Firstly: I am so sorry this took so long! There were some personal issues that had to be dealt with and it totally ate all of my free time up! Thankfully it is all sorted out and my life is back to normal! YAY! Thanks for your patience!

Sweetwater Gal: That's so incredibly sweet of you to say! I realize my fanfic is a little different than most out there, so I'm not really surprised at the lack of responses.

There's a little more build up to the Anna reveal to Beks and Kol before all is revealed. Plus, poor Jer has quite the road in front of him too. We can't make it easy for the poor lad now can we? Haha

I love writing for Caroline!

E&E are truly soulmates imo. They just can relate to each other in a way none of the other characters understand (like when she accepted the deal where she had to die, and he was understanding of why she did it). They will be a slow burn in this story, but it is THEIR story. I just need to get them where they need to be first.

Thank you so much for the response and I'm so glad you're digging the tale! I hope I can keep it up!

Lilylulurose: I think it'll be a surprise what those twisted sibs are up to and how it deals with Anna (who I agree should have never been killed off).

I dig Beks and Damon too, they have great chemistry and they are both so snarky that it's fun to hear them talk to each other.

There will definitely be more E&E, I just need to get them into the right place first before it heats up. Right now she's torn between Damon/Stefan, so she needs to get out of THAT first. Something will happen though that puts her firmly on teamElijah I promise.

The Klaroline plot is born out of my absolute love of really twisted and dark relationships, lol. I really wanted to showcase Caroline's strengths and Klaus' weaknesses- instead of making it the other way around, you know?

I am so glad that you're enjoying this story! Thanks so much!

Supernatural-Girl: Thanks so much! I will be updating more regularly now!

Chapter Two: Baby Steps

Caroline's body was taut within Klaus' grip as panicked thoughts raced through her mind. Had Elena already received her letter? But it was so soon, too soon. Something was wrong. She looked Klaus directly in the eye, and said with conviction, "whatever he's doing here, has nothing to do with me."

His eyes held hers for a few moments, then he stalked towards the door pulling her with him hard by the hand. He swung the door open, standing there with her by his side, a predatory smile touching his lips. Caroline looked to Stefan, willing him to be surprised at seeing her and received her wish. Stefan's eyes widened a little, his lips parted slightly in astonishment at her presence. "Caroline? What are you doing here?"

"She's staying here," Klaus told him, and Caroline realized that arrogance looked good on him. That smug, triumphant air he had was as natural to him as the color of his hair. "We've decided to get along, it's a shame that the same arrangement couldn't have been made with you. But such is life."

"You can't be serious." Stefan admonished, she wasn't even looking at Klaus. His eyes were directly and inextricably placed on her. There was betrayal there, and even a little bit of hurt. She hadn't been close to Stefan lately, since he fell off the wagon he had been doing his best to avoid her, and she had made no effort to change that. Now she found that regrettable, and was ashamed of the fact that she had let him get away from her. Truth be told, she hadn't wanted to see him acting as he had. She wanted to know Stefan the way she liked knowing him, as the friend who helped her transition into a vampire with a conscience. Caroline couldn't help but notice that Elena had looked at him differently lately, and she didn't want her feelings for her friend to change. "Caroline you can't do this, you can't side with Klaus. It will change you."

Shame washed over her and she couldn't look at him. The reason she had avoided him was now a decision that she herself had made. To save Damon, Stefan had given into Klaus and killed many more for the sake of one life. She had no doubt that she would be making the same decisions and that she may have to kill strangers in order to save her friends. "Maybe this is the side I want to be on, did you ever think of that?"

Klaus smirked and Caroline caught it out of the corner of her eye. "Now mate, I think the question that remains is; what are you doing here?"

But Stefan wasn't ready to answer Klaus's question, his eyes were still trained on her and in a way that made her uncomfortable. She frowned, but felt Klaus's hand tightening on hers and decided to keep her expression as dispassionate as possible. She looked down at their intertwined fingers then back up at Stefan. "I'm not expecting you to understand it. I'm just expecting you to accept it."

"I'm the least of your concern," Stefan retaliated wearily, "you know Elena won't stand for this."

