Chapter Six

A Daughter's Return

Castell de la Vida

Catalonia, Kingdom of Aragon (Spain)

1161

The sunrise on that warm April morning was a majestic display that bathed the cliffside castle in golds, oranges, and pinks. As per usual, almost none of the palace residents saw this spectacular sunrise, as they had been partying and reveling until the early hours of the morning. In fact, many of them had only gone to bed just as the first peaks of light began hitting the waves. In this queer palace, the servants did not typically rise until well after noon, and even then, there was no need to rush their chores – very few of the nobles living here required typical human necessities, and all of them slept late. One of the only servants who saw the sunrise on a regular basis was Baat, the horse master, and today was no exception.

Baat had built a small hut for himself when he had first arrived at the castle. Lord Elijah, who had brought him to this strange world, had offered him a splendid room within the walls of the castle, but he had refused. When he decided to uproot his life and leave his home country forever, he knew he had to keep a piece of home with him always. It was a small building made of mud and wood and straw, but it was all he needed. That, and his horses.

As the sun rose steadily over the castle, Baat rolled up his straw mat, dressed himself, did his morning prayers, and ate his porridge. He then stepped out into the salty air and breathed in deeply. At night and in fog, the ancient trees masked the stone edifice well from ships, but on a clear morning like today, the castle sparkled like a gemstone from the sea. He made his way down a steep and rocky path that led to the stables, and he hummed a tune that Lady Caroline had taught him when he had first arrived at Castell de la Vida ten years ago. It was going to get hot quickly; he could tell already. He heard the horses neighing as he approached the large stables, and he hoped the stable boys were already up and getting them fed and watered. Just as he was opening the door, he heard loud voices coming from within, and they were certainly not his stable boys. He creaked the door open hesitantly.

"-if you only just saw that I'm trying to help you! Don't act like you're all alone here in the stone castle by the sea. You're surrounded by friends!"

Lady Caroline was wearing a blue silk gown that hung off her pale shoulders. The sleeves fell to the floor, tumbled together with her long train. A garland of flowers had been artfully combed into her yellow hair. She was the picture of a grand lady, but her face was red, and her hands were clenched into fists.

Lord Niklaus stood close to her, his clothing somber and grey, like the expression on his face. Baat always liked Lord Niklaus; he was excellent with the horses and he usually kept to himself. Except, for now, apparently. Neither noticed Baat enter the stables.

"No one here understands what it's like to have fifty different voices in your head all at once! None of my siblings have to contend with being ordered by past victims to commit suicide! They don't know how to help me. I don't know how to help myself! Stop bloody trying to make me all better and leave me in peace and solitude! De la Vida has been the best place for me to deal with this, so don't ruin it," Lord Niklaus snarled at the woman.

Lady Caroline glared at him, and Baat could see her arms trembling in fury. He started to back out of the room.

"There's no need to be rude. I'm not trying to force you to do anything. But if you're going to isolate yourself, then don't act like a martyr! Don't act like everyone forced you out, because we haven't," she yelled.

"I'm not acting like a martyr!" the lord roared back. "I just want to die!"

Lady Caroline smirked. "Do you need a definition of the word?"

Lord Niklaus snarled. "I don't want to die for a higher cause; I want to die to get some peace and quiet, especially from the likes of you!"

The lady took a step forward, unafraid. "It will end. It must. It has to."

"I don't think so. This is it for me. Stop trying to save me, Caroline," the lord said dully.

"Never," she whispered. His eyes went wide, but before he could say anything, she spoke again. Rather, she screamed, "Baat!"

Baat froze. He was nearly out the doorway, but he guiltily came back into the stables.

"My lady," he murmured.

"Go about your business. I was just leaving. I think we may have scared your stable boys off with our disagreement; they should be nearby," she said.

"Disagreement?" Lord Niklaus scoffed. She sent him a haughty look before elegantly gathering her skirts and gliding past Baat and onto the path back to the castle.

Lord Niklaus kept muttering under his breath after she left, his face dark with fury.

"And then it will be Rebekah coming down to tell me to start coming to balls and dancing like a fool," he spat out.

Baat raised an eyebrow but made no comment. He went into the back room and found his three helpers there, all with terrified looks on their faces.

"The Lady Caroline was so angry!" Felipe, the youngest, squawked.

Baat gestured them to follow and they all began their chores. Lord Niklaus had made his way to his favorite horse and was brushing him.

"I'm going to go for a ride, Baat. I'll have Poseidon back to you by midday," he said.

Baat nodded and Niklaus led the horse out of the stables. Baat shook his head at the early morning drama. Working for this family rarely had dull moments, but he did wish he were able to do his tasks properly before they began screaming at each other.

