A/N: Sorry for the delay! But here, have an extra long chapter to make up for the wait. And thank you all so much for reading. :)
Let not light see my black and deep desires — Macbeth
Klaus had to hand it to Caroline, she was actually keeping a fair amount of distance between the two of them, and alternating directions once he picked up her trail again. Part of that was because he was allowing it. If he'd utilized his full speed he would have caught her before she ever stepped foot into the woods, but her laughter as she flashed about, working to dodge his movements had him letting her go as she pleased, prolonging the inevitable capture.
He found her in a clearing by a river, realizing a moment later that it was the exact one he'd washed the vervain off of her in, the one where they'd shared their first kiss. Her tattered dress was still by the bank of it and he saw her standing near it, gazing out at the water. He wondered which part of that encounter she was remembering in that moment as she turned around to look at him, a carefree smile gracing her face.
Klaus hadn't seen one that bright since the Mystic Falls pageant when they'd been laughing over her application. He arched a brow, ready to comment on that, not at all surprised when she spoke first. Caroline never was one for prolonged silences.
"Did you ever play hide and seek when you were a kid? I dunno if you'd have called it that but really what other words are there for it? So like maybe you'd have called it that but in whatever it was you spoke a thousand years ago," she rambled, smoothing down her shirt as she glanced around the area. "We used to play it when I was little. Bonnie, Elena and I. Sometimes Jeremy would tag along if we let him. Or Matt. Tyler wasn't part of our group back then. Still…not really even in high school. I mean he did football with Matt and then he and I were together but he was never really in it."
She was frowning then and Klaus simply nodded, not quite sure where her line of thinking was currently headed and knew it was best to let Caroline get it all out. "I don't understand any of this. You've hurt all of them. Like every single person in my life who matters to me in some way or another. You killed his mom. You drove Tyler out of town and you're wanting to kill him. Like you can't tell me that it's not something that's constantly going on in your head, all the ways you're going to torture him before he finally dies."
"Actually, I haven't thought of my wayward hybrid in quite some time. Had more important matters on my mind." The look he gave her allowed for no question that he was speaking of her and not Silas and the rest of it.
Caroline was doing that adorable quirk of running her hands through her hair, a telltale sign that she was either frustrated or uncertain, probably a mixture of both. "See. Like you need to stop that. You're the bad guy. I cannot be like developing feelings for the bad guy. I did that once—and okay I didn't know he was the bad guy at the time and they weren't really even feelings, more of the whole just lust and wanting to be wanted—but that ended really badly for me."
Klaus really didn't like being compared to the elder Salvatore, especially not in Caroline's mind, but he held his tongue, letting her continue uninterrupted, too caught up in the fact she'd just admitted to developing feelings. He'd known she was. Had known she couldn't stuff him into that box she and her friends had labeled for him for quite some time. Though his own actions certainly hadn't helped with that in recent months but he couldn't allow Tyler and his hybrids' blatant betrayal go unpunished.
She was still talking though and he forced himself to focus on that. "And you just waltz into my life, into all of our lives really, but the way you did into mine with the bracelets and the talk of the world and the damn horse picture. I was so certain, so so so so certain that you were totally doing it all as like a way to get an in with the group or just to screw with Tyler at first. Like why not, that's how it usually goes for me. It's why Damon didn't kill me at first and you're supposed to be way worse than he is—and sometimes you are—but it wasn't that. It's real. All of it." She paused, nervous energy seeming to spill from her as she wrung her hands, smoothed her shirt again or worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "And it's like twisted beyond belief that what I seriously thought were cheesy lines weren't. They were genuine questions. You really did want to know what all of my hopes and dreams were. And I do not know how to process the whole you who wants the best for me, who wants to show me the world, and who like has done way more than really anyone to protect me with the asshole that I also see."
"Ah, so I see we've reached the part where you try to stifle everything and return back to your former state of being. All of that control wrapping tightly around you," Klaus muttered, eyes darkening at how quickly he saw the events taking a turn for the worse. He'd thought he at least had until Bonnie arrived for that to occur.
"Ugh." Caroline groaned rolling her eyes as well as her frustrations pilled over. "I am not stifling anything. I'm trying to freaking process what the hell is going on in my head and telling you about it. Like do you think this is easy for me? I know none of this is easy for you. But so sorry I'm not going to just swoon into your arms or whatever."
He simply glared at her, not particularly wanting to hear more of her words at that moment. Perhaps he would head back to the village and eat the lot of them. "How can I want to be around you when I'm supposed to be in love with Tyler?" she continued, doing nothing to alleviate his mood. "But I do, Klaus. I don't understand it. It's driving me crazy not being able to understand it."
Somewhere during her speech she'd closed the distance between them and right in front of him, not seeming to care at all about his darkening mood. Most would shirk away, but not Caroline. Never her. She always seemed to face him head on.
"You've done completely horrible things to people I care about. And then you go and you help keep my mom safe." He tried not to get irritated that she was still holding someone else's life above her own, even if it was her mother. "But that doesn't just erase every bad thing. How can it? It shouldn't. And it doesn't. But it's not like you're trying to make up for all that crap because we so both know you'd do it all again if you were given the chance, wouldn't you?"
Klaus simply shrugged. There was no denying that. There were very few circumstances in his life that he would change and nothing that had transpired recently in Mystic Falls was one of them.
"Exactly," Caroline continued with a sigh. "But it doesn't stop what's going on in my head. It doesn't just make these really annoying feelings that keep drawing me to you from just going away. I really wish I could call it like Stockholm syndrome but technically it was Kol who kidnapped me, not you. And I can't even say its compulsion. It's all 100% me and my messed up head and heart feeling and wanting things."
He couldn't help but smile at that part. There was no denying that she was attracted to him, not after recent events. "I could have stayed back at the house, I probably should have stayed there, but I wanted to be with you," she finished with a stomp of her foot.
"To distract me from killing who you deem to be innocents," Klaus pointed out, needing to remind her of falling back into old habits with him.
"Actually, I didn't want to be around the others with their concerned, judging or like watchful gazes and I asked Vincent where you had gone and he said he saw you storm out of the house—which let me tell you, all of that head bowing from him is really kind of annoying—and so I went after you. I kind of put two and two together on my way down," Caroline admitted, frowning slightly.
Klaus felt some of his anger dissipate at her words. "I love Tyler. I loved Matt. I didn't love Damon. I thought Matt and I were going to be forever in that way teenagers do. And Tyler…" Her frown deepened and he tensed, not liking the fact that she was still talking about his hybrid. "We haven't actually been together all that long. Like seriously, just a few weeks before you came to town and turned him into a hybrid. And even then it was just hooking up at first."
"Caroline," Klaus started, not wanting to hear any more about the damn traitor. Ripping the boy's heart out and eating it would probably not go over well with Caroline but Klaus was finding it hard not to fantasize about doing so.
