Hey, my lovely readers. I hope you enjoy the chapter. This is going to be the only one in which Caroline is separated from the entire MF gang but there will be a familiar character making a guest appearance. On with show…
Chapter 19: We're All Always Sorry
What was supposed to be a week's trip to clear her head had become a three month's journey around the world. Caroline had so many stamps on her passport she had lost track of the places she had seen and people she had met. Sitting down at a little table in the French Quarter, Caroline was sipping at an espresso. They had wonderful outdoor cafes here in the Quarter. This was one of the places she enjoyed the most. She would have to bring Klaus with her when she came back. Forcing thoughts of the human out of her mind, she shook her head.
Seeing a familiar face, she smiled, "Hey, there, Thierry. What news have you come bearing on this lovely morning?"
The male vampire shook his head. "Someone is looking for you, Caroline."
Sighing, Caroline shifted in her seat. "Do you know who this someone is?"
"No idea. They said it was a woman though," Thierry told her, taking a seat, looking at Caroline, who rolled her eyes.
"Very descriptive," Caroline said, shaking her head.
"She was looking for The Hybrid. Seemed to think she knew you or at least knew things about you. Said she was a friend of a friend," he said.
"Oh! Did the friend have a name?" Caroline asked, staring at her finger nails.
"Stefan Salvatore," Thierry told her and Caroline sat up.
"Did she say where she's staying?" Caroline questioned her companion, feeling nervous.
"She said she would be in the old Church at noon," Thierry told her. Caroline got up. If she moved quickly she would be there twenty minutes before noon and maybe she could check this woman out before their meeting began. Thierry grabbed her wrist. "Be careful, Caroline. This chick is old. And I mean really old and really dangerous."
"Thanks. But I think I can take care of myself," Caroline replied. While she had been on her trip around the world she had found out that she was indeed one of a kind. The first of a new species of predator. It had been by accident when word spread of her existence that some vampires decided to attack her in a parking lot one evening on her way home from a club. She had torn through them like they were humans.
At one point during the fight she had bitten one of the vampires. She was told later that her bite had been like poison to the vampire's system. Now, the vampires were afraid of her. They either left her alone or came to her seeking a leader. She refused to lead them. Caroline didn't want a freakin' cult of Hybrid worshiping weirdoes following her around.
All Caroline wanted was to live her life relatively quietly. It was a lonely life. She knew that one day she would go back to school. Although she had been thrown out, no doubt due to having failed all her classes when she never returned to Whitmore to finish the first term. She had thrown away her old cell and carried a new one with a new number.
Walking into the church, she took in her surroundings. There was no one there yet. Heading up to the balcony, she stood in the shadows waiting for whoever summoned her to appear. Ten minutes later a woman came in. He figure was slight. Caroline thought it was familiar as the woman pulled the hood of her black coat down and long brown curls came tumbling down the woman's back.
Stepping forward, Caroline peered at the woman. Taking a long step backward, she raced forward and leapt, landing behind the woman soundlessly. As Caroline stood up to her full height the shorter woman turned to look at her. "Hello," she said with a wide grin.
"Elena, what are you doing here? And what's with the accent?" Caroline asked, folding her arms.
The woman began to pull her gloves off, irritatingly slowly. "Who is this Elena person?" She said and Caroline rolled her eyes.
"Seriously?" Caroline snapped and the woman raised an eyebrow.
The woman's eyes glowed with glee as she examined Caroline. "How could a mere child have so much power? It's a waste." Shaking her head, the woman turned away from Caroline and walked to the front of the church. "You know, in my time they thought that women were not good for anything. Then I became a vampire and showed men how stupid they were. I used to go to church afterward to be absolved. Don't know why. It was just a ritual I suppose. It's good to believe in something even if you don't have the same convictions as before you were dead."
"Who are you?" Caroline asked, getting the sense that maybe this was not Elena after all.
"I am Katrina Petrova. Now, people call me Katherine. When I met your friends, Stefan and Damon Salvatore they called me Katerina. They were mere boys and now they are men. Be careful of Damon, he is wild and crazy. Like me. I loved him, too, you know. Such a lovely boy. Tasted excellent," Katerina said with wide smile, like she was discussing wine.
"What do you want?" Caroline asked warily.
"What do I want?" Katerina asked with a light laugh. "That isn't what you want to know. Is it, Caroline? What you want to know is what I can do for you. What information brought me here to see the creature who could kill me with one little graze of the teeth."
Rolling her eyes Caroline folded her arms. "You know I think I saw you in one of the Dracula movies. You were like the third lady vamp there to suck on Van Hellsing, right?"
Katerina's smile dropped; she hissed, her fangs appearing. "I will kill you, baby Hybrid."
"Really? Because I think if you came to kill me you would have done it already," Caroline replied with a grin.
