Disclaimer: I Don't own TVD. Please people, if only.
Chapter 9: The Threats Keep Coming.
Klaus strode across the room in three angry strides, his book falling to the floor forgotten, and snatched the phone straight out of Elijah's grip.
"Little sister! How pleasant it is to hear from you after all this time." He said his voice deadly calm.
Elijah sighed and decided to just listen and wait, there was nothing Niklaus could do to harm Rebekah at the moment.
"Nik? What's going on? Does this have something to do with you?" Rebekah demanded her voice turning from panicked to steel in a matter of seconds.
Klaus gripped the mobile device tighter and glowered into the ceiling as he cursed everything that was going wrong in his City lately.
"The witches, what did they look like?" Klaus demanded, getting down to business. No need to toy with his sister when he had more important things to kill.
"What? I don't bloody know Nik! Average height, green freaky eyes and black hair, did you expect me to take a picture of them brother?" She snapped into the phone.
Klaus swore and looked back at Elijah, it was most definitely connected.
"It seems you are need here Rebekah. We have a slight problem, and that problem has your bus boy."
There was silence on the other line, not even the sound of her pretend breathing could be heard. The brothers waited patiently for their sister to respond, each hiding their worry for her in their own unique ways.
Klaus was sarcastic: snappy. But that was his worry for her, and Elijah was stoic and calm. The storm. They rarely agreed on anything, their sister's protection being one of them.
"Is he dead, they were so strong?" Rebekah whispered sadly.
"No, going by what happened to Miss Forbes I would say he is in a lot of pain but not dead. They must need him for bait. For you." Elijah answered, not bothering to raise his voice as he knew she would be able to hear him.
"Miss Forbes? Holy hell, do you mean that snotty Caroline from Mystic Falls? Has she finally run into your clutches Klaus?"
"Rebekah." Klaus's answering tone was low, dangerous, warning.
"I believe the point is she is alive after the witches attack Bekah, now please. Return so we can fight this together." Elijah interjected before Rebekah could bite back.
"Fine. I'll be there before sunset." She hung up leaving her brothers to deplore her personality.
Klaus threw the mobile phone back to Elijah who caught it fluidly and slipped it back into his suit pocket.
"We need a witch, I'll get Luke to go to the quarter. You can reach out to your contacts and see if they know of anything going on. I want these bastards found, Elijah." Klaus growled out his eyes unintentionally flickered up to the ceiling, where Caroline was lying in bed drinking her second blood bag.
Elijah tried to hide his amusement at his reactions towards the girl, it was still very strange for Klaus to be so…Caring.
"And Caroline?" He couldn't help but taunt him a little.
"I'll make sure she stays out of trouble. You just set about your tasks brother." With that Klaus flashed out of the room leaving a smirking older brother behind.
Caroline was starting to feel better. After her third blood bag that is. She felt full, sloshy and so very tired; but she fought against her mind as she struggled to listen to the conversations going on around the house.
How she loved having her hearing back.
So far she had learned that Rebekah was coming back, fantastic, Matt was taken by the same lunatics that attacked earlier and that no one had any clue who those lunatic witches were.
She sighed and leaned a little further into her soft pillow, her head slipping to the side to fit better. She felt old, for the first time in years she truly felt weak. Frail.
"It's okay to sleep love," Klaus was suddenly there, she realised too late as she pulled her battling eyelids open wide to look at the man.
He was leaning against her door frame, a passive look on his handsome face and a causal stance about his carved body.
"I'm not tired." She lied terribly and winced at the amused look he gave her in return.
"And I'm not immortal. Sleep Caroline, you will need it." He commanded softly, slowly leaving the doorframe to walk across the luscious carpet towards her bed. He sat carefully on the edge nearest her and looked down at her with weary eyes. He didn't like watching her like this he realised with a small frown.
She was torturing herself and he didn't like that.
"I will, but first; I need to talk to Elena. They will probably be wondering where we are."
Klaus suddenly smirked and pulled out his mobile from his jean pocket, after a second her pulled it to his ear and ignored her questioning look.
"Hello James, mind walking up to the pretty brunette you are following and hand her your phone?" He said never taking his eyes from Caroline's narrowed ones.
Of course he would have them followed.
"Ugh…Yeah, of course." The guy on the other end said into the phone and Klaus handed his own to Caroline.
