Author's note: This was created for the Klaroline Fall Bingo Event klarolinefallbingo.
Prompt: Johnny Appleseed
Blood spread across the floorboards of her classroom as she kept a hand clapped to her mouth, trying to quiet her breathing. Mercifully, Caroline had dismissed her students early that day; with harvest time nearly upon them, there was much work to do in the fields. She was fiercely protective of her children, and despite her being 'fresh from the carriage', she openly challenged the surly councilmen who seemingly turned a blind eye to the disappearances. The sickly went first — it wasn't unusual in that community for one who sensed the end to suddenly feel the urge to commune with the forest that bordered Mystic Falls.
But then children became lost. Caroline paid no mind to the drunkards at the tavern who spun wild tales of the Johnny Appleseed legend. As a woman of science, she refused to believe a colonial apparition who stole the living. The dead stayed dead. But the community was a superstitious lot, and only the maddening Klaus Mikaelson seemed as vexed as she.
The creaking of the steps to the schoolhouse made her heart pound, and she was filled with dread. Why hadn't she waited for Klaus? Caroline's stubbornness would be her undoing. When she'd told the newcomer of her plan to slip into the woods just before sunset to catch the assailant red-handed, the lumber merchant had tried to stop her. Klaus' brow had furrowed and she reluctantly admitted to herself that the concern on his handsome face had given her pause. Her cheeks still flushed when she recalled the way he'd gripped her arms, pulling her close as he made her swear not to enter the woods without him.
It stung to think that Klaus dismissed her as weak, and instead, she'd stormed into the woods, foolishly forgetting herself. A sinister whisper on the night air, a snapped branch underfoot, and suddenly Caroline was face-to-face with Johnathan Gilbert, who wielded a hatchet and the cruelest of smiles. She'd grappled with him, feeling the sharp edge of his blade twice to her side before she was able to flee.
The splintering wood of her door revealed her absurd hiding place had been discovered. Caroline frantically looked around her classroom, disheartened to see empty pencil cases and thin slates as her only weapons. As her door swung open, she bravely grabbed a slate, determined to give Johnathan a sound thrashing no matter his advantage.
However, it was Klaus Mikaelson who stood at her threshold, a wild look in his gray eyes as he searched for her. Caroline barely batted an eye and suddenly he appeared before her, a hint of fear in his voice as he asked, "Sweetheart, are you alright?!"
Caroline didn't realize she was shaking until she heard her wobbly voice cry out, "It was Johnathan Gilbert! He's still out there! We have to warn the town!"
"Shh, I took care of him; I promise he'll never harm another again," Klaus swore, sweeping her up into his strong embrace.
Her hiccupping cries were muffled against his shirtfront, and Caroline gratefully clung to Klaus, scarcely believing she was safe.
The weak light of the sickle moon found its way to the darkened room, and Klaus' tongue discreetly licked a stray bit of blood from his lips as he murmured reassurances in Caroline's ear.
Prompt: Candied yams
"What do yams have to do with stripping?" It was a question Caroline had asked herself repeatedly ever since she'd agreed to Bonnie's stripper version of a canned food drive.
"It's not just yams, Caroline. You're going to be candied yams. Way fancier," Bonnie quipped, helping Caroline into a rhinestone-studded corset screen printed with the popular side dish. "And you know I wouldn't ask you to do this, but the foodbank is counting on us and Elena backed out at the last minute to deal with Damon's...exhaustion."
Caroline snorted, reminding herself to check in with Stefan to see how much Damon's latest episode of exhaustion was potentially going to cost their company. Despite being a wildly successful burlesque franchise in the south, it didn't mean she shouldn't worry about the slimy marketing president's effect on their shares.
Hopefully the rest of the board wouldn't find out about Damon's latest fuckup until after Caroline figured out the right spin.
Too late. "What's this about the elder Salvatore and some nonsense with a shattered plate-glass window of a car dealership and a stolen Shetland?"
Exchanging a look of irritation with Bonnie, Caroline calmly faced an irate Klaus Mikaelson, a prominent board member and, unfortunately, one of their key investors. "Actually, the police report stated it was a pygmy goat, which is classified as a small pet rather than a domestic farm animal; therefore, no city ordinances were violated during transport." Shrugging, she added nonchalantly, "I've dispatched the lawyers and my office will issue a statement shortly. It's being handled."
Jaw still tight, his steel gaze swept over her, coloring slightly as he said awkwardly, "That's...you're uh...in tonight's charity auction?"
Feeling vaguely insulted by the surprise in Klaus' voice, she put her hands on her hips before recalling that her corset wasn't fully laced and it dipped dangerously low. She clumsily held together the shiny fabric, narrowing her eyes as she growled out, "Yes. There's no policy against staff stripping if they want to, and I'm stripping for a good cause! And just because you don't think I'm sexy doesn't mean others won't!"
Fuck. Did she really just scream her internal monologue out loud? Katherine poked her head around the curtain, dressed in a weirdly alluring drumstick outfit. "Plus, you've got the most fuckable set of candied yams this side of the Mississippi," she gleefully told her, playfully smacking Bonnie's butt cheek to make the ropes of green beans dance merrily against her bare skin.
Klaus gestured toward Caroline's Styrofoam G-string painted to look like toasted marshmallows, clearing his throat as he said, "That's not what I...I mean obviously, you're quite...it's just that during our board meetings, you're the quintessential buttoned-up professional and I never imagined...I just was taken aback, that's all."
"I think this is that moment in the movie where Caroline's supposed to shake out her bun in slow motion as the music swells...along with other things," Bonnie loudly stage whispered, exchanging an amused glance with Katherine while Caroline did her best to hang onto her irritation rather than give into the blush that threatened her cheeks the longer Klaus stared.
With a slight headshake, Klaus seemed to come back to himself, gruffly telling her, "Right. Well, I'll return at a more convenient time to discuss the press strategy for this latest Salvatore debacle."
"The press statement will be issued later today. I suggest you familiarize yourself with it before coming back with whatever knee-jerk reaction your fellow board members vomit out," she cheerfully told him with a wave of dismissal.
As Caroline bent over to pick up a piece of fake marshmallow that had broken off of her costume, she missed how Klaus nearly ran into the glittery cornucopia set as he failed to casually glance back.
It would turn out that the most convenient time for Klaus to return mysteriously coincided with a performance by 'candied yams' later that evening.
