A/N: It's Nanowrimo everyone! As I've put in my other stories that have recently been updated, pretty much instead of writing a novel, I'm writing as much Fanfiction as I possibly can. All my current stories will be updated at least once and then some new stories might pop up. Anyway, hope you guys are having a great start to your month!

As always, thank you all for your support for this story!

Summary: Klaus was not the only one affected by the hybrid curse, denying him his werewolf side. The curse had a second victim, his wife Caroline, who for a 1000 years he thought was dead. Only days before he is meant to break his hybrid curse, he learns she is alive and closer than he ever imagined. Klaroline!Time travel story.

Chapter Nine

When Caroline woke the next morning, she noticed she wasn't alone. She was in someone's arms. Opening her eyes, she tilted her head up to see it was Niklaus. His eyes were still fluttering in sleep, his breathing steady and even. Memories of the previous night flashed through her mind, though she wanted to feel embarrassed and mortified by it, she strangely didn't feel bad. Of course she still felt some guilt for worrying the siblings here, but she didn't feel that bad about freaking out on Niklaus. It was bound to happen and she was glad it happened with him instead of anyone else.

Though Caroline guessed she would have managed fine if Rebekah had been there to comfort her instead. Otherwise, she didn't feel close enough to the rest of the family to have a melt down. She glanced away from him to look at the bird he carved for her not far away, watching her and looking over her. Caroline brought her blue gaze back to Niklaus, she whispered a thank you into his ear. She would thank him again when he was awake, but for now that would do. Slowly, Caroline detangled herself form Niklaus's hold just in time for Rebekah to enter the room. Rebekah, although pleased to see her friend was awake and unharmed, was furious.

She scowled at her friend, "Well, glad to see you're awake given the night you've had. Mother and father do not know you ran off, we intend to keep it that way. It was foolish of you to run off like that."

"Yeah," Caroline said with a quick chuckle, "I got the whole lecture from Niklaus last night."

"Well you have yet to hear it from me," Rebekah said shortly, her head tilted upwards.

Caroline walked over to her friend, she sighed heavily though her smile was wide, "Then I suppose it is one I deserve. Lay it on me mother."

Rebekah playfully hit her arm, "Oh stop it. I am trying to be serious."

"This is my serious face," Caroline said as she failed to hide her smile.

Rebekah released a groan, "This is not funny. I was really worried about you, you know. Wondering what I would do without my friend. I'm cross with you."

Caroline took her friends hands, her tone sincere, "I am really sorry for worrying you. I shouldn't have run off like that, I had just been overwhelmed and wasn't thinking straight. Forgive me?"

Rebekah offered her a smile, "I could consider forgiving you if you promise not to do that again. Or if you must run off, take me with you."

"I pinky swear," Caroline said holding up her pinky.

Rebekah frowned, "Pinky swear? I am not familiar with this swear."

"Never heard of a pinky swear? Well, here we lock pinkies," Caroline said, she grabbed Rebekah's hand and locked their pinkies, "I pinky swear not to run off again and take you with me if I must."

Rebekah nodded, "Oh, I see. But I do not understand why pinkies."

Caroline knew that whenever it had been invented, a person would have to cut off their pinky if the promise was broken. At least that had been the idea. However given Rebekah had no idea what a pinky swear was meant that it likely hadn't been invented yet or the idea just hadn't reached this group in particular.

"The original idea was that if you broke the promise, then you had to cut off your pinky, but that practice has since been removed," Caroline explained, though he expression was unsure.

"Wow, you would stake your finger on a promise and everyone would know if you broke one because your finger would be gone," Rebekah said, she smiled, "The promise with pinkies is one I like very much. Is it a custom from where you are from?"

"It is," Caroline said grinning at the memory of her with Elena and Bonnie as kids. How they had all sorts of pinky promises that they had still kept. A tinge of sadness went through her at the thought of them.

"My siblings and I have a promise of our own. Though it does not require the removal of a finger should one of us break it. We promise to be there and look after one another, always and forever," Rebekah said a bit thoughtfully.

"That's sweet," Caroline said softly.