"There you go love." He said smugly smiling at her annoyance.
"I can't believe you..." She began but was cut off by Elena's angry voice from the other line.
"Klaus? What the hell is going on?"
"Hey 'Lena." Caroline said gently her eyes closing a fracture as she focussed on her friend rather than the Hybrid sitting beside her.
"Caroline? What's wrong?" Elena's whole tone changed in an instant.
"I might have gotten myself into a little bit of trouble," Caroline joked grimacing at the scowl Klaus sent her for downplaying her 'trouble.'
"Is it Klaus? Did he do something to you?" Elena demanded her voice growing angry again.
Klaus stiffened slightly and Caroline threw him an apologetic smile.
"Of course not, come on Elena as if. No I was attacked by some crazy ass witches and I need you and the others to go back to Klaus's place. They could come after you if they think you could be used somehow." Caroline couldn't help but roll her eyes at Klaus making him smile a little in return, yes, she was trying to make it up to him for her friend immediately thinking he had done something to her.
And no, she didn't want to consider why.
"Are you sure you are okay Care? You sound horrible," Elena said after a few moments of silence.
"Gee, thanks Elena. Yes, I'm fine, I don't have a choice to be anything but so please go back and stay inside. I'll call again if anything else happens."
"Okay, just be safe Caroline." Elena murmured before hanging up.
Caroline sighed and handed the phone back to Klaus. Damn Elena, she always managed to make Caroline to feel guilty for no reason what so ever.
"I do believe it is time for you to sleep now sweetheart. You talked to your friend, now sleep. You will feel better when you wake up." Klaus brought Caroline from her thoughts with his soothing voice.
"Wake me up if you hear anything about Matt," Caroline murmured finally allowing herself to get comfy and rest her head fully on the pillow, her eyes trailing over Klaus's smooth features to see his reaction to her words.
Klaus pressed his lips into a thin line, realising she had been spying on them this whole time but, after looking at her tired face, he nodded and reached out to gently tuck a strand of hair, that was soaked with dried blood, behind her ear. The back of his hand swept across her forehead and down her other cheek before he removed his hand completely.
Caroline convinced herself that she was too tired, too weak, to push his soft hands away from her. Because during that brief contact he stole her breath away and she didn't want to think anything otherwise.
"You didn't tell her about him, why?" He whispered still leaning close but not touching her, though he wanted nothing more than to run his hands all over her body and not just her delicate face.
"I didn't want to make her worry any more than she had to." Caroline said back in the same hushed tone, her eyelids drooping as she spoke.
Noticing this, Klaus stood from the bed and clasped his hands behind his back. Deciding it was time to leave her be.
"But you are allowed to worry alone?" He asked, trying to understand how her mind worked, even if only a little he wished to know more about her.
"I'm not alone." Caroline murmured her eyes still closed: her lips barely moving.
Klaus stilled and watched as she drifted off and after watching her for longer than would be seen as sane; her ran a hand through his curly hair letting out a long sigh as he did.
Now all he would be able to think is if, in that last sleep filled moment, she was talking about him.
Luke returned to the house not long after Klaus had left Caroline to sleep in her room. Of course, he wasn't alone. He had with him one of the more well-known witches of the quarter: Grace Bishop. She was an elderly witch, with long brown hair that was beginning to grey in areas, even though she could for ever be young with the wave of her hand; she allowed herself to age gracefully. She wasn't afraid of growing old, and she most certainly wasn't afraid of the hooded man waiting for her at the end of her aging circle.
She was a very brave woman.
Klaus admired her. He had known her from the time she was a young witch, with hardly any knowledge and power, he watched her become one of the most feared witches of the modern world and he was very glad she didn't find any need to make an enemy of him.
"Niklaus Mikaelson. What is it you have done this time?"
Luke ushered the woman into the kitchen where Klaus was filling a mug up with warm water, for Grace's tea, while sipping on his own glass of blood.
"This time I haven't done anything to induce such attacks." Klaus said smirking and pushing the black tea over to the woman who was gently easing herself into one of the high stools.
Her frown never left her creased face as she appraised him.
"What happened?" Her voice was firm, full of power and strength. She wasn't messing around now.
