So it's been longer than normal for my updates, I am very sorry to those of you that stuck with me.
(1) I had some setback financially and had to spend more time working. Trust me, if I could get paid to write FF I would be here ALL DAY! I also did start a new twitter account (link in profile) so feel free to add me and we can chat it up and you can get updates if you get too worried about me.
(2) I also had a major rewrite with this chapter and tossed out most of it. So you could have had a chapter last week but it would have been crap and I like how this version went better. Plus it's 8,000 words so I didn't skimp.
Thanks to all followers/favs/reviewers/guest ... And a happy holidays to all... Also happy early birthday to JordanBear as well :)
Enjoy!
Bonnie walked several blocks to Sophie apartment as they made random chit chat about nothing in particular. The neighborhood was a more modernized part of the Quarter, a large brick building with multiple stories but it didn't have the same ancient feel as most of the old buildings. They were about to part ways when Sophie stopped Bonnie with her words,
"Who is Caroline exactly or I mean to Klaus at least? She just seemed to show up out of nowhere and will crazy abilities." Sophie asked with a timid voice. "I have heard dozens of stories about Klaus Mikealson and none of them have involved him having friends."
"I don't know exactly what is going on between those two but I can tell you it is more than friends and certainly more physical." Bonnie wanted to laugh at the other witches confused and slightly appalled face. "I have a very good assumption that she is one of the few people to keep Klaus Mikealson in place."
"She has a ruthless side that puts the rest of the coven on edge. Caroline nearly snapped my sister's wrist off earlier and she didn't blink twice about it." Sophie added.
"Caroline only did that because your coven attacked first and she also offered to heal her immediately." Bonnie spoke sternly. "She isn't like Klaus, Caroline can be trusted to keep her word. If she said she would help you find the missing witches, she will. "
Sophie nodded her head in understanding before turning to enter her apartment building. Bonnie watched her leave as she fished out her cell phone from her back pocket and hit one of the contacts. After a few rings the male voice she needed came across the other side,
"Hey I think we need your help. Rebekah and Caroline are about to go off to do something stupid and they could use our help." Bonnie paused to let the other voice speak and shook her head slightly to the voice, "Good, bring 'em."
"So we're just going to waltz right in there and demand the witch on a silver platter? You're such a genius." Katherine's voice conveyed a fraudulent tone and her eyes rolled so hard they could have made it across the street.
"And what would you suppose we do, peasant girl?" Rebekah stopped in the middle of a not so busy street to cross her arms and her head lifted higher, looking her nose down upon the Doppelganger. It was no secret these two loathed one another but Caroline failed to realize how much so until this moment as she stood between her two closest friends. The three remaining vampires were on their way to the O'Connell church that Marcel's nightwalkers stayed in.
"Well for starters cupcake I would at least case the building first. You know see who and how many are inside or maybe get a little insider information from one of this Marcel guys lackeys. You remember you can compel vampires right?" Katherine crossed her arms right back at the Original.
"If your scared of a little fight Darling you can take a seat on the curb with the other children." Rebekah happily let a side smirk come to her lips.
"We all aren't a thousand years old or have stealthy mental abilities."
"Oh my goodness shut up!" Caroline rang her fingers through her hair and dropped them like dead weight to her sides. "I've heard this for ten minutes now and I'm so close to taking of my own ears, Van Gogh style."
"Perhaps you should think twice about the friends you make, Caroline. You shouldn't lower yourself to such trash." Rebekah's held her icy glare.
"We can't all be a spoiled, love starved princesses who would bend over for any man that said I love you ..." Katherine sneered but her remaining insights were cut off by being slammed against the brick wall in a nearby alley. Rebekah had the curly brunettes throat in a iron grip as Caroline huffed while following after them.
"You'll do well to keep that tongue of yours still if you wish to keep it." Rebekah's words dripped with animosity as her other hand slipped with no effort on her part into Katherine's chest. "My brother seems to be delaying his torture session with you but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun of my own." The hand around Katherine's heart twists slightly to the right causing her to gasp in pain once more.
"Please tell me I don't have to give another speech to another Mikealson about not killing my friends?" Caroline scolded Rebekah as she now stood at her side. "Klaus gave me twenty four hours before he decides if he is going to kill Katherine and that twenty four hours extends to the immediate family as well. Let go of her."