"Come on get dressed Caroline, then help me set the table," Rebekah said nodding to the door.

Caroline smiled, she quickly changed and wordlessly followed her friend out to the main room. Breakfast that morning was a quiet affair, the usual chatter that occupied the siblings was noticeably less than before. Caroline sincerely hoped it wasn't because of her absence last night. Though Esther and Mikael didn't know, Caroline remembered that Niklaus referred to how siblings were worried. Had all of them gone searching for her? She couldn't remember anything else after crying to Niklaus at the well, which was mortifying, but she was glad to have him there with her the other night.

As Elijah spoke of some news from town, Caroline tried to catch Niklaus' eye. She needed to thank him for what he had done for her the other day, to let him know that it meant a lot to her. More than she could accurately describe. If she would never see her family and friends again, she was glad to have at least met him and his siblings.

Once breakfast was done, Mikael left with his oldest boys, including Niklaus which was a surprise for everyone. Niklaus didn't question it, no one did really, but still it was clear that no one had expected this. As Niklaus grabbed his items, when he passed her, he paused for a moment to whisper something to her before leaving with his brothers and father. Caroline could only smile as he left and closed the door after them. Smiling to herself, Caroline continued to clean up.

I heard you this morning love. Tonight, allow me to take you somewhere special. It might be more spectacular than the well.

Esther told Rebekah to take Henrik out back to accomplish something that Caroline wasn't really paying attention to. Then it was down to the three of them, Kol, Esther and Caroline. It didn't bother Caroline and in all honesty, she hadn't really noticed until Kol was leaning across the table from her with an expectant look. Caroline blinked at him in surprise.

"Uh, can I help you Kol," Caroline asked with a frown.

He smiled at her widely, "You can actually love. Father has taken my older brothers on a training day, there is a battle coming up not too far away so there is a chance they will need all four of them to go. So they will not return until tonight."

"Okay, how can I help you with that," Caroline questioned with a curious smile.

"Because dear Carolena, mother has also sent Rebekah and Henrik on an errand that should take them quite a while to find," Kol explained, his smile grew, "Here's what's going to happen today. Mother intends to use this time to help me fine tune some of my more colorful abilities and you with yours."

Caroline frowned, her shoulders sagged, "You mean magic don't you?"

Kol nodded, "Don't look so put out. It will be fun and you will enjoy it, I promise you."

Esther joined the pair at the table, "Allow me to show some of what magic has to offer. To show you how it is a gift."

"I, I don't know," Caroline said unsurely.

She still wasn't convinced that she was a witch, though she had this nagging feeling that it had to be true. Why would Esther lie about it? Besides whatever magic from vampirism she had, had to be gone now. Perhaps vampires weren't around in this time so her magic came up in this way? Caroline had no idea, she didn't know when vampirism became a thing, but she imagined it had been around as long as wolves. Before her thoughts could go on, Kol spoke.

"Please, just one lesson," Kol pleaded, in a softer tone he whispered to her, "I feel real awful about yesterday. Allow me to make it up to you."

Caroline bit her lip, she looked from Kol to Esther and back to Kol. She supposed it wouldn't kill her to have one lesson, plus if she couldn't do any magic then it would prove to them that she was not a witch like they believed. Besides she really didn't have much to lose with it, not like she had anywhere else to go or anything else to do.

"Very well, one lesson," Caroline said.

Kol's grin was almost smug, "Excellent. What are we waiting for? We have magic to perform."

The three of them made their way to the back of the house, Esther muttered some words to herself and Caroline felt a rush of warmth over herself. It should have been off putting, like when the air conditioning comes on in the car when it has been out in the sun for a long time. She wrapped her arms around her stomach as a loose knot began to form there.

Esther faces the pair, "A simple cloaking spell, no one should be able to see us while we work."

Caroline frowned, "You live in a village of werewolves yet you have to hide your magic?"

"Not for the wolves," Kol informed her, "Should any of the invaders get too close."

Caroline asked, "Are they truly that much of a threat?"

Esther answered, "It truly depends on who is coming. However it is best that no one see us."

