Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries - the original books were written by L J Smith and the TV show was developed by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson. This story is the product of their characters and world and my imagination.
This is set post TVD season 4 and is AU after season 4. It is not TO compliant but does use some aspects of TO. There is no Hope / baby storyline.
The story title comes from the song by Eve 6.
Now
"Did you know, some people think Katerina is lucky to have survived so long after what she did. They admire her for being able to stay one step ahead of Klaus Mikaelson himself. Those people are fools."
"She's not dead yet, though, is she?" Marcel coughs out, blood trickling from his mouth.
Klaus laughs, "oh, mate, your mistake is thinking that I want her dead. One day, of course, she'll meet an incredibly painful, lingering end. Still, a straightforward death is far too easy for one like her. Don't you think it's so much more torturous for her this way, to have to be constantly on the move, never sure she's safe, never sure when someone will give her location up to me in the hopes of gaining favour? Katerina might escape my gaze every now and then for a while – she does, after all, have a talent for evasion – but I always find her in the end. Always."
"What's your point?" Marcel asks, putting up a brave front that doesn't fool Klaus at all.
"My point?" Klaus muses, "well, it's simply a reminder that you shouldn't forget who you are dealing with. You, of all people, should know better."
He pauses for a moment, before continuing, "do you want to know what your mistake was, Marcel. You've made many, especially recently, but I'm talking about the one that has sealed your fate."
"What?" Marcel asks, still defiant even now, when every part of his body screams in pain.
"Your mistake was thinking I'd let you live after you touched her."
"You always said love was a weakness," Marcel reminds him, "and a baby vampire … that's one hell of a weakness."
"True," Klaus admits with a slight shrug, "of course, I imagine you'll make the perfect example to deter anyone who might consider doing something … unwise."
"Look at you," he continues, "once like a son to me. They will see what I do to you, see how I punish you even when I've got her back safely, and they'll wonder … if I go so far when Caroline remains whole, then what might I do if she were seriously injured, or if someone attempted to end her existence. What do you think I'd do, Marcel?"
His ex-protégé finally looks truly scared. Klaus delights in his fear.
"Now, I think we'll deal with the compulsions first. We'll begin, obviously, by ensuring you never take vervain during the rest of your miserable existence. And then, obviously, we will move on to what you'll do if you ever think about harming Caroline again."
"Klaus, please," Marcel whispers, finally resorting to begging.
"Oh, no," Klaus shakes his head, "you've had enough chances Marcel. This is the beginning of the end."
A minute or so later, the screaming starts.
One week earlier
"I want to know about my family," Hayley says.
Marcel eyes her carefully, "I can do that. It won't come free, though."
"I've got information. A name. Klaus will do anything to keep them safe."
"I'm not interested in trying to grab an Original," Marcel warns her, "too much hassle to catch them and far too hard to keep them."
Hayley shakes her head, "not an Original. A baby vampire."
Marcel's eyes widen, "I'm listening."
"I want your promise first. I want everything you can find on my family."
"I'll put my best people on it," he agrees, "Now, I want that name."
"Caroline. Caroline Forbes. She's from Mystic Falls, currently attending Columbia in New York."
Marcel grins.
Hayley feels a sudden spike of worry, a deep unease.
She passes over a scrap of paper with a scribbled address on it to Marcel, "this is where I'm staying. I want the information you promised as soon as possible."
She wonders if she's made a terrible mistake.
It's too late now, though. What's done is done.
Six days earlier
"Remind me why I can't go back to Mystics Falls and kill that wretched doppelganger and her brother?" Kol asks, "they did murder me, Nik."
"You got better," Rebekah reminds him with a roll of her eyes, "and it only took two and a half years, a dozen or so witches, twenty-three deaths and cashing in seven different favours."
"Worth it," Kol flashes her a sharp smile.
"I'm still not entirely convinced," Rebekah glares at him, "especially after what you did to my Prada handbag collection yesterday."
"Stay away from Mystic Falls," Klaus warns his younger brother.
Kol rolls his eyes, "is this about the blonde? I'll leave her out of it, Nik."
"Don't bother," Rebekah tells him, "he doesn't want to upset his precious Caroline and for some reason – clearly appalling taste – the cheerleader still likes the doppelganger."
"What was the point of bringing me back if you're just going to ruin all my fun?"
"Sometimes I wonder the same thing," Klaus growls.
"Well, I'm going out," Kol says, "maybe there's a bar nearby where I can find some amusement."
"Don't –"
"… go near Marcel or any of his territory," Kol interrupts Klaus, "I know, brother. Careful, you're starting to sound as stuffy as Elijah."
Klaus' expression turns murderous and Kol is out of the door before his brother can voice any of his usual threats about dismemberment and daggering.
