"Have dinner with me tonight."

Having just broken apart from a tangle of limbs, exhaustedly gazing at the ceiling, they both struggled to catch their breath. Caroline raised her head from the bed to look at Klaus. "What did you say?"

Both of them were still naked, the sheen of sweat from sparring and orgasms still glistening on them. Still staring at the ceiling, he repeated, "Have dinner with me tonight."

Pulling the sheet over her body, and looked furtively around for her underwear, desperate for a distraction from this suddenly intimate moment, any distraction. "It's a little late to go on a first date, don't you think?"

Having grabbed her bra, she headed towards the bathroom, swiping her panties off the floor on the way. Remaining naked during this conversation seemed too familiar, transforming it into a real couple moment. "It's just dinner, Caroline. Come on."

Shouting from behind the closed door, "You do remember I don't eat right?"

Pulling on his briefs, he leaned against the other side of the closed door, "But you can eat, you just don't have to, right?"

He heard a noncommittal grunt of assent, the bathroom door whipping open, with only her underwear on, she headed to the closet. Gliding past him, her skin still glowing from release, her blonde curls askew, he felt his breath catch. Gods, she's perfect.

"Would it really be so bad to have dinner with me? To get to know me? What are you afraid of?" His tone cajoled, even as it challenged.

Wiggling into a pair of jeans, she tried to change the subject. "I've been meaning to ask you about the clothes."

"What about them?" Leaning back against the wall, arms crossed over his bare chest.

Pulling on a T-shirt, she glanced at him condescendingly, "I know Rebekah and she's at least a couple inches taller than me, so who's clothes am I borrowing?"

"Who's clothes- Caroline, these are your clothes."

Snickering in disbelief while rolling her eyes, "I think I would remember owning about fourteen pairs of designer shoes."

"These, clothes, um, they were all bought for you. I contacted my staff before we came here, gave them your measurements and –"

She whipped back around to face him, "My measurements? Where the hell did you get my measurements?"

He smirked down at her, still only wearing his briefs, "I have an excellent memory."

"Uh- you mean from the table? You got my measurements from that?" Her voice hitching with disbelief.

"So are you going to have dinner with me?" Holding her hips in his hands, he pulled her against him.

Her breathing escalated, placing her hands on his bare chest, she felt lulled into his warmth and strength. She dropped her hands from his warm, inviting chest in order to concentrate. "Why do you want me to have dinner with me?" Stepping back from him, even with the modicum of space, Caroline still struggled to resist him.

"It's just dinner Caroline. We hardly spend time together, when we're not ripping off each other's clothes." There was a flash of insecurity in his eyes, but it was gone so fast, she was half convinced she'd imagined it.

Distance. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, "Who says I want to spend more time with you?"

He played his ace. "You know if I take you back to bed, I'll have you begging to have dinner with me."

Frowning at his innuendo that she lacked control when his hands were on her, she responded, "But it wouldn't mean anything, and you know it."

Pulling her closer, so she was completely against him, "Which is why I'm asking you now, with your clothes on. Because I want it to mean something." She tried to ignore the intensity of his gaze, feeling as if she were precariously posed on a cliff and one wrong move would send her teetering over the edge.

Rolling her eyes, pretending to be annoyed, "Fine, I'll have dinner, with you!" The yawning abyss of the unknown threaten to swallow her whole.

Kissing her lips, he released her, "That's all I wanted."

"Put some clothes on!" She shouted over her shoulder on the way out the door. His laughter followed her into the hallway.

Dinner? He wants to have dinner? Having a dinner date seemed pointless when they'd seen each other naked. But he wanted to do dinner? That was fine with her. She'd eat some bland food, make some small talk, make it through the awkwardness. Then she could get back to figuring out what the hell was wrong with her. Why can't I hate him?

Needing some space after their tangle of limbs, she went to find Marcel, she'd underestimated his relationship with the Mikaelsons, he was the eyes and the ears of the Royal family, and she was in desperate need of information. She found him in the courtyard, all evidence of the battle between Klaus and her erased. Sitting at an iron scrollwork table, his usually warm and mischievous eyes were distant, and he seemed to be reminiscing about something. Pulling another chair out from the table, the scrape of iron snapping him from his reverie, Caroline settled in. Marcel stiffened at the arrival of his queen and the carefully innocent façade she wore, was doing nothing to conceal her intent.

"So, who's Aurora?"

How is this my problem now? "I would have thought you grilled Klaus about that answer already."

