Welcome back and here is the continuation of the last chapter. We are still on the same night at the club as before. Enjoy!

Thanks as always to all the reviews/follows/favorites/guest.


Atlanta, Georgia

It was just after dawn and you could still see a faint orange glow of the sun rising and peaking behind the group of trees. Katherine never understood how Caroline could spend hours staring off into the vast wilderness but now she got it. You really could get lost in the serenity of it all and that was what she had done for the past several hours. Katherine sat half convincing herself that nothing was wrong and the other half willing herself to grab the first flight out. With a heavy sigh Katherine stood off the couch and found her way to the closet in Caroline's bedroom to rummage for something to pack her clothes in. Yes, she was heading to the death trap that was New Orleans so if she was headed to her death Katherine was going to go out swinging and looking as hot as ever. A horrible canvas bag was shoved to the back of the walk in closet under a pile of blankets.

"Good enough." Katherine mumbled to herself as she scrunched her nose.

She sauntered out of Caroline's room and made her way down the hall to her unofficial bedroom that she spent most of her time in. Katherine spent so much time here she had a full wardrobe and complete bathroom full of every feminine care products you could ever dream of. Katherine spent the better part of six hundred years alone except for the past fifteen that was spent travelling with her misfit family. It was impossible to believe that how close to death she truly was once. Death due to old age and Katherine laughed at her wayward thoughts. What a anticlimactic way for Katherine Pierce to die after centuries of surviving. The only sign that the horrible event had ever happened was one single strand of curly grey hair that feel down the side of her face. She had long since stopped coloring the grey strand to match the rest of her perfect brunette curls and now wore the grey strand as a badge of honor. It proved that nothing could keep Katerina Petrova down, no psycho thousand year old hybrid or ancient hidden cure.

Klaus Mikealson. Her lip curled into a sneer at just thinking his name and her stomach wanted to deposit all over the hardwood floors at the thought of Caroline getting into bed with him. Even after the warnings that Katherine had been sending her over the past weeks Caroline still would not move past her "friendship" with the Hybrid. After a not so cordial text from her bestie about dropping the Klaus subject, Katherine finally let it go ... for now. She would give her a few years once they were back on the road to start mocking her again. The Mikealson men did have a alluring appeal to them and Katherine was guilty of her own fling with a certain Original brother. She let out a deep growl and slammed her almost full bag on the bed and flopped down next to it.

Elijah Mikealson. Now that was one man that could do things to her like no one in six centuries could. He was also one man that helped his brother hunt her down and left her standing alone with his rejection. They had met on and off for years in secret until Katherine gathered the courage to finally put all her feeling on the line for Elijah. She wanted a life free from Klaus and to finally start her eternity of what Katherine thought was happiness but he could not. Family above all and that was how it always would be. She was about to take another swing at the furniture when she froze mid step as she heard the sound of the front door creak with her advanced hearing.

There was silence for what felt like decades as Katherine focused around her until she heard the floor boards give away under shoes that crept silently threw the downstairs living room. Anyone that was familiar with the three vampires that stayed in this house were well aware that Enzo and Caroline had went out of town so no one would come by, especially without announcing themselves. That only meant that the now two distinct foot steps she heard were that of an enemy and that sent Katherine immediately into survival mode. She silently pulled her heels off and tossed them on the bed to keep her own foot steps hidden from the intruders. There were light mumbles between the two of them and she only assumed they had to be vampires because of how silent they are. Werewolves and a few witches hung around the countryside but none that they had made a enemies of.

Katherine flashed as silently as she could across the room and paused in front of a dresser that held two wooden candle holders. She grabbed both and quickly snapped the ends off for a makeshift stake. "One for each." Katherine smirked to herself as she made her way to the door that was still half open, walking heal to toe. The spell that was used on Katherine to remove the effects of the cure weakened her so she no longer had her full six hundred years of strength but she was every bit as sturdy as at least a three hundred year old. That was all she needed, plus she was Katherine freaking Pierce and there was no way two pathetic vampires would take her out on her own turf. She stepped out the door as she heard the intruders steps head deeper into the house downstairs and into a den as their voices became barely audible.

