Danse Macabre — Part I — Lux Omnia Vincit
Please don't expect me to always be good and kind and loving.
There are times when I will be cold and thoughtless and hard to understand.
— Sylvia Plath
Caroline Forbes was sitting cross-legged on her bed staring at the majestic dress on the hanger she put near the window.
And really it was a dream. It wasn't just a beautiful dress. It seemed as if it was made from smoke, clouds, and starlight. It surely must have cost a fortune unless Klaus had compelled it or it was already one of his ancient collectibles.
For such a sadistic deadly machine Klaus Mikaelson was such a fashion guru. She always loved fashion but Klaus taste was on another level altogether. Not that she would ever admit this to him.
This dress alone proved as much. Hell, even the high heels that came with the dress were another kind of wonder on their own.
Somehow this had nothing to do with any previous gifts Klaus had given her in the past.
This dress was a statement. Should she wear it and enter his world dressed in it everyone would know. They would know Klaus had chosen her. Because he definitely saw himself at the King and this dress was a dress made for a Queen. His Queen.
It really made her furious but her fury traitorously kept dissolving at the sight of that dress. And she knew Klaus knew it too. This is why that bastard sent that particular gift to her. Because he knew she would not be able to resist this dress.
This brilliant backless dress that had delicate chains of diamond beads and jewels at the back side meant to tease the exposed skin by creating a web of sparkling reflections on her back.
Caroline's eyes tried to find a single flaw on the sleeveless high neck ombré gown but she could not find any. The top of the halter gown was also sprinkled with silver beads and diamonds that cast their glow everywhere. It was a beautiful pattern that would run up her neck only to crisscross elegantly back to her back and continue the entanglement of platinum and jewelry.
The hem of the dress had an incredibly intricate sequin embroidery that seemed to catch all light too.
But it was the rest of the dress that gave up the impression of power caught up in a dreamy vision. The dark color of champagne led to the softest of cream with silver details. There were hints of lavender and ivory with dusted crystal in the way the inner layers of fabric draped in endless waves in the skirt. It would create an illusion of delicate glimmer with every movement she would take. While the dress was still created by beautiful silk, chiffon and French crepe organza giving the sensation of mist running through one's fingers.
Only watching this dress that was more art than a dress really brought a sigh in Caroline's lips. Merely looking at it made her gasp. She was tempted to put it on and never take it off. And she knew, as creepy as this was, that Klaus knew her size perfectly somehow so this would be a perfect fit.
She could bet that even by wearing that dress, being wrapped in that soft fabric and by losing herself in those beautiful colors that gradually blended in different hues and shades that perfectly washed away from light to dark would not just make her feel amazing but it would make even Purgatory feel like a distant memory.
There were waves of giddy excitement spreading all over her body from head to toe just by looking at that glorious fashion statement Klaus had gifted her with and it definitely was a statement.
Light was streaming from the window and the beautiful beads embedded on the bodice and the train of the gown caught it and cast it in the rays of sunlight and dust making the soft afternoon shadows sparkle.
Caroline fell back on her pillow contemplating is she should go or not to the Mikaelson Ball. The card Klaus had sent her was wrinkled between her fingers and she held it close to her heart. She hadn't spoken with him but she knew he expected her to not only go to the Ball but also stand by his side.
She wasn't naïve to believe that tomorrow's gathering would be a prelude to a peace treaty. One that would not stand.
Klaus and Elijah were waging war and she didn't know if she wanted to walk straight into that battlefield.
If she was smart she should just order take out and binge watch one of the series she had missed when she was trapped in Purgatory. She should put Klaus Mikaelson and that damn ball out of her mind.
She should really pack that dress and even return it back to the sender. Out of sight out of mind. It would surely send the right message.
She should go ahead and just do that. She should be prudent and careful and keep her distance.
If she was smart.
Her eyes fell again on the dress and she let out a loud sigh blowing away the unruly curls from her face.
At the bayou
"You are not safe here," Elijah urged her but Hayley didn't stop unpacking the last things she had brought from the Abattoir, "you killed a Mardoin witch Hayley. You have a target on your back."
"The last time I checked the Mardoins are at Baton Rouge," Hayley replied coldly.
"Don't underestimate them. Especially with Kol on their side. You got a taste of what my brother is capable of but should they hex you…" Elijah paused, his features turning to a fearful mask. It was rare to see Elijah Mikaelson's expression turn to one of dread but here he was.
"Is this why you came here? To scare me into doing what you and Klaus want?" Hayley demanded and Elijah stepped back.
"Is this what you believe of us? Of me?"
His question, spoken with hurt and incredulity had Hayley's resolute glare turn to one of regret.
"I am sorry Elijah," she sighed, "I am," she insisted when she saw that Elijah still watched her silently, "I didn't mean it. I am just on edge after everything that happened and I keep lashing out! It's as if I can't contain my anger any longer!" she burst out and rubbed her face tiredly, "it was bad enough when I was a werewolf but now-"
Elijah exhaled softly and approached her.
"You will find balance again Hayley. This I can promise you. It won't always be like this."
Hayley didn't seem to believe him, however. She only stepped away and got out to the wooden porch of the small dwelling she had decided to stay in these days.
"Why are you here Elijah?" she asked and before he could say anything she continued, "you knew I wouldn't come with you. So why are you really here?"
Hayley stared at the camp that was set a few meters away from her home. Some of the wolves were training. Elijah stood by her side.
"I wanted to apologize for Kol. What my brother did was unforgivable but I give you my word it won't happen again."
Hayley bit her tongue, her anger flaring.
"Klaus won't dagger him," she bit out ruefully before her lips turned to a sour smile, "maybe he would if Caroline wasn't in the middle," she scoffed, "but despite his big declarations and threats we both know he won't risk losing her favor and she will go down protecting Kol for some reason," she remarked in bitter disbelief, "and you," she added simply, "you can't control him."
Elijah didn't comment on any of the things she said. Instead, he faced her with a solemn gaze.
"It is not wise to antagonize him, Hayley," he advised her, "stop targeting witches and I assure you Kol won't bother you again."
The edge around Hayley's eyes hardened.
"I am not afraid of him."
"Then why did you leave?" Elijah questioned her, his tone showing that he didn't believe her. Not when it came to Kol anyway.
"I need to be with my people. Staying with you was a mistake."
Hayley glanced at Elijah and bit her lip when she saw the pain that had settled in his intense gaze.
"I-" she sighed and ran her hand over her hair, "I stayed in the compound because somehow I felt I was closer to Hope but she isn't there and that place is suffocating me. I need to breathe and I need to be here for my pack. They are the only family I have left."
"We are your family too Hayley," Elijah softly argued but she shook her head.
"I am not who I used to be Elijah," she said, "and I need to find out where to go from here. In the meantime staying with you and Klaus is not helping. I am tired of all the Mikaelson drama and as long as I take part in it the wolves will never see me as anything but one of you."
"Hayley-"
"I am grateful for everything you've done for me, Elijah. But my people will never be able to trust me as long as they seem me side with your family."
Hayley lifted her eyes to meet his.
"I am a Hybrid now. They already see me as not one of them. I have Jackson's support but eventually, he will stand against me. It is a matter of time. He is the Alpha and he won't allow my presence to interfere with that or put his position and pack in danger," she explained and saw how Elijah was still reluctant to let her stay here.
"Is this the only reason?"
Hayley tensed and averted her eyes.
"Is this about what happened with Kol and Caroline?" Elijah probed and she didn't deny it.
"You should go, Elijah," she finally said without leaving any more room for discussion, "but know we'll meet again soon," she informed him, "the crescent wolves decided to accept your invitation. Both me and Jackson will represent our pack."
"Together?" Elijah asked her obviously not liking this.
"Together," Hayley said and left Elijah Mikaelson behind as she went to join the werewolves and Jackson.
Brianna's hands were hovering over the map she had set on the table. Around it, the salt symbols were shimmering with fire and Kol's blood on the map was swirling and moving in different directions but wasn't stopping.
Brianna grimaced and tried to focus more on casting more waves of magic into the complicated locator spell she was working with.
Kol had given her some of his dark objects to boost her power. She had turned them into a sort of a honing device only it was no use.
The fire on the salt flickered out and with a whoosh of wind the grains of salt dusted into nothingness. Kol's blood stopped moving.
"Your sister is cloaked by powerful magic," Brianna sighed tiredly, "I can't find her."
"That's weird," Kol mused skeptically, his eyes staring at the map but when Brianna stumbled back feeling her exhausted body falling down Kol was immediately at her side supporting her.
"Easy there, little witch."
He helped her sit down, knelt in front of her and brushed her hair away from her sweaty face. The fact that she had his protection didn't mean that he wasn't the one pushing her limits dangerously despite how he would care for her afterward.
"Easy for you to say when you have me depleting all my magic in impossible spells!"
"How else would you like to kill time darling? I am open to suggestions," he drawled.
Brianna looked at him dazedly when his finger teased her lips and she swatted his hand away. She already knew how much of a man-whore Kol Mikaelson was. He had already screwed his way into half of the covens of New Orleans. Not to mention the innumerous affairs he had with countless witches down the centuries. All from witch bloodlines and lineages, including hers.
"With how many of my ancestors have you slept with?" she grumbled annoyed by his shameless flirting. Kol Mikaelson always seemed to blur the lines between pleasure, pain and murderous intent.
"Men or women?" he asked completely unfazed and she pressed her lips in disgust.
"Ew," she grimaced and Kol snickered but then both of them tensed when a package manifested in front of them in shadow and smoke easily pressing through the wards.
Kol Mikaelson got up and went to the table the box had landed. He carefully unwrapped the folded card that was on top of the box and his lips curved to a wide smirk as he read the note his lover had sent him.
Brianna didn't need to rise from her seat to know who had signed it.
She would know that handwriting even from afar and she for sure knew the scent of the transportation magic the box was emitting.
It had RenéeMardoin's signature.
"Do you want me to get a read on it before you open it?" Brianna asked and Kol chuckled.
"And have you call me insensitive? Get your rest love," Kol mocked her and Brianna felt the need to use the last remnants of her power to blast him out of the window.
Kol didn't seem to care if the box contained a curse or a hex. She knew him to be reckless but he seemed very sure of himself as he tore the lid of the box away with a flick of his wrist.
Brianna gasped at the gruesome sight.
Flashback
"Better the devil you know and the one that once you get to serve will allow you to reign freely on his turf," Kol cajoled with a gentle voice but his eyes had turned bloodshot and spidery veins were dancing under them.
He already knew whom he had won over and whom he had not. But he was still not sure of those that had not spoken a word during this meeting. And those could be a potential problem. For now, he knew that no one would be a threat. They needed him and they could not afford another confrontation with an Original. Besides he knew that Antonia would make sure that nothing that transpired in this room would ever get out of this house.
Kol let go of Brianna and let his own menace come out to play. He had a witch to punish for being such a pain in the ass after all.