"You're extra-tetchy these days, Nik," Rebekah notes, "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but why don't you go to New York."
"Not at the moment," Klaus murmurs.
He can't go yet. He doesn't want to upset the delicate balance he and Caroline have managed to find in their interactions. It's true that he's often considered visiting her, however she has been quite clear that she needs space and time to grow. Rarely has he bothered to keep promises, but Caroline is different … she's worth waiting for.
"Fine," Rebekah sighs, "I'm going to sort through my closet. My new shipment of couture is coming in soon and I've got to make room."
Klaus is left alone, his head full of thoughts of his favourite baby vampire. He picks up his sketchbook from the table, settles into a seat and begins to draw, the memory of Caroline's smile clear in his mind.
It's nothing like seeing her in person. Still, it will do for the moment.
Five days earlier
Hayley looks down at the information one of Marcel's minions had delivered just a few minutes earlier.
Andrea Labonair – her real name. Crescent Wolf Pack – her true pack. Jackson Kenner – her … betrothed.
She almost scoffs at that last part, but she feels a yearning too, to discover her roots and her family.
She'd planned to leave New Orleans as soon as she had her answers, in order to escape whatever hell Klaus will rain down on Marcel over his kidnapping of little miss perfect Caroline.
Now, though, she doesn't think she can go. Not yet.
She's probably got a little bit of time until Marcel acts.
And she's too curious to leave without investigating.
Four days earlier
"Sounds like you're enjoying yourself, love," Klaus says down the phone.
Caroline finds herself smiling. He's let her ramble for an hour and a half about her new Art History class, offering advice as well as anecdotes of his personal experiences with the artists she is studying.
"I am," she tells him, "I love New York."
He says nothing, but she imagines he's looking extremely smug. He is the one who pushed her to accept the place Columbia had offered (she'd applied on a whim) rather than staying close to home at Whitmore. While she misses her mom, she thinks this is the best thing for her, taking a step away from the drama of Mystic Falls and the 'Elena Gilbert Show' every major crisis in her hometown tends to turn into.
Klaus is … well, she's not quite figured that out yet.
They text, they talk on the phone and he regularly sends her trinkets that he thinks she will enjoy (as well as the padlocked mini-fridge he gave her as a graduation present, which has been a godsend for blood-bags).
It's different, away from home. He's less the Original Hybrid and more just Klaus. If she'd seen bits and pieces to entice her when she was back in Mystic Falls, then now she sees more and more someone she knows she could fall in love with, if she let herself.
Not yet, though. Caroline isn't entirely ready for what a real relationship with Klaus will entail.
She enjoys getting to know him, though, and she's glad of this chance they have to build a real connection.
"Where are you at the moment?" Klaus asks.
"Walking through Central Park," she tells him, "it helps clear my head sometimes."
"I'm glad. Have you been to the Central Park Zoo?" he asks.
"Not yet," she says, "I've never quite found the time."
"I think you'd like it," he tells her, "they have an excellent penguin exhibit."
Of course he remembers how much she likes penguins. She's sure that she's only mentioned it once to him, but somehow it doesn't surprise her that he's stored the information away.
It's on the tip of her tongue to invite him to visit the zoo with her. She's a little surprised by how much she wants to see him in person. There's a lot of things in New York that she's almost unconsciously avoided doing so far – a carriage ride, for example – because she knows deep down that they're things she wants to do with him.
It scares her sometimes, how much Klaus means to her.
She keeps in touch with Bonnie, Stefan, Matt and Elena to varying degrees, but somehow it is conversations with the dangerous Original Hybrid that make her smile the most.
Klaus remembers little facts that even Bonnie forgets. He doesn't try to convince her to get mixed up with Mystic Falls drama again like Elena does. He doesn't judge, only encourages. He keeps his word about giving her space to grow into her own person, while still managing to be a supportive presence in her life.
Sometimes she thinks there must be something wrong with a world where the planet's most dangerous creature seems to care for and understand her more than her friends.
"I'll have to check the zoo out soon," she tells him.
"You'll like it. Not quite the same as seeing them in their natural habitat, but New York certainly has better weather than Antarctica."
"No way," she shakes her head, "you haven't seriously been to Antarctica?"
It doesn't seem like Klaus' sort of scene at all, regardless of the fact that vampires don't feel the cold the same way humans do.
She can almost hear the amusement in his voice when he answers, "don't be so surprised, sweetheart. When you're as old as I am there's very few places, if any, you haven't seen."
"You never struck me as a snow sort of guy," she admits.
"It wasn't the most ideal of situations, but needs must. I was searching for a witch who was annoyingly hard to track and oddly fond of freezing climates."
Caroline ponders whether to ask if the witch lived through the meeting, but decides it's best not to ask.
