Songs for this short story: "Chandelier" by Sia. And "Highway Don't Care" Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift.
Warning: Very emotional. Angst. Grab the tissues. Curl up with your favorite blanket. Just remember, even the worst storm passes to bring out the sun ;)
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It took him longer than he would ever care to admit to figure out just why and how Mikael was here, in New Orleans trading physical blows with him. It was obvious this had the Mystic Falls lot written all over it. He had heard the rumors; Silas had taken over Stefan's life, a group of Travelers causing problems in the small town. He could only hope that with the veil lowered, that she was safe. That without him there no harm would come to…
His thoughts were jarred back to the fight at hand as Mikael, whom he had just thrown across the room, flashed back to him pinning him against the wall. Klaus's eyes widened fearfully as a White Oak stake was poised at his chest, ready to plunge into his heart, to steal his life. Klaus took hold of Mikael's wrists, his teeth clenched with the amount of his effort, trying in vain to hold him off.
"Any last words Boy?" Mikael snared in triumph.
The moment the words left his lips, Mikael's eyes blew wide, a pained bloody grunt leaving his mouth before he fell to the floor turning grey instantly.
Klaus stared in stunned silence for a few quick and confused breaths before it registers in his head just who it was that was standing in front of him letting the heart, that once resided inside Mikael's chest, tumble out of her dainty hand with a wet thump to the floor.
"Caroline?" Klaus said in confusion as she wiped the blood off of her hand, her lip curled in disgust, on Mikael's shirt.
Straightening her body back she fluffed her hair, facing him with a smile, though he noticed that her smile did not quite reach her eyes like it would normally.
She held her hand out offering him the White Oak stake with an easygoing, "Hey."
He was amazed at the fact, startled even, that just seconds prior while figuring out that the veil must have dropped, he had wondered for a moment if Caroline was alright. Especially considering that the last time it had dropped she had been attacked by the angry group of witches' hell bent on meting out their revenge for their deaths. It was quick thinking on his part, and a touch of luck that he had arrived just in time, that he had found another use for those ridiculous graduation caps.
Klaus slowly reached his hand out, carefully taking the White Oak stake from her hand. Once it was within his own grasp, he tightened his fist around it so hard blood dripped down his wrist as he stared through hard eyes at his step-father's dead body.
His eyes shot up as Caroline cleared her throat, "So," She drug the one syllable word out as she swung her arms, "How about you put that thing away and take me for a drink?"
Klaus placed the stake in his jacket pocket before folding his hands behind his back with a smirk, "How about you tell me just why you are here Love."
"Hmm." Caroline tilted her head to the side cutely as she swayed her body back and forth, "How about you just thank me for helping you and we get away from the creepy dead body and have that drink before he comes to again?"
Klaus couldn't stop the chuckle that rose out of his chest from leaving his mouth at her adorable demeanor. He stepped over Mikael's dead body holding out his elbow for her to take, a smile lit his face as she linked her arm through his without any hesitation, "I suppose a drink is in order," He said as they walked out onto the street, "It is out thing after all."
Caroline giggled in response, "We don't have a thing."
Klaus's eyebrows furrowed as she delivered the line he had expected from her, though she smiled and teased in the way that was so true to her nature with him, her eyes held a deep fathomless lost quality to them. "So, you never did tell me why you are here Love." Klaus prodded through narrowed eyes.
"I just figured I would stop by and warn you about the whole veil being lowered thing." Caroline shrugged as he led her into a no named bar on the outskirts of town.
"That's an awfully long way to deliver a message Caroline. One I am sure a phone call would have sufficed." He grinned cheekily not believing her excuse as he pulled out a chair for her to sit in at a table off to the side of the room.
Caroline stretched her arms out in front of her on the table with her head cocked to the side, "So are you trying to tell me you would have rather that I called you instead of showing up?"
The waitress stopped by to take their orders before Klaus could respond. Once their glasses of scotch were placed on the table he took a sip before leaning back in his chair with his arm slung over the backrest, "You know how I enjoy your company Caroline." His dimples appeared for a moment as he smiled watching her duck her head with a slight blush, "But I can't shake the feeling this impromptu visit has something more behind it than just a heads up to a friend."
Caroline was saved from answering as the DJ announced they were beginning the lineup for the evening's karaoke contest. A mourn filled sigh left her as she watched the first singer begin their choice of song, "Did you know I love to sing?" She said almost absentmindedly.
Klaus decided that since she was here, right where he wanted her to be, he had the rest of the evening and hopefully the next morning as well to discover her secrets, so he would play along with her game of deflection for the time being. "No I did not, Love." He took in how her melancholy eyes watched the amateur performers, waving his hand towards the stage, "Why don't you show them what you've got then?" He suggested casually.
