When Emest Vasquez left his house he had no time to appreciate the last specks of what would be considered a phenomenal sunset. His eyes focused solely on the dent, that had been punched into the driver´s side of his care.
„You better pay for that. It´s her car. She does not take well to people owing her." was all he uttered.
„No, she really does not like being owed." Thomas reaffirmed.
Klaus Mikaelson opted not to say a thing and hide beneath a mask of indifference, choosing to ignore the ominous tone in Thomas´ voice. His thoughts were still reeling from all that he just got to hear. He had spent centuries making others fear him. Being fear always equaled survival to him. But hearing Caroline Forbes genuinely be fearful of what he might do to her husband – it upset him. It reminded him of a young boy afraid to receive another beating at the hands the man, he considered to be his father.
He almost missed being invited inside, his mind racing with confusion. But as he had not managed to completely shut the invite out, he was now faced with the decision of whether to enter or to walk away. He did not want to choose the latter, but the first felt unbearable. If it wasn´t about her life, he might have spent an eternity rooted in the same spot, between a dented car and a door. If only he could have.
The hallway was gloomy, not warm like he had somehow imagined it to be. The only source of light came out of what he presumed would be the living room. And she was sitting on an old, green couch, writing on a piece of paper. He briefly surveyed the rest of the room, but it gave him little insight into the life, she had started without him. All the picture frames were turned upside down, no personal object had been left in sight. Caroline Forbes would spent every ounce of life left inside her depleting body, trying to shield her world from him. He never felt more like an intruder.
„Hallo, love." he greeted softly.
As if on cue, she finished her note, stuffed it in an envelope and limped towards him. It was clear that Caroline Forbes was clearly mere days away from death. Her skin was more gray than the usual porcelain white, the dark circles under her eyes, which she had not bothered to cover up, were too prominent. He legs were wobbly, her posture was lacking. He wondered how long her husband had been struggling not to call him before he ultimately did. If he had been in his place, he would have made that call earlier – no matter the anger, that would have been to follow.
„Hallo, Klaus", she greeted tonelessly, coming to a shaky stand in front of him, holding out the letter to him.
„Here, everything you want to know is in there. The info you need plus things that were never even covered in our deal."
He was too stunned to reach for the envelope. Leave it to Caroline Forbes to throw him for a loop.
„If memory serves me right, I am still to wait a bit more than a decade for this."
„Well, it´s your lucky day." she mumbled.
„Is it now? And pray, what is expected of me in exchange for this stroke of luck?" he chuckled darkly.
„You take the envelope and you leave. Nothing more." Caroline stated firmly.
„I see." he answered. „ And by leave I take it you mean leaving this lovely hallway, leaving Mexico and leaving you to die."
She didn´t even bother with a response. „Just take it."
He exhaled, exhaustion washing over him. The offer was tempting. He thought of Hailey, thought of his child. Of the undeclared war that has been in an equally unofficial stalemate for almost a century. It was tempting, as ashamed as he was to admit that to himself.
„I am afraid, I can´t agree to that." he sighed finally.
„Klaus, just take the letter." she urged, thrusting it into his hands.
He let it drop to the floor, never taking his eyes of her.
„Pick it up" she commanded him in frustration.
„Caroline, - „
„I said, pick it up." she yelled. He didn´t move. He couldn´t. Because he was not sure, if he could stay true to his convictions, if he actually touched the envelope. So he chose to remain still instead.
„PICK IT UP!" Caroline roared, over-exhausting herself in the process. She fell to her nears and puked out blood, until her stomach started to cramp up. It took her a minute to collect herself. Slowly, she ran her hand past her mouth in an effort to remove any red stains, then she got up again and moved to lean her head against the door frame. It occurred to him, that it has been ages that he has been so close to her.
„Please Klaus, leave this be." She was not yelling any more, she was crying instead.
Oh, how he longed to touch her, to comfort her. She wouldn´t let him, but he still longed for that anyway. „I won´t hurt him. I promise. I am only here to help."
„I don´t believe you." she whispered.
„I know."
For a while, they just stood there. Her leaning with shallow breathing against the doorframe, eyes dangerously close to closing themselves. Him studying her.
„Your husband is quite something." He immediately breaking their silence like that. Discussing her marriage would never ease the tension. Instantly, she became rigid and went into a competitive stance.
„ I will fix this, sweetheart. You´ll both be fine... Just rest until then." he encouraged.
„How do you plan on fixing this." she sighed, and he only gave her a smirk. „Don´t even think about slaughtering that entire coven, it´s only like 4 people that did this. The rest is not involved."
„Oh, sweetheart, but they are! They are protecting like 4 rotten apples it seems." he taunted.
„You mean: involved like I was involved?" she shot back. For all he knew, she might have actually shot him.
„No... not like you. You were a ..." he was looking for the right word, struggling to find it.
„A mistake? An accident? A Miscalculation?" she suggested in a hard voice.
Again, there was nothing better to respond with than with silence.
„I can´t promise to stray my hand, if it could decide between your life or death – but I … will endeavor restraint." He could not give her more than that. „Now... sweetheart, the only thing I ask for in return now, is that you rest." She might faint, if she didn´t.
He turned and left, only to stop at the front door once more. „Until next time, love."
