[England/2024]

The air was brisk. English winters were known for being difficult but now they were in the age of central heating and warm clothes. It was much better than the cold winters that Katherine had endured when she was in France. She sighed and walked into the coffee shop.

The air was warm inside and smelled of fresh coffee grounds. The scent wafted over to Katherine and her stomach grumbled. Maybe a coffee or two would not hurt now that she was hear. Without thinking, her feet dragged her over to the counter where the baristas were busy at work. Katherine smiled when one of them finally noticed her and made their way over to her.

It was a quick transaction and in a matter of moments the warm cappuccino was in her hands. Katherine smiled as she slid into the seat at one of the many tables strewn around the room. She smiled and sipped her coffee. She was happy and she knew that soon enough she would be ecstatic. She would get everything that she ever wanted and make sure that Klaus what was coming to him/

Sure, her plan had not worked out the last time that she had went toe to toe against Klaus. But her and Elijah had made a critical oversight. Klaus was fucking crazy. They had underestimated how much the man could hold a grudge and how much that he hated Katherine. It was a simple mistake that had ruined their plans.

Well not anymore. Now they knew. Well, she knew. She had not heard hide or word about Elijah and so she knew that he was still daggered. It was difficult for Originals to move around without some noise being drummed up so that meant that Elijah was still asleep.

The thought of him with his greying skin alone in a coffin made something in Katherine clench. He did not deserve to be there. Lost and alone. Did they dream when they were daggered? Could he hear the rest of them and could simply not interact? It must be hell being gone from the world for so long and then waking up decades of even centuries later.

She had been told a little of what it was like when Elijah deigned to talk about it. But even then when he spoke about it was only in the vaguest terms. He did not want to go into detail about what it was like. She guessed that he did not want to burden her with the information.

Why did Klaus keep daggering his siblings when the main threat to them, Mikael, had long since died? Well he was a control freak, Katherine considered as she sipped at her coffee. He needed to be in control of everything and that included his family. The lack of danger did not negate that need. Hell, maybe it even heightened it.

The bell attached to the door chimed and Katherine did not bother to look when she came in. She could feel it. The magic that lingered around her was electric. It zapped the air and made everyone's hair stand on end. People raised their heads to look at her. Their eyes were drawn to her but they did not know why.

Power sizzled off of her and Katherine smiled. She had made a good ally and with this she could make sure that her and Elijah were never, ever bothered again. Klaus would get what was coming to him.

The power was making it's way towards Katherine and slid into the seat across from her. The witch sat with a straight back. She was strong and dignified as someone from her line should be. The witch placed her hands on the table, lacing her fingers together before giving a smile to Katherine.

"What no drink for me?" she asked.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You have money. Go buy your own drink." She gestured to the counter with her cappuccino and smiled at the witch. Banter was something that she missed. There were only two people in the world that could keep up with her quick tongue and that was Elijah and Caroline.

Elijah always knew what to say and when to say it. He loved the word games that they would play with one another. It was always a battle of wits between them and it tantalized them both, smoldering them with heat until the tension became too much and they had to settle themselves in the bedroom. Caroline was just mean and she gave back as hard as Katherine did. It was fun knowing that she could be her meanest and Caroline would not recoil or rebuff her.

But they were both gone now. Caroline had made her choice centuries ago and now Elijah was locked away. So she had to settle with the likes of the witch. She smiled and the witch rose from her seat in order to go and make an order. The baristas were just as fast for her as they were for Katherine and the witch returned to her seat in a matter of moments.

"So how is your thesis going?" Katherine asked. The witch smiled and played with a plastic stirrer in her cup.

"Oh you know, as well as it can be. Learning about the secrets of cults in the Roman Empire is just as hard as learning about some closed practice magics in the present day."

"And our plan?" Katherine asked. The air around them became charged. The witch took a sip of her coffee and then placed it back on the table. Katherine licked her lips.

This is what she was waiting for this moment. The time when she would finally be able to get back at Klaus for everything that he had done to her. He took everything away from her. He took her freedom, he took her family, he took her best friend and he took her lover. He would pay for leaving Katherine with nothing.

The witch smiled. "Our plan will go along just as we planned."

No one backed Katherine into a corner.

There are rules that Kol lives by. Tenants that he will not budge on that even under the threat of death he would never surrender. One of those tenants is the fact that expression is bad magic. Expression was dark magic that did not draw on nature but on death. It was magic that was powerful. Kol could not deny the power that the witches that practiced expression gained, but the magic was dark and led witches down horrible paths.

And horrible paths always meet horrible ends.

And Kol was one of those horrible ends.

The witches did not even have a moment to consider how they got to this point. Kol could not allow them even a moment of respite or reflection. He had to ensure that they were all gone from the moment that he saw them. It was a bloody massacre. His hands and face were drenched red and the witches were dead before they knew what hit them.

