Hey y'all! So, I am finally back with an update and I know that I am the worst person ever for making you guys wait so long, but here it is and I made sure to make this chapter just a little longer than my other ones... Also, I hope to continue updating regularly and maybe I'll even be able to finish this fanfic eventually!

Enjoy!

Klaus and Caroline's footsteps slapped against the marble floor and Klaus pulled her towards the throne room hastily.

As they were approaching, they spotted Rebekah and she ran over to them with her blue eyes wide.

"Where are you two going?" Rebekah asked them as she looked between the duo nervously and shifted from one foot to the other.

"Sister, what is going on?" Klaus questioned, the confusion evident in his voice.

"Nik, you have to hide Caroline. Right now," she warned as she tried pushing them away from the throne room.

"Is something wrong?" Caroline asked as she heard footsteps approaching them, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Yes, terribly wrong." Rebekah responded as she shook her head dreadfully.

"Rebekah, elaborate on what is going on. How do you expect me to listen to you if I do not know why I must?" The prince asked as his eyebrows furrowed and he tried to understand what was going on.

"Okay, okay..." Rebekah sighed heavily as Henrik approached them with Kol by his side.

"Nik, hide your girl right this instant. Her life depends on it." Kol said and Klaus realized that he never before saw his little brother so nervous. After all, Kol was always the one that was calm and collected.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Klaus cried out as his eyes widened and he put a protective arm around Caroline

"Follow me," Henrik said as he motioned towards one of the walls.

The two did as they were told and as they made their way over to the wall, Henrik looked around before he turned a beige colored brick and an entrance appeared.

As he ushered them inside, Caroline felt her heart beating frantically in her ears and was suddenly feeling lightheaded.

As she swayed, Klaus cursed and quickly picked her up before he put her to his chest and tried to calm her down with his soothing whispers.

"Halt," Henrik said as he pushed open another door and they entered his bed chambers.

Klaus made his way over to the four-poster bed and lay the blonde on it.

"I'm fine," she reassured him as she tried to stand, but before she could, he pushed her down again.

"Just relax, love... You're pale and I can tell that you are scared which is why I need you to relax."

"Okay, okay." She whispered as she lay down on the pillows.

With that, Klaus turned to face his three siblings with confusion in his blue-gray eyes.

"Father wants your girl dead, Nik." Kol told him and he heard Caroline's harsh indrawn breath.

"Why? I gave him another girl."

"I know, but she is gone now and father believes that she is with you. He has a very good memory, Nik... Father will kill that innocent woman if he gets his hands on her."

"The woman has gone back to the brothel that she came from and even if she is killed, I cannot say I will care as long as Caroline is safe and away from prying eyes."

"Klaus!" Caroline cried out as she stood up and slapped him on the arm. "How could you even twist your tongue to say such a thing? That girl is an innocent no matter how she leads her life. You know that people do what they must in order to survive, so don't you dare think that her life is worth less than mine!"

"I do apologize, Caroline, but that woman is a whore and that faith awaits her no matter what. She made her own choice and that is not my fault nor is it yours which is why you should just let it go."

"How do you know she made that choice willingly? For all you know, her father sold her because he did not have enough to support the rest of his family. Or perhaps, she is an orphan and believes that the only way to feel would be to be with a bunch of men. You cannot immediately assume that she is some terrible person that sells her body to the highest bidder because even though that might be so, there must be a story behind her life."

"Caroline, if it ever came down to it and I was forced to choose between your life and her life, I would always choose you. I saved you from that guard and I will save you again and again until I know that you are safe in my arms and happy with me by your side."

"How can I be happy knowing that a person lost her life because of me? If your father wants me dead, then that is what will happen. I will show myself to him and you will not be able to stop it."

"You will do no such thing." Rebekah said as she came forward and leveled her gaze with the other blonde's.

"And why is that?" Caroline questioned, the annoyance evident in her voice.

"Because my brother loves you and I refuse to stand idly by while my father kills you because of some bitch that I despise."

"What bitch?" Klaus questioned, the confusion evident in his voice.

"Father wants you to marry Tatia, Nik… She is here in the palace and so are her parents… He wants the two of you married by the week's end."

"What? No," he shook his head. "I am not going to marry tha- that woman!"

"You do not have much of a choice, Nik." Henrik said. "You have been betrothed to her ever since you were a child and both father and Tatia's father have an agreement that will not change."

"You were betrothed this whole time and you did not tell me?" Caroline questioned, the pain evident in her voice as she shook her head in disbelief and felt the tears building up in her eyes.

"Yes," he answered truthfully because he did not know what else he could do.

"How could you do this me?" She questioned. "I know that I am nothing but a slave, but I actually believed that you cared for me! Did you take me for yourself because you were simply attracted to me and wanted your needs met? Is that it? Did you see me as an easy woman that would fall to her knees to please you?"

"Caroline, that is not what I thought at all. I love you!"

"How can you love me when you barely know me? We come from two different worlds- you were always privileged and I watched the people I loved die because your people saw us as a race that had to be eradicated… Do you not know how many people have already died at your hand?"

"At my hand?" He questioned. "I never killed anybody, Caroline. I want your people to be set free because I do not believe in human slavery… I want those things, but I have no control over what my father does. He is the pharaoh, after all and I will never be pharaoh after him because I have two older brothers."

"The pharaoh that wants me dead." She whispered before she stood up.

Klaus reached for her, but she sidelined him and made her way past Rebekah and Henrik.

When she got to Kol, he placed his hands on her shoulders in order to stop her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Please let me go, your highness." She said, bowing low because she knew that she would always be a slave to them no matter what.