"Where the hell is it?" Vampire one stated. "It won't be in a library."

"She's a chick, she has to have a journal or something around talking about it. I doubt she has it kept next to the milk." Vampire two replies.

"This isn't something that you openly write about and leave hanging around. He sent us here on a hunch and it's just a waste of time." Vampire one huffed as he threw a book down on a chair with newspapers ans sent them papers flying down to the floor.

"Relax OK. We are supposed to be in and out without someone knowing we are here, so don't make a mess. We can't make it to New Orleans empty handed." Vampire two pointed a finger to his friend.

Katherine was just outside the door with her back to the wall, listening intently. With every word her anger was elevating as she knew what these two had come for. There was nothing else of value but what they did not expect was Katherine being here. "Time for my entrance." She laughed to herself as she stepped forward.

"Why don't you boys take this with you?" Katherine purred as she stood at the doorway and both vampires whipped around in shock. With a blink of an eye, the makeshift stake went sailing across the room and landed nicely into the chest of one of the vampires. He barely had time to gasp as his body feel limp to the floor. Her smirk never faltered as Katherine swayed her hips closer to the remaining vampire and spun the last makeshift stake in her hands.

"I already know why you two are here and your right about it being a lost cause. Do you really think we would keep it with us?" The vampire stood frozen and refused to speak. "Are you going to actually speak or are you like one of those bad guys in spy movies that has a pill tucked under his tongue that your brainwashed to swallow so you don't reveal any secrets?"

"If you know why I'm here then you know I can't leave empty handed ... You'll do just fine." He cocked his head to the side and the smile only grew on Katherine's face.

"As you already know I can't let you leave here alive. So ... Who sent you from New Orleans?"

"No one special." The nameless vampire shrugged.

"As fun as this little exchange is, I do have more pressing matters to get to. I honestly don't need you to tell me who sent you because I also have a few friends in New Orleans. It's not hard to guess." Katherine shot the stake just inches shy of the vampires heart and he fell to his knees. His back slammed against a mahogany bar top as her hand grasped his throat. "What I want to know is why you want it so bad."

"Destroy it." He yelped in pain as Katherine rammed the stake closer to his heart. "They shouldn't be allowed to use it. No one should give him that kind of power."

"What are you talking about?" Katherine greeted her teeth but was thrown across the room into a bookshelf, books clattered to the ground. The second vampire flashed over to Katherine, stake in hand but it was too late. She snapped his wrist forcing him to drop the stake and her hand blurred to remove his heart without effort. Katherine's triumph was short lived as she shot to her feet to prepare for the other nameless vampires attack but found the room empty.


New Orleans

"So is someone going to start talking?"

Rebekah spoke with venom in her voice as she looked between Enzo and Caroline. It stung the most that Caroline couldn't trust her enough to confide in her because whatever this diabolical plan was, she could handle it. You don't survive a thousand years by being weak and simple minded. Caroline sat on the edge of a oversize leather armchair across from Enzo that was shooting her looks as if they were having a secret conversation between them. Caroline raised her head to take in Rebekah's cold stance, leaning against the balcony railing with her arms crossed. Caroline gulped the vodka shots from the bottle Kol had left over as he had since taken his human girls to enjoy the rest of their night elsewhere. At least that was one Original she didn't have to worry about right now but that still left three.

"What's there to say? What I have planned wasn't going to stay hidden forever, I was waiting for the right time. It isn't something that can be easily executed and needs to be done precisely." Caroline stole another glance at Enzo who was more than upset. The two of them never kept secrets, there was never a need to until now.

