One thousand years later…
Caroline and Klaus get a call from Elijah in the year 2010 while they lie asleep in London. They've spent five years here. They get up as soon as the phone rings; a millennium on the run has made them light sleepers.
"What is it, brother?" Klaus asks, picking up the phone, not even bothering to get up or get dressed. "This had better be important."
"The doppelganger," Elijah says, and that is enough to get both their attentions.
"Are you sure?" Caroline asks, rolling over to face Klaus. They exchange quick glances, a conversation through glares and eyebrow lifts.
"I saw her," Elijah says. "I spoke with her."
"Then that's all I need, Elijah," He hangs up.
"Do you think we can trust him?" Caroline asks.
"He's my brother," Klaus says quickly, getting out of bed to get his clothes on.
"One you've kept daggered in a box multiple times," she reminds him. "He's tried to kill you before, Niklaus."
"Not really." He shrugs on a shirt. "I doubt he thought that last attempt would kill us."
"He thinks you killed our family," she tries again. "And you know how he is with all of them."
"This could be a trap," He acknowledges. "How is it even possible? I thought the bloodline was dead."
Caroline looks uneasy, but she spills the truth. "Katerina had a daughter. Out of wedlock."
Klaus' head snaps towards her. "And you didn't tell me?" He snarls.
"She had lost a child," She snaps back at him. "I could relate."
His face softens. "So you think it's worth a look, love?"
"If you're not an idiot, this can work," Caroline says. "Does that mean I have to get out of bed now?"
"Sadly so," he replies. "You have to get dressed too, which is a travesty, sweetheart."
Caroline picks up a pen from the bedside table and throws it at him end over end. He catches it before it hits his face, smiling wickedly. "You talk to the witches. You know how much they hate me."
"You should be the one to talk to the Greta girl," she says, scoffing, putting on a pair of jeans. "I think she likes you."
"It's not difficult to," he replies cockily.
"And that is why the witches don't like you," she says, shaking her head.
"Well, the feeling is mutual," he says. "We need to figure out a plan."
"You better not ruin it then," She says, pointing a finger at him. "Your impulse will be the death of us."
"We're immortal, Caroline," he says, sing-song.
"Well, since you want to become even more immortal than you already are," Caroline said. "You go. I'll meet with the witches. I imagine you'll want to approach from a distance first?"
"Body swaps would be nice, yes."
"And what exactly will my role be in this ingenious plan, eskelde*?"
"How do you feel about going to high school?"
"Oh, the things I do for you," she says. "High school? Seriously?"
"You're going to be a distraction," he says, shrugging. "And we both know you're very good at that."
"You are lucky that I'm willing to do this," she said. "You owe me."
"I'll thank you later."
England, 1492
"Do you have any idea how irritating it is to watch her fawn over you?" Caroline asks bitterly. They speak in their native tongue- these English people definitely would not understand Norse. She hates having to imitate accents, unlike Niklaus, who seems to pick those up with ease wherever they travel.
"I'm not actually going to marry her," Klaus says while trying to look at himself in the mirror. "Polygamy's not my style."
"It better not be," Caroline said warningly. "Just because I'm stuck in this place doesn't mean I won't maim her when I have the chance." She's been stuck in the town since Katerina has come to town, to make Klaus look as eligible as possible. She's only been able to visit Klaus in extreme secrecy, with plenty of compulsion involved.
"Just don't kill her before the ritual, and that will be perfect." Klaus says. "Do I look reasonably gentlemanly?"
"I'll enjoy watching you suck the life out of her," she says. "And yes, that looks good. Which is incredibly annoying."
"I'm going to go to the market with Katerina," he says, "so it would probably be best for us if you avoided that."
"She's trying to get with Elijah, too." Caroline spins around, mouth open. "Do you think that doppelgangers try to wreck your relationship or it just an instinctual thing?"
"I don't feel anything for Katerina, therefore, she cannot get between Elijah and me," Klaus reasons with her.
"Elijah doesn't seem to think that way," she says. "Don't even try to act oblivious about it, you know he likes her."
"She does seem to be his normal type," Klaus admits.
"Since when has Elijah had a type?" Caroline says, snorting. "I thought he just fell in love in whatever circumstance possible."
"I meant doppelgangers," he says. "But he'll get over it. I did."
Caroline smiles a little at that. "Go to the market then, I won't get in your way," she says. "Still, don't expect me to forgive this idiotic strategy when this is done."
