"All I want is blackness. Blackness and silence."
― Sylvia Plath
All three brothers looked at Caroline equally stunned. But Klaus was watching her with a pained looked that conveyed much more than just surprise and disbelief.
It was a blend of betrayal and disappointment that made Caroline flinch.
His hand fell from her shoulder and Caroline's eyes fluttered shut for a hot second as she realized that she missed the warmth. The connection. She had missed it so much for so long. And it was jarring to her that the first caring touch came from Klaus Mikaelson.
"So after everything you still think the worst of me sweetheart don't you?" Klaus accused her offended at the idea that Caroline would even think that he would try to imprison her.
Caroline took a deep breath and looked at him feeling the tension rising inside her. Everything seemed wrong ever since she returned. She felt her emotions heightened as if she was transitioning again. And right now despair and anger were clouding her judgment and she did not know why but she felt more at ease with giving voice to those emotions where Klaus was concerned.
This had to stop. Somehow. She could not do this. Not with Klaus. Not with anyone.
"I freaked out okay!" she muttered but Klaus did not even blink. She wanted to yell at him and she looked at him intently feeling the need to apologize but most of all to make him understand. She didn't know why this was so important right now but it was. "I am sorry!" she blurted out and Klaus breath hitched for a moment; she was being honest and open and vulnerable for the first time after her return from purgatory and Klaus realized it the moment her voice trembled and her eyes glossed over.
Caroline started gesturing wildly with her hands, "I just...This is...ugh!" she screamed annoyed and Klaus could not help but smile relieved. Caroline's walls were not as impenetrable as she wanted them to be. Her light and her humanity lingered underneath it all. It was a hurricane ready to burst out and that meant that the Caroline he knew was not gone. She was still here. He just had to make her see it somehow.
"Quite the eloquent apology love," he playfully said with a fond smirk that made Caroline glare at him.
"Shut up," she mumbled embarrassed feeling her cheeks flaming up making Klaus beam at her. All he wanted was to go at her and shake her. To make her see that the parts of herself she thought she had lost were still there. He had to find a way to bring back her optimism and her mental resistance to the darkness.
But as he was about to approach her he halted mid-step. The grating sound that did not belong to him or Caroline dissolved his hope and made Caroline close up again.
Kol rolled his eyes along with the gagging sound that left his lips.
"I think we have more pressing matters here than your love quarrels," Kol interrupted them and Caroline cast her gaze at the floor as the impatience and the sadness returned and swept over her once more.
Klaus pressed his lips feeling the need to punch Kol.
"Kol is right," Elijah intervened and Klaus all but growled, "we need to focus on the problem at hand," the eldest Mikaelson insisted and Caroline nodded feeling faint.
"It was that witch, wasn't she? The one you brought last night to the crypt," Caroline realized looking at Klaus and Elijah with a questioning gaze.
"You said her name was Synnove Julien right?" Kol asked thoughtfully and Caroline snorted.
"Yeah, a creepy vindictive redhead bitch that wanted me dead," she bit out and Klaus noticed her abrupt aggression. It was different from the previous anger Caroline Forbes had in her system back in Mystic Falls. It was not indignation and logical irritation. There was violence in her eyes.
The kind of violence that existed inside him and inside…Kol. The realization crushed over Klaus with so much force that almost made him lose his balance. It was not just theory anymore. Every reaction Caroline had reminded him of Kol. The way she fought him yesterday. The way she moved and the way she closed herself inside a cocoon of irony and aggression.
It was at that moment Klaus realized he had to make sure that Kol would stay far away from Caroline. He would not allow this to happen. He had to somehow contain the damage. If he could.
Kol narrowed his eyes and turned to his brothers without missing the way Klaus stared back at him with enmity and menace.
"Esther?" Kol asked them seriously choosing to ignore Klaus's obvious feelings of resentment and it was Elijah that somberly tilted his head in assent which made Caroline's eyes widen.
"Esther?" she stuttered as fear suddenly gripped her heart even more than it already had, "As in-"
"Our beloved mother," Klaus finished her phrase and Caroline took a step back. Her eyes wide as she gaped at Klaus.
This was not good. Not good at all. She remembered Esther Mikaelson from Mystic Falls. She was a force to be reckoned with and she only brought death.
She closed her eyes trying to compose herself. Memories came back. Memories of her father. From the time of his death. Alaric had killed him but it was Esther that had brainwashed him on the other side using his immortality ring. That woman stopped at nothing and now she had trapped her in New Orleans.
Her blood boiled inside her veins and rushed inside her bloodstream like wildfire. She opened her eyes and glared at the Mikaelson brothers.
"And what do I have to do with your family drama?! Why has she locked me in?" she objected feeling her temper rising.
Klaus seemed unable to give her any answers but he seemed to stare back at her with a pained expression. An expression that made Caroline feel even more distressed than before because she could not find a name for it. It was the first time Klaus looked at her in that way. As if he had not seen her before. And it hurt.
"Excellent questions assuming our mother is behind this," Elijah interrupted and Caroline let out the breath she was holding. This was so surrealistic. She did not just return from Hell to deal with this mess. She so did not!
"I am going to need a lot of alcohol to process this," Caroline mumbled making Kol chuckle. She went and plopped down on the couch feeling defeated and lost. Klaus said nothing but kept silently observing her reactions.
"We might have another issue to deal with," Elijah mused and Caroline looked confused but it was Klaus that spoke to her.
"Kol might be imprisoned also," Klaus clarified and Caroline blinked surprised. Kol did not seem to be as surprised as her. He seemed to have already anticipated this.
"How is this even possible?" Caroline asked and Elijah cleared this throat.
"He has been tied with you upon his resurrection," Elijah said and Klaus bitterly grimaced at that. Caroline looked at Kol seriously as if she expected him to confirm this.
Klaus observed the silent communication his younger brother had with Caroline and realized much to his dismay that Caroline seemed to only trust Kol. He felt the veins underneath his eyes itching to appear. He wanted to attack his brother and to somehow put an end to this nonsense. How could Caroline be so blind as to trust a walking menace like his brother? A trickster of the worst sort? And why was she acting as if Kol was the only one she could rely upon?
Kol went and sat next to Caroline and gave her an affirmative nod that made Caroline lean close to him as if she was asking not only reassurance but someone to ground her.
Klaus felt the air becoming thicker. This terrible feeling was burning him up and he realized it was jealousy. Blind and overwhelming and most of all destructive. And yet beneath it all, it was concern. Alarming concern for Caroline.
Elijah slowly walked next to Klaus and gave him a knowing look. Klaus held his breath and took a step back for a moment sharing his own silent conversation with Elijah understanding at once what his older brother was telling him with his intense gaze. It was an art of communication they had perfected through the centuries. To be able to understand each other and lay down plans without talking to each other. It was not just that Elijah was observing the same twisted connection Kol had with Caroline. It was also a plan that was being formed in that instant. One that did not include Kol and Caroline in it.
Klaus gave him a slight nod and turned his attention back to Caroline and his brother.
Caroline seemed pale and tired. He wanted to go to her. Most of all he wanted to make sure his brother would stay away from her and would not harm her anymore than he already surely had. He knew from first hand Kol's mind games and despite the obvious connection he seemed to be sharing with Caroline Klaus was also certain that Kol still had the same twisted wretched heart underneath it all. He knew it because their hearts were the same. They craved the same destruction and wanted to inflict the same misery. He might have been able to push his most twisted thoughts to the side for his family and for Caroline's sake but he doubted Kol was capable of such selflessness. Especially since he already knew what Caroline meant for him. Kol would certainly try to use her against him and Klaus would not allow this to happen.
But for now, he would have to play along. Caroline was smart but she was also emotionally distressed right now. He had to make sure she would channel her anger at him once more in order for her to be distracted. He had to give to Caroline the distance she seemed to be so willing to create between them and to also let his baby brother think that he was the one pulling the strings and taking advantage of Caroline's confusion. It was necessary… for now.
Elijah wore his most polite mask and turned his attention to Caroline and Kol.
"Maybe you should go with Miss Forbes Kol. Check out the city's borders together and ensure her safety," he proposed and Caroline this time looked at Klaus but he refused to let himself appear weak. He remained impassive and she seemed to be confused by his reaction.
"In the meantime, we will call Marcel and ask him to send us Davina Claire," Elijah added and Kol raised an eyebrow in question.
