As of now this is non beta-read but I wanted to update it nonetheless, since I made you guys wait for two weeks already. It will be betad' tomorrow :) Enjoy. thank you for your patience

The real party

Lanterns illuminated Bourbon street, painted it in a warm yellow light. The night air was warm and full of the enticing scent of blood pumping through the veins of all the people crowding it. It was all a big party. There were little shops, bars, life music out in the open. People drank and smoked and laughed.

It was beautiful. Caroline took in every ounce of it, imprinting it in her memory.

She'd never really been anywhere before and she had always appreciated beauty.

That hadn't changed.

She allowed herself to go see it now, that was the difference.

She felt that she was getting more and more used to who she was now. It had been incredible before but it just got better and better. Endless possibilities came to mind, wherever she looked, whatever she thought about. It was like before she'd only allowed herself to see a small spectrum of the things she could do and now her perspective had been opened to take in all of them. Every little thing.

Every day, she had lived her live not even noticing the countless invisible borders and landmarks set in her consciousness. She had once read that a finger was just as easy to bite off as a carrot, the human brain just sent strong signals to stifle such thoughts. Every day people walked the sidewalk, not on the street, not doubting the authority of the reality they themselves had enforced. They'd be sitting by a river, never considering just diving into it. They'd talk and act guided by a set of rules they couldn't even name if one asked them.

Social conventions.

Human nature.

She was not human anymore. Every, every possibility was laid out before her to view and assess, to chose from and do whatever brought her the most pleasure. Breaking a rule was a pleasure in itself.

She felt the heads turning as she walked by and it barely registered in the back of her brain.

Of course they'd be looking at her. She knew what she looked like, she knew the way she was moving now, the air coming off her.

Finally, she found a bar that seemed to be to her liking.

She made her way through the flock of people at the entrance and went inside.

It was a beautiful place with wooden interior and it carried the atmosphere of bourbon street inside. She smiled, making her way to the bar and bowed towards a young man sitting on a stool, fixing her eyes on his. "You will get up and leave me the seat," she compelled him and immediately he did as he was told.

When she saw his drink in front of her, she grabbed him by his collar and pulled him in again, compelling him again. "You will leave me your drink and go home."

Then she turned towards the stage and took a sip of it.

There was a black guy singing on stage and she was immediately taken with the air surrounding him. He was confident to a degree that passed over the border to arrogance and then skipped a few steps all over narcissism to a sense of indisputable authority.

Well, indisputable for all the other people around, judging by the looks on their faces. A few stood in the front, cheering him on. There also was a group of guys, standing by the bar that kept their expressionless faces locked on him. Most likely his lackeys.

Maybe he was supernatural.

She pulled out her cigarettes and lit herself one.

"You're not allowed to smoke in here," she heard the annoyed voice of the waitress behind her.

Slowly, she turned around, elevating her eyebrows while a smirk appeared upon her face.

"Well, I'm allowed to do anything, anywhere. Could you be so nice and hand me another drink?"

The girl's eyes widened in shock and anger.

"Excuse me, I think I'm gonna have to ask you to leave this bar."

Caroline's expression turned stony and she stared at the girl, lethal intent evident in her eyes. For a moment she saw a glint of fear in the girl's eyes.

Then her pupils dilated.

"You will pour me another drink and leave me alone. When you're done with working, you're gonna go home and kill yourself. You don't remember this conversation."

Released from the compulsion, the girl poured her a drink, put it in front of her and continued working.

Caroline turned around again, taking a sip of her drink and then a drag of her cigarette as she realized that the man had left the stage.

He was now walking towards the bar, his eyes skimming through the mass of people until he spotted her, then his gaze wandered further through the crowd of people, only to return back to her a second later.

She smiled at him while taking another drag of her cigarette, placing her elbows on the bar behind her.

He continued to walk to what she had presumed were his lackeys and joked with them, downing a drink.

Then, he made his way to her.

They locked eyes again and she smiled while he gave her a big self-satisfied grin.

"You're a new face," he said, coming to halt before her.

