Chapter 8: Part 3 — A Simple Kind of Man
Author's note: This has been such a fun group of chapters to write; thank you all for your support from your favorites and follows to your reviews — you keep me going! This chapter is a continuation of Chapters 5 and 7 in this series in which Caroline is an archaeologist who has discovered that Klaus is… complicated. Now, she's attempting to outwit an ancient Norse goddess. Seems like a lot of trouble for a date…
Also, it turns out that a journey to the Norse underworld is a bigger task than I originally thought, so I will have another chapter after this one to wrap up this drabble.
Thanks again for nominating me for the Klaroline awards in the following categories: Best Original Story Concept — Divine Intervention, Best Fluffy Drabbles/One-shot — Another Day Another (Sand) Dollar and Best Comedy Author. It's incredibly flattering to know that you enjoy my work!
In addition, if you're interested, I feature the goddess Hel and Norse mythology in my Klaroline multi-chap work, Divine Intervention. I'd love to read your feedback on this work as well if you have time to review. Thanks!
" 'Tis time to tell, on turf as I lie,
felled by the sword, what fate was ours:
unlike our lot in life hath been,
to Hel fare I while whole thou livest."
— Hildibrand's Death Song
Nothing. That was what greeted Caroline as she crossed the threshold of the massive iron gate. She looked around frantically, searching for the owner of the sinister cackling she had heard on the other side of the gate. The hissing of the venomous black snakes dangling from the metal spokes heightened her apprehension.
A cold caress against her cheek startled her, and the invisible hand insistently trailed its fingers through her tangled wet tresses, nearly petting her. She whirled around and gave an inarticulate yelp of surprise at the creature before her.
A fearsome study in opposites greeted Caroline. The unearthly being's appearance was neatly split in two halves: a captivating blonde woman of ethereal beauty versus a withered demon with burning eyes. The creature radiated power as it twisted its lips into a wicked smile. "Caroline Forbes, have you journeyed here to swear an oath to me?"
Caroline inhaled sharply, trying to get her bearings. She felt the weight of Klaus' amulet in her sweaty palm and she took comfort from it. She summoned what paltry knowledge she possessed regarding the goddess Hel. Unfortunately, Norse mythology had little to say about the daughter of Loki who ruled the underworld and was appointed guardian of the graves. She bowed her head slightly and answered, "No, goddess Hel, I will not swear an oath." She had read stories about oath-swearing to the gods. Nothing good ever came from it — the gods tended to be malicious tricksters and could harbor grudges.
The goddess' grin was alarming. "No? Someone has taught you well, child." Her demonic half pointed a sharp claw at Caroline's sweaty fist that held Klaus' token. "You seek to secure my blessing. To convince me to relinquish my hold on one of the departed."
She held her head high as her blue eyes registered their irritation at Hel's mocking tone. "Yes. I claim Klaus as mine."
"Yours?" Hel lightly chuckled at Caroline's defiant tone. "Are you sure," she asked, reaching out with her claws once more to stroke Caroline's damp blonde curls.
"Y-yes," Caroline stuttered, hating how uncertainty had crept into her voice. She pulled her hair away from the goddess' reach, fighting every instinct that told her to flee.
"How can you be so sure, sweet one," the powerful creature silkily asked. "After all, weren't you sure about Matt all those years ago?" At Caroline's stunned expression, Hel's eyes glittered in triumph. "You were quite enamored with him when you were barely a slip of a girl, weren't you? He was your mentor and you allowed yourself to be carried away by the thrill of being far away from home and capturing the interest of such a distinguished scholar."
Caroline closed her eyes in embarrassment as she was overwhelmed by the onslaught of unwelcome memories from her past.
During her freshman year in college, she had taken several of Matt's classes and found herself drawn to the charming young professor who was considered a giant in his field despite the fact that he was barely 30. She had volunteered for every extra credit project he offered his students in the hopes that she could learn more from him and even tried to model her course selection so that it would help her mirror his career path one day. He was her idol and she painstakingly read every book he'd written and attended every lecture he gave, desperate to soak up all the knowledge she could so that she too could excel in her field.
Then the summer before her sophomore year, Matt recommended her for an internship overseas on a dig he was heading. She could hardly believe her good fortune — two whole months of working side by side with her mentor; it was a dream come true. She had been self-aware enough to realize that she had developed an inconvenient crush on Matt, and was horrified that he might suspect. She went out of her way to keep their interactions professional so that he would respect her as a student and perhaps view her as a future colleague one day.
However, to her amazement, Matt's trademark easy-going manner turned into something else entirely as they spent every day together, and she found herself questioning whether her feelings were truly one-sided. Soon, Matt approached her, confessing that he had tried to ignore his feelings but that she was far too pretty and smart to ignore and he had to take the chance or else they might miss out on something spectacular.
Caroline ignored her instincts and had foolishly allowed herself to become swept away by Matt's charm and lovely words. After an amazing summer together, she was coldly cast aside by Matt when they were packing up their equipment at the dig site and he gave her an eloquent, yet insulting speech that was painfully obvious that he had given it many times before. She had been a pleasant distraction and nothing more.
"Poor child, what a painful memory," the goddess slyly remarked. "So eager to try your pitiful luck again?"
Caroline's blue eyes flashed as her anger at the goddess' mocking tone temporarily pulled her from her fright at being in the presence of such a dangerous being. "Seriously? I didn't get sucked all the way down here for passive-aggressive mom judgement. I already have a terrifying mother, thanks." At Hel's comically raised eyebrow, Caroline shrugged and added, "What? Forbes women are scary."