"You are an arrogant child," Katerina hissed. "You know nothing of the world you are a part of now. And you will die slowly and painfully."
"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. Get with the message given I'm going shopping and you'rr boring," Caroline snapped.
Katerina sighed and dropped the accent. "Look, Caroline, it's like this - you're immortal. Someone could still kill you according to the witches I've talked to. Rumor has it that there is someone out there who is a lot older than either one of us who wants to become immortal and that he needs you to complete this ritual thing to do it."
Shifting from foot to foot, Caroline became nervous once again. "How do I know I can trust you?"
"You can't." Katerina said with more than a small amount of cheer in her voice. "I look out for myself first and foremost. Although I thought I would try to help you rather than be on the wrong side of you. I already have a long list of enemies and am always on the run. Never hurts to have an ally in the game."
"Do you know how I can be killed?" Caroline asked as Katerina pulled her hood back up.
"No idea. Sorry. I've already been here too long. Got to go. It was lovely meeting you. Send my regards to the Salvatores. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." With that Katerina sped out of the church leaving Caroline to stand there staring after her.
"Great. And the New Year starts with a bang," Caroline shook her head as she walked out of the church. She had thought about sending belated Christmas gifts home to her loved ones which is what she had planned to do.
Now, Caroline had to contemplate whether Katerina, Katherine, whatever her name was, was lying through her teeth. Chances were that the Bulgarian vamp was full of it. However, Caroline had come to find out that there were many things she would not have believed were possible but did indeed walk, talk and feed on people.
What were the odds that a creature older that Katerina Petorva, who, Caroline was not sure of the age of, would be coming after Caroline? This was just way too much. She needed to go home. She needed to talk to Klaus. No, she needed to talk to Stefan since it was his ex who paid her a visit. Maybe she could talk to Esther. She was a powerful witch and might know who to contact for information. Or go to Mikael. That was a scary thought but if Stefan was right then Mikael would know something. Then again it might be Mikael who was behind the whole thing.
Caroline's thoughts were a mess as she walked through the Quarter. She had absolutely no idea who she could trust. Pulling out her phone, she began to scroll through the many phone numbers, trying to decide who to contact. She hadn't checked her e-mail box in forever and had no idea if she wanted to, either.
Finally, deciding to go ahead and look, Caroline typed in her information for her school account. It was no longer active. Well, that told her one thing. She had been kicked out of college. It was a good thing she had a second account and all her school related e-mails were sent to this second account.
Opening the inbox, she found that she had several thousand unopened e-mails. It was a good thing that she had vampire senses, otherwise it would take a week to read them. Opening the first twenty, she noticed that most of them were from Klaus. It was funny. The first time she disappeared, he didn't even bother calling. This time he just kept going.
Dearest Caroline,
Where are you, love? I keep calling and the bloody message keeps saying "This line is no longer in service." Did you disconnect your phone? We need you back. I need you back. Whatever you need from me it's yours, sweetheart.
Yours always and forever,
Klaus
Klaus' other messages read similarly. After a while they became laced with bitterness and irony.
Caroline,
Must have forgotten about Bekah's little hex on Lijah. My brother just lost his job. He was fired for having sex with his student. Would you like to guess which one? Ironically, it wasn't Hayley. Apparently someone claimed they saw you and Lijah walking into his office after hours. Since you weren't here to speak up for him, he was dismissed form his position and is embarrassed to walk into Graduate classes because his fellow students have been calling him all kinds of lovely things.
Thank you, sweetheart, for not bloody well answering your e-mails. Lijah would like to thank you, too. However, he is incapacitated due to all the drinking.
Your fool,
Klaus
Car-o-line!
Cheers! I met a lovely girl this evening who I did all kinds of lovely things to thinking after telling her my sob story of how my girlfriend left me because she couldn't handle being in a serious relationship. How does that make you feel, sweetheart? Did it break your heart, the way you broke mine? You heartless bitch.
Sincerely not yours,
Niklaus
Caroline,
I think I might have written to you in a fit of rage the other night. There is a part of me that wishes I could say I did take someone else home. To be honest, I did. But you wouldn't leave my head. Every time I looked at the girl I wanted to see your face. I gave up and sent her away. Caroline, please, come home. Give me another chance. Please, Caroline, I can't live without you. I refuse to live without you.
Love,
Klaus.
Dear Caroline,
I have been fighting bitterly with my siblings and my parents. I told them I was going to leave and go looking for you. Father dragged me home and locked me in the basement for three weeks. You know, it's soundproof down there. No one to hear you scream. He said if I left, he would send people after me and I would spend a year down there. Didn't believe him. Thought he was just prattling, the way he does when he's angry. So, I went to the airport, bought a ticket. Turned around the next, I know its lights out, Mr. Mikaelson. Would you like to know where I woke up? In the basement. This time Father did not allow them to feed me until day two. Thought I was in a bloody nightmare.
