I know, I know. It's been FOREVER. But I was really busy with the hospital, and studying and exams. And I was more than a little bit stuck with this story, even more so because of the low number of reviews: I don't know if I'm doing it right or wrong without feedback, and it is discouraging. Anyway, that's a new chapter.

The info about Lupus were taken from Wikipedia.

Enjoy it and let me know what you think!

Klaus had the incredible ability to behave just like an ostrich: his mind shunned form anything it considered unpleasant and shoved it away in a dark, secluded corner, ignoring it until it was forced to face it.

And that was exactly what he did that evening in regards of the abominable text message.

He shoved his phone in his pocket, and looked at Caroline, "Have you ever been on a dromedary?" he asked stupidly. Of course she couldn't know if she ever did.

She opened her eyes slowly, her peaceful dozing interrupted, "No", she said, her voice feeble, her eyes barely open.

"Would you like to ride one?", he asked, deciding to overlook her tiredness.

"Okay", she answered. Her body was limp, not yet fully awake and reactive, still in that wonderfully relaxed condition it was just mere moments before, and she groaned a little when she tried to get up. God, she felt eighty years old.

They walked out of the garden, and for the first time Caroline could see what there was outside of it. There was a vast and immeasurable desert, tinted a vivid red, and just outside of the garden but still in the property limits, there was a white –white? How could anything placed among a sea of sand be white?- building. As they approached it, she noticed two people, a middle aged man and a tall boy, moving inside of it, busy with feeding the animals.

"Hello Ahmed", Klaus said to the man, who was walking up to them, his white teeth a sharp contrast with his tan skin as he smiled, a veil of sweat glistening on his forehead. "Hello Mr. Mikaelson", he said with his thick accent, bowing more than Caroline thought was necessary, never once averting his gaze from Klaus, even if he never looked at him straight in the eyes.

"I wanted to show to my friend, Miss…" he paused for a moment as he gestured her to Ahmed with his hand, both him and her noticing in that moment that she didn't have a surname to go by. Klaus recovered so quickly that Ahmed couldn't register the brief pause, "Caroline", he opted for the first name, even if that sounded a bit too informal for his liking, "the stall and take her for a ride on the dromedary. It's her first time", he said smiling slightly.

The man nodded, and shouted something to the boy, whose name was Karim, who ran somewhere in the building only to show up minutes later with a saddle and promptly put on the animal's back.

"Here", Klaus bent to host her on the dromedary, "let me help you". And Caroline was on top of the animal, higher than she expected, more excited than she realized.

"Wow" was all she could manage to say, looking out at the expanse of sand before her, so vast and endless.

Meanwhile, Klaus had mounted and was now by her side, "I know", he simply said and then turned to her to explain how to ride and steer the dromedary. "Don't let it fool you, they are tougher than they look, incredibly strong and fast. You'll need a sure hand, decisive movement. Do not hesitate." he instructed, showing her how to pull the reins, "And use your voice too. They need to hear you, and they answer to some sentences. They're actually quite smart," he smiled.

She looked at him curiously, surprised by the apparent fondness he had for the specie "You really like them, uh? I would have never thought…".

"What do you mean?", his voice was confused.

She shrugged, "Oh, just that you always seem so calm and composed", and regal , "That I took you for the horse lover kind of guy, instead of the dromedary one. I was wrong".

He stared ahead at the setting sun, "Well, I happen to love horses, in fact I own one back home. But I cannot deny I enjoy this creatures too", he patted the neck of his dromedary affectionately, "They are incredibly resilient". He paused briefly and then smirked, looking at her, "And then, they are more suited for this environment, so it would be stupid to prefer horses, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess so".

They rode into the open space, never straying too far from the mansion. Caroline found herself enjoying immensely the activity, realizing she had felt claustrophobic in the house, and some fresh air was just what she needed. It was odd that she didn't feel alone, and not just because Klaus was there with her, but because of the animal that was carrying her, his presence comforting. The desert was beautiful, a kaleidoscope of colors before her eyes, so grand and immense she was sure her feeble eyes would never be able to catch all those shades and nuances; yet, even if she felt humble in front of such grandiosity, at the same time she felt empowered, recharged and hopeful in a future full of possibilities.

