COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!
Caroline jerked up into a sitting position, her barely opened eyes still heavy with sleep and blond hair messy and tussled.
Fuck, that alarm is ANNOYING. Note to self, change it ASAP.
And yet she's never changed it, despite vowing to do so every morning for the past two years.
Sluggishly, she reached to her right without even looking, slamming her hand multiple times on the nightstand before she finally located her phone. She grabbed it, disconnected it from the charger, turned off the alarm, and checked the time.
7:30 AM, huh. It's early and I don't have anything to do, might as well go sightseeing today. Wait, I don't even have any money. Damn it. Maybe I can look for a part-time job or something… yeah, I'll do that! Luckily, I took French all four years of high school, so I should be good. Oh, I also need to hit up a hospital soon, I'm running low on blood.
With her eyes slowly adjusting to the glare of the morning sun and her tentative schedule in mind, Caroline got out of bed, yawning and stretching her arms. She then promptly stripped off her pajamas and underwear and tossed them into her empty suitcase, then going to her duffel to grab a pair of clean underwear.
Eh, fuck it, she thought as she grabbed a lacy black bandeau and matching boyshorts.
She put the undergarments on the bed, then went back to the duffel, grabbing a crème-colored button-up shirt. It had long sleeves and little golden studs at the edges of the collar, closest to the buttons. She also took out a pair of light blue acid wash skinny jeans, which had some slight tears on the front of both legs. Next, she walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, taking a small and preppy bright blue blazer with a hand-sewn emblem on it off of its hanger. She threw those garments onto the bed, one by one. Finally, she reached into the other, previously unopened, suitcase and pulled out a pair of patent leather red pumps with a peeptoe, setting those on the floor, right by the outfit on the bed.
She looked over the outfit, making sure that everything looked like it matched. As she contemplated it, Caroline started to think about how much she had grown over the past ten years, and how it reflected in every aspect of her, down to her fashion. She was no longer a bubbly, weak, and innocent girl.
She had matured. She was more thoughtful, more confident, more independent, more powerful. She was her own boss, she did what she wanted, and had no regrets. Despite being eternally seventeen years old, she had become a full-fledged woman.
Snapping out of it, she decided that she was content with her outfit. She sauntered over to the bathroom, turned on the shower, took off her daylight ring and put it by the sink, and waited until the water was nice and hot before stepping in. After she was done showering, she grabbed two fluffy white towels from the nearby towel rack: one to wrap up her hair, and the other to dry up and wrap her body. She then went to the sink, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. Afterwards, she removed the towel from her hair, letting her damp golden locks flow loose. She grabbed a hair dryer from her bag and dried her hair, finger-combing and tussling her hair as she went. When she was done, her hair was just how she wanted it: wavy and a tad messy, but still looking chic and presentable. She sprayed a tad of hairspray on it, put on her ring, and then walked out of the bathroom to put on her clothes for the day. Once she put on her outfit, minus the heels, she walked back to the bathroom and put on some light makeup: powder, blush, and some light pink lip gloss.
She then walked out, grabbed a little quilted black leather bag with a gold chain strap, put her cell phone, money, passport, and tube of lipstick in it, put on her heels, and grabbed her apartment key from the nightstand. She left the apartment and closed the door behind her, locking it.
She looked around at the apartment complex. Unlike her apartment room, the walls of the complex were painted a deep crimson and had gold-wrought lanterns with lightbulbs installed between each door; also, the floors were made of a dark polished mahogany, a stark contrast to the almost-tan and unpolished wood floor in her room. Sighing, she walked towards and down the long, spiraling staircase, made of the same material as the floor.
When she reached the first floor, she noticed that the landlady was there, doing a little dusting around the furniture that made up a small and quaint lobby.
The kind old woman warmly greeted her with a smile, which Caroline returned with almost as much enthusiasm. Caroline asked her if she knew of any part-time job opportunities, and she replied, saying that there were a lot of cafes around the Louvre that were busy due to the influx of tourists and that she'd have the best luck searching there. She even gave Caroline directions to the area and told her a little about Paris's public transportation. After thanking the landlady, Caroline stepped out the door, walked past the rows of apartment complexes and hostels to the nearest main street, flagged down a taxi, got in, and told the driver to take her to the nearest Metro station.
Alright, first day of Paris, and I'm gonna make a life for myself here. Let's do this.
Klaus jolted awake after kicking and flailing, falling out of bed and onto the plush, awaiting carpet.
He had just had a nightmare about Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol capturing and torturing him in some old, Gothic-looking prison cell, and he woke up just as they were about to simultaneously stick three white oak stakes into his heart. Well, isn't that pleasant. Just lovely, what a lovely dream.
Rubbing his head, he stood up and grabbed the digital clock which sat upon the wooden nightstand by his bed. It read 10:00 AM.