Rebekah had no intentions of killing the Doppelganger, her relationships with Caroline and Enzo were worth much more than this wasted peasant girl. She wanted to remind Katherine who she was talking to and no one speaks to an Original with that level of disrespect. Rebekah's hand slipped from her chest and her other hand opened widely to drop Katherine to the ground. Rebekah inspected the blooded hand with faint sickness as she shook the loose blood but all it did was splatter blood across her cream colored silk shirt.
"A ripped out heart would be to swift of a death for the Doppelganger." Rebekah eyed Katherine who know stood on her feet, trying to straighten the hole in her shirt. "Beside Nik would have me back in a box quicker than I could run. So who's side are you taking?"
"No one, we're on the same side here." The two enemies gave a simultaneous scoff that interrupted Caroline's statements. "We all want Marcel dead for one reason or another, so we need to work together to find his witch. We take the witch, we take Marcel's secret weapon and all he has left are a bunch of vampires."
"Why are you so insistent on getting along with everyone all of a sudden? First with Bonnie and now Rebekah and I. What next, sleepovers with the Salvatore brothers because I have already been there and done both." Katherine raised her eyebrows with a challenging stance.
"Because I don't need anyone else that I know to die, OK." Caroline eyes fixated on Katherine. "Everyone around me dies at some point in my life and it is always my fault each time. It's nothing short of a miracle that you and Enzo seem to have dodged that fate but for how long? So if working with people that I don't want anything to do with helps keep those I love safe, well so be it."
"Death is part of being a vampire, Caroline" Rebekah stepped a few inches closer, "Is that why you won't get closer to Nik because you think he is just going to end up dead?" A light bulb of understanding crossed her face.
"Don't make this about your brother. Myself, my mother, my father, and Elena all died in Mystic Falls, just not all of us got to come back. Then I finally convince Matt and Jeremy to leave so they can start a new life, supernatural free, but they too end up with wooden stakes in their necks. All those people are dead because of me and I know death is just part of being a vampire but my sanity can't handle another one."
Caroline's eye started to feel misty and she willed them not to fall down her cheeks. The stress of the past several days was slowly working away at Caroline. No matter the hard exterior she portrayed, Caroline wasn't much different than the human girl that started running decades earlier. At Rebekah's mercy she finally spoke after a few tense minutes,
"We knew about the church being a vampire hangout since we came back to New Orleans, that's how I knew where it was. Nik's vampire Josh told us it's mainly for newly turned vampires who don't have daylight rings. Only Marcel's trusted circle are allowed to stay at the compound with him and any of the older vampires have daylight rings so they have no need to stay indoors."
"Why was the church never checked?" Katherine interrupted.
"It was and don't start demanding answers from as if I owe you any." Rebekah pointed her blooded finger, nearly growling at the words. "Josh stays there on and off but only vampires have been seen in the building so the girl most likely never leaves. The attic Sophie spoke of is our best chance at finding her."
"So the vampires will be just a few decades old then." Caroline confirmed.
"Marcel typically doesn't hand out daylight rings until a vampire is closer to a century old. It's already night fall so there most likely won't be many there to kill anyway." Rebekah almost sounded disappointed at the notion while stepping away to move towards the street. "So that's settled then, Caroline immobilizes everyone and we take off their heads." Caroline following along with an eye roll and Katherine scowling behind.
Celeste sat in front of a dark oak vanity with a oval mirror placed in the middle and her hands were placed flat on her lap. Her eyes were inspecting the wavy chestnut colored hair of Davina Claire, the body of the witch girl she was currently inhabiting. It had been literally centuries since she was able to look into her out deep brown eyes. How she longed to have back her own dark curly hair and caramel skin back. Celeste's blood boiled at the thought of her own death at the hands of the Original beast. Fellow witches were gathered up to be taken to the slaughter just to cover his own blood covered tracks and her own fate met by drowning in a tub of her own filth. Murdered for no reason other than he was afraid to be alone and would sacrifice his own brothers happiness. Her only saving grace was the spell she placed upon herself to ensure that if she were to die, her essence would be placed into the body of another. It was necessary once she was introduced to the Original family and soon to fall in love with Elijah Mikealson, her lost love. Niklaus gave an outward appearance of politeness but Celeste could always see the lingerings of the beast within.
Celeste now stood facing the single large window in the attic and she almost couldn't believe the sight before her eyes. Rebekah Mikealson with two others and the curly blonde had to be the Caroline vampire Marcel was searching for. The third was recognized as the brunette from the visions she had. Celeste edged farther away from the window as the three stopped short before the stairs.
