A/N: I am trying to come up with something witty but allergies are evil, evil things and so my head is all loopy. But here's the next part. Big huge thanks to Miranda for betaing this monstrosity.
Thanks so much for reading everyone.
"During the day, memories could be held at bay, but at night, dreams became the devil's own accomplices." ― Sharon Kay Penman
Stefan hadn't liked leaving the house. Especially not after Klaus had practically stormed out, looking ready to kill someone, and no doubt that was what the Hybrid was doing. He worried about not being back in time for Klaus' return, leaving Caroline alone to deal with the volatile man. There was something about the way Klaus had been looking at her ever since their trip on the plane that didn't sit well with Stefan. Especially after he had only tried to offer comfort to his friend and received a deathly glare for doing so. That had been happening since he'd arrived with Rebekah in New Orleans, the Hybrid constantly working to get in between Caroline and anyone.
The possessiveness of Klaus' behavior had him worried for what Klaus might do if he was set off. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Hybrid could be quick to anger and when angered he could cause some real pain. Might even kill if that's what he wanted to do and Stefan didn't want Caroline's immortal life snuffed out so quickly because their little group had made a terrible choice in exploiting Klaus' interest in his friend.
The excuse that he hadn't been in his right mind when pushing for it at first didn't work for Stefan, knowing he'd kept it up afterward, when they had needed Klaus distracted so he could rescue Elena from the Mikaelson manor after the Hunter incident. He'd returned to Mystic Falls with Klaus, knowing what lengths that man would go to for what he wanted. They all knew how obsessed he could be with things—from breaking his curse, to punishing Katherine for what Klaus considered to be her betrayal. How had none of them thought through that egging along the interest Klaus seemed to have in Caroline was a horrible idea? As if the Hybrid would stop until he got what he wanted?
Unfortunately Rebekah Mikaelson could be extremely pushy when she wanted to be and Stefan knew she wouldn't give up on him heading out with her for a drink until he did it. He figured if they stayed out for an hour or two that would give him plenty of time to return to the house and make sure that Caroline was safe. Also he was curious as to why Rebekah was so insistent, waiting until Klaus was gone to even bring up that she wanted to go out. She could have done so before Klaus left to carry out his rampage and her brother probably would have gotten all of them to go as well.
But Rebekah had waited nearly ten minutes until after Klaus had left and Stefan had a feeling she didn't want her brother knowing whatever was on her mind. Stefan couldn't really blame her; she had been daggered only a few weeks before for having her own opinions. Was it really any surprise that she was cautious around the guy?
"I'm pretty sure there were a number of bottles of alcohol back at the house, Rebekah, so why don't we cut to the chase about why we're here?" Stefan leaned back in the booth she had picked, looking across the table at her.
Rebekah glanced toward the door for a moment and Stefan had a feeling she was listening to the conversations around them as she briefly scrunched her nose, lips pressing together in concentration before looking back at him. "First, if I think you'll breathe a word of this conversation to my brother I will bleed out the vervain that you are on before we leave here and compel you to forget it."
There wasn't any coldness to her voice, she was simply stating facts, and Stefan nodded, wondering what could possibly have her so paranoid. "I know there is a big to do about the end of the world and the rest of it. With this Silas and the Other Side needing to stay up," she started, glancing back toward the exits before looking at him again. "But not once did they explain why we can't have the cure."
Stefan blinked, unsure if he should trust this. Was it a test in loyalty? Klaus did like those and he wouldn't put it past the Hybrid. He remembered what Rebekah had said before he had helped her get daggered. How she had wanted it once upon a time for a normal life. Like he wanted for Elena…and maybe for himself as well. A chance to live out a mortal life with a final ending, to maybe pursue that doctor career, to have a family. He couldn't help how nice it all sounded.
But Rebekah hadn't wanted Klaus to get it either, hadn't wanted to help her brother obtain anything so he needed to know her motives now.
"What do you want with the cure, Rebekah?" He really hoped it was the same reasoning as she'd had for Alexander though he couldn't figure out why he wanted it to be that way. As long as it wasn't to piss off her brother.
"I think we should stop referring to it by name for one," she muttered, her body tensing. "After all, the Coven is supposed to be here in this city and we have no idea who they are. Or who any of these people are." Any of them could overhear and most would probably ignore it, chalk it up to something ordinary. But what if someone who knew something about it overheard? Then they might have a problem on their hands.
Stefan nodded. "Okay, still, why do you want it?" He needed to hear her say it again.
Rebekah looked down for a moment, touching the glass in front of her, fingers wiping at the condensation. "I don't want to follow my brother around for another thousand years." Truth was she didn't want to do it for another year let alone that long. "I don't want to miss decades, centuries because he doesn't like a decision I make. I want a chance. The one that my parents stole from me."
For her own life, her own family. To live out of the shadow of her siblings. To grow old with someone else and have a love that was her own. Surely Klaus wouldn't kill this one as it'd be the only one she would have. And of course she could always flee after getting the cure and hide away in some country, live out her life, and only contact her brothers once her time was almost up. Something like that. She hadn't quite worked out the logistics of it all.
Stefan stared at her. Not that he didn't believe her, but it was hard to fathom that was what she wanted. Though, considering he'd lived for significantly less time and wanted a chance at a human life, he supposed it wasn't that surprising that Rebekah would as well. He really wasn't sure that any of her brothers would allow that for her either. Especially Klaus.
"And you want it for Elena, don't you?" Rebekah continued, staring at him. "So she turns back into the girl who might love you." The contempt in her voice at that part had him directing a look at her. "It seems to be the doppelgangers lot in life to try and come between brothers. Tatia did it to Nik and Elijah. Then Katherine did as well, though in a very different way. I suppose she also did it with you and Damon. And now Elena with you and your brother."