"Come on then," she tells him as she heads home through the park, "tell me all about the penguins in Antarctica."
She lets his voice wash over her as she walks, enjoying the easy conversation.
A perfect way to end the day.
Three days earlier
Rebekah grimaces as she sees Klaus, eyes glued to his phone, lips curved into a soft smile that doesn't at all match up with his personality.
It's not that she really dislikes Caroline anymore. In fact, she's grateful to the blonde, whose exchanges with Nik always put him in a marginally better mood – he's not really more forgiving or less ruthless than usual, but he doesn't argue quite so much with her, Elijah and Kol, which is a nice change.
Still, she doesn't particularly enjoy watching her brother in love (because however derisively Nik has spoken of love in the past, she knows this thing with Caroline is real) when she's stuck alone. Marcel is a little traitor whose heart she desperately wishes to tug out, Stefan is still fawning over the irritating doppelganger and Matt, despite their summer together before she joined her brothers in New Orleans, is now firmly rejecting any connections with the supernatural (admittedly, probably better for his lifespan, but less so for Rebekah's love life).
However, there is hope growing in a small part of her heart she keeps tucked away.
Caroline is a good influence on Klaus. More importantly, Caroline is far more likely than Klaus, Elijah or Kol to understand Rebekah's desire for love, her craving to have someone by her side for eternity.
The blonde cheerleader from Mystic Falls that Rebekah had once been jealous of and irritated by is now someone who could grow into a friend, someone who might be willing to help Rebekah get her own happy ending.
Within the bounds of Mystic Falls, she and Caroline Forbes were enemies turned occasional allies. Now, Rebekah hopes she might one day have a true friend and sister.
Two days earlier
Caroline goes to the zoo on a Thursday afternoon when she has no classes.
When she hands over her card to pay for her ticket, she's momentarily confused when she's asked to come into the office instead. As soon as she spots the nervous but eager to please smiles on the faces of the two employees she meets, she knows exactly who is responsible for this.
Klaus.
They explain that the esteemed Mr Mikaelson has recently made a generous donation to the zoo and has asked them to look after Caroline when she visits.
She almost sighs at his meddling, but at least it's for a good cause – Klaus' idea of a generous donation is sure to be at least six figures and it'll be a wonderful thing for the zoo.
In the end, she can't complain. She gets the VIP experience, with various zoo employees giving her personal tours of the exhibits, a trip to see the penguins up close and a pile of merchandise that includes an adorable fluffy penguin that she decides to christen Klaus simply because she thinks it will be funny.
You didn't have to, she texts to Klaus with a selfie of herself with two baby penguins, but I'm really glad you did.
Delighted to hear you enjoyed yourself, love, he replies, and pleased that the zoo acquitted themselves well.
Caroline makes sure she lets the zoo know how much she has enjoyed the trip, if only to give them some peace of mind. She imagines Klaus had probably been more than a little intimidating even with his massive donation.
She scribbles a few thoughts and observations about the trip down on the back of a postcard she's picked up from the zoo, planning to post it to New Orleans as soon as possible.
Most of her friends think postcards are pretty lame in the age of the internet and smart phones, but there's something about writing things out that Caroline enjoys and finds quite calming.
Besides, she's pretty sure Klaus will appreciate it. He always appears inordinately and sincerely interested in everything she has to say, however minor – it's one of the things she likes most about him.
She's not entirely sure how much he'll appreciate the labels (naming him, Rebekah, Elijah and Kol) she's put on the postcard photo of four penguins snapping playfully at each other, but she isn't quite able to resist.
Maybe she should be concerned about how comfortable she's gotten with Klaus, how she feels safe enough to tease him.
She's not worried, though. She's only happy.
Thirty hours earlier
Caroline doesn't fear walking through New York in the dark the way humans often do.
She's more than capable of handling a human assailant, and the supernatural creatures of the city never seem to come near her.
Klaus' involvement, she suspects. She'd be irritated with his interference if she didn't find it reassuring to know that any vampire, witch or werewolf will think twice before trying to attack her. She's not entirely helpless but she's also not foolish enough to think that she's capable of taking on an older or more powerful creature.
Something feels off right now, though.
She's walking through the park, a route she takes most nights when she wants to get some fresh air and think.
There isn't anything she can actually put her finger on, but her senses are tingling. She tenses, hands feeling in her pocket for her phone. She dislikes playing a damsel in distress, but she has enough sense to ring Klaus if things go badly wrong.
However, before she has time to send even a brief text, or just try to call Klaus, a heavy weight slams into her from the side.
Caroline likes to consider herself to be a pretty good vampire, all things considered. It's true that she's killed, and most of those deaths weigh on her conscience, some more than others. Still, she hasn't got a problem with acting in self-defence. She likes living, thank you very much, and fully intends to continue doing so for as long as possible.
