Happy valentine's everyone!
In the spirit of the cutesy weekend ahead, I decided to post this awaited chapter - after a motivation boost from an incredibly kind review - and even make it longer than expected. Consider it my valentine's gift to you all!
Because it is finally time for the non-date, and even my own inner KC-shipper is squealing inside.
Enjoy!
Chapter 19: Something cursed from the start
Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana
"You're sure that's what she said?" Damon's voice boomed through the phone, as Caroline and Enzo finished filling him in on their progress. "She used those words exactly?"
"Yes. Verbatim." she gritted through her teeth. "Now tell me what the hell is going on."
Damon sighed before finally breaking the silence on the line. "It was something we were working on for the past year. A cursed object powerful enough to pierce through all veils of magic. Essentially, it could break any spell for a limited amount of time."
"So, what magic where you going to break with this candle exactly?" Caroline questioned, glancing over at Enzo with raised eyebrows. "What were you planning?"
"We found out that Julian was using a very powerful cloaking spell. One based off doppelganger magic." Enzo decided to chime in as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Okay, you need to tell me right now that this isn't what we're doing here. That you aren't using me to get to Julian – again. That Bonnie wasn't taken because of your crazy revenge plans… Because I am this close to dropping everything and going back to Chicago." she threatened, holding her fingers up in gesture as she felt a familiar rage fill her chest.
"Caroline…" Enzo reached for her shoulder, squeezing it softly with a pleading look. "I swear, that is not why we came here. Nor why we asked you and Alaric to help."
"No, but… It's something I should have thought of sooner." Damon chimed in, making her turn to the phone again. "The candle could be used to find Bonnie."
"Let me guess, by breaking through Julian's cloaking spell. Then what?"
"The candle…" Damon began. "It has a really long history, we researched for months and traveled through all of Eastern Europe for it. I think I still have the notes that Bonnie took of our findings somewhere-"
"I'm not helping you go after Julian, Damon." Caroline interjected, earning a moment of silence from the line.
"We don't care about that, gorgeous." Enzo jumped in then, a reassuring smile on his face as he nodded towards her. "We just want Bonnie back. Nothing more."
She eyed him mutely for a moment, assessing him and determining whether he was being honest or not. Choosing to believe in him, she gave him a nod. "Fine. Then how are we supposed to find the candle when you couldn't?"
"There's a reason why we couldn't find it." Damon informed her then. "Julian had already taken it."
"Julian has it?" she echoed with a cold chuckle. "Wow, this just keeps getting better and better…"
"What if he doesn't?" Enzo countered. "What if he never had it?"
"What?" both Caroline and Damon pressed in disbelief at that. "But you and Bonnie-" the vampire began before Enzo interrupted him.
"Yes, but perhaps it was all a con." he explained. "Maybe he left the message where the candle was supposed to be to intimidate us. The witch Kasia, who guarded the crypt where the candle was, she said so herself. Her family had sole access to it for centuries."
"Okay, so is Julian a witch now?" Caroline retorted.
"No. But she told us that 'if the candle was ever there in the first place, it still would be.'"
Caroline's eyes grew wide at that. "You mean someone took it way, way, before Julian ever could have?"
"It's possible that he got to the crypt and found the box empty, just as we did." he shrugged.
"And what, he just bluffed with that message?"
"That would explain why we couldn't find it in Europe." Damon inquired then. "It was never there."
"So, if the candle has been missing for eons – how exactly are we supposed to know where to find it!?" Caroline yelped as panic began to grow.
"Well, we all do know of someone who likes to collect cursed objects like weapons… Hell, he had a whole armory of them."
"Lucien." Caroline concluded. "If Julian was looking for the candle while you were in Europe – that means he never found it when he went to New Orleans."
"Which means…" Enzo began, a wide and hopeful smile spreading on his face as he watched the blonde then. "Lucien has it, he always had it. The candle is here."
"What are you doing?" The words made Klaus freeze lightly as he found himself caught in the middle of digging through their old trunks and chests in the abattoir attic. He turned around and met Hayley's questioning face with a nonchalant smile and shrug.
"Searching."
"For what?"
He looked over at the suitcases he had just been scouring with a grimace. "Just an object that I may have misplaced."
"Well, that's vague..." she drawled on, wearing an entertained expression as she pushed off the doorframe and walked over to him. "So… Freya told me Lucien might be back."
"'Might' being the keyword in that sentence." he noted, turning away to continue his search again.
"Are we going to pretend that doesn't affect us?"
"Of course not, sweetheart." he sighed, walking over to a vitrine shelf. "I have already arranged for the safehouse to be cleaned. It will be ready for the arrival of you and Hope by tomorrow night."
"Were you going to inform me of this?" she pressed on, irritation evident in her tone.
He turned to her then, an apologetic look in his eyes as he sighed. "I've been occupied with other matters."
"Is moving dust around one of those matters then?"
Chuckling low at that, he shook his head and eyed her across the dark room. "Was there something you needed, Hayley?"
She crossed her arms in front of her then, a scowl on her face as she responded. "No, but Freya does. She could use a break, Klaus. She has exhausted herself with her research for Rebekah and now she has dived into finding Lucien as well."
"I'm aware of the problems at hand, love."
"And what, you don't care?"
He shrugged at her then. "What would you have me do?"
"She could come with us to Arkansas, for one." she suggested.
"I can't spare her." he protested. "She is needed here."
"For what? Can't you deal with Lucien alone?" Lowering his gaze then, he bit the inside of his cheek as he was about to speak up. But she cut him off. "There's something you're not telling me." she concluded, making him wince slightly.
He wondered shortly how a teenage wolf had managed to turn into such an insightful woman… And found it highly inconvenient at the moment. "Yes." he finally admitted, looking over at her with a set jaw. "There is more, but I haven't figured it all out yet."
"Well, then I should stay and help-" she began, making him reach for her shoulders then and silencing her abruptly.
"I need you and Hope safe." he told her wholeheartedly. "As soon as I have the situation here under control, I know that you will be."
"What about Elijah?"
"He will divide his time between the safe house and here until we have enough information to act on."
She watched him intently before nodding in response. "I trust that you will do whatever necessary to protect Hope. However, I worry you won't think to protect yourself."
He let go of her in surprise, blinking silently as he tried to read her face. She studied him for a moment before speaking again. "I saw someone in the city the other day." she began cautiously while her eyes studied his reaction. "Someone I haven't seen in years. And I think that someoneis the reason for this strange behavior of yours."
"Me trying to keep my family safe is strange to you?" he mocked with a short chuckle, turning away to avoid her scrutinizing gaze. "Don't worry, love. I am simply taking some precautions if the rumors of Lucien's return are indeed right."
"Klaus, I don't know everything about your history with her but-"
"Don't." he cut her off as he turned around and raised his palm for her to stop. "Hayley, we… We agreed a long time ago to be partners, you and I." he reminded her with a soft expression then. "I have every intention of living up to it. Which is why I have told you as much as I can, for now."
"When will you tell me the rest of it?"
"Soon." he promised. "Until then… I need you to trust me."
She gave him a reluctant nod, sighing deeply. "Will you at least tell me what it is you're looking for up here?"
He considered it, watching her as she patiently awaited his reply. Wondering if he should keep it to himself for now, as to avoid further questions on the newest arrival to the city. Finally, he chose that she too had earned a little bit of trust from him in return. "Very well." he let out with a sigh before describing the package he was searching for. Hoping she wouldn't continue to press him on the reason behind it. Or rather; the person.
