A/N : Hello, well obviously I am not dead, still here and with a new update (be honest, you didn't see that one coming did you?). I am terribly sorry for not updating all this time ,but more about me at the author's note in the end ;)
For now let me just tell you that this chapter was originally bigger. 24.000 words actually. But since it was too big I decided to break it. So this is the first part and one more will follow.
I want to dedicate this chapter to Dramatic Melody and to let her know that I will patiently wait for her updates no matter what.
Many thanks to my AMAZING beta Anastasia Dreams. Not only for helping me with this story but also for supporting me in all ways possible.
Songs for this chapter :
* Sleepthief - Labyrinthine Heart
* Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave - Where the Wild Roses Grow
*Nox Arcana - Labyrinth of Dreams
Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Warnings : Dark story here.
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I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
Darkness – Lord Byron
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Previously…
"When the clock strikes midnight you will fall into a deep sleep…"
And then the clock struck midnight…
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Chapter 5 : When Nightmares Come to Life
Part One _ The Monster Within
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We have fallen far from grace and the devil made us sin. Our virtue washed away in a sea of blood. And yet here we stand bare and broken with an unspoken hope that we hold as our shield. It wasn't our will; it was the serpent that deceived us. It happened in a dream where our real selves were covered under the cloak of seduction. Tempted into a dance of murder and sin.
But it wasn't really us. It couldn't be.
For if it was then the devil would be part of our soul. And you can hide from everyone but yourself.
Would you then dare to whisper again that the devil made you sin?
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Some hours earlier…
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The girl was shivering uncontrollably into the darkness. Her aching body was curled and twisted on the dirty floor and the minutes were passing slowly prolonging her torment. She was freezing. Her shoes were missing. She didn't have her jacket anymore. The dark room was dusty and cold and she was only wearing the thin dress she always wore when she had dance class.
The only thing was that tonight she never made it at her class. She remembered walking down the street when someone or something pulled her in a dark alley. She tried to scream but somehow a voice in her head told her to stay silent. Golden eyes gleamed in the shadows and sharp long teeth shone in the darkness. She felt pain spreading all over her body, but she couldn't scream. She couldn't even talk and the next thing she remembered was waking up on the floor of this room. A room with no windows. A room with nothing in it except her.
No light, no warmth, no exit. Oxygen mixed with dust. And the smell of blood. Her blood.
She screamed and yelled. She pleaded for someone to help her but no one came.
Only him.
It wasn't possible. This couldn't be happening. That man was insane. Only he wasn't a man at all. He was a beast. His eyes shone gold in the dark as his teeth ripped her neck once again.
She could still hear him drinking her blood and she felt sick. What was he? This couldn't be real. This was a nightmare, but the pain made her sharply aware she was awake.
When he first came in she couldn't see him in the darkness of this room, but she scooted away to the edge of the wall crying and begging for him to let her go. He didn't have any mercy when he gripped her hair and his teeth carved her skin yet again ignoring her pleading, her whimpers and the sounds of pain that escaped her lips.
This time she screamed.
When he let her go she had fallen on the floor again. Her eyes closed as the world faded. Hours passed so slowly afterwards.
A warm lake of blood had formed around her. The liquid was sticky on her skin.
Her throat was burning her. She couldn't feel her body anymore. She needed water and something to take the pain and the cold away. She threw up and sweat covered her shivering body.
She was dying. She could feel it.
Her cheeks were wet and her dark hair matted. Blood was oozing from the open puncture wounds on her neck. She could barely move. She could barely speak anymore and with her last whispers she kept praying and asking for her mom. She was never going to see her again was she?
Why was this happening to her? What did that man want from her?
When he came in again she finally saw his face. He looked like an angel. An angel of death. He had dark blond hair and blue piercing eyes. His hand caressed her ebony hair like he was trying to comfort her. His fingertips gently touched the bleeding wounds on her tender neck causing her to wince and to cry even more and then he brought his bloody fingers tohis lips licking her blood.
With the last strength that was left inside her and with a fading voice she asked him why.
He smiled and the only thing he told her with his accented voice was that tonight her fate was going to be decided upon a dream.
He left her there and all she could think was that she was going to die all alone.
She kept praying until no voice could come out of her lips.
Caroline blinked once, twice and then she tried to concentrate. For a moment her vision was obscured, but then everything came to life.
She was standing in the middle of a great hall. She looked down at herself and realized that she was wearing a long silk, scarlet gown. The material was the softest thing she had ever touched and it tightly hugged her body like an element that could slip through her fingers; like water and air. Absentmindedly, she touched her hair and realized that once again it was perfectly curled. She turned in a circle and her full skirt whirled around her. It felt like she was floating in a whirl of feathers.
Her eyes caught her reflection on the shiny surface of a bronze shield that was hanging in between heavy, deep red, velvet curtains on the stony wall. She couldn't see herself clearly, but her lips were shining in crimson and her whole vision was like a cloud of blood.
There was an aura that surrounded her. It screamed danger.
She tried to concentrate, but all she could feel was that she wasn't alone. Like there was something stalking and lurking in the dark. A dark entity, a mirage. It was ice cold and scorching hot. It was hugging her skin and following her shadow. She could swear that all around her elusive shapes and forms were dancing in the dark. She wasn't afraid though. It was like a seductive motion was encompassing her and was making her feel like she belonged in the shadows herself too. It was a calling to join the darkness, to let go.
A feeling of belonging crept into her heart. She wanted to stay here. She wanted to be part of the shadows. Secretive and writhing. To change her form and dance around those stone floors. It was like a vague gravity, yet absolute.
In all that uncertainty, a voice in her mind started whispering to her to move, to dance, to explore this place. Somehow, from somewhere afar the sound of wailing filled the halls.
She looked around and she gulped. Where was she? This was a really long corridor that seemed like it was taken out of an illusion. Long dark shadows were rising everywhere. The only dim light was coming from fading candlelight.
She shook her head. She felt confused and disoriented, but she didn't dare linger in this spot any longer. Somehow she felt the urgent need to start moving. She couldn't resist the voice in her head any longer. She had to move and explore.
She began to walk slowly. With every slow step she observed her surroundings. Her high heels created a soft, yet loud, clatter over the floor stones. The sound echoed everywhere and followed her every step, causing her heart to beat faster. The stone segments of the floor formed unusual intricate patterns. The large blocks felt impossibly smooth beneath her feet.
