It was ironic, Caroline thought as she tried not to scowl at her childhood friend, that the biggest obstacle to Bonnie's freedom was Bonnie herself.
"I'm not going to do it," Bonnie said, straining against her chains. "And if you were yourself, right now, you would already know that." She threw a hostile glare over Caroline's shoulder as Klaus stepped up behind her. She needed to de-escalate this quickly
"Bonnie, if you don't help neutralise Lucy, then they'll go to plan B," Caroline said lowly. "And you know what that is."
"Don't listen to her, Bonnie," Elena said. "She's with them now."
Rebekah tapped her foot impatiently."Can we kill her?"
"No, sister dearest, you may not," Klaus purred, as he eyed his new hybrids.
Caroline suppressed a sigh. Klaus's delight with his new toys were a different problem for a different day. Right now, it was time for some hard truths. "I stopped Stefan from killing Matt earlier," she said bluntly. "He's already killed my mother. He probably won't kill Elena, so you'll be next - and if he can't get to you, he'll use your mother as leverage."
"Wait...your Mom is dead?"
Caroline curled her hands, her nails biting into her palms until the scent of her blood pierced the air. Klaus shifted behind her but didn't move. "Stefan killed her yesterday," she said.
"No," Bonnie shook her head. "This is a mistake. They lied to you. It must have been one of them-"
"No mistake, I watched him do it," Caroline said."He ripped her heart out of her chest and then smirked at me." Caroline could feel her fangs ache in her gums at the memory. She wanted to kill him but she wanted to hurt him first. Her eyes slid over to Elena and, as if sensing what she was thinking, she stiffened.
I'll only help if you promise not to kill Stefan," Bonnie said.
"But he-"
"I know, Caroline, but this has to stop somewhere. Do I have your word?"
Caroline crossed her arms. "I give you my word that I won't try to kill him unless he tries to kill me first - good enough?"
"He won't," Bonnie said, with an assurance that Caroline didn't feel.
"Whatever you say, Bonbon."
But Bonnie just stared at her, disbelief shining in her eyes. "You've changed, Caroline," she said. "The old you used to value human life. I guess you're just like every other vampire, after all."
The blow fell, but this was not the time to show weakness, especially when they had an audience. "I know what happened to Jenna, Bonnie," she scoffed "So I guess we're both killers now." A part of her felt guilty as Bonnie's face crumpled but she didn't let it show. If Caroline wasn't allowed to hide from her true nature, then neither was she.
After a loud debate, that involved a lot of backbiting and unnecessary sibling rivalry, the Mikealsons decided not to relocate. Elijah had found another local to sign the properties deeds over to and, after a few more minutes of squabbling, compelled him to re-invite them in.
"We need an actionable plan," Caroline muttered as they gathered in the drawing room.. "One that doesn't involve us just standing around, waiting for bad things to happen."
"And what do you suggest?" Rebekah drawled sarcastically. "Should we erect a barricade?"
Caroline shuddered as she remembered how close she'd come to being burned alive by Mikael's hands. "Let's not give him extra kindling to play with."
"Poor, vulnerable Caroline." Rebekah's smile was not sweet. "Immortal but not invulnerable." Unlike an Original, were the unsaid words, as if Caroline needed a reminder.
"Yeah, thanks for the update," she muttered, her mind flashing again to the rails of Wickory Bridge. If the wood from the bridge was a danger to Elijah, would the same be true of Mikael? A dark thought entered her mind. Perhaps Mikael wasn't the only Mikaelson she should take care of. Caroline wondered how easy it would be. Klaus may make noises about how impressed he was with her ingenuity, but there is an arrogance that came with age - an arrogance that his siblings shared.
"What are you plotting?" Rebekah asked sharply, her eyes suddenly intent, and Caroline mentally berated herself. It would not do to underestimate the other vampire, she was a thousand years old and had Klaus as a brother. She needed to get out of here alive, and get Elena and Bonnie too. A part of her wondered why she even bothered trying to save them now. Her life had been ripped apart as much by their lies as Klaus's viciousness. If they had been honest with her from the beginning, would her mother still be alive...would she have escaped Damon's attention?
