Chapter 10 – Death Would Be Too Kind

The instant their lips met, she was cast into darkness.

At least that's as far as Caroline could remember. "Klaus" she whispered, her senses quite disoriented by the kiss, or so she thought. It must have been the pitch black of the night. She could barely see anything and it drove her over the edge. There was no response.

"Niklaus" she called once more, this time more of a battle cry than a plea. She shuffled to her feet in a hurry. Still, there was nothing but silence.

It shook her to the core. She was no longer standing on the roof. In fact, she practically had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. She tried to move forward, to search for some light at the end of the tunnel but it seemed as if she was stuck in a labyrinth. It was a never-ending path of darkness, save for the soft glow that seemed to come from…her? A sense of panic rose within. Her walk turned into a run, but even at vampire speed, she knew she was somehow only running in circles.

Where had the light gone?

"Caroline" a faint voice cried, a voice all too familiar for her to forget.

It was barely audible and yet she found herself running in the direction where it seemed to be coming from. "Where are you?" she shouted, hoping for a response of some kind.

"Caroline" he said once more, his voice hardly a whisper now, a benediction.

She didn't stop running. Caroline continued to work her way through the darkness, her heart pounding in her chest. The more footsteps she took, the closer she felt to him, like there was some kind of gravity pulling them together. She would find him.

Seconds later she noticed a soft glow, the small flickering light from a candle up and she quickly made her way towards it. She must have been distracted by its glow that in her haste, she tripped over something. When she looked, she realized it was actually someone – Jenna.

"Aunt Jenna?" she said, surprised that she could see her face even in the dark. Caroline helped her to her feet. But hadn't Klaus killed her before when he was trying to break the ritual? Why was she still here—alive? Caroline touched her, felt the warmth of her skin, which meant she couldn't be a ghost. Unless… Unless, Caroline was dead as well.

A sense of vigilance washed over Caroline. She quickly patted her clothes, searched for bloodstains or bruises, yet she found nothing, not even a scratch. Where was she?

Aunt Jenna didn't say a word at first, but as soon as Caroline pulled her in for a hug, the former had tears falling from her eyes. Caroline held on to her even tighter. She would know where the light was, right? Instead though, Jenna encouraged "Caroline, go. You need to go. Save him."

Jenna was now pushing her away. "What?" Caroline asked, letting go of her. But as soon as she did, it was like Aunt Jenna had disappeared into thin air. She was nowhere to be found and Caroline was left alone again.

Caroline turned to where she originally saw the flicker of light, her only hope, and found that it was still sitting where it was before. She headed over to it. She kept on running and running, but it seemed to be further than she realized, a mirage of some sort. To top it all off, the rain suddenly poured, obscuring her view. And it was not ordinary rain she had to deal with- no; it was raining blood.

Yet nothing could stop Caroline from finding him. The pull was just too strong that Caroline felt she'd eventually lose her own light if she didn't find him. At that moment, as she continued to trudge through the bloody rain and the thought of ghost Jenna, she knew she was either dead or somewhere in between. She looked from left to right, trying to carve a path to the light, but wherever she turned, she could see bodies of people, most of which she couldn't recognize. It distracted her, kept her further away. There were hybrids, other vampires, but mostly humans. Where in the world was she?

Tears started to fall from her eyes, but were masked by the bloody rain. It was amazing how the candle still flickered. It never died out. Caroline knew then that she must not give up. She pictured where the light came from, closed her eyes, and ran straight for it without hesitation. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing right in front of a picnic table, the candle sitting right in the middle. She was almost relieved.

She needed him. He was the light she was hoping to find. Caroline waited for Klaus to come for her, to take her in his arms and tell her that everything was okay. But as the minutes past, there was nothing. She came to the light searching for any sign of him, but didn't.

"Where are you?" Caroline whispered, using her hands to wipe away her tears.

The wind suddenly picked up and almost blew out the light from the candle. Caroline quickly grabbed hold of it, and as soon as she touched it the flame seemed to dance, to grow brighter.

"Caroline" a pleased voice said from behind, all too close that she felt her tears fall once more. She had found him after all. As she turned to face the man who called out her name, she dropped the candle in the process. Instinctively, he found his way to her and wrapped his arms around her weights. She didn't know if it was from familiarity or the gravity that drew them together, but their lips touched. In an instant, the rain seized, everyone around them-their cries and whispers disappeared, and the garden was basked in light.

Her light. It didn't make sense at first, and it seemed crazy, but there seemed to be a haze around them that Caroline had unleashed.

"You." Klaus said softly, touching her nose with his fingertip, smiling.

Caroline had never seen him smile like this. At that very moment, everything was suddenly clear. She was in Klaus' darkness – his past, his guilt, and his dishonesty throughout the thousands of years he has lived. She had let him in and because of that, she was thrust into his darkness, tainted by hatred and evil—the life he had lived before her, only a candle flickering as light. But she didn't give up. She searched for him in the darkness and in spite of all the terror and the pain; they had found each other once again. It was because Caroline was not afraid—she stood without fear of the past and of the present.

