Caroline Forbes's POV:

I wake up with a dull ache in my wrist and my arm. I groan and snuggle further into the confines of my warm and totally comfy blankets. I frown as I realize that Klaus isn't in my bed, or room, or house for that matter. I shake my disappointment off quickly. If only I could stay here forever, safe and sound. But… as I continue snuggling into my blankets, I realize I don't want to stay here, in this house that I grew up in, without my father and with workaholic mother. I want to get as far away from here as I can, without looking back, without any regrets. I want to see the world. I want to experience things others only dream about. I want… genuine beauty.

I'll miss my mother of course, no matter how much she was never home when I was younger and how we've never been close-close, and I'll miss Bonnie. I'll miss Bonnie, even more than I would maybe a few months ago, when I was still naïve Caroline. Bonnie's just tired of being used, and I empathize on that, the only difference is that I'm going to remove myself from the situation, I'm not going to stay around and put myself at risk to being used. Again.

I'll miss Matt too. Poor, poor Matt… he's the last person on this Earth who should have to suffer whatever this miserable town throws at us. He has so much good in him. Matty, the one boy who put himself last and his little sister and her needs first. Matt, the one still-good person out of all of us; he was going to graduate, get a football scholarship, get married, have kids, and then, when he was old, he'd die a peaceful death. Now, though, his studies have dropped and he's missed so many practices, his chance is slowly slipping away from his grasps.

I'll miss Elena, my best friend… or, she's supposed to be my best friend. Since all of this… supernatural has come to Mystic Falls (or has it always been here?) we've drifted away. And now, as she adjusts to vampirism, she's become a completely different person. She isn't the sweet, innocent girl I grew up with. No, instead she's beginning to lose herself. Not to mention her ridiculous love triangle with the Salvatore brothers. Both men, cursed to always love the same girl. Stefan, even though he is her epic love, deserves so much more, and I hope one day he realizes it.

I think, out of all my friends, and maybe even my mother, I'll miss Stefan the most. While Damon is my sire, Stefan is the number one person that I am closest with. He was there when I killed that man at the fair, he has saved me from Damon on numerous occasions, and he is always there for me when I need a shoulder to cry on or someone to lend an ear.

I smile as my thoughts turn from depressing to exciting.

I wonder where I'll go first… London? Paris? Rome? Barcelona? All the possibilities, with eternity in front of me…

Within five minutes I decide I'll start in London, just like in my dream, stay for a few months, and then go wherever my feet, or rather my compulsion, takes me.

Always and forever…

I frown again as his words whisper through my mind.

We could go tomorrow morning…

And yet, where is he now?

As I begin to stretch my sore muscles to get up and start packing (maybe I can just start fresh, buy everything new) I hear his voice.

"Rise and shine, sweetheart."

I sit up in bed and open my eyes, finally. He's standing in front of me, in his usual attire: dark jeans, black V-neck t-shirt, and his many necklaces. His scruff is attractive as ever, and he's smiling, not his usual smirk.

"Klaus," I breathe, almost like a passing whisper in the wind.

"Hello, love," His smile softens, and then he clears his throat. "Well, if I were you I'd be getting ready for our flight."

It takes me a few minutes to ponder what he said, and when I respond, I feel like I'm in slow-motion. "Our… flight?"

"You aren't second guessing last night, already, are you?" He sounds as if he's almost teasing.

"Of course not, I just thought… since you weren't here when I first woke up…" I trail off, looking at him from under my lashes, a little more shy than I was last night.

He sits down on the bed slowly, and pushes some of my hair behind my ear (oh gosh, major bedhead I'm sure!) and trails his hand over my cheek. My eyes close on their own accord and my head involuntarily leans into his palm.

"I promised I would take you. I do not go back on my word."

I look into his dark blue eyes, filled with a sadness that no one on this Earth could understand. I don't want to, but I want to be able to help take away some of his sadness and replace it with love.

"Where to first?" I ask, smiling at him as I get excited.

