Over the short drive to the Gilbert house, Caroline had not stopped cursing Klaus. Never mind saving Tyler, or drawing little wolves, or writing apology notes that didn't even count as apologies – the guy was, without a doubt, the source of all evil and why anything in the world went wrong. Before his birth earth must have been a physically harsh but overall peaceful place. No she did not care what her history lessons had taught her. There was no chaos, no misfortune, and definitely no urge to strangle someone with your bare hands until there was Klaus.

He sent her a dress that morning.

A beautiful mermaid-style wedding dress with lace details and pearl trimmings that looked out of this world, but fitted Caroline like a glove.

She hated it.

She didn't know what Klaus's angle was. Did he just sit around all day thinking up different ways to infuriate her? Or was this a purposeful reminder that she had no power nor control in this terrible mistake of an event to the point that she didn't even have the time to shop for her own wedding dress? She agreed to marry him in the blink of an eye, forsaking her champagne-filled fashion shows in wedding boutiques surrounded by family and friends. He could have settled for his win. But no, he wanted to rub it in.

With a dress so perfect it almost didn't deserve to be shoved into the deep dark corner of her closet, in the midst of other obviously lesser dresses. What a shame.

By the time Caroline arrived, she had pictured a dozen alternative scenarios in which she eloped with the dress, or better yet, married the dress instead.

Sighing, she got out of the car. Conflict-evoking dresses aside, she had to focus on the task at hand. Since the wedding was only one day ahead, she was meeting with the Elders to go over the details as scheduled. Honestly she didn't know why they bothered. The wedding, being a binding ritual, had to be carried out to the book without her creative input, and everyone was so comfortable with making her decisions for her anyway. She'd done extensive research on the binding spell they'd use at the ceremony, which was really the only thing that mattered. They could have emailed her the rest.

The other reason she was reluctant to come here was of course what Tyler had revealed to her yesterday. She didn't know how she would stand being in a room with Grayson Gilbert without blowing up in his face, but she and Tyler had decided that it was best if she didn't burn the bridge down before she left the coven. Caroline also unilaterally decided that Tyler was not to accompany her to this meeting, citing the reason that she "didn't need a freaking bodyguard no matter what Klaus had ordered", which Tyler was not happy about.

"If you don't text me that you have safely arrived back home in an hour, I'm going in."

Caroline just rolled her eyes at him.

Grayson wouldn't dare do anything to jeopardize his precious deal. Now that he'd reached a truce with the big bad hybrid, his popularity in the coven had never been higher, and he probably needed that to cover up his tracks. So in spite of the bitter distain she could taste at the back of her throat, Caroline entered the familiar white two-story house with a considerable amount of confidence.

But that confidence quickly dissipated as soon as she saw that her mom was not among the Elders who gathered in the living room.

"What's happening? Where's my mom?" She warily examined the room. It looked mostly the same as when Elena was still living here, save for the one emptied shelf where Elena used to put her photo collection. But the smell was all different. Gone was the distinct scent of mango and coconut diffuser that Elena had forced upon her family members, leaving only a hint of the sweetness of fruits. Grayson and his wife Miranda were sitting on the sofa, along with two other Elders who Caroline recognized as close friends of the Gilberts. A few others scattered around the vast space, with Carol Lockwood standing next to the windows, her face unreadable.

"Don't worry, Caroline. Your mom's stuck at work. You know how it is at the station – she'll be with us shortly," Miranda gestured for Caroline to sit down, a warm smile on her face as always. Caroline nodded unconvinced. For the non-supernatural population of this town, Liz was just an ordinary sheriff with endless duties concerning underage drinking and public disturbance, and it was not unusual that she would work overtime at the police station. But the air in the room felt off, and she could feel her magic simmering under her skin, unsettled for no reason.

Still she decided to see where this was going. Sitting down, she politely accepted the coffee with one sugar Miranda offered her without taking a sip. What happened at the negotiation was still fresh on her memory. Klaus might have been arrogant enough to ignore a little something extra, but she'd rather not try her luck.

Grayson gave her untouched coffee a knowing look, but made no comment. Instead, he leaned over and clasped his hands in front of him, "Caroline, before we get to the details, I want to thank you on behalf of our coven for your sacrifice. It is a selfless, courageous thing to do. We are so proud of you."

"And we want you to know that we will do our best to protect you from the vampires. No matter where you are, you'll always be a part of the coven," added Miranda.

A few days ago Caroline would have been touched. But now Miranda's words sent all the alarm bells in her head screaming. What did she mean by "always a part of the coven"? What more did they want from her?