"I think we should have a party," she said aloud. "Damon liked to use parties to wrangle an invite into a home. Stefan probably does too."
Rebekah raised an eyebrow. "It is an effective trick," she allowed. "You think that by throwing a party, you can control when and where Mikael and Stefan attack?"
Caroline shrugged. "Nothing is ever that easy." she said. "But it might work, and if it does, we control the battleground."
Rebekah eyed her disdainfully. "It shall be a ball. Parties are for children," she sniffed.
Oh, this was going to be a delight, Caroline could just tell. She imagined her life from now on, living in Rebecca's shadow and warming Klaus's bed but not being allowed to sit at the adults table. Why would Klaus need her opinion when he had so many siblings to choose from? Be quiet, Caroline, the ancient Immortals are talking. How she wished she could throw Rebecca down the stairs like she had Greta and be rid of her.
Klaus caught her eye from across the table and smirked as if he knew what she was thinking. Flustered, she got to her feet. "If I make a few phone calls now we can throw the ball this weekend."
"This weekend?" Rebecca said archly. "My father isn't going to wait that long. No...the ball shall be tonight. Don't bother making any phone calls. I doubt you're up to the task." With a flick of her hair, Rebecca leaned back in her armchair. "I shall take care of the ball and you can do...well, whatever it is you do." She looked away dismissively and Caroline felt a fury build up in her that she struggled to keep in check. Rebecca was trying to rile her up, that much was obvious, and she didn't trust her motives one little bit. She walked away from the table before she said something she might regret.
"Don"t go too far," Rebecca called after her. "You'll have to have a fitting before the ball. I've seen your wardrobe, we need to do better. Honestly, Nik, why can't you pick someone who has decent taste. She's going to be a nightmare to dress."
The last part was said in a stage whisper designed to carry. Yes, Caroline had gotten the hint, Klaus's family didn't want her around...but where else had she to go?
She sped up the stairs and grimaced when she entered the bedroom. Her clothing was strewn over the bed and her lingerie drawers were pulled open haphazardly. Rebekah Mikaelson was definitely marking her territory and declaring herself the alpha female of the household. If she weren't careful, Klaus's sister would have her dead within the week.
Caroline slowly started to tidy up as her mind reeled. Break it down to bite size pieces, she told herself, save Bonnie and Elena and kill Stefan. How could she do that?
Biting her lip, she looked at the dress in her hands. It had capped sleeves and was the palest of pinks and made of raw silk, tailored to skim over her hips and fall to her knees. Chic and understated, it was one of Klaus's gifts as were most of her clothing nowadays. It was a mark of his ownership of her, a reminder of how she was no longer girly little Caroline.
A glimmer of a plan began to form. She had no doubt that Rebekah would use every opportunity to belittle her tonight. Why not use that to her advantage? Allow herself to look cowed and vulnerable so that Stefan wouldn't be able to resist trying to separate her from the herd. She remembered the spiteful smirk on his face when he ripped her mother's heart out. This new Stefan would attempt to play with her before he killed her, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
Caroline imagined the feel of her stake piercing his heart and began to rehearse in her head what she'd tell Bonnie afterwards. I tried to keep my promise, Bonnie, but he tried to kill me and I had to defend myself.
Caroline threw the dress onto the bed. If she was going to pull this off, she needed to play the part of needy little Caroline again, desperate for love or affection. These clothes weren't going to help her with that. Time to go home.
She breezed out of the room, a spring in her step again. First she would deal with her immediate problems and then, if she were still alive, she'd deal with the Mikaelson's.
