Chapter 12 – Violence Is All I Know
A/N: Fairly long and painful chapter ahead, enjoy! And review too, I read them all!
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"Okay tell me how long it's been since we hung out just the two of us?" Elena asked as Caroline plopped down onto the couch beside her, bowl of popcorn in hand. "Because it feels like forever."
"Oh gosh I don't know." Caroline replied, biting her lip in thought. "Like two months?"
Elena took a moment and thought about it as well.
"No, it's been three months!" She finally shouted. "Because I came over the night after Damon and I had our three year anniversary."
Caroline threw some popcorn in her mouth and looked at her friend curiously.
"How the hell do you remember that?" She asked incredulously through a mouthful of food.
"Because I was sore as hell from when Damon and I –"
"Ew, ew, ew!" Caroline interrupted, squinting her eyes shut as if that would block out the mental image Elena was painting. "Don't even go there 'Lena, that is so gross!"
Elena just laughed and took the popcorn bowl for herself.
"Hey you're the one who asked." She said simply. "And really Care? Damon and I have been together for three years and you still hate him? I thought we were past that."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "I don't hate him Elena, I'm just…not his biggest fan. I was the biggest fan of Stelena when we were in high school so sorry for still being bitter that you chose the bad brother over the good one. But hey, who am I to judge?"
"Exactly, you're not. Especially since you're the one dating the big and bad Klaus Mikaelson." Elena teased, nudging her friend's shoulder. "How is that going by the way? I feel like we never get to talk about boys anymore. Well, you talk to Katherine, but not me."
"Elena, don't be like that." Caroline pleaded, seeing the look of hurt on her friend's face. "Katherine and I see each other more because we're each dating a Mikaelson brother, it's not personal at all. And we're going through similar things, being in relatively new relationships and all."
"Even though Kat was sneaking around with Elijah for like three months before anyone knew." Elena grumbled.
"But the point is," Caroline continued, "You've already been through with Damon what I'm going through with Klaus. You know, seeing past the bad and focusing on the good." Elena nodded in understanding. "And Katherine is on the flip side, she's having to deal with Elijah seeing her as a good person for once. So it's just easier for us to talk to each other about them."
The brunette sighed and shook her head, glancing briefly at the TV where an Audrey Hepburn movie was playing.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, I just…I miss you. We were so close in high school and when we first started at NYU, but now it's like we never see each other anymore. I mean we see each other, but we don't hang out."
"I know." Caroline said honestly. "And it's because we both have men in our lives that we're head over heels for. And even though friends always come first, when you're in love…" She trailed off.
"You want to spend all of your time with them." Elena finished for her. "It's a sad truth that we pretend isn't real to make us feel better. But I get it, I really do. It's hard to be apart from the person that you're thinking about all the time."
"Yeah." Caroline said softly, both girls staring off into space as they thought about the bad boys who had captured their hearts.
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"Enzo, move." Caroline demanded, glaring at the man who had become her sorta-kinda friend over the past few days.
"Caroline, no." He shot back at her sarcastically, giving his trademark mischievous smile as he blocked the door that led to Klaus' cell. "I'm doing this for your own good love, just try and trust me."
"Trust you?" Caroline asked incredulously, laughing. "How can I trust you? You're trying to keep me away from Klaus when he needs someone with him! I haven't seen him in three damn days, so move!"
Enzo's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the pretty blonde in front of him cursed. Despite how annoyed she obviously was with him, he honestly had good intentions in keeping her from Klaus for the time being.
"Look gorgeous, I understand that he's your one true epic love or whatever you want to call it," He said cynically, "But it's my job as your…friend…" He looked at her for confirmation to use the term and she rolled her eyes and nodded, "To make sure that you don't lose your mind anytime soon either. He's doing…not good at the moment so just give it a few more days before you start using your visiting hours."
"Enzo you don't get it, okay?" Caroline retorted. "He needs me, he probably feels like I've abandoned him! I can't take one more day of just walking around and bugging Wes and seeing all my friends acclimating perfectly to life here while I don't know what to do with myself!"
"You think I don't get it?" Enzo asked slowly in disbelief, making Caroline realize her mistake and take a step back shamefully. "I don't get it?!" He repeated in a raised voice. "Maggie has been in a cell for three months, your man has been in there for just three days! So believe me love, I get it."