"Like vampire emotions intensify everything, right?" she continued, no longer looking at him. "So how do I even really know what love feels like when it's turned up to the degree that it is?" And then she looked back at him, unshed tears in her eyes and the confusion clearly written in the creasing of her forehead. "Do I go by what I feel for my mom?"
Sometimes Klaus forgot how young she was, how new she was at being a vampire. She had excellent control but she'd only been turned for a little over a year. There was so much she didn't understand, that she'd yet to experience, that she hadn't had to endure and learn from. It had been a long time since he'd had the same questions, the same doubts, that he had forgotten that they had even been there at one time, that they were something that every vampire had to come to terms with.
"Considering she is one you know you loved before you ever turned, yes. I would go with how strongly you feel for her as your basis," Klaus replied, watching her expression completely falter, shoulders slumping as a sob wracked through her body.
"Then I don't love him." It was barely audible but the enormity of the statement had Klaus' mood shifting back toward triumphant, but he couldn't let that show, no matter how much her words gave him hope. Not when Caroline was breaking in front of him. "I'm a horrible person."
Klaus could tell she needed comfort but was unsure she'd accept it from him in that moment considering the revelation she had just made. He didn't doubt that she cared for Tyler and that the boy cared for her in return, but no, it wasn't quite the undying love that Caroline had apparently fitted it to be in her head. She was still very much a teenager in that regard, something that time would strip away, that it already was peeling off of her, revealing the woman she would become through the years. Caroline had endured much in her life so far and bounced back from all of the tragedy and strife thrown her way, but she was still shedding her human mindset and he needed to remember that every so often.
"Hardly, sweetheart," Klaus murmured, drawing his hands up her arm in what he hoped was a soothing way. He braced himself to be pushed away, for her to lash out as he would if the situation was reversed. She didn't though, didn't step closer to him either, but allowed the touch and that had to mean something, didn't it?
"I don't love you either," she hiccupped, and Klaus smiled at that.
Not yet.
"I'm aware, Caroline," he replied, one hand moving to her cheek to brush away some stray tears. This was a monumental step, her realizing that she didn't love his hybrid, and while she didn't love Klaus either, he didn't doubt for a moment that she would come to do so. Not when she was already seeking out his company, welcoming his touch. He'd been right in his assessment of her. Caroline Forbes was meant for so much more than small town living.
She pulled away then, wiping at her face, and he tensed again, wondering what her reaction would be now. Would she close herself off to him again? Were they headed three steps back when they'd come so far in the last few days? "Can we just sit here for a little bit and talk?" she asked, not quite looking at him in that moment before turning back to the river.
He could tell she wasn't quite ready to face the rest of the world just yet with all she had realized and he wasn't about to pass up the fact that she still wanted him in her presence. Klaus wondered if she even realized how much power she held with him. He might be the stronger of the two of them, able to break her in two with the snap of his fingers, but she rendered him useless with her words.
"What do you want to talk about?" he asked as he sat down on the ground, patting the spot of grass next to him.
Caroline sat, smiling impishly at him even if the mirth in it didn't quite meet her eyes. "I want to talk about you. Your hopes. Your dreams," she murmured, tossing his own words back at him, and Klaus couldn't help but reciprocate her smile. "Everything you want in life."
"We'll bypass the ones that have to do with Silas meeting a deadly end," Klaus started, and she nodded her approval at that. "I'll be traveling the world once over again with a beautiful, enigmatic blonde at my side—"
"I'm sure Rebekah will be pleased to know you think so highly of her," Caroline piped in, and Klaus arched a brow at her before she waved her hand for him to continue.
"Considering I plan on ravishing this particular blonde in every city, in every monument that brings light to her eyes, you'll forgive me for not thinking of my sister in this moment, Caroline," he replied, smirking at the way she bit her lip at his words, hair falling in front of her face for a moment.
"So no world domination plans then? Creating your own army again? Because you were kind of really big on that," she murmured and Klaus grimaced, reminded of that night in the woods, his hybrids' bodies strewn all around. "I mean, we could always get the cure even if we destroy Silas so…you could have your hybrids all over again."
"Considering how easily they broke the Sire bond I no longer see the appeal of it." There was always compulsion that he could use but it defeated the purpose of their loyalty. He could do that already with vampires and humans. Once Silas was destroyed the Hunters would be as well, that threat destroyed with him. Regular hunters were nothing more than a nuisance and he'd no doubt need to go back to strengthening his own network of witches and vampires, keeping Caroline safe from the enemies he did have was a definite priority, but an army of hybrids wasn't one.
"I can't deny that I would continue to seek power, to ensure that those who would try to hurt you or my family would be swiftly dealt with, but I hardly need hybrids to accomplish such tasks, Caroline," Klaus pointed out, watching her frown at that, no doubt not liking the fact he included her in the list of people he would protect. "Your mother has been added to that list under my protection as well."
Her frown twisted at that, almost becoming a smile but not quite allowing it to form. "Okay, your dreams and stuff are becoming way too deep at the moment, so I'm changing my question," Caroline murmured, once again side stepping around the depth of his feelings for her. "Tell me about the place where my mom is."
Klaus had been ready to point out her constant need to avoid dealing with how much he cared for her but she had asked for details about her mother and that was something he couldn't deny Caroline. Especially with the pleading look she was directing at him. "Very well."
He watched the tension begin to seep out of her at his words, knew he'd made the right decision. Klaus paused though, hearing the sound of another car pulling into Vincent's place, followed by Kol's voice. Damn his hybrid hearing. "However I believe that Bonnie and Kol have arrived."
Caroline glanced back in the direction of the house; head tilting as she no doubt listened in for the sound of her friend's voice as well. She looked back at him and Klaus expected for her to rise and the moment between them to be over, for her defenses to all be back up in an instant. "We've got time, don't we?"
Klaus grinned at that, pleased she didn't want to rush away, even if it probably wasn't for the same reasons that he wished to stay in the clearing. "It's a small town outside of Tuscany," Klaus began, watching Caroline lay back against the grass, eyes closing as she listened to him talk about where her mother was currently living.
One day, he would take her there; allow her to reunite with her mother before he whisked Caroline off on the first leg of their worldwide journey, one that they would repeat countless times, each an entirely different experience before settling in various cities as they pleased. It was only a matter of time now and that was one thing both of them had plenty of.
The plane ride and subsequent other plane, train ride, and then compelled car ride through the Romanian countryside had been enough to set Bonnie completely on edge. She knew she wasn't the only one feeling that way among their motley little group. Thankfully she'd managed to convince most of the Coven to stick behind in the nearest city, already sensing that having everyone together would probably be more trouble than it was worth. They would have to go to the city to get anywhere else in the world and it would allow the Coven to get some needed rest.
If only she could have gotten that as well.
