The alleyway was derelict and dirty, it seemed on the edge of town that not even the vagrants braved loitering in, a strong stench of blood filed her senses as she slowly crept through the darkness, her cell phone providing the little light so that she could forge a path ahead of her.
At the end of the alleyway was a beat down door, almost falling off it's hinges and Caroline tossed it aside, the smell of blood becoming more and more potent. The light from her phone shone on the inside wall and she spotted a light switch close to the door. Flicking it on, it made a buzzing noise as a single measly light bulb in the centre of the room flickered on and provided the room with dull lighting.
It was a tiny excuse of a room, and was probably used as a sort of quarters or office area for the custodians of the building before it fell into disrepair. But it was not the state of the room that made Caroline gasp and fall against the wall, but what was in the center of the floor.
Laid as if they were preschoolers having their afternoon nap, were seven young women. Their eyes were closed, their bodies were intact, their clothing were unruffled, they seemed untouched if it was not for the wound at each of their necks, and the fact that Caroline could not hear any heart beats.
In the center of the row with three girls on either side of her was placed a blonde girl, who looked about nineteen years old. She had curly hair that tapered down her shoulders and was wearing a mini skirt, tank top and cardigan. She almost resembled Caroline in her high school/college days to the T. On the girl's torso was a sheet of white paper, folded once. Caroline's hands shook as she picked it up and lightly opened it.
On the page, in generic typed letters were the words, 'Happy Birthday Caroline.'
She rested her head against the cold tiles of the shower. It was the third shower that she had taken since she returned from the godforsaken alleyway but just like the days after she ran from Whitmore, she constantly felt an itch as if she was always dirty, that she needed rub harder, scrub better, to get everything off. But even more than that she wanted to scrub away the sight of those dead girls laying on that cold floor, the stench of their rotting flesh and blood, the empty pit in her stomach which reminded her that those girls' lives were cut short because of her, because someone had some form of vengeance against her.
Those girls probably had promising futures ahead of them, one might have wanted to be a doctor, another might have been engaged, yet another could have been taking care of her ailing grandmother, but because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time they would never be able to live out the lives that they had planned.
The day after her run in with Klaus she had received a note in that all too familiar script that she remembered from the drawing that she had once held so dear and then impulsively allowed to lie in shreds on the floor at that tacky dance.
Caroline,
Your 'disciplinary hearing' will be held October 10, which coincides with our ball with will be held in honor of Blood Donation Clinics of New Orleans, a cause which I'm sure you would support.
The dress code is formal.
Klaus
As if he read her mind, her eyes fell on the box on the mat outside her motel room, and she was instantly reminded of when she was put in a similar predicament by him before his family's ball. So much had changed since then, to her, between them, that girl that gasped when she held the beautiful Bleu de France dress in her hands was now just a distant memory.
The box unveiled a different type of dress, one that permitted her to think that Klaus was well aware that she was not the same Caroline that he left in the woods that day. The dress, was a long black evening gown, with straps that crossed over the chest. It was conservative but seductive and totally compliant with what she would have chosen for herself, even though her version would have had to have been from a bargain bin and telling by the Donna Karan tag inside, Klaus didn't stray from the designer racks.
She was so certain that he was over her, but then why go to the effort of finding her a dress to wear? Was it guilt? Did he think this was some way to appease her over the words they had exchanged? Or did he just not think that she would own anything that would be deem appropriate enough to be worn to his fancy ball? She could spend hours mulling over the reasons that Klaus did what he did but if his actions the previous night was any indication, she could not even begin to understand his reasonings.
It felt inappropriate to be doing ordinary things such as attending a ball when she had just caused the death of seven young women. Although her altercation with Klaus ruffled her, she still believed that until she had her meeting with Klaus and the other factions, she was still at liberty to do her job in the city. So she went out every night and roamed the streets in case she was needed. Usually, she would help human victims at the most, twice a week, but this week was the exception as everyday she heard a scream. The scream was high pitched, different every time, as her usual protocol, she rushed to the source only to discover no one there. The first few times she thought that she imagined it, she had become so in tune to the alarmed scream of victims that perhaps she had begun to hear it when it didn't exist. After that she thought maybe it was a false alarm, perhaps the girls were screaming for something else, or maybe someone else saved them. She kept making up excuses to appease her worrying heart until she got the note telling her to go to that room on the side of that derelict building and the real fate of those girls was discovered.