Caroline stared at her reflection in the mirror in silence. It had taken an hour to choose the right dress to wear for tonight, a midi burgundy dress with a boat-line neck and a timid keyhole opening in the back. Then it took about twenty minutes for her to decide that the black pumps in her suitcase did indeed work with the dress. And another hour later, her makeup was done, and her hair was curled...
However, she didn't know what to do with that weird look on her face.
It had been a while since her last dinner date, maybe that was what her expression reflected. Over the years she had grown accustomed to the casual fling, the random one-night-stands, the very short and temporary relationships… It was simple and it worked for her.
In her own sense, Caroline had it all figured out. She had the great two-story townhome in Lincoln Park in the heart of Chicago, with two bedrooms and three baths, a huge kitchen and recently upgraded appliances. She lived with Ric, which allowed her to be herself, and to be social on her own conditions. She didn't need to hold it together all the time. She could break down and cry, or rip apart her room in anger, or dive into a few blood bags in frustration without anybody batting an eye. And when she felt lonely, she could just go to a bar and bring someone back for the night.
It was good. Not great, perhaps, but still... It could've been so much worse. And after everything that had happened recently in her life, she really needed good. She sat down on the hotel bed and closed her eyes as an all-too familiar sensation began filling her chest. Or rather the lack thereof. The emptiness.
When she was working, studying, taking care of Ric or even now, looking for Bonnie - she could push it away. But whenever she had a moment to stop and think, that was when it caught up with her. And usually, that was when she made her way through a bottle of strong spirits while a young man decided to ask her if "anyone had ever told her how pretty her eyes were" for the umpteenth time.
But now she had no escape, and it scared her.
The thought of calling Marcel up to silence her brain for the night crossed her mind, but she didn't feel too excited about it. For a mere second, she allowed herself to think of Klaus. But that only brought a turmoil of feelings which made her head spin in confusion, and so she decided to put him out of her thoughts until it was absolutely inevitable.
Unfortunately, the knock on her door informed her that the time for denying the night's honest intentions had run out. Immediately her stomach twisted into knots as she tried to take a few breaths. She went to open the door with a recurrent mantra going through her head.
It's not a date. It's not a date. It's not a date. It's not -
And then, when she saw him, everything went silent. Dressed in a dark suit and button-up shirt, wearing a dimpled smile on his face to match the twinkle in his eyes as he looked over at her.
It took a moment until she could speak. "Hi." she said, at a loss for words.
"Hi." he echoed, his soft smile widening as he gazed across her silhouette. He shook his head lightly and cleared his throat. "You look absolutely stunning, Caroline."
She had to shake off a shiver as she tried to collect herself under his steamy gaze. "Thank you." she fought against a blush and took a deep breath before speaking up again. "You look... perfect."
Their eyes met as they seemed to remember the same old memory together, one from a different time and place where they too went on a 'non-date'. A soft giggle escaped her as she looked up at him, earning a chuckle from him in return. "Well..." she said then and grabbed her purse. "Ready to go?"
"Not yet." he crooned as he reached into his pockets and took out a rectangular velvet box. She studied it closely as he placed it in her hands, a little satin ribbon tied around it. Something was awfully familiar about it all.
"This isn't…" she shook her head in disbelief as she opened it quickly, confirming her suspicion with a smile. Inside was a diamond bracelet that she had seen a long time ago, it had been his birthday gift to her. But she had thrown it back at him during an argument. One where she thought she had finally broken through to the man behind the beast. Only to find that he was just as manipulative and duplicitous as everyone said… And here he was, giving it to her again. It felt like they were starting over in some ways, because a lot of things had happened between them after that one night at the Mikaelson's ball. Resulting in the knowledge that even if she had struck some truth with her words back then, he still wasn't what she had expected at all.
"Will you keep it on this time?" he teased softly, breaking her little walk through the bittersweet memory lane.
"I think I can do that." she drawled with a pout, biting her lip as a wide grin spread over her face. "Help me with the clasp?"
He mirrored her smile as she put the box away and held the bracelet up for him, allowing him to lock it around her wrist swiftly. "There." he smirked. "As if you were never parted from it."
She fought the fluttering in her chest as she met his eyes then. Clearing her throat and nodding. "Let's go."
He smiled and offered his arm for her to take. "Let's."
One month ago
Prague, Czech Republic
Damon was pacing their motel room with wild eyes upon the news. "How did he find us?" he whispered, staring over at Enzo and Bonnie with horror in his eyes.
"I don't know." Bonnie sighed, shaking her head as she watched the men. "Maybe my magic hasn't been as well hidden as we thought…"
"No, love." Enzo chimed in then, placing a hand over hers to stop them from fidgeting. "It is not your fault, no one thinks it is."
"I kinda do." Damon scoffed bitterly, earning exasperated glares from the both of them. "What!? Something obviously tipped him off!"
"A vampire wouldn't have been able to go anywhere near the crypt without someone from the Myslikova Coven. Kasia thinks he may have used a witch to get him inside." Bonnie explained.
"What witch?"
"I don't know."
"What about Kasia, will she help us look for the candle?" Damon pressed on.
"I don't know…" Bonnie repeated, earning a frustrated groan from the vampire then.
Enzo let out a threatening, low growl. "Damon."
"Fine, fine!" he called out with his hands in the air. "Let's just pack our stuff, cast some spells to throw him off the trail and leave."
"You still want to go?" Bonnie questioned, surprised that he wanted to continue with their plan despite everything. "We don't have the candle, Damon. How can we go on with the plan without it?"
"Yeah, well... My contact in Faro will at least be able to point us in the right direction. That's the best I can think of right now."
Bonnie sighed at that. "Fine. I guess I better get packing then..." she muttered as she got up and began gathering her things.
A phone began ringing, causing Damon to reach for it swiftly. "Yeah?" he said, still occupied with filling up his duffle bag. He suddenly stopped, freezing up and staring back at the door.
"What is it?" Bonnie stuttered, terrified of the sudden change of behavior from the anxious vampire.
He didn't respond, but the same strange expression appeared on Enzo's face as well. Meaning he knew what was going on too, but neither seemed willing to fill her in. Instead, they both walked over to the door of the motel and opened it quickly.
She rushed to look past their shoulders and gasped at the visitors before them. "Stefan? Valerie?" she stammered out, wondering if she was imagining things or if the pair really was standing outside of their motel right now.
Damon sprung to action and wrapped his arms tightly around his brother, confirming his existence for her as she still grappled with the fact.
"What are you doing here?" Enzo stammered out. "How did you find us?"
The brothers broke apart then with matching smiles on their faces, making Bonnie's heart squeeze tightly in her chest. It was Valerie who spoke up first then, interrupting the happy reunion as Bonnie was enveloped by Stefan's arms as well.
"We've been following Julian for the past few years…" she explained with a somber tone. "When we realized why he had come here, we knew what had to be done."
Stefan pulled away from the hug then and turned a grim look to the three of them. "We need to get you all out of Prague. Now."
Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana
"You know, since we're being honest…" Caroline said as Klaus helped seat her at their table. "This really isn't what I had expected from you."
He had brought her to an open outdoor restaurant, with twinkle lights and lanterns hanging on strings over the large area. A band was playing some jazzy songs over at a small stage near them, adding to the relaxed and delightful ambiance which surrounded them. Matching the couples and groups of friends laughing and drinking and toasting all around.
"I was told this was the sort of place one friend would take another friend to dinner." he quipped, feigning innocence. "If it is not to your liking then I do have other options, love. Simply say the word."