He had been waiting for her his whole life, although he hadn't realized it. And Caroline, well she was no longer confused, and it could only be because of him, because she had let him in. She was the light—his light, and he was hers.

As Klaus held her in his arms, and hers wrapped around his neck, it was like the perfect ending to an otherwise tragic love story. She couldn't avoid those baby blue eyes and as she stared into them, she felt as if she could drown in him. She probably would, if she had the choice. The light continued to grow around them, until he was slowly fading away from her sight. He grabbed hold of her arms, the ones that were around his neck, and held on to her wrists so tight that she probably bled. She tried to blink the light away, tried as much as she could, but she knew that she herself was somehow slowly slipping away as well, like she was floating.

Caroline couldn't take it any longer. She closed her eyes, surprised that the light still hadn't turned them into dust. She prayed that this time it would be over, but as she opened her eyes for the second time, she was no longer in pure darkness or light – not bliss. It wasn't Klaus holding on to her wrists so tight. Instead, it was a pair of shackles, suspending her from the ceiling. She had woken up to a different kind of darkness-torture.

Once again, Caroline had been blind-sighted by her dreams. She wanted to run away, to cry, but she knew that the first thing she would have to do was to get out of here. She couldn't feel her wrists. The silver shackles covered in vervain were burning through her skin. But she would rather focus on the numbness there. It pained her to think about anything else, her family and friends back in Mystic Falls, but most of all the betrayal of Klaus. She never should have trusted herself with him. It truly was a mistake.

If she survived, she promised to herself quietly, she would stop with the curiosity, the belief in Klaus' honesty and that he would be the solution to all her confusion. Because he could not be any of these things – he never was. She was stupid to think otherwise.

Caroline didn't bother to look for another way out until now. She looked left and right, but her vision seemed to be fuzzy. She was shackled in some kind of torture room, that's as much as she could tell, but she couldn't find the door. As she looked even further down her line of vision, she saw someone lying on a couch in front of a fireplace, skimming through… was that a sketchpad? She hated that everything seemed so disoriented. It couldn't be the alcohol. Didn't it get flushed out of her system already?

She had fallen into a trap, but this time there was no one who could save her. No one knew where she was but… him.

Suddenly, Caroline heard a door slam, and she looked up to try to make out who just came into the room.

"I've been wondering how you've been making your master plans. You've done a lot of research big brother" the figure on the couch suddenly said, raising the sketchbook in his hand.

The person who came through the door tried to grab it, but the other was just too quick. He was now standing next to the fire.

"Don't."

A voice all too recognizable responded. It was Klaus who had just arrived. She didn't need to see him to know he was there.

"Oh brother, and I thought you were the alpha male."

The figure next to the fire threw the sketches into it. Klaus grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the wall. "Kol, what the hell were you thinking? Someone could have seen you. That wasn't part of the plan."

Kol struggled from his hold but eventually managed to break free, knocking Klaus over and punching him to the ground. "And making out with her was? I did what I had to do– what you had specifically told me to do. I just had to improvise a little when you started getting derailed. It was your plan, and I'm just here to please. Now I want to make fun of you."

Klaus stood and ran straight into Kol, knocking the latter to the ground. Caroline didn't hear what Klaus had said in response, but it didn't matter. Caroline tried to break free again but the burning sensation in her wrists, the new revelations she had had overheard—everything was just too much. As the darkness started to creep up the edges of her vision, she gave into it without another thought.

She wakes up in her bedroom, tucked beneath the sheets. She doesn't know how she managed to escape, but relieved nonetheless. As she looks up to the ceiling, Caroline takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. She was angry with a lot of people right now especially with herself. She was hurt, tired, distraught and heartbroken. How much more of this could she take? She had given herself up to the darkness more than once in the past 24 hours, and that could only remind her of how weak she had turned into. How could she let it get this far?

As she thought of all the things that led up to this point-the second time Klaus had saved her, the moments on the beach, Paris, London and her dreams, Caroline felt as if her heart had been snatched out of her chest and torn into a thousand pieces. She was more than confused at this point. He had always been playing games with her, and she was just too naïve, to dumb to realize that she kept falling for it. She was trying to distract him before, but he knew better. She should have known that this time wouldn't be any different.

She pushed away the covers to check her wrists, but there was no sign of what she thought had happened. She looked perfectly fine, healthier than most people. She had no physical injuries on her but the pain in her heart was still there, overwhelming and all consuming. Caroline choked back a sob.

She was only brought back to reality when she heard a shuffle from beside her. She turned to her right and was surprised to find Klaus sitting on a chair next to her bed. His head was tipped back, leaning against the backrest, and he was fast asleep. At least, he looked as if he had drifted off.

Caroline kicked back the covers and immediately without even thinking twice about it, wrapped her hands around his neck, choking him. His eyes flew open in an instant and instinctively, he pushes her away and she is thrown to the other end of the room.

