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The further they got away from New Orleans, the more the guilt and worry ate away at him. More than once, Stefan had wanted to turn around and go back for Caroline. But Rebekah was adamant about New Orleans being completely wiped out by now. Mikael had burnt the entire city to the ground once before, and he surely would have done it again, she had said.
Stefan had never seen anything quite like this before and was baffled by the true extent of it. The vampires weren't brave enough to feed in plain sight, but a lot of them weren't being inconspicuous about it either. The body count was definitely up and Stefan idly wondered how the police would explain this sudden spike in the murder rate. The werewolves weren't any different, making their disgust of vampires well known and not hesitating to pick a fight. Not that they were much of a threat, as only a few wolves they passed by had moonlight rings. The whole atmosphere had changed to one of hostility and aggression, and Stefan knew that it was only going to get worse as time progressed.
He was grateful when the sun finally came up, allowing them a reprieve of sorts. Vampires without daylight rings were forced into hiding, whilst werewolves were generally nocturnal creatures who hid during the day anyway.
"Come on, I think we should check in," Rebekah said, motioning to the diner and motel across the street. The building looked old and run down. Stefan was pretty sure that no one would ever come looking for them in there.
But still. "Wait, why? Won't it be safer to travel while the sun is up?"
"Not particularly," Rebekah commented idly, crossing the street. Stefan fell into step with her, with Kol and Ivantika trailing behind.
"Most of the vampires don't have daylight rings and the werewolves aren't around either" Stefan pointed out.
"I couldn't care any less about vampires and werewolves Stefan, and neither should you. You are in the presence of three Originals" Rebekah said, placatingly, with a hint of arrogance. As they entered the building, Rebekah easily compelled the receptionist to give them a twin room.
"The only threat to us now are the witches, and keeping the grimoires safe" Rebekah explained, snatching the key from the elder lady and making her way up the narrow stairwell.
"I still think we should keep moving. Aren't you worried about Esther and Mikael tracking us down?" he asked, lingering at the bottom of the stairs, uncertainly.
"I doubt they would be. If anything, my parents would be chasing after Nik and Caroline right now. It's them you should be worried about."
"Don't remind me," Stefan muttered.
Rebekah looked at him with a blank expression on her face. "You really should get over it Stefan. Caroline's perfectly safe with Nik. You and I both know that he'd never let anyone hurt her."
"That's not what this is about" he said, shaking his head.
"Well then, what is it about?" Rebekah asked. Stefan could tell that she was genuinely curious.
"I left her, Bekah," he said sadly.
"No. You didn't leave her. You let her go. It was her choice to stay."
"It doesn't feel that way," Stefan said. "Something bad might happen to her..."
"And you're afraid that you won't be there to protect her? That Nik would be the one to swoop down and save her?" Rebekah scoffed, cutting him off.
"That's low even for you," she pointed out, making her way down the stairs to stand before him. "What about the doppelgänger? Aren't you two destined to be together?"
"I decided to take control of my own destiny" Stefan said, decidedly.
"Good. Elena's even duller and dafter than Katherine. And I loathe Katherine. You deserve so much better."
"But I don't deserve Caroline? Don't think I don't know what you're doing Rebekah."
"Maybe it was just really great sex. Maybe it's something more... I see the way my brother looks at her, like she's the only girl in the world." Rebekah shrugged. "Either way, don't you think it's better if Caroline figures it out before you get too involved?"
"I'm already too involved Rebekah. I'm her..."
"Ex boyfriend. You're her ex boyfriend Stefan. As in past tense" she stated. Rebekah's voice held no malice and her eyes shown genuine concern, but Stefan couldn't help but feel insulted. Before he could formulate a reply...
"Where do you think you're going?" Rebekah asked, looking between Ivantika and Kol. "We'll stay here for the day."
"I'm not staying at this broken down dingy motel, and besides... I'm starving." Ivantika looked around with distaste, scrunching up her nose.
"I'll pick up a few blood bags for you, after we settle in" Rebekah offered.
"Don't be ridiculous, Bekah. She's not drinking from blood bags, when there are perfectly healthy humans walking around" Kol said, pointing outside.
"You're not leaving Ivantika," Rebekah said, with an air of finality, completely ignoring Kol.
Ivantika rolled her eyes. "And you're going to stop me?" she challenged.
"I will if I have to" Rebekah stated firmly.
"Tone down the brute courage auntie Bekah, before you get yourself hurt," Ivantika warned. "Unless you'd like to spend the greater part of today incapacitated by a nasty hybrid bite."
