Hello loves! The Originals might be taking this week off, but I'm not, so here's a new chapter for you!
Thank you all for your reviews on the last chapter! I was very proud of myself when I saw that I surprised at least one of you with Bonnie's plan! I'm also pleased that most of you seem to be content with how I wrote Damon and the way that Klaus punished Damon for hurting Caroline.
I'm also thrilled that so many of you have mentioned your excitement for the Klaroline baby, because I'm really excited, too! We're only five chapters away! There's another hint about the baby in this chapter for you that I'm honestly not sure anyone will fully understand at this point, but I'd love to hear your reactions! Please feel free to send me any guesses or questions you may have about the baby, and I will respond to them if I can without giving too much away! And in response to questions about this storyline: no, Caroline is not yet pregnant—trust me, you'll know when it happens; and I can't tell you exactly what Esther's intentions are, but I can reassure you that as dark and twisted as her plan is, she isn't planning to kill the baby (there's no way I could write something that awful).
I also received some really thoughtful questions about the twins' magic, and the answer to most of them is, I'm not really sure. I don't think that they can give magic to someone who isn't a witch, but I haven't really set the limits of what they can do. They have some magic of their own, they can siphon magic from another supernatural creature and use that magic to supplement their own, but other than that, I'm not sure what the full extent of their abilities are, especially because they're still so young. I would like to write about the girls when they're older, and their magic would certainly be a topic that I would want to explore.
Also, I don't plan to include any of the heretics in this story. I don't think the Mikaelsons would welcome them, and honestly, I already have my hands full with all of the characters in the story already!
And for all of the Kol and Bonnie shippers in the reviews, Katherine makes a snarky comment this chapter that I think sums up the Bonnie/Kol/Davina dynamic in a pithy, amusing way. I personally don't ship any of them, but I do like the idea of Kol and Bonnie being really close and being magic experts who help take down their family's enemies together.
Other notes:
In response to a question about my update schedule, my primary concern is posting a chapter every week. I post the chapter as soon as I finish the next one, whatever day of the week that is.
I'm also glad that someone caught my hint with Elijah in the last chapter… he almost told all three girls to listen to their mother, before catching himself when he remembered that Caroline isn't actually Hope's mother.
This chapter picks up immediately after the end of the last one.
There is some anti-Elena sentiment in this chapter, which I wouldn't say is really mean, but it is worse than Katherine's 'Mary Sue Barbie' comment from last chapter.
Klaus gets a little suggestive in this chapter, which, for the record, I did not give him permission to do, it just sort of happened. I don't think he gets vulgar enough to be offensive, but I thought I should warn you just in case.
I apologize if the hints and foreshadowing in this chapter are a little heavy-handed, but I think all of it is important, especially Klaus and Caroline's conversation and Hope's questions.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, or any of the previously disclaimed Disney movies.
Happy reading!
"I don't know," Klaus said. "But I do know that I've missed you, and the girls are in bed…" he trailed off, reaching out for Caroline.
"Oh, no, I'm annoyed with you," Caroline replied.
"May I have a chance to acquit myself?" Klaus asked with a smile.
"I haven't decided yet," Caroline told him.
They made their way upstairs, running into Rebekah in the hallway.
"The girls are tucked in bed," Rebekah informed them. "I've really missed those three. And I missed you, too, sister," she said, stepping forward to hug Caroline.
"I missed you, too, Bekah," Caroline replied.
"Well, we have had an exhausting few days, so I'm off to bed. Goodnight," Rebekah said, opening the door to her room.
Caroline entered her own room next to Rebekah's, assuming that Klaus was following her, but she didn't see him when she turned around.
Klaus entered the room seconds later, a worried look on his face.
"The girls aren't in their beds," he announced.
Caroline raced down the hallway to Klaus's room, where the girls had been sleeping for the past few days. Sure enough, they were all there, sleeping in a row.
Caroline felt Klaus's sigh of relief against the back of her neck once he saw them.