"She is a witch," Klaus explained, "somewhat…friendly," he sarcastically described making Elijah shake his head in exasperation.
"I wouldn't go as far as giving her such an attribute when our family is concerned Niklaus," Elijah objected amused and Klaus shrugged.
"She might need some persuading in order to assist us, so before we make a move against mother we need to cover our tracks. This gives us some time. Which I believe should be productive," Klaus said as he pushed his hands behind his back. His gaze turning Machiavellian.
"Productive how?" Caroline softly asked him and Klaus gave her a taunting smirk.
"She might be able to break the barrier that keeps you trapped sweetheart and then you can go on your merry way," Klaus answered with an unemotional tone.
Caroline stared back at him silently.
"That is what you want love, is it not? To be free?" Klaus mused with a tone laced in dripping mockery and Caroline gritted her teeth as she got up at once feeling defensive.
"Yes," she said with an unwavering tone and Klaus smiled at her. A cold smile that made her cross her hands in front of her chest defensively.
"Fantastic," Klaus scorned amused and Caroline pressed her lips angrily.
"And you will persuade her how? Terrorizing and murdering everyone she's ever met?" Caroline spat feeling the need to wipe that stupid smirk out of his face.
"All the makings of a lovely day," Klaus jested, his dimples coming out to full display.
Caroline looked at him with distaste and frustration. He was pushing her buttons and she was seeing red now. His callous behavior was making her already crappy day even worse. Why was he acting like this?
Elijah clapped his hands in order to diffuse the tension as Kol, that kept observing the scene with suspicion so far, got up and stood next to Caroline protectively.
"Come on darling. Let's go," Kol offered his hand to Caroline and she looked at Klaus for a moment unsure of what to do. But Klaus did not respond to her gaze aside from the irony that reflected in his eyes and so she took Kol's hand and they flashed away from the mansion.
Klaus waited until he made sure that Kol and Caroline had left and he then let his anger appear. He took a vase and threw it to the wall with so much force that not only the glass scattered on the floor but parts of it got embedded in the wall.
He screamed and his eyes turned yellow.
"Reign on your anger Niklaus," Elijah's stern voice gained his attention but his rage would not be conquered by a voice of logic.
"Wrong brother," Klaus growled, his palms turning to fists, "I do not need to quench my rage…I only need to unleash it," he whispered in a lethal tone and his lips curled revealing his sharp fangs.
Klaus extended his hand towards the exit.
"Shall we?" he simply said and Elijah nodded seriously as he straightened the lapels of his jacket.
Both of them left the house in a supernatural speed feeling assured that Kol and Caroline would not intervene with their plans. This was war and they had to make sure that Caroline Forbes would not become collateral damage and most importantly that the battle would not be lost by the bitterness Kol Mikaelson still harbored against them. They had to keep a united front.
Both of them became blurry shadows as they ran on the streets of the Quarter.
Their destination the Julien Mausoleum in the Lafayette Cemetery.
Klaus and Elijah entered the mausoleum with caution, both of them keeping their guard up.
They noticed amulets hanging on the entrance doors but no magic prevailed. No witches were at sight and the cemetery seemed to be empty. So they stepped in and even though everything was eerie silent both of them could feel a presence.
Elijah Mikaelson narrowed his eyes and gripped the manacles he was holding harder as the soft clacking of a woman's heels resonated against the old stones. Klaus immediately tensed ready to attack when Synnove Julien appeared.
She stepped closer, smiled, and everything stilled around them. They did not need to say anything. Only looking into her eyes was enough. No matter what form she would take. No matter what body she would possess. The way her gaze lingered upon her children would be enough for Elijah and Klaus to recognize her between thousands.
"Synnove Julie. Or should I call you …mother," Klaus growled pulling out a blade from the back of his belt. Elijah held him by the shoulder trying to restrain him. Their plan was to imprison their mother and seek answers. Killing her would come next. For now, they had to keep her alive and to bind her powers.
"That won't be necessary Niklaus," Esther softly told him with Synnove's eyes pointing at the blade he was holding with mirth.
"Why have you returned mother?" Elijah somberly cut to the chase and Esther smiled.
"To reunite our family," she simply said and Klaus laughed bitterly.
"This is why you killed my child?" Klaus bellowed with so much rage that made the walls around them shake their dust away and Esther stared at him with sadness.
"Nature could never tolerate such an abnormal disruption. So much power in one person is not natural and it can only bring death. You have already brought so much death to this world. You and your brothers and sister. I could not allow this to unfold again Niklaus. Never again. Your daughter did not belong to this plane of existence and neither do you," she told him with an authoritative tone that bristled with remorse and Klaus screamed and thrashed against Elijah's hands.
"I will have your heart," Klaus roared and Esther dipped her head down with a smile of sorrow.
"It would not be the first time," she told him and Elijah looked at his mother with revulsion.
"No matter what you think of us murdering a child that had just drawn breath is a sin, not even us could do," Elijah condemned her and Esther inhaled a deep trembling breath.
"Wouldn't you? How many children have you slaughtered Elijah? Even you. You call yourself the noble brother and yet you have shed so much blood. How many sons and daughters have died in your teeth? How many hearts have you ripped out? How many mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers fell by your hand in a thousand years?" she simply stated the fact and Elijah stared at her with a vacant gaze. Klaus stilled in his hands and Elijah released his hold.
"Killing a newborn did not absolve our sins mother. It only added more to our shame," Elijah grieved and Klaus rage shimmered down as he started realizing that something was wrong.
"She is stalling us," Klaus muttered and Esther smirked. Elijah frowned when Klaus threw his blade straight at Esther's heart but instead the knife went through a shade and got embedded in the stone wall. Esther smiled and her figure disappeared in a puff of mist.
Klaus yelled and tried to run away only to find that a barrier was raised on the entrance of the mausoleum. Elijah tried to push his hand against it to no avail.
Esther had taken advantage of their surprise and anger and had managed to trap them.
Nightfall was almost upon them. The colors on the sky started changing their bright shades into dullest darker ones as the sun was slowly setting.
"We covered all exits darling. You are trapped," Kol said casually making Caroline glower at him with her most venomous look. Kol simply pressed his lips amused.
Caroline kicked the air and punched the unseen barrier that trapped her in with her fist.
"But you are not," she grumbled angrily and Kol lifted an eyebrow.
"You make it sound as if I should be," he chuckled and Caroline targeted her anger at him.
"Better you than me," she complained petulantly and Kol smirked bemused. Caroline started pacing back and forth looking as if she was ready to pull her hair out with her hands.
She then turned around and faced Kol. She narrowed her eyes and assessed his pose with a pensive expression.
Kol was looking at her with one of his most innocent looking grins. She pointed a finger at him.
"You seemed quite eager to follow Elijah's directions," she thoughtfully realized and Kol leaned back against her car crossing his hands in front of his chest.
"Did I now?" he nonchalantly remarked and Caroline's eyebrows creased more.
"You do understand that your brothers sent us here because they wanted to go after the witch on their own, right?" she asked him looking puzzled.
Kol smirked and tried to give her a grimace of surprise that seemed too comical even to her.
"Oh no! How could I have missed this? What are we ever going to do about it darling?" he mocked theatrically and Caroline's lips twitched to a half smile.
She slowly walked towards him and Kol's smirk grew wider.
"You have been lurking from the other side before it fell. You are still familiar with this place and its witches are you not?" she questioned and Kol gave her a wide smile. His eyes shimmered with a glimmer of mischief.
"You said her name was Synnove Julien correct?" he playfully questioned and Caroline straightened her back and looked at him seriously.
"You know where she is," she guessed even though she could tell that he did and Kol pointed towards the direction that led back to the city and Caroline rolled her eyes.
"Funny thing is that my brothers never bothered to search the magic history of the New Orleans covens. Quite a pity really," he singsonged and Caroline looked at him in befuddlement as he took out of his jacket a…flower.
"Last night among other things I missed the smell of Sanguinaria," he said to Caroline as he smelled the white bloomed flower.
"This does not answer where the witch is," Caroline complained as she took the flower from his hand and inspected it closely.
"She is to the only place she could be in order to draw the Julien power," Kol told her with a shrug of his shoulders, "…which is not their mausoleum in the cemetery. That one simply harbors their magical objects and balances their power. They only bury there the weakest witches of their line," Kol informed her feigning a sigh.
