A/N: As always thanks so much for reading and everything.
Just a head's up that I don't know if there will be an update next week or if there is it'll be later on in the week. I was out of town for the weekend-which is prime writing time-so I don't know when I'll have the chance to write and send off the next part before this weekend. But it will get updated!
And as always, a special thanks to my lovely beta (livingdeadblondegirl).
"never forget:
we walk on hell,
gazing at flowers."
Kobayashi Issa
"Let me go!" Caroline demanded, trying not to stumble backward when Klaus finally complied, slamming the door shut behind them. He had kept a tight grip on her arm as he flashed them across the city and away from Lucy, continued to keep it all the way into the house as he dragged her up the stairs and to the room she had claimed as her own. "So now what? You're going to try and lock me away in this room or something because newsflash I can so just break the hell out."
She would break the window and jump if she had to. There was no way she was staying inside, not when she could help, not when meeting up with Lucy could mean a quicker end to everything and she could try to get back to her normal life. Or as close to normal as she could possibly get anymore.
Caroline stepped back when she saw Klaus' eyes dilate, had a feeling she knew what he was going to try and do and she clenched her eyes shut, trying to kick him when he grabbed her arms again. "Don't you dare," she growled, pushing him back with all of her strength.
It sent the two of them crashing into the wall and she could hear the wood splinter as his back hit it. "Don't think for a second that I won't do whatever I can to make certain that you're safe, Caroline," he told her and she tried to hit him, tried to scrape her nails against his face, anything to get away from him.
"Why the hell is it so important that I'm safe?" Her voice rose with every word, nearing hysterics. She didn't understand why that was something he was so adamant about. Shouldn't he be throwing her to the wolves now? Manipulating her to get Lucy on their side. Something, anything, except this weird need for her to be safe and alive.
His grip faltered at her question, letting her go as she wrenched backward, stumbling away from him. Caroline peered through the hair that had fallen in front of her face, ready to shut her eyes if he tried compulsion, but she needed to look at him right then. Klaus' face was a mask of emotions, ones she couldn't quite determine. Confusion, uncertainty, and then rage she didn't think she had ever seen on him before.
"Do you think I want this?" he demanded, and Caroline found herself pressed against the far wall before she could even blink.
He was too close, his nose inches from her own and his arms boxing her in against the wall. "I considered killing you a time or two since Kol took you. First it was simply let him destroy you, toss you lifeless to the side of the road and I'd never have to worry about what you're causing inside of me. Or let the witches who entered your dreams take hold of you, turn you into that doll you so fear becoming," he began and she shivered at the thought, flinching when Klaus brushed a strand of hair off her face. "I could rip your heart out right now and end it all. Do you know how easy it would be? It'd barely take any effort at all."
She kept her hands at her side, not wanting to touch him. He was already close enough as it was, she didn't want to feel the rage that was coursing through his body. It was enough that she could smell it, could see it in the way he looked at her, rage mixed with something she was not giving name to. It was so much easier when it was lust. She could deal with that from him. Lust was easy to turn down, to manipulate, but the way he looked at her now frightened her to the very core.
That was a look that meant he wasn't going to give up. Not ever. And how long was she supposed to run from the immortal Hybrid? Forever? She didn't know if she could handle running from him for that long, pushing him away for that long. As stubborn as she was, Caroline knew that Klaus was just as stubborn, but he also knew far more about waiting than she did. He had way more practice at it.
"Then do it." Not that she wanted to die. It was the last thing she wanted, but she really needed him to stop looking at her like that.
This was not how her fantasy of being someone's first choice was supposed to play out. How had it all become so twisted and wrong? Probably had something to do with the fact she was a vampire. Instead of roses and chocolates she was receiving dead friends and tortured loved ones.
Klaus rubbed a thumb against her cheek and she froze, not liking the gesture, wanting him away far away from her again. "No," he told her, breath ghosting along her face and Caroline shoved him away, knowing he wouldn't have budged if he hadn't allowed it.
She could not handle that conversation right then. Would prefer to never finish it if she had her way. She needed to take back some control and steer it elsewhere. "I'm not staying in this room forever. You know that won't work. We need that witch—Lucy." That was her name, right? Caroline was 95% certain that was correct. The events of the last week or so were catching up with her and sometimes Caroline wasn't entirely sure which way was up any longer. "And she'll only talk to me. So you know I have to go."
"I won't be allowing you to leave my sight," Klaus replied, his tone hard and Caroline knew he wouldn't compromise on that. Whatever. She just wanted him out of her room and away from her. She needed time to wrap her head around things or to distract her mind from everything. All she knew for certain was that she really needed him to go.
"Then I guess you'll be coming with me." Like the witch really thought she'd get everything she was demanding. Well, no, maybe she did, but it seemed like they were all going to need to try and compromise their demands.
The front door opened and Caroline heard the others walk inside, Kol chatting about the alcohol he had procured and how they should really all get a bite to eat soon. Just the mention of it reminded Caroline that she hadn't eaten since the plane and she was craving blood. Unlike the others she hadn't fed on any witches.
She glanced back at Klaus, trying to keep her cravings under control, to not let him see how hungry she was, but like he'd been doing too often lately, he seemed to be able to see right through her act. "Freshen up, sweetheart. If you're to see the witch in a few days I can't have you hungry and weak," Klaus informed her, heading toward the door.
She didn't like the sound of any of that, had a feeling that getting her need for blood satiated wouldn't equal breaking into a hospital to steal some blood bags. "I'm not killing anyone," Caroline muttered, adamant about that. Just because it felt good when she'd done it didn't mean it was right. Not everything that felt good was right.