"I know, I know." She started to say.
"No, you don't know." He shouted back. "From what you've told me, Klaus wasn't always a saint was he?" Caroline froze for a few seconds then slowly nodded her head. "Alright then, so you've seen him at his low points then, haven't you? You were there to pick up the pieces whenever he started to lose it, you reminded him every day that he was worthy of love, that he deserve to be happy. Didn't you?"
Caroline said nothing.
"Didn't you?!" Enzo roared.
"Yes, yes okay!" Caroline said quickly. "I was the one that kept him from doing awful things, I was his rock."
"Exactly." He said in a much calmer tone even though the fury and frustration was still in his dark brown eyes. "Then seeing him like this may be a shock, but it isn't too much of a stretch. You see though," He stepped closer to Caroline, "Maggie is the Caroline to my Klaus. She was my rock, she was the one that kept me from doing every awful thing I ever wanted and could have gotten away with. The only reason I'm good now is because of her."
Caroline looked up at Enzo sadly, hating the thought of being in his shoes.
"And so to see my sweet, kind Maggie with so much hatred in her heart." Enzo stammered, eyes glassing over and lip trembling. "It's the worst imaginable pain in the world. And for a long time after Wes first administered the antidote, I stayed in that room with her every second of the day, thinking that I could get through to her the way you think you can get through to Klaus."
He took yet another step forward, so close their chests were almost touching. Yet the proximity was completely innocent, Caroline could tell that he was honestly concerned for her well-being at that moment.
"And it almost drove me bloody mad." He whispered. "And I realized after about a month of torturing myself every single day that the only way I was going to help her is if I kept being the person she helped me become before she was Infected. And now you have to do the same. If you go in there every day it will break you into a hundred pieces Caroline because he is going to hate you."
Caroline visibly flinched but he didn't stop.
"The Infection is going to make him think that you never loved him, that you lied to him about everything, that you're cheating on him, that you are the worst human being to walk on the earth."
"Stop, stop it please." Caroline begged.
"No, I won't." He retorted instantly. "Because I care about you, Caroline. You and I are in a similar boat and I know how much you miss him, how much it hurts to be separated from him yet again after so long trying to be reunited. But you just have to hold on a little bit longer okay? Not just for him, but for you."
The two kindred souls stared at one another, pained expressions mirrored. Caroline was just about to speak again when they heard people coming down the stairs into the lab. She took a deep breath and stepped back, smoothing out her hair as Wes, Katherine, and Elijah both came into the room.
"So you're trying to make the cells attack themselves?" Katherine was asking Wes, holding Elijah's hand tightly.
"But how will that work?" Elijah asked inquisitively. "Won't the Infected cells start destroying the healthy ones as well?"
Wes sighed, briefly glancing over at Caroline and Enzo who were also listening in.
"Yes, that's what I'm trying to figure out right now." He said exhaustedly. "As soon as I am able to get the Infected cells to target their own kind, we'll have a cure. You can't fight against yourself."
"And when will that be?" Caroline asked, stepping up to the doctor to which he immediately stepped back. She had a tendency to be quite hostile with the man – justifiably so, of course.
"Well I-I would say soon." Wes replied vaguely, making everyone give him a pointed look.
"How soon is soon?" Caroline hissed, stalking closer to the man and balling up her fists. "Because for someone who claims he's a genius you're taking a really long time fixing one little issue. So what the hell is taking you so long?"
"Caroline, relax." Katherine snapped at her friend, stepping forward in between her and the doctor. "Killing him won't help anything so just chill."
"Yeah well if it were Elijah in there you would be telling a different story!" Caroline shouted in her friend's face. Her eyes widened and she took a step back as she realized what she had just said. Katherine didn't flinch whatsoever though, just took the insult in stride. "Katherine I didn't –"
"Maybe you should take a walk." Katherine interrupted firmly, never breaking eye contact.
A few tense seconds passed, the atmosphere of the lab stifling.
"Yeah, okay." Caroline finally whispered, glancing over her shoulder at Enzo briefly.
"Right then." He said loudly and unabashedly. "I think I might join you. Come on then gorgeous, let's go see if we can get up to any nasty business in Perfect Town."
