Liz Forbes stood in the driveway of what was - up until very recently - the Mikaelson mansion. The Originals were gone, and in the case of Mystic Falls and Caroline's friends, this was a very good thing. In the case of her daughter on the other hand... it made Liz worried.
Elijah Mikaelson had appeared in her office less than twenty-four hours ago to share the news of their abrupt departure, and he'd taken that time to assure he would see to it that no harm came to her daughter, but Liz had been down that road too many times and knew it would be foolish of her to simply trust the word of a vampire. She also knew where they were heading, and that they were heading there because Caroline was there, and while she wasn't entirely sure about the Original family's intentions with her daughter, she was sure she didn't like it.
For years it had just been Liz and Caroline, and before Caroline hit puberty with all the hormones that followed and she entered into the phase that Liz knew as "mom-is-the-worst", it had been the two of them against the world. Caroline had been heartbroken when Liz and her ex got divorced, and even more so when Bill left town. Caroline had always adored her dad, and to Bill, Caroline was his little princess, but Liz hated her ex sometimes because he had a tendency to break their daughter's heart without even trying.
She'd lost count on how many birthdays and christmases he'd missed, how many times he'd forgotten some big occasion in Caroline's life, like when she won Miss Mystic Falls and Bill had promised he'd be there to see her, only to never show up. Still, Caroline's unwavering love for her father was beautiful, and even if he could be a heartless bastard sometimes, Liz knew without a single doubt that her ex loved their daughter just as much as she did.
After he met Steven, Bill had talked to Liz about having Caroline come live with him for a while, but at the time, Liz had been angry and hurt and with the way her relationship was with her daughter back then, she'd been worried that if she let Caroline move to be with her dad, they'd never rebuild their relationship again. She should have let her go.
If she had, none of this would have happened to Caroline. She wouldn't have been in town when Stefan and Damon showed up, and she wouldn't have become a vampire or crossed paths with the Original family. She would have been safe, living her perfectly human life, being an obnoxious teenager making her dad's life a living hell, and would have only been in Mystic Falls to visit her mom during holidays. It was too late now, but Liz felt a lot of regrets as she stared up at that empty mansion and thought about her daughter who was facing a terrifying new reality on her own without her friends and loved ones close by.
The only thing that made Liz feel better, was the knowledge that her ex-husband was out doing what he did best. Bill always had a skill for dealing with supernatural problems, but this time, Liz was worried that not even her ex-husband could fix the mess their daughter was in.
When she woke up from her nap, Caroline had no idea how long she'd been asleep, but she knew right away that something was wrong. She heard sounds of a commotion of some kind, which was what had woken her up in the first place, and with nothing else for it, she got up and went in search of whatever - or whoever - were responsible for the noise.
With her heightened senses it took her no time at all to track down the source of the noise. A group was gathered outside the Alpha-couple's cabin, and while Caroline couldn't see her, she could hear Haley's voice intermingled with several others as a heated discussion was raging on.
"I can't believe this," she heard Haley say angrily, "we came here to find answers and to keep her safe from the Original family, and you're telling me they're coming here?"
Oh no, this was not good.
"We'll explain everything in due time, Haley, I promise." That voice belonged to Anna, and it was conciliatory, a poor attempt at calming the quickly increasing aggression in the air around the cabin.
"Bullshit, I want that explanation now, or we're leaving." Haley threatened.
"We can't let that happen," Jonas declared in a steely voice, and Caroline knew right then and there that if she didn't do something, and fast, things would turn very ugly and very brutal, very quick.
"What's going on?" She called out as she approached the group with normal human speed, and everyone involved in the conversation whipped around to face her. Haley was standing in the center of the group, and upon catching sight of her, she quickly moved away from the norwegian wolves and headed her way.
"We're leaving. The Mikaelson's are headed this way, they'll probably be here in the next day or so, and we need to get you as far away from here as possible before that happens."
"I told you," Jonas growled, "we can't let you go."
Haley spun around and bared her teeth, "You're welcome to try and stop us," she snarled, and Caroline watched Jonas' eyes shift color from one second to the next and knew all hell was about to break loose.
"Enough!" she yelled with the same authority and severity she used on her useless classmates whenever she was preparing for a high school event, and she wasn't surprised when both aggressor instantly looked away from each other and focused on her.
"I don't know what's going on, and I don't want to be here when the Mikaelson's show up. Clearly, seeing you're reaction and the fact that you've invited them, it's important that I'm here when they show up. If you want us to stay, explain what's going on, and don't give us bullshit answers like "when it's time". The time is now. And Haley, it won't do any of us any good if you get into it with Jonas right now. I mean, I know you can take him, and I'm no slouch either, but in case you haven't noticed, we're seriously outnumbered and I'm not sure I like our odds."