Caroline squinted her eyes before she shook her head amused.
"Your brothers went to the Lafayette mausoleum," she said suddenly realizing that Kol knew what was going to happen.
"And I am willing to bet they got trapped in it until the midnight hour. Tricky things those dark Julien objects in the entrance doors. They always backfire at the presence of vampires," Kol jested and Caroline raised her eyebrows at him.
"And who would have thought that the Julien coven kept the source of power in their own spiritual nexus which resides in the ruins of the mausoleum of the ancestor that started their line in their old manor. The manor was burned to the ground but the mausoleum still stands. And as it happens without an invitation there is only one opening against the magical protection of the Julien spells around that old estate's magical borders. Just after sunset but only if you have some handy bloodwort to burn," Kol revealed to Caroline pointing at the flower she was holding and she arched her eyebrow as a bright smile appeared on her lips.
She gave him back the flower and he threw the car keys at her.
"Lead the way then," Caroline told him as they got into the car.
Klaus screamed as he punched the invisible barrier that trapped him and Elijah inside the Julien mausoleum. The afternoon shadow was slowly falling diming the day's lights inviting the sunset in its mist.
Elijah however despite Klaus's anger remained calm and was inspecting the amulet that was hanging on hinges of the stone frame of the mausoleum's old door. It reminded him something and soon enough the memory returned.
"Niklaus I have seen this amulet before. In Kol's research after the Mari incident," Elijah noted as he tried to reach for the amulet for his hand to get repelled immediately.
"You mean the witch he drove mad after she entered the nunnery," Klaus growled as he kicked at the barrier feeling more annoyed by the minute. His mother was planning their demise and they got stuck here like idiots. He should have seen this coming but his anger clouded his mind, in the same way, Elijah's worry for their family clouded his.
The last thing he wanted to do now, however, was to reminisce Kol's insane ventures from centuries ago. Not when he was trapped in here and Caroline was left unprotected in his city with his mother on the prowl. And something told him that Kol had been too willing to follow his directions and go with Caroline to the city's borders. This would not end well and he was trapped here unable to do anything. He had let his worry for Caroline and Hope and his rage for his parents and Kol cloud his better judgment.
"Indeed. That girl was a servant of the Julien matriarch. Her pendant was a gift from the lady of the house and its stone breaks the spell this amulet creates," Elijah informed him gaining his attention.
"Great. I am assuming it would not be conveniently hidden somewhere in here," Klaus sarcasm turned Elijah's pensive expression into one of amusement.
"In here no. In our attic in Kol's Louis IV chest yes," he simply said making Klaus snort with impatience.
"Once a while you could try giving more merit to our family's detection skills," Elijah reprimanded Klaus while pulling his jacket's sleeves straightening the material with elegant movements.
"That's how you justify snooping?" Klaus mocked as he took out his phone making Elijah cast him an indignant glare. Thankfully the magic here was not blocking his signal.
Klaus cursed under his breath.
"Hayley is not answering."
"She's in the bayou. She is probably training with the wolves," Elijah told him.
"Marcel has Davina trying to find more amenable witches to our cause in order to break the barrier spell that keeps Caroline trapped," Klaus grumbled knowing that he could not call Marcel either.
Not that he could trust him anyway. Having people he did not trust knowing two Originals were magically trapped inside the cemetery would be a grave mistake and at the same time, it was not as if he could ask Kol for help. Kol was a troublemaker and a nuisance. And if there was something that Klaus had noticed ever since his return from the land of the dead was that he had gotten immensely more unstable and the last thing he needed was for Kol to cause him more problems. Problems that could also jeopardize Caroline's safety. And not to mention that if his suspicions were right Kol and Caroline might be getting in trouble right now.
"Amenable witches to our family? Isn't that an extinct species brother?" Elijah joked and Klaus huffed feeling the need to start smashing things in outrage.
"That is why Marcel won't leave Davina's side anyway in case the covens learn she is helping our family. She will need protection. They won't be of any help right now either," Klaus mused and narrowed his eyes at the mirth he saw dancing inside his brother's eyes.
"Well, it is a good thing you have a therapist to help you fix your issues then Niklaus," Elijah teased.
Klaus licked his lips awkwardly as he internally seethed and glowered at Elijah that gave him an amused smile.
Klaus shook his head while his fingers moved on his phone's touchscreen searching for Camille's contact.
Poison ivy was wrapped around the railings.
Caroline Forbes stood at the old rusty gate looking at Kol with apprehension. The estate was indeed burned to the ground centuries ago. Caroline could still see on the horizon, past the gates, remains of the old mansion. Stones and black debris among dirt and fallen autumn leaves. The gates were shut and chains with intricate locks and spells were keeping the intruders away.
Caroline knelt down and gently placed her fingers in the stones on the ground. She could feel magic thrumming. Before she died she could not detect the change of the supernatural vibrations around her but her senses were much sharper now. She had been accustomed to magic and its changes and warnings. Right now she could feel the magic flowing in her touch and she could also feel the waves of magic in the atmosphere. And this kind of magic here was black. Dark Stygian magic. One of the old kinds that thrived in Purgatory.
"Sure we don't need an invitation?" Caroline glanced up at Kol that stood next to her swirling a Zippo lighter in his hand. He seemed to be detecting the same sensations around them.
"The Julien coven draws power from their collective dead. They can't dedicate the source of their magic to the living," he replied as his sharp eyes took everything in. He stood next to her and she could tell that he was already in warrior mode.
"No property deed then. Got it," she noted as she got up and dusted her hands on her jeans and Kol smirked as the sun was finally setting. His fingers lit up the lighter's flame and soon enough the smell of the burning bloodwort filled the air.
Caroline watched apathetically as the flaming flower reached the stones and twirls of wind rose from the ground and pushed through the gates.
When the magic toned down the amulets in the gates swayed and flashes of light reflected in the crystals.
Both Caroline and Kol flashed forward and jumped over the gates. Both of them landing on the other side with stealth and precision.
Caroline pushed her hair behind her ear and listened carefully.
"Witches ahead," she soundlessly enunciated and Kol nodded as he flashed away at the opposite direction and became a blur.
Caroline stood up and took her time walking towards the sounds. Her eyes surveying everything.
"No welcoming party?" she singsonged and heard the hushing sounds from the witches seize and that was her cue. She lept up and climbed on the tall trees' branches hiding in their shadows.
When two witches came closer Caroline jumped down in supernatural speed and soon enough her teeth sank to the first neck she found as she kicked the man behind her; the point of her boot bruising his throat not allowing him to chant his magic. She heard the man's larynx break as he fell on his knees trying to desperately cough the agony away while he choked muffled sounds and clawed and clutched his neck with his fingers unable to channel his magic with his hands as he battled the pain and the loss of his voice.
Caroline kept drinking from the woman she was holding feeling her body going slack in her arms. Finally, she let go of the unconscious witch she had bitten with much difficulty. Her hunger was starting to cloud her mind and so she pushed much harder than she intended the kneeling man's head against the bark of a tree and dropped his body to the ground. His head wound was bleeding as his heart continued beating alas slowly. She had not gone for the lethal stroke but she was itching to kill; she stood straight. She had to take deep breaths in order to quench her murderous lust and her increasingly overwhelming blood hunger which happened to be a constant feeling ever since she returned from Purgatory.
Caroline suddenly felt the beginning of a thrumming pain in her head and rolled her eyes as crouched down faking pain making the third witch behind her come out of hiding; she then took a stone from the ground, turned around in speed unable for a mortal to comprehend, and threw the stone straight at the witch's temple causing her to stumble back and fall on the ground with a thud. The fresh blood pouring from her head wound created a pool on the blanket of green underneath the witch's body. Caroline stood up shaking the dust from her clothes and swirled her tongue over the last drops of blood that lingered in her lips. It would take much more than a simple aneurism spell to cause her pain now and how much more after a feed.
Her head whirled around when she heard more witches approaching and she ran towards them when she heard their screaming erupting in the night.
By the time she got to them, Kol had slaughtered them all. Blood and flesh gurgling out of his mouth and fangs.
"God I have missed this!" he moaned satisfied as he let the body of the witch he had just drunk from fall unceremoniously on the ground.
Caroline looked at the corpses and the torn body parts all around with annoyance and she rolled her eyes.
"It is not as if you did not kill everything that moved in Purgatory," she grumbled and Kol slurped the blood from his fingers with a sigh of pleasure.
