Chapter Four : Always In Control

Caroline was casually walking towards the hospital when she felt one of the phones in her back pocket start to ring. She slid her hand back to grab it and glanced at the caller id. Bonnie! Lovely. She needed an update from her favorite witch.

"Bonnie love, tell me you are prepared for my sacrifice."

"Caroline, we need to talk."

Caroline rolled her eyes and kept walking. Talk talk talk! That's all anyone ever wanted to do. They were Vampires! They lived off of their emotions! They did as they wanted! They didn't talk about things. They did it, damn the consequences, and went on being badasses. She didn't have time for this talking.

"Bonnie, unless you are going to tell me you can't do it, then there is nothing to talk about. And won't is not an option." Her words were clearly trying to intimidate the girl.

"Don't you go threatening me, Caroline Elizadotir Williamson!" Caroline winced at the sound of her full, original name. "You may be the stronger Vampire, but I am still the Original witch!"

"Hybrid, sweetheart. I'm the bloody Original hybrid."

"You're the original vampire werewolf hybrid with your wolf side locked. I'm the original vampire witch, and I have my full powers. Now, do you want to try this conversation again?"

Caroline pursed her lips together, annoyed that Bonnie was actually trying to push her. She forgot sometimes that Bonnie was the only one willing to call her on her bullshit. They all knew that at the end of the day, what Bonnie wanted, Bonnie got. Regardless, something was really digging into the witch to actually speak like this.

"Alright then, Bonnie. What do you have on your mind?"

Bonnie sighed on the other end of the line, clearly glad that Caroline wasn't angry. "I've been looking through the grimoires, and I'm not quite sure this will entirely work. I'm only doing a sacrifice to unlock your true abilities. Since we don't know the actual curse that was placed upon you, it might not work."

Caroline nodded to herself and saw the hospital in the near distance. "Then Bonnie, find the right spell. We can only do this once with one doppelganger. I actually have to go, though. Stefan should be home soon."

Caroline hung up the phone before Bonnie could say anything else and flashed over to the hospital. A few compulsions and smiles flashed later, and she was sitting in Doctor Finn Mikaelson's office. She glanced at the pictures on the walls, noting that they were all of his siblings, with none of the parents. She stored that for later usage.

She could smell the man approaching and heard his steps outside of her door. She sat down on the edge of his desk and smiled as he opened the door. He stopped in his steps, and looked ready to turn away and leave her in there, but she shook her head.

"Come now, Doctor. I think it may be better if you and I just had this little talk."

Finn nodded and walked in, then shut the door behind him.

"Lock it."

He paused then locked the door, and stood there looking at her. Caroline turned her head slightly to the picture sitting on his desk of him and his siblings. She picked it up and looked at it. "I heard about your youngest brother. Henrik. I'm very sorry for your loss."

She stared at the picture for a moment longer and felt a little sadness. She had never had another sibling. It had always been Caroline, the lone child, with her parents. Her father and mother never got along and all her father cared about was the Pack. Her mother, on the other hand, cared about the rest of the village children, but not her. Would things have been different if she had had siblings?

She realized then that her face had slipped slightly and she looked back up at Finn, who was staring at her, confused. "It would be a pity if you lost another sibling."

Finn was shaking in fear, staring at her from across the office, and she set the picture back down, then stood from her place on his desk. "Do not worry, Dr Mikaelson. I have no intentions of harming any of your siblings."

"What is it you want, then?"

Caroline tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Do you mean right now, or tonight?"

She flirted her words slightly and his body froze again. She laughed and rolled her eyes, then walked around the edge of his desk to the seat. She sat down in it and chuckled again to herself. "No worries. I already have my eye on someone else for that."

She wasn't going to mention it was his younger brother.

"You will find out more about our purpose in this town tonight. I strongly recommend that you come dressed for a proper dinner. We are very old and wealthy Vampires. Do not expect any of that fast food garbage you Americans so enjoy."

Finn nodded and stood at the door, waiting for her to speak again.

"I've come to take back Stefan's blood."

Finn's mouth dropped, and Caroline smiled.

"Yes, Doctor. I know all about the blood that Stefan gave you. And I am here to take it all back."

"That blood saves people's lives."

Caroline smirked and laughed a little to herself. "And? I kill people every day. And I will kill far more than you can save if you do not give me that blood."

The fear was making the room practically stink.

"How about this, Doctor? You give me Stefan's blood, and I'll give you some of mine."

His eyes went wide at this. "What difference does it make who's blood I have?"

Caroline shrugged and went back to looking at the pictures. This one was one of him and the Sheriff. "Because I prefer to be in control. This way, I get to know how much in all you have and can control how much more you get. And do not try to go behind my back to Stefan. He will suffer a worse fate than you, should he cross me."

