Chapter 3: Reality Or Fiction
"Got your message." Caroline said as she entered Mikaelson mansion and walked up to Klaus. Her voice was full of anger and she looked pissed off. Extremely so. However, she didn't exactly know what she was pissed off about. The fact that Klaus came back to Mystic Falls after promising her never to show his face again. Or the fact that Hayley was pregnant with his baby. Caroline would never admit to the later one. Or admit that she was pissed off in the first place. She was simply going to be Caroline Forbes who loathed a certain original hybrid with passion.
"Caroline, I was beginning to think you wouldn't come." Klaus as usual was happy to see the blonde beauty.
"Well, you did say it is a matter of life and death." Caroline said with sarcasm in her voice while rolling her eyes.
"And it is indeed." The hybrid assured. He sounded quite serious about it.
"But before I tell you anything, I must show you something first."
Klaus took Caroline to a bedroom. Caroline didn't know who it belonged to or why Klaus brought her here. The room wasn't empty though. Someone was inside. Caroline realized that even before entering the room. And when she got inside, she found a little girl sleeping comfortably on the bed. It both confused and surprised her, more because the little girl looked very familiar to her. Caroline looked at her more carefully, trying to figure out who the little girl was and where she has seen her before.
"Look familiar?" Klaus asked watching Caroline attentively.
"Yes, she looks very much like my cousin." Caroline said but she refused to believe that the little girl sleeping on the bed was in fact her cousin. That girl lives far away from Mystic Falls. There was no way in hell she could be here in this town, moreover in the mansion of the originals.
"She IS your cousin Caroline." Klaus confirmed what Caroline didn't want to believe. She gasped out loud hearing that.
"This is impossible." She whispered in fear. Caroline walked over to the sleeping girl hurriedly. As she looked more closely, she couldn't refuse to believe it anymore. That girl was indeed her cousin Shanyra. Caroline checked her carefully to see if she was hurt anyhow. Finding no bruises on her, she sighed in relief. Even though Caroline and her cousin Shanyra weren't very close. Actually they met only once in their lives but that didn't mean they weren't family. And everyone knew that Caroline Forbes was very protective when it comes to her friends and family. Caroline looked back at Klaus and glared daggers at him.
"What the hell is this Klaus?" She asked furiously.
"Believe me love, I've got nothing to do with it." Klaus said raising his hands in surrender and show that he wasn't the culprit here.
"Then who brought her here?" Caroline demanded answer.
"That would be me." Came Kol's voice. He gracefully entered the bedroom which was actually his.
"You had to tell her, didn't you?" Kol said glaring at his brother. It pissed him but he didn't bother enraging in a fight with Klaus. Kol walked over to the bed and looked down at the little girl. Kol was contemplating waking her up or perhaps not. He should kill the girl in her sleep. It'd be painless and merciful. But Kol also wanted the girl to live her last few moments. So he simply turned away from her.
"Would anyone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" Caroline asked out loud sounding frustrated this time. She looked at Klaus particularly.
"Why does Kol have my cousin?"
"You better ask him, love." Klaus said to her making her glare at him more heatedly. She then looked at Kol who had an unreadable expression on his face.
"I'm waiting." Caroline spoke rather bitterly to Kol as she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look tough. Kol rolled his eyes at her and decided that he would get back at Klaus for unleashing Caroline on him. Not to mention when he was at such fragile state. Why couldn't Klaus just keep his mouth shut?
"Well long story short, your cousin has my soul. I need it back to keep living in this world." Kol's short explanation only made Caroline more confused.
"Excuse me? She has your soul. Are you insane?" Caroline looked at Kol with disbelieve in her eyes. She was going to say more but Klaus stopped her. He understood that Kol was in no mood to tolerate this drama anymore and might do something he shouldn't do. So before any damage was done, Klaus took Caroline out of the bedroom. He took her in his art room and started explaining everything to her. Kol on the other hand focused back on the little girl. Gabriella should be here soon. She would perform the spells and put the soul inside his body. Surely it'd kill Shanyra but it must be done. Against his better judgement, Kol decided to wake up the girl.