Caroline could hear the quiet desperate moans of Alaric in the basement when she let herself in through her bedroom window. Stefan had never come back to check on him. A sliver of guilt crept into her mind and she resolved to call an ambulance for him before she left. Alaric had tried his best to do the right thing. It wasn't his fault Stefan had manipulated that.
She looked around her room and was immediately struck by how small it felt. It seemed like a lifetime since she'd slept in this room rather than a week. Her eyes fell on the picture on her nightstand. It was of her and her Mom at a town picnic, their arms around each other as they grinned for the camera. They'd had a blazing row later that day, and hadn't spoken for nearly a week afterwards. She couldn't even remember what it was about. Caroline picked up the frame and studied her Mum's face, she still couldn't believe she was gone.
Placing the photo back on her nightstand, she opened her wardrobe, her eyes immediately falling on the first dress Klaus had bought her and pulled it out. She idly stroked the material as she held it up against herself.
It really was beautiful and it wasn't like she was trying to hide what she'd become anymore but it was too sophisticated for what she needed. Vampy Caroline in designer couture would make Stefan way too aware of the changes wrought in her over the last few weeks. She needed something that would remind Stefan of the needy little girl that sleepwalked into an abusive relationship with her brother, malleable and easily manipulated.
She reached into the closet again and rooted around until she found what she wanted. It was a short red slutty number that she vaguely remembered buying as a means to tempt Matt. She smiled ruefully as she remembered how she used to believe all her problems would be solved if she just got the right guy to like her.
She pulled open her underwear drawer and took out a pair of lacy red panties that she'd bought in Victoria's Secret last summer. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of wearing them. Klaus had definitely spoiled her in the lingerie department but if couture dresses were out of the question, then so were designer underthings. She decided against wearing hose and grabbed a pair of red heels before slipping into the bathroom.
She pulled the dress over her body, and looked at herself critically in the mirror. It was a short bodycon dress that barely skimmed her hips, hooking over one shoulder in a drape of material that left the other shoulder bare.. It definitely showed off what she considered her best asset, her legs. She bit her lip before hurriedly divesting herself of her bra, allowing her tits to press perkily against the fabric of the dress. No point in being eternally seventeen if she couldn't use it to her advantage. Another contemplative look in the mirror made her hurriedly change into the panties and slip on her heels. She bent over and glanced over her shoulder into the mirror. The bright red of the lace panties flashed suggestively in her reflection and Caroline briefly wondered if she was laying it on a little too thick.
She shrugged as she straightened and pulled at her hair. An air of desperation would probably work in her favour, She wanted to play the part of the poor isolated baby vampire, lingering in the corner at the ball in her sluttiest dress, and realising she was out of depth...well, okay, that wasn't too far from the actual truth but that's beside the point. She wanted Stefan to see her as his victim, desperate for someone to care about her.
All in all, Caroline thought she looked the part. The bright red of her dress made her pale skin gleam and she thought with the right shade of red on her lips and a few more curls in her hair it would complete the look. She might as well hang a sign around her neck that said 'bait'
Satisfied, she stepped back into her bedroom and froze when she noticed Klaus sitting on the edge of her bed, his hand resting on a large silk box that very obviously contained another designer dress, His eyes roamed up and down her body as he slowly stood. "Interesting look, love, but I think we can come up with something a little more sophisticated," he said softly.
She smiled stiffly. "I thought I'd try something a little more me.
"Oh, I think we both know this hasn't been you in quite some time," Klaus said, his head tilting as he eyed her intently. Slowly, he took the box off the bed and placed it on the dresser before turning to her. "What is that clever little mind of yours up to, Sweetheart"
For a moment, she thought about lying but something told her that Klaus wasn't as calm as he appeared. "I'm going to kill Stefan at the ball."
He raised an eyebrow. "And break your promise to the Bennett witch? I didn't know you had it in you."
"Yes, well, she doesn't have to know it was me," Caroline huffed.
He danced a hand over her bare shoulder, tracing her collarbone."I see, and who was going to take the fall for your dastardly deed?"