"Well, that's because I'm new in town," she answered, cocking her head to the side.

She came off just as confident as him and both of them knew it. There was a tension between in the air and she felt the allure of the game pulling her in.

His gaze flickered to her cigarette.

"You know, you're not supposed to smoke in here," he said, his grin still very evident on his face, although she could feel that he was testing her.

"I know exactly what I am and am not supposed to do," she answered in a seductive tone, her smile sweetening.

He raised his eyebrows in appreciation. His gaze was calculating now.

"There are rules in this world. If you decide to break them you might have to suffer the consequences."

She laughed internally. This was getting good. He was definitely implying he would be the one to enforce said rules. He was the one running this place.

The question was just what exactly 'this place' encompassed.

"It's a good thing I am not afraid of anything, then," she answered, taking a sip of her drink.

She saw amusement as well as dark intent glint in his eyes.

"How about I show you the way to the real party, then?" he asked, offering his hand to her.

She waited a few moments, her expression turning serious for a moment and cocked her head to the side, not breaking the eye contact.

Then, she smiled again and placed her hand in his. At the same time her fingers wandered to his pulse point she felt his doing the same.

They continued staring at each other, their expressions serious and the atmosphere was electric as neither of them found a heartbeat.

Then, she smirked and he chuckled as he slowly pulled her off her seat.

He lowered his head a little, giving her a flirtatious smirk and then started leading her outside, his lackeys following behind them.

Outside, she let go of his hand to light herself another cigarette as they sauntered over Bourbon street.

Well, this was quite the catch.

Who'd have thought. She didn't even have to go look for excitement, it came to her.

They turned into an alley and then walked through a door, revealing a small corridor painted in dimmed light. Instantly, the smell of spilled blood hit her nose and she could spot vampires feeding on people leaning on the walls. He put his arm around her shoulders and led her into a two storey room, blasting with music. People were dancing and drinking. She spotted several vampires, feeding out in the open. She observed all this with pure awe in her eyes.

He slipped his arm off her shoulders and grabbed them two drinks, handing her one and she took it, smiling at him.

"I am Marcel," he said. "King of New Orleans."

Interesting.

She raised her eyebrows in a playfully mocking manner. "The king?"

He leaned in a little, still smiling but his eyes were icy now. "Yes, king. This is my kingdom."

She stared back at him, mirroring his expression.

Then, the friendliness returned to her eyes. "Caroline," she said and he laughed, his whole demeanor changing back to all charming and playful.

"You can feed on the humans here," he said. He pointed towards a red haired girl, standing in the corner that had her eyes fixed on Caroline. "She doesn't even need to be compelled. She enjoys it."

Caroline snorted, her eyes turning icy again. "Pathetic," she spat.

He raised his eyebrows. "Convenient."

"She's either brave or stupid to put herself into this situation deliberately. I think I'm gonna see for myself."

She saw a glint of surprise flash through his eyes.

Then, his smile widened and she even saw a hint of warmth in his eyes.

"How about we make a bet?" he asked. "If she is brave I win. If she's a fool you do."

She chuckled. "Sounds like a plan." She held out her glass towards him and they chinked their glasses as a deep laugh rattled through his chest.

They drank, not taking breaking eye contact and then she placed her drink on the counter and turned on her heels and walked towards the girl, without turning back.

The girl smiled at her, shyly.

When she came closer though, she saw a hint of something else in her eyes.

First of all, this girl was definitely attracted to women, more specifically her. And secondly, the shyness was fake, all calculated. Interesting.

She halted before the girl, giving her one of her sweetest, most seductive smiles.

They looked at each other. The girl had shoulder length, messy red hair and was wearing a skimpy black lacey tank top. She had several piercings on her face, one on her eyebrow and one on her nose. She should consider getting one of those one of these days. Her arms were covered in detailed colorful tattoos.

Caroline leaned in and raised her hand, slowly running it over the girl's upper arm, grazing it softly. The girl stared back into her eyes dreamily.

Caroline smiled at her seductively and then leaned in farther, kissing her.