She shifted in her seat, a slight rosy blush answering his question. She doesn't want Klaus to know she was jealous enough to ask. Mirth twinkling in his eyes, "Aurora is an old flame of Klaus's. She's almost as old as he is, one of the first vampires ever turned. But she's a functioning lunatic. Anytime Klaus attempted to move on from her, Aurora would brutally murder them."

Caroline studied her nails in disregard, as if she could kill me.

Snickering at her arrogance, "She's never faced a shield maiden before, and she always knew Klaus and she weren't destined for matehood, but she's convinced herself that they belong together anyway." He sighed in defeat.

"It's my fault she got so close, usually I'm careful about letting her anywhere near the compound, she once set fire to an entire wing of the house, but she snuck in during the commotion."

Marcel paused, his voice drifting again, Caroline interrupted his internal reverie, "What was he like when he was with her?"

She's transparent today, "Looking to compare notes? Why haven't you asked Klaus?" She shot him a dour look, why do you think?, "Because you don't want him to know that you're jealous enough to ask." He couldn't stop the amused grin that stretched across his face, her face becoming pinched in annoyance at his smile.

She shifted again uncomfortably. "I don't like the idea of Klaus being anymore than the vicious killer of legend in my mind. But, the more I know about his past the more confusing and paradoxical he seems. I know I shouldn't be asking you this, admitting any kind of feelings for him. But for some reason, I'm losing my resolve to dislike him more and more everyday and that's dangerous." She ejected gravity into the word, emphasizing the dangers of her and Klaus being together. Partially to convince Marcel, but also to remind herself.

Crossing his ankles, he casually stretched back in his chair, "Dangerous how?"

Rolling her eyes, as if the answer was obvious, "My aunts would never approve."

"Hmm, interesting. You didn't mention you hating him." His smug, satisfied smile grated. She opened her mouth to dispute his assertion, but he continued over her. Ticking off example on his fingers, "Your aunts Myst, Kaderin, and Daniela are married to vampires, your sister Emmaline to the king of the Lykae. Hell, your family tree includes, demons, werewolves, berserkers, and gods know what else by the end of the Accession. I'm not exactly seeing where your issue is."

She leaned forward placing her elbows on the table, throwing her hands up, placing her folded hands in front of her face, as if hiding her eyes would teleport her out of the situation. "Those are all recent for a reason! Our queen Fury, she's been missing for the last fifty years, sunken to the depths of the ocean deemed to drown repeatedly. Her prejudice against vampires is renowned, add that onto the fact that she wasn't exactly stable when she was sunken? It's begging for death. When she comes back, my aunts will have to run, and be chased for eternity by our unstable queen. I don't want to run, I love this city too much to be gone from it forever."

Marcel stretched his palms to the sky, folding them back to hold up his head, "This is something you won't have to worry about, Klaus would never let that happen. If your wish was to stay, he would do anything to make that possible."

Pushing back into her chair in irritation, she narrowed her eyes at Marcel, "You're implying that he would kill her, aren't you? I would have to chose between my aunt, Queen of all Valkyrie, and Klaus." Her voice broke slightly over his name, as if the thought was too painful to consider. Distance! You'll be gone soon anyways!

"Are you so sure Fury would disapprove? She had tremendous respect for Klaus before she was sunken. Plus, your sister Emmaline was part vampire and Fury helped raise her." His smug smirk had disappeared in the face of her extremely valid points

She dropped her hands down to the table, idly twirling her finger along the design, "Emma was different, and she wasn't immune to Fury either. When she was little she almost ran into the sun, Fury thought the best way to teach her to be more careful was to stick her hand into it." Marcel winced. "And that was done out of love! Demestriu was the one who sank her! You really think my Queen would be okay with me taking up with his nephew?"

Marcel sat forward, trying to give his queen some hope about her current situation, "Well Klaus isn't really his nephew…" He found none.

Caroline sent him a sour look, "The cards are stacked against us, not only with my aunts but, let's not forget I'm still a freaking prisoner! Tell me, Marcel, does any of that sound like a great start to a relationship?" She was huffing, having worked herself up.

Marcel knew he was on dangerous ground, Caroline's surprising vulnerability in seeking him out to vent to, indicated that she was faltering in her desire to leave after Mikael's death. Marcel didn't want to consider what would happen if Caroline refused to remain after, Klaus would go mad. He'd most likely stop her from leaving, damaging his relationship irreparably, "You know what I don't hear in these numerous problems you list? Him. You don't see him as a problem anymore. You would be open to a relationship with him if there weren't these outside factors." He gentled his voice, presenting the facts as he saw them. He knew he hit home when her mouth dropped open.

Snapping her mouth shut. She stumbled to deny it, "T-that's not what I'm saying."

