Thanks to Anastasia Dreams for all her amazing and patient beta work.

In visions of the dark night

Ihave dreamed of joy departed-

But a waking dream of life and light

has left me broken-hearted.

A Dream

by Edgar Allan Poe

Chapter 3: Genuine beauty comes with pain

They say it is darkest before dawn. Well they couldn't be more right she thought.

This seemed to be one of her darkest moments, she was afraid and she was in pain. Outside of her window she could she that it was still dark. Morning was yet to come. She was scared to look at his face and the way the dim light in her room created shadows upon his features. She had lost sense of time, how many hours was she sleeping? Or has it been just mere minutes? She didn't dare look the clock. For now time was standing still.

She was at the edge of her bed shivering, the dream still holding her captive in a weird way. Fully awake now, she knew that everything was just a twisted dream. She even knew that this dream wasn't even hers to begin with; it was one of his sick games. But as the minutes passed by she couldn't shake out that feeling of terror and helplessness that was covering her from head to toe. He was so near her that it was making everything even more terrifying. His presence was worst than any imaginable nightmare. She tried to collect her thoughts, she knew that somehow he was deriving a strange pleasure out of this and she didn't want to be such an easy game in his hands.

Klaus was casually resting his back on the headboard, his legs stretched over the duvet. His gaze slowly traveled over her, taking in every movement, every short breath. Her confusion, her fear and her clear efforts to collect herself and fight him were intoxicating. He couldn't look away from her golden locks. A golden halo that was a fitting crown for a princess. He had lived a thousand years to know that when the time came, a princess given the right opportunity would rise to be a Queen. She couldn't see it yet, but this was her place, next to him.

He smirked when he saw her secretly look at the door, but he knew, as did she, that she would never make in there in time. Still, he knew that this wouldn't stop her from calculating ways to escape from him. Soon she'll be content in his arms he thought and never think of running away from him.

A sound of pain escaped her lips.

His hand carefully traveled on her arm up and down caressing it. She moved further away from his touch and he sighed. That movement caused her even more pain.

"It's psychosomatic," he said softly. He knew she was counting the minutes before the pain would take over her completely. As her body became more alert so would the pain.

She stared up at him with confusion.

He moved a little bit closer to her. He didn't want to startle her more, but he did want to feel her closer to him. To take her in his arms and take away all her fear. All in good time he thought, for now he was just going to play with her fear, magnify it to a breaking point. Her breaking point. He had to use her primal instincts against her for that to happen. Pain and hunger would have to do for now. Just a tad for tonight.

"The dream felt real, it affected all your senses, so your body is still responding to what it thought that was really happening." His voice was so calm and gentle like she was his favorite student and they were in a class session.

"It's all in the mind actually." He decisively caught her arm and gently moved her closer to him, not giving her the option to deny him. "Even if it was just a dream that didn't make in any less real did it?" he whispered in her ear, smelling her hair.

It would seem that he couldn't suppress the wolf inside him. Everything he did to her in his wolf form in her dream he was tempted to do now, minus the slicing and dicing. In her dream he was the wolf and he enjoyed his hunt like no other before, because she was the prey. He smelled her fear in her dream, claiming and marking her like he was doing right now. Now though, he was so tempted to turn her fear in arousal and lust. He smiled still taking in her scent, pain could be the prelude to pleasure he thought.

She didn't answer, but he was telling the truth. All her body ached, she was sore and her skin was burning in all the places that the wolf sliced and carved her flesh in the nightmare. Which meant everywhere. For some strange reason she knew without a single doubt that the werewolf in her nightmare was Klaus' wolf form. He was once again so close to her, inches away. This time he wasn't a wolf and it was real. His head buried in her hair and his hand gripping her arm. The connection was unbearable. His touch was gentle yet firm and it was causing her nerves to scream with pain. Her whole body was relieving the nightmare. Every passing minute she could feel imaginary wounds appearing. She needed blood and she could hear his blood pumping in his veins louder than ever. She still remembered the way his blood tasted. Like nothing she had ever tasted before. She could feel her gums hurting and her physical pain was making them hurt even more. She was willing her fangs not to appear and her face not to contort to its vampiric features and that was resulting in to more pain. She didn't want to turn in front of him. She had to breathe. Just breathe, to take deep breaths. This is was one of the most useful lessons Stefan had taught her the night she turned. To remember to breathe. Damn that was so not working right now.