Hel surged forward, her eyes set aflame at Caroline's impertinent tone. She grasped Caroline's delicate chin in her demon claws and hissed, "How do you know Klaus is different? What makes him worthy of your affections?"
Caroline ignored the frantic beating of her heart as she gazed fearfully at the terrifying goddess. She swallowed painfully, trying not to move and cause the sharp claws to dig further into her flesh. "Because he's the only one who ever told me I was worth something." She recalled last night at the lake when Klaus had confessed his feelings. Forgive my boldness, but I never thought I'd find one such as you, and I cannot bear the thought of you believing yourself unworthy of devotion. He had been so earnest and steadfast; something no one had ever given her before, and she was determined not to let her chance at happiness pass her by. She squared her shoulders and steadily met Hel's fiery gaze. "He believed that I was worthy. And I intend to prove him right. Because he's worthy too."
The immortal seemed taken aback by Caroline's confession, and her death grip lessoned to that of an unsettling caress. "What a curious creature you are, little girl." She nodded to herself as she released her hold on Caroline, the long golden curls of her human half sprang to life, swirling around her waist. "Let us begin," the finality of her tone set off warning bells for Caroline who looked at her in surprise.
"Begin what exactly," Caroline asked suspiciously.
"The judgement of Klaus of course," Hel said with an imperious air. "Well, your judgement of Klaus. You, dear child, are the one who will decide if he is deserving of a second life in your world," she continued in a matter-of-fact tone.
Caroline's thoughts raced as she contemplated the goddess' words. She crossed her arms in front of her and inquired carefully, "Why do this? Why give any soul a second chance? You're the ruler of the underworld and guardian of the graves. You're obscenely powerful. You're like a tenured professor with unlimited grant funding."
A small smile toyed at the edges of Hel's lips. "Some souls are born with luck; others must wait for divine intervention," she replied enigmatically. She raised a desiccated foot, its scaly appearance and prominent black veins a sharp contrast to the other half of her body where a young woman's bare foot wiggled its toes as though impishly showing off the surprising pink nail polish. With a thundering crash that rattled the barren ground to the horizon and back, a fissure cut a jagged swath before them.
Caroline watched in disbelief as a pale, muscular arm clawed out of the open earth, pulling with it a familiar head of messy dark blonde curls. She ran toward him, laughing hysterically through her tears as she helped to pull him up to stand beside her. "Klaus," she breathlessly gasped, hugging him to her in a desperate attempt to prove he was really there with her in that horrible place.
He cradled the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her soggy blonde strands as he tenderly said, "Sweetheart, I didn't allow myself to hope…"
The rest of his impassioned speech was brutally cut short with a flick of Hel's wrist. "Enough. You're here to judge him, not be swayed by his pretty words, child." Klaus glared at the goddess, but was rendered speechless by her power. With a jerk of her chin, Klaus was forced against the iron gate where the black snakes easily bound him in place.
"No," Caroline called out, gesturing wildly at the venom that dripped from the writhing snakes' fangs onto Klaus' pale skin. "You're hurting him!"
Hel declared in an oddly wistful tone, "He's already dead. There are more lasting ways to inflict pain on a lost soul."
His icy stare chilled Caroline, and she found herself wondering what horrors he had endured all these years in the underworld. She was determined to save him. Squaring her shoulders, she tried to keep her voice steady as she faced the demon before her. "You said you wanted me to judge him. Let's get started."
The goddess' delighted grin was sickening to behold. "How lovely. What I offer you now is a gift, Caroline. The opportunity to get to know who Klaus truly is. You've known him for such a brief interval. I invite you to experience a defining moment in Klaus' life. To see firsthand the choices he made that shaped who he became."
Caroline couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at Klaus. He was struggling against his supernatural bonds, but it was useless. The snakes continued to taunt them both with their demented hissing. Was he trying to stop her from going through with her quest to rescue him? What had he done that made him think he was unworthy? Did she even have the right to pry into his secrets?
Her thoughts were racing as she considered Hel's words. It was in her nature to question the world around her. She wouldn't be satisfied until she knew the truth of the man she had grown to care for in such a brief amount of time. She hated that circumstances had forced her to make this choice, but she didn't see another way to save him. She just hoped that Klaus would understand. "Fine," she huffed, "What do I have to do?"
Hel produced a goblet fashioned out of copper and with a simple twirl of the fingers from her human hand, water from Lake Válað, high overhead, came oozing down into the cup, as though it were a thick, gelatinous matter rather than frigid water. She thrust the goblet into Caroline's hands and commanded, "Drink of this and you'll see a vision of the man Klaus was."
Hesitantly, Caroline felt the unnaturally warm metal under her trembling fingers. She ventured another look at Klaus and was devastated to see the sorrow etched across his face. He clearly knew exactly what vision Hel was about to show her and was already certain she would refuse him. What could frighten him like this? She tried to give him an encouraging smile, but instead, her face felt frozen and she couldn't find the strength to comfort him in this terrible, broken place.
Caroline contemplated the churning, dark mass in her hands. "I'm suddenly having flashbacks to the trashcan punch at Zeta parties," she muttered. "I learned my lesson the hard way and will not be eating the fruit," she told the goddess defiantly as she gulped down the disgusting liquid in one harsh swallow.