In the morning, Klaus could barely stand from his bed. He'd dreamt again of the same scene his subconscious was apparently stuck on showing him. A grand ballroom, with people from all over his past. A green dress, dark and velvety. He'd be dancing with someone, usually one of his sisters, or Hayley; this once it was a faceless beauty.
Not so much a mystery since he could recognize that shade of blonde in almost every crowd. Well then, they'd be dancing, hands barely touching as they moved in circles, switching partners and then returning to bliss. Of course, when the time came for the lights to switch off, Klaus already knew what would be written on the wall.
There will be no peace.
If he recalled correctly, there had been a war within the witches. Maybe something to do with Papa Tunde and his dagger. Perhaps Davina and her harvest peers, returned from death, at last. After betrayal and lost opportunities to make things right, for everyone but Klaus that is.
And then he'd opened his eyes, the vision in the green velvet gone and his anxieties forgotten. He'd had this dream enough times to stop considering it a nightmare. And alas, this was the second time Caroline made an appearance, aiming to save the day and saving Klaus from being the only person who thought it odd that blood was suddenly purple and slithering through the walls.
Ah, now he made the connection. It wasn't a ballroom really, it was the disappointment of a hybrid Tyler Lockwood's home. Klaus walked slowly to his bathroom door as he wondered whatever happened to the schoolboy turned near murderer of his child. He made a mental note to send somebody and give Tyler the yearly reminder of the Mikaelsons' existence.
He splashed water on his face, rising to meet his own eyes through the mirror. Red and tired. Hayley wanted to make Christmas cards this year and send them to the two people in the world who wouldn't think it a threat on their part. Klaus was still waiting for Elijah to handle that.
Scoffing, he imagined what the world would be like if they had the audacity to send out Christmas cards. He believed some people still thought of The Originals as some myth originated from highly imaginative witches or werewolves. Caroline had phrased it right, they just couldn't afford to appear anything other than threatening.
Klaus suppressed a jump as he took his t-shirt off and threw it on the floor. A scowl formed on his face before he could even fully register what it was that had startled him. Something quite heavy and hollow had smashed onto the floor downstairs. Now a scream, but it wasn't an alarmed yelp, more angry and exasperated. His left eye twitched.
Last night, when Hayley, Hope and he had gotten home, Elijah had been livid. His brother said he'd been waiting hours for this meeting. And Klaus had been thinking, well Elijah I've been waiting centuries for peace and quiet, and I'm not complaining. Of course, Hayley had been quickly able to calm him down, waving Klaus away to make good on his promise to put Hope to sleep.
His daughter had insisted on him reading her a story from a pink and sparkly book. He'd frowned at the thing, wondering why and when on earth had he bought such a thing. He'd then proceeded to theatrically entice Hope with the tale of a handsome and brave prince who slayed dragons left and right. Well, that just could not have been accurate, and his daughter needed to have some sense of truth in her life.
He'd opted to, instead, disclose to her of how real life royals had been in the middle ages. Exceptional cowards, and barely functional tyrants. It had made him sick to his stomach that Hope would grow up to idealize such a misconstructed assumption of princes and princesses. His daughter, however, had fallen asleep in the middle of his history lecture.
He'd planned to tell Hayley of the little secret weapon he had stumbled upon, until he went back down the stairs. And this, because in the dining room waited Elijah and Hayley.
There was a board by their side. And well, at least there was unlimited wine. Klaus had decided to humor his brother in the end, and the three of them had stayed up until two in the morning, when a drunken Rebekah had made her entrance, promising she had photos and videos that would just thrill you, Nik.
He'd helped his sister up the stairs. Kol had come out of his room, where Klaus was sure someone other than Davina had been inside of, and had threatened to take Rebekah out again to this wicked bar, but then Klaus had engaged in a screaming match with the two of them. Ending with Elijah using some not so mellow language on them. Eventually, he believed he'd joined his younger siblings in teasing his older one.
And well, as was evidenced by the popping veins in the white of his eyes, he hadn't slept very well. And apparently, his supernatural gifts were on a strike today, as in deal with being a thousand years old for one day. As if he didn't every single one he'd survived through.
A clean change of clothes, brushing of his teeth and then he was out of his room. He'd left his phone in the dining room. And...fuck, Elijah had made a lot of sense about the human faction representantive needing to stay alive. Klaus had to put a halt on Operation Choking on a Gummy Bear Really Is A Thing before it went ahead.
Another smash before he got to the railings. And then another scream, one that gave him a strange sense of déjà vu. Then laughter. Now this- this made him halt on his steps. His first thought upon hearing the disrupting sounds had been, excellent, another mob led by second rate vampires. Then, ah wonderful, finally I've gone insane. But the laughter…
And as he stepped out he felt maybe his second option had been more on the likely side than the first. There were about thirty people moving around the courtyard, some carrying large boards across the space, others hanging fabrics and lights from the balconies with their ladders, and then a group moving consciously with what seemed a cage. One person was leading them all.
He leaned over the railing, blinking at the blue sundress and the ponytail. Arms snapping at every which direction; his eyes landed on her lips, pink and pursing every time another smash resounded through the house. She kept yelling, and covering herself from the scarce rays of sunshine with a clipboard. Klaus felt his stomach twist with something.
Maybe it could've been six years ago, or who knew how many exactly, and a golden dress instead of blue. Hair loose instead of up. But her face was the same, determined and unbothered. Silently looking down at everyone who wasn't as efficient as she would be, anyone who couldn't get the job done with the finesse only she possessed.
Then like an echo in his head, and how am I doing; her sigh, as she fought not to roll her eyes at her date. A term he'd forced upon her and on himself as well. You're...perfect.
"Very subtle, Nik," his head snapped to his sister, who had somehow managed to stand by his side without him noticing. He raised a brow at her. Of course, now he linked the laughter to her.
Rebekah had failed to remove the makeup from the night before, but even through the smudges, she always did look poised and presentable. His gaze shifted to their feet, and to her bunny slippers. He suppressed the nod, and smirked instead. How homey of her.
"Subtle?" He repeated, returning his attention to the blonde angel in the blue sundress.
She hummed, "If you're going to eye-fuck her, at least have the decency to do it from the same floor?" His jaw clenched.
He had his mouth halfway open to snap at Rebekah, but then another one of the hired images of incompetence dropped a wooden board to the ground. Klaus let himself frown in thought. So Caroline was essentially running a circus inside his home with the purpose of, and he could only asume, assemble Rebekah's birthday party.
He pouted his lips slightly, no longer remembering in exactitude if the party in question had been agreed to remain a secret. What could be a good excuse, sorry Bekah, Caroline has this life-long dream of opening up a nightclub and I decided to give her a chance.
