Fate
Chapter Five - Heart in a Box
Caroline somehow escapes the compound without a word from the rest of the Mikaelson siblings. She'd also successfully avoided Klaus for the entire wedding, which is odd since she assumed he would have wanted to see her. It has been almost 20 years since they'd last spoken, but she quickly shakes off her insecurities about the hybrid.
As she sits in her hotel room alone she ponders over the meeting with Hope and Freya. Why had this connection between her and the youngest Mikaelson suddenly appeared? Could she be somehow connected to the Teacher? So many questions spiraled through the blonde's mind, but they're easily interrupted by the knock at her door.
"Room service," the voice states from the other side as Caroline opens the door. The man rolls in a cart, but doesn't say a word. Simply backing out and leaving.
Confusion fills her, but also the heavy sense of dread. Carefully and slowly she lifts the lid to the single plate on the tray. "Oh my God," she states as the breath leaves her undead lungs. There sitting on the plate is a single heart and a note right above it.
'Caroline, please accept my gift to you. The heart you so missed the last week, and I hope you don't mind my borrowing it. We will meet soon.'
The note was unsigned, but she knew exactly who it was from. The Teacher had somehow in someway found her all the way in New Orleans. "How is this even possible," she questions to no one in particular before looking back at the heart. His note had clearly said that it was a heart she'd missed for a week. 'Did he seriously keep my heart as a souvenir?' She shakes her head in disgust, but a thought quickly occurs.
"I wonder…" with a deep breath she stick her hand into her own chest in search of her heart. Caroline's eyes grow wide when she finds an empty space where her own heart should sit, and immediately she looks down at the one on the table. Without a second thought she picks it up and shoves it into her chest.
A loud gasp escapes past her lips as she feels the heart begin to pump blood through her body. She wonders how she even survived the last week without it, and what happened when she drank blood. So many questions raced through her, but they were halted by a voice.
"Care are you alright?" Bonnie's voice comes from the door between their two hotel rooms. She'd almost forgotten the witch was just next door.
"Yeah I'm fine! Just exhausted...night Bonnie," she winces at her terrible excuse to her friend. 'Oh well, that's the best I got' she thinks to herself.
"Alright then...night." Just like that she hears the soft click of Bonnie's lamp turning off and the sound of sheets ruffling as the Bennett climbs into bed.
"Absolutely not!" Klaus exclaims as he looks to his older sister and his daughter. The pair having somehow gotten the idea to travel to Mystic Falls in the next two weeks. "No way is my daughter stepping foot in that cursed town," his anger is uncontainable at the idea of the only child he had leaving the one home she'd had in 18 years of life.
"Dad I can't stay here forever," Hope throws her hands up motioning to the compound around them. "This place, these people, have been my home for my entire life. Don't turn it into a prison that I can't ever leave," her eyes plead with the father that'd let her have her way too many times in life. She knew he would relent if she pressed him.
Her mother stands to the side watching the two argue back and forth, and knowing she should intervene at some point or another. "Hope, I have to agree with your father on this one." She states watching her daughter's eyes go wide.
'Unbelievable," she exclaims throwing her hands up looking at her parents in bewilderment. "All I want to do is tour the college nearby, and besides dad grew up there. I should learn the history and get to experience the town at least once." The young Mikaelson attempts to reason with the pair, but nothing seems to get past them.
"The answer is still no Hope," her mom says once again as the parents who usually have different opinions choose to stand together for once.
Someone clears their throat in the doorway causing the three to turn their attention to Freya standing there. "I know you don't care for the idea of Hope going there, and she is my niece so I'm just as concerned for her safety as you are. What if I joined her on this little road trip? Two powerful Mikaelson witches together, I'm sure we will be perfectly safe then. Plus I could keep an eye out for her and make sure to check in with you guys on the hour." Freya raises her brows looking at the two parents whose walls were slowly dropping - Hayley's quite faster than Klaus's.
He clenches his jaw knowing he's been cornered by reason, "you call on the hour every hour. I want to know your every move and if I don't hear from you I will personally come to that godforsaken town and drag the two of you back home. Then Hope will never see the outside of this home until the day I die...which will be never since we are immortal." He smirks and the threat hangs in the air which causes Hope to shudder imagining never leaving the compound again.
The next day as Caroline packs her bags to leave for Mystic Falls, she hears a soft knock on her door. "It's open Bonnie," she calls out to the witch, but watches as instead Freya and Hope Mikaelson enter her rooms. "What are you two doing here?"