She picked up the glass, offering him a sardonic smile before taking a drink. "You're going about this in really shitty way if you want my help, Rebekah," Stefan told her with a grimace. It was true though. He did want it for Elena. She hadn't ever wanted to become a vampire, hadn't she repeatedly told them that? So he just wanted to give her the chance of a normal life, so she never had to deal with the guilt of killing someone. And he wanted to break the sire bond. What happened after that was anyone's guess.
Rebekah simply shrugged. "The problem you're going to face, aside from my brothers wanting to make sure no one gets their hands on it, is that if Elena does take it and becomes human again…" She paused, arching a brow at him.
"Her being a blood donor factory becomes a problem." And what was the point of living a human life if it was to be nothing but a donor factory for Klaus? Didn't seem like that sweet of a deal.
"I'm sure there are witches who are powerful enough to hide her presence. I'd suggest Bonnie but she seemed to be a bit out of sorts the last I saw her." Rebekah set down her drink, watching him carefully. "But I want this and I think you do too. Better chances if I'm not trying to get it on my own."
"You mean it'll be nice to have a scapegoat if everything goes wrong?" Stefan arched a brow at her, wondering where the girl he'd known in the twenties had gone. Though perhaps this was still Rebekah. Not really all that changed, just not quite as in love with him as she once had been. If only…no, he wasn't going to play that game. That was so very far in his past even if it hadn't been that long ago for her. He wasn't the same person he had been and he had no intentions of going back to it.
"I suppose it'd be in your interest for nothing to go wrong?" She flashed him a smile and Stefan shook his head, reminded of when they had first met.
It couldn't hurt to have a partner in this, especially because she was right, Klaus and Kol did seem to be pretty adamant about not getting the cure anymore. Stefan couldn't help that it was something he was going to try for, even with all the risks. He owed it to Elena, didn't he? Maybe even to himself.
Stefan picked up his glass and held it out, clinking it with hers and reciprocated her smile. He'd need to watch his back and look out for Caroline, make sure she didn't get mixed up in this part of all that was happening. Shouldn't be too difficult. It wasn't really his first time being involved in multiple plans.
He was used to making deals with devils.
Klaus could go for days, even weeks sometimes, without sleep. When he and his siblings had first turned, it hadn't been like that. Sleep had still been part of their routine until the forced fleeing, leaving behind a dead mother, and getting away from their murderous father. It was a time he rarely chose to look back on, compartmentalizing it away to the far reaches of his mind and burying it where it belonged. Vampires didn't need sleep like humans did, but recently turned vampires slept more regularly than he or his siblings did.
A thousand years roaming the earth had its advantages aside from increasing their strength and other abilities and the decrease in need for rest at night was one of them. But after the last week or so, ever since the slaughter of his hybrids, he hadn't had much time for rest, his body and mind usually constantly on the go. And after the events of the evening and the conversation with Caroline, sleep was something he welcomed.
He had planned on letting his mind wander to the blonde he would have preferred spending an evening with, the pleasures and heights he wanted to show stubborn little Caroline Forbes that he was constantly being denied.
Unfortunately fate seemed to have other plans for him.
Klaus knew what it was like to take over someone else's dream, to pluck through their head and twist what was happening to his own design. He'd done it thousands of times before. Sometimes to orchestrate something that he wanted to happen, others to torment a mind until it would break to his liking, as well as simply to play with how he could manipulate another's thoughts and desires. When one didn't sleep and was privy to hundreds of minds inside of a manor wall, it was an easy way to pass the boredom of night to night life. Kol and he had made a game of it before, see which of them could get the person to wake up screaming in terror first.
He felt the push, the twist in the design and sought out who was doing it. All vampires had the ability to get into another's head, but being able to get into his or his siblings would take a great amount of skill. The fact he couldn't force out whoever was doing it was cause for some alarm, though Klaus refused to show any panic, confident he'd get the interloper out before any harm was done.
Not to mention he was curious as to the motive and needed to know who was behind it so he could make them pay for even trying to mess with his head.
There were no images being twisted though, nothing at all around him. No ounce of light and he couldn't even make out his own hands with how dark it was. The coldness that swept through him was startling, something he hadn't felt since he was human and huddling in the huts with his siblings in the winter. But even this was far harsher, no warmth provided at all. Nothingness seemed to surround him, trying to strip him of any and all hope, but he'd experienced life without hope before. Endured the Hunter's Curse for more years than he cared to remember, so for Klaus it did nothing.
He would have laughed if he'd been able.
Whoever was trying to manipulate him seemed to sense that and the landscape shifted, showing a house he did not know but there was Kol, fighting off someone with the Hunter's mark, trying to chop off the man's arm before getting the White Oak stake shoved into his chest. Klaus watched as his little brother burst into flames, dying while he was cemented in place. Kol reaching out to him, gaze pleading for help as he died.
Elijah was next. Klaus knew this place, the mansion in Mystic Falls, and watched as the Bennett witch sent the white oak stake flying through the air and catching his brother through the back, entering his heart. And then there was Katerina running toward the burning body, screaming as she fell to his brother's side. Shouting that it was his fault.
The images shifted again and Klaus thrashed against the invisible ropes that seemed to be tying him down, watching as Rebekah came into view. She was in the Amsterdam house, only a floor below where he lay. She was talking on the phone, chattering away with someone, but it wasn't the stake that killed her and Klaus couldn't understand it. How could slitting her throat like that cause her to die? It should heal, she should be fine, but she simply grasped her neck, stumbling backwards as she stared at someone Klaus had never seen before, blood spilling forward as she collapsed to the floor. He watched as the blood pooled around her, saw Stefan enter into the house moments later, falling to her side and trying to close the wound, shouting and crying all at the same time.
