Hello my lovelies,
I apologize for the long wait but I've been busy with school and finals, time just passed by too quickly.
I'd like to thank Bright645, Rose-loves-Dimitri, and midnightquiver for beta-ing this story.
Now without further or do...
"We're gonna have to do something about it, Klaus."
Klaus turned around, a scowl adorning his face as he stared at the younger Salvatore. "And why would we be doing anything about it?"
Stefan frowned. "We need to,what if these people are dangerous?"
"Well then that's your problem, mate. I don't need to do anything about it," he said with a huff.
Stefan started pacing the study, the frown still visible on his face. "What are you talking about? It's our problem, this are vampires we're talking about."
Klaus went back to his seat behind the massive mahogany desk, contemplating how he could make Stefan understand he wasn't interested in helping him. "No, mate. That's your problem, I don't care if there are some vampires running around in Mystic Falls. Why should I care really when they're not concerning me?"
Stefan suddenly stopped, glaring at him. "What? How could you say that?"
"Why wouldn't I say that, Stefan?" he asked incredulously. Stefan grabbed the glass of bourbon Klaus offered him and drowned it in one gulp, real fear in his eyes. Klaus didn't know if Stefan was really afraid, or if he was only fishing out his pity but Klaus found himself sighing. "Look mate, I have a lot of things going on, with Caroline being alive and all, my life in New Orleans is not a walk in the park either but I really don't know what you want me to do. And like I said, I don't see how this concern me, so you will have to forgive me if I'm not the least bit interested in helping you."
Stefan stopped pacing, this time coming closer to Klaus' desk. "What if I give you a reason to help me?"
He shrugged, wanting for Stefan to continue. The Salvatore nodded, his eyes squinting as if deep in thought. "Don't you think it's weird, that when you come to Mystic Falls suddenly massive numbers of murders are happening? We haven't got any weird visitors or accidents since Silas died. Bonnie said something about the news of Silas' death here would prevent some young vampires to come here. Some sort of ancient beliefs or something. But then you and your brother came here, Caroline suddenly reemergeses from the dead and there are dozens of dead and missing people. If you ask me, there has to be a pattern here. What if they came here for you or Caroline?"
Intense silence fell over the dark study, both vampire and hybrid contemplating on what Stefan had just said. Klaus studied Stefan's face, there's pride there-probably from his bravery and unwavering tone-and yet there's also shock, pure shock. He somehow knew Stefan had connected the dots right then and there. He never saw the new threat like that; he thought it was a random passerby. But it still could happen. He hoped it would be.
"Really, Stefan? Are you seriously telling me that there hadn't been any visitors here for the past six years?" he asked, eyeing the younger vampire closely.
Stefan plopped himself down on one of the leather armchairs in front of his desk. "Okay, there's been a few over the years, nothing this big. They sometimes looked around for me or Damon, some asked about Katherine or the history of Silas. Others either looking for a witch, a Bennett witch to be exact, or were just passing-through."
He nodded, sensing the truth Stefan's words held. "Have you asked around, your brother or any supernatural being still living here? Maybe they know who came, solve the mystery before it even started."
Stefan stared at Klaus as if he was dumb. "Of course I have asked around, Klaus. And no, Damon isn't here as I'm sure you know. He has been away for some time. Traveling the world as a 'lonely bachelor', his words not mine. I also heard he had some flings with your sister. Last I heard he was leaving your estate in New Orleans when Rebekah left too."
"Well my sister always had a nasty taste in men-no offense," he started as he sipped his scotch.
"None taken."
"And yes, I have seen your brother around my home in Louisiana for quite some time now. Believe me, I hated every second of him living around him yet I cannot persuade my sister to dump him, but I do know he didn't travel the world. My sister's body maybe, but not even the city itself," he finished. Stefan stared at him in disgust, as if he was really imagining what activities his brother was doing for the last few weeks. "But really, what do you want me to do?"
"Help me investigate, maybe?" Stefan offered.
"That will raise too much suspicion. People aren't supposed to know I'm back," he reminded Stefan.