"We're going to Mystic Falls with you, remember we talked about this last night. I want answers as to why we share a connection," Hope says as she looks to the suitcase neatly packed on the bed nearby. Her eyes catch a note in the trash bin nearby for a moment, but she doesn't think on it further.
"That and I think there's more to this story than we all know." Freya crosses her arms examining the blonde before her. Over the past two decades she'd been with her family she'd never heard a word of this Caroline Forbes until she'd been invited to the wedding, and now suddenly she's connected to Hope's dreams and some mysterious evil. Something wasn't adding up, and Freya had made it her personal mission to dissect who Caroline really was.
The blonde vampire sighs as she zips her bag closed, "alright. You can stay with me at my house. It's safer that way," she grabs her suitcase and purse before exiting the hotel room. The two women follow her down the elevator and out the hotel to find Bonnie waiting by the car. She sees the extra luggage in the car and shakes her head, "you knew?" The Bennett witch nods, "and you're alright with this?"
"Of course I am Care. They may be able to help in ways I could never imagine with this whole Teacher mystery, and besides the kids are starting back to school soon so they need some stability in their schedules." Bonnie shrugs her shoulders as she climbs into the driver's seat and cranks the car.
"Are you sure you don't have some private jet we could take?" Caroline questions to the women who'd situated themselves in the backseat of their rental car.
Hope shakes her head with a frown, "we do have a jet. The only problem is that my dad would know if you two got on the plane with us, which would raise a lot of suspicion."
Caroline's confused expression leads Freya to pick up where the youngest witch left off, "Klaus thinks we're heading to the Mystic Falls area so Hope can tour Whitmore College. He also has no clue that we know you besides our brief talks at the wedding, which means this stays top secret for now." The blonde nods her head in understanding and rotates back around to face the front as the four women settle into the quiet.
The long drive to the small town of Mystic Falls was eventful to say the least. Two witches, a vampire, and a hybrid - there were quite a few stories to go around while passing time. Hope spent a majority of the time asking Caroline, and occasionally Bonnie, about their time with her father all those years ago. While the Bennett witch seemed reluctant to tell the young woman about the terror of a man Hope called 'dad,' Caroline shared fonder memories that left a sad nostalgic smile on her lips. A smile that didn't go unnoticed by the others in the car.
As far as Bonnie knew, it had been over a decade since Caroline had been romantically tied to a man. After Stefan the blonde vampire seemed to have given up on love and moved onto finding adventure in life. She certainly did that from hearing her stories over the last weeks. "So Caroline, how far out are we?" The young Mikaelson questions as she leans forward to peer at the the vampire behind the wheel.
She raises a brow at Hope, "we should be there within the next hour tops. Be warned my house hasn't been lived in for almost two decades. So I apologize in advance for anything that might not work." Caroline smiles slightly as she looks back at the Young hybrid in her backseat.
When they arrive back in Mystic Falls, the three say their goodbyes to Bonnie as she is welcomed home by her husband and children. "Well, onto the Forbes resistance now," the blonde vampire states as she puts her car in gear and makes the drive towards the street she once knew as home, and the place she was all too familiar with.
As the trio pull into the driveway, Freya and Hope climb out of the car to grab their bags; but Caroline remains seated behind the wheel. She stares at the front porch, the yellow house with the cute window on the front door. A shallow, shaky breath leaves her lungs as the memories of her childhood floods the small space. "Caroline? You coming or not?" Hope states as she knocks on the car window to grab the blonde's attention.
"Uh yeah, I'll be right there. You two go ahead," she states as she looks away quickly to blink away the tears that had been welling in her eyes. Once the two are safely at a distance she speaks again, "alright Caroline, you can do this. The memories are all you have left of your family - hold onto them." With a heavy heart, she closes her eyes and exits the car. Slowly walking up the steps of her front porch, noticing the familiar creaks and groans in every piece of wood.
As Caroline steps into the home admiring the change of wall paint she'd made just before moving out years ago. The once green tone now a light grey to match the new furniture she'd purchased so long ago. Looking around she notices the sheets still covering a majority of the items in the house. Furrowing her brows in confusion, "Ingrid?" She calls out wondering why the redhead hadn't made herself more at home while she was gone.
"We're in the kitchen," the slightly recognized accented voice comes from down the hall as Caroline slowly walks towards their location. She takes her time looking at the pictures still hanging on the walls. The ones of her and her mom, and a few with her dad still in them. A rare photo of the three of them sits on a nearby table...she picks it up and stares at the dust covered frame. A small breath leaving her nostrils, this was the last picture her parents had taken with her before her dad died.