"My wife, always there to point out my flaws," Klaus says sarcastically.
"The reason why you've lived this long, really," she says cheekily.
Mystic Falls, 2010
Caroline gets two witches, and has another three on call just in case. She has several werewolf packs located and pinned on maps in their room. She has a stellar background story set up, first posing as a human, and then one as a recently turned vampire in case there are any vampires in the area who can tell the difference.
Klaus shakes his head proudly. His wife is the consummate planner, and while he is diabolical like no other, he knows that Caroline is the one that ensures most of his plans follow through, not to become victims to his recklessness.
Elijah has not called back, and Klaus has no idea what that means. But he does know where he was.
Mystic Falls. Their former home. Really, filled with nasty memories. He'd rather not return to it.
Caroline has the exact same reasons not to want to return to that place, but she goes anyway. After all, they're both on a mission.
From what he's heard from her, she's already established herself in the school, gaining herself quite the following. Her purpose was to be a distraction, she more than did that job.
That's my girl, he thinks proudly.
If he is to perform the ritual, he must have the materials. He lost track of the moonstone once Katerina stole it. No doubt she knows where it is. The doppelganger is exactly where she needs to be, in her place of birth. The three sacrifices should not be too difficult to obtain, except the werewolf.
But he has contacts. Isobel, her name is. The doppelganger's biological mother, what a turn of events. But more importantly, she knows Katerina.
Katerina has always wanted freedom from his family- that has never been in doubt. But was is she offering him? After all, that is all he wants to know.
"Katherine can get you the doppelganger and the moonstone."
"Now you're talking, love," he says, fixing himself a drink. He finds amusement in the way the young vampire shifts on her feet, as if getting ready to bolt. No wonder Katerina likes her, they are so similar.
"And the werewolf?"
"There was a werewolf line here, but he left town."
"Well, that doesn't help me, now does it?" He says, gesturing with his glass. "Now, get me that, and I just might stop thinking about how I want to kill her."
Isobel nods quickly, and turns to go, but he is faster. She made a mistake by meeting with him in person.
He compels her to find a body for him. He doesn't care which, but he does hope it is that it is of decent form. He won't spend a long time in it, anyway.
"Oh, and kill yourself after it's done, any way you like," he says as an afterthought. "I don't need any loose ends."
Caroline takes the time to worm her way into the doppelganger's social circle, which honestly does not take much effort. They are so trusting, these people. She has a tougher time imitating the American accent.
She is glad that she came prepared. She spouts her human story to the rest of the school, but then she meets the Salvatores.
She remembers Stefan from Chicago, obviously. She nearly blurts out his name in greeting, but stops herself. She did not survive this long because of impulse. That was Niklaus.
Still, with them, she spouts a different story she's prepared, a sob story about she was turned against her will and now roams wherever she can. They eat it up. Perhaps because they have different problems.
Namely, the fact that Damon eyes Elena like a piece of meat, even in front of his brother.
Caroline finds that the doppelganger- Elena- is almost completely unremarkable. She is a pretty girl, yes, but other than the fact that she looks like two people Caroline has already know, there is nothing that would make her stand out to anyone else.
The Salvatores have something else to say on the matter. They adore her, willing to do so much for her. So if she's a distraction, she thinks that Elena's doing that enough on her own.
There's another girl in the group, April, who seems more like sidekick than friend. Honestly, she sympathizes with her more than Elena.
However, she still has one more problem. Katerina.
"I heard you have a vampire stuck somewhere," she says casually.
"Yeah, Katherine," Elena says nonchalantly. "We stuck her in the tomb."
"Where she belongs, in everyone's opinion," Damon says. She wonders if everything he says has to have an edge to it.
"Mind if I see her?" Caroline asks. "I mean, I've never seen such an old vampire before."
"Well, Damon is a hundred seventy years old," Elena says. "Old man."
Caroline wants to laugh out loud. As if a hundred seventy years is an accomplishment.
"Besides, I want to help you," she says earnestly. "I mean, the oldest vampire in history is coming after you, don't you think you need as much help as you can get?"
Technically wrong. Mikael was the oldest vampire. But saying that means divulging information and breaking her cover. And she is better than that.
"I don't know why anyone wants to spend time with her," Damon muttered.
"He's just bitter that she strung him along for a hundred fifty years. If you want to," Elena says, and Caroline blesses her naïveté to the gods.
"Let's go then," she says, flouncing, "I want to see this bitch."
