Chapter 18

London, England. 1321

After meeting with the witch in Tulum Klaus decided to return to England. It was the first place the family had settled, and he could not help but think of the country as a strange type of home. And why lie, he also wanted to settle somewhere powerful and crown himself lord of one of the most powerful empires in the world. He chose London because it allowed him to truly fall into the hedonism he had denied himself for so long. There is nothing more he can do to break his curse but wait. Wait for this mysterious 'doppelganger' that the bloody cryptic witch says he will "know when he sees". He cannot say that the trip was exactly worth everything he gave up for it, but at least he is closer.

The blood required to make this spell would have to be extremely powerful, a special kind of witch or family of some kind. Something entirely new, a new bloodline to create a new species. It will be a girl, and you will know her. You will know her when you see her, and you will see her, Niklaus. That is all I can tell you. That is all that they will allow me to tell you.

Klaus shakes his head in annoyance as he always does when he thinks of the witch's cryptic words, even all these years later. He tips his glass back and drains the mouthful of scotch that was left, tightening his grip on the waist of the village girl who stands beside him, looking up from her glass with hooded eyes and he smirks. He cannot deny that in the past decades he has found a strange sense of… calm. A nearly unprecedented sense of calm really, brought on by the combination of the guarantee that he will find this 'doppelganger', Kol off searching for the moonstone, a careful eye on any known werewolf packs, and the extreme ease of creating or finding a vampire. He has not felt this level of calm since a distant memory of woods and a girl so many centuries ago. So many lifetimes ago, really. Klaus calls for another drink and downs it just as quickly as the previous one, his usual reaction whenever Caroline enters his mind. He closes his eyes briefly and reminds himself of the life he lives here.

He constructed a massive manor an hour outside of the city where, for all the locals know, the infamous and nameless lords of the area lock themselves up, never deigning to slum it on the streets of London. Then, Klaus does exactly that. He drags Elijah to taverns and watches as his older brother shakes his head in disapproval when Klaus inevitably charms some young woman back to their manor. Ah yes, he thinks to himself. There it is, that is the part of the evening they have come to. He grins salaciously at the woman beside him and extends his hand in a clear invitation. She has an ounce of decorum- enough to blush, but not enough to say no to returning home with a strange, wealthy man. Just the way he likes them.

"Please clean up after yourself this time, Niklaus" Elijah drones boredly from the other side of the tavern, where he is responsibly sipping his wine and chatting with fellow nobleman about the tragic passing of some Italian poet with far too macabre an outlook for Klaus' tastes. He has no fear of words about an afterlife that he knows does not exist. Hell is here on earth. He knows that, because he is the devil.

Klaus smirks, winking at his brother "now why would I do that when there are so many willing employees wondering around"

Klaus forgets Elijah's disapproving glance almost as quickly as it is given. He throws a few extra coins on the counter in exchange for the barkeep letting him take a double serving out in the glass and brings the girl into his carriage.

He can see the look in her eye at the fine velvet cushions of the contraption and shakes his head at just how easy all of the games he plays are. A challenge might be nice, just once. By the time they pull up to what can only be described as Klaus' castle the girl's eyes are nearly popping out of her head.

"You- you are-" her voice catches in her throat and she looks down at his outstretched hand, accepting the help out of the carriage and demurely biting her lip

"who I am is of no consequence" he smiles, placing a hand under the girl's chin so that her green eyes meet his "you may simply call me, Klaus"

Her smile is brilliant as he leads the unsuspecting girl into the foyer. He can practically see the fairytale playing out in her mind. A beautiful young village girl meets a man in the local tavern. Handsome and clearly wealthy, but unassuming. He turns out to be a secret lord and it is just a hop, skip and a jump to happily ever after. Unfortunately for this girl, fairytales are not real. And Klaus is not a lord, he is a King. A King who already has a Queen. He does love to watch their eyes light up like that though.

He runs his hand softly through her golden blonde curls, pretending for a moment that the light in her eyes is coming from someone else and then, with that image in his mind he bows his head forward and the bloodlust almost makes him think it is his Caroline who was looking at him with such joy.