One of the witches was whimpering on the ground, holding her neck where Kol had almost ripped out her jugular. She was going to die so Kol did not bother to finish her off. Kol looked down at one of the witches and began to wipe his face and hands on her clothing. It would be unbecoming of him to reenter society with blood all over him. That was a surefire way to make sure that everyone knew what he was.

"You monster," the witch gurgled out. Her blood was pouring out of her neck and mouth, staining her teeth red. But Kol paid her no mind. What he had done was for the good of this world. He did it so that Silas could not rise and others would not suffer under him. The world already had Kol and his family and did not need anymore monsters roaming about. "You know we are not the last."

"Oh, I know that there are more of you," Kol said rising from wiping his hands on the dead witch's clothing. HIs hands and face were tinted red, but that was nothing that a quick wash couldn't fix. "My friends and I make sure that none of your ilk ever make it to even phase one of your plans."

The witch laughed. But to Kol it sounded more like a death rattle. He could hear wind escaping from the tear in her neck. She would be gone soon enough. But then the witch looked at him her eyes sparkling.

"A new witch has joined our ranks. She is the most powerful expression witch to ever walk this earth. She will do what we could not and make this world come to its senses. She will release this world from your kind and give it back to nature," the witch said in between gasps. Kol tilted his head.

He had been hearing news about a new expression witch. If they were as powerful as the rumors and this witch said then this was something that needed to be dealt with and fast. The last thing that they needed was a witch of superior caliber working against them. Kol nodded his head and then leaned over to the dying witch.

"Oh, really? And where is this witch? Where is she so that I can kill her just as I have done here?"

The witch laughed at his words before coughing up blood. It seemed that she was not going to tell him. Well that was no problem. Kol had a network of witches that he could rely on to find this witch. And they would help him because they all knew the dangers of expression and the darkness that it brought into the world. They would end this witch before she could achieve her full power.

"Soon all witches will be free," the witch gurgled out. Kol could hear her heart in her chest slowing. Oh, so she was finally dying. She was done spouting out nonsense and being useless. Kol turned and walked out from the woods. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the first number that he saw. The line rang for two seconds before it was picked up.

"Hey, it's me Kol," he said.

"How did you get this number?" Caroline's voice answered from the other side of the line. "I haven't even given Klaus this number."

"Do you think that Klaus would let you go without keeping tabs on you sweetheart? He knew exactly where you are and what you are doing. He even knows who you associate with."

"That doesn't explain how you got this number Kol."

"It was a simple matter of looking through my brother's phone darling. And let me tell you since you have left him he has been making a lot of maudlin paintings. God, they are everywhere and it is getting quite annoying having to check up on him."

The line was silent for a second before Caroline shifted. "How is he?"

"As good as he can be. When you first left there was a line of women he slept with, but that ended as fast as it started and now he just keeps to himself and paints sad pictures of the two of you together. It is quite pathetic."

Caroline let out a laugh at that and Kol smiled. As odd as they started off it was good to hear from her. Kol sighed before he got serious. "Have you been keeping tabs on the witches like I asked you to?"

"Of course I have," Caroline said, sounding almost offended. "You know that something as important as isn't something I would ignore."

"Have you heard rumors of the new witch. The expression one?"

"I've heard rumors, but I cannot pinpoint where they are located. If there is one thing that this bitch is good at it is hiding."

"I think we'll need to get Nik and Bekah in on this."

The line went silent again and Kol knew that Caroline was considering his words. She had left Klaus years ago in order to find herself and he knew that she intended to return to Klaus when she was ready, but this was urgent. She sighed.

"Yeah okay."

Kol smiled. "Klaus is currently holed up in Greece. I'll send you all the details later." Kol ended the call and looked around the forest.

Another one of his tenants was only involve people when absolutely necessary.

He was in a fugue state.

He watched as his body moved from one side to the other, picking up paintbrushes and touching them to the canvas. He swipe and stroke was something that he had to do. His body ached for him to create, to make something out of nothing. It started off with dashes of blue and then turned into peach tones and whites. The white had to be off white in order not to take away from the blues.

Then there were reds and pinks and he watched as the painting came to life before his eyes. Before he knew it he was looking at a painting of a dancing Caroline. Her hands raised in exaltation and the smile on her lips very Mona Lisa-esque. It was both a smile and a frown at the same time.

Klaus came to himself when he saw the picture. He had not been thinking of drawing Caroline when he first set out to paint but it seemed that his mind was never far from her. Every moment that the two of them were not together was a moment in which his body and mind were tortured. He had never felt so close and yet so far from someone.

