Author's note: In 1492, Klaus wanted a quick glimpse of the future to see when the next doppelganger would appear. It never occurred to him that someone far more intriguing would capture his interest...


"Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space."
― Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye


His witches told him that he would travel more than 500 years into the future through a swirling vortex. However, what appeared before Klaus was nothing more than a simple rip, like one would find in a swatch of fabric. Skeptical, he cautiously pushed through the ragged opening, his supernatural senses immediately flooded with raucous laughter and insipid chatter along with the foul odors of sweat and cheap beer.

The bonfire's orange and red flames revealed he'd been transported to a wooded area where some sort of revelry was taking place. Various youths wearing odd garments were standing about, drinking from crimson-colored cups. From the giggling and odd grunting noises he heard from deeper in the forest, it appeared that more than a few couples were rutting among the trees.

He smirked, pleased to see that future generations would practice a more carnal version of the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain — he suspected that future vampires readily would gorge themselves upon such easy prey. Klaus was slightly irritated that he was unable to partake in the delicious, unwitting feast before him — the spell was a temporary ripple in time, and he'd been given strong warnings from the witches not to upset the natural balance. He was there for a brief glimpse of when the next doppelganger would appear, since Katerina had escaped and foiled his attempt to break his curse. The curl of his grin became more pronounced as he recalled how only days ago he'd returned from slaughtering all of Katerina's kinsmen. It was only a matter of time before Katerina would join their fate.

"That smirk spells nothing but trouble," a lilting voice teased, as an enchanting blonde creature patted an empty spot beside her on a fallen tree. "Of course, you ripping a hole in the universe was kinda a giveaway too," she added with a small shrug.

Letting out a surprised chuckle, he settled beside her, eyeing the small fur pieces she wore that were dyed a peculiar pink and purple. "Tell me, love, is sorcery a normal occurrence in the future? You don't seem particularly disconcerted by what you've witnessed — consider me suitably impressed."

She shrugged her shoulders, a curious set of pointed feline ears poking out of her blonde curls. "I'm good in a crisis. A guy who looks like he's an extra from a pirate movie cutting a hole through thin air is definitely not the worst thing I've experienced. Try being the designated driver for half the cheerleading squad with one girl puking in my floorboards while a catfight breaks out in the backseat. Trust me — I've seen some dark times."

His lips quirking in amusement. "I must confess that while I recognize many of the words you've spoken, I'm a bit confounded." Enjoying the pretty blush that stained her cheeks as he leaned close, he added, "But I enjoy the manner in which you string them together. You may call me 'Nik.'"

"I'm Caroline." He was taken aback by how her blinding smile left him a bit breathless. He was an Original vampire, after all — he'd experienced all manner of beauty in his long life — but there was something about this girl with her sunshine heart that valiantly tried to hide the shadows in her blue eyes. "So, time travel's actually a thing, huh? While raging blue velvet shirts are a fashion don't for guys at the moment, you're working the hell out those black leather pants," she told him, her heartbeat speeding up as the blush that stained her cheeks darkened.

He sensed from her commentary that she was both teasing and complimenting him, and he felt the absurd need to justify his clothing as he smoothed down the front of his tunic. "This is the height of fashion in 1492, a signifier of my prestige and station within society. 'Twas cargo from Italy for which I paid handsomely to have sent to England." He gave her an indulgent smile, dimples deepening as he purred, "However, it seems my breeches have caught your favor?"

Klaus didn't miss the way her eyes shamelessly followed the outline of his thigh in his breeches, and he subtly shifted a bit closer to her, enjoying the heat of the intriguing little human.

"Um yeah, you're...very..." she trailed off, rolling her eyes as she huffed in irritation, "Seriously?! You must know how attractive you are; bragging about your wealth and privilege, blah, blah, blah, so I'm sure you own at least one mirror in your castle or whatever."

He felt the foolish urge to boast, "Actually, I've multiple castles on the continent, as well as strongholds in countries throughout the world." He impulsively grasped her hand, lightly tracing the soft skin of her open palm as he told her, "And I find your beauty utterly breathtaking, Caroline." He inwardly winced at the honesty present in his words — he couldn't recall sharing such emotional truth with another in recent memory.