"Ivantika..." Rebekah started.
"First you left me. Then you left daddy." Ivantika scoffed. "It's a little too late to pretend you care."
Rebekah looked completely disconcerted and despondent by Ivantika's threat for a moment, before collecting herself. With a determined expression on her face, Rebekah flashed to Ivantika. Her hand at Ivantika's neck. But before she could deliver on her intent, Ivantika smoothly outmanoeuvred her aunt, catching Rebekah in a choke hold. With a twist, Rebekah fell to the ground, neck snapped.
Stunned, Stefan looked at Rebekah's limp body, before gently picking her up, gathering her in his arms.
"You shouldn't treat her like that" Stefan scolded lightly. "Rebekah's really..."
Ivantika lifted her hand, effectively stopping Stefan short. She looked at Stefan intently.
"I politely suggest that you think very carefully about what you're about to say to me" Ivantika said, her voice low and deadly.
"Despite the seemingly close relationship you've shared with both my father and aunt in the past, your very existence is irrelevant to me," she explained menacingly.
"Let's get one thing clear. We are not friends, Stefan Salvatore."
Stefan gave one sharp nod.
Ivantika looked at her aunt, hesitating only for a moment, before she flashed away with Kol on her heels.
"Are you sure we're going to be safe here?" Damon asked, looking around the apartment sceptically. He had kindly asked Elena to stand by the threshold, but she had waltzed in after Elijah, perching on the kitchen counter top.
"This is where Nadia used to live, before she died. And I mean, the first time she died," Katherine explained. "She has places like this all over the world, as do I. Where no one will be able to find us. Not even an Original." Katherine smirked.
"And being the one that killed your little girl the second time around, how do I know this is not some trap?"
"Damon, if I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead a long time ago" Katherine commented idly, fiddling with the coffee maker. Elijah made his way over to her and turned the coffee maker on, before retrieving a bag of coffee beans from the cupboard. They exchanged a smile, before Katherine went to the fridge, pulling ingredients out. Oh right. Katherine was human and humans needed to eat food to survive.
"Yet, here I am" Damon said, talking a seat on the stool near Elena, who was pointedly ignoring him.
"Yet, here you are" Katherine said, taking a pot out of the cabinet and filling it with water. Before she put it on the stove and Elijah filled it with pasta. Okay, this was getting entirely too domestic.
"And we are entirely grateful that Katerina has decided to help us once again" Elijah said, pouring a cup of coffee and offering it to Elena, who readily accepted it.
"Once again?" Damon asked, confusion colouring his tone. Until he realised, "wait a minute, did Katherine give up her blood willingly?"
Damon looked at Katherine. "You offered to be a human blood bag?" He laughed. Katherine looked so offended, causing Damon to laugh even harder. He clutched his sides, as Katherine glared at him, holding the knife she was using to cut up vegetables, firmly in front of her.
"Shut up Damon" Katherine spat out. "Klaus offered me protection. Protection that I've offered you by inviting you here. You really ought to be more grateful."
"Or what Kat? What are you going to do? Kick me out?" Damon smirked. Noticing a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen with something to drink a lot stronger than coffee, Damon hopped off his seat. But before he could make a move, he was slammed against the wall with a hand wrapped firmly around his throat, his legs dangling off the ground.
"Now I do not pretend to begin to understand the relationship you share with your maker, nor do I particularly care" Elijah said, his tone cool and calm as ever, his hand still wrapped around Damon's neck in a vice like grip. It was becoming hard to breathe.
"But you will show Katerina the level of respect befitting of a lady, or I will compel you to be far more tolerable. Do we have an understanding?" After a moment, Damon nodded in acquiescence. Elijah put him down and released him. Damon coughed, struggling for breath.
Both girls were looking on. Katherine with a smug expression on her face. Elena's expression was unreadable.
Walking back to the kitchen Elijah continued, "now I think it's in everyone's best interest if you hand over the white oak stake" he said, addressing Elena.
"No" Elena said, shaking her head. Damon immediately flashed to her side, but she didn't acknowledge his effort. "I'm sorry Elijah, but I can't do that."
"Why ever not?" Elijah asked patiently. Elijah was a gentleman, so was he when he wanted to be. Damon didn't put it past Elijah to simply take the stake from Elena.
"I was guarding the white oak stake with Kol, and he gave it to me for safe keeping. It's my responsibility."
"I hardly think it's fitting to bestow such a heavy burden upon you Elena."
"If Mikael, Esther or whatever witches are doing this, find us, then you're the first one they're going to expect to have it. They'll never suspect me" Elena argued.