Caroline's shoulders were hunched over as Enzo led her upstairs and outside, rambling incessantly the whole way to try and ease her guilt for snapping at Katherine.
As soon as the duo was gone, Elijah turned to his wife.
"She's under stress, Katerina." He said simply.
"I don't care." Katherine snapped. "Everyone around here is treating her as poor, frail Caroline whose boyfriend is Infected. And yeah, they're right, but I'm going to treat her harshly so that she can take the inevitable pain that's ahead. Because Klaus is going to be awful to her, we all know it. And I'm doing it because I love her, and I don't really care if she understands my methods or not."
Elijah smiled, reaching forward and touching his wife's face affectionately.
"You amaze me." He whispered. "You're such a better person than you allow your friends and family to see. Why don't you allow them to see this side of you?"
"You know," Wes said in annoyance just as Katherine was about to respond, "This is really touching and all, but can you two save it for when you're alone and not in my lab?"
Katherine rolled her eyes dramatically, pursing her lips and spinning on her heel to face Wes, who was looking up at them from over his glasses.
"Look, if I didn't care so much about Klaus getting better, I would kill you myself for starting The Outbreak." She hissed, making Wes' eyes widen in fear. Katherine had a knack for that, striking the fear of God in just about anyone. "But since I do want Klaus to get better, I won't kill you. At least not yet."
"Um…thank you?" Wes said warily.
Katherine chuckled with an evil smirk, making Wes gulp in fear.
"Oh no. Thank you for having the good sense to be frightened."
Elijah looked on at his fearsome wife with a fond smile. The Outbreak had done quite the opposite of breaking her spirit as it had done to so many others. In fact, his Katerina was fiercer now than she had been when they first met, which he never thought would have been possible.
"I would like to see my brother." Elijah suddenly spoke, his tone making it obvious that he wasn't asking a question but rather making a demand.
"Why would you want to do that?" Wes asked honestly. "I know he's your brother but Klaus has absolutely…lost it."
"What do you mean?" Katherine asked, stepping closer to the doctor just for her own amusement as he squirmed.
"I mean that as he attempted to fight the Infection within his hypothalamus, that portion of his brain split into two."
"His brain broke?" Katherine asked in disbelief.
"Well, metaphorically." Wes answered matter-of-factly. "To compensate for the intense amount of stress Klaus was putting on his own mind, it created a counterpart." At Katherine and Elijah's confused expressions he sighed and bit his lip. "Let me put it this way. If you're filling a pitcher of water and it's about to overflow and you can't turn off the faucet, what do you do?"
"Get another pitcher." Katherine answered obviously.
"Exactly."
"So you're saying that my brother has created an alternate version of himself to cope with the Infection?" Elijah asked quickly as he grasped what Wes was trying to tell them.
"That's precisely what I'm saying."
"And how do you know this?" Katherine asked skeptically. "I mean you don't exactly have an MRI machine here."
"Simple observation." The doctor replied. "Klaus is frantic, talking to himself, switching between personalities. It's as if he's borderline schizophrenic."
It was quiet, Katherine looked at her husband as his jaw tensed as he swallowed slowly, composing himself after receiving the shock of hearing what his brother was going through.
"That changes nothing." He finally said, pushing the sleeves of the dress shirt he had managed to find up to his elbows. "Niklaus is my brother and I wish to speak to him."
"Suit yourself." Wes shrugged, turning back to face the equations he was currently working on.
As Elijah started to walk to the door to Klaus' cell Katherine ran over to him and grabbed his arm.
"Elijah." She said to him, glancing over her shoulder at Wes before she looked back to her husband and lowered her voice. "Elijah you don't have to do this. Klaus is…he's not the same Klaus he's always been. I don't want you to have to see your brother hate you, there's no telling the kinds of things he will say."
Elijah smiled fondly down at her and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into him, brushing his lips against her forehead lingeringly. Katherine sighed and immediately relaxed at his familiar touch that she had missed so much over the past eight months. No matter how much time they had spent alone in the past three days, the sensation of simply being touched by her husband kept feeling brand new every time it happened.
"He is my brother, Katerina. And I have seen been there at his lowest points throughout his life, and this is just another one of them." Elijah whispered as he rested his forehead against hers. "I have been protecting Niklaus from various threats since we were children. That hasn't changed no matter the circumstances."
