In honor of hitting 60 reviews yesterday, I thought I'd reward my wonderful readers with an extra update this week! Enjoy!


Just one more task, Rebekah told herself. One more favor for Klaus and then she would be free.

It didn't seem so bad when she thought about it that way. She'd done many reprehensible things for Klaus, she'd done even more for herself. What did the well being of one more girl matter when the scales were already tipped so far against her, when her soul (if she had one) was already so marked by darkness.

Rebekah could always figure out what it meant to be one of the good guys once she was human. She justified that it would be easier then. Things had a way of getting blurry and confusing when life was infinite. Even the vilest actions had a way of justifying themselves. What was one person's life to an immortal? They were going to die eventually anyway, she'd just ended their lives a little ahead of schedule.

Rebekah could hardly remember what it was like to be human. But she remembered in excruciating detail what it was like to wish it. She remembered lying in bed with her hunter lover thinking he would never betray her. She thought perhaps even if he knew the truth about her he would see her as the exception. She had believed it, but she wasn't willing to test it, so she had kept her and her siblings secret carefully guarded.

It didn't matter though, because he already knew. Somehow he had discovered her secret and he plunged a dagger into her chest.

The man who she had intended to help find at the cure, wanted to spend her life with, a short human life with, double crossed her, driving a dagger dipped in the ash of the white oak into her heart and leaving her to desiccate in a frozen sleep.

The betrayal still stung as if it was new. The memory still brought tears to her eyes, but now as not the time to reminisce on bitter memories. Now was the time to make a new future, a new path.

"Are you going to kill me?" Hayley asked, her large eyes watering with fear.

The female werewolf was not so cocky, so brave now, now when it was full fortnight until the next full moon. It was easy to be brave when you had the power to back it up. Much less when you were at the mercy of others.


Caroline and Klaus were the first of their group off the plane, so they waited by the carousal for the others.

"What now?" Jeremy asked as other five joined them.

Caroline felt Bonnie trying to catch her gaze, but she didn't pay her any heed. Her head felt okay again, but she still felt a sting of resentment for the attack. Sure she'd gotten worked up, she probably frightened the witch, but Bonnie should have known that she would never hurt her. The whole memory stung, a lifetime of friendship thwarted with a single fight.

Caroline didn't know if they'd ever find a way back to each other, but she doubted it. She was headed down a path that Bonnie would never understand and she would unavoidably make choices that Bonnie wouldn't accept. Bonnie stood so piously stalwart, she would never see another way as valid if it contradicted her own black and white view of right and wrong. Caroline couldn't help it, her views could no longer be captured in black and white. She was changing and her views had to change with her or she'd never be able to live with herself, what she'd become and the mistakes she would inevitably make.

"You'll come with me," Klaus said to Jeremy, "Elijah, take everyone else to the hotel. Kol, make sure everything is in order for the morning."

Klaus's brothers nodded their assent, but Caroline could help but stare at the hybrid. Ten minutes ago they were on the plane and he was jealously keeping her to himself, not willing to even allow the others to sit by her for fear of what? That she might change her mind and try to weasel her way out of their deal?

Now he was just going to dump her on Elijah like she was no different from Bonnie or Stefan.

Just when she thought she had gleaned an understanding of Klaus he did something to unsteady her.

If she'd wondered why Klaus was fine with leaving her in Elijah's care, the reason became apparent when they reached the hotel. Elijah took Bonnie and Stefan to one of the suits, before joining Caroline alone in the other. She knew she couldn't join Bonnie and Stefan, so she didn't bother asking.

Klaus really was afraid to leave her alone with the younger Salvatore brother. Whether because he thought Stefan had feelings for Caroline, or if he thought Stefan was the one person that might be able to sway her resolve, Caroline wasn't sure. Whatever the reason, Caroline was getting fed up with the isolation.

"Are you alright?" Elijah asked.

"No," Caroline admitted, realizing that she was practically digging holes in the couch arm with the death grip she had on it.

"Care to share?" Elijah asked.