"I much prefer the real living killing," he winked and ran his tongue around the excess blood that had stained his lips and chin. More blood was dripping from his neck and shirt. He was all covered with blood from head to toe.
Kol stepped on a dead woman's neck as he walked towards Caroline with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
"Now darling. Shall we go and fix your little barrier problem?" he candidly suggested and Caroline pushed her hand against his chest in warning as she heard another witch shuffling a few meters behind them. She was already trying to cast a spell.
"Your bloodlust is deafening it seems," Caroline mocked him and as he was about to flash away to the last witch Caroline pulled him back from the lapel of his jacket.
"That one is mine," she declared and ran towards the last witch that remained in the outdoor premises.
"Sweet mercy," Kol sardonically sang as he waited for Caroline to go and face the witch without killing her.
Not much good that would do since he planned to leave no one alive by the time they would get out of this damned place.
Kol and Caroline stepped towards the old mausoleum. They checked the premises before stepping down the stones that led to the caverns beneath the old marble building.
The smell of cinnamon and sulfur rose above the dust and the musk. Caroline scrunched up her nose. The stench of death was too vibrant in this place and the more they descended the stones the greatest the sense of foreboding was becoming.
Kol was taking silent steps as did she and Caroline noticed with a feeling of uneasiness the tombs inside the mausoleum. She could feel the magic erupting from their intricate sculpted letters and hymns in their surface. She held her breath and glanced at Kol and noticed how he looked tense like her. All his glee from the killing was now gone.
The darkness soon gave away to shades of light and shadow. Flames were flickering inside cauldrons and Kol stopped walking. He reached for her arm at the same moment she heard the flutter of a human beating heart.
And then there was another smell that she did not recognize. She looked at Kol with a questioning gaze.
He gulped as mist started dancing beneath their feet.
"Bluebells," Kol croaked and gripped Caroline's arm harder ready to take her away. He could also smell buttermilk and ale. A scent he had not smelled for more than ten centuries.
Actually, he had not felt this kind of magic for quite some time. He used to sleep in the arms of that magic a thousand years ago and he had encountered it again a few years before in Mystic Falls.
His brothers were right it seemed. But she should not be able to channel so much power Kol realized. And along with that, he recognized that acting irrationally and coming here without back up was a grave mistake. He let his rivalry with his brothers blind him and even worse he brought Caroline with him by taking advantage of her own impatience and anger. This would not end well. Not with such magic around them.
"We should leave Caroline," he whispered as realization dawned on him. They were not just on sacred ground. The witch must have consecrated Viking relics in the grounds beneath the tombs. She was evoking Seiðr and she was strong enough as to cover the traces and build her power inside the Julien circle and channel it throughout the mystical plane in secrecy. He could feel it and he could also see it. The cauldrons had runes on them. She had connected the remnants of the fallen spiritual plane to New Orleans and channeled Viking magic. Where the hell had she found Viking ash?
Caroline gave Kol a confused look but jumped up when a thud was heard behind them. The ground shook and flames rose.
Kol pushed Caroline behind him and she tensed. He never did that. He always let her fend for herself except for the first time she had fallen in Purgatory. But back then she had been powerless and he knew it. Why was he acting like this now?
The echo of the heartbeat came closer and Caroline saw the figure of a woman emerge from the dark corner. She narrowed her eyes. Red hair. An air of superiority.
"Synnove," she said as the witch got out of the shadows and then Kol's face blanched. He kept Caroline behind him.
"Mother," he stammered and Caroline's eyes widened.
Synnove smiled and Caroline shook her head. She was not Synnove. Esther smiled. Esther Mikaelson was possessing Synnove Julien's body.
"Long time no see mother dearest," Kol slyly mocked trying to sound confident as he backtracked a bit and Caroline followed his steps. She then noticed that he had put his hand into the pocket of his jacket and she could swear she heard the soft click of buttons. He was using his phone.
"You should have passed away my son. It was your time," Esther said in a creepy voice and Caroline pressed her lips as she remembered how this woman had tried to stop her from resurrecting Kol.
"So was yours," Kol threw back at her as he walked backward while still keeping Caroline protected and hidden behind him.
"Yes and we should all accept it," she told him and then her eyes focused on Caroline. A piercing gaze that made Caroline's breath hitch.
Kol hissed, his fangs dropping.
"Run," he yelled at Caroline as he lunged for his mother. Esther did not move an inch. With a simple flick of her wrist, she had broken Kol's neck before he had the chance to attack her.
Kol's body dropped to the side and Caroline swallowed down as she noticed the shine of his phone peeking out of his pocket.
Caroline turned her attention to Esther and her lips compressed in a thin line. Rage filled her but she knew she could not go up against Esther like this. She would not stand a chance. She had to stall. And to find a way to make her reverse the spell that kept her bound to New Orleans. She also needed answers but she had no leverage and Kol would be of no help now.
"I am guessing you were a strict parent in your day," Caroline joked in an aloof tone as she pointed with her eyes at Kol's unconscious body.
"My children were never prone to discipline," Esther played along with a cold smile and Caroline shook her head.
"Maybe if you had tried loving them instead of killing them," Caroline accused the witch and saw how the woman's gaze turned serious and then cruel.
"I killed them because I loved them," she defended herself and Caroline scoffed.
"Getting them presents was not enough ha?" Caroline mocked and tried to put some distance between her and Esther. The next thing she knew was that her legs no longer touched the ground. Esther threw her to other side of the mausoleum and Caroline literally flew back, her body crashing on the wall. The passage that led out of the tombs was now on the opposite direction and Esther moved between Caroline and her way out blocking her exit.
Caroline landed on her knees, her palms flat on the ground. She felt her face change. Veins appeared underneath her eyes and her fangs dropped.
Esther spared her a look of indifference but then she seemed to become increasingly intrigued.
"It is not very common to see one return from the land of the dead. Especially one so young as yourself. A rare quality I must say," she complimented as Caroline stood up and both of them started circling each other.
"You did it," Caroline seriously said facing her with a challenging gaze and Esther raised an eyebrow.
"You know who I am Caroline," she arrogantly reminded her and Caroline gritted her teeth and nodded.
She moved towards one of the cauldrons of fire. Esther was following her every move.
"Why have you trapped me in New Orleans?" Caroline demanded an answer and Esther's eyes narrowed.
"Why have you brought my son back from Purgatory?" Esther blamed Caroline and Caroline's eyes turned back to normal. She felt nausea building up in her stomach. There was a time her father had tortured her and her mother wanted to kill her too but none of them had been so methodical and so cold. Deep down her parents loved her. Her mom still did. And this woman here felt nothing for her children. How was that even possible?
"You should be thanking me. Kol is your son after all," she whispered foolishly trying to reach out to the woman she faced and then looked at Kol's unconscious body on the ground.
"He was sent there to pay penance for his crimes. To repent," Esther insisted harshly and Caroline actually laughed at that.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you," she spat standing her ground.
"What do you know about me, child?" the witch hissed and Caroline saw drops of sweat forming on the woman's skin and frowned.
Caroline focused on Esther and suddenly could hear the erratic palpitations of her heart. Caroline could smell decay on her and she could see the thin veins in her hands and neck. She was feverish and she was pale. Her lips were parched. She could not handle the magic she was evoking.
The whole mausoleum was carrying the stench of the death and the magic vibes in here were overwhelming and this was why she had missed it at first but Esther's body already smelled like death. She was barely standing. Her body was giving out. She was close to septic shock. Even Kol had missed it but the more Caroline allowed her senses and instincts to take over the more she could see it. Esther was on the verge of death. All she need was a slight push.
That was it! She had to make Esther lose control and tab to her powers until the body she was possessing would not be able to handle the added surge of magic to the inflicted possession. It would be the only way to defeat Esther Caroline realized. And when she would die the spell she had cast on the borders of the city should dissolve. It was worth the risk because either way, she would not survive Esther anyway.
Klaus and Elijah probably had plans for their mother and this was why they tried to keep her and Kol away but Caroline had to look after herself first. The Mikaelsons would have to solve their issues without putting her in the middle. She would not become collateral damage again.
"I know you are the same with the rest of your family. No better. You made them," Caroline argued with an ice-cold tone. Esther seemed startled for a moment but then she shook her head.
"And then I had to watch from the other side as my creations spread their reign of terror upon the innocents," she lamented and Caroline hummed sarcastically.
