I hate this chapter. It wouldn't write the way I wanted, it wouldn't flow the way I wanted and Klaus feels OOC. This is also the second draft. The first draft was an entirely different scenario that I was 3500 words into before deciding that wasn't working and I tried to make this work. So instead of putting it off any longer I'm just gonna leave this here for all of you to tear apart and tell me how awful it is.
Moving on, thank you all so much for leaving me reviews and favoriting this and following this story. You guys have really blown my mind. Thank you so much!
Also, I'm really sorry it took so long to update. Aside from how much I hate this chapter school hit me. I have finals next week so I'm hoping to get something out the week after that. Fingers crossed. I do want to finish TVD before I post anything else because I want to know what canon did with the Travelers and the Other Side situation. We'll see. If you think it's been too long since the last update, message me, I'll tell you what's stopping me. Now, on to the actual story.
She had promised to meet him on the outskirts of town, just outside the Bayou. After the witches had turned on him, their alliance, however unwilling, became necessary. It was Marcel who rebuilt New Orleans as the supernatural hub of the U.S after the Originals left, he wasn't about to lose it once Klaus decided Marcel was playing with a toy he wanted.
So he made sure there was no one around except the few who remained loyal to him after Klaus dismantled his Kingdom and the wolves she brought along. For a wolf, she wasn't stupid. Despite being sworn enemies Marcel could admire intelligence in anyone.
Hayley approached as Marcel slid his diplomatic guise on and took his cue. "You're sure this is going to work?" he asked in lieu of a greeting.
He watched as she rolled her eyes and pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "If you're gonna doubt me the whole time then, no, it won't work."
"All right, all right," Marcel mocked surrender, all smiles and charm. "I just need to know how exactly this works, and if it will, before I snatch up one of Klaus' hybrids for a plan you put all your faith in."
Hayley stared at him. For all intents and purposes he was her last hope of making New Orleans a home for her family, her wolf pack. They would not live under persecution by any vampire any longer. "They have to change into a wolf. Repeatedly," she stated, hoping that was sufficient enough.
"How do we get them to do that willingly?" Marcel asked. He didn't care much for werewolves but he knew enough to know that changing meant breaking every bone in their body. It sounded excruciating.
"You said you were planting doubt," Hayley replied. "You just need one of them to realize they're not free and that we can give them freedom."
Marcel nodded, appraising Hayley. She appeared strong–determined–like this was her last chance. "You never answered my first question. How do I know this works?"
"I've done it before."
"Really?" Marcel chuckled disbelievingly. "You? You've unsired one of Klaus' hybrids before this unfortunate turn of events. Did this hybrid live to tell the tale?"
"Actually, he's the friend I called and asked to come help us. He's on his way if you wanted to ask him any questions when he gets here," Hayley bit back, arms across her chest.
Marcel paused for a moment, reevaluating Hayley once more. Apparently she'd gone up against Klaus before and had to have succeeded if she was still alive. He'd bite. "The Lockwood kid? So what? You planted a little doubt and he came running?"
"No, he hated Klaus before he was turned. But he broke the bond for a girl."
"So if doubt doesn't work, find someone they love?"
"Just find a way for them to see Klaus as he is, not who they think he is. I'll do the rest." She hesitated before continuing. "But yeah, if that doesn't work, we force them."
"And why should I trust this Lockwood guy? I've never met him."
"He's Klaus' first hybrid. Tyler will do anything to take down Klaus." Even working with me,Hayley thought to herself. "That makes him our most reliable ally."
Ally. The word struck a chord in Marcel. He had to visibly refrain from his self disgust at working with wolves. It slipped away quickly when he remembered the moment the city was his again, the wolves would be out of the French quarter for good. He wondered briefly as he examined Hayely's stoic face if she knew what allying with him entailed? If she was planning for him to turn on her? So he asked, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Every connotation that question could have, he meant.
Hayley didn't hesitate in response. "Yeah. I'm surviving."
As odd as staying in New Orleans was, Caroline had to admit one thing: the bed she slept in was like a cloud. So much so she almost managed to get some sleep. After someone brought her bags to her, Caroline pushed away all thoughts regarding how Klaus knew where she was staying or how his minions managed to get into the motel room. Instead she showered away the stress of the day, changed into her only change of clothes (which would become a problem if their stay lasted longer than she intended), and set her mind to organization. In the past hour alone Caroline learned more about the situation in New Orleans that her imagination could have conjured up.