Her musical laughter took him back to the green of his youth, and he ducked his head shyly as she joked, "Wow, you really brought your A-game. I've had more than my fair share of lines thrown at me tonight, but yours are definitely the best. Maybe you could perform a community service and educate some of these drunken losers while you're here?"

Klaus glanced beyond the firelight in the distance, noting with disdain several lads clumsily hoisting another upside down on top of a metal barrel, unsure of their objective. "I prefer to spend what limited time my witches' spell has afforded me here with you, love," he told her, delighting in the pleased smile she quickly tucked away. "Unless you'd prefer to join your friends? It seems I've interrupted quite the revelry."

"I'm ok here," Caroline answered, her nose wrinkling slightly as she explained, "It was supposed to be this cool Halloween party with a Hellraiser steampunk theme that I spent forever planning and instead my friends completely ignored months of hard work to move the party to the woods instead." Clenching her fists in frustration she ground out, "Seriously, it's basically just another lame Friday night in Mystic Falls."

Hellraiser? Was this bewitching woman an apprentice necromancer or conjurer? He found himself intrigued. At the very least, her commanding tone and passionate words made his dead heart suddenly pick up the pace, and his body warmed at the thought of learning more about the spirited blonde. While his senses were assaulted by the sweat and cheap libations in which the surrounding adolescents reeked, he noticed that Caroline's strangely fashioned red chalice appeared to contain only water. "Is your disappointment in the festivities the reason you aren't partaking?"

"Lately it's seemed like a good idea to stay sober. My friends may be drunken idiots, but they're mine, you know? And I feel like I should probably look after them just in case." With a start, he realized that Caroline's vague gesturing to the crowd interestingly had revealed a brunette with a very familiar face. It appeared that Caroline counted the doppelganger among her dimwitted friends. He suspected this might complicate matters between them.

"In my time, Samhain, what you call Halloween, is an ancient Celtic rite performed with bonfires and costumes to ward off evil. It's a precise moment when the veil is at its thinnest, which is how I was able to temporarily brought here to the future. Are the Halloween parties in your time especially perilous to warrant that slight trembling I detect," he asked softly, unable to ignore the hint of fear he smelled underneath her lovely scent of vanilla and honey.

She glanced at the party off in the distance, seeming to consider her words carefully. "There's a couple of new guys that recently came to town and everyone just thinks I'm this shallow blonde cheerleader, but I know sketchy, and these guys are definitely that." She nodded at two pale men standing near a group of gigging young ladies. Frowning, she whispered, "Damon and Stefan look at me and my friends like we're their next meal. Something is wrong with them; I can feel it."

The irony wasn't lost on Klaus that Caroline was expressing concerns about dangerous men in her midst when she unwittingly was sitting next to the most dangerous creature on earth. However, he found that he didn't take pleasure in her obvious terror. Bollocks. He fancied her.

Studying the two men she indicated, he quickly discerned that she was correct in their unnaturalness. Vampires. Less than two centuries — hardly a threat to him, but to a fragile human like Caroline, his expression grew dark as he realized what evils they could inflict. "You seem unusually open to the idea of things in this world that are greater than what you've been taught. Do you trust me, sweetheart?"

She contemplated him, surprising Klaus with the intensity of her gaze. He appreciated the care she took with her words, and found himself thinking that under different circumstances, she'd have made a marvelous warrior queen. "You haven't earned my trust. But I'll happily consider any advice you have to give me. After all, you seem to know a thing or two about messed-up shit. And by the way, don't think I'm not still waiting for an explanation about the punching a hole through the universe thing."

Klaus was inordinately pleased with Caroline's answer — measured yet clever. What a fierce leader she would be. "There are true monsters in this world, and unfortunately for you and your friends, they've come to your village. If you stubbornly choose to remain here, you can defend yourself with an herb called vervain. Of course, a more direct approach would be subjecting those two creatures to a stake to the heart, decapitation, or lighting them on fire."