With that being said, Elijah turned and put his hand on the door handle, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to see.
"Just be careful." Katherine rushed out, making him look back at her concerned expression from over his shoulder. "I just got you back. So you better not get Infected."
Elijah grinned.
"I'll be back in your arms in twenty minutes at most, Katerina."
Katherine didn't even bother scolding him for the use of her birth given name as he stepped into the cell room and the door closed shut behind him. She let out a breath and ran her fingers through her hair, glancing into the mirror on the wall beside her and smirking at her own reflection. Even in the middle of the apocalypse she still managed to look hot.
"Well aren't you two just adorable." Wes muttered as he looked into his microscope.
Katherine turned on her heel and glared at his back before sighing and sauntering over to the stairs to leave. Before she did though she called back out over her shoulder, "Hey at least I'm getting laid."
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"Name please?"
"Elijah Mikaelson."
"And you're posting bail for…?"
"Niklaus Mikaelson." Elijah sighed, the scowl seemingly permanent on his youthful face. Getting a call at two in the morning on a Thursday night from his nineteen year old brother asking him to come bail him out of jail was not on the list of his favorite things to do.
"Right this way Mr. Mikaelson." The London police offer said as he walked out from behind the reception desk and started leading Elijah to his brother's cell.
Elijah heard Klaus before he saw him and he sighed in annoyance.
"You stupid bastards think you can lock me up like this?! Do you know who I am? I'm Klaus bloody Mikaelson, I'll kill each and every one of you!"
Elijah's annoyance turned to concern as his younger brother came into view, leaning against the bars of his cell and gripping them tightly as he screamed at the policemen just doing their job. Klaus' nose was bloodied, it could even be broken but Elijah couldn't tell for sure. His knuckles were cut and bruised and his shirt was ripped, splattered with blood. It worried Elijah that he didn't know if it was all Klaus' blood or someone else's.
"Niklaus." Elijah said loudly, grabbing the attention of his teenage sibling that liked to think he was a mature adult.
"Well would you look at that!" Klaus shouted with a sarcastic smile as the officer unlocked his cell. "My big brother come to save the day yet again!"
"Niklaus we're leaving." Elijah said firmly, grabbing his brother by the elbow to which Klaus immediately shook him off.
"Don't touch me." He growled, taking a few steps and then incidentally stumbling into another cell's bars, obviously not sober.
"For God's sake Niklaus." Elijah grumbled, grabbing his brother's arm without any protest this time.
He led Klaus out of the station and across the road before Klaus finally ripped his arm away from his brother's grip in annoyance.
"I can bloody walk, 'Lijah." He muttered, bracing himself against Elijah's nice black Audi.
Elijah said nothing, simply standing on the empty sidewalk with a scowl on his face and his hands in the pockets of his slacks. He knew what was coming so he just waited.
"Ah damn." Klaus mumbled as he stumbled past the car and puked into the grass a few feet away from them. Elijah sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
He walked over to Klaus after a few moments and took the handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out to him wordlessly. Klaus chuckled.
"Of course." He muttered, taking the handkerchief and wiping his mouth with it. "Even at two in the morning to come bail the rebel child out of jail, Elijah Mikaelson makes sure to be clad in suit and tie. And handkerchief too, of course."
"Now is not the time to be mocking me Niklaus." Elijah snapped as Klaus rolled his eyes and threw the tissue into a trashcan nearby. It was dark and silent outside on the sidewalk where they stood, the only illumination coming from the yellow streetlights. "I could have left you in there for the night. Or better yet, I could have called Mikael."
Klaus' eyes widened and he gulped in fear at the prospect of his not biological father finding out that he had gotten arrested again. The last time it happened Mikael had broken three of his ribs. He'd rather not face that kind of wrath again.
"You didn't…you know…Did you?" Klaus asked, not able to finish the question.
"Of course not." Elijah said quickly, the disappointed expression still etched on his face. "What even happened tonight Niklaus?" He asked. "The officers said you got into yet another fight?"
Klaus kicked at the ground before leaning back against the boot of Elijah's car.
"Some bugger made a nasty comment towards a girl at the bar we were in."