"Why?" Stefan furrowed his eyebrows.
He chuckled dryly. "I believe that's none of your concern, my friend. What you do need to know that I want my stay in this town to remain a secret for now."
"Fine. But people already know Katherine and Elijah are back."
"Yes well my brother never understands the need of privacy, even if he thought otherwise," he growled. Of course Elijah would be showing himself off with the incessant doppelganger around town, he shouldn't have expected otherwise. He thought Elijah would be discreet once in a while when his people didn't know he'd left for Mystic Falls, he needed to have a serious talk with his brother. "But know this, if you mention my presence here, I would not only expose you to those who are apparently wracking havoc on this town, I will make it my life mission to end you and this town."
"I still don't get why you don't want people knowing you here but fine. My lips are sealed. Now would you help me?"
Klaus smirked. "Why of course, Stefan. You have piqued my curiosity. Now tell me what you know."
"This has to be the worst day ever," Rebekah drawled with a dramatic sighed.
Caroline glared at her from across the room before turning back to her now-full closet, thanks to Klaus and his maids. "You're telling me. I'm stuck with a nasty twat-and may I add bitchy-Original Vampire who won't shut up,I haven't had a decent blood in two days and I'm not allowed to get out of this mansion."
Rebekah rolled her eyes, dropping the manicure kit on the floor. "Well I'm stuck with an incessant blonde baby vampire who decided to turn-off her humanity switch to become bitchier and who said you're not allowed to go out of my house? I'd be delighted to see you leave."
Caroline took out the maroon halter dress she was holding from her closet and threw it on the floor a little too harshly. "Oh right. You're not allowed to go out of this house without a protection, Caroline. Either it's me or Kol right, since Elijah and Katerina are too lovey-dovey even after years of dating. Well you don't have to worry, the bitchy Original Vampire wouldn't be caught dead hanging around you and Kol would take you to the worst place in the city so yes, you're stuck inside my house so shut up."
Caroline took another set of dresses and threw it out of her closet once again. She was rearranging her brand new closet when she heard Klaus ordered his sister to watch her while he talked to Stefan. The two men hadn't come out of the downstairs study for three hours now and to Caroline's utter frustration, Stefan had burnt sage inside the room to keep others from listening in. She and Rebekah hadn't stopped bickering since.
"So then ask your 'Nik' to let me go, you won't have to baby-sit me and I won't be stuck inside this house anymore, it's a win-win. Do it," she said with the sweetest fake smile she could muster.
"Yeah well unfortunately,Nik is under a lot of pressure right now, plus I don't want to be on my brother's bad side any longer so no, I won't ask him to do such things," Rebekah replied sweetly , returning her attention back to painting her toe-nails. "You're not so bad after all. Not as annoying as Hayley was back when she said she was pregnant with Nik's baby. Well when you shut up, it's not so bad."
"You know Rebekah, why are you so damn annoying with me? Elena and you hit it off when the stupid doppelganger had her humanity off, why not with me?"
Rebekah eyes widened for a moment as she realized Caroline had just confessed to her that she'd turned her humanity switch off. She caught Caroline's suspicious look and she quickly composed herself. "You want to be my friend?"
Another set of clothes came face-to-face with the floor, followed by pairs of shoes. "No, don't get any ideas. Not friends, just weird acquaintances wouldn't be so bad."
Rebekah contemplated on the idea. It must be better than the constant bickering between them, but she didn't want to give in so easy to Caroline. She put down her nail polish as she tried to act like she was thinking about Caroline's suggestion. "I want that dress if you haven't worn it, that's my only condition," she said, pointing to a light blue chiffon Oscar de la Renta dress she knew Caroline adored.
Caroline scoffed as she picked up the fairytale-themed dress, and eyed Rebekah carefully. She'd loved the dress when Klaus had showed her the walk-in closet, it was one of the few dresses she'd tried on. She'd tried so hard to keep her excitement down when she saw it and she knew Rebekah thought it was one of her favorites. The other blonde wasn't dumb either.
"Where the hell are we going?"
