It said a lot about her upbringing, Caroline thought, as she instinctively raised her hands to protect her head and heck, that when she heard a blast go off on the terrace outside the ballroom where her wedding was being held, that she thought of a bomb and not the far more common and probable fireworks.
She remembered the old adage from her days of elementary school ' when you hear hooves think of horses and not zebras". But Caroline hadn't had a normal childhood. She'd been raised not to expect the worst to happen, but to know that there was a decent chance that it might, so always have an action plan.
There had been a time, back before her mother's death, that there had been a failed attempt on her father's life. Bill had been meeting with an important client at a small restaurant he had been known to frequent. A pipe bomb had been placed under the floorboards that his preferred table rested on. Due to the poor construction of the weapon, it had failed to detonate properly, causing only a small fire and not a full-on combustion.
So naturally, her first thought when she heard the sound of the first firework exploding outside, she assumed the worst. Glancing around the room, she says that she wasn't the only one. The look on her father's face told her that he was both deeply startled as well as furious, and if she wasn't mistaken, she believed she saw several members of the Mikaelson family discreetly slipping their weapons back into their waistbands.
"Who the hell thought explosives were a good idea?" Katherine spat as she came to stand at Caroline's side as they moved out of the room and onto the terrace with the rest of the crowd from the wedding, pretending to enjoy the miraculous display.
"To be fair I don't think anyone actually warned the wedding planner against it,'' Caroline muttered, taking a glass of champagne off a passing waiter's tray, hoping the alcohol would calm her racing heart.
The firework display exploded across the sky and out of the corner of Caroline's eye, she saw the wedding photographer gesturing at her, beckoning her forward for yet another picture.
Caroline desperately wanted to pretend that she can't see the women, but after being poked, prodded and posed by the very determined photographer all day, she wouldn't put it past the women to come over and drag Caroline over by her hair.
Reluctantly, Caroline set down her glass and made her way through the crowd. The photographer had somehow already managed to wrangle Klaus out of nowhere.
With the speed and efficiency of a professional, the photographer had the two of them posed against the background of the fireworks, creating what would look like to any onlooker a fairy tale moment.
As the final fireworks lit up the sky behind them, the sound of the crackers exploding was replaced by the sound of metal clinking against the glass.
Caroline looked up to see a very intoxicated Kol, tapping a dessert spoon against the glass of whiskey he held in his hand.
"Kiss!" He called out, his glassy eyes twinkling with mischief. Soon many other members of the crowd joined in, clinking their glasses in the traditional request for a bride and groom to kiss.
Caroline gritted her teeth, knowing that there was no easy way out of this moment. Caroline would be willing to put up with the amount of unfavorable attention and speculation that brushing off the moment would bring, but the wrath of her father and presumably her new father-in-law tipped the scales.
She did her best to paste a blissfully happy expression on her face as she turned her head and allowed Klaus to kiss her. Once again, she was overcome with the oddest sensation, just as she had been the moment that their lips had first touched at the altar. She didn't have the right words to describe it, and while the idea of Klaus himself repulsed her, she almost longed for him to kiss her again, just so she could get a better idea of whatever it was that transpired in her brain when their lips brushed together.
Kol let out a long wolf whistle as the two kissed, and an extremely annoyed Katherine, took the opportunity while he was distracted to dig the sharp heel of her stiletto into the top of his shoe. Kols whistle turned into a yowl as Kats heel pierced into the vulnerable fine bones of his foot.
Hearing the commotion and surmising what transpired, Caroline let out a laugh against Klaus's lips, unable to control herself. To her surprise, Klaus's mouth slid into a grin as well, amused at his brother's embarrassment and discomfort. It was the first genuine moment that the two of them had shared all day, and one in only a handful that they had experienced ever in the time that they had known each other.