She rolled her eyes at him and scoffed. "I think I will be keeping score this evening, to finalize just how capable you are of being friends."
"Well, if I am being fully honest, as we said we would be, as much as a challenge like that is hard to resist – I wouldn't mind throwing this incessant friendship ordeal out the window and instead show you what I originally had in store for a night such as this."
She cleared her throat and waved her finger disapprovingly then. "That's at least a thousand negative points!" she exclaimed, making him chuckle and shake his head.
"What exactly are you basing this point-giving system on?"
"The level of eyes you're giving me, what else?" she retorted cheekily and shrugged.
Klaus let out a warm laughter that made Caroline join in for a minute, grinning over at him as his eyes glistened in the light. "Well, what kind of acts will gain me actual points then?" he pressed on.
"Oh, you know, small-talk, friendly conversations… Boring topics would give bonus points. You know, the kind of stories that a man wouldn't normally tell a woman if they weren't in fact friends and nothing else."
"I personally have never been a fan of small-talk. It is one of the several modern conceptions amongst humans that I cannot say I understand…" he snickered then with a shrug of his shoulder. "I've always much more fancied being straight-forward right from the start of a conversation."
She glared at him with wide eyes. "Seriously?"
"What?" he chuckled at that.
"It's just… You're one to talk." she scorned him with an incredulous shake of her head. "Literally all you do is talk in metaphors and hidden meanings! Not to mention that whole switching between passive aggressiveness and smugness thing you do, so quickly sometimes that it gives me whiplash. None of that is very straight-forward if you ask me."
He wore a soft but serious expression as he spoke again. "Well then, Caroline, allow me to say, straight-forwardly; that I am glad to have you in New Orleans."
She was stunned for a moment as she took his kind words in, feeling a flutter in her chest as she met his eyes. "Thank you." she whispered in response, not being able to figure out anything else to say. A waiter showed up then and served two glasses of red wine along with a pair of appetizers. Making Caroline wonder how he had already managed to order when they were yet to even see a menu.
As she studied him, his face molded a slightly hard expression, making the sweet moment between them pass too quick for her taste. "For the sake of our newfound honesty and all… I hope you won't mind me asking; why are you here?" he mused slowly and softly, as if trying his hardest not to upset her.
"Uhm, well..." she took a sip of her wine and inhaled deeply before diving into the story. "Obviously, we're looking for Bonnie."
"Yes, and I reckon that means you are also looking for a certain doppelganger then?" he probed, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"You don't know?"
He blinked at her question, studying her for a short moment before raising his eyebrows in confusion. "You mean… she's dead?"
"Magical curse-coma." she corrected, looking down at her glass to avoid seeing the pending glee on his face. But instead, he reached for her hand and made her meet his eyes, filled with sympathy instead of the gloating smile she had expected.
"I'm sorry to hear that, love."
"Why?" the words left her mouth before she could stop them.
"Because she is your friend." he responded, a frown forming his mouth. "Of course, it may be somewhat of a relief for me to hear she won't be bringing any more trouble onto my doorstep in the nearest future. But that is beside the point."
She couldn't help but chuckle at that, shaking her head slightly. "Right."
"And while on the subject of loss..." he began, causing a heavy weight to press at her chest.
"Yeah..." she whispered, withdrawing her hand and staring into her lap. She had been worried about this coming up – the topic of her mother. "I never did thank you for..."
"That was never necessary, Caroline." he cut her off with a soft voice, making her peer up at him with a frown.
She was brought back in her mind then to the flowers he had sent her on the morning of the funeral. Gorgeous red roses and white lilies in a huge spray, accompanied with a letter – in that general Klaus-style of his:
"Dearest Caroline,
Please accept my deep and sincere condolences on the passing of your mother. The only comfort I can think of to offer you is the advice to grieve in any way you can and for as long as you may need. I hope you will remember the happiness you've shared with her, not solely the grief you feel now that she is gone. Furthermore, I hope you know if there is ever anything I can do for you, you need only ask.
With love,
Klaus."
She had been thankful for the thoughtful gesture, but also bitter. Because she knew all too well how he dealt with loss and pain himself. More often than not bloody. Now however, she wished that she had followed his advice, instead of what she had decided to do: turn her humanity off.
The memories of those dark days flashed before her eyes as a deep pit grew in her stomach... Perhaps she still hadn't quite recovered, not only from the loss of her mother, but from the way she had acted in the face of it as well. Her train of thought was interrupted when a couple of waiters swiftly arrived with entrées.
Again, she wondered how Klaus had coordinated all of this and looked over at him with so many questions. Unsure of which to ask him first. "How did you know about my mom?" she mused once the waiters left.
He gave her a short and soft smile before answering. "Does it matter?"
"I mean... I guess not, I just think it's strange that you knew about that but not about Elena and Julian and everything else."
He propped his elbows on the table, his hands under his chin as he seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Was this not our arrangement, love? I agreed to stay away from your life in Mystic Falls, and I did. I'm confused as to why you act upset over that fact."
"I just, I guess I didn't really think you would-"
"Keep my promise?"
She bit her lip to try and hide the guilt his hurt look brought her. "What about Dallas?" she countered, earning a flash of something else on his face then.
"Ah, you put that together then..." he crooned silently.
"Yes well, I may not remember everything that happened, but I do know that I blacked out after nearly dying from a werewolf bite and woke up completely healed. So, it wasn't exactly a mystery what had transpired." she retorted, earning a slow nod from him before she continued. "So, why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you heal me? Why didn't you just… let me die?"
Leaning back in his chair in a sigh, he looked away for a moment before facing her again. "Why didn't you call me?" he countered then, causing her to flinch under his scrutinizing gaze. "Why were you lying in the middle of the road with enough werewolf venom in your system to turn you into a pile of bones… just a few yards away from a car crash which you apparently had caused yourself?"
She hadn't realized that he knew about that. Truthfully, she had hoped it had all just been a hallucination. That she hadn't actually tried to murder a couple in the middle of some woods outside of Dallas. That she hadn't intended to take her own life, to succumb to the werewolf bite and give up – just to get run over by a truck instead. She had wondered just how she survived the accident, but Alaric hadn't known much about it and the details had remained unclear ever since.
However, the possibility that Klaus had somehow found her, healed her and taken her to a hospital seemed absolutely bizarre. Not because he had saved her, but because he then left without saying goodbye. And until today, she thought it was because he had been upset with her. That helping her had been such an inconvenience that he just wanted to feed her his blood and leave. That this time, it would be the last. That he wouldn't ever do something like that again.
Hell, wasn't she already overdue with unpaid favors by now anyway? She certainly wouldn't have blamed him if he didn't want to come to her aid anymore. It wasn't his responsibility, and it sure as hell wasn't normal for the thousand-year-old original hybrid to run after a baby-vampire all over the world at every sign of danger.
"I think..." she began, feeling the words ring true but worrying they wouldn't be well received at all. "I guess I didn't expect you to care."
He wore a sad smile when she finally looked over at him again. Seeing something pained and confused on his face before he turned away from her with the shake of his head. "I see." he muttered quietly and completely out of humor.
She could feel him wanting to press the subject further, question her cold reasoning, but wished and willed him to let it go in her mind. "So, you are searching for Bonnie." he confirmed, a much lighter tone in his voice. It made her let out a long breath of relief.
"Yeah, a vampire - Julian – abducted her." she breathed out.
"And what does this Julian want with the Bennett-witch?"
