Author's Note: So uh… long time no see. It's been over two years since I last updated and I won't apologize for not updating because I am not. A lot of stuff has happened in the past two years. A lot of death, a lot of college apps, a lot of money and traveling being done, and in that time I took a long break from writing. Like a looooooong break. But now I am back, a little rusty, but I'm back and here is the next part!

Part One: Chapter Sixteen

"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings."— Lao Tzu

[1492/England]

Today was the day.

Today was the day when she and Katerina would make their grand escape. Today was the day when they were to triumph over Klaus. Today was the day Katerina would win her life.

Carolina woke up that morning with a heavy sense of foreboding. There was a heaviness in the air. Even though she had drank numerous glasses of water she could still taste the iron of her last meal.

The night before Carolina had gone on a binge with Klaus. They wandered the city killing and feeding to their heart's content. Her mind was a haze of bloodlust and with Klaus it felt right and appropriate. With him she could let her mind be the disgusting vile bag of cats that it was.

With Klaus she could give into her insanity. But then there was always the inevitable downfall.

The moment that she returned back to her room her actions hit her. The mantra of no resounded in her head as she scrubbed herself clean of all the blood. She drank jugs and jugs of water to wash the taste of blood from her mouth but the iron lingered. How could she protect Katerina when she was monster herself? Should she even protect Katerina?

The thought popped innocently enough into her head but she was too late to stop the idea from continuing.

Should she stop Klaus? If she did then she may never be able to go into the sun like she used to. If she did not then she would have Katerina and incur Klaus' wrath and hatred. And she really wanted Klaus to hate her. But then again she never really did like Katerina to begin with and—

No! Carolina hit her head roughly. She continued to do it again and again. Katerina was her friend! Katerina, who ran away with her. Katerina who always was there. Katerina who stood by her. That was the Katerina that she was going to stay and protect. That was the Katerina that she was going to fight for.

Or was she.

A sigh left Carolina's lips and she fell back onto the pillows and sheets of her bed.

She needed to come to a decision.

Klaus strutted nervously back and forth. This was the day that he had been waiting for five hundred years. He had pillaged villages for the moonstone. He had forced witches to his side and made them all tirelessly study the curse until they could repeat it to him backwards and in all the languages that they knew. He had daggered all his siblings if they left him down in pursuit for one of ingredients.

But now, Klaus was about to sow all the fruits of his labor.

Klaus was about to be whole.

Something stirred in him, his wolf, it was restless as he was. It was as if it could sense that the chains that kept it dormant was weakening. His wolf could scent his impending freedom.

Klaus scratched at his skin and sighed. He wished that he could be everywhere at once. He wished that there was a way that he could monitor everyone's movements. He wished that there was a way to make sure that everything was going smoothly.

"Be still brother," Kol's voice intoned behind him, "or else you might release your wolf too early." Klaus let out a low growl as he turned from behind his desk to watch Kol saunter in. Kol peered out of the window, narrowing his eyes as he started right into the sun. "My it isn't even dark yet! And what would the town think if their beloved Lord turned into a bloodthirsty monster."

Klaus revealed a rakish grin. "I already am. I'll gladly show you how bloodthirsty I can be if you do not leave this instant."

Kol shrugged his shoulders and completely disregarded his warning. Kol threw himself into one of the chairs in front of the desk and sighed into his hand. "Yes, yes. I know you are a monster Nik, we all do. You're displays of power are enough reassurance no need to announce it."

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?" Kol knew better than to come and to waste his time before such a momentous occasion. Kol was smarter than that, so there had to be a purpose. There always was with Kol.

"I'm here to congratulate my brother had his big day!" Kol beamed up at him. "And…to announce that after tonight, well after the ritual I am departing for Turkey?"

"Leaving? Or running?"

"Running?"

Klaus laughed if there was one thing that he understood it was running. It had been doing it all his life. And Kol, he reeked of the stench of fear. He was scared that his big brother was amassing power and Kol was being left in the dust with all the others. Kol and Klaus had a peculiar relationship. One could compare it to a fencing match; the two were constantly trying to get the drop on the other. The two brothers were always trying to amass more power and skill than the other. Kol had his witches and Klaus, well, all he really needed was himself.

"Why yes brother," Klaus chuckled. "Finally admitting defeat? Ready to admit that I, your dear old big brother, am stronger than you?"

Kol frowned at him. "I refuse to coddle your ego. This obsession of yours with this curse will not help you anyways. Father will always—"

Klaus harshly slammed his hands down on the desk. He threw Kol a hard stare. "Father," Klaus spit the word like the curse it was, "doesn't stand a chance. Once I have ascended to my full strength it doesn't matter how much power Father or you gain. I will always be the most powerful! I will become the strongest creature on this damn Earth!"

Kol leaned away from him. His face was a cool mask as he simply rose from the chair and straightened out his coat. "I hope you enjoy that." And with that he was gone.

Klaus growled and swiped everything off the desk. He gave a loud shout as he broke the desk. The sharp crack that resounded in the room relaxed the hellfire that was burning within him. He would become the most powerful being in the world and no one would be able to stop him!

Klaus stomped on the broken desk.

He would! He would! He would!

"Are you ready?"

Katerina looked into the jade eyes of Rebekah and laughed. She really wanted to sneer, but she could not give herself away. Rebekah and she were playing one last game. Rebekah said she wanted to play because Klaus was going to take her away tonight. Katerina decided to amuse her.