"Looks like I will get my chance sooner than I thought." A smirk rose quickly to her face.
The three vampires walked instep with each other up the concrete stair and something made Caroline pause briefly. Her face rose to a large glass window that was just above the mahogany doors but there was only the tiniest hint of a image before it was gone. Her friends paused along side her but Caroline shook her head and pushed a single finger to her lips to keep them from talking. Rebekah wanted to make a dramatic entrance, as always, so she lifted her chin straight and added a bit more hip sway to her steps. Her hands slammed against the wooden doors and the clanging of the doors against walls only echo against the vaulted ceilings of the church. Her heeled boots clicked against the hardwood floors with a cold smirk that could chill the sun. The three vampires stopped to form a single line, one right next to the other, several feet from the group of anxious vampires who were now on their feet. Their eyes lingered on Rebekah's hand that was still covered in blood and the gapping hole in Katherine's shirt.
Caroline didn't think twice about breaking past the vampires mental barrier and had most of the minds cracked open before Rebekah could get her hands on the door. That only meant that most of the vampires were truly newborns, perhaps less than a year old. By her count there were at least twenty in this room alone and she could hear more above her in the rafters.
"I assume you know who I am?" Rebekah met the glares of vampires which gave her the confirmation to continue . "Good. So we came looking for a witch and we'd like you to go fetch her. Chop chop."
"They don't even know what you're talking about, Rebekah." Caroline's voice was filled with confusion. "Most of these vampires have been turned within the last few months. "
"Listen lady you can take a hike.." A male vampire stepped forward to speak but was cut off by the force of Caroline's mental abilities and it immobilized him in place. His mouth dropped open several times as if to speak but terror flooded his features as his hand flashed to his throat.
"We don't need any sass, just the witch. " Caroline bit out and crossed her arms to her chest. His companions went to step forward and she quickly dropped them all to their knees. "There have also been several missing from the Quarter lately and I could only assume your team has something to do with it."
"Your buddy Marcel must be stockpiling vampires for the slaughter." Katherine concluded as she sauntered over to one of vampires now bowing to her. Her fingers slid down his neck and to his muscular chest, "I will tell you one thing, it will be a fine slaughter. Can I keep this one for now and kill him once I'm finished?" Katherine turned to Caroline expectantly.
"Down girl." Caroline rolled her eyes but the sound of multiple feet hitting the ground made the three vampires spin on their feet. A older vampire with a brown drivers cap stood before them tailored with a perfectly fitted vest. There were two more vampires just behind him and Caroline quickly turned her attention to the three in front of her. Her eyebrows scrunched in frustration as she couldn't break past their mental barriers.
"You won't be getting into our minds sugar." The capped vampire sneered and the others just chuckled at her.
"Yes their part of the coveted inner circle of the Quarter. Thierry right? Don't worry Love we can still kill you without it." Rebekah exuded confidence but it didn't seem to faze the vamps before her.
"Those disappearing witches ain't our problem. Good riddance, I say. You don't belong here Rebekah so if you know what's good for you, take you friends and leave." Thierry spoke boldly
"Such arrogance for someone in the presence of an Original vampire that can not be killed, certainly not by the likes of you lot." Rebekah loved stirring the pot before battle, it gave her so much more to work with. Out of nowhere the two vampires that stood behind Thierry chests lunged forwards with fleeting cries of pain escaping them as they fell to the floor lifeless and graying. Thierry flashed feet away to keep from being the next casualty. The groups eyes fell upon Elijah in all his immaculate glory as his arms were still extended with two dripping hearts. With all the grace of someone that has done this a thousand times over, dropped them carelessly on top of it's owners and stepped over them to join his sister.
"Make that the two Originals." Elijah pulled a white linen handkerchief from his breast pocket to wipe his blooded hands and let it drop to his enemies. Now that Elijah stepped forward you could see he was accompanied by the Salvatore brothers and Bonnie. The Salvatore's eyes flickered between themselves and the curly vixen brunette before them. If it were not for the grey streak and curly hair, Damon would have flashed immediately to Katherine's side thinking she was Elena.
"No fucking way." Damon blurted with his lip curled up and balled up fists. Stefan's face held utter shock at her reappearance.
"Miss me?" Katherine's self righteous smirk filled her face as she playfully twisted a single strand around her finger.
