Chapter 17

Besalu, Spain, 1157

Caroline grips her hair harder, trying to tune out her husband. Normally she can calm him down, but today he is on the attack. These are the worst days of the curse, the ones where he turns the anger onto her instead of himself. At first it was a welcome break from watching him attack himself and she was happy to take it, but the longer he stays like this the more vicious he gets. She does not know the man in front of her and she is scared every day that the monster has entirely consumed her husband.

"I do not want you here. It is pathetic how you sit there outside of these bars, watching me, waiting for that boy you loved to come back. HE IS GONE CAROLINE! All that is left is the monster before you so just GO"

"You have said the same thing many times before Niklaus, why do you think I would leave all of a sudden now? You will not be rid of me that easily"

He scoffs "easily? Nothing with you is easy" Klaus' head snaps to the figure behind him, the ever present face of Alexander haunting him, telling him to send Caroline away. The longer Caroline stays the angrier the 5 get.

"You ruin everything you touch Nikluas, all you know how to do is kill, if you do not get this girl to leave you are going to destroy her too"

"I would never hurt Caroline," he snaps, and Caroline sighs as she watches him argue with the ghosts again "I love her"

"There was a time you loved your mother, that never stopped you from murdering her with your own hands, or what about-" his voice cuts off abruptly and Klaus looks around the cell

"He- he is gone"

Caroline smiles a little, these brief moments of respite are what keep her here. She slowly opens the cell door, being careful to close it tightly behind her again "make sure you tell me the second he comes back" she whispers, this is the only way she can avoid him projecting one of his visions onto her.

"Caroline" he breathes, wrapping his arms tightly around her body "This feels different. My- my head is clear and I know that it is you"

"This always happens for a few moments Niklaus, let us not waste it with false hopes"

"No I mean it, normally I have to fight to remind myself that it is you even when he is gone. The voice in my mind that whispers that you want to betray me is… it is silent"

"Are you sure?" Caroline is afraid to let herself hope, terrified that she will lose him to his insanity again.

"Yes my love, I am sure. It is over" Caroline throws her arms behind his neck and kisses him so hard and fast that they both topple to the ground. It is easy to forget how purposefully weak they have been keeping him, but in this moment she does not even care. All that she cares about is feeling his body connect with her, looking in his eyes and seeing them clearly focused on her- not clouded by visions of hunters. All that matters is that they are together.

Caroline, Elijah, and Klaus all left Spain within a week of the curse breaking. Klaus said that he felt haunted by the estate, that the entire country reminded him of weakness and he could not stand to see another rolling hill or lush vineyard for many decades.

Caroline was strangely sad to leave Besalu, her and Elijah had grown quite close in their years there. Rebekah and Kol would come and go, but she and Elijah were always there. They never left Klaus' side. They spent many nights walking through the vineyard while Klaus slept, Caroline even learned a bit of Spanish just like she had hoped. In the end she convinced Klaus to keep the estate, she ordered the entire cellar be boarded up and she promises herself to someday return there with Niklaus, in a happier time.

Kol and Rebekah had been on their own for some years by the time Klaus' curse broke. Rebekah wrote Caroline regularly, but she was not yet ready to forgive her brother, and Kol… well, Kol was off finding adventure with gaggles of witches, and bringing all of their secrets back to his family at regular intervals.

XXX

97 miles outside of Zurich, Switzerland; 1214

Klaus closes the book in front of him and leans forward, rubbing his eyes. It has been days since he last slept. Living through the hunter's curse has made him more determined than ever to learn how to break his own curse. He never would have succumbed to that mind torture if he were whole, he is sure of it. Alexander and his brothers never would have been able to manage that attack. There would be no weaknesses to exploit and Mikael would be nothing more than a passing annoyance rather than a gut wrenching, all-encompassing fear.

He is getting close too. He can feel it, he already knows parts of the ritual. He will need a witch, that much he learned long ago. An ancient grimoire that Kol brought to him from one of his many trips written entirely in Aramaic laid out a path to break a binding curse. The translation took him years to fully understand, he had to teach himself a great deal of the ancient language and even then, the symbols can be confusing.