"So", she started after a while, turning to face Klaus, "What do you do for a living?"

"Didn't my brother tell you?", he was sure Elijah told him and Kol he had told Caroline a bit about their family.

She nodded, "Yes, but he was vague and talked mostly about what he does, he didn't say anything about you or Kol".

"Well, as you may know my family is in the communication business. Elijah is the CEO and Vice President, he makes all the decisions, he has the final word on all projects and mostly gets the company new contracts and clients", he explained, "Kol runs the tech department: he is the one in charge to develop and supervise the new projects, my sister Rebekah is in charge of the marketing and PR of our new campaigns and charity events, whi-"

"Your sister?" Caroline interrupted him, her brows furrowing.

"Yes, Rebekah", he nodded, "You didn't know about her?" he asked.

"No, none of you ever mentioned her".

"Oh", he shrugged, "well, she's younger than us, just a year younger than Kol actually, even if it doesn't seem that way most of the time", his brother immaturity was proverbial, while Bekah was always so intense, always taking everything seriously and getting crushed for that.

"Do you two get along?" she inquired.

"Not really. We're polar opposites. She believes in love and happy endings, she has this…craving for love. I don't share her optimism and I'm not going to get stomped on by every passing pretty face." He smirked.

She had the feeling that while it may have been true that the two of them were opposites, it wasn't exactly true that they didn't get along. Klaus spoke about his sister too fondly and affectionately for it to be any other way. She went back to her question, "So, you were telling me about your job".

"Oh, right. As I was saying, I am the accountant of the corporation, I –"

"Accountant?", she raised a brow sarcastically.

Klaus huffed, "Must you always interrupt me, Caroline?", he looked at her straight in the eyes, scolding her as if she was a child. She was surely behaving like one. How humiliating, especially since she knew he was right. She turned red. Probably. She wasn't a hundred percent sure, but she was almost sure of it. Thank god she could blame it on the sun…say it was a sun-burn or something like that.

She bent her head in an attempt to hide it, "Sorry, please go on".

He closed his eyes, sighing "Don't worry about it. I was rude. Forgive me", he apologized while looking out at the setting sun. There are some things that get easier with practice, unfortunately for him and for those around him, apologizing was not one of those things for Klaus. It was always so fucking hard, it was physically exhausting. But Caroline was scared and lost, and he had to remember to be patient and calm, she didn't deserve to be lashed out at as if she was a bad employee (not that he was rude to employees, although some people may disagree).

She smiled, "Please go on", she gestured with her hand, the other stroking the neck of the dromedary tentatively.

"I am the accountant of the company. I make sure that we're not going to bankrupt, that all the paychecks are paid, that everything is in place, and I'm the one that will end up in jail when the government discovers all our illegal business and all our unpaid taxes" he explained.

She stared at him wide eyed, not sure if Klaus was trying to be funny or actually serious. Does he always have to be so impassible? He leaned toward her with a hand on his muscular tight, still as serious as ever, when he suddenly smirked, "Caroline I'm just joking. Laugh a little" he said conspiratorially.

She chuckled nervously, because she always felt a bit unsettled around Klaus more than around everyone else, he was the most unreadable and impenetrable person in a world already so difficult to read for her. "I would have never thought you were an accountant".

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Is that so? Why? Don't you think I'm smart enough?" his tone was light but it did not mask his genuine curiosity.

She shook her head, "Of course not. It's just that…I don't know, I can't quite picture you sitting at a desk with a calculator in hand all day long. You give off the artsy-creative-kind-of-guy vibe to me".

He stared at her for a long moment, the intensity of it startling Caroline, making her wonder if she had said something wrong. "Well, you're not wrong", he turned his dromedary around toward the stable and she followed his lead, "I love art and I paint occasionally. It's just a hobby, I'm not actually good at it, but I enjoy it" he said dismissively .

