Fate
Chapter Thirteen - What Will I Have Left?
"So you're the doppelganger of the Teacher...I mean Kyros' wife that he murdered along with his four other students? And he's back from some supernatural purgatory that past you and other Fates sent him to." Hope states as she looks at Caroline quizzically wondering how all of this could be possible. Their lives were weird enough already with the supernatural drama, but this was just taking it a step further. She runs her fingers through her hair as she attempts to wrap her head around the information she'd just had delivered.
Caroline sighs and shakes her head in agreement with the young Mikaelson's reaction. "I know it's a lot to take in, but that's what I learned. There's still some stuff that doesn't make sense because Kyros was and still is extremely cryptic about the information he shares. Something just doesn't seem right with why he came back in the first place. He never said why, but I just have a bad feeling about it." The blonde vampire repeats her habit of sighing and shaking her head before allowing her body to relax slightly.
"Why didn't you mention this sooner? It's been days since you came back from the prison," Hope immediately knows the answer to that question when it leaves her lips. "Oh...because of."
"Yeah. I couldn't dive right back into all of this just when we had buried Freya. You can't do that either. I know you two were really close and I can't imagine what you've been going through." Caroline places a comforting hand on the witches arm wishing she could somehow make all of this better. "Once this is all over we will find a way to bring her back. I promise."
Hope oddly shakes her head at the blonde's words. "Right now all I'm concerned with is making Kyros pay. If we were never taken then Freya wouldn't be dead...but if I hadn't taken her then she would also be alive right now. So technically this is just as much my fault as it is his."
"No Hope. Don't blame yourself for this, that helps nothing and no one. Freya wouldn't want you to blame yourself either. She knew what was happening when the poison entering your systems, and she also made a choice to save your life. She was willing and ready to sacrifice herself for you to live. Now it's up to you to make that worth it. Don't mope around for her loss, avenge her."
"They've been locked away in there for days. This needs to end now," he paces the floors downstairs in the library whilst his siblings and Hayley attempt to calm the tyrant within down.
"Hope is grieving Niklaus. She comes out to get food and if that's how she wants to handle this for now then let her." Elijah states as he takes another sip of his scotch and watches the unceasing pacing from Klaus.
Hayley stands to her feet attempting to stop Klaus in his tracks but he merely shoved past her and continued his movements. "He's right Klaus. We all miss Freya, but Hope was there and it's going to affect her differently."
"The full moon is in just a few days," Klaus practically yells as he turns sharply pointing a finger in Hayley's face. "She will experience her first turn ever and then what? Her grief will swallow her whole with the pain of that first transition." The anger is growing within the hybrid as he stares at his family who seems to be doing nothing about the young Mikaelson upstairs who'd just triggered her werewolf curse and lost her aunt in the same day.
"Oh come on Nik we know the pacing and rotten attitude isn't just about Hope. There's a pretty blonde upstairs with her right now that's been avoiding you for days. I'm sure that's getting under your skin a little," Kol pokes at his brother like a bear in a cage. Not to be tempted with, but Kol being himself loved to see Klaus react to his little jabs.
A satisfactory smile comes to his face when Klaus growls slightly. "Caroline has nothing to do with this. She was missing and now she isn't and she is welcome to stay as long as needed. Outside of that she is merely here for Hope." He didn't believe his own words though. By the stars all he'd wanted since coming down from the cloud of grief over Freya was to see her. To talk to her, to he doesn't even know what he wants; but he knows he wants it with her. "The point is that my daughter is struggling and what are we going to do about it?"
"She's not a child anymore Nik. I think the best thing we can do is offer her a shoulder, and tell her that we're here for her. If she doesn't want that then it's her choice." Rebekah finally speaks up as a voice of reason in the midst of the others in the room. Even if her words aren't what he's wanting to hear.
Finally after a long pause, he sighs. "You're right as much as I hate to admit it." Kol laughs at his brothers words, "if you ever mutter a word about this I will have your tongue little brother."