She kept observing feeling wonder at what she was seeing. This place was massive. It seemed never ending. More like a maze.
Thick walls made of stone and marble. Marble columns and artwork. Winded creatures made of alabaster. High ceilings with impressive domes and arches.
Heavy sculptures decorated the enormous halls and corridors on her left and her right. Smaller ones, more delicate, also decorated part of the walls. Carved angels and demons. Katanas and portraits hung on the walls.
Dark paintings and heavy curtains. All dark and gloomy.
She stood for a minute to observe the paintings.
Somehow it was what called her more. Abstract art and darkness loomed in the forms of the paint. Every stroke of the color and every shape that was formed, either was a mythical creature, a landscape, a horse or a woman that gave her a sense of loneliness. A message of desolation. Like someone was crying, calling to get out from those paintings to find something long gone. She felt her heart ache. It was an unsettling emotion because aside from loneliness she could also feel something sinister vibrating from those paintings. Somehow that emotion of seductive danger and of solitariness felt familiar.
She was on the verge of remembering what that meant and most importantly who was causing those feeling to come to life in her heart, but somehow it was all tangled in her mind. She couldn't place names or faces. She could only feel.
But the need to explore was getting more urgent. It felt like the walls would enclose all around her if she didn't move forward.
The only problem was that she didn't know where to go. She had no direction.
As she made some more uncertain steps the sound of wailing ceased. Everything turned deadly silent for a moment. It was comforting and yet that serene aura that engulfed everything, including her, was creating an ominous atmosphere.
And then a new sound filled her ears. It was a soft humming. For some reason that sound stuck in her mind more than anything else. It was messing with her senses. All her hidden instincts came to life. She wanted to follow that soft voice that hummed that unknown lullaby.
And then she wanted to hunt that voice down. To let her inhibitions free. She wanted to feed on that voice or more precisely the owner of that voice. To feel blood flooding inside her mouth until that voice was silent.
She walked towards the sound and she felt her eyes turning, black veins forming. Her vision darkening and becoming clearer.
Through the obscurity of her sudden bloodlust she moved forward, turning and passing through some completely dark corridors until she could see a faint light in the darkness. She followed it and she saw an intricately carved door. It was made from dark wood, large and heavy, and it was slightly cracked open. She could clearly hear now that the humming was coming from behind that door.
The need to see what was behind that door was becoming overwhelming. She stood behind that door and paused. Her fingers gently touched the lines of the carved wood and with a deep breath she gave it a push and entered with caution.
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For a moment her eyesight got distorted. All shapes and colors danced around her eyes manically and her gaze failed to perceive anything other than the thick veil of darkness and light that surrounded her. All she could hear was humming and all she could feel was her need for blood.
Then her cloudy vision started to become clearer. It was like her eyes were adjusting after coming out of water.
It was the sound of the door abruptly closing behind her with a thud that took away the shadows and with that her confusion. She was trapped. The humming stopped. Complete silence.
She shook her head and took a step back. She looked behind her only to see that there was no door anymore. All her defense mechanisms kicked in and she realized that her eyes were still vampiric.
But most importantly she realized that she was in the same room with…Klaus.
Her eyes changed back to normal and for a moment she felt lost. Then it all came rushing back.
His compulsion. His voice still lingered.
"When the clock strikes midnight you will fall into a deep sleep…"
He entered her mind again. This was one of his dreams again. It was at that moment of clarity that she could vaguely feel her temples aching.
She wanted to force herself to wake up, but it seemed impossible. Then the pain vanished completely. She turned and saw him inspecting her. His eyes full of mirth as if he knew what she was trying to do. His look was clearly telling her that it was useless to try. It would be impossible to wake up unless he allowed her to.
'This is why he compelled me not to drink any blood while waiting for him at midnight' she thought. He wanted her weakened so she wouldn't have any chance to fight back. Although the thought did seem quite absurd since he was an Original and she had been a vampire for less than a year now.
She saw him smiling knowingly now, like he was reading her thoughts. Wait! Was he reading her thoughts? Oh God…
And then the smile became bigger and turned into a smirk.
Rage filled her mind as she saw him sitting comfortably in a large chair that seemed more like a wooden throne. He seemed like a King. His eyes were observing her with interest and lust, and that insufferable smirk was still etched on his lips.
She tried to calm her beating heart and took a moment to look around. Anywhere but him.
This room was large and less ornate, but felt more warm and comfortable than the halls she had walked in moments before.
Candelabras alight with candles were everywhere turning the darkness into faded light. More paintings and a bookcase. The interior was a fine example of elegance. Artwork, books and scrolls, ancient parchments on beautiful tables, old furniture, plush rugs.
There were large windows that mirrored absolute darkness beyond their glassy surface. She tried to focus and see what was outside, but there was nothing. Nothing existed outside that room and that scared her.
Instinctively she took a deep breath. The smell of roses and wine was filling the air. But she could also smell the faint tempting scent of…blood.
She tried to control herself and to focus so she wouldn't change into a vampire once more.
She could feel his eyes following her every movement. Silently observing. He was in her mind and he definitely could not be ignored.
She turned her gaze on him once more.
It was a contradiction. This room felt like it was made out of another era and yet he was dressed in normal clothes. Modern formal clothes. All black. Black elegant suit, black shirt. All black and fashionable. And yet everything around them was like it came out of a different century.
For a moment their gazes locked. She couldn't look away. He was sitting in front of a fireplace and the roaring flames were casting their golden light all around him. Shadows danced on his form and face. He always seemed dangerous to her but now, somehow, he also seemed like he was in his element and that made him even more threatening.
She literally had entered the devil's lair.
He raised an eyebrow. Mirth danced in his eyes and then she heard his voice in her mind even though he wasn't speaking.
"Hardly the devil, sweetheart, but I will take that as a compliment…"
He was clearly telling her that he knew all he thoughts and that terrified her.
"You can read my mind?" she asked him and she hated that her voice trembled.
He smiled and stood up with an elegant swift movement. Everything about him screamed that his wasn't human. The way he looked and moved, here and in the real world, was a clear indication that he belonged to the supernatural.
As he made a step towards her she took a step back. He sighed with disappointment and stopped at his spot but looked at her pointedly.