"Caroline?" The sound of footsteps comes from nearby as Hope comes to stand over the blonde looking at the image she holds. "Are those your parents," she questions looking from the blonde woman and the man with striking eyes and features. Each appearing just as strong as the vampire standing before her is.
"Yeah," her words are so soft that if Hope hadn't been standing right there she would've believed the woman to be merely sighing. "They were great parents...all things considered at least." Caroline blinks quickly brushing the water pooling her eyes away with a bat of her lashes. "Anyways what are you all up to?" She questions looking to the young witch beside her.
Shaking her head, Hope replaces her scowl with a smile. "We were actually helping Ingrid finish cooking some dinner. She cooked for us all since she heard we were arriving tonight," the Mikaelson girl eyes the kitchen wearily as the two smell the strong aroma coming from the kitchen.
"Don't worry, I'm probably a worse cook than Ingrid...quick question though." Caroline and Hope catch the attention of the other two in the room as they enter into the chaos of dishes and spices. "Was I the only person you dreamed of Hope? Or did you see anyone else in these weird psychic dreams of yours," the vampire says as she looks at Ingrid wondering what role she had to play in all of this. That girl didn't just stumble upon her home in Tel Aviv for no reason, and she was there the day the attack happened for a reason. There were certainly no coincidences...at least that's what Caroline believed in.
The women talked, laughed, and even drank a little that night. Memories and stories filled the air as the four became so comfortable with each other. A majority of the evening was spent uncovering the furniture that had been collecting dust for decades, and then cleaning things to Caroline's standard...well as much of her standard as they could achieve before exhaustion hit. Luckily everything was still in working order around the Forbes residence, and all the lights worked which was surprising to the blonde vampire. Maybe being home wouldn't be so bad after all.
It'd been a week since the two Mikaelson witches arrived in Mystic Falls. They'd all settled into a routine during the day of researching what they could about this 'Teacher' character as well as taking turns to get food from the Grill. "I'll be back in a little while you guys," Caroline's voice comes from by the door as she grabs her phone and keys. The group had just finished eating an early dinner and the blonde finally had mustered up the courage to visit her mother's grave.
"Hey mom," she awkwardly states as she walks up to the lone tombstone in the area. A small bench sits nearby and she slowly sits down to face the only object she has to talk to her mom now. "It's been too long I know, but I did finally get out of this town. Just like you told me to do...I hope I'm making you proud, but I also feel like I'm just royally screwing up this whole eternity thing. God I just wish you were here. To tell me what to do, or to travel the world with me." Her voice trails off as she ponders over what Liz Forbes would be saying in this moment if she were here.
Before Caroline can say more her phone rings loudly in the area. She digs it out of her pocket and looks oddly at the caller I.D. on the screen, "Tyler?" She questions as her longtime friend breathes heavily through the phone.
"Care, I need your help." He sounds more panicked than she'd ever heard him sound. "I'm back in Mystic Falls for the weekend, and there are hunters here."
"Slow down Ty. and I need you to explain better. What do you mean there are hunters here? I've been in town for a week now and I was back here before the wedding - I didn't hear or see anything that made me suspicious of hunters." Caroline stands from the bench looking down at her mother's grave and the fresh flowers she'd left there.
The sound of Tyler's footsteps moving on the ground can be heard through the phone as Caroline waits for him to say more. "They've been here a few years now, but don't normally cause problems. For some reason they're chasing me down...it's a full moon Caroline. I can't chain myself up or they'll kill me. And I definitely can't stay out in the open and turn...then I would just kill more people."
"Get to the Lockwood cellar now. I'm on my way," she hangs up the phone knowing her friend would listen to her. Sighing she looks around at the area one last time before flashing off into the woods. All the vampire could think was that she had to get to Tyler before the hunters did, and if not she'd be burying yet another person she loved. "Tyler!" She calls out as she arrived to the area where the wolf had first turned at.
Caroline looks up at the sky to see the moon rising, and sky darkened. She had to solve this problem quick and get out of here before Tyler turned. Having experienced the pain of a wolf bite she never wanted to go through that again...especially not a third time. Shaking her head she runs into the cellar where he's waiting for her.
"I think I lost them because I ran pretty fast and tried to shake them off my trail, but I don't know how long we have before they realize where we went." His frantic pacing looks so different from the once confident and cocky man she knew. 'I guess decades really do change people,' she thought to herself as she brings her mind back into focus.