"I don't know." she admitted, combing through her hair with her fingers as her nerves hadn't quite subsided yet. "But it can't be good, last time he was up to something like this, he kind of... Well, he tried to change the bloodlines."
That made Klaus' stiffen slightly, just enough for her to catch it considering things never really seemed to throw him off-guard. His eyes fluttered in surprised interest as the ends of his mouth twitched to hold back a smirk. "Really? And how exactly had he planned on achieving that?"
"Well, last time he came to New Orleans to find his sire, so we think that was a part of it. But it's not why I'm here." He looked surprised at that, but she hurried on before he could comment on it. "Enzo and Damon may still want to get to Julian and stop him from coming after all of us and whatever… But I don't care about that, I'm only here to find Bonnie."
"And I understand that requires something from Lucien? At least according to the rather limited amount of information which Marcel has decided to divulge with me."
"Yeah, well… Okay, so last time, Julian had this insanely elaborate plan going on. He needed his sire, he needed to know which bloodline he belonged to and he went looking for some special objects that could be used as weapons." she revealed, realizing he probably needed some more details than what she had offered so far. "Damon thinks his sire was Lucien. And he thinks that this collection of weapons that Julian was looking for belonged to him as well. So, all in all; if we get to Lucien, he leads us to Julian and that gets us to Bonnie."
"And what of the vision Alice-May shared with you then?"
"Yeah, that was… Well, weird. Apparently, one of these objects that Lucien may or may not have been collecting was a candle. Or well, not just any candle… It's called the Candle of Hades and according to Damon, it can break any cloaking spell no matter how powerful. So, finding that would help us find Bonnie, hopefully without getting in the middle of whatever plan Julian has this time around."
She had to take a breath as she finished speaking, the words having left her mouth so quickly she wasn't sure he had followed her. He nodded slowly before turning to his food, making her do the same and realizing that her plate was suddenly empty. Had she been that hungry?
After finishing his last bite, two servers showed up as if having been standing by and collected their plates. As their glasses were being refilled, she studied the quiet man in front of her with a racing heart. Fidgeting with the hem on her dress, she tried to sense what he was thinking but came at a loss. He was always quick to react when angry, not as quick when he was sad, and sometimes he would surprise her and act on both emotions at the same time… But now?
"Why?" he asked, cutting off her thoughts with a flat tone and blank face.
"Why what?" she stuttered out, trying to remember what she had said to gain such a cold stance.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
She stared at him in confusion. "You asked?"
"No... Why haven't you brought this problem to me until now?" he corrected, his eyes meeting hers with a dark color. Making her stomach twist as she realized she had been way off on her assessment of his reaction. He wasn't angry, or sad… He was pissed.
"Klaus, listen-"
"Perhaps it hadn't occurred to you that I may have some interest in the matter? What with it involving my siblings and all?" he gritted out through clenched teeth, rolling his fists up until they turned white.
"I didn't-"
"Or perhaps you simply thought I wouldn't care that this Julian is indirectly trying to get to me and my family by altering the bloodlines?"
"Klaus-"
"Or perhaps that kind of decency was too much to ask for? What, as a mere run-off-the-mill one-night stand in the woods, years ago… Is that it?"
The sound of glass breaking made Caroline realize that she had squeezed her drink too hard, blood starting to drip from her palm as she hissed out a long breath. "I didn't want to involve you because no matter how, when or where I brought this up - I knew. I knew you would just choose to hear whatever you wanted to hear so that you could use my words against me. That's why."
He let out a cold chuckle, tilting his head back slightly. "Yes, that must be it!" he said, banging his fist into the table, making the china jump up and glasses fall over. "I am such a cold, heartless monster that I couldn't possibly be reasoned with!"
"Well, you are kind of acting like a petulant child right now, so I think it proves my point." she muttered out, not even the least bit thrown off by his temper tantrum as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
"I'm the child?" he chuckled then, a wild and crazy grin on his face. "Not you, who has spent the last few days tip-toeing around me in an attempt to keep me from finding out that - yet again - my family is in danger because of you and your little trouble-seeking lot!"
"Why do you think I didn't tell you!?" she yelled back, a part of her realizing that they were making a scene and that everyone were staring but she couldn't bring herself to care. "Ever since you left, I have been trying to stay out of your life. But apparently, the universe loves torturing me, since it keeps insisting on pushing me in your way any chance it gets. So yeah, I kept this from you, because I actually tried to be the bigger person between the two of us and not drag you into my problems again!"
They were standing now, towering over the table on each sides with fumes most likely coming out through their ears. Her heart was beating so loudly, it was deafening. Until she realized that it wasn't her own pulse she was hearing... It was everybody else's. The realization hitting her then, crawling under her skin and causing her veins to feel dry as sandpaper.
Blood.
She wasn't seeing the man in front of her anymore, all she felt was the hunger calling for it. And it was everywhere. A suffocating feeling filled her throat as the walls seemed to close in on her. Her face itched as she fought against the dark veins crawling below her eyes. Her nails dug through her palms, piercing her skin, but it wasn't enough to distract her from the sudden and all-consuming craving she felt.
In the distance, she could see Klaus' face turning into a concerned frown as his voice called out to her. But she was too busy trying to figure out how to escape without leaving a massacre behind to pay any attention to him.
The second she spotted the closest exit, she flashed out of there and into a dark alley. She leaned against the brick wall and tried to control her breathing. Feeling her face change as she rolled up her knuckles and started digging her fingernails into her palms once more. Needing to feel something else, anything, aside from the raging and consuming hunger that screamed through her body.
Seeing a dumpster near the wall, she leaned over it and dug quickly until she found large chards of glass among some broken bottles. She looked down at her dress and bunched it up slightly over her thigh, then she stabbed herself in the leg. Hissing for a moment before doing it again. And again. Over and over. Like she had done that night at Marcel's.
Suddenly she was pushed up against the wall, her hand still gripping the piece of glass as she stared daggers into the man who had intervened. "Stop!" Klaus growled as he squeezed her arms tightly, keeping her from escaping him.
She panted as she closed her eyes, leaning her head back at the wall behind her with a slight sense of relief as his hands started causing her pain… Enough to drown out the rest. He let go of her arms then, as if realizing what she was thinking, and cupped her face instead. She tried to shake her head away from him, but his grip kept her from doing so.
"It's no big deal, I was just-" she stammered without opening her eyes.
"Don't lie." he growled low before leaning back a bit to study her leg as the blood kept running down from the slowly healing wound. "This is what Marcel is teaching you?" he asked with acid in his tone.
"What?" she quipped and looked at him then. "No, I was just trying to control it."
"When was the last time you fed?" he pressed on and looked deeply into her eyes, as if trying to compel it out of her.
She tried to shake her head again in denial. "I was just angry and-"
"Tell me! Before I grab the nearest pedestrian and serve them to you myself."
"A few days! Okay!?" she exclaimed. "Two maybe three… I don't really know."
He looked at her with a storm in his eyes. "Caroline…" he hissed out in a desperate tone. "How are you supposed to find some magical candle, get Lucien on your side and save Bonnie all the while starving yourself to death?"
"I've been able to manage it so far." she scoffed, her breathing calming down and her thoughts clearing up.
"How long have you been doing this to yourself?"
"I don't have to answer that." she insisted, mostly to herself.
"I'd suggest otherwise." he muttered as his face changed, his eyes glowed and veins covered his cheeks. He then bit into his wrist and held it up close to her face. "Drink." he ordered.
"I don't need -" she began but he interrupted her.