"Wake up Shanyra." Kol said to her rather softly. That made Shanyra stir a little in her sleep. A soft moan of protest escaped her breath. Clearly, she didn't wish to wake up yet. Kol couldn't stop himself from gently caress her soft cheek to help her wake up. Shanyra furrowed her brows first then slowly opened her eyes a little. Her eyes were filled with sleep. She instinctively rubbed them with her fists to ease off that sleep a little bit. Shanyra blinked couple of times before looking straight at Kol. She furrowed her brows again. This time in confusion. The girl looked cute doing that; Kol thought to himself.
"Mr. Mikaelson?" Shanyra spoke up with soft and sleep tangled voice.
"You can call me Kol, kid." Kol said smiling at her a little. Shanyra didn't response to that, instead looked around the room.
"Where am I?" She asked while pushing herself up into a sitting position. The room was stranger to her and so was the air of that place.
"You're in Mystic Falls. The town where your mom was born." Kol replied while watching Shanyra carefully.
"How did I get here?" Before Kol could answer that question Caroline barged into the room. She not only looked absolutely furious but freaked out as well.
"How dare you?" Caroline yelled and she punched Kol in the face as well. For some reason Kol took the punch and didn't attack her back.
"She is just a kid." Caroline shouted at his face. She was fuming with anger.
"How could you even think about killing her? This is low; even for you."
"Well it's not my fault she has my soul." Kol said with nonchalant tone of voice as if he didn't care about killing a little girl. Caroline glared at Kol hatefully for that. Neither cared about Shanyra's presence there. They acted as if she wasn't even there. But since Shanyra was so used to of being ignored, it didn't bother her or seem strange to her for that matter. She remained quiet and curiously kept watching the fight.
"Listen to me carefully Kol. I'll personally kill you and send you to hell if you lay a finger on her." Caroline said threateningly and meant it.
"I will kill her and I will take my soul back. And you won't do anything because if you even try to stop me, you'll never see your mother again." Kol threatened her back though he spoke very calmly. Making his threat all the more dangerous. Caroline panicked right away hearing about her mother.
"What did you do to my mom?" She asked with rage in her voice. But that rage was only to cover up her fear.
"Nothing yet but you better behave and let me do what I need to do." Saying that Kol dismissed Caroline. He had no wish to continue dealing with her. Caroline on the other hand was desperate for a third option. She didn't want any harm come to her mother but she didn't want her young cousin to die either. She was only a twelve years old kid for crying out loud. Having no other choice, Caroline inhaled a deep breath to calm herself down first. This time, she was ready to beg Kol.
"Kol please. There must be another way." Caroline didn't feel ashamed about sounding so desperate and begging someone like Kol Mikaelson. The original looked back at her.
"Even if there is, I don't have time to look for that way. This is all your and your friends' fault. If you hadn't killed me in the first place-" Caroline interrupted Kol immediately.
"You were trying to kill us. There was no other way to stop you." She defended herself and her friends.
"And why exactly I was trying to kill you?" Kol snapped angrily this time.
"Because you were-" Caroline stopped herself from saying more. Kol was trying to kill them in order to stop them from raising Silas. And raising Silas turned out to be a horrible mistake after all.
"Yes, that's right. I was trying to protect everyone from the ultimate danger. Now Markos is after everyone of us. He even destroyed the other side. Now if we die, we are going to hell and get tortured who knows how horribly." As Kol said that, he got more determined about not dying. Caroline sighed out heavily.
"I know we shouldn't have gone after the cure. I know we should've believed you when you warned us about Silas. But killing a little girl isn't right either." She said and hoped that there was still a bit of humanity left in Kol.
"Believe me darling, I know it's tragic that an innocent little girl is going to pay for your sins. If it was anyone else from your friends, I'd have enjoyed killing him. Which I won't while killing her. But unfortunately she's the one who needs to die. I do feel sorry for her." Kol didn't know why he said it to Caroline but he really meant it. He certainly wouldn't enjoy killing a little girl who did nothing wrong. She hasn't even lived yet. And the fact that Henrik died around this age, made it all the more saddening for Kol. By then, Caroline realized that there was no point pleading to him. So, she looked at Klaus helplessly.
