Ch 13

The smoke filled hall burned his eyes. Clawing scents of burning wood and flesh filled his lungs, forcing him into a fit of coughing.

This cursed dream and the hall that Caroline seemed to relive over and over. This time felt different though, a foreboding sense of finality. Klaus had long since guessed as to what it meant. The thought that he was finally seeing what this was pushed his feet forward.

Walking further down, he could hear distant crying, a yell from a young man on the first floor, feet pounding as their owner ran up the stairs behind him. Looking backward he recognized Caroline's father. An odd look on his face as he froze at the top of the steps. For a brief moment, though he knew better, Klaus thought he was the cause of a such a look.

But then the man shouted, striking a startled cord in Klaus' chest. "Caroline! Caroline!"

The man stepped into the hall as a door to Klaus' right opened up. Caroline shot out blindly running into the wall in front of her. She shuttered with the force of her coughing. Sparing a frightened glance towards him, sending a spike of alarm through his chest, as she ran down the hall and deeper into the smoke. He found his feet following after her.

That damn door at the end of the hall had been pushed wide open, flames licked the walls, engulfing everything in the spacious room. And there stood Caroline, at its entrance with a hand clutching at the doorframe, knuckles white from the strain. The hovering hand over her mouth silenced any sound that threatened to escape her horrified face. His chest constricted uncomfortably, the knowing dread at what he would find at the end of such a gaze.

A corpse lying on a bed of flames.

Klaus had seen, and caused, a fair amount of horrors in his time. This was nothing new to him. But the look on Caroline's face stirred a feeling in his chest that only those related to him could rightfully claim from him. He reached out and grabbed her arm pulling her away from the scene before them.

A sob tore through her body as he led her away sending another thrum of protectiveness through him. "Caroline," he tried to break through to her, clear her mind, get her out of this godforsaken dream. The blonde before him fought against his hold, looking everywhere but directly at him. He gently cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. Her blue orbs, with their pertinent light and spark of fire, now held only sorrow, tears, and fear. "Caroline, wake up." Her eyes cleared, recognition finally settling in, and with a quick look around her, she realized what was happening.

In a mere moment, he was ripped from the dream and sitting up in his bed. A few moments passed while he listened carefully for any tells of Caroline. On the other side of the castle, a door creaked in a telling sound of someone leaving their room.

The cold night air and icy stone floor pulled Caroline back to reality. Her mind worked better when she walked, even more, when she had a task to accomplish or a list to make, something to clean. Tonight she would have to settle for a walk through the silent halls. 'A long walk after a nightmare always helped,' her mother used to say.

As she rounded the next corner, she stopped in her tracks. There at the end of the hall stood the most problematic of the two lords and the one that somehow stole this rapidly beating thing in her chest.

Klaus looked as disheveled as ever, shirt untucked, and feet bare. Her heart beat faster. His curls were more tousled than usual. His face held a cautious but questioning look. As if he had come out to check on her. Caroline almost laughed at that. He had told her he would kill her friend, and she was giddy at the sight of him? She found herself giddy too often, it would seem.

Her cheeks quickly heated at the sudden intimate scene they presented. Lovers stealing a moment alone in the dead of night. But they were not lovers, were they? They were practically strangers. No, he was a monster and she was a silly girl. She shook her head, willing her heart to cease its ridiculous racing.

Caroline, trying her hardest to ignore the man before her, took a seat at the little bench in the hall which sat directly in front of one of the many enormous windows the castle boasted. It favored a view of the grounds and the pale moon, just a few days away from a full orb in the sky. Any other night, she would have enjoyed the sight. It reminded her of the stories her grandmother would tell, something of fairies and dancing in the dead of night. Her grandmother would laugh at this story though. Or maybe she would cry?

Without an invitation, he took the seat next to her. She kept her gaze on the night sky. "How can you appear in my dreams?" He seemed mildly taken aback. No doubt another vampire secret she had uncovered. She smiled ruefully, "I remember you more clearly than others in my dreams, and you act differently- as if you're in control. Others ask me things I already know. You talk to me as though you are really there." She stole a glance at him, his eyes hadn't left her face. They were too close. Always too close to the other, as if the thought of being further apart was absurd. As though they had someone become tethered to the other, lifelines.

"Some vampires can share dreams," he said in such a casual manner as if they were talking of the weather. "I admit, it happened quite on accident at first, you have this odd ability to pull me into yours."

Caroline nodded her acceptance of what he said, not in understanding. Nothing in her life made sense anymore, why should this. "You must have questions then."

Klaus paused, but then spoke softly, "Not unless you have answers to spare, love."

"I killed my mother."

The admission got his attention. He tensed next to her. Caroline swallowed the lump in her throat and pressed on. "Not on purpose, mind you. On nights when sleep escaped me, I would sneak into her room and beg her to tell me a story. Of course, I was much too old for such childish behavior. But I couldn't help it, she was the only friend I had at the time, and I was so lonely." Her eyes dropped to her hands on her lap. Admitting this out loud, to him of all people, was like bearing her very soul. "That night was much like all the others before it. I-I had thought that I had blown the candle out when I left but…" Caroline paused, unsure of how to go on. The silence pressed on between them. What was he thinking? Was I a worse monster than him? Surely my tale was not so bad as to scare him. Could he have done much worse? Caroline reasoned he likely had. The thought that she had confided in him a secret, one that hurt her more than she thought anything else could, and he was simply silent tore her nerves apart.