"Unless you want to leave a trail of bodies outside this restaurant, love, I believe this is your best option." he said as his face slowly changed back. "Don't make me force you." he pleaded then with a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She looked down at his wrist and felt her breathing speed up again at the sight of fresh blood from the actual vein. Caroline couldn't even remember the last time she had had that. The warmth drew her in, the smell bringing her face to change entirely at loss for control of it.
Frozen in place, she tried to decide whether she could calm herself without his help or not. But as Klaus rolled up his sleeve and turned his arm slightly, there was a few drops of blood that slowly and tantalizingly ran down his forearm. Her eyes fully locked on it, following the liquid's path as if in a trance. She was holding onto his arm with both her hands before she was even aware of what she was doing, then she bit into the nearly healed wound and began feeding.
Caroline had fed on Klaus' blood several times before in the past, but during those times she had been on the brink of death and hadn't really thought much of it. Nevertheless, it had still been a salvation and the feeling she had gotten from it was like coming up from air after having been drowning. But this time she wasn't dying, and so she could truly feel the rush of it.
She stumbled into his body, barely registering it as he held onto her with his free arm and kept her close. In her ears, Caroline followed his steady heartbeat, making her rapid one slow down and mimic it. She fed so quickly and desperately at first that she needed to release his arm for a moment to catch her breath. Then she bit into it again and grabbed his hand tightly as the blood filled her with warmth and an unadulterated form of euphoria.
Her mind was clouded, engrossed with the hunger inside, and as Klaus stroked her back while burying his face in her hair, she felt her heartbeat speed up again. His touch burned her skin all the way through the thin fabric of her dress. The scent of him surrounded her, the taste of him intoxicated her… She felt intoxicated, and alive and as if she was either going to burst into flames or start flying.
She let go with a soft moan, sucking down the path of some runaway drops down his forearm. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized the intimate position they were in. She felt his silent hiss blowing at her hair, his fingers digging into her side and his hard body pressing closer to her as he reacted to her lips and tongue on his skin. But for the moment, she was far too busy cleaning off his arm and absorbing each and every last bit of his blood that she could get.
The heartbeat she followed in her mind had begun to race again and it echoed her own. Drumming in her ears as she dove further down skin with her panting mouth. One of her hands gripped his collar tightly, partly to keep him in place and partly to steady her balance as she bit into his arm a third time. A low grunt escaped her as she tasted him again, sighing softly as she dug deeper into his skin. Klaus murmured something against her ear… But she couldn't comprehend the words as she was all too occupied with the pleasant shivers running through her as she fed on. The wall hit her side as he pushed closer, pinning her between him and the brickwork.
Something shifted then, a change in his blood as a sensation tinted it with a new kind of sweetness. She realized slowly that it was his longing for her that caused it, and the taste brought the walls down inside her mind. She wanted more, wanted to be closer, wanted to discover more of his flesh... Clawing at his shirt and chest, reaching for a necklace under the fabric and gripping it tight to pull herself closer to his body, just barely resisting the sudden urge to rub herself against him.
It wasn't until a deeper feeling infused the blood that she was chocked away from him abruptly. A word humming in the air between them as she knew in her heart what it was. It may have been several years since she'd last felt it, but she could recognize the feeling anywhere... Love.
Her head still spun as she raised her head from his arm, her body not seeming to listen to her as she tried to back out of his embrace. But instead, she clung to him and sighed deeply, her eyes closed as she felt herself soaring. Their heavy breaths the only sounds she could hear in the moment. Then the reality hit her like a punch in the stomach, making her cower away as guilt and embarrassment flowed through her. Striking her down like lightning and turning her body to stone as she fought to create space between them.
Pushing at his chest so that she could breathe air that wasn't scented with him... But he barely moved from the spot, making her bow her head in shame as she tried to calm the chaos inside. His hands held her face, thumbs gracing over the veins on her cheeks as she fought to make them go away. She finally gained enough control, her face returning to its human form and her eyes looking up at Klaus'.
She had been smart not to look into them sooner, because they were filled with fire. A sharp hiss rushed through her at the sight, the glowing yellow of his werewolf-half just barely hiding behind the green irises. They called out to her, pulled at her soul, wanted to bring her back into the dark and lustful haze again. Beckoning for her to lose herself in him further.
The world slowly came back into focus, their breaths mixing as the proximity between them remained slightly too close for her comfort. Sounds from the streets reached her again, reminding her of her shame. Of her losing control. Of the danger of indulging in the hybrid before her. Somehow, she managed to collect her thoughts just long enough to actually speak up. "Sorry" she whispered, trying to break the intense silence between them.
"For what?" he breathed, his voice so dark and husky that it made a harsh shiver run down her spine.
Blood-sharing is intimate. The thought made her shy away again, remembering how a similar situation had caused Stefan to nearly kill Damon in response... And she understood why. It was the deepest connection she had ever felt with anyone before, and it made her want to crawl into a corner and hide away from it.
"Forgetting." she said, not able to come up with anything else in the moment. She had crossed a line. A very serious one too. Feeding on him had allowed her to tap into his most safely tucked away thoughts and emotions. And knowing Klaus, how closed off and guarded he was, how thick the walls were that he kept around him... It felt like a very dangerous invasion of privacy.
However, it brought a different question to her mind as she studied him carefully. Why had he let her? Klaus was considerably stronger than her, if he wanted to he could have ripped her off him and killed her right on the spot. But he hadn't. He hadn't pulled away. Instead, he had leaned in. He had wrapped his arms around her, steadying her, allowing her to have her fill... He had let her gorge herself on him, as if he was the last body of water in a vast desert which she had traveled for an eternity in search of.
The man who never lets anyone in, who always keeps his guard up... That man had let her break down the door to his very mind and soul.
"Why didn't you stop me?" the words were uttered before she could think them over. Again, she winced at her lack of self-control and cursed her rogue tongue.
A dark smile formed his lips then as he leaned closer. Eyes heavy while he brought a thumb up to brush over her lips. "Do you really need me to answer that, Caroline?" he murmured low to her.
She gulped hard, fighting off the tingles that spread from his touch. Her eyes flicking between his and those tempting lips that were so close to her now. Thoughts raced through her mind as she fought to think of something to say to ease the electric tension around them. "Why do I get the feeling that you got more out of that than I did?" she huffed, attempting to ease the tension with some humor. But his dark smirk did nothing to calm her body down as he spoke up.
He leaned into her, drawing her hair behind her ear as he whispered close and sent tingles over her skin from his hot breath. "Yes, well... You certainly are quite delectable with my blood running through your veins." he purred softly. The possessive tone tugged at something deep inside of her that she quickly willed away. He leaned over her neck, his nose tracing her skin as he breathed her in. It caused her to tug on her lip with such force that blood pricked out from a tiny wound.
His face shot up then, his eyes glued to the red taint that stained her mouth suddenly. With a tug of his fingers, he freed her lip from her teeth and swiped the blood off. His thumb bringing a simple drop with it as he drew it to his mouth and sucked it off softly. A flash of veins spread over his face quickly before he met her eyes again. He shook his head then, his eyes snapping back into reality as he too seemed to catch himself forgetting, but what she was unsure.
He leaned back a little with a secretive smile playing on his lips. Gazing down at her body, making her follow his eyes to find out what it was that had caught his attention. She was surprised to see that not one single drop of his blood had stained her clothes. There were still some traces of her stabbings earlier along her leg, but she could easily wipe that off with a napkin... "Such a tidy vampire." he chuckled lowly, thinking the same thing as her.