"Now is not the time to be divided." Elijah shut the conversation down with his authority. They all stood in a single line, one next to the other and Thierry took his place opposite the group with the other vampires. There was a tense stand off that lingered before the two groups and Elijah broke the silence,
"It appears you are severely under powered and if you do not wish to die then you will release Marcel's witch this instance along with any information regarding any other missing witches." He paused to inspect the other vampires who were still frozen on their knees.
"That witch has elegance to Marcel and she won't leave here with any of you." Thierry took two steps forward, "I wouldn't be so sure about being out numbered." As he continued, a group of ten more vampires stepped through the door to encircle the group. Rebekah spoke with her eyesight never leaving Theirry,
"If you wouldn't mind releasing them Caroline, I like my opponents to put up a bit more fight before I kill them." She quickly dropped the mental connection between her mind and the newborns which made several of them stumble forward to their hands. Most of them shot straight to their feet in a defensive battle stance.
"You have one finally warning, leave here now in surrender and I will pardon you. It is your choice." Elijah stood apart from the group and addressed the vampires head on but was only met with malice. He nodded his head slightly while removing his suit jacket and tossing it neatly over a abandoned church pew. He rolled his sleeves to his elbows and extended them out from his sides, "Gentlemen. Shall we."
Three vampires ran out from different directions but Elijah hardly moved from his original stance. He knocked two vampires back with the flick of his wrist while the third fell heartless to the ground. Two more vampires heaved at the Originals right side but were met with a steady hand through the chest. It was as if these vampires had no concept of self preservation or who the Original family was. These vampires must truly be newborn if this was there sloppy attempt at murdering a vampire that was a thousand years their senior. Damon was less composed as his under eyes flushed with black spider veins and flashed across the room to swing his arm forward, skillfully removing the head of two vampires in perfect unison.
Caroline flashed behind her where Bonnie stood muttering dead Latin with her arms extended. She had wasted no time and already had several of the vampires to their knees before her with blood pooling in their mouths. From the corner of her eye, Caroline caught sight of a vampire lunging towards Bonnie and Caroline had the vampires heart in her hand faster than Bonnie could turn her head.
"Don't move without me." Caroline spoke with her blooded hand on Bonnie's arm and turn to stand back to back with her sort of friend for support. She might have been a powerful witch but she was the only human in the room which means she moves at human speed. Just to the left of her, two vampires sat perched on the railing of the rafters while just below them was Stefan staking another vampire in the heart. Without giving them time to react, Caroline had both of the men diving head first into the polished wooden floors, snapping their own spinal cords on the ground with a audible crack. Stefan spun around to see the sight on the ground and mildly grinned as his eyes caught with Caroline's. She gave him the same small grin before turning to rip out the heart of the latest vampire gunning for Bonnie.
Across the room Rebekah was in the same blooded shape, pulling hearts out along side her brother and sending them flying across the room with the bottom of her four inch heels. Katherine stood her own ground easily, smacking a vampire with a chunk of wood from one of the pews and driving the rest of the board into his partners chest. With Caroline's momentary distraction she was knocked back several feet with the sharp pain of a stake in her chest as she looked up at Thierry's smug face. He snapped the wooden sliver of a church pew so only a nub was left sticking out. With barely the blink of an eye Theirry's head came clean off and rolled across the floor past Caroline's hand. Her head snapped back to see Stefan Salvatore coming to crouch next to her and extended his blooded hand for her to stand. Stefan swiftly yanked the stake from her chest and she couldn't help her whimper as leftover splinters dug deeper. Caroline's thank you got stuck in her throat at the sound of vampires falling to the ground in unison around them.
They both turned to inspect the room as vampires fell left and right to the ground while clutching their head in pain. The oddest part was it was none of Caroline's team of vampires that fell to the ground but all of Marcel's. A door at the far end of the church swung open to reveal a brunette girl clad in a simple jeans and jacket with her hands extended in the air while casually walking. With barely the turn of her hands, Marcel's remaining vampires fell to the floor with their necks snapped. The young witch walked with authority for someone of her age and her hands were now intertwined behind her back. She inspected the group and Caroline could have swore her lips twitch at the sight of Elijah.
"Well look who decided to show up." Katherine commented, standing at Caroline's side and the others had moved to join them to form a united front against the witch. The brunette witch raise one eyebrow with a look of disgust on her face.