"And since I always love a good Shakespearean play I will know that you agree to come to a deal with me when you give me the head of the one that made that lovely wine concoction on a silver platter," he sang gleefully and locked his gaze with Orelie's that now watched him with uncontained horror, "once you do we will speak of terms and the fine print," he dismissed with a grin that showed his fangs before he withdrew them.
"You expect us to sacrifice one of us for…you? This is what your offer truly means?" Ethan muttered.
"I expect you to make a choice and I am proving my honesty. I was forthcoming when I told you my price includes blood…but as I gentleman I will grant you the mercy and the privilege of shedding your own blood among yourselves. Make it a sacrifice and it will be beneficial to you too. That's how you will know that with me even in your losses there will always be gain. More than you can say for the rest of your options," Kol said flatly, his face revealing nothing.
Every word of his was an ultimatum and mattered. There were a few low gasps that vocalized dread and uneasiness but Kol remained standing and kept his composure.
"Time is running out. Better decide fast," he told the witches.
Orelie's head was served on a silver platter.
Kol's smile was feral as he pulled the Mikaelson invitation Renée Mardoin had sent him along with the witch's head.
"It looks like we have a party to attend to," Kol announced pleased.
Music echoed in the night. Elegant tunes of saxophone, violin, and lyre. All blending together in a symphony that called in everyone like a siren's song.
New Orleans was coming alive as did the home of the Mikaelsons that was –for centuries– known as the Court of Royalty.
A reputation that lost its prestige and mystique despite Marcel Gerard's influence until the Mikaelsons returned to reclaim their home. Their seat of power.
And tonight they proved exactly why the Slaughterhouse was the center of their supernatural world.
While Marcel Gerard threw lavish parties the Mikaelson orchestrated balls. Majestic gatherings with works of arts in display and crimson carpets spread out. Thorny vines and orchids decorated the grand staircase as white gold lights were strung along the railing casting their cold shimmer like stars in the darkness.
The Mikaelson abode had undergone an astonishing transformation in honor of Elijah Mikaelson's Grand Ball and tonight the Abattoir's doors were open.
Glowing lights created a semblance of grand archways and cloisters. Delicate strings with wards meant to create the illusion of protection for all guests were hanging along with the balls of light. Yet, everyone knew this was the den of monsters and no one was safe. And still, they all came. With their expensive suits and elegant gowns. With their jewelry and smiles. With their secrets and traitorous desires. No one dared to turn down Elijah Mikaelson's invitation. It was a grand affair after all. Deadly but grandiose. So they all came ready to dance, drink and make peace with the Mikaelsons.
First came the representatives of the highest authorities of the humans followed by the vampires. Marcellus was yet to be seen but as Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson stood on the balcony above the crowd and observed every entrance they knew that their old prodigy would not arrive before the wolves. Tonight a new order was forming and everyone wanted to establish their power even by making a grand entrance at the right time. Peace was a superficial goal. Tonight was just another form of war. And every war had its own weapons.
Both Klaus and Elijah knew as much so both of them were on alert, taking in every detail. Both brothers gave the image of absolute power and control. Standing above everyone else.
But their cold visage of unfathomable superiority gained its first cracks when a wave of power surged in the room and the lights shimmered, dimmed and then flared up.
The wards were incapable to contain the energy of Kol Mikaelson's dark objects.
Klaus gritted his teeth, his eyes scrutinizing his younger brother. Whatever Kol had brought with him tonight would be enough to bomb the Abattoir to the ground should he want it. Elijah remained stoic next to him but Klaus felt the waves of concern that poured out of him at the sight of the Mardoin witches by Kol's side.
A declaration. The horns of war were now blowing.
Kol in a few weeks time had managed to gain the alliance of the most powerful covens of New Orleans. It was only a matter of time for the rest to follow.
Everything in Kol tonight screamed power and vengeance. Their uncontrollable brother was sending them a message and Klaus knew that after their brother's savage altercation with Hayley every peace pact they would draw tonight would be for nothing. Kol would not acknowledge the wolves more so if they were led by Hayley and what was worse was that Elijah knew it.
Klaus could see the worry in Elijah's gaze as he could also see his inner turmoil. Unlike anything, he had ever seen in his big brother before and it was all directed to Kol. More so since the little wolf had managed to gain a target on her back by the Mardoins that now had obviously allied with Kol. It was not a coincidence. And for the first time, Klaus realized the pattern in Kol's madness.
He hadn't just targeted Hayley in an outburst of a psychotic break and surely not just to stir their family feud more and to get even with them. That would have been the cherry on top. Kol had an ulterior motive. Klaus realized a little bit too late that while Kol had saved witches from Hayley lately he had let her kill her the Mardoin witch. On purpose. And then he let everything else fall into place. Klaus would not be surprised to find out that Kol had pushed the dead Mardoin witch in Hayley's path. Bloody hell!
Klaus' blood started buzzing with uneasiness. He felt danger, it hummed and burned and promised nothing good as all the pieces of the puzzle started coming together and if he could connect them so could Elijah. Only this time something had changed fundamentally. Kol's games, as lethal as they could be were not something new. What was new was Elijah's stance against them. Klaus tensed when he realized that for the first time in a thousand years Elijah was not going to be the peacemaker and the mediator. If anything it would be Elijah that would seek to dagger their wild brother. It unsettled Klaus to see this kind of enmity in his brothers and all he knew was that he had to put an end to it before it was too late. Elijah's anger was not like his. Elijah's anger could turn to poison that would brew for centuries never to fade away, always to corrupt his heart and their family.
He looked down feeling a soft tingle in his fingertips. Daggering Kol may not be that easy as he anticipated especially if his brother covered his tracks with his witches, his dark objects and unfortunately… Caroline.
Klaus was somewhat relieved that Kol had not come with Caroline by his side but it was a short-lived relief. Kol was ready to declare war on them and Klaus chose to stand by Elijah's side for Hayley's sake Kol would perceive it as the ultimate betrayal and if he didn't Elijah would do the same. Truth was that he had never had to choose between his brothers in the past and he was not about to start now. He always demanded loyalty and to be put first but at the same time, even if he occasionally played favorites, he was never disloyal to his own blood. Daggering his siblings was for their own good after all but this bad blood between his brothers was different and would not be contained as easily as their former disputes had been. This could cause a rift in the family that would last generations. And he would be damned if he would allow this to happen to their family. Especially now that this family was Hope's family too.
Another energy surge pulsated all around and Klaus rolled his eyes at Kol's display of power.
The guests glanced around with quiet uneasiness as Kol lifted his head and faced his brothers.
No one dared even breathe as the retinue of the Mardoin witches that surrounded Kol and Renée circled around them.
Kol gave his brothers a mocking bow while he also kissed Renée's hand gracefully without taking his eyes away from Klaus and Elijah.
Renée only smiled but her eyes were solely focused on Elijah Mikaelson.
Elijah said nothing. His expression revealed nothing.
Klaus placed his hand on Elijah's shoulder and did not miss the way Kol's eyes darkened at that. As he did not miss the way Renée's gaze followed his movement too.
"Welcome home, brother," Klaus greeted his brother with a booming voice that was heard by everyone. Let everyone know that Kol Mikaelson was part of their family. Always and forever. No matter their family squabbles he was one of them and he would remain so. It would seem that the role of the mediator fell on Klaus' shoulders this time as he acknowledged the youngest Original with a curt tilt of his head earning a crooked smile from Kol Mikaelson that finally took Renée by the hand and went to mingle with another group of witches while keeping the Mardoin coven constantly by his side.
The tension all around seemed to dissipate but Elijah did not seem to relax under Klaus' steadying grip.
"That's alarming," Elijah started with a sigh but whatever he was about to say was cut short as Hayley entered next all dressed in black.
Klaus exchanged a look of concern with Elijah that seemed to grow a few shades paler.
Hayley's arm was hooked on Jackson Kenner's elbow. Both of them looking royal and fierce with their pack trailing them and sneering almost at everyone in their path.
Whispers started spreading around as the wolves and the vampires found each other in the same room with witches gathering all around them.
Klaus held Elijah right next to him when Kol lifted his glass at Hayley. Those that knew him could translate the threat but it was Renée Mardoin that placed her delicate hand on Kol's arm and lowered his hand. Whatever it was that she whispered in his ear while keeping her gaze in Hayley brought a taunting smirk on Kol's lips.
"Stay calm brother," Klaus warned Elijah in a low voice meant to be heard only by him, "this is not the time. Not tonight."
"Pray the time to never come Niklaus."
Klaus said nothing and thankfully neither did Hayley as she remained by Jackson's side and walked to the other side of the ballroom keeping her distance from the Mardoins and Kol.
It was an explosive blend that had everyone on their toes.
Everyone but Klaus that kept watching at the entrance of the Abattoir waiting for someone else to arrive. Someone that didn't seem to appear and Klaus Mikaelson's mood seemed to deflate and flounder as the clock kept ticking away the time.
Elijah Mikaelson, on the other hand, had regained his composure completely. But the more his brother raised his walls and kept his cool façade the more Klaus was losing his.
Klaus gripped the banister harder. It cracked under the pressure and Elijah let out a sound of displeasure.
"Are you expecting anyone in particular?" Elijah asked Klaus in a completely civil and seemingly uninterested tone. However, Klaus was not fooled. The eldest Mikaelson's tone was cool but his brow was raised at the dent on the rail.
Klaus' voice was clipped.
"No."
"Hm," Elijah hummed, "I would wager money on the opposite brother."
Klaus glared at Elijah that now gave him a smirk that only agitated him more.
"If you were expecting someone though," Elijah mused and tilted his head at the entrance of the Abattoir, "I'd say maybe you are in luck; for something tells me your special guest may have just arrived."
The hope that bloomed in Klaus' chest was overwhelming but all that hopeful emotion deflated once Klaus's head twirled at once searching for the shade of blonde he hoped to catch below.
And he did.
Only it was not the exact shine he expected to see. The glow of sunshine his eyes craved to see was not as bright. It was dimmer and duller.
Klaus glared at his brother who gave him a teasing smile.
"No?" Elijah taunted him as he adjusted one of his cufflinks and shrugged, "my mistake then."
Klaus growled under his breath but nonetheless put a smile on his face and sauntered down the stairs to go and greet Camille.
That had just arrived accompanied by none other than Marcellus.
Conversation was continuing idly but Klaus' eyes were roaming around taking in the buzzing crowd. He saw familiar faces and new ones. He heard murmurs and saw how the representatives of the factions watched him with wary glances from time to time.
Elijah had sent more invitations than he could have imagined and it would seem that most of the guests if not all had arrived.
No. Not all.
Caroline hadn't come.
'She won't come,' Klaus Mikaelson realized feeling his heart plummet at that realization. His anticipation had shifted to disappointment.
He had wanted so much to see her enter those doors. Truth was that the smart thing would be for her to stay far away from this den of horrors. He should want her to stay away too. She had no reason to come and yet he had half expected her to show up. He had hoped…The naïve part of him hoped that he could be her reason for coming. In a perfect world tonight she would stand by his side.