What was this?
It made no sense to him at all. Elijah was nowhere near Mystic Falls, he had no clue who this new Hunter was, and Rebekah…she almost seemed human. And that wasn't possible. She was a vampire.
"Keep up your travels and this will all come to pass," a voice called, one that he had never heard before and couldn't distinguish if it was male or female. All Klaus knew was that it sent that same coldness sweeping through him, chilling him to his very core.
If this was a viewing of what might happen then he would simply be on the lookout. Kill the Bennett witch before she could take out Elijah, make sure Rebekah never became human—he'd have to determine a way to break that very thought from her head, Klaus knew she was entertaining it—and Kol. He'd kill that person if he ever saw them. Simple. Done.
The images shifted again, showing a forest, but this time was different than the others. Before he had been a bystander, rooted to the spot, unable to move or stop anything from happening. This time he cried out, his body breaking and twisting as he was forced to transform into the wolf. He couldn't figure out why that was a bad thing at first. He didn't feel the pain. It wasn't something he did often, changing into an actual wolf, but it wasn't something he feared either.
Until his senses picked up on the vampire. One who's scent he knew by heart and could hear running through the woods, trying to get away from him, away from the wolf that he currently was. The one that started running at full speed toward her, basic instincts taking over. Vampires were the enemy, something that seemed to be ingrained in wolf instinct, and he barreled toward her.
It didn't matter how hard he tried to stop it, to force himself to return to his usual state, to force the wolf that he was to alter course. Especially when she tripped over the underbrush, falling to the ground and he didn't wait, quickly pouncing on her and ripping into her throat.
Caroline.
Her screams would haunt him.
Klaus tried to fight against the hold on him, twisting against the invisible threads that were weaving their way through his mind, tightening their hold and forcing him to continue ripping out her throat. Devouring her pale skin, that mouth he wanted nothing more than to kiss.
"All of this will come to pass," the voice reminded, laughing at Klaus as it forced him to change back, bones bending and twisting until he was in his normal form, staring down at Caroline's body. There was no way to save her, nothing he could do to bring the light back to her eyes.
And just like that the nightmare was over and he was sitting up in bed, hand coming up to squeeze the intruder in his room. "Klaus?" Caroline choked, hands clasping onto his arm and it took him a moment to realize that it was her at the side of his bed, that he was hurting her.
He released her, watching as she massaged her throat. "What are you doing?" he demanded. Any other time he would have been ecstatic to have her in his room, but not then, not with how weak he was feeling in that moment. Not after what he had just done.
"You were…I thought something was wrong." She stepped back from the bed, still rubbing her neck. He didn't like the look she was giving him, was unable to decipher it against all the others he'd been on the receiving end of. "Rebekah and Stefan still aren't home and I heard you…" She shrugged, looking a little helpless at finding the words to say and it was something he never thought he'd see happen to Caroline Forbes. It was almost endearing.
"So you came to help me out, sweetheart?' Klaus arched a brow at that, allowing the satisfaction to sweep over him that she had come to his room because she thought he was in trouble. So many tiny incidents showing she didn't hate him as much as she tried to say she did.
Caroline frowned, looking away from him for a moment and he nearly grinned until she looked back at him. "Did they try to make you into a doll too?"
Her fear spiked at that idea and Klaus couldn't stand it, images of her lying dead on the ground bombarding him. The desire to taste her blood spiked, and he could feel the wolf in him wanting to come out to play. "No."
It was a curt answer and he was in no mood for fifty questions, needed her out of the room so he could come up with a plan, so that fear didn't grip hold of him as her fear engulfed him, reminding him of what his wolf had done.
Klaus pushed off the bed, grabbing hold of her arm and pulling her toward the door. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded, trying to force his grip off of her, her fear lessening, being replaced by anger. "I was just trying to help."
"I do not need your pity." He would not accept that. Especially not from her. Not after…no. He would not think of it then. He needed her out of the room. "Go to bed, Caroline."
He felt her tense at those words, her fear back again, and Klaus had a feeling he knew why it had spiked. No matter the ring they had gotten from the witch, he had a feeling she was still unsure of sleeping, worried it would fail. He should say something, offer some assurance that she would be fine, but he couldn't promise that. Not with what he had been forced to see, to watch himself do. He needed to think up a plan of his own, how to stop all that had been shown to him from ever happening, and he couldn't do that with her in the room.
"It wasn't pity. It was…ugh. Never- freaking-mind. I don't know why I even bothered." He released his hold on her and watched Caroline head back toward her room, muttering under her breath as she walked.
Mikael's words echoed in his mind, taunting him. No one cares about you anymore, boy. Was that what Caroline had been doing? Caring? Klaus wasn't sure, everything inside of him screaming that it was simply pity even as part of him railed against the rest, claiming it wasn't that. He heard his sister's words next, combining with his father's, all about a man who couldn't love. Not that this was…he didn't know what any of it was with Caroline, but love wasn't allowed, love was a weakness he would not, did not afford himself to have any claim to. Except for his siblings and even then it was a struggle.
Part of him wanted to go after her, to explain everything, to have her back there with him, to figure out why she had come to help him while he endured his own nightmare. But that part was quickly squashed and he headed downstairs, needing to do some research in the books in the library, needing answers and to formulate a plan. He'd make it up to her in the morning, still intent on making her enjoy her time in Amsterdam while Kol was off looking for the witches. But first, he needed to do this, to work out a way to be three steps ahead, to formulate his list of backup plans, just as he had done over the years.