Caroline's head twisted back towards him, her gaze shocked at first until it turned speculative. Running her finger over the rim of her glass she looked at him from beneath her long lashes, "Ok I will." Klaus's dimples deepened with her agreement. "And I think I just found a way for you to replay me for helping you tonight."
Klaus leaned towards her with his elbows on the table, "Isn't that what the drink was for?"
Caroline shook her head back and forth sending her blonde hair flying around her with a charming grin.
"Alright Love, I'll bite. Just what is it I can do to show you my gratitude?"
"After I sing my song, you have to sing one with me." She said with a grin and a raised eyebrow, clearly bating him, sure he would decline.
He was tempted to, his eyes quickly scanned the bar checking to see if any of Marcel's followers were anywhere in sight. He found no other supernatural beings other than the two of them in the establishment. He glanced back at Caroline sitting across from him, she obviously was ready for him to tell her no, well now, wasn't she in for a shock, he thought as he leaned back in his chair once more lifting his glass to his mouth with a smirk. "Alright Love, you're on."
"Really?" Caroline's face lit up as she pulsed excited energy.
If he had known all he would have had to do to earn such a look for her was to get on a damn stage and sing a little song with her he would have done so ages ago. He tilted his glass in her direction, "If it's what the Lady wants."
Caroline clapped her hands together in glee before standing from the table, "I'll go sign us up then!"
Klaus chuckled with a shake of his head as he watched her bounce across the room to the table at the side of the make-shift stage. He was surprised when he overheard Caroline compelling the announcer to move them up on the list. Things just weren't sitting right with him over Caroline's sudden appearance in New Orleans, her refusal to give him a straight answer and now she was compelling the humans around her. Something he knew she was avidly against. He tucked this new and quite frankly disturbing knowledge away as she took the stage with a sunny smile, yet haunted eyes. Her enthrallingly beautiful voice captured his attention fully, along with the rest of the establishment.
"I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier
I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist
Like it doesn't exist
I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry
I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier"
"But I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight"
Caroline lowered the microphone to her side with her eyes closed inhaling a breath before the crowds enthusiastic applause grabbed her attention. A smile lit her face as she took a bow towards the audience. Standing tall once more she cocked an eyebrow at Klaus across the room.
He shook his head with a chuckle, downing the his drink he stood and surveyed the room as he walked to the stage, rolling his eyes, glad to see no one who could report this spectacle back to his or Marcel's followers were present. He jogged up the short set of stairs to join her on stage, the things he did for this woman stunned him to his very core. Never in his thousand years living on this Earth did he imagine himself standing on a stage preparing to involve himself in a round of karaoke. He read the name of the song on the screen in front of them, turning to her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
Caroline grinned as she handed him a microphone whispering, "If you don't know the song just follow along with the words."
Taking the microphone from her hands he leaned in and whispered back, "Don't worry about me, Love. This song has been quiet popular, I've heard it a time or two."
As the DJ was getting the song and the prompter ready Caroline whispered to him in a quick panic, "You can sing right?"
As the guitar sounded through the speakers Klaus just smirked devilishly raising the microphone to his lips and began to sing. Caroline's jaw nearly hit the floor at the sound of his voice, though his voice was nowhere near the country twang of Tim McGraw, his British accent gave the song an alluring flare that drew enchanted gasps not only from the audience, but from her as well.
Their voices blended together as if they had done this a million times before. The flirtatious energy that swirled around them was felt by all present, though the two of them noticed no one but each other.
Klaus felt the words she sang along with him resonate through him straight down into his soul.
"The highway don't care if you're coming home
But I do, I do."
"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby
I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby, baby"
As the last note faded away her shining blue eyes stayed locked on his own questioning ones. He couldn't help but feel her choice in songs had some type of deeper hidden meaning, one that, while he was nervous to, he could not wait to find out.
The roar and whistles from the crowd pulled their attention away from one another. Klaus smiled deeply as he grabbed her hand taking a bow with her. She smiled just as strongly back at him before pulling him off the stage and out of the bar.
Walking out of the bar side by side, both smiled ear to ear at the positive reception their performance had gathered. Caroline threw her arms out to her sides and tilted her head back as she twirled in circles, "That was so much fun!" Making Klaus laugh deeply at her antics.
Her giggles stopped suddenly as she stood still allowing her arms to fall slowly to her sides with her head still facing the night sky, "You can't see that many stars here."
Klaus chuckled, "Yes well, all the city lights here will do that Caroline. Even the lights of Mystic Falls drowned out the true beauty of the night sky."
Caroline looked at the sky then back at him with a wistful sigh, "I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights."