Klaus hurries over in the attempt to help her to her feet, but as soon as he gets there, Caroline was already standing on the other side of the room, her stance ready and willing to fight.

"I can't believe you would do this to me. So much for having no plan, Mr. Mickaelson! You deserve an award for being so cruel. I hate you. I hate you so much!" she screamed at him, tears falling from her eyes. She didn't bother to wipe them away. She didn't care.

Klaus attempted to once again make his way over to her, but before he could even lay a finger on Caroline, she knees him in the groin and punches him. He falls to the floor. Caroline knows it isn't over yet. She turns him with her foot so he lays flat on the ground. Then she sits on top of him and punches him again and again. At first, Klaus tries to shield himself, but eventually he lowers his arms to his sides and gives in.

It doesn't seem to faze her. She throws punch after punch, not pausing to stop even for a second. Klaus face turns all black and blue, and although he heals quickly, it came to the point that he could barely open both his eyes.

When that happened, Caroline stopped. She realized he was not fighting back, and it made her hate him even more.

"Fight me dammit." She swore, once again placing her hands around his neck, choking him.

It was then that they locked eyes. As Caroline gazed into his baby blues, she remembered her dream and how she felt like she could drown in him. This time wasn't any different. She did not see anger, hatred or selfishness. Instead, all she could see was a whole lot of pain. Klaus looked at her like someone had died.

But Caroline would not be fooled – not this time. She quickly snapped his neck and he was gone.

She stood, brushed herself off and took a deep breath. This time she felt a lot calmer, her anger disappearing with Klaus' temporary death. She could do this over and over again. She wouldn't kill him permanently – no that would be too kind. She had to make his life a living hell, like he had done with hers. She would find a way, no matter what it took. She was still more confused than ever.

Caroline opened the door to the hallway and leaned against the open frame. She waited for only a few minutes before Klaus woke up again and was on his feet. He made his way towards her the second he opened his eyes and had his arms wrapped around her neck like she did his earlier.

"Is this the game you want to play Caroline?" he asked, "Is it?"

"Am I the one playing games?" she managed to get out.

He released her, grabbed hold of her hands, and shoved the white oak into them. "Kill me already. Do it Caroline. You know you want to. Kill me and you'll be free of the darkness"

It was as if a light had switched on in Caroline's head. She was brought back to the dream, and how she basked Klaus' darkness with light. It was like Klaus was in the dream with her, but this time, he was convincing her to give up on him.

What was this? Why was Caroline psychoanalyzing her own dreams when she was already a second away from freeing herself. She had the white oak in her palm, why couldn't she bring herself to shove it through his heart?

Klaus could see that Caroline was trembling.

He lifted her hands, still holding the white oak in them, and brought it to his heart, so that the pointed end was perfectly aimed. "Do it Caroline," he ordered sternly.

Caroline twisted her hands, and the white oak slowly pierced through his skin. Caroline could see that he was starting to turn cold and weak – his grip on her arms was no longer as strong as it used to be. But instead of driving it through his heart, she broke away from his grip and sent the oak soaring through the air and into another person's heart.

He didn't see it coming. Kol had crept into the room and he thought he went unnoticed. But now as the oak pierced through his heart, he fell to the ground stone cold. She must have been really angry to have perfect aim.

"Why didn't you?" he asked, looking from Kol down to his heart.

"Get out Klaus, " she demanded. He was shocked with what just happened and seemed rooted to the spot. She pushed him out of the door.

"I said, get out!" she screamed. Klaus quickly sped into the room, grabbed Kol's body and put him down in the hallway before Caroline shut the door. He managed to stop it with his foot, which was probably broken now, with the force Caroline used on the door.

He pushed back the door slowly, trying to wedge himself in between. After all, he was stronger than she was, it should have been a piece of cake.

"Klaus. Please. Just get out. I'm tired and I can't do this right now. Kill me tomorrow, you might have the urge to then and things will be a lot easier, wouldn't it?" Caroline insisted, fire flicking in her eyes. Klaus could tell she was holding back tears, but he decided not to say anything about it.

To be perfectly honest, though, Caroline herself didn't even know what she was asking for anymore. She was too numb to feel anything. All she needed right now was to be alone, to catch her breath and think things through. Why she was asking for Klaus' permission, she didn't know.

Caroline was surprised when Klaus loosened his grip on the door and dislodged himself from in between. He was actually going to listen to her. Caroline left the door slightly ajar and watched as Klaus picked up his brother's body and walked away. He didn't say anything. He simply walked away from her without a fight.

Caroline was left all by herself, like she wanted it to be. But how come it suddenly felt like her body weighed a thousand tons more than it should have? How come her heart had just…stopped? Now she knew how it felt like to be truly alone. She quietly shut the door and as Caroline leaned against it she realized she didn't like it one bit—she didn't like it at all.

It was then that she fell to the floor and wept.