But no, she needed to see Caroline, needed to be in the thick of it all to know precisely what was being planned by the others, to make sure they weren't doing anything foolhardy—like having their Hunters kill vampires. Someone was. She knew that much by the fact that Eddie's mark kept growing every so often, but Caroline knew that hers needed not to do so. Maybe Stefan's group had one as well. She didn't want to think of the consequences that could arise if someone not on 'Team Keep Silas Down' had one, which was possible considering there could be up to five of them activated at a time.
"Has she learned the spell then?" Rebekah asked as she entered the room that Vincent had taken them into.
Bonnie barely glanced over at the other girl, her focus on the door, waiting for her friend to arrive. "It's a work in progress," Lucy replied from her side, and Bonnie tried not to twitch at that.
It was just the ending—the most vital part—that she was having a bit of difficulty with.
"Why can't we simply have more experienced witches do this? I fail to see the importance of her," Rebekah continued and Bonnie wondered how in the world Caroline hadn't clawed the Original's eyes out if this was what she'd been enduring over the last few weeks.
"You'd need more than one in a Coven of those of us related to the witch who created the spell. Something someone has been happily making sure doesn't exist any longer," Lucy pointed out as Stefan entered the room. Bonnie continued to ignore the rest of them and headed over to him, happy to see a familiar face, even if it wasn't quite the one she wanted. "She's the only direct descendant. It needs to be Bonnie."
Whatever else was said between the two Bonnie tuned out. "How are you managing?" Stefan asked, looking as weary about everything as Bonnie felt.
Being in a home that was friendly to the Originals just didn't seem to sit well with either of them, even if they were all supposed to be on the same side. "Better than I was at first," she murmured, before nodding toward an unoccupied pair of chairs in the room.
A quick glance around the room showed Eddie sitting by himself, finally eating something, while Lucy and Rebekah continued to bicker their way through a conversation. "Have you heard from any of the others?" she continued as the two sat down, her gaze still lingering on the doorway.
"Damon's avoiding my calls." Stefan shrugged at that, though Bonnie had a feeling it was annoying him. Their relationship was something she didn't think anyone would ever understand. "Haven't heard from Elena either."
Oh. He didn't know. How did he not know?
"I don't think he's with her. Maybe looking for her, but considering what she's apparently doing…" Bonnie still couldn't wrap her head around it. Had Damon's sire bond screwed her friend up that badly? It had to be something more and she had a feeling it had to do with Silas. Everything else seemed to be tied to the immortal. Though would it really surprise her if Damon was actually helping Elena kill and turn witches? He'd done it to her mother.
She wasn't too sure he'd do that to Elena though, have her experience that much more added trauma along with everything else. It just didn't add up, but a lot of things weren't adding up recently. "Bonnie, what do you mean?" Stefan asked his worry evident in his voice and body language.
She also noted Rebekah's tensing, the way the other girl was now focused on their conversation, ignoring whatever Lucy was saying. "Elena's the one who's been out killing witches, Stefan. Killing and turning them. Cutting off their magic from the world."
Stefan shook his head. It was a lot to take in and she knew firsthand how hard it was to believe. "I think Silas has gotten into her head." Just as he'd tried to get into her own, like how Kol had said he'd done to others during the ages. She wouldn't be surprised at all if he was in Valerie's. It'd explain so much about that crazy woman.
"Damon will be trying to find her then. To stop her," Stefan murmured, already rising from his chair and taking his phone out. It didn't take a giant leap to know who he was going to try and contact as he left the room.
"And once again it all comes back to Elena Gilbert," Rebekah muttered, lips pressing together in obvious distaste. "Will we be changing our plan of attack now? Heading back to the States to try and find the little doppelganger, to save her from herself or whatever nonsense you all come up with? Sorry, world. We were trying to prevent your destruction but it appears that precious Elena has broken a nail."
"That's enough, Rebekah," Elijah ordered as he walked into the room, Kol on his heel.
Bonnie sunk back against the chair, partially because she didn't have to deal with Rebekah's tirade any longer but also to try and keep out of sight of the younger Original. It didn't work. Once again he made a beeline right to her, dropping down onto the seat Stefan had vacated. "Did I come in at the tail end of one of Bekah's anti-Elena rants?" he mock pouted as he cocked his head toward Bonnie. "She gets worked up over the slightest thing about her. It's quite fun to instigate every so often."
There were about five other places to sit in the room. Why did he need to come and sit with her? She'd barely gotten five minutes of peace from him in the last twenty-four hours. Was this penance for all she'd done? For not listening to the Spirits and falling down the path of Expression for that limited amount of time? Hadn't she suffered enough?
Bonnie glanced back at the doorway, wondering where the hell Caroline was, desperate for her friend's company. "Oh oh oh, Vincent!" Kol exclaimed as the vampire entered the room with some more refreshments. Bonnie didn't think she liked the color of the wine, had a feeling it was laced with blood. "Where are my brother and the pretty little cheerleader?"
"Cheerleader?" Vincent asked as he passed around the glasses. Bonnie tried not to scrunch her nose in disgust as she was handed one.
"Goes by Caroline. Nik follows her around like a lost puppy," Kol replied as he took his flute.
"I believe she and Lord Niklaus headed into the woods shortly after Elijah and Rebekah's arrival," Vincent informed them, and Bonnie's stomach dropped at the news. Kol's smug grin and Rebekah's snort of disgust didn't help assure her at all.
What mess had her friend gotten involved in? "Oh, don't worry, darling. I doubt he's harming her," Kol whispered, entirely too close to her for comfort now. "Unless she's into that of course. Some vampires are quite fond of biting."
She didn't need to know that. Why the hell would he think she needed to know that? "Is there a room I can use?" Bonnie asked, rising from her chair and placing the untouched glass down on the table. Anything to get away from Kol, to get a breather from everyone. "I'd like to keep working on the spell."
Vincent nodded, waving toward the door and she followed him out of it, glancing over at Lucy and then Eddie. Her cousin nodded but Eddie looked up at her, eyes widening, and Bonnie knew she didn't want to leave him with the vultures. They might have needed him around for the map, but there was supposedly another Hunter in the house, and considering Jeremy had been killed she didn't want to chance leaving him alone with any of them, even if killing Eddie would result in them getting the Hunter's curse. A quick nod and he was out of the chair and at her side as she left the room.
"I take it that you are one of Caroline's friends then?" Vincent asked as he led them down the hallway.
"Practically since birth." Or at least toddlerhood.
"Lord Niklaus hasn't harmed her. If anything he's been protecting her since they arrived. I gather before then too," Vincent informed her as they stopped in front of another door. "Even when the witches forced him to transform into his wolf and chase us through the woods. He nearly tore me apart but didn't touch a hair on her body; I believe her presence is what helped him break the witches' hold on him."
That new knowledge didn't really help any. It just made everything even more twisted and had her worry for Caroline increasing exponentially. "Let me know if you require anything else," Vincent continued as he opened the door to reveal a bedroom before walking away.