"Right," she feigned concern and saw how Esther was starting to take the bait. She was getting angry. All she had to do now was push a little bit more and make Esther fight with magic. With a lot of magic. She had to brace herself for the pain but there was no other way, "so you got the first seat to a ghost movie theatre and you call that Hell?" Caroline mocked, "I am sorry for not showing you any sympathy," she scorned and Esther tilted her head to the side and the flames around them rose higher. Caroline held back a smirk. The Original witch was already connecting with the magic through emotion.
"The ancestors and the spirits made me feel all the pain my children caused," Esther revealed to Caroline that looked at the woman unimpressed.
"Served you right if you ask me," Caroline sneered and Esther vibrated with anger. Obviously, Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah had taken a lot of their temper from her. She remembered that in Mystic Falls Esther Mikaelson was composed and in control but it looked as if her recent death had done a number to her. Well, maybe she should get in line. She had died too and she was not trying to punish others for her pain.
"And here you are," Caroline pressured, "after your penance and your empathy for all the innocents. Hijacking the body of a witch. Of another innocent," Caroline accused Esther that rose her chin up.
"It was necessary," she simply said and Caroline smiled bitterly.
"Like brainwashing Alaric back in my hometown whenever his ring brought him to your side?" Caroline reminded Esther that now looked at Caroline with caution, "then your creation murdered my father in cold blood. A man that defended the world against vampires and refused to become one despite the fact that it would save him. A good man!" Caroline exclaimed with hate and tears in her eyes and Esther stood eerily still.
"How many good men have you killed in your crusade against your own blood?" Caroline accused Esther and the woman stared at Caroline with an empty gaze.
"Too many," she admitted and Caroline looked at her repulsed.
"But you could not feel their pain so they don't matter. They were collateral damage, right? Like the woman you are possessing correct?" she criticized Esther's actions with a voice full of loathing and saw how the woman trembled slightly. The magic around them was starting to get more and more unstable. Caroline could feel it in the small rocks that shook on the stones and the grounds and in the erratic flickering of the flames.
"Your children defend their methods in the same way," Caroline told her coldly and noticed how Esther swayed back a bit.
"Hello, pot. Meet kettle," she jeered and Esther finally broke down yelling and pointed her palm towards her. Caroline felt the first tingle of pain and then laughed.
"You have to do better than that," she giggled and then the pain brought her to her knees. Esther's eyes blackened and she focused more on hurting Caroline.
"I suffered through the ages. I paid for my mistakes! What do you know about pain?" she wailed in a shrill cry as Caroline felt blood starting to pour out of her nose but through the agony she noticed with satisfaction how Esther's body was starting to shut down. Her heart beats were slowing down and her breathing was hollow. Her movements were now becoming sluggish. The more she channeled magic the closer to death she was getting.
Caroline then pushed her body back and reached for the cauldron. She threw it on the floor feeling the runes and the burning metal cut and burn through her hand.
The flames rose between them making the witch momentarily lose her focus and yelp as the fire started licking the marbles and the tomb walls blocking some of the magic Esther channeled. Some of the runes broke and the magic backfired and Esther did not seem to be impervious to the fire anymore. The magic from the cauldron was now making the flames hotter and brighter and Esther used her hands to cover herself from the scorching heat and luminance.
Caroline used the element of surprise and flashed through the fire behind her and grabbed Esther from behind. Her hand wrapped around Esther's neck in a chokehold and squeezed strangulating the witch.
"I got to learn a lot when it comes to pain actually," Caroline whispered lethally in Esther's ear and then bit her without mercy. The oils from the spells Esther used had soaked the tombs and the grounds and they seemed to feed the fires that started rising and spread all around them.
Esther yelled and screamed. Caroline felt her magic dissipating for a moment and knew that the witch would have to use all of her power to push her back and so she did.
Caroline body was propelled back and thrown at a tomb. Caroline winced and grunted as she felt some bones of her back shuttering.
Esther had fallen down clutching her bleeding neck. She was trying to breathe and find shelter from the fire. Before she could say anything Caroline had moved past her pain and straddled the witch on the ground. Caroline's fingers wrapped around the fragile neck. She could hear the witch's heartbeat slowing down.
Rage filled Caroline now. The same berserker rage that made her survive Purgatory.
"What do I have to do with any of that? Why have you trapped in New Orleans?" Caroline screamed frustrated and Esther coughed.
"My son had his eyes set on you in Mystic Falls. He still has. If I didn't know any better I'd say he has reclaimed his heart," Esther choked out and Caroline noticed that the tears that fell from her eyes were mixed with blood. Blood started pouring out of the witch's ears too. She was fading away. The light of the fire was reflecting on them.
"You don't know him," Caroline sneered defending Klaus and Esther laughed weakly.
Somehow this angered Caroline more. She hated having this woman insinuate things about her and Klaus. Things Caroline did not want to accept and was not ready to admit. But most of all she would not allow anyone to use her as a pawn against Klaus Mikaelson.
"I know he is a vampire," Esther bit out maniacally and Caroline pressed her lips and her nails clawed inside Esther's neck. Caroline felt wrath bathing her from head to toe. She refused to give more ammunition to this witch. Esther was the one that was supposed to get angry and suffer.
"Break the spell, let me out!" she ordered the witch and the woman gave her for the first time a sympathetic look.
"You want to kill all of us don't you?" Caroline realized as she remembered Esther's plans in Mystic Falls. To exterminate the vampire race. Those plans obviously had not changed. She wanted to kill every vampire and if she succeeded then Caroline would return back to Purgatory.
The fear became agonizing and she shook Esther and hit her head against the ground. She heard the scalp of the witch cracking and she saw how Esther's eyes rolled back for a moment. She tried to breathe but Caroline squeezed her human throat between her fingers harder. She knew she was not just killing Esther. She was also killing the witch Esther was possessing. But she did not care. She would not go back to that hell. She would not die.
"Do you know what happens to the vampires that die now that the other side is gone?" Caroline hissed at the half-dead witch in her hands and breathed in the magic that started breaking in the air. The spells Esther had used started losing more and more of their power and the intruders could no longer be held out from the gates.
Caroline did not know how but she knew that Klaus was here. It was as if she could feel his presence coming closer and it was as if Esther could feel too.
Caroline's fangs shone in the lit up mausoleum and she was ready to go for the killing bite when Esther with much difficulty managed to push her hand against Caroline's chest and Caroline howled in pain.
Esther looked at her with murderous eyes and Caroline felt as if she was pulling her heart outside of her chest and becoming stronger somehow. Caroline started vomiting blood and realized Esther was taking her with her. Esther Mikaelson was dying. Her face was greying and the vessels of blood in her eyes popped filling her orbs with the red color of death.
Caroline heaved but did not let go of Esther's neck until two hands firmly pulled her back. Kol had woken up and was now trying to hold Caroline back. The fires were ready to consume everything in the mausoleum and Caroline was still a vampire. She could not survive the fire.
"Let her go," Kol yelled to Caroline but she did not listen. Neither did Esther. Caroline struggled and cried in pain as the skin around her heart bruised and Kol pulled her back with difficulty; it was as if Esther was locking her in place with her magic.
Then something much stronger pulled Caroline back. Throughout the haze, she felt another set of hands embracing her. She looked up and saw how Klaus' was the one that held her back now looking at her with worry and fear. She could see his lips opening and closing but she could understand what he was saying. It was too distant.
She moaned and tried to shake his hands off her and in a frenzy, she tried to go after Esther again despite the anguish she felt and she barely heard Esther trying to chant with a broken voice but did hear the rattle of chains.
Kol had managed to grab Esther and Elijah Mikaelson finally put manacles on Esther's hands. The moment the chains were locked on place Caroline was able to breathe in relief. Esther's spell stopped and Caroline's heart started pumping blood violently. It did not feel as if her heart would burst out of her chest now. The fire seized as if the oxygen was vacuumed away. The fire and the pain had stopped but Esther was still alive.
"Are you okay love?" Klaus asked her and his voice was now clear in her ears. Caroline nodded and wiped the blood from her face with the back of her hand. She slumped back relieved and Klaus helped her sit down before he pushed her up holding her securely in his arms until she finally found her balance. She placed her hand over her heart with relief.
"Thank you," she whispered in a low voice and for a moment she could swear they had turned back time and they were once more back in the corridors of her high school when Klaus had found her after she ran from Alaric.