"Three witches attacked me and my brother. The young man behind you was in the room along with...A friend of mine, they cast some sort of spell. It weakened Elijah and I, knocked Luke to the floor and almost killed my friend." Klaus was very careful not to say Caroline's name and Grace knew he was keeping it locked away from her on purpose, after all, the mere fact that Klaus considered anyone a friend was enough to cast a curse on said friend. It did irk her that he wouldn't allow her to know the name but she pushed away the doubt and focussed on the task at hand.
"And these witches, what were they like?" She asked bringing the cup of tea to her mouth carefully.
"Very alike, green eyes, long black hair. Definitely sisters, but there was nothing that told us of their coven. It is urgent we find them though, they took Sophie Grayson and you know what she is to my plans." Klaus took a long drink from his glass and watched the elder witch carefully.
"Yes I do. And I also know what she is to anyone else who uses her, Klaus. I warned you. I warned you about what would happen if you let that child out of your care." Grace said rather calmly, though her old eyes portrayed her anger at the Original.
"I will get her back before anything can happen, but I need you to tell me how those God damned witches broke the enchantment on this house." Klaus locked eyes with the steely witch and tried his hardest to get her to see he was not lying, not this time.
Grace sighed and put her cup back onto the table.
"It is impossible to break the type of enchantment I put on this house, unless a full coven of witches broke it. A full coven of seven, perhaps six if their power is indeed as strong as you say it is. As for the spell they cast on all of you, it was the usual aneurism trick that all of us witches use. But this time the witches in question are far stronger, plus together they add to that strength. I may not know who they are Klaus, but they do not seem like witches you should be messing with." Grace had her eyes closed, her brow furrowed. Her head was tilted downwards, towards the empty cup: almost like she was looking into it with her eyes closed.
"Anything else, perhaps something more useful: like their location?" Klaus snapped his eyes never leaving Grace.
"I can't pinpoint it, they are shielding too well. They know I am looking!" Suddenly grace gasped and her eyes shot open her head falling back and a long inhuman groan fell from her chapped lips.
Klaus didn't seem fussed by this at all, he had seen this trick preformed enough to know that it was all normal.
Luke, on the other hand, looked like he was about to lay an egg.
"It seems your visit is over." Klaus mused standing and moving around the table to help Grace onto her wobbly legs, not satisfied by anything she had said in the slightest.
"Yes, it is. And I don't want to hear from you until all of this is over. Those witches are too strong for me Klaus." Grace warned taking Luke's arm when Klaus demanded he give it to her.
"You got it," Klaus said in his usual charming voice. Though he hadn't gotten much information it was enough to get moving. To start planning the next move as soon as his siblings returned.
"And Klaus?" Grace suddenly said stopping at the door and looking over her frail shoulder at the plotting man at her back.
Klaus arched an eyebrow.
"The woman upstairs; your friend. They know about her, I saw that much. If she means anything to you, then look after her better than you did with Sophie." She gave him a long unsure look, one that he returned, before turning back to the door and Luke whisked them away.
Caroline awoke with a start. Her body roughly jerking awake as she slung herself into a sitting position. She gasped and clutched her chest where her dead heart rest and, slowly, she calmed down.
She had been dreaming about Matt. About how he had been chained to a wall covered in Vervain and wooden splinters, every time he moved it burned and ached. She dreamt she had been made to watch him as he pleaded for her help. Then, when he finally passed out from the pain, a stake was driven through her heart by a hooded figure bringing her to now.
To the room she sat shaking in.
She knew where she was, and as she listened she could hear voices and people moving about the large mansion. One of the Mikaelson mansions. As she listened harder she could hear Klaus, he was talking to someone. No, he was commanding them, one of his minions, to go and search for someone. Someone called Scott. Caroline frowned trying to place the name but unfortunately she couldn't, so instead she decided it was time she got out of bed and make her grand entrance.
As she pulled herself from the bed she caught a glimpse of herself in the full length mirror attached the wall by the wardrobe and grimaced. She looked a riot. Her hair was sticking out at odd angles, not to mention it was covered it bits of blood and her clothes were all crumpled.
Sighing, she dragged her hand through the unruly mess before pulling it all into a messy bun at the back of her head: grateful that she had at least thought to keep a hair bobble on her wrist.
She still looked insane but at least she no longer had hair in her eyes.