Perhaps she was out of her depth, perhaps it was time for her to move on. With her identity exposed it was like she had one large target on her back, who's to know who she might have pissed off over the six months she was in New Orleans - who did she prevent from enjoying a meal, whose pride did she hurt, whose friend did she kill as part of her quest to save the city. But maybe now that she was no longer hidden in the shadows, it was time for someone to take her place, and for her to attempt to use what she had learnt to aid another city.
Because added to the fact that now the vampires probably knew who she was, they would be expecting her and there would constantly be those who try to attack or kill her, and she wasn't immortal. Those who were now targeting her were definitely smart, they had done their research, they knew that the best way to affect her would be to play on her guilty conscience and her need to help others, they knew that it was her birthday and even the way the girls who were attacked looked, they resembled her so she feared for her mother who was still back home in Mystic Falls. If they knew so much about her, surely they knew about her mother - her beautifully oblivious mother - who at this very moment was probably getting ready for work, phoning Stefan or Elena to ask if they had any news about her while she wolfed down her cereal. Her mother would be a form of leverage on her until she passed, because Caroline was certain that she would do anything in her power to make sure that her mother remained safe. The world was a safer place for Elizabeth Forbes if Caroline ceased to exist and lived only as a shadow, a title, a mystery.
Then there was the Klaus factor. As much as she liked to pretend that she stayed in New Orleans purely in order to save helpless humans, there was a part of her that relished being close to him, under his nose, outwitting and outsmarting him at every turn, having this power over him that was not just what he willingly gave her because of his romantic feelings for her, this was a power that she took from him, in a place where he believed he ruled supreme and until she donned a hood and began to clean up the messes that he didn't even bother to know was there. But her attachment was becoming unhealthy, she couldn't live her life constantly looking over her shoulder for him, fearing that she would see him with the bartender, or he would recognise her, or her game would be up. She needed to begin to live her life to the fullest, to come out of the shadows, perhaps create a new identity and be able to love again, to make new friends, snip the ties of her previous life and be renewed.
This all ran through her mind as she packed up her the few items of clothing that she travelled with into her suitcase (oh how she had changed), before changing into the stunning black dress that Klaus had bought her. Tonight she would say her necessary goodbyes, perhaps meeting the famous bartender that had stolen Klaus' heart, and she will advocate for more to be done for the humans in the city so that once she leaves their hopes would not be desolate. she would make sure that there is a contingency plan before she says goodbye to New Orleans and Klaus forever.
"Klaus, can I have a word?" He turned around to see Marcel walking towards him urgently, he brushed aside one of his other workers who was asking some mundane question about the lights in the garden (even though Klaus remembered distinctly telling him four times the exact constellation in which they had to be arranged).
"Yes, what is it Marcel?" Klaus responded, he could not imagine what his protege could be worried about at this moment.
"The vampires are growing restless, ever since Le Protecteur has been revealed. They were demanding her head and since you have laid out an order not to touch her it seems an awful lot like you've gone soft and they are taking the law into their own hands. There is only so much I can do to stop them."
Klaus growled in response, "What is wrong with these insolent fools? I specifically told them that this whole Le Protecteur business is being sorted out. Have I ever given them reason to doubt my abilities in the past? Make sure to let them know that if any of them even dares to go after Le Protecteur without my orders, I will personally make sure that they die in an extremely painful way."
Marcel nodded dutifully before turning around and walking away.
Klaus was going to turn back to the garden when he saw a familiar blonde head approach him, and he began to turn his attention to her instead.
"Camille," he greeted her with a smile, "You are here early, I thought you would be fashionably late as usual."
She grinned back at him, "Yes, yes I know that, I was hoping I could talk to you before."