Later that day, Caroline was sitting in the window seat in Rebekah's chambers, waiting for her maker to finish getting ready. Rebekah always slept late, and took her time dressing. 'I have all the time in the world; why would I ever rush?' Rebekah always told her when she complained about it. Right now, Rebekah was hemming and hawing over whether to wear a mauve dress or a burgundy dress.

"I wasn't telling him how to deal with his problems, I was simply telling him he doesn't have to act like he's all alone!" Caroline grumbled, her eyes focused on the gardens.

"He's just a stubborn ass, Care. Besides, your fight is probably the most exciting thing that's happened to him all week," Rebekah drawled.

"Do you think?" Caroline asked, her head snapping around.

"Absolutely. Nothing distracts Nik like a good fight. The voices probably went away for a good hour this morning. He'll thank you eventually."

Caroline snorted. "Thank me? Forgive me if I have trouble picturing that."

"Definitely mauve with this lighting," Rebekah decided firmly. Her handmaidens began dressing her. "Nik has his own way of saying thank you. In general, he's much better when you're around. Did you know that?"

Caroline spotted the man himself just then, emerging from a flower patch.

"No, I didn't know that," she said softly.

That night, a sketch appeared on Caroline's pillow. It depicted herself, her cheeks flushed and her hair wild as she screamed at him in the stables with horses in the background. She smiled and put it in her jewelry box.

Two weeks later, Niklaus and Caroline were out riding, their spat long forgotten. They had left early to head to one of Niklaus' favorite spots, a hidden lagoon a few miles north of the castle. He was explaining how his siblings came to own Castell de la Vida.

"Kol found it, actually. It was built sometime in the 8th century and had fallen into ruin. He was exploring the area in 1036 when he stumbled upon the castle. No one lived here at that point, so he started renovating. Elijah and Rebekah joined him a few years later. I visited briefly once, but I never lived here permanently until we fled Auxor."

"It's so beautiful; he's done a wonderful job."

"I agree. Kol isn't always a monster. He can be a real lord when he tries."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I love Kol. He's definitely much less a monster than you," she teased.

He scowled at her and they raced a bit to reach the lagoon. They had a lovely afternoon swimming and playing in the sand – or at least, Caroline did while Niklaus watched and tried to keep the voices at bay. Caroline's lapis lazuli bracelet kept her protected from the hot Mediterranean sun and made her blond curls shine. As the day wore on, Kol rode up the coast to join them. The brothers teased Caroline that she should try drinking shark blood, due to her hesitation to hurt humans when she fed from them, and she flung back that she could simply have some of their blood if she wanted to know what that tasted like. At sunset, they all sprawled in the sand under a tree and argued about the Battle of Hastings and invasions in general. Predictably, both brothers were very supportive of invasions.

"But what does that mean for the Briton identity?" said Caroline.

"It will change. As all cultures do," Kol said.

"At what cost?"

"Don't you mean to what benefit?"

"You're talking like a Viking."

"You do know my parents were Vikings, yes?"

Caroline smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but Niklaus suddenly jumped to his feet and made a very strange garbled sound, halfway between a laugh and a sob. His companions stared at him.

"You alright there, brother?" Kol asked.

Niklaus didn't respond. He brought his hands to his head and rubbed his scalp furiously, muttering under his breath, "Show yourself, show yourself, show yourself."

Kol raised an eyebrow and turned back to Caroline. "Innovations, change, progress, beautiful art - they don't happen because people are nice to each other. They are a direct result of one culture taking over another."

"- say something, say something, say something-"

"That's how history has worked so far, but it doesn't have to be the only example we have. We can change the standard."

"- come out, come out, come out, come out-"

Kol laughed. "Darling, that's very idealistic of you."

"- don't. Stop. You. How. How."

"Nik," Kol said loudly. "Maybe you should take a swim? Maybe a little cool water will help sort your mind out."

Niklaus removed his hands from his head and stared at them, a look of astonishment on his face. "It is over," he whispered hoarsely.

"What?"

"They're gone."

"What's gone, Nik?"

"The voices are gone. For the first time in over fifty years, my head is clear."

Kol and Caroline shared a look before Kol stood up and clapped his brother on the back.

"That's good, brother. A nice break."

Niklaus shook his head furiously. "It's not a break. It's never been like this before. It started to fade a few days ago and just now, they went away completely. That's never happened before. I don't hear the voices, I don't see any ghosts. No one is taunting me and telling me to end it all. The curse is…broken."

The other vampires shared another concerned look.

"You don't believe me," Niklaus said flatly.

"It's not that we don't believe you, necessarily. We certainly want to believe you," Kol said helpfully.

His brother glared at him and Caroline stood up.

