Beauty and the Immortal
Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners
Chapter 1: At the beginning
Caroline pulled back her hand from his grasp and backed herself to the wall. "I don't…what makes you think…I'm fine. I'm fine. Okay?"
"I did not say there was something wrong with you." Klaus said calmly. "I just said your heart does not beat. If anything I should be the one flustered and cowering in a corner."
"I am not cowering." Caroline said lifting her chin. "You're imagining things."
Klaus smiled, trying hard not to laugh, he took a step towards her. "Perhaps. But your hands are too cold and there is no pulse from any vein that I could feel when I held your wrist."
"Well, maybe you're just not good at it." Caroline said as she tried to keep her arms out of view.
"I would think this is when you dare me to try and test my theory…yet you simply get more and more defensive. Why is that?" Klaus asked.
"Why do you even need to know?" Caroline burst out. "What will it change if you figure this out?"
"Maybe nothing. Maybe everything." Klaus said taking another step forward. "I simply prefer not to live in ignorance. Like with those wolves out there. They all pretend they are wild animals but what creature would wreak havoc only on a full moon? And add to that, the viciousness they exhibit is completely unnatural. I've accepted they're more than what people talk about…and knowing that helps me keep myself and my family safe. It helps me protect them."
"And what if…what if I'm dangerous?" Caroline asked hesitantly. "What will you do?"
With that Klaus smiled, tilted his head in amusement before replying. "I would proclaim that you're the most beautiful danger to walk this earth."
Caroline rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her. "I can kill you in under a minute, Klaus."
"Klaus…" he whispered. "No one has ever called me that."
"Yeah, well it suits you." Caroline said forcefully, trying to cover her slip. "Look, you're better off not knowing anything about me. The first chance I get, I'll be out of your way and you can just forget you ever met me."
Without warning, Klaus hurled a rock at Caroline's head, which she caught neatly.
"Hey!" Caroline said throwing the rock on the floor. "What was that for?"
"Now, how can I ever forget someone who can do that?" Klaus said nodding towards her.
A werewolf howled outside, followed by a chorus made by the rest of the pack. Caroline flinched and eyed the small crack at the mouth of the entrance.
"Are you sure they can't get through that?" Caroline asked.
"No." Klaus answered slowly. "You're afraid of them. Why?"
Caroline groaned and sat down on the floor, "Fine. I'll answer three questions starting with that one…but that's it, then we sleep."
"As you wish." Klaus said following her lead and sat down in front of her.
"Yes, I'm afraid of them." Caroline started. "Because their venom…their bite is lethal to someone like me."
"So you are also not quite human." Klaus said.
"Is that a question?" Caroline said with a smirk.
"A mere observation." Klaus answered with a smile. "Where are you from?"
"Not here." Caroline said simply.
"That's obvious enough." Klaus said impatiently. "Give a real answer. Come on, love. Live on the edge and trust me a little."
"Mystic Falls." Caroline said.
"There's no place I know of with that name." Klaus said leaning forward, trying to peer into her eyes. "Either you live impossibly far from here or I should have asked when are you from."
"Is that number three?" Caroline asked softly.
"No. Don't answer that." Klaus said quietly. "Tell me this, why do you look at me like you've seen me before…like you know me?"
"You just look like someone I know." Caroline said carefully, unsure how to proceed.
"Handsome fellow, then?" Klaus said with a laugh, lying down on the cold ground.
"Arrogant, selfish and intense." Caroline said as she scooted from him before lying down on her side, facing away from Klaus. "But a beautiful disaster."
"Wait and see, Caroline." Klaus said. "Maybe I am that man after all. Goodnight, love."
"Good night, Klaus." Caroline said closing her eyes, falling asleep to the steady rhythm of the human next to her.
They walked in silence, Klaus leading the way through the woods. Sunlight peeked through the leaves above them but it did nothing to erase the night before.
Caroline cleared her throat, "Look, I get why I'm all tense and anxious over meeting the rest of your family who will likely not be as open-minded as you are about me…but if anything, you're a bigger bundle of nerves."
Klaus didn't answer and merely gestured with his head that they should head towards the right.