"I sure am popular today, what can I help you with?"
"Well I haven't seen you in a while and I was chatting to Marcel a couple of days ago and he said between the two of you, you unmasked Le Protecteur and he said it appeared as if you knew her -"
"Marcel shouldn't be running his mouth off about things he knows nothing about," Klaus interrupted angrily.
"Don't worry, calm down," she said soothingly as she stroked his arm comfortingly, "He was just telling me, I suppose he was worried about you. He asked me if I had heard you speak of a 'Caroline' before and I said I hadn't, which is true, in all our conversations you have never said that name. But then I told Marcel that it might just be that she was another vampire that you had crossed paths in the millennia that you've been alive."
"Which is true," Klaus injected.
"But then Marcel began to describe how she looks and it felt oddly familiar," Klaus tensed as she spoke on, "But not familiar like someone I had met before, familiar as in like I saw her likeness in paintings and sketches, like she was someone's muse." Camille looked up at him knowingly, "She is the girl that's in all the paintings in your studio, the ones that you keep locked up in the that wooden closet."
Klaus narrowed his eyes, and Camille carried on speaking, "That is the reason why you haven't acted against her yet, why you are putting on this show of a ball, and a disciplinary hearing, when we all know if it was anyone else you would have killed her on the spot for even daring to threaten your authority. The only other people you have been this lenient with was your family and Marcel."
"Or perhaps, it is because I think she offers some form of value to New Orleans, she just went about it the wrong way by not consulting me first. You should be grateful for her, she's helping out your people," Klaus pointed out.
"I am, believe me, I am, she has made this city a lot safer for humans, and I won't tell anyone about your connection to her, but because I care for you, I want you to be wary of her," Klaus tutted in disbelief but Camille pressed on, "I know you think know her, but one thing I know for sure is that people can change at a drop of a hat and they can fool the most intelligent of beings especially if they know that they hold affection for them. But through all your emotions you need to be on guard. Why did she come to New Orleans? Why didn't she seek you out, she's been here over six months? Why all the secrecy? What does she get in return for helping the girls? This entire setup does not make sense and you cannot let whatever feelings you had for her to cloud your judgement. Your first priority should be to rule New Orleans fairly and that means doing what's best for the city regardless of any lingering feelings you have."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Cami," Klaus growled as he moved his arm out of her grasp, "This girl means nothing to me, the only reason I haven't stuck back yet is because I know her, I know that if I respond with hostility she would shrink away and offer no information, but beyond any part she plays Caroline responds well to affection and kindness, she longs to see the good in people no matter how hopeless the case might be, and she would be more keen to work alongside us if I treated her kindly."
Camille looked at him apprehensively, "Just be careful, I would hate if something had to happen to you."
"Thank you Camille, your concern is endearing, but if you could excuse me, I need to go welcome my guests," he said, eager to get away. He knew that Camille had good intentions and that she was looking out for him but even she could not even comprehend what Caroline meant to him, how hurting her was not even an option. That she was not the cause of his problem, she was the solution, and he needed her beside him, even if he had to sign every treaty in existence, New Orleans would be lead better by a man inspired, a man yoked in the presence of his muse, a man with motivation, and passion and need.
He had long since given up hope for his own redemption, no matter how much Elijah and Cami tried to persuade him otherwise, but deep within the recesses of his heart he knew that if anything would be a catalyst for change within him, to make him love and care more, to make him want to do better, it would the beautiful specimen of a woman that was making her way up his front steps.
His mouth went dry, he inhaled a short breath, and he was unable to take his eyes off of her her as she glided towards him like an ethereal goddess, and he knew without a flicker of doubt, that he would never stop loving this woman.
She saw Klaus at the top of the front steps, and those pestering butterflies which she was certain that she killed six months ago returned. In wasn't so much because of the fact that he looked good (and he did) but more so in the way he looked at her, almost in a minute she was taken back to a similar situation when she entered the Mikaelson family ball and Klaus turned around to stare at her in awe. At that moment she was still filled with doubt as she was sure that his invitation to her was part of some great ploy that he was planning, but she could not help feeling a sense of pride, yes she had stunned the Original Hybrid into silence, not bad for a 18-year-old baby vampire.