"Elena isn't my keeper." Caroline responded evenly, "I'm doing what's right, and eventually she'll see that. Now, I believe Klaus asked you a question."

Stefan finally tore his gaze from her and looked at the Original vampire with a renewed hatred. Bubbles of worry settled in her stomach and she swallowed, hoping that the nice Salvatore brother wasn't going to set the powerful, psycho vamp off. If there was a fight between the two, Caroline would have to side with Klaus- because when it came down to it, Caroline would protect her mother over Stefan, just as he would protect Elena over everyone else. "I was wondering," Stefan began, "if you were still watching Jeremy."

"Kol was." Klaus responded viciously, "but I kept up my end, I didn't hurt him. Elena and I had a deal."

"But you threatened him to Bonnie."

"I did." Klaus smiled, "but in truth, it was a bluff. I never leave important tasks to Kol, you see he's not the most reliable or sane member of my family. If Bonnie had not fulfilled my desire, I would've killed her mother not Jeremy. As I said, I had a deal with Elena." His askance look at Caroline was one of reassurance, as though saying that he would keep their deal too. "Did you lose him? It figures."

Stefan said nothing, but gave Caroline one long look that held an element of understanding in it, as if to say, 'I have been where you are and I wish you luck.'

When she looked to Klaus, she sighed. Luck was something she was going to need.

Stefan left without saying goodbye and Caroline was once again alone with her new roommate. "The answer to losing siblings, is to keep them locked away." Klaus said merrily after the door closed and then walked back into the foyer with Caroline following her stomach doing flip-flops.

XXX

"Are you quite finished examining the grounds, Damon?" Rebekah asked as he approached her once more, having seen nothing that would tell him of Jeremy's whereabouts... She was still sitting in the rose garden, but now she had a tea cup in her hand and a book beside her. He couldn't help but be a little surprised, this didn't really seem to be her style.

He didn't answer, instead he responded with a question. "No Kol yet?"

"He's obsessing," she sighed, "you'll find that is a common trait in our family, I'm afraid." She took a sip of her tea and then frowned at him. "What? Why are you staring at me like that? Do you fancy some tea for yourself?"

He snorted, "right. I'm a tea guy."

She rolled her eyes and sat the cup down next to her on the bench, clearly indicating he had no place to sit next to her. It didn't matter, he had no desire to anyway. He did, however, have a few good questions he needed answering. "So what is Kol obsessing over?"

"Does it matter, Damon? It does not involve you or Elena, so why would you even care?"

"Curiosity."

"Nothing good comes from being curious about an Original." She told him matter-of-factly, "there are a list of graves you can visit to prove that fact." She stood up, tea in hand book in the other and started away from him. He followed, despite the obviousness that she wanted to get as far away from him as possible. "Are you really looking for more torture, Damon? Because, honestly, it's the only time we've spent together that I wish to replicate."

He put a hand over his heart, mocking a pained expression. "Ouch."

A sigh followed, "oh yea, I'm sure you're mortally wounded. Why don't you just go pant after your brother's girl some more? At least that will be a waste of time that doesn't involve me, eh?" She stopped walking as she reached the steps, then looked him right in the eyes. "If you listen to nothing else I say, listen to this, Damon. Kol is a thousand times darker than Klaus had ever been. There was a reason that Klaus put Kol in that coffin and I promise you that it wasn't about loyalty. Your curiosity will get you nothing but trouble."

"I'm shaking in my boots."

"If you had any sense at all, you would be." She responded acidly before turning back and walking up the steps. She slammed the door behind her, leaving Damon alone on the Lockwood lawn.

XXX

"Jeremy, I'm here in Mystic Falls, with your sister. Get to your house, we're worried about you."

Elijah hung up the phone, and looked to Elena, who didn't look any more cheerful than she had when she left the house in the woods. They had looked around Mystic Falls, at the Grille, the library, in the school. Elena had even checked of her parents graves, or the spot where kids liked to party despite the fact that less than a year ago a group of kids were killed there. No luck. Jeremy seemed to have disappeared.

"He's in town Elena, there would be nowhere else for him to go and he did text me to tell us he was safe." His words seemed to have no effect, and regrettably he had no other comfort for her. He should've been paying closer attention to the boy, he should not have let him out of his sight, no matter how safe things seemed or how rational the boy had been acting. "We can go looking again."