What he had seen was not allowed to scare him. No, it would only strengthen what he was doing and ensure that whoever had tried to manipulate him would die begging for death by the time he was finished with them. Klaus simply needed to determine who it was, he already had the why. That much had been obvious. They wanted him to stop working to keep Silas locked away forever, for him to allow the immortals rise.
That was something he couldn't allow to happen. No matter what they threatened to be his future if he followed through with keeping Silas at bay. His siblings would not be killed, he would not kill Caroline. Klaus would make sure of it and destroy any who would dare try and set into motion the scenarios that had played out in his head. No matter how angry it might make those he was protecting. Better with him and hating him than truly dead and lost to him forever.
Stepping onto the campus and walking along the paths with Valerie, Bonnie couldn't help but think back to all those late night talks with Caroline about them going to college. How they would room together, and get meal plans together, buy one of those burners and cook grilled cheese sandwiches in their rooms late at night when they needed a pick me up snack. Of course the contents of their mini-fridge would need to have a storage area for blood bags now and her part of the bookshelf would need an area for her family's grimoire and some herbs that she liked to keep around for doing magic, but the two of them still clung to that vision of normalcy. Even as everything else changed around them and in them, the bulk of their college dream had stayed the same.
She wasn't so sure it would anymore, not with all that they had lost in the last few weeks, not with what was to come. Or maybe it would allow more dreams to come true. Once she freed Silas and brought the others back from the dead, once she destroyed Klaus, maybe it'd be easier for them to have something even remotely close to normal.
But enough thinking about that. She had a task to complete and needed to concentrate, trying to follow the signature she had picked up of the new Hunter. "This way," she informed the witch who was accompanying her.
Valerie and the other were off looking into something else on the campus, Bonnie wasn't sure what, but her focus needed to be on the Hunter, not wondering what the others were doing. The older witch would probably tell her when they met up again…right? Now was not the time to let doubt set in.
"You're sure?" asked the girl, Sara, that was her name, right? Bonnie really needed to pay attention to some things a little more.
"Can't you feel it?" Bonnie asked, glancing over at the girl as they headed toward the dorm. The other girl shrugged, looking back toward the dorm entrance that it looked like needed some kind of keycard to get into.
Thankfully some students were leaving the building as they arrived, and Bonnie and Sara headed inside as one of them held the door open for them before trotting off after his friends. Bonnie refocused on following the energy, heading up the stairs until she got to the correct floor and then down the hallway. She stopped in front of a room, Sara close on her heels.
This was it. This was where all of the tumultuous energy originated. How exactly were they supposed to do this? What if the guy thought they were nuts? Bonnie remembered Caroline's reaction to when she had told her that she was a witch, and on hindsight she really shouldn't have blamed her friend. It was a pretty out of the world idea considering all that they knew to be true.
Standing outside the door doing nothing really wasn't going to help any though, that much she did know. Before she could even knock though the door opened and a very disheveled looking young man stood in the doorway, looking between the two of them. His gaze was erratic and he ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Are you the ones who are supposed to help?" he asked, glancing behind them toward the hallway. He ushered them inside before they could answer, closing the door and locking it once they were inside.
Whatever Bonnie had been expecting, it definitely wasn't the dead vampire in the corner. The rest of the mess was pretty consistent with how she pictured a boy's dorm room to look. "She said you would be here like right away," the guy told them, his hands shaking as he stepped around them, giving himself as much room as possible from the dead body without stumbling into furniture. "Not a fucking week later."
"Who said what?" Bonnie asked, tearing her gaze away from the body and looking over at the young man.
"The one who did this!" the guy shrieked, holding up his hand.
There wasn't anything there, at least not visible to her eyes, but she had a feeling she knew what it was. "The mark? The Hunter's mark?" Bonnie asked as Sara moved around, trying to find somewhere that looked safe to sit.
"Is that what is? What the hell is a Hunter?" the guy asked, his energy spiking more as he started at his hand.
"Why don't we sit down and I'll try to explain what I can," Bonnie told him, offering up a small smile. "I'm Bonnie. I'm a witch. And I'm going to guess the guy in the corner was a vampire?"
The young man nodded and then raked a hand through his hair, gathering up papers and old plates off of the couch. He deposited them on the table and then sat down, waiting for Bonnie to do the same. "I'm Eddie. That's…that was John." He wiped his hand over his face before letting fall onto his lap. "We've been friends since middle school. And he was…god; this was supposed to be a nightmare."
His leg moved nervously, bouncing repeatedly and Bonnie could pick up on the guy's nerves. "What happened?" she asked. Was there a vampire problem at the school?
"I came home from chem class and John was in here with some psycho girl who freaking fed him my blood and then had me shove some wood into his chest," Eddie told her, and nodded toward John. "That happened. He…and then this." He raised his hand again, and she knew he was looking at the marks on it. No doubt they looked like Jeremy's had. "And I've just been in here; waiting for whoever she said was going to help me, eating all the ramen, ignoring everyone, not going to classes. Oh my god. My parents are going to kill me." He looked over at John again.
"What the hell do I tell…?" He looked down at the floor, trying to get his breathing steady, and Bonnie reached over, knowing she needed to try to be comforting. At least Jeremy had known about the supernatural when everything had happened to him. At least he hadn't killed his friend.
As soon as she touched him though she was overrun by images that made no sense to her, a cave, a slab of stone with a mummified body lying on top. Eddie stared at her as she pulled away, rubbing her hand as she tried to figure out what had just happened. "What was that?" he asked, staring at her with wide eyes.