"Tell me about Henrik," she demanded.

A dark shadow came over Niklaus' face and Kol gaped at the blond vampire.

"Caroline," he warned, but Nik started talking.

"Henrik was my youngest brother. He asked me to see the wolves one night and against my better judgment, we snuck out of the caves to watch them transform and roam. But the tree we were in wasn't strong enough. They devoured him. My baby brother devoured before my eyes," he said steadily with emotion. His eyes remained calm. He didn't look demented or feral or manic.

Caroline looked at Kol. "I believe him. Truly. He would never be able to talk about Henrik so calmly before. At least not without trying to drown himself in the sea."

Kol frowned and looked his brother deep in the eyes. Niklaus stared steadily back. After a long moment, Kol let out a giant whoop and jumped in the air.

"You are back!" he exclaimed.

Nik smiled; his eyes were exuberant. "I'm back."

The entire castle partied for a month once the three had returned and broke the news to Elijah and Rebekah. Niklaus was much quieter and tamer than he had been before the curse, but he was definitely sane again. He attended the parties, but he spent his days frantically writing and painting. Caroline thought he was trying to purge something. Meanwhile, the Mikaelson siblings felt for the first time since they had been turned that things were going work out for them.

In the five years after the Hunter's Curse ended, Niklaus gradually returned to his previous self. Caroline and his family helped him recover. Kol left only a year after the curse broke; though he enjoyed the time spent with his family, he claimed he had too much wanderlust to stay cooped up in a castle for too long. Caroline spent her days studying languages and history and philosophy and found herself yearning to travel, an ache she had never suffered from as a human. It seemed her vampire-self wanted to wander the world, too.

One crisp November morning, Caroline, Nik, Rebekah, and Elijah were at the breakfast table when a letter arrived. Caroline and Niklaus had been making eyes at each other across the table while Rebekah furiously wrote a letter and Elijah did some bookkeeping for the estate. Caroline's cry of shock alerted everyone.

The letter had the d'Ebanne seal on it. The only residents of Auxor who knew she was at Castell de la Vida were Adelaide and Sophia. She ripped it open, excited to hear from either her cousin or aunt. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she scanned the letter.

"What is it, Care?" Rebekah asked, concerned.

Caroline slowly balled the note up in her fist and threw it into the fire. "My mother," she started, but stopped.

Elijah and Rebekah exchanged a worried glance.

"Your mother, what? Did she write the letter?" Elijah ventured.

Caroline shook her head. "No, it's from Sophia. My mother is dying," she said hollowly. "For real this time."

An awkward silence fell over the room. Finally, Rebekah spoke.

"Will you go?"

Caroline drummed her fingers on the table. "I think I have to. I have too much unfinished business with her," she said moodily.

"I will go with you then," Rebekah said.

"No!" the younger vampire cried.

A look of hurt fell over her sire's face.

"I didn't mean – I have to go alone. It's just – complicated."

Rebekah glanced at Elijah. "I understand, Caroline; however, I do need to check on something at Auxor."

Caroline frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Rebekah sighed. "During your change, the witches were busy dealing with Mikael. They found a way to subdue him: desiccation. In those few short days after your change and before we left for here, they explained to me that they had him under several strong spells and curses and would let me know if he ever woke. You were busy killing your husband," she smirked.

"Annoying prick," Caroline muttered. "Mikael is no longer a threat?"

"For the moment. We should never underestimate him. That's why I want to go with you and check on him."

Caroline pondered this for a moment. "I will check on him," she said firmly.

Niklaus, who had been silent through all this, snarled. "I do not think so."

She whirled on him. "It is not up to you. I trust the witches. He will still be subdued. Sophia and Adelaide know what they're doing."

Rebekah frowned. "I don't know, Care. I don't like the thought of you going alone."

"It is my home. I will be safe there."

Auxor Castle

Kingdom of France

1166

Marie paused her chores for a moment to wipe the dripping sweat off her forehead with a rag and glance out the window. It was nearly dusk, which meant she had to go get the duchess' dinner from the kitchens soon. It had been a very long week for Marie; she was one of the only people Lady d'Ebanne allowed into her chambers, so a lot of responsibility fell on her tired shoulders. The duchesse was dying; the entire castle was already in mourning. The Lady Sophia was running things now, but ever-loyal Marie would consider Lady d'Ebanne the master of the estate until her dying breath.

