Chapter 9
Mystic Falls, VA
-992-
As Caroline lay in bed that night, all she could think about was Klaus. This wasn't unusual, seeing as she was courting him, but this was different. Today she had almost taken things too far, knowing that wanted to wait, and it was because in that split-second she had forgotten that she was in the past. She wanted him so much she could hardly breathe, but that wasn't all that she was feeling.
There was something else that made her want to make this relationship work. She didn't know if she had ever really felt it before, but she knew for certain that she was feeling it then. Love. She loved him. She grinned at her realization and jumped out of bed, careful not to wake Rebekah as she tip-toed out of the room to Nik's door. As she was about to knock, she froze. What if he wanted to be the one to say it first? And more importantly, what if he didn't love her back? She stood at his door for what felt like hours before creeping back to her bed. So much for sleeping.
Niklaus was what one might call a night-owl. He hated going to sleep at acceptable times, and therefore spent hours each night sketching. It was his favorite hobby. He had not yet shown any of his sketches, mostly for fear that she might not like them because most of his sketches were of her. His feelings for Caroline perplexed him. He had met many of the girls in his village, but none of them had stolen his attention quite like her. They had been courting for eight months and he still longed for her presence like it was the first day. When they touched, he could feel the electricity spreading through his entire body.
As he looked up from his drawing, it hit him. He was in love. He wanted nothing more than to find her immediately and tell her, but he was scared that she would not return the sentiment. He knew what he needed to do.
-2012-
"To what do I owe the pleasure, brother?" Klaus asked Elijah, who was currently staring out the front windows.
"I think you know," Elijah said cryptically, taking a sip of his drink as he turned to face his younger brother.
"The memories?" Klaus asked, returning to his seat on the couch.
"Of course. You should have found me as soon as they started, Niklaus. I don't much appreciate surprises like this," said Elijah, glaring at the back of Klaus' head.
"I just found out yesterday, Elijah. It's not as though I've been keeping it from you for centuries. Besides, I didn't even know where you were," he responded, becoming irritated.
"You could have found me," said Elijah, as Klaus flashed in front of him.
"I apologize, brother, but I was dealing with the fact that someone was sent to the past and is changing my memories. I didn't have time to think of much else," said Klaus, his irritation apparent.
"So are you going to tell me what happened?" Asked Elijah, coming to sit across from Klaus. Klaus got up to pour himself another drink before explaining everything.
"So they sent her to change you?" Elijah asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Is it working?"
"How would I bloody know?! I'm just dealing with the agonizing pain that comes with each memory," he said, not having stopped to wonder this himself.
"Hmm. I wonder if when they talk about changing you, it's not so much the things that you've done in the past, but more the way that you act in the present," said Elijah. He thought that maybe after all of the memories had changed, maybe his brother would learn how to trust, to love. And in spite of all of the things that he had done in the past, maybe someone would finally be there to love him back.
"Maybe. I don't know. I haven't really been thinking about it," he muttered, and Elijah could tell that he was bothered, but before he could question his further, a figure blurred in front of him, grabbing Niklaus' glass and throwing it at the wall behind him.
"Rebekah, love, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but as I was just explaining to Elijah, I was a little preoccupied," he said, smiling sweetly at his sister.
"Whatever Nik. I'm just upset. Two days ago I hated Caroline Forbes and now I almost feel…" she trailed off.
"Feel what, Bekah?" asked Klaus.
"Like I miss her, okay?!" She screamed, collapsing on the couch.
"Don't worry, Rebekah, we are all with you on that one," said Elijah, handing his drink to his sister, and sitting beside her.
-992-
To say Caroline was frustrated was an understatement. It had been two months since she had realized that she loved Nik. She had been waiting to tell him, hoping that he would tell her first, but to no avail. She didn't know what else to do. She had presented him with plenty of opportunities. Romantic walks, picnics, and she had even gotten him a present, but nothing worked! And to make matters worse, she felt like he was pulling away from her. With most of his time spent hunting with his brothers, she had filled her time getting to know Henrik. She sometimes felt bad for him because he was so much younger than the others. She loved spending time with him, but she felt a pang in her heart every time she thought about his future. From the stories that she had heard, she knew that the tragedy that started everything was supposed to happen in two years. Maybe she could do something to change it without changing everything…
This had been the hardest two months of his life. Staying away from Caroline was very nearly killing him, but he knew that it was the only way for his plan to work. As terrible as these months had been, at least it would finally come to an end tonight. Rebekah had helped him set everything up, so now he just needed to find Caroline. He found her sitting by the pond, talking with Henrik. It pleased him that she had developed a relationship with Henrik. He deserved a friend. Hopefully he wouldn't mind doing a little favor for Nik.
"Hello Nik," said Caroline. Niklaus did not miss the coldness of her voice. He knew that she had been upset with the lack of time spent with her recently.
"Hello love. Henrik, I wonder if I talk to you for a second," he said, looking to his brother, who tilted his head and nodded, getting up to follow his brother.
"I have something that I need you to give to Caroline." He handed the rolled up parchment to Henrik, his excitement nearly getting the better of him.
"Once I've gone, hand it to her, and tell her to meet me on the other side of the pond," said Nik.
"Okay, I will," he said, as Niklaus turned to walk away. "Oh, and Nik? Good luck," he said, smiling as his brother nodded at him and kept walking.
Now Henrik was the one who could hardly contain his excitement, as he walked over to Caroline, making sure that Nik was gone before handing her the parchment.