He knew hunger when he saw it. And now her eyes were screaming with it. He wanted so much to see her again in all her vampire glory like the night of her birthday when she sunk her fangs into his flesh. Only the memory was making his whole body throbbing with need. He needed to make her succumb to her bloodlust; it would make everything so much easier for him. Her guilt and her hunger would be in his hands the perfect instruments. In this point it was all about control. She was too young, and even though her control was remarkable, something he had confirmed tonight, she was still a baby vampire. Giving in to her bloodlust would mean giving up her precious control. She would be ready to give in to him then. From the moment she caught his eye, he had quietly studied her. Her issues with control were the ones that defined her. It was all about control, always, so he would just have to take it from her. Even if that meant doing to her things he had avoided until now. It was time. He would have to turn to his old ways, but the price was worth it.

She was going to be his one way or another.

His hand now slowly moved to her neck, she was about to move away but his eyes turned to ice and she knew it wouldn't be a wise thing to do, not when she was alone with him with no distance between them. He barely caressed her pulse point and she shuddered.

"Baby vampires, such sensitive little creatures," he said, his voice slightly mocking.

He applied a little pressure to the imaginary cuts and bites that would have been there had he dream been real. He new exactly where to put just a little bit more pressure. She suppressed a moan of pain and bit her lips. Her heart was beating wildly against her ribcage. She had been tortured before, she could do this. She wasn't the weak little girl everybody thought she was. Although the pain was still there, she was trying to forget about it, to convince herself that it was just her imagination. Her mind was playing tricks on her. It wasn't real even if it was feeling so painfully real.

This was so not her day, first Alaric tortured her and now Klaus. She had her neck snapped twice, she was vervained. Wood was pushed into her, and the dream felt so real that now pain was lingering in her awakened body. His hand, causing friction on her skin was killing her. It was like he was pushing his hands into an open wound. What was even worse was that she was feeling drained. She needed blood and she needed it now. Her body craved it in order to stop the pain. All her thoughts seemed to end with that and only that. Blood!

He was watching in amazement all the emotions that were crossing her face. He was expecting her to scream with pain or at least moan and cry, but she was doing neither. She was stubborn and feisty and that combination could be lethal to a vampire. If she were to be taught the right ways she could turn out to be…divine. They could be unstoppable together. His desire flared and white-hot passion engulfed him.

Before she knew it he had her pinned on her bed, his body crashing into her. Her breathing became erratic and she knew that he was aware that his weight was causing her tender flesh even more pain. She thought she saw him hesitate but instead of moving off her like she wanted he began massaging her arms. It wasn't soothing, it was excruciating. She bit her lips harder until she drew blood, but she didn't make a sound. The drop of blood that she tasted from her lip was making her crave blood even more.

She bravely met his gaze; she wasn't giving in to him. This dream hadn't been real, the pain wasn't real. He was real, but the pain wasn't, she had to hold on to that. She had to focus to what was real. Ironically that meant him. She had to find a way out of this and right now her only solution seemed to be to keep him calm, to reason with him. It seemed an impossible task. Especially since her mind was clouded with pain and she was tormented by thoughts she didn't want to admit to. She wanted to move her head a little higher, hide her face in his neck and bite him with all her strength, drain him dry.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in a whisper.

He smiled and moved even closer to her and it took all her will power to not shove him away. His fingers seemed to enjoy finding their way on her skin, he kept stroking the length of her arms and his gaze locked with hers.

"Punishment." One word, one whisper. Like a caress, like poison.

She trembled but she didn't move. Not even an inch. He wasn't smiling anymore. His hand gripped her jaw and moved her face closer to him.

A sound of terror escaped her lips and he relished it. Only a day ago, looking upon her beautiful face had taken away the darkness from his soul. Now her ivory skin and her green eyes infuriated him. Her sweet face was igniting his darkness and he was getting lost in it. He wasn't going to drown alone in that abyss, though; he was taking her with him, no matter the cost.

"Rejection is one thing sweetheart, betrayal another."

His lips were now close to hers, she tried to move away but his grip on her face was too strong.

"You played with me when I was nothing but kind to you. I lost a brother thanks to you and your little group of beloved friends. The night you distracted me, you almost cost me my whole family and today you were so happy to get rid of me. Honestly sweetheart I am feeling a little upset here and when that happens…."

His tone was so menacing that now all she felt was fear. Both of her hands were holding his arm. His hand moved lower and he was now holding her from her throat. He wasn't hurting her, but she new that it wouldn't take much. If he were to apply a little more strength he would either snap her neck or even rip her head of. She knew that he was capable of it. He had proved to her tonight that he didn't care about her. He wouldn't hesitate in killing her.

"I tend to get a little moody…"

His fingers circled her throat a little tighter; if she were human his hold would have choked the life out of her.

