A branch snapped under Caroline's foot and the sound made her freeze for a moment. The rapid pace of her heart beats picked up speed and she had to force herself to breathe. She was walking towards the witch hotspot and her mind had wandered to what had happened several months ago, when she had walked the woods with Klaus, trying to find Bonnie and the twelve witches.
She still considered it to be one of the worst days in her vampire life, or at least the darkest. Because of her, twelve people were buried in the ground under her, when all they wanted was to stop Bonnie from losing control and bringing everything around her down with her. But Bonnie was her best friend, her sister, and there had been no possible way for Caroline to stand idle by while her friend was stabbed to death.
Guilt surged through her as she thought about the consequences of her actions. She had been the one to create the last hotspot in the expression triangle, allowing the veil to be brought down and enabling Bonnie to bring back Jeremy, losing her own life in the process. But yet, her rescue of Bonnie was one of those moments she couldn't bring herself to regret and for a moment, Klaus invaded her head again. He never seemed to regret anything, after all.
The November air was still and cold in this part of the forest and Caroline subconsciously hugged her own body, knowing that she should be freezing even though she wasn't. She took the final steps into the peaceful clearing that bore no evidence of what had happened there. Rays of the sun had found its way through the crowns of the trees and Caroline stepped into the light on the ground.
She stood there for less than a minute before Silas appeared in front of her with Tyler on tow. The hybrid's back was pressed against Silas and his shirt was ripped from struggling with the two-thousand year old vampire. Caroline quickly took a step towards them but Silas stopped her with a head shake and a warning glare.
"Hello, Caroline. How good of you to come. I missed this, you know. You and I, getting along. Being friends." Silas said with a mischievous grin.
"I was never friends with you, Silas." Caroline retorted, but he just laughed at her. "Let Tyler go now. I did what you told me to. They will come for me soon."
"For your sake, I truly hope so. But first you and I are going to have a lot of fun together. Now step over here and I will let Tyler go."
Caroline nodded and slowly took a step towards them. Then she took another and soon she was only a few feet away from being able to touch Tyler.
"No, Caroline. Don't do this. Just run far away from here. I'll be fine. I can handle this. Get out of here now." Tyler told her with an insisting voice and a pleading look. She knew that he meant it and that he was willing to endure all the pain Silas would inflict on him if it meant she was safe. And that broke her heart. Because he did it out of love. A love that Caroline didn't reciprocate anymore.
"Tyler, Tyler, Tyler… How nice of you to offer her freedom just so she can run off with Klaus. Because that is what you are going to do, isn't it? You know what? I've changed my mind. Tyler will go free on one condition: you tell him about all the dirty things you've been doing with Klaus. And remember, I can go inside your head. So don't lie." Silas said and shot her an amused smile.
Caroline glared back at him for a long moment and then looked at Tyler, who had become completely still. He was watching her intently and Caroline felt herself gulp. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, determined not to let Silas faze her. This was like ripping off a bandage. Tyler deserved to know the truth even though it wasn't as bad as Silas made it seem.
"We've kissed… twice. The first time I was drunk and the second time was as a distraction from Silas' mind control. That's it. I am sorry, Tyler. I didn't mean to. It just… happened. And you can be mad at me and hate me for the rest of eternity, but that is all that ever happened." Caroline said with a firm voice and looked Tyler straight in the eye.
He was clearly hurt by what she told him, but there was something else that made her sadder than anything else. He looked disgusted. As if what she had done was utterly repulsive and she knew that she had lost him.
"Nothing else you like to share? No wild nights with heated bodies pressed against each other, screaming the each other's names in a moment of passion just before reaching your climax?" Silas said with a low voice and Caroline took a step back, shocked by his words.
But they weren't for her. It was Tyler he was taunting and the way Tyler's breathing became more rapid, made her suspect that the hybrid was hearing more than just the words. He was seeing it too as Silas planted the images inside his head. Silas' smile made shivers run down her spine and when he winked at her, Caroline took another step back.
"Now, Tyler, if I let you go, what will happen to sweet Caroline here? Because she is really no good to me in pieces, but I suppose Klaus would come anyway. And an angry man is always more likely to make mistakes." Silas discussed with himself as he pondered on whether Caroline was more valuable dead or alive.
"Actually, I think I would like to kill her myself someday. Maybe she will even come willingly after I killed everyone else. So you know what, Tyler? Forget it. Forget everything that Caroline just told you and run away like a coward. Go find a stick to play with or something." Silas told Tyler, finally deciding to let her live a little longer.
Caroline watched how Tyler's eyes became vacant for a second and all of his anger disappeared. Silas had made Tyler forget without even compelling him to and she stared at him in horror. Was this what she was to become?
When Silas released Tyler from his grip, he stumbled forward and right into Caroline, who caught him. He then lifted his gaze and looked at her in surprise.