She looked up but without seeing him, and her large dark eyes were filled with regret. "He doesn't want to be found. Whatever is going on, he's not letting either of us in on it. It seems he's not the only one either. I just want to understand how things got this way, when did we all stop trusting each other? Why did everything becomes so complicated?"

He wasn't sure what exactly she was talking about, because he wasn't in the know on everything. She didn't trust him and she had no real reason to. So she just covered her hand with his over the kitchen table and tried to catch her eyes. "It's not going to be broken forever. You just have to work on fixing it." She said nothing. For someone who usually had so much hope, she really seemed to be lost in despair. There had to be something that could change that but in order for him to help he needed to know what was really going on. What had upset her so much in the house? What had left her flawless skin stained with tears? "There is something you can talk to me about, and it won't betray any of your friends. I recognize that things between you and Stefan have changed, as well as things between you and Damon. You can speak to me about that at least, right?"

Her mouth opened, then she snapped it shut. "I can't talk about it with Bonnie, because they just turned her mother, and I can't talk about it with Caroline because no matter how much she says that she would be impartial, Damon was terrible to her. How could she be impartial? How could I be impartial? I shouldn't have feelings for Damon at all. He killed my brother, he terrorized my friend and he's done any number of things that I should hate him for. So why don't I?"

His hand was still on hers, and he gently stroked it with his thumb. Of course that would confuse her, it would confuse anyone. "Because you've seen another side of him, a side he doesn't let many people see. He's wounded, and if there's one thing I know about you Elena, it's that you can't walk away from wounded people."

Finally her eyes met his, she sucked in a breath and said, "you must think I'm so stupid. You're right. I am."

"No, I don't think you're stupid. I've never thought that. It's not stupidity that causes your mistakes, it's compassion, it's empathy, it's the fact that you've already lost so many people in your life and you don't want to lose anymore. None of those things make you stupid, they make you human."

"He'll never change though. He doesn't want to."

"No, he probably won't."

"And Stefan…" She trailed off and shook her head, "he was so afraid that I would see this side of him, he tried so hard to hide it from me, and now it's all I ever see with him. He was worse than Damon, did you know that? Do you know what he has done?"

"I do." Elijah nodded, "I'm well versed on the history of the Salvatore brothers. I did my research, and I promise that I'm a very thorough person."

That brought a smile, however small, to her lips. "Somehow that isn't a surprise."

He let himself smile at the little jab, appreciating it because it made it feel as though she knew him. "Really? I thought I came off as such a carefree guy."

He was, surprisingly, rewarded with a chuckle, even if it was halfhearted. "Well let's go be thorough," she told him softly, taking her hand from his. "We can go look around this town again, maybe this time we will have some luck."

XXX

Bonnie waited in the hotel lobby and found it strange that she wasn't nervous at all. She should be nervous, she was about to ask Lucy, a cousin she was not really close to, for an enormous favor.

Bonnie's reasons for not being nervous soon revealed itself at Lucy's arrival. She was all smiles and excitement to see her, with plenty of, "of course I will help"s and "anything I can do"s.

She immediately followed Bonnie up to the hotel room, going on about how they were in witch country now and wanting to introduce her to the circle. "They can definitely help you, not just with finding Abby, but with this ring problem your friend is having."

Bonnie's ease tripled as they discussed the potential of actually working with her grandmother's former circle. It turned out that they were willing to invite Lucy back into the fold, despite her fallacies from before and were more than excited to see Bonnie.

Witches. Not just one, but many and they were excited to see her. Maybe they could answer her questions, or help her develop her technique, or help me get rid of the Originals, The last thought she put into silent words, almost like a prayer as she opened the door to see Sheriff Forbes leafing through hunting weapons magazine on one of the beds and Alaric watching the History channel on the other bed. They were just two living, breathing stereotypes, but Bonnie smiled because there was no better way to introduce them. "Alaric, Sheriff Forbes-"

"Liz, Bonnie." The sheriff corrected again, "I think formalities are just ridiculous now, don't you?"

"Liz," Bonnie repeated with a slow smile, "this is my cousin- Lucy. Lucy, Liz and Alaric."