Klaus turned back toward her, arching his brows at her as he grinned, entirely too smug for her liking. "That's the problem with having Stefan teach you about vampirism, Caroline, about only ever seeing what's inside your tiny little town. You know nothing of our world. Only of the human one. I think it's time you opened your horizons a little, opened your eyes and truly embrace all that you've become."
She glared at him, trying not to show any reaction to his words, even as she wondered about what he was referring to, about how there could be some other world. They lived in the same damn world. There was no human one and a separate supernatural one. It was all one. Except she knew it wasn't. Once she had learned of witches her view on the world had altered slightly. Becoming a vampire had altered it even more but she had been clinging to her old life, to how things used to be, trying to keep the rest of it from creeping into her world. Even as it kept on coming, first with the other vampires coming into town, the werewolves, and then the Originals. Each one putting another crack in the world that was Mystic Falls and this latest one with Silas and the cure and all of it had been the last straw. The last week or so had finally broke the walls that she had been trying so hard to keep up, to keep out everything else.
There was no use in that anymore. Not with all she had seen so far, not with the few bits she had learned since Kol had abducted her, and Caroline knew there wasn't any going back to Mystic Falls after all that had happened. She would never be content there now, not when she had finally glimpsed the world and all it could offer. How was she supposed to go back to planning committees and school and all of that? The only thing that would have any draw to her was her mother, Liz Forbes was the only thing that would tie her back to that town, but Caroline knew her mother wouldn't be there forever. She kind of wished her mom wasn't there right then, that she was somewhere safe, not that Caroline even knew where would be safe anymore.
All Caroline knew was that she had two options. She could let all of the changes overwhelm her, cause her to cower and try to hide again from the world or she could embrace it and work to hold onto the core of who she was even as she learned to live in a world she was only just beginning to really see.
It scared her and thrilled her all at the same time.
"Don't worry," Klaus started, smirking and she didn't like that, didn't like that she knew he was about to say something that saw into her and rankled her all at the same time. "I'll be there to guide you the whole way. Be ready in an hour."
She threw the nearest thing to her, some old vase that was probably older than her, fuming as he closed the door, the vase smashing against the wall. God, he was infuriating.
Caroline could hear the others downstairs talking, the heated conversation beginning between Kol and Klaus, Rebekah piping in to egg them both on. The knock on her door a moment later explained why she hadn't been hearing Stefan's voice. "It's open," she called out, trying to regain her composure.
Stefan peeked in, arching a brow at the broken vase. "I wanted to make sure he didn't do anything to you."
Caroline shrugged. Like Stefan could really stop Klaus from doing anything. "Apparently we're all going to go out for a bite to eat now." Stefan frowned at that, hearing her emphasis on bite and she knew that he knew what she was referring to. "You're not going."
They both knew what could happen with Stefan being around human blood like that. Not that she even knew exactly what was going to happen or really even what Klaus was referring to, but she didn't want to chance Stefan becoming the Ripper. That was so not allowed to happen on her watch.
"Caroline," Stefan started and she shook her head.
"I can handle, Klaus." Sort of. Maybe. "And I can handle whatever and wherever he's going to throw at me. I've got the best control out of like all of us, right?" Wasn't that what they were always telling her? That they were always amazed by her amount of control, under some belief that it all came so easy to her. If only they knew how wrong they were on that. It wasn't easy, it could be a struggle a lot of days, but it was her choice and like hell was she letting anyone take her choices from her again.
"We never should have gotten you to play the part," Stefan murmured, and Caroline looked away then, not able to handle the guilt on her friend's face. "To keep on being the distraction."
"If wishes were horses and all." She shrugged. "It's fine." It wasn't really, but they couldn't exactly change it. She just needed to figure out how to manipulate all of it for her benefit as well. To help protect those that she loved and hopefully not lose her mind in the process. "I need to get ready, Stefan."
He didn't move for a moment, staring at her long and hard as if he were trying to pick out the right words to say. "No matter what, just remember who you are, Caroline," he told her and she nodded, watching him leave the room.
That was part of the problem, wasn't it? Exactly who was she now? That was something she had been trying to really figure out for a while and every time she thought she had an idea, that she had created the perfect plan to follow to become who she wanted to be another wrench was thrown into the mix and she was thrown for a loop, unsure which way was up. But that was fine. She would make it through that, just like she would make it through whatever Klaus was planning on showing her.
Like Scarlett O'Hara would say, After all…tomorrow is another day and Caroline was always a big believer in that, felt it was her life's motto. She would persevere. No matter what was thrown at her next.
The signs were beginning to show up everywhere, invading her dreams, those of her covens, and cropping up in the news as well. If one didn't know where to look for them or what to look for it wouldn't have been anything all that foreboding, but her family had been raised on the myth of Silas for generations, part of the Coven who had worked to eradicate the group of followers that had cropped up centuries before. They were always on the lookout for another group to be built, always waiting for the signs to appear. Each generation hoping that it wouldn't happen, each breathing a sigh of relief when another decade went by without any murmurings of his rise.
"I was wondering when you would call," Amaiya greeted as she answered the phone, not surprised that Lucy was reaching out to her. She had known the transition into being leader had been a hard one for the other girl; that Lucy was still getting her footing after Sanai's death, but it was pretty much sink or swim at the moment and Amaiya was confident that the other woman would swim. After all they were distantly related; cousins removed who even knew how many times, but both descending from the witch Ayana.
"We've hit a slight snag over here," Lucy told her and Amaiya frowned, thankful that none of her kids were with her on this shopping trip. She really didn't want to worry them and had a feeling this conversation would do just that.
"What happened?" Amaiya asked as she stopped at the red light.
"The Original family is in town. They killed a number of the coven and want to play a part in what happens next." Lucy's distaste in vampires was evident in her tone.