She lashes out without even looking at her attackers. She's young and untrained, but she's determined to fight.
Elena had sounded confused when Caroline had once mentioned that she carried a stake and a vial of vervain everywhere she went. Considering all the trouble that seems to find Elena, it irritates Caroline that her friend hasn't even considered taking some basic precautions, probably so used to Damon and Stefan's almost suicidal determination to keep her safe that she relies on it.
(when Caroline mentioned the weapons she kept on her person to Klaus, he had only been proud, had even sent her a number of custom-made holsters and a few jackets with hidden pockets to store any stakes).
Now, Caroline is grateful for her paranoia and preparation. She manages to stake two of the attacking vampires and toss vervain all over another before they even realise she's armed.
Unfortunately, they get more violent then, clearly realising it won't be entirely simple to take her down.
She moves through them with a fair amount of grace, grateful for all the gymnastics she'd done as a cheerleader, but they are warier now and it's hard to get near them with her stake.
She ducks out of reach of one assailant and narrowly misses running straight into the arms of another. She moves forward with her stake in hand and feels a victorious rush of triumph when she manages to swerve unexpectedly and shove the stake through the heart of a short, stocky vampire.
Still, it's clear she's fighting a losing battle. She's surrounded by almost a dozen vampires and while such a fight would be child's play for an Original, it isn't good odds for Caroline.
She doesn't stop, though. She refuses to give up.
In the end, she is simply overwhelmed.
Caroline feels hands on her neck and knows what is coming. Nevertheless, in the few moments before the hands wrench and her world goes black, she takes some comfort in knowing that a number of her attackers won't be getting back up again.
Twenty-six hours earlier
Caroline wakes with a crick in her neck that is irritatingly familiar.
She takes a brief moment to ponder how much she really, really hates having her neck snapped.
And then she lashes out.
She knows instinctively that she's unlikely to be able to escape, considering she's surrounded by vampires and who knows what else, but at least she might be able to do some damage.
The shower of vervain that hits her almost immediately makes her body scream in pain, but she refuses to give her abductors the satisfaction of making a sound.
She blindly hits out at anyone that comes near to hear, wishing she still had hold of her stake and making a mental note to start carrying at least two of them at all times as soon as she gets out of this predicament.
Because she will get out of it.
Someone comes near her, their heartbeat and the chanting coming out of their mouth telling her they are a witch.
She grabs her head as the aneurism builds, unpleasant flashbacks of being attacked by the witches at graduation filling her mind.
She lunges forward and shoves her hand into the witch's chest, violently pulling out their heart. The expected guilt doesn't hit – she's sorry that she's had to kill but she refuses to apologise for defending herself.
Her reprieve is brief, however. There are more witches, and these ones have the sense to stay far enough back that she can't work through the pain to attack them.
As she slips into unconsciousness for the second time in a few hours, she swears she's going to make this group, whoever they turn out to be, pay dearly.
Twenty-three hours earlier
The message comes to his phone.
A photograph of Caroline, slumped unconscious in a chair and covered in blood. A brief message – I have your blonde. If you don't give me acceptable terms in 24 hours then she dies
He almost crushes the phone in his anger. Instead, he settles for destroying the room he's in.
(it's probably a good thing that it's only the kitchen – Elijah would have been very put out if he'd damaged any antiques).
His siblings rush down to discover what's happened, eyeing the destruction with irritation (Elijah), concern (Rebekah) and impressed (Kol) looks.
Klaus passes his phone to Rebekah, the one most likely to understand the seriousness of what has happened.
Rebekah reads the message and watches him warily. She's the only one of his siblings who knows that he and Caroline text and talk on the phone fairly regularly, attempting to get to know each other outside of the chaos of Mystics Falls. If his feelings for the blonde baby vampire had been strong in Mystics Falls, they've only grown more so since she moved to New York to attend Columbia.
Marcel doesn't have a clue what he's done.
Rebekah passes the phone to Elijah, who looks at the screen with a furrowed brow, "is that … Miss Forbes?"
Kol looks up, interested, "the delicious blonde from Mystic Falls?"
Klaus' incensed gaze turns onto his younger brother and Kol lifts his arms up and backs away, "relax, brother, just an observation."
Elijah watches Klaus with curious eyes, trying to figure the pieces of the puzzle out in his head. Rebekah eyes Klaus warily. Kol decides the amusement he'd get from teasing his brother further isn't worth the risk of having an organ or two ripped out.
Klaus tries very hard to keep a handle on his currently tenuous control.
He's furious, not only with Marcel, but with himself as well. He's drawn out the situation in New Orleans for his own amusement. At any point he and his family could have had gained full control of the city, but he has allowed things to move slowly to prolong the game and make Marcel's defeat even sweeter.
