Chapter 19
London, 1492
"He claims to have found her" Elijah says with a doubting glance at his brother.
"As so many have before" Klaus barely looks up from his sketch pad.
"This Trevor, he says that he is certain, that the information provided makes him certain."
Klaus rolls his eyes "wonderful, so we throw another birthday soiree."
Elijah nods his head "It is all becoming so tedious is it not, Niklaus?"
He grimaces "yes Elijah. How astute of you to notice" ever since he had put Rebekah down for trying to run away yet again and woken Kol- briefly a decade ago- Klaus had been more bitter and hyper-focused on this curse than ever before. Which is saying something.
With an annoyed wave of his hand, the servants begin planning yet another "birthday party" for the Lord of the house. Klaus is so bored of these affairs and streams of fake doppelgangers that he does not concern himself with a second of it. Instead he allows Elijah to take care of all the details and catches light tidbits about this girl who may- or may not- be the key to getting everything he wants.
"She is coming from Bulgaria" Elijah mentions offhandedly one day
"hmm, and what mystical bloodline of witches is she from?"
"none" Elijah says "but Trevor is confident, he says that he has reason to believe you will know her face"
Klaus scoffs "very well."
A fortnight later Elijah is standing in a dimly lit ballroom, lamenting that his older brother cannot even arrive to his own party on time. He speaks in curt sentences to Trevor's manservant and waits for the man in question to notice.
"Ah, good evening Trevor" he says, watching the man in questions give a silent signal "I am pleased you could join us"
Trevor smirks a little "I could not miss the birthday celebration."
Something about his cocky smirk causes Elijah to snap "No, considering the gift you claim to bear. Where is this mystery girl of which you speak?"
Trevor narrows his eyes a little, smirk still firmly in place "right this way" he says, walking further into the ballroom. "My dear" he says to a Brunette woman turned away from Elijah. She turns and before the first word can leave her mouth Elijah feels his heart jump into his throat.
"Hello" the girl says in a feather light voice that he has heard before. In the moment that he pauses, Elijah can practically see an entire life flash before his eyes. A village. A princess. A girl he considers to be his sister. Her sister. The pieces click in Elijah's brain and he is almost impressed with Trevor. Caroline was so in love with the painting Klaus created of her and her sister that even nearly 3 centuries after she has been locked below their estate, he keeps it only lightly wrapped in a spare room. A room any guest could walk into and see. A face that one would certainly recognize should they find it in a remote village in Bulgaria.
All of this flashes through Elijah's mind as he looks at this girl's face "Forgive me" he says, pulling himself back to reality "you remind me of someone."
Trevor sees Elijah's reaction and his smirk deepens "Katerina, may I introduce the Lord Elijah"
As many women do her eyes widen at the mention of his title and she curtsies "A pleasure, my lord"
Elijah smiles, lifting her hand to his lips "The pleasure is all mine"
He dismisses Trevor with a nod, a subtle note that he has done well. Arm in arm with the final piece of a centuries long jigsaw puzzle, Elijah begins to walk back towards the edges of the room.
"where is this mysterious host I've heard so much about?" she asks coyly
"fashionably late" Elijah says, buying time until the servant he sent can retrieve Klaus "he likes to make an entrance." Elijah can feel the heads in the room turn towards the doorway and he smiles "here he is"
Klaus weaves his way through the crowd, not believing even his brother's message that this could truly be it until he sees the girl for himself. His eyes lift, his head tilts, and for the first time in what feels like decades the smirk falls from his face. He is careful to keep his features neutral as he looks upon the face he spent so long painting and repainting, never being allowed to stop until Caroline deemed it exactly perfect. He had to hand it to his wife, she had a careful eye.
"Katerina" Elijah's voice interrupts "may I introduce the Lord Niklaus"
he lifts her hand gently to his mouth, barely touching it with his lips as his mind is filled entirely with the culmination of centuries of work. This is it. He was told he would know her when he sees her, and know her he does. "Niklaus is the name my father gave me" that amuses him a little, considering she knew Mikael in a past life of sorts "please, call me Klaus."
It is not until later that evening when the alcohol and satisfaction leave his cloudy mind that Klaus realizes there might just be a problem. He always planned to awaken Caroline once he broke his curse. He planned for her to be mad a while and eventually forgive him, but… if she finds out that it is a twin of her beloved sister he had to sacrifice, well that could cause a problem. He sighs and shakes his head, ridding himself of the weakness this girl can still instill in him. A weakness that he cannot allow inside of his new self.