To the onlookers, it probably looked like a sweet moment, Caroline unable to control her laughter, Klaus with a grin on his face and his arm wrapped around his new bride. The two amused over a shared joke. If the damn photographer was around, that picture would be the only time Caroline was caught with a real smile on her face.
…
The elevator ride that took Caroline and her new husband up 10 floors from the reception ballroom to the honeymoon was the longest of her life. Standing side by side with Klaus, both of them facing forward, their eyes fixed on the closed elevator doors in front of them, was one of the most awkward moments of her life. The silence between them was deafening.
They hadn't had the traditional wedding send-off, with the shower of rice and the posh car waiting to whisk them away. Instead, the two had been ushered into the elevator with another round of applause from the guests that they didn't deserve.
The moment the elevator doors slid shut, they were alone for the first time as man and wife.
A shiver ran up Caroline's spine and she had to focus all her energy to repress it from causing her shoulders to shake. She didn't want to show any sign of weakness, not when she already felt so vulnerable.
It hit Caroline in that moment, how little she had left. Klaus held every card. He had the support of his family and now the backing of her father. She had always known she couldn't count on her dad but now he counted against her. No matter if she had renounced him or not. She had her friends, but each and every one of them was tucked into her father's pocket, even if they didn't want it to be.
What power did she hold in this unholy union? She'd be moving into his house, taking his name, and counting on him to take care of her every need, after all she had no real money of her own.
It would be all too easy for Klaus to abuse that power over her, to manipulate and control her, and based on the experiences she'd had with men her entire life, she doubted it would be long before that went to his head.
The elevator doors slid open, the double doors to the honeymoon suite were located immediately in front of them.
Caroline stepped off the elevator, careful not to step on the hem of her dress in her nervousness.
Klaus didn't speak to her as he slid the key card out of the pocket of his suit and let the two of them into the room they were meant to share on their wedding night.
The only idea Caroline had regarding a honeymoon suite was what she had seen in movies. The picture in her head was of rose petals on the bed and heart-shaped bathtubs, bottles of 'spiced love' in the nightstand drawers and red velvet walls.
She was relieved when the doors opened that it appeared much like the bridal suite she'd been assigned to get ready that morning. There was no purple carpet or pictures of cupid handing anywhere, rather the room was decorated in soft champagne colors. A fireplace roaring on the far side of the little living room, a plush couch, and set of armchairs situated around it. An arched opening led into the bedroom area where behind a set of gauzed curtains, Caroline could see a colossal bed that was in fact, covered in rose petals. Well if any part of her horror show imagination of a honeymoon suite came true, she supposed the flower petals were the lesser of all evils.
Still, her shoulders tensed the moment that the door to the room closed.
"Well," Klaus was the first to break the silence between them.
"You're not touching me" Caroline stated with more confidence and assertiveness than she really felt.
"I was going to suggest we have a drink but thank you for letting me know what's really on your mind,'' he replied condescendingly as he undid his cufflinks.
"A drink I'll take" Caroline shot back, striding over to the minibar that was hidden in a carved oak cabinet before Klaus had the chance.
She yanked out a few of the tiny bottles of alcohol that she was sure were absurdly priced, however, she also knew that the bill for the hotel room was coming straight off of her father's credit card. She had half a mind to trash the room out of pure spite, but she knew a few thousand dollars off her father's account wouldn't hurt him, in fact, he probably wouldn't even look at the charge.
Caroline poured a few of the tiny bottles into a couple of glasses and walked over to the seating area.
"Don't get used to this" Caroline warned, shoving the glass into Klaus's hand before flopping down on the sofa. She kicked off the ridiculous shoes she'd been forced to wear for the day and pulled up her legs, tucking her knees to her side so she could rub the soles of her aching feet.
"Well, that was interesting" Caroline stated, taking a long drink from her glass. The liquor burned the back of her throat and she took another swallow, letting the pain anchor her in that moment.
"That's putting it mildly" Klaus responded, taking a drink from his own tumbler.
"So" He let the word drag out, as though he was trying to put off asking the question that was on his mind.