"So you tell me, love, why do you think I am doing this?"

His gaze roamed over her face and settled on her half open lips.

"Kill me then and get it over with it. What are you waiting for?" she retaliated but she just couldn't look away from his eyes that looked so dark at that moment. She could feel the heat from his body seeping into her ice-cold aching skin. She didn't want to die, but she didn't want to beg for her life either. She would never do that.

"Where would the fun be in that?" His hand finally let go of her neck and she could breathe better. It was worse like this; the hunger was increasing with every deep and long breath.

He gently stroked her hair. Her skin was beyond pale now. He gently moved his body, sat on the bed and tenderly pulled her on his lap. She didn't fight him. She was too weak. The nightmare was quite the ordeal for her. She was just a young vampire after all.

"I have great plans for you, sweetheart." He promised her and that promise made her feel even worse. He was insane and she was powerless.

The pain was just too much now, she was shivering and sweat ran down her body. Her intense need for blood was turning to something else. It felt like she was fainting and she was so scared that she was going to be locked away in another nightmare. She momentarily closed her eyes and she saw the haunting image of the wolf ready to bite her yet again. She opened her eyes wanting to make this nightmare vanish. Everything blurred together and the room started spinning. She tried to say something, but it was just too much. She wanted to fall a way to a world made out of blood and nothing else. Her every fiber was on fire, but all her movements were becoming slower. She was starting to drift away. It was as if she was completely drained.

"It's ok Caroline, it will be over soon." His words terrified her and her powers were wavering by the minute.

He drew her closer into his arms and held her like she was a little child, his voice murmuring soothing words that she couldn't make sense of. One minute he was threatening her and the next he was cradling her in his arms. It was like he was showing her the power he held over her. Power of life and death, of torture and relief. She tried to move, but her body was getting weaker by the minute and all she could do was nestle on his chest.

He moved his hand on the nightstand and took the paper cutter he had left there while she was unconscious. He took her hand and he swiftly cut her palm with it. She moaned and moved on him a little bit.

"Shhh, it's ok…" he said kissing her forehead and bringing her bleeding palm over his mouth. His tongue stroked the open wound slowly. Her blood filled his mouth and he closed his eyes.

The smell of her blood and the sensation of his lips tugging and sucking on her skin were enough to make her jolt up, her eyes black and her fangs exposed. His tongue was still swirling over the cut, licking the bloody line on her palm, savoring the divine taste.

The blood of a young vampire was a little bit similar to what it tasted before the vampire was turned. He could feel a resemblance of what the blood of a human Caroline would taste like and that was driving him crazy with need. His other hand was holding her wrestling body from the waist, stilling her abrupt movements. The smell of her blood had awakened the pain and the need in her yet again.

He had to control himself, but he didn't let his fangs drop, no matter the temptation. He didn't want to bite her. His blood might be the cure, but her body was already giving out. So he kept drinking her blood from her wound. He was doing that for a reason, but that didn't stop him from getting lost in her taste. She kept moving in his hold so he pressed her body over his until he felt all her curves melting on him. He let go of her palm and he looked at her red, blood shot veiny eyes. All the light was lost now. Her vampire nature held another beauty. So much darkness inside such an angelic creature. It was obvious that she was aching, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.

This made him feel like he wanted to shake her out from her pain. It made him actually feel something. Feelings that were clouding his better judgement.

He wanted to provide warmth and shelter to that little girl. It was disturbing to think how much she had gotten under his skin. He shook his head and his eyes found hers. He had gotten his answer, her blood was at last untainted. The vervain had left her system. He could finally do what he wanted all along.

The moment his eyes found hers something happened and she stopped struggling. She took a deep breath and forced her face to change back. It took all her remaining strength, but she did it. She stared at his blue eyes.

He was shocked that she could do something like that. With the amount of pain and her need for blood her vampire face should stay on at least for hours. The wound on her palm was now closed but some drops were still lingering there. The smell was driving her insane, provoking the beast inside her. She knew what was coming next though, and that fear was enough to make her overcome any other feeling and thought.

"Please not that," she pled, all her resolve gone. She closed her eyes and shook her head right and left ignoring the pain that was spreading to her body with the movement. Deep inside her the memories of the past were creeping into her heart. She couldn't let him do that to her. She couldn't fight him, she was too weak, but her dread was growing.

His hand left her waist, but she wasn't opening her eyes. His hands wrapped around her two wrists, pulling her arms over his chest. She tried to struggle, but the pain in her body was making it useless and his grip was too strong. His free hand caressed her neck and moved lower. She didn't want to open her eyes. She couldn't. All she could hear were their breaths.