And Damon could practically hear the wheels turning in Elijah's head. Elijah was actually contemplating what Elena had said.
"Elena you should give Elijah the stake. This isn't our fight" Damon voiced, his tone almost pleading. If they were discovered, and Elijah was killed, it would have no effect on them whatsoever. They belonged to Klaus' bloodline, not Elijah's. Elijah's death mean't nothing.
"You hold allegiance to my brother" Elijah commented, looking at Elena intently. It was as if Damon hadn't spoken.
"Sort of. We have a mutual interest" Elena hedged.
"Please, do explain."
Elena sighed. "Bonnie."
Elijah lifted a brow, questioningly.
"Kol is going to find Bonnie" she muttered.
Elijah looked at Elena, obviously taken aback. "Elena, I need you to explain everything, and I expect you to be entirely honest with me" Elijah said.
Clutching a cooler in one hand, a bag in another, Klaus quickly flashed back to the lodge they were staying in. He hardly cared whether the normal humans stopped to question the sudden wind that signalled his blur of movement. He had to stay away from prying eyes, for fear of being followed, and he caught the scent of one too many witches residing in the small town.
It was an apparently abandoned hunter's lodge in the middle of the forest. Klaus had thought it best if Caroline stayed behind, while he ventured into the town to try to catch word of where his family and her friends might be. Much to his surprise, Caroline readily agreed. At first, Klaus was wary of her lack of objection, but he decided it was simply out of forced habit. They weren't enemies any more. She didn't have any ulterior motive for being reasonable, and dare he say, nice to him. Klaus chuckled at his own amusement.
He still couldn't believe his luck. Klaus still couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened. The most beautiful, intelligent, enigmatic, witty, charming baby vampire, the Caroline Forbes, in all honesty, light of his life, actually forgave him. Klaus was not such a fool to think that the news of his liaison with Hayley, and Hayley's pregnancy, would have not reached Caroline. In fact, when he caught word that Tyler Lockwood had shared that bit of information with Caroline, Klaus had feared her reaction. A part of him had waited for Caroline to show up at his door and unleash the fury of her wrath upon him.
But he'd never heard from her. For all those years, not a single message of phone call or mention of the fiasco at all. And Klaus had honestly believed that Caroline did not care. That what they had done in the woods that day, his most cherished memory with her, was meaningless to Caroline. Merely something physical, and she had gotten him out of her system. He had left, and she was glad. That Caroline had moved on with her life.
But after all those years, to know that she was still angry with him. Fiercely angry, he assumed, due to the extent to which she lashed out at him that day in his art room. If it could still affect her so, Klaus dared to believe that Caroline did care for him. That she did want him to be a part of her life. For if he had mean't nothing to her, did why did she feel so betrayed? Klaus had hoped to be friends at least. After this whole mess was dealt with, he'd make himself part of her life in some way, any way that she would have him. For he knew that upon seeing her face again, he would never survive being parted with her for any length of time.
And then this girl. This bold, brave, enchanting creature. Entirely infuriating when she wanted to be. Caroline managed to convince her friends to leave without her. She managed to convince his family to leave her behind, when every single one of them were certain there was a toss up between being daggered for a few centuries or killed permanently with the white oak stake, depending on the extent of harm that befell her while she was on her way to him. Caroline had come back for him. She had saved him, though he'd never admit to it.
Klaus and his family had been chased by Mikael for centuries. And in all that time, Klaus had been the one to keep them safe. His plans and decisions were nearly always complied with, unquestioned. And Caroline defied him once again. She defied him at every turn, never failing to make her opinion known. How he enjoyed her honesty. The way her mind worked completely confounded him, and he'd enjoy spending the rest of his existence trying to figure out the way her beautiful mind worked.
Caroline came back for him because she was worried about him. Because she feared for him. Because she couldn't stand not knowing where he was or if he was safe. She confessed having feelings for him, and that in itself made Klaus question whether this was real. Perhaps the witches had successfully done whatever they wanted to do to him. Perhaps he was trapped in his own mind, and the past few hours were his over active imagination allowing him reprieve by giving him this dream. If so, he never wanted to wake up.
But Caroline's lips on his lips and the way her curvaceous body moulded to his body, was not something he could come up with. Despite how many times the memory of those few hours they spent in the woods all those years ago, played on a continuous loop almost every night before he fell asleep. She was real. This was real. Caroline had decided to give him a second chance, and he vowed that he'd never give her reason to regret her decision.
