One thing that Disney got wrong was the fact that the Princess and the Frog did not turn into frogs. They turned into monsters.
"Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrariwise, what it is, it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" — Excerpt from Alice in Wonderland
There she is again.
And where else was she supposed to be? She has lived here for twelve years now. Where else could she go? Ayana was her minder and she was a ward of Mikael. Where was she supposed to be the wolf village across the lake?
She is always wrapped in those snakes.
Now, Caroline would admit that the snake thing was very weird. She touched the snake that was wrapped around her neck, but in her defense the snakes were her way of learning about the world. They spoke to her about everything that was going on and let her know all the juicy bits of gossip. They were useful and all they asked was a warm body to cuddle with. She liked the snakes and they liked her.
And she only ever speaks with the Mikaelsons.
That was because none of you wanted to talk to her! Caroline would have loved to share a conversation with anyone but Rebekah and Kol, but they made that hard because they were so wary of her. Caroline was not as frightening as the rumors made her out to be. She was human just like the rest of them.
And she spends time with the witch Ayana.
That was because Ayana was her minder. While technically speaking she was a ward of the Mikaelsons, but Ayana was the one raising her because Esther hated her… for which she had a reason.
Whatever magic that Caroline knew was attack magic. It came more naturally to her to harm people than to do a locator spell. She could do it in theory, but something about the magic that ran through her veins just liked hurting people more than anything else.
It was something that Emmie had told her was part of what she was…
And that was another thing, what the hell was she. Emmie said she was a witch, but she could only use offensive magic. It was something that boggled the mind, but whatever, she wasn't going to lose sleep over it.
And she is always followed by the younger Mikaelson boys.
Kol and Henrik were her only friends. Oh, and Rebekah. But who else was she supposed to talk to and learn from. Since coming to this village twelve years ago, she had only been friends with the Mikaelsons. It wasn't bad, but she wanted to branch out and speak to other people.
She spoke to others when she traveled from town to town. Ayana was teaching her the art of being a midwife. It was something that she liked even if it was something disgusting. There was always beauty at the end of it though and that was what she liked the most about being a midwife. The life that was brought into the world. She loved that part the most.
Leaning back, Caroline pulled at the rope of the well and brought up her bucket. Unfastening it from the rope she leaned down and looked deep into the well. It was deep and dark, with depth unfathomable to Caroline or anyone else in the village.
Caroline liked to think of her magic something similar to the well. It was something that she could not understand but something that she pulled from every single day. Caroline sighed and pulled away from the well and settled the yoke on her shoulders.
All she does is chores.
All that the people did in this village was chores. All they did was work from sun up til sun down, but Caroline was the only person who this was apparently a bad thing. Caroline sighed and walked back to her home with Ayana. It would not do to listen to the words of gossips.
The walk back to the house was easy. In the time since she arrived at this town, she had grown strong. She could handle anything and everything that the world threw at her. The chores served to strengthen her body and the training that she went through made it so that Caroline's magic was always there and at the ready.
Caroline entered the home and settled the yoke by the door. She pulled the water from the yoke and began to fill the basin and the pot. If there was one thing that Caroline loved about the culture of her new home was their standards of cleanliness. Everyone bathed and combed their hair regularly and she slotted into the culture perfectly.
Warming the water, Caroline stripped out of her dirty clothing from the day before. A snake slithered down from around her neck winding its body down the length of her body. Caroline was quick to check the water to ensure that it was the right temperature. Once it was she grabbed wash cloth and wiped herself down.
There were many things that she wished to have from her time such as deodorant, but then again her memories of her childhood were foggy at best.
Despite Emmie trying her best to keep her memories about her home as time went on Caroline slowly began to forget the world that she came from before. She knew that she had been transported from the future to the past by Emmie, but the finer details were something that eluded Caroline now.
She could barely remember the faces of her mother and father, but she did remember how she felt about them. They were busy people, people who were more preoccupied with their own lives and their failing marriage than they were with her.
Sometimes she wondered if they missed her. Did they ever wonder what happened to her? Or was she erased from their lives completely? It was something that she wondered, but then again she did not know how time travel magic worked as it was forbidden.
There were a lot of magics that were forbidden. The natural order of things was one of the more precious things. The way the world was is how it should always be. Caroline didn't know if she agreed with all of that, but it was something to consider.