Nodding she shuts the wooden door at the bottom of the steps. "Alright well I guess you're going to have to turn here. I'll stand guard and make sure you're safe, but we have to move fast. Do you have any of your old stuff here?" She questions looking around behind the metal bars where the werewolf would stay for the night. He was already showing the signs of turning, and that made the blonde more nervous than she'd like to say.
Tyler's eyes were glowing their golden shade and flickering back to brown every so often as shocks of pain flared through his body. The adrenaline began pumping through his vessels preparing him for the bone breaking that was to come. "Get out of here Care. This isn't going to be pretty and you're a vampire." He clutches his abdomen as a wave of pain washes over him.
The vampire steps back at the sound of the first bones cracking, but she's met with a wall instead of the metal gate she's supposed to be on the other side of. Their eyes widen as Caroline turns to bang on the invisible wall that'd just appeared out of nowhere. "I can't get out…" her voice trails off as the familiar stench of witch fills the air. "Dammit!" She exclaims banging her fists against the barrier as she pulls her phone out in hopes of reaching someone that could get her out.
"Anything?" Tyler questions through gritted teeth as the bones in his body begin to break at a more rapid pace. He steps back as far away from Caroline as he can get in that small enclosed space, but if the barrier didn't lift soon he would tear his ex-lover to shreds before the night ended.
"No service," she growls out in frustration as she sends a text to Hope and Freya...really anyone she could think of. None of them go through and so she throws the device at the stonewall in anger watching as it shatters from the force. "It's ok," she says calmly as she faces the half turned wolf before her. "Just focus on turning and don't fight it...I'll be alright Ty."
The next hour is filled with the first howls of Tyler's wolf as he growls at the vampire trapped in the small space with him. Caroline's screams could be heard from above ground as the werewolf pounced on her quickly taking the blonde down with a bite to the shoulder. She bangs her hands against the barrier yet again as the wolf clamps his jaws down on her leg with a force that shatters bone.
This process continues on for what feels like an eternity. Caroline attempting to get free and failing, Tyler biting her again and again, and the screams coming from the cellar that slowly grow quieter. The air stills as everything in the forest becomes eerily quiet. Down in the Lockwood cellar the coughs and pleas for help can be heard as Caroline leans against the barrier begging anyone to save her from the wolf she's trapped with.
She'd managed to injure Tyler just enough to get him to back off for a while, but if this wall didn't drop soon he'd be back for more. Her labored breathing gives way to coughs wracking her body and blood coming up…soon the fever would overtake her body. Examining what she can see the blonde spots 6 different bites all over her body, and her clothes were ripped and damaged beyond repair. Resting her head against the cool metal bars Caroline lets her eyes droop and exhaustion creep in. Death wasn't too bad, and she always seemed to come back. Hopefully this would be the same.
A shaking fills the space as the werewolf backs into a corner fearfully looking around for the source of the quake. Caroline's eyes widen as she sticks her hand through the doorway that was once sealed, and she quickly pulls herself to her feet and shuts the gate behind her. It was dark, the full moon was out, hunters were in the woods, but all she knew was she needed to get home. As the blonde vampire stumbles through the woods blindly, she trips over branches and various objects.
After a while she loses track of which way is home and which way isn't. Every direction becomes confused as her vision blurs and a wave of dizziness hits her. Clutching her head she hopes the feeling will pass, but it doesn't; and she falls quickly to the ground. Lying on her back she can stare up at the dark sky with stars illuminating the woods, and the bright full moon directly above. In the distance she could hear someone calling her name, "mom?" She questions before everything goes dark and the venom finally overtakes her body.
I'm really proud that I'm keeping my promises to update like this regularly, but it's probably so easy because I've already written up to chapter six at this point. Hopefully I can finish the next few chapters over the rest of the week/end so we can keep this steady pace, but I don't wanna compromise quality for fast updates so bear with me if the updates slow down after chapter 7. I have tons of ideas for this story and need to get them all laid out.
So glad you guys are reviewing and enjoying the story! Your questions should be answered soon (maybe) about who Ingrid is and how Hope and Caroline are connected etc. and I promise Klaroline will come into the fold at some point in the near future. This will hopefully be a good slow burn because Caroline has grown over the past twenty years into an even more strong and independent woman who doesn't need a man. But she's also built up walls around her old insecurities and only Klaus will be able to tear those walls down...at least that's what I have planned in my head. We'll see how that unfolds.
I don't own TVD/TO blah blah blah please comment, favorite and follow; and tell your Klaroline fan fiction friends about this story if you feel like sharing this hopefully masterpiece (insert sarcasm here).
Always and Forever 3