She waltzed up them, her thick mane shaking behind her as she smiled and took each of their hands, shaking them one after the other. She moved like a witch should move, Bonnie decided. Every shift was filled with grace and dignity. It didn't hurt that she was wearing a pair of black slacks and a silvery off the shoulder shirt that flowed like water down her flawless chocolate skin. "So, my cousin here has told me there's trouble and that you've come to me to help fix it."

Ric nodded, looking nervous and more than a little guilty.

"Good. Because solving problems is good for my mojo, you know?" There was laughter behind her eyes as the two adults shifted uncomfortably before her. "Hey- didn't you say there was another one with you?"

"Jaime," Bonnie said, realizing for the first time that he was missing. "Where did he go?"

"Right here."

Bonnie turned around and smiled at him, "I brought the cavalry." She glanced at her cousin.

"Cool- I brought the ice." He walked passed her unimpressed and her eyes followed him with concern. She wished she could share an encouraging word or something to help him feel better. So she looked to Lucy who gave her an understanding nod and Bonnie followed Jaime to the back of the room, where he was scooping ice into a glass he was preparing for his soda. "What is it?" He asked without looking up.

"We're going to find her."

"And?" He asked lowly, "she'll still want nothing to do with me, will she? She'll still be a vampire."

"The circle will help her," Bonnie inserted. "She was one of them, even as a vampire they can't turn their back on one of their own. Maybe they have some kind of herbs or something to ease the blood cravings- who knows? Just don't give up, Jaime. Okay? In the end? We have to win this."

"And if we don't?"

"There is no 'if we don't.'" she told him evenly, "don't you get it? We don't have a choice."

XXX

"Really Kol where have you been?" Rebekah could barely contain her anger, if Niklaus was frustrating, Kol drew people to their wits end. At least Niklaus had a goal, something that could be measured and therefore predictable in a sense. The same could not be said for Kol most of the time. She was sure of him at the moment, only because she knew what he wanted. All that could be said all the time was that he was mad, and always had been, even as a human.

Originally, that was why Niklaus had come to Kol for help. Unlike Elijah, Kol didn't see any use for morals, or to be more precise, he didn't understand right from wrong. But soon Niklaus was to find that Kol was unpredictable, dangerous and someone he couldn't control. Niklaus learned the hard way, what Rebekah had always known. "I was hunting." He responded cheerfully, "a beautiful but bitter young woman. She was lovely and uninterested."

"A real challenge, huh?" Asked Rebekah knowingly. "No luck on your real challenge, I imagine."

"Not yet. But she won't go far."

"No, I guess she wouldn't, not after last time."

The memory brought a silence between them and Rebekah desperately wanted to know what her brother was thinking. He was not an easy person to read, and he never had been. He was charming and witty, and more than adapt at hiding his feelings. In fact, he could lie to anyone at any time and they would never know. It was a gift of his, and it had served him well throughout the years. She was often jealous of the skill, because it was so very hard for her to hide her emotions. Niklaus was more like her in that regard, as they both had fiery tempers. Kol was as cold as the ice-berg that sank the Titanic, leaving her to wonder if he was just that good at hiding his emotions, or if he just didn't have any.

"She has nowhere to go."

"Perhaps you're misjudging the situation. You have been in a coffin for quite some time, maybe things have changed."

It was his turn to smirk and when he faced her, there was no doubt or worry on his handsome face. "We don't change, Rebekah. Elijah hasn't changed in 1000 years, neither have you and neither has she."

"But we were made from magic, we're different than those we made." But the doubt that she felt was evidence in her tone and once again she wished that she was a better liar. However he was right, change was incredibly difficult for their kind.

As children she and Kol were often thrown together, as they were close in age and because Kol often had trouble breathing, he was left out of the work her brothers had to do. It was because of this that she and Kol had similar interests and tastes. They both had a love of dancing, music and of magic. While they differed greatly in personality, they got along on the sheer fact that they had similar interests and were both very fond of social situations. They were entertainers, Rebekah had once told him, and more than adroit at distracting people with their charms in order to obtain whatever goal it was they were after.

"She hasn't changed." He said decidedly and she knew there was no arguing with him after that point. His dark eyes glinted, "she'll be in this town."