"Didn't you say that werewolves see vampires as their enemies and rip them apart with abandon in their wolf form?" Eddie murmured, scratching the back of his neck and looking as confused as she felt.
"That's what's supposed to happen." It's what every other wolf did, what all of the lore they'd ever found said, what Tyler and the few other werewolves had told them.
"Wow. He must really love your friend to be able to bypass that much instinct," Eddie replied, walking into the room.
Bonnie stared at him with a mix of shock and horror. If it had been anyone but Klaus maybe that would have been a good thing for someone to love Caroline that much. But this was Klaus, who'd murdered how many of their friends and loved ones? This was Klaus who daggered the family he supposedly loved and wanted to live together. Being loved by him couldn't possibly be a good thing and only strengthened her resolve that she needed to see Caroline.
"Bonnie?"
That was Caroline's voice and she turned toward it, hated seeing Klaus by her friend as the two walked down the hallway, but loving the big smile that she so often associated with Caroline Forbes. She didn't know which of them started moving toward one another first, but they were hugging before she could think anything else, holding onto Caroline as hard as she could, secure in the knowledge that it wouldn't hurt her friend. Bonnie had known she'd missed Caroline but the reality of just how much distance had been between the two of them for the last few weeks seemed to catch up in those few seconds. She had plenty of questions for Caroline and so much to tell her as well but all of it could wait a few moments. Bonnie knew that once the gates were opened to everything that had happened—and it was obvious from how closely Caroline had been standing next to Klaus that something had happened, she just hoped it wasn't anything close to what Kol had continuously insinuated—there was no going back to how they had once been. All they could do was pick up all of the pieces around them and carry on.
"Come on," Caroline murmured as she pulled away, still smiling but Bonnie couldn't help but notice the unshed tears in her friend's eyes and feel them in her own. "We'll talk in your room."
She also couldn't help but notice the glance Caroline directed back to Klaus before ushering her into the room and closing the door.
This wasn't good.
Not good at all.
Seeing the reunion between Caroline and Bonnie had been hard to stomach. Klaus knew the other girl's disdain for him, something he held in equal regard for her, and while the conversation in the woods had gone much better than he'd anticipated, it was only a matter of time before the witch tried to sway Caroline away from the path she was finally setting foot down. Perhaps it wouldn't matter in the long run if Caroline did head back onto the safe path she'd always known for a few more years because eventually she would need to embark on the one that led to her true nature, but Klaus didn't want to wait.
Oh he could. He was quite good at waiting out situations when needed so that all the chips would fall exactly where he needed them, but he hardly liked playing his cards that way. Especially when he could see how close Caroline was to leaving behind that small town life. A few more weeks alone with her and he was convinced he could have gotten her to realize so many things and now with his siblings, Stefan and the little witch around he was certain all of the work he'd done to opening up Caroline's eyes to the actual world around her, to all of the possibilities that lay at her feet, were going to be crammed behind a door and put off until she was forced to deal with reality.
Caroline had said that wasn't going to happen, that she wasn't stifling her emotions, but he wasn't about to believe that until he saw it. His inability to trust others was rearing its ugly head again, that paranoia taking root. Klaus saw no reason to try and shake it off. Though the lingering hope that she would prove his doubts wrong also didn't seem to be leaving either.
But Silas needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later and that meant he needed to deal with his troublesome siblings now. "So what's this I hear about your wolf not trying to eat that tasty little treat?" Kol remarked as soon as he entered the room they were all in.
Thankfully Lucy chose that moment to leave while Klaus made a mental note to remove Vincent's tongue. Seemed the other vampire had been gossiping. "I suggest you cease calling her that before I—" Klaus started, eyes narrowed as he looked at his youngest brother.
"Yes yes, remove my liver," Kol chirped, eyes twinkling with mischief. "You really do need to come up with new threats, Nik. Or will you be daggering me this time? Too bad those are all the way back in Mystic Falls."
Klaus knew Kol was simply riling him up, but he didn't appreciate it, especially not in front of Elijah who was no doubt cataloguing every snippet of the conversation. The last thing he needed was the elder Mikaelson to meddle in his affairs, particularly those regarding Caroline.
"Shut up, Kol," Rebekah snapped, and Klaus was almost grateful for the words, however he couldn't help but be suspicious of his sister's motives. He couldn't see her trying to quiet Kol out of the goodness of her heart. Not with how fickle it could be. "You'll be happy to know that Elijah was gallivanting around with the other doppelganger. The one you were hunting for all those years. The two looked quite cozy together."
Katherine. Wonderful. "Will she be joining us as well?" Klaus asked, wishing he'd thought to bring the daggers along. It seemed he needed them.
"Turned tail and ran once she knew we were coming to meet you," Rebekah continued, smiling maliciously.
Elijah's demeanor didn't change but Klaus noted the clenched fists at his side, the tightening of his jaw for a moment before it relaxed. "Perhaps we should turn our attention to what we're going to be doing now?" Elijah suggested as he sat down on one of the chairs. "We seem to have all the pieces that the witches say are required. Such as the two Hunters."
"Yes, where is the other one? I want him secured away as well." Far away from Caroline and any pointy wooden objects. He hadn't protected her this long for her to die at the hands of some newbie Hunter.
"He went off with Bonnie right before you got here," Kol replied, and Klaus stiffened at that. "Shall I go and retrieve him? I do so enjoy riling up the Bennett witch."
"I'll go and make sure he doesn't do anything," Stefan murmured from his spot near Rebekah, looking entirely too grateful for a reason to be leaving the room.
That would do for now. Klaus knew Stefan would do what he could to protect Caroline and he'd simply keep listening for any sort of scuffle coming from the room her and Bonnie had gone into. He'd be there before the Hunter could even take a step toward her if needed.
"If we have everything that's needed can't we simply turn some people and have them killed until we find wherever the map leads?" Rebekah suggested, watching Stefan leave the room with narrowed eyes. Seemed that her jealousy over the younger Salvatore interacting with his friends hadn't dissipated at all. Not that he was surprised by that revelation.
"We are certain that we want this Silas to be destroyed? How do we know this isn't something the witches have concocted over the years to destroy us in the end?" Elijah questioned as Klaus finally sat down.
"Mother used to tell us bedtime stories about him," Rebekah reminded.
Klaus hadn't remembered such things but his mind tended to focus on the bad that had gone along with his childhood, on Mikael's fists and words lashing into him. It was a time he'd worked hard to erase, only allowing pieces of it to remain in his mind, the rest blotted out as best he could. It was easier to reconcile Esther as the monster she had died as than with the woman who had once sung him to sleep.
"Silas was created long before us," Kol pointed out.
"But the Five were not. They were created not too long after our own creation, and while they were supposedly formed to destroy him, they were also taught ways to incapacitate us," Elijah replied, effectively silencing the other two.