Once again, her pragmatism filled him with glee. "Well, I guess if time travel and witches who can do actual magic are real, vampires might as well be too. Out of curiosity, do you happen to know if the Loch Ness monster is real?"

"You're acquainted with the Scottish Highlands folktale of the Picts," he asked in surprise. At her expectant expression, he shook his head, telling her, "To my knowledge, the stories predate even the Romans' march across Great Britain, but they appear to be nothing more than tall tales."

Caroline sighed dramatically. "Well, that sucks." They sat in silence for a bit, listening to the steady hum of the party. Finally, she said, "Although I know I should really get going on that whole vampire thing you told me, maybe we could hang out a bit more? I'd really appreciate the distraction." At his eager nod, she grinned, quickly pelting him with questions. "So, I've got lots of questions about the time-travel stuff, like what made you want to come to this time? And how did you even know enough about actual spell-casting witches to get them to send you here?"

Klaus knew better than to tip his hand, so he impatiently batted away the thought that when he saw Caroline again, eventually she'd learn the truth about his plans for her friend, the doppelganger. All in good time. After all, he'd still need time to gather the rest of his ritual ingredients and make the necessary preparations. Time enough to woo Caroline and perhaps even sway her to his cause. Although he suspected her feistiness would make for pleasurable banter. "Let's just say I'm from a prominent family of considerable means and influence. I found myself curious about the future and fancied a peek."

Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, she questioned, "And does the future live up to his majesty's expectations?"

"Immeasurably." He smirked at her reddened cheeks, pleased that she seemed to enjoy their flirtatious banter.

Snorting, she observed, "You really set the bar low if you're impressed by some drunk high school kids partying in the woods because no one had an empty house. It's almost like everybody's parents just conspired to all stay home this weekend."

"But surely some of these youths are landed gentry with their own households," he asked in confusion. "Most appear to be of marriageable age." Cocking his head, he regarded her curiously. "I'm most curious about you, love. Are you spoken for? Has your dowry been presented?"

She choked on her drink, spluttering at his words. "My dowry? Yeah, as a small-town sheriff's daughter, I have a charm bracelet from Target, a curling iron and a stack of Vogue magazines to my name. That's about it. Plus, social norms have shifted since your time — if people decide to get married, it's usually later in life and more about a loving commitment than a necessity for survival."

He couldn't deny the hopefulness that bloomed in his chest upon hearing that she wasn't spoken for. "What a fascinating time you live in, sweetheart."

She shrugged, blue eyes alight with wonder as she replied, "You're one to talk — fifteenth century England was such an exciting, turbulent time — or, so I've been taught anyway. You're at the end of the Plantagenet rule and the Tudor dynasty has started up with Henry VII." She lightly elbowed him and teased, "If I were you, I'd get out of England now because trust me — the next Henry is a sociopathic douchebag who collects divorces like he's Elizabeth Taylor."

He laughed, despite not fully grasping her jesting words, he still found himself utterly delighted at the clever little human beside him. He scowled, though, as he felt the tell-tale pull of magic signifying that the spell was nearly complete. "It appears the magic that brought me here is fading. It was a pleasure to meet you, Caroline."

"I wish we had more time, Nik," she whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek that made his flesh burn with anticipation.

As the spell pulled him back to his time, he murmured, "I expect I'll be seeing you soon, love." The confusion and endearing hopefulness on her lovely face would stay with him for centuries.


Klaus did his best to adopt a casual expression on his face as he leaned back in the creaking porch swing at Caroline's quaint home. While it would seem as though only one day had passed for her, for him it had been centuries since he'd seen the lovely blonde and he was practically vibrating with excitement. Upon his arrival in Mystic Falls this morning, he'd already paid a visit to the troublesome vampires who'd frightened Caroline. His lips curled into a satisfied smirk as he recalled the ease with which he dispatched Damon and Stefan.

A soft gasp of surprise alerted him to her presence. As Caroline's blue eyes widened in recognition, he flashed before her, breathing in her familiar vanilla and honey scent. With a soft kiss to her knuckles, he hummed knowingly, "I told you we'd see each other soon." With a sly wink, he added, "And you were right about Henry VIII being a sociopathic douchebag."