Finn nodded his head, then went to a filing cabinet on the opposite wall. He opened it, then began tinkering on a safe. Caroline watched the numbers he put in and smiled. Foolish humans. Always a useful thing to know. Finn then opened it up and pulled out two trays of vials. He set them down on the desk and she let her eyes dilate.

"Is that all of them?"

Finn was shaking and didn't answer. She sighed, realizing that Elijah had already given him vervain. "Pathetic... now answer me regardless."

Finn nodded.

"Out loud."

"Yes, that's all of them."

She couldn't smell a lie. She would have to take him at his word, for now.

"And your blood?"

Caroline glanced up from the vials she was staring at. Well, she had agreed to give him her blood. "Yes, you can have my blood. Go get me two cups."

Finn nodded and darted over to his cabinets and pulled out two large vials. He set them on the desk in front of her then began looking for something else.

"What else are you trying to find?"

"A scalpel or something for you to cut yourself with..."

Caroline snickered then let her fangs drop. Finn let out a startled gasp and jumped back and Caroline looked up at him. She knew her eyes were blacked and the veins were raised, and she smiled a toothy smile at him, then bit into her wrist. She then stuck her pointer and middle finger into the holes so they wouldn't close up and held her bleeding wrist over the vial so it could drain.

"Doctor, if you would be so kind, pour all of Stefan's blood into the other cup."

Finn nodded and began doing as he was told. Caroline hadn't bothered to let her fangs recede and watched as the doctor began emptying each vial. The large beaker she had been filling up was almost filled after a few more bites and she raised her wrist back to her mouth. The holes closed up and she licked up the excess blood, then sniffed the cup of Stefan's blood.

It smelled like Original blood. She tipped her head back and drank it. Definitely Original blood. Salvatore blood. She drank until it was all gone, then let her fangs slip back in. Her face became perfectly smooth again and she smiled at the doctor as she licked her lips.

"You will use my blood, only when it is life or death. When you are out of this, let me know, and I may give you more. So, use it wisely doctor."

Finn nodded and Caroline got up from the chair. She went over to the door and unlocked it, then glanced back over her shoulder.

"I expect to see you at seven o'clock, sharp. Remember, a little class goes a long way."

.:| The Honorable Nobleman |:.

"Stefan, we need to talk."

He had barely walked in the front door when he heard Bonnie's voice calling to him. He shut the door and turned towards the living room, where Bonnie was sitting on the floor surrounded by candles and open grimoires. She was holding a phone in her hand - the one he had given her the day before - and she looked a little upset. Stefan nodded and walked into the room.

He offered his hand out to Bonnie and she took it, and he helped her rise from the floor. He then sat down in one of the chairs after she had tucked herself into the corner of the couch. She was fidgiting with her hair then sighed. "Stefan, this isn't looking good."

He sat forward and stared at Bonnie. She seemed to be rather upset about whatever it is. "Bonnie, everything will be ok."

Bonnie shook her head no and looked up at Stefan. "Tyler doesn't know that if this works, he will have to change as well. You saw him the day after we all turned. He had never killed before we became Vampires, and then he shifted into a werewolf, and he was scared. Tyler, for all of his flaws, was once a good man. Look at how little control he actually has left. If he has to shift again..."

"After Caroline activated her werewolf half, she could shift right then. And it wasn't a full moon. He won't have to shift unless he really wants to."

"Stefan, he has no control over his anger and rage now! He will destroy everyone and everything with his werewolf half set free."

Stefan nodded then sat back, wondering how much to actually tell Bonnie. Caroline would need her help anyways when the time came. "I think Caroline plans on locking him inside of a coffin after the sacrifice is broken.

Bonnie's eyes went wide. "Stefan, no! She has three of us locked up already. She can't take Tyler away as well!"

"Well what else can we do, Bonnie? Tyler is becoming uncontrollable. He is going to expose us all. We aren't safe with him roaming free. I actually agree with Caroline on this."

"Oh Stefan, you can't! Caroline is just paranoid! I have all of us untraceable, and we don't exactly advertise to the world where we are! There is no one following us."

Stefan didn't know if that was true. Bonnie seemed so certain that no one could follow them, but Caroline's instincts had never been wrong. If she truly thought someone was following them, then someone was. The question was whether or not Caroline actually thought someone was following them, or she was just using her power and their fear against them.

"She said that she will reunite the family after the sacrifice is completed and her curse is broken."

"And you believe her? Caroline is my oldest friend, but sometimes I think she is starting to lose it, Stef."

"I know, Bon. I know. But, I have stood beside her for this long. Any time I have betrayed her, things just got worse. Any time any of us have betrayed her... That's the one thing that Caroline cannot handle. Us betraying her. She may be a thousand years old and the most feared Vampire in the world, but she is also still the fragile girl that was constantly fighting for control and always second to the other girls."

