Hi Guys! So...its been a while. I know I said that I would try my best to update ASAP, and honestly I am. I just don't want to sacrifice quantity for quality. Thank you so much for staying with me, readers. It means so much to me. I haven't given up on this story! And I'm not planning to.
Don't forget to Review! It is such a good motivator, and a way for me to improve my writing, and therefore improve the story.
Anyways, enough of my rambling.
Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Caroline set down Klaus' plate of food, before grudgingly sitting at her seat in the dining table. The both ate in silence, Niklaus chewed on a strawberry, then swallowed, a wide grin on his face. "Well, dinner tastes wonderful! Wouldn't' you say so?"
Caroline paused, and made no change of expression though her hand subtly tightened their grip her fork. That bastard! He always did this-got angry, or shared something semi-personal, and then would start to act like an actual human. Then Caroline would do something, cross an invisible line that was constantly changing boundaries, and then Klaus would leave with something hurtful and dramatic.
And then, he would appear the next day as if nothing happened! On a side note, she wondered if that was what a teenager was like to a parent. Except, well, without the evil hybrid thing. Which brought her back to Klaus! Oh how she hated him! He called her the one thing that hurt her the most, Delusional. She had been called that all her life, back in her village, among her friends, among adults, everywhere! Delusional. Crazy. His words echoed in her mind, stinging her. "Then you are as delusional as people say." Caroline glanced back and Niklaus. She wanted to throw her fork into him and wipe that smirk off his face, but she was better, more dignified than him. So instead, she tilted her head and smiled at him innocently.
"I'm sure it would be, but the company I'm dining with leaves a bitter taste in my mouth." Niklaus' eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened.
"You forget yourself, sweetheart."
"I forget myself? Me? The only person who seems to "forget" is you, Niklaus! You seem to have conveniently forgotten that the last thing you said to me was that I was delusional!"
"Well, I'm sorry that you are too weak to take a piece of honest criticism."
"I AM NOT WEAK!" Caroline shrieked. She was now standing up, hands on the table while she glared angrily at Niklaus. "I am lots of things, and," she threw her hands up "I may even be delusional! I may be awkward, and in your eyes, I may be naive. But, I. Am. Not. Weak. I grew up shunned by my village, without a mother, and, as you know though hardly seem to care, with a father who beat me when he was drunk! I made it through the woods, and chose to find my dad, alone, when no one else believed he was alive! And then, I gave up my life to an eternity with you, for him! So, no, I am not weak!"
Niklaus stood up to match Caroline. But if he was affected, he didn't show it. "Watch yourself," Niklaus said, his voice dangerously soft. "You seem to have forgotten what I am capable of."
Caroline scoffed. "Oh, i know what you are capable of. You take without mercy, you torture, you destroy. You took Vicky's without regret. And you will probably take mine! You think I'm delusional, naive, for thinking everyone has humanity? Then fine. But at least I live a life far less wretched than one you hold! And what about your brother! Where's the rest of your family?"
This seemed to break whatever control Niklaus was holding over himself. With a roar, the hybrid's eyes turned golden, and his fangs emerged as he flashed over to Caroline and backed her against a wall. They stood like this, breathing hard and glaring at each other.
"Go ahead, you can beat me up all you want, but I'm not afraid of you anymore, hybrid." Caroline spat. With a roar, Niklaus punched wall space above her head, pieces of rock raining everywhere.
"Will you stop your tantrum Nik! Really, I don't know how the house has managed to stay intact with you here!"
The pair spun around to the new voice, and Caroline saw a woman, slim with blond hair and fair skin with a smirk to match her twinkling eyes. A smirk that seemed familiar…
"Rebekah." Klaus said, returning to his human state. "Its been a while, sister."
Caroline's eyes widened. Sister?
Rebekah's eyes shifted to Caroline, and scanned her as if she was deciding whether to use or throw away an old dress. "And who might you be?"
"Caroline". Her voice was meek now that her anger had dissipated.
"Well, Caroline, can you prepare a room for me? I must speak with my dear brother privately." Caroline nodded, and after giving Niklaus one last glare, hurried away.
As she cleaned and prepared a room, Caroline's mind wandered. What would Rebekah's unexpected appearance mean for her? She was sure that Rebekah could be as cruel as her brother was. As Caroline wiped the mirror, she looked at her reflection. Messy hair and wild eyes, she was just a simple in an apron, and she felt as if she was a child among adults. In short, she felt was alone, and as long as she lived, she would continue to be. What, exactly, would become of her? She would spend the rest of her days in the house tending to a bipolar hybrid and now, his sister. The rest of her days.