"I've been putting them to sleep in here while you were gone," Caroline explained. "It was easier to have them in the same place, plus I hoped the excitement of a little sleepover together and the novelty of a different room would help them feel a little better about you not being here."
Klaus nodded, taking a few steps further into the room. He sat down on the right side of the bed, just a few inches from Lizzie.
Lizzie must have felt the bed sink under his weight, which must have been greater than the weight of the three girls in the bed.
"Daddy?" she whispered softly, her eyes still closed.
Caroline froze in the doorway. She knew Lizzie was at least half asleep, and relying on her experience that when someone came to check on her while she was sleeping, it was usually her father.
But the time had long since passed when Caroline could still pretend that Klaus wasn't a father to her children. Klaus loved and provided for the twins. He saw them nearly every day. He considered himself responsible for their safety, well-being, happiness, and education.
Klaus was the best father Caroline could have wished for for her daughters.
She just didn't know how Klaus would feel about any of them actually expressing those feelings out loud.
But Klaus didn't even miss a beat.
"I'm right here, little angel," Klaus whispered, stroking Lizzie's hair. "I love you so much."
He brushed Lizzie's hair off of her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then he repeated the process with Josie and Hope—telling them he loved them and kissing them good night.
If Klaus noticed the tear tracks on Caroline's face, brought on by the heartfelt, emotional moment she had just witnessed, he didn't comment on them, simply taking her hand and leading her back to her room.
"I missed them," Klaus said.
Caroline just nodded, not knowing what to say and not trusting her voice.
"Are you okay with what she said?" Klaus asked.
"Yes," Caroline answered. "I just wasn't sure how you would react, but then again, you referred to me as all three girls' mother less than an hour ago, so…"
"Caroline, you know I love the twins like they were my own, and I know you feel the same way about Hope," Klaus replied.
Caroline curled up under her covers, still fully dressed. Klaus sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her, just like he had done with Lizzie a few minutes earlier.
"True," Caroline said. "And compared to the rest of the family drama, having stepparents might be the most normal thing about the girls' family life. Though I'm not looking forward to the day I have to explain all of this to them. I mean, how do you tell a couple of little girls that you're not their biological mother and that she was killed before they were born? Or that the family they love is made up of thousand-year-old vampires?"
"I'll leave your explanation of Alaric and the Gemini Coven up to your best judgment, but when it comes to explaining the Mikaelsons, you should start by telling them that all of us promise to love them, always and forever."
Caroline started crying again as she filled in the gaps of what Klaus was really saying: the twins were now included in the promise that Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah had made to stay together as a family, always and forever; that they were family, to Klaus and to all of his siblings; that they were Mikaelsons, with all the weight that name carried.
"As far as families go, this is a pretty good one," Caroline said. "Everyone is always loved, and no one is ever lonely. You would all kill and die for each other at any moment. And this sounds unfair to them, but it's almost like the twins and Hope each have another family, with Alaric, and with Hayley and Jackson. Maybe they're not really a part of this family, but they are part of each of the girls' families. It's easy to pretend that the girls are ours, but they have their own separate families that don't include us."
"I'm sorry," Klaus said. "I know how hard it is for you when the twins stay with Alaric. I can compel him to forget your little custody arrangement if you'd like?"
"That would be wrong," Caroline shook her head. "I just wish we could have that, you know? Children that are all ours, that we don't have to share custody with history teachers or royal werewolves. If that's what you wanted, too, of course," Caroline faltered when she couldn't tell what Klaus was thinking.
Klaus pulled Caroline onto his lap so that she was facing him, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"If there is a way, I will find it for you," Klaus promised. "Would you like a boy or a girl?"
"I don't think it works like that," Caroline laughed. "Why, do you have a preference?"