"Caroline cannot seriously believe that! She doesn't even have to use compulsion half the time to get what she wants."

"At the end of the day, Caroline is the most lonely of us all. And she is too strong willed to admit it to anyone, even herself."

A silence settled over the two of them. Stefan got up from his chair after a moment and went to his liquor cabinet. He poured himself a glass of bourbon and sat back down. He knew better than to offer any to Bonnie. She always declined.

"Bonnie, I need you to do something for me."

Bonnie had been lost in thought and jerked her head back up at his words. "Of course, Stefan. What do you need?"

Stefan was a little uncomfortable in his chair and got up to sit beside Bonnie. The witch likely thought he just needed a tiny spell. Nothing like this. This was something Bonnie would likely deny him on.

"I need you to convince Caroline not to kill Katherine."

Bonnie's face immediately fell. "Oh, Stefan. She isn't Tatia. And she can't be a replacement for Elena. You have to let it go."

Stefan shook his head. "I'm over Tatia, and I'm over Elena. I just... she is the last of Tatia's line. I feel like we owe it to Tatia. She is the reason we all survived, and now we are going to kill her doppelganger? You can cast a protection spell on her. She doesn't have to die in the sacrifice."

Bonnie got up from her chair and gracefully returned to her spot on the floor. She flipped through the grimoire, then twisted to another. After a few moments, she closed her eyes and raised her hands. The pages all began to flip, and then stopped. She opened her eyes again and read.

"I can do it, Stefan. I can protect her. But only her."

"You have to tell Caroline. We can't just do it without her knowing."

Bonnie shook her head. "We don't have to tell her anything. What if she says no?"

"Then we do it anyways?"

Bonnie let out a dark laugh. "And spend the next century in a coffin? I think not."

Stefan sighed and ran his fingers through his normally perfect hair. "I can't ask her. Caroline doesn't trust me like she used to."

"It could be the fact you have betrayed her twice. It could also be the fact that you chose Tatia over her."

"Caroline has gotten over the fact that I turned her down."

"Caroline's heart has gotten over it, and she holds no more romantic feelings towards you, but she never forgets anything. She will make you pay for it, eventually?"

Bonnie was certainly right that Caroline never forgot anything. Sometimes, Caroline would go on a rampage. She would destroy everyone involved, destroy everything they had ever loved, and enjoy every second of it. Other times... Other times were far worse. Caroline would sit back and let them go, then chase them down and make them suffer. She would torture every last second, using fear and pain to punish those that had betrayed her. He didn't know which was worse.

"Caroline has the eldest two Mikaelsons coming over for dinner. You will likely want to make yourself scarce. Do you know where Tyler is right now?"

Bonnie's eyes closed as she searched for Tyler, then she reopened them. "He is still a few hours away. I think I will go join him. He mentioned something about trying to find clothes that actually fit. You didn't have to give him clothes that were two sizes too small, you know."

Stefan smirked. "We have a long existence to share together. I try to enjoy the little things."

.:| The Queen of the Heartless |:.

Caroline walked up to the house and noticed that Stefan's car was gone. She would have to get a car for herself. And likely Bonnie as well. Tyler could manage on his own. She could only imagine Bonnie driving a Prius. A white one, perhaps. As for herself, she was torn between getting something fast - maybe a charger - or an SUV. These American cars were so different from the European ones she normally drove, but while in America it felt wrong to drive anything other than American.

Opening up the front door, she saw Bonnie cleaning up her grimoires. "Cleaning up already, love? I thought you and I needed to have a talk."

Bonnie glanced up from what she was doing then went back to gathering her grimoires. Caroline slipped off her leather jacket and tossed it over the sofa and bent to help Bonnie grab them all. It took two trips to move everything, including a large box of candles, and then they were both sitting on Bonnie's bed.

"Caroline, I found a spell that might interest you."

"Oh, so you can do the sacrifice?"

"Care, I said I could and would do the sacrifice. I just don't know if it will be exactly what you want. But, this is a different spell. A spell I hope you will agree with... I can protect the doppelganger's life. She doesn't have to die in the sacrifice."

Caroline didn't move from her position on the bed. No wonder Stefan wasn't here. He had likely convinced Bonnie to ask her for this, and then disappeared so she wouldn't realize that Stefan had anything to do with this decision. She had to calm her face to hide the mixture of anger and amusement. Stefan wanted the fucking doppelganger, again. What was it with the Petrova blood that attracted them all so?

"You found this spell in one of the grimoires?"

Bonnie was quiet for a moment, then said, "Yes."

