A/N This was originally posted as Niklaustiltskin in my drabble series, It Would Be Impossible Not to Notice You, and was written for Klaroline Valentine's Day Bingo, 2020. Prompt: "You look ravishing in that dress. Now, take it off." I decided to expand it to a short (for me) multichap in honor of Klaroline AU Week 2020. I will post the final chapter during the event. Please let me know what you think! New content starts in chapter two. The lyrics woven in are from the song "Dangerous Game" from Jekyll and Hyde by Frank Wildhorn.
Chapter One – The Frightened Princess Doesn't Know What to Do
A dance of death out of a mystery tale. The frightened princess doesn't know what to do.
Caroline Forbes kicked and screamed all the way to the underground cave that was to be her new home. The men carrying her by her elbows just laughed as they tossed her in and slammed the iron bars shut, leaving her hands tied behind her back with harsh rope and a burlap sack over her head. Completely in the dark, the blonde peasant stumbled on the rocky ground. She tried to remain upright but fell to her knees and toppled over onto her side. "Ugh!" she groaned in frustration. Eventually she managed to move into a seated position, crossing her legs beneath her simple cotton dress. "You parasites had better let me out of here or else!" she shouted through the coarse fabric encasing her long golden curls. "UGH!" she screamed again, shuffling backwards to rest against the rough stone wall.
Intrigued by the fierce feminine cries of outrage, Klaus magically popped into Caroline's new cell, a smirk spreading across his face at the young woman's predicament. As a Finnish fiend, he often trolled the dungeons looking for new victims to trade away parts of themselves for a small taste of freedom. Their emancipation never lasted long before his spell took root and robbed them of their souls. Normally, manipulating the imprisoned was a rather tedious aspect of his existence, but something about this maiden called to him on a primal level. Everything about her drew him in, which was no easy feat for the most reviled creature in Scandinavia.
Caroline groaned and kicked her black boots on the ground in frustration. "This SUCKS!" she shouted, the echo reverberating around the dank cave.
Klaus' lip involuntarily twitched up in a smile. He couldn't help himself. She looked delicious. He stalked over to her and sank down next to her, making her yelp when he whispered in her ear, "Rough day, sweetheart?" Caroline instinctively rammed the side of her head against his, surprising him so much that he fell over onto the dirt floor. Normally, that would have been enough for anybody to lose their head, but to his own surprise, he just laughed, a grin spreading across his wicked face. He sat up and whispered right into her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy you, Caroline."
The indignant blonde scoffed. "Gross! Get away from me, creep!" she growled, her tone bossy.
Klaus barked out a laugh. "Well, I was going to offer to release you from your lovely choice of head ware and those very fashionable bracelets, but I'm happy to oblige if it is your wish to be free of my presence instead of your bindings," he teased, rising to his feet beside her.
"Wait!" the prisoner called out. His evil smirk returned as he towered over her, his short dirty blonde lock curling around his ears. "Can you get me out of here?" she asked, her voice still hostile but slightly less so.
"I can do many things, Caroline," he replied with a scoff, reveling in it when she flinched as he called her by the name she hadn't given. He crouched down before her and traced his finger from the bottom of her burlap bag to the top of her bodice, his razor-sharp nail scraping her porcelain skin. She sucked in a sharp breath when his finger hooked the fabric and pulled it towards him, giving him a peek at her creamy breasts. "Ow!" he shouted when she kicked him in the shin as hard as she could, sending him toppling backwards.
"Pervert!" she growled. "I don't want out of here that bad!" she spat "You and your wandering hands can leave me alone."
Klaus couldn't help but laugh at her spirit. It had been a long time since anyone had amused him to such an extent. "Apologies for my behavior," he said with mock sincerity. "Allow me to make it up to you." With a snap of his fingers, the ropes binding her wrists fell to the ground. She immediately pulled the sack off her head, freeing her messy golden curls. By the time she opened her crystal blue eyes to look around the dark cavern, her savior was gone.