There was his voice in her mind again.
"I wouldn't exactly say read…but I am in your mind after all…"
His voice was causing her to shiver. It was like a whisper in her head. Suggestive and intimate. So intimate that it felt like a caress. A deliberate seduction.
"Stop that!" she yelled at him, frustrated and he smiled bowing slightly in salute as if he was telling her that her wish was his command.
A genuine smile formed on his lips. It was meant to soothe her; instead it made her even more restless.
'Everything he does is calculated' she thought.
"Sweetheart, you wound me" he told her as he mockingly placed his hand over his chest. His voice finally breaking the silence. His words an answer to her thoughts.
"Yeah, I am sure," she said without being able to control her sarcasm.
He took some steps closer to her, but this time she didn't move. She was sick and tired of him trying to intimidate her. All these twisted games were making her furious. The creepy castle. This room. The scary sounds and his games had one purpose and one alone. To make her feel weak. To give him control.
He moved closer until he was invading her personal space. He then tucked a stray lock of golden hair behind her ear. Oh so very gently.
"Forgive the theatrics, love," he whispered. His breath lingering on her skin.
Images of the corridors she was walking in moments before flashed before her eyes.
"But an enticing prologue always makes a difference," he said with a husky voice.
The room was warm and yet she found herself shivering again.
His gaze was intense as his hands went up and down her arms. His touch was making her warm again. It was like lightening was licking her skin, entering her veins and then burning her from the inside out. All from a simple touch.
'No!' she thought. 'This is him causing this. Everything in here is controlled by him. This isn't real'. She had to keep reminding herself that. She shoved him away as her eyes shone with an angry fire that was about to consume every part of her logic.
"Even if I didn't know what you were thinking," he said as his eyes glittered with danger "I must say that your face is so transparent, Caroline. I can see all your intentions clearly," he paused for a moment and his tone implied that he was not only sensing her anger but also her desire. "So why don't you let yourself free and who knows? It might actually be fun…" he suggested taking her hand in his and bringing it to his mouth for a gentle kiss.
She stilled against him and then she let her hand fall limp against her side. Her heart pounding in despair.
"You find all these amusing don't you?" she said, her voice fading. She wanted to wake up. She just wanted this to be over.
His demeanor changed. His eyes shone with anger and then with compassion.
She still could not comprehend how anyone could feel such opposite emotions all at the same time. He could smile and he could make her feel strangely safe and then in the next moment make her feel as if he wished to tear her heart out, hurting her like no other.
She had been abused before, but all this was out of the realm of her logic. She wanted to be strong. She really did. But how could she go against an Original? She was trapped and she was all alone…correction, not alone, she was with him and that was far worse.
Her eyes sparkled with tears and all she could think was that he knew every thought she was thinking. He knew her fear and all that she wanted to keep hidden. It was like she was completely bare before him. Her doubts, her fears, her memories. He had invaded her every hidden secret thought. He knew…
"I do know," he said in a gentle voice that made her heart turn over. She shook her head refusing to look at him.
He took her face into her hands and she had no other choice than to look at him.
The tenderness and the passion she saw in those blue eyes scared her even more. But what really terrified her were the words that escaped his mouth.
"This is not a game, Caroline," his thumbs caressed her cheekbones as his voice tempted her into a false security.
"I know you are scared and you have no idea how deeply sorry I am for being the one to cause you such distress, but this has to be done."
His fingertips were now touching the edge of her lips. His gaze was locked with hers. Fierce and intense. His mind was in hers; she was feeling him there, inside of her.
"Why are you doing this?" her voice betrayed her as did the tear that fell down her blushing cheek. She was struggling between fear and temptation. And it seemed like she was losing in both battles.
Unintentionally her body leaned closer to him. His soft touch was making her feel safe even if she knew that she wasn't.
He abruptly took his hands away as if her tear burned him and then stepped away from her. His internal struggle was evident and that made her feel even uneasier. While her whole body seemed to be missing his touch.
"Why you ask," he moved and stood in front of the fireplace his eyes fixed on the flames.
"Don't you know the answer to that sweetheart?" he asked her without taking his eyes away from the flames.
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Punishment, revenge," her voice trembled as she pronounced those words that took on a whole other meaning now that they were targeted against her, by him.
A slow, melancholy smile formed on his lips but it didn't touch his eyes. He turned around to face her. Her fear was intoxicating and a rush of excitement ran through his veins, but this time it wasn't enough. He couldn't hide behind his impulsiveness in order to make what he was really feeling go away.
She was partially right. A part of him wanted to punish her for everything that had happened. For every lie and for every fake promising gaze she had casted upon him. And he did want revenge. His whole soul was craving it.
But it wasn't because she managed to hurt him. It wasn't because he saw her celebrating his demise. It was because she was making him feel again. She made his heart ache again only to break it. Because she was making him so vulnerable and she was holding power over him. A baby vampire had power over him!
He wanted to hurt her, yes. Because she made him feel all those human emotions he had banished from his existence a thousand years ago. He didn't care for anyone and yet she had managed to make him care for her.
He stood tall and straight and tried to keep everything he was feeling at bay. She looked so lovely that it almost made him to want to put an end to all of this. Almost.
"That is an easy answer to a complex situation and I am sure you can do better than that love," he told her, making his face blank and completely expressionless.
The coldness in his voice made her jerk away. Her eyes gleamed and he could feel all her emotions. All her anger that was turning into rage. But what he couldn't understand was how she couldn't feel hate. Even like this, her emotions were raw and unrefined. When they talked earlier that day in the forest she had claimed to hate him, but she didn't. He knew all about hate and Caroline's emotions didn't include it. It was like she didn't even know what it was.
He could feel the hurricane inside her, powerful enough to sweep everything in its sway and yet there was no hate there. That made him want her even more. He needed her light even more.
"What the hell is it that you want from me?" she asked as her eyes accused him.
Some time ago the answer would have been simple. He was infatuated by her. He wanted her in his bed and in his life until they were content and then, if she remained loyal to him, they would go their separate ways. Their time together would probably last for several decades, but in the end that would be all. After that they could meet again once or twice along the centuries. He would have a fond memory of her and he would use her warmth and her body whenever he needed. Like any other that preceded her, her body would be at his disposal whenever he asked her. She would please him, entertain him and he would revel in her light whenever he would need a break from his grim reality.