"Ah yes!" Klaus exclaimed suddenly as he rose to his feet and walk about the room. "These famous plans you speak of that are so secret you need to protect us from them. So secret you never once mention them and I could go as far as to say they don't even exist."

"How could I possibly benefit from making fake plans?" Caroline spat out in Klaus' direction.

"Our family is very strong and could be a useful alliance to have against any enemies." Klaus slowly stalked to the chair Caroline sat in and leaned both hands on each armrest so he could hang his head close to her. "You could be stringing us along so we could do your bidding for you while you slip away into the night once the coast is clear. It wouldn't be the first time that someone tried to use our family for protection."

"Niklaus I do believe you are being a bit unreasonable." Elijah tried to interject but he was simply ignored.

"Seriously?" Caroline sent a mocking laugh back to Klaus as she leaned away from him into the chair. "Do you stay awake at night thinking of ridiculous things to say to me or do they just come naturally to you? If you think I really need to hide behind you or your family for protection, you are even more arrogant than I thought you were. I have done nothing but fight for the past twenty five years and I will always continue to fight. When the time comes and I tell all of you what is going on, you can decide if you want to help or not. Although ... I have a very sneaky suspension that you will in fact help me."

"I don't appreciate secrets Caroline, especially among friends." Klaus emphasized the word as she only assumed it referred to their previous conversation downstairs at the bar.

"It's a good thing were not friends then." Caroline couldn't miss the tiniest hint of pain across his face. "Certainly not after the lack of an apology you gave earlier."

"If you can't handle to truth Sweetheart that isn't my fault." Klaus smirked as his eyes were locked with hers.

Caroline crossed her arms and the anger was slipping back to her now. Klaus might have this unnerving way of distracting her but it didn't magically brainwash her into forgetting what he had said. She could almost let go of the fact that he had his hand around her throat because lets face it, they both knew that wouldn't kill Caroline. All week his siblings and Enzo had further emphasized the fact that if Klaus wanted her dead she would long be rotting in a grave right now and she wasn't prepared to think of the reasoning behind that. Caroline even knew the false accusations he threw out at her for being the cause of his death were not true. Klaus needed someone to blame and Caroline just happened to be the one in his eye line at the time. The comments regarding her father stung too close to her heart and Caroline cursed herself for still being so sentimental. Nearly three decades later and she still clung to the past like some silly human. Caroline's father put her threw over two years of torture, not included what still went on today but that didn't erase their sixteen years of memories together.

"I hope I'm not interrupting a lovers spat?"

Caroline snapped her head around to see the male voice that came behind her and focused on the smug face of the King of New Orleans, Marcel, with four vampires trailing behind him. It took every ounce of strength in Caroline to not flash across the room and rip out his heart. Klaus had straightened his posture and took a few steps forward, almost blocking her view of the King, while his siblings fell into step with him.

"I heard your brother rented out the entire VIP, I expected a bigger party than this. I guess even Kol has to grow up sometime." Marcel smirked and his eyes slipped back down to Caroline who was still in the armchair. Klaus planted a fake smile to his face as he spoke,

"Well it was a bit more lively earlier but our guest decided to cut the evening short. I'm sure you will see them again since you still insist on having us followed throughout the city."

"Come on, Klaus. You know as the King of the Quarter I always like to know what people are up to. Especially now that Quarter's newest vampire has been running wild." Marcel turned his head to the side to take in Caroline, "Where have you been girl? I've been looking for you all week long?"

"Did you not get the gift I sent you? I'm sure I can always find another vampire's heart to rip out." Caroline raised her eyebrows and moved from the chair to stand next to Rebekah, who stood next to Klaus. Marcel's eyes follow along her form and the urge to slap him was getting stronger.

"Now that's not very nice." Marcel smiled but you could see the tense jaw behind it. "There are rules in my city that need to be followed, including not killing vampire's. Do you have any idea what happens to a vampire that kills another vampire? They take a long desiccated nap for the next century."