"Your point?" He finally said, low in tone. Teasing only got one so far, and his sister knew better than to drag it out on him.
She huffed, shifting her feet on her slippers. "I jumped to some conclusions yesterday, when she let it slip about my party," Rebekah leaned against the railing too. He turned to her. "By the way, thank you, Nik," he shrugged. "But do you really expect me to believe this all is purely for my enjoyment-"
"It is," he interrupted, and she raised a brow.
"We both know who this was really for." She whispered, though there really was no need to; Caroline remained clearly unaware of their watching, groaning her exasperation at the help.
"Oh?" He tilted his head. The clipboard had fallen from her fingers and she leaned over to pick it up. His head tilted back. "Do let me know when your conspiracy theories have any ground to stand on, sister."
Rebekah let out a chuckle, amused. "Did I tell you who I went out drinking with yesterday?" Her inquiry wasn't very shocking, as he believed she had indeed mentioned something the night before, while throwing back insults with Elijah.
Klaus made a short nod.
"Turns out, she can quite open up when asked the right questions." Her fingertip started tapping on her lips. Klaus rolled his eyes; sometimes he wondered if the dramatics were somehow a genetic trait. "She says, she wants to give you a chance. Which, you know, from my perspective isn't the greatest decision she ever made. More on the daftier side of things, but anyhow…"
Klaus had stopped listening after he heard what he had been after; not so much the past few weeks, but more like the years since he'd met her. His eyes were on her again. Caroline Forbes, it rang on his ears, like the first time he had heard it. Something clicking just right after years of hearing bad timed sonnets and squeaky chants that he'd forced himself to feel drawn to.
She kept yelling at the workers, this time someone had let a stage light drop with a squeal. Her sundress flowed around her frame marvellously, letting a hint of thigh show every other second.
Rebekah cleared her throat, he turned to her again, annoyed. "You're hopeless. The both of you. All pinning, and no action." He was about to excuse his lack of forwardness, but his sister didn't let him. "Yes, Nik, we're all aware she's engaged. Also, half of Vampiric New Orleans is aware that she'd be more inclined to marry a toad before she goes through with that professor of hers." Her nose scrunched in disgust. "Did you know that man acts as a father to Elena Gilbert and her-"
"What?" His mind had completely forgotten about Caroline for the moment being. Klaus was silently hoping he had heard wrong. Rebekah looked unaffected by his tone; she kept on watching as a stage was being built by the back wall.
"Yes, apparently when you killed her aunt-" her eyes had drifted to Klaus. She straightened. "Oh, the other thing…"
"Half of Vampiric New Orleans?" He almost growled at her.
Had brains and common sense stopped with himself? Was Mikael really that lacking in intelligence that it'd passed down to his offsprings?
"The name is a work in progress," she excused, "don't judge, I just think it makes us sound more interesting, don't you agree?" Klaus raised a brow as a final warning and his sister sighed. "I'm not dense, Nik, but thanks for the vote of confidence. If you'd checked your phone when I told you to yesterday you would've found recorded proof of how I compelled an entire bar full of trusting vampires to forget everything they heard upon leaving Rousseau's." Rebekah flipped her hair over her shoulder, and her stone cold gaze left Klaus.
He swallowed, then nodded. "I didn't have it on me. It's in the dining room still."
Rebekah pursed her lips, and after a few seconds worth of silence, she shrugged. "You know, I've not been destroying my reputation around town for my own enjoyment. I actually came into some very interesting information yesterday." Klaus was watching her again, expectantly. "We should talk later."
He was about to tell her they could speak right now, when suddenly, Rebekah started waving her hand at a person downstairs, and Klaus got the embarrassing need to duck or hide, or else Caroline would realize he had been staring.
His sister placed a hand on his shoulder as if magically sensing his reluctance to be there that exact second. Punishment, or something of the sort for not trusting her in the first place, he imagined.
Caroline was barely turning her head to them when Rebekah leaned in to whisper to him, "I expect a thank you, preferably in the shape of a new car. Kol destroyed the one I had."
Klaus was about to ask, whatever for, but then thought it better to just stay silent. A not entirely willing yes, but also not a no. He was already giving her a party, and then there would always be the reminder that about two hundred years ago Rebekah's birthday had been a month long celebration, then a week, then she'd been daggered for fifty years at a time. So, if he ever did oweanyone…
When he came to, Caroline was smiling their way, tightening her ponytail. He noticed a necklace, settling along her collarbone. She was flushed, and breathless. The sundress had been more low cut than he'd originally noticed- Rebekah's elbow hit him on the rib.
"Caroline, darling," a smash by the gate, he saw her grind her teeth together to keep from exploding once again. "how's the hangover?"
Klaus frowned for a second, then he saw Caroline smirk at his sister and shrug. Like she'd lost at something, though not anything particularly important. "I stand corrected," she said, clipboard slapping at her legs, his eyes followed her every move.
The velvety dress in his sleep had had a slip, and her leg had shown through. Blue suited her, she looked astounding in any color, yet the green had done something to her skin. He took another look at her now, the sun making her paler to his eyes from this angle. No, she always looked like this, yet that dress. He wondered where exactly he could have it made; maybe commission some witch to get the exact image out of his head and-
He felt eyes on him. Both Rebekah and Caroline had stopped talking of whatever triviality had caught their attention. Or maybe they hadn't kept talking at all and he'd just been there, leaning against the railing and memorizing details about Caroline's complexion. "What?" It came low and husky, and his sister raised a brow.
Then Caroline was clasping her hands together in front of her, or as much as she could with that clipboard. "Can you help me with something?" The question was directed at him and his eyes widened. Because really, all this party decorations and bar service, catering, wasn't exactly his thing. Rebekah could bear testimony to this.
He nodded anyway, thinking, who was he to deny her anything? Rebekah patted him on the back as he stepped past her, he turned slightly and she had a knowing smile on. His sister being amused by this made him think perhaps he was only headed to his execution and not downstairs to Caroline. "Get it together," she mouthed, and he felt like maybe it was the best advice he'd gotten from her in a century.
His sister had disappeared inside the house, gone back to sleep until well into the afternoon, he was sure. The blue dress moved across the courtyard once more, commanding this and that to be moved, and ordering that those and these be hanged with less misery to it, whatever that meant.
Klaus eyed around the shades of gold on the floor, fabrics and textures. Then the boards being thrown next to the other. Ah, and the cage, which was being accompanied by its equals just as he landed on the ground floor.
A chuckle. Next to the stairs, Elijah was drinking from a tea cup, holding the saucer with his other hand and looking like he was having the time of his life.
Of course, someone had to let all these intruders inside. Klaus could admit he was vastly relieved that someone was keeping an eye on the whole thing, besides Caroline of course, but she was too busy being...he blinked back at her, so she was too busy carrying out the impossible into probable. He blinked back at Elijah.