Miss you terribly,
Klaus
Shaking her head, Caroline decided to open some of the other e-mails.
Caroline,
Where in hell are you?
Damon
P. S.
Stefan has new superhero hair. Oh, wait. No, it's the same old hair. ;)
Caroline,
I hope you're okay. There seem to be things going on at Whitmore right now; I'm not sure what exactly. But it seems wrong. I heard rumors that Dr. Wes has some kind of lab in the basement of the Biology building. Damon and I are going to check it out.
I'm keeping an eye on Klaus in spite of his desire to get himself killed, I've kept him out of trouble for the most part. I really want to kill him myself. But I know how you feel about him so I won't.
I know you have things you need to work out, on your own, so I'm trying to stay out of it. Elena and Damon are driving me nuts. Damon wants to fix my hair and Elena wants to give me a pedicure.
Your friend,
Stefan
Dear Caroline,
We all really miss you so much. I am so sorry about what happened with Klaus. I think I should tell you what happened that day. I ran into Klaus after seeing you and Stefan in your towels and I was angry at Damon because he bailed on me. I told Klaus that he shouldn't go inside yet because you were… busy. It was stupid. I didn't mean to imply something was going on. I didn't know what was going on. It just looked like something had happened And I was worried about Damon and me. It was high school of me. Please, come home and forgive me in person. We really need you, Caroline. Damon won't shut up about how things would so much more fun if you were here.
Elena
Caroline,
You stupid little brat. I should get on an airplane and find you and drag you home by your hair. Do not believe I will not do it? I just had my nails sharpened for the occasion. You didn't even say good-bye. And we have a new roommate, Sasha. I think I may kill her and then I will turn her into a shaggy dog. Is that what you want, Caroline Forbes? Do you want me to kill my new roommate and then shed on the floor? Get your arse home so I can properly kick it.
Love and Hate,
Rebekah Mikaleson
Hey, Caroline.
I think Bekah probably told you about the whole roommate thing. Don't worry, Bekah ran her off. Literally. You know Kol came over yesterday and found more Lucky Charms. I swear I'm not the one who dropped them. Elijah just lost his job and no matter what anyone says it's not your fault. People just can't shut up. Oh, and Elijah broke up with me.
Love,
Hayley
Caroline,
Hey. I hope that you're out seeing the Seven Wonders of the World. Esther Mikaelson is helping me learn how to do new magic and I've been hanging out with Kol more often. Jeremy and I broke up because I felt like he should be seeing girls his own age. Then there's the whole hanging out with Kol thing. I have no idea what I'm doing here, Care. You need to come home. We need to have emergency girl talk.
Love,
Bonnie
Hello, Gorgeous.
How are you, Caroline? I'm imagining that you're on a deserted island in a bikini. Or better yet, nothing at all. You're out there strutting your stuff about the beach waiting for me to come and keep you warm. ;)
Kol
Caroline rolled her eyes at the last message before she decided to go into a shop and begin to buy gifts. After several hours of shopping till she dropped she then mailed the goodies off. Caroline went back to the old planation house she had chosen to stay in for her time in New Orleans.
Going to sit outside on the porch, Caroline stared at the front yard. It just felt so wrong to have this much space and have no one to share it with. Maybe she could get one of her friends to come stay with her for a couple of days. What could it hurt?
Pulling out her phone, Caroline dialed a familiar phone number. She wasn't thinking about the day or the full moon up in the sky as she waited for someone to pick up on the other end. "Hello?" A familiar voice called into the phone, impatiently. "Whoever you are, it better be bloody brilliant because I'm a bit busy at the moment."
Caroline could only stand there with the phone clutched tightly in her palm as Klaus' voice echoed in her ear. Then there was the sound of loud scream in the background. Another familiar voice. But not the one she expected as she peered up at the full moon. The other voice screamed again and Caroline winced.
"Make it STOP. Please, someone, make it stop. It hurts too much. I cannot do this, Nik. Help me," Rebekah screamed in the background.
Sucking in a deep, determined breath, Caroline spoke into the phone. "I'm coming home. I'll be there tonight." Without waiting for a response, Caroline rushed upstairs for anything she absolutely had to have and then ran to her car. She didn't care if she had to compel a private plane she would get home before Rebekah woke up the next morning to find out what in the hell they had done.
Okay, so the next chapter was rather difficult to write due to the sensitive nature of the topic.
Thanks for the favs, follows, for reading and for reviewing: Redbudrose, ParicTBLover4Life, bexandcall and pleasesaycaroline.
ParicTBLover4Life: Thank. The support means a lot. :)
Laoise: You know I can't answer that. Wags finger. ;)
bexandcall: I will see if I can fit the request in at some point... If not is there anything else you would like to see?
Peace,
Jessica