They walked side by side down the crowed sidewalk, Klaus latched onto her wistful tone, his own tone painting a beautiful picture of what he could offer her, "There is a place in Northern Finland that goes by the name the Aurora Chalet. Upon your arrival, they hand you an alarm that will sound once the Northern Lights appear. I've been there once or twice throughout the years, though regretfully now it has turn into more of a tourist destination. If you really want to enjoy them without running the risks of standing within a crowd of people I would suggest going to Tromsø in Norway. There are far less people and far more stretches of open land to take in the spectacular views."
"Yeah, maybe someday I guess." Caroline said and again Klaus was confused by her almost depressed longing tone and that lost look in her fathomless blue eyes.
Klaus cleared his throat, his concern about just what brought such a look and demeanor about her deepened with every moment he spent with her. He was determined more than ever to discover just what had her looking so helpless and empty. "While even I cannot give you the Northern Lights on such short notice," He grinned as she rolled her eyes knocking her shoulder into his, "my home is just outside of the city and there is a fabulous view that can be seen of the night sky from there." He told her almost in a hesitant question instead of the statement he meant it to be.
Caroline stopped walking and turned to gaze at his face in deep contemplation while she nibbled on her lower lip. What was running through that marvelous mind of hers he may never know as he stood there holding his breath prepared for her standard refusal.
Caroline's face relaxed at the exact moment she uttered a soft, "Alright, let's go."
Her giggles at his dumbfounded reaction were music to his ears. This was the first time this evening that her laughter actually reached her eyes.
"Well then," He said before he tilted his head down giving her a scorching look with his arm cocked out for her to take, "Let's be off then shall we?"
As soon as she took hold of him he pulled her, flashing them through the outskirts of the city, wide smiles decorated their faces as their laughter rang through the air around them.
Klaus led her into his bedroom as he released her arm, walking away from her side to open the glass doors on the other side of his room. When he turned to say something to her he discovered she was not beside him but standing by the main door to his room with her arms cross as her foot tapped incessantly, looking pointedly between him and the bed.
Klaus raised his hands, "I promise I have no ungentlemanly intentions here Love." He waved his hand behind him, "The view is best from my private balcony."
She eyed him critically before relaxing her stance and following him to the open balcony doors and out to take in the view. "You weren't kidding about having the best view were you?" She breathed out in awe over all the stars that lit the night sky over top a backdrop of a secluded wooded area.
Klaus leaned against the railing next to her, his arm brushing hers as he spoke reverently while gazing at her, "I've always prided myself on having nothing but the best of everything."
Caroline shifted her body uncomfortably, picking up on just what he was implying. Her eyes glanced around the balcony to avoid looking into his blue eyes that always seemed to strike her to her core every time. She cleared her throat hoping to find a distraction to the way he was making her feel. "Speaking of the best, there isn't really anywhere to sit and relax while we enjoy the sights. But I have an idea." She said before flashing quickly into his room, reappearing within seconds dumping an arm full of his blankets and pillows from off his bed.
He watched in amusement as she arranged the blankets in the corner of the balcony floor, resting the pillows tightly together against the wall before laying down and gifting him with a gentle smile and a wave of her hand in invitation.
Klaus licked his lips as he laid down beside her, his heart virtually beating out of his chest as she curled up against him with her head resting on his shoulder. He tried to fight down the kaleidoscope of emotions that her simple gesture had brought about within him as he slowly curled his arm around her shoulder, breathing a silent sigh of contentment when she snuggled further into his embrace.
They silently gazed at the stars together for a while, a short time later she started randomly asking him about the different constellations that he knew of. His fingers spun the locks of her golden hair between them as he lifted his other hand to point out the ones that had stuck with him throughout the centuries.
She was lulled into a peaceful daze as she listened to his voice tell her all the stories he knew of the stars in the sky. Her body burrowed deeper into his own, her head sliding down to rest on his chest, her arm curling across his abdomen.
Her movement caught him off guard causing his speech to drift away as he tentatively wrapped both his arms around her holding her closer to him and enjoying this rare bout of pleasant companionship with her.
The only sounds to be heard were their calm and steady breaths and the sounds of the nocturnal life of the swamp lands around them.
"You know, I've always wanted to take a trek through the Rainforest." Caroline's quiet voice hovered around them.
Klaus chuckled softly running his fingers up and down her spine, "What brought on that thought Love?"
Caroline shrugged her shoulders, "I guess listening to all the sounds coming from the woods maybe? That and when I was in sixth grade we each had to mentor a third grader and work on a project about the different climates and ecosystems of the world. We chose the Rainforest. Ever since I've always wanted to see and feel all the things I had learned about." She was quiet for a moment before she admitted softly as her fingers drew circles over his chest, "I've never told anyone that before."
