C8

Caroline looked around and tried to even her breathing. She was sure she could faint any moment. Either it was because of the tight corset, constricting her airway or the anxiety she felt as she once again stepped foot into her own country. Even if it was her own kingdom, it somehow felt different.

"Calm down. Everything is going to be okay" Damon promised her as he got out of the carriage and held his hand for Bonnie and then her.

She nodded to him. "Try to relax a bit. We're here with you Care" Bonnie reassured her again taking in the anxiety of the blonde princess who smiled at them both reassuringly.

Caroline stepped out of the carriage and admired the beauty of her kingdom. At least the damage of the war had been repaired. To some extent.

They were kindly escorted to the castle. To her castle. She stopped right outside the throne room where the Mikaelsons were no doubt waiting for them. Where he was waiting for her. She breathed in deeply before fixing her dress and entered the room with much grace and confidence.

Upon entering the room, she saw the room had been changed completely. The brightness of the room was still the same but there were Mikaelson banners hanging everywhere along with dark furniture and the arrangement of the thrones had been changed too. Instead of three, there were only two. The guards were all Mikaelsons as well.

She took in her surroundings and then turned to see him standing beside the throne silently watching her. As their gazes met, he smirked and moved forward to make himself known.

"Princesses I am glad to see you here after all." He said taking his seat at the throne with a huge smile plastered on his face. Caroline flinched when she saw him sit on her father's place. It had always been his place.

"Damon. Not so glad to see you mate" Klaus said in an unpleasant tone.

The older Salvatore scowled at him, "Feeling is mutual, mate" he countered mimicking the term mate.

"Niklaus!" a smooth voice came as a warning. It belonged to a tall, lean man with dark brown shoulder length hair and soft yet careful brown eyes. He carried himself with much grace and formality. "They are our guests. I hope you are treating them fine" he said and smiled before giving them all an appreciating nod as he went and stood by his brother.

"Elijah! My ever so noble brother" Klaus teased his brother with a pleasant smile.

"We're here to discuss the release of the King and Queen" Bonnie spoke up, getting frustrated by each and every moment. The Mikaelsons were deliberately stalling the situation and she just couldn't take anymore of Caroline's stress that seemed to be traveling in waves.

"They are not the King and Queen anymore Lady…?" Elijah stated and answered never really knowing who she was.

"Princess Bonnie Bennett" the dark skinned girl corrected jutting her chin in the air. Of course she had an army to be proud of. The Bennett's had one of the strongest armies, much like the Mikaelsons.

Elijah opened his mouth as if to say something but another voice answered for him, "My my! Seems as though we have quite the gathering here"

"Kol" the elder Mikaelson replied pointedly. "Finn" he acknowledged as the other brother came into view too.

"I want my parents to be released immediately" Caroline demanded suddenly feeling very angry that they were deliberately stalling and her patience was running thin.

Klaus smirked at that, "I can do that or I can simply capture you now and the Forbes kingdom will be ours" he answered not taking his gaze off her the whole time.

She glared him back and scoffed, "Just because you capture some territory doesn't mean it's yours. My people will never bow down to a man like you" she countered in full confidence. One thing she was sure about was the fact that her people would rather die than betray her like this.

Bonnie and Damon took a protective step in front of her, "You can't take down the Forbes. They have the Salvatore and I myself will make it my mission to destroy the Mikaelsons if even a hair on my friend's head in harmed." Bonnie hissed in warning to both Elijah and Klaus.

"DON'T threaten me Bennett. I am not a very patient man" Klaus roared angrily. He was trying to control his anger only for Caroline's sake but if they kept provoking him like this soon he would explode.

"Enough! I'd rather if we discuss this matter… in private" Caroline added and closed her eyes already feeling Damon's anger dispersing off of him.

Klaus' anger dissolved and he looked at the blonde and smirked, "Of course. Join me in the study whenever you're free" he said pointing towards Damon and Bonnie and strode out towards the study.

Damon pulled Caroline's arm, ignoring the suggestive looks from Kol and the other two Mikaelsons. "What the hell Blondie? You know I came because I don't want you anywhere near him and you go off offer him time alone!" he yelled at her but kept his voice low.

"Caroline you can't…" Bonnie protested shaking her head.

