Caroline awoke to the smell of blood. She opened her eyes to see that she was staring up at the ceiling, and sat up a bit too quickly. Her vision swam before her as she tried to focus her eyes on her surroundings. There were no chains holding her down, and she clearly was no longer in the damp, dark room she had been in before.

"Thirsty?" a voice asked behind her, causing her to leap unsteadily to her feet and whirl around to face her attacker, ready to fight.

"Whoa, take it easy," the man said, holding out a glass filled with dark liquid.

"Who are you and why did you kidnap me?" she demanded.

"Kidnap you? What are talking about, you're the one who showed up here on my doorstep asking me to let you in. You want this blood or not?"

Caroline looked the man up and down. He didn't look like a kidnapper at all; he was well-dressed and, she realized, a vampire.

"Why don't I remember coming here?" she asked, reaching out to take the glass. Clearly she needed it.

"I don't know, you just asked me to let you in and then passed out on my sofa," he replied, returning to the kitchen counter to grab his own glass.

Caroline rubbed her head, trying desperately to remember. She sipped the blood slowly, trying to pinpoint the last thing she remembered about the night before. All she could remember was being in that dark, damp room chained to a chair. There was nothing else.

"Where am I?" she asked, "and who are you? I'll have you know I'm close with the Mikaelsons, so if you try anything, I-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you know the Mikaelsons? Are you sure about that? I'm pretty close with them myself, and I've never seen you around."

"I'm Caroline Forbes and I happen to be a good friend of Klaus," she explained matter-of-factly.

"Carline Forbes, from Mystic Falls? Klaus told me about you."

"He told you about me?" she asked in disbelief, "Who are you?"

"Didn't Klaus ever mention me? I'm Marcel Gerard," he said proudly, flashing a smile at her.

"No, he never mentioned you," Carline replied shaking her head, causing the smile to fall from his face.

"Really? I'm a little insulted, I mean… That's… wow," he said, clutching his hand to his chest.

"So what are you, like, his friend or something?"

"I thought so, I thought I was his right-hand man but I guess he doesn't care enough to mention me," Marcel said in a mocking tone.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, the last time I saw Klaus we didn't really do much talking, so…" she trailed off, wishing she could un-say that. Marcel raised his eyebrows and laughed before changing the subject.

"If you're so close with Klaus, why'd you run off?" he asked, suddenly speaking in a more serious tone. Caroline realized he was worried for her, and was touched for a moment before becoming a bit angry. Who was he to assume she and Klaus had had a fight?

"I'm not trying to pry," he continued, "I'm just saying… I know Klaus. All right, and he's not the kind of person a nice girl like you should be hanging around with. He's dangerous."

Caroline knew she shouldn't feel this way, but she was even angrier. He didn't know anything about her or her relationship to Klaus.

"You think I don't know that? Ok, I've known Klaus for a long time. Yes, he has a temper, and yes he's made mistakes, but he wouldn't hurt me. And you can just drop it, okay, because he has nothing to do with this!"

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help," he said, "You seem a bit on edge, that's all."

"A bit on edge!?" Caroline exclaimed, unable to keep her cool any longer, "I was kidnapped last night, locked up in some creepy dungeon, and now today I woke up here and I have no memory of getting here or even getting out of the dungeon, so yeah I'm a little on edge!"

Marcel was staring at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"Or something… I don't know," she admitted, sitting down on the sofa with her head in her hands, "I can't remember what happened. It's like there's a hole in my memory… It's almost as if I was compelled or something but that isn't possible unless…"

"Only an original vampire can compel another vampire," Marcel finished quietly.

"Yeah… but he wouldn't, Klaus wouldn't." Caroline said, hoping it was true.

"I wouldn't really put it past him," Marcel admitted, "But there is a way we can find out. I can talk to Rebecca, see if she knows anything."

"If Klaus did this, that changes everything!" Caroline exclaimed, her anger getting the better of her, "I'm not going to let him just play these games, these plots he always has and never tells anyone they're in on! I mean maybe it wasn't him, I hope it wasn't, but… I can't say it would surprise me either," Caroline admitted, frowning.

"Well if you want to irritate Klaus just in case, I have some ideas."

"Like what?" Caroline asked, her eyes lighting up.

"What are your plans for the party on Saturday?" he asked, smirking.