"Wow, that's great!" Caroline mused as they entered the white building. "Can I see some of your work, sometime? I mean-", she dismounted her dromedary, the not so easy task adding nervousness to her tone, making senseless mumbling even worse, "-when you have the time. If, you have the time. And of course if you want to".

He smiled at her and offered her arm as they walked back to the house where dinner was surely waiting for them. "I don't have any of my paintings here, but sure love, I'll show some of them to you when I have the chance", he placed her hand on the crook of his elbow.

"You know, I envy people with talent like you. I don't know if I have one, but I feel that I've always envied those who had it, because I didn't", she scrunched her brows together and looked up at him, her expression slightly apologetic, "Does it makes sense?".

He shrugged, "Of course it does. You may not remember facts and notions, but I think that emotions are engrained too deeply into us to ever be fully removed" he opened the door that lead into the garden they had spent a great part of the afternoon in. "I think, but I'm no expert of course, that it is something akin to muscle memory" he concluded.

"Like some sort of emotional memory?" she pondered as they stood in front of the glass doors that led inside.

He nodded, "Yes, exactly. But then again" he said as he opened the doors for her, "I don't really know anything about it".

Dinner was pleasant as it had been the previous days. It was hypnotizing watching the three brothers interact,

quipping sarcastically to each other back and forth like some kind of tennis match she was more than happy to be left out of. Although, there was a small part of her that ached to be included into that kind of banter, share that sort of bond that only people who had grown up together share.

The familial ambience they created was strangely comfortable for her, giving the feeling of warmth, safety and shelter, things she fiercely desired and longed for. Or maybe it was the red wine, who knows.

Yes, dinner was very pleasant , as it always was, but she couldn't deny that the afternoon had a large role in her giddiness. The garden, the desert, the ride. And Klaus of course. Klaus was…indescribable. There was something so raw and primal about him, his stare was so intense. He appeared to be impassive and unreadable most of the time, silently observing everything around him, but when he did spoke, there was so much purpose and passion, a cold fire burning behind his hooded grey eyes, and then there was his voice. God, his voice…that voice. That voice did things to her. Deliciously sinful things. Things that had her mind spinning, her knees weak and her imagination run wild…

"Has Nik entertained you satisfactorily?" she heard someone addressing her, and those words, given the thoughts she had been having in that moment, made her blush, as if someone could actually guess where her mind had gone to, and she felt exposed, before telling herself that nobody could know just how she had been thinking about Klaus satisfying her. You don't even know him for God's sake! Show some restraint! She chastised herself.

"Mmmh" she nodded at Kol, drinking more wine.

Elijah furrowed his thick brows, "Are you feeling hot Caroline? You seem flushed…do you want me to lower the temperature?" he motioned to stand up.

She shook her head, "No, no I'm fine. It's probably the wine" she gestured to her third empty glass.

The older man got up from his chair, buttoning his blazer. Yes, he actually did eat with his suit on. In his own home. "I've got some business to attend to. Enjoy your evening" and he then walked swiftly up the stairs.

Kol clapped his hands, "Well, well. What shall we do to pass the night then?" he asked expectantly.

Klaus didn't move, Caroline shrugged. Kol huffed, his shoulder sagging, "What a lively duo…What about we drink some of that fine whiskey Elijah had Mariam buy for him a week ago?". His chair screeched as he got up, and he then run to the kitchen. Loud clanking noises came from the kitchen and voices that seemed to be arguing, but after a couple of minutes a beaming Kol emerged, a bottle of amber liquid in one hand, and three tumblers in the other.

"Ah, now that's whiskey", he breathed as he set the bottle and glasses on the table, then looked around, as if just realizing where he was, and announced that they couldn't drink the nectar (Yes, he called it nectar) in a squalid dining room. Caroline wanted to say that there was absolutely nothing even remotely squalid about the lavish dining room, but thought better of it. You have to know what battles to pick.

