Hey Guys!
Sorry my updates are becoming more two weeks than one. Things are pretty hectic at the moment, but hang in there!
Please leave reviews! :)
Liz tried unsuccessfully to wipe the blood off her hands, she was uncontrollably shaking and crying and she had pulled her knees up to her chest, in fetal position. She was surrounded by bodies and the worst part was that some of them weren't even dead yet. She had fed from so many of them, she was out of her own control. Agonizing groans were frequently sounding in the warehouse and Liz tried to block them out by her own panicked screaming – but it didn't work.
Liz cowered into her temporary home; the dark, shadowed corner of the warehouse. The blood on her hands had dried into a darker, red and brown color and it cracked if she tried to move her hands. Despite her desperate rubbing and scratching over her hands, she couldn't get any of the blood away.
"Come on!" Liz screamed, becoming more frantic.
The moans continued, some bodies even tried to move, but Liz found herself unable to get close to any of the people now… the sun had well and truly filled the warehouse except for her corner. She was forced to spend the day surrounded by death and blood, with no way out and no idea how to be a vampire.
Caroline's head was a mess. She had been told that they couldn't take on Tyler and his followers alone. She had been told that they needed to find help. But who would be willing to help? Who would be on their side?! Not only did she have to think of people to recruit, but she now needed time to physically round them up. But did she have time!? There was no evidence to say that Tyler had any intention of killing her mother, he was only using her as bait… but could Caroline really leave her mother for another day? - Another day of vampirism that her mother had no idea how to deal with? A burden of guilt began to way upon Caroline, how could she have left Liz for so long already? How could she have so easily let this happen to her and now been so lazy in dealing with it? Those days that seemed so short and indifferent had now accumulated into weeks of not seeing mother. Weeks. Liz probably thought she couldn't care less about her, and Caroline couldn't blame her.
"Caroline?" Klaus's voice came back into Caroline's consciousness. She had been unaware he was speaking to her. "Do you agree?"
"What?" Caroline asked guiltily. "I'm sorry, I haven't been listening."
Klaus sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
"Witches, Caroline." Klaus was agitated. "I have been talking with Kol on the phone. As you may know, he holds witches in very high esteem and despite my natural distaste for them, he has persuaded me into believing they are our only option. Perhaps with their alliance we can been done with this."
"Don't most of the witches hate you?" Caroline asked, now listening attentively.
"Yes, I can imagine it will be very difficult to get them on our side. However, I am sure that they don't want a pack of werewolves and hybrids roaming around New Orleans as much as we don't and therefore I am sure some negotiations may help." Klaus answered.
"Are Kol and Rebekah coming?" Caroline glanced down to her watch, it was just past ten in the morning.
"Yes, they should be here later tonight." Klaus stood up to leave.
"Wait." Caroline called after him.
Klaus stopped and dropped his head slightly, sighing.
Caroline could tell he was upset… really upset. He didn't know whether to save Katherine. It would be better to let her die now to prevent her from threatening them in the future. But he knew he couldn't do that to his brother, Elijah, Klaus knew he loved her. Klaus noticed the way Elijah looked at Katherine even when she wasn't looking back, as if he was constantly committing her to his memory. He noticed the way that he touched her skin with the most gentle and soft movements as though she was the most precious china in the world. Klaus wished he hadn't have noticed, why couldn't he just be oblivious? It would make letting Katherine die so much easier.
Caroline stood up and simply walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in his scent.
"What are you doing?" Klaus sighed in exasperation.
He must have been really annoyed.
"Nothing." Caroline chuckled.
Klaus reached behind his back and unclasped Caroline's hold and began to walk away, but Caroline grabbed his shirt and he stopped.
"Klaus." Caroline was firm. "You know what the right thing to do is. If you could only talk to Kath–"
"I think you should meet with Marcel." Klaus cut Caroline off.
"What?" Caroline was shocked.
"Well the last thing I want to do is talk to him myself, but he could get the witches to work with us. In fact, I know he could get the witches to work for us. So, I figure, he doesn't know you exist, and perhaps we could use that to out advantage." Klaus slightly smirked.
"Why weren't we doing that in the first place?" Caroline thought it was perfect.
"If you are willing and able, we will now." Klaus looked like he was going to laugh.
Caroline assessed herself in the mirror. She had borrowed some of Rebekah's clothes… again. It seemed that every place she had stayed, Rebekah had her own closet there. She was wearing tight, black jeans, black lace up, knee-high boots and a red blouse with a plunging neckline.
What was she thinking?
Klaus and her had both agreed in a strange and uncomfortable conversation that she was pretty much going to try and seduce Marcel, then ask about the witches. She was going to pretend she was simply a messenger for 'the originals,' and that he had every right to deny their requests.