"I just don't get your brother," Caroline confessed. "I made this deal with him of my own free will, but he's treating me like a prisoner."

"Deal?" Elijah asked.

"That I would stay with him, on the condition that he doesn't hurt any of my friends or family." Caroline explained, "You know, Beauty and the Beast style. You've seen that one, right?"

Elijah smirked, obviously amused by the comparison before confessing that he had, in fact, seen that one.

"Why did you make that deal, Caroline?" Elijah asked.

Caroline shrugged, suddenly not liking the direction this conversation could turn.

"I couldn't stand by and let him kill the hybrids just because they wanted freedom."

"So you sacrificed your own freedom."

"Well I didn't think I was sacrificing my freedom, I didn't realize I was going to be treated like a prisoner."

Elijah tilted his head, considering her thoughtfully before asking, "Would it have stopped you if you had?"

The question stopped Caroline in her tracks. She saved every last one of the Hybrids from a brutal, bloody end, even Tyler, who though she was angry with she didn't want dead. They were more Tyler's friends, but she would have felt terrible if they'd died, especially after helping to get one of them killed to save Elena.

And then there was Bonnie, no matter how much she wanted to hate the witch, they had too much history to be erased by one fight. A fight could ruin a friendship, but it couldn't erase it. Bonnie was written on her heart. Bonnie and Elena where the closest thing to sisters she'd ever had. If the deal hadn't been in place, Klaus probably would have killed Bonnie right along with Shane.

"I guess not," Caroline admitted.

"Be kind to him, Caroline," Elijah said. "Niklaus has loved few, and been loved in return by far fewer. He may be behaving badly toward you, but it is not meant to be malicious."

"Sometimes he means to be malicious," Caroline admitted.

And there was the problem. If Caroline was honest she wasn't afraid of Klaus hurting her, but she was afraid of him. She was afraid that eventually he would do something so horrendous, so evil that she wouldn't be able to justify his actions. What would happen when he did something unforgivable? How could she love someone is she was always waiting for that thing, for the ball to drop? No matter how hard she tried to forget it, there was darkness in Klaus that couldn't be ignored. She wasn't sure if she could accept him, all of him, including the darkness. If that was the case, if she couldn't accept it, wouldn't it be better not to love him at all?


Klaus didn't like the idea of leaving Caroline alone with Elijah, but he was knew his brother well enough to know that he wouldn't jeopardize his interests for the sake of a petty stab at revenge. Unlike Rebekah and Kol, Elijah wasn't prone to behaving rashly. Elijah wanted something and he knew that his only hope of getting it was to stay on Klaus's good side. Klaus did not trust Elijah's allegiance, but he trust that Elijah would act according to his best interest and for now their goals were aligned.

Besides, Klaus couldn't exactly take Caroline with him on this errand. Though it would in no way nullify their deal, Klaus was quite sure Caroline wouldn't like the measures that had to be taken. Whether or not she'd like it, it had to be done. One of the perks of being the bad guy was having enough foresight to see what had to be done and not have any qualms in doing what was necessary.

They needed a spell to get into the tomb, and to get the spell they needed a hunter with the completed mark. Jeremy had a partial mark and he needed to kill more vampires to complete the mark. Since Klaus doubted anyone of their company would be eager to volunteer, someone needed to provide the kid with vampires to kill. Therefore, Klaus needed to provide him with vampires to kill in an environment where he could ensure that the hunter would not get himself killed.

"What did you do?" Jeremy asked, looking around the club. It had obviously been a slaughter, so Klaus thought the boy was rather daft if he needed an explanation.

"What had to be done," Klaus said coolly as the first of the bodies began to rouse. He reached behind the bar and grabbed the mixologist, such a pretentious title for a glorified bartender. The young man whimpered as Klaus shoved him into the rousing horde of newborns. "Have at 'em."

The mixologist did not last long split between a dozen new vamps, but he lasted long enough. The still hungry vampires then turned on Jeremy smelling the fresh blood pounding through his veins.

"You may need this," Klaus said, handing the new hunter his predecessor's sword.


Please Review!