"Apparently their purpose dies if Silas does. The fact they were able to kill us was an added bonus because we were created using the same spell as Silas. After all mother took it from Ayanna who was bestowed it by her ancestors, one of which was Qestiyah," Klaus informed them. "And we know how fond witches are of being able to keep the balance. Wouldn't want to create something that can't be killed." Where would be the fun in that?
"And how did you come by this knowledge?" Elijah asked, looking doubtful while Kol looked annoyed that Klaus knew something he didn't about Silas.
"An old friend informed me of a few things." Not quite the truth but Klaus didn't feel like going into details. There was no reason for Elijah to be questioning him. "Considering what would happen to his daughter if he lied, I doubt the man did so." Not to mention it correlated with what Vaughn had said as well, and tied in nicely with how witches worked. They never wanted anyone to become too powerful, unless it was themselves.
"So we destroy Silas and the Hunters line dies with it?" Rebekah mused. "When do we start creating vampires for them to kill? I'd like to get this business over with sooner rather than later."
"Oh yes, we wouldn't want to stand in the way of your pathetic schemes to try and get Stefan back into your bed," Klaus replied, enjoying the way that statement riled her up. It was so easy with her at times.
"I'm sure I'm doing far better than you in regards to Caroline," Rebekah bit out, locking a steely gaze with him.
It was on the tip of his tongue to counter that, but he wouldn't demean Caroline in such a way nor did he want to give Elijah more of a reason to try and meddle. Instead he simply grimaced, playing the needed part. "Can't go turning anyone until we're sure Bonnie has the spell down anyway," Kol reminded, shaking his head. "I think she just needs the proper motivation."
"I trust that you can start doling that out then," Klaus suggested, amused by Kol's eagerness at the idea. His brother always did become entirely too infatuated with witches, especially the powerful ones. Though it would be quite hypocritical for Bonnie to go around badmouthing him to Caroline if she was letting Kol ruffle her feathers. "As for turning others, Kol is correct. We're not quite at that stage yet, sister, and I'd rather not have two Hunters hanging around that are itching to kill vampires just yet."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Rebekah muttered, clearly not liking his answer.
"We use the texts Vincent has here to look into the entire Silas affair a little more. Make sure we're not missing out on anything," Klaus replied. "Perhaps you can share whatever it is that you and Stefan found out when you were sneaking away to libraries?"
She grimaced at that but nodded.
"I am still failing to see why all of us have been gathered by the Spirits to help out with this. I do not see why they are allowing our presence in all of this," Elijah replied, and Klaus turned to look at him.
"Considering the immortal has been in my head and others' heads here as well, manipulated witches to drink vampire blood so they would turn upon death, had them forcing me to transition into my wolf form to try and force my hand into helping him, I think they see us in league with them to stop Silas as more beneficial than needing to stop us as well as the immortal," Klaus informed him. "We have all been attacked by madmen claiming to follow him. If you'd been with your family instead of running around with Katherine maybe you'd understand."
"What I was doing with Katerina is none of your business, Niklaus," Elijah replied, and Klaus couldn't help but be amused by the conflicting looks his brother was giving. The need to be angry over the woman far below him coupled with the need to be 'the good brother', always so at war with one another, never quite sure which one would win out.
"Always and forever never did quite ring true with you, did it?" Klaus mused, ignoring Rebekah's huff at that and Kol's downward look. "How many times must that harlot get in the way of our family before you're done with her? I'm beginning to doubt that you ever truly did help look for her."
"My allegiance has always been to this family," Elijah countered, and Klaus wondered if vampires could burst blood vessels in anger. Perhaps they would find out.
"Except for when it's not," Klaus replied, leaning back against the chair. "After all, you were going to kill me when I was breaking my curse."
"I thought you had destroyed our family," Elijah's voice rose at that, not quite yelling, but as close to it as he ever got.
"I had them tucked away, kept safe from Mikael's hands. Kol here who couldn't do subtle if his life depended on it, and oh how it did, with the oncoming technology. With the photograph and Mikael nearly catching up to us because of his antics ending up in the paper. Or our dear sister who wanted to walk off into the sunset with Stefan, not caring that Mikael was right on our heels again. Another epic love story in the making not even a year after her last failed attempt," Klaus remarked, shaking his head at the lot of them. "And where were you when that happened? Not with us. Not helping me lug around Finn, Kol and mother, not running from your father. Always and forever are nothing more than meaningless words."
"That's not fair," Rebekah started, rising from her chair. "I meant them. I stayed at your side always."
"Tsk tsk, Rebekah. It's not good to tell lies when we both know it's the last place you wanted to be, always trying to find a way out," Klaus murmured, not even bothering to look at her. He wasn't surprised to find Kol heading toward the door. "And I see the youngest of us is running again. Unable to deal with being a member of this family."
"It's about not being able to deal with Mikael Jr," Kol replied, causing Klaus to freeze at the comparison. "For the one who wasn't his, you take after him the most. Even more than Bekah with her temper."
"Get out," Klaus demanded, eyes becoming yellow, fangs descending.
"Gladly," Kol muttered, already heading out of the room and out of the house.
Klaus couldn't look at the other two, couldn't handle hearing Caroline's laughter only a few doors down, and stalked off down the hallway. He needed something to do for the moment, some task to set his mind to in order to push all Kol had said from his mind. He stopped upon hearing the voices in the kitchen, picking up on the tail end of the conversation.
"—quiet, you know better than to say anything with monster ears at the ready," a male muttered, and perhaps he wouldn't have noticed at any other point if he hadn't been looking for something else to focus on. But Klaus was in the kitchen, easily catching the human cook and knocking the woman also inside to the ground. Her head hit the table, the resounding crack letting him know she wouldn't be getting back up.
Oh well. Vincent should be able to get new help easily enough. Compulsion was an easy enough trick to use and he willed the man to spill all of his secrets, wanting something to play around with, needing something to focus on for a few moments. Perhaps there was another transgression to add against Vincent's tally.
It didn't surprise him that the villagers below weren't on vervain. They seemed to stick to some of the older myths in the region—garlic, crosses, nothing that would truly deter him or any real vampire.
"They're planning an uprising. The man from the dreams says we must stop you all. That we must kill the girl," the man informed him in Romanian, the words almost jumbled from fear, and Klaus pursed his lips at that. "They mean to burn her while you sleep."
Caroline.
It looked as though Silas was far from done with his attempts on her life, on trying to force Klaus' hand to join his team instead of staking a hold in the one against him. His fangs were in the man's neck before he could speak, tearing into the flesh, draining him before he had a chance to really scream.
Caroline's laughter echoed through the air again and Klaus closed his eyes at the sound of it, wanting nothing more than to bury his torment in her soft curls. He heard other voices though, coming from the village, reminding him of their traitorous intents, and headed off that way, knowing she wouldn't be stopping him from slaughtering the lot of them this time.