Raising an eyebrow, "Then what are you saying?"

"Ugh!" Throwing her hands up again, "I honestly don't know. Let's talk about something else, literally anything else."

He smiled and paused, sending smoldering looks to a couple of female hybrids lingering on the edge of the courtyard, not daring to approach as long as their Queen was there. Hybrids still held on to the rigid class hierarchy of vampires, not inserting themselves into a conversation with their Queen until they were formally presented to her. The feudal system, had always seemed foolish to her, why hold on to something that had gone by the way side millennia ago? But vampires were stiff and unyielding creatures, their lack of heartbeat making them utterly logical and ruthless creatures, extremely resistant to change. When born vampires froze into their immortality, their heartbeats stopped, and sexual desire dwindled, until they met their destined Bride, made vampires felt the loss when the awoke as immortals. However, unlike vampires, Hybrids didn't feel their hearts stop when they transitioned into immortality and have to wait for their destined Bride to awaken them, their wolf side was too in need of touch and connection to go dormant. They could enjoy sex and food but waited for their mate as well. Hybrids clearly had a warmer approach to the class system, but still held onto some of the strict traditions of the vampires. Caroline was of the firm belief, that hybrids were more flexible because they were still able to get laid. Marcel was clearly not stingy with his affections. She raised an eyebrow at him, leaning back in her seat to observe the immortal, crossing her arms over her chest, "So how come you haven't found your mate yet?"

"Who says I haven't?" Damn hybrids and they're evasive answers.

"You forget Klaus isn't the first werewolf I've been around, I know how they act when they have a mate, I can make a guess." Gesturing to the twittering hybrids at the periphery, whom scattered at her movement. "Emmaline can barely leave the room without Lachlan."

His previous conquests disappeared, not wanting to draw more attention from their Queen, he sighed in disappointment, "With your keen powers of observation, have you noticed that no other hybrid has a mate? Until I heard that Klaus had found his, I was starting to believe we didn't get any."

"Didn't get any? Where did that ludicrous idea come from?" Mates and Brides were what immortals had to look forward to in their extremely long lives, to believe that nothing waited for them? Unheard of. Even Valkyries, who didn't have predestined mates, were waiting to be called to Wöden and Freyja's side to fight in Ragnarök, immortals were always waiting for something. To believe that the millennia of years lay ahead empty?

Marcel shrugged nonchalantly, "We are a made species, unlike born hybrids, like your sister, our two sides are at war. We are born werewolves and turned into vampires. Made into our greatest enemy. We may no longer have to turn on the full moon, and do not have to fear walking in the sun, but it seemed too much to ask that we also still get a mate. When I asked Klaus to change me, I accepted that I was probably giving up my mate forever."

Her eyes widened in shock, "You thought you were giving up your mate? Why go through with it?"

His eyes were shadowed, "It's agony to change every full moon, you break every bone in your body, you grow used to it over the years, the transition hurting less and less. But I couldn't wait, I didn't think I would survive another full moon. I had already been through such pain in my young life, I couldn't deal with more. Many of the hybrids stories are similar, werewolves with dark past looking for something to soothe their pain. Some hope the change will redeem them, erase the memories, others think we're the future of the Lore. It hasn't been easy controlling them all in Klaus's absence."

"So, you forfeited your mate. If you don't mind me asking, why go through with the change at all? You didn't think about ending it?" She gulped over the knot in her throat. I can't see him as a real person, why am I asking him questions? Why am I making it harder on myself to leave?

Marcel's eyes were full of pain, "Klaus wouldn't let me. He said to live your life for someone else was folly, you live for you first and then everything else will fall into place."

"He sounds like a good King." She muttered begrudgingly.

"He is. He's everything the legends say, but to a special few, he's something more." His voice turned wistful.

He started to say more, but his voice drifted off as one of the sentries from earlier entered the courtyard, bowing deeply to Caroline, "My Queen. Your king has sent me to tell you that it's time to get ready for your date." Caroline rolled her eyes at the unnecessary formality.

"You said yes? Damn, I just lost a bet." Marcel snickered.

Ignoring him, she stood to face the sentry "First of all, Thane," She dragged out his first name to prove her point, "my name is Caroline. Please spread the word that I don't like being called queen or majesty, or any of that nonsense, especially because I'm not your queen."

"Yet." Marcel added. Caroline shot him a dark glare.

"Second, I thought dinner was supposed to be at, you know dinner time?" She pointed to the descending afternoon sun, "It's like four o'clock."