After several days with nothing but stale bread and water unfit for livestock, Caroline regretted her decision to punch the Lord Tyler in the face. When he'd shown up in her family's village to purchase the prettiest peasant as his bride, she'd acted on instinct. In retrospect, she should've killed him. Her parents had apologized profusely and begged the Lord to give her another chance, promising she would be a humble wife and bear him many sons. She, of course, had spit in his face when he asked if she would be good for him. His ugly sneer had been the last thing she'd seen before his men had thrown a bag over her head and dragged her to the cave kicking and screaming.
Klaus had been watching her pace in angry circles for days, not that she could see him under an invisibility charm. She was enchanting. Every time the men had come for her submission to the demands of their master, she'd simply laughed at them. More than once they'd knocked her to the ground and again bound her hands behind her back. Twice she'd freed herself. Thrice she'd given up. Only when she screamed out her frustration did he appear. With a wink and a snap, he'd free her before vanishing from her sight.
Watching her reaction to his handsome appearance and toned muscles had been delightful. No doubt she'd been expecting a troll or a goblin. A sickly visage with a black hole where no heart had been. Klaus was no such thing. At least, that was his preferred epithet. He'd gone by many names in his long life: Lempo, Pääpiru, Jutas, God of Evil, Lord of Demons. Many thought he was the devil himself. As he'd hovered around her cave, he thought himself amused.
It was only when the arrogant Lord Tyler came to see her that the demon stopped laughing. The vile man had given her a choice: become his wife... or become a corpse. Klaus had heard her heart pounding in her chest as she boldly declared she'd rather die than share his bed. Tyler had bloodied her nose before pronouncing that she would hang when the moon rose in the sky. It wasn't until he was long gone that she'd burst into tears. The God of Evil didn't know why, but the muffled sound of her cries didn't sit well with him. It was with an unusual benignity that he'd shown himself.
Having caught her off guard, Caroline gasped when she felt him tenderly tuck a stray tendril behind her ear. His touch had been unexpected, but she didn't pull away. She instinctively leaned into his palm and momentarily accepted his comfort as she huddled against with wall with her arms clasped around her knees. He eyed her carefully, mentally cataloguing every twitch of her lovely face as he caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. He gave her time to collect herself with dignity, ignoring her pitiful sniffles as she slowly pulled herself together. "Who are you?" she queried in a small voice when he finally leaned back on his heels and pulled away. "What are you?"
"That depends on who you ask, sweetheart," he replied with a smile that highlighted his dimples. "You can call me Klaus."
"Caroline," she said, blushing at his knowing smirk. He seemed to know a lot of things, so there was no point pretending he wasn't aware of the reason for her misery. "Why are you here?"
"Because you're a girl in need," he laughed, enjoying her ire at his sarcasm. He'd been stalking her long enough to know that she was about to tell him what he could do with his charity, but the image he'd painted in his mind of her dangling from a galley evoked an uneasiness he hadn't known in centuries. Her obstinance would be the death of her. He'd have to try a different approach if he wanted to claim her as his own, which he did. "I can grant you your freedom, love," he enticed her with a sinister smile that promised both heaven and hell. He softened his gaze as he gently stroked her temple with the back of his index finger. "All you have to do is ask."
The beautiful blonde prisoner eyed him suspiciously. His smile deepened at her apprehension. He held out his hand and waited until she reluctantly took it. "You want something from me. I know it and you know it," she said firmly as she was pulled up flush against his muscular frame, "but there's something else you should know." She stepped back to put some distance between them, crossing her arms defensively, and a little bit petulantly, over her chest. "I'm too smart to be seduced by you."
"Well, that's why I like you," he replied with a dark chuckle as he eyed her up and down. A predator sizing up his prey. "With a brain like that, you just might survive the night," he taunted her, a bright green glow flashing across his normally pale blue eyes. She sucked in a deep breath, a jolt of fear shooting through her as she remembered her death sentence, but she held her head up high and matched his gaze with a fierce one of her own. His chest swelled with unfamiliar emotions at her bravery, foolish though it was in the face of evil. There was more to this simple peasant than met the eye and he wanted desperately to know what it was. With a smirk, he explained, "However, you are correct. All magic comes with a price. Mine is quite simple, really."
Caroline gulped but didn't blink. "And that is?"
"A favor," he replied simply with a shrug, "to be determined at a later time. It's not as though you've much to offer me at the moment."
"Nothing I'll give you, anyway," she shot back as she looked him over. The prey assessing the danger. "What kind of a favor?"