But now he has that look again. And he looks so handsome again. And her palms are sweating again. And it's oh so difficult to pretend to be indifferent, to pretend that he doesn't unhinge her, when he's looking at her like this again, when he's buying her perfect dresses, when he's licking his lips like he's trying desperately to remember the taste of her. She lets out a frustrated sigh as she ascends the steps, she was so convinced that she was over him, that she had moved on, that he was no longer a factor in her life. But now she wasn't so sure, as he offered her a genuine smile, his dimples showing, a smile that she had missed from her life, a smile that she all too often recalled at night just before she fell asleep, a smile that that day in the middle of the Mystic Falls forest filled with her heart with joy, and still has the same effect.
"Hey Klaus," she said as she approached him.
He carried on smiling at her and responded with his signature, "Hello Caroline."
There was so much she could have said in that moment, so many unresolved questions and feelings, but all she could think about was right it felt to be there with him, how for the first time in the longest time she felt a semblance of happiness and warmth, but that was before she walked into the front room, and saw the familiar face of the bartender chatting to one of the other guests. Oh so that's still a thing.
Klaus moved to remove her coat, and part of her wanted to shirk away from him and just do it herself, to be completely cold and distant, but in a rare moment the irrational part of her brain won out and she allowed him to slowly peel away her coat, his hands lingering longer than necessary on her shoulders. She closed her eyes briefly, revelling in the coarse texture of his fingers, which her vivid memory was all too familiar with, if he was never going to touch her again, and it would take longer than normal for her to get over him, she would indulge in any touch of his she could get.
As she disposed of her coat, Klaus draped it around his arm. "I shall just go check this quickly, you should mingle in the meantime," he commented with a small smile before leaving her.
A pool of dread filled her abdomen, she didn't know these guests, perhaps some of them were well-seasoned vampires who were looking for a reason to attack her for killing their own, what if someone asked about how she knew Klaus. Through all the turmoil of the last week she did not even attempt to think up a cover story.
She stood alone, awkwardly, sizing up the other guests, when she heard someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned around slowly to discover the blonde bartender standing there in a floor-length white gown, holding a champagne flute out to her with a warm smile.
"You must be the famous Caroline," She exclaimed as she offered her the glass and held out her hand to shake Caroline's, "I'm Cami.
Caroline took her hand and took the glass from her with the other hand, "Thank you, um famous?"
Cami laughed, "Well I don't mean famous, as most people don't even know who you are, I suppose I mean notorious because everyone knows Le Protecteur, and even more so you have to be pretty darn special for Klaus Mikaelson to hold you in such high esteem."
Caroline blushed and took a sip of her champagne. Klaus must have held this Cami in high esteem if he told her about their relations. In a strange way, she felt a bit saddened that Klaus was so cavalier in talking about their past, as if it meant nothing to him. In the precipices of her heart she still believed that perhaps he was so distant with her because he wanted to protect her, she did not realize that maybe it was because she was insignificant to him.
"Not that Klaus has said anything to me about you," Cami carried on, "Only that you were a vampire he has met previously during his travelling but you have made enough of an impression on him that he has relooked at your situation and is very gracious towards it, I do believe that if Le Protecteur was anyone else they would be missing a head right now."
Caroline shuddered and laughed nervously, "Well Klaus and I did run in similar circles a year or so ago."
"And then again, there's all the paintings…" Cami added on.
"Paintings?" Caroline asked.
"Klaus is a very guarded man, even with those, like me who are in his inner circle, so it was simply by chance that I came across his private studio and saw stacks and stacks of paintings of a young blonde woman who was not me, the likeness was unfamiliar to me, until you walked in tonight."
"And you and Klaus…" Caroline questioned testingly.
Cami laughed and responded, "I'm his colleague, therapist, friend even."
Caroline was taken aback, "Therapist?"
"I'm a psych student at Notre Dame, apparently Klaus needed someone to talk to and I needed a thesis topic," she replied.