Thane smiled indulgently at his Queen, King Klaus would never have been matched to a biddable woman, "Yes, my Qu- Caroline. But the king has arranged a special surprise for you before dinner tonight. It's awaiting you in your room." Caroline had no idea how important she was to the hybrids of the compound, not only as their queen, but for the effect she clearly had on Klaus. Though they were loyal to him, he was cold and calculating, and one never wanted to get on his bad side, but in the week, she'd been in the compound, Klaus had become a benevolent king.

Her eyes flashed silver so fast, she was embarrassed. Valkyrie's inherited acquisitiveness made the talk of presents an adrenaline rush. Coughing to cover her blush, she felt her eyes return to normal quickly, "Fine. It was nice talking to you Marcel."

Marcel bowed his head without getting up, "My Queen."

Huffing, she couldn't resist shooting a small bolt of lightning at Marcel, knocking him out of his chair. She just couldn't resist an attempt to wipe that smile off his face. Her plan failed as he didn't stop laughing even as she left the courtyard.

Entering her room, she was surprised to find it was completely empty, no presents tied with a bow, "Umm okay?" She addressed the room. She would have returned anything he'd given her, he couldn't buy her affection.

"You have an appalling lack of lingerie in here." Came a familiar voice from her partially opened walk-in closet. Caroline froze momentarily before bolting over to her closet.

Swinging the door open, she saw Katerina pawing through her clothes, "Kat?" She murmured breathlessly in excitement.

Pulling the recalcitrant sorceress into a hug, she released her quickly, remembering belatedly that the sorceress didn't like to be touched. She was shocked when Kat pulled her back in for another embrace. The sorceress returned to form a few seconds later, pushing stiffly out of the hug and resuming rifling through Caroline's clothes. "What - How are you - Did you escape?" She lowered her voice on her last question, wary of being overheard.

Katerina jingled her cuffs at Caroline, though no longer locked together, the cuffs still hindered her powers, giving her a Wonder Womanesque look. "No such luck. Klaus actually snuck me out, knocking out Elijah in the process. He mentioned it was a temporary break from his brother and that you probably wanted someone to talk to for a while."

"He did?" She tried to keep how touched she was by the gesture out of her voice.

She failed. Kat looked at her with a single arched brow, "Looks like someone might have to start getting used to being bowed to." Kat had clearly overheard her conversation with Marcel.

Kat continued pawing through the clothes, pulling out various outfits to comment, "Gods, I swear I wore this exact outfit in Salem in 1690." She tossed it over her shoulder, letting it fall to the ground. "You would think Klaus didn't want to get laid, buying you outfits like this." Another outfit flew over her shoulder to add to the growing pile. Caroline actively resisted the urge to clean the clutter accumulating.

She reached out to lightly touch her arm, "Kat, let's forget about Klaus for a second, I want to hear about you, we haven't had a chance to talk since you arrived with Elijah." Kat continued going through her clothes with her free hand.

She shrugged dismissively, "There's nothing to talk about. We escaped the mansion right as it lit up, but the second we were far enough away, I tried to give Elijah the slip." She still rifled idly through the clothes as if needing the distraction. "I didn't get far. Actually, met your Aunt Nïx, she walked into the Bayou and threw Elijah a duffle bag, 'Keep a better watch on your Sorceress.' Then with a strike of lightning she was gone. The cuffs were in the bag." Caroline's mouth gaped in shock, at her aunt's actions. Usually Nïx's actions had a purpose, but Caroline still felt uncomfortable that her aunt had contributed to Kat's current predicament.

"Oh my god- I'm so sorry Kat, I don't know what she was thinking." Caroline stuttered attempting to explain her aunt. "I wish I had a good explanation for her –"

Kat slipped from Caroline's hold, waving her hand in the air, as if Nïx's treachery was yesterday's news. "It's not that big of a deal, Care. I actually kind of let Elijah put the cuffs on me. I could have stopped him, but I didn't." Her blasé attitude wavered, the insecurity shining briefing in her eyes.

"What?!" Caroline yanked Katerina to face her, "Why?!" Her voice breaking in shock.

Kat bit her lip, "I don't know! I just- he had this look on his face when he realized what the cuffs would do. It was like hope, and I couldn't take it away from him, not again." The confession stumbled out of her, startling them both.

Caroline pulled Kat out of the closet, moving to the bed, sitting side by side, she turned to face her. "Kat, I know talking about things isn't really your M.O., but I think you need someone to talk to about this with, and I desperately need someone to talk about Klaus with. I'll be Elena if you'll be Bonnie?"

Kat pondered the idea for a second, before nodding her head slowly and reluctantly. She was new at this whole sharing her problems thing.