"My apologies, I just don't take kindly to being called a bitch over and over again. I felt it was necessary to teach your friends some manors since clearly you have none." Caroline flashed her Miss Mystic Falls smile back at Marcel.

"Marcel is there something you needed because if not you must be going." Elijah smoothly intercepted.

"OK. I did want to stop by and give you this." Marcel extended a white envelope, one to Caroline and another to Klaus.

"An invitation to a party?" Klaus raised his eyebrows.

"Black tie of course." Marcel pressed his hands together and made his way closer to Caroline. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, Caroline. That day walker you killed was a new guy so maybe I can overlook what you did. I might even be able to overlook the vampire your little brunette friend took down in Georgia."

"What?" Caroline stepped towards Marcel but was held in place by Enzo who had flash from his seat on the couch and now had his hand firmly on her upper arm.

"You got mad quick." Marcel was oozing arrogance. "Don't worry she isn't dead and I didn't send my men to kill her either. They were just as surprised as I was that she was even there. You are surrounded by secrets and I just can't help but want to know more about you. For example, why is it this sassy little brunette was left behind? It seems a bit unusually that you would take one friend with you but leave the other alone and defenseless."

"If you call her defenseless then you clearly don't know her and judging by the dead vampire, she can take care of herself." Caroline had to laugh at anyone calling Katherine Pierce weak. "So you think you can just traipse threw my house anytime you please? If you don't want anymore of your vampires killed, I suggest you keep them far away from me or any friends of mine. Whatever it is your looking for, you won't find it."

"Oh I will, I can be very persistent and I have a couple tricks up my sleeve."

Caroline shrugged herself away from Enzo and stepped to Marcel. They were just within a foot of one another as Marcel's vampire lackeys stepped forward, two on each side of him. The Originals stood just behind her and Enzo stopped at her side. Caroline glanced at Enzo briefly from the corner of her eye and he nodded his head towards the two vampires on the left of Marcel, almost unseen unless you knew what to look for. In a flash Enzo and Caroline both shot forward to each pair of vampire on either side of Marcel and ripped the hearts from their chest simultaneously. Marcel's entire body tensed but he made no more towards either vampire.

Klaus' eyes took in Caroline's appearance and she was stunning even with both her hands dripping in the blood of her enemies. There were small streaks of blood that ran across her outer thigh from where her fingertips grazed and Klaus licked his lower lip. He couldn't help but will the others to leave so he could have her all to himself. The vitality and power she exuded was that of a Queen and Klaus couldn't help but see her at his side as they both ruled the Quarter. His fantasy was broken by Caroline stepping forward with one blooded finger extended towards Marcel,

"I am only going to say this one final time, so I hope you and any other friends of yours are listening. When I see my little brunette friend again and if there is so much as one curl out of place on her head, I will come for you. I will take your head clean off and leave it hanging in the Quarter so your followers can see how pathetic their former King truly was."

"I suggest you listen mate, I think she means it." Klaus grinned with delight as he strolled around Marcel to follow after a set of long legs and golden blonde hair.


The bathroom sink was stained pink and Caroline scrubbed her hands but they were still left with a faint red tint to them. After she gave her warning to Marcel, she fled out of the club and flashed back to her hotel room. Her room was simple with just a small bathroom, bedroom, and balcony but Caroline became fond of it. The balcony gave her a wonderful view of the Quarter with the canal flouting in the background and it held a bench that she often sat on the past several days. The tiny dress fell to the bathroom floor and would probably need to be burned since it now held splatters of dead vampire blood. Caroline walked from the bathroom in just a set of lace panties and started to rummage threw her luggage when she found a t shirt to toss on. A small blue cooler sat in the corner near the door and Caroline had vampire gitters as she called them with so many emotions flowing in her veins.