Rebekah nodded at him, "then we stay until we find her."

"Are you eager to leave?"

Rebekah was not, but after they retrieved Anna, she needed to put miles between she and Niklaus. The time had arrived for them to part ways, he had no departed as he said he would and she was beginning to think that he wasn't going to. "You will be too."

"Yes." A nod was followed by a bright smile, "yes, I believe we will."

XXX

Anna hopped onto the log, walking it as though it were a tightrope over the creek to the other side. Jeremy sat on a rock, watching her move gracefully, turning in a hop, then going back over the path she had already walked. She was so beautiful, even there in Tyler's clothes with no make-up, she was the most gorgeous creature he had ever seen.

The fact that she was alive made him happier than he had been in a long, long time. It almost didn't matter to him how she got back, or that she didn't remember anything. Almost.

But there was a nagging inside him that told him she wouldn't be there forever, that if he didn't find out why and how she had been returned to him, that he would lose her all over again.

He had explained her life as best as he could to her while they sat in the woods. She listened passively, with an acerbic remark punctuating the story every once in a while. By the time he had finished, he came up with his own conclusion. The truth of the matter was that he knew very little about her outside of her personality and what happened to her in Mystic Falls.

He didn't even know her age, really, outside of Damon saying that Pearl had been older than 500.

The story of her life ended up being more of a story about how he felt about her life. In a way, it was cathartic and he almost felt like it was a confession. He even expressed his regret over his treatment of Bonnie and how unfair it had all been for her.

She listened through all of it with detachment. It made sense, since she had no recollection of the events he spoke of. He, however, was barely keeping it together through the damn story and thought that he was going to lose it by the time he got to her end in his life. "So these Original vampire things," she said slowly when he had finished and a stretch of silence followed, "you don't know how I know them?"

He shook his head, "I'm sorry- you never mentioned them to me, not even when you were a ghost."

"I wonder why. I wonder how I knew where Mikael was kept too. But you know what I really wonder?"

"What?" Jeremy asked.

She finally hopped onto the ground, right in front of them so that their eyes met squarely. He wanted to dip his face, catch her lips with his and tangle his hands in her hair as he devoured her mouth. Every inch of him wanted to simply take her right there in the woods. "Why didn't I kill that bitch Katherine?"

That…was actually a damn good question and it yanked him back into the reality of things and out of his hormones. "Maybe I could ask Elijah."

"Elijah." She repeated, then frowned, "who is that?"

"He's an Original." Jeremy answered easily, "but he's not a psycho one like the others. He's actually a really cool guy, he's been helping me train with weapons so that I can defend myself." He stopped, then confessed, "to be honest, he's done more than that for me. He listens when I talk, he values my opinion and he lets me make my own choices. That's more than most in my life."

She tilted her head to the side, "and if he hates me for some reason you don't know about? There is no guarantee he and I don't have some ancient grudge, that he hates me and wants me dead." A slight frown touched her face, "I think maybe I should leave you alone completely. Great things don't really happen to either of us when we're together, it seems."

He reached out, circling her forearm with his fingers, "no, please don't." It came out a little raspier than he wanted but he went on anyway, "you don't…know how much I've missed you."

She looked down at where his hand was on her then back up into his eyes, "this can't be easy for you though- being here with a stranger wearing the face of a girl you loved."

"It's easier than not seeing your face." Was his reply, feeling the twisting in his gut that came with her not being there. "I won't tell Elijah about you, okay? Just don't go away again."

Their eyes were locked and he wanted so desperately to see recognition there, to see some semblance of the sparkle that used to light those eyes up when she looked at him. Instead he saw uncertainty and worry, like she was about to agree to something that she knew was a terrible idea. Her teeth worried her bottom lip, as she looked from side to side toward the ground. Finally she looked back up at him and gave him a swift nod. "Alright." It wasn't a heartfelt promise, but he was going to take it, not that he had much of a choice.

"I should probably call Elijah, he's called a thousand times and I think he's a little worried. I won't tell him anything."

Another swift nod.

"Then we'll figure out where you're staying, maybe get you some new clothes and some other stuff." He pulled his phone out, but before calling Elijah he said, "we'll keep you safe, Anna. Nothing will happen to you again."