"She's very competent," he commented, the words falling to his cup. Klaus looked down at his white t-shirt and jeans, then to Elijah's well-pressed suit. Surely, leave it to his brother to make him feel underdressed at nine in the morning, in his own home.
"Of course." He cleared his throat. "More than competent."
Perfect. Or maybe, talented, gifted, incredibly beautiful. How had he been able to not see her yesterday after she left his house? Blood magic, ice cream, and Clorissa, who had gotten Hayley's phone number somehow, to check in on them, she'd said. Then Elijah and his wonderful ability to make a room feel like it's shrinking with only the sound of his voice. Later with Kol and Rebekah, and you need to not look like you've just stepped out of some Fitzgeral book to get into the club, Elijah. Right, so he'd been otherwise occupied, but right now he did not want to take his eyes off of her.
"Right," he heard his brother say under his breath. On the other side of the courtyard, the golden linens were being put up. His eyes shifted to the fountain, where something with glitter was being poured out instead of normal water. "I think Caroline Forbes may just be Rebekah's long lost soulmate."
Klaus felt inclined to nod his agreement when he took in the cages being lined up. As with all the drinks and the heart to hearts, and then the very similar taste in decorations and understanding of what was crossing a line or not in proper society. Maybe Rebekah would have a better shot at getting Caroline if she actually tried. He narrowed his eyes at nothing. "No, that was the esquire we killed in Rome."
"We did nothing," He turned to his brother again, giving him a look and Elijah returned it. Touchy subject still then, who could blame him for checking.
"Remember your own house rules, Elijah," Klaus said, starting to walk away in search of the blonde tendrils and blue dress that had slipped away from his sight in just the second. "Liars don't get dinner."
"That's-" His brother had started, but Klaus had already stepped away and through the sea of people who currently invaded his home with their attempt to get their work done. The audacity.
If he really wanted to, Klaus would be able to fill in the blanks of what Elijah had been about to volley back at him. Something along the lines of, that's not in the house rules, Niklaus, have you not memorized them yet? As if he'd ever.
He found her, huffing at someone the difference between two very similar looking shades of gold. Someone attempted to bump him out of the way, but of course, that person found it impossible and Klaus found no good reason to step out of his trance.
But then the blue of her dress matched her eyes, and she was looking back at him. A sundress, and it wasn't even that sunny. Her skin was spotless and he found a beauty mark on her shoulder that he believed he had not discovered before. The ponytail made him remember that one time he'd stayed to watch Rebekah attempt to be human and she'd been directing the group of particularly uncoordinated cheerleaders.
He suddenly really wanted to have a memory of her in some type of uniform. Her brow was raised pointedly at him when he realized, she'd probably asked him something.
"Sorry, love?" Caroline sighed, and waved away the people she had been nagging before. Her heels took her a step closer to Klaus.
"I said I wanted to speak with you," she smiled, and he smiled back, unable to help himself. "Then, maybe, you can help with-"
"Anything," he breathed, and blinked, not certain he'd even thought before he spoke. So maybe he didn't want to nail fabric to the railings, but he found he would very much look forward to seeing what it was that Caroline Forbes could manage to yell at him all the while keeping her face straight.
She seemed like something had slapped her across the face, but then she was blushing. Blushing. And her fingers ran through her neck in an odd display of anxiety. He smirked, yes, anything at all.
"Okay, well, uhm…" she swallowed, and a second later, her eyes looked very determined. "Let's talk over here." She grabbed his hand and Klaus let himself be dragged anywhere she wanted. Could be hell itself for all he cared to stop her or question her.
The eyes of some of the workers followed them into the other side of the house. Into the doors and out of their sight. Klaus supposed that if anything, they would be slightly grateful that their boss had stepped out for a few minutes. What with her telling them they were all breathing wrong or something along the same lines. He smiled at her when she closed the doors; he remembered, she could be quite bossy.
He thought about teasing her, maybe taunt her about her army out there. His eyes caught on the portrait of Rebekah's handmaiden from the eighteenth century, which had somehow survived all of these years. He blinked, why did they have a portrait of her again? And why was it here? He shook his head. Caroline was taking a breath in and out.
Klaus was about to open his mouth to talk about Marigold there when he was suddenly thrown back against a wooden railing. He tensed, unable to figure out what had happened fast enough. A sharp inhale and then he had her in his arms, with her lips pressed against his.
He let out a shaky breath, feeling his chest constrain.
What was happening?
Caroline started kissing him, arms around his neck and pulling him towards her. Klaus' hands were around her waist a moment later, as he tasted her lips once more. She was warm and soft against him. When she felt him respond just as eagerly, she paused to smile into his lips.
She tasted of tea and honey. Sweet and addicting, just like the other night.
Before he could manage another thought, Caroline had taken one step back and Klaus swallowed his confusion. She'd thrown herself at him, kissed him and smiled. And for a second he expected to catch her face twisting with regret and questioning her own impulsiveness. But no, when he looked at her again he found nothing of the sort. She was smiling still, smugly. As if she'd won some war between them.
Last he'd been informed, she'd only said she needed time. Space and a nice face to face talk with that man in Mystic Falls. He remembered he had bitten down his words when he thought of just buying her a plane ticket so they could get here faster. Apparently there was no need.
Good.
"Splendid talk, love." He drawled, with a smirk to his face. She raised a brow. "But I think I need to run through some things again…"
Klaus took one step into her. Their chests pressed together, she was smiling. His hands wrapped themselves around her waist again, he started to lean in, testing his luck. Her palm pressed to him stopped Klaus from claiming her mouth again. He stared, with a quirk to his lips.
"We do need to talk," she said, low and looking into his eyes. "But not here, it's come to my attention that the walls in this house do have ears."
He rolled his eyes, wondering which one of his siblings had said something out of turn. Or more accurately, who hadn't. His money was on Kol, as he highly doubted Rebekah would've gone through all that trouble before in making him feel bad about not trusting her when, really, she shouldn't be.
"Fine," he conceded. "Wherever you'd like then." Because, honestly, and again, who was he to deny Caroline Forbes anything? Even more so when he had her in his arms and she was looking at him with those eyes.
His fingers played with the thin fabric of the sundress, and she fought not to jump. "You know," she drawled, "I seem to recall you promising a tour of some kind? Something of that effect anyway." Her lashes fluttered to him, and he pressed her closer, throat suddenly feeling very dry. "I've been running around for days now, just wondering where the mighty Klaus Mikaelson might enjoy spending his free time."
He grinned, and he tried not to roll his eyes at her antics, no matter how charming he found her in this or any other context. He raised a brow, intent on teasing her instead, "The mighty Klaus Mikaleson, you say?" There remained a quirk to her lips, but her expression went unimpressed. "Honestly, Caroline, do you really think I have the privilege of something as frivolous as free time?"