"Caroline… You can't be here. Get out of here now." Tyler told her as he cupped her face with his hands.
"It's okay, Tyler. I'll be fine. You have to run now. Klaus is coming." Caroline said and placed her hands over his for a moment. Then she pushed him away from her and she felt her eyes sting from unshed tears. He blinked once, surprised by her words and not sure how to take them. Was it a warning or reassurance? After a long moment, Tyler gave in to Silas' mind control and without another word, he sped away.
"Now that he is out of the way, I think it is time to start." Silas said, clamping his hands together.
"Start with what?" Caroline asked suspiciously and didn't take her eyes of Silas as he stepped closer to her.
"The game." he replied and shot her a devilish smile.
"I'm not participating in any game." Caroline told him coldly with her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Of course you are. Now let me see one those wonderful smiles of yours."
"No." Caroline said and turned her head away in defiance. He was in front of her in a split second, pulling her face towards his with a hand under her chin. He was staring at her with almost wild eyes and Caroline was scared out of her mind.
"We can do this the hard way or the easy way. Either way-" Silas told her calmly, but suddenly interrupted himself to stare into the forest.
"Are you expecting guests?" he asked her and Caroline shook her head as much as she could for the hand still holding her chin.
"Maybe it's Kla-" Caroline started, but was interrupted by Silas, who removed his hand and stepped around her.
"A witch. A friend of yours?" Silas asked and a moment later, Lucy came walking through the trees and towards them. Her hands were in the air and she was chanting a spell that took all of her concentration as she barely noticed Silas flash in front of her.
Caroline watched Silas hit an invisible wall and couldn't help but feel after it herself, meeting it a few feet behind her. In the same moment as Lucy's chanting stopped, Caroline jumped in surprise as they were suddenly surrounded by the ghosts of several Bennett witches.
Caroline was staring straight into a pair of wet dark green eyes and her heart skipped a beat as her best friend smiled at her, making her face light up. Bonnie was standing right in front of her, outside the invisible walls and both of the girls' lips were locked in a wide smile. Caroline knew she couldn't touch her, but she reached out for her friends anyway, placing her fingertips in the air in front of Bonnie. Slowly, her friend followed her motions and their fingers were placed inches from each other as they were not allowed to touch.
It took a long moment for Silas to realise what was happening as he ran around, hitting the wall around him. Then he sped in front of Caroline, ruining her reunion with her best friend and lifted the blonde by the neck. He heard a gasp come from the insufferable Bennett witch that had cost him so many problems, but continued to the middle of the circle.
"Let me out of here or the girl dies." Silas threatened as Caroline struggled in his grip to get free. She fell to the ground when he suddenly let her go and bend over on all fours to catch her breath once more. Silas was lying beside her on the ground, twisting in agony from the aneurisms caused by the by standing witches.
Caroline slowly got to her feet and glanced around, finding her friends behind the witches. They were standing, awaiting the next spell to be spoken so they could start what they were here for; to enter Silas' mind. She quickly found the pair of eyes she was looking for and shot Klaus a small smile as reassurance. His body was rigid and his eyes burning into hers. She doubted there was any way of comforting him other than getting this over with.
Silas had stopped twitching beside her as the pain stopped and Caroline quickly stepped away from him. But Silas wasn't paying any attention to her. Instead he was looking straight at one of the witches and Caroline curiously followed his gaze.
A dark-skinned woman with raven black hair looked back at Silas with what looked like sorrow in her dark eyes. Caroline's gaze shifted between the two of them a couple of times until it finally dimmed on her.
"Qetsiyah." Silas almost spat out and he slowly moved towards her, forgetting all about Caroline and the other witches.
"Silas, my love." the woman replied with a warm voice that wrapped around Caroline like a soft blanket. She had never experienced anything like it, but as she noticed the low chanting around her, she realised that the next spell was being cast and the witches were taking Silas into a trance-like state that made her friends able to enter his mind. Caroline was pulled out from the blanket along with the revelation and the next time Qetsiyah spoke, it didn't affect her at all.
"What is this?" Silas asked with a high voice, almost yelling at the dead witch.
"This is a peace offering." Qetsiyah replied calmly and Silas' eyes widened at her words.
"Are you going to deliver me another cure?" he asked and Caroline almost flinched because of the hope his voice bore. She saw how he stumbled as he took another step towards Qetsiyah and Caroline realised that the spell was working.
"No. But I am offering you something else. Someone else." she replied and sent him a sad smile. Silas looked at her with confusion but all Qetsiyah did was raise her hand towards Caroline, who was frozen in her place.
This was the part that Caroline had feared the most. The part where she had to pretend to be whoever Silas' old love was and trick the world's most powerful creature. She had done it before, though, to Klaus, but she was less certain that Silas wasn't going to rip off her head if he discovered her foul play.