Her suspicion must have shown – she was never good at concealing any emotions – because Grayson jumped right in, putting on his most sincere voice, the one that used to make Caroline secretly jealous of Elena for having such a great dad, "Caroline, we don't want to worry you. But we're not doing our job if we don't prepare you for the dangers to come. The vampires are capricious and deceptive by nature. You never know what their next move might be. So the key is to never trust any of them, least of all Klaus."

"If that's the case, then why did you suggest the marriage in the first place?" Her words came out way harsher than she intended. Caroline cleared her throat, plastering on a sheepish smile, "I mean, they might change their mind, and we certainly don't want that, right?" She batted her eyelashes to complete the dumb blonde act.

Grayson seemed to buy it for now, "it'll all be fine, Caroline. We won't give them the chance."

Caroline tried to keep her face blank and her voice flat, "but how?"

"You are going to help us," Grayson sent her such a look of trust that Caroline felt goosebumps. She never knew he was such a good actor. But right now all she wanted was for him to drop the charades and just spell out what he wanted. She was so sick of the smoke and mirrors she wanted to throw the coffee in his lying face.

Patience, Caroline.

"Sure, whatever you guys need," she nodded hesitantly, playing the part of the overwhelmed gullible little bride-to-be. "I just don't know if I can be of much help, you know? We can't count on my magic, and Klaus is like, a billion years old. I doubt I can outsmart him."

Miranda moved to sit next to her, putting her arm around Caroline's shoulders, "don't sell yourself short child. We have your back."

I'd rather you stay the hell away. Caroline squeezed out a grateful smile, willing her body to relax in Miranda's saccharine hug.

"You have to give yourself more credit, Caroline. You are such a special young lady, and with the right guidance, you'll offer us invaluable help once you settle into the Mikaelson household."

Caroline's eyes widened as Grayson retrieved a shiny object from his pocket and put it in front of her. It was a silver necklace with a simple pendant, but the power it radiated made it almost hard to breathe in its presence. Spelled. Silence stretched on in the room as Grayson and Miranda watched closely at her, and Caroline was growing more agitated by the second.

"What's this?"

"It's spelled to protect you," Grayson offered.

Caroline all but wrote "are you kidding me" on her face, laying low be damned. Dumb blonde she may pretend to be, but even pretended dumbness had a limit.

"And it will act as a bridge between you and the Spirits once you put it on."

"What do you mean 'bridge'?" It was like pulling teeth with him. As far as bad-guy-dancing-around-the-subject went, Grayson was absolutely the worst. At least Klaus was entertaining with his nerdy trivia and mood swings. She couldn't believe she just described Klaus as entertaining. She couldn't believe she was thinking about Klaus at such a dire moment, period.

Grayson finally pulled her out of her straying thoughts, "when you put the necklace on, the Spirits will be able to see what you can see, and thus give you proper guidance at the right moment."

They were going to make her wear a magic wire?

"But um...Wouldn't Klaus sense the magic? It's not quite inconspicuous, you know." There was no way she was going along with that plan.

"Oh Caroline, you little over-thinker," Miranda chuckled. "Of course we thought of that. The power will blend with yours once you put it on. They won't suspect a thing."

"Still...Are we sure this is the best idea? You all know my track record with the Spirits. It's not great."

It was common knowledge in the coven that Caroline's magic was different, and not just because of how uncontrollable it appeared to be. Every single time she tried to call upon the Spirits for a larger spell like all the other witches in her coven did, she failed. It was like she was on a complete other frequency than their ancestors who resided on the Other Side, neither their voice nor powers getting through to her. The best she'd ever got were broken whispers that she couldn't decipher.

"That's where the necklace comes in. The Spirits can send their voices to you through the connection, and when the right moment comes, they will lend you their powers."

Lend her their powers? More like use her as a spell-casting puppet.

Sensing her unease, Miranda took her hands gently, "Caroline, I know it's scary. But you're our best bet here. We don't know the exact reason, but Klaus seems satisfied with the deal, and he's been quite...lenient with your mother's demands when it comes to your situation." She had a questioning look in her eyes, as if trying to figure out why Klaus would show such compassion for her, but Caroline herself was at a lost. "Anyway, if there's anyone who might get a chance to take him down, it will be you."

"I thought we were honoring the truce?" She should have known they were planning something else. She just didn't expect them to use her to do it. But then, why wouldn't they? They did it to Tyler.

"Like I said, vampires can't be trusted. And Klaus certainly can't be trusted," Grayson's suggesting look swept around the room, and the other Elders nodded their assent. Grayson's eyes landed on Carol.

"Grayson is right. Klaus is a monster who turned my son into a monster like him. He needs to be taken down," Carol's face was pure hatred, and Caroline kept the surprise out of her expression. That was not what Tyler had told her. In his version, Carol was "over the moons" just to see her son alive and well, and was ready to "tear the Gilberts a new one". So either Carol had been lying to Tyler, or more possibly, she was yet another actor in the game. Damn this living room scene deserved an Emmy.

