A/N: Erm… I can't think of any warnings. Sorry for the long unexpected hiatus and I hope you enjoy! :D
Part III: Wishes Coming True
Caroline woke up disoriented. She couldn't help the whimper of pain that escaped as she realized how sore she was.
"You're awake," Liz's voice hovered at the edges of her vision, and her mother's face swam into focus as she struggled to collect herself.
"I don't understand what's going on," Caroline rasped, reaching up to press her hands to her head in an attempt to alleviate the headache.
"Honestly, I don't either." Liz admitted. "I don't remember… from before."
Caroline frowned at her mother's words. "What… what do you mean? You were dead. I watched you die."
"I know, sweetheart," Liz said softly. "And I remembering dying. But I'm here now, and I'm not sure what happened. I won't let anything happen to you – I promise."
Caroline wasn't sure what was worse at this moment, the throbbing headache or the racing of her heart pressing against her ribcage.
But before she could begin to examine the occurrences of the past… hours? …day?, the sound of approaching footsteps put a stop to her and Liz's conversation.
"Did my useless son tell you nothing?" A male voice chuckled, and two figures stepped into view.
"About… what?" Caroline whispered, pressing her back into the wall.
"About our world, child," the woman responded calmly from beside him, a cold smile on her face as she revealed, "the one where monsters are real and they feast on clueless humans such as yourself." At the skeptical look on Caroline's face, the woman gave her a look of mock sympathy as she said, "Oh you poor thing. You had no idea, didn't you? That man you've been living with… he's the worst of them all."
Mikael and Esther had taken Caroline.
They'd been quick, messy, and ruthless.
Klaus had barely gotten to Enzo in time. The Augustine vampire had been staked a dozen times over, the biggest one just missing his heart by millimeters. Once he'd pulled the stake out, Enzo rasped that while he couldn't stop Mikael and Esther from taking Caroline, that he was able to put an insurance policy in place for her.
But Klaus had to find her first.
Esther hadn't bothered to cloak herself or Mikael or Caroline, no doubt as an incentive to lure Klaus to the trap that she'd placed.
In response, Klaus didn't bother to be careful.
There was no doubt that his parents would have taken every opportunity to try to twist the truth, to turn his soulmate against him.
He had to retrieve her first, ensure that she was safe, and ensure that his parents could never raise a hand against his family again.
At any cost.
He pressed the second speed dial on his phone, and the phone rang once before Elijah picked up. Before his older brother could greet him, Klaus ordered, "They've taken Caroline. Do whatever you have to, to permanently cripple the witches."
And then he hung up.
"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked tentatively, uncertain of what was going on.
The man turned to the woman, and they exchanged a look. Then, they turned back to Caroline, ignoring Liz.
"You've been trapped under his spell," the woman finally said. "We would know. After all, we brought him into the world."
"You did," the man corrected. "And we have spent millennia trying to correct the error you made."
"But you can help us," the woman cooed to Caroline, "You can help me right my wrong and you can free yourself for good."
"But Klaus isn't a bad person," Caroline ventured, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she tried to make sense of her current situation.
She felt her mother shuffle up behind her, reaching out to hold her hand in reassurance.
"Once upon a time he might not have been," the woman conceded. "But time changed him. He is cunning, clever, and handsome. Beautiful people always have power, and they have a way of hiding their wrongdoings. Niklaus is no different." The woman turned her finger in a circular motion, and like magic, the shadows parted to reveal…
A white wooden stake.
Caroline frowned, unable to help herself as she impulsively asked, "What is that?"
"This is how you can help us," the woman repeated, stepping forward as she carefully placed the stake in Caroline's hands. "This is the key to everything."
It didn't take long for Elijah, with assistance from Kol and Marcel, to carry out their assigned task.
As Elijah was loathe to shed unnecessary blood, Davina St. Claire and Bonnie Bennett called upon their covens to join forces to disable the witches' spellcasting abilities until the Mikaelsons could re-evaluate them at a later time.
After that, it didn't take Klaus to walk into the cemetery where the blood trail led.
And he found her, huddled against a tombstone in the middle of a foggy mist.
His soulmate.
She looked terrified, covered in blood and bruises, a pained expression on her face.
"Klaus," she whimpered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "What's going on? I don't understand what's happening."
"Caroline," he whispered in response, reaching for her.
Her hand moved, and he froze when he recognized what she was holding.
The last white oak stake.
He swallowed, fear rising in every fiber of his being. "Sweetheart…"
Two figures stepped out from the shadows behind her, both familiar figures.
Tears fell down Caroline's face as she said with her trembling form, "Your mom and dad said… that you're a monster. That you're an abomination of nature. That you'll kill me to free yourself from your curse. They said that this," she gestured to the white oak stake in her hand, "is the key to freeing us."
Partial truths, mixed with lies. Mikael and Esther had surely spun a nightmarish story for his soulmate, and what basis for truth did she have? He'd certainly never told her; he'd meant to, but hadn't gotten around to it. And now, he would pay the price.