Funny how that knowledge only seemed to bring him more pain as he headed toward the village, ready to paint the tiny town red.
Caroline squeezed Bonnie's hands one more time, unable to stop holding onto her friend, needing to keep looking at her as well. She was half convinced that if she looked away if she stopped holding on that Bonnie might disappear, that it would all just be some really weird dream. Realistically she knew that wouldn't happen but it didn't stop her from needing the contact and considering Bonnie hadn't pulled away either Caroline had a feeling that Bonnie wanted it as well.
They'd talked about a dozen different things, informing one another what they had learned and some of the details about what had happened in the weeks they'd been parted. Caroline didn't go into everything, couldn't quite figure out how to bring up the growing feelings she'd been harboring for Klaus or how her relationship with the Hybrid had definitely shifted. She could also sense that Bonnie was holding back a few things as well and usually she'd have pushed to find out what those pieces were, but not this time. No doubt they'd come out eventually.
It was nice to laugh again with a friend, with someone who had known her since she was a little girl, even if part of her was coming to realize that there were aspects of who she'd become that Bonnie didn't understand and might not ever really be able to grasp. That was part of growing up though, wasn't it? People grew up and sometimes they grew apart, sometimes the differences allowed them to grow closer together though, sometimes all it took was some hard work. But Caroline looked at her mother's life and could count on one hand how many people from Liz' childhood that she'd seen her mother still be close to. Liz had been from Mystic Falls, lived there her whole life, and still had managed to drift apart from childhood friends who'd stayed in town too.
Caroline frowned at the thought, listening to Bonnie speak, and coming to the realization that there would be a time when she was still in the world and Bonnie wasn't. Just like with her mom. The knowledge had her wanting to cling harder to Bonnie and at the same time wanting to let her go before the heartache became too much. It was a war that she didn't quite know how to maneuver through let alone win.
"So are we going to talk about the giant elephant in the room now?" Bonnie asked, breaking Caroline from her own inner turmoil.
"Huh?" There was an elephant in the room? This was definitely news to her.
"You were looking awful cozy with Klaus a few minutes ago," Bonnie replied, and Caroline sighed at that. So much for that topic of conversation not coming up.
She let go of Bonnie's hands and fell back against the headboard, staring up at the ceiling as her friend continued. "Klaus who killed how many people that we know? Who's terrorized us, tortured some of us, and would happily use Elena as a blood bag still if he could. And considering we're going to be near a supposed cure for vampirism might do so again."
"I know." And god did she know all of that. She constantly reminded herself of every horrible thing Klaus had ever done. He just kept on adding things to his damn good pile as well, chipping away at her black and white world and filling it with too many shades of gray. "I know he's done awful, horrible, despicable things."
Caroline glanced over at Bonnie, watching her friend nod along to that, hating that she was about to dash that hope she could see in Bonnie that she apparently hadn't lost her mind when it came to Klaus. "He also helped me protect my mom. He protected me I don't even know how many damn times these last few weeks. His wolf…"
His wolf hadn't attacked her. That had to mean something, didn't it? "I'm not saying it excuses everything else. It so doesn't. It doesn't bring Jenna back or Matt or Jeremy. It doesn't help Elena out…but I don't know how to just shut off…" The growing feelings, the desire, the need. They only kept on building up, continuing to stir inside of her and she didn't even think distance would make them go away.
"Maybe it's a weird case of Stockholm Syndrome. A week or two away from him once this whole Silas business is over and you'll realize that none of it is real," Bonnie muttered, staring down at the bedspread.
"He wasn't the one who kidnapped me," Caroline pointed out. Though Klaus had made sure she'd stuck by his side once he'd caught up with her and Kol, but her interest in Klaus had started before that moment. It had been slowly building with his unending persistence. It'd simply been easier to push down and force away back then when she hadn't been given the chance to know him, to see the world outside of Mystic Falls and realize just how sheltered all of them had really been.
"What about Tyler?"
"I don't know, Bonnie. I seriously do not know anything at this point except that I'm not in love with him. I'm not in love with Klaus either, there's just…feelings or whatever there, and no I don't want them to be there, but they are and I tried to make them go away—believe me I did—but they won't. They just keep on building and it's really annoying and wrong but it's not wrong because how can it be wrong to like someone. Except he's done horrible things. But so has Stefan. So has Damon. So have I. Not to the degree that he has, well, Damon maybe, and I guess Stefan too when he's all Rippery, but I just don't know okay?" Caroline let out a frustrated sigh, running her hands through her hair and unable to look at her friend anymore.
"It's Klaus, Caroline. You can't have feelings for him," Bonnie muttered and Caroline closed her eyes at that. God, if only it were that easy. Did she even want it to be that easy anymore though? "Plus it's Klaus. He's a monster incapable of love."
Her attention snapped back to Bonnie at that. "That's not true. Otherwise I wouldn't be here right now. The witches forced him to turn into a werewolf and his sole purpose was to kill me and Vincent. He tore Vincent apart. I fell into a pool of vervain water and barely managed to get myself out of it. I was such an easy target. He could have killed me in a second with how vulnerable I was. But he didn't. He broke through the spell, through their manipulation and got me out of there, helped heal me."
"Caroline," Bonnie started, but she shook her head and rose from the bed.
"I don't love him, but a monster incapable of love wouldn't have been able to do all of that. I know that much," Caroline murmured, wanting the conversation to end. She didn't want to fight with Bonnie, didn't want it all to end in an argument. "We're not going to agree on this and that's okay, we so don't have to agree on everything. Like how you think that purple sweater you own is way cute when it really doesn't fit you well at all, but you go around wearing it anyway and I just roll my eyes when you do."
"This is a little more important than a sweater, Care," Bonnie sighed, but nodded. "I just don't want you to get so far into this that you can't find your way back out." Too late. "We both know Klaus isn't about to just let things go. But fine, conversation tabled for now. We'll be finishing it at some point though. Preferably when we're far away from here and back home. Safe."
Caroline forced a smile at that. She didn't really think Mystic Falls was all that safe considering everything else that had happened there but she wasn't about to start another argument. "So you saw your mom?" She pursed her lips at the awful segue.
Bonnie simply shrugged, but Caroline could see the hurt in her friend's demeanor, in the way Bonnie looked away, lower lip trembling for a moment. Caroline wanted nothing more than to break that woman's neck for running out on Bonnie all over again. She'd had a chance to be a mom again, to at least be in Bonnie's life, yes as a vampire, but it was something. Apparently that something just hadn't been enough of a reason to stick around.
They were saved from continuing the awkward conversation by Rebekah practically bursting into the room and grabbing Caroline's arm. "You need to come with me."
"Excuse you." Caroline tried to pull her arm away, but the Original's strength far surpassed hers. Thankfully Bonnie was able to cause Rebekah enough pain with a spell to allow Caroline to pull free. "What the hell, Rebekah?"
