Authors Note: Oh My God. I am in shock. This is the most well received story I've ever published. You guys doubled my expectation for reviews, and not to mention follows and favorites! Thank you so much. I'll try to keep up with the demand, but my life is gonna be pretty busy for the next few days.

I know I originally said this story would be 3 chapters, but now I'm feeling like I'll expand it into a 5-6 chapter fic. The story just keeps running away from me, and I have to reel it back in some how.

Shout out to everyone who reviewed, but a special thanks to justine, who reviewed TWICE :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

The second Caroline's plane touched down in Barcelona, she knew she was home.

Spain had always called to her. In World History Sophomore year, she stared at the thumb-print sized country on her teacher's globe and longed for the beaches, sun, and history it had to offer.

Before everything with Tyler went to shit, and when they thought they had to run away together, they considered Spain.

"Spain?" Tyler said, disdainfully. "Why would we go there?"

"I don't know," Caroline answered, nonchalantly shrugging her shoulder. "I just thought it would be best if we got as far away as possible."

"Yeah but Care, there's far away, and then there's far away. Don't you think we should stick with the United States, just in case something happens? You know, so we can be easier to reach?"

"Of course. You're right."

And that was that. She hadn't given Spain another thought, but a part of her dream had been crushed. Caroline knew from that moment on that if she ever wanted to see Spain, she would have to see it alone.

And she was perfectly content with that.

Caroline had just checked into a suite at the fanciest, most extravagant resort she could find when it truly hit her.

"What am I doing?" She thought. "This isn't me. I shouldn't be here."

What about her mother? Her friends? Damon was right. She never should have left.

She had just stood up, with every intention of packing the few things she had unpacked, catching the next flight to Virginia, and forgetting this ever happened when something in her carry-on caught her eye.

Caroline frowned. When she packed, she had barely grabbed any luxury items. Her collection of Glamour and Seventeen magazines were left stacked in her room, along with make-up, perfume, and the pictures of her old life. She hadn't actually even needed a carry on, but felt that bringing one would foster a sense of normalcy she so desperately craved.

So that's why she was so confused when she saw an envelope poking out of one of the outside pockets.

She picked it up gingerly, sure it was there left over from previous trip.

However, one look at the elegant script marring the creamy texture of the clearly expensive envelope proved it wasn't.

Caroline.

Funny how that one written word could make her breath catch and mind go numb. She opened it with shaking hands, unsure of what she would find in the contents. Inside was a letter. Dropping the envelope for now, she sank onto the bed and started to read.

Caroline,

By now you're probably somewhere warm. I hope you're smart enough to get out of the United States; there's so much of the world you have yet to see.

I hope you don't think too badly of me after recent events transpired. I will always love you and only you. Please remember that.

Anyway, my point for writing this is to assure you that I don't blame you for leaving. I know this doesn't mean much to you right now, but I hope one day this assurance will influence your decision to come back to me.

I've left you with a debit card, something I want you to use during your travels. I will not use this as means to try and seek you out, I just want to know you're taken care of. Please don't hesitate to use it and spend some of the wealth I've accumulated over the centuries. I thought that was the point of vengeance anyway?

We both knew you were never going to stay with me. You're not ready. But I hope more than anything one day you'll change your mind and seek me out. You'll always be able to find me, I can promise you that.

Be safe.

Much love,

Klaus

Caroline set down the letter with disgust. Who did he think she was? She wasn't going to accept his pity gifts. She didn't need his money, his words, or his assurance. She was perfectly capable all on her own.

She could take care of herself, and now she was determined to prove it.

After Caroline had settled into her new hotel room, she carelessly tossed the debit card into the piles of clothes in her suitcase. Out of sight, out of mind.

She decides to hit the beach, attempting to forget about the last 48 hours of her life.

Once Caroline changes into her skimpy bikini and makes her way down to the crashing waves, she realizes the ache in her head and gums was not just jet lag.

Blood.

She smelled it all around her, from the bored looking man serving drinks at the hotel bar, to the happy couple laughing and watching the waves kiss the shore.

"Oh God," she thought. "I'm gonna lose it."