"I don't know," Bonnie replied honestly. "Have you been seeing things? Dreaming things?"
"Every night," Eddie told her. "There's a cave, that cave, but not that mummy. There's a man and he says I need to finish the map." He nodded toward his arm. "I don't know how though."
"You have to kill more," Sara said, finally speaking up and Bonnie looked over at her. Did they really have to be so blunt?
"I'm not killing anyone," Eddie shook his head, staring at her like she'd lost her mind.
"It's not like they're people," Sara told him, and Bonnie narrowed her eyes at that. "They already died, you're just making sure they can't go out and kill others. That's what they do."
"Not all of them," Bonnie replied, and Sara glanced over at her.
"Don't tell me you like vampires," she said her distaste obvious.
"Some of my friends are vampires." Though hopefully not for too long. Not if she could get the cure for them.
"Then I guess we'll make sure he doesn't kill those ones," Sara grinned, before looking around the dorm room again. "I think we should get going anyway. Valerie will be wondering where we are."
"You're leaving?" Eddie asked, his voice rising, obviously not liking the idea.
"Don't worry; we want you to come with us, unless you'd like to stay here in…this." She scrunched her nose at the surroundings.
"I don't…" Bonnie could hear the uncertainty in his voice and couldn't blame him at all.
"Why don't we at least get out of here and get food in you that's not ramen? And if you still want to stick with us after learning some more things then you can," Bonnie suggested, not wanting to push the guy. Being alone for a week with his dead friend had probably messed him up a bit.
"What about John?" Eddie asked as he rose and looked for a pair of shoes.
"I'll have someone take care of it," Sara replied, and Bonnie didn't like how she said that. Had a feeling they'd simply dispose of the body and be done with it, not giving John's family any kind of comfort or even an idea of what had happened to their son.
"You might want to change first, Eddie," Bonnie pointed out. She had a feeling he'd been wearing the same thing since the day he'd become a Hunter. "Shower?"
"Yeah, I'll be a few," he murmured grabbed some things from the dresser before heading into the attached bathroom.
Bonnie turned toward Sara as soon as she heard the shower start. "We are not going to just throw that body away. His parents need to be contacted."
"To what end?" Sara asked, already dialing a number on her phone. "Do you think it'll help them any? They won't know what he became. He'll become another statistic as will that one. It's not like he'll ever return to this place either with what his destiny is and that will start to kick in with the more vampires he kills." She pressed the phone to her ear and turned away from Bonnie to take her call.
Bonnie knew it was true. Hadn't Jeremy gotten stronger with each vampire he killed, the mark growing with each one, his need to slay vampires growing as well. The same would happen to Eddie, it needed to happen to him for everything else to happen. She looked at the mementos in the dorm, the photographs of him and his friends, the mathletes award that hung on the wall. All of this would be pushed aside, left behind, so that he could become embroiled in all the supernatural drama.
She wished it didn't have to be that way, that she could save him from the life she led, but Bonnie knew the only way for her to have a chance at getting the cure, at retrieving her grandma, at putting Klaus in his place was for this college kid to leave it all behind. Maybe afterward he could go back and get something close to normal, not quite what he had now, but better than what he was headed into.
Eddie stepped out of the bathroom, clean clothes and looking a lot less frantic as he toweled off his red hair. "Ready?" Bonnie asked, trying to stave off the guilt that wanted to eat away at her.
"As I'll ever be," Eddie told her, casting one last glance at his dead roommate as the three of them left the dorm, Sara still on the phone and giving directions on where his dorm was located for body disposal.
Bonnie hoped she had made the right decision, knowing nothing would ever be the same for him, probably for her too. Maybe close to normal was all any of them were allowed anymore but she had to believe that was better than nothing at all.
Tense didn't even begin to describe the current outing that Caroline was being forced to endure with Klaus. After the nightmare debacle from the night before she hadn't expected him to come traipsing into her room that morning, telling her to be ready in an hour. She probably should have expected it, having learned already that when Klaus had something in his sights he didn't give up on it all that easily. If ever.
But Caroline had seriously thought that he'd want as much space from her as possible. Something had upset him that night, had caused him to close himself off and push her away in that way only Klaus Mikaelson could do. Not that she wanted him opening up to her, but jeeze, he was really good at the whole one step forward and then taking a giant leap back when it came to interpersonal relationships. He sucked at them. There was definitely no denying that. Not that it was her job to fix that. It was on him.
She couldn't help but be annoyed that Stefan and Rebekah had declined going with them, part of her wondering why Stefan was willingly hanging out with the other blonde, but mostly annoyed that he was leaving her to fend with Klaus on her own. Then again, Stefan didn't know about either of her conversations with the Hybrid the other night so…nope. She was still annoyed.
That was why when Klaus brought her for a walk along the canal they were staying in front of she had purposefully kept a scowl on her face and not looked out at the frozen water. Not even his reminder that she was only punishing herself would have her glancing that way. Did he seriously expect her to be all sunshine and rainbows after how he had treated her the night before? Because nope. She did not work that way.
"I never did say thank you," Klaus started, and she glanced over at him, wondering what he was going on about. Was this some ploy to get her to look? Because she'd just keep her gaze on his face. Problem solved. "For last night. Coming in to see if I was alright."
"I'm pretty sure that by this point it should be more of a 'sorry I was an ass, Caroline' than a thank you," she told him, looking away again as they continued to walk.
"I have nothing to apologize for," Klaus replied, and she scoffed at that. Seriously?! "I had no interest in speaking to you about it and still do not but I thought it best to thank you for the fact of worrying over my well-being."
"It won't happen again," Caroline muttered, trying to get the hood of her coat to stay in place. All the better to hide the beauty that she was missing out on.