"Does it matter?" she asked.
His lips twisted. "You're not thinking straight, love, I know your Mum-"
"Leave my Mom out of this," she snapped and the sympathetic light in his eyes faded.
"Well, then, let's get down to brass tacks then," he said. "How is this supposed to work?" He eyed the dress. "No, scratch that, I know how this is supposed to work. You twirl your hair and look available and hope he sidles up to you." He smirked, his hand tracing downward until he was playing with the hem of her dress. He leaned in, his breath hot on her ear.
'Perhaps you'd even let him fondle you a bit, all the better to lure him in," he said, his hand slipping under her dress and cupping her mound, Caroline's breath caught as he drew a long finger against the lace and he smiled knowingly. "How far would you let it go, sweet Caroline?" he asked, his eyes lingering on her lips. "A quick fondle in a dark corner, perhaps, or maybe you'd take him to bed. I know how distracting you can be when you put your mind to it. Do you plan to stake him as you mount him? Would you do it before or after you came?'
The thought sent an unexpected frisson of arousal down her spine and Klaus's smiled curdled. "You killed his brother, Caroline, he reminded her. "What makes you think he'd fall for your charms, as obvious as they are." A leer played on his lips as his fingers at last slid past her panties and began to stroke her clit in earnest. She clung to him as the lacy material became soaking in moments. She'd have to change them before they went downstairs. It was a pity because, they'd matched her dress perfectly
'He's more like Damon than he'll ever admit, she admitted eventually, her voice sounding throatier than she'd like. 'He"ll want to hurt you in the most obvious way possible - what better way to do that than to fuck me before he kills me.'
'He thinks I care for you?' he said, in a flat tone that made Caroline feel immediately wary.
"He thinks you own me" she corrected him. "Damon liked breaking other people's toys. I have a funny feeling Stefan"s ripper tendencies lean the same way."
He grunted reluctantly in agreement. "Yes, it is a certain predilection of his," he murmured. With a swift tug, he ripped her panties off and plunged two fingers inside her. A moan escaped her lips as the palm of his hand ground into her clit. "Well, you got one thing right, my sweet Caroline, I do own you." He twisted his fingers inside her, stretching her almost painfully before pulling them out, and Caroline gasped at the loss.
Get on the bed," he murmured, as his hand went to his trouser zip.
A frown crossed Caroline's face. ''The Ball is in a couple of hours"
'I think we both know the ball will wait for us,'
Caroline licked her lips as he pulled out his already stiff cock and began stroking himself, his eyes darkening as he watched her. She reached back to undo her dress.
Ah, ah,' Klaus interrupted, his voice deceptively light. 'The dress stays on. I think you'll look especially delightful in it on your hands and knees."
She saw the challenge in his eyes and knew how perilously close she was to finding out what he'd do if she defied him. She toed her heels off before turning and slowly leaning over her childhood bed,letting her dress ride up as she crawled onto the covers. She should be terrified, she should be cringing with shame and humiliation, but all she felt was a deep abiding need to have him inside her.
The bed sank under his weight, and a hand gripped her hip painfully as he pushed into her. She felt his other hand snake into her hair, roping it around his fingers before giving it a little tug, pulling her head back and arching her back
He fucked into her lazily, beginning with torturously shallow thrusts that made her core clench with want. Did he want her to beg? Because she would. She needed it, needed him.
'Please, Klaus, harder," she let out. It sounded like sob and she tried to push back onto his cock as he rocked into her, but his grip on her hip was like iron.
"It seems like this dress makes you a bit of a slut after all," he murmured. With a sharp snap of his hips, he pushed her forward in the bed as he began to pound into her in earnest. The rhythm was tortured and erratic, designed to keep her frustrated and off kilter. She knew he was getting off on this as much as she was.
"More," she said, bracing herself against his onslaught, her entire body teetering on the edge, thrumming with need.