She made her way slowly down the grand staircase, her hand gliding gently down the banister as she went. Once she was down the stairs she focussed on the sound of Klaus's voice and let her feet move across the floor until she came to a closed door. She could hear Klaus inside, talking to someone again (a different someone), she almost stopped to knock but, after deciding he probably wouldn't give her the same courtesy, she turned the door handle and walked into a small drawing room.
Caroline quickly noted the large oak desk by the arching window and that the desk was full of papers and old thick books. Klaus was at the desk. His minion standing in front of it with a dark expression on his face as the two creatures looked up at Caroline.
"You're awake." Klaus remarked eyeing her carefully as she walked to the centre of the cosy room, her eyes dancing over the Georgian décor and art work.
"Obviously," Caroline murmured back smiling slightly at him before looking at the Vampire still glowering at her.
He was tall and very thin, she thought, his dark skin made his blue eyes pop and his teeth gleam. The glare he was giving Caroline almost made her want to rip his head off.
"You still look tired love," Klaus said bringing her attention back to himself.
Caroline shrugged and folded her arms over her chest.
"I'm fine, now tell me what's going on." Her eyes narrowed at the smirk that tugged at the corner of his blood red lips.
"In good time, for now I have some more business to attend to with Scott here. So please go and amuse yourself for the time being love." He gave her his best 'charmer' tone and smile making her purse her lips in annoyance.
"Ugh, if I wasn't needing you to tell me what the hell is going on I would very much enjoy wiping that smile from you face." She groaned making her way back to the door.
Klaus laughed a little at her attitude, making Scott twitch almost angrily, and called out to her before she managed to disappear.
"Do not leave this house Caroline. In fact, don't even go near the front door, do you understand?" His voice had changed, it was lower more guarded than it had before.
Caroline clicked her head over her shoulder so he could see her roll her eyes at him.
"Yes, I understand Klaus. I'll just go raid your kitchen of all it's worth. See ya," she disappeared through the door before he could retaliate.
She did, however, listen in to their conversation as she walked down the hallway back to the kitchen.
"She isn't supposed to be here," Scott whispered lowly.
Caroline frowned and almost stopped walking but remembered at the last second that Klaus was probably listening to her.
"She is my guest Scott, you would fare well to remember that." Klaus replied a little irritated, almost like this wasn't there first time he had heard something like this about Caroline.
"She could ruin everything." Scott stated, no doubt in his voice what so ever.
"I won't allow her to." Klaus simply replied and the room went silent for a few moments giving Caroline some time to calm her anger and turn into the kitchen: she headed straight for the fridge, pulled out a blood bag, threw it on the counter and began opening the cupboards for whatever other goodies she could find.
"Then that's what I'll tell everyone else? That you won't allow her? Klaus…" Scott was interrupted by a loud bang, Caroline assumed it was Klaus somehow and listened for what his next words would be.
"Enough talk of this, Caroline and her friends will not be brought to any harm while they are here, they are my guests – for the time being - and you will tell the others that; and if so much as one drop of her blood is spilled: I will tear their hearts from their throats and feed it to the dogs. Tell them that mate, now leave. I'm sick of looking at you." Klaus growled out almost making Caroline smile at his round about caring sentiments.
But she did feel a little miffed that she didn't get to hear anything really important, nothing about the witches and Klaus's master plan.
She didn't hear Scott leave, but she knew he had by the new silence. With an arm full of; biscuits, chocolate and other sugary delights that she was happily surprised to find; Caroline returned to the island with her load and blood bag.
Before any of the food she decided the blood came first. As she tore open the corner she was surprised by the wave of hunger that erupted from the put of her stomach. She had already finished off three blood bags earlier that day! Perhaps she was downplaying this witch attack more than she thought.
Within the first few second Caroline had finished half of the bag, her Vampire features emerging the more she sucked on the foul tasting plastic. Her eyes closed unwillingly as she drained the final splutters, her stomach settling and the darkening veins around her eyes fading when she got a hold of her blood lust once more.
It was the sound of him swallowing that alerted her to his presence.
Klaus was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest; his eyes following every little move Caroline made as she fed. Trailing over her deliciously evil features and devilish mouth, relishing every little second of it.
Caroline's eyes darted up to meet his quickly, her lips still tugging at the plastic before she pulled it away at the look he was giving her. A look full of nothing but desire.
She looked away from his burning eyes and mindlessly opens a pack of cookies before pulling one out and biting into it, crumbs falling onto her knees but at least for now she doesn't have to look at Klaus.