Klaus looked intently at her and for a while, time stopped before he nodded and they looked at each other breathlessly.
Kol let go of their mother and Esther fell to the ground.
Kol then narrowed his eyes and went and lifted a dream catcher from one of the tombs. He sniffed it and then he grimaced. Klaus followed his brother's movement with intrigued eyes and Caroline lowered her head trying to get her bearings again. She then looked at Esther with menace. The witch's hands were shackled and she was one breath away from death.
She had failed Caroline realized. She had not gotten any answers and Esther would not break the barrier spell.
Klaus took a step back from Caroline and then looked at her with angry eyes as he realized with dread what Caroline had tried to do and what he actually saw. Not only Caroline went against his mother but she had almost lost her life in the process. And then her killing instinct prevailed and Caroline kept pushing her limits in a terrifying way. He saw it and he felt it. It was cold and borderline horrid and even though he enjoyed seeing killers of that sort seeing Caroline as one was so alien and unsettling. Back in Mystic Falls, he had seen her potential for greatness and darkness but this side of hers was something new. He saw how despite the pain Caroline had only one target. To kill Esther. And she did not back down. She went ballistic. She almost died. But she did not sway away from her initiative.
Caroline Forbes did not care for anything else aside what she wanted and she had no control or rational thinking. Klaus then understood that he was not standing in front of the Caroline he used to know. He was standing in front of a woman that had swallowed her light and buried it and from that funeral, a cold killer was born. This new Caroline would not sway away from cold blooded murder and he did not even know if her ideals and loyalty still lingered inside her anymore. Caroline had unlocked the monster and what was worse is that she had not turned her emotions off. This was her. This was all her.
It was Elijah's voice that managed to make him turn his attention to his beloved…mother. And the anger turned to rage. Esther was in a bad shape and Klaus had to admit it was an impressive sight. Caroline had gone up against his mother and managed not only to hold her ground but also to inflict such spectacular damage.
And yet his mother was not an adversary that could be defeated so easily. She was always coming back to torment him. To take from him what he held dear. To take away his child. His happiness. His life. Even Caroline.
"It's over mother," Elijah whispered and Esther smiled. A smile so familiar the Mikaelsons could recognize it anywhere no matter which body their mother would inhabit.
"Death never ends," Esther muttered and her body started shaking uncontrollably as if she was having an epilepsy.
Elijah's eyes widened as Esther fell back. He caught her in his arms and Klaus sped towards them and snatched Esther's body to his arms.
He shook her violently. More blood started dripping from her nose and eyes and Caroline tilted her chin up at the sight with a sadistic smile. She had won after all. Esther had tabbed to all of her power and she burned her body. She would die. Nothing could stop that.
"Don't you dare!" Klaus bellowed at Esther. Death would be too easy. She would find ways to torment him more if he would not trap her here and now in mortal binds. She could not escape him again by using the lure of death against him. She had to survive and he had to make sure she would be his weapon against Mikael.
Klaus bit his wrist and tried to feed Esther his blood. But it did not work. Whatever spell his mother had used prevented this body to digest vampire blood. He could not even turn her. The bloody witch had made sure of that.
Esther's eyes fluttered open. Klaus' breath hitched at the expression of pain he encountered in his mother's eyes. That haunting gaze. The one he dreamed as a child and hated as a man. The one that haunted him through the ages.
"I have missed you, my son," she coughed and her manacled hand rose to cup his cheek. Klaus yanked his face away from her caress. Elijah stepped back and inspected the scene with sharp eyes that shone with agony. Kol walked closer and Elijah held his hand tightly. None of them dared to come between Esther and Klaus. Caroline stood silently and watched. A part of her ached with pity but most of her was detached and cold.
"Then why?" Klaus bitingly spat out at his mother voicing the accusation that lingered in all the Mikaelsons. She was their mother. She was meant to protect them and not be the one to hunt them down while trying to kill them.
"You were all my greatest blessing," she cried looking at her sons, "and my worst mistake," she breathed out with her last breath.
Esther Mikaelson died once more in the hands of her son and then there was nothing but silence.
"Foolish Caroline! Your actions were plain ludicrous!"
"Seriously?"
Klaus and Caroline stood against each other. Angry eyes, rigid postures. Their monsters were lurking just underneath the surface and the atmosphere was charged with hostility as they both looked ready to attack each other.
Ever since they returned back from the Julien manor they kept bickering but it was more than that. They both kept yelling at each other while both looking angry and hurt at every shot each one was taking.
Elijah had stayed back to take care of Esther's body and meet with Marcel and Davina and Kol had also stayed back to inspect more of the mausoleum and the artifacts he found there. Klaus had seized the opportunity and practically dragged Caroline out of the Julien estate despite her protests.
Klaus Mikaelson now looked positively murderous while Caroline was reliving her stubborn strike as it was first manifested when her parents were trying to ground her. She wanted to gauge Klaus eyes out! First, he was trying to treat her as if she was an idiot and now he was also calling her one!
"It was reckless and stupid," Klaus boomed while glowering at her.
Caroline huffed and stomped her foot down feeling the need to scream at him.
"While you trying to trick me while going after the witch that trapped me in this city was what? Oh yes. Manipulative and patronizing!" she spat and Klaus pressed his lips in anger.
"It was for your own good!" he rushed out his rage feeling the need to destroy everything around them.
"Please, as if!" Caroline mocked him and Klaus felt the burn underneath his eyelids. The one that called the wolf out.
"You could have gotten yourself killed!" he accused and Caroline looked at him in disbelief and undiluted indignation.
"First of all I can protect myself thank you very much but in case it escaped your attention I didn't even go alone, Klaus. I had an Original as my back up!" she refuted his accusation and his so-called concern that in her eyes was nothing but an effort to put her on a leash and control her like the paranoid controlling freak he was.
"Yes, of course, your friend Kol. How could I possibly forget," he snorted with so much sarcasm that made Caroline blink in surprise before folding her hands in front of her chest annoyed.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she bit out.
Klaus looked at her intently for a few moments that seemed like they had locked inside them an eternity before he took an aggressive stride towards her stopping mere inches away from her face. He towered over her fuming as Caroline stood her ground and lifted her chin up staring back at him angrily.
"I knew I recognized the scent. The dream catcher had its use after all," Kol's voice interrupted their staring match as he strode back into the house but none of them acknowledged his return or backed down.
They stood against each other feeling the air thickening all around them.
"I am interrupting a moment?" Kol taunted them and Klaus turned around and growled at him.
Kol rolled his eyes and threw the voodoo doll at him. Before Klaus reacted Caroline caught the doll in the air. Klaus turned around to protest and she gave him a challenging look.
"Awe. Is this another love spat of yours?" Kol provoked them more before both Klaus and Caroline turned to glare at him.
"Shut up Kol!" Both Caroline and Klaus grumbled and Kol laughed.
Caroline shook her head annoyed and gave Klaus the cold shoulder as she went and sat on the couch inspecting the doll in her hands.
"What is this?" she asked Kol and he went and sat next to her making Klaus purse his lips furiously.
"A lovely voodoo doll meant to monitor the surroundings of your unsuspected enemies or…love objects really. All's fair in love and war," Kol explained.
"Stalker much?" Caroline fired back and Kol smirked wickedly at her.
"In all the commotion Esther must have left it behind when she came here last night posing as Synnove," Klaus stated as he made himself a drink.
"I found it planted near the entrance of the crypt," Kol agreed and Caroline kept checking out the doll she was holding looking confused. That thing did not look like the voodoo dolls they kept showing in the movies. It seemed like the wooden sculpture of a …bird.
"It is the totem of an owl. Its eyes become hers," Klaus clarified for her as if he read her thoughts and Kol nodded at her.
"Like big brother or something?" Caroline asked.
Kol narrowed his eyes at her in bafflement.
"TV reality show," Caroline explained.
"Hhm. Do I need to watch that?" Kol asked perplexed as he leaned towards her side giving her a boyish look of uncertainty.
"You are better off not knowing," she told him trying to suppress a laugh as Kol shrugged and sat back to the couch.
Klaus tried to remain impassive but their interaction made him uneasy. The way Kol and Caroline seemed to be with each other unnerved him. They looked friendly. Too friendly for his liking and his brother seemed to actually have a personal interest at keeping Caroline safe while Caroline seemed to consider him a friend. She was comfortable around Kol in ways that she had never been with him and this became obvious in less than a few hours after seeing them being close to each other.