"If I recall correctly one of them was the reason that the first cult was wiped off the earth, Luce." Would it hurt to get that extra power to back up what needed to be done? As long as they were intent on keeping Silas down like the rest of them, she wasn't seeing the problem with using their strength. As long as they could control them. That might really be the issue.
"I don't work with vampires, Amaiya. You know that." Burned once and all that. She couldn't really blame Lucy. Working with vampires seemed to be the best way to either end up dead or with all of one's loved ones dying. Nothing good ever really seemed to come of working with or for them.
"It's getting worse and you know it. We're all going to need to do things we would rather not when it comes down to it." Sacrifices would need to be made on all of their parts. A little uncomfortableness in regards to partnering up was the least of their worries. "Working with them to get what we need and stop who we need to doesn't mean you have to like them or enjoy it. Just means you need to do your part."
"There's more." Lucy sighed on the other end of the call. "And this part is…the one they have for channeling all the power? It's Bonnie Bennett."
"What?" Amaiya didn't mean to slam on the breaks at that, silently waving an apology to the car that skidded to a halt behind her as she started driving again. The last direct descendant to the Bennett line being that funnel was not good, it was the exact opposite of good. How had they even roped her into that?
"I don't think she has a clue what she's doing, 'Maiya. When I met her she didn't want anything to do with any of this. But I sensed that good in her. This…this isn't her choice." Amaiya didn't really find any of that comforting. A manipulated Bonnie wasn't exactly promising either.
"You focus on your tasks, Lucy. I'll get my Coven to figure out where she's at," Amaiya told her. The sooner the better. Maybe they could break the hold that the followers had over the girl. No doubt the damn Valerie was behind it. She was a constant thorn in their side and needed to be dealt with. "I just got into the driveway. I'll call you later after I talk to the Coven."
She hung up and took the Bluetooth out of her ear, throwing it into her purse as she popped the trunk. Amaiya went through the list of possible locations Valerie and her group could be based on what all her Coven had been tracking as she headed toward the door. "If you want me to make dinner I'm going to need help unloading the car," she called out as she entered the house, freezing as soon as she stepped inside.
There were bloody footprints on the floor, a streak of it along the wall as if someone had run their hand across it. She should have turned around and gotten back into the car, headed to the next Coven member's house with all that was going on, but she couldn't do it. Her kids were home and she needed to know what had happened to them, to know if they were alright or not.
She followed the blood trail, uncertain what she would find but ready to let out some witch power once she figured it out. Whatever she expected it wasn't to find her teen daughters draped across the kitchen table, her son on the floor. She ran toward them, falling at her knees at the youngest, and reaching forward to find a pulse, anything to indicate that they were alive. But there was nothing.
Amaiya picked up the bloody knife that lay beside her son, wondering who would have done such a thing.
"Don't worry. They're not dead-dead," a voice started behind her, and Amaiya whirled around, sending out the spell and watching with some satisfaction as the woman behind her snarled, clutching her head as pain erupted through it. "Katherine?"
But why would that vampire…it didn't make sense. She nicked herself on the knife and dropped it, letting it clang onto the floor beside her. Amaiya didn't expect the set of fangs that tore into her hand to come from behind her, and she faltered, falling back as she realized that her eldest had been turned. No.
"I figured out that she was the only one who got your gift," the Katherine lookalike said. "And I'm supposed to end the lines. Make it so that even if they do come back they won't have access to the magic. So now she's like me and has no access to magic."
Amaiya flinched at that, knowing that this wasn't some random attack. This had been planned, orchestrated even and she had a feeling she knew exactly by whom. She needed to tell the Coven, needed to give Lucy a warning. They had no clue what was happening.
"And my name is Elena. Not Katherine."
The vampire stepped forward, pushing Amaiya's daughter off of her as she ripped into her own wrist before forcing blood down Amaiya's throat. In a quick motion she snapped the witch's neck. "And now, neither will you." Elena looked over at the fledgling one who looked absolutely famished. "Eat your sister but try to leave the boy for her when she wakes up. I have another house to go see."
There was no rest for her. Not until she completed her tasks, one by one, and maybe then she would finally be put out of her misery.
Nearly fifteen hours and over $1200 later, Liz Forbes landed in Amsterdam. She had spent the time in the Richmond airport contacting the few people she had known through Bill before they had broken up, the ones who she had remained in contact with even when she had tried to keep her focus on her hometown instead of the outside world. A few phone calls later and she had a contact in the city who was supposed to be picking her up and helping her hopefully locate her daughter.
It was making sure that the contact didn't do anything that could end up harming Caroline that Liz was most worried about. Most in Bill and Steven's line of work didn't care for vampires, would take on the same stance as Steven had and want Caroline put down. They wouldn't accept that being a vampire hadn't changed her little girl, they'd only see a monster and the last thing Liz wanted to do was bring her daughter any more pain.
Her goal was to get her away from the Originals and after that she wasn't exactly certain. Back to Mystic Falls might not be the best idea. Maybe she could get Caroline some money out of her savings and get her daughter to go hide somewhere. As much as Steven's worry about something else that was going on, something she had been picking up on with Bonnie and Elena missing, with the Originals looking into something that she didn't know about, Liz' biggest concerns were in regards to Klaus' intentions towards her daughter.
Liz had seen how he treated his hybrids, his siblings, everyone else in town. She had seen Stefan's troubled expression when she had mentioned that Caroline was with Klaus, Damon's as well. She didn't want Caroline anywhere near that volatile creature. One bad moment and he could snuff out her daughter's life in the blink of an eye.
She departed the plane with the other passengers, heading out into the airport terminal and toward baggage claim. A woman held a sign with her name on it and Liz headed toward her, taking note of her surroundings as she did so. It never hurt to be a little careful. Though she did trust her friends in regards to her own life. Just not Caroline's.