Klaus walked into the room as Caroline was adjusting her shoes.
He traced his eyes up and down her outfit, but refused to compliment her, he was still unsure about letting her flirt with Marcel.
"Marcel is currently in a bar, I'll show you it when I drive you." Klaus announced.
"A bar?!" Caroline was shocked. "But it's only midday."
"I've seen earlier." Klaus mumbled and walked back out of the room. "Let's go."
Katherine sat out in the sun again on the balcony of the house, only this time she wasn't basking in her paradise, she was trying to face the probable inevitability of death. She had always known that her death would have something to do with Klaus, but she had never imagine she would be so young and so… full… of potential life when the time came.
Elijah had… where did Elijah go? Katherine didn't know, she was starting to lose consciousness often and Elijah had probably told her then. No doubt it would have something to do with frantically trying to get something for her, anything. So here Katherine was, alone in the house, trying to grasp on to the small fractures of life she still had lingering in her, while her infection slowly began to take over.
"Caroline's with Marcel now." Katherine heard Klaus's voice boom through the downstairs area of the house with the front door slamming behind him. He had obviously been expecting Elijah to be home.
"Hello?" His voice sounded again.
Katherine could hear him walking up the stairs, his heavy boots thundering against the marble floors, and then stopping at the top of the staircase. She knew he had seen her and suddenly she felt like a deer being hunted by a lion. She couldn't move out of her seat, but how she wanted to! Panic started to take over; she couldn't hear a single sound he was making and he could jump out at her at any moment. How low could he have fallen, to murder an already dying being? To put it out of it's misery? But Katherine wasn't miserable, she was happy. For once in her life she was happy.
Katherine took one deep breath, this was happening, Klaus was going to kill her. She slowly leant her head back and closed her eyes, accepting her inevitable fate.
"How do you feel?" Klaus's soft voice came from behind her, he was leaning against the door, and looking at Katherine in an expression which was nearly agony.
"Scared." Katherine's voice broke a little.
"Of what?" Klaus nearly whispered that, and he had furrowed his brows.
Katherine paused and sighed in a silent laugh.
"Death." Katherine's voice was breathy and coarse. "No matter how long we can live for, we have to die eventually, and… I only realized that today."
Klaus was silent and when Katherine turned her heavy head, she saw a hint of empathy in his eyes.
"I keep telling myself that I don't deserve to die. That I'm still young. Still worthy of a full life. But I know now, I don't have the right." Katherine sounded honest, for once. "I've lived for more than I deserve, and I took it all for granted."
Katherine paused once more to catch her breath.
"I didn't think my life would be this way. It was never supposed to be this way." Katherine spoke again, closing her eyes.
"You had been given a gift." Klaus sounded confused. "Being a vampire is about living a thousand human lives and doing a thousand different things."
"I took it for granted." Katherine replied. "After hundreds of years, I look back and I don't see anything. All I see is manipulating people, using men, running from others. I've done less in my life than a human would."
Klaus looked down at the ground and ran one of his hands through his hair.
"And now I don't get a chance to change it." Katherine softly added at the end.
Klaus clenched his jaw and walked up to her so he was closer.
"Maybe you will." Klaus spoke intensely. "We've all done horrible things in our lives, Katherine. I'm not an exception. I'd like to think that in a way that brings us down to the same level and in some way we're equal. But how can I know whether you are being truthful? How do I know whether this is just another fo your games?"
"You can't." Katherine shook her head. "But maybe you'll just have to trust me."
Trust?! She's asking me to trust her? After everything she did to me, after everything I did to her. Klaus thought to himself.
"If you can't trust me, I know you can trust Elijah. I know you wish that he wasn't in love with me, sometimes I wish it too; Of course he'd be better off without me. But love happens. This happened. Elijah trusts me and perhaps, through him, you can learn to trust me too." Katherine smiled.
Family above all else.
Klaus sighed and pulled up his sleeve, biting into his arm and lowering it down to Katherine.
"Don't make me regret this. Drink." Klaus growled, as Katherine reached forward, hope returning to her eyes.
"Thank you." Katherine was genuine as she took hold of his arm and lowered it slowly to her mouth.
Marcel sat silently on a bar stool, drinking from a beer and watching the bustling street outside. He had been feeling guilty about what he had done to Klaus. But he wasn't his submissive anymore; he was king. He had a whole city under his reign and anyone and everyone was at his disposal. He wasn't proud of it, but now wasn't the time to become weak. Klaus's return only meant that he had to become stronger.
"Marcel?" A smooth voice came from behind him, and Marcel turned to see a beautiful blonde woman, her eyes darting into his.