In this world that was far from perfect, she had vanished from his life altogether. He had tried to give her some space but the total silence he received from her side had made him irritable and unhappy. She had been rejecting his calls. He was barely keeping himself from going to her and make her talk to him. A part of him was frustration and another was guilt.
He could tell when he faced a person with post-traumatic disorder and survivor's guilt. He had seen that kind of reflection in his own mirror more times he could count and seeing that in Caroline broke parts of him that still had the capacity for sympathy and compassion.
Only it was more than that. It didn't seem as if the only thing Caroline needed was time to heal or just…time.
There were parts of her that had changed and this new version of hers many times felt like a complete stranger. A stranger that for some reason hated him the most. He knew he had done mistakes and he knew his temper many times got the best of him but he could not understand why Caroline seemed to be reacting to his presence in the way she did. He felt as if he could do nothing right with her. Everything he said, everything he did, everything he felt was wrong. He was wrong. And she…she was lost to him no matter how much he tried.
Klaus looked around once more and all he felt was Caroline's absence. He felt the need to rub his temples and lash out till blood would drip from those perfectly placed balls of light that cast their sparkle and glow everywhere tonight. All this perfection irritated him. It was so fake and cold as were those white lights that adorned the staircases, the plants and every wall of this damned place.
A few days ago the courtyard was filled with blood and broken furniture. Kol had relished in his destruction as he had hunted Hayley down. Hayley's broken body had bled throughout most of the rooms and the yard. Debris from the wreckage they had created had been everywhere.
Nothing tonight revealed that warzone. Nothing spoke of how this place looked like when he had found Kol and Caroline fighting against each other over Hayley's broken body.
At that moment he would have gladly driven a white stake in his brother's chest and would use his remains for kindling. Caroline was holding a stake damn it. She had tried to defend herself and Hayley from Kol and still, even like that, Klaus had seen the way she had tried to pull his brother from the edge.
Caroline had saved Hayley so to save Kol and then it was all over. Caroline hoisted her walls up again and it was not Kol but him that played the price.
Ever since their last encounter here she had been avoiding him. And Klaus feared that this could become a permanent rift between them he would not be able to mend. He had seen it in Caroline's eyes. Her angry words still echoed in his ears.
"I've had enough."
Caroline hadn't forgotten anything that had happened in Mystic Falls. She was probably still holding a candle for that stupid Lockwood boy and Hayley's presence alone was driving a wedge between them. And with his family in the middle…it was not out of reason for Caroline to truly be sick of him and everything that came along with her forced connection with the Mikaelsons. And yet Caroline's grudge when it came to Hayley…he had not expected that. Not with such fierceness. He didn't know what to do or how to act.
How was he meant to bring peace in New Orleans when he could not bring balance even in his own home?
Hayley was the mother of his daughter and Caroline …was…
Klaus didn't know which words could describe what Caroline was to him. The only thing he knew was that whenever he tried to get closer to her more obstacles appeared and the worst wore the face of his brother.
Kol.
How could Kol enter Caroline's heart like this? How could he earn her devotion and her loyalty to that degree? Her love even.
And he had been such an idiot! He had even given his blood to Kol and cured him of Hayley's venom when he should have torn out his liver himself.
Caroline loved his brother. She truly did in ways that cut him so deep. He had never gained her affection in the way his brother had. How did that happen? How could this happen?
Kol was unworthy of such loyalty. And yet he had it. The one thing he truly wanted and was always denied from him and Kol…had it.
Something truly volatile and ugly stirred inside him at that realization. It lodged deep inside him and tried to claw its way out. It burned and blurred every thought and feeling he had. It was dark and it spread rot. It was leaving him in a manic state.
He had not felt like this not even with Tatia and he had loved Tatia with a pure sensation that marked him for eternity.
Seeing Tatia choosing Elijah over him, feeling that sting of betrayal. Back then it had felt like a curse worse than the one his mother cast on his wolf.
He couldn't go through this again. Not with another one of his brothers. Not again. Not with his Caroline. Because what he had felt for Tatia paled in comparison with what he felt for Caroline.
Fate had a cruel sense of humor but out of everything he could have ever imagined this was the one and only thing he never saw coming and he didn't know what to do about it. The only thing he truly knew for a fact was that it was the first time that he had truly felt hate for his younger brother and made him wish to have put a dagger in his chest centuries ago and leave it there for eternity.
He felt a whisper of a howl starting to rise in his chest. His eyes fell on Kol.
If Caroline truly loved Kol daggering him would mean losing Caroline too. She would never forgive him. Her loyalty once given was never erased.
For millennia Kol had tried to find a way to truly spite him and now he had finally managed it.
Klaus realized he would have to try harder. He would have to find a way to get Caroline away from New Orleans and his mother's barrier. Not just for her safety. He had to get her away from Kol. No matter how much it would hurt him seeing her leave him. No matter how he would risk losing her for centuries if not eternity Klaus had to sever the bond Kol had created with her. He had to ensure Caroline's safety. More so he had to make sure Caroline would be far away for him to be able to truly bend Kol to his will.
The more Klaus stared at Kol the more he realized that the worst betrayal always came from family. He barely remembered why he had tried to contain Elijah's righteous fury now. Right now he could see with the utmost clarity that Kol was a hindrance to all their plans. Klaus now dreamed of tearing off Kol's head and-
"I think it is time for our introductory speech Niklaus."
Klaus almost stumbled back, the weight of his fury washed over him leaving him restless and lost. He blinked and Elijah narrowed his eyes curiously.
Elijah followed his gaze straight to Kol and Klaus noticed how his older brother angled his body so to hide Kol from his view.
Klaus said nothing. He stared at Elijah. Both of them silently reminding each other that tonight was not the time to place their brother in his coffin.
The time would soon come.
Klaus controlled his breathing and then frowned realizing what Elijah had told him.
"The speech?"
Elijah gave him a curt nod before he rose an elegant eyebrow.
"Unless we are expecting anyone else?"
Klaus looked again at the entrance, almost with longing, but said nothing as he moved forward without looking back.
Elijah followed close behind.
"We would like to commence this evening with a dance. But before that, we'd like to welcome you all to our home and thank you for celebrating with us this day."
Elijah's voice carried authority. It had an imperious cadence while he barely raised the volume of his tone.
Everyone beneath them watched. A sea of people ready to once more fall back to obedience; to what many would regard as a new tyrannical reign and others would feel like an opportunity.
The two people that clearly didn't seem to fall into that submission were Marcellus and Kol. Marcel was watching them with mirth that contradicted the seriousness his gaze carried while Kol was leaning against one of the columns that supported the upper floors and drank nonchalantly.
Kol was surrounded by his witches even now. Both him and Elijah had tried to convince him to join them but he had refused and stayed downstairs with the rest of the guests reminding them that the last time he had joined them up those stairs in a similar event they had daggered him and thrown him in a coffin for a hundred years.
Kol now watched everything unfolding with obvious mockery while Elijah was the image of the perfect host as he opened his arms and the doors of their family home to everyone that would embrace his rules. Elijah wanted to create a dynasty for their family. He wanted Hope to return to a safe home that would be set on pillars of power that no one would defy. He was ready to use peace and diplomacy as his tools to tear away, root and stem, the poison of his enemies.
Klaus Mikaelson watched Hayley and gave her a subtle nod. She had managed to gather the wolves close. Having the packs coming here tonight was a start. Jackson was here too but Hayley had also gained their trust. For now, that was enough. As long as she would be able to keep doubt away from her ranks she would be able to establish her position more solidly and gain an army.
Hope after all had the legacy of the wolf blood in her. It was prominent in her blood just as magic was. They had to ensure she would be embraced by those that shared her nature and not be excluded as an abomination.
This was why tonight was so important. They had inspired terror the last months and reminded everyone who they were. Now it was time to bring unity back to New Orleans even if they had to kill those that opposed them and enforce their will with tyranny. In time they would build a better future for Hope.
In time.
Klaus leaned against the balustrade and watched Elijah create his web flawlessly.
He could not, however, enjoy this as he should. As he would if he didn't feel so alone and out of place.
Elijah Mikaelson turned his attention to him and Klaus swallowed his sigh as he squared his shoulders and faced the crowd bellow.
His eyes once more swept over the people below but the picture was incomplete.
She wasn't here. She wouldn't come.
Klaus took his brother's place as Elijah took a step behind. He stared at the glass of champagne he was holding. The liquid had turned stale. Just like his mood.
He glanced at Camille that gave him an encouraging smile. She believed in his goodness. In his good intentions for tonight and she hoped this to be a new start for them all.
He didn't know if he felt envious for the naivety of her heart or sad for all the things she would never be able to see and learn.
He cleared his throat and forced himself to smile.
"I know that our return has not been embraced by everyone," he began and felt the tension that started brewing more and more at his words.
"Truth is that New Orleans has a way to haunt the hearts it marks. In our absence thanks to our progeny, The King of New Orleans," he said pointing at Marcel that rose his glass in response gaining the attention of everyone, "and every other faction that aided," Klaus acknowledged, in turn, all leaders of the factions making sure to clearly sort out Hayley from the wolves that responded with a satisfied smile, "this city prospered. But this is still the city me and my family help built," he declared smirking at the displeasure that appeared in many faces and for the first time tonight he, Elijah and Kol shared the same expression of pride and condescension, "and it has been a long time coming. For my family and I to return to New Orleans. The city we nurtured and loved. The city that ruled us as much as made us rulers…The city that exiled us."
Klaus' lips curled to a dangerous smile.
"Yes, I know many of you would have preferred for that exile to have never ended," he pointed out smoothly, "But it did. That cannot and will not change."
The unyielding steel that marked his words was a new law that would not be allowed to be challenged.
"But tonight it is a new start for us all," Klaus continued effortlessly playing with lies and truths, "to start anew as a united community. It won't be easy but New Orleans has always been the land of fighters….and of peacemakers."
Klaus smiled at Camille O'Connell that returned his smile as Marcel went by her side and kissed her palm.
Klaus smirked at Marcel but focused his attention back to his audience. He hated this speech but truth was that he had to say the words and play the part. Not for him. For Hope.
"All of us are counting our losses," he said despite the feeling of having those words lodged in his throat. His daughter should not have been in exile. She should have been here with him and yet he was now forced to play the benevolent moron to all those that conspired against him and took the first months of his child away from him. In time they would all face his retribution. They have signed their death warrants but he had to even the playfield for now. His parents came first. They would come second.
"We have been lost in darkness," he carried on, "we have shed blood and we have shed our blood. But maybe it is time to leave the sordid past behind us. All those we have avenged. It is time to give our respect to all that we still aim to protect…and…cherish-"
He first felt the pull.
It annihilated his senses.
A glance of blonde hair.
Life rushed into him. Like a dam that was broken and everything flooded in at once.
A sparkle of diamonds cascading down a flawless back of alabaster skin.
The air around him became infinitely more charged.
A wisp of silk, a vision of cream, gold, and silver. The gown was ripping with every step she took.
It was like a ripple through the endless faces that were cast on him and warmed him till all the ice started thawing and he felt that warmth seeping into his bones.
She made her way through the crowd. Head held high, shoulders straightened.