No one was going to take her anywhere tonight. She and Carolina were going to escape and they were going to be happy. The plan was already in place and she could see what the Trevor meant when he said that the house would be madness. The hallways were filled to the brim with maid and servants rushing around. No one knew exactly why they were so nervous but there was something in the air that spoke of perfection.

Today demanded perfection and Klaus was being harsher than usual today. A maid was beheaded she heard the servants whisper and Katerina shuddered. That would not be her. Not today and not anytime soon.

"Ready!" Katerina answered. Rebekah laughed and tied the blindfold. She then felt Rebekah take a ring off of her finger and march away to hide it. Katerina stood there blind as she heard the ruffling of Rebekah's skirts somewhere to her right. It gave Katerina time to ponder.

How could this girl be related to the monster that wanted to kill her? How could one girl be so evil as to allow for her murder in cold blood? It mattered not that she was the doppelgänger and that her blood was the only one that could lift these monsters of their terrible affliction. She was as deserving of life as they were. She deserved to live.

The blindfold lifted from her eyes and she Katerina made a show of looking excitedly. She honestly did not care where the other girl hid her ring. To be honest she just wanted to leave the room and go and rest for a while, but she had to be here and put up pretenses like the rest of them. Katerina looked all around the room, she moved everywhere and lifted cushion and even bent to look under the couch of the sitting room, but she could not find her ring anywhere.

"Where is it?" Katerina huffed. Rebekah rolled her eyes and walked over to a table that held a vase of flowers. Rebekah lifted the ring and waved it tauntingly at her. "I looked there!"

"I know you did," Rebekah replied. "You overlooked it. That is one thing that I hope you learn from all of this, hiding in plain sight is the easiest but most efficient way of hiding."

Katerina nodded. She would remember to use that when she was on the run from them. "Thank you for this, Rebekah."

The other girl sniffed. Hiding in plain sight, Katerina thought, the best way to keep hidden.

She did not want to do this.

She really did not want to do this.

But it had to be done.

Rose walked forward, her hand nervously fluttering about her. She kept fixing her hair or patting down her dress or touching her face for blemishes that she knew would never sprout. Anyone who looked at her could tell that she was nervous and Rose tried had to quell the dark feeling that rose from her stomach.

She needed to do this.

Rose gave a few quick raps at the door in front of her and patted her skirt one last time. The door opened with a loud creak.

"Hello Caroline," Rose smiled, "I need to speak with you."

Katerina jumped from one foot to the other and Trevor followed the movement with his eyes. She was so beautiful that it was almost painful. She just radiated innocence and goodness. How could Klaus want to harm this angel? Because that was what she was; an angel. There was no way that she could be anything else. Doppelgänger and human were just covers an angel would use.

"Where are they?" Katerina nervously eyes the setting sun. "We went over this plan several times. They should be here by now."

Trevor gave his angel a loving smile. Look at her worrying about the wellbeing of those she needn't to. She was so kind. "Worry not, Katerina. Rose will take care of everything." He hoped that she would take care of everything. It would have been too suspicious if he had been the one to approach Caroline in her rooms. Besides with the way that Kol and Klaus sniffed around her Trevor would have been asking for death if he approached her room.

Rose came out with a hood over her head. She nodded minutely at Trevor and he smiled. Good, she did what needed to be done. "Come now, Katerina. We need to go."

Katerina looked at him aghast. "No, Carolina is in there! We need to wait for her! She is to come with us."

Trevor walked over to her and lifted her into his arms. "There is no time. You need not concern yourself with her any longer."

Katerina's eyes widened. She clutched his shirt so tightly in her small hands that they turned white. She looked wildly between the two vampires as she muttered no. She eyed Rose's hands and while they had no blood on them she knew that those were the hands that harmed her friend. "No, Trevor what did you do?"

"Kept you safe and sound." He leaned in for a kiss but she smacked his chest with her small fists.

"What did you do?"

"We should leave now Trevor."

The two vampire ran off at high speed away from the castle and with the girl that Klaus had spent so much time looking for.

Donatella looked down as the vampires flew through the forest.

She needed to alert Mikael that there would be a change in plans.

Klaus walked down the flight of stairs, he was rushing around trying to find the moonstone. He just needed to see it. He needed to know that everything would be alright. He had passed Katerina before he came here to his study, so he knew that she was okay. Trevor was by her side as instructed.

Klaus bent down and lifted a box from the chest in his study.

A sharp cry escaped his lips and he dropped the box. His head was pounding and exploding. He fell to his knees and he clutched his head. Klaus cracked his eyes opened to see his witch, Donatella staring down at him with the darkest look he had ever seen on her face.

"What is the meaning of this witch?"

"This is justice."

Author's Note: And that is all I wrote. I honestly forgot where I left off with this piece so I had to go back and attempt to understand where I was going with this, but now I remembered and so I wrote this. I hope that you all enjoyed it. Man, I started this story when I was in 8th grade and now I am a senior in high school. Wow, doesn't the time fly!

While I was away and I was trying to get back in the groove of things I began to work on that novel that I told you guys about before. Well if you guys want to, you guys can read some of it on Wattpad or FictionPress. The title of the story is called "The Void" and it is under my username Lady Noir on those websites. I am still working on it, you know writing and researching and editing and all that but still read it and tell me what you guys think.

So review and tell me what you guys thought of this chapter. Review and tell me how pissed you guys are that I dropped off the face of the Earth for 2 years and 4 months. Review and tell me something!