Stopping at the door, Klaus performed the repertoire she had shown him. It was mean't to be their secret knock. As though he couldn't smell her, sense her sitting on the cot at the far end of the room, concentrating intently on something. But he decided to humour her. She was truly amusing, especially the seriousness with which she shown him, not once, but twice. Caroline was quite a perfectionist. But he didn't expect anything less from perfection itself.
"Come in" she called out softly.
Caroline was sitting on the cot with her legs folded under her. Her hands on her lap, and her eyes firmly shut, forehead wrinkled in concentration. She made no further acknowledgement of his presence as he came inside.
"I brought some blood bags and a change of clothes" Klaus said, resting the cooler on the table, and putting the bag of clothes down on the cot beside her. Silently hoping that what he picked out for her was suitable. There wasn't the widest range to choose from. Klaus had already changed into jeans and long sleeved t shirt, disposing of the torn, bloody clothes he was wearing.
She automatically replied, thanking him. After a few minutes of silence passed, she let out a small sound of frustration.
"What are you doing sweetheart?"
"Concentrating" Caroline answered softly.
"On what?" Klaus asked with barely contained curiosity. What the bloody hell was she doing? On their way here she kept complaining about her state of dress, so he bought her clothes, but she wasn't changing. He was sure she was starving, but she wouldn't feed. Too busy concentrating on what exactly?
"Bonnie. I'm concentrating on Bonnie, Klaus" she huffed, finally opening her eyes.
Caroline threw her hands up in frustration. "I'm trying to connect to her, but nothing's happening" she muttered.
"Can you show me how to do it?" she asked timidly, chewing on her bottom lip. What Klaus came to realise was a nervous habit.
"I would love to teach you anything you want to learn, sweetheart, though I don't know why you think you'd be able to connect to your friend Bonnie" he said, moving to sit by her side.
"Well she connected to me. I swear, I almost sensed her presence, and I heard her voice. She spoke to me Klaus."
"Your friend Bonnie is a witch, Caroline..."
"Yes, but vampires are able to project themselves too" Caroline said, shaking her head.
"When I was still human, there was this one time Damon was locked up in a cell, and he sent me these visions to let me know where he was and how to get him out" she explained.
Caroline got off the bed, and moved to the cooler where she retrieved a blood bag. She twisted the top of the blood bag into a make shift straw, and Klaus watched in fascination as Caroline's vampire features became prominent. Thin spidery veins appeared under her eyes, which were now darkened. She took a long drink, moaning softly in appreciation. It took him longer than it should have to realise what she just said, and he tried very hard to contain the rage that was quickly building.
"In order for Damon Salvatore to have connected to you Caroline, your blood would have been in his system. Am I to assume that while you were human, you allowed him to feed from you?" Klaus asked patiently. A flurry of scenarios flashed through his mind, only serving to anger him further.
Caroline had already realised what she had let on. She immediately became guarded, and he could tell that she wasn't going to respond to him.
"What did Damon do to you?" he asked evenly, but his hands balled into fists. If Damon Salvatore had hurt her, in any way, he would face suffering he hadn't known to exist. And Klaus already had the inclination to hurt him nevertheless.
"It's nothing." Caroline quickly recovered, putting the now empty blood bag on the table. "I'm mean it's not nothing. It's something, but it's not important" she stuttered.
Klaus lifted a brow questioningly.
Caroline sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It was a long time ago. When I was still human, Damon and I used to date. I was shallow and I thought he liked me. But he was just using me to get to Elena and Stefan. And..."
Klaus growled. It was a low rumbling sound coming from his chest. He stood and started pacing the small room. He knew Caroline's eyes were trained on him, she was looking at him warily. He doubted very much that she was afraid of him, so Klaus hoped that she knew that his anger was not directed to her, but to what had happened to her.
How many times had she been hurt? And by those she deemed to be her friends? How many of those crimes had gone unpunished? Caroline Forbes was too forgiving for her own good. Klaus knew that Katerina had killed Caroline, by suffocating her with a pillow. He also knew that it was Damon's blood in Caroline's system at the time. But Klaus never anticipated the circumstances through which it all occurred.
"Did he hurt you?" Klaus asked. He caught Caroline in an unwavering gaze, and she flinched because of the intensity of it. She could no doubt feel the rage rippling off him, and Klaus decided to take a deep steadying breath to try to control himself. None of it had been Caroline's fault. She had been an innocent victim.
Didn't any of them care to protect her? Or were they all so busy protecting Elena Gilbert that Caroline had to fend for herself?