Klaus grinned deeply towards the sky at the privilege of being the only one to know this about her. His voice was equally as soft as he said, "I'm honored to be the first you've told." He swallowed past the lump in his throat, daring to take a chance, "I'd be equally as honored if you would allow me to take you there Caroline."
"One can only dream." She said cryptically, her tone dripping with melancholy.
At first Klaus focused only on her words themselves. He was stunned into a blissful daze at the fact that she had not flat out denied him or rejected his offer. It took a while for his mind to overshadow his elated emotions and pick up on just what she had said as well as the infliction her tone had implied.
Clenching his jaw, knowing that she would put up a fight or close off from him completely, he demanded, "What is going on Caroline? You show up here out of the blue, and while I am not complaining about how we have spent our time together, I want to know what has you feeling and looking so completely lost."
When she did not respond to him he leaned his head up to look at her face, "Caroline. Answer…me." His voice started off harsh only to end on a soft sigh as he found her fast asleep in his arms.
Klaus let his head fall back down to the pillows beneath him, placing a tender kiss to the top of her golden blonde head, "I suppose there will be time for explanations in the morning."
Holding her sweet delectable body close to his, he found that there was no place on this Earth he would rather be then here, with her. No matter the cause behind her appearance this evening, no matter the reasons behind her melancholy ways, he could not help but feel thankful of the fact that she had sought him out to comfort her. That she was finally opening herself up to him in more ways than just their delightful romp in the woods outside of Mystic Falls.
He leaned the side of his face down to rest against the top of her head falling asleep listening to the sound of her breathing and reveling in the warmth her body provided.
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Klaus woke up the following morning, his heart felt full in a way it never had before as the memories of the night he spent with Caroline played through his mind. He cracked his eyes open to discover what he had already known but had hoped he was wrong, he was alone. The evidence of her presence was still there giving him hope as he stood and made his way back into his bedroom that just maybe she was still around and last night was not just a wonderful dream.
"One can only dream."
Her voice floated through his mind causing a slight panic to rise in his chest.
Klaus listened carefully throughout the house; dejectedly he discovered that he was there alone. A forlorn sigh escaped his lips as his shoulders slumped at the realization that she was long gone. His eyes narrowed as he noticed a piece of parchment laying on the center of his desk in the corner of his bedroom. He knew he had not left it there which could only mean one thing; Caroline had left him a letter. Drawing up his courage he slowly walked around the desk.
He instantly recognized Caroline's penmanship at his name scrawled across the half folded paper. Knowing her, this inconspicuous letter she had left him could say anything. This little scrap of paper could hold the power to break him or it could just possibly hold the keys to his heart.
He tried to tamper down the hope that it would read that she had only stepped out for a moment but shall return shortly. The odds were that it would read something more along the lines of last night was a mistake, don't come looking for me.
Klaus scoffed, there was a fat chance in hell that he would not. After the carefree night they had spent together there was no way in hell that he would allow her to just brush it off as nothing. He was done with her denial of the connection between them. He was done with her hiding behind smoke screens of so-called plans that did not involve him. But the most important thing to him at the moment was that he would not allow her to run from whatever demons seemed hell bent on chasing her causing the light he so loved about her to dim. He would chase her to the ends of the Earth if only to help her though whatever was happening to her.
He slowly sat himself in the high-backed leather chair behind the desk, dragging the moment of truth out. He rolled his eyes at himself for just prolonging the inevitable; it was just a damn piece of paper. Steeling himself, prepared to find that she wanted to forget their night together, the breath left him in a rush as he read her opening line,
Klaus,
Last night was one of the best, most freeing nights I have ever spent in my entire life. No, wait, that's not exactly right. It was THE best. I never knew you could be so relaxed and carefree. You should be that way more often Klaus, it suits you. I'm serious.
Thank you for showing me that side of you. Out of everything you have ever given me, from drawings to bracelets. Boyfriend (well, ex but you get the point) to mini-fridges. Gifting me with the chance to see this side of you was the best thing. And we already know you only have the best things in life. It is the one thing I will cherish the most out of everything you have ever given me. More than any other gift I have ever received from anyone.
I will never forget it, no matter where I might end up. I wish I had more time to write. I wish I could curl back up next to you and wake up as the sunrises together. I wish I had the courage to wake you up and explain. But I don't, on either count. And it wouldn't matter much in the end anyways. It would only hurt us both that much more.
I know it's not fair of me to ask, but I have something I need you to take care of for me since I am sure you are the only one that will even notice for some time yet. I need you to go to the meadow just outside of the falls back in Mystic Falls.
You'll know what to do when you get there.
I'm sorry. So very sorry to put this on you Klaus.
Thank you for thinking of me last night. You have no idea how much it meant to me that even while you were faced with danger, your thoughts drifted to me.