He pulled the canvas from the stand and placed it in the sun to dry. He sighed and wiped his hands on his pants. Never had he been so along before. His siblings were usually around him making a ruckus but the house was silent. Rebekah was off doing who knew what in Prague and Kol was having fun with the witches of whatever country he decided to play in. And Caroline.

It was hard not to pull out his phone and check the most recent picture that his vampires had sent to him. She had looked radiant in that last one. She was smiling a full, big smile that showed all her pearly white teeth and her eyes and nose crinkled in that cute way that it did. The photo was so clear that Klaus felt he could almost reach out and touch her.

But Caroline was gone. She had left, but said she would return. It had been years since he had slept alone in his bed and yet here he was with no one beside him. He did not think that being separated from one another would hurt so much, but it did. Caroline had taken his heart with him and with it all his sense. He sighed and walked into the kitchen.

And saw Kol and Caroline sitting at his breakfast nook.

The breath was stolen out of his body. Caroline was there. In front of him. In the flesh. He felt as thought his world was crumbling and being rebuilt all at the same time. She turned to him and looked at him with those blue eyes and smiled. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail leaving her face clear for him to examine.

Everything was the same from the last time that he had seen her. Her skin was clear of blemishes and scars and her lips were just as inviting as he remembered. Her clothing was short and light and Klaus wanted to snake his hands under to see what she was wearing underneath.

Kol whistled and then shook his head. "Are you just going to stare at Caroline all day or are you going to say hello to your brother?"

Klaus turned his eyes to his little brother and frowned at him. It was not that he was upset to see his brother. He loved having his family around and seeing them was one of the highlights of his existence, but Kol never arrived at his door with good news. Kol had always been the trouble maker and Klaus was the one to bail him out. Klaus tilted his head as he measured his brother.

"Now, Caroline I am happy to see, but you brother? Well what did you do this time?" Klaus asked as he went over to one of the cabinets. He grabbed three glasses and some alcohol. He knew that he would be needing it. As he prepared their drinks Kol talked.

"Well while you tried and failed to make hybrids I have been killing witches left and right to make sure that a monster stronger than all of us doesn't arise," Kol said.

He almost broke the glass at the mention of his failed hybrids. He had been trying for years to make hybrids but each time they did they went mad and bled out. It was maddening and no witch could explain to him why it was happening. Klaus presented the drinks to his guests.

"Oh really?" he said. Kol was not altruistic so there had to be something more to this than just wanting to save the world. Klaus looked to Caroline. She took the glass with both hads and made to sip at the drink. Klaus ached. God, did he wish that he was the glass in that moment.

"Yes really. And Caroline here has been helping me with making sure that we missed none of those pesky witches."

Klaus felt hurt. She wanted no contact with him, but was in contact with his brother? The world was cruel but Caroline could be crueler. He spared another glance at his love but she was looking down at the counter doodling nonsense with her finger. She sighed and Kol piped up again.

"We need your help Klaus. We need to find a witch in order to make sure that she does not rise up and release a monster that is worst than Mikael. We need your help," Caroline said. She finally looked up from the countertop and looked at him.

He could see how she had changed even in that moment. She was harder, tougher than she was before. Where the Caroline before would have stayed behind the lines and made plans; this was a Caroline that took action. She was not scared to get her hands dirty anymore. And it aroused something in Klaus.

"You need my help?" Klaus drawled. "But you seem to be doing so well by yourselves."

"Don't act cute Klaus," Caroline said with a pound of her fist. "This Silas character is nothing something to play around with. He wants the world at his feet and we need to make sure that it doesn't happen. He is powerful Klaus. Even more powerful than you."

His eyes darkened. "No one is more powerful than me."

"And we'd like to keep it that way," Kol interjected. "But we need to get rid of this witch to make sure that it stays that way."

Leaning back on his haunches Klaus shrugged his shoulders and then smiled at them. "Well I'm always up for a witch hunt."

Caroline smiled at him and it was like the sun was beating down on his face. The smile was warmth incarnate and Klaus reveled in it. Just as Klaus was about to say something else, his brain exploded with pain.

All three vampires went down on their knees in pain as their brains exploded with pain. An aneurysm. A witch's favorite form of attack. Klaus cried out just as Kol and Caroline did. He could hear footsteps in his house and his chest burned.

People were raiding his house? His home? He wanted to meet the people bold enough to do so. He struggled to rise to his feet with his blazing headache and turned to see witches cloaked in black standing outside of his window with their hands raised. If it was a fight that they wanted then Klaus would oblige.

Author's Note: Well everyone we made it. We are finally at part three! I am so excited to stop canon divergence and be making it up lmao. I hope that everyone loves the direction that this is going to take. There is going to be a lot of Klaroline and Kalijah in this part so get ready!