Caroline nodded, she supposed that made sense. There was still something off about what she was being told. She wouldn't question it further. Esther gestured for Kol and Caroline to come forward, Kol did so easily and Caroline did with some hesitance. Once the pair stood before the older woman, she took their hands into their own.

"This is a trick I did to help Kol get in touch with his magic when he showed interest," Esther said with a knowing smile.

Kol chuckled, "Ah yes. It was truly a nice moment, I happen to think you would enjoy this very much Carolena."

Caroline rolled her eyes at the name, but spoke to Esther, "And what will this do?"

Esther smiled at her reassuringly, it was almost heartbreakingly familiar. Caroline was hit with a brief flash of a memory, of her mom giving her a similar smile when she was learning to ride her bike without training wheels. It had the same encouragement and reassurance. Caroline swallowed, the thought of her mother made her eyes burn and chest tighten. There was no telling whether or not her mother knew she was okay. She had wondered if her mom was searching for her, how worried she was. Caroline forced the thoughts away.

"Close your eyes," Esther instructed.

Caroline shut her eyes.

"Feel the sun's light and warmth in your face and arms, listen to the wind as it whistles and whispers in your ears," Esther told her softly, "Allow nature to consume your senses."

Esther let her magic flow from her center into her hands, Caroline felt the cool touch of magic in her left hand which held Esther's. There was something alive with nature, she could feel the energy, but it seemed just out of reach. Caroline inhaled as she focused more on the senses of the forest, her ears listening to every sound as the wind picked up in speed, her heart beating in time with flutters of wings in the background.

Light seemed to shine brighter around Caroline, a soft glow highlighted her fair skin and as the wind blew, her hair shimmered. The warmth of the sun grew a bit more as she stood there and then without warning, the connection was severed and she felt extremely cold, trapped in darkness. It didn't seem to last long, but goose bumps raced along her skin and she could hardly hear her name being called by Kol.

When reality returned to her and she could feel the heat from the sunlight again, she also felt the grassy floor along her arm. Caroline opened her eyes to see Kol and Esther kneeling beside her. Kol has a look of concern and Esther a look of awe.

"What happened," Caroline asked a bit hoarsely as she sat up.

Kol released a sigh, "Beats me. Things were going well, then you collapsed for a minute there. Glad you're awake."

Esther places a hand one Caroline's shoulder, "In all my years I have never felt magic like this. It is not intertwined with nature like all magic is and dark magic does not feel this warm and cool at once. There is something alive in your magic that is not held by nature."

Caroline frowned, "Then what is it held by? I felt something there, but you mean to tell me it wasn't from nature? Aren't witches the servants of nature and stuff?"

"Yes, most witch magic is from nature, but yours is from somewhere else... But before we could scratch more than the surface, the connection was severed," Esther explained with a quirked brow.

"Severed," Caroline questioned confused.

Kol spoke next, "It just stopped for no reason at all. Haven't the faintest idea why."

"I do," said Esther simply, her eyes locked with Caroline, "One thing familiar about your magic dear is the lock placed on it. Very few bloodlines have it, but it appears yours does."

Caroline swallowed, "A lock? What does that mean?"

Esther replied simply, "It means that you can not access your magic until the lock is gone. It seems to me based on the energy it gave off that age is the lock, the closer you get to the age, the stronger your magic is. When you turn a certain age, the access to the magic should be given to you."

Caroline blinked, "So I have magic but can't access it until a certain age? Any idea what age?"

Esthe shook her head, "It truly depends on the bloodline as far as I'm aware. Typically sixteen is the age of such things."

"I'm seventeen," Caroline said with a soft tone.

Esther nodded, "Yes. Likely on your eighteenth or twenty-first birthday is when the magic will be accessible. Those are the next two most common ages used. Given the strength now, I imagine eighteen is the key."

"Well I turned eighteen some weeks ago," Kol said with a grin, "When is your birthday love? We should celebrate and should your magic arrive then, it will truly be a wonderful day."

Caroline released a chuckle, "It's on the tenth day of Haustmonour."