"Liz Forbes?" the woman asked with a smile as she lowered the sign, her accent was heavy but understandable. "I am Frigga and Sam asked me to offer you assistance in finding your daughter."
"Yes." Liz followed the woman out of the airport. She didn't have any luggage, there hadn't been any time to pack, and had simply bought a suitcase at the Target near Steven's house and thrown some clothes into it so all she had was her carry-on. "I'm not even sure she's still here but it's the last known whereabouts for her."
If they had followed Steven's information which Liz was counting on them doing. She was at a loss on what to do if they hadn't. "But she was traveling with a group of others. That I need to get her away from."
"Did she go with them willingly?" Frigga asked as they got headed toward her car.
"No." It had definitely not been willing.
"Who is she with? That might help me to locate her," Frigga nodded toward the car. "There has been a bit of a spike in supernatural activity in Amsterdam over the last week so if she is here and it's with someone with a bit of a profile that will make it easier. If not then we can circulate some of the hotspots."
Liz deposited the carryon in the backseat and got into the passenger's, waiting for Frigga to start the car. She hadn't ever heard of the Originals before they headed into town, even with all of the Founder's Council's lore on vampires, they hadn't ever cropped up. She wondered if the other woman would have any idea about them. Bill had seemed to know of them after she had filled him in more on what was happening in the town, after she had threatened him with death if he ever came near their daughter again with the stunt he had pulled. But he hadn't been all that forthcoming with his information and she hadn't tried prying it out of him, more concerned with Caroline's well-being.
"She's with the vampires known as the Originals." Guess she'd see how well-known they were in the rest of the world.
Frigga's grip on the steering wheel tightened, her knuckles becoming white with the strain. "They are a myth."
"Believe me, they're not. They've been terrorizing my town for the last year." Give or take a few months.
"If they are true and they are here, I know the witch who will know all about their whereabouts. We shall go see Lucy." Frigga sighed, turning on her blinker. "Your daughter certainly knows how to pick her trouble."
Liz sighed, looking out at window. "You have no idea."
Compelling the car from their neighbor had been an easy enough task, one that Klaus had carried out by the time Caroline had ventured out of her room, ready to go. He'd half expected that he would need to go into it and drag her out, force her to come along and do as he suggested, but once again she had surprised him. Something he quite enjoyed when it came to the baby vampire. He could never be quite certain how she would react all the time. Sometimes he knew precisely how she would behave, but every so often she threw him for a loop and he savored those moments.
Stefan and Rebekah were staying in, and as much as he would have enjoyed prying out Stefan's fun side, he preferred to not have their company. It was bad enough that Kol was tagging along. Even worse that he wouldn't stay still in the back seat of the sedan and continued to lean forward for attention. Whether from himself or from Caroline.
He really should have grabbed a dagger or two before leaving Mystic Falls.
"I want your phone," Caroline piped up finally, the first words she'd spoken since they had gotten in the car.
"My my, she's a demanding little thing, isn't she, Nik?" Kol murmured, strumming his fingers on the arm rest in between the two front seats.
"You said I could call my mom. I haven't done that yet." Klaus had to hand it to her for ignoring his brother's obvious jabs. Something he wasn't all that good at doing.
Klaus fished the phone out of his pocket and handed it over. "Do you know how to dial a number overseas, Caroline?"
"Nope." He enjoyed the way the p popped when she said it, showcasing her annoyance with him. "But since you said you'd be along to help guide me I'm sure you'll offer up that lovely little bite of wisdom."
Klaus grinned at that, easily relaying what she needed to dial first before the number she wanted to call. No doubt it was her mother; he knew she hadn't contacted her while he had been around. Of course she could have when he had gone on his relaxing little outing with the blonde and her friends, but considering Caroline still didn't know how to dial internationally he highly doubted that was the case. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes as he continued to drive, watching her worry her bottom lip with her teeth as she waited for an answer.
He could almost taste her disappointment when she lowered the phone into her lap. "It says she's not in service."
Curious. "You can try again later." He held out his hand for the phone, pleased that she handed it over to him, even if he didn't like how forlorn she looked.
"So where are we headed?" Kol asked, popping in between the seats again and Klaus grimaced, wishing he had left his brother behind. "We left Amsterdam a couple of miles ago."
"Haarlem. We should be there in about twenty minutes," Klaus replied, knowing that wouldn't be enough for Kol. "I have an old friend out there who is still running an establishment that she's had since the 1980s. Think, Turkey in the 1800s."
"I quite enjoyed Turkey then. We got along smashingly," Kol nodded with approval. "Of course that was before you got miffed over something or the other and I left for half a decade to avoid your dagger fetish."
"You called attention to us with your antics." Something they couldn't afford with Mikael always a step or two behind them. Something that Kol never seemed to be able to get through his thick skull.
"I was just having a bit of fun," Kol replied, and reached over to touch Caroline's hair.
Klaus narrowed his eyes, ready to slam on the breaks, but she smacked his brother's hand away. "I'd say we could all have a wonderfully good time but Nik doesn't like to share until he's bored," Kol murmured as he sat back. "Pity he doesn't look like he'll be getting bored of you anytime soon."
"Another word, Kol," Klaus warned, eyeing his brother through the rearview mirror.
"Yes, yes, my liver and all," Kol laughed, strumming his fingers along the seat.
Klaus gripped the steering wheel tighter, his entire body on edge because of his brother and his statements. There wasn't any fear from Caroline though and he glanced toward the girl, noting that she looked bored of the conversation. Perhaps she had learned to mostly ignore whatever came out of his brother's mouth or maybe it was all an act. Though he didn't smell any fear from her. He did note that she was purposefully not looking at him, her gaze on anything but him, no doubt playing back to their conversation in her room only a few hours before.