His fingertip travelled over the skin of her palm again and a moment later he placed it on her lips. It was wet. With her blood. He was taunting her to open her eyes. He pressed his bloody thumb on her lower lip pushing it a little further. His little game of temptation was more than she could handle. She shivered and trembled but she kept her mouth shut, her tongue inside her mouth. All she could see behind her closed eyelids was Damon compelling her. The smell of the blood was creating other memories. She remembered the night of the carnival. The man she killed. A drop of blood was now creating the same need in her now. She remembered killing that man, her shame and fear afterwards. But all she could feel was the memory of his blood running down her burning throat. It was a euphoric feeling, sublime, magnificent. She tried to resist, tears falling from her closed eyes, but the need for blood was too big. She knew that Klaus would drag the moment out forever if he had too. She wouldn't last long. The need for blood was holding her captive. It finally overcame her and in a flash she tried to lick her own blood from his finger and when he ripped it away her eyes shot open.

She didn't have the time to close them again, his gaze locked with hers, his pupils dilated. More tears fell from her eyes as he took control over her mind.

It was over.

There was no sun coming in Elena's room. The windows were closed. Caroline gently closed the door and stepped closer to Elena. Her friend was wrapped up in a blanket sitting in her bed, her knees pulled under her chin with her hands laced around them. She was really pale and her eyes all teary. Downstairs, Damon was yelling that he was going to go up and force Elena to transition one way or another and Stefan was the only one stopping him, telling him that this was Elena's decision to make. This wasn't easy for him either. When she had arrived at Elena's home minutes earlier Stefan opened the door for her, his stance and his eyes telling her everything she didn't want to hear.

When he had called half an hour before she had been dwelling in everything Klaus had done to her. Feeling trapped and used. Defenseless. Feeling like the way she used to feel before she was turned. She was thinking how she was now a puppet in his hands. She was reliving the whole night in her mind again and again. She wanted to scream, to ask for help, to speak to someone, but he had made sure she wouldn't.

When her mother returned some minutes after Klaus left she almost found her in the basement, her face, her upper body, her clothes, her hair all covered in blood. Thankfully, she had heard her mother parking the car and she sped up to her room and under the shower in less than seconds. The water cleansed her skin, but nothing more. Minutes later her mother came storming in her room, as the sun started rising, and told her that Alaric died. She didn't know what to say to that. Her mother told her that Alaric was about to reveal everything to the council members when he suddenly fell on his knees in pain, and then his skin grayed and he dropped dead. No one could understand what happened. Caroline did though and her heart shattered. Elena she had thought, that meant that Elena was dead.

It was that exact moment that Stefan called her. She left her house in seconds. She had to go to Elena. She had to help but when she stood outside Elena's house she couldn't find the strength to go in. Their lives were not supposed to be like this. It was then that Stefan opened the door silently telling her to come in.

"She is upstairs, she…" he closed his eyes, his voice dropping low before continuing,

"She hasn't decided if she will transition…"

"The hell she won't!" came Damon's angry reply; he was barely holding himself from tearing everything apart.

"That's enough Damon," Stefan said looking tired, barely keeping it together.

Damon moved closer to Stefan with a deadly expression upon his face.

"I will make it easier for you brother, she can hate ME forever if she wants to, but no matter what before the sun goes down she will feed on human blood even if I have to shove it down her throat myself"

Caroline looked straight to Damon's eyes and to Stefan.

"I will go to her," she said.

"Care…" Stefan's eyes pleaded with her, to convince Elena to change, to not let her die. Everyone has tried to convince her, but it seemed that no one could give a reason to Elena to want to change. Not even Jeremy.

Caroline looked at Stefan and she saw her old friend again.

He was old Stefan again, balanced and logical, her mentor and friend, the man that helped her when she changed into a vampire and was so completely lost, the same man that was now giving Elena the option, respecting her decisions no matter what those would be. Deep down this was killing him, he wanted Elena to stay, even as a vampire, and he couldn't stand there doing nothing, letting her die. But Elena wouldn't talk to any of them, not to Damon, not to him. She hugged Jeremy and maybe her brother would be her basic motive to transition, but she hadn't decided yet and time was ticking.

"I know Stefan, but it is her decision to make, and I will support her no matter what she decides, no matter whom I will have to protect her from." Her look was one of fierce determination and Damon said nothing, for once he said nothing, because he knew that if he wanted to force Elena to do anything he would have to get through Stefan and Caroline but also deep down he wouldn't want to take Elena's choice away, he loved her too much to do that to her and that was breaking him apart.