Several hours later Hope had finally left her room while Caroline left to call Bonnie and catch up with Ingrid for a little while. The redhead had actually gotten a job at Rousseau's and had been saving up money to rent an apartment in the French Quarter. As the young witch stood in the kitchen making a snack, someone she'd been avoiding herself walked in the room causing her to speed up her actions.
"Please don't run," he croaks out barely above a whisper. Yet with her heightened sense of hearing she knew exactly what he was saying. His caramel brown eyes looked up into her piercing blue ones and it was like time stopped. But only briefly, and then reality set back in.
Hope quickly finishes making her sandwich and prepares to leave the kitchen for her room once again. "Hope we need to talk about this."
"I have nothing to say to you Isaac. We were somewhat friends or whatever until I found out you somehow knew what was going to happen to my aunt and I," there's a short pause in her words as tears well in her eyes. From the loss of her aunt, the grief of his betrayal or both, she didn't know. "You didn't say anything;" the hurt in her eyes is evident as his own eyes plead with her. "I - I can't do this right now." And so he watches as her auburn hair flips around and she darts towards the stairs. Not a minute later the sound of her door slamming shut can be heard from where he stood.
"Shut out again I see," Kol's voice comes from nearby as he leans against the wall watching the scene that had just unfolded. "She's a Mikaelson mate, you need a grand gesture of some sort to win her over. Then she'll reject it and a few weeks from now she will realize that you were only trying to protect her."
His words seem sincere and Isaac smiles at him slightly. "I don't care if she hates me as long as she's safe. I didn't tell her about the voice because he told me he would hurt her if I did." He shakes his head at the ridiculousness of it all, "I just don't get how she doesn't see that."
"The answer to that one is a lot simpler than the whole Mikaelson ordeal. She's a woman."
"I just don't get it Bonnie. It's been days since I escaped Kyros and Freya's death, but there's radio silence from him. He hasn't even tried to take me again," Caroline paces paved alleyway she'd retreated to for her phone call as she watches for any sign of the teacher or his missionaries.
The blondes frustration and confusion grew by the hour when they'd made no progress on tracking down Kyros. She wanted him to pay just as much if not more than the entire Mikaelson family combined. "Take a deep breath Care, this is good thing in a sense. You don't want an evil villain breathing down your neck all the time. Use this time to learn about him, learn more about the legends and get stronger because sooner or later he will be back. The big question isn't when but will you be ready?"
She sighs taking in her friends words, "when did you become so wise Bonnie Bennett?"
"When I had two children get of age to ask the 'where to babies come from' question." Her comment changes the mood immediately as the pair laugh at the mental picture of Bonnie's flustered appearance answering that particular question to young curious and very innocent minds. "They miss you, you know." Bonnie states in a somber tone as she looks to the couch where her two children watched cartoons before bed with their dad. She wished deeply at times like this that they weren't born into a world of supernatural creatures. Their mother being a witch and their aunt being a vampire/whatever else she was becoming didn't help the matter much. Well on top of that their other aunt was in a coffin cursed to sleep until after their own mother dies.
"Bonnie? Earth to my witchy friend," she hears Caroline chuckle when the Bennett witch apologizes for not paying attention and asks the blonde to repeat what she'd said. "I said to tell Abbi and Aaron that I will be back soon and whenever it is I will bring early/late Christmas presents."
"I'm sure they will love that Caroline. Don't spoil my children too much," Bonnie's words are stern but her longtime friend can sense the underlying playfulness that simply was Bonnie. "I've gotta go actually Care. It's bedtime for these two and Graham will not remind them to brush their teeth if I leave them alone." Caroline laughs as she can practically hear the eye-rolling through the phone before bidding her friend goodnight and ending the call.