Finding some paper stashed away in a small desk and a black pen, she set to work. Caroline was a visual person, she liked charts and infographics and most importantly, she liked order. Order meant things were under control. And when things were under control, Caroline could breathe easy.
Scribbling away, Caroline listed all the players in the game so far because she had a feeling things had become infinitely more complicated the moment she set foot in New Orleans. She came to the conclusion that Klaus was Klaus. He has Tom somewhere and she was intent on finding him (his name had a massive question make next to it Caroline idly retraced). There were an abundance of Hybrids (though Caroline cursed herself for not getting a head count). Rebekah and Elijah stood astutely at his side. The witches of New Orleans were apparently helping them hide Tom which had to mean he wasn't locked away in a closet on feeding tubes somewhere (hopefully). They were also helping the Originals raise Kol from the dead (and apparently if that didn't work out Klaus hoped the Travelers would do it for him?). But all that meant was that they must have done something to win the witches favor because if being friends with Bonnie taught her anything, it was that witches and vampires do not get along.
Along with that, Enzo wanted Tom dead at all costs to pay off this debt he owed the Travelers. Marcel apparently controlled the city before Klaus moved back to town and was now at 'war' with Klaus for New Orleans (though it clearly looked like Klaus won). Stefan was still being held captive. Her mom and everyone else in Mystic Falls still had no clue she was in New Orleans. Klaus and her would still probably have to face each other.
That was another reason why she was a relationship or single gal, hook ups were messy on their own. Throw in an Original hybrid and Caroline had the biggest mess anyone's love life had ever seen (well, maybe aside from the Elena, Damon, Stefan bizarro-ness that went on). Yes, this topped Tyler being sired to Klaus while they were together because every party involved knew where they stood. Now, Caroline didn't know what she meant to Klaus. More importantly, she didn't know what Klaus meant to her.
In the end, the page she'd written on was a mess of black ink, words and thought bubbles connected by swift strokes and long arrows. Vampires didn't get headaches but Caroline felt like her head might explode if she pondered the conundrum she'd voluntarily walked into for even a second longer.
Turning her attention to the room she was currently in, Caroline couldn't help but admire the way the room, and the house itself, appeared to reconcile the rich history of New Orleans with minimalist demands of modernity. Everything around her was light, airy, and old. It was a breath of fresh air and she couldn't believe it after only having seen a few streets and parts of this very old home. It was nothing like Mystic Falls she settled. It was darker. Just walking the streets earlier, even when she was escorted here, it felt different. Something thrummed in the very air of New Orleans and Caroline couldn't put her finger on it.
She'd spent hours tossing and turning after that. The bed was heaven, Caroline's mind just wouldn't turn off. She watched the sun rise wondering if she'd get any sleep throughout the day and tried hard not to laugh at the irony of her current sleeping habits.
When the sun was high enough in the sky she'd come to the realization that sleep was not coming. Coffee and blood would have to keep her alive. Having slept in her clothes Caroline wandered to her bag and dabbed concealer under her eyes. Any stress or weakness she had, she had to leave in this room. This was not Mystic Falls. It was not a revelation, she knew this. This was not Mystic Falls and she had no allies here and that would not dissuade her from saving Stefan's life.
Taking a deep breath, she left the haven behind and went searching for blood bags. It was highly unlikely the Originals would keep them on hand but she hoped whoever had gone to fetch her bags had checked the motel mini fridge for her own supply. And if they didn't, coffee would have to suffice until she found a local hospital.
Finding the kitchen was easy. What she found was harder to fathom. Klaus was cooking. Standing in the doorway watching his back as he cracked an egg easily with one hand, Caroline knew he realized she was watching. She wasn't at all surprised when he greeted her good morning, lifting his gaze momentarily to meet her gaze.
"I didn't know you could cook," came her reply as she side stepped the island to the fridge.
"Unfortunately love, there are a lot of things you don't know about me."
He'd lived a thousand years. Caroline was sure she'd never know everything about him even if she wanted to. Not bothering to answer him, she skimmed over the subject and reached for the fridge door. "Did your minions check for blood bags when they went to go get my stuff?"