Caroline stared at the empty hallway for what felt like ages, before slowly making her way back to the couch. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the untouched envelope on the floor.
Outside the air was tense with anticipation. No word was said, as they all got into the car. No word uttered during the ride.
Klaus was puzzled to find that Emest was not immediately taking him the coven. Instead, they went to a bar. Annamaria and Thomas immediately moved to occupy a table in a booth, eager to avoig him. Klaus chose to follow Emest up a staircase.
„Thank you for not accepting whatever it was that my wife offered for your departure." Emest said earnestly, coming to stop in front of a dark-brown door. „Now I have to repay you twice."
„I hardly did anything requiring repayment so far." Klaus shrugged.
„But I will repay you nonetheless."
„How about a drink then?" Klaus suggested.
„How about knowledge instead?" Emest muttered.
„I don´t think your wife would appreciate you giving me intelligence."
„No, but it might be good if you had some anyway".Emest sighed, leaning against the balcony, looking down onto the bar´s patrons. „I am dying. I suppose, if it was not for the coven I would already be in my grave. Cystic Fibrosis. Those witches you think of hurting have been supplying me and my family with the means to suppress the symptoms and to prolong my life. I even managed to gain weight. But it was always a cursed deal. A close-to normal life but not a long one. When I was 18 my family gave me a choice: continue on with the coven´s assistance or move onto traditional antibiotics. The human way, I might live to almost reach my 50s, but I would be nauseous and without focus for most of the time. If my doctors mess up my medication, I might even loose my hearing. The witches can grant me normalcy... but I won´t make it past 30. I will be able to die with my own lung in my body, my mind sharp and every second of my existence loved. But I will die young. „
„So that is why Caroline is unwilling to strike against the coven." Klaus said, trying to cover up his own shock.
„I met her in Cuba. Her hair was black, she wore contacts and she was trying to pass herself off as Latin-American. I saw her in a bar a couple of times, dancing like she was born to do nothing else. I wanted nothing more than to loose myself in her. When I finally told her about my condition, she offered to turn me. But I think she knew already, that I would be miserable with an eternity, even with an eternity of having the love of myself at my sight. All my life I created art, I painted the world from the point of a view of a man on borrowed time. The artist in me might not survive having an eternity at his hand. I think. She understands me – she´s sometimes angry with me for it and sometimes it breaks her heart all over – but she understands, and she chooses to love me anyway. I would give up any other day left for me on this Earth to save that woman's life."
„Why are you telling me all of this?"
„ I don´t understand how the idea of eternal life feels. But in the world you and my wife share things change. Not all things, but many things. I am praying for a future in which my wife will be free of nightmares and ghosts and anger. I´ll be one and she should not have to face all her life on her own. And maybe, just maybe … you could change, too. Someday. So this is my gift to you, Mr. Mikaelson. A tiny sliver of hope that if you become better, then there could be a place in her life for you again. If you show yourself worthy of her. Because I think that if you ever become that man, then she will have someone who will truly give her the devotion she deserves.."
„Why me of all people?".
„I am not saying it has to be you. Maybe she´ll meet someone better than either of us, I hope she does. But I know, I do know that you could be that man, should you ever choose to become him."
„What makes you so sure?" Klaus could not help but wonder.
„Your brother told me so. And as for my second repayment: Once you have dealt with the coven, I will arrange for you to have word with him form the grave. Would that satisfy my debt?"
Klaus was stunned. Within a minute Emest Vasquez had upended that fragile equilibrium Klaus Mikaelson had built up in himself. He never thought of Hope as a poison, but he could feel it contaminating him completely. After having spent a decade unsuccessfully trying to say goodbye to a future, he no longer thought possible, the idea of becoming worthy once again or maybe for the first time ever of Caroline Forbes – even it it was based on the unreasonable hope of a dying man – it never felt more possible to him than it did in that moment. Emest Vasquez believed he could be worthy someday. He rarely felt himself inferior to any mortal, but this human gave him something to aspire to. Even if it was all just a Utopian fantasy, it was more than he had had when he got on the plane that day. He might be miles away from that unfathomable someday in the distant future, but despite his better judgment, Klaus Michaelson felt now ready to take a first step. However long he would take.
Caroline would life. Emest would life. So would that cursed coven of witches.
„Thank you." though, was the response Klaus Mikaelson gave.
Ok, please guys, if you hate me, I can take that, but do let me know what you think. I am – as per usual – anxious. As for my other writing. I am working on a short story triple (non-supernatural) and the first chapter of something supernatural. Maybe I´ll even start a website for myself – or maybe I ´ll just give up. I don´t know. Lately I have days where I feel extremely insecure about writing, and then there are days, when I want to try to see where this takes me. Today I definitely feel more insecure. You guys know that feeling? Anyway... am please don´t hate me.
The Kol-Klaus interaction will happen in a later flashback. The next chapter will be back in the show´s timeline -TVD season 5 / Originals season 1. There will be more flashbacks about Caroline´s life in-between - so Emest will make re-appearances.
You will also learn what Info Caroline has been holding onto (what was in the envelope) and what happened to Hailey/the baby/Davina and we´ll do a re-encounter with the Mystic Falls gang.
Btw... how do you guys feel about alligators?
Best regards. The ghost.