To break a binding, one must sacrifice a part of each of their halves. A vampire and a werewolf. Easy enough.

"You should rest, brother" Elijah says from the other side of the vast library. He has been helping Klaus since they arrived in the Swiss outback. Klaus was insistent that they go somewhere remote; he did not trust himself to rejoin society and no one objected to some much-needed isolation. The city was not so far if they needed to get out, but for the most part Klaus and Elijah locked themselves away in the library for the greater portions of weeks at a time.

"Rest will not help me protect my family"

"No, but a clear head might. I am getting closer to defining what this artifact is that we are going to need, definitely a gemstone of some kind. I think I will have the symbols deciphered by morning if you want to sleep, or see you wife?"

Klaus sighs "and who is going to find what this last piece is, hmm? We are no closer to figuring out what the binding agent of the spell was than the day that mother cast it. It is the key and we are not even close"

"If we are not close then you will not find it tonight. Perhaps Kol will have a new grimoire when he returns"

"Who knows when Kol will return" Klaus growls

"Niklaus, Caroline misses you"

"Caroline can take care of herself"

"That woman sat by your side for a half a century while you tortured her and yourself! Do you not think that you owe it to her to at least be present?"

"Who do you think I am doing this for! I will never let her go through that again, I refuse to be that weak again. The only way to protect her from that pain is to get stronger!" he beats his fist hard against the wooden table

"I have an idea" Elijah says suddenly, a realization dawning on him as he watches his brother descend into madness "Niklaus, why are we sitting here pouring over these books when we could have others doing it for us, looking for the objects for us"

"I have tried to compel people before, they are not committed enough, they don't have the background knowledge or the experience-"

"Not compulsion" Elijah cuts him off "what if we could make others believe that their lives depend on breaking this curse just as you believe yours does"

Klaus' eyes widen in realization and he looks down at the book in front of him "the curse of the sun and the moon" he whispers "Caroline called it that once, years ago. Elijah go grab me that parchment, I know exactly what to do"

XXX

"Elijah and I will be leaving for a few weeks, perhaps longer. I have been in contact with Rebekah and she will come stay with you, I know how you have missed her while she is continuing this petulant refusal to see me" Klaus remarks, pulling at the corner of the sheets to slide himself into the bed where his wife currently sits reading by candlelight

"You do realize that this is the first time you have actually come to bed in over a week, correct?" Klaus looks down, not wanting to have this argument now "and now that you are here the first thing you tell me is that you will be leaving?"

"You know how important it is, for your protection, that I break this curse. We have a new plan-"

"No, Klaus, I know how important it is for YOU to break YOUR curse because YOU feel weak. This has nothing to do with me, and I would thank you not to insult me by saying that it does"

"Caroline" he practically growls her name "you know that nothing is more important to me than that you and my siblings are safe and happy, breaking this curse will help-"

"You being here will make me safe and happy" she says in a small voice "I have followed you all around the old and new world, Niklaus. I have stood by you no matter what, I have taken your side even when I disapprove of your actions, and I was happy to do it all because… I love you, but it feels as though I do not have you anymore! You spend days at a time locked in that library, when you come out all that we ever talk about is this curse and now you are going to leave? Why can I not come with you?"

"It is not safe," he says; jaw set tightly "I should not have to explain myself to you Caroline. Do you think that I like spending every waking minute focusing on the worst part of myself? Do you think that I like constantly being reminded that I am too weak to protect you? That you wasted a half a century of your life sitting in a dungeon because I couldn't fight off a few visions!"

"That is exactly what I mean" she moves closer to him "we spent a half a century in a dungeon, and I was happier then than I am now, because at least you were by my side. I know that we can get through anything, overcome anything… as long as we are together"

Klaus holds her hand in his gently, stroking his thumb across her palm "I love you so much. I love how positive you are and I love that you truly believe we can make it through anything" he catches her eyes, holding her gaze to let her know how serious he is "but you are too naive for your own good my love. We cannot conquer anything. There are so many things in this life that threaten us, you especially. And that is why you must remain here. What Elijah and I are going to do… it is too dangerous for-"

"For what? A regular vampire? Someone who is not a part of the original family?"

