Hi! So happy you guys liked the previous chapter :) Thanks for all your reviews. I'm a little scared to post this one. Scratch that, VERY scared. I hope you like it.
To the guest reviewer Quietmistymornin: Welcome! Thank you so much for reading, and for your sweet comment. I'm glad you enjoy it :)
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries
When Klaus eventually stopped the car it was in front of a house. I couldn't quite tell how big it was - it was poorly lit and enveloped in darkness. Before I had any time to react, the door on my side opened.
''Don't be shy,'' Klaus smiled, holding his hand out. I didn't take it.
''Where are we?''
''Oh, just a place I acquired some time ago. Eventually you need to put down some roots, don't you agree?''
I stepped out of the car, hugging myself to fend off the cold, and turned my head up to get a better look at it. It could be one of those old, forgotten mansions on the outskirts of town, but it was hard to tell.
When I stepped inside, it looked the almost same as any old estate house in Mystic Falls, with its wooden, panelled walls, and sparsely placed mahogany furniture. But the entrance was huge. Two staircases hugged the wall, sliding up with a slight curve, framing what could almost only be considered a ballroom. I'd never been to a house like this. Not even the Lockwood's could compare to this place.
''Not too shabby, wouldn't you say?'' Klaus asked.
''This is what a thousand years of saving gets you?'' I mumbled, cautiously scanning everything around me. A giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling caught my eye, and I couldn't take my eyes off it.
''Oh, this and many more.''
I didn't even dare to imagine.
''I'm so happy you're not a witch, you know,'' Klaus said. ''That's what I guessed, at first. I knew something was wrong as soon as I came back, I just didn't think I'd find one of you.''
I pulled my attention from the twinkling crystals and turned my gaze to him.
''Witches are a pain in the ass,'' he continued, eyeing me, a smirk playing on his lips. ''Empaths, however...'' He turned his eyes to his hands, playing with a key. ''… tend to be a lot more co-operative.''
''Empaths?'' I asked, the word foreign on my tongue, but at the same time it felt like it made so much sense, whatever it meant.
''Well, that's what you are, love,'' Klaus stated, like it was nothing.
An empath. Finally, something to call it. Call me. But there had to be more to it. He had to know about what I could do, what-
''Ah,'' he held up his finger when I tried to speak. ''All in due time. First, your room.''
That caught me off guard. ''My room?''
Klaus started walking towards the stairs.''Contrary to what you might believe, Evangeline, you're not my prisoner.''
No, he only threatened to kill my mother if I didn't come with him.
''So I can leave?'' I asked, following him, keeping the thought to myself.
''Yes,'' he replied. ''But I don't think you want to just yet.''
He turned right at the top of the stairs, into a long hallway with several adjoined rooms. All of the doors were closed, and Klaus didn't say anything about what was behind them.
The sound of our footsteps were dampened by a soft rug runner running all the way down the hallway. I soon realised that the thudding sound came from my feet, and my feet only. Klaus walked so silently it was a little scary.
''I have people who will wonder where I am,'' I said quietly.
''I know,'' he said. ''Your mother's been taken care of. She thinks you're visiting your grandparents in Ohio.''
So she was still compelled, in a way. I'd never met my grandparents, and I'd never been to Ohio either. The only way she'd believe that was if someone made her believe it.
''What about my friends?''
''They'll try to get you out of here, I'm sure,'' Klaus chuckled.
He didn't seem bothered at all. Was he so sure of himself? Of me?
''Here we are,'' he said, and stopped in front of a door that looked exactly like every other one we'd passed.
What was behind there? A cramped space with padded walls and no windows?
He opened the door, and it wasn't anywhere near a jail cell. It was a big room, with a bed, closet, dresser and desk, and still room to spare.
''You said I could leave,'' I said, trying to take in the strangeness of this whole situation. A whole room? And it looked like there was a bathroom, too.
''You can,'' he confirmed. ''There's the door.''
He pointed over his shoulder, and when I made not effort to move, he put his hand in his back pocket with a sly smile on his face.
''You're intrigued. Just like Madeleine.''
Something sparked in me. A small flame of fascination, heating up the cold.
''You knew Madeleine?'' I marvelled. Was that how he knew about me? Through her?
''Yes,'' he mused, dragging out the word. ''I've been around for a while, you know. What was she, your great-great-grandmother?''
''Yeah...'' It was like all the air left my lungs, and I felt strangely empty. Mikael had been a chance. Now, he was gone – but in his place... another chance. And he wasn't lying. He was telling the truth. He had met her.
''Ah, Madeleine. She was a feisty thing, in her day.''
All of a sudden my mouth felt dry. I had to compose myself. No matter how strange this was, this was what I'd been waiting for. This chance was what I had been waiting for. I hadn't felt this energised in a long time.
My heart started beating faster. ''How did you know her, exactly...?''