"I don't know what's happening," His soulmate continued, looking at him for reassurance. There was a conflicted expression on her face and the way she looked at him with equal measures disbelief and denial…
"Caroline, love, I can explain," he said hoarsely, perhaps vainly. He tried to wrack his brain for ideas and came up empty. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined this exact scenario unfolding as it did.
But before he could, Esther and Mikael stepped forward from the shadows to flank Caroline on each side.
"Do you see how he speaks so tenderly?" Esther said, her voice cloyed with concern while her eyes glittered with malice. "He knows the truth is out, and this is the only way he can try to keep all of us trapped."
"Do it now," Mikael encouraged her, his tone one of command. "We will protect you and keep you safe. Free us, Caroline."
Everything afterwards happened too quickly.
Abruptly, another figure stepped forward from the shadows behind Esther and quickly plunged a sharp blade into the witch's chest.
At the same time, Caroline turned and plunged the white oak stake into Mikael's back, catching the vampire hunter by surprise as he burst into flames. Furious, Mikael grabbed her by the throat and threw her away from him. But it was too late – the white oak stake worked its magic, and all Mikael could do was scream and roar his outrage as his body crumpled to ash and dust.
Esther's fate was more elegant, her face white with shock as she crumpled to the ground, blood steeping out from the wound and staining her clothing.
The figure stepped out of the shadows and Klaus' eyes widened in surprise.
Elizabeth Forbes.
Caroline's mother… who was supposed to be dead.
He pushed the thought aside as he lunged forward to catch his soulmate and cradle her to him. The smell of blood was strong, and it was only when he pulled back to search for wounds that he noticed that the front of her shirt was dark and wet, and he realized what had happened.
When she staked Mikael, she'd inadvertently staked herself.
"Why, Caroline?" He asked hoarsely.
"Because," she whispered. "I don't know what this bond is between us, but I believe that it's real. And I think that I love you, and I want you to be free."
Klaus closed his eyes, struggling to blink back tears as he felt her heartbeat slow down.
Freedom.
Several lifetimes ago, he'd thought that being free of a soulmate was what he wanted in life. But then Caroline died in the first lifetime along with their unborn child, and he learned that his soulmate was destined to die over and over again, and he realized that the pain and loss he felt at her death was the worst feeling in the world.
It opened up an abyss within him, the feelings of hopelessness and despair enough to drive any man mad.
After Caroline died the first time, he became determined to find her again, and again. He built his footholds and empire in both the supernatural world and the human one, his most trusted tasked with finding her and bringing her to him.
He fell in love with her, over and over again, in each and every single one of her lives. She was always named Caroline; she hadn't always been human, but she was always exceptional.
That hadn't changed in this lifetime.
And when Klaus felt the life leave his soulmate, he broke down, letting the tears fall as he held her.
Moments after Caroline died, the sound of approaching footsteps had him looking up, equal parts wary and angry.
Elizabeth Forbes.
Who was supposed to be dead.
Who appeared to be very much alive.
Before Klaus could ask questions, Liz held up a hand, stating, "I don't have much time. Esther tied my life with hers, and when she takes her last breath, as she will soon, I'll be dead again. But… I know who you are to my daughter, and who she is in you. Have faith, Klaus. Everything will be alright. Take care of her."
And then, true to her word, Elizabeth Forbes faded away when Esther took her last breath.
He called Enzo, demanding, "What did you do?"
The vampire's response was curt and clipped. "What I had to do."
"You gave her blood?"
"Yours." Enzo confirmed, his responses short and concise. "She'll be in transition soon. She should be somewhere comfortable. Your sister's already made her a daylight ring. I'll make sure it's brought to your penthouse."
Relief flooded him.
Caroline had died with vampire blood in her system.
She would wake up as a vampire.
Admittedly, it wasn't what he wanted for her. He never wanted her to be tainted by the darkness of his world. But… if she hadn't had vampire blood in her system, who knew when he would find her again? How many more times would she reincarnate, live, and die? And what would happen to her soul if he were to perish?
And a tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered that maybe… just maybe, this would break the curse on her. She was never meant to be a vampire, after all. But then again, never was he.
Taking Enzo's words to heart, he carefully adjusted his hold on her and stood up. She wouldn't wake for several hours, and he planned to make her transition as smooth as possible.
Caroline woke up disoriented, her head throbbing, and unbearably thirsty.
A tumbler was pushed into her hands, and a soothing voice said, "Drink, sweetheart."
She stared at the liquid for a moment, mesmerized by the tantalizing smell wafting from it. She drank it without hesitation, draining the glass. As she reached out to put the glass down on the nightstand, she noticed a beautiful ring on her middle finger. It reminded her of the same rings that Klaus and his siblings wore.
"Klaus?" She whispered.
"Hello love," he whispered against her hair as he gently held her. "Welcome to eternity. I have so much to teach you."
She swallowed, her voice hoarse as she responded, "As long as you're with me."
He held her closer, his next words a reverent vow whispered against her ear.
"Always and forever, my love."
FIN.