The same one that still played out in his head, confusing him and irritating him all in one go. He'd need to find someone to entertain Kol once they arrived at their destination. Klaus needed to have some private time with the girl and he was not about to let anything stop him from getting it. Least of all his little brother.
"You're sure this will give us some more insight into everything?" Stefan looked around at the old books that Rebekah had scattered on the table.
At first when she had suggested they do their own recon mission for the cure, he had thought she might have drank a little too much of the alcohol they had taken and once he had realized she was serious he definitely hadn't expected their mission to end with them at the university library.
"I think it's infinitely better than us relying solely on what the witches are telling us." Rebekah didn't bother looking up from the text she was carefully flipping through.
All of the books she had picked out were from a couple hundred years back, all had been either on display behind glass for eyes only, or in one of the back rooms. Only to be taken out by those with special permission and who knew how to properly handle them. He could read a few of the books, knowing some of the languages, but the older ones were all up for her to translate.
"Do you honestly think any of them are going to give the entire picture of what's happening? Witches are all about the balance, Stefan, and considering what my mother was hell-bent on doing only a few months ago, we upset the balance." She skimmed her finger along one line of text, pausing for a second as she furrowed her brow. "You would think that would have them clamoring to get the cure, to force it down our throats so they could restore the balance. Yet, they're not. Seems rather…what's the saying nowadays? Fishy? I believe that's it."
Stefan couldn't discount that she raised a good point. But he also thought the fact that the witches they had run into weren't advocating them finding the cure probably meant that Silas really was a big threat, that what they all feared was coming to pass really could equal the end of the world as they knew it. There just hadn't been an explanation for why the cure was tied into Silas.
From what Shane had told them Stefan knew that the Silas myth had originated before the Originals were even born, so how could a cure that was apparently with him do anything to vampires? Silas might have been immortal but it never said anything about him drinking blood in the mythology that Shane had been telling them. There were so many unanswered questions and he did want answers because Rebekah had been right. If there was a chance to get the cure without bringing Silas into the world then he did want it. Even if Elena wouldn't take it, even if it didn't do anything to help her, in the end Stefan wanted it for himself.
"Maybe they're not clamoring for it because getting it means releasing Silas," Stefan suggested, closing the book he had been looking through and reached to pick up another one. He watched Rebekah tense at that idea, had a feeling she had been trying to bury that option deep down, not wanting to face that it might be the reality of the situation.
"Always so pessimistic, aren't you?" she muttered, slamming one of the books and breaking its spine. The library was really not going to like that. "Why would Alexander have known of it then? If it was something they wanted locked away to never see the light of day, why would they have let others know about it? We knew nothing of the cure until he came into our lives."
Stefan didn't know what to say to that. He knew Alexander was a touchy subject for Rebekah and couldn't blame her for that considering how that relationship had played out. "But then why didn't they use that on you instead of the daggers?"
"They didn't have it. The map led to it, I don't know why they never followed it there and like my brother told you, once they were dead the map was gone and we never heard a whisper about the Brotherhood ever again." Rebekah trailed her fingers along the rest of the books. "But they knew of it. They were created to put an end to us and they knew of the cure, they had the map on their bloody bodies, Stefan. If the daggers hadn't worked—which they didn't in the end—but if they had been able to get away with their lives then I'm certain that would have been what they went after next as their option."
Stefan frowned, thinking it all over. If that had been their next option, and she made a good case for it being so, then she was right. The cure would have to be something they could have gotten without waking the other immortal, right? Unless the witch who created the Brotherhood hadn't cared about waking him. But considering what his rise seemed to bring about, Stefan couldn't see many witches being okay with that. It was a puzzle and one he didn't think they would really figure out until they actually got their hands on the cure.
"So what are you expecting from this study session, Rebekah? You think one of them will just happen to mention the cure?" He really wasn't sure it was something they were going to find in the texts on the table.
"Considering I've already found countless mentions of my family, though not all of them accurate and most of them quite distorted even in their bits of truth, yes, I do. So quit your complaining, and look through the ones you can actually make heads or tails of." Rebekah shoved another book toward him. "Nik may be occupied for a few hours trying to entertain Caroline and failing miserably, but he won't be gone forever, and I'd like to be back at the house as if we hadn't gone anywhere well before he returns."
Stefan flinched at the idea of Caroline with Klaus, knowing she was going somewhere she really had no frame of reference for. He worried for how she would react to it, what all Klaus would try to make her do, but Caroline was stubborn. He knew she could hold her own. He just hoped that the two butting heads wouldn't end in bloodshed. Or at least not hers.
He picked up the book Rebekah had picked out for him and sighed, leaning back to try and get comfortable as he started looking for any mention to a cure in the myths and legends of whatever region he was currently reading about in regards to vampires. It was definitely like finding a needle in a haystack but Rebekah was right, his pessimism wasn't helping. Her blind hope was going to end up wrecking her though if nothing came from their research and he really wasn't looking forward to that if the outcome wasn't one that she wanted.
Elijah had been trying to ignore the sinking feeling that had been expanding inside of him since he had taken Katherine to Italy. He had wanted to try again, to rekindle the fire that had never fully extinguished for either of them. With Klaus focused on his hybrids and his other siblings finally undaggered and living their lives…aside from Finn, but there was nothing to do for that brother anymore, it had seemed time for him to focus on his own happiness.
No longer did he need to hunt down Klaus to try and locate where their siblings were located. Nor did he need to run from his father or try to make up for his own mistakes in the past with Klaus. He could live as he saw fit and do as he pleased and what Elijah had wanted most was a chance with his Katerina.
He hadn't been sure she would want the same after everything they had endured together. The chase, the hunt, compelling her to the tomb and everything in between, along with her own lies and betrayals. But when he had tracked her down in New Orleans she had been pleased to try again as well, both of them working to pick up at some point where they had left off.