"At least tell me what I'm getting myself into?" Caroline said without missing a beat beside him. "Your turn to answer questions, buddy."
Klaus shook his head impatiently, "All you need to know is to make sure no one gets close enough to touch, keep yourself out of trouble and figure out a way to get Rebekah to stop being so suspicious because she will unravel your secret faster than you can get back to wherever it is you're from."
"Niklaus!"
The loud voice boomed through the space around them. Caroline's head turned sharply towards the sound, noting it was a few meters ahead where the line of trees stopped.
Klaus swallowed the lump in his throat. "And whatever you do…do not make my father angry."
Mikael walked into view, completely oblivious of the presence of Caroline as he pulled Klaus by the neck of his shirt. "What did I tell you, boy? Did I not make myself clear that you were to make sure your sister stayed home yesterday? And what do you do? You let her get her way and almost got yourself in the middle of a storm…worse with those wolves about! You should be thankful they got home or you would not have a home to return to!"
"I apologize, father… It will not happen again." Klaus said shaking. "Are they safe?"
"They are unharmed, no thanks to you." Mikael seethed raising his arm and Klaus cringed waiting for the blow. "The next time this happens…"
Caroline moved and gripped Mikael's arm, "Sir, your son saved my life. He is a good person. He risked his own safety for a stranger. I hope that even in the middle of all the mistakes you imagine he made, you find it in you to be proud of him."
Mikael turned to Caroline as he pulled his arm from her grasp. Klaus quickly stepped in between the two and extended an arm to push Caroline behind him.
Mikael looked from Caroline to his son. "You should find someone braver to hide behind. This one will get you killed sooner or later. I'd say welcome but it seems you've already made yourself quite at home."
With that Mikael left the pair, walking off as if nothing had happened.
Klaus waited a few seconds before turning around. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. He can't hurt me." Caroline said waving it off. "I should be asking you the same thing. But you don't even look surprised this happened…in fact you expected it, didn't you?"
"I shouldn't let Rebekah get her way too often." Klaus said turning away. "I spoil her far too much for her own good."
Caroline leaned to the side so that Klaus would see her. "Your sister isn't fragile. She has her own mind and mistakes to make. This isn't on you."
"It would make no difference to my father." Klaus said in a tight voice. "Sometimes…sometimes I just want to run from here. Take my family away from him…leave him to the wolves. Maybe then we will know peace."
She shook her head, baffled at the man who stood before her, beginning to understand the hybrid she once thought she knew well. "If you do that, you'll always be on the run, looking over your shoulder and just waiting for that moment he catches up to you. You keep moving that you miss what's important."
Klaus smiled, but the emptiness stayed in his eyes, "But I'll see the world past this tiny town of ours. There has to be something more than this."
"There is. You'll see it and be part of history. You can claim to have experienced so much when you go out there but in the end you will still be that boy who didn't stand his ground. You will get all self-destructive when you get close to calling a place home." Caroline said rapidly, slowing down to touch his arm lightly. "You remember the guy I said you reminded me of? He was so greedy for power so that no one could hurt him, so that he could run faster and farther so that his demons can't chase him down. But along the way…I guess he lost sight of where he wanted to go. He hurt me as many times as he saved me, maybe more. He cared about his family but they took a backseat to all his schemes. Somehow, one day he did manage to find his way back, be that good man again…but it was too late. All he knew was running, how to leave when it felt too much like home. He promised to be there in the end but I don't trust it because he doesn't know how to be happy anymore."
Caroline sighed and squeezed his arm. "So don't start running, Klaus. Stay here, stand up straight, hold up your head, believe you are a good person and show Mikael what you're made of."
"For now." Klaus nodded and tilted his head towards the clearing, waiting for Caroline to start walking beside him before he spoke. "I never told you my father's name."
Caroline scrunched up her face when she realized her slip, deciding denial was still her best course of action. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"If you say so." Klaus merely smiled, looking sideways at her." That man you keep talking about…he would be a fool to stay away from you when clearly he's in love with you."
"Again, I don't know what you're talking about." Caroline sighed letting Klaus walk ahead as she whispered to herself. "But yes, he's a fool…and I think I am too."