She considered, and for a second, he thought she had lost herself in the apparent comfort with which she had eased her body in his arms. Klaus smiled as he recognized her conflict, but then, he didn't want her feeling like she'd said something wrong. So he let one of the hands on her waist travel to cup her cheek, and she looked up at him again, startled.
But of course, when she opened her mouth to speak again, Klaus grew certain that the notion of Caroline ever feeling inadequate in her words or action was, in a word, unfathomable. "Your brother seems to think all you have is free time." He suppressed the need to groan. Of course, Elijah, the incorrigible gossip. "He was very...eager to unwind today actually. Said you and Hayley managed to, somehow, be four hours late to a meeting that had been scheduled for weeks."
He couldn't think right under the scrutiny of her gaze; he felt as if he was under trial for a moment or two. As if he'd missed some big part on why blowing off Elijah had become some sort of unpardonable sin. Maybe he'd even murdered someone in his sleep and she was silently waiting for the right moment to scold him into oblivion. Her fingers traced the back of his neck, and he felt even more confounded.
"Elijah likes to blow things out of proportion." He decided on telling her, with a not so nonchalant shrug on his part.
"He also told me you seem to think you're above strategizing, Klaus, and really if you want to remain being this ethereal figure of authority in this town you need to put in some effort," she paused, and he considered how detrimental it would be to have Caroline take Elijah's side on, well, anything. "And your brother, you really need to-"
He'd let his head fall forward, a dramatic gesture of saying he'd had enough. His forehead on the nape of her neck; he felt her breathing halt for a second.
"The thing is, love," he started whispering, "Elijah often thinks this game is not unlike a chess match. Only he couldn't be more wrong. It's more of a display to see who dares to strike first, as the council we have is 70% percent power hungry sociopaths," he shook his head when he thought she was about to make a cheeky remark about his involvement in the statistics. "And no, that does not include me."
He stood straight once more, and smugly noted her smile at his words. "Alright," she granted with a sigh. "I still believe you have plenty of free time, Klaus." Her arms crossed in front of her chest, yet he didn't note this as an imposition to once again get closer to her.
He did not, in fact, have a lot of what could resemble free time to anyone who remained sane of mind. But he supposed, in the eyes of someone who didn't know just how exhausting it was to be approached by all friends, family and foes in the late hours of the night or early mornings of whenever, then yes, he indeed spent little time of his days working. But then again, he had to deal with the insanity that was Vampiric New Orleans every day. He frowned, what a shame that term had stuck and would inevitably remain stuck.
No matter, he believed he could make out an entire day free of meetings and commitments out of thin air for the sake of whatever it was Caroline was going after. A tour, or a talk or anything, as he'd promised minutes earlier.
"A tour then," he said, watching the blue of her eyes brighten. "Tomorrow?"
She smiled. He'd often found himself wanting of that smile, and the feeling it conjured from deep within him. He wondered if he could get away with asking her about her earlier impulsiveness, or if maybe he could act on her example, but then a smashing sound interrupted his thoughts and their little bubble.
She looked behind her, to the door to the courtyard, as if she expected the unknown issue to just come rushing towards her. When it seemed it wouldn't, she sighed, possibly concluding on her resolve. Her eyes were on his again, as she said, "It's a date."
A date, right.
Klaus felt her palm on his neck and then her lips pecking softly on his cheek. Huh, now she was suddenly coy. And he smirked, unwilling to let her get away with just that, as if she hadn't opened the doors to the possibility herself.
His arms had reached out to keep her from going a moment later and he pulled her to him one more time, catching her lips with his. Caroline kissed him back, smiling again, as if she couldn't help herself from doing so. Then he let her go, and she was biting her lip by the door, eyeing him with something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"So, if...you can find time on your impossibly busy schedule, I have a hammer with your name on it." He smirked back at her.
"Hilarious, Caroline," he said, though still, he followed her out the door. He had, after all, promised anything.
/
She'd gotten the call. She'd gotten the instructions. But hardly all she had expected from him once she'd heard his voice.
Elena walked the streets of New Orleans like a prisoner would on their first day out, insecure and slightly scared. She felt like she was being watched, as if every person she stepped past was a spy whose only job was following her around for the day. People didn't even give her a second look though.
She felt safe once she arrived at the alley. She'd worn makeup today with the small hope that maybe he would be here. Jeans and a hoodie too. Her friends were already gone when she woke up in the morning. No one was paying attention to her right now, which she supposed played to her advantage.
She had to get this right. Now Damon was on day two of getting no visitors; he was in chains still and with no clear idea of when he'd get out. Bonnie had been coerced into working this spell, and Elena had been forced to give up her life once more for the benefit of some man they didn't even know. This had to stop.
The Mikaelsons couldn't win again. They couldn't walk away and go on with their lives as if they hadn't destroyed Elena's and her friends'. And that's what Stefan told her when she picked up the phone. He gave her hope, however small an amount.
Caroline and Bonnie were in too deep by now, so it was better not to tell them of this meeting. And Elena had given into the inevitable last night, at last, but then she hadn't had an alternative. She thought, with Damon out of those dungeons and safe, the originals no longer had anything to hold against her if she refused to do this.
Without their leverage they were as good as powerless. Another thing Stefan had said in his rush.
So she waited in the alley behind a dumpster. Something squeaked on her right and she ignored it. Every couple of seconds she would chance a look out the street, and nothing seemed suspicious. Perhaps giving into this feeling of safety wasn't very wise, but Elena had spent the entirety of her day drowning in her own anxiety and avoiding people's eyes. She was starting to feel paranoid, and consequently began doubting the coherence of this mission.
Hiding behind garbage, in a city that essentially belonged to her life-long nemesis. Camouflaging inside oversized clothes she had found in the apartment's unused closets, and holding onto an improvised wooden dagger beneath the fabric. She frowned to herself; it wasn't even dark yet, and people were walking around with children and pets. She could hear music in the background, maybe playing inside the building on her back.
She blinked at the ground. Elena craved for this hope, and even more for some normalcy. But then she thought this was ridiculous. Stefan couldn't possibly-
A can littered against the wall, and she snapped her head towards the noise. Another shapeless body, like she suspected she looked like, covered in black and wearing shades. A man, and he cleared his throat.
Elena felt like she froze on the spot. In her lifetime she had fought against thousand-year-old creatures and things that she'd never thought could be real as a child. Demons, and sometimes, pointedly she thought, the Devil himself. She'd died and come back to life and had become one of those monsters herself. But now, as a human, she couldn't figure out why the man in front of her suddenly posed such a threat to her.
Before she could think about it and find it delusional, "Stefan?"