With a sigh, she rose from her spot on the floor where she had been cleaning the hearth in Lady Caroline's old bedchambers. She looked around the room. The duchess' daughter had disappeared over twenty years before, and no one had a decent explanation as to where she had gone. She wasn't dead; Marie knew for sure. Lady Sophia would mention her from time to time, but she was always vague about her circumstances and whereabouts. In the days following the Great Battle, Lady Caroline's husband died, presumably from battle wounds, and Lady Caroline herself left the castle very shortly after. Marie helped as she was escorted onto a ship late one night and sailed south on the Garonne River, never to be seen again. Lady d'Ebanne had changed after that. She seemed both sad and relieved. Marie knew mother and daughter had a difficult relationship, but she had always believed the duchesse loved her daughter fiercely. When she fell ill, the duchesse suddenly began talking about Lady Caroline constantly, as if doing so would keep her own heart beating. Marie knew Lady d'Ebanne wanted nothing more than to see her daughter again, but she doubted it would happen. Lady Caroline never wrote to the duchesse, only Lady Sophia and Sophia's mother, her aunt, Lady Adelaide. Wherever she was, she didn't seem too concerned about her dying mother. Although Marie was loyal to Lady d'Ebanne now, she knew how terrible she had been to Lady Caroline. As Lady Caroline's handmaiden, Marie had listened to her mistress' complaints and tended the girl's wounds, when she herself was still a slip of a thing. She couldn't blame Lady Caroline for keeping her distance, even while she pitied the duchesse.

Marie ended her musings and left the bedchamber, shutting the door behind her quietly. She went down to the kitchens and received Lady d'Ebanne's dinner and began climbing back up the stairs. She thought about her three children during the long climb. Her husband wanted their daughter to marry soon, but Marie felt she was still too young at fourteen and wanted her to get an education. She was pushing for her to enter a convent, an idea her husband was warming up to because it meant he could avoid a dowry. She reached the duchess' bedchamber and went inside. Lady Sophia had hung incense all around the room, to Marie's chagrin. She did have to admit it helped keep the sickroom smelling better than most, even if the burning sticks were a hazard. The perfumed air and curtained windows made the room feel like a chapel. Lady d'Ebanne was prone on the bed, her chest barely moving. Marie approached her.

"Your grace, I have your supper."

The duchesse lifted her head slightly and gave the handmaiden a nod.

"Leave it on the table, Marie; I will have it in a little while," she said weakly.

Marie hesitated before placing the soup on the table next to the bed.

"Is Caroline here yet, Marie?" the duchesse murmured softly just as Marie was leaving.

Marie stopped and turned around, a sorrowful and pitying expression on her face.

"Lady Caroline has been gone for over twenty years, your grace."

"Yes, I haven't forgotten. But she is returning soon. I've seen it."

Marie gave her lady a helpless look. "Yes, your grace," she said before exiting. She gasped in surprise to see Lady Sophia waiting in the hallway.

"How is she, Marie?"

Marie looked at the floor. "Not well, my lady. She can barely raise her head anymore."

Lady Sophia frowned and walked to the door.

"She keeps asking for her daughter," Marie said suddenly, making Lady Sophia pause.

"She's asking for Caroline? As if she's still here?" she asked worriedly.

Marie shook her head. "No. I think she expects her to return."

A grim look crossed Lady Sophia's countenance. "I don't think she will answer my letter. She hated her so much…" she said, more to herself than to Marie.

"But Lady Caroline is her daughter, no matter what."

Lady Sophia gave the handmaiden a sharp, assessing look. "Some wounds are too deep," she said before entering the bedchamber.

Marie went to bed soon after that, exhausted by the day and knowing she was on duty the following night. She fell asleep quickly and dreamed of bloody battlefields and an angel in the sky.

Three days later, Marie was tending the fire in the duchess' room when a strange sensation came over her that made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She stood and turned around quickly, her heart beating in her chest like a drum.

A startlingly beautiful woman stood in the doorway, wearing a very fine mantle and exotic hair adornments. A veil covered her face and a strong perfume permeated from her. Marie was thunderstruck, because this was not just any noblewoman. This was the duchess' daughter. Lady Caroline had returned to Auxor, just as Lady d'Ebanne had predicted.

Marie stumbled away from the hearth and crossed to the beautiful woman. She shakily bowed once she got closer, breathing in Lady Caroline's sweet perfume.

"Lady Fortinbeau, welcome home," she murmured. "Or is it Lady Ramnulfid?"

"Ah, no. We grew up together, Marie. Just call me Lady Caroline," the lady corrected softly. "How is my mother?" She did not look at Marie or her mother, but out the window, as if distracted.

Marie shook her head sadly. "The duchesse is not well. Her heart has weakened."

Caroline nodded. "I would like to be alone with her for the rest of the night, Marie."

Marie could not hide her bewilderment as she nodded. The vampire noticed.

"How have you been, Marie? It's been 23 years; are you married?"

"Yes, my lady."