''Oh, it's simple really,'' he said, pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows with a small sigh. ''We crossed paths. Very few times one gets to meet an empath. She was my first, actually. Of course, my brothers and sister knew nothing. Far to precious a thing to flaunt to others.''
So they really hadn't known. Neither Elijah nor Rebekah.
''I could tell you all about dear Madeleine,'' he paused. ''We were quite close, back in the day.''
I hesitated. I could hear my heart thumping in my ears, and I wanted nothing but to throw myself into whatever this was; but there was always a price. ''What do you want in return?''
''Nothing,'' Klaus said, with a smile on his lips that looked like he knew something I didn't. ''All I ask is that you listen.''
''And if I don't listen,'' I said, staring at him, ''because I don't want to owe you anything?''
Klaus brushed some lint off his jacket shoulder. ''Oh, you won't owe me anything. Can't you tell I'm not lying?''
I could. And he knew, but I nodded anyway.
If all of this didn't put me in some kind of debt to him, then why on earth was he so eager to talk to me? There had to be something in it for him. Something he knew about, but I didn't.
''New Orleans,'' Klaus began, a distant look in his eyes. ''It holds a special place in my heart. I came through there one time in 1899.''
''That's where you met her?''
''Yes. Take a seat, won't you? It's story time.''
''No, thank you,'' I mumbled. I'd rather keep my rigid stance than show him I was comfortable enough to make myself at home.
Klaus laughed. ''You're quite alike, you know. Not the eyes, though.'' He turned his eyes towards the ceiling and shut them. ''A wonderful, wild, hazel. Ah, she was wild.''
I held back a grimace. Luckily, Klaus continued of his own accord before I had time to come up with a reply.
''Like most people, she was intrigued by us. She found us – and when I found her-'' he let out a low whistle. ''Jackpot.''
''She knew what you were?''
''Word gets around,'' Klaus admitted. ''Especially in a place like New Orleans.''
''So she knew what you were,'' I said slowly, ''but did she know what you did?''
Klaus tilted his head. ''What did we do, love?''
''I can't imagine vampires always got their...'' I struggled for the right word, ''supply, from plastic bags.'' He probably still didn't, but I'd rather not think about that right now.
''She knew,'' Klaus shrugged. ''It frightened her, but she tried not to let that on. And feelings, well, they're easily manipulated. And empaths live by them. It didn't take much to convince her.''
The tone in his voice made my skin prickle. ''You tricked her?''
''No, no. I showed her only possibilities.''
What kind of possibilities? Possibilities for her, or only things he would have use for?
''But,'' Klaus shrugged, ''feelings are complicated. One turn and everything shifts.''
I moved my right foot forward, leaning on it slightly. My legs were restless, tingling uncomfortably. ''What happened?''
''Her brother died. Tuberculosis. Sent her straight of the edge and away to Lafayette.''
I felt myself frowning. That was horrible. I didn't even know she had a brother.
Klaus clasped his hands together and walked over to the window with his back to me. ''I figured she was going to come back. And she did.''
He was quiet for a while. ''But?'' I urged.
''But...'' he continued, ''she'd completely turned around, married some carpenter and moved to Virginia.''
Klaus did a little spin on his heels and looked me in the eye.
''Then what?'' I asked, trying to figure out his emotions but it was like slamming myself against a concrete wall.
He put his hands behind his back and sauntered towards the door. ''Oh, you'd think it ends there, wouldn't you? But that's a story for another time. I think it's time you had dinner.''
He was actually going to leave it there? I took a deep breath to control the frustration growing in me.
''I don't drink blood,'' I retorted, angry at the sudden stop.
''No, you don't,'' he said, looking strangely pleased. His eyes twinkled with something I had trouble putting my finger on, but I knew it couldn't be anything good.
There was no glass of blood on the tray one of Klaus' men brought to my room after he had gone. Someone had went and gotten a burger and fries, wrapped and still warm.
Klaus had been right. Did I want to stay, practically kidnapped, at his mansion surrounded by his... his henchmen? No. Did I want to leave? Not particularly. He'd already told me so much, and if there was more, I had to hear it.
Until I took a bite from the burger I hadn't realised how hungry I was. In less than five minutes, I'd finished everything. When I'd brushed my hands clean of crumbs and had a look around at the empty walls, polished floor, and probably empty dresser – I realised that I didn't have my phone on me. There went any possibility of quick contact with anyone at home.
If they came here looking for me and found me...
Oh, who am I kidding. I knew what I would do. I couldn't go with them, not yet. There was still so much more to learn. It had only been an hour or two, but in that time I'd felt more alive than I had the last couple of weeks. I had a motivator. It was like every fibre in my being was buzzing in anticipation. I was finally learning things I'd longed to learn since forever. There was no chance I was giving that up. I'd lost the opportunity once, and I wasn't about to do it again.