Her fangs had very nearly dropped when a tall, brunette boy caught her by the arm.

"Hey," he said, a kind smile on his face. "Are you okay. You look kinda freaked."

"Oh…yeah," Caroline says, fighting the urge to rip out his jugular. "I'm just tired. Long plane ride you know."

"Well I could show you around… If you wanted." The stranger said coyly, clearly checking her out.

"No, I think I should be fine."

"Well, if you're sure." The boy had just started to walk away, a disappointed look on his face when the intoxicating smell became too much for her.

"Wait!" she yelled, stopping him in his tracks. He looked around, surprised. Caroline just put on her best sultry smile, the one that had always worked for the boys back home. "I think I do need some help. Could you come up to my room for a minute?"

His triumphant grin was too much for her to look at. So she looked away.

His name was Alex Carpenter. No, he wasn't a native. Just on a trip with his family. His sisters were driving him nuts, so he had tried to con his way into a drink at the bar when a stunning blonde had caught his attention in the lobby.

He had told her this right before she ripped out his throat.

Caroline couldn't help but think of another Alex, the one that she had helped save not 24 hours ago.

This man, a boy really, had done nothing to harm her, yet it was her first, primal instinct to feast one his blood.

This was the monster she was becoming, someone perfectly content with picking up random strangers and killing them before thinking twice about the repercussions or consequences.

She had not been away from home for two days, and Caroline already could not recognize the person she was becoming.

Caroline left Barcelona three hours later. She had contemplated burning the body, even throwing it from the balcony to make it look like suicide. But it had all been too much for her.

In the end, she just left him there. She tried arranging him in the bed to make it look like he was just sleeping, but it reminded her too much of something Ripper Stefan would do. She shuddered, and let the boys lifeless body slump to the floor.

She hadn't used her real name when she checked in, and could most likely compel anyone who suspected her.

Caroline chuckled bitterly, thinking about how easy it would be for her to outrun the consequences.

But she could never outrun her guilt.

So Barcelona turned out to be a bust.

Madrid, however… Madrid was perfection.

And so was Vienna in Austria, Athens in Greece, and Ankara in Turkey.

It had been 5 years since her… Slip up in Spain. But she had gotten better. When the situation allowed it, she drank from blood bags she pilfered from hospitals and blood drives.

But occasionally, she slipped up. There was a body in Moscow, and two more in Rio. Even though she carried the guilt of the life lost with her always, it no longer haunted her.

Caroline hid from the repercussions of her actions by running, but paid tribute to her victims in a way that Klaus would be proud of.

By some strange twist of fate, all of the people she had killed had been married women. So she kept their wedding rings.

She wore them on her left hand, carrying the weight of her monstrous actions with her everywhere.

Caroline would be lying if she said she didn't think of him in moments like this. Staring up at the Eiffel Tower, she sighed. These were the moments that would be nice to share with somebody.

The majesty, the beauty… Nothing she had ever seen could compare to the Eiffel Tower. She had been living in Paris for almost four months, but had never found the time to truly explore the city. Now that she had, however…

Caroline now understood why Paris was the City of Love.

"Caroline." She heard him before she saw him. She had been standing in the same position for almost a full two minutes, mouth wide, gazing up at the elaborate architecture. He had caught her unawares, and she cursed herself for being distracted by a hunk of metal.

She turned slowly, sure there was some mistake. But as her eyes raked over the unmistakable figure, she knew it wasn't.

"Elijah."

Almost twenty minutes later, the two were seated in an outdoor cafe, both stiff and awkward. After the usual pleasantries about the weather and beauty of the city, the pair had run out of things to talk about.

"I must confess, Caroline," Elijah said, thumbing through the menu. "The city suits you. I've never seen you look so radiant."

Caroline was taken aback. She had barely ever talked to Elijah. Elena was always in charge of him.

"Well, thank you Elijah. I'm in love with the city. It's my favorite one I've been to so far."

"My brother will be pleased too hear it. Paris always held a special place in his heart." Elijah stated offhandedly, looking at the wine list.