He ripped off his clothes, throwing them haphazardly on the floor, and sped towards the enormous bathroom. The floor, counters, and all other flat surfaces were decked in white marble; meanwhile, the walls and ceilings were painted a bright and clean white. The white sinks, shower, and Jacuzzi bathtub were complete with golden taps. The shower, encompassed with glass, was quite spacious
Klaus, however, paid no attention to this, simply stepping in the shower and turning the tap, letting the warm water cascade down his lean and chiseled body.
After he was done showering, Klaus stepped out, grabbed a nearby red towel, dried himself off, and then wrapped it around his waist. He walked out, passing by the plush red Victorian-style couches and the marble fireplace, walking to his luggage, which he so carelessly discarded by the door last night. He reached in and grabbed some jeans, socks, and a dark green Henley, putting them all on right on the spot. The jeans fitted a little loosely on him, while the Henley was a little snug, just accentuating his toned, muscular pectorals and abs. He then put on some socks and grabbed some black lo-top Chucks from his suitcase, putting those on too. When he was done, he walked to the nightstand, grabbed his brown leather wallet, gold keycard, and his cell phone, placing them all in his back pocket before walking out the door.
Klaus took the elevator down to the first floor. Feeling a tad hungry, he compelled some beautiful woman in the lobby to follow him in some isolated corner in the hotel, then draining her of blood and sped out into the open, leaving her cold and lifeless corpse right there on the floor for some poor fellow to discover.
As he walked around in the slightly chilly October air, he remembered the Louvre and how he wanted to visit it again. However, he was unsure if it was still too early, if it was still closed, so he checked his cell phone.
10:35 AM.
Huh. It didn't open not too long ago.
And so Klaus set off for the Louvre. He had only walked five minutes when he saw the iconic glass pyramid and the swarms of tasty tourist morsels surrounding it. He joined the queue of eager visitors; once he reached the register, he paid the admission fee, got his ticket from the gentleman behind the counter and then went and entered the museum.
"All right, I'm finally here!", exclaimed Caroline as she stepped out of the taxi, handing the driver the fare with a smile.
After taking the Metro, Caroline grabbed a croissant from a nearby food stand and ran to the sidewalk. With croissant in her mouth, she waved and flagged down a taxi and arrived at the plaza where the Louvre was. Looking around, she noticed that, true to the landlady's words, there were several cafes in the area. The one that caught her eye was one with a lot of tourists sitting at the outside tables. Huh, so my French AND English would come in handy. Perfect.
With that, Caroline headed straight for the café. Le Café Diane, the sign read. "What a pretty little name," Caroline muttered to herself. Once she arrived, a young male server approached her. She asked him if there were any job openings, using her French skills. Replying back in French, the server said he'd come back, going into the café and returning with another man, much older than the server.
Huh, this must be Mr. Manager.
After introducing herself to the manager, she asked if there were any job openings, and he smiled, saying that he was looking for a server, offering her the position right away, despite Caroline being a foreigner, stating that her knowledge of English and French would be a huge help. He also stated that she would receive her wage daily, which consisted of about 45 euro. Eagerly, Caroline accepted the job, and the manager extended his hand to her. They shook hands as she thanked him, and he said that she was to start the next day at 9 AM and work until 4 PM. With that, the manager walked back into the café and Caroline walked back towards the Louvre.
Let's see, I now have some, no, LOTS, of free time today. I mean, all I have to do is get some blood bags from a hospital, and then I'm good. I should probably go to the hospital at night, so…. 8-9ish? It's… 10:45 AM right now, so that gives me a good 9-10 hours of free time.
Caroline opened her little purse to check how much money she had. She had 35 euro. She walked to the line where visitors paid for admission, looking at the list of prices.
Hmm… general admission is 11 euro… taxi fare should set me back about 9 euro… I already got an all-day pass for the Metro… so that leaves me with 15 euro for the rest of the day.
After thinking long and hard and mapping out her budget for the day, Caroline joined the line. Once she got to the register, she handed the lady behind it the admission fee, received her ticket, and entered the museum.
Entering the Louvre, Caroline was absolutely floored. She had heard great things about the museum and the wonderful art within, but she never thought it would be this amazing. There were so many beautiful paintings and sculptures in the museum, she felt like a little kid at a candy store. She wasn't exactly an art enthusiast, but she knew great art when she saw it, and this was IT.
Caroline found a stand with pamphlets, which each contained a map of the museum and guide to the exhibits. She grabbed one and started her journey through the Louvre.
Klaus had been to the Louvre. Multiple times.
And yet, every time he went, it just felt so new. Despite seeing all these artworks in books and pamphlets and such, walking into the Louvre and seeing, experiencing, it all in person was… indescribable. As an artist himself, Klaus felt awed, inspired, and humbled as he saw each artwork. In spite of his great hubris, he had to admit that every artist whose work was displayed here would make his work look like pigeon shit.