"So you decided to bash his face in?" Elijah asked incredulously.
"Yes that's exactly what I did." Klaus shot back at him. "He was a right dick 'Lijah! What was I supposed to do?"
"Not respond with violence! Niklaus," Elijah laughed exasperatedly, "Do you not see the downward spiral you're descending into? You sleep all day and drink yourself sick every night, you're fighting constantly, and don't think I don't know you're working with that scum Atticus Shane."
Klaus' eyes widened.
"How did you –"
"Oh please Niklaus do not take me for a fool." He interrupted. "Do you not realize the repercussions your actions could have not only on you but on our entire family?"
"Oh please!" Klaus shouted. "What do you mean 'our' family? You mean your family! You and Finn, the golden boys who do everything right in Mikael and Esther's eyes. And then of course Rebekah and Kol who can do no wrong. But where do I fit into this picture perfect family? Oh right, I'm the bastard son that's only usefulness is serving as Mikael's punching bag!"
Elijah was silent, the weight of Klaus' words pressing in on the both of them.
"I know you try your best to protect me." Klaus said quietly, eyes glassy even though this conversation had most certainly sobered him up. "I mean even poor Rebekah has tried to stand up to Mikael before, all of you have. But it's no use Elijah. How can you be surprised that I'm violent when violence is the only thing I know?"
Elijah was stunned at the rare display of emotion from the brother he was closest to. Klaus suddenly seemed to realize that he was especially vulnerable at that moment and he wiped his eyes furiously, putting that stereotypical teenager expression of stoicism and annoyance on his face.
"But whatever." He muttered, looking away from his brother. "You and Finn are moving to America to run that side of the business for Mikael next month anyway so what does it matter? You'll probably meet a lovely girl, get married, forget all about me."
"Niklaus –"
"No, no, Elijah go ahead! Just leave! With you gone Mikael will have every chance to kill me like he always says he wants to so just –"
Klaus was cut off as Elijah stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his brother, putting a hand on the back of his head and embracing his sibling as if his life depended on it.
"Mikael won't hear a word of this." Elijah assured Klaus, trying to keep his voice unwavering. "I'll call Esther and say you're staying with me for the next week to help me pack."
He released his brother then and held him at arm's length, meeting his brother's glassy eyed gaze. Klaus was shaking uncontrollably trying to keep his composure, but Elijah remained firm.
"I will not let anything happen to you Niklaus." The elder brother said in all seriousness. "I will die myself before I let Mikael lay a hand on you ever again."
Klaus never received another bruise from Mikael.
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"Niklaus?" Elijah called out as he stepped into the room where Klaus was being held. He could see his brother's gaunt features sitting against the back wall of his cell with a knee drawn up to his chest and his arm laying casually over it. His eyes were closed as well. "Niklaus." He repeated a bit louder.
"I heard you the first time 'Lijah." Klaus grumbled without bothering to open his eyes. "Come to see the monster have you?"
"You are no monster, Niklaus." Elijah said confidently, walking around the safe area of the room.
"That's what you think." Klaus said in a voice just above a whisper, making Elijah freeze and look at his brother from the corner of his eye.
Klaus' eyes suddenly opened and a manic grin overtook his face. "I just thought of something 'Lijah." He said in a terrifyingly bright tone of voice, jumping up to a standing position and facing his brother from the back portion of the cell. "Do you remember the last time you saw me behind bars?"
"Yes, I do." Elijah replied coolly despite the fact that his brother was actually scaring him. His eyes had dark rings around them and his posture was giving off a dangerous vibe that Elijah had never seen before.
"So do I." Klaus said with a creepy smile. "And if I remember correctly," he rubbed his chin in mock thoughtfulness, "You said to me that night that you would never let Mikael hurt me again, is that right?"
Elijah swallowed, narrowing his eyes at his obviously disturbed sibling.
"Yes, I said that." He replied carefully.
"And you kept your promise!" Klaus shouted happily, holding his arms out to the side. "Mikael never laid another harmful hand on me again. You took me under your wing, let me live in your apartment even when you and Finn moved to America, lent me money since Mikael refused to give me my trust fund. You really took care of me, didn't you?"
Elijah took a deep breath, fearing the turn that he knew this conversation would soon be taking.
"I suppose I did." He said shortly.