"That seems very out of character for Klaus," Caroline noted, "When I knew him he barely revealed anything about himself unless it was part of a greater plot."
Cami didn't seem phased, "I guess people change, having a child can change one's perspective and priorities."
Caroline took a sip of her champagne, she never stopped to think of the effects the pregnancy and death of his child might have had on him, perhaps that was why he had lost interest in her? Because she had represented a time that was trivial in his life, the high school and hybrid drama of Mystic Falls was nothing when weighed against all that had transpired in New Orleans.
"So tell me more about the work you two do together?" She asked Cami in an effort to change the subject.
"Well it's all part of the structure of the city, our way of maintaining the peace. Klaus and Elijah have assembled a council representing each of the dominant supernatural and human species in the city and we work together under Klaus in order to sort through conflicts and orders. I represent the human faction, as my uncle did before me, Marcel represents the vampire faction, Vincent the witch faction, and Jackson the werewolf faction. You'll probably meet the rest of them throughout the course of the evening."
"So what do you intend to do about the dwindling population of the young girls in the city?"
"I was under the impression that you had that covered," Cami responded haughtily.
"Well I'll be leaving town soon, but I would like to know that there will something put in place that would help the young girls when I'm not here," Cami just continued to stare at her, "I guess I'll talk to Klaus about it," Caroline added.
Cami's mouth was in a thin line when Caroline excused herself to get another drink.
He found her standing at the bar conversing with Jackson, who was telling her all about the plight of the werewolves in the bayou, she commented at intervals, adding in what little she knew about Tyler's experience with the infliction.
He interrupted when he heard a lull in their conversation, "Sorry love, do you mind if I steal you away for a moment?" The place was full of people but the only person he wanted to be around was her.
She nodded nondescriptly and Jackson allowed her to leave. "He seems like a nice guy," Caroline gestured to Jackson.
"He's okay," Klaus shrugged.
"He really holds a torch for Hayley though, kept asking me questions about her in Mystic Falls, I think he wasn't all that pleased that I didn't have many happy memories of her. She's really hot stuff here in New Orleans."
Klaus chuckled, "Come along, I want to show you something."
She followed him through the hallways of his excessive home until he led her down to a cellar, which he had to enter a code in to enter.
There were racks upon racks of wine bottles adorning the walls, some looked dusty and antique, while others seemed newer and flashier. But on the furthest side of the room was a cabinet that was protected behind a padlock.
"Is this where you kill me?" Caroline deadpanned.
"Love, if I wanted to kill you I would have done it all those years ago when you first told me what you thought of me," he responded with a chuckle.
He moved over to the cabinet, "No I was serious about wanting to show you something." He unlocked the lock.
"This feels like déjà vu," Caroline mused, "Me at a ball at your house, you stealing me away to show me something."
Klaus turned around, a bottle clutched in his hand, and smiled softly.
"Except," Caroline continued, "The first time you wanted to show off your snazzy artistic skills, and this time you just want to get me drunk."
"Not at all, love," Klaus interjected, "This wine is far too young for us to drink, maybe in a couple of years." He handed the bottle over to her.
The brand was one she was not familiar, French-looking, but the date on the bottle was '2012'.
"This is an odd year," she commented, I would have thought you wouldn't have anything younger than like 1960 or something."
"I see you don't remember my history class," he said, "I wasn't a fan of the 1960s. But the significance of this bottle is that it's my favorite brand but more importantly 2012 was the year that I fell in love with you."
Silenced enveloped the room, and Caroline suddenly found his knuckles grazing her free hand, the one that was not clutching the bottle tightly.
She tensed up, "But why?"
He withdrew his hand and she felt a pang of disappointment, he ran his hand threw his hair.
"Because Caroline," he sighed, "Despite what you might think, I'm not over this," he gestured between them, "You,us, what transpired. I don't know what you think is happening between Camille and I but I can assure you that it is nothing more than friendship and mutual sense of respect. But you see Caroline, even if I slept with every woman in this city I would not be able to erase you from my mind."