"Klaus, please stop him." Caroline begged. But it was no use either.
"I'm sorry love. I can't help you." Saying that Klaus walked away from there.
"I'm going to let you spend some time with her." Kol said to Caroline, showing a bit of humanity. But that wasn't free of threats.
"But do think about your mother if you feel an impulse to do anything funny." With that the original left the room. Caroline sighed out heavily before looking at her cousin. Shanyra was staring at her intently. She had her knees pressed against her chest and her arms embraced them rightly. Caroline walked over to her and sat down on the bed facing her. She must be very confused and feeling scared. Caroline thought to herself. Though it wasn't visible on the girl's face.
"Hey, do you remember me? I'm Caroline. We met when you were younger." Caroline felt a bit awkward speaking to her cousin with whom she had no contact with for a long time. Actually it was very awkward for her. Also Caroline should be thinking of a way to save her right now. Not sit with her and talk.
"Yes, I remember you." Shanyra said truthfully.
"You found all my step brothers very hot. You wanted to marry one of them." Caroline blushed a little with embarrassment as her cousin nonchalantly spoke about their past.
"That's not what I wanted you to remember." Caroline said more to herself than to Shanyra. Feeling more awkward now than before.
"Sorry but it helped me recognize you since you are still into men with an English accent." Shanyra stated without any doubt in her mind.
"No, I am not." Caroline defended herself right away. Before Shanyra could say anything, someone else spoke up from the doorway.
"She's lying." Both Caroline and Shanyra looked up and found Rebekah standing there. Obviously Shanyra didn't know who she was yet.
"What do you want Rebekah?" Caroline asked with bitterness in her voice. It confused Shanyra. Actually a lot of things were confusing her since she woke up.
At first she found out that she was no longer in Prague but in Mystic Falls. And it seemed that Mr. Kol Mikaelson brought her here. Why? She didn't really understand. Then her cousin Caroline was here. And only god knew what happened to her mother and step father. Not to mention there was something going on regarding her soul. To say that Shanyra felt confused would be the understatement of the century. But thankfully she didn't start panicking. Not that she wasn't feeling worried inwardly but it simply wasn't in Shanyra's nature to display her emotions. She always tries to stay calm and composed no matter what. Otherwise she'd be running around like a chicken with her head cut off after hearing that Kol wants to kill her. Without any doubt, Shanyra wanted to run away from there but she was smart enough to realize that she would never succeed. After all, Kol kidnapped her in Prague and brought her here without her knowing about it. Who knew what else he was capable of doing? Also Shanyra had a strong feeling that Kol was not human.
"Personally, I want nothing but Kol wants me to take care of the girl. She must be very hungry. Aren't you sweetheart?" Rebekah asked directly to Shanyra. The girl looked at Caroline first then slowly nodded her head.
"Come on then, I'll help you freshen up. You need to change your clothes too." Rebekah said holding out her hand for Shanyra to take. She again looked at Caroline who nodded to her. Shanyra then took Rebekah's hand and walked out of the room with her. Caroline on the other hand immediately called Stefan.
"Stefan, I need your help."
After freshening up, Shanyra looked and felt quite good. Rebekah took her to the dinning table and told her to sit down. One of the housemaids served food in front of Shanyra. She was hungry but she didn't feel like eating either. With all the confusions, and questions running through her mind, she didn't really have the appetite at the moment.
"Come now eat. I know you are starving. Your stomach is making all sort of noises" said Rebekah. She was being very nice to the girl tough being nice wasn't a very usual thing for the female original. But the little girl was going to die soon. It kind of made Rebekah feel pity for her which made her treat Shanyra nicely.
"This is my last meal, isn't it?" Shanyra said that more to herself than to Rebekah. Still it was the first time, she actually said anything to the original. Caroline who just came there, heard what Shanyra just said.
"No, it's not." She said right away. Caroline pulled the chair closest to Shanyra and sat down beside her.