"I don't need you Neanderthals killing every last one of Marcel's vampires. Most are just children and could still be of some use to me in the future."
"They were given there option and they choose death." Elijah spoke while gesturing towards the sea of bodies scattered around the room and a smirk rose to his lips with his next words. "What will your choice be?"
The witches hand went to the long silver chain that hung around her neck and grasped the sapphire gem that dangled from it, muttering softly to herself. She exhaled slowly with her lips formed into an O shape as her opposite hand started to raise towards the vampires. Bonnie sensed the magic that started to float threw the air and raised hers to match with what stamina she had left. Bonnie muttered a quick Latin phrase which sent the other witch flying into the alter but it was limited to just seconds as the brunette's magic grasped Bonnie's throat making her struggle for air. Fire burned in Caroline's veins as her long lost friend struggled to breathe and found herself flashing to the witch but was met with an infuriatingly familiar invisible barrier that stopped at the foot of the steps.
"Did I forget to mention their is a barrier spell in place? You didn't think I would come forth unprotected did you? The Mikealson's have a history of scorning witches so no precaution could be missed." There was a look of scorn on Celeste face as she rose back to her feet. "Your mind games won't work on me either vampire. I knew about you before Marcel did and my mind is completely safe from you. Who do you think told him who you were in the first place."
"Let go of her! You want me well here I am." Caroline screamed with her arms in the air. "Kill me if that's what you want." The witches flicked her right hand and sent Bonnie sailing against the far wall with her body cluttering to the ground in a heap.
"Unlike you despicable creatures, I don't kill my own kind unless provoked. She might be a powerful witch but I am not alone." Celeste clutched the sapphire necklaces around her neck. "I have centuries behind me while she barely has decades of practice. There is so much more to being a witch than having power, especially if you don't know how to fully control it. But don't worry, I won't be keeping you much longer."
"What is it you want?" Elijah stepped as close as the barrier would allow and his eyes were focused on the necklace around her neck. Celeste eye lingered on his face with almost a fondness in her eyes that was out of place.
"I'm not going to kill any of you today, I'm simply taking what I want from you." Celeste turned her attention back to Caroline. "I was never the one that wanted to kill you, that was always Marcel. You sided with the wrong vampires and being a Mikealson sympathizer makes you a target."
"Surely you don't believe you are the first person to ever threaten me. I have been threaten, beaten, and had my brain magic zapped by better witches than you. At least they didn't hide away in some attic under the protection of others. You know personally I'm not really seeing much of a threat."
The witch curled her lip upwards and a sudden jolt passed threw Caroline's veins burned as if she had vervain pumped directly into them. Her veins felt as if they were going to burst at the speed the blood flowed in them. The brunette sent a shock wave of magic to the remaining vampires that sent them jolting upright as she drew blood from their bodies. Blood drained from the nose and mouth of each vampire to form a pool of blood before them. The blood floated with easy towards the alter where the witch stood and streamed upwards into the jar the witch had entered with at the start of the battle.
The chant suddenly stopped and the witch cried out in pain as a shower of wooden slivers flew through the air. From the pile of rubble across the room, Bonnie had her hand extended weakly in the direction of the witch and used the remnants of her energy to twist the wood that stuck out of Celeste upper thigh. With one last shout of pain, the witch rambled a phrase as she cloaked her appearance and vanished before their eyes. The vampires were dropped back down to their feet once more and the group turned at the sound of Bonnie stumbling to her feet. Caroline flash to help her stand while Stefan stood at her side.
"Here." Stefan extended his wrist for her to take his blood to heal but Bonnie just shook him off.
"We are about to go to battle with Marcel and I refuse to come back as a vampire. If I die then so be it." Her tone of voice was final with the decision and they didn't force her. Bonnie was proud to be a witch and wanted nothing else.
"What does she want with our blood, Elijah." Rebekah tried wiping the blood from her face but only smeared it more,
"It seems our brothers was correct in assuming that Marcel has found a spell to break the sire link between an Original and the vampires that were turned in their bloodline." Elijah stood at his sister's side with a perplexed look on his face with blood draining down his neck to soil his crisp dress shirt.
"What are you thinking?" Katherine noticed the confusion on Elijah's face and a confused Original was never a good thing.
"That chain around her neck... Kol knows more about witchcraft and the tools they can have at their disposal." Elijah's mind overran with unknown intentions. "The witch also stated she wasn't alone which means she is getting help from some source."