XXX
The next day Klaus stands bored in his grand room, eyeing Trevor and his travelling companion "Where are you keeping her? I will send a letter inviting her to stay here. The full moon is in less than a fortnight, obviously I have many witches and vampires are a dime a dozen these days" Klaus rolls his eyes, still adverse to the word that has become popular lore to refer to what he and his family are "I will need you to bring me your lycanthrope, though"
The woman looks to Trevor questioningly "we do not have one… I thought that-"
"You do realize that what you have brought me means nothing if you do not have everything I need?" Klaus cuts her off with growl and Trevor grabs her arm.
"We will find one, of course" he says with a bow.
"See that you do not return until you do" he says, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.
"Niklaus, the lycanthrope are all but extinct thanks to your little curse. It will take them-"
"Exactly" he says with a grin "oh Elijah, of course I have a lycanthrope all prepped and ready, I just needed to get rid of them until the sacrifice. I do not like the way that Trevor looks at my doppelganger. I would hate for him to do something ill-advised"
"If they are running after this mission who will watch the girl?"
"You will of course, who else would I trust with such a task? I will send a servant will a letter that I intend to court her, invite her to stay here and while I prepare for the ritual you will act as her chaperone"
"Of course, brother" he pauses "are we going to discuss the… complication?"
Klaus raises an eyebrow "what could possibly be complicated? Everything is falling into place"
"have you considered what Caroline might have to say? Or Rebekah even-"
"I did not realize they had awoken and were walking around the manor"
"Well they have not, but-"
"Then why are we discussing this? What they may or may not think is of no consequence" he walks towards the door "just watch the doppelganger when she arrives and do not speak of such ridiculous things again" he pauses, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder "unless you would like to join our sister and brother" he is careful to not even invoke the name of the woman he refuses to think about.
XXX
For Klaus the next weeks drag on in a haze of preparations by day and tavern after tavern by night. Drowning himself in more blood and women than he can even remember. Something about being so close to his goal has made him even more restless than usual, and alright, maybe he is forcing himself to forget. What really does not help is having this damn doppelganger in his house, reminding him of everything he is trying so hard to forget, and to make it worse, he has to pull her away from his brother at least every now and again to keep up this courtship ruse.
By the time the eve before the full moon arrives, Klaus knows he should be happier, and yet as he drowns himself in a second bottle of bourbon that costs more than half his guests homes, he can't help but feel on edge. It is all so close but so far away. The closer it all gets the more impatient he can feel himself becoming.
When the door opens he is preoccupied staring into the fire impatiently. He can already sense who is about to enter and speaks as Elijah walks "the full moon is tomorrow brother" he drawls, almost bored "after all these centuries it is finally time" the flames dance in front of his eyes like the doppelganger did at his party earlier that evening. He cannot even think of her without being reminded of the woman he put away years ago. He knows that if he kills this connection to her family, blots out the mystery forever and denies Caroline any answers that may present themselves… it will all be over. Any inkling there may have been of reconciliation between he and his wife will drain away with this human's blood.
"I have been to see the witches," says Elijah in a more cheery voice than Klaus is in the mood for at this moment "they believe they may have found a way to spare the doppelganger"
'no' is the first thing to run through Klaus' mind. He is not sure which reason is most powerful for knowing that this girl must die, but there are many to choose from. Anything that a group of witches has to say, Klaus will not consider to be helpful information. A single witch can be swayed away, but a group is dangerous. Then a thought worse than all of this dons on Klaus' mind and he turns to his brother.
"What does it matter if she lives or not? She is a means to an end, that is all" his tone is not accusatory, but they both know what he is really asking.
"She should die for your gain?" Elijah asks, trying his best to remain neutral. Klaus cannot yet tell if it is his feelings for this girl he is trying to hide or a secret desire that keeping the lookalike of Caroline's sister alive might finally be the thing that grants Klaus the salvation his brother has always sought for him.
"She is human" Klaus responds, looking back at the flames, refusing to play this game "her life means nothing" he punches the last word, ensuring that his brother heard everything he means to convey. This is not a tool for salvation. Saving her will not bring back Caroline, or Klaus' humanity or anything else that Elijah may think.
In the next breath Elijah gives himself away "I beg you to consider this"
Klaus feels the betrayal as he stares at the fire, but manages to hide it before he turns back to his brother and nearly spits the question "Are you so foolish as to care for her?"