Elena takes her to the cemetery. She remembers it as the place where she used to play as a child, how ironic. An old, burned-down church. She knows Katerina would never let herself get captured in a place like this. It must be a spell.
"She's in there," Elena says. "Don't go in with her, it's spelled to keep vampires in."
Clever. While her husband hates witches and underestimates them, she has always been wary of their finicky ways. And Bennett witches in particular have always had a special hatred for the Originals.
But this is one enemy at a time. She walks behind Elena, keeping out of her line of sight. She needs to make sure Katerina doesn't make it clear that she recognizes her.
Katerina looks as high maintenance as ever in her haughty expression, but she looks tired. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she jogs in place to relieve her boredom.
Caroline puts her finger on her lips as Katerina looks over at her. 'Not yet,' she mouths.
Katerina gets the message.
"Who's the newbie, Elena?" She makes it clear she does not appreciate the other doppelganger.
"Caroline," she says, adding a superiorly frosty tone to her voice, as though from a moral high ground. Elena seems to like that kind of stuff. "Forbes."
Oh how she longed for the days where she could introduce herself as Brandrsdottir. Even Mikaelson, that hated name. But Forbes will have to do for now.
"Leave, Elena," Katerina says, bored. "No one wants you here."
Elena gets an affronted look before huffing and leaving. Once they can hear her footsteps fade away, Caroline starts laughing.
"Gods, you doppelgangers are all the same." She smiles cruelly at Katerina. "Is it just instinctual for you guys to get between brothers? I've always wanted to ask."
"Just get to the point, Caroline, you can't be here just to gloat."
"Yes, that's Niklaus' style. I came to ask you to keep your mouth shut as to my actual age."
"And what's in it for me?"
"You always ask that question, you are so predictable," Caroline says, sighing. "I will get you your freedom from this place. And I'll give you protection from Niklaus when he comes to town. You know that if anyone can convince him to, it's me."
"Alright," Katerina says. "I'll bite. I'll keep your secret."
"I knew I could count on you," Caroline says, turning to go. "Oh. And if you take this opportunity to attempt to get revenge, you will not have to worry about Niklaus. You'll have to worry about me."
"As if I'm that stupid." Katerina says, smirking.
That's what Caroline has always liked about this girl. A good sense of self-preservation. Honestly, she is the doppelganger she's had the most goodwill for.
England, 1492
She runs into her worst nightmare by chance in the market, Niklaus is not with her.
"My lady," she says, moving aside for the richly dressed girl. She can smell Niklaus all over her, and that makes her nostrils flare.
Katerina completely ignores her in favor of a wild brown-haired girl running through the streets. Her eyes are soft as she hands the girl bread.
"May I ask why you are doing that, my lady?" Caroline asks curiously. "A lady of your stature should not be here."
Katerina hesitates. Caroline wonders if she can get away with compelling her in the middle of the street. She decides against it. The bloodsucking just be enough to get attention, and there is no way she was going to make it worse.
"Can you keep a secret?" Katerina asks. "One woman to another?"
"No one would believe me if I told anyone, my lady," she replies.
"I had a child, out of wedlock," the girl admits.
Caroline looks around. "Do not say it so loudly!" She hisses. "Come back to my house, we can talk there."
Katerina is trusting, there is no denying that. Caroline envies that, but she knows the world is much crueler to those people.
They walk to the streets back to the hovel where Caroline is living. She has lived in castles before, in palaces. But she grew up in a hut- she can handle this.
"So, please, tell me your story," Caroline says, sitting down at a table.
"I was born in Bulgaria to the Petrova family," she says. "It was an old blooded family, we came into money centuries ago."
Niklaus' doing, and her idea. To make the doppelganger line that much more visible. She was glad to see it worked.
"I was...very loose, sexually, and I got pregnant. My father took the child away from me. I never got to see her face. So whenever I see a child with brown hair..."
Caroline is silent. She realizes that she's done the same thing. She envisions Alvis grown up, with Niklaus' hair and her eyes, her sharp tongue and his biting glare. A strong child. She has spared people for looking like this vision of him. Let them go because their green eyes look vaguely like his, allowed them to live because their hair falls to their shoulders the way she imagined her son's would.
She actually feels empathy for the girl- they have both lost a child. It is something absolutely unforgettable. She has no doubt that child will be the thought in her final moments as Niklaus drains the blood from her.
"I know how you feel," she says quietly.
Katerina looks up, and Caroline takes the opportunity.