Slowly, Silas turned his head and Caroline plastered a big smile on her face as he saw her. The way his face lit up at the sight of her, made her heart skip a beat and she felt her smile become real. She had always been too much of a sucker for love stories, even the tragic ones, and this was one of them.
"Cassandra? Is that you, my love?" Silas asked hesitantly as he moved towards her with heavy steps.
"It is me. I am here." Caroline told him with as much happiness as she could muster and she managed to make her eyes tear up as she thought of how everything was soon over. She took some hurried steps towards Silas to meet him half way and he almost fell into her arms as he kept stumbling over his own feet.
She held onto his arms, grasping his triceps to hold him up and his hands were placed on her cheeks. Slowly, she let them fall to their knees and she loosened her grip on his arms and moved them to his wrists. He was staring at her so intently that Caroline was afraid that he had figured her out, but instead he just leaned forward and placed a long kiss on her forehead.
"I am so sorry." Silas told her with tears in his eyes and Caroline nodded as she stroked his cheek.
"It's okay. I forgive you. You did it out of love and that is what's important" she said to him with a reassuring smile on her lips and she saw the corner of his mouth twitch slightly as he tried to smile back at her. She leaned forward so their foreheads were touching and stared into his eyes.
"But what you have become, my love, is not right. You are not this vengeful person nor cruel. The man I loved was gentle and forgiving. He showed kindness to those who needed it and helped those who could not help themselves. Where is that man, Silas?" Caroline continued with a gentle but insisting voice. She knew nothing about the man Silas had been, but she could see that her words affected him greatly.
"Everything I did was so I could be with you again. It was all for you." Silas said with an almost desperate voice and his eyes were pleading.
"And you are with me now. But for us to be together, you must help me right your wrongs. You must trust me and then we will go into the light together and live forever." she told him and moved her head slightly backwards as he nodded. "Do you trust me?" Caroline asked, trying not to think about the person she had asked the exact same question the day before.
She had realised how wrong it was for him to be here. For him to see them take down a man by using his only weakness: his love for a woman. To hear her ask Silas to trust her, only to rip out his heart afterwards. This was everything Klaus feared and everything Caroline had tried to teach him not to, but they needed him for this. He was the strongest of them all and she doubted that she would even be able to keep him away.
Silas looked at her for a long moment, but Caroline didn't falter and kept a small smile on her lips.
"With all of my heart." Silas finally answered and then surprised her by placing his lips on hers. It took a moment for Caroline to answer the kiss, but not so long to make Silas suspicious. It was a short kiss, but Caroline made sure that Silas was the one to pull away. Once again she tried not to think about the man standing outside the witches' circle, who should not be seeing any of this.
Caroline sent Silas a glowing smile, which he returned and then leaned away from him while placing her right hand over his heart. Then she yanked her hand inside his chest and she curled her fingers around his heart. The feeling of the pulsation was new to her and for a moment she forgot what she was actually doing as all she could listen to was his blood being pumped through his body by the little machine she was holding in her hand.
She didn't notice the witches chanting before she began feel the power of the spell and she looked at Silas, whose eyes were wide with shock. For a moment she thought he was going to run, but when she smiled at him, he seemed to calm down a little and Caroline realised he still was seeing Cassandra in front of him.
Caroline then noticed how the warmth of his heart slowly seemed to retreat and the pulsation of it slowed down to a near minimum. Her own heart was however picking up speed, pounding so hard inside her chest that it almost hurt. It felt like new life was surging through her and she suddenly noticed how the witches' voices had picked up in intensity and strength.
She placed her had on Silas' cheek and stroked it one time before she leaned towards him to whisper to him.
"Goodbye. I'll see you in Hell."
Silas' shock didn't even manage to reach his face because in the same second the chanting stopped and Caroline ripped his dying heart out. Silas fell to the ground in front of her, but Caroline just looked at the still heart in her hand. It was like a broken machine and she studied it with interest before she tossed it aside.
It wasn't until then she began coming to her senses and she realised what she had done. But the horror of her actions didn't overshadow the increasing pain she felt in her chest as her heart seemed to pump faster and faster, leaving her confused and lightheaded.
She managed to get to her feet, but only to fall once more. She was caught by a pair of strong arms before she hit the ground and it felt like thousand of volts passed through her. The pain was so intense that Caroline couldn't speak and the last thing she saw before she passed out was his worried eyes.
Are anyone still reading this? If you are then I'm so sorry for this very late update. As you might have noticed there was no Amara in this story. The whole 'doppelgänger-meant-to-be' storyline was a little too ridiculous to me so I cut it out. And that has nothing to do with any ships.
I hope the whole made sense. The next chapter might notxD But then comes what I would like to call second part of this story. Yes, there will be a second part. Which will make this fic twice as long as it is now. If anyone out there is still reading that is:) I thought about making a second book, like a sequel, but decided to just extend this one.
I would love to know what you think about this chapter!