"Hungry?" He finally says, his voice sounding hoarse as he snaps out of his day dreams.
Caroline finishes her first cookie and goes for a second.
"Starved." She grumbles taking another bite and sighing at the sweet taste.
Klaus chuckles lightly, his usual self returning, and slides onto the stool in front of Caroline and her snacks.
"I guess having your brain boiled can do that to a Vampire." He mused cocking an eyebrow almost teasingly. Caroline rolled her eyes and dusted the crumbs from her knees.
"If you plan on distracting me, you had better try a little harder." She said casually as she tore open a bar of chocolate.
"Love, if I was trying to distract you I would never have let you leave your bed." Klaus practically purred his eyes dancing with promise and mischief.
Caroline froze a little at his double meanings, her stomach flipping uneasily around all the blood she had drank. Images of Klaus's sinful hands and crumpled bed sheets erupted in her mind and she had to force out a scoff to keep her mind away from her bad, bad, thoughts.
"Just tell me what the hell is going on Klaus." She muttered breaking a square of the chocolate off and popping in in her mouth, her thoughts fighting with her as she tried very hard to keep a straight face as she looked into Klaus's smirking one.
"I'm afraid I hardly know more than you do at this current time sweetheart, the witches are powerful. Sisters, and they have taken Sophie for reasons that, at this current time, will not be divulged to you. And before you shout, love, it is for your own safety that you don't know more about her. Trust me."
Trust me, he says. Ha, she thought bitterly. He had to ask one of the most hardest things to do and expect her to take it silently. Not likely.
"Bull shit, my safety? Please, either way you won't let me be alone until this all blows over. So just tell me: why Sophie is so God damn important?" Finally, all her frustration tipped over her boiling point. The Sophie question had been nagging at her since she saved the witch from Marcel, it had been annoying her even more that Klaus wasn't telling her a single thing about her either. And then she had to go and get kidnapped! Again! She won't use magic, which is a puzzle in itself, and her brother is a Werewolf.
Yes, Sophie Grayson had been one massive pain in her ass since the get go, so why did she have to feel so awful for her and why did she want to help out so much.
Just tack it on to the rest of her unanswered question list.
The corner of Klaus's lip twitched, ever so slightly, as he watched Caroline fume; her bottom lips caught between her teeth as she seethed to herself. He was going to make a joke about her absolute need to know everything and anything but the sound of the front door opening and closing stopped him from doing so.
Elijah was home.
"In here brother," he called out snapping Caroline from her wayward thoughts and back to the current mystery at hand: the witches.
"Ah, Caroline, you look better." Elijah announced the minute he strode through the kitchen door, his eyes glancing at Caroline and the empty wrappers slowly amounting around her.
Caroline smiled and waved at the mess apologetically.
"Sorry, it's either junk food or people. I choose junk food." She explained tearing open another packet of cookies a diving in.
Elijah raised an eyebrow at her before giving his brother a bemused glance too, Klaus only rolled his eyes.
"Caroline never did get the hang of feeding from the vein." He says shrugging before standing from his stool to move closer to his brother.
"I got the hang of it you asshole, I just don't like to feed from people. Blood bags do me just fine." Caroline said following the two Originals carefully.
"I seem to recall you turning up to my doorstep with a bullet wound and a Werewolf venom poisoning, love. Wasn't that because you wouldn't feed? But you are right, blood bags do you just fine." He replied flippantly turning away from her narrowed gaze, ignoring her mutters of: 'asshole.' And 'wish I knew where that white oak stake was.'
"Now, Elijah, what did you find?" Klaus asked his demeanour changing from playful to serious the moment he met his brother's eyes.
Elijah looked swiftly at Caroline before back at Klaus, asking silently if she was allowed to hear what he had to say. When Klaus didn't say anything, or make any move to change locations, Elijah began to recall his findings.
"I'm afraid what I found out is sparse, but I have sent more people to go looking for some sort of indication on who they are." Elijah began.
Caroline stopped eating and leaned forward on her seat as she waited patiently for something, anything, that could help her get a better grasp at what is going on.
"The witches have been seen in random places across the world, Rome, France, England…All within the past month. My best bet is they were gathering intel, on what I haven't found out: yet. I have people on it. As far as I know, they were looking for Sophie, for what we can only guess. But I did find out this, they have been to Mystic falls five times, each for one day and one night, and you know what that means,"
Caroline groaned.