"Right," Klaus grumbled annoyed; he went to the couch his brother and Caroline were sitting and snatched the doll from Caroline's hand harshly. He then went to the fireplace and threw it in the fire feeling his bloodlust starting to rise. He was itching to kill something. This day could not possibly get any worse.
"Hey!" Caroline was about to nag at Klaus for his brass behavior when Elijah came in with two people by his side.
The man was familiar but the girl was not. She looked young. Just about her age actually. Caroline heard Kol mumbling the word 'great' underneath his breath before she got up.
Elijah smiled politely as if the day that has passed had not impacted him at all and he proceeded with the introductions.
"Miss Forbes this is Marcel Gerard. King of New Orleans and by his side his most trusted witch."
The girl stepped up and approached Caroline.
"Davina Claire," Davina introduced herself and Caroline smiled back and they shook hands. For a moment Davina froze but then smiled warmly at Caroline.
"Caroline Forbes," Caroline responded and looked at the young witch carefully as she withdrew her hand.
"And we have already met," Marcel joined with a charming allure in his voice.
"In the bar. You brought me here when I arrived," Caroline remembered as they also shook hands.
"You seemed-"
"A mess," Caroline finished for him and Marcel laughed, "thank you for your help and …King?" she incredulously asked. The title seemed weird and ridiculous to her ears.
"At your service," Marcel gave her a smile full of teeth and a slight bow that made Klaus roll his eyes.
"He just left his crown at the poor man's castle," Kol butted in making Marcel cover his annoyance with a smirk. Kol, however, did not even bother as he let his eyes roam over Davina, "however you did bring something much better along," he purred with a sexy smile.
"Ew!" Davina rejected him with a grimace and Caroline laughed as Kol turned to glare at her.
"So not sorry," Caroline chuckled making Kol roll his eyes at her.
Klaus rudely interrupted this little charade that was making him tremble with umbrage.
"Enough with the introductions," he sarcastically drawled making Davina look at him with distaste as always. Something that made Caroline look at him with an amused knowing look. Klaus smile turned diabolical as he devoted his attention to the little witch, "Davina love what about that pesky little spell that keeps Caroline here trapped inside our city. I am sure she can't wait to leave us," Klaus jeered with a bitter sarcastic smile that made Caroline roll her eyes exasperated.
Davina sighed and looked at Caroline.
"I am afraid I can't help. And I don't think any other witch aside the one that cast it can," Davina revealed and Caroline tensed.
"Why?" Caroline asked in a hurt tone that had Klaus' gaze softening in concern for a moment before he masked it to a less personal one when he noticed the way Elijah and Marcel were inspecting his reactions with intrigue.
"It is really old magic. One that is bound to the soul of the witch that created the spell. She is the only one that cast it and the only one that can break it," Davina discerned.
"Are you sure witch?" Kol intervened this time seriously.
"It is not a simple barrier spell. It's the kind of magic that holds dimensions. Not only the high witch of one of the most powerful covens agrees with me but the ancestors are positive about this," Davina continued ignoring Kol. Caroline bit her lip as she lowered her eyes to the ground. It felt as if she was suffocating.
Klaus almost took a step towards her but stopped in his tracks when Kol squeezed Caroline's shoulder in a caring gentle manner that made Klaus freeze on his spot. Caroline reached for Kol's hand and covered his palm with hers without looking at anyone else. It was her silent way of acknowledging his brother and Klaus felt as if he was re-entering a nightmare he had long forgotten.
Elijah looked at Klaus with a knowing look. Their past with Tatia was coming back to Klaus' memory and the roots of their sibling rivalry were now blossoming to an anchor of poison that was ready to choke Klaus and shutter his bones all over again.
This could not be happening again Klaus thought. Not with her. Not with Caroline. He would burn the world to the ground if he had to but he would not allow this to happen. His rational side told him it was impossible but the sight before his eyes was making his blood boil.
"The only other way for the spell to dissolve would be if the witch were dead," Davina continued and Caroline raised her puzzled eyes to meet the young witch's.
"The witch is dead. I killed her," Caroline said and Davina narrowed her eyes.
"If she was the spell would have been broken," Davina thoughtfully replied, "unless-"
"Unless her soul did not move on to the ancestral plane," Elijah realized and Klaus took in a deep breath in understanding.
"Mother possessed another body," Kol spelled out what they all were thinking but Caroline just shook her head.
"It was all for nothing," she muttered under her breath with so much despair that it broke Klaus' heart to hear it.
"Mother?" Marcel wondered but before he could get his answer Caroline started walking towards the door making Klaus move at her side immediately.
"I need to get some air," she told Klaus with a hard voice and he looked at her with an understanding look.
"Sweetheart-" Klaus tried to reach her but Caroline seemed completely cut off by everything and everyone now.
"Some very private air," she mumbled and ran away.
It has been two hours since Caroline went away and one after Marcel and Davina left and all Klaus could think was…Caroline. He kept pacing back and forth in his study drinking the one glass of scotch after the other and wondering how Caroline was.
He could not think of anything else. Not his bloody family. Not Esther or Mikael or anything of that sort. He only wanted to know if Caroline was okay.
In the end, his worry became too much for him to handle and so he sped down the stairs and rushed into the living room. There he found Kol and Elijah silently studying some of the artifacts and spell objects Kol had brought with him from the Julien mausoleum; Klaus strode towards them unable to control himself anymore.
He then glared at Kol and took the grimoire his brother was holding and threw it away furiously. He glowered at his younger brother and Kol leaned back to his chair and gave Klaus a bored expression.
"Aren't you going to go after Caroline?" Klaus questioned his younger brother irritated and Kol smirked back at him.
"No Nik. That is what you are going to do."
Klaus looked at Kol, and his taunting smile, with a murderous expression before he flashed away. Elijah shook his head and stared at Kol with an admonished look.
"You are playing a very dangerous game brother," Elijah warned Kol.
"Who says I am playing?"
Back at his place Marcel sat on the small table just in front of Davina and squeezed her knees.
"I know you don't like it D but I need you to try to find a solution for the girl," Marcel insisted and Davina nodded absentmindedly.
"Hey, what is going on?"
"You know I hate Klaus and here you are asking me to work for him. Again," she grumbled and got up. Marcel shook his head and ran his palm over his face tiredly.
"Not for him. For me. You know what the Originals are capable of and right now they have finally taken a step back. Do you really want them to disrupt what we are trying to rebuild here?" Marcel asked Davina and she looked at him feeling irrationally aggravated.
"We? What are we trying to build here Marcel? Because while you are trying to recruit more vampires my kind is falling apart. They have not stopped! They are murdering witches left and right!" she yelled at him.
Marcel huffed out the breath he was holding in.
"This is why we need the Originals by our side. To make an alliance that will last for as long as we are biding our time!" he told her seriously and Davina stilled.
"Biding our time to do what?" she asked surprised.
"Take back our city D," Marcel explained, his eyes falling into darkness. He looked at Davina carefully.
"This is why I need you to trust me and work with me like before. The Mikaelsons came back to my town and used their power to tear down what I have been building for centuries. And when they were done they decided that giving me back New Orleans as a charity after causing havoc would be enough for me to bow down to them once more and serve them as their lesser. For me to be grateful for being restored to my rightful place; the place they usurped!" he hissed and Davina blinked as the old Marcel she knew made his comeback. His rage and his superiority were back.
"What are you planning to do?" she asked him with a low voice and the smile he gave her made her skin cold and her heart warm.
"I have not forgotten what they did to us Davina. What they took from us. From you. Retribution is in order but until then we must be patient and we need to gain their trust. If not their trust then we should at least take them by surprise when they least expect it," he said to her.
"You can't kill an Original. And certainly not Klaus. You are linked to him," she reminded him and Marcel nodded.
"We do not need to kill them. We just need to take away their power. And everything else along with it," he said with a shrug and went to her.
He caressed her hair tenderly and Davina smiled at him.
"This Caroline seems to be important to Klaus. I am not telling you to break the spell. I am asking to find a way to learn how to break it. Caroline Forbes could be Klaus' potential weakness. One we could exploit in the long run," Marcel pondered out loud but tilted his head when he saw Davina chewing her bottom lip in deep thought.