She scoffed and he moved closer to her, "I am a collector - letters, coffins, wine - all part of innate need to hold onto what I see as important and significant. You see, I'm all too familiar with how fast life goes, how things can be forgotten in a moment, how changes take place, so when I discover or experience or feel something unique I need to find a way to treasure that, and the wine is one of those outlets. As you can see in this cabinet that the amount of bottles that I have stored are not many and most of them pertain to milestones in my quest for power - when I conquered New Orleans for the first time, when i found Katerina, when I broke the hybrid curse - then there were the very few times when I had good times with my family over the years, and then there is you. I was very reluctant to admit to myself the role you played, merely trying to pass you off as a passing fancy, but even I wasn't fool enough not to notice that what I felt for you was different to what I had felt for anyone else."
Caroline sucked in a breath.
"Last week I allowed you to say your say, too stunned to defend myself, but tonight I just want to tell you that I know you have changed, that something has happened to you, and hopefully one day you will trust me enough to be able to share it with me and allow me to shoulder your burden with you. I, too, have changed, so much has transpired since I last saw you, but I need to tell you, that what remains is what I feel for you."
He paused, and took one of her hands in between both of his, "This is not an act, or a ploy to get you into my bed. One of the things that you underestimate about yourself is your ability to see through any of my ruses and I just wanted you to know that noone or nothing has and I doubt ever will replace you in my heart. That glorious day in the woods which I thought was your final goodbye to me has haunted me everyday, I had never felt such pain and euphoria at the same time. And last week, when I saw your face again, after it only existing in my dreams and in my artwork, it floored me and it took everything inside me to prevent me from stealing you away this week, to give you your space. But for the first time in my life the love that I hold is unselfish - I need you to be happy more than I seek it for myself."
"Klaus, I don't know what you expect me to say," Caroline said softly.
"You don't have to respond to me, Caroline," he said, "You know I will wait however long it takes until you want to discuss it with me. I only told you this so that you would know how ludicrous it is that you thought that I was over you, that you thought I would ever be over you. But I actually wanted to discuss business with you."
"Business?" Caroline put the bottle down and crossed her arms, "You do know I haven't even finished college yet."
"Well not the traditional form of business, and believe me I can teach far more than college ever could."
"Alright, go ahead Dumbledore, what kind of business?"
"Well despite what you think I actually support the way you protected the civilians over the past couple of months. Don't get me wrong I haven't all of a sudden become an activist for the rights of humans, but I do think that if we need to be more careful of exposing ourselves and the supernatural creatures in New Orleans have become cavalier and reckless in their activities and they need to be curbed or at least have some form of restrictions on how they conduct themselves. Secrecy is easy to control in small towns such as Mystic Falls when humans who discover us can be rounded up and killed or compelled but in a big city like New Orleans, where it's easy to get lost in the crowd or to slip away we need to be more vigilant."
Caroline took a seat on an armchair that was probably just there for decor as she listened to his proposition, "What I am about to tell you now, is known only by my family, which is why I took you so far out of earshot. Since we become vampires, my siblings and I have travelled the world and because of our abilities, our age, our strength, we were natural royalty. We sired a species and with that came responsibility which we were not ready to assume. We were rulers but we did not know how to rule, so we learnt by trial and error. We governed cities, we made vampires the strongest supernatural race - werewolves and humans were at our mercy, and wherever we went we created lifestyles and ways of governing, but the problem lied in the fact that we were constantly on the run from Mikael, so just as we found our groove in a specific place, our reputation will spread and he will find our location and we were forced to leave everything and run. It was extremely frustrating, but in the 15th century Elijah and I decided that if we could unlock my werewolf side we would be able to control the werewolves and the vampires and in addition to that create a hybrid army which would be able to defeat Mikael and thus we could then rule in peace and create one form of governorship worldwide over all supernatural creatures with envoys and leaders trained and taught by us, and our family would exist as a sort of overseering board, leaders of all, making sure that everything is kept in check. We would be respected and feared by all."