A sigh, and then the man shook his head no. She caught his lips pursing together and did think they looked nothing like the lips she had spent years kissing and longing for. And suddenly he was offering her a folded piece of paper, inching it toward her with urgency.
She thought she could make him speak. Narrowing her eyes, she scanned the five o'clock shadow this man had. Before she extended her hand she looked to the street once more, and her heart jumped when she thought she saw a flash of movement, faster than the tourists and locals on the sidewalk.
"Drop the dagger," he said, and his voice was notably low and thick. Elena tried to place it on someone she knew, but came up short. Her fingers tightened on the hidden piece of wood. "Klaus' men will know you have one. They'll follow you if you look suspicious."
The piece of paper hadn't yet been transferred and so the man pushed it to her hand, done waiting. His head tilted forward slightly. The shades he wore were too dark for Elena to try to guess an eye color. Her gaze dropped to the paper on her free hand now, and then let the other one relax; something bounced on the floor.
She looked up again, and registered a nod before he was gone. Another flash of color on the street. Maybe Stefan had been there, too ashamed to say hello? Elena swallowed and found the light of day too constricting to undo the folding of the paper. She needed to be alone, some place quiet and unmonitored.
She took a deep breath in and out, focusing on the path before her and out the alley. The paper was hidden on the hem of her jeans, it would get wrinkled and probably crumbled, but it felt better if she had it out of sight. The man had told her Klaus' minions were watching; and maybe not her especifically, but they would follow anyone who didn't look right to them. And who knew what parameters they allowed in the passersbys.
A new and rather odd sense of severity found her and this situation. She smiled at the people sharing the street with her now, sliding her sleeves up her arms. Might as well look friendly.
Elena had always known how insane and dangerous the Mikaelsons could be; she hadn't forgotten and hadn't been deceived like others. But in the greater scale of things, she had always thought of the originals as the lesser of two evils, for example, Silas and everyone who came after. They weren't irredeemable, yet still not a group of people she could consider allies of any sort.
There was something about Klaus' threats that she didn't always take incredibly seriously, because of his history with her friends. Though nothing was set in stone, and indeed, they had been goaded into town by kidnapping and then there was also their unforgettable greeting with Damon on the roof. And Damon in the dungeons and so on. Still, Elena didn't not feel safe.
Now Stefan was avoiding being seen more than she would've thought to be necessary. Wasn't he friends with Klaus or something similar? Couldn't he use that history with him and his family to get his brother out? Elena could still be persuaded to help the Mikaelsons if that meant they left her alone for the rest of her life.
But now, the paranoia instigated by that strange man had overcome her completely. And she reached a church; she didn't bother to read the name. The place was virtually empty, only a couple of the devoted in the front; she sat in the back. She licked her lips as she eyed around her for good measure, then she took the piece of paper from her jeans.
The man had also, somehow, known she had a dagger on her. And perhaps it was the way her hand was hidden in the hoodie, but it could have been anything else that she was holding onto. Maybe a knife, or a shard of glass or a piece of metal. But he'd known. So that only gave her one possible conclusion: he was a vampire too. One that was working with Stefan. Stefan who seemed to think this situation merited this sort of secrecy, for some reason.
It was a letter. In his handwriting and a single droplet of red had splashed across the middle of the paper, yet it was legible still. Her heart quickened its pace. Blood, maybe his, maybe someone else's. And that was never a good sign. Elena focused her sight on the sentences forming elegantly, as if he'd had a lot of time and commitment to make this letter worthy of being read.
She started taking in the sentences in the silence, and with a flutter of his ink, Stefan had written:
Elena,
I'm on my way, I only got word of what was going on yesterday, before I called you. I've been told not to use my phone anymore, as it seems someone else is looking for me. The plan consists of me getting to New Orleans as soon as tomorrow evening. For your safety and mine I cannot tell you where I've been, and I hope you have the sense to keep this between us for the time being, as we discussed.
Do not trust the Mikaelsons. Whatever lies they've told you, this is bigger than just saving Marcel now. A lot is on the line. You need to be careful around them, Caroline and Bonnie too.
Damon cannot know we're coming, but help is on the way. I'll find you when it's time.
Until then,
S. Salvatore.
The letter crumpled on her hand. She nodded, as if by some strange working of the universe, Stefan could see her do so.
/
Klaus waited for his sister in the same bar he had once found Marcel inside of when he'd first found out he was alive. He'd suffered through thirty minutes of thoughtless karaoke already, and yet Rebekah was nowhere to be found. She had requested they talk in the morning, and he was rather impressed that she had managed such an early hour as five in the afternoon, with the otherwise full agenda she'd taken on. She, however, had said something intriguing to him before, which was that she'd been immersed in something far more relevant than sleepless nights and scotch tasting all over town.
That alone was what was making him stay and wait for her to show up.
His minions had been informing him on his family's whereabouts since they came home. Some found the work fascinating and so he let them indulge in spying on the greatest creatures who ever lived. Because of this, he now had a very clear idea of what could be the reason for Kol's standard regression since he got here with that witch bride of his. Also, he'd gotten to sleep soundly at night knowing Rebekah was without issue in some questionable club somewhere.
Normally, he didn't put much trust in the people he commanded, but he thought they were useful enough to use their eyes and report back to him what they saw. He knew that was something his minions could manage without becoming utterly flustered with their task.
He cringed at a woman's wretched attempt to hit a high note. Then he snapped his head to the stage with a scowl, and discovered it was, in fact, Rebekah who was singing. Or what could barely be accounted as such. He pressed his palm to his forehead and shut his eyes closed, suddenly exasperated.
She was drunk already, of course, why had he expected anything else? When Klaus opened his eyes again, the song had ended, and she was getting cheering he knew couldn't be genuine in the least.
Rebekah Mikaelson had many talents, most of which ended or began with the word manipulator. But yet, he'd never found her voice terribly appealing. Nevertheless, he found all he could do to avoid further trouble than he expected already, was clap his hands to her praise too.
When her round of ridiculous bowing ended, her gaze found him and she grinned smugly at him. Yes, perhaps he'd said something about his opinion on her harmonizing before, and now she was giving him a look as if to say, see, you were wrong all along. He rolled his eyes, and waited for her to get out of her delusional trance of grandness.
When he stopped gracing her with his attention and turned to face the bar once more, he felt her presence clinging on his shoulder. "Should I pursue singing, do you think?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he answered with a muttered, "Follow your dreams, Bekah."
The stool beside him scratched at the floorboards, and his sister stumbled to sit. He raised his head again, and made a motion to the bartender to bring him another drink, then, asked for a second for Rebekah. There was no need to play intervention on her when he had neither the energy nor the drive to do so.