Somehow all that had changed. He couldn't exactly tell when or how exactly that had happened, but it had. Now he didn't want anything from her. He simply wanted her. All of her. Time didn't matter anymore. He wouldn't let her go. This was getting out of hand and after a thousand years he knew that when you can't fight something then you give in to it. And he was giving in to her. For now, for tomorrow, for a century. For an eternity.
He was being selfish, he knew that much. But that was who he was. And he always took what he wanted and he wanted her. Her smile, her light, her passion.
It saddened him that her stubbornness was in the way. He had to bend her to his will and he wished things could have been another way. But there was no other way anymore.
She was thinking with terror that he was in her head and that meant that he knew her thoughts and her feelings.
He did indeed know. He wasn't just entering her dreams. He was taking glimpses of her mind and soul. He could hear and feel her thoughts, her emotions, and her fears. It had become and addiction. And if he wanted her once before now that he had tasted who Caroline Forbes really was, if possible, he wanted her a thousand times more.
But he also knew something else too. He knew that she was not as weak as she thought she was.
No, she is much more than the weak pawn she considers herself to be.
She is strong, defiant, a fighter. And even though he admired and was drawn to all those traits right now they were posing an obstacle that he had to overcome, no matter the cost.
She was not giving in and she was determined not to let him be with her in any way that would mean anything or be real for both of them. She was set in her ways and considered him her enemy.
He could also feel that he tempted her and that was a start. But it was not enough.
He knew that here her temptation and desire for him would reach a breaking point, but in the real world it wasn't so simple. The dream world heightened everything and he could take advantage of that, but in reality Caroline's defenses were very strong.
So it would have to be the hard way for them…
Deep down he vowed to make it up to her in time. He would give her the whole world. Anything she would ask of him would be hers. When she would be his he would make her forget all the pain and the fear she was feeling right now. But for now it was a necessity. The fact was that he knew in the end that this wasn't just about revenge. It was about the first real thing he had wanted in centuries and that made his conviction even more unrelenting.
So he could give her some honesty. At least up to a point.
She was still staring up to him. Demanding an answer as her heart was pounding in her chest.
He strode with confidence to her and stood in front of her. The light in the room was limited and yet it was creating an interesting image. It was like she was bathed in light and he was covered in darkness. A few shadows sat upon her red clad form and a few threads of light on some angles of his face. An angel and a demon. And maybe that was what she was for him. The angel to his demon.
His cerulean gaze was locked with hers and she felt like falling forward. His eyes had a formidable shine and she felt like she was going to be forever trapped in those dark depths of his blue eyes.
She kind of regretted asking him what he wanted from her because now she was terrified of what his answer would be. Revenge and punishment she could deal with. Anything else she couldn't. She knew that he had a thing for her. But she was praying his feelings were insignificant in his mind. Because if they weren't that would mean that she was trapped with one of the most unforgivable, psychotic, obsessive men that had walked the earth. And she didn't know how she could go up against someone like him.
His voice startled her, but she didn't move. His face was close to her. The distance between them was limited and the air was humming with an energy that was making her heart beat faster and turning time to stand still.
"We have been playing this game for some time now," he said and his eyes gleamed ominously.
A sense of dread was finding its way into her heart. Creeping into her soul and casting dark shadows inside her.
"Every time I reach for you, sweet Caroline, you pull away," he said softly and she took a deep breath.
Only this time she didn't pull away. She was enchanted by his eyes and she was hanging on his every word. His voice was seducing her like a hypnotic spell.
'This must be how temptation must feel like' she thought. It was like a magic thread was wrapping around her. A rush of heat, like liquid fire, reached her limbs.
"I want to seduce you," he continued and he took the one small step that brought him impossible closer to her. His hand reached out and his finger traced the line of her jaw. She closed her eyes and shivered. Such a simple gesture and she felt like he was marking her.
"And you…" he paused, but his caress lingered for a moment before gliding away.
"You want to manipulate me and so on…"
Those words snapped her out of his spell. She took a sharp breath and she would have taken a step back, but his hands found their way into her waist and forced her to stay in her place.
"The thing, sweetheart, is that I am probably getting too old for these kind of games while you are too young to be playing them with me."
His voice was incredibly gentle and yet the threat there was more than clear and reminded her of the danger she was in. The patience he had shown her all this time had vanished. She desperately wanted to put an end to all of this, but the way he was looking at her and the way he was holding her was making her realize that this wasn't going to happen any time soon, if ever. She could feel his aggression and possessiveness coming at her in waves and she shouldn't hope for any compassion from him anymore. If anything she would have to beg for him to have mercy, but she would rather die first. He was the villain of this story. She would be damned if she would let him manipulate the truth and make her bend to his will.
"You said that this is not a game," she said in a steely tone.
"Not any more it isn't," he admitted and he bent his head towards her until their foreheads touched. His eyes never leaving hers.
"You were right Caroline, revenge and punishment are part of this equation."
She had to try to concentrate. But it was so hard with him watching her so intently.
"The right question, Sweetheart, would be why would I want to punish you? What is it that you have really done?" he asked her and she felt like she was participating in a very dangerous game of chess. A wrong move from her and she would lose because he was already many moves ahead.
The answer should be obvious, but it wasn't.
"I…" her murmur was barely audible.
She tried to form a sentence, but it felt like it was impossible. All she wanted was to close her eyes and nestle in his arms. Her heart was beating loud even beneath her own ears.
His fingers were still pressed on the skin of her waist and his thumbs were caressing her over the silk material of her dress. Small circular patterns that were making her body tremble and shiver.
"Yes?" he pressed tenderly.
She swallowed harder and breathed deeply. His scent filling her nostrils.
"You feel that I betrayed you," she whispered unsure.
If this was supposed to be a battle of wills she was losing. She was already lost.
"You feel that you haven't?" he questioned her as his hands moved higher and pressed against her upper waist.
She closed her eyes. She had to concentrate. He was playing with her. This wasn't real. This was him playing with her mind.
She opened her eyes and her hands found his. She held his wrists and moved them away from her body and this time he let her.
She took a step back and tried to control her erratic breathing.
"I was protecting the people I love," she declared and this reminded her how she ended up in this situation to begin with.