"Let me think," Klaus started, moving them so that they were both sitting up against the headboard with Caroline reclining languidly in his arms. "You know I love our little girls, and another one would be a blessing I know I don't deserve. Of course, a little girl as beautiful as you might actually cause the destruction of the supernatural world, since I would never be able to deny her anything and would brutally murder anyone who looked at her in a way I didn't like. And if we had a little boy, you could name him after your father if you wanted, and… my father wasn't a good father to his sons, and as a result of that, I've concluded, I wasn't a very good father to my son, when Marcel was young. I can't go back in time and be a better father to him, but if I had another son, I could prove to all of us that I am capable of being a good father to a son, that Mikael can't affect me anymore."
"I can picture them," Caroline said. "All golden curls, and blue eyes, and dimples. They would be beautiful if they were real."
"I'll find a way for you," Klaus repeated his promise, gently stroking her hair. "And we can always start practicing now, if you'd like."
Caroline laughed softly.
"No, still annoyed with you," she answered. "And I'm sleepy."
"All right, sweetheart," Klaus acquiesced.
Caroline changed into her pajamas and curled up under the covers, waiting for Klaus to get ready and come to bed as well.
A few minutes later, Klaus slid into bed behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I've missed you," Klaus whispered in her ear. "I've hated sleeping without you in my arms."
"I've hated sleeping without you, too," Caroline replied.
"I'm here now, angel. You'll never have to sleep without me again."
{ }
Marcel, Vincent, and Josh showed up the next morning, surprised to see Klaus at home when Elijah had just told them the previous day that he had left town and hadn't returned as soon as expected.
Their arrival had brought everyone into the courtyard to meet them, though the responses to their presence differed. Davina offered them all welcoming hugs, while Katherine studied the group appraisingly, and Kol seemed completely ambivalent.
"Were you ever planning on telling us you left, or why you were leaving?" Marcel asked.
"It was personal," Klaus answered. "And we have bigger problems now. Esther is missing."
"And how do you propose we try to find an Original Witch who doesn't want to be found?" Vincent asked.
"You have to think like the person you're trying to find," Hope declared solemnly, making everyone turn to look at her. The girls were usually quiet during these sorts of meetings, as they were too young to understand the intricacies of the supernatural skirmishes their family was fighting.
"That is very sage advice, thank you, Obi Wan," Josh replied affectionately.
"Obi Wan?" Hope asked.
"From Star Wars?" Josh prompted. "'Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope,'" he quoted, but Hope didn't look any less confused. "You've never seen Star Wars, okay. Though you would know the movie at least if you'd ever searched your name, since the movie that that line is from is literally called 'A New Hope.' You are our only Hope, as in the only person we know named Hope, thus you are Obi Wan. Don't worry, it's a compliment. He was one of the good guys, and he was wise and moral, full of integrity and courage."
"Cool," Hope beamed.
"Does anyone here feel confident in their ability to think like Esther, though? She has outsmarted and outmaneuvered us many a time in the past," Elijah said.
"Finn was the closest to her of all of us, and he insisted he knew nothing of what she was planning," Klaus added.
"So, what you're saying is that we don't know where Esther is or what she's planning, and we don't know anyone who knows where she is or what she's planning," Kol summarized.
"Yes."
"Well, at least we're not at a disadvantage, that would be awful," Kol replied sarcastically.
"Is there anything we can use to our advantage?" Marcel asked. "Anything you learned during your meeting with Genevieve that might be helpful?" he asked Klaus.
"I've already told you everything she told me," Klaus answered. "And there is something that we know that she doesn't, but I don't want to use it."
"And what is that?" Vincent asked.
Klaus glared at him.
"She doesn't know that the twins are siphoners," Klaus answered. "She told me that she had no intention of hurting them, called them 'just ordinary witches.' Which makes sense. They can probably tell from a distance that they have magic in them, but unless a person saw them in action or someone told them, there would be no reason that anyone would know what the twins are capable of."
"So you're telling me that our only secret weapon against the Original Witch is a couple of three-year-olds whose mother will surely object to them helping because it might put them in danger?" Vincent asked.
"My children are not a weapon," Caroline hissed.