"You are a part of the Original family Caroline"

"Right, just not quite as valuable of a member. Not quite as strong of a member." Caroline huffs and stands up from the bed, pacing around the room "and what happens when you break this curse and become even stronger? Do you really think that will help? Because I think it will mean that you look at me like a breakable little porcelain doll even more than you already do!"

"You are being unreasonable. I am doing this for you"

"You keep saying that, but it isn't true! You are not doing this for me because I don't want you to do this. I want you to just live a normal life with me, turn your back on everything else if I ask you to and run into the sunset with me like you promised we would the night that we got married"

Klaus' eyes flash in anger for a moment at her accusation, because of course he is doing this for her. He is tearing himself apart to protect her. Everything he has even done in his immortal life has been for her, how can she not see that? "what we want and what is good for us are often different things" he says through a tight jaw

Caroline scoffs "and you get to decide what is good for me?"

"Yes! I am your husband."

Furious. She is furious. How dare he make decisions for her, tell her what is good for her, abandon her. "that is not the marriage I signed up for" she pauses, glaring at him "That is the marriage I ran away from"

"Well perhaps you made a mistake" he spits

Caroline shakes her head in disbelief, feeling her eyes start to brim with tears as she turns to leave the room, determined to find a guest bed for the night "yeah" she murmurs as the door shuts behind her "perhaps I did"

XXX

Klaus and Elijah's departure aligns almost exactly with Rebekah's arrival. By design of course, since Rebekah is determined to punish her brother for at least another decade. She knows somewhere inside that she is going to forgive Niklaus eventually, but the sting of Alexander's death is still a dull throb in her chest.

Caroline pulls Rebekah into a fierce hug as soon as she sees her, causing Rebekah to drop her handbag and wrap her arms tightly around her sister "I have missed you so much"

"You know that you are always welcome here"

Rebekah pulls back and sighs a little "I am not ready to see him yet Caroline"

"Well you could live here and never see him, I certainly do not"

"Perhaps we should run off together" Rebekah laughs, picking her bag up off the ground "but since I do not see that happening, why don't you show me to my room and send a servant to get my bags from the carriage out front"

Caroline's lips quirk up at that and she nods "of course, we have rooms for you and Kol always at the ready, you should leave some dresses here so you can travel lighter in the future"

"Oh Caroline, you know that I never wear the same thing twice"

Once Rebekah has settled in the women find themselves catching up over tea "so, tell me all about Milan?"

"Oh it is amazing Caroline, I never even considered what the world could hold. We hid in that tiny Italian village for so long that I felt I just had to see the more… metropolitan areas of the country, and Milan has been just lovely"

"Hmmm, it would be amazing to live in a big city, we stay in the country for reasons that I, of course, understand, but… when Klaus and I originally planned to run away from the old world I was picturing towering buildings, grand balls, and busy streets"

"You must come visit me in Milan, I think I will probably move on to Rome soon, then Paris, Instanbul would be fun, perhaps even go overseas!"

Caroline sighs, imagining all of these places that Rebekah is describing. She really can feel herself yearning for the vibrancy and anonymity of a large city "I think that once Niklaus is feeling more himself we will move to a bigger city"

"How is Nik?" Rebekah asks tentatively, taking a breath in at Caroline's confused expression "I am still mad at him, and for some reason my newfound immortality makes me feel less guilty about staying angry. I have the time to be angry and handle all of my feelings before I speak to my brother again, but that does not mean I do not love and care for him"

Caroline smiles a little "he is better, physically at least. He has hyper-focused on breaking his curse. He is certain that he never would have fallen victim to the torture he did if he was his full self." Caroline rolls her eyes to herself, sipping her tea "every time I bring it up with him he just says he is doing it for all of us and he must protect us and I understand, but… I miss him, the old him… I miss the man I fell in love with"