Caroline looked at both brothers and then went up the stairs, every step more difficult that the one before.

Caroline moved closer and sat at the edge of the bed next to Elena and waited. Jeremy was with Bonnie in his room still shaken up. He was the one that was there when Elena died. He was there and couldn't do anything to help his sister, and then Damon and Stefan went to the hospital unable to believe that they lost her until Meredith told Damon that Elena's concussion was a more sever head trauma and she had given her vampire blood in order to save her life, his vampire blood. After that they took her straight home and Elena just closed herself in her room. She would only talk to Jeremy and Bonnie, but she also wanted to stay alone.

Caroline moved closer and without saying anything hugged Elena. This was not how their lives were supposed to be. They were eighteen, they should be full of life. Instead they were surrounded by death. This was supposed to be their last year in high school. They would go to college, they would grow old, get married, have children. Most of those dreams were gone now. All that was left were nightmares. Caroline cringed at that thought. This is how her life was going to be from now and on. A never-ending nightmare.

"How are you holding up?" she asked Elena.

Elena moved away from her arms and with the back of her palm swept her tears away and looked at Caroline with her most honest look.

"I don't know if I can do this, I don't…" she said feeling completely lost. Her time was running out.

Caroline smiled sympathetically and went and opened the shutters. The sun filled the room and Elena blinked.

"I know exactly how that feels," Caroline said, looking at the sun. She then turned and looked at her friend. If those were her last hours she should live them in the light. In the sun. "When I was turned I didn't know what was happening to me, I was all alone, scared. My transition was never a choice. You do have that choice."

"How am I supposed to decide if I want to live forever? This isn't right, Caroline, I never wanted to become a vampire," she whispered.

"You don't have to be if you don't want to, my dad didn't. He just …faded away." She let him go with no regrets, but she always carried the pain of his loss.

Elena bit her lip and looked at Caroline as she took a seat next to her.

"I will stay with you even if it is for those hours or if it is forever, you don't have to do this alone, Elena"

Elena stood up and looked at the mirror. She was fading away, she was dying. She looked at the photos she had pinned on the mirror. Her whole life was there. Stefan was there, Caroline, Bonnie, Damon. Jeremy, what would happen to Jeremy if she were to decide to let go? Could she do that to her baby brother? To leave him all alone? She looked at her mirror. She didn't know if she could do this.

Caroline kept looking at Elena. She was trying to stand by her, to help her and to support her decision no matter what that would be. But this was her best friend. She couldn't just stand by and lose her. Her dad died because he hated what she was, but Elena could handle it. Her compassion and her strength would always be there. Her dad died, but she wasn't going to let the same happen to Elena, not if she had a say in this. Determination filled her eyes and she stood up.

She stepped closer to Elena and turned her so she could look at her.

"It is not easy, but you are a fighter, you can do this! We can do this!" she tried to convince her but she had to give her a reason to want to live. A memory flashed in her mind, a time when she wasn't sure if she wanted to live. If there was any meaning in all of this.

Elena stayed silent and before Caroline even thought of what she was saying she heard herself telling Elena the same words that not a long time ago had made her to want to live.

"You can choose not to transition, if you really believe that turning into a vampire is going to make your existence have no meaning. If you really believe that, then I will stay with you and I will let you go. You are not alone, you don't have to this alone, but there are so much more outside that sunny window."

She took a deep breath, her heart aching.

"There is a whole world out there waiting for us. Great cities and art and music…genuine beauty and you can have all of it. All you have to do is ask"

Some minutes later Caroline stepped down the stairs and went into the kitchen, Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan and Damon looked up at her at the same moment. Their eyes full of sadness and worry.

She cleared her voice.

"Elena is going to need some blood…" she said and everyone in the room felt like they could breathe again.

Elena was going to become a vampire. She wasn't going to die today; she was going to live forever.

Nobody knew though if that was really a blessing or if it was a curse.

She was stronger that he thought, actually she was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Before he came to Mystic Falls he had run a background check on all of them. Including his sweet baby vampire since back then he thought she would make a convenient sacrifice. Close to the doppelganger, shallow, superficial, unintelligent, weak, a naïve teenager and collateral damage were most definitely characteristics that didn't define her. She had great strength inside of her, unbelievable control. He had to admit he was impressed and after a thousand years that was not something that happened easily. Maybe that is why he wanted her so badly, she surprised him, always catching him of guard. At the beginning he was infatuated with her by her light, her humanity, her brutal honesty, but now, now he wanted to dive into her forever, to her mind, to her heart, to her soul.