"You will forget we ever had this conversation," she says, her eyes dilating. "You were at the market and gave some bread to a girl. I was just getting out of your way. Return home."
Katerina's take on a glazed look as she repeats the instructions mindlessly. She walks out of the house, and Caroline feels an almost regret that she has to die.
Mystic Falls, 2010
Niklaus takes the body of the history teacher who is also a vampire hunter.
It fits him well, though the clothing is most certainly not his choice. The voice is distinctly American, so he won't have to imitate any accents.
He walks into the classroom, not even trying to imitate the steady gait of the hunter. He winks at Caroline before strolling past, holding his hands behind his back. He knows Caroline will recognize him by his mannerisms, after all, he's done this before.
He scans over the classroom. Mostly insignificant. But he sees Stefan Salvatore at a desk, looking ahead studiously.
Ripper. How he'll enjoy being around him again.
But his eyes are on the true prize. The doppelganger sits in the desk next to Stephan's, throwing a smile at him. He smiles back. He has what he wants, where he wants it. His plan- their plan- is coming together.
All it takes is a minute cough from Caroline to get him to snap out of it.
"History," he says, prowling in front of the room. "What are we studying?"
"We've been studying the sixties because of the decade dance," one of the students speaks up.
No doubt with Caroline at the head. "Yes, the sixties. Not much good came out of that decade." he tries to remember. "Moon landing, Kennedy assassination, Cuban Missile Crisis, Civil Rights," he gestures with his hands, trying to come up with something. "That Watergate thing."
"Watergate was the seventies, Alaric," The doppelganger calls out.
"Yes, well," he gestures at his temple. "The decades all run together after a while."
Caroline stays behind after class, making up some excuse about getting something from the hunter. She speeds up to his desk.
"Are you insane, Niklaus?" she hissed. "You are acting nothing like the man."
"Well, I couldn't exactly ask him as Maddox implanted me in his brain, now could I?"
"First step is not to stare creepily at the doppelganger, eskelde."
"Looking at her is not creepy."
"Sure. Here," she says, shoving a thick stack of notes at him. "Notes on them and on Alaric. You had better follow them, because if not, your cover's blown real quickly."
He flips through the notes casually. "Don't you have a class to get to?"
"By the way, you can't touch Katerina, at least not for a while."
His head snaps up from a description of Alaric's speech patterns. "Why?"
"Because I made a deal. She won't talk about me, and you won't touch her while you're here."
"You strike a hard bargain. I can't promise I won't be tempted."
"You still owe me for this, Niklaus," she said. "If I have to hear about Elena from either Salvatore one more time, I will claw my own heart out."
"Don't make that kind of promise, you'll have to go through with it." He says. "Go to class, waiting too long is suspicious."
"They trust me," she said. "And now, they trust you. Don't ruin it."
England, 1492
Elijah puts a chest down on the table, opening it to reveal several vials.
"What's that?" Niklaus asks, not really caring.
"It is a way to save the doppelganger from death," Elijah says briskly, examining one of them.
"Don't tell me you've come to care for the girl," Klaus says scornfully. "It is our greatest weakness. We do not love, we do not care."
"Hypocrite," Elijah says.
"Excuse me?"
"Caroline," Elijah says. "You tell me not to love anyone outside the family. And yet- you love her."
Klaus scowls, but does not deny. "Caroline is as much my family as the rest of you."
"Considering what you two do at night, I don't think you are family."
"She has been with me longer than any of you," Klaus reminds him. "And besides, I am not technically your family." His bastard status has always dug under his skin.
Elijah turns over the vial in his hands. "I will still attempt to save her life, Niklaus."
"It matters not whether the doppelganger lives or dies," Klaus says dismissively, "The ritual will take place. Whatever you do afterwards is not my concern." He stares at the fire, envisioning the ritual. The fire, the feeling of his dormant wolf rising again.
"I will have won."
*eskelde=dear/love
Thank you to Angelikah for being my first reviewer! And xxGoddessofLovexx for being the first to favorite !It is much appreciated, keep it coming. I would love to get feedback.
By the way, you'll notice that Caroline holds on to how she was as a human, much like on the show. I'm modelling thousand year old Caroline like her emotionless self on the show, because I'd expect she'd change a lot in that millennia, but obviously, with my characterization.
Also, April is not a replacement for Caroline. Each character is their own, with their own roles to play. This plot will only loosely follow that of the show's, though I will follow each season's "Big Bad," so to speak.
-PhoenixCycle