Caroline leaned in, intrigued, "But you only managed to kill Mikael recently."
"Exactly," Klaus continued, "I hate the fact that it took us so long to defeat him, although I have to admit that since Katerina escaped me, I was obsessed with killing her, and breaking the curse more than controlling lands or finding other ways to kill Mikael. But nevertheless, this is where we currently stand: Mikael is dead, but so are my hybrids; I currently rule New Orleans and both the vampire and werewolves, but as you have noted there is still so much that needs to be ironed out. My siblings and I have noted that before we begin to conquer more cities and supernatural areas we have to make sure that we govern New Orleans properly before we expand and work on our original goal to unite all the supernatural creatures under one banner. Elijah, Rebekah, Marcel and Jackson have already began to create structures such as vampires who have duties to compel humans who have been exposed to our secret, vampires and werewolves who are in charge of security and enforcement, those who fight in our armies, and various other duties. But I do believe that you will be an asset to our team, not only because I know the type of person that you are but because you found the holes in the system, you helped to fix it and even more than that you went undiscovered for six months, there is a lot that you can contribute in how we govern this city, and going further as our bigger plans come into play. Also I think that you can learn a lot from my siblings and I and even Marcel."
Caroline was overwhelmed by his request, "So you want me to join your council?"
"Well yes, as one of the advisors eventually but perhaps to begin with you could just work with Elijah and myself as we strategize and work out ways to rule the city better, and after you are more comfortable and have learnt more about the city and what we have done so far you could become a member of the council."
"I was actually going to leave New Orleans after the party," she said testily, looking up at him slowly.
"You know that I would not stop you if that is what you truly want, but I would like to ask you to please consider my request. There is so much you could do to help this city, and even more than that, we could help you reach your full potential. Just think about it," Klaus got up and started walking to the door, "And now I think I have kept you from the party for too long."
Caroline got up from the armchair and started making her way to the door. Klaus held it open and allowed her to walk out first. She waited for him as he closed the door behind him and then walked alongside her up to the ballroom of the mansion, his hand gently on the small of her back as he moved to whisper in her ear, "Oh yes, happy birthday Caroline." She shivered and he smirked to himself.
"This house is truly beautiful," She said as she looked around in an attempt to distract herself from the tension between them, whenever he made grand declarations of his feelings for her she always felt off kilter, unable to supply one of her always prepared comebacks or answers. She knew why though, she always knew why, because no one else had ever been so sure of their feelings for her as he was, and no one had felt as strongly about her as he did. There was no preparation in her life for Klaus Mikaelson.
"Well," Klaus cleared his throat, "If you do accept the job offer, it does include room and board here, we would not want one of our associates staying in a motel without protection."
Caroline laughed, "This isn't just another ploy to get me into your bed?"
Klaus scoffed, "Please, I'm much more suave than that. On a serious note, I am glad Le Protecteur turned out to be you, if it was anyone else I would have killed them on the spot and not even considered why they did it. Because it was you, I was forced to consider the benefits of what you did and how it could help the city."
She nodded and took his hand, "I'm glad too."
He smiled back at her but as they neared the ballroom, let go of her hand. This was not something he wanted the others knowing about until he knew for certain that Caroline was willing to stay by his side and he had allocated protection to her.
It was three days after her birthday and two days after she had accepted Klaus' offer that she received another note from the murderers of the seven girls. This time she was more prepared however, so she called Klaus and asked him if he or one of his crew could accompany her to investigate something, as even she didn't know the true nature behind the attacks. Klaus was engaged in other business, but within an hour Marcel was at her door and riding with her to yet another abandoned building. She just hoped that this time the carnage would not be as severe.
The dingy entrance room was empty but she barely walked in when vampires appeared from the shadows and surrounded her. She turned to run away but Marcel caught her and held her arms together, she narrowed her eyes at him, so much for loyalty.
A door opened on the opposite side of the room and Caroline scoffed, "Of course, it's you."
"Oh did you work it all out?" Camille said sweetly, "You sure are a lot smarter than your boyfriend."
"Is this what this is all about? You're jealous?" Caroline taunted her.