Thank you for showing me what you being my last love could have been like, even if it was only for a night. I hope you take the time to find a last love of your own someday. You are worth it Klaus, please don't ever forget or lose track of that.
Love,
Caroline.
Klaus jumped up dropping the letter from his hands as if it burnt him. His jaw clenched as he willed his tears to disappear as denial set it. A strangled noise rose from his throat as the agony he did not want to feel began to take over.
His eyes were drawn to the letter laying innocently on his desk. Even at a distance he could see the water marks on the paper caused by her tears.
"NO!" His painful yell echoed through the empty house.
Flashing through his home he tried to find her scent, find the path she took on her way out so that he could follow her to the ends of the earth. He found what his heart fervently prayed to be false, but knew in the back of his tormented mind to be the truth.
The trail started and ended in his room, right there at the desk that held the letter whose words were not the key to his heart as he had hoped, but the key to his damnation.
His knees hit the floor as his legs gave out from under him. An agonizing animalistic bellow of pain and rage left him uncontrollably.
Her most recent scent came from the bed she had made them on his balcony. Her face full of smiles and giggles that had not quite reached her eyes flashed through his addled brain. That lost haunted look he could not decipher but thought, stupidly thought, he had more time to discover its meaning. His watery eyes followed the path she would have walked to his desk. His anguished gaze stopped there and stared.
How long had she been awake while he slept peacefully unaware of what was about to come? How much time had he wasted by slumbering when he could have been with her? Worse still, how much time had passed between the moment she disappeared before his eyes had opened?
He clutched his chest at the sharp excruciating pain that lanced through his heart at his thoughts.
He recalled thinking just moments before reading her letter that destroyed his world that he would have followed her to the ends of the earth. He scoffed at how unknowingly correct he had been.
The veil had dropped last night. She had shown up right as he had thought of her, worried for her safety. She had stayed with him, skirting his questions on why she was here. He was too elated with her presence to think more of it, to press the issue, to put the pieces together. To see that she was giving them one night. One perfect night together. Opening up to him in a way he had only dreamed of. Laughing together, simply holding each other in their arms. He had foolishly thought that they had more time.
His head shook mechanically back and forth, "What a fool I was. A damn bloody fool." His voice cracked even though he spoke just below a whisper. The impact of what was happening swirled around him, caging him in and weighing him down in anguish.
He had no idea how long he knelt frozen with tears pouring down his face before he realized she was counting on him to take care of her…That strangled noise left him once more…her body.
Of all the people she could have spent her last night with, why him? Was it only because he had thought of her? Was he truly the only one who worried over her? Was he really the only one that could see her for who she really was? See her true value and potential?
He latched onto the fact that no matter the reason, she had chosen him. That she was relying on him to complete this heart shattering task for her.
He lifted his weak and heavy body from the floor, trying to draw on every bit of strength and determination that he had garnered over his years.
Making his way over to his desk on stiff and wobbly legs, he reverently picked up her letter carefully laying it on his bed before he pulled a framed piece of art off the wall. Wiping the stray tears from under his eyes, he opened the back of the frame to removed the priceless, but worthless to him, art from its frame to replace it with her letter.
It was worth so much more to him than anything he had ever owned. It was the first love letter he had ever received. It was from his last love.
He trailed his fingers over the glass of the frame, choking down yet another round of tears that he knew would overwhelm him if he allowed them to start again.
Turning away desolately, he snatched his phone from the side table. Closing his eyes to attempt and pull himself together, he cleared his tight throat and with a deep shaky breath he hit a contact in his list.
"Mark. Have the jet fueled and ready to depart within an hour." His voice was hoarse but he knew the man on the other end would not dare ask why, let alone mention it.
"Destination Sir?"
"Mystic Falls."
Hanging up he was thankful for small favors. Those he had on his payroll knew well enough to do as he asked without question or delay.
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He barely remembered the flight or the drive to the area surrounding the falls. But everything seemed so wretchedly clear now that he was here.
His steps were slow and shaky. Never had he hoped for something to be nothing but a trick before than in this moment. He wished that this was just her playing the distraction to his beast once more. She could jump out from behind a tree, stabbing him with a White Oak stake and he would die happily with a smile on his face knowing she was alive and well.
But that was not the case at all.
The surrounding woods were deathly quiet, as if the world was mourning the loss of something so precious and bright that not even the wind could move under its heavy oppression.
Then he spotted a bit of color that did not belong to nature itself.
There on the ground, just a few feet in front of him, lay a body on its side facing away from him. Her blonde hair fanned out behind her as if she was asleep. She looked as though any moment she would move and berate him for any number of the transgressions she felt he had caused.