She wasn't even angry with Vincent for implying that they were: she'd learned by now that in New Orleans, everything was a constant negotiation to keep the balance of power. Any advantage any party had over another was something they could use to bargain for something they wanted or would give them more power. Caroline just hated that her daughters had apparently become one of those advantages; something they could use to tip the scales in their favor in their battle against Esther.
"Of course not," Klaus was quick to concur. "But it is good that Esther and Genevieve don't know about the girls' magic. If they knew, the twins would be targets, just like Hope. The fewer people know that Lizzie and Josie are siphoners, the safer they are."
"So what do we do now?" Marcel asked. "I couldn't tell you where to begin looking for Esther, or even if we want to find her. I assume a witch of her ability could put herself under a strong cloaking spell. We might not hear from her again until she seeks us out."
"She also knew to do some sort of anchoring spell after coming back from The Void," Bonnie pointed out. "But we don't know for sure that she did the spell on Genevieve as well. Maybe we should try looking for her as well?"
"That's as good a place to start as any," Elijah agreed.
"We're just going to run all over the city trying to find Genevieve and hope that Esther is with her?" Kol asked incredulously.
"Do you have a better idea?" Bonnie challenged.
"No," Kol immediately relented.
Katherine laughed.
"Between your wife and your girlfriend, you're on a tight leash," she joked, referring to Bonnie and Davina.
"Very funny," Kol scoffed.
"Does anyone have anything of Genevieve's that we can use for a locator spell?" Bonnie asked, putting her hands on her hips, clearly getting annoyed with the banter.
"Yes, actually," Klaus answered, to everyone's surprise. He sped upstairs and returned seconds later with an ordinary-looking beaded bracelet. "I took this from her at our meeting for occasions such as this."
"That would have been something to mention when I asked if we had anything we could use to our advantage," Vincent sighed. "Between all of us, there's a substantial amount of magic that we can do from here if we have a possession of hers."
"Well, technically," Klaus started, but trailed off when he saw Vincent's irritated, no-nonsense glare. "Here, have the bracelet, do your spells."
Bonnie took the bracelet from Klaus and quickly did the locator spell.
"She must be cloaked, too," Bonnie informed them when the spell didn't work.
"Does that mean that none of the other magic Vincent mentioned will work either?" Caroline asked.
"I'm afraid so," Bonnie answered.
"So what do we do now?" Katherine asked. "I mean, it's stupid to go out looking for an enemy who's surely planning something against us, but do we really want to stay here and do nothing?"
"I thought our advantage over them was that all together we were more powerful," Caroline said. "If we split up to go look for them, we lose that advantage. Plus, what would we even do if we found them? I would rather not open that can of worms unless we have to."
"Caroline is right," Elijah said. "When it comes to Esther, we have always been more successful when we are on defense. We should be prepared for her to attack at any time, but until she does, let us continue with our everyday activities. We can't let her think that she scares us."
Everyone agreed with Elijah's analysis of the situation, and the group broke up shortly afterwards. Marcel, Vincent, and Josh left; Bonnie, Davina, and Kol went into the kitchen; Elijah went into his study; Freya and Finn went back upstairs; and Katherine and Rebekah decided to go out for coffee and beignets.
Which left Klaus, Caroline, and their children alone in the courtyard.
{ }
It was hard to tell what and how much of the conversation that the girls had understood.
Even after everyone except their parents had left, they didn't cry or scream or ask questions.
They simply sat down on the floor, looking up at their parents expectantly.
"I told myself that I was going to spend today at the spa," Caroline said. "Or shopping, or something else just for fun."
"I would really rather you didn't leave the house, not with Esther and Genevieve out there somewhere, plotting," Klaus replied.
Caroline raised her eyebrows, facing him with a challenging stare.
"You left the state, for three days, without telling anyone where you were going or how long you would be gone, and you're telling me that I'm forbidden from leaving the house?" Caroline questioned.
"I understand your frustration, sweetheart, but I think we would both rather not argue in front of the girls if we could avoid it," Klaus replied.
Following his gaze, Caroline saw that the girls were still sitting on the ground, though they'd stopped staring at them and instead were playing one of those clapping games that Caroline remembered from the elementary school playground.