"What?" he questioned and Davina took a step back locking her eyes with his.
"What exactly do you know about that girl?" she asked him seriously and Marcel shrugged.
"Not much for now. I have sent a trusted vampire to check her background. She came to Cami's bar yesterday with a daylight ring looking as if she came back from war. She was weird and broke down in my hands," he said and Davina hummed.
"She is a friend of the Originals," she noted.
"Yes. But she seems to have close ties with Klaus. When he saw her yesterday it seemed as if he was in shock. I have not seen Klaus like that since the night Mikael drove him and his family out of the city. He seemed…shocked, lost. As if he had lost the ground under his feet and then there was something else," Marcel remembered as he replayed the scene in his mind.
Flashback from the day before
Before anyone could blink Klaus had run down the stairs in supernatural speed and materialized in front of Marcel as Elijah got out of his room and stood in the balcony watching the scene unfolding in front of him with curious eyes.
"Impossible," Klaus whispered with a gulp. He reached for Caroline's hair but he froze before he could touch her. He was afraid that if he'd touch her she would dissolve into nothingness. Nothing more than a ghost that came back to haunt him and disappear into thin air again. This couldn't be. She was dead. She had died a year ago. How was this even possible?
"She was asking for you," Camille said and everyone noticed how Klaus's eyes never averted from the unconscious girl in Marcel hands.
"Do you know her?" Marcel asked as Klaus took Caroline from his arms with a tenderness he had never seen in his maker before.
Klaus didn't answer them. He walked further into the house and put Caroline to one of the sofas in the lounge. He stood still and watched her in silence as Elijah followed him and looked at the girl equally surprised.
"What is going on Niklaus?" Elijah asked his brother but Klaus had only eyes for Caroline. He didn't speak. He just looked at her.
"Klaus, what is going on?" Camille persisted and she tried to go near him but Marcel held her hand and prevented her from doing so.
"Get out!" Klaus growled, "both of you! Get out now!"
"What?" Davina questioned.
"Relief. Hope," Marcel realized in awe.
"I see. And whoever this Caroline is she brought along with her another Original back from the ashes," she stated evenly.
"So it seems. Why all these questions D?"
Davina took a sharp breath and caressed the fingertips of her palm slowly with her thumb. As if she was trying to recreate a sensation. A feeling.
"When I shook hands with her. I felt something. I mean…witches always sense vampires upon touch but it was different with Caroline. I can't pin point it exactly but there is something about her," Davina tried to explain and Marcel looked at her intrigued.
"Like what?"
Davina let out the word along with the breath she was holding.
"Darkness."
Hayley got in the compound and immediately noticed the silence that prevailed. The only sound was coming from the living room past the glass doors. The cracking of fire.
She stepped in the room and noticed that Elijah was standing in front of the fire watching the flames. He was holding a drink and she also noticed his disheveled appearance. He looked tired and his usually squeaky clean shoes were now filled with mud and blood.
"Elijah," she carefully said and saw him turning his head to the side. He was not looking at her but she had his attention.
"Where is everyone? What happened?" she asked as she reached for him and placed her hand to his shoulder.
Elijah covered her hand with his looking at her for a long moment before he moved away and finished his drink.
He went to the bar and made himself a new one and also one for her.
Hayley furrowed her brow and noticed how tense he looked.
"Things are about to change in our home," Elijah informed her, approached her and gave her her drink. He gestured towards the chairs in front of the fireplace and with caution she went and sat there as did Elijah.
"Meaning?" she asked and Elijah looked at her with a pensive look.
"My brother Kol will be staying with us and it is fair to say he has the tendency of becoming…unpredictable at times," he warned and Hayley smirked as she drank from her glass.
"In comparison with Klaus that is always so very stable?" she mocked and Elijah smiled for a moment before his gaze turned serious again.
"There are times when Kol can give even Klaus a run for his money," Elijah mumbled and Hayley looked impressed.
"Be careful Hayley and keep your distance," he advised her, "Kol's instability is not to be underestimated. He has no emotional tethers to hold him back. Or so it was before his death," Elijah commented in a mysterious tone that had Hayley intrigued.
"Now he has?" she wondered and Elijah looked at the flames.
"Maybe," he pondered and Hayley gave him a bitter smile.
"Caroline Forbes," she realized and Elijah stared at her.
"What do you know about her?" he questioned and Hayley shrugged.
"She was part of the Mystic Falls parade. One of the local humane vampires," Hayley divulged, her voice slightly mocking before she sighed, "she was very optimistic and ready to defend her friends and as it happened she was in love with Tyler Lockwood. Klaus didn't like that part especially," she noted and Elijah nodded while thinking of Elena Gilbert. If Caroline Forbes has been such a close friend of Elena's that probably meant that she shared the same kindness and compassion. And the fact that Caroline was in love with a werewolf Hybrid also showed to him that she was capable of seeing past one's nature. Especially a nature that was able to harm her. And yet he had also seen feral darkness in her today.
"Don't tell me Kol has a thing for her too!" Hayley suddenly exclaimed and Elijah smiled.
"Despite Niklaus' obvious discomfort over it, I don't think it's so simple. Their bond seems…peculiar however," Elijah mused and finished his drink.
"Miss Forbes will be staying with us for the foreseeable future," Elijah informed her and Hayley stilled.
"Great," she deadpanned, "why?"
"She encountered a witch problem. A spell is keeping her confined in New Orleans," Elijah revealed and Hayley pressed her lips.
"Of course. It is always a witch problem," she hissed annoyed and Elijah once more realized the hate Hayley was harboring for the witches.
Hayley looked at the flames as if she wanted to let them devour everything she felt.
"So if Caroline is to become our guest does that mean Klaus is in seventh heaven now?" she mocked and drank more of her drink refusing to let Elijah reprimand her once more when it came to her behavior towards the covens of New Orleans.
"My brother seems infatuated with the girl indeed but right now I am sure he wished she was miles away from here," Elijah stated with a cold voice that made Hayley narrow her eyes.
"Hayley it is of paramount importance for you to regain a measure of balance and control again. Especially now more than ever," Elijah bluntly told her and Hayley looked at him with dark eyes.
"What is going on?" she directly asked and Elijah grimaced.
"I wish our only issues were Kol and Caroline however we are facing much bigger problems," he enigmatically said and Hayley locked her gaze with him as she reached for the hand he had placed on his knee. She covered his palm with hers and squeezed it.
"Do these problems have names?"
Elijah intertwined his fingers with hers.
"Esther and Mikael," he said.
Klaus spent an hour searching for Caroline until his steps led him to the French Quarter. He could hear violin and saxophone playing down the street and people carried overwhelming smells on their skin and tongues but it didn't take long until his senses caught on her scent and then he just closed his eyes and dashed towards it as if it was a magnet pulling every metal that existed in his blood and bones closer and closer.
He stood many steps behind the park bench she was sitting on. Alone.
The dim lights from the old style street lanterns cast an eerie glow around her form as the clear night sky above and beyond her was bathing everything in darkness.
She seemed lost in thought and Klaus simply watched her from afar.
He could not help but notice the irony. This was the same bench he had ended up when he was disillusioned after learning about Marcel's survival and reign over New Orleans and most of all after learning about Hayley's pregnancy.
The same bench where Elijah had found him sitting in the same position Caroline was now in. With elbows on knees and chin on hands standing still as the world was crashing down. Not knowing where to go or where to stand when everything seemed to be over and the new unraveling chapter seemed more bleak and unwanted than all the misery of the past combined.
The same bench to which he had decided to let Mystic Falls and Caroline go. The same bench that Caroline chose to go and find refuge now that she felt as if she had nowhere else to go.
Maybe it was luck or coincidence or maybe it was fate. He would never know.
"I don't want to talk."
Klaus blinked as her whisper reached his ears. A volume so low and coming from meters away that ensured that it would be only his ears that would hear it. He instinctively took a step forward. Caroline had not turned around or moved an inch but she had sensed his presence.
He went to the bench and sat next to her.
"We don't have to talk," he softly told her and Caroline kept looking ahead. Her sadness overwhelming him.
She acted as if she didn't even notice his presence but her tense shoulders and her ragged breath revealed that inside her a storm raged. She was trapped into his city and what seemed like a haven to him looked like hell to her.
She didn't tell him to leave so he didn't.
They just stayed there in silence waiting for one more sunrise to come.