"The other side was destroyed decades ago, I should know, so how can she be communicating with a dead witch?" Damon questioned.
"It's not impossible with magic but I also believe that we are not dealing with a witch that randomly wandered into the Quarter one day. The necklace she wears I have seen only once in a thousand years hanging from another witches neck. Celeste Dubois. "
"I thought Nik had her killed centuries ago? How can she still be alive." Rebekah was more than a bit confused at the reappearance of Celeste. She can still remember the heartbreaking look on Elijah's face after he found out it was his own brother that had sentenced his love to death.
"Great. You mean we not only have Marcel to attend to but we also have one of your crazy ex-girlfriends." Katherine spent the past six hundred years having her life ruled by a Mikealson and was now being threaten by one of their scorned lovers.
"Someone sounds bitter." Damon could have died alone with the daggers that were sent his way by Katherine as he slowly walked towards her. "Can we please backup a second so you can tell us just exactly how you are alive? I distinctively remember you disgusting, rotting body fleeing from Mystic Falls years ago."
"Why wouldn't someone want to help little old me." Katherine cooed and sent a wink over to Caroline who was still supporting a weak Bonnie around the waist.
"You did this? What benefit could come from saving Katherine Pierce?" Damon went to lung forward but was stopped by the iron grasp of an Originals hand around his throat.
"You will keep a proper distance from both Katerina and Caroline while you choose to stay in New Orleans." Elijah's voice was calm but his threat was still present. His hand dropped to releasing Damon from his hold. "As I'm sure you recall from our stay in Mystic Falls, Niklaus has a rather volatile temper and would not take kindly to anyone upsetting Caroline. These ladies do not need my protection but they will have it when necessary."
"Threat received, right Damon." Stefan gave his brother a stern look while willing him to keep quite for once in his life.
"Crystal." Damon smirked while never letting his eyes linger from the Originals. There discussion was cut short by groans starting to echo from around them, the vampires with their necks snapped were starting to awaken.
"What do we do with the rest of these guys?" They could all be killed easily by the group but Stefan was not in the mood for another round of fighting. With an evil glint in his eyes Damon sauntered over to a large bowl of Holy water that sat at the back of the church and being trailing the liquid behind him as he walked.
"Remember that little water into fire trick you pulled on me years ago in our dark times Bon Bon?" Damon pitched the brass bowl to the side which landed with a loud clatter, "Care to do the honors."
Bonnie rolled her eyes and focused her remaining energy to the dropped Holy water. A flame rose from nowhere to make a thin trail towards the mass of semi conscious vampires. The only sound were cries of pain and vampires thrashing about the room to put out the flames. A pungent smell of burning flesh filled the space as the group of survivors exited the burning church unscathed.
It was an all too familiar sight for Caroline.
Katherine broke off from the group to head back to her own temporary house, located on the outskirts of the French Quarter. Enzo had helped her find a small house that would blend into the others around her and hopefully it was a neighborhood the Mikealson's were not aware of. She had confidence in Caroline's ability to wooed the Hybrid and that her life would be safe from Klaus' grasp but you could never be certain with him. All it took was one of Caroline's trademark speeches she liked to give people and Klaus could be after her just out of spite. Better safe than sorry. Katherine stepped onto the porch and had just placed her feet on top of the welcome mat when she felt the wind shift behind her. Her head shot left to right and she spun on her heels to inspect her surrounding but there was no one. It was the same empty street in the same boring suburban neighborhood but she still sensed a second presence near her.
"I know someone is out there. If tonight is my night to die, lets get this over with." Her voice was firm and any signs of fear were kept at bay. Katherine heard the crunch of dry grass to her right and scrunched her eyebrows at the vampire standing before her. Elijah Mikealson was still in the same blooded clothing from earlier and he was casually walking towards her. as if he did this everyday. He stopped at the bottom of the white wooden stairs to address her,
"I'm not here to kill you Katerina." His voice was like silk around her name and there was no one person that could say it the way he could.
"Why are you here Elijah." Katherine kept her arms crossed at her chest in a protective stance.
"Everyone else received an escort home, it seemed fitting you would as well." He slowly crept up the stairs and stopped at the top step, both of his hands were hanging lightly on the railings. "We have hardly spoken since you rose from the dead."