She tore the blood bag open with her teeth but as she started to feed she felt another presence in the room. She flashed to the balcony doorway but was caught by the arms of the hybrid she was wanting to avoid, hence the flashing away from the club. Caroline went to step back but Klaus held his grip firm while slid his hands down her back to rest on her rib cage. Every ounce of self control was being used to not lean forward and collapse against his chest. Caroline was strong and could handle any enemy that came at her but it was exhausting to keep up the hard exterior day after day. Sure she had Katherine and Enzo but someplace buried deep down hide under lock and key, Caroline wanted another type of companionship. In true Caroline Forbes form, she wanted the most sadistic, murderous creature there was and it scared her to think that he might actually want the same from her.

"Please let go of me." Caroline's voice was only a octave above a whisper but Klaus dropped his hands, still keeping his body close.

"I wanted to be sure you made it back safely, seeing how you never gave me the time to offer our home to you. With Marcel out for blood you really shouldn't be alone."

"I can handle myself perfectly." Caroline scoffed and stepped away from him. "I don't see why you care so much for my safety yet you threaten and ridicule me the first chance you get."

"Are we really back to this again?" Klaus threw his hands up in a exasperated motion. "Yes, I have a temper that tends to get away from me but I would never intentionally hurt you."

"So that makes everything vanish into thin air?" Caroline ran her hands over her face. "I can't deal with this right now Klaus. I have the King of the French Quarter with an army of vampires just waiting for me to slip up so they can kill me, not to mention every other hunter on the planet that wants to kill me to avenge my fathers death. Oh yeah, did I mention that there still is a witch screwing around with my head? On top of all of that, I now have to worry whether or not one of my closest friends is still alive. Excuse me if I don't have time to be your booty call right now, Klaus."

"Have you not noticed my affections towards you because you can't be that blind. I know my siblings have spent the past week trying to get you to see that because they have done the same to me." Klaus clinched his jaw and spoke, "Do you think I need this kind of weakness for my enemies to take advantage of?"

"I'm not some helpless little girl that needs to be locked away, Klaus." Caroline stepped just within inches of Klaus. "This is what I don't have time for. I can't spend my time thinking about you and how you feel towards me, not when I need to be making a strategy on how to kill that good for nothing bastard Marcel or making sure my friends are kept safe. We can all work together to solve this problem with Marcel and maybe even my hunter problems but that's it. We need to keep this as platonic as possible."

Klaus' gaze bored into hers as he moved forwards slightly to place both his hands in her hair. That golden blonde hair he has spent the past week sketching just to have the image be released from his mind only to have it return again. Without thinking, Klaus lower his lips to hers and the light hum Caroline made caused his body to react and dip his tongue into hers. Caroline's perfect blood stained hands slid over his chest and the intense sensation he once felt was back again. The kiss stopped abruptly as Klaus rested his forehead to hers and gazed into her eyes as he spoke,

"Your reaction states otherwise but as you wish, Love."

Caroline parted her lips to speak but Klaus was already gone.


The fire crackled and snapped in the fireplace as Marcel sat with his arms resting on his knees. The evenings images played on repeat in this head as he went from having the upper hand to four night walkers dead. He was made a fool of and his plan was to make his move during the party he was throwing but Caroline's reaction tonight was a cause for retaliation. The foe party Marcel was planning was only a few days away but the King did not let things go unpunished. A soft buzz came from the table to his right and Marcel grasped his cell phone to see if it was a confirmation message.

"It's done. The fire is set."


Author's Note:

Marcel gets his retaliation and we get this war started officially next chapter, it has been kind of simmering until now. Also, sneaky Marcel has a plan for his "party" but what about the others? How could a Original not have a plan of their own cooking. Plus Katherine on her way to New Orleans finally and I hope you enjoyed your big chunk of Katherine this chapter.

Question:

Do you guys want to see Kalijah in this story as well as Klaroline? I have had a few people ask about them but I'm not sure how far I am going to take it. I have plans for them to talk privately but if the majority of you guys want it, I can work it into the story. It won't effect my main storyline.

Please review and favorite :)