Day 21 - Late 1400s Era

She woke to his hand gripping her throat.

Caroline was no stranger to breath play; she and Klaus had tried just about everything once in their century together.

But this was different.

Usually, Klaus would work her up to the more intense sessions, and their last encounter like this was approached with great care. He went over the safe words incessantly, scared that she would run away if he went too far. She had appreciated his worry, but it was unnecessary. Caroline was completely, head over heels in love. Rabid dogs couldn't chase her away.

That fact was probably the only reason she wasn't freaking out at Klaus tightening his hold on her neck. Her eyes flew open, already placating. She didn't expect to find such malice in his expression, though. "Klaus," she choked out, reaching for his arm.

"Who are you?"

The question was low and menacing. She had heard him like this before, but it hadn't been directed at her in a very long time. "What are you talking about," she asked, the croaking inevitable as Klaus refused to let up. "I'm Caroline."

"Why are you in my bed?"

"It's our bed," Caroline snapped, able to get an inch to struggle out from under his hand and take a defensive crouch. She held her hands up peacefully as she processed what he had said. He had no idea who she was or why she would be sleeping with him.

This wasn't her Klaus.

Bonnie had warned her this might happen when he attacked that coven of witches. They liked to cast curses in their dying moments, it was a bit of their trademark. Did they take Klaus's memories of her? Damn, that hurt.

"Rebekah," Caroline called, opening the door so she could be heard. "Will you come in here?"

"Bekah's here," Klaus asked, still looking angry and confused.

Caroline nodded. "She travels with us sometimes," she explained. "We're in San Francisco."

"I told you," Rebekah's voice floated from the hallway, "I don't want to know what odd things Klaus offers to teach you in bed, so please stop asking me for advice."

Before she could continue her tirade, Caroline spoke up. "I think the witches cursed Klaus to forget about me," she said, pulling the other blonde into the room.

Klaus, however, didn't like the rough motion. "Take your hands off her," he growled, both sets of fans dropping as his eyes turned gold. As quickly as it happened, he snapped back to his human face in shock. "Why did that feel different?"

Caroline was lost. She had no idea what was happening, and she couldn't even ask him for comfort. He was too likely to kill her in this keyed up state.

Rebekah seemed more sure. "You're a hybrid now, Nik," she explained gently. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I had just welcomed the doppelgänger to the castle," he said slowly. "Elijah was to take care of her until I could put everything in order to break my curse. She was to think I was courting her into marriage. You say I've already done it?"

Squeezing her eyes shut, Caroline tried to not let the image of Katherine and Klaus bother her.

Rebekah just scoffed at her. "Get off it," she snapped. "It was seven hundred years ago, and you've been completely nauseating for nearly a century."

"Seven hundred years," Klaus breathed, trying to remain confident in his abilities. "That would explain the clothing, I suppose."

Glancing up, Caroline noticed his appreciative gaze wander over her skimpy pajamas. He always had preferred her in silk.

"Are you my wife, then?"

Caroline's eyes snapped wide open. Klaus was so ambivalent to human marriage rituals that he truly wouldn't care had she wanted to force the issue. Caroline Forbes would never change, though. She never wanted a wedding with an unwilling husband. For this version of him to effortlessly assume that they were married, it hurt.

"I'm going to call Bonnie," she said softly, grabbing his robe before ducking out of the room. Being wrapped in his warmth wasn't an option at the moment, so his scent imbedded in the fluffy terrycloth would have to do.

Back in the room, Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Your real self is going to pay for that one," she noted. At his confusion, she explained. "Caroline knows you love her, but she thinks you have no desire to call her wife."

Klaus shrugged, as this was no surprise to him. "At least that has stayed the same," he said. "Marriage has always been folly."

Rushing to shut the door to keep Caroline's prying ears out, Rebekah turned to glare at him. "Please keep your opinions to yourself, because you have grown a lot in this time, Nik," she said sternly. "You showed me the ring just last week, and you do intend to marry Caroline."

Shocked, Klaus tried to picture the blonde who had all but ran from the room. In seven hundred years, he wanted a wife. And he wanted it to be her. "Why?"

"It beats the hell out of me," Rebekah responded automatically, as though she were talking to the real Klaus. "That was a joke," she clarified. "You love her, and you hate that she still feels as though she's temporary. You wanted to prove to her that she is family."

"Always and forever," he whispered.

Pushing past Rebekah, Klaus opened the door and followed his senses to where the girl sat on a couch. The room was surrounded with odd knickknacks and technology, but all he could focus on was the woman huddled in a too-large robe dripping with his scent.

"Tell me about us," he said, almost able to laugh at her surprised jump. Then he saw the tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to make you cry."

"It's not you," Caroline said, wiping away her tears. "Um, Bonnie- My friend, she's a witch, and she thinks the curse will work itself out in a day or two."

"Will you allow me to get to know you in the meantime," he asked, slowly taking the seat next to her. "I find myself curious about how you came to mean so much to me."

Caroline straightened in her seat, something about his statement had her perking up. "How much do I mean to you?"

For the first time, he looked like her Klaus. An evil smirk with eviler dimples, knowing he's cornered the game. "No," he said, grinning. "I want to talk about you."