"-together," he swallowed hard and his eyes now only followed her.
She raised her eyes until her gaze met his and all noise disappeared. All thoughts ceased and he finally felt peace.
…She came.
Caroline Forbes was here. And just like that the night finally exploded in color and for just this moment everything was as it was meant to be.
Every light became brighter, every noise faded away. All the darkness that had wrapped around him like a shroud exploded away and he faltered. Klaus almost stopped breathing, tensing from head to toe as the night finally gained meaning.
He knew he had been saying something as she came in through the doors when he had lost all hope but whatever it was seemed meaningless now.
Truth was that he wanted to cross the distance and breathe her in.
There she was. Caroline.
An angel walking in the nighttime only he knew better. She wasn't an angel to his devil. She had her own devil in her own monster skin and it called to him. Now more than ever.
She stepped into his home like a Queen. And his heart bowed because she was finally here.
Caroline Forbes had come.
Their eyes met. She held his gaze with her own and everything else became obsolete.
She wore the gown he had given her. Like only a Queen would.
The fabric hugged her curves perfectly and her hair was catching the light more than the diamonds adorning her skin ever could. Her gold strands, weaved into a crown of tangled locks on the top of her head with some arranged curls cascading down her neck and back, caught the glittering lights and the candlelight in their threads. It was like a halo of fire coming to life.
She was standing out. Her light was scorching everything in its path.
She was not the only immortal here tonight but for all intents and purposes, she could very well be.
He could not take his eyes away.
Klaus Mikaelson completely forgot what he had meant to say. The crowd beneath his waited and through it all Caroline's tantalizing scent broke through the distance and covered him and took over every conscious thought.
He opened his mouth but his perfectly planned speech got lost. He lowered his head in thought, his eyes never leaving Caroline.
He heard Elijah clearing his throat behind him and Klaus tried to recover. He had believed she would not come tonight and that first glimpse of her now that she was actually here was like a bomb going off inside him. It was like a tidal wave that had swept him over. He was still reeling.
Sounds started thrumming all around the room again and a soft smile graced Klaus' lips when he realized that this wasn't an illusion. Caroline had come.
Everyone was watching him now curious as to why he had stopped talking. Many now watched Caroline with curiosity and envy too.
"I have once told someone," he began again, this time painting his words with sincerity and a message.
A message only one out of everyone else in the room would understand, "what I thought to be an undeniable truth. I told them… that the allure of darkness is not to be underestimated."
"Never underestimate the allure of darkness. Even the purest hearts are drawn to it."
He saw the slight widening of her eyes.
There was a soft thunder in that one heartbeat that called him in the chaotic symphony of those that didn't matter.
That one heartbeat, so known, so familiar, changed its tempo and sped up its beats. Caroline stared at him, proud as a Queen, beautiful as the night and he knew his message had found its target.
Their gazes locked and the intensity in Caroline's eyes grew avid.
"I was not wrong," he said, "but perhaps I should have confessed that it is the allure of light that draws in even the darkest of hearts and lights their way."
His words had affected her. He could see that.
Caroline looked down for a moment before she lifted her head to meet his gaze again. Everything he saw at that moment beckoned him closer.
"I am not one to advocate for that kind of light or to be trusted when it comes to my good intentions but I am willing to prove with actions my honesty," he promised, his eyes set only on Caroline as he gave her a nod. A promise.
"Let us toast to that," he proposed and watched as the waiters approached the guests until everyone gathered a glass in their hand.
"Let us come together and forge a treaty leaving the darkness behind us once and for all."
He rose his glass and his guests followed him. Everyone did and waited. Everyone but Caroline so he waited.
So the whole world around them waited.
They waited until she finally rose her glass too and smiled at him.
"Lux Omnia Vincit," he toasted and took a sip from his champagne.
Light conquers all.
Somehow deep down he had to believe this. Now that Caroline had brought her light back to him he had to believe in this more than ever.
Elijah repeated his words and everyone beneath them chanted them and drank.
Everyone but Caroline.
Caroline desperately needed a drink. The champagne wasn't enough and thankfully the Mikaelsons had ensured the alcohol would flow tonight.
She felt Klaus' gaze boring holes at her back as she went straight to the bar with the drinks. Waiters were serving the guests at command and she definitely needed something strong. She snorted when the waiter asked her cordially is she wanted blood mixed with her absinthe and vodka cocktail.
She didn't decline the offer.
The first hit on her tongue had quite the kick and she had to contain her moan when the blood in the first gulp she took swirled down her throat. Her hunger was growing more and more lately and she was struggling with her control.
She decided to pace herself. Getting drunk wasn't ideal tonight and she still didn't know why she had decided to come. She glanced around. Mortal enemies who hated each other with the kind of hate that span generations had all gathered here.
'That will end well,' she thought bitterly and noticed how the Mikaelson brothers and Marcel Gerard were busy making nice with witches and werewolves. Thankfully that would keep Klaus at bay for now and she could buy some time before having to face him. Even Kol was going around with Elijah and Κlaus.
Klaus speech as egocentric as it had been it would seem it had left quite the impression but what was surely unsettling for most was the fact that all the Mikaelsons appeared united.
Even Kol had gotten the memo it would seem and wore his civil mask tonight along with one of the elegant suits they had purchased together. Caroline kept her eyes trained on her drink but discreetly surveyed the room. She needed to make allies. If Kol and Klaus wouldn't help her break Esther's barrier she would have to find a solution herself. She didn't want to end up owing favors though. She needed leverage and she needed to weed out the potential threats from the potential bargaining chips.
Despite all the glitter and gold that shone tonight this place wasn't that different from Purgatory. If anything this was that Hell's prelude. Every monster here would end up to that hellish place sooner or later. They just didn't know it yet. But she knew it. And exactly because she did she just had to find a way to survive long enough to make sure she wouldn't return to Purgatory.
"It's so good you could join us tonight Caroline."
'Perfect timing', Caroline thought as the owner of the voice came into focus. And just as she was scanning the room for potential threats.
Caroline said nothing and kept sipping her drink. Hayley Marshall dressed all in black, had left the side of the Mikaelsons to come to greet her and play host.
Caroline gave Hayley a fleeting look of amusement and licked the cool drop of the blood alcohol from her lips. She swirled the crimson tinted liquid in her martini glass and waited while she noticed with wicked satisfaction that despite the beautiful dress Hayley was wearing nothing could compare with the magnificent gown Klaus had given her. In a way that satisfied her vanity but she knew that dress alone was also drawing attention. Too much unwanted attention. Klaus wanted to send a message and in his own way, he wanted to introduce her to his society as part of his family. Everyone here knew she had been living with the Mikaelsons for a long time and had their protection. Klaus made sure to make it known. That alone was making her safe as was also putting a target on her back.
Then again she could have chosen to wear another dress. But who would have this dress and not wear it?
Hayley ordered a glass of Vieux Carré cocktail before turning her full attention to her with a smile of gratitude.
"I wanted to thank you," the she-wolf told her after tasting her drink.
Caroline arched a brow at that and Hayley smiled.
"For saving me from Kol," the brunette replied and Caroline hummed a mocking giggle. More like an undertone of twisted delight and then she waited. She waited for Hayley to start getting nervous and took great pleasure at seeing the uncertainty in the eyes of the woman standing against her now. And then she returned her own smile to Hayley. One that obviously unnerved her.
Caroline ran her finger over her glass slowly. So slowly.
Kol Mikaelson had taught her a great many things and one of them was the power of a feral smile.
"You mean for snapping your neck?" Caroline at last beamed happily, "it was my pleasure."
Hayley Marshall tensed and Caroline gave her her most innocent look.
"You are still the bitch I remember," Hayley laughed despite keeping her tone as quiet as possible.
"One that considered you a friend that was helping Tyler once upon a time and was ready to befriend you despite the lovey-dovey eyes you were giving to my boyfriend before stabbing him and me in the back," Caroline shrugged and clinked her glass with hers nonchalantly.
Hayley froze immediately, taken aback by how forthcoming she had been and Caroline widened her eyes as if she had blurted out something inappropriate by mistake.
"Oh, I am sorry!" Caroline faked her apology, "I thought we were just sharing our fondest memories."
"That was a long ago," Hayley said between gritted teeth, "many things have changed since them," she confessed sadly, "I know I have done things I am not proud of but-"
"But you regret them," Caroline finished her sentence without bothering to hide her mocking tone as she aimed to taunt. She didn't believe a word Hayley said. And she was not going to stand here and play these games… least not in the way Miss Marshall wanted.
"I do," Hayley growled before she took a threatening step forward only Caroline didn't bother stepping back and Hayley quickly deflected and moved a bit to the side.
Hayley schooled her expression back to an apologetic one, "Look," she started, taking a deep breath, "I have lost many things too. I am sure you out of all people can understand this. Seeing as you are going through the same," Hayley defended herself throwing the ball at her court but Caroline only drank from her glass ignoring both Hayley's comment and the wolves that seemed to start prowling closer as they had felt the agitation in Hayley that was currently posing as one of their intended Alphas.
Caroline didn't have to turn around and watch how both Klaus and Kol seemed to saunter a bit closer too as did Elijah too.
Caroline discreetly gave a mischievous nod to Kol that laughed and moved away. Hayley gave a reassuring inclination of her head to the wolves that backed away too and soon enough Klaus and Elijah had turned their attentions back to their guests although Caroline knew that they would keep an eye and an ear out for her and Hayley.
Caroline pointed her empty glass to the waiter who came back to refill it.
"I was not the only one that stabbed Tyler in the back you know," Hayley countered, "conveniently you forget Klaus. He killed those hybrids and Tyler's mother. No matter my participation he is just as guilty and yet here you are. So as you would probably say, Caroline…Double standards much?"
Caroline smiled at Hayley's sarcasm.
"I give you points for trying to get a rise out of me but it won't work," Caroline told Hayley sweetly, "kudos to you for comparing yourself with someone like Klaus though. You have set your goals way up I see," she snorted.
"I-"
"Come on now," Caroline interrupted her, "let us be honest here. I like you just as much as you like me," she admitted with an acidic smile.
Hayley arched a brow, not denying it.
"Now that we do not live under the same roof I do not see any reason to remotely tolerate each other," Caroline lifted her shoulder, not bothering to hide how uninterested she was, "and you should not worry. As far as the past goes I am not here to get even. If I was not trapped in this city I would be far away by now and you would not be hearing from me for a very long time."
Hayley gave her a calculating look.
"But I would eventually?"
Caroline laughed.
"No. You wouldn't," she assured Hayley dismissing her effortlessly, "you are not that important for me to bother."
"So be it," Hayley accepted with a cold voice dropping her glass to the bar next to her.
"But make no mistake," Caroline sang as Hayley turned to leave, "I have not forgotten what you've done," she crooned, her tone laced in caramel and venom, "I am afraid I am not that evolved."
Hayley's lips pressed to a harsh line as she turned to face her and Caroline knew she had her where she wanted. Hayley just didn't know it yet.