"As delightful as this masochistic streak of yours is, Caroline, I grow tired of it," Klaus informed her, tugging the hood back down and yanking her around so she would be forced to see the canal.
It was breathtaking. All of the old architecture standing across from them, the water frozen over and people were skating along it. Laughter rang in the air, mixed with languages she didn't know, but all of the tones were so overwhelmingly happy. She couldn't help but smile at it, couldn't stop herself from trying to soak it all in, even if she was there with him. Even if it was Klaus who was telling her bits of history about the event going on, about a house across the street.
She tried to reel it in though, didn't want to make a big deal of it, and didn't want him to see her enjoying herself, knowing that was what he wanted to happen. He was right, she really was only punishing herself, but it made her feel less guilt to do that. Otherwise her guilt tried to overwhelm her, even when she wasn't entirely certain what she had to feel guilty about…aside from the fact that she was enjoying spending time with him. After all he did, all he still threatened to do, and she was able to feel joy and delight when she was in his presence. What did that say about her?
Caroline pulled away from him, needing the distance, to walk a little ahead and not have his voice bouncing around in her head, cataloguing all the wonders of the city to her. He walked after her, though she was thankful he didn't try to catch up right away as he could have, needing the time to collect her thoughts. "Shall we get something to eat?" Klaus asked as he finally did step up beside her. "You're looking a bit peckish."
"I'm not feeding from anyone," she murmured. It wasn't to the point where she'd need to feed yet anyway. She had two bags on the plane; she should be good for another day. And then she'd just drink a lot to stave it back. Plus try for some fries.
"I was thinking in more of the lines of a rare steak," Klaus replied, and she wanted to hit him for the amusement in his voice. "I even know the perfect place. They'll have those fries I know you love so much."
Caroline really didn't like that he knew her fry habit. Seriously, what else did he know about her? And more importantly how did he find it all out anyway? When she had said she wanted to be picked first by someone she really should have been more specific, added in a 'no thousand year old psychotic Hybrids' clause.
"This way," Klaus continued, guiding her toward a side street.
Eating with Klaus at a restaurant really wasn't something that Caroline wanted to do, but when he had mentioned a rare steak, her gums had ached a bit and she knew that ache wouldn't go away until it was satisfied a little. She highly doubted that the kitchen back at the house was stocked with anything aside from alcohol.
They bumped into a woman along the way and Caroline caught her before she could fall, murmuring an apology. She was surprised when the woman answered in English, even more surprised when the woman didn't let go of her hand, staring down at her new ring, the one she'd gotten in Louisiana. "Where do you get that?" the woman asked, and Caroline pulled her arm back, reaching out to hold onto Klaus.
She could feel how tense he was and she had no idea how he'd react to this woman, to her curiosity. "A friend gave me it," Caroline told her.
"For protection?" the woman asked, glancing between the two of them as though she was trying to figure something out.
"Curiosity is a very dangerous trait to have," Klaus warned, and Caroline tightened her hold, not surprised when the woman's eyes widened.
Maybe this woman knew something useful. Of course maybe she was someone who could do something not so useful to them, but Caroline was going to try and have the benefit of the doubt in this situation. "Yes."
"Caroline," Klaus started, his voice low, probably only audible to her ears.
"You should see Sanai. She owns a bar here and I bet she can help with that," the woman told her, offering a small smile. The door to the house behind them opened and out stuck a small head, grinning brightly at her.
"Mummy!" the little boy yelled and the woman headed toward him, scooping him up before he could descend the stairs.
She looked back at the two of them. "It's called De Gewonde Krijger. Put it in your phone and you should find it." And with that she disappeared.
Caroline stared at where the woman had been for a moment before releasing Klaus and holding out her hand for his phone. "Absolutely not," he told her, already steering her back toward the house.
"So we're not going to look into this lead? Because I'm pretty sure Sanai is the one we're looking for, right?" She was pretty sure that was the name that Zelda and Steven had mentioned.
"No, you're not going. I'll pick up Stefan and Rebekah and look into it," Klaus informed her, and Caroline shook her head. "Perhaps figure out where Kol ran off to since the idiot left his phone behind."
"Sure," Caroline murmured, shrugging as they walked. "I'll just stay behind in the house. All by myself. With some woman that was already interested in the ring on my hand. I mean granted she doesn't know where we're staying." Maybe pushing at his paranoia wasn't the best route to take. She really didn't want that woman or her son to get killed.
Klaus stopped walking, grabbing onto her arm and spinning her to face him. "If you step one foot out of my sight, Caroline," he warned her as he took his phone out of his pocket, calling Rebekah.
"Threats really don't work all that well on me. Especially from you." All they did was irritate her and give her more checks for the 'Klaus is an asshole' column. The other column pretty much had two checkmarks for 'can draw' and 'has good taste'.
"Be that as it may, I'd hate to need to come down this street again for a bite to eat. Something tells me that boy would be terribly upset if he lost his mother," Klaus murmured, turning from her to talk to Rebekah as she answered.
Caroline glared at his back, knowing he'd make good on that idea. She was so erasing those two nice checkmarks and adding more to the asshole column out of spite now. Hopefully going to this bar would help speed along the process so she could get as far away from Klaus as possible, could get back to Bonnie, figure out where Elena had gone, and hug her mom. And she could go back to waiting for Klaus to get over his ridiculous obsession with her even if she wasn't all that sure that was all it was anymore. She really didn't want to even try and contemplate what else it could be.