When I woke up the next morning I didn't know where I was. My heart banged against my chest, and I looked around as the panic set in. Then I remembered. It didn't make me relax, but at least it stopped me from a complete meltdown.
I rolled up and swung my legs over the side of the bed, putting my face in my hands. A few deep breaths, and I was calm again. Calm as could be.
My mouth was dry. I tried smacking my tongue, but it didn't help. Water, I needed water.
The door to the bathroom opened without creaking. I turned the tap on and splashed cold water on my face, before I leaned down and took a drink. Once standing, back straight, again, I met my own gaze in the mirror.
Empathy. There was so much weight in that word alone. An empath. Someone who understands. Someone who feels. Feel strongly.
When I looked at myself, I thought I had the look someone who might have cared just a little too much. I'd regained most of the weight I'd lost before, but I still saw the hollowness in my cheeks, the dark circles under my eyes. Did other people see that too?
I wondered what had happened to Madeleine. I didn't remember much about the night she appeared, but she didn't seem wild then. Calm, maybe. Urgent. What could have happened for her to go from, what Klaus made it seem like, thrill-seeking, to how she showed herself to me? There was so much more to that story, and even if everything Klaus told me was the truth I couldn't guess the parts he might be leaving out.
Klaus hadn't said when we'd continue our conversation. He could be anywhere, and I didn't want to sit around in this room and wait. I stepped out of the bathroom and tried door leading out. It wasn't locked.
There wasn't anyone outside. I'd half expected there to be a guard or something, but the whole hallway was completely empty.
When I got to the entrance hall there were two men by the door. They didn't look at me, nor did they move to stop me when I came closer. They looked normal. Stiff, but normal. Where they vampires? Did they follow Klaus blindly? Did they have any will of their own?
''Hi,'' I tried, but without any luck. They kept their eyes looking straight forward. I reached out for the handle, carefully, hoping they wouldn't rip my arm off.
They didn't.
I stepped out into the cold morning air and breathed it in.
There were so many things I'd missed in the dark. For one, exactly how big the place was. And it wasn't your typical colonial mansion, as I had thought. It looked almost... new. Off-white, and it had none of the pillars every other southern mansion favoured.
The driveway alone looked miles long, and ended in a dirt road leading away and into the woods. Towards town, maybe.
A part of me wanted to step onto that road and walk all the way back home. But I couldn't. He'd been right. I didn't want to leave yet.
''Good morning,'' a voice sounded from behind me. I spun around, startled, and came face to face with Klaus. He threw me a jacket, which I barely managed to catch. ''Let's take a walk.''
He showed the way around the back of the mansion, and led me down a path along the edge of the forest.
''What you are,'' Klaus said, ''is a gift. If you choose the right path, you'd never feel weak again.'' We passed a tree lowering one of its branches low towards the ground. He carefully took a wilted leaf from it and held it in his hand. ''Madeleine... well, eventually, she found the right path, but strayed. It ended up killing her.'' He closed his hand, and when he opened it again nothing was left of the leaf but dust.
''What path?'' I asked.
''You're not ready for it yet, love,'' Klaus smiled. ''But you will be. And it will be worth it. Just imagine, never feeling inferior again.''
That was one thing I could imagine. If there was something that could save me from always worrying, always keeping my guard up, then that was something I wanted. But, I forced myself to remember my reflection in the mirror. Madeleines urgency. What had her path cost her?
''How did she die?'' I asked, even though I wasn't sure if I was prepared to hear details.
''She was murdered.''
''I take it you know who did it but won't tell me,'' I said.
''Correct.''
I bit down on my bottom lip. ''Was it you?''
''Patience, Evangeline, is a virtue, I'm told.''
''And you're the expert on virtues?'' I scoffed.
He let out a laugh, which turned into a smirk. ''So much like her.''
''This is all on your terms,'' I argued. ''All of it, all the stories...''
He raised his eyebrows in question. ''You don't believe me?''
''No, I do,'' I said. ''I can tell everything you've said is true. But you're only telling me so much.''
''If you don't want to go down the same path as Madeleine, things need to progress slowly. She wanted it all, right away. It didn't pay out well.''
''But you won't tell me about that?''
''Not yet.''
''Patience?'' I guessed, grudgingly.
Klaus held a finger up and smiled. ''Indeed.''
''Why are you even telling me this?'' I snapped, feeling my cheeks heating up. ''What's in it for you?''
''I'm not asking you for anything, remember?'' he deflected.
''No, but-'' I stopped myself, sighing. ''Never mind.''
Of course he wasn't going to tell me anything. All I had to do was listen to his truths and constantly remind myself that the rest of him wasn't for trusting.
I had an easier time falling asleep that night, and when I woke up the following morning there was no panic.
Rain was coming down in heaps outside, pattering hard against the window. I got up and looked out the window at the trees bending with the wind.