Caroline may have stopped Kol from killing her but that didn't mean she would give him a helping hand after ruining his plans. She knew him well enough to know there was some brilliance behind his insanity. He didn't attack Hayley just for kicks. Well, not just for kicks anyhow. She also knew that Kol would not rest until he got what he wanted and better for her to help him by undermining Hayley Marshall in a public setting rather than having him do something irreversible that would end with Klaus daggering him.
Caroline waited now patiently as she and Hayley challenged each other. It was a matter of minutes if not of seconds for Hayley to lose her temper. She was a Hybrid now. Her werewolf aggression was magnified. Caroline had heard the rumors of her difficult transition. As she had also heard the rumors of the challenges she faced now that she wanted to step up as the Alpha in the Bayou.
Caroline knew very well what Hayley was trying to do tonight with her. She was willing to bet that it was also possible that Klaus had been guiding her and teaching her how to win over the wolf faction. And Hayley was trying to follow his steps and his advice but she was lacking the wits and the real cunningness.
The Mikaelsons had Hayley's back but it wasn't enough. Not with Kol in the middle. Not with her reputation with the witches either.
Hayley had to start from somewhere. What better chance than to do it in public.
Caroline had seen it coming from the moment Hayley opened her mouth. It was not what she said or even how she said it. It was the way she looked. The eyes always spoke the truth long before the mouth spoke any words.
Kol had taught her this a long time ago. Words are just words and words lie. It is always the eyes that speak the truth. If you know how to truly see.
Hayley had approached her trying to make herself seem benign and considerate. After Klaus' speech for mending bridges in the light, Hayley wanted everyone to see her too under a different light. Hayley knew she was training the vampires along with Marcel and she knew she had a connection both with Klaus and Kol and she wanted to take advantage of that. In fact, she was playing the same game she had played with her and Tyler back in Mystic Falls. It was like a déjà vu really. Hayley Marshall wanted to earn her trust and use it against her later or even right now. Only Caroline had learned her lesson and soon enough Hayley would too.
After all, how did that old saying go?
'Fool me once shame on me…fool me twice…'
No one would play her like a pawn again. Anyone that would try would face the consequences.
"What both me and Klaus have done,'" Hayley hissed.
"Indeed," Caroline acknowledged and this time she didn't bother lowering her voice.
No, now it was time to get the show on the road.
She wanted to be heard. By the vampires she trained and the witches who hated Hayley Marshall. By Elijah Mikaelson too.
"But you see surprisingly enough even Klaus Mikaelson respects the bonds of family. He at least has the heart to never betray his own kind after promising them freedom and pretending to be their savior. Klaus got rid of what he considered dead weight and not his own pack," Caroline added making sure the wolves would hear her too and it had the desired effect because she saw how Hayley blanched, "not to mention he never pretended to be someone he wasn't," Caroline continued knowing Klaus was listening and she made sure this would not sound like a compliment, "you see… Klaus is many things but even at his worst, he has the decency to tear his victims apart while looking them in the eye. We all know where we stand with him don't we?"
Hayley was growing paler by the second. Caroline saw how some wolves seemed to give Hayley conflicting looks from afar. Caroline saw them and made a mental check to remember them. They could come handy in the future.
Caroline also noticed that Marcel Gerard, who was standing a few feet away from her and Hayley, was doing the same. Interesting.
She kept her attention on the room. She could see clearly who was who. She saw the threats, the different sides and those that were conflicted in the between. She could see the intellect and the mindless brawn too.
Besides she had just planted the first seed of doubt. Everything Hayley feared. Everything Elijah suspected. What Klaus tried so hard to avoid. What Kol would use to his advantage.
It was a start. Mission achieved.
"And where do we stand with you?" Hayley ruefully demanded trying to gain the upper hand again. Her voice was imperious now. She was asking like a Queen that commanded an answer from a subject but Caroline ran her eyes up and down at her giving her a once-over of pity.
"I made myself clear but let me break it in more simple terms for you," she answered in a tone that most reserved for children, "you better stay out of my way if you want me to stay out of yours. Is that clear enough for you?"
Caroline made sure to not make it sound like a threat knowing that despite her nonchalance it would be received as such.
Great way to spend her evening really. Playing the mean girl by making enemies and drinking blood infused cocktails. She should really try the food too.
"If you mean it," Hayley replied indignantly and Caroline snickered at the threat in her words. Hayley was definitely out of her comfort zone now and Caroline waved her hand playfully.
"You shouldn't worry that much Hayley," Caroline jeered, "it doesn't compliment your dress."
This time it was Hayley's turn to give her a stare filled with menace. Caroline saw the gold that flickered in her eyes.
"This is not Mystic Falls Caroline," Hayley's irony was sharp as was the derision in her features, "when I worry is for the real danger," she paused letting her eyes travel slowly up and down her body, "…not the teen stunts."
Caroline remained impassive despite almost breaking her glass. Hayley just gave everyone what they needed to start digging out information about her. Mystic Falls. It was not as if they wouldn't find that on their own but this was still the place her mom lived. Hayley may have as well put a neon sign on it. And she was here trapped in New Orleans unable to keep the focus away from Elizabeth Forbes. Her mom didn't even know she was alive. She still had a grave with her name on it. A grave she had left desecrated. Shit!
She knew Klaus had already covered up her tracks and had people in Mystic Falls. But if Hayley had just started a shit storm that would end in her mom's doorstep there would be no barrier that would stop her from burning down New Orleans and everyone in it to get back to her mother. And she would do it only after ending what Kol had started and ripping out Hayley's heart.
"Oh, we are definitely in the same page," Caroline stated calmly refusing to take the bait and going off the deep end.
"Are we?" Hayley insisted wanting to have the last word and Caroline's lips curved to a taunting smile.
"For one that claims not to worry you sure seem quite concerned. Why is that? I am after all just a small-town girl," Caroline grinned knowing how this would aggravate Hayley more than anything else.
"That has Klaus' ear," Hayley finally came clean, her whisper in such a low tone that was heard only by her.
And there it was. That was Hayley's deepest fear. Without Klaus' back up she would lose her influence.
Caroline tapped her nail over her glass drawing out Hayley worry just a bit longer.
"Grudges are not the way I want to spend my eternity," Caroline assured Hayley with a chuckle refusing to even dignify what the other woman said about Klaus with a response, "I am not after revenge or anything of that sort," Caroline exhaled feeling tired with all these games. She has had enough. She was not out for revenge after all. Not yet.
"I will leave that to your conscience," Caroline muttered, "if you still have any that is."
She glanced at Hayley only this time she looked at her with genuine seriousness realizing how sorry she felt for her.
Hayley Marshall had been through hell, she had lost her child but it would seem that even that kind of sorrow hadn't been enough for her to find the kind of decency she had been missing.
Maybe she should be more open to her but after her involvement in Silas's plans back at home, she wasn't really here to play nice with her. And even if she wanted to become the bigger person truth was that if Purgatory had taught her anything it was to trust her instincts and her instincts screamed at her to not trust Hayley and Caroline was listening.
If she was smart Hayley Marshall would just stay away far away from her.
Caroline drained her glass, gave a last knowing look at Hayley and left.
Hayley Marshall tried to keep her temper in check as she watched Caroline walk away with her head high.
She had almost forgotten how annoying that blonde cheerleader could be. Almost. She could never understand why people were so drawn to that girl. She could not stand her at all.
She had changed though. Caroline Forbes was not the gullible naïve girl she could so easily fool as she had done in the past. Her dalliance with Kol Mikaelson had changed her. It made her a threat.
Hayley's eyes roamed around until she realized that she was not the only one that was watching Caroline Forbes move around with the flair of a Queen. Kol Mikaelson kept a watchful eye out for his precious friend.
But what was worse was that Klaus Mikaelson could not take his eyes away from his blonde obsession either and that was why Caroline Forbes was truly a threat in the end. The father of her child had divided loyalties and for Hope's sake, Hayley knew that she could not take any risks. Klaus was compromised. His priorities were not set straight and that terrified her because both Kol Mikaelson and Caroline Forbes had a hold over his heart. Hayley knew she had to find a way to sever it or find a way to use it as leverage.
She glanced between Kol and Klaus and tried not to smile. Their common interest for Caroline Forbes was the key to fuel their discord more. If things came down to it Hayley was sure she could use this to her advantage. Klaus was not the rational type. Especially when it came to his obsessions and even a blind person could see how possessive was his infatuation for Caroline Forbes. Hayley was certain that Klaus hated Kol's interest towards Caroline and that hatred could very well become the kind of jealousy that would break them apart. Klaus would end up daggering that maniac and Caroline would not be able to prevent this if she was the reason for it happening in the first place.
A whisper traveled close and Hayley Marshal straightened her shoulders when she inhaled the familiar earthy scent.
"She is training the vamps," one of her trusted werewolves told her as he approached, "will she be a problem?"
Hayley did not flinch. She kept her eyes trained on the blonde vampire as did the werewolf by her side.
"Let us hope not. For her sake."
Caroline wondered who's idea was to light so many candles in a room brimming with people and magic. The smell alone was suffocating. Heat was rising in the air and she felt as if the Abattoir was crammed with more people it could take.
Her confrontation with Hayley had put her on edge. She could not leave the subtle threat against her mother in chance. She would tear down New Orleans and bury Hayley Marshall in the wreckage if she had to.
She may have had no intention of returning back to Mystic Falls but anyone going after her mother would face only devastation. She wasn't the girl she used to be. She was ready to send everyone that would dare to be a threat to hell. She'd wrap them and everyone they ever met in a nice little bow and send them to Purgatory for their next holiday if they dared to push her buttons.
She kept her cool mask on however not betraying any of her murderous thoughts. It wasn't the right time or place. Not when many kept approaching her since her arrival and after her little conversation with Hayley. They attempted to introduce themselves to her. To find out who exactly she was and why she was so important to the Mikaelsons and Hayley Marshall. The spotlight was placed upon her.
Klaus' gown was not helping on that accord either.
By morning she would be one more known player on the board. Such things never went unnoticed. Not in a place like New Orleans and Caroline knew the risk she was taking when she decided to come over here tonight and she did it because some old tendencies would not die it would seem.
Call her a sentimentalist but tonight she chose to do what old Caroline Forbes would do. The old, loyal and devoted Caroline.
Caroline took a sip from her wine and stood watching the crowded ballroom regretting her choice of spirits. She should have kept choosing something stronger but she had to keep her instincts on high alert tonight.
The music should soothe her nerves but instead, it was only annoying her more. Everything jumbled together, from people talking, people dancing, people conspiring. Magic left an acidic taste in her tongue she was wasting her time here when she could have been at her home watching re-runs of Friends.
She stilled the sigh that almost escaped her. There had been a time she loved such things. She loved the dancing, the parties, the music. She used to find all this energy romantic and interesting and it used to excite her.
It would seem that part of Caroline Forbes had been burned in Purgatory too. It would seem that all the things that brought out her jubilant joy had been eradicated it.
In any case tonight her presence had a purpose but as time was progressing she was starting to regret more and more her decision to come.