Caroline sighed.
It only took seconds for Kol to appear in the courtyard, with Bonnie and Davina following him closely. They each picked up one of the girls.
"Go ahead and fight now," Kol encouraged before flashing back into the dining room, while Bonnie and Davina followed at a human pace.
Klaus put his hand on Caroline's back and gently, but firmly, led her upstairs to his room, the room where the girls had slept when he'd been in Mystic Falls.
"I know that you must think that I'm being unfair and controlling," Klaus started. "But I'm just trying to keep you safe. I would never forgive myself if Esther and Genevieve managed to hurt you or the girls."
"I understand that," Caroline replied, leaning against the foot of the bed and crossing her arms. "And I understand that I'm weaker than everyone else in this house. I know that you aren't trying to control me so that you have a little wife making sure dinner is on the table as soon as you come home as part of some misogynistic alpha male fantasy. I know that you are just trying to keep me safe, and discouraging me from wandering around the city alone with powerful enemies at large is one way you know how to keep me safe."
And Caroline really did appreciate that Klaus seemed determined to keep her safe at all cost. It was a refreshing contrast to her previous relationships, in which she was often left to fend for herself, while simultaneously not being considered a valued member of their group of friends.
"Then what is it that's upsetting you?" Klaus asked.
"This is supposed to be a relationship, a partnership," Caroline explained.
"Yes…"
"So you have to treat me like a partner," Caroline cried. "I know that you're used to making your own decisions and not answering to anyone, but if this relationship is going to work, you have to talk to me, you can't just order me around and then do whatever you want, whenever you want."
"I was doing it for you!" Klaus insisted. "I had to get revenge against Damon for what he did to you!"
"First of all, no, you didn't have to," Caroline retorted. "Second of all, you were gone for three days. I don't even want to know what torture you were able to inflict in three whole days. And third, while you were off defending my honor, or whatever you want to call it, I was left at home caring for our daughters all by myself. Yes, they had aunts and uncles here who helped, but at the end of the day, I was the only parent in the house. And it was fine, I managed, and I gained a whole new appreciation for single mothers, especially my own, but I resent the attitude that you can just do whatever you want without consulting anyone and just assume that someone else will pick up your slack and take care of Hope while you're gone."
Caroline felt all of the stress she had felt over the past three days bubble up to the surface. She had never been upset that Klaus had gone to Mystic Falls, since she knew that there was nothing she could have said or done to keep Klaus from going, and she'd learned to pick her battles when it came to Klaus's body count and bloodshed. She'd been annoyed that he had left suddenly and with no explanation of any sort of plan, to her or to their daughters. Caroline didn't expect or even want Klaus to start asking her permission to do things, but she thought it would be nice if he would include her in his plans, especially when his plans depended on her being the children's sole caretaker for a period of time.
"I know, Bonnie told me that you and the girls resented our sudden absence," Klaus said.
"Great, now I have Bonnie tattling on me. I think I liked it better when she hated you," Caroline sighed.
She didn't really prefer that, of course, but she hadn't anticipated Bonnie sharing her struggles with Klaus.
"She was just trying to help," Klaus insisted. "And you're both right, I was just so angry that someone had hurt you and then gotten away with it that I couldn't think straight. All I knew was that I needed to make him pay for hurting you, and that I wouldn't be able to rest until I did so."
"And I know that retaliating against people who have harmed people you care about is one of your ways of showing your love, and I appreciate you defending me so fiercely on this, but you can't just leave your daughter without telling her where you're going and when you're coming back," Caroline said.
"I didn't leave her," Klaus responded. "I wish you'd stop saying that I left. I just went out of town for a few days. I didn't leave Hope. I have never, and I will never, voluntarily leave Hope."
"Well, Hope isn't as sure about that," Caroline replied. "And I know you're used to parenting with Hayley, whose emotional range is limited to anger and self-righteous indignation, but I get scared and worried and sad. I went through the whole spectrum of emotions while you were gone, but I don't think anything hurt me quite as much as when I had to tell Hope that I didn't know when her dad was coming home!"
