AN: Hey guys! So, I wrote this chapter after taking my History exam annnnnd I hope it's not boring. I hope you guys love it as much as I do :)
The past few days in Italy were quick and exciting. Caroline had a wonderful time sightseeing, trying new cuisines, and experiencing the culture in the country. Klaus, who had already done these things for centuries, just had a wonderful time exposing Caroline to them. He smiled when she smiled, he laughed when she laughed, and he felt as though he was experiencing everything all over again with her. Caroline. She made it all... so new.
Klaus smiled as he zipped his neatly packed suitcase. He had remembered that he drew a new drawing for Caroline, but decided to draw a new one in each country, saving them until it was time to return to Mystic Falls.
"Are you ready, love?" he asked loudly from his bedroom.
"Yup, I just can't find my damn... ah, here it is!" Caroline responded from the living room as she put on her sun hat. Klaus leaned on the doorway of his bedroom.
"Lovely." Caroline blushed and picked up her three suitcases. Klaus had complimented her on everything she did the past few days, and she, slightly uncomfortable with his flattery, would just smile and not acknowledge what had been said. "Here, I'll help you with those," Klaus said as he gently took the suitcases from her."
After a few frustrating minutes, a taxi ride, and a long wait in line for unnecessary cappuccinos, the two were finally on Klaus' private jet and were on their way to Germany.
"Are you excited?" Klaus asked as Caroline was once again glued to her window, silently saying good-bye to the ancient country.
"For Germany? Very." She smiled and finished the rest of her cappuccino.
"You'll like Germany. The food, the beer, and we'll be right on time for the annual October Fest."
Caroline had always heard about how great Germany was, but there were a lot of other things that interested her about the country. "Sounds great. I wanted to ask you something, though."
She faced Klaus, who was sitting in front of her. "'By all means."
"Did you ever visit Germany during the second World War?"
Klaus sat back in his seat and sighed. "Yes, I did actually."
Caroline had always been fascinated about World War II and she had always wondered what Klaus had done at the time. "What did you do there?"
He smiled at her interest. "Well, it's a long story."
She raised her eyebrows as if to say, "Tell me, then."
Klaus looked down at his hands and fiddled with his watch. He was an old man with many memories, but none as worse than that time.
It was 1945 and the Buchenwald concentration camp was getting busier than ever. More and more women were being brought in by the day. Klaus watched the many prisoners stand in line to receive their number. He held his hands behind his back as he walked up and down the line, making sure no one was trying to escape. It was then that he noticed a girl no older than 19. She rubbed her arms desperately for warmth and stared down at her bare feet. He assumed she felt him staring at her, for she looked up with a puzzled look.
Klaus continued to take in her figure. The young woman seemed healthier than the rest, she wasn't too scrawny, but it was obvious she'd been starving. Her blonde hair stuck out in every direction from being cut so shortly. She had marvelous features, from full, shell-pink lips, to stunning, crystal-blue eyes. She eyed Klaus with disgust and turned back down to her feet.
"Sergeant Mikaelson!" yelled a voice from the front of the made his way up and saluted his fellow officer.
"We're all done here. You may take them to receive their uniforms." said the officer in German.
Klaus did as he was told. He led the women to a hut stocked full of uniforms. They each undressed before him, revealing their horrid scars they'd received from beatings. Klaus forced himself not to cringe or even vomit from the ungodly sight. Yes, he was a merciless man at times, but he at least had humanity and sense.
As the women finished dressing, Klaus quickly checked outside the hut for any other soldiers. This was just a precaution despite having already compelled all the soldiers and officials to stay away from this hut. Here, Klaus showed his true kindness and charm to the prisoners.
"I wish to tell you all something. It will be brief and I expect that no one speaks a single word of it." He held his hands behind his back and eyed the girl he'd noticed before. She now stared him with a look of confusion and interest. "I will do my best to keep every person here alive." He repeated the same thing in German, Polish, Italian, and Russian, all the languages among the variety of prisoners had never met a soldier quite like Klaus, so they kept their word that they wouldn't speak about what he told them.
Weeks went by and Klaus had been successful in gathering documents from the Nazis about the camp, it's prisoners, and artillery. Of course, he had thought of compelling the Nazi officials to simply hand over the documents, but that would seem too suspicious, and he thought some of them were bound to know about the supernatural world. So, he did it the hard way as any devoted, British spy would have. He smiled in spite of himself as he secretly tucked all the documents he'd gathered in a secret safe in his cabin.
Suddenly, he heard many angry shouts from outside. He quickly went out to see what the commotion was about. German soldiers were gathering the prisoners, forcing them to gather in a line. Klaus ran to his nearest comrade, Wilhelm Meier, who was also a British spy.
"Meier, are they liberating the camp?" Klaus asked quietly.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. The American troops are close. Perhaps it's time to have a taste of that Nazi blood. Reckon it's filthy?" he asked as his eyes emerged into their vampiric state.
Klaus smiled at his student. "No, not yet. Just go compel them not to kill any of the prisoners. Where will we be taking them?"
In that moment, all hell broke loose. Guards began killing and beating the prisoners brutally as they frantically tried to leave the camp. The strong prisoners were beginning to resist the soldiers and some emerged from their huts with firearms. There was shooting here and there and then came the airplanes from the American troops. Klaus and Wilhelm gathered as many of the documents from the safe and threw them into a nearby automobile.
"Shit, what about the inmates?" asked Wilhelm.
Klaus thought quickly and yelled over the sounds of gunshots, "Round up as many as you can, get them somewhere safe!
"I'll need all the help I can get, my dear friend!"
"Then compel the soldiers to help!" The two ran back to the camp. Klaus hauled as many of the prisoners into solid shelter while Wilhelm compelled a few soldiers to help and did the same.
After what seemed like hours, the bombs had stopped dropping and the resisting prisoners stopped shooting, but the American and British troops were getting closer by the second. Klaus and Wilhelm swore to the prisoners they'd be safe in the large, brick hut. Then they gathered the soldiers that helped and had them shoot themselves in the head.
"I didn't like any of them anyway," Wilhelm smiled as he kicked one of the corpses of a soldier."D'you think the troops know we're here?"
"No. Otherwise, they wouldn't have bombed us. We'll surrender, though." Klaus stood outside of the hut, scanning the camp for any injured prisoners. It was then that he heard it, the painful moans of a the young woman he found mesmerizing. He ran to her in blinding speed. She lied on the ground, covered in mud and blood. He observed her injuries; a gunshot to the stomach. She held onto her bleeding wound desperately. She opened her mouth slowly.
"You are a good soldier," she said in a heavy, Polish accent.
Klaus gave her a weak smile, preparing his wrist for her to drink and heal. "What is your name?"
"Adela Kloc." she smiled weakly as her eyes began to close.
Klaus quickly bit his wrist and held it up to her lips. "Drink. You'll heal."
Adela opened her eyes with much effort and looked at his wound, then returned her gaze back to Klaus. "Wampir," she whispered as she allowed her heart to go into its peaceful sleep.
Caroline stared at him with her mouth slightly open. "You... you helped them?"
Klaus nodded softly, remembering how that word crept from the young woman's mouth and forever haunted him.
Caroline said no more as she realized this was an uncomfortable subject for Klaus. They soon arrived in Munich and would spend a few days enjoying the festival and culture of Germany. All the while, Caroline couldn't stop thinking that Klaus, of all people, had a moment of sincere humanity. Somehow, she felt a stronger admiration toward him.