However, there was one painting, amongst all the beauty on display at the Louvre, that especially captured his attention. It was a simple landscape painting, not nearly as complex or profound as many of the other works on display, and yet, to Klaus, it was the most beautiful and amazing of it all.
The painting was of a lake, its waters a clear, sparkling blue, as the sun's rays danced and reflected off and around it. The sky was an even lighter shade of blue, clear of any clouds. On the lake was a rowboat with a couple inside. Surrounding the lake was a grassy meadow with some colorful wildflowers blooming in random patches.
To Klaus, the painting was symbolic of simpler times, when he was just a human, when he wasn't this dark and supremely evil hybrid bent on creating a hybrid army. Every time he looked at this painting, Klaus felt just a bit more human as memories of happiness, sadness, despair, laughter filled his mind, as he remembered when he was just a man living with his siblings, his mother, and extremely shitty father.
Caroline was really enjoying herself at the Louvre. The past few hours have been an experience that could only be described as amazing. She loved every painting and sculpture she came across; even the architecture of the museum left her breathless, and she felt it really added to the experience.
She checked the time on her phone. 2:30 PM.
Time had flown by while she enjoyed herself, and she wanted to leave soon. Maybe she could stop by the Eiffel Tower or something before heading back to her apartment and changing into attire that was more comfy and appropriate for robbing blood from a hospital. If all went well, she'd be done by 8 or 9 PM and could even grab a bite of actual food before going to bed and getting ready for her job.
She had just arrived in another little section of the Louvre; surprisingly, there weren't as many people here. Nonetheless, beautiful and vibrant painting graced its walls and sculptures stood in all their glory.
Okay, I'll just look around here and then I'm done.
As she looked around, she noticed a certain painting, hanging on the wall on the other side of the room.
It was of a lake, surrounded by a grassy meadow, with a couple rowing a boat on the lake as the sun shone down from the clear, blue sky above.
As Caroline looked at the painting, she started to remember the girl she once was, before she became a vampire. The insecure, control freak, superficial bitch who ended up dying as Katherine smothered her with a pillow. As much as her old life sucked, there was one thing about it that she envied: that, back then, she was innocent and pure, who didn't get sucked into the dark world of vampires, werewolves, and every supernatural thing in between. Back then, her biggest worries were Miss Mystic and trying to organize the school dance. Sure, she had to deal with her dad leaving and all, and it was hard at the time, but it was nothing compared to dealing with the endless lies and conspiracies that seemed to be a common occurrence in the supernatural world. So as she stared at that sparkling blue lake, that happy couple, that bright and clear sun, Caroline let herself revert to that naïve girl, if only for a few seconds.
Caroline slowly started to cross the room, getting closer and closer to the painting with each click of her heels. However, when she was fifteen feet away from the painting, she froze to a halt.
No. No. No no no no NO. Hell to the fucking NO.
Her blood ran cold, her eyes widened in shock, her face and body stiffened, and if her heart could still beat, it would've simply ceased to function, whether it imploded, stopped, or whatever. Hell, Caroline would've staked herself right then and there if she could.
She may not be able to see the little details and brushstrokes in the painting, but she sure as hell could recognize the man standing right in front of it, staring at it intently. Sure it had been ten years since he had seen him last, but Caroline remembered that man and everything about him. That man with the black sneakers, blue jeans, and that Henley which hugged his lean yet muscular frame oh so well. That short brown hair that looked like it had been slightly tousled. The man's stature, with his hands in his pockets, slouching as he studied the painting. Even though he was slouching, he still gave off his usual charisma and "I'm-a-hybrid-Original-so-fear-me-bitches" kind of vibe. Hell, Caroline could just imagine his oh-so-kissable lips forming that trademark cocky smirk with maybe some of his usual stubble.
Klaus. Klaus Mikaelson. The baddest, most evil Original. The first hybrid. The one who tore out the hearts of his hybrid army after they tried to stop him, without so much as batting an eyelash. The one who stabbed his own siblings and carted them around in coffins for God knows how long.
The one who comforted Caroline at Tyler's party, as Tyler proudly strutted about with Hayley, his new girlfriend, on his arm. The one who helped Caroline after she drank five too many shots of tequila. The one who told her how much she meant to him on the lawn, away from the craziness of the party, who, at that moment, Caroline wanted to kiss with all her heart and soul. The one she desperately sped away from when she somehow snapped out of drunken stupor, noticing how his lips were only half an inch away from hers, his hot breath dancing on her lips.
The one who prompted her to buy a plane ticket out of Mystic Falls ASAP.
Yes, that Klaus Mikaelson.
What do I do now?