"What's this?" She asked, untying the ribbon and unrolling the parchment. When she realized what it was, she gasped, her eyes widening as she took in the beautiful drawing. It was a picture of her, sitting under her favorite tree reading. Having been here for ten months, she had nearly forgotten about Nik's hobby. Still, she was impressed with his talent and awed at his depiction of her. On the bottom corner of the page, much like her horse drawing, she saw a note that said "I would be honored if you would join me for dinner tonight. ~Nik" She looked at Henrik, small tears forming in her eyes.
"He wants you to meet him on the other side of the pond," he said, a huge grin on his face as he collected his toys and ran inside the house.
Not really knowing what else to do, she did as she was told, making the short walk to the concealed side of the pond. She had never been back there, but had always been curious to see what it looked like. As she passed behind the trees, she could no longer see the Mikaelson house. She walked a little further, hoping that Nik would find her before the sun set. When she ducked under a fallen tree branch, using it to pull herself around to a nearby clearing, she stopped in her tracks. This clearing was unlike anything she had ever seen. It was full of flowers, just like the others, but there were beautiful trees, with vines hanging from them surrounding the entire clearing.
She was standing on the highest part of the clearing, which allowed her to see all of the creek that ran from one end to the other, the last of the sunlight shining off of the water. Just as she started wondering where Nik was, she felt strong arms wrap around her waist.
"Nik! You scared me!" She said, turning around to put her arms around his neck, as he pressed his lips to hers, eliciting a smile from her.
"Hello, love. Do you like the clearing?" He asked, already knowing the answer after watching her arrive.
"It's beautiful!" She said, smiling as she turned back around in his arms, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder as she covered his hands with hers as they watched the sunset.
She wasn't sure how long they stood there like that, but suddenly she felt his arms pull away from her waist.
She turned around suddenly to ask him what was wrong, and her hand flew to her mouth as she promptly burst into tears. Nik had dropped to one knee and was holding the most beautiful ring that she had ever seen. She tried to smile at him through her tears as he took her other hand.
"Caroline, you stole my heart the minute I saw your smile. You're strong, beautiful, and full of light. I know that this has not been perfect, but I love you, Caroline Forbes, and I would be the happiest man in the world if you would do me the honor of becoming my wife," he finished, looking up at her with a suddenly confident expression. For two months he had played out all of the possible scenarios in his mind, and now that the moment had arrived, as a beautiful smile broke out on face, he knew that he had nothing to worry about.
"Oh, Nik. I love you too! But you are wrong about something," she said, noticing the confusion in his eyes, "this has been perfect, all of it. Of course I will marry you!" She said, her voice breaking as tears of happiness fell from her eyes. He quickly slid the ring on her finger, before she pulled him up, jumping into his arms as he grinned, spinning her around. When he placed her back on the ground, his hands found her cheeks and he leaned in, kissing her lips lovingly. She smiled as he leaned his forehead against hers, her hands reaching for his hair. As she pressed her lips to his again, she had to suppress a grin.
He loved her. He loved her and now they were getting married.
-2012-
Klaus hadn't been getting much sleep in the past few days, so he was thankful that he was finally able to climb in his bed. Just as he was about to fall into what would have been a much-needed sleep, his eyes shot open. Before he could make sense of what he had just seen, he started groaning, hands coming to his temples as he fell off of the bed with a thud.
"Ouch." He said as the pain finally subsided. He must have been dreaming, that was the only explanation. Except for the pain. The pain only came when he was getting a memory, but he refused to believe it. But what if it was true? What did that mean for him? He stood up, discarding the tangled sheet from his waist and went to get dressed. So much for sleeping, he thought. He had proposed to Caroline. And she said yes.
He made his way downstairs, unsurprised to see Rebekah still awake, working in the kitchen. He found it amusing that after all these years, she still chopped vegetables when she was upset. He came up behind her, grabbing a carrot slice as he kissed her on the cheek, sitting down at one of the barstools.
"What's got you so cheery?" She asked, moving from carrots to peeled potatoes.
"Oh, nothing," he said, wanting to be front-row-center when she remembered.
She looked at him funny, continuing to chop her vegetables before the knife fell to the floor with a clatter as she fell to her knees, screaming as she brought her hands to her temples. After about a minute, she removed her hands, eyes wide as she knelt there.
"Nik…" She said, coming to a standing position as she noticed the smirk on his face turn to an all-out grin, dimples and all. "Oh bloody hell." She said, understanding now why he had been so affectionate.
Just as she was about to comment further, Kol burst through the front door.
"Hello, all! Bex, chopping veggies again? You are positively perplexing," he said, smirking at Rebekah's angry glare, "Oh, and Nik, congratulations on the wedding. I hope I'm to be the best man," he said, walking past them to go up the stairs, leaving them to look at his retreating form in confusion.
"Niklaus!" They heard Elijah shout from upstairs. He blurred down the stairs and came to stand in front of Klaus. "What on earth do you think you're doing? She is one thousand years younger than you! You have nothing in common, and—" Klaus interrupted.
"Elijah, you do realize that this happened a thousand years ago, right? I didn't do it just now just to irk you," he said, smirking at Elijah's expression.
"Fine, but you better hope nothing bad happens as a result!" He said, as he flashed back to his bedroom.
So.. there you go! Now all of the Originals know about the proposal, with mixed reactions… Also, I'm sorry if the proposal seemed rushed, but I have bigger plans for this story that go beyond a proposal, so I didn't want to too much time getting there. Plus, it helped illustrate how much faster time moves in the past. So what did you think of the siblings' reactions? How do you think the rest of Mystic Falls will respond? We shall have to wait and see… :) Thanks for reading!