She let out a sound that was a cross between a giggle and a snort. "Yeah." she breathed out, not really knowing what else to say. Meeting his eyes as they looked like they were peering into her soul. "I... I should probably-" she stuttered but he quickly cut her off.
"Caroline..." he drawled softly, making her wonder shortly if her was trying to compel her or if he was just pleading with her to listen. To stay. Not to go. She studied him closely and something in his eyes gave his thoughts away. She just knew then what he was trying to say and it caused panic to flare up in her chest.
She flashed around him and put a significant amount of space between them then. Clapping her hands together in an attempt to snap them both out of their thoughts. "So!" she exclaimed, desperate to break the silence, and the moment as he slowly turned back to her. "I'm going to give you one chance to take back what you said earlier."
He began to laugh at her then, his shoulders shaking from the action. And just like that, the mood had turned a thousand times lighter than a second ago. She tilted her chin forward and pouted defiantly. "What's so funny?" she mused breathlessly.
Klaus shook his head at her then. "You, love." he responded with a bright smile. "I just saved you from killing everyone within a mile's radius and you mean I have more to make up for?"
"I wouldn't have let it go that far." she insisted with a shrug as she glanced away.
"Yes well... I certainly couldn't allow you to continue mutilating yourself in the efforts of keeping such a scenario from playing out, now, could I?" he said and crossed his arms over his chest, making her realize that she was doing the same.
She grunted in frustration and dropped her arms to her sides. "When are you going to realize that I don't need your help?"
"When are you going to realize that you do?" he asked, walking towards her with a grin. "Now, I suggest we order some dessert."
"I'm not going back in there with you." she said while shaking her head.
"That's no problem, sweetheart. We aren't having dessert here but at the next destination for the evening."
"I agreed to dinner, that's one meal at one place. Not some freaking culinary tour through New Orleans." she protested.
He chuckled at that. "Caroline, I have planned on what to show you, once you decide to come here, for years. Did you truly think that this restaurant was all of it?" he asked with a smirk and then clasped his hands together. "Moreover, I sure won't let you end this night without having the full New Orleans experience!"
She felt her stomach flip at that, making her scoff in an attempt to push the feeling down. "Oh really?" she said, trying to match the easy tone in his voice.
"Come on, love. Follow me." he chimed, handing over her clutch which he must have taken with him when he followed her out of the restaurant, and then gestured his arm to her.
She was ready to decline his offer but caught something in his eyes that made her feel like she would regret it if she didn't give him a chance. And having an experienced tour guide like the thousand-year-old, and apparently founder of the city itself, wasn't something to miss out on. She convinced herself she would be able to keep some distance between them and the tension at bay. With a sigh and a defeated eyeroll, she took his arm and he led her smilingly out of the alley.
Apparently the thousand-year-old habitants of New Orleans didn't need to pay their bills.
One month ago
Plzeň, Czech Republic
It didn't take long for them to pack everything and leave the motel, filling up the car that Stefan and Valerie had rented and immediately driving off like their lives depended on it... Because, well. It was the truth.
Apparently, Valerie had contacts at an old avian club by the decommissioned airport in the city of Plzeň, just over an hour away. There they were to meet with a licensed pilot and 'borrow' the plane temporarily. It wasn't all totally legal, meaning they had to be careful not to raise any suspicions when reaching the club.
The pilot turned out to be a middle-aged man with a terrible sunburn and even worse breath. But hey, beggars can't be choosers. Right?
"Matyáš will need an hour to fuel the plane, after which you will be free to leave." the Heretic explained to them.
"Well, that gives us plenty of time to catch up!" Damon chimed cheekily, an arm around his brother's shoulders. He seemed more at ease than Bonnie had seen him during all of the past five years on the road. "Matyáš!" he called out then. "We need vodka!"
Matyáš' English wasn't great, but he clearly understood that sentence. He grinned at them and ushered the group inside to the club's bar. Murmuring some things to Valerie, which Bonnie didn't follow at all, and then waved at them happily.
"Užívejte si!" he called out before disappearing. He seemed nice enough for someone who was willing to offer illegally chartered planes to the highest bidder.
"So, tell us of your adventures, brother!" Damon cheered as a waiter placed a huge bottle of vodka along with glasses for the group at their table.
"There's really not much to tell, Damon." Stefan chuckled then, shaking his head at the older Salvatore.
"Oh, come on!" he whined in response, pouring the clear liquor to the table with a generous tilt of hand. "Val, then. What have you been up to?"
"Aside from being chased all over the globe by Julian?" she scoffed slightly. "Not much."
"Well, where have you been running to? Any nice places? I know Stefan here hasn't been able to travel quite as much as myself over the years. It does you good to see the world!"
"Well, we were mainly following a trail of leads down South America and back up to the States again." he replied with a shrug, leaning back in his chair with hints of a content smile. He had clearly missed his brother too; he was just not as obvious about it. That was always Stefan's 'thing' after all; subtlety and brooding.
"Did you see the carnival?" he pressed on, causing his young brother to roll his eyes.
"No, Damon. We didn't manage to find time in our rather tight schedule of running for our lives to go to festivals."
"So, you just switched cities every day then? You didn't ever stay in one place for long enough to actually enjoy it?"
Bonnie glanced over at Enzo with a pointed look, earning a smirk from him in turn. It was clear that Damon was suffering a socializing deficiency, after all these years traveling with the same people day in and day out. The vampire beside her left an arm on the back of her chair then, his hand grazing her shoulder and eliciting a smile from her. It wasn't until Valerie mentioned where they had spent the most amount of time that the conversation broke through the Bennett-witch's mind again.
"Wait." she said, looking over at the pair with disbelieving eyes. "Did you just say you went to Chicago?"
Valerie and Stefan shared a strange glance shortly before Damon chimed in. "Oh, so is that where blondie has been hiding out then?" he crooned, looking over at Bonnie pointedly. "I assume you had your reasons for not telling me."
"It wasn't something for me to tell." she bit back, earning a snicker from the vampire then.
"Did you see her?" Enzo asked, making the witch beside him realize that he hadn't really spoken until now.
"Yes." Stefan replied shortly. The tone and solemn face giving off enough information on how that meeting had gone…
"How is she?" Bonnie couldn't help but ask, a heavy sadness pressing over her chest as she was struck by the magnitude of which she missed her friend. They had created a system for keeping tabs on each other over the years apart, but it wasn't nearly sufficient enough. Not to mention the fact that they couldn't contact each other more than once every other month or so. Meaning they didn't really manage to keep each other caught up on things, and the distance was certainly starting to take its toll on their friendship.
Stefan looked away for a moment as Valerie cleared her throat before responding in his place. Making the younger witch worry about what they weren't saying. "She and Alaric have been going through a rough time, to say the least." she explained cautiously.
"Had something happened?" Enzo pressed on, earning an appreciative smile from Bonnie as he appeared just as concerned about Caroline as her.
"Well…" Valerie began but was interrupted by Stefan's steely glare. "It isn't as if we were the cause of it." she muttered to him then, making him sigh and grimace tightly.
"Cause of what?" Bonnie probed, not at all enjoying the silent looks between the two.
"Tyler bit her." Stefan finally said, causing the entire table to freeze up.
Damon was the one to break the silence first, chuckling deeply as he shook his head in disbelief. "Okay, tell us everything! And please start with just how desperately the Big Bad Hybrid wanted to rip the poor little Lockwood wolf apart."
Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana
It wasn't far from the restaurant to their next stop, Café du Monde. Caroline had of course heard of it and knew that it was quite the tourist sensation. Making her glance over at the hybrid incredulously as he opened the door for her. "Really?" she asked.
He smiled at her without saying a word and she rolled her eyes for the hundred time that night as she entered the bakery. It was extremely crowded, a long line of customers stood impatiently before her as Caroline examined the place. Klaus cut her short by ignoring the others and walking straight towards a table which hadn't been cleaned yet.
"Klaus!" Caroline hissed. Receiving glares from the others, she hurried after him.
He held out a chair for her and she sat down with confusion painted over her face. But as soon as he took a seat across from her, a waitress came and cleaned off all the dishes from the table. Then a colleague of hers came up to them with a notebook just as soon as she had left. "Yes?" he said and looked at Caroline.
She blinked a few times, not having seen the menu yet here either. But her date quickly chimed in before she could ask what this man could possibly expect from her. "Two plates of beignets and the same number of café au laits, please." Klaus said, the waiter nodding and scribbling the order down before disappearing.
Caroline stared at Klaus wide-eyed, making him laugh. "Places like this see hundreds of tourists every day who don't know what to order or where to sit, they often appreciate it when us locals take some initiative." he explained.
"But what if I wanted to order something else? I don't even know what the other options where." she protested.
"Trust me, sweetheart. You won't want to order anything else once you've tried the beignets."
She shook her head at him in disbelief, this night hadn't been anything she'd expect from Klaus Mikaelson. A chuckle escaped her as she tried to imagine him grabbing a quick coffee here on his way to chasing down enemies and killing innocents.
"What's so funny?" he asked as he studied her with an entertained look.
"You." she giggled softly and gestured around the room. "In a place like this."
"What were you expecting, Caroline? I can't spend all of my time in dark dungeons, now can I?" he mocked and made her laugh again.
"I just..." she said and trailed off for a moment as their food suddenly arrived, then continuing her thought. "I just didn't expect you to be so non-evil, I guess." she admitted and quickly averted his gaze by trying out one of the powder-covered pastries in front of her.
She was afraid of the tower of powdered sugar to either get sucked into her nostrils or fall all over her clothes, so she held her breath when she took her first bite. And damn, it was good. "Now this... This is evil." she murmured with wide eyes. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed.
Klaus laughed at her as she took a sip of her coffee and let out a pleased sigh at the taste. "I was right then?" he teased.
"This time." she said with an index-finger pointed at him before diving right back into her heavenly dessert. She couldn't bring herself to say a single word again until she had finished the whole plate of pastries and could now lean back in her chair and enjoy her café au lait.
Klaus was finishing his last beignet when she broke the silence and brought his eyes to hers. "So… How does it work between you and Marcel?" she asked.
He blotted his napkin over his mouth before speaking. Such a well-behaved hybrid. Caroline teased in her mind. "You must be referring to my protégée so freely calling himself the king of the Quarter." he guessed, making her nod before he continued. "I did have the intention of taking the title for myself when I first returned to New Orleans." he admitted.
"And what, don't tell me you lost the vote?"
"Well, the election was rigged." he mocked with a chuckle, his grin contagious and causing her to join in. "I suppose I realized that I didn't care as much about leading the various groups of supernatural beings as I first thought."
"It kind of sounds like you're retired." she teased. "Which, knowing you, can't possibly be the case."
"Well, without your little bunch of threat magnets – I actually manage to stay out of trouble here. For the most part."
"Somehow, I doubt that." she teased, bringing out a wide smile from him.
"I have given it some thought." he told her with a slightly stiffer tone all of a sudden. "I don't believe you can get close enough to Lucien to get this candle you're looking for. However, I can."
"I told you-" she sighed.
"Caroline." he interrupted and leaned closer to the table. "I can help you. Please, let me."
"But why?" she asked honestly and dumb-founded.
He smiled at her softly. "Don't you know by now, love?" he countered, making her swallow hard. "I will not let anything happen to you."
She stared at him for a moment, trying to understand how he could still care for her. After every time she had ganged up with her friends to try and kill him. After every time she had refused to indulge in her thoughts of him. After all these years... she still meant something to him. Yet, he hardly even knew who she had become after leaving Mystic Falls. "Fine." she conceded with a nod. "What's the plan?"
"It's quite simple, actually. The candle is in Lucien's possession, I will therefore ask Lucien for it and he will hand it over to me." he shrugged.
"Why do I have a feeling that your version of 'asking' for something includes a little more torture and violence than the standard interpretation?"
"I don't reckon I will have to resort to any kind of torture or violence whatsoever. After all, I was the one who turned him into a vampire all those centuries ago."
Caroline could swear her jaw hit the floor right then and there. "What!?" she hissed. "And you couldn't bother mentioning this to me until now!?"
"You never asked." he shrugged, feigning innocence before smirking widely at her. "Now finish your coffee, we have one last stop left on the culinary tour of New Orleans."
Musicians' instruments and groups of couples swaying to jazzy tunes filled the neighborhood as the hybrid led the young vampire past the magical Frenchmen Street. Caroline studied the different people around them in comfortable silence. She was absolutely mystified by her date. Or rather, by how different and yet still so very much the same Klaus was after all this time. He was still the evil villain she'd always known, but maybe that wasn't the whole story… Or maybe, it just wasn't theirs.
She felt a soft smile grow as he suddenly grabbed her hand and spun her around. Her arms acting on reflex as she held onto his shoulders for stability. Catching the playful look in his eyes with a giggle. "Really?" she quipped with an incredulous smile, having lost count of the times she had said so tonight.
"One dance." he smirked. "Humor me a little further?" While he waited for her reply they had already started swaying along to the same music as the rest of the pairs around them. Twinkle lights covered the balconies above the street and an enchanting atmosphere surrounded everybody at the same time.
Caroline grinned brightly as she looked around to see equally delighted smiles on the other's lips, bringing a light, fluttering giggle out of her. When she looked back at Klaus, his face was somber and his eyes wide and soft. It made her gulp hard as an insecurity filled her stomach. She tried to put her finger on the reason for the confusion feeling inside but came up short. To put it all in perspective, they had just had a kind of really great date and her judgment was obviously clouded.
So, she decided to refocus her mind as they danced on… After all, this was supposed to be a friendly dinner, and nothing more. "So..." she drawled slowly as she broke the silence between them. "Is this what you do with the Louisianan belles? Take them to some great spots and make them swoon over your dance moves under the starry sky?" she teased.
He chuckled at that and shook his head. "Quite frankly, sweetheart, I haven't had to spend so much time and effort courting any woman before." he chimed with a wink.
She rolled her eyes at that. "Well, clearly you've figured out the most important thing about me then."
"And what's that?"
"That I'm not just going to fall at your feet by the drop of a hat or handkerchief or whatever else you used to do with women back in the day." she teased, smirking with a proud nod. "I'm not easily charmed, Klaus Mikaelson."
"You don't say." he chided and smiled at her with amusement covering his face.
Caroline held her breath for a moment as she took in his sparkling, somber eyes. They were drilling into her soul, pulling at her heart and causing flutters to flare up in her gut. His blood was still humming in her veins by the proximity, and it didn't help that they were standing in the most romantic scene she'd ever seen...
Don't. A voice told her as she glanced down at his lips, knowing just how easy it would be to lean forward. Memories from years ago flashed through her, reminding her of his taste. The feel of his lips on her skin, the warmth from his hands on her body...