Worse yet, Klaus wondered if any of them even knew what Caroline had endured. Klaus would not put it past Caroline to have hidden her pain and struggles.
"Yes" she finally answered, her voice as soft as a whisper. That was all the confirmation he needed, the details weren't necessary.
"You can't hurt him" she pleaded, taking a hold of his hand.
Klaus looked down at their joined hands, and brought them up to his lips, placing soft kisses on her knuckles. "Not only can I hurt him sweetheart, but, I really want to."
The irony did not go unnoticed by him. In fact, it filled him with bitterness. Klaus had hurt her as well. But the difference was, that he had atoned for his mistakes and sought her forgiveness. She sure gave him hell for it. And he had given himself hell for it, every single day that went by. Perhaps he should be grateful that she was too forgiving at times.
But Klaus had seen the blatant disregard and so little respect Damon had shown Caroline often enough, and he doubted whether the elder Salvatore had ever bothered to apologise. Damon had been resident in various safe havens, under protection, all because of Caroline. If it wasn't for Caroline, Klaus would have easily disposed of the entire Mystic Falls gang long ago. They owed her their lives.
"Klaus, it doesn't matter to me any more" Caroline insisted. "I'm over it already."
"I'm not" he said softly. He cupped the side of her face. She automatically leant into his touch, before stopping herself.
"Klaus..."
"I'm to ignore it because Damon is a part of your social circle? Perhaps because he's the doppelgänger's some time love? Or maybe it's because he's Stefan's brother?" Klaus' voice was soft and calm, careful, but there was force behind his words.
"I'm to ignore what happened yesterday with Demetri because you don't want to talk about it?" Klaus asked. Caroline visibly blanched. She tried to move away, and he let her take a step back.
"How many times have you been hurt Caroline? And have you ever dealt with it, or just ignored the pain until it went away?" he continued. "Well I'm not going to pretend it never happened love, whether it happened yesterday or nineteen years ago. If someone has hurt you, then I'm going to hurt them. It's only fair."
"Klaus..." she murmured.
"You gave me a second chance Caroline, and what kind of man would I be, if I allow people to believe that they can hurt my lady?" Klaus asked sincerely. His voice was thick with emotion.
Her eyes filled with unshed tears and Klaus took a step to eliminate the distance between them once again, pulling her close to him. Caroline buried her head in his chest, and he tugged at her curls.
"You still can't kill Damon," she hesitated. "Please."
He smirked. "Of course not, love" he said, placatingly. Caroline relaxed and it was then that Klaus realised how tense she was.
Why would he kill Damon, when there were fates far worse than death?
"You're awfully quiet" Ivantika commented, looking through the mirror as they drove down the near empty highway. Suffice it to say that the humans weren't entirely oblivious to the supernatural world being especially prevalent over the past few days. They preferred to stay inside, locked up safe in their homes.
It was easy enough to steal a car. She wanted to drive, but uncle Kol called dibs. And besides, she had no idea where they were going, and how to get there.
"I didn't expect you to come with me" Kol said, glancing at his niece.
Ivantika scoffed. "Oh, sure... I spent months trying to find a way to bring you back from the dead. Did bring you back from the dead. And you expect me to just let you go on your little suicide mission all alone?"
"If anything happens to you, Nik is going to kill me" he said seriously.
"Don't be over dramatic." Ivantika rolled her eyes. "We're not going to start killing each other."
"You snapped Bekah's neck" Kol pointed out.
"She was going to snap my neck, I didn't really have much for a choice" Ivantika brushed him off with the wave of a hand. "And besides, I want to help you."
"Why?" Kol asked incredulously.
"If you had managed to go off on your own, auntie Bekah would follow closely behind. And unlike Caroline and Elena, Bonnie Bennett doesn't need to be unbound. The second she got a whiff of your little witch friend, she'd snap her neck out of spite" Ivantika explained.
"We both know auntie Rebekah isn't over Matt's death. She's acting like she's fine, but I think she's mostly got revenge on her mind. And what better way to get revenge than to destroy the witch plane all together? She'd start killing witches and wouldn't stop until she killed every single witch on the planet."
"I warned Bonnie" Kol said, bitterly. "There were rumours going around on the other side for months, but she didn't heed my warnings. She didn't want to believe that witches could be so evil. That they could sacrifice their own and want to rid the world of supernatural beings."
"You and Bonnie are close" Ivantika noted.
Kol made no acknowledgement of her statement, looking straight ahead, but after a moment he replied, "she's my friend."
"Well then, we're going to save her," Ivantika stated, matter of factly.