She knew Klaus was biding his time. He would approach her too but for now, he was doing damage control with Camille O'Connell.
Cami had come with Marcel Gerard. Out of everyone, she could find for a date! She may have broken up with the guy but she still trusted him without realizing how it was putting a freaking mark on her back. And Klaus now was putting an even bigger neon sign of 'look at me, I am mortal and collateral damage' on her simply by playing her into his vendetta with Marcel and using her as a pawn to his power games.
Caroline had made her research. Apparently Cami was the sole heir to the O'Connell legacy in New Orleans. Her recently deceased uncle was the Head of the human faction and now Cami was meant to fill his shoes and of course, everyone was swarming around her. Many wanted to overthrow her and others to simply use her. Cami could be easily handled after all. She was human. She was inexperienced and most of all she was good.
Too good for her own good.
Caroline knew all too well how it felt to belong to a part of a family that belonged to a secret supernatural society. A family that kept you out of the loop for all your life about the monsters that lurked in the dark and then let you fend for yourself and swim or sink.
There was only one road this was leading to and Camille was heading straight down the same path. Darkness or death. Maybe both.
Caroline watched as Klaus offered red wine to Cami and she almost cracked her own glass in her hand. Damn him. Why couldn't he just leave Cami alone? Why did he have to drag her into this?
And why the hell was he so attentive like this? Charming her out of her mind. And the fact that he was being so smooth and suave about it somehow made Caroline see red. Actual bloody red.
"Ah, young love."
Caroline exhaled from her nose and tried to count backward from ten. The only thing she needed was one more annoying Mikaelson.
"Go back to your playthings Kol," Caroline groused at Kol pointing at Renée Mardoin.
"Ouch, darling," Kol, that was now standing next to her holding a glass of champagne, chuckled.
Caroline said nothing. Her eyes kept watching Klaus and Cami. Something that, of course, didn't escape Kol's notice.
"They make a lovely couple don't you think?" Kol taunted her and Caroline drank the rest of her wine in one swallow making Kol whistle under his breath.
"Dance with me?" he nudged her playfully and Caroline rolled her eyes.
"I am not that drunk yet."
"You wound me," Kol pouted.
"Stop pestering me," she muttered and gave him an annoyed gesture, "go play your games elsewhere…shoo."
Kol laughed and kissed her cheek fondly. A message for everyone here tonight. A protection and a declaration that she was on his side.
Caroline let him get away with it.
"Love the way you played the wolf btw," he almost inaudibly praised her, "don't fall for her games though. She doesn't know how to even play them, poor thing."
Caroline could not help but smirk at him.
"Go," she laughed this time and Kol winked at her.
Caroline watched him walk away laughing. It brought a fond smile on her face.
While she failed to notice that Klaus had his gaze set on her too. And he didn't seem to like what he saw either.
It was daunting and alcohol hadn't helped.
This night was turning into a long tirade. It was exhausting. To be around so many supernatural species that counted so many people of different magic and darkness in their groups. Caroline knew that most of them had their true scents and abilities cloaked and shrouded in mystery but what she could feel was an onslaught of raw power coming from all sides. Different energies. Different smells. All kind of natural enemies had gathered tonight and the room was vibrating with conflicting waves of electricity that surged and shimmered and hummed everywhere ready to burst. Before Purgatory she was oblivious to those vibes. Now she could not ignore them.
It agitated her and excited her at the same time. It was bringing forth her baser instincts and that was dangerous. She felt a weird itch to kill and it kept building up. It was close to the bloodlust that she had been trying to fight ever since she had killed those people in the alley. And yet being surrounded by so many creatures like her didn't make her feel out of her element. It stirred all her impulses.
There was also the animosity that you could feel in every corner and that for sure wasn't helping with her her control. However, it was also weirdly grounding her because aside from the supernatural inclinations Caroline could also see the fake smiles and the dubious gazes. And that was very human. These people could murder everyone with a smile on their faces as they would backstab you in a heartbeat. Everyone had hidden agendas and bad intentions and by everyone Caroline meant everyone. Probably herself included too. Everyone was looking only after themselves while kept their happy faces and innocent looks and spoke of peace and prosperity.
In a way, it was high school all over again. The kind of cold war between mean girls that could turn brutal in an instant only this time it was not just your reputation at stake or how you would rule over a bunch of cheerleaders but a matter of survival. In an overly simplified manner, Caroline understood that the basics were pretty much the same even if the result could very well end in bloodshed and carnage.
All these people here cared for was war. And who would come out the winner to take it all. The city, the crown, the power. It was a constant battle and New Orleans was a bloody battlefield.
Tonight every King, soldier, and general came out and entered a different battlefield. Diplomacy was a different way of war tonight as was the alliances that were being made on the dance floor or by sharing a drink.
Caroline knew that she had to keep her mind sharp. This game was relentless and everything was setting her instincts on fire but Caroline kept her focus as much as she tried to keep her clarity intact. She constantly kept a glass on her hand but she rarely drank now. It was better for others to believe she was intoxicated.
Thanks to Kol and their endless parties the last weeks she had become accustomed to alcohol. She wasn't handling booze as Kol could but it would take her much more than a few drinks to get her drunk. And she could also detect different scents of poisons and spells so she was being extra careful of not getting her drink spiked tonight. She had to be careful because tonight she had to keep her wits and she had to be ready to become a designated driver of sorts if she had to. She only hoped that she wouldn't need to.
When Elijah Mikaelson approached her Caroline was still keeping her eyes trained on Cami. As discreetly as she could.
The eldest of the Mikaelson brothers that attended the ball tonight now kept a vigilant watch next to her. Both of them were watching the dancing couple.
Caroline said nothing and neither did Elijah.
She hadn't seen him ever since he had found her and Kol with an almost dead Hayley in the middle of a destroyed Abattoir. A part of her had been ready to face him during the last weeks but Elijah never made an appearance which in Caroline's mind was, unfortunately, an outcome she didn't like. Either Elijah was trying to keep a balance or he was bidding his time. Either way, even his idea of a balance could prove to be something she may not like too.
Elijah Mikaelson was calculating and patient. That made him dangerous. She could not read him like Klaus and Kol. And that put him high on her list of people she didn't want to engage in conflict with but something told her she may not have a say on this.
In any case, Caroline didn't show any of her thoughts or worry. She kept her impeccable composure and stood by Elijah's side.
In their game of silence, both of them looked relaxed and at ease. Even now Elijah said nothing about her earlier confrontation with Hayley tonight. She knew this was not a place for him to not speak to her about this or about what happened the other night between her, Kol and Hayley but Elijah didn't even hint anything. Not a glance. Not a flinch. Nothing out of the ordinary. If anything that was what made Elijah Mikaelson truly threatening. He didn't need to speak. He didn't need to confront anyone for anything. After all, it was exactly what Kol had told her. Words were just words. And Elijah was not a man of many words despite the fact that he knew how to use them to his advantage. Caroline knew that when Elijah descended upon his enemies, unlike Klaus, he made no declarations. He was swift but just like Klaus, he was also without mercy.
More so when it came to his family. Caroline was not part of their family after all. She may be Kol's friend and Klaus' complicated whatever but she was not a Mikaelson while Hayley was. An honorary as it would seem but still a Mikaelson at least in Elijah's eyes. And Elijah would put a target on the back of anyone that would threaten his family. And while Elijah would never truly hurt Kol he would surely not minding hurting her.
Accidents did happen after all even against Klaus' and Kol's attention not that she would ever need their protection, to begin with. What worried her the most actually was not the fact that she would have to face Elijah soon but that she would have to do it without Kol in the sense that Klaus was not the only one that could dagger the younger Mikaelson. Elijah could do that too and if by any minuscule chance she could prevent Klaus from daggering Kol how in hell would she be able to stop Elijah?
Wasn't that just wonderful? She may have to get deeper into Marcel's circle and try to find a way to get those daggers. Maybe she would have to play the distraction with Klaus again too. Klaus would never allow this but neutralizing those damn daggers could be her only way to save Kol from the wrath of his brothers. Because Kol would never stop tempting their fury and he could end up daggered in a coffin in a place where she would not be able to reach him.
Screw this. It was not allowed to happen. Kol may be an insane maniac but he was her insane maniac friend.
She had seen Elijah's gaze when he held on to an unconscious Hayley. Kol was on borrowed time.
Caroline continued keeping her eyes on Cami but she could see in her peripheral vision both Hayley Marshall and Kol. The sides were formed.
There was no choice to make. If she had to use Hayley to save Kol then so be it. And something told her that Elijah felt the same but in the other way around. If he had to neutralize Kol and use her to save Hayley he would not hesitate.
"I hear the newly trained vampires are starting to thrive in their training. Most of them are quite fond of you," Elijah Mikaelson commented, subtly mentioning how he kept an eye out for her. He knew she was training the vampires since after all, he had pulled the strings to make this happen but that didn't mean that he trusted her or that he was not watching closely. Caroline wondered how many spies he had put around her.
"I know how it is to turn, to be in need of guidance and to have everyone, yourself included, believe you will not make it. Everything is…was overwhelming," she confessed keeping all emotion out of her voice despite the way she instantly remembered Stefan, "but I was lucky to have a mentor that cared for me and helped me control my bloodlust instead of letting it control me. I can only try to do the same for others if I can. I have walked in their shoes."
Elijah hummed at that.
"We all have."
Caroline could not stop the smile of irony that appeared on her lips.
"Not all of us were turned into Originals or had the advantage of being supernatural royalty," she reminded Elijah with a smile which he actually returned to her.
"For those of us, that know better I assure you such a fate has the weight of a burden and not much of an advantage."
"If you say so," Caroline shrugged and watched as Cami excused herself and Marcel and her went to the bar to get a drink.
Caroline watched with keen eyes as Marcel gave Cami a drink and told her something that made her laugh.
Caroline almost sighed and shook her head. Could this night get any worse?
Both Klaus and Marcel kept circling Cami like vultures.
Of course, they would. She was the closest thing to the leader of the human faction so they wanted to groom her accordingly and get her to their side. It was dangerous but they didn't care as long as they got what they wanted from her.
Cami was literally a sitting duck. A train wreck waiting to happen. In the same way, Elena had been. In the same way, she had been. It was history repeating itself all over again only this time things were even worse because New Orleans was the kind of kindergarten Mystic Falls had been. This place would take Cami and spit her out long before giving her the slightest fighting chance.
Caroline could tell this was a ticking bomb. Cami was so human. So noble. So…shortsighted. Klaus had already ensnared her in his world and Marcel was weaving a tighter web around her and like a fly she was ready to be devoured by the spiders.
It was that web that brought her in tonight since Caroline had no plans to come to the ball. Beautiful dress or no.
Truth was that she had been waiting outside for a long time indecisive as if she should actually go in. The repercussions of actually coming tonight were the sort she didn't want to have to face but there was something nagging at her deep inside in her gut to actually go and she hadn't realized what it was until the moment she saw Cami arriving with Marcel to the ball. It was then that she decided to actually go into the freaking ball and not lurk outside dressed like a Queen without an actual celebration to attend to.