The girl responded instantly and submissively and not much to Caroline's surprise, she happened to be a phenomenal kisser. Most likely a lot of experience behind these seemingly innocent eyes.

When she drew back the girl was slightly panting and Caroline took a step forward, backing her into the wall.

"So you like being fed on?" she asked and the girl nodded, a suggestive smile in her eyes.

"There's no better feeling in this world," she answered and her words didn't seem naïve at all but those of a person who knew what she wanted and was not afraid to go through with it.

Caroline cocked her head to the side.

"We could have a lot of fun with each other. It depends on something simple, really," she said and the girl looked at her, questioningly, through hooded eyes. All calculation.

"And that is?" she asked, her voice husky.

Caroline gently grabbed the girls arm and raised it up, giving her a sweet smile.

"I want you to bite yourself," she said, softly running a finger over her pulse point. "Here."

For a second, disbelief flickered through the girl's eyes.

"But I'm human," she said. "I can't-"

Caroline raised her other hand to the girl's cheek, caressing it.

"Oh, but you can. You're capable of a lot more than you think."

Caroline felt the tension between them, electrifying her as a tingling sensation washed over her body. The girl never broke eye contact, and strangely enough she couldn't spot any fear as the girl raised her hand to her mouth and then, suddenly, bit down with full force, no restraint.

The blood splattered onto her face as she let out a pained gasp, staring down at her strongly bleeding wrist for a moment.

An instant later, Caroline had her pinned to the wall, her fangs buried in her wrist, sucking furiously.

The girl moaned and leant back against the wall and Caroline felt pure ecstasy at the taste of the blood running down her throat. She was breaking restraints, crashing through border after border and she was reveling in it.

The girl started to grow weaker as she let out small moans and finally, she tensed up, putting her arm on Caroline's shoulder as if to push her away. But Caroline just kept sucking.

"Stop," the girl let out, her voice strained.

"Stop," she said a little louder and Caroline fixed her eyes on hers, making sure the lethal intent was evident in them. The girl's eyes widened in shock and disbelief and much to Caroline's enjoyment, betrayal and hurt. Then she ripped her arm farther upwards, pressing her body into hers and sucked harder, burying her fangs so deep they met bone.

And then, something happened. The expression in the girl's eyes shifted to acceptance and perversely, excitement as they started fluttering shut.

Caroline felt the life leaving her and when she was certain she had finished the job she gently let go of the girl, caressing her check again and then let her drop to the floor.

She turned around again and for a moment the feeling of ecstasy was so overpowering that she felt like she was in slow motion as she walked towards Marcel, an unreadable expression painting his face.

She picked up her glass and downed all of its content. Then she lowered her head, fixing her gaze on his. "You win," she said and then turned away and joined a group of dancing people.

She moved to the music, the vibrant ecstasy building up even more. It came in waves, crashing down on her and she moaned in pleasure. She could still taste the blood and the alcohol on her tongue, the beat of the music was enticing and she had never felt so alive before.

Her body moved on its own, slowly, seductively and she felt eyes boring into her. She smiled at a vampire in front of her and he smiled back.

Suddenly, she felt a set of hands on her waist and a hard chest pressing into her back, a body dancing with her. Marcel leant in and placed his lips near her ear.

"You should be careful," he whispered, seductively. "There are rules in this town."

She smiled. "Have I broken any of them yet?" she asked, innocently while moving against him in a swaying motion.

"Not quite yet," he answered, his breath creating a tingling sensation against her ear. It spread through her whole body.

She giggled and grinded into him provocatively.

"Too bad."

She heard him chuckle and then she intensified the dance, running her hands over his forearms on her sides. He slid his hands down to her hips, his body moving in perfect unison with hers.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest, a satisfied smile spreading on her face.

She felt his arousal for her and it filled her mind with suggestive images.

Who would have known this night would turn out so phenomenally perfect?

She opened her eyes again, vacantly gazing through the crowd of dancers.

Behind the crowd she spotted Klaus, motionlessly staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.