I hoped my mum was okay. She thought I was with my grandparents. Away, but safe. I wasn't ready to go home yet. There were still questions, so many questions... if he'd answer them. Klaus had made it very clear that everything I learned, I learned when he wanted me to. It was the price I had to pay.
I was really starting to wish I had some clean clothes. If I asked for them, I'd probably have some clean and folded on the bed within fifteen minutes. But wouldn't that make it seem like I was intent on staying? I mean, so far I was, but I did not want to make this place a home. I could go another day with the same clothes.
With the weather, I couldn't really go outside, so I set out to explore the mansion instead. The doors that would open in the hallway led to pretty much similar looking rooms as the room I stayed in.
Somehow, I managed to find my way somewhere further in, and when I stopped after passing through a hallway that looked just like the one I'd started in I realised I didn't really know where I was.
I tried one of the doors. It wouldn't budge.
''You lost?''
I jumped at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Turning my head a little to look at the man, I was met by a expressionless face with cold eyes.
''Yeah,'' I said, my voice quivering.
''Klaus wants to see you,'' he said.
''Okay,'' I hesitated. When I took a step forward, he started walking, leading the way. Other than the blank stare, he looked completely normal.
I looked at the back of his neck. ''What's your name?'' No visible reaction. His stance was the same. His head didn't twitch towards the sound of my voice. I didn't think he would say anything at all, just like the men by the front door, but he had me fooled when after a brief moment he said:
''Joey.''
I didn't know if he was human or not. How did one tell?
''I tried talking to a couple of guys yesterday?'' I said. ''They didn't respond.''
''We're not here to talk,'' Joey replied, his voice low and flat.
''Then what are you here for?''
He didn't say anything, and I had the feeling I would get more out of him either. We kept walking in silence.
I didn't recognise anything – well, I recognised almost everything, and that was the problem. Then we stepped out above the staircases in the entrance hall.
''What do you mean you didn't find them?'' an angry voice yelled. Klaus' voice. He was pacing by the front door. ''Find them. Why? Just take care of it.''
When I looked to my right, Joey was gone.
''Something wrong?'' I asked, stepping down the stairs. Klaus had hung up, but looked like he wanted to throw the phone on the floor and stomp on it.
''Just a bump in the road, that's all,'' Klaus replied, his angry scowl turning to a strained smile. ''You've had your breakfast?'' he asked, not waiting for a response. ''I have to go take care of something, but I'll be back tonight.''
''And we'll continue?''
''And we will continue.''
Making time pass was hard. There was this huge mansion to explore, but after a while of sneaking through halls and trying doors, I'd realised that most of them were locked. This time around, I didn't get lost like before, but that was only because I was dead set on remembering every turn I took.
Outside still wasn't an option. By now, the rain was pouring down so heavy that it'd be a pain even trying to see where to walk. And I didn't have a raincoat, either.
It was so quiet. I found myself stepping outside, staying under cover, just to get a break from the silence. It didn't matter how cold it was, or that the wind blew right through my clothes, freezing. It was better than being stuck with nothing but my own thoughts.
I couldn't tell whether or not Klaus was the one who'd killed Madeleine. And I still didn't know what he wanted with me. If Elena were here, or any of the others for that matter, they'd tell me not to trust him. To be careful.
I didn't trust him. But I wasn't careful.
Things had to progress slowly, that's what Klaus had said. But what... things? I didn't want more power than I needed to get on with my life and not worry about flipping out. That's all I wanted. That and to know what happened to Madeleine.
When the clock struck eight, Klaus still hadn't come back; and, if he had, he hadn't let me know.
After finding my way back to the room, I'd gone through every drawer in every piece of furniture there was. They were all empty. Then, I spent who knows how long doing stretches on the floor, because I couldn't think of anything better. Time passed slowly, if even at all.
I was in the middle of braiding my hair for the third time when I heard voices somewhere. The sound grew louder.
Dropping my hair mid-braid, I stood up and faced the door. It was hard to tell who it was. It sounded like men, so it could be Klaus – but also practically anyone else.
They didn't seem keen on sneaking up on me, with that volume. One voice was more level, like a murmur, while the other one rose up and down, sounding aggravated.
They kept coming closer. I clenched my fists. When they where right outside the door, I recognised Klaus' voice, but I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying because he was going so fast. Then someone else spoke.
''I can hear the heartbeat, Niklaus. What is it you aren't telling me?''
I knew that voice. It had been so long, but I knew it.
The doorknob turned, and I watched it slide slowly. Then someone pushed the door open.
Our eyes met, and his mouth opened slightly in what could only be surprise.
It was him.
Elijah.
Surprise?
(Also – and this is me nitpicking – I'm not sure how the majority of middle class Americans deal with tap water, so I took some artistic liberties there)