"What happens now?" Caroline rolled her eyes.
"What? Now that I've finally trapped you in my evil clutches?" Caroline lashed out, making a point out of Klaus's suspicions.
"Believe it or not but I don't actually have a game plan"
"Your daddy didn't tell you what to do next?" Klaus asked, his voice a little loose from drunkenness.
"No, did yours?" Caroline shot back, throwing back the rest of her drink. Klaus recoiled, feeling the sting of her words.
Caroline had picked up on the tension that ran between her husband and father-in-law, and based on her father's statement that Mikael had been trying to cage his son, she knew there was ammunition there.
She took advantage of Klaus's moment of stunned silence to put her glass down on the table in front of her, get to her feet, and float across the suite to the large marble bathroom that was connected to the bedroom.
She did her best not to avoid looking at the bed as she passed it, not wanting to think about its implications, no matter if nothing was going to happen on it that night.
She looked at herself in front of the mammoth mirror atop the double sink and vanity. As she made eye contact with herself, she realized just how drunk she really was. The straight glass of vodka she had just thrown down wouldn't be helping the matter.
She barely recognized herself. Somehow her brain was unable to register the reflection of the blonde girl in a wedding dress, with herself. Would this be what her life would be like from now on? Looking in the mirror and not recognizing the person she was forced to become?
She wanted to shower, she wanted to scrub the makeup off her face and take the pins out of her hair and just go to sleep. Maybe if she went to sleep she would wake up six months ago, back when her life made sense.
Her tendencies to overthink hit her once again as she thought about the bed outside the bathroom door. She thought about having to shove away the petals and climb under the covers of a bed that had surely seen countless newlyweds spend the first night of their marriage in. God, she felt like such a sham.
She pulled all the pins out of her hair, throwing them down on the vanity as the seemingly endless stacks of metal that had been stabbing her all night came away from her scalp.
Next came the dress. She reached behind herself, trying to reach the row of a million tiny buttons that ran all down the back of the dress. While they were beautiful she realized now just how impractical they were. Katherine had been the one to handle all the buttons that morning, and now that she was left on her own, she realized it may be physically impossible to do it on her own, but she was damn well going to try.
She wasn't sure how long she spent struggling, trying to come at the godforsaken buttons from all angles, twisting her arms into positions that were entirely unnatural.
"Fuck! She shouted in surprise as she nearly fell over in her drunken state while trying to twist her body to reach the back of her dress.
"Oh, bloody hell do you need help?" A clipped annoyed voice came from the bedroom.
Caroline didn't want to admit defeat, but at the same time, she was still desperate for a shower. Klaus had already called her out, so she might as well give in.
Caroline pushed open the door and narrowed her eyes at Klaus who had done the dirty job of pushing the petals off the bed and was laying width-wise across the mattress, examining the ceiling in a way only an outrageously drunk person could.
Caroline stalked over to the bed, turning to expose her back to Klaus, resigning herself to needing his help.
Despite his level of intoxication, his hands were steady as he reached for the buttons of her dress.
Caroline felt a current running across the skin on her back where Klaus's fingers ghosted over it as his hands moved across her back to access the buttons slowly. She felt transfixed, frozen to the spot, as he undid button after button.
Once he had undone the top five, Caroline realized that with a little bit of shimming she would be able to get the gown off, but something kept her there, standing at the bedside. It was as though she was mesmerized by the repetitive sensation of Klaus's finger nimbly undoing each tiny closure. The final button sat at the lowest point of her spine, leaving the entire landscape of her back exposed.
Was it her imagination or did it seem like Klaus's hands lingered just a second longer on the final button?
Caroline snapped out of her reverie in an instance, as though a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her.
"Thank you," she said automatically, striding away as quickly as her legs would carry her and closing the bathroom door tightly behind herself.
She didn't know what had just happened, and in that moment, she decided to blame it on the champagne.