"Well, that's up to me now, isn't it?" the angel-faced demon answered evasively. Whatever she wouldn't give. That was his price. That was his game. He would get to know her long enough to find her weakness. All creatures had them, whether they sought him out or he stumbled upon them. When he found it, she'd break her vow. And her soul would be his. "Do we have a deal?" The beautiful blonde prisoner knew better than to trust him, but there was a hangman's noose waiting for her if she turned him down. "Hätä ei lue lakia,"* he cooed with a waggle of his eyebrows.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded, resigned to her fate. If only she knew what fate had in store. He smiled and raised a brow, his handsome façade deceptively comforting. "We have a deal," she confirmed aloud, holding out her hand.
Klaus glanced at her outstretched palm and took a step back, mirth dancing behind his topaz eyes. Crossing his arms over his chest, he smirked when he saw her falter at his rejection, but she quickly recovered and glared at him. An evil smile curled the corner of his lip as his sarcasm returned. "You look ravishing in that dress. Now, take it off."
"Ex-fucking-cuse me Mr. Creepy Dark Wizard," she sassed, one hand on her hip as she glared daggers at him.
"Relax, sweetheart," he cooed in his wicked accent that made her toes curl. "I'm not that kind of monster. I don't take women to bed until they beg me for it," he teased with an heated glance at her breasts that had her heart skipping a beat. "The ritual will bind you to me with fire. Don't worry," he said soothingly as he traced a pointed fingernail down her cheek, "it won't hurt your skin, but it will burn your dress." He quickly flicked his gaze at her filthy garment before adding with disdain, "Although, I'm quite certain we'd be doing it a favor." He smirked at the way she narrowed her eyes at his barb, however accurate it may have been. She had a fire entirely her own. She'd be a delicious addition to his collection of palvelijattaresi, or maid servants. "So, unless you'd like to walk out of here a naked, albeit free, woman, I suggest you take it off."
Caroline stared at him for several long moments before she reached behind her back and pulled the knot tying the leather corset lacing of her dress. Her eyes never left his as she bared first her breasts before elegantly letting the rough fabric pool at her feet to reveal the rest of her. He raked his gaze over her perfect curves. His eyes looked hungry. Stepping closer to her, he held out his hands and gently closed them around hers when she lay them flat against his calloused palms. Her breath caught in her throat when his irises glowed bright green and flames emerged from the depths of the earth. Magic crackled in the air as sparks danced across her exposed skin. The fire burned hot against every inch of her body, but true to his word, it didn't hurt. His eyes bored into her as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, one hand finding her hip and pulling her closer. The young peasant girl stifled back a moan when he parted her lips with his own. His wicked tongue caressed hers as his deathly kiss stole the very air from her lungs, his thumb glowing red as he rubbed small circles into her tender flesh. When he finally pulled back, her soul was marked with his darkness, her skin branded by his demonic touch.
The God of Evil smirked in triumph at the sight of his mark seared into the back of her hand. And so it began. He leaned down and kissed it, the pain instantly receding. He straightened his back and released her as his eyes returned to their oceanic blue. She blinked to clear her head and was suddenly very aware that she was standing naked in his arms, her bare breasts pressed against the hard planes of his chest.
"Why do I feel like I just walked into hell?" she asked timidly, her voice a breathless whisper.
"You can call it a deal with the devil, if you'd like," he cooed in her ear before pressing his soft lips against her satin cheek, her flesh still warm from his fiery touch. His kiss burned and her eyes fluttered shut as she felt magic course through her veins. "See you soon, love."
As quickly as he'd appeared, Klaus vanished into thin air. When she opened her eyes and looked down, she was again dressed in her filthy rags, but her dank cave was gone. She was in an open field surrounded by tall grass and no jailers in sight. She was free, his side of their bargain fulfilled. As she ran from the clearing as fast as her bare feet would carry her, Caroline couldn't help but wonder what that freedom had cost. A deal with the devil indeed.
"Hätä ei lue lakia – Emergency does not read the law." – Finnish Proverb
A/N This was a fun one. I searched high and low to find a fitting mythological creature before I settled on Lempo from Finnish folklore. Please let me know what you thought!