"As you can see, I made it home in one piece and I'm not up for reliving my regrets right now so..." Katherine turned back towards the door as her hand went to her pocket for the key and she paused when she heard Elijah's heavy sign. The words he said next froze her in her place,
"I mourned your death." Elijah bowed his head towards the wooden stairs and his hands tightened on the railing. "When I saw you for the first time outside that store with Caroline, I wasn't sure what my emotions should be. Should I have ripped the heart from your chest for once again being deceived by Katherine Pierce or should I have rejoiced that my Katerina was still alive."
Elijah Mikealson was a very thoughtful, well spoken man but he was never one to opening display his feelings very easily. Katherine heard the pain in his voice and the depth of his sincerity. She closed her eyes briefly as her dead heart constricted at the feelings he was stirring back to life inside her.
"I'm no longer yours Elijah." Katherine's voice was soft as she faced the man on the stairs who was now looking back at her with sorrow. "I have not been yours since the day you turned your back on me for your family."
"I turned my back because I thought you hadn't changed. You spoke of a better life and that you were leaving aside your traitorous ways. Then I hear from .."
"Elena Gilbert." Katherine spat the name out and stepped forward to meet Elijah face to face. "One sentence from the good Doppelganger and you toss me aside without a second thought."
"I don't think you have truly changed until now." Elijah held her gaze while running his fingertips along the grey curl that framed her face. "The small amount of time we spent together since you came to New Orleans has shown more growth than the past six hundred years. Your friendship and concern for Caroline alone has been refreshing. I can almost see that sweet peasant girl I chased centuries ago."
"That sweet peasant girl died because of your brother and will still one die by his hand."
"You can't honestly believe that Katerina. Niklaus' love for Caroline is much stronger than revenge, even if neither of them realize it yet." Elijah brought his hand to caress Katherine's cheek lightly. "Niklaus might be deluding himself into believing he is weighing his options but I know my brother better than anyone. The mere fact that you are not locked away in some torture chamber is proof enough that he has no intentions of ending your life."
"And what if I was locked away in some dungeon? Would you leave me there to rot while his highness made his decision?" Elijah opened his mouth to speak but Katherine swiftly cut him off, "I could guarantee you I would be, it's what you do Elijah. You sacrifice everything for a family that doesn't deserve your loyalty. I mean look at Celeste who is back from the dead and wanting vengeance after being murdered at the hands of your brother. You will never know true happiness until you decide to live for yourself for once and not what is best for your family... You should go."
Katherine moved back towards her door but was stopped by Elijah's firm grip and his lips meeting hers. It was the briefest of kisses and Katherine had to almost convince herself it actually happened. Elijah released his grip on her arm to move it to her cheek, stroking it affectionately.
"One day I will show you that we both can change Katerina."
The large white door of the Mikealson mansion opened to allow Rebekah and Caroline access after their track back from the church. The girls followed the sound of one of the Original siblings in the living area, Klaus sketching random images from the couch. The girls soft voices drew his eyes upward as his gaze instantly went to Caroline and the gaping hole in her shirt. Both girls appearances were in shambles with blood stained hands and blood spattered clothing. The sketch pad was tossed to the side as he rose to meet them a few feet away, anger now present in his eyes.
"I take it the meeting with the witches went well." Klaus spoke past gritted teeth. "It seems I should have attended after all."
Rebekah sighed and didn't waste time with her exit, "I am in no mood for your tantrum this evening Nik so Caroline can explain all the fun you missed out on. I need to find my own lover upstairs." Not caring enough to hear his snide remark, she was gone. Caroline moved inches closer towards Klaus to begin explaining the chaos that was the past several hours.
"After our meeting with the Quarter witches we went looking for that witch Marcel was keeping captive, Davina is her name by the way and found ourselves with a church full of vampires to take care of." Caroline's hand automatically went to the hole in her shirt were there were still splinters in her chest and bit back the pain as she shifted.
"Are you still injured?" Klaus noticed her pain and close the gap between them to place his hand lightly to her heart. Caroline's flinch couldn't go unnoticed.
"There are still splinters left behind from a stake. I'll take care of it later." Caroline shifted on her feet.
"Allow me. You can continue telling me all about the excitement I missed."