"Okay!" Caroline settled in excitedly, "So what's it like with Elijah? You've been locked in his room for two days; does he just sit there and scowl at you?"

Katerina sighed and threw herself back on the bed, arms above her head, scowling at the ceiling. "Sometimes he does, but mostly he paces, unless I can distract him." Caroline had no illusions that Kat was distracting Elijah with conversation. "It would be a much more interesting time if he would just do me already."

Caroline choked in shock, she'd forgotten how blunt Kat could be. "You're not…?"

"Ugh, no! He's refusing to let go of this ridiculous ultimatum to make me marry him first, he says he can't trust my word that I will give us a chance, he wants a commitment I can't wiggle out of." Her frustration apparent, her hands gesticulating her annoyance with Elijah.

"I can understand that, Klaus won't umm… claim me until I agree to stay after Mikael is dead." She fell down on the bed next to Katerina, two powerful immortals staring at the ceiling, shoulder-to-shoulder. "He says, he's waiting for me to accept that I'm his mate, and everything that goes with it. I just don't know if I can." She pulled at her cuticles in thought, a nervous habit she'd thought she'd broken years ago.

"Do I seem like someone who wants to be married? When Elijah first brought it up he told me I would have to learn etiquette so as to not offend his delicate vampire court." She attempted to mimic Elijah's ever-cultured manner, "'Katerina, you're simply not enough that I will just tell my advisors to go screw themselves when you inevitably offend them.' He should be more worried about what I'm going to do to them!"

"He told you, you had to learn etiquette?" Caroline could barely keep her laughter contained, trying to imagine that conversation. Kat was anything but proper, that was the very essence of her charm. You never knew what she was going to say or do next.

"Yes! Me! Learn etiquette? His little vampire kingdom needs to be brought into this century if he wants to have a fighting chance this Accession. That's another thing! He wants me to stop fighting, 'a queen should be demure and dignified'!" The little time they'd spent together when she was empowered, emphasized how important being a deadly sorceress was to Kat. Like she'd once told Caroline, she reveled in the fact that she was known as an immortal in which one does not fuck.

Caroline couldn't contain her laughter now, holding her stomach as she chuckled at the idea of Elijah saying this to Katerina. "I can't- oh my god – poor delusional Elijah!"

Kat elbowed Caroline in the side, "You're supposed to be helping me, not laughing at me!" Kat couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at Caroline's reaction, she could now see the ridiculous nature of Elijah's edict.

Controlling her giggles, "Maybe that's what he just thinks he's supposed to want. Elijah's old fashioned, in every sense of the word, maybe you should show him how much he doesn't want that." Caroline shrugged, might as well.

"And how exactly would I do that?" She inquired.

Again, Caroline had to smother her laughs, "Give him what he wants." As if it were the easiest thing in the world.

Kat turned to her side facing Caroline, her head propped up by her hand, "You mean, you think I should act all shy and demure?" She was offended by the very idea.

"Think about it, Kat! Look who fate paired him to! Do you think that if he really wanted a shy and retiring Bride, it would have picked you?" Kat frowned, so Caroline added, "No offense." Shifting her eyes to focus on Kat's face.

"Hmmm… you might have a good point there. What about you? What's holding you back?" Kat took on an uncharacteristic maternal tone.

"I know I'm not bound by mystical cuffs or anything, and I can go where I want in the compound, but I can't stand that Klaus is keeping me prisoner." Her voice didn't shake with rage as she expected, instead confusion at her predicament was clear.

"Isn't part of it to keep you safe?" Kat reached out to rest her hand on Caroline's arm comfortingly, withdrawing it quickly, surprising herself with her action.

"I'm sure some part of it is, but, I can't handle it when my choices are taken away from me. If I had the option to stay or go, I honestly don't know what I would chose, but I want the choice. My whole life has been dictated by my aunts, when Nïx said I was to lead my own mission to find the Mikaelsons, it was the first time I got to do anything without one of my aunts there. I love them but, I want the chance afforded to all other Valkyrie." She gestured towards the windows, indicating the outside world. "To do what I want, when I want. Go where I want, to be who I'm meant to be."

Katerina fell back on to her back again, sighing, "Speaking as someone who's done whatever she's wanted for the last six hundred years, I'm going to let you in on a secret. Going where you want, doing what you want? It means nothing alone." Her words heavy with dark memories of her past. "Are you sure that after everything is over, Klaus wouldn't take you anywhere you wanted to go?"