I'll be traveling the world with the oldest, most powerful vampire, the very first hybrid… I'll be traveling with someone who has seen everything, someone who has experienced everything, someone who can teach me everything.

"That, my dear… is a secret." His smile is genuine and soft, and so un-Klaus.

With me, he's always been different, kinder. Though, without a doubt he's still the badass original that rolled into town intent on killing anyone he needed to.

"What do I need?" I ask, thinking of what I needed to bring.

A curling iron, for sure, a flat iron, most definitely, my makeup, maybe some of my shoes…

"We'll buy everything new, all you need are clothes to get to where we're going, and I'll let you take my card and have a go at it."

I smile a big, silly, smile, and giggle. "That is a very dangerous thing to tell me." I warn him.

"Our flight leaves in an hour, since you slept so long Sleeping Beauty, I think it's about time you get ready…"

I flash out of bed and to the door of my bedroom. I stop, and then turn around to look at him.

"Don't go anywhere… ok?"

Dear Mom,

I want you to know that I am the safest I can and ever will be, and that I have a genuine chance to be happy. I'm not leaving because of you, or anyone else, I'm leaving because I want to leave. I don't know where I'm going, or when I'm coming back (if I ever do). Don't worry, because all that will do is give you wrinkles—and no one needs wrinkles. I want you to live your life and stay as safe and sane as you can in a town like Mystic Falls. I'll send you letters and postcards and pictures and I'll even try to call. Mom, I've never been a small-town girl, and I've always wanted more than this town could give me. I'm tired of being everyone's second choice and with him… I'm his first choice, and everything is different. He looks at me like I'm the moon and he's my stars. He treats me like a princess, and like the most precious thing in his world… He'll protect me, Mom, unlike you or anyone else can. With him, I will never fear for my life again. Please don't be mad, or angry with me, Mom; I'm finally doing something for myself instead of risking my life to protect Elena's. While I want my best friend to live with all of my heart, I also want to live this second life that I have been given. I love you.

Love, Your Baby Girl,

Caroline.

I smile and blink back my tears, as I fold the letter up, put it in an envelope, write 'Mom' on the top and lay it on my bed. I sit down to write another one as Klaus sits on the edge of my bed, watching me.

Elena,

I want you to know that you have been a great friend, and I love you dearly, but I need to do this for me. I've helped save you countless times, and while I'd do it all over, I'm tired of getting tortured and taken to the brink of death. I know that wherever I'm going, as long as I am with him I'll be safe and happy. I know that you won't understand, and I'm not asking you to forgive him for anything that he has done, I'm asking you to accept this. Don't come looking for me (if you ever forgive ME for this) and don't try to keep tabs on me. Tell Damon that he can shove it where the sun doesn't shine, because I know for a fact that he's going to have a few nasty choice words about my decision. I hope you find all that you're looking for in a man (whether it is one of the Salvatore's of someone else). I'll see you again, one day, so please don't fret and be too angry for long.

Caroline.

I lay it next to my mother's and then write my last one.

Stefan,

You deserve so much more than what Elena can give you. You don't deserve to be strung along for the rest of eternity. I hope you realize this and actually start living your life—without a Petrova doppelgänger. I love you, and you will forever be my best friend.

Love,

Caroline.

I gently place it next to the other two, and then look over to Klaus as we both stand up. He takes my hand and we walk downstairs and to the car he has waiting for us. He sits in the driver's seat- I in the passenger seat. He drives with one hand on the wheel, the other entangled with mine over the console. I watch as the town flies by, and I say a silent goodbye as we pass the 'You are now leaving Mystic Falls—come again!' sign.

As we make a speedy get-away to the airport I turn and look at him.

"Thank you," I whisper, kissing his palm.

He turns his head and smiles back at me.

"Sweetheart, our adventure hasn't even begun,"

AU:

Thank's for reading, and I'm so very sorry that this has taken me so long and it's so short! Next chapter should be up in two, maybe three weeks (with the holliday and exams coming up, it's hard for me to write). Next chapter clue: The very first Classical Civilization.