"Caroline, Nik has made many mistakes in his life, but he loves you and I have a feeling that you love him to. I cannot guarantee that you will have a happy ending with him, but I do know that you two would be stronger together than apart."

"I thank you for your words, but I understand that Klaus will marry this Tatia woman and I refuse to be anybody's mistress… I love him, you are right." She sighed heavily. "But it was not meant to be."

"Caroline, are you seriously giving up on us?" Klaus questioned as he looked over at her desperately and with moisture building in his eyes.

"I am not giving up on us, Klaus… I am simply putting an end to something that will hurt more as time progresses. I love you and I know that you love me, but I really cannot deal with this. Not after everything that I went through. I watched my father die in front of my eyes as well as my extended family. I am not going to stick around and watch as your father does whatever it is that he wants."

"Caroline, I will protect you!" Klaus told her as he tried to get through to her, but unfortunately it was to no avail.

"We all will." Kol told her and Rebekah and Henrik backed him up by nodding their heads in unison.

"Why would you all help me, though?" Caroline questioned as she felt the tears forming in her eyes because of how kind they were being to her. "I am simply a slave."

"We would help you because you seem like a good person and neither of us believe that keeping your people as slaves is a good thing. We only want your people to be set free because otherwise it is not fair at all to your kind." Rebekah told her from behind.

"I do not even know what my kind is… I mean I do understand that both of our people have different beliefs, but for some reason I cannot see my people ever being okay with slavery."

"Why should they be?" Rebekah asked. For the past four centuries, the different pharaohs have been keeping your people as slaves and I do hope that this all ends soon. It is unfair." She sighed heavily.

"You are all such good people," she sighed heavily. "But I do not want any of you to have to suffer your father's wrath which is why I need some time to think before I do anything."

"What are you going to think about, Caroline?" Klaus asked as he stepped towards her and reached for her hands, but she backed up before he could touch her.

All the prince wanted was to hold the woman that he loved in his arms, but she was not allowing him to do so which broke his heart into a million little pieces. He knew that she was currently confused and wished that there was something that he could do to reassure her. After all, she gave him a part of her that he did not really deserve and now he realized that she may just be carrying his child in her womb and under her heart.

"Kol, Bekah, and Henrik… Can you please leave me and Caroline to our own devices for a couple of minutes?" He questioned as he looked over at them, his eyes pleading.

"Sure," they said in unison before they scurried into the passageway and closed the door behind them.

Once the two were alone, he motioned towards the chaise and she moved over to it with her lips in a thin line.

As she sat down, he joined her, but made sure to keep his distance because he did not want to pressure her into anything and he knew that she was feeling vulnerable at the moment.

"Caroline, is there anyway that I can change your mind?" Klaus asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Leaving is the last thing that I want to do, but what exactly do you expect? I always hoped for a happily ever after and then you came into my life and I felt like it would finally be a reality, but knowing that you are betrothed to another breaks my heart and makes me realize just how different we are."

"We may be different in the classes that we are a part of, but we are more alike than you think. I love you, Caroline. I know that it has been just a little while, but I have fallen in love with you in such a short amount of time because you are you and you bring joy into my life. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and if that means running away, I will do it."

"Why?" She asked, the confusion evident in her voice.

"Because I love you with everything that I have and more and even though you may not believe me, it is the truth. You are my light to this darkness that surrounds me."

"You have siblings that love you, Klaus... Surely you will find a woman more suitable than me, perhaps even your betrothed."

"My betrothed is after my family name and the money that we have. She does not love me and I know what that does that to a relationship. After all, my parents had their marriage arranged and look at where that has gotten them. They can barely stand the thought of one another and behind closed doors, they lead separate lives and do not even try to understand one another. That is what my faith holds if I marry Tatia, but if I marry you, we will be happy until the end of our days with a house full of children and grandchildren." He told her as he placed his hand on her flat belly.

Caroline tried to move away, but he stopped her.

"You may be carrying my child under you heart, sweetheart. And even if you are not at the moment, we will get right on they because I love you and you love me."

With a sigh, Caroline stood up and moved away from him because she needed some space and was in desperate need of some alone time.

The blonde knew that the only way to push him away would be to hurt his feelings and that is exactly what she did.

"I am not ready to be a mother yet, Klaus. I am sorry, but I doubt that I carry your child within my womb and if I am being completely honest, I am truly relieved at the thought. Carrying your child would be the biggest mistake in my life." She told him with finality even though she knew that those words were going to hurt him like no other.

Klaus' jaw dropped slightly and he stood up as he looked over at her with pain in his blue-gray eyes. Quickly, his eyes became darker and Caroline felt like running because she knew the look in his eyes. It was one of lust and a look that told her he would have her no matter what and that he would even force her if she did not comply. He was looking at her like a predator would his prey.

Before she could make her way into the passageway and escape him, he had his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against his chest.

"Maybe I should just treat you like the slave that you are." He hissed into her ear, his voice stone cold.

"Klaus, no!" She cried out as she tried to make him release his harsh grip on her.

"Too late," he warned as he tossed her over his shoulder and threw her onto the chaise.

"Klaus, stop it! This isn't you and you know it!" She cried out as she tried to move away from him.

"It is, sweetheart." He told her and she felt her blood run cold at the sound of his dangerously low voice that held no emotion whatsoever.

At that moment, she realized that the man she thought she knew was but a fake. The real man was just as bad as his father and he was about to show her just how terrible he could be.

Lord have mercy, she thought as she shut her eyes and submitted. There would be no point in fighting anyway… He was physically stronger than her and very driven to do as he wished.

There you have it! I hope this chapter was alright and I know that there is angst towards the end, but I assure you everything will be just fine eventually!

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~Hana :p