And now as she watched Cami interact with Marcel Gerard Caroline realized that coming here to keep an eye out for Cami may not make much of a difference.
It was not just Cami's infatuation with Klaus that was the problem. Cami was attracted by the darkness. She felt drawn to it. Mentally, intellectually, emotionally. She was in mourning, she was alone, she had no friends. She was becoming self-destructive in her own way and she was drawn to the supernatural underbelly of New Orleans in ways that twisted her perspective and numbed if not erased her survival instincts. The more she was normalizing people like Marcel and Klaus, people even like her, the more she was in danger.
And Cami kept being swept away by this danger and kept flirting with it.
What had she been thinking? Was she thinking?
She had warned her and she goes and does that?
It was Mystic Falls all over again. Elena used to do the same stupid things and back then no one of them knew any better. But Caroline knew better now. After Damon, after turning, after Klaus, after dying, after Purgatory, after Kol. After all the endless crap. She knew better. She knew where this road was leading and how naïve humans with beautiful hearts were nothing but easy pickings and collateral damage for monsters like Klaus and Marcel. Hell, for monsters like her too. And Cami had managed to get deep in the middle of this darkness and it would consume her and spit her out. She would be one more victim. She would die or worse she would lose herself and drown in this crap. And she was walking in with a green ball gown and a smile like a lamb in the slaughter.
Caroline was not stupid. She could see the way Cami reacted when she was near Klaus. She was having fun with Marcel but she was losing herself with Klaus. Caroline saw how Cami's eyes filled with longing whenever Klaus was near. How her face lit up. She could see how she believed she could bring the best out of him. How she could help him. Heal him. Save him. It was what Elena used to look like when Damon was anywhere near. Only Klaus was not Damon. Damon was a frigging puppy in front of the Originals and at least he was devoted to Elena heart and soul. Klaus would never do that with Cami. He cared for Cami though and even though that somehow brought an ache to her own heart like a thorn lodged under skin making her bleed out slowly she somehow still hoped that he cared enough to protect her. But on the other hand, Klaus' protection was just as dangerous as every other part of him.
Cami was doomed. And Caroline felt overly protective of her. Like she used to feel for Elena and Bonnie.
How could she help her? How when she could barely help herself? This city was a trap. But Cami could still get out. But how? How could she make her see?
"You care for the girl."
Caroline blinked.
Shit! She had let her guard down and Elijah saw straight right through her. Her stupid humanity was always her Achilles heel. She pressed her lips realizing how she had let her walls down and how transparent she was. Elijah was perceptive but she could wear her mask flawlessly most of the time. But not when she was blinded by emotion. By weakness. And she was still weak enough to care. And this had been the only lesson Kol had not managed to teach her. How not to care.
Caroline sighed in defeat.
"Someone should look after her," she said keeping her eyes on a laughing Cami. She was so happy tonight and that brought a smile to Caroline as she remembered how she used to be so excited and happy. She used to love going to parties and dancing and being the center of attention too. But this was not so simple or harmless in comparison. This was a trap and the more you danced and the more you laughed the more helpless you became. The price was too high to pay. "…she is a friend," Caroline mumbled hating herself for opening up to Elijah out of all people and doing it here.
She had to steel herself again. She had to contain this humanity or it would devour her. It already hurt more than it should.
Elijah nodded in understanding. They both saw Marcel twirling Camille around again and soon they joined the other dancing couples once more.
Caroline kept her attention trained on Marcel Gerard and when she spoke she kept voice down.
"You know he is plotting against you don't you?"
"Of course," Elijah simply said as Klaus approached them.
"He would be an idiot not to sweetheart and my brother is many things but a fool is not one of them," Klaus commented and Caroline pressed her lips. Damn his stealth.
"I will take this as a compliment," Elijah told Klaus before he walked away leaving her alone with Klaus. Klaus that now stood so close. Too close.
Caroline straightened her back and kept her eyes trained on the dancing couples. She tried not to grimace at the way Cami's perfume had glued on Klaus. She pushed her nails in her palm. She didn't know why but this alone seemed to be sending jolts of uncomfortable rage right down her bloodstream. It was affecting all her senses. And not in a good way. She wanted to get away from Klaus Mikaelson or throw bleach at him. Maybe both.
"Quite a speech you made tonight," she commented dryly making him respond with a satisfied smirk.
"Did you like it?"
Caroline rolled her eyes and Klaus' eyes roamed over her. She was nothing less than breathtaking. He felt drawn to her. He leaned closer, an infinitesimal motion, so to breathe her in. To take in her scent. He wanted nothing more than to brush his lips beneath her ear and drag them right down to her neck, straight to that pulsating vein that tempted him so.
His breath wisped closer to her cheek and his nostrils flared at the shiver that he saw passing through her.
Caroline however only raised her chin higher and gave him a sneering grimace.
"I am sorry I don't speak megalomaniac."
Klaus laughed but his good mood died out when Caroline tried to step away from him. She literally turned around ready to walk away from him and go to the opposite direction. For a brief moment, he considered letting her but it was beyond his powers to do so.
His fingers wrapped around her elbow and Caroline blinked before she moved her gaze from his hold on her arm to his face.
"Caroline-"
"This is not the place or the time," she harshly said and pulled her arm away. She scrunched up her nose as if she couldn't stand being anywhere near him right now.
Klaus saw the anger and the indignation in her features. She was still angry with him. Lately, it would seem she was always angry with him.
"It never seems to be," he murmured trying and failing to keep the accusation out of his bitter tone.
He saw the exact moment she became emotionally distant and felt the nails in his fingers heating up ready to turn to claws.
"Maybe there's a reason for that," she said.
Klaus didn't know if it was his ego or his heart that she wounded but either way something ugly coiled inside him.
Caroline took one more step and his steps followed. One to match her, one to block her.
He saw the irritation in her eyes when he towered in front of her blocking her way. It set his teeth on edge. He felt his fangs knifing his tongue. She glared at him and he loomed closer. So close now that he could smell everything that distinctly belonged to Caroline. It made him feel alive and it made him furious at the same time.
She just had no idea the danger she had found herself in. She could not understand how she should stop taunting the monster inside him.
She kept holding him on an arm's length. She had become unapproachable. Caroline kept raising walls between them and treated him as if he was nothing but an annoyance. It was a blow to his pride. To be treated like that from a young vampire that compared to him was nothing but an infant.
He had killed for far less.
If he didn't know what kind of agony her death truly was he would even consider killing her only to stop her messing with his mind and heart like this. It would be so easy. To snuff her light. To tear her heart out and erase her from the world. He could be free.
If only he could do that. If only her death wasn't the worst torture he had endured in the thousand years of his miserable existence. If only her resurrection hadn't been the miracle and the answer to the prayers he didn't even know he was making.
She was alive now and he was still in pain. It would seem that Caroline Forbes existed in life and death only to haunt him and hurt him.
Caroline was always beyond his reach and it was driving him mad. Her beauty was undoing him. Her constant rejection was an agony. Whatever was bringing them together was also viscerally pulling them apart and Caroline continuously ignored their connection and their chemistry. That was probably the only thing Purgatory had not changed in her.
The girl was set on spurning him. As if he was an insect she could crash under her heel. She kept turning him down, scoffing even at his most innocent and good intentions. Damn her. He should let her go. He should erase her from his mind and heart. Treat her as if she was a nobody as he would with anyone else. And yet that feeling at the pit of his stomach when she was near would not go away. That pain in his heart at her scorn would not let him breathe.
Bloody woman! She kept making him feel and then was throwing everything he tried to give her away.
To hell with that.
This time he couldn't let her escape him so easily.
All reason left him and he grasped her wrist. Tonight his presence had a purpose. He had to maintain his impeccable civil composure but Caroline was setting on fire all his plans.
Everything around them blended in a blur. All the gossip and the politics and the scheming. The music became a continuous noise in the background that Caroline's heartbeat erased.
Her glare inflamed him more and when she discreetly tried to tear her hand away from his hold he gave her a cordial smile as he leaned closer. He kept his voice low, his words meant only for her to hear.
"Tonight is quite important love. I'd rather if we didn't make a scene…but I am not beyond it."
The threat in his voice could not be ignored. He saw the way this realization brought a blend of fear and caution to Caroline. He was hungry for that fear but it was the fierce defiance that also lit up her face that excited him the most.
His eyes traveled up and down her body. Slowly. The feelings that arose between them called to destruction. And Caroline met him halfway there. In the past, he had been drawn by her light but now her darkness was simmering just underneath the surface and it was like a magnet pulling him in. It annihilated his senses and his wolf stirred in him.
Gold flickered in his eyes and he itched to break that beautiful ivory skin of her neck. To sink his teeth in the column of her throat. In that temping curve. To drink her. To destroy her. He craved oblivion and the blood that flickered in Caroline's eyes was like a fire coming to life. She wanted the same thing.
Her hair was catching the light and her chest was rising and falling as she came alive with death in her gaze. Underneath the silk and the beautiful glittering jewelry that adorned her throat and wrists, there was a monster that wanted to sink its teeth into him and mark him too.
It was madness and most of all weakness. Because he was ready to let her destroy him. He didn't care. As long as she would be his destroyer he would relish in his destruction.
He yanked her away from the crowd practically dragging her along. Her muscles tensed and he half expected them to lock in an attempt to resist him but Caroline did not struggle. The air shifted around them as the whole room span and floated away when at the first chance of being unseen he used his speed to pull her away from the ball and bring her into an empty hallway.
Caroline hissed and he pulled her against a column behind a wall deeper in one of the corridors that completely separated them from all the commotion.
She then pushed him away. When he was sure they were alone he let her go but didn't step back.
He could see the spark of desire and fear in her eyes before the fear vanished and left only pride and fury in its wake.
Veins puffed under her long eyelashes. He felt the amber burn his eyes too.
They stared at each other. Their gazes battling for dominance.
His chest collided with hers and pressed her against the wall.
"Is this a challenge Caroline?"
His voice was pure menace and…seduction and he smirked at the shudder that passed through her.
Being so close to her seeing the heat and the murder in her eyes only pulled him closer. She was deadly. And as beautiful as deadly night creatures like them were. Ageless, eternal…magnificent.
He didn't miss the flicker of excitement in her eyes when their bodies rubbed against each other. Their instincts were in overdrive.
He wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed. One flick of his wrist and he could snap her neck. He could tear her head off if he wanted. And she knew it. She knew it and she was powerless to stop it; but his intentions were far different. He tightened his hold more. Inflicting just a stroke of pain. Bringing starlight in her vision, making her lungs plead for oxygen.
His nails dug in her flawless skin and it brought a breathy moan out of Caroline. He hummed pleased, his lips hovering just a breath away from a kiss.
If this was a challenge he already knew how he would claim her submission.
Caroline's chest heaved. She tried to regain her control but every movement she was making was obliterating any space that was left between them and it was making his blood run hotter inside him. It would be so easy. To have her wrap her legs around him. To drive into her. To make her scream. To never let her go.
And she knew it.