She would like to believe that it was her humanity that made her who she was but in reality the vampire inside of her was just waiting to come out to play. Once she accepted who she really was she would make a great vampire, and in time and age she would be an unstoppable force. He would love to free her inner nature for her. When he was in her dream, he had allowed her a little bit of control at first, he wanted to tempt her, to make her crave blood, to wake up her desires and for a moment there she gave in, and she was passionate and explosive, but then something incredible happened. That little control he gave her was enough for her to start fighting him in her subconscious. He was an Original and she was a baby vampire not even one year old and she fought him so hard that she almost broke his connection. He couldn't believe it, but in her dream state, her subconscious knew it was him controlling her mind and tried to drive him out. He had never seen or experienced anything like this before, it turned out that the control issues Caroline had ran far deeper than anyone thought. She was always in control, and she was powerful enough to fight for dominance.

He had her lying over his chest. Just a moment ago he had snapped her neck and she had fallen in to his hands helpless and unmoving. He took her in his arms, carried her to her bed and smiled. She was so beautiful it made him hurt. If she was any other he would have just taken her, by force, deceit or compulsion, but he didn't want a defenseless mindless slave by his side. He wanted to make her pay for her insolence, to subdue her. Yes, he wanted her to give in to him, but once she did he would cherish her like no other man ever could.

He looked over her room and smirked. She had a paper cutter on her dresser; he took it and put it on the nightstand next to her bed. He climbed on the bed next to her, admiring her beauty in the darkness of the room. His fingers touched her lips like only a lover could and he moved her body over his, using his chest as her pillow. Her body on top of his was turning him on but he collected himself, he would wait for that reward to come. He waited patiently until her neck started healing, waited for the perfect moment. He would dive into her mind just before she revived herself and force her back to sleep. He waited patiently stroking her silky hair. When she was about to recover he applied pressure on her right temple with his hand and closed his eyes. She slightly moaned trying to wake up by instinct, but it was too late, he was in her mind now and he was controlling it. Her body relaxed over his and he smiled diving deeper in her thoughts. He could feel her need for freedom. Her soul was craving everything he could give her.

He kept applying pressure to her right temple and smiling as he sensed her thoughts and feelings. He was right, she was strong, beautiful, full of light. He started creating the images he wanted her to see. Her mind was an empty canvas in his hands and he started painting. She relaxed even more in his hands and he started planting thoughts, ideas, and desires in her dream. He didn't overtake her mind completely. He left her a semblance of freedom. Enough so her real thoughts and needs would start getting mixed with her need and desire for him.

He was enjoying himself immensely, his little game making him feel superior. Even though he was furious with her he was going to go easy on her in their first dream. If he were to let his anger overtake him right now he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to control himself and the dream would be horrific. He would have time for that in the future.

Then the impossible happened. Her body started moving, resisting. He stiffened. He tried to focus and concentrate. Caroline was starting to wake up! How was that possible? She was fighting his control. She was reclaiming her own dreams back from him. His hand wrapped around her waist to make her stop moving but that seemed to make her movements even more abrupt. He tried to hold her down to get a better access in her mind.

"No, wak… up…no…" she was muttering, groaning and whispering. It was like she was forcing and commanding herself to wake up. Trying to drive him out of her head. He had clearly underestimated her. He put both his hands on her temples and used all the experience he had collected over his years to calm her down and claim her dream completely. He would be damned if he would let a baby vampire defeat him in his own game…subconsciously!

Her eyes shot open. Her movements stopped. She was still in the dream, but she was fighting him with everything she had. Even her subconscious was fighting him. That infuriated him even more. His fingers pressed her temples almost crashing her bones. Bruises started forming where his fingers touched. Her skin was getting hotter and her forehead sweaty. Darkness enveloped them both. He connected his mind with hers and took her over completely. Her eyes closed and her body relaxed again.

He wasn't about to make the same mistake again. She was an infant in comparison with him and even in her dreams she dared to defy him. She wouldn't find shelter not even in the deepest recesses of her mind. Her freedom was over, she belonged to him. As he went deeper in her dream he took all her free will away until she was a beautiful puppet in his hands. He was going to pull her strings until they were to break. If she was strong enough to fight him, then she was strong enough to fight his wolf form in her dream.

He rubbed her temples and he heard her moan. Soon he would make her scream.

And he did exactly that. He wasn't satisfied until he made her scream her agony louder than ever. It was music in his ears.

He looked at the glass in his hands. It was full with blood up to the rim.