The girl's screams are loud, and they go unheard. Once he is finished, he drops the body to the ground and is filled with disgust at the image before him. Not because he killed her, but because of her pale skin and golden curls that sprawl lifeless across the ground. "One day my love, we will be reunited. And you will understand" he whispers, pretending for just a moment longer that this unsuspecting village girl is who he wants her to be.

"Another blonde?" a high pitched and disinterested voice drawls in a perfectly affected accent from the top of the stairs "you are becoming rather predictable, brother. And so dreadfully transparent I'm afraid"

"Mind your tongue, Rebekah" he growls, pausing before firing his own shot "it is strange to see you home so early, I'd have thought you had at least another 4 hours before you needed to sneak out of Francis' bedchamber like a common whore"

Rebekah grits her teeth, raising her head and glaring at her brother "the moment Francis leaves his wife we are going to run as far away from you as we can get"

"hmmm, because that worked out so well for you the last time?" he drawls, painfully reminding her of the 30 years she spent daggered. He sent for her in Madrid and she refused to come to him once she found out what he had done to Caroline. She tried to run away with a Spaniard- the love of her life- one of many, as Klaus remembers it.

"Does it make you feel good, brother? To know that you can only make people stay with you by putting them in a box or threatening to put them in a box?"

"Does it make you feel good to know that Francis is never going to leave his wife?" Klaus smirks a little, having some fun at his sister's expense, refusing to let her see just how deep her words cut "or that even if he did, he would run screaming from you the second he finds out what you really are? Honestly it's a small miracle that the spoiled exterior doesn't send men running for the hills, imagine if they saw what you really are" he shakes his head, pretending to shiver.

Rebekah looks down at her brother, unsure in this moment if she hates him or pities him. Perhaps both. There was a time when she would have simply shaken her head, sighed, and returned to bed to say a silent prayer for him. The years have made Rebekah more cruel, however. "Say what you want Niklaus, at least I know that the ones who are with me love me, that they stay with me because they want to. No one could ever 'run for the hills' from you now could they, brother?" her eyes glare almost into his soul and she does not need to speak any more in order for him to know what she really means.

They are not talking about her. They are talking about the simple wooden box that lays in the dungeon, locked behind several feet of cement, the box that lays behind where anyone who does not know would assume the dungeon ends. The box that has been sealed tightly shut for over a century because she tried to run. Tried to leave him.

"You are a child, Rebekah" he growls "nothing more than a stupid, spoiled child with ridiculous ideas about love. When are you going to grow up and realize that love does not exist" the words are a harsh snarl, animalistic "all we have is loyalty. Something you all promised me hundreds of years ago. Breaking promises leads to consequences, or do you need a few decades long reminder of that?"

Rebekah shakes her head "Just because you will never understand something or be truly capable of it does not mean that it does not exist, Niklaus"

And just like that the calm he was feeling disappears.

Klaus retreats to his studio to pour himself another drink, or 10 and admire the latest piece he had collected. A brilliant work of pointillism that must have taken the artist years, he is surprised the poor bloke was not left blind from the detail, but at least here his work will be appreciated. Klaus sits in the tufted leather chair that he has grown to think of as a safe haven and picks up his sketch book. He pauses every now and then to take a drink or admire a piece of art, but mostly he is determined to forget his altercation with Rebekah by swirling watercolors into the perfect shade of crimson red for the barely visible puncture wounds he adds to the twisted neck of his latest victim. This might be one of his favourites. The angle of the girl's neck when she fell to the ground was perfect to reveal just enough skin while still displaying her thick hair.

Sometimes he will have the women he brings home pose for him, make a true portrait of a living person, hold it in his hands the same way he holds their lives. It is exhilarating to look back, see a portrait of a woman long dead remain the same throughout the centuries. Far more satisfying than the endless landscapes he cannot seem to stop painting. When he was travelling with Elijah the works were at least interesting and different, but now even he is bored by the provincial English countryside. He falls asleep in the chair as he has done many nights before. Only for a few hours, but who is to say how long he would have remained in this room had he not heard the door downstairs open followed by the high pitched scream of a maid that could really only signal one thing.

Kol has returned. Pity he chose today when Klaus is already in such a foul mood, he will not be interested in the banal banter Kol is constantly trying to pedal. He just wants his stone and some peace and quiet.