As she returns to reality standing in the alley outside of the Mikaelson home, she wonders what life would be like if she'd just stayed in Israel instead of returning. It's officially been a little over two months since that tragic day when all of her building, planning, protecting, and fighting for that place had been lost - and the nightmares of her time there still plagued her at times. Other nights she was forced to relive her time with Kyros and the days when he'd begun to actually torture her.
Caroline shakes her head attempting to rid herself of the dark thoughts and re-enters the compound. "You're Caroline aren't you," an unfamiliar voice states just as she crosses the threshold inside. Her skeptical and cautious look must have been incredibly readable because the man smiles and holds his hand out for her to shake. "I'm sorry you obviously don't know me. I'm Vincent...Freya and I were close friends and we practiced a lot of magic together."
"Oh you're her witch friend. She mentioned you to me a few times." Caroline takes in the man's appearance and whilst she did see the allure Freya may have had over recent years to him, she could sense the underlying intention in him. He would most certainly take care of his people and himself when it came down to it, and if that meant betraying a Mikaelson or anyone else he would do it in a heartbeat. At least that's what her gift told her.
Vincent smiles curiously as he notices Caroline staring him down and reading him almost like an open book. "What do you see," he questions immediately recognizing the look in her eyes. "I can feel the power in you that isn't vampire, so what do you see?" The tall dark man questions again when the blonde steps back in slight shock.
"You're a witch obviously and I knew that from Freya, but you are fiercely loyal to those you consider family. You'd do anything for them even if it meant betraying those that trusted you most, and that includes the MIkaelsons." Caroline states staring down the man whose eyes went slightly wide, "oh and there's this fear always bubbling up in you when you can't remember things. Like you have some spaces where there are major gaps in time that you can't remember, and that terrifies you. It makes you wonder who's inside your head." Caroline's last words come out as most of a question than a statement as she catches Vincent's eyes staring at the white smoke that pooled from the blonde's hands and filled the ground around Vincent.
"I think you and I need to have a private talk."
Niklaus Mikaelson was known over the centuries for his brutality, his unending list of murders, and his clean streak of never letting anyone truly into his heart. Over the last several decades that short list of people had grown to a list he couldn't even begin to comprehend - one he wasn't sure he wanted to understand. As he stands over one of the many fireplaces in their home nursing a glass of bourbon, he attempts to connect to the elder sister he'd gotten so recently and lost too soon. "It's alright to feel Niklaus," his brothers voice sounds from the doorway. The voice of reason in his life that always managed to dig under his skin when he really needed it, but didn't quite want it.
"I do feel...I feel everything 'Lijah. That's the problem." His words are ground out through his teeth as the elder Mikaelson recognizes similar tendencies in Hope that Niklaus had done for centuries now. Elijah is pulled from his observations as his brother speaks up again. "I have spent over a thousand years only allowing myself to care for family; that was our way of life. Family above all always and forever, and occasionally someone would come along like Marcel that would stick and join that promise, but it has always been us. In the last three decades we have gained a sister, lost two brothers - though Kol was brought back - our mother was brought back twice and she only betrayed us, my own daughter was threatened before she was born, Hayley was murdered and turned just for being a mother, and then Jackson who personally was just a pawn in my plot to have a wolf army was killed in the crossfires of this cursed life. The list goes on and on over the last thirty years, and somehow the universe decreed that this would be the time in my existence that I would have a child, gain family members, have actual friends, and fall in love with the one woman I could never deserve."
Klaus sighs after his long explanation of pent up emotions and Elijah merely clears his throat and pours himself a drink. "Centuries ago you told me that love makes us weak and we are not weak. That was the rule you abided by from almost a millenia ago when you closed your heart off from anyone that wasn't family. Hundreds of years passed before you found Marcellus and I believe he managed to crack pieces of that cold exterior that believed you are someone incapable of love or being loved in return. Even after that as more time passed you were brought to that small town of Mystic Falls where a young vampire managed to be brutally honest with you, and I believe she broke through that rough exterior to the man within wanting nothing more than to be seen." Elijah chuckles as his brother stares at him in confusion, "yes I do know a little about how you and Miss Forbes first met. Rebekah filled me in after the wedding. My point was that this woman noticed the man and not the beast you so desperately want people to see, and I believe she paved the way for Hope to come into your life. She showed you that someone can be compassionate, loving, and loyal unconditionally; and that's what you craved most. Someone to understand you - she does Niklaus, and she like your daughter care for you. If she didn't Miss Forbes would have left town already."