And so they went up the two flights of stairs, and in a matter of minutes Caroline was staring open mouthed at the dark desert in front of her, from the roof of the palace.

"I know", Kol said condescendingly and proudly at the same time, smirking at her awed expression.

They sat in some wood chairs and drank the whiskey (it was really good, though not really Caroline's thing) and chatted a bit more. Well, they mostly listened to Kol's absurd and crazy anecdotes, trying to figure out the few truths among all those lies.

"Time to take a nap" he announced stumbling, "Night Nik", he patted him on the head as he passed by, "Night Caroline", he bent down to kiss her on the cheek, surprising her for a moment, before she relaxed. She noticed that Klaus too was stiff.

"Night Kol", she called, looking worriedly at his retreating, wavering form. "I hope he won't fall down the stairs" she murmured.

"With all the alcohol he drank I doubt he would feel the pain of a broken bone", Klaus said, taking the last sip of his whiskey. They didn't say anything for a long time, and the silence was unnerving Caroline. Was it as awkward for him as it was for her?

"So…" she broke the silence, "I had fun today". Okay, not the most brilliant thing to say, but at least it was something.

"I'm glad", Klaus kept looking at the stars, his body relaxed against the wooden chair, sighing softly. "We could go again tomorrow" he offered.

She reclined on the chair, shivering slightly from the cold, and gazed at the stars, "I'd like that", she smiled.

"There are so many, how can people distinguish them? " she mused more to herself than to him, not even bothering to explicating the subject of her musings. He understood and answered her anyway. "I guess that with the appropriate motivation people are capable of anything." He got up and came to kneel beside her "That one is the constellation of Lupus, the Wolf", he pointed with his finger at a group of stars. She furrowed her brows "I can't see it".

He moved his finger to trace the shape of the constellation, "Can you see it now?"

She pursed her lips, squinting her eyes, "Mmm…I guess. I mean, I see the shape but it doesn't really look like a wolf to me".

He chuckled, "Well, you are actually right. You know, for many centuries it wasn't even a constellation, but it was an asterism within Centaurus, that one" he pointed to another group of star, way bigger than the previous, right next the Lupus constellation.

"What is an asterism?" she asked.

"A pattern of stars that usually it is part of an official, and bigger, constellation" he responded quickly. "So, for centuries they viewed it as the animal that the Centaurus was killing in his hunt, and then they viewed it as a simple bystander" he went on, "It was Hipparcus than named it Therion, the Beast, in the 200s BC".

"Wow", she was impressed at his knowledge of the stars and their history, amazed that there could be so much history behind it. "That still doesn't explain why the named it the Wolf", she pointed out.

He shrugged, "Studious think that it is probably based on the Babylonian figure known as the Mad Dog, a strange hybrid creature that combined the head and torso of a man with the legs and tail of a lion. It is often associated with the sun god and another mythical creature that is supposedly related to the Greek constellation of the Centaurus. It were the Latins that translated it to the Wolf".

"You really know a lot of this stuff", she said, feeling stupid at her choice of words.

He smirked, and it was as if someone had just punched her in the stomach. How had she not noticed before how attractive he was? Sure, not in the canonic standards of beauty, but there was something so dark, deep, twisted and intense in the way he spoke, in the way he moved, in his hypnotizing eyes. Most of all, his eyes were so intense she could physically feel them caressing her whenever he looked at her.

"Actually, I only know about this one. It is my favorite" he said, "I know very little about the other constellations and nothing at all about the ones of the zodiac in case you were wondering", as he spoke, he put his hands up as if to stop her from asking questions about the abhorring subject.

"Okay, okay relax", she smiled, "I wasn't going to ask you anything. How come you got into stars and constellations? It seems like a very peculiar interest to me".

He shrugged, looking up at the sky once again and then returning to look at her, "I knew a person who was very passionate about it and she spent hours talking about it, so it rubbed off on me."