"Sorry I'm late, Nik," she said, fixing her hair on the reflection of the mirror on the opposite wall. "Ran into some friends," she explained, as if it was of no consequence.
He huffed, "You might remember, I have better things to do than indulging your tardiness." He took a long sip of his drink, and then turned to see Rebekah seemed impatient with him as well. "What?"
Rebekah pressed her lips together and then pushed her head back to finish her entire drink in one gulp. He only waited, until his sister deemed it right to stop wasting his time. She slammed the glass back onto the bar, and ordered to more with a flick of her fingers.
The bartender on the other side nodded, and attempted an awkward wave, with a sheepish smile. Klaus' head started to throb. But of course, every single one of the employees in any establishment that served alcohol knew Rebekah. He narrowed his eyes at this one however, because he seemed to have a little crush.
"Calm down," she hissed, "as if I'd ever." Well, he supposed he could always place his trust on Rebekah's impossibly high standards and whatnot.
"So then, am I supposed to guess why I've been summoned here today, or are you going to start-"
She began giggling, and Klaus couldn't help the look of alarm that overcame his face. It was, without a doubt, extremely disturbing to see his sister so intoxicated. But then, he felt her hand had clawed to his elbow, and her nails almost punctured his skin.
His brows furrowed. In a low tone, he ventured, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Rebekah's giggle had turned into a cackle, and the headache that had been dormant until just now, started to make its presence known. Her hand tightened on his elbow, his frown deepened.
Then, as if some muscle in his arm had been connected to his neck, he turned his head discreetly to the other side of the bar, by the entrance. His expression remained the same, no change in it whatsoever, but he placed a hand over Rebekah's, giving it a little squeeze of acknowledgement.
She kept laughing, but now it was somehow a bit less unhinged than before, and he was momentarily grateful for that. Klaus raised his glass to his lips, tasting the liquor on his tongue before he was giving his sister a smirk in return.
Like he'd just gotten the joke. Fine, he could make it look like he had no palpable sense of humor, or was otherwise very slow with witty remarks. And by the door, two tall and poised frames disappeared.
Klaus waited, again, but this time for only a few seconds more. Rebekah had thrown back two more shots of something that smelled concerningly like absinthe. He grimaced at the thought she'd be doing that to herself. Another notably untalented person had begun singing on the stage, by their side.
"Who were they?" He asked, looking unbothered and finishing his drink.
Rebekah sniffed the remains of her fabricated amusement back, and tucked the strands of her hair behind her ears. "Have the vampires alerted you of any new visitors lately?"
He blinked back to her, and in the moments since he'd taken his eyes off her, she appeared to have sobered up completely. Her head was tilted down, as if she was hiding from something. He clenched his jaw, then shook his head no with the tiniest of motions. Klaus recognized then that he'd been so scandalized by Rebekah's drunkenness only because alcoholized Rebekah was nothing like this in reality. So she was faking it, for some reason.
"That's because they've been in town for a while," she straightened on her seat, and repeated the flicker of her fingers for more drinks. "I've been following them for a while. Since Elijah caught that one who's in the basement. You still haven't figured out who he is, right?"
The ungodly chants of the person onstage would've drowned out Rebekah's words to anyone who tried to eavesdrop, so he relaxed slightly. "No one knows anything." He admitted.
"Are you sure?"
He swallowed, "I've been compelling them too. No one is ingesting vervain either. I've checked."
Rebekah nodded, taking a breath and then sending a smirk to the clueless bartender for show. "Well, see, at first I did start going out to get hammered, obviously," he nodded, "then I noticed those two were there, every night, no matter where I went."
His eye twitched, and he could feel something akin to anger invading his veins. But before he could thoughtlessly raise his voice, Rebekah gave him a warning with her eyes. He took a calming breath. "Why didn't you tell me?"
His sister winked at the bartender when he came to deliver her drinks, and Klaus fought not to roll his eyes in exasperation. But fine, he could appreciate her playing the part to perfection.
"You have enough on your plate as it is, Nik. I thought I could handle this...invasion for once." Rebekah explained, and he sighed.
"This could've-"
"Also, I had a feeling all you'd do would be kill them." He raised a brow at her, because of course he would've. Still, he wasn't sure if he should stay here or go after them and just rip their hearts out. "And then I thought I could at least attempt to figure out why they're following me."
Klaus bit his tongue in an attempt not to lash out that second, instead he stole Rebekah's second drink from her and finished it with a tilt of his neck. God, it was absinthe. Another talk for later, he supposed.
"So basically, you decided to play detective," she narrowed her eyes at him, "okay then, did you manage to find anything with your marvellous acting skill set?"
Now she seemed to have grown annoyed. Great, he thought, now they were on the same boat towards exhaustion. Rebekah considered him for another moment, as if she was pondering on whether to bother herself with telling him whatever it was that she had dragged him out here for.
"Yesterday," she said, finally, just as another aspiring artist climbed on the stage. "Rousseau's. Before Caroline got there, I caught the same men you just saw talking with Paul-"
"Paul," he echoed, unsure of why that name would mean anything. She waved a hand at him, as if to say it didn't matter.
"He works there." Klaus gave a curt nod. "And when they left, Paul seemed...he was in a trance almost. I fixed him, compelled him to tell me what they'd told him." She paused, and looked around. Her eyes returned to him a second later. "He said he couldn't remember, Nik. And not just what they'd said to him, but that he couldn't remember ever meeting them."
For a second, or maybe more, he felt like words were leaving him, uncertain of where to direct his thoughts. He sensed as another glass was placed under his fingers, and then he came back to stare at his sister's indifferent eyes, which he supposed she was anything but.
"I think maybe it's time to get some answers out of the vampire in the box."
And in that moment, he could only manage a nod.
/
Her phone buzzed twice on her hand as she closed the gate to the compound behind the last workers' tired pacing. Today had been entirely successful by her standards, so Caroline allowed herself a satisfied smile.
She'd had a talk with Paul the bartender in her drunken fuzz the night before. Wining endlessly about not knowing where to start with Rebekah's party, explaining to him how she didn't want to have to compel anyone into it. Paul had, very selflessly, written her the number of an agency who provided assistance and catering and then he'd convinced her of hiring Rousseau's as the bar service for the party. Caroline had made a deal in the end, and so this morning had come into existence.
With the unlikely lack of a hangover, she'd put everything into motion and had woken up Elijah and Hayley at an ungodly hour to let the workers inside. And for the first time since she'd met him, Elijah Mikaleson had answered the door and her calling without a suit and what looked like strangely elegant pajamas.
Caroline sighed as she wondered if she should stay and wait for- or maybe just go across the street and call it a day. Maybe answer the phone calls she'd been dodging no matter how much it pained her not to listen to her daughters' babbles over the line. She shook her head; she wasn't a child and she could deal with confrontation, in fact, she was the best at it. Several people could vouch for that.