Klaus grunts a little under his breath as he moves smoothly to the lower great room to greet his brother "Kol, making a mess already, I see"

"You're one to talk, brother" he shoots back, apparently no one had bothered to take care of Klaus' mess from last night. Odd, Elijah usually manages it before Klaus wakes up.

"Hm, well you know, hard to find good help these days" he pauses "speaking of, where is my stone?"

"Ouch." Kol dramatically raises his hand to his heart "you wound me brother, is that truly all I am? Just the help? A glorified fetch boy for your supernatural errands?"

"Well I suppose that depends on whether or not you have succeeded"

"I have not" Klaus growls, a snarling, angry sound and Kol holds up his hands defensively "now listen here, before you lose your temper. I did find the stone, and I know more or less where it is. It just managed to slip through my fingers"

Klaus raises an eyebrow, teeth grit tight "and how did that happen"

"Well, it is not the gentlemanly thing to kiss and tell, you know that Nik"

Every muscle in Klaus' body tightens and he can feel the last thread of patience he had left inside of him snap like an abused piano string "one job Kol. I gave you ONE JOB!"

"And I did it!" he pauses "mostly"

"What you DID was the same thing you always do. You failed at a simple task and put sticking your prick in some witch over helping your family. What you DID IS BETRAY ME" Klaus sees red at the realization of how close he was. The moonstone was within his grasp and he was stupid enough to send his irresponsible little brother to retrieve it. Kol may be good with witches but he is also weak to them and far too easily distracted by a pretty face.

"now let's calm down here, all is not lost. I know where the stone is, more or less"

Klaus shakes his head, moving slowly towards a locked drawer on the left side of the sofa "if you knew where it was you would not have returned to me empty handed" he turns his back to his brother, opening the drawer and pulling out a shining dagger. By the time Kol realizes what is happening and tries to flee Klaus has already dipped the dagger calmly in the ash and has his younger brother pinned tight against the wall. Klaus' left forearm digs painfully into Kol's throat and his right hand holds the dagger threateningly over his heart. He pushes it in a fraction of an inch, just enough to hurt.

"tell me everything"

"Klaus you can't do this"

"Tell me where my moonstone is and I won't have to"

"The kingdom of Gampola, central Sri Lanka. There is a coven there, they have it. The witch, she got it from me and said her coven is 'protecting' it. I tried to get it back but they are too strong, I came to get you and Elijah so the three of us could take them out, the whole bloody lot of them and get the stone back" his voice is slightly ragged due to the pressure on his wind pipe

"What a lovely thought" Klaus smiles a little, pulling the dagger back a fraction of an inch "and a good plan as well" dagger pulls back a little more "unfortunately" Klaus hisses in the shell of his brother's ear "a plan that would not be necessary if you had not lost the stone in the first place" his hand moves swiftly forward and as Kol's face turns ashen white Klaus just shakes his head "you know that I have no patience for those who disappoint me, Kol"

Klaus compels the first servant he sees to have Kol placed in his coffin in the dungeon. Not behind the concrete wall though, no. He will be fine in the open. Rebekah and Elijah know well enough not to remove the dagger unless they want to find it in their heart instead and Kol is too indestructible for any threat aside from Mikael to be real.

The second servant he finds is compelled to prepare them a ship and the third is given a list of addresses. Addresses for vampires that Klaus has created. Those loyal to him who will join he and Elijah on this mission and then be either compelled to forget or killed depending on the amount that they irritate him on the journey. Finally he trudges back up the stairs and raps quickly on his elder brother's door

"We leave in an hour Elijah. Pack for warm weather" Klaus smirks, knowing that Elijah would have heard the entirety of his interaction with Kol, but rightly chose not to interrupt.

"Alright Niklaus" comes the exasperated but compliant voice from the other side.

"Rebekah, watch the manor while we are gone" he yells, despite not actually being anywhere near Rebekah's chambers. She heard him, and she will do as he says. Of that he is certain.

XXX

The Sri Lanken heat is suffocating after so many years in the temperate dampness of England. Perhaps if he were in better spirits Klaus might appreciate seeing the sun and stop to marvel at the exquisite landscapes around him, but that is not his goal. He will not be distracted as his brother was. He must have this stone. He must have it locked neatly away with the grimoire needed to break his curse so that he is ready to snatch the doppelganger and prepare his alter at a moment's notice.