He almost never looks back and thinks he could have done things differently, but now he feels a rare stirring of something approaching guilt. He should have foreseen that Marcel might get desperate, but he has done so much to ensure his links to Caroline are buried that it is an unpleasant shock to realise his ex-protégé has discovered her.
Whoever it is that has given up Caroline's name will severely regret it.
Now is not the time for remorse, though.
"Bekah, Elijah, I want every decent contact you have, especially the witches, and find out who gave Caroline's name to Marcel. Kol, I need you to go and fetch the Bennett witch – I'll forward Marcel's text to you for proof if she doesn't believe what's happened. We'll need her to deal most efficiently with Davina."
"And then what?" Rebekah asks.
"Then," Klaus says with a twisted, cruel grin, "we get ready to remind Marcel of exactly who is in charge here."
Twenty-two hours earlier
Kol, waiting impatiently for the car that will take him to the Mikaelson private jet, frowns at the expression on his brother's face, "why on earth are you smiling, Elijah? Nik's on the warpath and it looks like you're going to have to get blood on your suit."
Rebekah eyes Elijah carefully, "you're pleased," she says.
"Why is he pleased?" asks Kol, "ever since I've been back he's been droning on about negotiating a bloodless peace in New Orleans. Now we'll be lucky if the whole city doesn't get razed to the ground."
"It's Caroline, isn't it?" Rebekah guesses, "you're still stuck on this whole idea that Nik can be 'saved' and you think she's the one to do it."
"I've never seen him like this about any woman," Elijah admits, "it's true that it gives me some hope."
"Nik's never going to change," Rebekah warns, "not really. Perhaps Caroline will soften his edges, but that's all. She liked him in Mystic Falls after all, even when Nik was trying to kill all her wretched friends."
Elijah says nothing. If he is being honest then even a softening of Klaus' edges is almost a miracle, a boon he has not expected.
Caroline Forbes matters to his brother. From the little he remembers, Elijah believes she will be a good influence on Klaus, and he thinks she might be able to unite their family in a way they have not been since their earliest days.
Family is everything to Elijah, and if he has to destroy this entire town to preserve his own then he will do so without hesitation.
Twenty-one hours earlier
Caroline wakes chained to a chair.
For a few moments she has to will herself to be calm, fighting back flashbacks of being in a similar position when her father tried to 'cure' her.
She tugs experimentally at the chains, but they don't move at all, and she can feel the hum of magic surrounding them. Not anything she'll be able to break out of herself then.
She lifts her head to see a vampire watching her intently and curiously.
There are others scattered around the room, but Caroline has always been good at sensing the power dynamics in a room and she knows the rest are not of any real consequence.
"Who are you?" she asks.
She wants to shout at him, to threaten and bare her fangs. That won't get her information, though.
"Marcel," he tells her, "King of the French Quarter."
She can't help but snort. She doesn't know much about what is going on in New Orleans, although Klaus has alluded once or twice to a power struggle. She gets the impression he's been taking his time before he crushes all his opponents, but clearly this Marcel isn't quite ready to concede.
Marcel looks angry at her dismissiveness. Caroline doesn't particularly care. She is clearly some sort of leverage to be used against Klaus, so he won't be trying to kill her quite yet. Besides, having tangled with the Mikaelsons in Mystic Falls and flirted with the Original Hybrid himself, the vampire in front of her just doesn't quite measure up.
"I do hope my informant was correct and your presence here as my guest will make Klaus Mikaelson see sense," he says, "otherwise you will have outlived your usefulness. I imagine there are a few of my people who would enjoy watching your death, considering what you did to some of their friends."
"Oddly enough, I don't like been attacked without provocation," she retorts.
"Hmm," he gestures to one of the vampires to his left, who flashes her a nasty smile before tossing a bucket of vervain in her direction.
She manages to twist enough to keep her face dry, but enough of it hits her back to make her let out a short scream.
Marcel laughs and she turns to glare at him, "Klaus is going to kill all of you."
She says it with the conviction of someone who is absolutely certain. Klaus will come, but if Marcel thinks he's got the upper hand then he's entirely mistaken.
Marcel laughs again, but he doesn't sound as carefree as before. She thinks she might have spooked him a little.
Good.
Nineteen hours earlier
Elijah presents himself at Marcel's compound, eyeing some of the riff-raff that hang around with distaste.
"I have a message for Marcel from my brother," he tells them, keeping his distance to ensure his suit remains immaculate.
Marcel comes out after a few minutes with a wide grin that suggests he really does have no idea how much trouble he's in.
"Elijah, come with Klaus' terms already?"
"Hardly," Elijah sniffs, "Niklaus simply asked me to deliver a message. Return Miss Forbes immediately and he will ensure your death is quick and painless, out of respect for the friendship you once shared."