"I miss my big brother as well. What mother did to us has changed us all, but Niklaus the most"

"I am not certain that it did change us" Caroline sets her cup down, turning to look Rebekah in the eye and leaning in a little "The more time that I live with you all and remember stories from our human days I begin to think that the spell not only amplified our physical attributes but also our personalities. Elijah has always been honest, wanting to do the right thing, and responsible-"

"Kol was always sneaking off, impulsive, unable to control himself-"

"and within weeks of the change he had killed me." Caroline lets out a breath "Niklaus has always been protective and borderline obsessive about his goals. He wanted to prove himself to Mikael and in a strange way…"

"he still is" Caroline nods "and I have always been quick to love and harbored a penchant for grudges"

"We all have our good and bad parts, and I think that this spell has amplified it all- the good with the bad, which is why it is so hard with Niklaus whose good is so good, but whose bad is…"

"I know. What matters is that the good outweighs the bad" Caroline nods silently, choosing not to speak the words on her mind, choosing not to say out loud that she is beginning to fear that the good may no longer outweigh the bad.

XXX

Rebekah leaves after a few weeks, back to her life and Caroline has a lot of time on her own. She knows that there is a city not far away, but the swiss winter makes her want to stay in front of the fire all day every day. She leaves to hunt and waits for her husband and brother to return.

Winter slowly starts to melt into spring and Caroline get increasingly frustrated and increasingly bitter at being on her own. She returns to sewing, she starts to keep a stable again, and she starts to venture closer and closer to Zurich. She meets a few people on the way and gets to exercise her self-control yet again. She watches couples sneaking into woods for privacy and lurks around the edges of little villages, looking at humans live their lives the way she used to. She watches them and she has never felt so alone.

When Niklaus and Elijah finally return the countryside has blossomed early summer flowers and Caroline has gotten used to being alone. She has gotten so used to being alone that she is barely even excited when the door opens, just upset. She stands at the top of the stairway and stares down at the men in her doorstep with cold eyes "I see you did decide to return after all"

"Caroline please, we return with good news." Klaus smiles widely and Caroline has to fight herself not to return his joviality "and I have missed you"

"You would not have to miss me if you were here"

Elijah shuffles uncomfortably "Niklaus I will go to the library and begin translations. You have more important things to attend to"

Caroline crosses her arms over her chest "translations on what?"

"witches from around the world" he says, holding his arm out for her to join him, but she remains firmly planted "I know I was gone longer than expected my love, but we have come so far. Elijah and I created some of the most beautiful and convincing lore for this curse- the curse that you created. We left spies in every country we planted the artifacts in, and they will be in touch with new information. So, for now, Elijah and I just need to work on the translation of different witches' interpretations of how to break the curse"

"So, you travelled the world, creating countless new monsters- with no lessons on how to control themselves- to be your slaves, and leaving false hope for 2 different cursed species?"

"I did what had to be done" he growls a little "and I did it as quickly as possible. Elijah and I barely left the ships we travelled on. I worked as we travelled. Caroline, I came back to you as soon as I possibly could, but I am very tired and very happy to be home with you. Can we please just have this fight in the morning?"

Caroline uncrosses her arm but does not drop her light scowl or respond. Instead she simply moves slightly to the side so that her husband can walk up the stairs and past her to their bedroom. He stops right in front of her. She shakes her head, unsure how to feel, because she is so disappointed and so angry, but god did she miss him, and now here he is. Klaus lifts his hand to stroke her face gently, softly, as if she might disappear in front of his eyes if he presses too hard. Caroline closes her eyes and allows herself to sink into his touch for just a moment.

Klaus smiles as Caroline's eyes flutter shut. He has waited so long to feel her skin beneath his hands again, he wants nothing more than to grab her right around the waist, throw her onto their bed, which is only feet away, and make up for all of their lost time, but before he can even move his hand he feels her slip away from his touch. Klaus sighs heavily as he watches her walk back into their bedroom.