Klaus was never the victim. He claimed that she was the one that kept manipulating him and maybe it was partially true, but she was doing it to protect all those that she cared about. He had invaded their lives and destroyed everything in his wake.
He had killed, tortured and destroyed everyone that was in the way of his conquer the world plan. He had been the greatest evil they had ever encountered and some gentle words from him wouldn't change who he really was.
He was evil and a monster and if he really cared he wouldn't treat her the way he was right now. He wouldn't compel her, he wouldn't rape her dreams and thoughts and he wouldn't hurt her or anyone that she cared for.
All those thoughts gave her power and she could tell that it was the same thoughts that were angering him because since he was in her mind he could feel and hear everything that she was thinking.
Her eyes changed. She wouldn't be just an inadequate, little, defenseless girl against him. If he wanted to hurt her so be it. He would have to give it his best shot because in the end she knew that she was right and justified and he was wrong. He would always be wrong.
"I will always protect the people I love," she said. Her tone steady and hard as ice.
He tilted his head and closed his fists, but then he smirked.
She was too young, too naïve. She could so easily paint him with the colors of the villain when in reality their entire group wasn't that different than him. All of them had killed and hurt someone in their pasts, beautiful Caroline included. She seemed to forget and willingly ignore that little fact.
She was a dreamer, yes. She thought that she was fighting for the right cause. She didn't know yet that in a thousand years she wouldn't be that different from him.
He might be a monster, but at least he was facing reality without pretending to be something better than what he really was.
Caroline was still searching for knights in shining armors. Sooner or later she would have to come to terms that the nobility she was after had been extinct from the world a long time before either of them was born.
And while Caroline was ready to die in order to protect those that she loved he couldn't help but wonder who would do the same for her.
It was only a matter of time.
Sooner or later she would pay the ultimate price for her misplaced loyalty and she would sacrifice herself for his doppelganger and for the rest of those misfits. And then the world would turn out to be a really dark place with no light to brighten it.
He wasn't going to allow her to do such a thing to herself. She was a vampire with immense potential and she could have the whole world bowing to her feet.
He was going to make sure that she was going to live a long eternal life by his side doing exactly that.
The days where Caroline Forbes put her life in the line of danger for others was over.
Under his protection she would be safe and maybe in time she would learn to regard him not as her enemy any more. But even if she didn't it would be worth it as long as she would be his.
He turned his attention solely on her eyes and at her stance of defiance.
For a moment he had her where he wanted. She was giving in to desire and what she didn't know was that he wasn't forcing her reactions. It was all her. This might be a mentally created reality, but right now all this felt real for her and the projection of her body in this world was having almost the same reactions she would have in the real one.
The dream world was a precarious place. True emotions and desires could get magnified and heightened. This didn't make them less real, but it did make them even more dangerous. Dreams were a way for suppressed inclinations and longings to manifest. And now he knew without a shadow of a doubt that a part of Caroline wanted him. It was the part that she kept denying. It was there, though. It was present. Buried under all the pretense of loathing and disgust. There was a part of her that wanted to give in to temptation. At some level both her heart and flesh wanted him.
It was real, he wasn't forcing this.
Even though he had entered her dreams and he had the power to make her feel everything he wanted, tonight he was allowing her to have control over her reactions, her thoughts and her decisions. What he was planning to come next was depending on it. He wanted Caroline to feel and think on her own. And the thick sexual tension and confusion she felt moments before was all her. All sweet, beautiful, her.
She was reacting to his touch as only a lover would. And this was making him ecstatic. If she could only give in to him completely he wouldn't have to treat her like this.
But alas those endearing moments didn't take too long to vanish. She raised her walls up again shutting him out.
He would have to fix this.
He smiled and prepared himself for what was going to follow. He couldn't wait to see and feel Caroline's reactions and her surrender.
He started walking around her slowly. His eyes those of a hunter that was ready to devour his prey.
And he could feel that she felt it. He wanted to test her reaction; he wanted to feel her need for him again. So he took his time. He waited until he felt her resolve break again under his scrutiny. It was a game that he excelled at. He knew how to intimidate and silence was one of many ways to do it.
Caroline needed answers and a way to find logic in their little game. Something to fuel her fight. Something to hold to. The longer he prolonged the moment, the more her impatience and fear were getting the best of her.
The sound of his steps and the crackling of the flames were the only sounds. Every moment lasting longer than the last.
"Protecting those that you care for is an admirable trait for sure," he said as he stood behind her, and for a moment he enjoyed the sight of her bare back. The provocative red dress was hugging her body like a tight glove exposing the entire length of her back. The alabaster ivory skin there was so tempting that he couldn't resist and with a deliberate slow caress he traced the pad of his thumb all over her spine up to her neck.
He smiled at the sound of the moan that escaped her lips, he felt the goose bumps all over her skin and before she could move away from him he held her by the shoulders.
He pulled her closer and the sound of the erratic beating of her heart was a divine melody in his ears.
The muscles of his chest convulsed when her bare back crashed on his torso.
His lips barely touched her ear and his hands slid down her arms still holding her in place.
"And while you are protecting the people you love who is there to protect you?" he purred huskily.
His nose touched the lobe of her ear and he felt her melting in his hands. Her head fell backwards giving him better access at her neck. The ice around her was slowly melting.
"Who is keeping you safe? Who would die for you Caroline?" the small whimper that left her lips was enough to drive him crazy.
"You are so beautiful, strong, full of light," he couldn't help but repeat the same words he had told her some time ago because it was what she really was. In his eyes she was shining more than a blinding star. It was so sad that she couldn't see herself through his eyes. Maybe then she could understand why he needed her in his life so desperately.
He smelled her hair and his hands gently stroked the exposed skin of her arms.
"You have so much potential and you are wasting yourself away," he said belittlingly.
Before he knew it she abruptly turned around and shoved him away.
"What would you know about sacrifice? I don't need anyone to die for me! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anyone did that for me." She said as her chest heaved.
He had been enjoying her desire and her longing for his touch, but that fire was what he really loved about her.
"This is not a game because from the beginning you knew that I wanted to get to know you and you are indeed strong and beautiful and full of light, but you are lost," he declared.
She looked at him confused and this time his smile was genuine and melancholic. It resembled something akin to pity.
He walked in a slow circle around her. Her eyes following his every movement.