She could feel the smile on his face when she pulled open the fridge door and found not only her blood bags from Mystic Falls General, but new bags from Tulane Medical Center. He'd gotten her blood bags. It was such a Klaus thing to do, at least when it came to Caroline, that it was almost annoying. It's like he expected her to stay longer than she intended.
"As you can see, my minions as you so pointedly called them, were asked to accommodate your dietary choices for the duration of your stay." He was so damn smug. Suppressing a huff, she reached for a bag from Mystic Falls and let the fridge door fall shut.
Uncapping the bag, a glass was slid in front of her across the island. She stared at it a moment before following the hand back that had guided it towards her. Catching his gaze, Caroline was finally struck by the situation. Klaus wore his dark jeans and a Henley with a cooking towel thrown over his shoulder. It was strikingly domestic. If she hadn't of known him, known what he'd done and what he was capable of, Caroline could see herself falling for this Klaus. The one who paints in his free time, who cooks, who adores his sister, who is well traveled, who is a gentleman, and who is determined to a fault. But he is Klaus. The Original Hybrid who specialized in terror and murder. She could never love that man.
Then her eyes fell on the glass. It sat in front of her, pushed towards her by Klaus who expected her to pour blood into it. She didn't even want to touch it. Pouring blood into a glass to drink felt like humanizing vampirism. While she was all about humanity, it didn't sit right with her. Glasses were a human convention. Vampires drank from the vein. She'd found a loophole and she intended to stand by it. Even if the look her gave her resembled a dare.
Pulling her from her reverie, Klaus spoke over the sizzle of eggs in a hot pan. "It's just a glass Caroline."
It was not just a glass. Shaking her head, Caroline stood up straighter and met his gaze. "Do you have coffee?"
He stared a moment longer before acquiescing, nodding over towards a coffee maker. "The cupboard above it."
She said nothing more, instead sipping from her blood bag as she perused his pitiful coffee assortment. When she couldn't hold it in any longer, she sighed in frustration and picked the first bag she'd laid eyes on. "You need more coffee. Actually, better coffee."
"Sorry sweetheart, unlike Stefan no one here finds any need to quell their thirst."
"This has nothing to do with thirst, this has to do with quality," she huffed, slipping past him with the coffee jug in hand to fill. "What are you making anyway?" she asked to fill the air. If she stopped speaking about the mundane things their conversation would lull and she'd be pulled back to their time together and where that really left them. Those were thoughts she didn't want to think. Not yet. Not here.
"A rather simple omelette love," Klaus smiled, flipping one in his fry pan for show. "I assume you'll have one."
She readied herself to decline but the smell of eggs and fresh vegetables assaulted her, changing her mind. Human food kept her vampire urges at bay, she'd learned that early on. As the coffee maker sprung to life she nodded and said, "Sure, just don't kill me with your cooking."
"I'm a fantastic cook."
Leaning over the counter, Caroline gave him a skeptical look. "You have to be bad at something."
"I've had a thousand years to perfect everything."
"I don't believe that's possible." His eyebrows shot up to his forehead as a smile tugged at his lips. He was daring her, try me, his face begged. He enjoyed this; how she challenged him.
Challenge accepted. Caroline decided to pop bread into a toaster sitting idly on the counter–because seriously, Klaus was not going to feed her an omelette without toast–as she pondered what must be difficult enough that someone would avoid learning for a thousand years. "Physics? No one likes physics unless they're a physicist. You can't have perfected that."
"As a man scorned for thinking Earth wasn't the center of the universe what with how self important humans can be, Galileo was rather eager to express his views to anyone who'd listen. So, I listened." As he spoke he slid his second omelette off a fry pan and onto a plate in front of Caroline.
She didn't know what to say. So she asked the silliest thought to come to mind. "You met Galileo?" Of course he did. He was a bajillion years old, he's probably met everyone Caroline learned about in school. Before he could say anything else, the toaster popped the bread up and Caroline reached for them quickly. "Okay, so you met Galileo. Big whoop. That's classic physics. Have you perfected modern physics?"
And Klaus laughed. He couldn't help it. "I'll concede. No I have not. The humanities kept me quite occupied over the centuries."
"Let me guess, you've met Shakespeare too and the conspiracy of his wife writing all his work is true. Or wait, better yet, Sir Francis Bacon."