Kol isn't even the tiniest bit surprised to discover that the address for Sanai's coven leads him to a bar. If he hadn't been around witches before he probably would have gotten angry, figured the other witch led him astray, but Kol had been around his share of witches over the years. Preferred their company to others at times, and one thing he had noticed was that they enjoyed owning establishments like bars through the ages. It wasn't anything that required too much time on their part to run, usually had back rooms when they needed to run their own more secretive meetings, and for the most part those that frequented their places were too drunk to remember anything out of the ordinary happening.
Usually the places that witches owned allowed for the supernaturals in the area to have somewhere to go for entertainment as well. A place they could be more themselves and not worry too much about someone freaking out about what they were doing or cause problems because of what they were. Though it was always 50/50 on whether or not vampires would be welcomed as well.
Through the ages, it was less likely for witches to get called out for their practices when they were tied with where half of the town went for their alcohol. Not that many witches ever perished during the various inquisitions and witch hunts through the ages. It was rare for a true witch to be burned alive or endure the various tortures doled out unless they were fairly new or simply incompetent. Of course there were those martyrs who deliberately put themselves on the pyres, looking to start trouble or issue warnings. He always found those ones to be rather foolish, but it was always entertaining to watch them die, their power releasing back into the world.
Kol strode into the bar, not bothering to glance around as he headed to the bar. He could feel the gazes on him, most turning away after they got a glimpse of the new comer, but there were a few who continued to watch him. Those would be the ones to look out for. He slid onto a stool, and leaned forward, glancing over at the bartender.
She was fairly pretty and he could sense the power in her even from where he sat, watching her talk to two men on the other side of the bar. Not as much as the other witch he'd met last night, but decent enough. He couldn't quite deduce her age, something he'd had difficulty doing after living a few centuries. Everyone was young compared to his siblings and him, but figuring out precisely how young or old anyone else was had become tricky. Throw in the fact that some witches liked to play around with the aging process and it was a useless endeavor to try and determine age.
"What do you want?" she asked as she finally stopped in front of him, no kindness at all in her greeting.
Kol glanced at the rows of bottles displayed and pointed at one that hadn't been opened. "I'll have that." He knew better than to order from the tap. Too often witches enjoyed putting vervain in the lines and was in no mood for dealing with that annoyance.
She didn't budge, crossing her arms as she looked at him. "Just cut to the chase, vampire. What do you want?"
Seemed this establishment was part of the duller fifty percent. Pity that. "That's between me and Sanai, who I'm told is around here somewhere." He focused his hearing to pick up on the others heartbeats, on the happenings in the back room. No one's pulse rose, he didn't hear anyone trying to bolt. Good.
"Gonna need more information than that," the bartender told him, not budging from her stance, and Kol grinned. He liked that stubborn streak. Reminded him a bit of a few others he'd known through the ages.
"Tell her Kol Mikaelson is here. She might know me as the one who slaughtered all of Silas' followers a couple hundred years back." He really hoped he got to do that again. He'd been missing out on some good slaughtering opportunities while Nik had him locked away in that box.
Kol turned as someone slid onto the stool beside his, watching as the beauty next to him waved the bartender away. This one had power, more than either witch he had seen in the last day, more than Zelda. Her line was old and he wondered precisely how old the magic was that ran through her mocha colored skin. "Sanai?" he inquired, wondering if that was who he was speaking to. It'd jive with the fact she was supposed to be a powerful witch.
"Lucy," she replied, offered up a smile but he saw the insincerity in it. She didn't like him either. "We have seen the signs, we know that Silas is looking to rise and we're already working to stop that from coming to pass. So what is it that you want, Kol Mikaelson?"
"I quite like the world the way it is, as do my siblings, so we thought we'd give you a hand." Kol grinned, though it turned into a grimace at her laugh.
"Why would we want or need your help?" Lucy asked, holding up her hand when two others stepped forward, waving them back off to their seats.
She had to know she was playing with fire, speaking to him the way she was. He was the more volatile of the Original siblings; never quite sure what might set him off to chop off her pretty little head. "Considering we already disposed of the Hunter and at least one of those people trying to teach expression and did I not mention that I killed all of the followers the last time? Because I'm fairly certain that I did." Kol shrugged. "And it comes down to either you let us help or we force you to do so. Yes yes." He paused, motioning toward the group of witches rose from various spots in the bar. "You're quite powerful. I know that already, can feel it to my bones, but do you know who it is that they're grooming to be the conduit to all that expression magic that's being released?"
He wasn't 100% sure but Caroline and Stefan had mentioned that the Bennett witch was practicing it and considering Shane had apparently been teaching her, Kol was confident that she was the one. The witches paused at his words and Lucy frowned, clearly he knew something that they didn't.
"They found someone already?" From her tone, Kol had a feeling they weren't anticipating that already happening.
"And it's one from a very powerful line. One of the oldest if not the oldest." It always got tricky trying to figure out precisely which of the witch lines originated first, but there was no denying how powerful the Bennett line was.
"Who?" Lucy demanded, and he grinned, amused by the authority that she was conveying.
"I think I'll keep that one to myself until I see Sanai," Kol replied, resting his elbow against the bar as he grinned at her, thoroughly enjoying her discontent.
"Sanai is dead," Lucy told him and that was not what he wanted to hear. What the hell were these witches playing at? "She died a few months ago before everything started. This is my coven now and we need to know who."
"Not until I get a nice little binding answer that you'll allow us to help." Kol grinned, glancing over at the others scowling faces. He couldn't almost deduce what they were thinking, trying to come up with ways to get the information out of him. "I want Silas kept locked away as much as the rest of you, no desire to have that Veil destroyed, and I'm sure your witchy powers are quite adept at prying answers, but you might want to remember that I'm an Original. We're a bit different than your normal vampires."