Klaus looked stunned. Perhaps she shouldn't have shouted, but Caroline could feel her frustration reaching a boiling point.
"You say you want to be a father to the twins, but if that's what you really want, than you have to mean it. They need you to be stable and reliable. You can't just leave with no warning when some supernatural crisis or another comes up, and leave them wondering when you're coming home. Look, for better or for worse, Hope is stuck with you and Hayley. But if you hurt my daughters, whether with your presence or your absence, I will have no choice but to leave, as much as it would kill me to be away from you, because my children always have to be my first priority. My dad died, rather than become a vampire like me, and he tortured me because he hated that his little girl was a vampire, but I was just an ordinary human girl who needed her dad when he walked out on me, and I refuse to let my daughters suffer the way I did."
Klaus's expression went from shocked to anguished in seconds.
"You're right, I know," Klaus answered. "As soon as Bonnie told me that you and the girls were upset that I'd gone to Mystic Falls, I knew that I had gone about this all wrong, and I just got so angry and I took it out on Damon. I thought that if it hadn't been for him hurting you, I never would have gone to Mystic Falls in the first place. I assumed that the girls would understand that I would be back in a few days."
"What were they supposed to think when you left without telling them where you were going or when you were coming home? And then you didn't answer when I called because the girls wanted you to read them a bedtime story. They're so young, Klaus. They've only known you for a few months. They've come to love you and rely on you in such a short period of time, so it was shocking for them to have you not be there for them."
"I am going to make this up to them," Klaus promised. "And I'm going to make it up to you, too. I promise."
"I think an apology would go a long way," Caroline suggested. "We've been keeping them in dark with Esther's schemes so as not to scare them, so they don't understand a lot of what's been going on. I'll stand by whatever explanation you want to give them for why you left, but I think they deserve some sort of explanation."
Klaus stepped forward until he was close enough to reach out and place his hands on Caroline's arms.
"I'm sorry for not considering the impact that my plan would have on you and our daughters," Klaus apologized. "Mikael once told me that my impulse was what kept me from being great, and though I take his opinion of me with a grain of salt, I see that in this situation my impulsiveness hurt you and the girls, and for that I apologize. I will do everything I can not to be so thoughtless in the future."
Caroline smiled.
"I accept your apology, which was textbook perfect, by the way, have you been practicing?" Caroline teased.
Klaus chuckled.
"No, I guess I just have natural talent," he remarked. "Now I need to go find my little princesses and hope that they are as forgiving as you are, my love."
"Go talk to them, and then we have to decide what to tell them about Esther. They're getting restless being cooped up in the house, and they don't understand why. But there's something I have to do first," Caroline replied.
Klaus just nodded, either because he could guess what it was that Caroline needed to do, or because he trusted her to tell him when she felt comfortable doing so or when he needed to know.
Klaus headed downstairs to the dining room, where Kol had taken the girls, while Caroline walked down the hallway, and knocked on a closed bedroom door.
{ }
"Come in," she said.
Caroline opened the door.
"Do you have a minute?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah, of course," Rebekah answered.
Caroline closed the door behind her and sat on the edge of Rebekah's bed.
"Klaus dragged you with him to Mystic Falls," Caroline started. "I think you deserve to know why."
Like she had with Freya a few days earlier, Caroline told Rebekah the whole story of how Damon had hurt her, how her friends had reacted, how she'd been forced to remember all of the abuse after her transition, and how Klaus had reacted when she'd told him.
Like Freya, Rebekah cried and hugged Caroline when she heard her story.
"Now I wish I'd hit him harder," Rebekah lamented.
Caroline laughed softly. They might hate to admit it, but Klaus and Rebekah were almost eerily similar sometimes.
"Who else knows about this?" Rebekah asked.
"Stefan always knew, Elena found out while it was happening, Bonnie found out afterwards, I told Katherine the day I got kidnapped, I told Klaus the day Damon called, and I told Freya while you were gone," Caroline answered.