The screen lit up as she lifted it to her face, and instantly frowned. Another two texts arrived and she blinked. It wasn't Alaric who was monopolizing her phone, no, surprisingly so. It was an unknown number, but yet the contents of the last message gave her a very irrefutable clue.
No more dead bodies tonight, pinky promise.
She scoffed and rolled down to read from the very beginning of Kol's attempt to get her attention. She hadn't seen him all day around the house, not even for a second, and it was odd because if she wasn't wrong, he had been staying here for the time being.
The first one, a large and uncapitalized paragraph:
greetings, lucky ones. you've missed me all day i know but i've been getting ready for this occasion. at exactly ten o'clock at night as to not disturb the only person in this family i actually like (hope, in case anyone had doubts) there will be an event in the dining room. entrance only by invitation. as i have tremendous news to share with the world and you.
Her first instinct was to check the time, an hour until ten. Then she felt her frown deepen on her face. So essentially, Kol Mikaelson was extending her an invitation for some kind of dinner party. Why on earth? Maybe he'd gotten immensely confused, but then she read the next texts.
ah, if you're wondering why you got this, don't fret, it is not a mistake of any kind. i simply suspect our night might lack some amusement, even with the one ever provided by myself. in short, you're a distraction and i expect you to play the part. dress accordingly.
Caroline felt the intense need to roll her eyes. She might have been willing to play a neutral party, for Klaus. But Kol hardly deserved the same consideration in her book.
Then it was the words she'd read first: no more dead bodies tonight, pinky promise.
She straightened on her frame, and was already forming her, more on the rude side, refusal to his invitations and specifications when she dared look at the last box unchecked.
The final one: only cowards run, CAROLINE. you're on the list as Bekah's +1. good luck with that.
Ah, another buzz, so then the final final one: get the fuck out of my house and change, might need you to keep nik's attention for the night. ;)
Instantly, she looked over her shoulder, knowing Kol was watching her from somewhere and had somehow gotten inside the house without Caroline noticing. She scowled at a point on the back of a courtyard and then yelled, "Fine!" before she was walking out the gate herself. She could've sworn she heard a snicker before the noise of the street bombed in her ears.
Back in the apartment, Bonnie was sitting at the table, holding her phone in her hands and eyeing it with a familiar confusion. Caroline gave out a sigh as she took in the rest of the place; kitchen and living room empty. No other heartbeat but Bonnie's; Elena had gone out.
"Did you get this too?" Bonnie asked, showing her the screen of her phone. Caroline didn't even spare a look as she nodded. "Who sent this?"
Right, so she supposed without the subtle clues, the voice of wild child Kol was unrecognizable to someone who hadn't had the pleasure of watching him kill again recently. For a moment, Caroline considered lying to Bonnie and proposing they spent the night in, order food and ignore the demands of a crazy original vampire. But somehow she got the feeling that might end up in more trouble than she could anticipate.
Her stomach rolled at the remembrance of his so-called tremendous news. Option one would be: he, for some reason, had stumbled upon the secret to world domination. Option two: he'd finally decided to attend a rehab of some sort. She silently prayed it was the latter. In her mind, and although she did not know the witch in question very well, Kol so did not deserve Davina Claire.
Bonnie's eyes had widened slightly in her expectation and Caroline took a seat by her side at the table. She winced at the uncomfortableness of the chair before deciding on answering with what she knew, "It's Kol." Three words that should not sound as apocalyptic as they did, she realized.
Bonnie's confusion went away in a second, and in its place a weird reflection of understanding appeared. Caroline raised a brow at this as her friend hummed and nodded.
"Davina mentioned something today," she said, "I didn't think she was serious."
"So you know what his news are?" She rested her arms at the table and leaned in slightly. Bonnie's eyes flashed with something she could not recognize quickly enough, then she looked away.
"Not really. I have an idea, but I guess we'll see." Bonnie practically muttered as she stood from her seat. Caroline could feel the questions forming in her mouth, but could not utter any, until she found what was bugging her most.
Following Bonnie down the hallway to her room, she asked, "You're going to that?" With a hint of disbelief, even though just minutes ago she had, in a sense, RSVP'd to Kol's dinner in a screaming matter.
Her friend shrugged, like it was nothing, like she and Kol Mikaelson were just old friends who on a daily basis exchanged invitations to events that, and without exaggerating, could start the next war amongst the supernatural. So, okay, she did not have her grounds put firmly on this, but the youngest one of the originals had always made her edgy, and out of the four of them left, he was the one she trusted less.
"Do you have anywhere else to be tonight?" Bonnie asked, her head popping out of the closet she'd walked into, in search for something to wear to dinner, apparently.
Caroline's face deflated from her urgency to find some meaning to Bonnie's nonchalance about this whole ordeal. She pursed her lips as she considered, but in the end, her friend had made a pretty good point. As just before she'd read the texts, she had been pondering on whether to push herself into whatever plans Klaus had for the night. Which now, she thought, were pretty transparent thanks to his brother's antics. "No, I guess not."
She saw the back of Bonnie's head bob in a nod and sat on the queen sized bed her friend had taken when they'd gotten here to share with Enzo. Caroline started chewing on her lip when Bonnie turned around with a little black dress and extended it for Caroline to grab. "What? He said dress accordingly."
She took the dress and as she ran her fingers through the smooth fabric, a question erupted from her mouth, "Where did you get this?"
Bonnie went on with her examination of the contents in the closet, which now Caroline thought to be suspiciously full for someone who'd only just gotten to this town with a gym bag on her shoulder. "Freya took me shopping the other day, in one of our breaks from figuring out how to cheat death."
Caroline pushed aside whatever feelings she had about Freya taking her friend out shopping. Something she thought only she had the right to do. Also refrained from any jealous comments and just went with, "Well, great then," Bonnie turned around with a knowing smile, "that you do take breaks, I mean."
"Uh huh," the witch let out, under her breath. Caroline rolled her eyes. "Tonight could be a good distraction, I think. For me, at least," she raised a brown dress to inspect, then scrunched her nose and put it back on the rack, "you know, not all of us have had the time to initiate- continue some torrid love affair."
The breath caught in Caroline's throat. She remembered her small conversation with Bonnie the other day, which she'd supposed spoke more of understanding but not entirely of condoning Caroline's chosen course of action. She hadn't expected to speak about this with her anytime soon, least of all Bonnie mentioning it on her own. So she sat there in silence, with her mouth slightly open in panic until her friend turned around with a navy blue dress on her hands.
Bonnie looked up from her garment with a teasing smile, and maybe a second later, caught onto her mistake. As there always must be context when talking about such sensitive topics. "Care, I'm joking. Relax."