XXX

"It would have been incredibly considerate of you to warn me before you're leaving town to help a friend, Jeremy. I was worried enough to come to Mystic Falls and alarm your sister." Elijah was saying into the phone. There was an edge in his voice, like a parent talking to a child who broke curfew and left the parent worrying for a few hours. There was a pause, "well yes, I realize that you can make your own decisions." Another pause. Elena could only imagine what her brother was saying to the Original. "You will be sleeping at your home tonight, though. Good. I will see you soon then." Elijah hung up the phone, then looked to Elena. "He'll be home in time for a movie before bed."

"Movie before bed?" She asked.

The corners of Elijah's mouth raised, "we often watch films before going to bed. We take turns choosing them, of course. Perhaps this evening you can choose."

Elena was taken off guard, "wait- you're staying the night?"

He shook his head, "I compelled the neighbor to let me stay there, I thought you would be more comfortable if I was not here and I would feel more comfortable at a distance where I can be of use if needed."

She didn't answer him right away, nor did he look expectant of one. Instead she walked across the park to the swings, then tugged at the chain holding it up, rocking the vacant chair slightly. If he stayed at her home, he would know if Klaus entered, he may even be able to get Jeremy out of the house before anything major went down. The extra protection for her brother would be nice. "You can stay here." She finally said softly, "Jeremy would probably be more likely to stick around. No doubt he has figured out that I had Damon compel him and is probably less than happy."

"He was." Elijah admitted, "but then I asked him, if he had the power to do the same for you, would he have? And I think it put the whole deal in perspective."

Elena mustered a smile, though she didn't feel all that much better. "Thanks. Did he say why he came back here without telling you?"

Elijah shrugged, "he said a friend needed his help. If there had been time to tell me about it, there would have been time to pack."

Friend? Elena felt her forehead crease as she thought about it, Jeremy didn't really have friends. To be honest…they were all dead. "Did he say who?"

Elijah shook his head and that left Elena even more confused. She pulled her phone from her pocket, texted both Damon and Stefan that Jeremy was alright, and then looked back up at Elijah who was watching her with an expression of inquiry. "We should get back to the house, I think." Elena told him, "wait for Jeremy there."

XXX

The bedroom that Klaus put Caroline in was massive, much larger than the master bedroom of her own house. The centerpiece of the room was a beautiful canopy bed, with lacy, expensive material flowing down like waterfalls over a queen-size bed with an exquisite comforter that looked handcrafted. There was a large Victorian style vanity, painted a beautiful pearly white and had a matching upholstered seat to go with it. An Antique Settee sat across from the bed, pillows on it for a light pink, almost dusty rose and it matched the wallpaper. A beautiful painting of a field hung on that wall, of lovely pink flowers and a gorgeous white horse grazing in a field. A grandiose window, compete with an upholstered seat to it, looked out over the wooded area that surrounded the house, making for a view that most people could only dream of. "What do you think?" Klaus asked with a broad smile, arms outstretched to the core of the room before walking towards the back of the room and opening the door that she hadn't noticed was there. Was a large walk-in closet with enough shelves and hangers to hold two of her wardrobes.

What did she think about it? It was the bedroom of her dreams. When she was a little girl this is exactly the kind of room that she had envisioned herself in, and now she was here. However the circumstances were quite different than the makings of a childhood mind. "It's very nice." She told him, hoping he didn't catch the almost-quiver in her voice. "Is this a guest bedroom?" The question was a joke but he didn't take it as such.

"It was to be Rebekah's room, but she chose not to stay."

"So now it's mine." She hesitantly took a few steps inside, then pressed her fingers to the soft, down filled comforter on the bed. "Well, if I'm going to be a prisoner, at least the cell looks like this."

"Exactly what I thought." Klaus agreed, looking pleased with the room and himself. "I've already sent for your things."

She wasn't sure whether she should thank him or not, so she didn't. Instead she walked away from the bed to look at the spectacular view out of the window. A moment later, she felt his presence behind her. "Your little act with Stefan? Well played, Caroline." When she didn't respond, partly out of fear and partly because she knew her words wouldn't matter, he continued. "I warn you, though, I'm not easily fooled. I know that whatever it is you're planning? He's going to be directly involved. He and my little doppelgänger"

"I'm glad you were paying attention." She finally responded, not turning around to look at him. "Where is your room?"