Elijah's answer is too fast to be believable "of course not"
Klaus puts hand on Elijah and grits his teeth "Love is a vampire's greatest weakness. And we are not weak, Elijah. We do not feel, and we do not care" as Klaus is trying to make his brother forget this ridiculous idea that the doppelganger should survive, Elijah is gearing up to deliver an emotional blow
"We did once" his words are loaded, and Klaus can nearly feel his eyes drift downward, a subconscious allusion to the sleeping elephant in the castle that they never talk about.
Klaus' gaze is a warning in and of itself. He breathes in and out deeply, trying as hard as he can to control himself instead of thrusting a dagger into Elijah's chest. He can't leave himself entirely devoid of living siblings. So he narrows his eyes and speaks his final warning "too many life times ago to matter." The point is sharp and the topic will be dropped "tell the witches not to bother. The sacrifice will happen as planned". Conversation over.
Later that night it becomes abundantly clear that Elijah did not listen to him.
"What have you done?" Klaus growls angrily, storming into the room where his traitorous brother is reading so casually. Elijah puts his book to the side and Klaus growls "Katerina is gone. She has fled."
"No"
Klaus' voice falls to an enraged whisper "what did you tell her?"
"I told her nothing"
Klaus has Elijah's lapels in his hands before he even finishes his sentence and slams him up against the nearest wall "DO NOT LIE TO ME"
"I will find her. You have my word"
"If you do not, I give you my word, you will be dead" his voice is nearly emotionless as he
XXX
"Tell me where she is" Klaus growls to the witch
The young girl's eyes widen in fear as she chants louder and faster, clearly not finding what she is looking for "I- I cannot find her. Her energy is gone"
"What do you mean gone?"
"Either she is being cloaked by a very powerful witch, even more powerful than me or-"
"There is no way she could know a witch like that"
"You should hope that you are wrong, my lord; because the other option… is that she is dead."
Klaus has the witch's neck in his hands in an instant as he shoves her against the wall "or perhaps the other option is that I need a more powerful witch"
"You won't find one from the powerful lines willing to be loyal to you, I can promise that" she chokes out. Klaus narrows his eyes, softening his grip just a little
"I have my ways"
"So does your mother"
"What did you say about my mother?"
"She is talking to us. All of us. Any witch with a bloodline powerful enough for her to channel into a corporeal form or possess. You could not even imagine the plans she has in store Niklaus. You need me. You need me because I am loyal and I will tell you what she is doing"
Klaus lets out an annoyed huff, wanting to accuse her of bluffing, but something inside of him knows that she is not. He chose her to do the ritual because she would be loyal and she knows her value. A part of him respects her boldness and he is just deciding if he will let her live when-
"I can give you something that you truly desire"
"What I desire is the doppelganger"
"Are you certain" she says, her voice shifting halfway through to the accent of the new world as her dark hair becomes blonde and the grey-blue of her eyes tints just a little greener "because I think you might want me" she says on a soft voice, pale hand lifting to cup his cheek
"Caroline" he whispers reverently, dropping his hand from her slim neck immediately and stepping back "this is not real" he says
"Of course it isn't" she giggles "Caroline hates you. She will never forgive you, the longer you leave her under that spell the more open her mind is to Esther's influence."
"You're lying" he says, still thrown by the face of his wife in front of him saying these words
"Would I lie to you, Niklaus?" she asks with a sweet smile, running her hand down his chest
"Get out of my head witch"
She shakes her head "just let yourself enjoy it Niklaus, I can give you something that you'll never have again" she lifts onto her tip-toes and captures his lips.
It is wrong, the lips are soft and fit his as perfectly as he remembers, but the way her tongue meets his is just not quite right. Everything about her kiss, the way that her hands slide down his body, how she leans against him, it is all just slightly off.
"If it were really you my love, I would take you up to my bedroom and worship your body for hours on end" he says, hands tearing at the bodice of her dress
"mmm" she moans against his neck "do whatever you want with me, my lord"
Klaus pulls back, mind clear and the spell broken. He stares at the brunette witch with her dress hanging off her body "don't ever do that again" he growls
"do not tell me you didn't love to see her" she smirks
"Not like that" he steps back even more "you don't know her, you could never do her justice. You might be able to look like her, but she would never-" he pauses "it doesn't matter. I will let you live, but leave immediately and never bring her up to me again" the witch stares at him, confused "leave before I change my mind" he spits and she gathers her skirts to rush out "be prepared to come when I call you"
"Of course, My Lord" she curtsies quickly before rushing out.
NOTE: as I said, if you are actually still reading/care- let me know, because otherwise I have other projects I can put my time into.