Kneeling down beside her he reached out a trembling hand touching her shoulder. His eyes slamming shut on contact as he felt her stiff frigid form. With eyes still pressed shut he rolled her body over. Steeling himself he cracked his eyes open a fraction and what he was met with, even prepared as he was, had them flying open. An excruciating roar of pain left him, so loud and raw that his throat burned from the sound as his heart cracked and peeled.
Her eyes were closed, her skin veined and greyed over. An offensive earth shattering stake was lodged within her pure heart.
Cradling her ice cold body to his own he wept and cursed the Gods for taking her from him before they even had a chance to begin.
He pleaded and begged for her to be returned to him before he sat numbly on the forest floor, her motionless body clutched close to him.
He did not notice when the sun rose or when it had set only to rise once more.
His eyes stared unfocused at nothing around him, for there was nothing for him any longer. No hope of her showing up at his door. No Rome, no Paris or Tokyo. No Northern Lights. No treks through the Rainforest that she had longed to see. No more songs. No genuine beauty remained in this world with her gone. With her gone nothing but grey and black existed.
And blood…the thought whispered through his mind…gallons of blood to be spilt in attempts to smother this unparalleled agony he felt.
His heart pounded in his chest, his breath leaving through his clenched teeth in harsh burning breaths. Why should there be life and light when hers no longer existed? Never had he contemplated flipping his switch before now, never had it even drew his attention. He had always prided himself on being in control.
But why have control when she was not here? Why concern himself over trivial things as human life is she was not here to share his own life with? Why should others of the world be allowed to have joy, love and laughter when she was no longer here to do the same?
Seconds away from doing what he had vowed to himself to never be weak enough to do everything stopped.
A hummingbird was there fluttering steadily in his face. Its tiny heart puttering like a machine gun.
It was her. He knew it was her.
Reason and sanity took hold of the small functional part of his brain that was left.
She would not want this. Blood spilt in her name. Her mother. She would want her mother to know.
After reverently carrying her cold body to his vehicle, he placed her across the back seat ready to cover her with the blanket from the truck. He stopped for a moment staring at the stake still lodged in her chest. Gnashing his teeth together he removed the offending item from her chest, tossing it from his hand to the floorboard of the car. Tucking the blanket around her body he leaned down squeezing his eyes shut, placing a tender kiss to her forehead before covering her face as well.
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Klaus pulled up in front of the Forbes residence parking his car next to the curb. He slumped back into his seat, trying and failing miserably to find the proper way to explain this to her Mother. He rubbed both of his temples with his eyes closed, thinking that he had no idea how he had made it this far, how he was even functioning at this point. He could only surmise it was the fact that this was his last gift for her. He gulped harshly at the thought, still warring within himself that she was even gone.
Klaus released a pent up sigh, Caroline was counting on him to handle this. She was right to apologize to him for putting him through this. The last time he had felt this type of suffering was when he had carried another loved one's dead body back to its mother. He shut the thoughts down as soon as they started. He could not afford to think of Henrik right now. His eyes drifted towards the house on his right, not when he had to attempt to cope with telling the Sheriff of Caroline's death.
Klaus somehow found himself standing at the front door of the Forbes home, taking what was an attempt at a deep calming breath, he raised his fist knocking twice.
The door opened reviling her Mother dressed in her uniform.
Liz crossed her arms over her chest leaning against the doorframe, "Klaus." She said with a nod of her head, "You look like hell."
He breathed out a humorless chuckle with a quick shake of his head, so this is where Caroline had got her habits of speaking bluntly from.
The phone ringing from inside drew the Sheriff's attention. Moving to answer the phone she spoke to Klaus over her shoulder, "I have to take this but come on in. Not that you need an invitation since you've already been invited in."
"Thank you Sheriff Forbes. Though I would never intrude upon your hospitality."
She raised an eyebrow at him as she picked up the phone.
Klaus chuckled, "Well again anyhow."
Klaus wandered into the living room, not paying attention to the phone call happening in the kitchen. Though once he took a look around he wished he had stayed on the porch. Here in this room he was surrounded not only by pictures of Caroline at different stages of her life, but her scent was still strong here. Catching his trembling lip between his teeth, he took sharp fast breaths trying to center himself so as not to lose it before he had even told the Sheriff of her only daughter demise.
Liz's footsteps echoed into the room just as he mercifully gain a hold on his riotous emotions.
"Sorry about that, with everything that went down last night this town is still picking up the pieces."
"I can come back later if you are needed elsewhere." Klaus cringed at himself, he knew it was a cop-out, but if he could delay this forever he would.
Liz waved her hand in dismissal, "No it's fine. Besides Caroline told me you would be stopping by so I've just been waiting for you that way I wouldn't get too tied up with official police business." She laughed, "You know Caroline, when she gives you a task to handle you have to follow her instructions to the letter or risk a full out Caroline reaming."