Caroline breathed in and placed her hands on Damon's cheek and stroked them affectionately, "Damon" she called softly. "It's okay. I'm right in the study. If anything goes wrong, I'll call you. You both have to trust me with this" she told him and smiled when he nodded begrudgingly.

She picked up the hem of her dress and started walking towards the path that Klaus had followed. The elder Mikaelson gave her a questioning look as if asking for permission to join her so she nodded at him.

Elijah opened the door, leading outside the throne room, for her. He offered his arm to her and she accepted it graciously. They walked in silence for a few moments before Elijah spoke up.

"I am sure that Niklaus informed you about Katerina's involvement?" he stated but it came out more like a question so Caroline nodded at him trying to hide the hurt evident on her face.

"Please know that it was never her intention to hurt you. She simply meant to do what she thought was best for her friend" he reasoned. But Caroline was having none of it.

She stopped and looked at him with a serious expression. "Did she think that having me captured was the best option for me?" Caroline questioned with a hint of malice in her voice.

"I don't know if you now this but Katherine is- was like my sister and I helped her in her time of need. I always did everything I could for her but she betrayed me. Everyone warned me about her but I brushed them off. Now I know that their concerns were not pointless. I hope you realize that earlier than I did." She spoke up and breathed in deeply to calm herself.

Elijah seemed to think for a moment, "What you are about to do is very similar to what she did" he answered but his tone was not offensive or defensive. He was merely curious.

"I am giving up my life for the person dearest to me. Not myself and I hope that one day he can forgive me" Caroline said sadly looking down and gulping at the thought of Damon not talking to her. Damon hating her for what she was about to do.

Elijah smiled at her sympathetically. "At the end all we can hope for is forgiveness" he added before nodding at her and knocking at the study door to let Klaus know that she was there.

"Come in" his voice came from inside. It sounded very cheery and joyful. Of course he'd be happy. He was getting what he wanted without anything to lose.

Caroline stepped in taking a deep breath as Elijah closed the door behind them and left the pair alone.

"Have a seat love" Klaus said standing from the main chair behind the huge mahogany desk. It used to be her father's chair. Once she was settled in her chair, he too sat down leaning back in his chair with a smug smile on his face.

"How was your journey?" he asked as if they were acquaintances.

She fixed him a stern glare, "I'm not here to talk about this- she was cut off by him.

"I know exactly why you are here. But exchanging pleasantries won't harm us Caroline" he said in a tone that told her that the topic was not up for discussion.

"Fine. I had a rather tiring journey which is why I would like for us to come to an agreement sooner rather than later" she answered quickly without breaking eye contact with him.

He eyed her with adoration. She was a smart girl and he was proud that he was going to marry her. His eyes glinted mysteriously as his eyes raked on her face, taking her all in.

"I see you are in no mood for chit-chat" he said and had to hold back his laugh at the face she was making. She looked adorable.

"I will propose the same offer I did to your parents, however, I expect you to be smart about the whole ordeal" he started off as he curled the fingers of both his hands together and leaning further back into his chair watching her reaction.

"What offer?" she asked and her voice came out surprisingly confident and her stance was unwavering. While on the inside, she was shaking.

He smiled, pleased to see her confidence. She was always a confident woman. People didn't give her enough credit. "I will release your parents. They will return to all their glory as King and Queen of the Forbes. In return, however, you will become my wife" he said as if talking about business but the excited glint in his eyes was enough to tell her, it was more of a pleasure for him.

"I have my own conditions" Caroline spoke up, not showing any emotion on her face but poise.

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her and leaned forward, placing both his elbows on the table. "Name your terms" he said.

"First of all, I want you to apologize to my parents. Personally" she demanded and crossed her arms over her chest.

He leant closer than before, almost standing from his chair and gave her a pointed look. "Highly unlikely. I do not apologize to anyone" he said.

"Well then I guess I've come here to waste my time. I better go back to Damon" she said and stood from her chair and turned when she felt his hand on her wrist. He pulled at her wrist and breathed in deeply to control his anger avoiding to lash out on her.

"Sit" he said and walked back to sit into his own chair.

"If we are to be in any sort of relationship, then there is not even a one percent chance you will have any power over me. You do not get to control me" she demanded and she had to hand it to herself, she was doing a marvelous job of sounding so confident and Forbes-like.

"I am a man sweetheart. Soon enough, I will be your King. Of course I will have power over you" he said with a casual shrug.