"Silas, it means they are in league with Silas."
The two brothers turned to her each hiding their emotions with a mask of impassiveness, while she hid her face in her hands.
She was supposed to be rid of all of that now. New Orleans was supposed to be safe she wasn't supposed to be attacked by an alliance member of Silas any more.
"Yes, it surely does." Elijah summed up looking at his brother, unsure of what should be done now.
"Then they took Matt because he knew Rebekah would want him back, and he knew she would come to you for help. Whatever his plan is, he wants the three of you too." Caroline suddenly said, lowering her hands and meeting both of their eyes was a cool glare.
"I believe you may be right," Elijah said impressed by the girls intuitive mind but also a little bitter that he hadn't thought of it earlier.
"I have to warn whoever is on the borders, anyone who approaches it has to leave immediately or be killed. I can't risk Silas getting past." Klaus said pulling out his mobile.
"He could already be in." Caroline stated her eyes clashing with his and for the first time in what felt like for ever, she saw fear in his eyes. And she knew, she knew that this fear wasn't for himself, it was for his City, his people.
For her.
"Let's hope that isn't the case then love."
"That's all I know Stefan, I swear." Caroline sighed into the landline phone that Klaus had let her use after her incisive nagging for him to do so.
Caroline had just finished going through every last detail she knew about the witches, right down to the colour of their skin. And Stefan was still asking questions.
"Then when are you coming back?" He asked his voice never leaving the eerie calm tone he had an hour ago.
Caroline ran a hand through her hair and flopped back onto the bed in the guest room she had been given for the time being. She looked at the high ceiling and closed her eyes briefly.
"I want to help find Sophie, don't worry I'll be fine and you three don't have to get involved. In fact I refuse to let you." She said opening her eyes again.
"Caroline…You can't put your life on the line for a stranger: again. Please, just stay out of this." He said his voice turning pleading, his calm fading ever so slightly.
Before Caroline could answer there was a knock on her door and she raised herself from the bed to go and answer it.
"It's too late for that Stefan," she murmured opening the door and frowning when she saw who it was. Elijah, holding a tray with a steaming cup of tea in a decorative china cup, a sugar bowl, milk and a plate of chocolate covered biscuits.
"Klaus said you needed something to calm your stress, since you don't feed I thought this would be a suitable substitute." He explained smiling and holding the tray out to her.
"Is that Elijah?" Stefan suddenly said from the other line, Caroline raised her eyebrows at Elijah but he only smiled a little more.
"Ugh yeah, look Stefan I have to go. I'll call you later tonight to see what is happening. Bye," she hung up before he could reply and took the tray out of Elijah's hands.
She had a feeling Elijah had come to interrupt her conversation with Stefan on purpose, for what reason? She had no idea, but she didn't believe it would be any good for her.
"Thank you," she said gratefully and moved towards her dresser to sit the tray down.
She then turned back to Elijah, who was still standing in the doorway watching her curiously.
"Any news?" She asked to try and fill the silence, of course, she had been listening to every conversation he and Klaus made within the house and knew that they were having hardly any luck at all.
"None in the slightest. These witches are very good at what they do it seems." He said still watching her.
"Uhm, is there anything I can do for you?" She asked carefully, unsure of the situation she was in.
Elijah seemed to think carefully about what he was going to say next, her eyebrows slightly pinching and his lips flattening into a thin line.
"I'm trying to decide who you are Miss Forbes. My brother it quite fond of you and I wish to know why exactly."
His question surprised Caroline in his directness. That and she wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting to find or what he will decided about her.
"I thought I told you to call me Caroline?" She said smiling slightly and turned back to her cup of tea to hide herself from Elijah's gaze.
"Yes, you did." Was his, slightly sarcastic, reply. Caroline bit back her snarky retort and concentrated on adding the milk and sugar to her tea.
As she raised the porcelain cup to her waiting lips a loud 'bang' resounded from somewhere downstairs.
"Bloody bastards!" She heard Klaus yell and then the front door was slammed open. Her eyes met Elijah's and they both reacted at the same time.
They were downstairs and at the front door within seconds, Caroline's tea left behind on the floor where she dropped it. She assessed the scene as quickly as her Vampire senses would allow her.