"Tell me Caroline, the day Alaric trapped you at the school he caught you at the parking lot in front of your car correct?"
She paused for a moment. Confusion appearing in her facial expression.
"Yeah so? What does this have to do with anything?" she asked him frowning.
His gaze kept inspecting her. He could sense her surprise.
She wasn't expecting this question.
"Rebekah told me that he snapped your neck while you were about to get in your car." He looked at her expecting her to deny or to admit it. Unfortunately, he already knew the whole story.
And he could also remember that day clearly. He remembered the exact moment he had found her in the corridor. Her fear and then her relief when she saw him. His own relief when he realized that she was safe.
The thing was that she shouldn't have been there in the first place. And yet there she was. Tortured because once again she was nothing more than collateral damage.
He pushed aside the little voice in his head that told him that the exact same day, after he made sure that she would be safe, she had celebrated his desiccation. He had to remain focused because those thoughts were fueling his anger, but now was not the right time. Now he and Caroline had more important things to do.
He waited until he saw her nodding with uncertainty. Confirming that he was indeed right.
"Why was that sweetheart?" he asked her softly.
"Why was what?" she snapped.
He smiled at her youth and her inexperience. Her emotions a flood that she couldn't control. He waited patiently for her to answer.
She pressed her lips together in irritation.
"Alaric wanted Elena and he used me to get her, you know this."
Her aggravation started filling the air.
"I do know this," he said using his hypnotic voice again.
"But this is not what I meant Caroline," his voice turned cunning.
Caroline went rigid. His raspy voice and everything that his tone implied were covering her in a veil of uncertainty.
From their few encounters in the past she had learned never to trust him when he was using his charm on her. But this time was different. This time something twisted tight in her belly. Whatever he was about to say or do she wasn't going to like. The way he was looking at her was making her skin crawl.
He approached her yet again. This time his eyes were burning holes into hers.
"What exactly do you mean then?" she asked him, not backing down.
For a moment he seemed amused, but then his whole posture stiffened.
"It was day. You had the advantage. You and Rebekah had stabbed him. You had plenty of time; you had a ring while he didn't. He was still adjusting and you knew he was a new vampire did you not?"
"Enough with the stupid questions!" she yelled at him.
His hands grabbed her from her shoulders and brought her near him in a swift movement that made her freeze. His eyes were now a signal of danger and she stopped moving all together.
"Why did you go for your car Caroline? Why didn't you run? You are a vampire! You can run faster than the wind. You can walk in the sun. You could have run and you could have easily found refuge and yet what did you do? You went for your bloody car! Why?" he asked her harshly while his hands kept digging into the flesh of her shoulders like steel manacles.
She started quivering.
"I don't understand," she stammered.
She saw him closing his eyes and breathing deeply. His jaw tensed.
"No, you don't and that is the problem," he said and his hands fell from her shoulders. He was about to turn around when she touched his forearm.
He looked at her hand first and then at her eyes.
She could feel his eyes studying her as she was trying to explain what happened, to him and to her.
"I… It was the first thing that I thought, I had to get away and I…"
He interrupted her then.
"And you went for your car…have you ever stopped to think why you would do such a thing?" his voice was calm once again. He talked to her like he would to a child.
She lowered her hand and looked at him feeling confused.
"Think about it sweetheart. You could have run. Simple as that. He wouldn't have gotten to you. Why didn't you?" he kept pressing her.
She shook her head. Her thoughts bombarding her mind.
'She couldn't understand, what was he asking her?
Why didn't she run? So what? She was scared, confused. It was pure instinct.'
"Yes Caroline your survival instincts did work," he said once again proving to her that he could read her thoughts, "the only problem was that they worked in the wrong way," he said in an eerie tone.
She still couldn't follow his train of thought.
"In a…human way," she heard him whispering the words with contempt.
She took an unnatural breath and then she took a step back. She went rigid. She didn't like where this was going.
She had to find a way to wake up. Now!
He only smirked and she looked around. There had to be way out she kept thinking in her panic. This is a dream, this isn't real.
"The answer to your question lies here, Caroline."
His words an ominous statement.
"What I want from you is to be everything you truly are," he said in an unyielding tone.
"This is what all this is about?" she lashed out "one more of your sick experiments? Stefan didn't work out so now you are searching for a new ripper?" she accused him feeling sick.
"No. Never," he vowed to her.
She shook her head. Her perfectly curly waves falling around her face.
He took her hands in his and kept them locked in a tight holding.
"I appreciate your light Caroline, you already know that. Your humanity is one of the things that make you special, I want you to keep part of it, but I also want you to survive," he said almost lovingly.
She tried to take her hands out of his, but he didn't let her.
"Not many vampires live more than a few decades. If you don't embrace your nature now, if you don't learn how to harness your abilities and differentiate your human emotions from who you really are sooner or later this will become your own undoing," he said with an urgency that moved her.
"What is this? Vampire lessons one to one?" she said while her whole body seemed to be protesting to this proximity. She was starting to get used to being so close to him and that alarmed her and made her want to find any escape possible.
He laughed, sounding almost sad.
His hands left hers and then touched her face. He bent so his gaze would be completely in line with hers.
"I wish I would have had someone to teach me sweetheart, but I had no one…I had to do it alone, you don't have to" he said and she heard him sigh when she moved away from him.
"Stefan taught me everything I need to know," she replied indignantly.
He laughed, this time amused. The sound of his laughter was such a strange sound. She could even imagine him being carefree and young, laughing in his age of innocence. But this was a diabolic laughter. One that resembled the hell that was creeping into his soul after a millennia filled of debauchery and depravities.
"Yes, Stefan! Not a twisted psychotic vampire with a God complex," she fired at him disdainfully.
"Right, because ripper Stefan was always the perfect example to be followed," he mocked her.
"He has changed," she said feeling the need to defend her friend.
Klaus's brow rose and then he looked at her with empathy.
"Yes, he has hasn't he? Surely his last victims just months ago, or better yet what was left of them, would oppose to such a statement, but you know who truly Stefan is at heart don't you, love?" his words slippery with poisonous irony.
She couldn't control herself any longer. She rushed to him and started shoving him back with all her might, momentarily forgetting that this was the dream world and all her strength was created by him and he could easily control her or make her weak.