Klaus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, speaking slowly, "Yes I am well aware." Shaking his head, "I'm sorry, but you said Caroline told you to expect me?"
"Yeah last night while all hell was breaking loose." Liz shook her head and laughed, "She came barreling in the house yelling for me. She damn near broke my bones with the way she hugged me."
Klaus bit his tongue, she had come to tell you goodbye, he fought down the urge to say.
"She started rambling away about all these things she wanted to do in her life. About how many wrong choices she had made. About promises she should have never asked certain people to make." She told him looking directly at him pointedly.
Klaus's eyes widened as his mouth fell open then snapped shut. He wanted nothing more than to ask what else Caroline had said to her mother. He was beyond grateful that there was not a need, as the Sheriff continued to explain with prompting.
"Yeah, she told me about the two of you. A little more than I cared to ever know as her mother." She grumbled under her breath bringing a blush to Klaus's face.
Liz sighed, "She started flying through the house packing up a box of things, ranting about how she had to get out of this town for a while. About how she had to see you." She raised a brow looking straight at him again. "All of a sudden out of nowhere her head shot up. Next thing I knew she was closing that box up," She said as she pointed to the box sitting on the floor next to the front door, "Saying there wasn't time, she had to leave now and that when you stopped by to make sure you took that box with you."
Klaus's thoughts ran rampantly as he stared at the box Caroline clearly wanted him to have. Why would she tell these things to her mother? Why not tell her the truth? Was this not what she had sent him here for? Of course not, he scoffed to himself. Caroline would want to save those she loved from the pain and heartache her death would cause. Did she not know that by covering this up it would only hurt them more in the end? And why have him shoulder this horrible burden on his own? Did she really care so little for him that she would take away the chance, whether he would use it or not, to share his grief with those closest to her?
"So I get that Caroline took off in a hurry, but is she with you now? Why didn't she come inside too?"
"No she is not with me." Klaus nearly spat.
Liz looked at him strangely, as if wondering why he was having this type of reaction. He was tempted to tell her just for spite. Only she spoke before he could.
"Look, I'm not sure what is going on with you two exactly. And I know for a fact that her friends will not be as…supportive of her as she is with them, but you can count me in your corner Klaus."
Klaus's head moved quickly from the box to look at Caroline's Mother, blinking in stunned silence.
Liz chuckled, "Yeah shocked the hell out of me too." She stepped closer to him, placing her hand on his arm. His gaze flickered down to the place of contact and back up to her eyes in shocked awe. "From what I could catch from her fast paced rambles that I was able to piece together last night after she flashed out of her like the hounds of hell were biting at her feet, was that she really truly cares for you." At his skeptical look she explained, "Come on, I've been a police officer for a long time and I know how to read people. If she didn't have real feelings for you she never would have told me all that she did. You know I asked her one question before she left, did she really think that you were worth it. Do you want to know what she told me?"
Klaus tried to control the trembling of his lower lip and the tears that threatened to spill over from his eyes, "What did she say?" He croaked out.
Liz smiled in awe over his reaction. Caroline definitely wasn't lying when she said there was so much more to Klaus then meets the eye and that he deserved a chance. "She told me that you were the only person in the entire world that ever put her first. You made her want to live. To really live her life for herself. That she wished more than anything she hadn't wasted so much time hiding from her true desires just to appease her friends. That the events of last night made her see what she was too blind to see before, what she was running from. That you were worth anything and everything."
Klaus swallowed past that ever present lump in his throat, a single tear made its way past his defenses and trickled down his stubble covered cheek.
Liz drew herself up to her intimidating police Sheriff height, folding her arms over her chest she asked him sternly, "Now, my question for you is, how do you feel about my daughter?"
Klaus battled down all the raging emotions rushing through him, clearing his throat he told her in a tone that showed his passion and his unwavering emotions when it came to Caroline, "I love her, Sheriff."
Liz's mouth dropped open with a surprised gasp. Her eyes searched his, even as his tone left no room for doubt to cloud her mind over his confession.
She walked over to the box picking it up and then turning placing it in his outstretched arms with a smile, "Ok then. Keep her happy alright? And I know she said she just needs some space from everything, time to be with you without any of the drama or influence from home and all that. She told me that she ditched her phone too, so could you tell her I love her? That I miss her and to call me when you both get back into civilization?"
Klaus swallowed down the emotions at the beautiful picture the Sheriff's words painted of a world that would never exist for him. Unable to speak without fear of breaking down he simply nodded his head and walked towards the front door, ready to leave this Hell and step into the next one of her dead body resting in the backseat of his car.
"Oh and Klaus?"