"The point Elijah?"
"The point dear brother is that love makes us strong. Love builds onto this family when it's the right people. You have Hope and all of us, but you don't have anyone to stand by you that isn't blood and that will see the man within that even we can't see some days. So Niklaus what I'm trying to say is a good word of advice - talk to her and be honest."
"So how long has that been happening?" Vincent questions Caroline as soon as the pair had reached the Lafayette cemetery. They'd both agreed privacy away from the Mikaelson's was the best choice in this situation, and so the sneaking away was required.
The blonde scratches her head briefly, "uh maybe a couple of years? All I know is one day I was staked and I died, but a little while later I was alive again. After that my friend that knew about this helped me test every theory possible and no matter what I'd always come back to life. Then my vampire abilities heightened and suddenly I was like an original in the sense of strength and gifts. The sun burned but didn't kill and I could compel vampires. My original theory was someone did a spell that turned me into an original but that didn't make sense because suddenly it was like I was looking at people and seeing everything about them. Just like earlier I could tell your intentions weren't to harm me which is the only reason I'm here right now and you're not dead."
Vincent stares at the vampire briefly wondering what had turned this beautiful woman into someone so guarded and cautious. His guess was time did it and being in this supernatural world.
"Time did do it, but also being surrounded by the Mikaelsons for a little over a year did the trick. My time traveling the world and exploring for myself only added to that - it made me a woman instead of the young girl that was tragically turned at 17." She states as the smoke comes from her hands once again and the pair stare at it as it pools around the floor. "That's just a side effect of sorts from using my gift. It's technically not mind reading because I can't hear your thoughts, but I can sort of sense your intentions or what you're thinking of at the moment if it's really strong."
"Hmmmm. Didn't you just come back from being kidnapped or something for a while?"
"Yes by the same guy that took Hope and Freya and forced that poor girl to kill her own aunt to save herself." Caroline's words are bitter as the pure hatred she felt towards Kyros was present in the front of her mind. Briefly the smoke turns black but she quickly catches herself and reels her emotions back in. "Sorry I just hate that man so much that my emotions run wild at times - black smoke is a bad thing. I watched it turn a man to ash once."
"What was his name?" Vincent questions as Caroline looks up attempting to peer in his mind once more.
"Kyros or as he liked to call himself - the Teacher."
Vincent sighs as he runs his hands across his face and shakes his head. "Help me find this book real quick. It's brown and leather, really big, and there's a tree engraved on the spine and the front." He doesn't even glance at the vampire as he moves to one of the shelves to search for the book. Caroline stares at him for a moment before moving into action and searching another shelf for the book Vincent was searching for. "I found it!" He exclaims after a few minutes of frantic looking.
Caroline helps clear off one of the stone tables for the big leatherbound book to sit on. Dust covers the old relic as Vincent sets it down and dusts it off, "what is this about?"
"You said the Teacher and I knew immediately that these two things were connected. We never knew him by the name Kyros, but I guess that means he's truly back and powerful enough to reveal his name without caring the consequences."
"How could there be consequences in knowing his name Vincent?"
"There's power in knowing someone's name. That's where spells and magic get their grip from when you're directing them towards someone. If you don't know their name or have something of theirs then the spell is basically useless. That's not the point though, what I'm looking at is a prophecy written who knows how many centuries ago. It's about the Teacher and his five students."