"Someone knew the whole time and didn't try to help you?" Rebekah asked, incredulous.
"He did, eventually, once he could come up with a way to help me that didn't threaten Elena," Caroline replied.
Rebekah rolled her eyes.
"I never understood what was so special about her," she said. "I mean, I've known two other people who have looked exactly like her, and they each had more personality than she did. Someone was always praising her compassion, but she murdered my brother and all of the vampires he sired because she didn't like being a vampire, which is the most selfish thing I can imagine. And what kind of person dates their friend's abuser? If the situation were reversed, you would have been shunned by all of your friends and sent on an endless guilt trip by Elena herself. Then again, if it had been Elena who had been through what you had, the person who had hurt her would probably have been drawn and quartered or something equally painful. Nik said that we weren't allowed to kill Damon because you didn't want to upset her, but why do you care so much about keeping her happy when she clearly isn't nearly as good a friend to you as you are to her?"
"I don't give up on the people I care about," Caroline answered. "Even when they are in magically-induced comas or when they fall in love with someone who hurt me. Plus, if she ever found out that I was the reason Damon was dead, I would be sent on an endless guilt trip, as you put it, and trust me, Elena's guilt trips are to be avoided at all cost. She looks at you with those big doe eyes and somehow manages to twist the situation so that she can play the victim and blame herself for whatever it is you did, which turns into you reassuring her that she's perfect and would never do anything to hurt anyone, and you feel like the hunter who shot Bambi's mother. It's a horrible experience."
"Why were you friends with her again?" Rebekah asked, somewhat rhetorically.
"Come on, she wasn't so bad," Caroline said. "The world of Mystic Falls revolved around Elena Gilbert, and she sort of got used to everything being about her, but that didn't make her a bad person. She was kind, and compassionate, and smart, and a good friend."
"I'm just saying, you've always been better than her," Rebekah elaborated. "Even when I didn't particularly like you, I knew why your friends liked you. You're smart, and loyal, and compassionate, and loving, and strong, and optimistic. And sure, the world of Mystic Falls revolves around Elena, but you're the queen of the whole supernatural world. And not just because of Nik, you earned that place yourself. You're an amazing mum, even after having children under less than ideal circumstances; you're doing brilliantly as the human representative on the council; and you're my favorite not-related-by-blood sister. Stop selling yourself short and settling for second place behind Elena, when you've outshined her."
Caroline was in tears over Rebekah's kind, heartfelt compliments. They had come a long way from being frenemies arguing over the theme of a school dance.
"Thank you, Rebekah," Caroline held the other girl in a warm hug.
"Any time," Rebekah replied.
"Now I have to go find Klaus and the girls, because we have to give them some sort of explanation for why Klaus left and why they can't leave the house, or we will have a revolt on our hands," Caroline said, standing up. "And they may be young, but they are absolutely capable of destruction."
"Yeah, you should go take care of that situation before it gets out of hand," Rebekah recommended.
"Are you all right, with everything? I feel like this conversation was not equal parts give and take, it was a lot of you giving and me taking," Caroline asked.
"Only you would confess that you'd been abused in every conceivable way, and then check to make sure the person you'd confessed to was feeling okay after hearing about what you'd been through," Rebekah smiled wryly. "I'm fine, Care. Go take care of your girls."
"Okay," Caroline agreed. "Thanks, Rebekah."
{ }
When Caroline entered the dining room, she quickly saw the price that Klaus had had to pay to earn the girls' forgiveness.
"Oh my goodness," Caroline gasped.
"Hi, Mommy!" Lizzie grinned.
"Hi, sunshine," Caroline replied. "How exactly did this happen?"
"Dad said that he was sorry that he left and that he wanted to make it up to us," Hope answered. "This is what we asked for. Well, part of what we asked for."
"You asked for stomachaches?" Caroline asked.