One of his hybrids was removing the two dead bodies from the living room. It was harder than he thought. When he left Caroline after compelling her he was craving for blood more than ever. Her blood had awakened something inside him. He used a great deal of power tonight. He was expecting it to be easy but she proved to be a challenge. So when he returned he ordered his hybrids to bring to him two girls. They had to look like her. Blond hair, green eyes, sweet face. He drained them while they screamed and even after that he wanted more.

He was tempted to compel their fear away but Caroline's screams still lingered in his mind and he wanted to relive the moment. Even though he had broken the curse and turned into a wolf only a few times. It wasn't because it was painful to do so. He just hadn't felt the need to do that, until tonight. In his dream he changed into his most primitive form. He let go, he didn't hold back. He was vicious and he enjoyed the thrill of hurting her. Her tears, her screams, her terror were taking away all the anger that he had been feeling all day long. Every bite, scratch and wound he inflicted on her in the dream was more painful than the one before. All he could see and hear at that moment was her toasting and laughing when she thought he was desiccated. He would never have dared to hurt her in reality but the same rules didn't apply in the dream world.

He had to admit that having her completely under his mercy was giving him a sense of power that felt endless. It was an amazing feeling. The only moment that could compare with this was when he broke his curse.

This was a little bit different though, it had two sides. One was divine and the other was a struggle to him.

He didn't want to admit it, not even to himself, but hurting her was a feeling that was also leaving him emptier than ever. He was totally connected with her in her dream. He was feeling her pain, her last thoughts as she thought she was going to die. It made him angry that he had felt the need to step back. To heal her. This is why he became even more brutal. The more he wanted to stop, the more he was turning the nightmare into a sea of blood. He was feeling sick and high at the same time.

Her look when she woke up was enough to haunt him for eternity. Then there was the way she gazed up at him when she pleaded him not to compel her, the way she looked at him was enough to make him reconsider. He almost backed down. Being relenting and weak wasn't going to get him anywhere, though. He had tried that. He had tried to make her see that there was something more in him than just a monster. It wasn't enough for her so her fear and pain shouldn't be enough to make him stop.

In the past when he had been tempted to give her a dream he had always thought it would be a beautiful one. To make her feel good, free. To spend some time with her in places he had seen over the centuries. He had even been tempted to give her more sensual dreams. To make her want him the way he wanted her. He had respected her privacy, though. He didn't want to hurt her in any way, to be honest a part of him still didn't.

He kept drinking his blood feeling his gums burning. He couldn't stop thinking of her. He replayed every detail of the night they had again and again in his mind. She had sensed when he was ready to compel her and she had made her fangs retreat no matter how excruciating than must have been for her. Especially in the state she was in.

How did she do that? He hadn't seen anything like that in all his years. He wanted to see how much inner strength she possessed. He wanted to toy with her limitations. To see how resistant she really was. Most importantly he wanted to make her surrender. In time, she was going to make a magnificent vampire. He was sure of that. With his guidance and his care she would rise to become one of the most powerful and feared vampires to walk this earth. She had potential. Tonight she proved that to him beyond any shadow of a doubt. She was special, unique and now she was his. He couldn't wait to explore all of her dreams, her hopes, and her fears. Everything she has ever hidden from everyone. People's secret dreams are what makes them fight and hope. All of her dreams now belonged to him.

There was a moment of guilt. It wasn't in his initial plans for things to turn the way they did. He was going to give her time. To watch her from afar. He would wait for her for centuries if he had to. He would always be near her, waiting. He wanted so much to be the one to show her what genuine beauty meant.

He still remembered the way she looked at him the night of her birthday. She was lying in her bed, broken and without hope waiting for the end to come. She thought he had come to kill her. Truth to be told back then her life didn't mean anything to him, she was just a pawn. All he wanted was to get even with Stefan and gain the Sherriff's support. What better way to do that than go after Caroline? And how ironic would it be if Tyler, her beloved lover bit her?

But what turned out to be the greatest irony of all was the outcome of his plan. The moment he laid his eyes on her something did change. She looked so fragile and so innocent that he forgot all about his plans. One look at those beautiful eyes of hers, filled with such insecurity and pain, was enough for him to remember all those moments in his life that he was alone and in pain.

She reminded him all of his doubts and the hopelessness that came along with the misfortune of being an immortal. In that moment he wanted to soothe her. He tried to make her see that life had meaning. She was too young, too beautiful; she was just beginning her journey. So he gave her a glimpse of all the beauty that awaited her.

He gave her the beautiful sugarcoated picture, though. He failed to mention that in order to possess such beauty and to have a thousand more birthdays you had to pay a price. Immortality, forced or chosen, was a Faustian bargain.