"No one's going to hurt you. I promise." Caroline sounded very confident this time.
"You shouldn't give her false hope Caroline. No one can stop Kol from killing her." Rebekah stated in a matter of fact tone of voice. It made Caroline glare at her angrily.
"If you don't remember Rebekah, we were able to kill your brother before. We could do it again. And we'll do it if we have to."
"Do you really think after what you did, Kol would be foolish enough to underestimate you and your friends again?" Rebekah asked rolling her eyes at the other blonde. The argument continued no further as a voice spoke up that belonged to none other than Stefan. Caroline sighed out in relief seeing him.
"Caroline!" Stefan said sounding worried.
"Stefan. Thank god you are here." Caroline said and she walked up to him with fast steps.
"Are you alright?" He asked with concern in his voice.
"Yes, I'm fine. Stefan, this is my cousin Shanyra. Kol wants to kill her and he got my mom too." Caroline blurted all that out at once. Stefan looked at Shanyra and couldn't believe that the said original was so heartless that he was willing to kill a little girl. He looked back at Caroline.
"Damon is already looking for your mom. Come with me. We need to talk to Kol." Stefan said and they both left to speak with Kol and Klaus as well.
"Maybe we should find Elijah. I think he could help us stop Kol." Caroline said while walking with Stefan.
"Elijah is probably with Hayley right now." Stefan said which meant the older original brother was out of reach at the moment. Caroline's face darkened a little hearing that she-wolf's name. But she covered it up before Stefan could notice it. Elijah has taken Hayley away from Mystic Falls. Somewhere safe where no one could harm her. Hayley wasn't particularly willing to leave New Orleans and her werewolf family but she had no choice.
"Haven't you talked to Klaus yet?" Stefan asked wondering about it. Klaus should want to help Caroline as he usually does.
"I did" said Caroline sighing out heavily.
"He wouldn't help."
They got to the living room where Klaus and Kol were having a conversation. One that Stefan and Caroline rudely interrupted. They realized from the looks of it that the original brothers weren't having any friendly conversation. Klaus actually looked quite pissed off. Kol may or may not have spoken some truths to Klaus about sibling loyalty which the hybrid did not like at all.
"Ah, so Stefan Salvatore is your knight in shinning armor." Kol said to Caroline with a smirk.
"Aren't you gonna feel jealous Nik?"
"We need to talk to you." Stefan said to Kol ignoring his cheeky remark.
"If this is about Shanyra, I suggest you not talk at all." Kol said at once.
"Yes, it is about her. You can't kill her." Stefan stated firmly.
"Excuse me? You can't order me Salvatore." The original said arrogantly.
"Are you sure? What would happen if your witch Gabriella suddenly drops dead? You must need a powerful witch to perform the spells, don't you?" As Stefan said that Kol's face darkened immediately.
"What did you do?" Kol asked angrily. His nostrils flaring up in anger.
"Nothing yet. But if you don't let Shanyra go, Enzo is ready to kill your witch." Stefan said with a smirk; thinking that he was winning here. Enzo was willing to help since it was Caroline's cousin who was in danger. Obviously he wanted to be on Caroline's good side. Kol glared at Stefan for a while then suddenly he smirked. Making both Caroline and Stefan confused. Has he gone crazy?
"You kill my witch and Markos would know where to find Elena. He'll kill her and you wouldn't be able to do anything." Kol said with a calm tone of voice.
"You are bluffing" said Stefan. This time he was the one getting angry.
"He is not." It was Klaus who assured them.
"You'd do yourself a favor if you don't underestimate Kol this time." Caroline felt helpless once again. Was there nothing she could do to save her twelve years old cousin?
"There must be another way. Give us sometime. We'll find it for you." Caroline tried one more time. She pleaded with Kol.
"That won't be necessary." Said a voice belonging to the witch Gabriella. She walked inside holding her head high.
"Gabriella, good to see you got yourself out of trouble" said Kol.
"Yes, no thanks to you." Gabriella didn't hesitate to speak haughtily. But then she delivered a genuine good news.
"I've found a way to keep the girl alive."