"I-I don't know. I just – I'm so confused about everything. I think I'm coming to care for him, but I'm scared shitless of what that means." She whispered the last, ashamed to admit the fear and her growing feelings out loud.

Both women jumped up from the bed to stand, as a roar shook the building. Kat looked at Caroline, a mix of anticipation and sadness glowing in her eyes, "Looks like my time is up."

Caroline pulled a resisting Kat into another hug, "I'm going to get you out of here, I swear, and remember what I said."

Elijah appeared in the doorway an instant later, wearing only a loose pair of sweatpants. His gaze was blurry and frantic, Caroline wasn't even sure he knew where he was, until he caught sight of Katerina. Like a snap, his eyes cleared and calmed a measure. "How did you...?"

Katerina moved to his side, her head bowed. "I'm sorry," Elijah's eyebrows snapped down in confusion, Caroline guessed it was the first time he'd heard those words from Kat, "I longed to see my good friend Caroline again, I hope you didn't worry." Laying it on a bit thick, Kat. Elijah was staring at the sorceress with utter confusion, and wariness.

She turned to Caroline and executed a flawless curtsy, "Queen Caroline."

Caroline bit her lip to keep from smiling, curtsying back, "Queen Katerina."

Kat swept from the room, heading towards Elijah's wing, leaving a gaping Elijah following behind her. Caroline smiled at their departure, before realizing she still had to get ready for her date with Klaus.

"Ugh! Kat didn't get the chance to help me pick out what to wear!"

She eventually decided on a black babydoll dress, the tulle giving her an ethereal look making her porcelain skin glow, adding wraparound black wedges, her legs looked a mile long. She was brushing her hair for a third time when a polite knock interrupted her. Why the hell am I nervous? He's seen me naked, this should be easy after that. Putting the brush down, she stopped herself from picking her cuticles as she moved to answer the door. Swinging open the door, her mouth dropped involuntarily at Klaus. Dressed in all black, he made a sinister figure, and she understood the way people deferred to him instinctually.

"You look gorgeous," he purred, pulling her gently into his arms and placing a sweet kiss on her lips, "I missed you today. Did you enjoy your present?"

Her head whirling with his scent, she struggled to form a coherent thought, "I did, thank you. It was good to see Katerina, to talk with her." She blushed a little, recalling their topic of conversation.

Releasing her, he dropped a slight bow, before extending his arm for her to link with. Taking a stuttering breath, she slipped her arm through his, allowing him to escort her into the courtyard. She gasped at the sight, strung over the courtyard were hundreds of twinkling white lights. Suspended above the single table with a white tablecloth and two white candles lit to set the mood. She glanced shyly at Klaus, "You did all this for me?"

He didn't answer pulling her chair out for her, letting her sit before taking his own seat. A sterling cart was placed next to them, various local delights stacked high. A glass of red wine was already poured for both of them, Caroline took a quick sip, trying to calm her nerves.

"Marcel helped pick out the cuisine, he knew my favorites and made educated guesses for you. How have you lived in New Orleans for years and never savored one of its most famous delights?" He began stacking various pieces of food, a small bowl of gumbo, steamed crawfish, and grilled corn on the cob with Cajun seasoning, onto both of their plates.

"Growing up with my aunts, never had the need." Valkyrie took sustenance from lightning, she'd never masticated even before she froze into immortality. She carefully moved to dip a large hunk of bread into the gumbo, as she'd seen tourists do.

"You were never curious?"

"I was, but if you don't eat, you can't imagine getting anything from food." She popped the morsel into her mouth and froze in shock. "Oh my god, this is…" She could barely describe the taste, and sensations occurring.

"It can be a bit overwhelming at first." He delicately dabbed at some gumbo lingering at the corner of her lips.

She locked eyes with him, and burst out, "Tell me five things I don't know about you."

He pulled his hand back, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Never mind, forget I said anything." She glared down at her food.

"You just took me by surprise, I would delight in telling you everything, only if you reciprocate in kind."

She straightened in her seat, "I ask you five and I answer five?"

"Twenty." He raised.

"Five." She replied mulishly.

"Fifteen." He compromised.

"Five." She repeated

"You need lessons on bargaining, love. Fine, five." He conceded.

"And no Klausian answers." She added.

"Klausian?" He raised on eyebrow.

"You know what I'm talking about, when you try to talk around answering a question." She popped another piece of bread in her mouth, her eyes almost rolling at the taste.

"Agreed." He waved indicating for her to begin, "Ladies first."

"Okay… what was your favorite time period?"