He told her that all she had to do was to ask. He didn't tell her that asking meant that she would be making a deal with the devil. Because genuine beauty does comes with pain. For everything beautiful there is something ugly too.

You get to live a thousand lives, to see the world and experience genuine beauty, but you lose your soul in the process.

The night he fed her his blood and gave her a choice he realized how far gone he truly was. She said that she didn't want to die and her words burned him like fire. He didn't want to die either so over the centuries he fought for his survival. What he got in return for all this struggle was not the world's genuine beauty. It was heartache and solitude. He had witnessed miracles, art and music. He had travelled and wandered for a thousand years searching for wonders. None of that had managed to take his pain away, but within a moment she had awoken all of his fears and hopes.

In the moment that he had her into his arms he came to terms with the reality of his existence. Still, he craved wanted one more chance to live. To see all the beauty of the world through her eyes. He couldn't take the pain anymore. He couldn't be alone anymore. He needed her. He needed her beauty in his life.

Rebekah stepped in and watched him with curiosity. She knew that look all to well. She had hoped that she wouldn't see it in his eyes again, but unfortunately she was wrong to hope such a thing. The way his eyes were shining was the same way he looked when he was obsessed with his curse. She had travelled with him for nine hundred centuries, she knew how obsessive and destructive he could be when he really wanted something. Deep in her heart she was so sad for him. He was never free, he was always chasing after chimaeras.

She touched his shoulder. He didn't turn.

"We are free, Alaric is gone," she said smiling. After killing Elena she finally realized that this was it. After a thousand years she was free to live again. She and Nik wouldn't have to keep looking behind their backs.

He sighed, Rebekah was right, they were free but the price was too big. It meant that his blood source for his hybrids was gone. He was losing everything. His family never wanted him. All of them, one after another turned on him. He waited for a hundred years to break the curse and become what he was meant to be. He had been evading Mikael for centuries, living in fear. His mother returned from the grave only to make sure she would kill him. Even Stefan, a man that he had considered a friend didn't hesitate in desiccating him. And now one more dream of his was lost. There were only a few liters of Elena's blood left. Everything and everyone were turning against him. He thought he could have his family, but he couldn't trust them, not really. He was alone. He needed Caroline now more that ever. He didn't want be alone anymore. He needed her.

"It is over Nik, no one is coming after us ever again," Rebekah said in a hopeful voice. She could see that her brother was lost in his thoughts. She loved him more than anyone, he wasn't alone. He would always have her. If only she could make him see that. Then she finally noticed something else. Loud sounds were coming from the above floors. She looked at him surprised.

It was then that he smiled. This time there was a genuine smile showing his amusement.

"There are some reconstructions taking place upstairs," he said in a nonchalant tone.

"What reconstructions?" She suspected that she was about to hear something she really wasn't going to like.

"My hybrids are connecting my room with the guest room next to it." he smiled wickedly.

"Please tell me it is not what I think it is." Rebekah looked at her brother exasperated.

He smirked. He was having the guest room next to his turned into a bedroom for Caroline. He also had his hybrids take down the wall that separated the rooms. He was having them build an inside door in between the rooms so that he could always have free access to her room. Not that any door or lock could keep him away from her for that matter.

"Great Nik, this is just great, don't tell me you are bringing her here," she said annoyed.

"Am I to remind you that this is my house? I get to decide who stays here."

The finality in his voice was making her to want to take his precious paintings and throw them on his head!

Klaus laughed at her expression. He could swear that his sister's temper could compete with his own. If he wasn't mistaken there was also another fiery blond that had a similar temper. He closed his eyes. One way or another all of his thoughts always seemed to revolve around Caroline lately.

"Relax Bekah, she isn't coming …for now," he whispered the last two words mostly to himself.

He was just preparing for the future. For the time that he would be fed up of having her anywhere that wasn't next to him. Something was telling him that this time was soon to come.

Rebekah looked outside the glass doors. Hybrids were everywhere.

"How many of your mindless slaves you had brought back Nik?" she said irritated.

"All of them"

She stared at him. He smirked. This meant war and they both knew it.

Let the games begin he thought. It has been quite the time, centuries actually, since he held a town under siege. From now on no one would come in or out this pony town without his permission.

This was going to be fun.

I would like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers including all those that faved and put this story on alerts, and of course to thank all those that I can't reach with a response! Your comments mean more that you know! Thank you all so very much!

I am so sorry for the delay but I had technical problems and I had to write this chapter twice. I hope you like it though. Tell me what you think.