She heard Klaus chuckle behind her, coming to put his hand on the small of her back. "Some say patience is a virtue, sweetheart. You'd have to wait and see it for yourself," he whispered into her ear as they walked through the empty hallway of the Mikaelson mansion.
Caroline couldn't see anything since Klaus had insisted that she wore the bluish blindfold he'd presented after they had dinner and she was somewhat curious as to what he was so excited about. Klaus was a bit jumpy and nervous throughout dinner but she couldn't help but notice the excited glint his blue eyes held.
"You know if you're bringing me to some weird closet or locked room with no windows like you did to Elena to keep me and force me to answer some questions for you, it won't work," she warned.
Another set of chuckles followed. "Trust me, Caroline, this surprise is pleasant."
"I hope so, we don't want me to injure your balls now do we?"
They passed another hallway, with Klaus still guiding her. They were somewhere in the third floor, Caroline guessed, but she wasn't sure. She was distracted by their conversation. "Is that a threat I hear?" he joked.
Caroline let out a loud huff. "Of course not, Caroline. I'm still, in fact, very attached to my balls-as you had very bluntly pointed out-and I wouldn't want any harm to come to it."
She had to bite back her lips to keep from smiling and they continued to walk further in silence. Caroline still didn't understand why she was here. Well not here with him, but why in his house. She hadn't planned to find him nor was she planning to return to Mystic Falls.
Her thoughts were halted when they came to a sudden stop. Klaus opened a door and lead her inside without warning, she stopped in her tracks. "Where are we?"
"You can open your blindfold now," he said quietly.
She quickly undid the knots behind her head which surprisingly were easy to open, the delicate material fell down from her face and she handed it back to him before turning her attention to the half-opened door.
She kicked the door slowly, half expecting death traps to appear. She ready for whatever it was, when the door opened, she gasped, not expecting to see a closet.
She was in heaven. That was the only thing she could come up with if she were ask to express how she was feeling. Even with the fact she hadn't cared about her appearances for the last two years, she was still a die-hard fashion fan, and how could one reject the sight of such beauty? Different sizes, colors, materials of dresses, shirts, skirts, tops were splattered all over the place, the hangers had multiple gowns and dresses fit for a princess, the racks of shoes and bags on the left side of the room was a sight to the middle was a single chaise in creamy white with beautiful pillows arranged in some sort of design pattern, the scent of white rose lingered the room from the flower arrangement on both sides of the room, full-length mirrors were splattered all over the massive room creating that roomy feeling. In the other side of the room she noticed a small white staircase.
"Where does that lead to?" she asked curiously.
He eyed the staircase she was revering to before shrugging his shoulders that was clad in leather. "You will have to see that for yourself, now why don't you model one of the many dresses for me?"
All bitchiness forgotten, Caroline nodded, excitement gleaming between her eyes. "Okay."
She went to the racks, eyeing the cocktail dresses one by one before deciding on a navy one. Without caring, she tore her hideous blouse aside, dropping her skirts to the floor and getting out of the flats she'd found in her room, leaving her with only a pair of simple white bra and panties.
She could feel Klaus's eyes roaming all over her body as she slipped in the dress. She hadn't meant to play with him tonight, but he made her question her own feelings, she wanted to give him some sort of punishment. "So what do you think?"
"You look gorgeous," was all he said.
She turned around, walked right to him, hips swaying side by side. They were only a couple of inches apart, her nose brushing slightly against his. She leaned forward, brushing her lips to his pouty ones, teasing a bit, causing a groan from him.
"Caroline..."
"Yep, you're right; I have lots of dresses to model for you." She started to turn around but stopped, coming forward once again and biting the lower part of his lips. This time she received a moan from him, loud enough for other vampires in the house-probably Kol or Rebekah-would hear. She backed away when he was about to reciprocated her kiss, a smirk growing on her pink lips. "Now, now. Don't play with me."
"Caroline, you're-" he started but she had cut him off, shoving two dresses, one in a caramel and another in a more blushy tone. "Which one do you prefer?"