Okay, maybe the two didn't get along but she definitely hadn't expected the girl to come into a room and try to drag her out of it. "Klaus is off slaughtering his way through the village and while usually I'd care less about such a thing, we do need them alive for the Hunters to kill when we turn them," Rebekah muttered, glaring at Bonnie who kept up the spell until Caroline was standing beside her. "Elijah has gone off to deal with him and try to find Kol as well, but all Elijah is ever good for is riling my brother up. You'd think it'd be the opposite but I'm sure we all know how little Nik enjoys being told what to do."
"I'm failing to see why you need me to come with you," Caroline replied, rubbing her arm.
"Considering he was heading down to the village after speaking with Elijah when we first arrived and somehow ended up in the woods with you instead," Rebekah started, and Caroline tried not to react to that, tried to ignore Bonnie's stiffening beside her. "I'm sure you can figure out why I'd like you to come with me. We really do need those villagers alive for now."
Ugh. For now. Those poor villagers had been through enough already. They didn't deserve to be turned to complete some stupid map. They definitely didn't deserve to be ripped apart by an overemotional hybrid. "Why's he in a killing mood anyway? He was perfectly fine when I left him."
"The usual argument between him and Kol. I'll explain on the way," Rebekah replied, motioning toward the door.
With a sigh Caroline stepped forward, stopping when Bonnie touched her arm. "You do not have to go with her and clean up their mess."
"It'll be fine," Caroline tried to reassure, but knew that was useless. Because it wasn't about cleaning up a mess, she knew Bonnie didn't want those villagers to die either. It was about the fact that she was being pulled deeper into the insanity that was Klaus Mikaelson and eventually she'd cross a point where she wouldn't be able to be pulled back from his orbit.
It was probably a good idea not to tell Bonnie that she was pretty sure she'd crossed that line days ago. "It'll be fine," she murmured again before flashing out of the room, Rebekah on her heels, trying to ignore the worry mixed with disappointment that had encompassed her best friend in that moment.
There was something to be said about the turbulent atmosphere that a massacre created. Watching humans crumble to their very basic instincts, flight or fight response taking over and most of them trying to flee, pushing whoever might be before them down, trying so hard to create a barrier between him and them. It hardly mattered if it was their sibling, their parents, lovers, a friend, even their own child wasn't necessarily safe in the turmoil of trying to get free. There were always those few who tried to die protecting another, who fell upon their children, trying to block his way toward them, to shelter them just that instant more. If his life had been different maybe Klaus would have felt a wave of pity for them at that parental gesture but all it did was bring up thoughts of his own mother and how willing Esther had been to throw him to the wolves.
He was always slightly more vicious to those ones; tearing them away from the child and making them watch him snap their son or daughter's neck, effectively extinguishing all hope before he drained the parent dry. He did it to lovers as well, to friends trying to protect one another. Constantly denied that level of loyalty by those in his own life, Klaus couldn't stand seeing it bestowed on those he saw beneath him.
And for them to have plans to take Caroline away…none of them would walk away alive.
"Niklaus. I do believe you have made your point now," Elijah's voice cut through the high pitched screams of terror, through the crying and dragged down Klaus' euphoria.
He dropped the latest body to the ground, glancing around at the few remaining patrons in the village's pub. He'd already made his way through the village, stopping whoever he saw and compelling them to return home and kill their families before ending their own lives. He found it to be a rather poetic ending for the lot of them. It was those at the local pub that he decided to kill by his own hand, entering the establishment with a smile and easily compelling them not to leave.
"And what point might that be, brother?" Klaus asked, stepping over the latest dead and eying up the cowering few who were left. "You know nothing of what I've learned in the last few moments. Seemed this lot was looking to kill—us." No reason to tip Elijah to just how much he cared for Caroline.
He glanced over at the men and women again, Klaus's bloody grin widen as he took another step forward, enjoying the sobs. "Foolish to think it was even possible."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Elijah demanded, his demeanor toward the men and women changing once he knew Klaus' reasoning. For all Klaus had accused him of not even an hour before Elijah wouldn't sit back with the possibility of harm coming to his family.
"As you can see I have it under control," Klaus replied with a shrug.
"While I see your need to dole out a swift punishment, we do need these people for later," Elijah reminded, and Klaus waved him off.
"There's another village a few miles away. They'll do just as nicely as these ones for that inevitable slaughter. I'm not about to allow such transgressions to go unanswered." They never should have tried to cross him. They would have still died but they could have tried to make the deaths as painless as possible. Maybe. It didn't really matter to him in the end. Though it would probably to Caroline and a few of the others.
"Something tells me that the young Ms. Forbes—that is her name is it not?—would not approve of your current methods," Elijah started and Klaus spun around at that, tsking at his brother.
"Don't pretend to have knowledge of matters you know nothing about, Elijah." Not that Klaus thought Caroline would approve, no doubt she'd be livid with him for this, but a leopard couldn't change its spots and this was all part of who he was. She got no say in how he protected her, none of them did. What did it matter if they approved or not as long as they survived? The hate would come and go, but they would still be among the living. That was all that mattered. "Shouldn't you be off trying to coax Kol back into the fold? Reminding him of his allegiance to our family, of a bond and why we're all really here in the first place. Or did you hoist that effort off on Rebekah this time? He doesn't quite have the century or even a decade to roam considering what we all should be focusing on."
"And yet, here you are killing people we're supposed to be using for the next phase," Elijah pointed out causing Klaus to shrug.
"I've already pointed out a viable alternative to those I've slaughtered today and why these ones are dying now." What was the point in harping on the fact they were dead? It was over. No point in continuing the conversation. "So either help me finish off the lot of them or leave me in peace, Elijah."
Nothing was going to stop him from completing this task.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Well then.
He really should have figured that someone would drag Caroline into the thick of it. "Get her out of here now," Klaus ordered, turning around to face the clearly disgusted blonde, eyes narrowing as he spotted his sister beside her. Traitors, the lot of them. "Silas has gotten into their heads and they mean to kill us. I am merely beating them to the punch."
That stopped whatever tirade Caroline clearly had prepared to use against him. "So what you couldn't like kill them…nicely?" she asked and he arched a brow at that.
"I'm merely following my nature for this particular disposal," Klaus replied with a grin.
"Your nature is to like feed, not go around terrorizing the masses," Caroline countered, glancing over at the few remaining humans in the corner. "Like snapped necks. God. Wouldn't that have been like ten times easier? Instead of creating all of this fear and the blood and everything else?"
Klaus was in front of her before anyone could react, grabbing her forearm and tugging her toward the cowering people who tried to scoot closer together. "Tell me the smell of their fear isn't intoxicating, that it doesn't curl down into your toes, and make you want to tear into their throats, to drink your fill and revel in the blood, Caroline," he murmured, back pressing against hers as he looked over at one of the humans. "Up."