Klaus didn't wait for her to agree as he set off upstairs towards his bed chambers and Caroline had no choice but to follow him. It was the first she had been to his room in over a week and the images of their time together couldn't be stopped. The lingering feeling of Klaus' hands running free along her body, the poison fangs that took blood from her neck and brought her to orgasm. Caroline huffed as she stomped towards the on suite bathroom where Klaus waited for her, leaning casually against the white marble double sink with that annoying smirk on his face. He kept his comments to himself as he rose to stand before her while she took over his stance of leaning against the sink. Klaus lowers his hand to her thighs and lifts her to set atop the sink, her hands went instinctively to his arms to steady herself. His hands grazed the tops of her thighs to stop on her waist. Caroline couldn't help the flood of arousal that shot through her at the sight of Klaus between her legs. All she had to do was lift one leg around his waist to grind against what she knew she wanted. Klaus used his hands on her waist to inch them closer together but didn't move his hips to give her what he knew she wanted.
"I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable, this is going to hurt."
Klaus fingers ran up her waist until it reached the top of her shirt so he could tear it down the middle without completely ripping it apart. Klaus' gaze was fixated on hers so the gasp of air she took at the movements only brought a triumphant smile to his face. If this was what she had to expect from getting staked in the chest then Caroline was going to start picking more fights. Klaus' left hand steadied itself on the back of her neck while his right lingered over the hole in her chest from the splinter that was still buried deep. Without warning, his fingers dug deep into her chest cavity and Caroline groaned past gritted teeth. It took only moments as Klaus found the chunk of wood and tossed it aside in the sink.
"Thank you." Caroline finally spoke for the first time since they started this intimate and arousing scene in his bathroom. Klaus only offered a hum of recognition as he brought two blooded fingers to his lips to suck of the remaining blood, his gaze still locked with hers. Her mind flashed to the half dozen other times he had done that to her but with her own arousal instead of blood and she swallowed the lump of words that caught in her throat.
"Why do you fight me Caroline when it is so obvious this is what you want." Klaus spoke between kisses that ran down her throat. "Do you know you drive my wolf side insane most days? I can smell your arousal nearly every time we met and all from just being in my presence... Just as I do now."
"Your going to kill my friend." Caroline's words were soft yet strong and it made Klaus pull back to met her eyesight.
"Anything you want and it's your Caroline."
Her eyes widen at his declaration and it was almost to hard to believe. Six hundred years of revenge was gone just for her and he didn't even hesitate with his response. That was not the direction Klaus wanted her thoughts to linger on as he dipped his head back to continued his pattern on her chest. His nose was filled with an all to pleasant aroma of her blood, a taste he missed over the past week they spent apart. Klaus' tongue went to the now fully healed skin between her breast and sucked the remaining drops that were left. He could feel her legs tighten around his waist, pulling him that much closer and her fingertips dragging along his back underneath the shirt he wore. Klaus hadn't realized just how much he longed for her touch and how it could send the most powerful creature to his knees, willing to give her anything she wanted. And that was exactly what he did for her by letting Katerina Petrova roam free of punishment. There was nothing so horrible that Caroline could ask of him that he could deny her.
"Klaus. Shower. " Caroline breathed the words as she tugged on his hair to bring his lips up to hers. They only parted to remove both their clothing in a hast and for Klaus to start the shower to muffle their sounds. Caroline brought her arms around his neck to continue her kiss as Klaus wrapped her legs around him and moved towards the shower. Her back was slammed against the cold wall of the shower and his cock thrust inside of her. The moans Klaus' actions pulled from her were intoxicating and he wanted more. One of his hands was firmly in place at her hip as he pounded into her and the other tangled into her hair to claimed her mouth further with his tongue. Every bit of contact wasn't enough as her fingertips dragged from his wet hair and down his shoulders. They broke for an unneeded breath so Klaus could rest his forehead to Caroline, his gaze piercing through hers. The combination of Klaus' thrusts and the intense stare of his gaze was too much for Caroline to handle, shutting her eyes as she started to clench around his cock.
"Open your eyes." The words came out in a growl that surprised Caroline and they shot open to meet an intense yellow of the wolf within Klaus. With a few more thrust, Caroline was breathing out Klaus name as her nails dug into his shoulders with her lips parted. Klaus' free hand went to grip her thighs tightly and quickly found his own release with a pool of deep green eyes.
Author's Note:
So hopefully this chapter made up for the long hiatus because I enjoyed writing this one too. I'm sure most of you guys noticed my Elijah quote but I just couldn't help it, he is such a regal bastard. Also, Klaus was missing from the battle in this chapter because he has his own battle as the King of the Quarter to win coming up :-))
Please review and favorite and tell me what you think!