"The 1920s, the flappers, the booze, the music, the way the nation shook with temptation and illegality. You would have loved it. We were in Chicago for most of it, until Mikael caught up with us." His voice vibrated briefly with anger. "Tell me about your sister, Emmaline." He expertly cracked the crawfish on his plate, getting to the meat beneath the shell.

"Emma? Well, um, she's been one of my best friends for most of my life. She's a few decades older than me, but she was timid and shy, while I was gregarious and talkative. We complemented each other, and our foster mother, Annika, would run circles trying to outwit how I was going to get Emma and myself in trouble that week." She chuckled slightly. "She never managed to figure it out until we had to call for bail money. To be honest, I was shocked Emma didn't want me to come to Paris with her to find out more about her birth father. I guess she was destined to be kidnapped by Lachlan and kill Demestriu, so I guess it all worked out in the end." She couldn't hide the sadness in her voice. She stumbled through mimicking his motions with the crawfish, juice dripping down her fingers, before she managed to crack the shell.

"You miss her." He titled his head.

"I do. I miss my sister, but I don't want to begrudge her happiness. They're clearly in love, but I sometimes miss how things used to be, when it was just me and Emma against the world." She waved her hand to push away the nostalgia, "My turn, why does Mikael hate you so much? I know you're not his biological son, but his hatred seems to stem from more than that." She squeezed lemon onto the crawfish, experiencing the tangy flavor.

He glared down at his plate, completely silent.

"You don't have to answer –" Feeling guilty about bringing it up.

"I will, I'm trying to figure out how to say it." He gripped the iron sides of his chair, "I had two other siblings, Freya and Henrik. Finn told us about how father used to dote on Freya, she was the first born, and when she died from plague, Finn used to say he saw a part of Mikael died too. Then Henrik was born, the youngest of us, in Mikael's eyes he could do no wrong. We all doted on him, even me. So, when he asked, begged even, for me to help him sneak out to watch the nearby Lykae clan transition on a full moon, I couldn't say no." He cleared his throat as his voice started to break. "We were too close, and Henrik was killed. They spared me, I didn't know why at the time, but they smelled the wolf in me, I was too young to have transitioned, so they knew more about me than I did. When I brought back Henrik," he cleared his throat again, "I saw hatred burn in Mikael's eyes. He singled me out for torment and beatings, my siblings often rushing to my defense or running interference. It only escalated when my mother changed us into vampires, it became clear to Mikael I wasn't his biological son during the first full moon we were changed."

"I'm so sorry, Klaus." She thoughtlessly reached across to clasp his hand, catching herself, she pulled it back, "That explains why you and your siblings are so close."

He grunted in assent, "Let's pick a lighter topic, my turn, yes? If you could drop everything, and go anywhere where would it be?"

"Hmm." She paused, twirling a spoon idly in her gumbo, "To be honest, there's so much I want to see, I wouldn't know where to start. I want to see it all."

"You've never left New Orleans before?" He could barely contain his incredulousness,

"I've left the city but only as part of mercenary missions I would go on with my aunts. Never any place too far from the coven. My search for you was actually my first solo mission, and first time I'd left the country."

"There's so much art, beauty, and music just waiting for you, Caroline. I could take you if you want." The last said with a forced casualness he didn't feel. He could already picture showing her everything the world had to offer, seeing the world for the first time through her eyes.

Clearing her throat awkwardly at his intense gaze, "My turn, tell me about Marcel. I can tell he's different from the other hybrids, he's more family than loyal general."

"Ah, Marcel. Well, when we first wandered into the colony for New Orleans, we were invited to stay at the mayor's plantation on the outskirts of the city. On the ride up to the main house, we save a young boy, couldn't have been more than six, being beaten by the foreman. Or whom I thought was the foreman, it was actually the mayor, and Marcel was his son by way of one of his house slaves. I took the bastards head for daring to raise an arm to a child. I smelled Lykae on the child immediately, but there was something more within him. He possessed a quite dignity, and innate greatness. So, we took him in, raised him and he became a part of us. He's the only immortal outside of my siblings I trust."

"The only? Why do you have such trust issues?"

He shook his finger at her, "Not so fast love, I believe it is my turn. Tell me about Tyler." He could barely say the name through his gritted teeth.

"Tyler? Where did you hear about him?" She sat up straight in surprise.

He remained stoically silent, clearly waiting for her to answer the question.

"Fine. He is my ex-boyfriend. We dated on and off for around five years, till he broke it off for good a couple of years ago."

"He broke it off?" He asked incredulously.