"Well you suppose wrong!" Klaus suddenly screamed, rushing at the bars with all of his strength and pressing his face between them like a maniac. Elijah didn't so much as flinch though which infuriated Klaus even more. "Do you know how many scars I have from Mikael, Elijah?" Klaus spat, his hands shaking and his eyes darkening by the second. "Fifty-eight. I have fifty-eight scars on my body from your father and where were you those fifty-eight times? Huh? Answer me!"
"I was not by your side." Elijah replied evenly, struggling to maintain his composure. "I was not by your side Niklaus and for that I am truly, deeply sorry."
"What if it had been Kol?" Klaus questioned, cocking his head to the side. "Or Rebekah? I bet if it had been one of them that Mikael despised you would have protected them better. But not me, oh no, not the bastard child. You never even saw me as a brother, did you?"
"Of course I did." Elijah spat, finally starting to lose his cool temperament.
"Liar!" Klaus screamed, slamming his head against the bars. "You're lying to me, you don't give a damn about me, none of you do! You think I'm a bastard, a monster, an unlovable beast!"
"Niklaus you are one of the most loved people in the world despite how much you believe otherwise." Elijah said quickly, taking a step forward. "Myself, Rebekah, Kol, Finn. We loved you more than we ever thought possible, it destroyed us to see Mikael hurt you time and time again. I can't tell you how many times Rebekah came running to me in tears when he hit you, or the times that Kol himself was backhanded for standing up to our father on your behalf. Even Finn risked being disowned from the family for telling Mikael to stay away from you or else he would sell every one of his dirty secrets to each rival company of Mikaelson Arts. And of course you know what all I have done for you over the years."
Klaus was silent, the dark rings around his eyes slowly fading away much to Elijah's disbelief though he didn't comment on them.
"Not to mention Caroline." He continued, making Klaus visibly flinch. "That woman loves you with complete and total abandon, I've never seen the kind of devotion she has for you."
"Well damn Elijah why don't you just take her for yourself." Klaus spat, the dark rings making their return. "Oh wait I forgot, you have your own whore and you're even married to her! Is Katherine really that good in bed that you somehow just had to convince that incessant bitch to spend the rest of her miserable life with –"
Klaus was cut off as Elijah rushed forward and reached through the bars to wrap one of his hands around Klaus' throat. The younger brother gasped, choking as Elijah slowly squeezed the air out of his trachea.
"You will not say another word about Katerina do you understand me?" Elijah hissed venomously, briefly noting that it would have been very easy for Klaus to scratch him at that moment, yet his brother's hands were balled up in fists at his side. Almost as if Klaus was specifically fighting the urge to pass on the Infection.
Elijah released his brother after a few more seconds of him gasping for air, and Klaus fell to a heap in the floor, inhaling as much oxygen as he could hold.
"You are stronger than this Niklaus." Elijah finally spoke once he had taken a few steps back.
"Shut up." Klaus gasped out.
"I will not –"
"Just shut up!" Klaus screamed, looking to his left at the cell wall adjacent to him.
Elijah cocked his head to the side, about to ask what Klaus was doing when his brother started screaming again.
"Just shut up dammit he's my brother!" Klaus shook his head franticly, pressing his fists to his temples. "Go away! I won't do it, I won't!"
"Niklaus." Elijah whispered, making his brother shake his head even more. "Niklaus what is it?"
"He won't stop talking!" Klaus shouted.
"Who won't stop talking?" Elijah asked hurriedly, crouching down to look his brother in the eye through the cell bars. "Who is it?"
"Me!" Klaus screeched in pain. "It's me Elijah, don't you see me?" He pointed at the empty side of the cell as if there were something or someone there. "He's telling me to kill you, to rip your throat out, and I can't make him bloody stop! I just want him to shut up!"
Elijah stayed in the room for about five more minutes watching his younger brother argue with an invisible person before he had to make a quiet exit and let his tears fall freely.
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A/N: Ouch. That hurt. But hey I threw a little bit of the budding Carenzo friendship and some Kalijah in there for you guys :) Don't worry, there is LOTS more where that came from. And the next big plot point is going to be announced next chapter *squeals* which will be posted at some point tomorrow, so keep an eye out. Remember to review please! xoxo