"You heard Carol. This is something that we have to do, as a coven," Miranda sighed. "Think about all the people we have lost. Think about Tyler, John and Isobel, and so many others."

Caroline was screaming inside that Miranda dared to count Tyler as one of the lost. As for Elena's jerk of an uncle and aunt, she could give a rat's ass.

She watched in horror as Miranda took the necklace, opened the clasp, and held it over her chest. A chilling sensation spread where Miranda's fingers and the metal touched her, hurtling Caroline into an unexpected memory. When she was young her mom used to take her to the Gilberts' clinic to get flu shots. Miranda was perfect at her job. She'd comfort a very stressed-out Caroline when she alcohol-swabbed her arm, "cold, isn't it? Like a little piece of winter to help you through the winter." Then she'd ask Caroline to take three deep breaths, and she'd always do them together with her.

Caroline wondered for a moment why she hadn't told her to take deep breaths this time, before jerking away from Miranda's hold.

"I can't do it."

"Caroline, we understand that you're scared –"

"I'm not scared! I'm just not doing it," Caroline snapped at Grayson, long since fed up with his fake sympathy. "I don't care what crazy schemes you guys are cooking up behind my back. I will not get involved. Actually, I suggest you quit it too. It won't end well for you, or for the coven. Not that I care about you particularly."

Grayson huffed, "I don't know what rumors you've been hearing, Caroline, but Klaus has always been, and always will be, our enemy. I only want what's the best for our coven."

"And we have the truce for that!" Caroline jumped to her feet, "which I will do my best to keep. But I refuse to use this marriage as a chance to get close to Klaus and then stab him in the back. Arranged or not, I am making a commitment."

Grayson laughed, "you kids and your romantic notions of marriage. It's not a commitment if he massacred your family."

"You mean he massacred your family," Caroline replied coldly. After hearing the full story from Liz, there was no way she was letting Grayson off the hook, "you are not the coven. The Gilberts are not the coven. And it's about time that other innocent members of this coven be reminded of that."

She raised her chin and made eye contact with each and every stunned face in the room, feeling quite satisfied with her speech. Even Carol looked impressed for a split second. "I think we're done here."

But just as she was about to turn around and exit the house, a freezing sensation washed through her body and suddenly she found herself frozen in place, not able to move even a finger. Caroline snapped her eyes to the Elders in the room and saw them chanting quietly.

"What is this? Are you out of your mind?"

"You should really learn to respect your elders, Caroline," Grayson sighed. "I have hoped that it would not come to this. It will work the best for us all if you could just cooperate." He paused for a moment, his face turning so sincere that the Caroline a few days ago would have believed him in a heartbeat, "you are Elena's friend, and we've always thought of you like a daughter. We mean you no harm, you have to know that."

"Yeah right," Caroline scoffed as much as she could under the spell. "Do you really think you could fool me after what you did to Tyler?"

"Do not bring Tyler into this, Caroline," Carol suddenly spoke, something flashing through her eyes. "We all should want the same thing here: for Klaus to pay for what he has done."

"Carol is right. Look at the big picture. Klaus is power hungry, always has been. He's never going to stop until he eliminates any potential threat to him and his family."

To be honest, Caroline was surprised that Grayson was still trying to reason with her. But it worked to her advantage, so she wasn't complaining. Pushing down her initial panic, she started to gather her powers which felt like scattered sand at the moment. The Elders' spell must be doing something to her magic as well. She needed more time if she wanted to break out of the hold of a group of witches that had so many years on her, or at least stall until her backup got here.

"But if we do this, wouldn't it just show him that we are the threats? How is that going to help the coven?"

"Not if you get him on your first try," Grayson finally stood up from the sofa, walking towards her with the necklace in his hand.

"You can't force me."

Grayson nodded, "I know. And it won't work if we have to force you anyway. So Caroline, I am asking you once again to think about your coven. You are our best chance at getting rid of an abomination."

Caroline stared at him long and hard. This was a person that had been present in her whole life. It shocked her how little she actually knew him. "If you want to go against one of the most dangerous creatures on earth, it's your own business. But I draw the line at dragging down the coven with you." She narrowed her eyes, a sarcastic smirk at her lips, "and name calling."

"Then you leave us no choice."

Grayson turned back and exchanged a look with Miranda. Caroline watched in suspicion as Miranda came to stand right in front of her, and another Elder started to prepare salt circles around them both. This did not look good. She bit her teeth and tried harder at taking control of her magic, but still the second she grabbed onto the tiny streams they seeped right through her hold.

"It's no use," Miranda shook her head. "Do you really think you can overpower us?"

"What do you want with me?" Caroline managed to keep the trembles out of her voice.