Everything had its place in the world, even her with her offensive magic. Now part of that logic comforted her. She needed to know that there was a purpose to her only ability being that she could harm others.
After Caroline was wiping down herself, she dressed in some of the clothes that she owned. Her clothing was much finer than anything else seen in the village. It was well known that Caroline was well off. It was something that she tried to hide.
The trunk that had appeared with her was full of dresses and gold and jewels. Things that a child would never have any use for and things that Caroline did not want. They just drew more attention to her and singled her out as someone to be watched. Someone that was different from the rest.
And while yes, Caroline was different from anyone else, she did not need to dress herself in pretty silks and gems in order to advertise that fact did she?
The dress was fine, but today was the day that she was going to dine with the Mikaelson family and she knew that Mikael liked it better when she was dressed in silk. It was something that she was just going to have to grin and bear.
Rising from the basin, she walked out of her room and into the mixed living and dining space. Ayana was already putting the water that she put in the pot to good use. She was stirring a batch of clothing in the pot. It seemed that today's chore was laundry.
Caroline wanted to groan because that meant she would be bent over all day in order to scrub the clothing clean. But on the bright side, after her hands were rubbed raw she had the rest of the day to herself. Without a word, she grabbed the clothing waiting to be scrubbed and got to work.
The whole time that Caroline and Ayana worked they spoke about magic and the nature of the world. Ayana told her about the nine realms and the gods and how the world was nothing more than layers stack on one another like a book. Whatever happened in a world above them was reflected somehow in the world below.
It was fascinating to learn about but it was so different from what Caroline was taught as a child. She was taught that God created the world in six days and then on the seventh he rested. It was interesting to hear about the differences.
"Caroline," Ayana said. Caroline continued her work.
"Yes, Ayana," Caroline said.
"I am going to have to leave the village for a little while. There is business that needs to be tended to," Ayana said. Caroline nodded her head. From time to time, Ayana had to "tend to business" she never specified what it was that she was doing and when she was younger she would have brought Caroline along.
It was not until she was around fourteen that she thought that Caroline was well trained enough to hold down the fort. And so Caroline was going to be the soul healer in the village and the only witch in attendance.
Caroline loved it. The power that she wielded and the fact that everyone considered her. When Ayana was gone Caroline was the queen of the town. Untouchable and unattainable.
Yeah, she didn't want to be different, but being a witch and being different were two separate things.
When she was different people whispered about her like they did this morning. When she was a witch people came to her and asked her for help. She was wanted and needed when she was a witch. When she was weird old Caroline nobody wanted her.
I will always want you, the ghost of Emmie said in the back of her mind.
Yeah, but you're the weird witch that sent me here, Caroline replied back easily.
Emmie was a nonentity in her mind. Nothing more than a ghost that she could see sometimes but was always lingering in the back of her mind. Everyone had something like an annoying conscious right. Well Caroline had Emmie.
"I will ensure that nothing happens while you are away," Caroline said as she continued to scrub at the clothing.
"Good," Ayana said. And the two went back to their chores.
If there was one thing that Niklaus thought himself to be good at was swordplay. He knew the tricks and there was nothing more satisfying than besting your opponent.
He allowed the two weapons to dance and when his brother, Elijah, took a step to the left. Klaus unleashed himself. In a flurry of movements there was nothing protecting his brother's side and with a deft flick of his wrist, Klaus sliced the thin rope that served as his brother's belt. It clattered to the ground and Elijah looked at his waist and then to his brother with a smile.
"Beat you again, brother," Klaus said with a grin.
They were not truly fighting, just doing something to pass the time. But then he heard something: the tromping footsteps of their father. Quickly the two of them tried their best in order to find out but they were too late. Their father had already seen what they were doing. He had seen that the two of them were having fun. And he would punish them for it.
"Come now boy, show me that trick!" his father shouted as he pulled his own sword from its sheath.
"Father, we were just having fun," Elijah tried to say, but his father had pushed him aside. He was looking at Klaus now with eyes that burned.
"Come now boy show me!" Klaus dodged the first blow. And then he raised his sword to block the second blow. All that he could do was dodge every hit and block every blow. Every hit made his arm smart with pain, but their father was uncaring of the pain that he was putting his child through.
Klaus tripped over something and landed on his back, his sword scattering away from him. Mikael leveled his weapon at Klaus's throat.