Caroline thought she had accepted her fate before, but the news seemed to hit her with full force, knocking the breath out of her. Panic enveloped her as Caroline started to hyperventilate. She couldn't live like this forever. No. She pictured the years to come, every minute and day, every excruciating thing she would experience. She would never see her father again. She would never find love, or have children. She would live in solitary confinement for the rest of her days.
"No! No. No. No, please." Caroline said over and over again, hot tears running down the curves of her cheeks. She couldn't do this. Not for eternity. She might be able to face it now, but she was already starting to drain-both emotionally and physically.
How long before she was simply a shadow of herself?
She had to get out of here. She glanced out the door. The room she was in was far away from where Klaus and Rebekah stood, and she highly doubted they could hear her. But where could she escape? Caroline's eyes warily fell on the window, that gave view to the serene forest and a lake below...5 stories down. Dare she do it? Caroline looked back at the door once more, then back at the window, and took a step forward.
"I didn't realize that you had found someone to...occupy your time with. Funny, I thought you swore off compelling whores to keep you company." Rebekah walked around nonchalantly, picked up and apple and bit into it, as her brother sat on the couch, ever serious and stolid.
"She's not a whore, she's my...maid." Klaus replied. A maid that admired him, then hated him, argued with him, and occasionally had sincere conversations that surprised the hybrid. . A maid that seemed to see herself equal to him.
"Interesting maid, this Caroline. You two were having quite the argument when I walked in. Strange for a compelled servant. And you let her get under your skin, a maid! Is it because of her blood? Is that why you stand to take her criticism?"
"she's not compelled. I had her fathe...I mean, she traded places with her father to stay in this house for the rest of her life. And I've never fed off her."
Rebekah lifted an eyebrow. This was unusual. "Nik, why do you keep her here?"
Why did he? Niklaus wondered. She was absolutely infuriating, unreasonable, and ungrateful. But...she was honest, and had a perspective on life that refreshed him. And she wasn't afraid of him, after she had seen what he was capable of. But most importantly, she wasn't afraid of him because she cared about others more than herself, so that she was not frightened by his threats. Yes...that was why he put up with her. No, he couldn't bear to admit this to himself out loud, let alone to his sibling. So he shrugged and smirked. "She cleans, she cooks. Why not?"
Rebekah did not look convinced, but she accepted the answer anyways. "Yes, well though it is nice to catch up with my dear brother, I'm going to opt for a bath."
"Yes, of course. Caroline can draw one for you. Caro-" Niklaus stopped, and paced around. Something wasn't right. The steady heartbeat that had always been in the backgrounds of his consciousness had seemed to vanish, as if she was...no. "She wouldn't dare."
Rebekah alarmed at her brother's sudden change of mood. "Dare what?"
"The third room on the 5th story, that's where she was...overlooking a lake!" With a roar, Niklaus punched the wall, yet again, and flashed to the room, Rebekah trailing behind.
Niklaus found the door locked, barely an obstacle. He swiftly broke down the door to find a well furnished and cleaned room...save for the shards of broken glass from the window.
"That foolish girl! How dare she undermine me!" He had been so caught up with Rebekah, that he had failed to hear Caroline escape.
"I should leave her in the forest for a few hours, just to suffer" Klaus growled. It's too cold for her and she has minimum supplies at most."
Rebekah gazed out the window, then suddenly stiffened. "Niklaus, I want you to think carefully. How much do you value her life?"
"What do you mean? I care nothing for her, she was simply a means to an end!"
Rebekah raised an eyebrow. "I said nothing for caring of her. But you need to make your decision carefully. I know nothing of what you two have done, but I saw your whole argument before revealing myself." Niklaus stiffened.
"I have never seen you allow someone to speak to you like that," Rebekah continued, "and live. I do not wish to provoke you, brother, but I want you to evaluate whether you care enough to let her live."
"Who said anything about letting her live, Rebekah?" he spat. She was always so dramatic.
"It appears, Niklaus," Rebekah slowly said, fixing her eyes again to the window. "it is a full moon tonight."
Niklaus suddenly stopped, then suddenly cursed. "Werewolves".
It was cold. And all Caroline could think about was the thick coldness, that seemed to push down on her lungs. The coldness that enveloped her at first now seemed to become a part of her, slowly taking over her heated body and replacing it with ice. Until she was the cold. It even hurt to breathe.