There was glass everywhere and a brick lying in the hallway, outside she could see Klaus baring his fangs menacingly at about twenty Vampires, all wielding guns, probably full of wooden bullets, and stakes. Elijah had stepped calmly out into the front lawn to aid his brother. No one spoke. Only waited.
Caroline moved to step out of this house but Klaus stopped her.
"Don't even think about it, stay in there and get away from any windows." He didn't even look back at her as he spoke, his words low; his anger seeping into every syllable.
One of the offending Vampires turned to look at her, a calculating look in his eyes as he sized Caroline up.
Her eyes narrowed on the bulky looking man. She knew that look too well, it was a tactical move. Attack the weakest link first: Caroline.
She took a small step back away from the door and folded her arms over her chest.
"I'll be fine, just hurry up. It's getting breezy in here." She said looking at Klaus's back and sighed when it began to release some of the anger it had only moments ago.
He didn't reply to her.
"Gentleman, what, can I ask, are you doing at our home at this time of night." Elijah said his voice as calm as it always was.
Caroline was mildly shocked by the meaning of his words, and as she looked at the night sky she realised she must have been knocked out for far longer than she had hoped.
"We have come for the witch." The bulky looking Vampire said in a gravely tone.
Caroline tried to hide any emotion from her face when she processed his statement. Elijah was quicker in processing than her though.
"You will not have her, our home is protected by a powerful witch, only people we recognise as allies will be able to enter." Elijah said, again shocking Caroline. Her eyes darted to Klaus's back, daring him to look at her. Of course he didn't.
Did that mean he trusted her? Enough to allow her past his enchantments and spells?
"There are other ways of smoking out a rat." The Vampire took a purposely dramatic sniff of the air and Caroline couldn't help but copy his actions. And then she smelled it, it was unbelievable how she hadn't noticed it before.
Gasoline.
Everywhere, they must have put some around the house and on the outside walls.
"Yes, yes, you plan to torch the place. How original. Now, I give you to the count of ten." Of course Klaus already knew about the Gasoline.
The opposing Vampire laughed and looked at Klaus like he was the one in danger, that he was the fool. Caroline found herself laughing with them.
"Why are you laughing? Little Girl?" One of the other men sneered his face marring into confusion.
Caroline waved a hand in the air and tilted her head ever so slightly.
"I'm laughing at your stupidity. Idiots. Well, I'm going to have a glass Vodka Klaus, you can shout at me when you're done." Caroline began to turn around but was halted in the process by a wooden bullet flying past her left ear that embedded itself somewhere in the staircase when it failed to hit its target.
The cracking sound of the bullet hitting the wood was followed immediately by the tearing noise of a heart being ripped from her shooters chest.
The man fell to the ground, an unsettling murmur going around the attacking Vampires but none made a move to help their comrade. The threat was too clear.
"I would think before you do something like that again." Klaus warned looking at the man he thought to be there leader, the one setting all the base lines, and let the dead heart fall to the ground besides its desiccating body. The tall, broad shouldered man raised his head and narrowed his eyes in on Caroline who was still in the doorway, though now she was positioned to turn towards the hallway, and back again to Klaus.
Elijah also watched Klaus as his anger slowly receded after the shot had been fired. He noticed the flitting panic in his eyes when he checked to see if Caroline was safe, he also noticed the pure relish when he killed the gunman. It was all very strange to him, seeing his brother act out because of another beings safety was in jeopardy.
"Enough of this; leave and no one else will be harmed." Elijah finally said breaking the silence. Klaus smiled sarcastically at the leader and nodded.
"Of course, leave and I'll at least give you a head start." Klaus said smiling still.
Elijah glared at him.
The leader ignored the brothers and looked to Caroline once more.
Uh-oh.
"All of you: shoot the girl." The leader said, every vampire raised their guns at Caroline and fired.
Klaus acted first and tore the leaders' heart out before spinning around to watch Caroline flee the on shed of bullets.
Elijah began pulling away guns and ripping out the hearts of the men closest to him but the work had been done. The bullets had been fired.
Caroline's first instinct was to run back into the house but the distinct smell of smoke wafted in from the back of the house and she knew her best shot was to run into the bullets and dodge what she could.
The first few she managed to dodge well, only one scratching her shoulder, but as she darted to the side to miss one bullet another came at her and embedded itself in her leg. She crumpled to the ground with a yell. The bullets had been laced with Vervain.