"You were twelve when I last saw you. You're thirty-five, then?"

"I will be next month," Marie answered in astonishment that the lady had remembered.

"And children? Do you have children?"

"I have three. Two sons, one daughter."

Caroline smiled. "Watch over your daughter. She is precious."

"Yes, my lady."

"You may go."

Marie left, wondering how on earth Lady Caroline still looked as young as the day she left Auxor, when she was seventeen years old.

Back in the bedchamber, Caroline stared at her mother. After a long moment, she swept up her skirts and crossed the room, taking up Marie's spot on the stool by the bed. She let her mind wander. The previous night, she had silently wandered the halls while the castle slept, breathing in memories of the wretched place. Those two terrible years during which her mother tortured her brutally had left their mark, and she was determined to make Alix d'Ebanne atone for her sins.

It was around midnight when Alix finally stirred. Caroline rose to her feet as her eyes fluttered open and crossed to the shadow of the window. Alix's heartbeat was faint and uneven and she knew it wouldn't be long before her mother's time on this earth was done. The thought filled her with an uneasy sensation. This was why she was here - to get closure before she couldn't any longer. There was no reason to feel uneasy.

"Marie? Is that you?" Alix whispered hoarsely.

Caroline remained silent.

"Marie, your lady needs water. I've been dreaming again of awful things. Give me some water and sing to me," Alix continued.

"Marie is not here," Caroline said from the shadows.

Alix froze in the bed, her head turning slowly towards the window.

"Who is that?" she asked sharply, an alertness in her eyes that didn't match her weak body. She struggled into a sitting position while keeping her gaze focused on the window.

"Someone seeking answers," said the daughter.

"Answers, I can give. I have no secrets anymore."

"Even for a little girl who asked too many questions?"

Alix stilled. "Come forward," she demanded.

Caroline stepped into the light slowly. Her golden blond hair was shinier and longer than it had been in her human life, and her skin shown in the moonlight with an ethereal glow only vampires had. But her eyes were the same eyes that had once stared at the dying duchesse in accusation, betrayal, and hurt. The same blue-green eyes as Alix's own.

"Daughter," Alix murmured.

She stared at her mother.

"Caroline, please, come here," Alix said.

Reluctantly, the vampire crossed to her mother's deathbed.

"You don't look a day over seventeen," Alix marveled.

"The Change will do that," Caroline supplied.

"Ah, yes. The Change," Alix said, her eyes roving over her long-lost daughter.

"Hello, Maman."

"I knew you'd return."

"I didn't believe I would. Then I received Sophia's letter."

Alix smiled. "Ah, Sophia. She's a good girl. Her mother has never forgiven me for allowing that vampire girl to take you away, but your place was no longer at Auxor. I had to let you go."

Caroline frowned. "Adelaide didn't want me to leave? But I was a newly turned vampire! I was dangerous."

Alix shrugged, and it looked like it hurt. "Not to her. She thought you needed to stay with family. She felt the coven could have held their own against you, and she was probably right. But I told her you needed to go off and find yourself."

The vampire blinked in shock at her mother. "I thought you didn't understand me."

Alix shook her head. "I always understood you, Caroline, because I was you. You were so similar to me when I was a young girl. And it absolutely terrified me."

"Why?"

"Because I was not ready for the world when I was wed. And it nearly killed me."

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked cautiously.

"You must understand, my child. Everything I did, I did to protect you. The world is an awful place, and if you had not been prepared for it, like I was, it would have been your ruination. As girls, as women, we are weak, and men take advantage of that. I had to find my strength, slowly and painfully. I didn't want you to have such a shock when you were wed. I know you idolized your father, Caroline, but he was not a good man."

"You tortured me as a child, and now you're trying to blacken my father's name?" the vampire snarled.

Alix leaned forward with a fiery and determined look in her eyes. "This duchy never has and never will be inherited by a male heir. I inherited from my mother, and unlike most marriages, my property did not become my husband's. But soon after we wed, your father tried to take my land, my power, my dignity, and my title away from me. He was small man, one who could not reckon being married to a woman far wealthier and more powerful than him. It was only after I threatened him with the coven that he backed down. He's the reason I did not tell you we're witches until after he'd left – he hated the coven. You don't even want to know about your grandfather or your uncle. Men are not to be trusted. I knew if I hardened you early, you would be more prepared for the ugliness of the world. That's why I was so harsh when your doting father chased his fortune to his death. That's why I trained you so hard. That's why I sent you to court and made you wed that insipid boy. I knew he was harmless and would not mistreat you the way Adhemar had me. I believed the pain and suffering I inflicted on you would force any weakness out of you and make you stronger."

"My father was nothing but kind and loving to me! You were just jealous of our relationship!" Caroline shouted, her hands shaking with fury.

