front of them seem to increase in height and intensity for less than a second then, before everything suddenly becomes dark and silent once again. The opposition surge has come to its end, and Esther's energy slowly fades out, the original witch's spirit finally getting ripped away from any residual ties to the living world once and for all in the process.
They should be rejoicing, for Lydia and Sophie's spell has worked and saved them all—them, monsters and murderers, condemned and yet saved—but it has done so at a very high price.
It's a beat–
–an exhale–
–and a scream pierces sharply through the grim night upon them before Bonnie's body falls down to the ground, lifeless.