He saw her anger. Her desire. Her annoyance. But also her vulnerability as the blood dissolved from her eyes and the brilliant green color shone brighter than before.
Her desire was not coming from bloodlust. It was far more profound than that.
She twisted her fingers around his wrist. He did not remove his palm from her neck. He loved that feeling. To feel her heartbeat echoing in his touch. To be able to control the way she breathed.
But her eyes…that gaze filled with longing and unbound desire stoked his humanity as did his thirst for her.
Caroline closed her eyes and arched her neck inviting him closer. Her hand caressed his and just like that his tight hold turned gentle. His fingers uncoiled until they caressed her throat with reverence almost.
When she opened her eyes again, eyes brighter than any fire he could ignite and burn the world in, he became completely lost in them.
And just like that, he knew that in any challenge between them she would win. Because he could deny her nothing when she looked at him like this. Because she always appealed to his softer side just by glancing at him with those eyes.
His hand left her neck and his fingers touched her mouth. He licked his own at the way her lips parted and her vampirism once more turned that pristine beauty to a canvas of blood and throbbing veins. Her neck still carried his fingerprints. Bruises that would soon fade but his mark would still linger underneath the surface and they would both know it.
Caroline pushed herself on her toes. Her lips touched his ear. His fangs descended and teased her skin. One bite. One bite into her neck and she would bite him back. He yearned for it as much as she did. She trembled and his fangs grazed her flesh without breaking skin. She'd have to ask first. She'd have to beg.
"You love a challenge," she whispered this time eliciting a sound from him that resembled a moan too, "so… no," she taunted him pushing his hand and him away.
His fangs ached but he forced them to retreat. It was literal physical pain to regain control.
It took him a second to recollect himself not knowing if he wanted to scream or smile at her courage and audacity. All he knew was that his whole body was craving her now.
Caroline forced her control to return until the vampire inside her rested back in its cage and then she huffed frustrated, the anger in her making a comeback and he smiled at the disheveled appearance she presented. The fire in his belly scorched him. She was not so unaffected as she wanted to pretend. Not when her arousal had its own potent scent that was mingling with the air around them. It clung on him now and he would carry it on his body…and he didn't mind it.
Caroline stared at him with a furious gleam.
"Why do you have to be so…"
He tilted his head waiting for her to finish her sentence and she flicked her gaze at him angrily before she exhaled the rest of her phrase in one vulnerably delivered word.
"…you."
Her words liquefied his insides. The feeling that spread in him was warm and could not give a name to it.
"Because you are…you sweetheart," he replied softly. And he knew that she understood what he meant in the same way he did despite how what they said would make no sense to anyone else.
Because there were things they couldn't fight. Neither of them.
All he knew what for him too Caroline was so…Caroline. That said it all for him. That was why he could never resist her. That was why where she would go he would always feel the need to follow. He couldn't stay away. And he had tried. And now the more he was trying the more he was failing. He had let her go once and she had died and now he couldn't stay away and he couldn't let her push him away either.
Caroline shook her head as if she was trying to vanquish emotions and thoughts from her head and he wanted nothing more than to shake her and force her to stop doing that.
His eyebrows rose when she jabbed her finger in his chest.
"Take a hint, Klaus! You being…you is not a compliment. Have I not made myself clear?" she protested letting the tempest of her feelings, good and bad, wash over them.
"I am trapped in this city," she venomously reminded him, "otherwise I wouldn't be anywhere near you because I don't want to be. I never wanted to be. You and I are not happening! Ever."
He didn't move.
He let Caroline's word become a tide that took him under. He saw the exact moment she tried to backtrack as if she had regretted her honesty but he was not fooled by that false empathy. Her will when it came to them was unbending as was her desire to hurt him. This time her hostility had parts of him crumbling. Those that carried humanity and hope.
Humanity and hope…they didn't matter. Never did. Never would.
A snarl escaped his lips and his vision went dark for a second. He heard voices coming closer and he knew he was about to behead whoever came close now.
In the blink of an eye, he had carried Caroline upstairs. She squirmed in his grasp and before she could argue any more he had practically thrown her in her room and closed the door behind them.
The bedroom was dark. Only a small breeze of air cooled the room that was immersed in shadows. The fire was crackling casting the only light to combat the moonlit darkness.
Caroline gasped when she realized where he had brought her and she tried to use her vampire speed to get out but she would never be as fast as him.
Just as she opened the door to get out his palm slammed it shut closing Caroline in between the wood and his body.
Caroline didn't move. She stared at the closed door as his eyes roved down her back. He was in her personal space leaning close, his palm still resting against the door keeping it close and her trapped.
"Step out of this room and the slaughter that will follow will become the new cautionary tale for children to fear for ages to come."
Caroline turned around slowly and she gasped when their lips almost touched. His eyes gleamed in the dark with flecks of gold.
She didn't dare take him up on his word. She pushed her back at the door and only folded her arms in front of her chest before she recollected herself and glowered at him.
Their vampire senses saw each other perfectly but that didn't make Klaus' presence less imposing or her own form less caught in the glow from the fireplace and the moonlight from the windows that played tricks of bouncing shadows and fading light over both of them. In the dark, their figures cast more shadows and Klaus' seemed to have enveloped hers completely.
It would seem as if now Klaus was more in his element than ever.
The smile he gave her was cruel and Caroline flinched when he lowered his hand from the door and traced his knuckles down her shoulder.
"It looks as if mother dearest has had the best idea after all," he quietly purred, "Containing you."
Caroline's lips curled and a murderous expression took her over.
"Screw you!"
"This is not Mystic Falls Caroline," he casually said, ignoring the flick of hurt that flashed in Caroline's eyes, "my infatuation with you goes up to a point love. I am an Original and you are in my domain now. Tread carefully of there will be consequences."
Caroline opened her mouth to say something but he placed his index finger on her lips shushing her.
"You forget I am not born of this world. I may have adapted but my ways are those of the old. When I want something I take it," he reminded her and Caroline watched him with revulsion. His finger outlined her lips slowly before he pressed it under her chin making forcing her to only look at him.
"Is this a threat?"
"Simply a fact. Should I have wanted to keep you do you think there would be anyone that could get you out of my hands once I got my clutches into you? Have you forgotten who I am Caroline? Remember how our paths crossed."
"Oh, I remember alright," she coldly said and he felt a wave of pride despite or maybe because of the way Caroline watched him now. And she watched him as if he was the worst thing earth had ever created.
"Do you? Because something tells me you have forgotten," he taunted her, "you keep poking at the monster without any regard for what comes next because you believe you are safe as if your safety is not but an illusion."
His gaze raked over her. Slowly. Intensely. Until she could not hide the goosebumps that rose on her skin.
Klaus pressed both his hands against the door right next to each side of her head.
"You believe that you have survived the worst, don't you? You think a hell dimension is all the torture you could ever endure? You should ask my brother about it actually. Since Kol has been your savior you should get his educated opinion," Klaus mocked her relishing in the way Caroline had to crane up her head only to glare at him.
"Which agony has more mercy you think love? A nightmarish resort or…me?"
His lips traced her earlobe and a shudder passed through her.
"I am a selfish creature, Caroline. You keep dangling what I desire in front of me only to cruelly deny me. I am not one of your harmless high school suitors. How long will it take for my patience to run out you think?" he warned her with a soothing voice that contradicted what he told her, "it would be so easy to keep you under lock and key. This is why you left in the first place didn't you?"
His voice was creating a web of a dangerous emotion all around them. There was no escape.
"This room scares you because you know that should I want to no one would ever find you again. I'd keep you safe, stored away, kept only for my eyes."
Klaus didn't miss the delicate way she swallowed.
He gave her a knowing smile.
"You have been pushing your luck not knowing how lucky you have been. Should we have met a few decades in the past things would have been so different. Who would have stopped me?" he asked softly.
"Me," Caroline declared and Klaus raised his eyebrows at the lack of conviction her answer showed.
A chuckle escaping his lips.
"You have no idea sweetheart," he drawled, his fingers tracing figures on her neck, "how easy it would be to lock you in here and twist eternity around you till the only name that would ever leave your lips would be mine."
His pressed his thumb against her lips loving how responsive Caroline was. He grinned at how every muscle in her body had gone taut.
It was not just fear. It was desire too. And it calmed the fury inside him. She could lie with her words but she could never lie with her eyes or her body. She kept pushing him away when there were parts of hers that begged him to come closer to her. It was maddening. Why was she so set against what they could be when she wanted it to?
"You'd grow to love it too," he whispered tempting her, "begging in pleasure and pain with only my name in your dreams and nightmares."
Caroline straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin up defiantly.
"You don't scare me, Klaus."
This time there was no room for debate in the way she faced him. He gave her a smile full of teeth.
"We both know you are smarter than that."
Caroline threw him a death glare before she stepped away from him. And he let her because they both knew there was no escape.
Only she didn't try to leave the room. She only went further in it.
"So this is what you want? To cage me in like an object?"
Klaus said nothing as she started inspecting the room with new eyes.
"This is the cage you made right?"
A part of him howled inside him because this had not been what he had wanted despite how the worst parts of him had tempted him to do exactly that.
He had created this room in her memory. He had intended to be a safe haven for her.
Caroline ran her hand over the duvet and turned around to look at him.
"If this is what you've wanted from me you would have done it. You could have compelled me a long time ago. You could have done even worse things than that."
Klaus nodded and stuffed his fingers in his pants.
"Never too late to correct past mistakes."
"I know exactly who you are Klaus. What you are capable of."
"And yet you keep playing with fire…why is that?" he wondered and Caroline snorted.
"How delusional are you," she asked him and he gave her a warning scathing look that did not deter her in the least, "how is not wanting to be with you playing with fire? Way to take rejection, Klaus!"
"Mixed signals and all love," he challenged her waiting for her to deny it but she said nothing. He stepped closer to her, his hands still in his pockets.
His voice was deep when the next words left his lips.
"There's a part of you that wants me."
Caroline didn't refuse this at all.
"And a part of you that wants to terrorize me into submission," she stood her ground, "it ain't happening."
"Terrorizing?" he repeated her words in a wondrous tone as if he was actually thinking about it, "there's a thought…"
He sauntered at her and brushed away a stray lock of hair from her forehead. She jerked his hand away.
He turned serious.
"Fear me, love," he advised her, "it is the only way to survive me."
Caroline stared at him for a few long seconds. Her scrutiny actually made him feel uncomfortable but he did not break off their eye contact until she finally rolled her eyes at him.
"God, you are such a douche!"
She turned to leave again not caring at all for his previous threats. Only this time when she turned the doorknob it wouldn't give away.
Klaus smirked and took off a coin out of his pocket and twisted it in his fingers. Kol was not the only one from their family with dark objects and magical tricks on his sleeve.
"I told you it would be easy didn't I?" he taunted sardonically as Caroline whirled around, her whole stance ready to pounce at him in fury.
Her gaze grew violent.
"Let me out."
Klaus pocketed the coin back in his pocket and faced her anger with a simple shrug of his shoulders.
"No."
TBC