Marcel laughs, "he's kidding, right?"
"No," Elijah answers shortly, "he is not."
He sees the first flicker of unease in Marcel's eyes, but the younger vampire tries to cover it with bravado, "I'm sure he'll come to see my point of view as the clock ticks on. His little blonde won't be going anywhere until I have some acceptable terms."
Elijah sighs in a put-upon way, "very well, if you must make it difficult then so be it."
He turns and leaves without another word.
Marcel isn't even two hundred, not a baby vampire by any means but still young. So many vampires nowadays seem to forget to whom they owe their allegiance. It is an unfortunate state of affairs that has come about due to their need to constantly evade their father's wrath, but Mikael is gone now, and the time really has come to remind the supernatural world of exactly why his family is feared across the globe.
Seventeen hours earlier
"The little were-slut Hayley Marshall was seen visiting Marcel's compound about a week ago," Rebekah tells Klaus, "I compelled one of Marcel's daywalkers and he told me the wolf traded Caroline's name for information on her family – apparently she's some sort of wolf princess."
Klaus' eyes darken, "well, that information won't do her any good now. Pick her up, Bekah, and secure her for us to deal with later."
Rebekah grins, "it's been such a long time since we all worked together to break someone. I'm sure Elijah will be thrilled for us to have a family bonding activity."
She's probably right. For all Elijah likes to project an image of nobility, he's just as comfortable with violence as the rest of them, perfectly willing to get his hands dirty in order to protect their family.
"The wolf is going to wish I killed her quickly along with the hybrids she betrayed," Klaus growls, his eyes flashing gold.
One day, Rebekah thinks as she goes to ensure Hayley will be unable to escape her captivity while they are busy arranging Caroline's rescue, people are going to stop thinking they can outmanoeuvre the Original Family.
Until that day comes, though, she is more than happy to dole out painful, lingering lessons to those that cross them.
Sixteen hours earlier
Bonnie Bennett greets him with an aneurism.
It hurts, of course, but Kol has plenty of experience with witches and he's learnt to focus through the pain to achieve his goals. It only takes a few moments before he's got his arms around the witch's neck and she's stopped tossing magic at him.
"You're dead," she hisses.
"It didn't take," he says, grinning when she tries to elbow him but can't quite manage it.
"I won't let you hurt Elena," she tells him.
He rolls his eyes, "I've no idea what everyone sees in this tedious doppelganger, I'm sure I'd be doing the world a favour by getting rid of her. Alas, my brother insists I leave her alone."
"Elijah?" Bonnie asks, clearly thinking of his brother's appalling soft-spot for the doppelgangers.
"Nik, actually. He wants to stay in pretty Caroline's good books and for some bizarre reason she likes the murderous little doppelganger – personally, I give it five years before she doesn't care anymore, maybe ten if she's being particularly stubborn."
"Speaking of Nik's blonde obsession," Kol continues when Bonnie stays silent, "I've come to fetch you for a little trip."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Bonnie spits out.
"Not even to save your friend?"
"What have you done to Caroline?" Bonnie growls at him, her fury making her magic crackle around her.
It's very invigorating – he does love a good show of magic – but, alas, not something he can explore right now.
"I haven't touched her," Kol says, "unfortunately, an old acquaintance of my family has stupidly decided she'd make the perfect leverage against Nik. We'll disabuse him of the notion that he can think to best us with or without you, but Nik thought it would make things easier to have a Bennett witch around, as our opponent has a powerful witch of his own."
"So, this is Klaus' fault," Bonnie frowns.
"I wouldn't start portioning out blame and fault here," Kol tells her, "your lot aren't the most moral of characters – you put that doppelganger on a pedestal and never seem to care that she and her brother killed me and my entire line of vampires in the search for a cure that she never even used, a search that also ended up raising Silas."
The witch looks very much like she wants to retort, but she says nothing, clearly unable to come up with a proper argument.
"Let me pack a bag," she mutters.
He releases her with a sharp grin, amused as she complains mutinously about him and his family as she grabs a few things inside her house.
Such a fiery little thing. He rather hopes she sticks around for a while once they've rescued Nik's blonde obsession. It's always amusing to play with witches. Between that possibility and the knowledge that he'll get to use his new baseball bat soon enough on both Marcel's men and, from what Rebekah's voicemail suggested, a traitorous little wolf, it's shaping up to be an excellent week.
Fourteen hours earlier
"Kol is on his way back with the Bennett witch," Rebekah reports to Klaus, "and the wolf is secure."
Klaus nods and turns to Elijah with an expectant look on his face.
"Any of our contacts close enough to arrive in time will be settling around the edges of the city to catch any of Marcel's people who attempt to flee."