Still no answer and Kol decided he was done playing nice and was out of his seat before they realized it. He didn't go for Lucy, knew he needed whatever information was stored in her head, but he grabbed a pool cue and with enough force impaled three of the witches through it, jamming the end into the wall on the other side as he picked up another cue. "I'm also more testy than most," Kol informed them, enjoying the startled cries and screams of the others.
He felt the pain spike in his head, knew they were trying to subdue him, and he forced himself toward the door. He didn't expect to see his siblings along with Stefan and Rebekah on the other side, but it was a welcomed sight.
"Not the one at the bar," he muttered as the three aside from Caroline flashed into the bar. "Not going to help out, darling?" He really shouldn't find the glare she directed at him to be so amusing, but he enjoyed how she tried so hard to fight off her true nature. It'd be delightful once she finally embraced what she had become. "Don't worry; we'll help you sharpen those fangs in no time."
A few moments later and everyone but Lucy was dead, her gaze a storm of anger and betrayal. "Stefan Salvatore," she muttered, and they all looked at her, Kol walking back inside and stepping over bodies.
"You were Katherine's witch," Stefan shook his head, uncertain as to why she was there.
"Of course that bitch is involved in this," Rebekah groaned, wiping blood off her hands.
"I don't work for her or any vampire anymore," Lucy replied, chin rising in defiance, forcing her gaze to remain on the vampires and not her dead friends.
"That will be changing," Klaus informed her, and Caroline finally stepped into the bar, heading toward Lucy.
"You're Bonnie's cousin, right? Sort of cousin. Her family?" Caroline asked, stopping when Klaus grabbed onto her arm, not letting her get close to Lucy. "She talked about you after that. Wondered about you. She thought you might come back and help her learn more about being a witch."
"You know Bonnie?" Lucy was watching her and Kol grinned, waking toward the witch.
"She's my best friend," Caroline replied, trying to wrench her arm from Klaus' grip. "Along with Elena. We've been friends since like almost birth. Preschool I think."
"What's your name?" Lucy looked her over, causing Klaus' grip to tighten and Caroline to struggle more.
"Caroline-" she tried to get out, Klaus yanking on her again to quiet her.
"I say we skip past these questions that have nothing to do with why we're here," Klaus insisted, and Kol arched a brow at that, amused at his brother's protectiveness of the girl. He really needed to look more into what was going on in his brother's head with that.
"Bonnie is why we're here! Or part of why I'm here," Caroline pulled at her arm, and Kol leaned back against the bar, enjoying their struggle.
"You'll have to excuse their little tug of war," Kol murmured, and hopped over the bar. "Though the sexual tension between them is quite fun to watch play out." He laughed at the simultaneous looks of annoyance cast at him by the two of them. Adorable.
"Can you help her so these idiots don't try and kill her?" Caroline continued, and Kol sighed, knowing she would be giving away who was becoming the conduit.
"Why does Bonnie need any help?" Lucy asked, and Kol raised up a finger at a time as he waited for the realization to dawn on her. "She's the one they're using to control expression?"
"Perhaps," Kol murmured, grabbing a few bottles from the rack. "And it seems that you're down some members of your coven." Not all of them. There hadn't been enough in the bar to make a complete coven. "Looks like we're going to need to work together after all."
He tossed a bottle toward Rebekah, grinning when she caught it. He would have thrown one to his brother, but considering Klaus still had a firm grip on the baby vampire, Kol thought it best not to do so.
"Though we might want to move this meeting of the minds to another location," Kol suggested as he hopped back over the bar. "Unless you'd like us to keep on killing anyone who happens to walk inside."
The pain erupted in his head again and he dropped the bottles he was still holding, falling to his knees at the intensity. "Rebekah, do not touch her," Klaus warned, and Kol knew that he would stop their sister if necessary. "We do need her alive."
"You do not control me. No vampire gets to control me anymore," Lucy told him, and Rebekah headed toward her, but she was thrown backward toward the wall as were the rest of them, their bodies pressed to it by an invisible force.
Kol tried to stand, intent on knocking her off her feet, anything to break the hold she had on them, but she only increased the pain in his head. "I will kill you, witch," Klaus threatened, and Kol knew by his brother's tone how serious that threat was.
Kol was flung to the wall beside his family and Lucy walked over toward the group, stopping in front of them. "Maybe I will need your help and maybe you do need mine, but I have no intention of working with any of you. Not after that ridiculous display of power." She looked back at her fallen friends and then back at the vampires. "I'll talk to Bonnie's friend but only her. I'll contact you in a few days when we've all gotten over our murderous thoughts."
She strode out of the bar and the spell that kept them locked against the wall kept up for a few minutes, no doubt giving her enough time to leave the area and return to a protected place. As soon as it released, Klaus had grabbed Caroline's arm. "Back to the house, now," he ordered, flashing away with the two of them before anyone could speak.
"He's going to be a joy to be around," Rebekah muttered, crossing her arms as Kol headed back to the bar. "What are you doing?"
"Might as well take some for the road. We're going to need it if we have to deal with him," Kol replied, picking up a few more bottles and grinned when Stefan joined him.
"He's got a point, Rebekah," the Salvatore murmured. "You know how much Klaus doesn't like someone else having any control."
"Top shelf only, boys," Rebekah sighed, and Kol grinned.
Maybe it hadn't gone precisely how he wanted, maybe he had angered a very powerful witch, but at least he'd had some fun and got to take part in some good old fashioned slaughter. Even if it had played out too quickly in his opinion. Rather nice day for him, even if they were sure to deal with a highly irritated Nik once they did return to the house.