Such a simple command and one so easily followed as he beckoned for the young woman to step forward. "This is who I am, who I want to be," Klaus continued, pushing the woman's hair off her neck with one hand, the other securely locking Caroline against him. "It's who you are as well. Much as you may fight the instinct."
"I'm not eating her," Caroline growled, struggling to break free from him, but there would be no getting out of his grip, though he did allow her to turn so she was facing him, hands pressing against his chest to try and push him away.
"You're a baby vampire," Klaus reminded, smiling at her before dipping his head to bite into the woman, wanting to tempt Caroline with the smell of blood so close by.
"We are so not doing one of your stupid lessons right now," Caroline growled, elbowing him in the gut and he couldn't help but laugh at that, letting the woman go and pressing his face into Caroline's neck instead.
"They were going to kill you," he murmured into her ear, ignoring the fact that Rebekah and Elijah were still present for the moment. "You know how I react when people do that."
"Please do give us some warning before you start tearing clothes off one another," Rebekah muttered, and Klaus growled at that, feeling Caroline stiffen against him and so he released his hold on her.
"Burn the village," Klaus ordered. "We're not staying here a moment longer."
It obviously wasn't safe. Silas was well aware of where they were located—how Klaus wasn't sure, but it seemed he was more adapt than any of them realized, able to go into not only supernaturals' dreams but humans as well. Klaus didn't trust anyone in the surrounding areas not to be affected. They needed to move now that they had all of them together. Bonnie needed to learn the damn spell, the Hunters needed the map completed and he needed to end the immortal once and for all.
"What about Kol?" Elijah asked, and Klaus sighed at that.
"He'll find us," Klaus replied. He always did. No doubt seeing the village up in flames would alter the younger Mikaelson to come running.
"Rebekah, be a dear and go collect the others from the house. Tell Vincent not to forget the Hunter locked in the basement," Klaus continued, thankful that she did nothing more than mutter under her breath before heading off to do as he'd directed.
"I'll deal with this," Elijah informed them, already heading toward the bar and spilling alcohol to use as an accelerant.
Klaus took hold of Caroline's elbow and led her away from the mess and out into the fresh air. Screams could be heard all around them, those he'd compelled doing as he'd wanted, killing their families. Not a soul would survive tonight. "This is insane," Caroline murmured, glancing around as she bit her bottom lip, taking in all of the chaos.
"It's war," Klaus reminded, leading her away from the village and toward the house.
"I guess you would know. You've probably been through a billion of them," she replied, and he didn't like how vulnerable she seemed in that moment, how lost, how young she seemed.
"I've been through my fair share, yes." More than he'd ever be able to recount. Some large, some small. Strife was usually rampant no matter the decade. People coveted what others had, whether it other people or land. They did what they needed to in order to claim it. That hadn't changed through the centuries, only the type of warfare had. Different weapons, different methods of destruction. "There is more to life than this though. And I will show you that once we've rid the world of Silas."
Caroline simply shook her head at that, unable to cover up her smile quick enough. "So you say."
Klaus grinned, pleased that she wasn't exactly denying his intentions that time, not quite accepting them either, but it did seem to be a step forward. "We'll start in Italy after we've given your mother back her memories. You'll know Italian before the year is up."
"You're so sure of yourself," Caroline murmured, rolling her eyes as she shook her head.
He spotted Bonnie bounding down the road toward them though and decided not to answer, letting the two girls reunite instead. While he might not like the witch, he did appreciate the fact she cared for Caroline and would do what it took to protect her.
They'd take Vincent's cars and head out immediately. He wouldn't chance them staying another moment in that house, in the area, convinced another attack would happen if they did so. Perhaps it was just his paranoia seeping through, but better to be paranoid than for Caroline and his family to end up dead, for Mikael and Esther to get a chance to walk the earth again and for them to spend the rest of eternity running.
Klaus would do whatever was needed to stop that from happening, kill whoever was needed. Silas may have been created before him but he was not allowed to win.
She didn't know where she was any longer. Her body has been on autopilot for far too long, any sense of self stripped away from her until she didn't even know her own name. She had to have been someone, there had to have been people in her life that she loved but she could never quite grasp onto that. The word love equaled pain now. It was a harsh cut through the very heart of her whenever she tried to remember, to put back the jagged puzzle pieces of her being that never quite measured up how they used to.
"You've done so well," the woman in front of her explained, petting her hair. It was probably supposed to have been a soothing gesture, somehow a thank you for something she'd done—what had she done? Why couldn't she remember?
The other people in the room all ignored her, barely sparing a glance in her direction, though she could sense their fear, she could smell it. But that couldn't be right. How could she smell an emotion? The woman in front of her showed no signs of the same feeling though. All she could get from her was triumph, some sort of viciousness that had her wanting not to be touched by the woman at all.
"What did I do?" she asked, cringing at her voice, wondering why it sounded foreign to her ears. It was hers but it wasn't, too broken, too hollow to be coming from her mouth.
"It doesn't matter anymore. You're going to get your reward now," the woman replied, patting her head again before stepping away from her.
Reward? For some reason she didn't think that would be a good thing. The panic was setting in again, the inability to remember overwhelming her and causing her face to funny things, her teeth elongating.
Calm yourself.
There was the voice in her head again, that voice that wasn't soothing at all, too authoritarian, demanding and never letting her do anything but what it wanted. It was worse than the woman in front of her and had her freezing, teeth sliding back into place as she stared at the woman, trying to figure what was happening.
"Silas thanks you for your service, Elena Gilbert," the woman continued, but a new man stepped in front of her holding a piece of wood. Why did he have wood? "And he thinks death is the best reward for all you've done."
The words made little sense to her. Is she Elena? How is death a reward? Death is a consequence, not something that should be bestowed on someone as a prize. But the wood was piercing her chest before she could mutter a word, ending her life without her even knowing what she'd done with it. Death was quick, a pulling sensation as life finally left all of her and while she was still in the room, she was no longer in her body, but looking out at everything that was still happening.
"It's finished," the man grinned, pulling back his shirt sleeve and she watched as a mark began to form across it, winding its way upward and behind the rest of his shirt.
It all began to come back to her in that moment. Every piece of what had happened, of what she'd done—Damon—oh god she'd killed…she screamed at the unfairness of it all, falling to her knees as every memory of the last few weeks bombarded her, showing her all of the horrors she had dealt out, all of the people she'd killed. Remembering Jeremy and Matt's deaths, the fact they'd died because of a cure, something she didn't even want and everyone still seemed to be trying to find.
Something the monsters in the room would be able to find now if what she remembered about the Hunter's mark was true.
By the time she looked up again the people were all filing out of the room, looking entirely too excited, and Elena knew that couldn't be good. "It's time we free Silas," the woman smiled, staring over at the exact spot Elena was in before shutting the door and leaving her utterly alone.