But the text messages had started to crop up. The ones she tried to answer quickly and then flashed him that smile, the one meant to distract, to manipulate. It was nothing like the one he had grown to enjoy back before her life had altered; that almost innocent one when he had known her as a human. Elijah knew too much had happened, too much time had passed since those days for her ever to truly be that girl again, but he wondered if she was in there somewhere at all.
She'd been a survivor back then, he'd sensed that, but this manipulation, this malice he saw in her interactions with others hadn't been there. Or perhaps he'd been too enamored to see it then. Not that it changed how he felt for her, how he desired to have her in his bed, at his side.
But the secrets from him, that he could not, would not abide.
He found Katherine out by the pool; saw her tuck the phone back under the towel as she sensed his approach. The fact she rose and pressed her body up against his in greeting only solidified in his mind that she was hiding things from him.
"No secrets, was that not what we promised this time around?" Elijah asked, staring down at her as he grabbed hold of her wrists. He didn't hold them tightly, but kept a firm grip on them, the disappointment evident in his voice, his gaze.
"I could say the same to you, Elijah," Katherine replied, pulling away from him and he allowed her to do so, crossing his arms as he regarded her.
"I have been nothing but honest with you since we met in New Orleans." He had no secrets. Not anymore.
"Then how come I found out about a cure for vampirism from a nobody in Mystic Falls instead of you?" she demanded and he blinked, wondering for a moment what she was going on about.
He hadn't thought of the cure in centuries, had given up on it being an actual reality long ago. "What do you know of the cure?" he didn't mean it to sound like an accusation, but Katherine Pierce knowing of the cure was probably not a good thing. Nor was anyone from Mystic Falls. Elijah held up a hand before she could reply, seeing her indignant expression. "I haven't heard talk of a cure in more centuries than I can remember, Katherine. I honestly have not thought about it almost as long as that. It is not something I would have brought up because it isn't something I believe to truly exist."
"Then why are your sister and your brothers currently on a mission to try and get it?" she continued, pausing as she watched him. She must have seen the confusion in his expression because she seemed to let her guard down a little and stepped toward him. "You had no idea, did you? Did you know that Klaus had daggered Rebekah again? She's obviously not anymore, but he had done so."
Elijah clenched his fists at the thought of that. He should have taken the damn daggers with him but when it all had been going down with Alaric getting out of town had been the priority and then with Niklaus' supposed death…he hadn't desired to return to the town. The phone call from his brother letting him know he was fine had been enough. Elijah had needed the space from the family drama and wanted to do his own thing. How he wished Rebekah had been strong enough to get away from Klaus as well and head off to have her own life.
But she had always needed one of them around, wanted to be with one of them when they traveled, usually choosing Klaus and even when she didn't eventually their little sister always found her way back to him.
"What if we could get it first, Elijah? You know he'll want it for Elena since she's a vampire," Katherine told him, reminding him of that news he hadn't responded all that well to either. "So he can turn her back into a human and create more hybrids. It's going to be her or me, and I have no intention of giving up immortality with you." She reached up and brushed her fingers against his cheek. "But what if we get it first and bargain for my freedom? So that we don't have to hide from him, always worried about what he might do if he finds us?"
"Katherine," Elijah sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't go against his family in such a way. If they were looking for the cure he should call them and figure out exactly what was happening.
"Why don't we deserve our chance at happiness, Elijah?" she asked, pulling away from him. "Why does it always revolve around him?"
She grabbed her things and headed toward the house, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Family above all, wasn't it? Always and forever? Somewhere along the way those phrases had become skewed and Elijah didn't know if they would ever truly be what they were supposed to ever again. He stared out at the pool, watching the rays of sunlight dance along the water's surface and sighed again, knowing he had a lot to think about, a lot to consider. What was the right path this time?
Back at the house Katherine looked out the window, watching Elijah as he contemplated all that had been revealed. She grinned and plucked her phone out from under the towel, sending off a message. The doubt had been set in his head and she'd do what she could to help it fester and grow, getting him to see her side of things.
She would get her freedom and Elijah.
And if everything worked out how she wanted, Klaus would get nothing. Just as it should be.
To say Caroline was out of her element was an understatement, one that she was pretty sure had big red lights all around it, flashing brightly to showcase just how new she was to everything that was happening. From the outside the place had looked like a regular old bar, just another place in the new city in a language that she couldn't read, but she knew some of the labels in the window that were promoting different beers on tap. Even if the words weren't what she was used to seeing for them.
But she had known before they even stepped inside that this wouldn't be anything like the grill back home or even the bar they had been in earlier. Not with how she could smell the excess of blood from the car, had breathed it in, could practically taste it, and it had taken every ounce of control not to let her fangs descend at the smell.
The bouncer at the door let them in after a quick once over and she had a feeling he knew exactly what they were, though she kind of doubted that he knew who Klaus and Kol were by sight. Otherwise she was sure he'd have a healthy dose of fear about him because she could hear his heartbeat, could almost see the blood pumping through his veins. That was how alert she was to it all.
Kol left their side almost as soon as they got inside, heading off into the throng of people who were there. It was packed, something she really hadn't expected to see, and the amount of heartbeats mixing with the heavenly aroma was making it so incredibly hard for her to control her body. But she wouldn't give Klaus the satisfaction of her reaction and held it all in, forced down her own desires as she looked over at him before heading toward an empty booth.
She swallowed hard as she walked through the crowd, trying to slide between people before she sat down at the booth, eyes widening slightly when she realized that there were two vampires openly feeding on the girl in between them. What the hell had she gotten herself involved in?