"Good," Klaus says, "remind them there is to be no mercy. I've dealt with the witches to ensure they won't interfere."
The witches had been belligerent to begin with, unwilling to deal with him despite their weak position. Ripping out the throats of some of the most combative and threatening the families of the rest had given them enough incentive to accept his instructions without further delay.
Caroline probably wouldn't approve of his methods if she was aware of what he was doing, but she knows him well enough to realise the lengths he would go to in order to ensure her safety.
His baby vampire is going to enjoy a true eternity and he will destroy anyone and anything that puts her immortal life in jeopardy.
Nine hours earlier
Klaus rips through a dozen of Marcel's nightwalkers with vicious brutality.
It's nothing Marcel won't expect, but it sates a little of his bloodlust and reduces the numbers who will block his way to Caroline when the time comes.
It's merciful, really, to kill them quickly and relatively cleanly. Those who are in his path when he gets to Marcel's compound will suffer far more, while Marcel himself will be enduring the most exquisite tortures for decades to come.
It's been a while since he has enjoyed such a slaughter. There is more of a need to be careful these days, with CCTV, camera phones and other technology.
Here in New Orleans, though, in the supernatural city he and his siblings built, things are different.
And Klaus is looking forward to reminding Marcel of exactly who New Orleans belongs to.
Seven hours earlier
Bonnie is ushered into a study as soon as she and Kol reach the Mikaelson home. There are a few plates of food and a desk full of ancient grimoires.
She doesn't expect pleasantries from the Original Hybrid and she doesn't get them.
"Eat and study," Klaus orders her, "we'll be heading out in just over six hours."
She's thankful that he leaves then, wishing to spend as little time in his company as possible.
Kol lingers, which puts her on edge, but he proves difficult to get rid of and eventually she just lets him remain, threatening him with aneurisms only when he interrupts her concentration.
He seems to delight in her displays of magic and she remembers hearing that he has a fascination with witches. It makes her wary of him, especially with how he watches her with covetous eyes. She tells herself that she'll leave just as soon as she knows Caroline is safe – despite Bonnie's hatred of Klaus, she knows he will care for her best friend, and she doesn't want to be around Kol any longer than she absolutely has to.
Admittedly, she is fascinated by the grimoires in front of her, aching for extra time to look through them more carefully.
Part of her wonders if they are trying to entice her to stay and work with (for) them. She doesn't imagine Klaus particularly wants her around, not when she is so opposed to his proximity to Caroline, but Elijah is practical enough to like the idea of a witch close to hand, and Kol apparently has a penchant for witches.
She won't remain here, though. She refuses to be beholden to the Originals, to watch as they play their bloody games with little concern for anyone but each other.
She just has to get Caroline out and then leave before she finds herself tangled up in something she'll regret.
Three hours earlier
Elijah watches Klaus pace around the room, wearing an expression of barely concealed rage.
He knows his brother wants to leave now, to get to Miss Forbes as soon as possible.
Still, he has agreed to wait a little longer, to allow the Bennett witch to familiarise herself with a few of the more obscure spells in their collection of grimoires. There are a number of witches who owe their loyalty to his family on standby, but the Bennett witch is the most powerful, not to mention well motivated by her desire to save her friend.
Elijah only hopes Marcel doesn't do any permanent damage to the blonde vampire from Mystic Falls. With enough witches it is possible to reverse almost anything, but in such circumstances Klaus' rage would still be likely to span continents.
He sighs quietly to himself and wonders when creatures like Marcel will learn of the futility of tangling with forces far beyond them in power.
One hour earlier
Caroline stays silent, refuses to engage with any of Marcel's attempts to talk to her, even if it results with another spray of vervain.
She bides her time, waiting patiently.
She'll be free soon enough, and then she'll have her pound of flesh from Marcel.
Half an hour earlier
"Remember witch," Klaus warns as they head towards Marcel's compound, "your focus is on disabling Davina in whatever way you can."
"I don't want to kill her," the Bennett witch insists, "you've told me she's brainwashed – I have to at least try and help her."
Klaus has his hand wrapped around her neck in an instant, fangs on full display, "Davina is fanatical about Marcel. She's a danger that needs to be eliminated as soon as possible."
Bonnie shoves him away with her magic, "she's just a kid."
"She's a threat," Klaus counters, "one who knows Caroline's face and will want revenge for Marcel's death."
He's hit on just the right thing to persuade the witch around to his point of view. Despite their difficulties when Caroline was first turned, and however much Bonnie Bennett hates Klaus, she won't let her best friend die just to save another witch she's unconnected to.
"Fine," Bonnie bites out, angry and guilty but resigned.
"Do not betray me, witch," Klaus warns, "or I'll make you wish you were dead. Caroline would mourn you, I'm sure, but eternity is a long time and she'll forgive me eventually."