Stefan would pay for this. She would kill the fucking doppelganger, in front of him. Oh, she would let Bonnie do the spell. The doppelganger could survive the sacrifice. And then she would slice the girl's wrists and leave her in Stefan's bed. Even better. Stefan would give in to his Ripper tendencies and kill the girl himself. Oh yes. He would learn better than to try and sneak anything past her.

"I see nothing wrong with that. For the memory of Tatia, you can do it."

Caroline shrugged then went towards the door. She turned back at the last moment after making certain her face was completely empty. "Do you want to join Stefan and I for dinner? We are having a Doctor and a Hunter over for dinner."

Bonnie shook her head, the relief still clear on her face. "No thank you. I think I may go shopping. I need new clothes."

Caroline nodded and reached into her front pocket, then pulled out a card. "Here. I know you will not compel for anything. I had a card made for you and the others. I will see about getting us cars and a few modern goodies tomorrow."

Bonnie got up from the bed to take the card from Caroline, then grabbed her best friend's wrist. "There was a time, Caroline, when you wouldn't compel either. When you wanted everyone to still have free will."

Caroline jerked her wrist away. "Things are different now. Free will never really existed."

.:| The Lone Pup |:.

Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah were all standing around in Elijah's room while he and Finn kept pulling out the best of the evening wear they had. Rebekah kept saying that they should wear their tuxedos, which every man in the town had for all of the various parties that happened throughout the year. It was a small town, so they enjoyed their events. All the men, however, argued against this.

"I mean, do we really know how old they are? Stefan was wearing a suit! An actual suit! Just to go to the Grill! Seriously, I am the only one here with a fashion sense. If you wear a basic suit like that... you will be sorely underdressed."

Klaus just eyed them all, not knowing what to say. Sure, their normal suits were alright for small functions, but Rebekah did have a point.

"No. We're going with a normal suit and tie. They are lucky I don't just show up in jeans, a tshirt and a ballcap."

Rebekah threw her hands into the air and left the room, muttering something about looking more for their mother's grimoire. She claimed that their mother had hidden it years before from Mikael, and now she wanted it. According to her, it held all of the spells that ran in their family line. Whatever secrets Esther had been hiding, Rebekah wanted to know them.

"I say you go with your boring suits, brothers. Show them how basic you two are, then she can fall in love with the charming me at the next event when I am all dressed up."

Klaus smacked the back of Kol's head for his remark, then shook his head at his older brothers. "It doesn't matter what you wear - it won't be the right thing. This is a mistake to go in there unprepared. She will kill you both if you aren't careful."

Elijah just grinned at his brother. "I don't plan on dying tonight. On the contrary, I fully intend on shoving a stake through her heart."

"Elijah, I do not think that is a good idea. Shouldn't we just see what they want first?"

Finn, always the reasonable mature one. Klaus was normally annoyed with how borish he was, but at the current moment, he had to agree. He wanted to know more of what was going on. What Caroline wanted. And what she knew about him.

"I don't see why I can't just go with you. Three of us against the two of them. I have questions for her that I want answered still."

Elijah shook his head. "No, brother. She said just the two of us. If three of us show up, she will know something is up."

Klaus crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his elder brother. "She knows things about me, 'Lijah. She can answer questions that I have. And I am the town sheriff."

"And bullets will do nothing against her except make her mad. I don't want to lose any more of our siblings."

"So instead you are going to shove a stake into the chest of a woman that is clearly stronger and older than you?"

"Niklaus, you do not understand. All it takes is one stake to the chest. And then she will be out of our way." Elijah had the look on his face that said the conversation was final, and Klaus wanted to throw something at him. Why were they trying to protect him like he was a child?

"You're an idiot."

"And you're still not going."

Klaus just shook his head at his idiot brothers and went to look for Rebekah. Maybe this grimoire would tell more about these Vampires. Maybe there was an answer in there to all his questions.

Beta : Livingdeadblondegirl

Idea inspired from FadingTales and CandiceMorgans

As always, you can find me on tumblr. melanoradrood.

I have someone working on a cover, so yay! I'm very excited for that! I also got an awesome cover for I Want To Know from dhfreak, which I'm still extra excited about. I also got that Kalijah piece done, and no I won't be continuing it. That's done. I'm out of ideas. Sorry.

Uhh, what else to tell you guys... Oh yeah, I posted a dark Klaroline OS. The Promise. Go check it out - lots of Angst. I keep having requests to continue it, or people saying they loved the first chapter and want more - It is listed as complete and as a One Shot. I'm sorry, but there won't be a continuation. Does that mean I haven't had ideas? Of course not. I'm a bucket full of ideas. But, my plate is full enough.

I'm out for the weekend, but I'll see you guys on Monday with some updates!