Her anger was about to turn into tears.
"You! All of it was you! You took him away from us. You changed him back! He was trying, he wasn't perfect, but he was trying. You are the monster! You!" she accused him while she wished there was a way to hurt him. To really hurt him. To make him feel pain.
He destroyed everything that was in his way. Everywhere he went death followed. Everything he touched crumbled to dust. Jenna was dead. Stefan, Elena, Jeremy, Bonnie, Tyler even Damon, all of them went through hell because of him. And now her.
Her anger was turning into rage and then into fury.
She didn't need any of his games or his promises. She just wanted him out of her life forever! She despised him in every way possible. She would never give herself to such a monster. Never!
With every accusation her fists pounded and punched his solid sternum.
She didn't realize that her thoughts and her words were changing him. She didn't realize that her poison was finding its target.
She didn't see how his eyes changed. How the blue hue of his orbs turned darker. And then even more dark. The blue got lost in the blackness. The fire in his eyes was roaring. Silently ready to break free and burn everything. To burn her and leave nothing, but ash.
She didn't hear the growl that left his lips or how his muscles tightened. She didn't see how for a moment everything around her distorted and turned lurid. Light giving away to darkness. In his anger even his control of his dream changed, but she didn't notice it.
If she had noticed how the air grew thicker and how the glint in his eyes reflected madness maybe she would have stopped.
Before she knew it he had pinned her against the wall. The force of this action cut her hands were causing her pain and she could feel her bones eyes had changed and she was facing the hybrid now. His black veins emerging and the gold of his pupils causing her heart to beat in a rhythm of terror.
"I am the monster?" he bellowed with his hands shaking her like a ragdoll.
The words that left his mouth seemed more like animal sounds than human syllables.
"I didn't create the evil inside Stefan! I didn't create the monster! It was there before I even met him and it will be there after I am gone!" he roared.
And while he was screaming at her she could feel his despair mixed with his fury. The light that was spilling in the room from the candles and the fire was now reflecting of his fangs. His breath was hot as his fingers bit into her arms. Her mouth was dry and it was the first time she realized what people meant when they said that Klaus was a force to be reckoned with.
"Let me go!" she screamed at him not caring for the consequences anymore.
"This is what Stefan's victims kept screaming to him too. Let me go…please…don't!" he taunted her unrelentingly.
He kept pushing her. Her back hitting the imaginary wall behind her in that forced reality he had cast upon her. Even if this was just a dream in felt real. The pain felt real. His hands felt real. His rage was more than real.
And somehow she wasn't afraid that he would harm her physically. She was afraid that he would break her spirit. There would be no turning back from that.
"Stop it!" she pleaded knowing that he was too far gone to hear her. She had to try even though she knew she couldn't soothe his anger so easily.
"Yes, they were also begging for him to stop! But he didn't stop did he? He ripped and savaged and he craved more. It wasn't just the blood he wanted. It was the pain and the screams. It wasn't a means to an end for him. It was pleasure. It was what made him tick," he said in fury as his face muscles convulsed and his face turned human again.
It didn't make her feel safer. His eyes sparkled with insanity in their depths.
"Did you know that your teacher taught me some of my greatest tricks? Some forms of torture I couldn't even dream of? Tell me sweetheart do you want me to show you? To make you see into my memory? To see whom the real monster is?" he spat at her with a low vicious sound.
She struggled to get out of his hold, but it was impossible.
His body crashed on hers and his lips touched her ear. She froze.
"He cut their heads and their limbs. Everywhere he went decay and torn flesh were to be found. Body parts everywhere. Did you know that sometimes he ripped their skin from their faces? Peeling it off and then licking the bloody remains while they kept screaming?" his whisper was one of a lover. His words were spoken in seduction and her stomach churned with bile.
"Stop please!" she begged him again as she trembled at his hands.
"Why would I? I am the monster isn't that what you keep telling yourself? Monsters don't stop Caroline. Stefan didn't stop!" His mouth found its way to the vein in her throat. He kissed the throbbing artery gently feeling every erratic pulse.
He lifted his head and his gaze locked with hers. It was like he was compelling her only this was different. She could see inside his mind. He was forcing her into seeing his memories.
Images of blood and ripped bodies filled her vision. She wanted to throw up. She didn't want to think of this every time she saw Stefan, but right now Klaus was filling her mind with his memories. Memories of blood and torture. Of horror and searing terror.
One memory after another. Horrific sounds and flesh, ripped skin, heads rolling away, hearts and organs lying around. Torn clothes soaking in blood. Body parts. Corpses.
And names on a wall. So many names. So many letters littering a wall.
She wanted to throw up. Her stomach rolled and bile came up into her mouth. Now all those thoughts were her thoughts too. Those memories would be her memories too because she would never be able to forget them.
And then all she could see behind her tears was Klaus's eyes looking at her scornfully.
"I am what is evil and twisted in your mind? This is how all of you sleep easy at night? What about him? Before he even met me how many women has your savior killed? How many men and children? Keep defending him, Caroline. I dare you!" he challenged her dangerously and then he let go of her like he would a puppet.
She tried to hold on, but she couldn't stand on her feet. She slowly slid against the wall. She fell to the floor and tried to get up but failed. She was shaking and when he kneeled in front of her she didn't dare move or look at him.
His index finger and his thumb touched her chin and lifted her head so he could see her eyes that she knew were now red with new unshed tears.
"No matter how many bunnies he teaches you to hunt, no matter how many failed promises he gives to you he will always be the ripper. Do you know why?"
She tried to move away, but he caught her again by her elbow.
"Not because he is a monster, but because he never learned how to be a vampire. He never learned that you cannot walk two paths." His eyes shone with understanding. It was at this moment that his true age and the knowledge that came with it showed.
"He never learned how to be a vampire without shame. How to balance his humanity with the predator that lurks inside," he told her knowingly.
"Humanity will always fight vampirism. If you don't learn how to control your real nature and how to revel in it, humanity will be your greatest weakness and your ultimate downfall," he warned her.
His eyes were filled with understanding and compassion. This was always her greatest fear and his words were hurting her more than he could imagine.
"This is what you want? This is what you want to become? Another torn vampire? To follow Stefan's footsteps?" he pressed her more.
"I can't be what you want me to be, stop…please," she whispered, her voice broken.