He pointed to one of them randomly, she noticed from the dazed look he got. She knew he'd somehow chosen the caramel gown but she preferred the other one, without any warning, the navy dress she had on was lying on the floor, between her bare feet, replaced by the flowy dress she'd picked up earlier. "What about this one?"
"Breath-taking."
"Alright then." She walked to the other side of the room to the white antiques dressers. She wasn't expecting the answers she was giving him, she wanted him to be excited. She opened the drawer, finding the pieces she wanted. She pulled out a white number, much similar to the ones she was wearing on the first day here but more delicate and if it were possible, it was thinner.
"Now what about this one?" she threw the garments at him.
"Sure, it looks nice, sweetheart," he said as he walked to the racks she was standing earlier. He pulled out a baby blue dress with a butterfly belt around the waist, it was flowy and princessy. "Why don't you try this one?"
She eyed the dress for a moment, it was beautiful but too modest for what she was about to do. She couldn't stop herself from admiring it though, the dress was beautiful. "Alright."
She'd just zipped the back of the dress, coming face-to-face with her. Now he was showing the expression she wanted, he looked at her as if she was the most beautiful thing on the planet, with a glimmer of pride and awe mixed between them.
"That's gorgeous, Caroline. Really," suddenly a sound interrupted their moment, came in a blonde Original Vampire from the staircase she'd asked Klaus earlier.
"Rebekah," Klaus groaned.
Rebekah smiled sweetly at her brother. "Hello, Nik. I hope you don't mind that I went to Caroline's closet."
"What?" she asked incredulously.
Klaus sighed. "It was supposed to be a surprise, but yes, the staircase is connected to your smaller closet inside your bedroom."
"Oh," she said quietly. She then turned to address Klaus's annoying sister. "And yes, I do like this dress; it's one of my favorite actually. Now if you'll excuse us, Klaus and I need to talk about something." She flashed them over through the staircase without another word.
"Fine, you can have it, now leave me alone," Caroline said harshly.
Rebekah's eyes widened. She hadn't thought Caroline would gave her the dress, she'd just done it to annoy the baby vampire. "Really?"
"Yeah," she said harshly, throwing the blue dress to the sitting blonde.
Rebekah was about to answer when they both heard Klaus's booming voice from downstairs. "Rebekah? Caroline?"
"We're in Caroline's closet, Nik," Rebekah shouted back.
In a matter of seconds, both men came through the doors, Klaus with a grim expression and Stefan's in awe as he saw the room. "Wow, this is all yours?"
Caroline turned her head to the younger Salvatore, annoyance clear in her face. "Yeah, why?"
"Nothing, this must be a dream come true for you, isn't it Care?" Stefan said with a genuine smile.
Caroline just shrugged, not caring about what Stefan had to say.
Klaus watched the exchange, the excitement from Stefan's face melted to one of hurt. He somehow knew why Stefan would feel like that, the old Caroline would have told him all about her new closet, talk about it for hours even jumped up and down because of it, however the new Caroline shrugged, as if Stefan had never been important to her. He cleared his throat loudly, gaining the other three vampires in the room. "Now, Stefan and I are going to head out to check some things, I'm sure you girls could occupy yourself for a few hours."
His darling of a sister was eyeing him curiously. "Check what things?"
"Some business that's none of your concern, sister."
"Stefan?" Rebekah tried again.
Stefan looked at anywhere but at his sister, his attention to the painting hung above the white roses arrangement, the one he bought in Italy. "Yes, exactly what he said. We're just gonna check some things and we'll be back in a few."
"What business?" Caroline asked, looking up from the arrangements of shoes.
"Supernatural business, of course."
Caroline and Rebekah nodded, their eyes meeting. Something must have crossed between them because the next thing Klaus knew, both blondes nodded, as if coming to a decision. "We're coming with you," Rebekah said.
"Oh, why prey tell?" he asked anxiously. It was bad enough that he'd agreed to help Stefan sort out the 'new comers' problem, he didn't want nor need the help of his sister and Caroline.
Caroline stood up, coming closer to him. "Well it's clear to me and Rebekah that you two are hiding something so we're coming with you."