"If you are to be King, I will be a Queen myself. I will be your equal. Not a subordinate" she reasoned with him sternly.

"Is that all?" he asked sarcastically wanting nothing more than for this to be over.

"Not quite" blonde said thinking and walked over to the prince until she stood right in front of the chair he was sitting in. The prince smiled and waited for what the princess had in mind. He certainly hadn't expected a slap in the face.

"That is for manhandling me the other day" she said and rubbed her hand with which she had smacked the arrogant prince's cheek as hard as she could. She could feel the throbbing in her palm but it was worth the look on his face and the satisfaction.

Klaus squared his jaw and rubbed his hand over his cheek. It hadn't hurt that much but she was the first woman ever to slap him or for that matter, the first person to slap him. Ever.

"I certainly wasn't expecting that" he said as he fixed his jaw and locked his eyes with the blonde princess who had a pleasant look on her beautiful face.

"You deserved it" she said and now that he thought about it, maybe he did truly deserve it. He hadn't been completely polite with her as he'd like to be but things got out of control. Like his temper.

"It is settled then. However the Forbes will have to say goodbye to their alliance with the Salvatores" Klaus said and by that he truly meant that Caroline had to end everything with Damon.

"That is not my decision to make. It is my parents' but I will play my part to convince them" the blonde princess said and fought the tears forming in her eyes. She was signing away her life. No! She wouldn't cry. Not in front of this man.

Klaus suddenly stood up from his chair and knelt down in front of her. He placed both of his hands on the arms of the chair caging her in. "I will treat you like a Queen deserves to be Caroline. I will cherish you in every way possible and you will be the envy of every woman I promise" he said and leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek.

She only sighed and felt momentary relief, at least he wasn't going to treat her like the other men treated their wives. Or he could be lying?

Caroline was not sure how things got so out of control but right now all she could care about was running after Damon. Tears blurred her vision but she was determined to stop him. He was quick as he made his way outside the stable and whisked his horse out.

"Damon just listen to-

He turned, the reigns of the horse still in his hand, "I loved you Caroline. I did it all for you and you just went there and handed yourself to him" he yelled at her angrily. He didn't care if he was sounding rude but he was hurt. Too hurt to let it go.

"He would've killed us both" she countered as tears streamed down her face. Even though she knew Klaus would never kill her. He would only kill the ones she held dear. People like Damon and her parents.

"I WOULD'VE PROTECTED YOU!" he screamed at her mad with rage.

Caroline shook her head and her body trembled as sobs racked her, "I didn't have a choice" she answered.

"You did but you chose to trust him over me" he said as a lone tear slid down his left eye.

"Damon please I can't do this without you" she cried out as she went closer to him and held his arms as if letting them go would mean letting him go.

He shook his head and groaned, "I can't watch you destroy your life Caroline" he said shaking his head.

"Please don't go." She begged as she squeezed him into a tight hug.

Damon could feel he tears stain his shirt and he knew it wasn't her fault either but he couldn't… he wouldn't watch her sign her life away. He would find a way to keep her safe again even if it was the last thing he did.

He didn't hug her back but lowered his head and placed a kiss in her hair before untangling himself from her and mounting his horse.

"You can't leave Damon! NO!" Caroline cried out desperately flailing her arms in the air as fresh tears stained her pink cheeks.

"I have to go. I don't think I can ever forgive you for this." he said urging on each word before riding off out of the compound before the blonde could say another word.

The moment he was out of sight, Caroline burst into tears and slid against the wall of the stables and hugged her knees to her chest and let the tears fall freely. She screamed in agony as she watched the person she knew and loved most since her childhood walk away from her.

She sobbed, cried, screamed, yelled and thrashed even against the wind as a wave of fresh tears stains her beautiful pink cheeks. She, no longer, took support from the wall and fell to the floor with a loud thud. Her head hurt from the impact but she had no energy left to even move a muscle. She watched as the sun went down along with her happiness. Tears kept streaming until her eyes were wet, red and puffy and there were no more tears to shed.

She was surprised no one had come after her but she suspected Klaus would at least give her privacy and he did for which she was grateful. She didn't want to grieve and cry with the world watching her.

A/N:

Hi guys! So this is the last chapter with Daroline. Their romance ends in this chapter. Sorry to the Daroline fans. But the Klaroline part is coming up soon. VERY soon. Hope you guys like it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Read and Review. Have a great weekend everyone!