Klaus's eyes flashed yellow as he ran towards Caroline. His feral side raging on as he snapped, pulled and twisted any flesh that came into his path on his way to the fallen Caroline; his own body taking many of the bullets that were meant for her as he pushed towards her.
Caroline grabbed her thigh and forced her fingers through her pain and plunged them into her bullet wound, after a moment she found the little wooden bullet and threw it to the ground. There was a soft clicking sound above her and she immediately looked upwards. A gun was pointing squarely at her chest, point blank range; there was no way this guy was missing.
Caroline knew there was only one thing that she could do.
Caroline threw herself at him, her hands grabbing for the gun and forcing it towards the ground. The Vampire yelled in surprise, not expecting the blonde to have recovered from her wound so quickly, and fired the gun by accident.
The bullet ricochet off the ground and slammed into Caroline's stomach; the pain crippling her once more. As she fell to the ground she almost feared that this was going to be the end when the Vampire began to aim at her heart once more, but of course he stopped him. Klaus.
He appeared behind the Vampire and ripped his heart out angrily, the bloodied organ dropped to the ground just as Caroline was yanked from the ground and pulled into his side.
She breathed a sigh of relief and allowed him to drag her to some sort of safety.
"Are you okay?" Klaus said just as he reached out and pulled another Vampire's head clean off from his shoulders when he made to charge at the two of them.
"Never felt better." Caroline said holding onto his shoulder to keep her balance and to keep the weight away from her wounded leg. Yes, the wound was healing but it was slow. A wooden bullet does that, especially one laced with vervain. Plus she made things worse by attacking that guy before.
Her stomach was in agony.
Caroline took another deep breath and froze ever so slightly: there was no sound of dying anymore.
Caroline looked around at the bloody battlefield in surprise when she realised there was only one Vampire left standing: well kneeling with Elijah's hand in his chest.
Elijah was towering over him, a grim expression on his face. The Vampire stared at his chest and refused to even acknowledge him.
"Who sent you here?" Elijah demanded again.
"I aint telling you anything," the man spat hissing when the action stirred the pain of having your heart held in another's hands.
Klaus laughed and dragged Caroline so the two of them were by Elijah's side.
"I don't believe you have a choice mate. Now, the way I see it is, you tell us now and we kill you. Or you tell us after we have drained every ounce of vervain from your body and we can compel you. Oh, then we kill you." Klaus said, smiling all the while, his eyes never leaving the man in front of him.
Caroline tried to find the part of her that would be remorseful for the Vampire kneeling in front of her, but she found none. She felt nothing but contempt for the man and she could care less how he died.
"Marcel, Marcel sent us." The man gurgled out through the blood in his throat.
Klaus smiled, he knew that. Elijah knew that. Caroline knew that.
He only wanted the Vampire to at least shame himself and his leader before he died.
"Kill him."
Elijah didn't hesitate in pulling out the Vampires heart and Caroline found herself awed by the way he managed to do it without much blood actually leaving the body.
"Now can we please get the bullets out of me?" Caroline half groaned gaining the attention of the two Originals with her.
"Yes, it seems we both need some attending to." Klaus said smiling slightly at Caroline who only just noticed the bullet holes adorning his outfit.
"Then let's head inside, I will have someone clean this mess up." Elijah said already at the front door, his mobile phone pressed to his ear.
Klaus rolled his eyes at his brothers stiff outlet and began walking with Caroline towards the house, but something in the air made him stop. There was a foreign scent, a live scent somewhere.
Then he heard it, the faint clicking of a guns safety. His eyes darted to the side and his fangs emerged in his outrage.
They had missed one.
Caroline looked up, startled, at Klaus's sudden fit of anger but soon realised the situation she was in. Another gun was pointed at her and the trigger was already being pulled.
They could dodge have dodged it, but the assault of wooden bullets had done its toll on the both of them. Caroline knew that Klaus could have escaped without her but, of course, he didn't.
Instead he grinned. He didn't have to worry about anything it seemed.
"For God's sake Nik," a familiar bitchy voice quipped followed by the even familiar sound of a heart being tore from its Vampire's body. The gun firing at the ground instead of Klaus's heart as he protected Caroline.
"You could at least kill them all before getting shot to buggary for her."
Caroline sighed and glared at the blonde beauty before her.
"Hello Rebekah."