Pouring her juice, Klaus simply smiled as if a secret lay upon his lips. "Women were not treated well in Medieval Europe. Rebekah hated it."
Her jaw dropped. "His wife wrote his plays?"
"Or perhaps it was Bacon. He certainly wasn't a dull man."
"Klaus," she snapped, not wanting to play his game.
"Caroline," he countered, smiling. It reminded her of the day he was her date to the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. His smile that day, it was effortless. She never saw it on his face again. It lived only in her memory. Until today. And try as she might, she couldn't not smile back at him because this Klaus was the Klaus no one ever saw. This was a Klaus she was beginning to believe he reserved only for her and what a thought that was.
Maybe she would have continued their banter because really she couldn't remember how long it'd been since she had a conversation so light but the smoke coming from next to the stovetop caught her attention . "Uhh Chef Klaus, are you burning something?"
He didn't need to look back, he knew what she was talking about. He was more caught up in her nickname, how it made him smile despite the clear mockery. "It's spelled sage for privacy. You mentioned wanting to speak without Enzo listening. Though I'm sure my cooking skills are on par, it was a simple rouse to not raise suspicions."
"And here I thought you were trying to make a girl breakfast," Caroline replied, a wry smile on her face as she stabbed at her omlette. Klaus waited for her to take a bite before making any comment and watched in delight as her eyes widened. It was amazing. Best omelette she'd ever had and seriously couldn't he be bad at something? "This is really good," she commented. "Not to inflate your ego any more though I don't know if that possible anymore. What is it that they're calling you, the King of New Orleans?"
"Rightfully so," he affirmed.
"Oh, really?" Skepticism was clear in Caroline's voice because all she'd ever known of Klaus was a grandiose arrogance.
Yet it didn't make him angry. Anyone else and he'd have them hanging by their throat until they understood that he was King and he could do whatever it is he pleases. This was Caroline. Curious, beautiful, lovely Caroline. He'd explain it all to her if she gave him the chance. "Well I did found this city as New Orleans and as the supernatural heart of the United States."
Caroline wasn't surprised anymore at anything he was saying. A thousand years was a long time, founding a few cities had to have occurred along the way. She wondered if it was boredom. "Is that why taking it back from this Marcel guy was so important?"
"Partially," he replied. Caroline was ready to ask another question but Klaus surprised her. He continued to speak willingly. "Marcel was my protégé, my siblings and I raised him from a child and turned him. To make a rather long story short, Mikael found us and we fled thinking Marcel dead. Imagine my surprise at discovering he was not only alive but thriving in my city."
"And this Marcel guy is who Enzo and I met at the bar last night?"
"Did he say anything to you?" What he meant was, did he do anything to you?
"No, he just came over and introduced himself. Creepy charming, all smiles and teeth. Elliot interrupted us. Him and Marcel had a little grrr moment about kingdoms and stalemates."
"It was smart of you," Klaus finally said after assessing what Caroline had told him with what Elliot expressed to him last night after everyone had dispersed. When Caroline gave him a puzzled look he continued, "Not mentioning me to Elliot or Marcel. It was a smart tactic."
She was taken aback. No one ever said that. In Mystic Falls she was blonde barbie, always a distraction or a tool. Stefan acknowledged her ideas but outside of him it was rare. "Thank you," she said hesitantly. She didn't want to think of her insecurities right now so she asked what'd been burning in her mind all night. "I still don't understand why a supernatural presence in New Orleans is so important."
"My siblings and I, we drew the witches to us when we began wreaking havoc. They said something about their endeavor to keep the balance and they never left. I built the supernatural presence, the freedom, here. It drew the werewolves and seers, even a few kitsune. And in my absence Marcel has done away with the coalition I'd built and destroyed the magic of this beautiful city. I intend to restore it."
"Coalition?" This surprised her. Klaus was typically an all for one type of guy.
"The Faction. We once lived in peace here," Klaus reminisced. "The witches, werewolves, vampires. Naturally we hated each other but Elijah pressed for tentative peace."
"I didn't think that was possible. Witches and wolves hate us. Well me, cause you're the Hybrid and all."
Klaus smiled ruefully. "It was possible. We were happy here. The witches practiced their magic, the wolves roamed the Bayou and us vampires kept our indiscretions as minimal as possible."
"So you basically created a United Nations of supernatural beings and Marcel threw caution to the wind when you left."