"You will never amount to anything, boy," Mikale whispered to him, stooping down just enough so that the words were only shared between the both of them. Klaus felt something inside of him break.
He did not stop to talk to Elijah nor did he stop to talk to Rebekah or his mother who watched the whole scene unfold. He rose and ran from them all. He ran from his shame.
Klaus did not know where he was going, but he traveled deep into the forest. Gods above, how long was he going to live through this? How long would he suffer under the yoke of his own father?
What had he done to earn the man's ire?
No matter what Klaus did it was always wrong. No matter what he said it was inappropriate. When was he going to learn?
Klaus stopped at the falls near his town. He looked across the river. There sitting on the other side of the river was the wolf village. Did they have fathers that found joy in berating them over there too?
Sitting down on the damp earth, Klaus gathered his knees and pulled them close to his chest. He sighed.
What could he do in order to gain his father's appreciation? What could he possibly do?
He needed something. He needed to do something but what?
Thunder clapped overhead and he knew that somewhere in the great big world of his the gods were doing battle. Klaus began to think to himself. He was good at fighting. He was good at battle. What was keeping him from finding his glory with the gods?
It was something that even his father could not deny him. He would bring glory and honor to their name and then gold would come pouring in too. His father would not hate him when he brought back all the golds and gems that raiding would bring him.
Klaus smiled just as the rain began to pour. It was the perfect plan.
There was something foreboding about Ayana leaving this time.
The rain was coming down hard and there was a sound of thunder all around. Ayana did not say anything as she got ready. Just slipped on that oiled cloak that water bounced off of and readied herself to leave.
Caroline helped her too. There was a ritual that she liked to do whenever Ayana went out and that was organize her things by size and color. It was relaxing to Caroline and it helped with some of the anxiety she got when Ayana left.
But there was something about today, something foreboding about Ayana leaving tonight. Maybe it was something in the air. Maybe it was the lightning, but Caroline did not want Ayana to leave. She did not want to be left alone in the village without her mentor.
Caroline put on a cloak of her own and went outside to help settle the horse. Once everything was packed and on the horse, Ayana jumped up and settled into the saddle.
Ayana sighed and looked down at Caroline.
"Be careful girl. There is someone out there hunting witches," Ayana said.
There it was.
Something slithered down her spine and it was certainly not one of her snakes. Caroline looked at her mentor, her face open and honest with the fear she felt.
"And what are they doing with these witches?" Caroline asked.
"That is what I have set out to find," Ayana said.
There were no more words exchanged between the both of them as Ayana clicked her tongue and the horse was off. Left standing there with nothing better to do, Caroline went into the house with a sigh.
There was always something, wasn't there.
"Welcome Caroline," Kol said with a wide grin on his face when he opened the door. Despite the fact that he had seen the girl earlier that day, there was still joy in his face at his friend's arrival. "You look stunning as usual."
Caroline rolled her eyes and shrugged off her cloak. The warmth of the house chased away the chill of the rain. Caroline smiled warmly and handed her cloak to the boy who placed it with the rest of the cloaks and things.
"You saw me this afternoon," Caroline said.
"Can't help that I want to see my best friend all the time," he said with all honesty. Caroline was the closest friend that Kol had. Sure, he had other friends, but there was something special shared between the two of them because of the simple fact that the two of them shared magic. His other siblings did not understand the appeal and his father outright forbidden him from learning.
But Caroline could bypass his father. Anything she did, he seemed to let her do. And so that was why after their chores were done they were hidden somewhere in the forest practicing magic together. They made no secret what it was that they were doing, but his father seemed to care less since it was Caroline doing it.
Kol didn't know what sway she had over the man, but it was something.
They gathered around the table. Caroline was careful to place herself far away from Kol's mother and he could not blame her. His mother had been nothing but hateful to the girl and he knew that it bothered her a lot. The last time they were close to one another Mother had left the girl in near tears.
It was better that they stay away from one another.
As they all settled into their chairs it was then that Klaus decided to clear his throat.
"I have an announcement to make," Klaus said standing from the table. Kol titled his head and he and Caroline shared a look. "I have spoken to Egil and I will be joining the next raid with the warriors."
You could have heard a pin drop.
Author's Note: Hope you all enjoy it. Brownie points to whoever can guess what Caroline is. She is not just a witch!