Klaus slid into the booth beside her, sitting entirely too close to her for comfort, but she almost wanted his presence. If she was focused on that then she could almost block out everything else that was happening around them. "Owned by a witch like the other place we were at. However this one has the good sense to cater to our kind. She gets a little blood from those who order something to drink and her staff are as good as new after they've had a go," Klaus told her as he draped his arms on the back of the booth, looking out at the scene with a smile. "Some are compelled to forget, but most are paid quite handsomely for their service. Though, there is a chance of death each night. Never know when someone might lose control."
He dipped his head down, breath tickling her ear. "Would you like a bite?"
Caroline looked over at him, glaring in response. "Was this supposed to wow me or scare me?" she asked, turning her body so she could get a good look at him. "I'm not quite sure what you're going for here. If you wanted me to be at top form or whatever for when we see Lucy then we could have just gone and got some damn blood bags and there, done. Ready to go. But no, instead you're all adamant that we come here."
Klaus' smile wasn't at all pleasant as he looked at her but she didn't fear his reply. "It's supposed to do nothing more than show you what this world has to offer. To expand your tiny horizons. All you know is your small town; that place in Virginia where you were born and where you died. Where you were reborn into something greater and while you may have an amazing amount of control, Caroline, you fail to grasp that you too are a monster. That you need to feed. That you do yourself a disservice with those bags just as Stefan does with his bunny diet."
"I don't need to feed. I can survive on blood bags just fine and maybe it's not quite the same as directly from the vein but it does the job," she pointed out, hating that he tsked at her. She was so close to smacking him for that.
"You could acquire them with ease in Mystic Falls. Do you think it will be as easy a task here in this city? Or when we're traveling elsewhere and there isn't a hospital around for miles. Shall you take a bag or two from the local clinic, something that they might need the next day to save a patient that you just condemned to death because you were too afraid to feed?" Klaus mused and her retort died in her throat at his implication. She hadn't thought about those kind of consequences or the extra security measures that probably took place out of tiny Mystic Falls.
It was doubtful that the clinic or hospital staff was on vervain but taking a bag could result in dire consequences for someone else. "I'll just supplement when we're out of the big cities." That should be easy enough to do. Alcohol was something she could pretty much always get access to.
"And if it goes on longer than a few days and you finally reach your breaking point, killing the first person you attack because you didn't want to feed a little each day?" Klaus continued, beckoning for a server to step forward. "When the scent of it overwhelms you like it nearly did in New Orleans with that child at the pool?"
Or like it had before he had arrived when she had been with Kol?
No. She didn't feed from the vein. She didn't need to, she didn't want to. She was a good vampire and she didn't go around eating and killing people. Not that he had really said she'd be killing except for when she lost control because of a lack of blood but still, she wasn't going to just change her ways, her morals, because he was able to play on some of her deeper fears. She wasn't going to let him manipulate her like that.
"Then I remove myself from the damn temptation," Caroline told him, turning away from him and looking out at the bar. "Like I am going to do right now."
She just needed to get out of the bar, to get out into the street and force herself to breathe through the need like Stefan had taught her. Klaus' hand on her arm, not gripping just a light touch had her pausing and she looked at him. "Has it ever crossed your mind that I am trying to help?" he inquired and she didn't like that look, she had seen it once before back at the ball when he had shown her his art, that earnest look that almost had her forgetting who he was and seeing an actual boy instead.
It wasn't exactly a facade but it wasn't who he was anymore either. Or perhaps it wasn't who he had been for a long time, a part of himself that he hadn't allowed to shine through in so very long and for some reason it seemed to peek out with her.
You know the reason. Even if she didn't want to give name to it.
"Do you think I want you to lose control, Caroline? To attack some bystander and kill them because you haven't had a drink in some time?" he continued and she looked away from him, sighing as she balled her fists in her lap. "I'd much rather you take your fill here, learn to enjoy and not fear doing so. To use moderation since it seems you're so keen on your meal not ending up dead. I can go either way really."
Caroline never got the opportunity to reply to him as a woman had approached them, waving off the server who had been on her way to the table. "If it isn't the infamous Klaus," she greeted as she stopped in front of the table. "You must be here for pleasure as you didn't bother murmuring your name to my current bouncer. No jolt of fear rushing through the place because you entered. Or are you getting soft in your older age?"
"Careful, Sylvie," Klaus warned, and while he smiled, Caroline could sense the threat behind it, the way he flashed his teeth at the woman in front of them. "You know how I react when I'm displeased."
"I remember your tantrum in '87 just fine," Sylvie replied, hands pressing down onto the table in front of them. "I would rather not lose half my people tonight so state your business and I'll help how I can."
"What do you know of the witch called Lucy in Amsterdam?" Klaus asked and Caroline sank back against the booth, realizing this outing hadn't just been to tempt her into feeding.
"She's part of an old Coven, though she's not from its branch. Different one though they all go back to a common ancestor," Sylvie replied, waving off another person who was coming by with complimentary drinks. "Powerful witch in her own right, with that Coven backing her she's even more so. Took over after Sanai finally passed."
"I'm well aware of how much power that witch potentially has at her disposal," Klaus replied, motioning for the drinks to come back and Sylvie sighed, beckoning the person back to the area.
She waited until the server deposited the drinks and left before continuing. "You always did seem to know more than you let on at times. The witch Ayana is her ancestor. Created more problems than solutions, but that seems to be what happens when you're solely focused on keeping the balance."
"And the Coven she's with now is also of that line?" Klaus continued as he picked up the drinks, placing one in front of Caroline.
She stared at it, could smell the blood that was in the drink and hated him for putting it within her reach. "There are a few branches of it, though none as powerful as the direct descendants, but they've got quite the punch and all together they're one of the more powerful groups in Europe. If not the entire world unless the direct line has created her own Coven of witches closely descended from the same line. But last I heard that kid is still in high school and learning the ropes," Sylvie replied.