"Long before the time of vampires, before magic became divided, there was a village that was home to many of the supernaturals. The legend of Silas and Qetsiyah having transpired here just a few years prior. A man lived a peaceful existence with his students, and each student possessed gifts that were like none other in their community. One with the gift of knowledge, another with sight, one from the earth and the other of fire, and finally the huntress. Each holding a power like nothing seen before. Soon when this power grew beyond measure their Teacher became filled with envy and wanted this power for his own gain. So he slaughtered them all in a sacrificial ritual to take their power as he consecrated their bones to the earth. This backfired when they all learned of his plans and in their deaths the two unknown realms were created - one to be their eternal safe haven and the other a purgatory just for him. The five students became known as the Fates to their villagers as they now stayed in their realm protecting and watching over the supernatural balance, but their Teacher vowed to escape his prison one day and enact his vengeance on his former students and their reincarnates."
"That's where the story ends really," Vincent states as his eyes skimmed over the story once more. "It was always very vague and not something the witches here believed to be important to us. No one has communicated with the Fates in hundred of years, and so the witches on the Other Side became the guiding hand for balance instead and their legend was slowly forgotten."
"Well that's not depressing at all," Caroline shakes her head looking at the book in front of her. She spins it around to read over it and the pair watch as the wind shifts and the heavy pages begin to rapidly turn until they stop on one page towards the back of the book. "What's this?"
"I've never seen that page before," he says coming around the table to look at where it landed. "This says the gifts of each Fate...and I'm assuming when the legend mentioned reincarnates there's a piece of this we don't know of and these reincarnates share the gifts."
Caroline looks down at the lines and slowly reads them. "The Fate of knowledge possesses the ability to see the past and use that to learn from it. Astral projection is also a complement of this." The blonde pauses wondering if she knew anyone like this, but her mind runs into a wall quickly with that question. "The Phoenix Fate - huh that's a cool name - has the unique gift to heal others even from the brink of death, but with this gift comes the consequence of destruction."
Vincent steps forward and reads over the next few as the blonde beside him attempts to process the information that had just hit them. "The Fate of the earth is connected to everything that is nature and balance. Shapeshifting, manipulating weather, and resurrection from the Other Side are the gifts this one has." The witch sighs and stares at the words again in shock, "how is this even possible?"
"Wait read these two," Caroline states pointing to the last two descriptions on the paper. "The Fate of sight is a curse and a gift. The ability to touch someone and see their death - however many times that may be - in an instant will be her torment, but it will also prepare her companions for battles ahead. She can also show her fellow Fates memories and details from their past versions…" her voice trails off for a minute before she moves onto the next and final phrase. "The huntress Fate possesses strength like none other and the ability to pick up any weapon known to man and wield it with expertise. Her gift to probe the minds of others for their hearts intentions and desires allows for the Fates to choose wisely who they ally with, and the smoke that burns the unworthy."
"Is this saying what I think it's saying?"
"Yeah that's me - the huntress." Caroline states in a small voice wondering why her life had come to this point. "I think I know who the Fate of sight is."
"Who?" Vincent questions as his dark eyes pierce into her bright orbs.
"Hope Mikaelson."
Ok this chapter took longer to write than I had hoped, and it's sort of a filler chapter but on the plus side it's packed with information and scenes that do progress the character dialogue and development! And on the up side you're finally getting a good view at the bigger picture of this plot. How do you all feel about Hope and Caroline being these Fates and who do you think are the other reincarnates? Also I know Freya's death was really sad and trust me that was the hardest scene to write because I wanted to do her justice, but don't worry she will be back at some point (whether in flashbacks or not is up in the air since I'm not going to give away my ideas).
I think that's all the news I really have so the usual blurb of I don't own TVD/TO is inserted here along with my request to share, comment, favorite and follow. Also next chapter will probably include some KLAROLINE (finally right) but nothing major I want these two to have a good slow burn and really dig into who they are now after being apart for so long. That and Caroline is a strong independent woman and I don't want her to lose that over the romance of falling for Klaus.
Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you all next time for chapter 14
Always and Forever Loves :)