"Let's find these bloody witches" he growls at the small party of vampires stepping off of the ship behind him

"and where would you suggest we start, brother?" Elijah asks calmly

Klaus smirks, eyes locking on a small wooden structure with a sing in front of it and a scent inside of it that one need not speak the language to know it is a tavern "with a drink, of course"

The witches find him, as it happens. In the middle of his dinner, annoyingly enough "if you continue to spill blood in our homeland we will blast your stone into a million pieces" the girl speaks with such dignity, no fear colouring her voice and Klaus knows immediately that this is her.

She is a pretty thing, he will give Kol that. Tall and fierce with perfect dark skin and wide-set honey-coloured eyes.

"My apologies love" Klaus grins, dropping the girl in his arms to the ground unceremoniously "gentleman, you heard the lady. Dinner is over" a few last sucking sounds echo through the building and the sound of nearly a dozen bodies hitting the ground simultaneously follow shortly after "I do hope none of them were friends of yours" he challenges with a raised eyebrow, the playful grin never leaving his face

"If they were your men would not be alive right now"

"ohhh big words, we are all just shaking, sweetheart" he widens his eyes and wiggles his fingers, clearly mocking her "why don't you just hand over my moonstone and then no one will have to lay a hand on any of your friends"

"I have a message for you" Klaus rolls his eyes and is about to wave her away, determined to find an older witch, one who knows better just how much they should fear him. These young ones are always so overconfident- drunk on the few dregs of power they manage to dole out "From Esther"

Every muscle in his body tightens, his jaw clenches shut so tightly that he dare not speak for fear of giving away just how much she has gotten to him, just how much she has terrified him. Instead he raises a single questioning eyebrow, daring her to continue

"She says that it hurts to have someone you love so much be your undoing, but that you will one day feel her pain"

Klaus lunges forward, pinning the witch to the wall by her throat, about to squeeze the life out of her when the doors fly open and a dozen witches slowly walk in and begin to chant. In an instant all of the vampires except for Elijah and himself are doubled over on the ground, gripping their heads tightly and in a further few seconds Klaus begins to feel the sharp stabbing in his head and releases her to grip his own hair "Esther said that was your go-to move. Warned me about your temper"

"Clearly she did not warn you well enough about everything I am capable of or you would not be stupid enough to challenge me in this way" he spits the words from where he is kneeling on the ground in pain

"Oh no she did. She told me everything." The girl smiles coldly "even said that I could give you this" she pulls the flat, white stone out of a concealed pocket in her dress and Klaus lunges for it immediately. In his weakened state she easily dodges out of the way, holding the stone out of his grasp "uh uh uh, the message first"

"If you do not give me that stone this instant I will kill you and everyone you care for"

She scoffs "when you kill a witch you merely create more angry spirits. More of us to help your dear mother." She places the stone on the ground, just out of his reach "you really don't understand, do you?" she laughs freely "you cannot even begin to fathom the plan that we have. What is going to happen in your future, but I can. So go ahead and break your curse. Give it your best shot, you might even succeed. But know this Niklaus, you will always be alone. The plans that we have for the one you love most will ensure that-"

Klaus is holding the witch's bloody vocal box in his hand before she can finish her sentence. She looks down in shock for a moment, hand flying to her open throat. She just manages to get in one last mocking grin before he reaches his hand into her chest and finishes the job.

Elijah had taken out the first witch, the one keeping Klaus incapacitated and then once Klaus killed the second his soldiers rose up quickly, making short work of the rest of the coven. Their quick recovery and unquestioning attack of his enemies is the only reason he allows them to live.

"You are all weak" he still spits in their direction for the sin of not detecting the witches sooner "for your loyalty I will allow you to live, but do not disappoint me again" the fact that they are not welcome on Klaus and Elijah's return ship back to London is an unspoken acknowledgment among all.

Klaus straightens up, cracking his back on one side before he leans over to grasp the moonstone. Holding this piece of the puzzle is euphoric. He forgets the witch's warning in an instant, overcome with just how close he is getting.

He should not have forgotten the Witch's warning.