"To lose a loved one by your own hand is a burden of a lifetime." Klaus' voice, quiet, as if to soothe her, cut through the silence and her tumultuous thoughts.

Her eyes found his, soft and understanding, showing her a side of himself she doubted few had ever seen. Without prompting from either, he told her of the darkest time in his much too long life. Of his youngest brother. And the death he inadvertently caused, as well.

"I told you what my mother did, but that was not all. When my family made our first kills it became abundantly clear that I was different. My mother had an affair, you see, and I was the result. My true father was a werewolf, making me a mix of vampire and werewolf, a hybrid," he paused, jaw tense from the memories. Caroline sat engrossed by his tale. The questions of this other world she had just barely glimpsed at took on new forms, multiplying in her mind. "Seeing what I was enraged our father. He convinced my mother to curse me by binding my wolf. I have searched for centuries to end it. I will never be whole 'til I break it." At that, his eyes find Caroline's. They bore into hers, willing her to understand the magnitude of what he has just told her.

Hundreds of years only being half of what you were meant to be was hard for Caroline to truly understand. She could sympathize with the thought that it was likely maddening. Maddening? She was talking to a creature meant for stories and fairytales. Her life had gone mad as soon as she set foot on these grounds.

Two strangers in the middle of the night revealing their worst held secrets? A laugh bubbles up and out of her throat despite herself causing them both to share a curious look. "What a mess we make..." Caroline smiles sadly at her companion in this empty hall.

His smile was just as disheartening. "What a mess..."

The soft glow from the window illuminated his sharp features. She could have been talking to a statue, with smooth cheekbones and unruly curls. He was a devastating man. In more ways than she cared to know. He fooled everyone around them, but her. She saw through the aloof exterior. And now, with this new story...she felt they were much the same.

Her hand reached up of its own accord to graze against those cheeks. See if they really were made of marble. Caroline could feel his breath on her face. Were his lips as warm as she remembered? Her eyes flickered down to them. She leaned in. Was this, too, a dream? Maybe it was. She should leave, go back to the safety of her own bed. But he had pulled her in further, spun his tale of woe, and she was already so far down this treacherous path she hardly knew her way back. Did she even want to find a way back?

His hand found her neck, enveloping it in warmth. It was more calloused than she expected. Were his hands always so calloused? Those thoughts soon flew out of her head altogether.

A quick inhale and his lips collided with hers. She had never really been kissed before. Not like that. He was greedy. Of course, he was. But she found she preferred it that way. He led in the dance of lips and teeth and tongue. And it was all she could do to keep up. He was fire, consuming and burning her to the core.

With a shaky breath, she pulled away. Her heart raced with adrenaline and pure elated joy.

"I should get back to bed," she said breathlessly.

"Yes, you should," he replied. His eyes have gone terribly dark. She thought she could almost see the veins under his eyes.

A shudder ran down her spine, a contrast to her beaming smile. Bravely, Caroline gave him a quick peck and retreated back to the safety of her room. Leaving the monster behind.

Stepping into the library, Klaus quickly surveyed the room. Hearing only one heartbeat within, its owner, hidden from view. The distant sound of footsteps grew closer as he made his way to the window, and its seat, obscured by heavy curtains. As the door to the library began to open, Klaus quickly threw back one side catching the occupant of the window's seat off guard. His hand came down around her pretty mouth as he held up his other in a shushing motion.

He joined Caroline, their bodies crowding together, on the small window bench. She had tucked her legs up to her chin in a fast attempt to give him space.

"My lord?" Katerina's voice came out much too loud for the quiet room.

Caroline's eyes widened in understanding then flickered down to his hand still on her mouth.

The door to the library closed as Katerina's footsteps receded down another hallway. He could have easily lost her, but why not take an opportunity to distract the beautiful blonde in front of him.

A sharp pain, small as it was, had him pulling his hand back in surprise. She bit him. Klaus looked at her in disbelief. A mischievous grin spread across her face.

"You bit me." He said.

"I did. There was no need to cover my mouth. I told you the library is a perfect hiding spot." She smirked at him.

He smirked back. Having caught her in the middle of a book, its title half skewed by her hands, he could just make out the first few words, 'The Fabillis of-'. He recognized it as a series of stories with little lessons to be learned from.

"And you were correct, love. Why are you hiding away?"

She huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes as she said, "Trevor finds me to be a great listener. I simply have little patience for it today."

His jaw ticked in annoyance. He rather disliked the idea of Trevor being anywhere near her. Strike that, any man in general. "Shall I have a word with him?" And by word, a series of slashes against the man's chest would do nicely.

Caroline looked surprised at his question. Smiling, she replied, "No, there's little harm in it. I can handle boring conversationalists." They both shared a laugh at Trevor's expense.