The dining room table was covered with all sorts of sweets: candy, cookies, ice cream. The girls' faces and hands were sugary and sticky. They were sitting next to each other on one side of the table, each with an empty bowl and a plate covered with crumbs in front of them. Caroline was already dreading the sugar high, and then inevitable crash, that she would have to get through.
"What else did you ask for?" Caroline asked.
"New dolls, and for him to take us to the playground," Hope responded.
"They drove a hard bargain, my love," Klaus chimed in. He sat at the head of the table, facing Caroline and shooting amused glances toward the girls.
"My children were so sweet and kind before they met you," Caroline shook her head. "And now they resort to bribery."
Klaus chuckled.
"This is what they wanted," he said. "And I thought this conversation might be easier with snacks."
"Maybe you're right," Caroline relented, sitting in the chair next to Klaus.
She hadn't really thought about what to tell the girls about Esther's plan. They were too young to understand some of what had happened, and she didn't want to scare them, but they were starting to stop taking her vague explanations seriously. If her children were ordinary little girls, she probably wouldn't have told them anything; but her girls were incredibly powerful witches who were capable of causing chaos if they were upset. They wouldn't give the girls all of the details, and they would make sure they knew that their entire family would do whatever it took to keep them safe, but they needed to change their strategy of making sure the girls knew nothing about Esther before they started ignoring their warnings completely.
"Girls, there's something that we need to tell you," Caroline started.
"Are you getting married?" Lizzie asked excitedly.
"No, sweetie," Caroline replied.
"Are we getting a baby sister?" Hope asked.
"No."
"Are we getting a baby brother?"
"No; Hope, where is this coming from?" Caroline asked.
"Well, when you say you have something to tell us, it's something bad a lot of the time, and I wanted you to tell us something good, so I said good things," Hope explained.
"Unfortunately, we do have to tell you something bad," Caroline said apologetically. "We don't want you to be scared, so we've been trying to protect you, but you've been asking questions, and we've agreed that you deserve some answers."
Klaus nodded and squeezed her hand, silently offering his support.
"You know how, in some of your princess movies, there's an evil witch?" Caroline asked.
"Like Ursula?" Hope asked.
"Or Maleficent?" Lizzie questioned.
"Right, like Ursula or Maleficent," Caroline agreed, glad that the girls seemed to be following along, at least for now.
"Well, the reason you can't go outside is because there's a real evil witch in New Orleans, and we all just want to keep you safe from her, while we try to get her to leave the city, okay?"
All three girls nodded, wide-eyed. They didn't seem very frightened, anxious, or worried. They seemed to accept Caroline's explanation, her comparison to their favorite movies making the situation seem like an adventure rather than a threat to their safety.
"Klaus, do you have anything to add?" Caroline asked.
"Your request for a baby brother or sister has been noted, and I would like nothing more than to grant your wish," Klaus offered, smiling at Caroline.
"Be serious," Caroline sighed.
"I am being serious," Klaus argued. "And you should know that I am strong enough and scary enough to keep anyone who might wish you ill away from you. You have nothing to be afraid of. I will protect you. You're safe with me, I promise."
"Do you have any questions?" Caroline asked the girls.
Josie shook her head.
"Does she look like Maleficent?" Lizzie asked tentatively.
"No, she looks a lot like your Aunt Rebekah, but about twice as old," Caroline answered.
Lizzie seemed perturbed by that answer.
"Don't worry, they look different enough that you'll be able to tell them apart," Caroline assured her. "How about you girls go watch a movie that doesn't have an evil witch in it?"
The girls obediently hopped down from their chairs and left the room.
"Hey," Klaus squeezed Caroline's hand, guiding her onto his lap. "I am not going to let anyone harm our little princesses, you know that, don't you?"
"Yeah," Caroline answered. "I know."
As always, I would love to know what you thought of this chapter and/or the story as a whole, so please leave me a review; I love reading them!
Prepare yourselves for next chapter, everyone. I cried while writing it, so if you're a sensitive little soul like me, you'll want to have tissues handy when you read!
Thank you very much for reading!
love,
charlotte