She scrutinized him, pursing her lips while thinking, "Was she your girlfriend?" she asked bluntly.

He avoided her gaze, "Sort of".

"Did you love her?"

"I thought I did. But who knows if it was truly love? It was a long time ago, I was very young. I thought I loved a lot of things at the time", he shifted stiffly.

"Did I made you uncomfortable?", she looked at him concernedly, "I'm sorry Klaus, I didn't mean to. It was indelicate and noisy of me to ask you something so personal. Sorry", she apologized again, touching the back of his hand with hers, trying to express her regret through her body.

He gave her a little smile, "Not at all sweetheart. You didn't overstepped any boundaries. It is ancient history".

She was doubtful, "You sure?"

He nodded, smiling wider this time "I'm sure. And if you ever make me uncomfortable, I'll let you know", he lied. Klaus would rather stab himself through the heart with a knife rather than admitting that something could hurt him or upset him. He has been like this ever since he was a little boy, and he doubted he would change now.

She smiled, apparently believing him. He sprung to his feet and held out his hand to her, "Come on love. It's getting cold out here, and I'm a bit tired". She took his hand and they made their way back down the stairs.

"Can I ask you something?", her feeble voice made him flinch.

He sighed, "Are you going to ask me for permission every time you want to ask me a question, from now on?", he wasn't sure he could put up with that.

She grimaced, "Sorry", she looked at her feet, embarrassment filling her, "I wanted to ask you if you have a girlfriend now", she said. Talking about his past lovers had made her curious. It was true that Klaus (or his brothers) never mentioned a girlfriend or wife, but she doubted a man as attractive as him could be single, unless it was by his own choice. Even then though, she was sure his life was not scarce of the female element.

He looked at her and saw her genuine curiosity. She wasn't asking with malice or to flirt, she was just curious of the man she now shared a house with. One of the three complete strangers she didn't know anything about and that she shared a house with now.

"No, not really", he said.

Her eyebrows raised and she turned to take a better look at him, "Really? I don't believe you", she said skeptically.

He laughed, "You are free to do that. But it is true. I don't have a girlfriend", he stated.

She squinted her eyes, she seemed to be doing that a lot that evening, "Are you sure?".

It was his turn to raise his eyebrows, thought his were raised in amusement, "I'm pretty positive, yes. I would know, don't you think?".

"Mmm, not necessarily", she shrugged, "Maybe you are having a fling with someone and giving her the wrong message and she's more into you than you are into her, but if you haven't clearly stated that you're not together, she may think otherwise", she rambled.

When they stopped in front of her door, he was looking at her wide eyed, "That would be horrible", he shivered and then composed himself. "Thankfully, that is not my case at all", he smirked once again.

"Good for you", she smiled and opened her door. "Goodnight Klaus". She didn't know what came over her, what force possessed her to do it, but next thing she knew, she was leaning on her toes to kiss him lightly and quickly on the cheek. She felt him stiffen for a second and then relaxed again.

He smiled, "Goodnight Caroline".

She closed the door, and couldn't help the smile that stretched over her face. Her lips burned.

He turned around and walked back to his room, trying to ignore the flame that was burning in the spot where her lips touched his flesh.

Just as he was turning the knob, he saw Elijah approaching , "Niklaus!", he called him.

"Yes, Elijah?"

"Go to the living room. There is someone waiting for you".

Klaus furrowed his brows, but walked quickly down the stairs. Who could be at that hour? And there, in the middle of the desert. The sooner he got over with it, the better. He kept running through his mind trying to figure out who could possible demand to see him at that ungodly hour, but as he passed the threshold of the room, his mind came up with the answer at the same time his eyes fell on a brunette mane and a petite, pert ass. He wanted to groan. And run. And hide. And anything else but be there, in that room, with that person, about to endure a very unpleasant conversation.

But he couldn't, so he politely greeted the girl that was now fully facing him with a scowl.

"Good evening, Hayley".

Baci

Marta