She appealed to his humanity. It was her last resort.
"What I want you to be is strong; fearless. What I want is for you to shine, to be free." His voice was now a gentle caress.
'What I want is for you to be mine' were the words that he didn't say yet they haunted both of them.
She could tell that in his mind he was taking her freedom and her choices away in order to give her what he thought was a greater freedom.
His eyes were looking her adoringly now. The monster had abandoned the recesses of his heart.
"I want you to be safe, never to feel guilt," he said and it was his eyes that were now pleading.
She shivered as he moved even closer. His hands got lost in her hair as he gently moved her head closer to his.
"And you can sweetheart," he said with conviction.
"You can be magnificent, if only you would give me a chance. One chance Caroline. To show you everything you can do. Give me one chance and I promise to you I will stop everything here. There will be no more dreams. I will remove the compulsion and I will teach you everything you need to learn in the real world. One chance sweetheart, this is the only thing I really want from you." The hope in his gaze was compelling her to agree.
His hands brought her closer. He gathered her to him and she nestled against him. She could feel his heart beating loud in hope.
"Give me one chance, I ask nothing more of you" his soft voice was a tempting promise and it was in that moment that she understood that this would be the one and only chance he was going to give her. Her only way out. All she had to do was to submit to his will.
All she would have to do was let him teach her; let him show her all his knowledge.
To allow him to be her mentor and her shield.
She could feel that if she were to reject him in this it would be her undoing. He would never relent again. He would never show her another weakness.
This was the key moment were he could set her free. The moment where he could break this nightmare and forget all of his vengeful plans; and maybe in the future she could even convince him to change his mind.
But the price was too high. He wasn't just asking her to let him show her how to be a vampire. He was asking her to give in to him. To let him be everything for her. To follow his path and to abide by his rules.
There was no escape when it came to Klaus. If she were to say yes she would be giving him more than a chance. She would be giving him everything she was; forever.
She would be his and he wouldn't let go. Not ever.
And she couldn't do that. She couldn't forget who he was and she couldn't forget who she was.
Maybe it was stupid, but she couldn't sign away her freedom and her will to him. That wasn't who she really was. She couldn't do it. She would never do such a thing and deep down she was certain that he knew it to. No matter how much she would try she could only give him her honesty and that meant that she couldn't give him the chance he was asking.
She felt him turn rigid before she even gave him her answer. For a moment while he was holding her in his embrace a sudden feeling of comfort had came over her. All the agony had faded away and now the moment was gone. It was like someone had thrown ice on her skin.
She could tell that he already knew. He could read her thoughts here after all. But he didn't let go.
Not until the words slipped her lips.
"I can't…" she whispered and a part of her still hoped that maybe he wouldn't tear her down for this, but deep down she knew that now she would have to face his cruelty all over again.
Silence enveloped them and then he gently let go of her and stood up. He was raising his walls up again. She could see clearly that he was fighting with his own emotions and while he was doing that he refused to spare her even a glance.
Her hand rose to touch him, but he had moved away from her. His back was turned and she couldn't see his expression any more.
And then he turned.
He looked at her from above for a moment and then his face showed no emotion anymore.
"I can tell that you enjoy being a vampire. You enjoy being ageless, eternal. You enjoy the strength and the energy you feel," he said, his voice ice cold.
And then she could hear it again. The murmuring that she kept hearing when she was in the corridors. It resembled a sad melody. Like someone was in mourning.
Caroline looked around the room, but only she and Klaus were here. And yet there was that sound that was filling the air and Klaus's eyes were now glinting viciously. Her mind started dwelling on all the possibilities and it made her blood run cold.
The humming became clearer and it was making her heart speed up. She could also smell blood and a calling to give in to a hunger that was claiming her mind and senses.
She had to force all of her concentration so her vampiric features wouldn't emerge.
The sound became different somehow. A plead for life and death. A sound of terror and yet of pleasure too. It was hard for Caroline to understand how a sound could be a calling for both life and destruction.
Klaus was carefully inspecting her now with what seemed like a mixture of anticipation and intrigue.
She picked up herself from the floor and the humming became even louder and more powerful as did her blood lust.
She slowly backed away and her back hit the wall again.
"Klaus, please don't do this," she murmured pleadingly.
He ignored her though and kept talking in a detached way. There was no way for her to approach him again. Whatever he had planned for her was now unfolding.
"And yet you can't fully embrace your nature. Inconsequential human conventions are holding you down. You are still bound by trivial conducts that once you become a vampire you shouldn't engage in anymore." His voice was eerily low.
Her gaze locked onto his face and she looked straight at his eyes.
"I will never forgive you for this," she told him enunciating every word, making it a promise. It was true. He wanted to break her and she would never forgive him nor would she ever forget.
He clenched his jaw and she didn't avert her eyes.
"You are a very, young vampire Caroline," he said dismissively. "And you have a very wrong perspective as to what is right and wrong or even what time means for our kind. The problem lies in the fact that you never had the proper opportunity to learn what it truly means to be a vampire," he told her in an alluring soft tone and yet she could clearly see that his gaze had turned dark and calculating.
Fear instantly consumed her as the murmuring stopped all of a sudden and the only thing she could hear was her own blood coursing through her own veins, pumping hard under her skin.
"But we are going to rectify this…" he then said with a wicked smile.
A bright light blinded her and she couldn't keep her eyes open.
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End of part one.
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A/N : Well -for anyone that is still reading this story- this was the first part. This is a dream obviously so this is why most of the text is in italics. Keep in mind that I have written the two parts as ONE chapter therefore the flow (it was meant to be read as one chapter after all) will be much better when I post the second part (which is going to be darker and Klaus's true intentions will be revealed). Everything that happened in this first part is leading to a climax, plot wise, but since I broke the chapter you will have to wait until part two.
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I want to thank again my beta (Anastasia Dreams). She has been supporting me, encouraging me and always hearing me out. I wouldn't have posted any of my stories if it wasn't for her. She is a brilliant writer and a talented editor. I don't know what I would do without her ;)
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Please let me know what you thought of the chapter. Your thoughts, your opinions and constructive criticism are ALWAYS appreciated. As many of you might know English is not my maternal language and I am always trying to improve. So trust me when I am telling you that your reviews are more than welcome.
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Rant is over and out...