"Ah very soon then," Kol said.

"We shall know then if the lock on your magic is on your eighteenth birthday," Esther said, "In the meantime, would you like for Kol and myself to show some things?"

Caroline nodded, her smile genuine, "Yes, I would like that."

Caroline chose to remain seated on the grassy floor, when she tried to stand she felt lightheaded. It seemed like a better idea to stay seated. Esther didn't do much herself, mostly talking to Kol and fine tuning his spellwork. It was different than how Bonnie did it, mostly because whenever she seemed to be doing spells there was always something dangerous around the corner. There was always some emergency, her nose would bleed as she pushed her magic to the brink, how time was of the essence.

This was different. Kol would have a few items and he would make them dance in the air with a smile. That was a neat trick. At one point Esther brought him some dead leaves and flowers. Caroline watched mesmerized as he made them bloom, made them look as if spring had just come.

As Caroline watched him, she couldn't ignore this itch in her fingertips. It was a similar itch she got when she felt the urge to start planning something or to really get involved in a project, like she just couldn't wait to get started. Though she had considered at one point how cool it would have been to do the stuff Bonnie could, she was glad to be a vampire. The blood sucking wasn't the best, but she loved the speed, the strength, the power. As a vampire, she was anything but girly little Caroline.

As a vampire, she was badass fearless Caroline, who could take care of herself, who was ready to take on the world, who was ready to fight. It was her calling in a way. Sitting here and watching the magic show, she couldn't help, but to wonder if this would give her the same push as vampirism. Eventually the fun ended and they all returned inside to do some chores around the house.

Rebekah and Henrik were the first to return with the items Esther's asked for. And Rebekah was a ball of excitement and energy. Caroline was actually surprised. Though Rebekah was far from a calm person, to see her so excited was not what Caroline had been expecting when she returned from errands. Her friend came to stand in front of her, her smile the brightest it had been since she had known her and blue eyes sparkling.

"You seem to be in high spirits," Caroline commented with a grin

"I have the most wonderful news," Rebekah shrieked, she grabbed her friends hands and tugged her along.

Caroline followed, her excitement growing, "Don't leave me in suspense, I want to know."

"The village is having a festival in a few weeks," Rebekah said happily as they entered the room, "Oh Caroline you will love it! There will be amazing food, mother and I will be making our fruit covered cake, there is dancing all through the night and it is truly magnificent. The men of the village will be all over you, I just know it. Oh, I am so happy! We will have to make new dresses and decorate them however we wish!"

When Caroline smiled at this development, it was genuine. A party, though she expected much different than the ones she had been too, would be happening. Even though she was itching to organize such an event, she knew there wasn't anything she would be doing except maybe helping make the desserts with Rebekah. Regardless, this was good news, great news really.

Caroline put on her brightest expression she could muster, "It sounds amazing Reba. What else can I expect on this night?"

Rebekah blinked in surprise at the name, "Reba? I've never heard that one before."

"Well I've heard everyone call you Bekah, but I wanted something different," Caroline shrugged, "If you'd rather I not-"

"No, it's quite alright, I just wasn't expecting it. Perhaps I should call you something different then, it could be like our thing," Rebekah said a bit on the more timid side.

Caroline would be lying if she said she didn't see herself in this girl. The two of them were incredibly similar, fierce when they wanted to be or given the right circumstances, but incredibly insecure, lonely and maybe a bit desperate at times. Though Rebekah already was able to show her inner strength, something Caroline hadn't been able to show until after her actual death. It was clear she just wanted a friend and Caroline could relate to that.

"It could be our thing," Caroline agreed, "Though Kol calls me Carolena for some reason so I don't recommend that. He might get jealous."

Rebekah laughed quickly, "He definitely might, gives me a reason to do it. But no matter, I want something unique. Well since you called me by the beginning of my name, I shall do the same to you, Carol."

Caroline laughed sweetly, "Reba and Carol."

"A fine duo," Rebekah said with a decisive nod, "Now, we need to get to work on our dresses! The festival is some time away, but the sooner we get started, the better."

Caroline smiled, but said nothing else.