"At times I was sad that I could not just be a loving mother to you, but I knew I had a duty to you. You would not reach your full potential without some trauma."

"Did it ever occur to you I would have been strong either way? That maybe fearing my own mother weakened me?"

"Ah, but after a time you didn't fear me. You began disobeying me at every turn. You spent your days in the woods with Sophia. You snuck out at night to learn from the most dangerous vampires of them all. When you returned to Auxor, you saved everyone. You had tapped into your greatest power. My work was done."

"So, you have no regrets?"

"Why should I waste my time with that? I am dying, Caroline. You are now a creature who cannot be hurt by human men. Before you transitioned, I had wanted you to inherit Auxor and continue our family's line and legacy, but I found myself quite happy with the strange and unpredicted turn your life took. Your new powers would protect you in ways your old powers could not."

"But I cannot continue our line."

"Sophia will do it. She's my niece, she's of our blood. She will become the duchesse, since my sister prefers her woods. Sophia and her witch husband have six children. And she is very talented. Besides, you are immortal now. I do not believe you will turn your back on Auxor completely. You will return again, watch over your homeland from afar."

"I can't say whether or not that's true."

"You'll know when the time is right."

Caroline looked away then, her eyes on the fire. She listened to the wood crackle and burn. She could hear the river down below. She could hear the servants in the court below. She could hear her mother's labored breathing and dying heart.

"Why did you ask Sophia to write me? Why did you want me to return here?" she asked quietly.

Alix heaved a deep breath; it sounded painful. "I needed you to know why I did what I did. I love you. I have always loved you. The years of your childhood, before your father left, when I could still be a loving and doting mother, were a blessed time for me. It broke my heart to treat you as I did. But I felt I had no other choice. I was terrified you would not be prepared! I love you, Caroline. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, my beloved daughter," Alix begged, tears pouring down her face.

The vampire startled. She had never seen her mother cry. When she had entered this bedchamber, this death chamber, she thought this was exactly what she wanted. But now that it was happening, she felt uncomfortable. It felt wrong for her proud and regal mother to beg.

"Please, Caroline. I will pay for my sins, I know. But I cannot pass this earth without your forgiveness," the woman sobbed.

Caroline crossed to her mother's side and held her hand.

"You tortured me and made me suffer for years," she said fiercely.

"Yes, yes I did."

"You forced me to leave my home and friends and family."

"Yes."

"You made me go to that awful court and wed someone I resented."

"Yes."

"You made me believe you were dying, in a trick to get me to return home."

"Yes, God yes, I did that."

"You didn't save me from Mikael," Caroline cried.

Alix slipped out of the bed and sat on the floor next to her daughter. She wrapped her frail arms around her and held her for the first time since she was a little girl. Caroline fell into her mother's embrace and sobbed. Alix rocked her back and forth and whispered to her soothingly.

After a long time, Caroline pulled back slightly to look her mother in the eyes.

"I wanted you to protect me from him."

"I tried so hard, but I failed you. I have always failed you. My beautiful baby, I only wanted to save you."

Caroline leaned back into her arms and tried to control her tears.

"I forgive you, Maman," she whispered.

Suddenly, she knew this was it - they both did. They had both seen this moment before, when Caroline had discovered her incredible and awful power at the age of twelve. She had shown her mother her death without understanding how she'd done it. Alix, though shaken, had been determined to nurture her power. It was how her daughter had been able to use her special skill on the battlefield all those years past. They'd come full circle.

Alix d'Ebanne's heart gave out.

"After you left, her heart weakened. She wasn't even all that upset you were a vampire; in fact, I think she was relieved. But she missed her daughter terribly and was heartbroken you left thinking she didn't love you. Her greatest fear was that you would spend an eternity thinking that," Sophia explained the next morning.

They were in Adelaide's house in the forest. Sophia had moved into the castle years earlier with her husband and children, but Adelaide preferred the peace and quiet of the woods. Sophia and Caroline were sitting at the table while Adelaide busied herself kneading dough.

"Was my father a bad man, Adelaide?" Caroline asked.

Her aunt looked up tiredly. "He mellowed once you were born, but he was a bit of a tyrant when he first came here. He thought he could rule Alix, Auxor, and all of Ebanne. She had a hard time those first years of marriage. He would beat her and belittle her and threaten annulment. Finally, she called upon the coven to protect her. He didn't give her trouble after that, but she was a changed woman."

The vampire nodded dully.

"Should we bury her this Sunday?" Sophia asked.

Caroline looked at her hollowly. "That's fine. We will put her in the old crypt. Where I was made a vampire."

Sophia nodded.