"Hello, gorgeous." Marcel flashed a smile to her, and ran his eyes up and down her incredible body.
Caroline reached a hand out to shake Marcel's hand, but he lifted it to his mouth and planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand.
Ew. Caroline had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes.
"Caroline. Nice to meet you." Caroline feigned to be flirty.
"Very nice, indeed." Marcel elongated his words, smirking at Caroline.
God, he's disgusting. Caroline thought, smiling back at him.
"I have a proposal for you." Caroline lowered her voice, so it was slightly huskier, trying her best to stay in his good books.
"Go on." Marcel's eyes lit up.
"Well, before I go on. I should probably tell you who I'm working for." Caroline pretended to look guilty and bit her lip, flashing puppy eyes up to Marcel.
"Ahh, you're controlled by somebody." The light in Marcel's eyes slightly faded.
Flirt, Caroline, before he loses interest.
"Not really." Caroline slightly leant forward. "I like to be in control"
Oh my god, Caroline, where are these stupid pick up lines coming from. Caroline scolded herself.
"Interesting." Marcel suddenly looked very intrigued once more.
Well… at least it seems to be working. Caroline was on the verge of laughing.
"I work for the originals. At least, I'm on their side." Caroline began. "I'd be really… appreciative… if you were on my side too."
Marcel dropped his smile, he was in business mode.
"I know you understand the relationship I have with Klaus." Marcel was serious. "So why would you want my help?"
"We want the witches." Caroline got straight to the point. "We know you can control them and only with the witches are we able to defeat our enemy."
"Why should I?" Marcel wasn't easily controlled. "What will I get out of it?"
Klaus had warned Caroline that Marcel was going to ask this question, but Caroline was less than keen to act out what Klaus had told her to say in response.
Caroline wanted to cringe, but she leant forward and whispered in Marcel's ear-
"I can think of a few things."
Marcel smirked and lifted a hand to hold behind Caroline's back, so she couldn't pull away.
Shit. Caroline swallowed.
"Look forward to it." Marcel growled slightly. "In two hours, come back to this street and wait outside, I'll have a witch meet you."
Caroline returned to the mansion and walked inside to find a healthy looking Katherine sitting with an ecstatic Elijah, holding each other's hands and laughing.
"Where's Klaus?" Caroline smiled; she was overcome with joy. She couldn't believe Klaus had saved Katherine; she had obviously underestimated his compassion.
"Outside the back." Katherine smiled back at her.
Caroline felt as though she had been gone for years, not just an hour or so.
She began walking swiftly to the back door and once she reached it, ran outside to Klaus who was sitting, sketching in his sketchpad on a garden chair.
She ran up to him while he stood up, and jumped into his waiting arms.
"I have never loved you as much as I do now." Caroline said, nuzzling her head into his shoulder. "You were even more kindhearted than I would have been."
"How did things go with Marcel?" Klaus asked as he lowered Caroline slowly to the ground.
"I'm meeting with a witch in two hours or so." Caroline smirked.
"Nicely done." Klaus narrowed his eyes. "How did you go about that?"
Caroline simply bit her lip and winked at Klaus, backing away.
Klaus jokingly growled and pulled her back into him.
"Don't get any ideas, Caroline." Klaus snarled with smiling. "You're mine."
Yours. Caroline breathed.
Klaus pushed Caroline's lower back so there was no space between them and leant down to meet his lips with hers.
Caroline smiled under the kiss and when she pulled back, she walked over to Klaus's sketchpad.
"They're not any good." Klaus looked a little embarrassed.
"Hey!" Caroline interjected. "Don't say that, because going off of what I've seen before, they're very good."
Caroline looked at the sketch Klaus had just been drawing.
It was her.
Caroline looked down at herself. He had drawn her when she was sleeping and Klaus had drawn in every fine detail of her face. The faint freckles that spread over her nose, the sharp wings of her eyes and even the slight dimple she had when she smiled. But she looked so at peace, so happy.
"You made me look so beautiful." Caroline smiled back at Klaus who held his fist up to his mouth.
"I didn't make-" Klaus was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. "That will be Rebekah and Kol." Klaus and Caroline returned inside the house and saw Elijah ahead of them open the grand front door, but was not met with Kol or Rebekah.
In fact, he wasn't met with anyone. Caroline could see Elijah bend down and pick up a black envelope.
This didn't look good.
Caroline reached Elijah and stood beside him as he opened the envelope.
"An invitation." Elijah announced. He unfolded the letter and read aloud. "Niklaus Mikaelson and friends, you are hereby invited to a dinner hosted by Tyler Lockwood on the 6th of September."
Everyone fell quiet.
"We need the witches by tonight." Klaus said gravely.