Notes: Mini drabble 3! My first attempt at this particular magical creature. Tell me what you think!

Be There

(Prompt: kc + fae. Rated T)

The light is a trick. It's always a trick. He turns away from the distant beam resentfully, resting his cheek upon his bent knee.

Sometimes his own mind betrays him. When Klaus is left alone for too long, when his control slips, that's when he feels it. It washes over him slowly, warm and bright, accompanied by the scents of new grass and old trees, by the sound of a laugh that's at turns joyous and mocking.

She'd never feared him, nor been willing to smile and flirt or flatter him. She's been an anomaly and he'd claimed to find her reactions irritating, had used that as an excuse to plague her at every gathering he could. He doesn't remember when he'd stopped pretending that he didn't find her intriguing but he remembers when she'd begun to indulge him.

"Dance with me," she'd said, an aggravated grumble at odds with the playful light in her eyes as she'd knocked her shoulder into his. "It's the least you could do if you're going to insist on glaring at any others who might offer."

Scaring off Caroline's suitors was a pastime Klaus had excelled at and practiced often. One he's vowed to enjoy again.

Once he escapes this hole.

He does his best not to keep his thoughts of Caroline fleeting. Remembering the softness of her skin or the sharpness of her tongue only makes the endless crawl of time more difficult to bear. He knows she must think he'd left willingly, had read the note forged in his hand before it had been delivered.

He'd exploded as Mikael had walked away, wrapped his hands around the iron bars that enclose him, uncaring when his skin burned away.

Klaus had hoped that Caroline would see through the too flippant words the note contained, that she would know they weren't his, that the sentiments were the furthest things from truth.

She'd been slow to believe his devotion, had been skeptical of his overtures. He knows now that there'd been a snake whispering in her ear, spinning false tales and questioning his aptitude for loyalty.

He'd never liked the servant who'd attended Caroline, had thought there something odd and cold about Katerina's dark eyes.

He should have trusted his instincts and killed her when he'd had the chance.

Klaus feels warmth at his back, closes his eyes against the growing brightness.

He knows it's not him who's conjured Caroline this time. Klaus has been cautious, disciplined. He's stayed in the exact center of his tiny iron cage, made himself small on the hard packed earth, and waited. He'd vowed to be at full strength the next time he had a visitor, to be alert and watchful and to look for an opportunity.

He'd been blinded by rage for too long, had lashed out too often, and it had gotten him nothing, only amused his captors.

The light signals they've returned to torment him.

Mikael has finally remembered him. It's him who most often weaves illusions of Caroline. When Klaus grows weak enough, when he's weary of the endless dark and tries to fight the cold bars that enclose him, that's when Mikael slips his poison in.

Klaus won't allow his memories of Caroline to be twisted.

Klaus had detected a hint of strain the last time he'd been subjected to a visit, a level of distraction in his mother's consort's manner. Unusual, for cruelties had always satisfied Mikael more than the finest of wines or the most bountiful of feasts. He'd suspected that the unrest amongst the court had only grown in his absence, that Mikael was having difficulties squashing the many plots against him.

Had he thought Klaus his only enemy? How terribly short sighted.

Klaus hears the groaning of metal, braces himself for the pain that always accompanies his prison being dismantled. Mikael's spent centuries berating Klaus' weakness but he's not willing to face Klaus on equal footing. He only approaches when Klaus' blood is mingling with the earth, spikes of iron through his limbs, a band with jagged edges around his throat.

It makes talking difficult but Klaus manages. He's learned to take his amusements, scarce as they are, as they come.

But there is no pain, and the light grows. Klaus turns and squints into the brightness, his confusion swirling as warmth begins to sink into his skin.

He doesn't remember when he'd last felt anything but chilled and damp.

Klaus staggers to his feet, his body slow to react, stiff and unused to movement. He stumbles, lists to one side, and he's caught with gentle hands. "Easy," Caroline murmurs. Her fingers brush his face, "Close your eyes. Go slow." He nods and her touch remains, grows searching, smoothing over his tattered clothes and the skin beneath. She keeps talking, but he misses the words. He basks in the low soothing tones, but it's the edge that enters her voice each time she finds a new scar that has him believing she might actually be real.

He's never dreamed of rescue, has never wanted Caroline in this place. He's done his best to hide the fierceness of their connection, the depths of his regard for her, in hopes that she'd be protected. She is his, but he is also hers. Had Mikael known the lengths Caroline would go to for Klaus she might have ended up in a cage of her own.

There's little he wouldn't do or endure to save her from such a fate.

Once Caroline's satisfied that he's whole enough she presses the length of her body to his, curves her hand around his neck and tucks her face into the curve of his neck. Her lips touch his shoulder and Klaus clears his throat. The words come out rough and Caroline clutches him tighter. "Note didn't do the trick, then?"

The noise she makes is mostly amused but Klaus hears a hint of tears choking her for a moment. He wraps his arms around her, isn't the least bit surprised to find her dress slick with what can only be blood. She pulls herself together, nails scratching through the unkempt curls at the base of his skull. "Of course not. You wouldn't leave me alone when I begged you to. Nor when I threatened to make you. Why would you go when I finally wanted you to stay?"

"Have I told you lately that I adore your brain, love?"

She pulls back, brushes her fingertips over his eyelids. He's careful this time, letting his eyes slit open the smallest amount. The light still stings but it's a good hurt, lets him know he's not dreaming. Caroline's smile is tremulous, "No. Not lately."

There are things Klaus needs to know. Just how long he's been imprisoned, if any of his siblings save Finn had sided with Mikael. If Mikael is still alive, how great a threat he is, and just who's blood Caroline wears. There's much to do but he won't be denied this moment.

He closes his eyes again, sets his mouth to Caroline's and tastes her pleased sigh as her lips part to welcome his kiss. She clings to him as the kiss turns deep and searching and his hands roam greedily needing her closer, as close as he can get her while they're both still clothed.

She whines a protest when he tears his mouth away, moans her approval when his lips find the spot on her neck where she's most sensitive. She pants when he laves it with his tongue, shudders when he applies his teeth and marks her delicate skin. He fleetingly considers taking her to the ground when her hips grind into his, of obliterating his memories of this place with something sweeter.

He's tempted but Caroline deserves better, they deserve more - a soft bed, sumptuous sheets, and time to savor and explore. He rests his forehead against hers, winding his hand in her hair and tugging gently when she makes to kiss him once more. "Soon," he rasps. "I promise. Somewhere light, where I can see all of you."

She makes a noise, the faintest complaint, but she subsides, taking his hand in hers. "If you insist. My home is safe."

He threads their fingers together, letting his eyes blink open once more. It's better this time, his eyes growing accustomed after so long in darkness. He looks to their clasped hands, his filthy and Caroline's bloody. They've fought their own battles while separated - Klaus in his prison, Caroline at court - and they've both emerged victorious.

Now that they're together? Were Klaus a kinder sort he'd pity their enemies.