"Nothing," Miranda had the nerve to smile apologetically at her. "We want nothing with you."

They wanted nothing with her.

Suddenly it hit Caroline. The sweet sourly fruit smell in the air. Elder berries. The key ingredient in what she dubbed "the body jump spell".

"No, no you can't," she could only panic in her mind, her paralyzed fingers not even capable of making a fist, scattered magic roaring desperately in the corners of her body that she couldn't reach. "How can you even think of this? You're going to take over my body? And what, stuff me in yours?"

It was so wrong she felt sick to her stomach.

"I'm sorry, Caroline, but this is our last resort. Grayson was right, with the wedding going on, you're our best chance. Or at least the appearance of you."

"My mom will never allow this!" Caroline yelled as one of them cut her finger and dripped her blood into a vessel. "And what are you even going to do to me when you guys stuff me in Miranda? I won't just sit pretty and play the wedding guest I can assure you."

"That is for us to worry about," Grayson took her blood from the Elder. He was just about to pour it where the two salt circles joined when the deafening crack of the door being broken down interrupted him.

"Grayson, you let Caroline go right now," Tyler glared from the porch, his hands pushing on the invisible barrier at the entrance of the house. "And I might put in a good word with Klaus to keep your body intact."

"Klaus is such a bad influence on you, Tyler," Grayson didn't sound fazed by Tyler's threat. "You talk about people's lives as if they mean nothing. You have to know how wrong that is."

"That's rich coming from you," Tyler shot back. "Let Caroline go. I'm not saying it again."

"Or what?"

"Or every single one of your family and relatives gets a visit from some very hungry vampires," Tyler smirked. "You do know Klaus had them all followed right?"

Caroline so wished she could see Grayson's face right now. But the long silence would have to do.

Unfortunately when he eventually spoke it was not to back down, "you think you can threaten me? Let's pretend what you said was real. How about I keep you here with Caroline so you don't run back to your sire like a little lap dog?"

Two of the Elders raised their hands towards Tyler and he bent down clutching his head with a painful groan.

Caroline's shout of Tyler's name was drowned out by the sound of a police car screeching to a halt in front of the Gilbert house. Stepping off into the chaos was Liz, gun in hand, leveled right at Grayson.

"You do that, and I shoot."

"Bullets, Liz? Thinking a little small, aren't we?"

"Magical bullets," Liz didn't even blink. "I pull the trigger, and that bullet has your name on it. It will never stop until it buries itself in your head. So you let Tyler and Caroline go right this second, and don't even bother chanting. The gun's faster."

Caroline could see that Grayson was considering Liz's words from the tense lines of his back. But she did know Grayson despite all these new revelations hitting her blow after blow. He was stubborn, and backed into a corner, you really couldn't expect what choice he would make. Dumb choices, possibly. So instead she turned her frantic eyes on Miranda, and whispered.

"How's Elena?"

"What?" Miranda was obviously taken aback by the sudden question, "are you threatening us too, Caroline?"

"No. Believe it or not, she's still my best friend. And if this all goes down in flames, I want to know that she's okay."

Miranda bit her lips in hesitation, but her eyes softened, "she's doing well. Last I heard she got a story published in the school paper."

"That's great! She always loved writing," Caroline beamed, feeling a genuine spark of joy in her heart, however fleeting it was. At least some of them were out there living normal lives, without body jump spells or death threats. "Do you remember she once wrote a story about a panicking bride on her wedding day based on me? I was so annoyed with her at the time. But now, even if this is a fake wedding, I still kind of wish she were here." In the background she could hear the sound of Grayson and her mom arguing, with Tyler's angry voice chiming in here and there. She honestly didn't know how this would end.

"Will you send her pictures?" She joked with a wry smile.

Miranda didn't reply. She looked like she was under a spell herself, her face frozen in an unreadable mask of determination, under which something seemed to be dissolving.

"Yeah," she nodded after a while. "Yeah I will."

With that she stepped away from the salt circle.

Everything happened in a blur after that. Miranda calling off Grayson and the Elders, everyone protesting and arguing and finally, Caroline's magic rushing back along with her mobility. She felt dizzy all of a sudden, her heart pounding so loudly in her ears, and her legs felt too shaky to take a step. Thankfully her mom and Tyler hurried towards her and circled her in big hugs. While Liz was making extra threats to the Gilberts over her shoulder, Caroline heard Tyler mumble near her ear.

"Klaus is so going to have my head for this."

"You tell him to come to me," Caroline straightened up with a huff, gaining back her strength instantly at the mention of the hybrid's name. "I'll deal with him."

Compared to wicked witches who wanted to force her out of her own body, the window-climbing, picture-drawing, dimple-flashing hybrid was harmless. She was almost excited.