Caroline really should have thought this through. What would she do if Niklaus caught her? Was he even hunting her though? No, he would actually have to care about her livelihood in some way to make the effort of hunting her down, which he didn't. A part of her felt disappointment at this revelation, but Caroline hastily pushed the thought aside as a moment of temporary madness.
She allowed her thoughts to drift elsewhere. Where in the world would she go from here? Caroline inspected her surroundings. She was surrounded by tall pine trees, that seemed to shield her from any creature-namely a certain hybrid, if he came. A background of mountains rose above her like a great giant, which cast only a hint of a shadow through the light of a beautiful, full moon.
It was rather sublime, given the circumstances. She knew that she would probably have to find refuge in a cave somewhere, and perhaps make a fire-yes! A nice hot fire that would warm her-a shrieking howl pierced the cold silence, interrupting Caroline's thoughts. She quickly stopped in her tracks and madly looked at her surroundings once more. Tall trees, huge mountains lit by a beautiful moon...wait. A full moon. She knew what that meant.
Suddenly the air was suffocating, not just cold. The mountains seemed to be oppressive rather than sublime. And the trees now seemed to hide whatever creature lurked on this night instead of her. Caroline didn't feel the cold anymore, alll she could feel was the fear that spread through her veins, paralyzing her. Caroline was beyond scared-she was terrified.
That idiot! That ungrateful little...that snide naive girl! Niklaus thought angrily as he stomped through the snow covered forest. Not scared of me? I am the nightmare that plague's every man's dreams. I am the most feared creature in the supernatural world, damn it! Niklaus tore through the forest breaking all branches unfortunate enough to stand in his way,with violent rage.
It probably wasn't a good idea to create a ruckus when hunting something, or someone. But he would catch up to her no matter what. And he was the ultimate hunter, the top of the food chain. He didn't have to stay quiet, all creatures were prey.
Niklaus came across cluster of branches and broken sticks, no doubt a failed attempt to start a fire. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Could she be any more obvious? Forget werewolves, any dimwitted animal in the forest could be a threat to her. He could smell it now, the scent of fear that was so familiar to him. Yes, he was getting closer.
But why was he even hunting her at all? The voice said in his mind.
Then he heard her scream.
All thoughts seemed to leave his mind as he raced towards the noise. There were a pack of werewolves, and all of them were after Caroline. She stood in the center, bravely but stupidly fighting off the wolves with rocks. A werewolf bounded past her weak defenses and attacked her neck, and she screamed again, crying in pain. Something snapped in Klaus, and he let out an angry roar as he seamlessly changed into a wolf and bounded to her rescue, seeing only red.
She was going to die, and she had no one to blame but herself. Caroline lay in the snow, defeated. The pure whiteness of the snow was tainted by a crimson liquid, and with a dull realization, she realized that it was blood-her blood. It wasn't so bad, to die like this. Surrounded by the infinite forest, and scenic cliffs, sublime or oppressive.
Then suddenly, she heard a roar. from her peripheral vision, she could see a werewolf. But this one was not like the others. This wolf carried a grace and authority that distinguished itself from the rest of the pack. For a moment, there was only silence as the wolves analyzed this new threat. Then the new wolf changed and shifted, until it became a man-no, a hybrid. The hybrid.
"Niklaus…" Caroline heard herself say, softly.
His hardened eyes flickered towards her for less than a second, before unleashing hell.
Niklaus bounded towards the werewolves, killing whatever wolf was unfortunate to stand in his way with violent rage, like tree branches. Limbs flew everywhere as the once fierce pack was soon reduced to a few pitiful wolves, which were left to scamper away.
Niklaus looked at Caroline, only to find her staring back at him with an expression impossible to fathom, emotions swirling in the depths of her eyes. They stayed like that for what seemed like days, and perhaps it was. But time was irrelevant now.
Caroline and Niklaus were locked in a stalemate, a clash of selves. Both refused to move towards the other, to face the tension that had been building since Caroline had run away. She looked so innocent, yet vulnerable, lying on the soft, pure snow; A stark contrast to her fiery gaze and sharp tongue that Niklaus was usually used to. It was only when Caroline finally fainted from blood loss, overwhelming emotions, or the tension itself, when Niklaus walked towards her figure in the snow, as if in a daze.
The hybrid gathered Caroline in his arms, and slowly walked back towards the mansion with a tenderness he had forgotten he was capable of.
So what did you guys think? REVIEW! I seriously want to here what you guys think I could improve with the story! How are the characters developing? Is the relationship believable enough? Tell me! :)
Until next time!