"You told me in a letter once, years ago, that my father's body had been recovered and returned to Auxor. Where did she put his body?" the vampire questioned.

"She buried him under a tree close to the tunnel entrance. She did it for you, because otherwise, she would probably have burned it and cast the ashes in the river," Adelaide said solemnly.

Caroline rose suddenly. "We will make arrangements tomorrow," she muttered before flashing off.

She found the grave easily. It bore a simple epitaph: Adhemar, 1093-1142. She slid down to the ground and placed her hand on the cold stone.

"Were you the reason she became a monster?" she whispered. "I trusted you. Did you only love me out of fear of the witches?"

She remained at the grave for the rest of the day, breathing in the scents of her home and feeling closer to her ancestors than she ever had. The sins of her parents lay heavily on her shoulders and she wondered if turning it off would help. She dismissed the idea almost as soon as it came to her mind. She had to keep her head and make her mother proud.

Caroline stared into the crypt that had been her and Rebekah's hiding place during her transition. She once thought she would be buried in the d'Ebanne family crypt, but now she was not so sure.

They were laying her mother to rest, and she felt disembodied. She hadn't thought she'd step inside Auxor again, let alone see her mother once more. And here she was, only 23 years after she had become a vampire, burying the woman who had caused her so much pain.

Adelaide and Sophia remained close to her throughout the ceremony, for which she was grateful. She wore a black dress and veil, which had been her outfit every day since the death. The inhabitants of the castle all avoided her out of pity or fear; whichever it was, she didn't care to find out.

"Would you like to see him now?" Sophia asked soon after the stone had slid over the tomb, sealing Alix d'Ebanne away.

Caroline turned to her old friend. "No, but I have no choice. Rebekah only let me come alone if I promised to check on him."

Sophia nodded and led Caroline to one of the oldest tombs. She waved one hand lazily, and the gate swung open. She grabbed a torch and descended down a narrow set of stone steps, her dress trailing behind her. Caroline held her breath as the smell of decay invaded her nostrils. It took a long time to reach the bottom of the staircase, and then Sophia made a series of swift turns down more tunnels.

"Feeling lost?" Sophia asked with a smirk.

"I spent half my childhood sneaking around these catacombs," her cousin declared in offense.

"I wasn't sure if you'd still know the way, since you're no longer a witch."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "That's a sore spot, Soph."

"Is it?" Sophia's red hair shone in the firelight. She flicked some over her shoulder, and Caroline's enhanced vision noticed every single separate strand.

"Yes. I feel lost without my magic."

"But you have new powers. Some may say they are superior to your old ones," Sophia argued.

"My magic was so special. Now, I have basically the same abilities most other vampires have. I may be a little more powerful because Rebekah turned me, but otherwise, I'm pretty average," Caroline said dully.

"So, choose to be different," Sophia declared.

"What?"

Sophia turned around, her torch casting ominous shadows on the walls. "Become a special sort of vampire. Isn't everything in life about the choices we make?"

Caroline frowned at her. Sophia laughed.

"You've already set yourself apart by mastering your bloodlust as a newborn. Why don't you set a new goal for yourself?"

"What kind of goal?"

"I can't tell you that! Figure it out for yourself," Sophia said, exasperated.

"That's easy for you to say," Caroline snapped, but she was smiling.

Sophia gestured to the door behind her, which Caroline hadn't noticed before now. "This one decided to change his fate. He ended up changing the fates of hundreds, if not thousands, by now."

"Maybe he's not the best example," Caroline said ruefully.

Sophia shrugged. "Maybe not. Come on, let's have a look."

The witch unlocked the door and the two women cautiously stepped into the small chamber. Caroline could feel the strong magic pulsating through the room. A black casket sat in the middle of it. The vampire approached cautiously.

"It's not a pretty sight," Sophia warned. She muttered a counter curse so the coffin could be opened.

Caroline grimaced before lifting the lid.

Mikael's skin had shriveled in on itself, like a dried-up fig or even worse, a piece of rotted meat. His eyes were closed and sunken in, and his hair was wispy and thin. His mummified hands were neatly clasped together on his chest. Caroline felt a deep loathing consume her as she stared down at her murderer.

"Caroline," Sophia grabbed her hand, and she realized it had been shaking.

"Let's go. He's not going to hurt you again; not as long as I live," the witch promised.

Caroline cast one last look at the corpse before allowing Sophia to lead her out of the sinister chamber.

She left Auxor the following day. She promised Sophia and Adelaide she would write more and said her good-byes in the faint light of dawn. She took the river down, as she found the water comforting. She knew her return to Catalonia would be brief, and she had to prepare what she would say to the siblings.

Rebekah was in the gardens tending to her roses when she heard soft steps behind her. She had been eagerly anticipating Caroline's return from France.