No, don't. Closing her eyes, she steeled herself and pushed all the confusing thoughts out of her head. She was drunk. On alcohol, on original hybrid blood, on the whole NOLA ambience... That's all. She just needed to back away and regain her senses for a moment, then everything would be cleared up again.
But as she pulled back, she struggled to leave his strong grip holding her to him. It caused her to look up again in surprise, making her wonder if maybe all those reasons for her hazy thoughts were getting to him too...
"I should get back. Call it a night." she concluded silently; her voice not quite as steady as she had hoped.
Giving her a small nod, his face flickered with something she couldn't identify. He slowly let go of her and placed his hands behind his back, his gaze scanning their surrounding and avoiding hers. "Of course." he murmured, but it felt like he was replying to something else entirely.
He bowed slightly, a sudden old-fashioned politeness taking over him as he spoke up again. "Allow me to escort you back." he said softly, looking up at her with a pleading look in his eyes that didn't quite match the cordial tone of his voice.
She nodded slowly in response, a stinging in her chest baffled her as she watched him continue down the road slowly. What was that? she thought to herself before deciding to brush it off and hurried to catch up with him.
They walked in silence, next to each other the rest of the way. The distance between them made Caroline feel off... Cold... Sad. She glanced over at him, studying his set jaw and squared shoulders as he stared ahead of them, he seemed lost in thought. The emotions which he usually radiated were completely hidden from her now. It only reminded her of how long they had been apart, how much had changed... How different things were now. How different he was… Maybe she didn't know him after all? Maybe she had expected to find some old version of the Big Bad Hybrid that had wreaked havoc in Mystic Falls ages ago. A version that probably didn't exist anymore. She knew how the years could change a person, she herself had experienced several shifts in her own reflection in the mirror lately.
There were numerous past Caroline's. One who had lived and breathed by each and every glance a boy would throw her way. One who had dived into her neurotic traits, trying to control everything around her in an effort to cling to some normalcy and humanity - despite no longer being human at all. There was even one version of her that may have died in Mystic Falls the same time she left her home behind. That version had known Klaus, cared for him even. Trusted him. But she had died over and over so many times between then and now.
Maybe he was disappointed in finding that she was no longer the girl he'd fallen for? Maybe he himself had changed and turned and shifted and just didn't inhabit any feelings of the same sort towards her anymore? Maybe she was wrong to come here after all? Yes, he had healed her in Dallas. In secret even - something so uncharacteristic of him that it shook her to her core. But maybe it hadn't meant anything to him?
Although, the thought brought an entirely different question to mind; Why hadn't he told her? The Klaus she knew would have loved to stay behind and rub his actions in her face with that irritatingly smug smirk of his. The Klaus she knew would have wanted her to know what he had done, and why. But this man by her side now? What's to stop him from turning away right this moment and go behind her back. Take on Lucien and Julian on his own, not caring how his actions affected her as he focused on his own interests in the matter...
Ages ago she would be sure that Klaus was on her side, that he cared about her and wanted to help her. To save her. But how could she know whether or not to trust him now? Then an echo spread through her body instantly, as if haven been summoned by her train of thought. An emotion she'd felt as she'd fed on his blood... He felt something for her. There was something. She had tasted it. Felt it squeeze her heart inside her chest. Heard it ring through her ears in a delightful tune. He cared, that was clear enough. She just wasn't sure if she could bet her friends' lives on it. Nor her own.
Although, if she was completely honest with herself... Then truth be told: she was far less worried about putting her life in Klaus' hands than she was of doing so with her heart. However, it was hard to hold onto that self-perseverance when he looked at her with those eyes and smiled with those little dimples or reached to touch her with those hands...
She shrugged off the shivers the mere thought sent down her spine and glanced over to realize they had stopped walking. "I hope your friend won't harangue you all too much over your absence tonight." he said, making her blink up at him for a mute moment as she sorted through her mind temporarily.
"Oh, no. Enzo won't mind. I've explained everything between us to him already." she stuttered out, biting her lip in a blush as she noted the little smile on his face then.
"Have you, now?" he chimed, looking so content and pleased with himself that she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
Her arms defensively crossed over her chest. "Yes. He knows that we're friends. And that he shouldn't worry about you hanging around." she quipped, failing to discourage the smirk from growing further and groaning then. "We had a nice night, Klaus. Don't ruin it now with all your-" she waved her hand furiously across his face with narrowed eyes. "-that!"
He chuckled at her, shaking his head as he looked away for a moment. Allowing her a chance to breathe deeply to cool her face down. "So..." she drawled, stretching the word out until his eyes ventured back to her again with the amusement still very clear in those green orbs. "You're really going to help us?"
"Was there ever any doubt about it, love?"
She lost a fight against the wide grin that tugged on her lips then, darting her eyes down to her fidgeting hands as she tried to think of something to say. Realizing that she didn't really want to part ways just yet...
"It was indeed a nice night, Caroline." he told her then, a soft and genuine expression on his face as she glanced up at him through her lashes. "A great night, with the most… enchanting company."
Bringing her arms around herself, to keep from wrapping them around him instead, she nodded a mute response. It really had been great. Incredible, actually. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to admit that... Especially since her days often were occupied by work and her free time was almost non-existent. Aside from the occasional one-time thing with some guy at a bar, she didn't get to enjoy herself very often. But tonight, she really had.
"Of course, I did prefer some parts of this evening more than others..." he teased, making her scoff and roll her eyes as she read between the lines right away. She hit his chest, hard, feeling a little squirmy and strange from the temporary touch.
"Are you ever not on!?" she groaned as he only chuckled at her further.
"Oh, don't tell me you do not also hold some favorite moments yourself, love! Perhaps one specific… One which I am certain will become quite the fond memory for myself at least." he went on, causing her to punch at him further.
"Don't make me regret saying yes to-" she began but was cut off as Klaus grabbed one of her wrists and abruptly pulled her into him. The words dying on her lips as she stared up at the intense look in his eyes with her heart coming to a standstill.
Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to avoid leaning in and inhaling his familiar scent. The skin under his touch prickled with goosebumps, his hold keeping her frozen in place and completely helpless. He turned her wrist over, bringing his free hand to run the tip of his index-finger slowly over the veins beneath her thin skin... Brushing up and down in deliberate motions, his eyes following the movements closely and the effects they had on her.
Gulping hard and resisting the urge to shiver under his scrutinizing look, she waited for him to say something. To tease her further. To make her wish she hadn't gone on this stupid non-date after all. She waited for the magic of the night to evaporate, and for him to shatter the already cherished memories from their time together. Just do it already, she thought to herself. Suddenly irritated for not having seen this coming earlier.
Why had she let her guard down?
Why had she let him in!?
But the words never came. The look in his eyes was no longer playful, something else coloring them in a serious way she couldn't quite decipher. His lips parted slightly as he slowly reached for her cheek, tracing her skin further across her jawline. Causing her to wrestle with her thoughts as she wondered if he was about to kiss her - and if she really didn't want him to.
"Good night, sweetheart." he whispered softly, finally breaking the silence between them.
"Good night." she breathed back. Her mouth automatically mimicked the tiny smile tugging at his lips. Then he stepped out of her grasp and with a gust of wind, he was gone. Leaving her to stand in his wake, her hand still up in the same position as he had held it. Her skin buzzing from his touch, her body fluttering as she bit her lip hard with a deep exhale.
She brought her hand to her mouth, realizing she was grinning like crazy as she noticed her reflection in the windows of the building. Good night indeed, she thought to herself in an echo. Walking up to her room and falling to her bed with a sigh as she felt it all sweep over her in long waves.