"Then I should let you read, sweetheart." He watched as her eyes dropped to his lips. A dimpled smile spread across them. He enjoyed last night more than he thought he would, more than he should have. Her soft lips would haunt him forever now, there was no denying that. He found her enchanting, distractingly so.

Without a second thought, he moved forward, carefully cradling her face between his hands. He paused at her sharp intake of breath, savoring the moment before he captured her lips with his own. She was soft and sweet, like Springtime. And the little noises she made drove him further down a path he had no business on. With that final thought, he broke away from her, leaving her to her book and keeping him from doing something rash. Not with how close they were at breaking the curse. He could be impetuous later.

Caroline was a distraction, a beautiful and tempting distraction. One he would love to indulge in. For now, he needed to keep his distance.

Could you die of happiness?

Caroline cut another stem. The flowers under the open library window were wild when she started that afternoon. The day was too nice to be cooped up indoors. She had spent the better part of that morning prying all the windows open to let in the fresh air.

The thought of the room above her, the little bench just beyond her reach plastered yet another smile on her face. It seemed as if she would permanently have one etched across it. She had to practically fight it down whenever Kat was around. Her friend, thankfully, was too preoccupied with Elijah to notice Caroline's shift in mood.

Her apron was full of new flowers, freshly cut for the table in the great hall. Once standing the apron slipped from her dirt-stained hands sending the flowers cascading down. Cursing under her breath, she bent down to collect the fallen flowers.

The library door opened, and Elijah's voice drifted through the open window, "The full moon is only days away."

"I am aware of that fact, Elijah," Klaus' replied back. "after all these centuries...it is finally time."

Caroline remained kneeling, ignoring the nagging voice in her head telling her that eavesdropping was never a good thing. Her feet would not cooperate, though. And thus, she was firmly planted to the spot.

Elijah's voice grew in volume as if he had walked closer to the window. "I have been to see the witches. They may have found a way to spare the doppelgänger."

Caroline froze, they must be talking about Katerina. In her naive little daydreams, she had completely forgotten about her friend. About the reality of the situation before them. They were talking of her coming death. And here she had been daydreaming about stolen kisses.

"What does it matter if she lives or not?" Klaus sounded bored, and further away from his brother. "She is a means to an end that is all."

"But she should die for your gain?"

Klaus replied with little emotion in his voice, "She is human, her life means nothing."

That cut Caroline to the core, she really was no different than her friend. God, and to think I had willfully forgotten about everything that was happening. Naive, silly, little girl. You have your family to think about, and your friend! Would you throw that all away for someone who cares nothing for you? He's as bad as all the other men at Court. Or maybe worse. The brothers continued while she struggled with her thoughts.

"I beg you to consider this." The older brother pleaded. His voice quieted again, moving closer to his brother's.

"Are you so foolish as to care for her?"

"Of course not."

"Love is a vampire's greatest weakness. And we are not weak, Elijah. We do not feel and we do not care." The coldness in Klaus' voice seeped into her bones. A numbness enveloped her, pushing all thoughts and emotions aside. His words struck her down as though she had been hit by lightning.

"We did once."

"Too many lifetimes ago to matter. Tell the witches not to bother. The sacrifice will happen as planned."

She could make out the sound of boots retreating. But Elijah stopped them as he said, "And what of Caroline, Niklaus? What will become of her?"

In an iron-like tone, Klaus countered his brother's questions, "This doesn't concern her, brother."

"I think it does, I've seen the way you look at her, brother. You cannot truly mean-"

"I meant every word, Elijah. We cannot afford to care."

The library door slammed shut, waking Caroline from her frozen stupor. She knelt in the dirt and waited until she heard the door open and close once more. .

Confident that she would not be found 'snooping' around, on weak legs, she stood, forgetting the flowers at her feet, and made her way across the castle grounds. She could not bear to be inside where anyone could see or hear her. She wandered the well-groomed lawn until she reached the outskirts of the property. At the edge, where the woods met the lush grass, stood a tall tree. Some days she would sit under its branches and think, other days she would read or doze off in the shade. Today, however, she did something she hadn't done since she was a little girl. She climbed it. Tucked away in its branches, Caroline sobbed her heart out, willing it to mend itself back together.

Hours had gone by as Caroline was left alone with her thoughts. The vicious things that they were.

How stupid could you be?

Did you really think he loved you?

That you care for him?

Does it even matter?

You were going to let him sacrifice your friend! All because he smiled at you and gave you exactly what you wanted. Attention.

Do you deserve anything less than this?

Katerina was the first to find her. She had cried all the tears from her body long before Kat pulled her from the tree. She had missed dinner, not that she was hungry or minded. Kat filled her in on all she missed as they walked back to the castle. The brothers were in a sour mood, her disappearance caused some minor alarm. Trevor had asked after her. Katerina was pleased to say that he missed her the most during the meal and retreat in the library.

The brunette missed her friend's puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks, or if she had, she made no mention of them. Caroline was thankful for that, the night sky helped her hide it. Had any other person found her... what would they care? My life meant nothing. Her eyes pricked again. Damn these tears. Damn these emotions. And damn her heart for its foolishness. She waited until the early hours of the morning to sleep, dreading the thought of her dreams.