"It's the one next to this, of course."

"Of course." It came out as a mutter. "So do I just…stay in here?"

"Where is the adventure in that, Caroline?" He asked cryptically. "I've never been much of a homebody, and I can't imagine you to be such a person either. So no, I will not be locking you away in a tower."

He moved in towards her, crowding her and making her more than a little uncomfortable, she didn't dare step away though. Instead, she hid her discomfort and rose to the challenge by turning and facing him. "So, we'll go out?"

He smiled, not his usual vicious or sarcastic smile, but a genuine one and it almost made him look sweet. Almost. But even beneath a sincere smile, Caroline feared the sinister thoughts lurking beneath that haunting beauty. "Of course," he told her, "where would you like to go?"

"Dancing." She said instinctively, "I want to go to dancing."

"In Spain?" He asked, "I think the Tango would suit us, don't you?"

"We don't have any clubs-"

"No," he shook his head, "you don't. I'm not asking if you want to go to a club, Caroline. I'm asking if you would like to go to Spain. Do you not understand the kind of power we have? The things we can do?"

"You mean the people we can use." She argued with a slight, almost imperceptible, shake of her head. "That's not the kind of life I want to lead."

He chuckled patronizingly, it was the sound a teacher often used when a student said something incredibly naïve or stupid. Caroline could already feel her temper rise and twisted her mouth open to speak but Klaus was already talking; "have you never used your beauty to your advantage, Caroline? Never flirted to get your way?"

"I think that is a little different than taking away someone's free will."

"For something as simple as a plane ticket?" His tone was mocking, "or a pretty dress? Tell me- who is that really hurting?" He spread his arms apart, "how is compulsion tipping the scale anymore worse than a businessman paying a government official to vote a certain way on a law, or a rich man paying off a judge to get off on a charge?"

"It doesn't make it right though." Caroline argued, but she felt a little deflated and knew that her words weren't as passionate as they should be. After all, she wasn't Elena, was she? Caroline didn't have her head in the sand, she knew how the world worked.

"Right and wrong are just words used by man to control other men, Caroline. It's mankind's way of making order out of chaos. Words, ideas, like right and wrong are told to the powerless to keep them powerless." His voice was low and husky and Caroline found herself focusing on them just to hear them. But this focus was blocking out her own thoughts, her own oppositions to his argument. It was almost like he was weaving her into a spell with them, like some strange, intoxicating form of a compulsion. "Tell me, Caroline. Are you powerless?"

She felt powerless. She felt heavy under his gaze…and weak. That must be how he wanted her to feel though, that was how he was used to people feeling in his presence, at the very least. She moistened her lips with her tongue and shook her head, "not all people with power abuse it." She finally told him, somehow managing a haughty tone, though she was confused on how she was mustering that strength. "So no, I'm not powerless. But I'm not evil either."

He raised one quizzical brow, "well then, I guess it's a good thing I'm just asking you to come to Spain with me and not go on a killing spree." He told her jokingly, taking a step back. He gave her a mock bow then started towards the door of her room, he stopped there, back still toward her. "At least wear something nice for dinner tonight."

He slammed the door behind him.

XXX

The second that Jeremy was in the door, Elena was in his arms, telling him how much she missed him and that it was so good to see him. She chided him for his disappearing act but it wasn't at all severe and Elijah knew that she wasn't really angry.

From over her shoulder Jeremy's eyes met with his and he mouthed the words "I'm sorry." Elijah gave him an understanding nod because he was too happy to see him to be angry. There had been a deep worry inside him that something had gone terribly wrong and that Jeremy was in some kind of trouble. He still couldn't shake it, even with Jeremy right there in front of him.

Stefan and Damon had yet to come back to the house, but Elena had texted them and let them know that Jeremy was safe so it was only a matter of time before they arrived. Elijah decided that before they returned preparations should be made for a nice evening, as he wanted the reunion between Jeremy and Elena to be special. So he took some time to pop some popcorn, set up the surround sound, and order a pizza. Elena had already picked the movie is so all that was left was to wait for a leader to stop grilling Jeremy about the friend that he was helping.