"Please, this isn't high school, Miss Mystic," Camille shot back, "I never held any romantic feelings for Klaus, it just took a little bit of digging to discover that what he desired was a blonde to dote on him and make him feel loved, and then he was like putty in my hands. Perhaps I will go to some realm of hell for preying on a vulnerable man but after his daughter died, he was not in the most stable of mind, and he lacked support, and I was there for them so I think that is why he latched onto me. I was situated in Klaus' confidence for a reason - to keep a close eye on him, to discover his weaknesses and to make sure that he is distracted from the behind the scenes work of Marcel and the rest of those who were fighting to restore our Pre-Mikaelson regime. But then you arrived and started making trouble, firstly messing with our underground arrangement with the vampires, where we provide them with a certain type of meal at a price, and that money funds a number of city projects. Sadly for you, the most requested meal is usually young females. And then there is your influence of Klaus, and your ability to make him look where he shouldn't, and destroy the work that we have been working on for months. Klaus is much too powerful and resourceful for us to to dispose of him by coup or force so if we would like to continue to rule the city the way we want to, we have to use his weakness against him."
Camille stroked Caroline's cheek affectionately, "And that's where you come in, love."
A/N: I'm sorry if this might be long and confusing, I've been working on these plots for ages. This fic began as my sort of how I would write Caroline in The Originals story and kind of expanded to my problems with the Originals. So here's some points I want to make about the fic:
Number 1 - There are many canonical aspects of TO that I have included in this fic that I'm not particularly a fan of - the baby, the watered down Originals, etc, and it is obvious that I don't watch the shows because a lot of things are different such as no Hayley, no baby but I have basically taken the first half of TO Season 1 as canon and then attempted to write my version of how it went from there. In this chapter I did add Season 2 characters such as Jackson and Vincent, basically because I needed names.
Number 2 - I am very much not a fan of the way the show has written Camille as a scratching post for Klaus - it's unnecessary and extremely insulting. The way her character was first introduced she had a lot of potential to lead the human faction, to create her own plots and intentions, but even more she was situated at the perfect place to become a double agent (like Ward in Agents of SHIELD) because Klaus was unnaturally cavalier with how much he shared with her, and she had a reason to hold a grudge against him for the way that he compelled and used her, I would have loved to see that biting Klaus in the ass in a way he never would have suspected and I attempted to do that in here.
Number 3 - The whole 'I want to rule New Orleans' plot point disappointed me as well, NOLA is one city in the whole world, why only that? In season 2, Klaus was so elusive and seen in such high esteem that vampires had to know a guy who knew a guy to even get a meeting with one of his henchmen, now he's like Johnny Everyman. I saw the Original family as something greater than just a dude whining that he wants to own a city, I wished the show had stolen the Volturi from Twilight instead of the love triangles and impossible babies. What impressed me about the Volturi is that they were powerful and they kept the vampire colonies in line, that even at the end of Breaking Dawn they couldn't defeat them because they needed them. They are very obviously morally ambiguous characters but you understand their importance. With supernatural abilities there is a need for them to be kept in check and that is why the Volturi exists, and the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter, and S.H.I.E.L.D in Marvel. But I thought that it would be too large of a stretch to claim that Klaus could go from barely holding NOLA to ruling the entire supernatural population, so I went the route of Daenerys in Game of Thrones that he first needs to learn to rule a city before he can progress to a nation. I'm a stickler for politics and governorship so I don't find his paranoia and obsession of only protecting himself and his family worthy of making a good leader/king.
Number 4 - This entire fic is a progression, a way of introducing Caroline to the narrative with her own role to play, how she can be of use, whereby she's very much like Oliver Queen, vigilante, 'Save this city' type but it is also a progression for Klaus and the Originals to reach their full potential. So next chapter, he's going to go full on badass again, Marcel will be heard from, and Caroline is going to refuse to be a victim or a pawn again.
P.S: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, and messages and support. I'm the worst updater ever, but I'm working on changing that and all your support is really encouraging me to get my ass in gear.