"We're not hiding anything," Stefan muttered softly under his breath, his attention still not changing from the landscape painting. He felt sympathy for Stefan, he'd made him promise to not tell anyone of his willingness in helping sort out this problem. He didn't need anyone knowing he was back and certainly helping the Salvatore without any bargaining chip.
"And that answer tells us you are hiding something," Rebekah said with a smirk.
"We're not hiding anything, little sister. Why won't you trust me?" Klaus said annoyed.
"Okay then, tell us what's really going on then. If there's nothing to hide then tell me the truth straight out," Caroline challenged.
"We would, really. But like I said, it doesn't concern you, it's not a big deal. We can postpone it if we must," Klaus insisted.
"Why postpone it? Why not just let us come with you?" Caroline asked again.
Klaus sighed, looking at the two blonde vampires working together to solve the secret he and Stefan were hiding. "Why are you so adamant on going with me and Stefan?"
Caroline smirked, coming face-to-face with him. "Why are you so adamant in keeping us here?"
He knew there was only one way to convince them they weren't hiding anything, even if they were. He caught Stefan's eyes, giving him a look that said it all, Stefan responded with a simple nod. "Okay, fine. You may go with us but don't ask too many questions and don't stand in our way."
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Aye, aye Captain," she mocked. Caroline smirked, grabbing one of the jackets she'd thrown on the floor. Rebekah came around to them suddenly, placing both hands on their shoulder and shoving them out. "Now if you will, please wait downstairs for me and Caroline to get ready."
He and Stefan were out the door when he realized the irony of this situation. "So you two are friends now?"
Another looks exchanged. "Arranged-acquaintances," both girls said in unison.
When Klaus was about to descend down the stairs, Stefan caught his arm. "This is not how things are supposed to be going." There were worry lines etched on Stefan's face, a seriousness he hadn't seen there. "We need to keep a low profile if you don't want anyone knowing you're back and I believe you don't want anyone knowing Caroline is alive for a while. What if someone see us? We need to stroll the city to search for information. I know that part of town is hardly livable anymore and no one is going to be there but there will be guards. Sheriff Forbes had already sent two of her deputies and a few of her men there to keep the place safe and look for any more clues. What if they saw her? You, not everyone might recognize but they know me and they damn well know Caroline. You can't compel them either, the vervain supply in this town is getting higher and higher every year."
"Vervain supply? Why would they top the vervain supply when you said nothing had happened for the past few years?"
Stefan rolled his eyes at Klaus's stupidity. "Yes, just because nothing happened doesn't mean the council members have put their guard down. It's like they're waiting for another ambush or something. Liz said they just don't want any more accident happening and a full supply of vervain might be the only way to lessen the chances."
"So no compelling, that's easy," Klaus said nonchalantly even when he was trying to find loopholes to find information faster than the plan Stefan had represented earlier.
"We seriously can't have the girls running around town with us, Klaus. There's too much going on and too little time to assess damage control."
Klaus sighed. "We'll create diversity or something then, Stefan. Do not worry. I don't need my sister's help or Caroline's for that matter since we still don't know why or how she's back," he said quietly.
Stefan stopped in his tracks, causing Klaus to halt his movement too. "So you don't trust her?"
"I did once Stefan, but she was an open book then. This woman is a lot different than the reigning Miss Mystic Falls we once knew. We don't know anything about her except that we had history with her. She doesn't want to tell us anything when asked; she kept dodging questions so you will have to excuse me if I have a hard time believing what her motives are."
Stefan became quiet as they reached the foyer, his mind working in different possibilities. "What do you got?" Klaus asked curiously.
"Maybe the new vampires didn't have anything to do with you or your brothers, maybe it had something to do with her."
"Then we would have to find that out for ourselves..."
And that's it, what are the boys planning? ;)
Again, thank you for those who reviewed, followed and favorited this story, I appreciate the gesture very much.
Hopefully I'd be able to get the next chapter sooner because I have this family trip a few days before Christmas and won't be bringing my laptop there. You're welcome to bug-review-the hell out of me for the next update if I forget.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think.
Xoxo, Ems