"I don't remember any friend, Jeremy."

"You didn't know everybody that I talked to." Jeremy argued crossly, "I did have friends you know, before mom and dad died."

They are both quiet and that, and Elijah was left to wonder if they ever talked about their parents. From the way it seemed, they did not. It was hard to lose a parent, when his mother died it had taken Rebekah and Klaus to help him through it. Of course, that seemed almost funny now that she knew Klaus and killed her mother, only for her to be resurrected and on a mission to kill he and his siblings. That seems surreal. Even after all of this time of being alive, things could still surprise him and upset him. "Then why won't you tell me who it is?" Elena demanded.

"What does it matter?" Was Jeremy's non-answer; "I told her that I would keep the secret, I truly meant that and I'm not breaking that promise."

She looked from Jeremy then to Elijah, and he tried to give her his best pleading look because he wanted to have the movie night too. He wanted to show Elena another side of him, the side that Jeremy brought out and the side that she could probably see herself trusting eventually. She shrugged, "all right that Jeremy."

"How is Ric?" He asked suddenly, worrying his lower lip and twisting the ring on his finger. "Actually, where is Ric?"

Elena glanced nervously at Elijah, and he heard her heart speed up. There was something going on there, something she didn't want him to know. He smiled, then said very politely; "I could really use a drink, perhaps I'll make a cameo at the wines and spirits store and buy an expensive bottle of bourbon. You to drop mind, do you?"

Elena shook her head, "no, no go on. We can wait."

He gave both a nod that he was out the door walking leisurely down the street, he was unsurprised when Damon appeared in front of him, postured in a way that screamed out Alpha male. "Hello." Elijah greeted with the ghost of a smile, "can I help you with something?"

"Leaving town." Damon responded icily, his eyes gave him a once over and his trademark smirk was glued onto his face. "You know, before you kidnap Elena and make us kill her friend's mother again."

"She's not dead, now shall live forever."

The two vampires stared at each other, and Elijah felt that the whole situation was absurd. Damon standing in judgment of anybody was highly amusing, she would've done the same thing if their situations had been reversed. "Bonnie wouldn't agree."

"Bonnie isn't the one standing in front of me."

"You being here directly puts Elena in danger."

"How is that?" Elijah questioned, not even bothering to hide the mocking tone. "She is in danger at all times, she's the doppelgänger." Was Elijah's counter, and he gave Damon and appraising look to follow it up. "Do you think you alone to protect her? You think that you have this all under control? It's not just Klaus who's here, it's Rebekah, and it's Kol."

Damon snorted, "so I should trust you?"

Elijah shrugged, he knew that he was never going to be able to convince Damon of his intentions, pure they were and so he wasn't even going to try. "Why don't you just go back to the house, Elena is there with her brother. I'm sure she can fill you in on everything."

"Maybe you should be checking on your brother and sister, it looks like they've made for the home for themselves at the Lockwood mansion. If you're really on our side, maybe find out what they are up to."

"I would," Elijah felt the corners of his lips start to raise, "but I have plans with Elena and Jeremy, so it will have to wait."

XXX

Stefan didn't want to go see Elena, the so he texted her a response stating that he was happy Jeremy had been returned to her instead of telling her in person. He went home to his mansion, prepared to write about his day's journey with in his journal. As he opened the door, he stopped short and stared down at the floor of his foyer, utterly dismayed.

There on the ground, were three young girls sprawled out dead and covered in their own blood. They look to be no older than 19, and they were pretty even in death. From the look of the clothing, they were from affluent families and they're perfectly manicured nails, salon styled hair and expensive smelling perfume attested to their money as well. These three girls may have very well had great lives and yet they were on the floor of his mansion, all of their possibility snuffed out. How many lives had he himself ended in such a way? He did not kill these women but he felt the guilt as though he were their murderer. He swallowed, fought back the urge to lap the red liquid up like a dog and staggered backwards almost out of the door.

And as he stepped back he realized that he had been walking in the blood, smearing a message that was written in large letters.

RETURN HER TO ME.

Note from author: if there is any character you want to see more/less of, let me know.

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