He grinded his teeth together and stopped, he wanted nothing more than to get out of here. He needed to get out of here before the Sheriff figured out that something was just not right. Plastering a pleasant smile on his face he turned in the open door with one foot on the porch ready to flash away from whatever she had to say next that would more than likely cut through him with the force of a thousand blades.
"Yes Sheriff?"
"I think it would be alright if you started to call me Liz." She said with a smirk.
Klaus nodded his head in response, "I would be honored Sher…" He cleared his throat, "Liz."
She smiled softly and nodded in return before closing the door behind him, allowing him a moment to close his eyes and grip the box tightly to his body.
Klaus placed the box in the front seat of the car, not daring to look towards the backseat and see the harsh reality of his world. He drove mindlessly to the airfield where his crew was waiting and ready to take him back to New Orleans.
As he arrived two men came to the car, ready to assist him in carrying what he had with him to the plane. It wouldn't be the first time they carried a wrapped up body aboard. Before their hands could touch her he shouted, "Keep your filthy paws off of her! I will handle this myself go make use of yourselves and ready for takeoff."
Once they scurried out of his sight he moved robotically, carrying her body first into the plane laying her gently across the seats before flashing back out for the box. He set the box down and sat next to it on the seats facing directly in front of where her body laid. His body leaned forward, elbows pressing onto his knees, his head dropped into his waiting hands as his fingers gripped and pulled at his hair.
He could not say whether the takeoff was smooth or rough, as he felt none of it. After what felt like hours, but was probably close to mere minutes, the plane hit a pocket of turbulence causing the box beside him to shift, hitting him in his side.
"Why are you doing this to me?" He rasped out as he lifted his bloodshot eyes to her prone body.
He did not want to open the box. He did not want to know what she had so obviously left for him. Running his tongue over his lips, he groaned as he lost the fight to leave the box alone and reached over tearing the tape from the top.
The instant the box opened her scent engulfed him, making him close his eyes in painful defeat. Inside he found a treasure trove of all things Caroline, along with a box filled with nothing but the cruelest pain he had ever felt.
It was filled with every item that ever held any type of connection between the two of them.
The blue dress he had gifted her with for his Mother's Ball.
The headpiece she had worn during the Decade Dance.
A piece of his ripped shirt from the one and only time they had ever made love.
The empty box that once held the bracelet she had so spitefully toss back at his feet.
Surprisingly, much to his awe and shock, the tag that simply read, From Klaus, was there. Along with the invitation to the Ball.
Next he uncovered a picture frame laying upside down in the box, not daring to breathe he lifted it with a shaking hand flipping it over to find the drawing her had gifted her held within it.
He stared at it in speechless wonder. She held this in such high esteem that she deemed it necessary to place it in a frame.
Maybe he was wrong. Looking around him at the precious items that told their story he realized that he could have been wrong in his earlier thoughts while standing in her home with her Mother.
Maybe she didn't just come to him to spare her loved ones the pain of her death. Maybe she came to him because he…he gulped down; trembling at the thought…maybe she came because he was one of her loved ones as well.
"Why are you haunting me Caroline? What is the purpose of all this if you are not here and will never be here again?" His voice cracked as his tears fell for what seemed like a never ending stream of throbbing anguish.
His mind wandering as he wept over her loss, clutching the frame to his chest as if it would hold him together. He had heard of spells throughout the years of resurrecting loved ones, but to the best of his knowledge, and he counted himself as one of the most intelligent minds in the world, they were lost in time. The odds of finding such a spell were slim to none. More so, they would be next to impossible to find. Harder even than waiting for a doppelganger to be born then scouring the Earth to find her.
In short, it was a hopeless endeavor.
Caroline was lost to him forever.
He growled as the plane hit another bout of turbulence making that blasted box of torture knock into him once more.
He set the frame on the seat next to him, ready, no matter how childish is was, to tear the bloody thing to shreds. He yanked the box into his hands scoffing as he felt something inside it shift. What knew form of torture did she have in store for him next?
Angrily he slammed the box to the floor at his feet, not even looking as he reached in to pull out an object wrapped in a white cloth. The scent of her perfume hit his nostrils as he found that the cloth was the wrap she had worn the night of the Ball as they spoke by the horse out in front of his home.
Growling he harshly unwrapped the object, mentally cursing her for all that she was putting him through.
"A book Love. Really? You honestly think I would care to read…"
His breath stopped.
His bloodshot blue eyes widened.
His heart skipped a beat before nearly pounding out of his chest.
A wickedly proud and triumphant grin grew over his haggard face.
With his head still facing the book in his hands, Klaus's eyes flicked up to glance at her covered body, "So much more than a pretty face, Love."
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I eagerly await your words, you know, cause I am a great big nerd! ;)