The next morning when Caroline begins to stir Klaus is already awake, looking contentedly at her from his side of their bed "you're awake early" she mumbles into the pillow

"I suppose it is the travel, my schedule is a bit off"

"Well it is not as though you slept very much before you left either" she rolls over, letting herself look into his eyes for the first time since his return "how was your trip?"

Klaus looks down, clearly conflicted on how to answer "I missed you very much" he finally settles on

"You know that is not what I meant"

He nods "the world is so incredibly beautiful, Caroline" he says, moving closer, tentatively skimming his hand along her sheet covered waist "We were only in each place for a matter of days at most and still some of them are burned into my mind. I cannot wait to explore every corner of this earth with you once I can be sure you are safe"

"Why can't we go now?" she whispers "I know you don't think it is safe, but-"

"We will go everywhere I have seen and more Caroline… once I break this curse. It will not be long, I promise"

"You cannot promise me that. Niklaus it has been nearly 2 centuries since we left our village! And that entire time you have been singularly focused on breaking this curse. You have sacrificed Rebekah's happiness, Elijah is a slave to this as much as you are, and Kol can barely stand to be in the same room as you! There has to be an end to this-"

"There is an end. Mikael's end, once I-" they are interrupted by a loud banging at the door, it is so loud that Caroline thinks at first it is on their bedroom door, but it is actually the front door. Klaus quirks his head "oh darling, what was that you were saying about Kol not being able to be in the same room as me?"

Caroline jumps out of bed, wrapping herself in a silk robe before she throws the door open to confirm what Klaus already knows due to his superior hearing. There, standing in the foyer where Elijah has already opened the door is a heavily panting Kol.

"Niklaus" he says seriously "I did it. I found it"

"What? What did you find?"

"Do you remember the witch I was with when you visited in Tulum? Dark hair, piercing eyes, tight little-"

"Yes Kol, I remember her" Klaus growls "a cocky thing if I recall"

Kol scoffs "and for good reason. She finished the translation. The word, it is… doppelganger"

"Doppleganger? What does that mean?"

"It is like a twin, the final piece of breaking the binding spell. She says that it is the reincarnation of someone we all knew 'in our old life' that mother would have had to bind the spell with powerful blood, but nature would not allow it to be unbreakable, so there will be a doppelganger. There is more, but you will have to speak to the witch yourself. She says that she will not reveal everything without being paid a price"

"and what price does she ask?"

"A chalice of your blood"

Klaus grimaces, knowing that if the witch wants his blood there must be more he does not know, it must be useful in some way. "Fine. Whatever she wants, I assume you have a ship waiting in the nearest harbor?"

"Of course, and do you know how bloody far away the closest harbor is? I had to run through this white wasteland for-"

"Niklaus" Caroline says quietly but angrily from behind him and he turns to face her "if you tell me right now that you are going to leave without me again, I will not be here when you get back"

Klaus nods "of course, of course my love. Please, go wherever you must. Find Rebekah! I will be back soon with all of the answers and then-"

"No, you are not listening. If you leave me again, I. Will. Not. Be Here. When. You. Get. Back"

"Caroline, sweetheart, no… it is not safe. For you to be out in the world on your own with how much you mean to me-"

"I will NOT be defined by how you feel for me. My entire life I have run from cages and I will not let you put me in one"

Klaus sighs, nodding "Of course, I understand. I cannot leave you behind, my love." He moves closer, cupping her face in his hands. He catches her eyes with his, smiling ever so slightly as he runs his thumb along her jaw "but I cannot let you be in danger either." His hands move slowly down to rest on her neck, he brings her forehead close to his own "I know you understand that I have to keep you safe" he whispers, grip tightening almost imperceptibly, but Caroline knows Klaus. She knows him better than anyone, even his family, and that is why while Elijah and Kol stand completely unaware of what is about to occur, Caroline widens her eyes and opens her lips to speak, but even she is too slow for Klaus' impulses.

SNAP.

Klaus shakes his head, looking disappointedly down at his wife's temporarily lifeless body "Kol, find the nearest coven. I am in need of a spell"