Bonnie wishes she could disagree with him but, irritatingly, he's probably right.
She tries not to think about how much that scares her.
Fifteen minutes earlier
Kol tears out the throat of one vampire, spinning to the side to pull out another's heart. He bashes the head of a third in with his baseball bat before pulling out their heart for good measure.
He is in his element in this chaotic, bloody carnage and he loves it.
Ten minutes earlier
Bonnie faces off against Davina, who looks barely seventeen but whose magic is some of the most powerful Bonnie has ever seen.
She doesn't want to kill the girl. She wants to give Davina a chance to build a life away from Marcel, to see joy in magic rather than just death.
But Bonnie knows that Klaus won't let the young witch live, won't allow such a threat to Caroline to exist. And Bonnie wants her best friend to be safe, even if she would prefer her to stay as far away from Klaus Mikaelson and his twisted family as possible.
If he gets the chance, Klaus isn't likely to make Davina's death easy. Bonnie cannot save her, so the least she can do is make her death as quick and painless as possible.
"I'm so sorry," she tells the girl as she pushes all her magic at the younger witch, chanting a spell she found in one of the grimoires the Mikaelsons owned.
Davina fights back, but Bonnie has more power. It takes a few minutes, but her spell prevails in the end.
They both drop to the ground. Only Bonnie gets back up.
"Good job, darling," Kol crows as he enters the room, swinging a baseball bat covered in blood and smiling like he's having the time of his life.
"Shut up," she tells him, "is Caroline alright?"
"Nik, Elijah and Bekah were facing off against Marcel a minute ago, so I imagine Nik is fussing over her as we speak."
She wants to stay and see for herself, but she knows if she does then she'll just end up wound further into the Mikaelson web.
"Tell her to call me," Bonnie says.
"Leaving already?" Kol asks, eyeing her with amusement, "didn't take you for a coward, little witch."
She clenches her fists and determinedly does not react to his words, "tell Caroline to call me," she repeats.
Kol shrugs, "very well, though I imagine Nik will keep her busy for a while."
Bonnie can't quite hide her disgust at Kol's innuendo and the wink that follows it.
She doesn't answer him, only turns and walks away.
She has to get out of this city, has to return to Mystic Falls and try to remember when magic was the pure joy of floating a feather in front of her laughing friends, rather than death and destruction.
It's times like this that she wishes they could go back to when they were all innocent and happy.
These days, though, she's got plenty of blood on her hands, and she has to live with that.
Five minutes earlier
Klaus cradles Caroline gently, tenderly, like something of immense value.
He looks at her in a way that makes her skin tingle, gives her a warm feeling inside. She doesn't think anyone has ever looked at her this way, with so much fierce, protective love.
"You came," she says, smiling softly.
"Of course I did, sweetheart."
As if there was no other choice, no other option but to battle through all of Marcel's army just to save her.
"I knew you would," she whispers.
It's true. Perhaps it seems arrogant, but she never doubted it. She's felt like second place her entire life, would never have dreamed of such a rescue even from her parents or those who are supposed to be her best friends. Klaus, though, she's known ever since they grabbed her that Klaus would come and find her.
She turns to look at Marcel, held still by Elijah and Rebekah's iron grips.
Caroline knows he won't die quickly and she cannot bring herself to feel bad about that.
"I want my chance with him," she tells Klaus.
He gives her a wide grin, fangs on full display, "and you'll have all the time you wish, love, I promise."
Rebekah shoves Marcel into a seat, while Klaus' older brother comes up to help Caroline stand.
"Go with Elijah," he tells her, "I'll see you later, sweetheart."
She lets Elijah assist her, reaching out to squeeze Klaus' hand quickly.
This isn't the reunion she's pictured so often, not even close. Still, she is very glad to see him in person, despite the circumstances.
They're just out of Marcel's complex, some of Klaus' minions already cleaning up the bodies strewn everywhere, when she hears Marcel begin to scream.
Caroline smiles.
One day later
She wakes in a soft bed, warm and sated on blood.
Klaus lies next to her, legs tangled with hers and one muscled arm thrown across her body.
She shifts slightly and, though he does not properly wake, Klaus pulls her closer, lips pressing against her bare shoulder.
There are a lot of things to think about. She wants to visit Marcel, to slake her monster's desire to make him hurt. There is also Hayley to consider, as she is apparently the one who gave up Caroline's name (something that doesn't surprise her at all, considering what the little traitor had done in Mystic Falls). She wants to call Bonnie soon, as well. And then she's still in college, still determined to finish in New York even though she knows Klaus will do an admirable job of trying to persuade her to transfer to Tulane.
For now, though, she won't think of any of that.
She'll just burrow further into the pillows and drift back to sleep with Klaus' comforting presence beside her.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.