"Welcome home," she said, smiling softly and turning around to face her progeny.

When she got a good look at her, her smile disappeared. Caroline wore a simple black gown and her face was veiled. Rebekah's sharp eyes could see that her eyes were haunted. She clearly hadn't had blood in days.

"Caroline?" she questioned, tentatively taking a step forward.

The girl slowly raised her blue eyes to look at her sire.

"It's time, Rebekah," she said gently.

"So, it's true. You're leaving."

Caroline paused in the middle of the garden path. Twilight was settling in, transforming the hot midsummer afternoon into a cooler, sweeter evening.

"I was wondering when you were going to admit you were stalking me and step out of the shadows," she teased.

She spun around, her dress swirling around her, the train disrupting fireflies from the flowers at her feet.

He stood five feet away, smelling of earth, and honeysuckle, and blood.

"You are mistaken. I was here first, Lady Caroline."

"Perhaps," she teased, looking him up and down.

He smiled widely.

"To answer your question, yes, I am leaving. I depart in just a few days," she conceded.

"I didn't ask," he replied.

She blinked at him. "Well, regardless - you were correct."

"And where will you journey to next?"

He had gotten closer to her, shifting without her noticing. It put her on edge.

"I will head east. That is all I know. I decided to not make up much of a plan, just let myself be carried by fate and good fortune," she explained.

"And this decision was inspired by your recent trip home?" he inquired, now definitely even closer to her.

She adjusted her skirts. "Yes. Word travels fast in the Mikaelson family; of this, I am not naïve. But I do wish Rebekah would put more of an effort into holding her tongue."

"We do not hold secrets from each other, my siblings and I. To carry a secret is a terrible burden," he said softly, his eyes wandering off, to another place, another time.

Caroline cleared her throat. "I understand, Niklaus. I simply am determined to put France and the past few decades behind me."

He smirked. "Ah, but the past is always in front of you, love, leading the way. Your past is what makes you who you are, what defines you. Even in immortality. Especially in immortality, when you have so much time to ruminate on past mistakes, try to make up for them. The brief time we've all spent as humans was the most influential period of our very long lives," he finished gravely.

"I suppose you are right, in a way. But I refuse to linger in the past and let it consume me. I must look to future, for it is where I will make myself. I have questions about my magic…" Caroline trailed off, looking at the garden path as if it had all the answers in the world. A hand lightly touched her chin and raised her head. Caroline was too startled to react in any way except to widen her eyes.

Niklaus stared at her and breathed over her face. "Caroline, I do believe you have made yourself already. You were an incredible human: brave, courageous, intelligent, determined, stubborn, kind. Your vampirism has only magnified those traits. Although a part of me once wished you never were turned, for fear of how you might be tainted by darkness, I cannot help but be overwhelmingly glad to know that you will always be somewhere in the world, a beacon of light and hope even in immortality. An angel who helped pull a monster out of the dark."

Caroline was speechless; she'd long forgotten how to breathe. His face was inches from hers as he cradled her face with his warm hands. His clean breath wafted over her, sending shivers down her spine.

"I wanted to thank you for saving me, Caroline. I want you to know you will always have a friend in me. I want you to know I believe in you, and when you return to us, wherever we are in the world, I will be waiting. I intend to be your last love. However long it takes."

He stared deep into her eyes, and for one wild moment, Caroline thought he might kiss her. And then suddenly, his hands were gone, and he was several feet away again, to Caroline's dismay.

"I will see you in a few days, Lady d'Ebanne," he breathed, and then was gone, into the night.

Caroline stared after him, confused, and excited, and thrilled, and sad. Before having another strange encounter in the garden, she whooshed up to her room, where the very normal, docile, and human company of her handmaidens helped her relax and prepare for a night filled with vivid and confusing dreams.

By the end of the week, Caroline had said her good-byes to the inhabitants of the castle. All of her effects were carefully packed on the ship that would sail her across the Mediterranean. It would land in Turkey and then she would find her way from there further east, onwards.

Rebekah had not taken the news well, but with Mikael desiccated, it was hard to build an argument based on the threat of a maniacal madman out for her blood. Caroline assured her maker she would take precautions, just the same. She was looking forward to traveling, but she was even more restless to leave Europe and put her dark history behind her. Maybe Niklaus was right and the past would always be in front of her, guiding her forward. But she hoped it would be guiding her towards a future very different from the life her mother had lived. She did not have it within her to hate all men - Elijah, Kol, and Niklaus were all incredibly important to her. Perhaps Niklaus more than the others, but there would be time to explore that when she was ready.

Yes, time. She was starting to see the freedom that came with unlimited time.