Caroline stiffened. He seemed to sense her discomfort.

"I'm sorry," He said, looking at her rigid form. "It wasn't my intention too make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay…" Caroline said. She sighed. Usually, she did a very good job at distracting herself. She didn't think about Klaus unless she wanted too.

"However," Elijah continued. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't seeking you out for an ulterior motive."

"I assumed there was one."

"He misses you, Caroline."

She locked eyes with the Original reproachfully. Just like his brother, he assumed a few sweet words and ultimatums would be enough to make her crawl back to him.

Not likely.

"And I suppose he sent you here to tell me that?"

"Not exactly…" Elijah muttered, dropping her gaze. He started fiddling with his menu, and Caroline gaped. Originals didn't fiddle.

"What aren't you telling me, Elijah?"

He had just opened his mouth to answer her when he was cut off by the waitress. She set a pastry she did not recall ordering in front of Caroline. If Elijah thought she would be distracted by the sudden onslaught of sugar, he was wrong. She raised her eyebrows at the Original, silently telling him to continue.

"He doesn't exactly know I'm here. Klaus has always been very… for lack of a better word, shady with the details of your departure. All I knew was that he thought it was for your best interest to be gone,"

"That is bullshit." Caroline snarled. How dare he?! It had been her idea to leave, him who drove her away. He could not pass off his mistake as an attempt for him to protect her.

"Yes," Elijah said mildly. "That's what I thought too. But, that's not why I'm here."

She waited for him to go on. Elijah sighed unexpectedly, deflated. He understood why his brother was so fixated on this baby vampire. She had a spark in her that was refreshing after so many years of seeing self-loathing and hate become the vampire norm.

"I'm here to implore you to come back with me."

"No." Caroline said without missing a beat. She bit into her pastry, a sense of finality in the action that could not have been accomplished with someone less headstrong than she.

"Well," Elijah thought, "It seems as though my brother has met his match."

"Not today," Elijah said out loud. "I just want your word."

"My word?"

"That you'll return one day. That you will come back to my brother."

"Come back?" Caroline said. "I was never his in the first place. Even before I left."

"Excuse the term," Elijah sighed, rolling his eyes. Dealing with this girl reminded him of dealing with Klaus. They were extraordinarily alike. "But I must insist, Caroline. He is rather… despondent without you. Unhappy."

It was Caroline's turn to sigh. She turned her head, staring up at the Eiffel Tower. She wondered if Klaus had ever been in her position, if on his first trip here, he gazed up at the structure in wonderment.

She found herself hoping he had.

"I can't, Elijah. You have to understand. It's a form of self-preservation."

Elijah nodded, the formality he had lost while talking about his younger brother quickly returning.

"I suppose I understand. If you ever do choose to seek him out, you know where to find him. But Caroline… Contrary to what he may say, my brother is not a patient man. He will not wait forever."

And with that haunting statement, he was gone.

Caroline sat, stunned. Of course she knew where to find him, he was Klaus. Where he lacked originality, he made up for in class. He would be where ever the party was.

Over the past six years, Caroline had learned how to take care of herself. She evolved into a solitary figure, choosing to do things for herself instead of relying on others. The debit card he gave her at the beginning of her travels still laid unused in her Gucci wallet.

Caroline Forbes was self-sufficient and perfectly happy that way.

Right?

As she sat contemplating this heavy thought, the young vampire failed to notice a pair of curious eyes on her from a safe distance away.

The man grinned wolfishly and took out his phone.

"I got her. The vamp she was with just left. It looks like she'll be alone for the rest of the night."

"Good," said a voice on the other end. "Attack tonight. And I mean only attack, Andrew. Capture her using any means necessary, but leave the real fun to me. This girl is mine."

Then the line went dead.

AN: Yep, I'm leaving you with a cliffie. Go ahead and hate me; I suck. The first person who figures out why Caroline is being targeted gets a character named after them. So get thinking! Remember to leave your name in the review or you won't be eligible!

Reading your reviews always brightens my day, so be sure to leave one! Maybe we can get 25 on this chapter before the next update? Shooting for the stars here ;)

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