"You know I'm counting that as another question." She waved her hand when he began to protest. "Yes, he broke it off. I don't know why that surprises you so much. He hadn't found his mate or anything, but he said he could handle my, um, neuroses, and would rather date someone he didn't have to work so hard for. I know I sound bitter, but I'm not. I was originally, but I'm not now, we are actually friends again." She swiped a powdered sugar covered beignet from the side table, moaning at her first bite, "Now I know why Café Du Monde is open 24 hours. You have one question left by the way, I have two. Since we're talking about exes why don't you tell me about Aurora."

He flinched, "I suppose I had that question coming. Aurora was a mistake I made that would not go away. When my mother first created our race of vampires, using blood from a Dacian, making us the first of the Horde. We thought we were just like the Dacians or what we knew of them. They were born, couldn't go out in sunlight, and drank blood. But we are very different from them at the same time. We were able to find ways to be immune to the sun, and unlike Dacians, we cannot teleport, and are able to make more of our kind, whereas they cannot. These were not easily discovered facts. We were hiding from Mikael in a lord's manor, Aurora and her brother, Tristan's home. During a sparring session with Tristan, he cut my arm deeply, and I retaliated. I didn't have as solid control of my wolf as I do know. When I tackled him to the ground, some of the blood must have fallen in his mouth in the tussle. With my strength, I accidentally broke his neck. I wasn't sure what to do, so I hid his body until I could talk to Elijah, I was worried about Mikael hearing about it somehow. While I was waiting for him, Tristan came awake, a transitioning vampire, it's how we discovered we could make more vampires, when mortals consumed our blood before death. He must have told Aurora how it happened, I told her that we were leaving, and she couldn't come, so she manipulated Rebekah into changing her. Pretending to slit her wrists in despair over me leaving, Rebekah fed her blood to heal her, no sooner had she healed before Aurora jumped from her window. Another vampire created." He sighed as he recalled how it happened, "She was always unstable, but becoming a vampire elevated that. We saw each other on and off for a century before in one of her fits of rage, she alerted Mikael to my location. It was the closest he ever got, and it ended any kind of fondness I have towards Aurora, but she insists that we still belong together."

Caroline scooted her chair around the table, so it was next to his throughout the story, her elbow resting on the table she studied him as he recited the story, when he fell silent looking down at his hands caught up in the memory. She pulled his face up to look into his eyes, "I'm so sorry, Klaus. I don't know what to say."

"It was millennia ago, and with you here it's hard to remember anything else." He placed a sweet kiss into the center of her palm.

She pulled her hands back uncomfortable at the warm feeling blossoming in her chest, as she learned more about him, "You still have one question left, better make it count." She laughed hollowly, still emotionally raw from what she'd learned about Klaus during this impromptu interview.

"I know the perfect one." His eyes twinkled devilishly, before becoming stoic, "What can I do to make you want to stay here with me?"

She flinched back in surprise at his outright question, "I-I-I" she stopped formulating her answer without looking like an absolute simpleton, "I don't know Klaus. I really don't. I can say that at this point," deep bracing breath, "I think I do want to see you after Mikael is dead. But I can't commit to that until I'm not a prisoner, I want to have the choice to stay. Being here with you, you overwhelm my senses, and I can't think coherently. I need to be able to step back and take a breath, to think, and I can't do that when I'm trapped here."

"It's very difficult for me to relinquish control, as I'm sure you've noticed." She shot him a look that said no, duh. "I will promise you this though, when Mikael is dead, I'll try to give you the choice." A serious omission for someone as paranoid as Klaus.

"Thank you." She murmured softly. She was just about to ask another question, when Grahame, one of the hybrids she'd thrown through a wall earlier, bowed and approached. Klaus's gaze turned from soft and honest to cold and cruel in the blink of an eye.

"I ordered that we not be interrupted for any reason." His voice could have cut glass.

Caroline hesitated to admit, but she was annoyed by the interruption as well. He is rubbing off on me.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. I wouldn't interrupt unless it was of the utmost importance, your siblings have arrived."

Caroline jumped up from her seat, "Is Bonnie and Stefan with them?" Clasping the shocked hybrid by the shoulders.

She heard Klaus's growl an instant before the hybrid's face blanched and he stepped deliberately back from her. "The Ripper has arrived with Princess Rebekah, Prince Finn and Princess Sage, as well, but the witch remains missing. They await you both in the entryway." The hybrid bowed deeply before exiting.

Klaus sighed deeply, slowly rising from his seat, "It looks like that concludes our dinner."

Sensing his disappointment, she cautiously linked her fingers through his, "I loved it, and I still have one question left, don't think this interruption means you get to weasel out of answering it."

His laugh filled the courtyard, as they strode hand-in-hand from their dinner table.