Haley clenched her teeth, and kept giving Jonas the stink-eye, but she dialed down the agression. Jonas, on his part, took a step back and glanced over at his wife who shrugged and pressed her lips together.
"We'll tell you," Jonas said as he turned away from his wife and looked at Haley and Caroline, "but you probably won't like what we have to say."
Caroline barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Of course she wouldn't like what he had to share, she didn't even want to be there, but for the moment she was willing to listen before acting on the pressing impulse to get the hell out of there. Depending on how much she disliked whatever he was about to tell her, she'd see how long she'd stick around before she made a break for it.
"In Norway," Jonas began after they'd all settled in the cabin he shared with his mate, "there are only two wolf clans; us, who control everything north of the city called Trondheim, the only city in Norway that fall outside the borders of either clan. The other clan, or pack as you call it in America, control everything south of that city."
Caroline was no expert on werewolves, but that seemed like a lot of territory to hold, even if the country wasn't all that big.
"How many are you, all in all, I mean?" Haley asked, still on edge, but leaning on her curiosity.
"It's difficult to give a certain number, but at the moment, there are about three or four thousand of us spread out across the country, and that's counting both the clans here."
Okay, well, that seemed a lot. Like seriously, three or four thousand?
"Go on," Haley urged and Caroline glanced at her friend before turning her attention back to Jonas as he continued his story.
"Our origin is said to have come as a result of the love between a powerful witch favored by the old gods, and the human male she loved. The witch's powers came from the gods themselves, and she was particularly favored by the old norse goddess Freyja. She was the daughter of the norse sea god, and twin sister of the god Freyr. She was the goddess of fertility, love, battle and death. Freyja thought of the witch as a daughter and granted her the power of immortal life, but upon realizing how lonely such a life could be for a mortal, she bestowed upon her favored mortal daughter a spell that would allow her to give the man she loved eternal life along with her. However, a mortal with no magical powers would be unable to bear the gift of eternity on his own, the toll on his soul would eventually become too much, and so the spell came with a twist. The male would have to share his soul with an animal to help carry the burden of immortality, and when asked which animal he wished to share his soul with, the male chose the proud and strong wolf."
This, Caroline thought, seemed like a much happier story than what she knew of the werewolves from back home. As far as she knew, they were wolves because of a curse, not because of some romantic spell created by an actual goddess.
"The witch and her half human, half wolf mate, had two children; twins, one boy, one girl. In honor of the goddess who had gifted them with an eternity spent together, they named the children after the goddess and her brother. As they grew to maturity, the twins left their parents and each other, to find their own paths in life. Freyja inherited her mother's magic, and Freyr became like his father. The norwegian clans today can be traced back to the twins. This clan are descendents of Freyr, while the southern clan comes from Freyja. You, Caroline, are a direct descendent of Freyr, and the one known as "the hybrid", is a descendent of Freyja. According to an ancient prophecy of unknown origin, the clans were always meant to come together as one, and when the daughter of Freyr and son of Freyja recognize each other as mates, the prophecy will come to pass."
"Hold on," Caroline said, not liking this story as much anymore.
"First of all, that sounds kind of incestuous. I mean, if what you're saying is true than, that would make me related to Klaus and that's just disgusting."
"Freyr and Freyja lived thousands of years ago, Caroline. They both mated with mortals and passed on their genes of magic and lycanthropy to their children, and their children's children, and so on. Whatever relation you and Klaus Mikaelson may have, is insignificant."
Okay, well, that was something. But, seriously, ancient prophecies and gods and goddesses, this was getting out of hand quickly.
"Fine, but aside from that, what exactly it is you expect from me?"
Jonas took a breath, glanced over at Anna who shrugged, and he sighed before once more facing Caroline.
"We, and by that I mean both of our clans, need you and Klaus to agree to and complete an ancient mating ritual."
"Why?" Haley cut in before Caroline had a chance to ask the same question, or just straight up refuse to do it.
"The same prophecy states that once the two of you meet, if you do not accept each other and tie yourself together through the ritual, it would mean the extinction of the Norwegian wolves."
Okay then, no pressure.
"That's ridiculous," she snapped, feeling like everything just kept getting worse and worse.
"Two weeks ago, we would have agreed with you," Anna spoke up for the first time, her voice quiet and laced with a seriousness that Caroline didn't like, "but now we have several clan members reporting signs of illness, and that has never happened before, Caroline. We don't get sick, ever, and now we seem to be facing an epidemic. We've spoken to our counterparts in the south, and they've been experiencing the same thing. We don't know the forces behind the prophecy, or the reason why our people are suddenly becoming sick, but it can't be a coincidence that you showed up when you did. The same with Kol Mikaelson finding the southern clan. Whether you believe in destiny or not, everything that's happening is related to you and Klaus Mikaelson, and I'm begging you, Caroline, don't let my people die. Please, don't let our people die."