"Well that's one way to put it," Klaus chuckled. "It's no matter now. Marcel only needs to be dealt with. He's no longer a threat and New Orleans will return to its former glory."
"He doesn't seem to think he isn't a threat."
"Marcel has lived an insignificant two centuries off of everything I built. I created him Caroline. He's not a threat."
They were silent for a moment as Caroline absorbed this. It felt like she'd walked into the aftermath of a supernatural war that didn't feel over. It felt like it was just beginning. "But enough of Marcel and woefully fallen regimes. You had to tell me something."
"Right," Caroline replied, straightening up in her seat. "So you know the Travelers want Tom and they're holding Stefan hostage until they get him." Klaus simply nodded, waiting for Caroline to continue. He heard her heart speed up a little and understood this was something important, a game changer. Something Enzo could never know.
"Well the Travelers don't just want Tom. They kinda want Tom dead."
Klaus bit back a retort about finding themselves another doppelganger but it appears they already have. Watching Klaus's fingers tighten around his fork, Caroline continued quickly. "I don't know why Tom needs to die but I don't want him to. Stefan doesn't want him to. But Enzo will kill him the first opportunity he sees."
"Then we won't give him an opportunity."
"The Travelers have to think I'm helping them. Enzo has to believe that. For Stefan's sake."
"And you want me to believe you want Tom alive?" It was a double edged sword. Tom's death would mean no more hybrids. But she couldn't do that just as she wouldn't have killed Elena. So yes, she wanted him to know that she wanted Tom to live.
"I do want Tom alive. There's no reason for him to die."
"Very well. We'll keep up a charade where Enzo is concerned."
"And the Travelers?"
"I have no intention of killing Tom."
"Than what are you gonna tell the Travelers? Cause I'm pretty sure they're not gonna be happy with that. Or want to bring Kol back for you without something in return."
"The Travelers are not setting foot in my city until I know they are useful."
"You mean you're not letting them get anywhere near Tom." Klaus leveled her with a stare. "Where is he?"
"He is safe."
"That's not an answer to my question," Caroline fired back, sitting up straighter, breakfast forgotten. "Safe to you could mean locked up in a tower being drained of blood."
His face hardened. The judgment in her tone was expected, he assumptions, all of it. Of course Klaus, the monster of all monsters, would do something so terrible. "Caroline," he deadpanned, conveying that Tom's whereabouts were not up for discussion.
"Klaus," she countered, unwilling to take no for an answer.
Their conversation ended with the arrival of Elijah. A rather displeased Elijah who could not hear their conversation because he smelled sage. Eyeing both Klaus and Caroline, he wondered about the girl. Niklaus said nothing of her yet here he was making breakfast, enjoying a private conversation, and letting her, or what appeared to be, butt heads with him.
"Excuse me for interrupting your breakfast Miss Forbes but Niklaus and I have a matter to attend to with the witches."
"Please, call me Caroline," she answered, relaxing her shoulders she hadn't known she had tensed. She'd never met Elijah but Elena had trusted him at one point. She said he was a man of his word and so she would not be hostile. After all, he'd been the one to ask her and Enzo to stay last night.
Elijah nodded before turning his attention back to Niklaus. "Brother. I see you've made good use of the sage."
"Good morning to you too Elijah."
"I sincerely hope you haven't forgotten about our meeting with the witches."
"Of course not brother. I was just about to tell Caroline that I had an errand to run and that this conversation is over." His eyes fell on her as she finished speaking and she saw through his smile and shot him a glare that said no, this conversation was most certainly not over.
Eyeing the two curiously, Elijah made a note to ask Niklaus what it is he discussed with their house guest in the presence of spelled sage. "Excuse us Caroline. It was nice to see you again," Elijah bid adieu, his eyes scanning over her one last time before heading for the door.
Klaus followed, walking away from Caroline and the breakfast he'd made. Pausing in the doorway, he spoke lowly because he was not so much the monster she thought him to be. "You'd be pleased to hear Caroline, that the emergency room staff at Tulane Medical Center are very pleased with Tom's company."
I told you it was pretty bad, wasn't it? I won't even ask for reviews it's just embarrassing. But I hope you all can see where the plot is going and if not, well I hope the next chapter clears things up a little bit. And I hope you enjoyed yourself even a teensy tiny little bit reading this.