His laugh turned dangerous. 'What's wrong Caroline, is there something that you need? A new dress perhaps? Something tells me this little number isn't going to make it to the ball.' The sound of ripping fabric spelled the demise of her dress as it fell away from her back and she felt her fangs push out of her gums, her bloodlust rising as he fell to a crouch above her, his breath on her throat as his hand twisted in her hair.
"You are mine, Caroline, body and soul. You don't get to pass yourself around as bait."
All coherent though fled from her mind as his fangs slid into her throat, a hot arcing pleasure burning through her veins as she felt herself clenching around him. He shuddered above her. Spilling into her as he drank deeply, savouring her.
Moments went by and she felt herself drift from blood loss. She let out a moan as he pulled his cock and fangs from her body and fell onto the bed beside her. He turned on his side and rolled a shirt sleeve up, offering her his wrist and she latched on eagerly.
I"ll let you lure him in as long as I get to be the one to stake him," Klaus murmured into her hair after a few moments, and Caroline let out a snort as she retracted her fangs.
"Possessive much?" she asked rhetorically.
"Oh, very much so sweetheart,' he said. 'But, more importantly, this way you get to keep your promise to the Bennett witch while also getting what you want"
*Hmm, How very Machievellian of me," Caroline said dryly, wondering why he was suddenly acting so accommodatingly.
He lifted his head and smiled down at her. "It's one of your more attractive traits," he agreed, tilting his head. "I can give you tips on how to seduce Stefan if you'd like. He was very fond of my mouth back in the day."
Well, that was news, although she wasn't that surprised, now she thought about it."I thought you two were just friends?"
Klaus shrugged. Didn't stop me from fucking him. If memory serves me correctly. He especially liked the way I tied him down before I sucked his cock.
Intrigued, Caroline lifted her head to study him "What about Rebekah? Didn't she love him?"
"She also liked to watch, love. She is a vampire, after all, she knows how it is."
Caroline wrinkled her nose. "I can't imagine that."
He raised an eyebrow. "Watching?"
Caroline gave his shoulder a half hearted punch. "No… sleeping with one of my friends"
"The Bennett witch is beautiful," he reminded her."Are you telling me you've never looked at her and wondered what she'd look like writhing on your tongue?"
Caroline felt a heat pool in her core at the sudden image in her mind. "Well, I am now, thanks for that." How the hell was she going to keep that thought from her mind next time she saw Bonnie. God, she was turning into such a perve.
"Well, if it helps love, I also like to watch." He gave her a lascivious grin and Caroline groaned. That wasn't helping at all.
"What ever happened to-" She put on an atrocious British accent. " You don't get to be bait. "
He smirked as he pressed her back down into the bed. "Lets just say I can see a way of us both getting what we want," he said. "And I must admit I'm curious to see if you can pull it off." His lips fell to her throat and she arched up into them, her eyes drifting closed as she lost herself in his touch. The bed shifted suddenly and let out a cry of protest as his weight lifted from her.
"Where are you going," she asked plaintively, and he gave her an amused look as he opened the box he'd left on the dresser. She felt her jaw drop as he shook out the dress.
"Final fittings are in an hour, you best get into the shower," he said, as the golden brocade fabric shimmered in the noon light. The skirt fell to the ground in a pool of fabric while the deep slit in the front, designed to accentuate her cleavage, rose into a stiff collar that would frame her throat. The sleeves were short and delicate and the tailored waist would probably do amazing things to her silhouette.
"It's too much," she said aloud, eyeing it covetously. It was a dress fit for a queen.
"We're making a statement, love," he said. "And this dress says property of Klaus Mikaelson." He raised an eyebrow. "Stefan wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to soil it."
Caroline's eyes rose to meet his. Had that been his plan all along? It was impossible to know. She rose to her feet as she decided it didn't matter. As long as their plans dovetailed, she wasn't going to object.
"I'll have that shower now," she said.
He pulled her to him. "I'll join you."
TBC