She blinked once, then twice, and gave out the exhale she had been holding. She tried to manage a smile, but sensed that all that got through was a grimace of some sort. Bonnie sat on the mattress next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I won't mention it again unless you do." Softly, and supporting.
Caroline nodded, and gave Bonnie a look she expected to speak of her gratefulness. And for a moment alone, she thought of the shift in her friend. Comfortable and perhaps more happy than she'd seen her in some time. Bonnie stood to look for shoes with a pat on her arm. She made a mental note to inquire about this discovery later, when her friend wasn't so strangely eager to get ready for Kol Mikaelson's dinner extravaganza.
She swallowed, and started shedding the sundress on her body that had gotten the exact reaction she had hoped for. She smiled at nothing. Then eyed the black dress on the bed with intent. It seemed too, Bonnie had acquired a whole new wardrobe- another mental note for later.
"Do you think Elena got a text?" She asked, getting the dress on from the bottom. Bonnie placed a pair of heels by her side with furrowed brows.
"Kol said he needed amusement for the night. I hardly think Elena would be the best choice of a...clown for the occasion." She paused as she started taking her jacket off. "Or any."
Caroline snorted at her logic, "Oh, and we're so funny you and I." She zipped the dress on the side, and turned to look at herself in the half mirror on the wall, tilting her head.
Bonnie finished putting on her dress as well, fluffing her hair with a flourish hand. "No, we're not known for our jokes, Care. But here, I'm only assuming he wants you there to keep Klaus' focus somewhere else," their gazes met, and Caroline quickly looked away, unable to tell her that Kol had confirmed as much to her since the start, "right, and so I'd be there because he likes me."
Caroline halted on her movements as she was stepping into the heels, and snapped her attention back to Bonnie fully. What had she missed? But then, of course Bonnie would be so relaxed and complacent with Kol's invitation, clearly, after she found out it was him sending the texts. She raised a brow instead of asking, because there was no need.
"He likes magic." She stated, as if it was enough, but Caroline's brow did not give in. "All of them, the originals, were supposed to be witches before...well, before, and Kol kind of has a longing for it, or so I've noticed. And if I'm being honest, he's not that bad."
Caroline looked down at the heels again and nodded, then a smirk broke into her face, "When he's not drunk."
"Yes, when he's sober he's not so partial to inspire headaches." Bonnie finished putting on her heels as she said this, "Which, admittedly, has not been often lately. But I'm hoping he'll recover."
Recover. Kol Mikaelson recovered. A concept Caroline did not think was possible, as she had no idea of where he'd started out sane. All she'd gotten to know of him was craziness and violence, but she supposed, with a glance at Bonnie, that she could have missed something. Not very likely though.
She watched in silence as Bonnie put on makeup from the bed. There were so many things she had not noticed until just now. Like Bonnie had seemed more willing to work with the witches for some time now and yes, there was her undeniable friendship with Freya. But there was something more inherent that stood out from her friend's face. She felt guilty, because now she thought she had been too absorbed in her own issues to ever get a thread of when Bonnie had begun to smile more genuinely. Bits and pieces in her memory called out, but they weren't enough to get the whole picture.
"It'll be done soon." Bonnie said, glancing at Caroline through the mirror, as she put mascara on her lashes. "Everything we need for the spell."
"Soon…" she echoed, not knowing what to say.
"There's a full moon on Wednesday. Vincent thinks we should act then, when we can draw more power from a celestial event." She started putting on lipstick. And Caroline tried to get her head around what she was hearing and all the things she wanted to say.
"Wednesday. That's two days." She frowned, and it seemed like everything had been rushed even though they'd been here for a little less than a month.
Bonnie was saying something but Caroline had tunned out to make a list. Better make that two: one with things she'd done and another with things she had to. Rebekah's party on Saturday, right. Elijah had said he would handle invitations, and she was ever so grateful for that. The cages hadn't been set on their spots, the stage was still on the initial phases, the food hadn't been approved yet, she still wanted to fend Rebekah off that masquerade idea and she didn't have a dress. But then, if the spell happened on Wednesday...she'd have to go back to Mystic Falls like she had promised and- well, what kind of excuse was that of I'm planning a party so I have to stay longer.
She took a breath, she heard Bonnie mention Marcel, with some unwarranted fondness, that is. She started thinking of stolen glances through the street, and the spot she had taken on a balcony for days as she imagined what he said to her. Hearing his voice even when she had been positive his lips hadn't moved. Had she been waiting for courage then? To speak or to seek him out; what had he been waiting for? Then he'd mentioned love to her and what he thought it meant, a near touch and an almost kiss. Goodnight, love, and a fragment of conversations running through her mind.
She'd kissed him. She'd had this lengthy talk with Rebekah that ultimately gave her some clarity and drive, but, she had two days. And it was too fast. And even going by the weeks since he'd become a part of her life again, it was too fast.
"Care?"
She had maybe two days to make a decision. And yet she didn't even know if she would get to keep the memory of that night. There wasn't enough time. She cringed; Elena would have to die in two days time and all she was hyperventilating about was Klaus.
"I need more time," she whispered, to the witch who now had her hands on her shoulders, with a worried expression in place.
Bonnie didn't look like she needed to ask her about why or for what. She knew, and she understood, Caroline reminded herself. And so her friend just nodded, her eyes looking at her with softness. Like she shared her feelings.
"I know," she said. Caroline was slightly relieved she didn't try to make sense of it either. The both of them just letting words float around them with no sense of finality.
There was a noise, a buzz and it interrupted the careful rebuilding Caroline was attempting in her mind. She looked away from Bonnie's comforting eyes to her phone on the bed.
A text: only cowards run, CAROLINE. The clock: ten sharp.
She stood and they both agreed it was better to not keep their mellow host waiting for a second longer. Caroline swiftly stepped inside her bedroom for a quick last minute change, as Bonnie went on to explain to the person who'd just arrived why they were leaving.
When she stepped out of her room, she locked eyes with Elena. They'd only crossed paths twice since their fight, and they hadn't spoken yet. But Caroline had too much in her mind to suppress the automatic smile to her friend, who quite pointedly did not return it and walked past Caroline to their shared bedroom, closing the door with a slam.
A sigh, and then Bonnie and she were out the door and back to the Mikaelson's home for dinner.
/
Hello! I'm so sorry I'm late in updating, as you can see this chapter turned into a 11k monster, and I actually had to split it with the next. So yes, I hope you liked this one. And I know I said before I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring Stefan into the mix, but once I plotted out the second part of the story I couldn't help myself.
Thank you, as always, for your comments and your support, you truly give me life. I just wanted to say that writing this fic and sharing it with you guys has been one of the things that made this year so much better for me. I hope you have a great holiday season and that you're all safe. Lots of love. Until next year.