Caroline snorted at that. High school attendance kind of seemed like a huge joke by that point for all of them and she wasn't sure if 'learning the ropes' really defined what all Bonnie had been doing. It was more like being thrown headfirst into the lion's den and only having a small knife to defend herself. Though her friend had showed she was more than capable of big spells, even if Caroline did think it was taking too much out of Bonnie at times.
"I know you've met your fair share of Covens, Klaus, but this one will pack more of a punch if Lucy utilizes it correctly. I would say try not to get on her bad side but something tells me that you already have," Sylvie continued, and Klaus shrugged.
Caroline broke her train of thought, noticing that Sylvie was looking at her. She didn't like the attention or the curious way she was being looked at. The last witch who had assessed her like that had ended up dead and she really didn't want Klaus killing anymore witches. Or really anyone.
"That'll be all," Klaus stated, effectively dismissing the witch and Caroline watched the woman walk away, pleased that she didn't glance back at them. She felt Klaus' gaze on her but she wouldn't look at him, tried not to look at the glass in front of her either. "What harm could a little sip do, Caroline?"
That had her glaring at him. "I don't want it. I don't want any of it."
Because this was more than her giving into one drink, she could tell that much. If she drank it then she was heading down a path that had dire consequences, just like enjoying the damn sightseeing with him. Doing those things equaled enjoying his company, equaled giving into a part of her that she didn't want to give hold to, one that was inexplicably drawn to the Hybrid sitting next to her. And that part had to be squashed like a bug, no matter how much it craved to be released.
"I'll be at the car," she muttered and flashed out of the door and into the cool night air.
Caroline tried to do the breathing technique, to push it all down and away, to regain control. She almost had it, almost had forced it all back down when the smell of blood hit her again like a ton of bricks. It wasn't from inside the bar, that she could push away.
No this was outside and it was much too close, calling for her to drink it, to down it all. Her fangs were out and she knew her veins were throbbing, her eyes darkening as she caught wind of the direction it was coming from. Her feet took her toward it before she could stop them; finding Kol out back with a woman in his arms, blood trailing down her neck as he drank.
He looked up at her, grinning brightly. "Hello, darling. Want a taste?"
No.
No no no.
"Abigail, be a dear and go see my friend, Caroline," he directed the woman, and Caroline stepped back as the woman looked at her and started to walk toward her, sweeping hair off her neck and exposing the wound. "You don't want it all to go to waste."
An arm grabbed Caroline around the waist, pulling her back against a body and before she knew it Caroline felt a blood wrist pressed to her mouth. She fought it for a moment, not wanting to drink but instinct prevailed and she bit into the flesh, drinking. She knew this blood, had tasted it before.
Klaus.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, still holding onto her tightly, letting her satiate her need with his blood.
"She looked hungry. I was only trying to help," Kol replied, tugging the woman back to him. "Besides, isn't that what you were wanting sweet, little Caroline to do, brother? Drink from the vein? I almost had her doing it."
"On my terms," Klaus growled, and her hands curled around his wrist, holding him there as she drank, drowning out their argument as she focused on the blood.
Moments later she was in the passenger seat of the car and Klaus was in the driver's side, starting it without Kol. She didn't ask about him, had a feeling he'd make his way back to the house on his own as Klaus started driving them back toward Amsterdam.
She had nearly drank from that woman, had nearly given in and let her bloodlust take control, something she hadn't done in ages. But she refused to break down in front of Klaus, to show that kind of weakness. She could feel him in her veins, running through her body and she remembered Stefan telling her how blood sharing was an intimate act between vampires. And hadn't she done that with Klaus twice now? Or did it not count because he hadn't had any of hers? Caroline wasn't too sure on how that worked and she wasn't about to ask.
And she felt so damn high, like she could take on the world with the blood that had rushed through her veins, satisfying her need to feed. How could she feel so damn good, so euphoric when she had nearly killed someone? It was too much to deal with right then and there and so Caroline attempted to block it all out, to try and compartmentalize every emotion and take back some of her control.
The journey back to the house was a silent one and when they got to the house she got out of the car and headed toward the house, not wanting to be near him. She needed a shower, she could feel the blood staining her face, knew it was there. His blood. She needed it off of her.
"Caroline," Klaus called out and she whirled around to face him, curls whipping in the wind.
"No. I am not talking to you right now. I don't care what your intentions were, how you thought you were helping or whatever harebrained scheme you had in that head of yours," she told him, shaking with fury. "I need to not look at you for a few hours and sleep and shower and all of that. So leave me the hell alone until morning."
She stalked off at that, not giving him time to answer, though Caroline knew if Klaus had truly wanted to say something he could easily have stopped her. She headed straight to her room, easily bypassing Stefan and Rebekah and went straight to the shower. It wasn't until she was under the spray of it that Caroline finally allowed the tears to come, to release all of the pent up frustration with what had happened come out.
Caroline exited the bathroom nearly an hour later and wasn't exactly surprised to find the slip of paper waiting for her on the bed. She wrapped the robe tighter around her body, glancing around to make sure he wasn't still in the room. She expected to see her face, but she hadn't expected to see it with her vampire features on display.
She should have hated it, should have ripped it up into tiny pieces but instead she stared at it, sensing the fierceness of the girl in it, seeing the inner strength that Klaus had expertly captured. It was weird to look at that image and see the beauty in it when it was showing a monster. She didn't know what to do with it, how to deal with the mixed emotions stirring in her and so she put it down on the bedside table and turned off the light before curling up in the bed.
Everything would make sense in the morning. Or at least she'd get some sleep so she would have the strength to tackle all that had happened because Caroline knew that no matter what she had to pick herself up and face the next day. There wasn't any other option for her. She refused to let it all make her crumble and fall. She was stronger than that now.
Life might bend her, but it wouldn't break her. She wouldn't let it.