Klaus opened the door the next day to let Caroline in. He usually let the staff show guests in, but he thought it best under the circumstances to do it himself this time. "Hello, Caroline. It's lovely to see you. Thank you for coming.
Caroline smiled sweetly as she entered the mansion. She had her best kiss ass face on for Klaus' mother. She planned on getting in to see Elena today, and she also wanted to gauge exactly how much of a threat the original witch was to her friend. "Hello, Klaus. Thank you for inviting me."
"Shall I show you around? I know I showed you a bit the night of the ball, but it is a big house," Klaus said.
"That would be lovely," Caroline said.
"Niklaus," a voice called out.
Klaus and Caroline both turned to see his mother several feet away.
"What is the meaning of this?" Esther asked as she pointed to Caroline.
"Hello, Mother. I wasn't aware that I needed permission to invite someone into my house," Klaus said.
"This young woman is a friend of your sister's. I believe I made myself clear when I said that I had to approve of any of her friends before they'd be allowed to see her," Esther said.
"Yes, well, my friends need no such approval. Caroline is my friend too. Isn't that right, love," Klaus asked Caroline.
"Yeah, of course," Caroline said. She supposed they could technically be considered friends at the moment. She would be Klaus' best friend if he could help Elena out of this situation.
"Perhaps that's true, dear, but I think you came to see my daughter, not my son," Esther said.
"Now, Mother, don't you think you're being a bit rude? Caroline is a guest of mine," Klaus said.
"It's okay, Klaus. Your mom's not wrong about me having ulterior motives," Caroline said before turning and smiling sweetly at Esther. "But it was actually you I was hoping to speak with, Mrs. Mikaelson."
Esther raised in eyebrow in surprise. "You wished to speak with me? Why is that?"
"Well, Klaus did tell me that anyone who wants to see Elena has to go through you, and I'm eager to gain your approval. And please know that I was in no way trying to go behind your back. Neither was Klaus. I only asked him to facilitate a meeting between the two of us," Caroline said sweetly. It was as she told Klaus. She knew how to kiss ass when she thought it was worth it.
Klaus barely managed keep the amusement off his face. This was a Caroline he wasn't used to. He was used to her fire. He was used to her telling everyone exactly what she thought of them without fear. It was what drew him to her. She wasn't afraid to tell him where to go. She was one of the few. However, he was now finding out she could be quite manipulative when she wanted to be.
Esther nodded after a moment. "Very well. Would you like to join me in the living room?"
"I would love to," Caroline said before following the witch down to the living room.
"Can I get you anything, dear?" Esther asked.
"No, I'm okay, Mrs. Mikaelson. Thank you," Caroline said.
"Shall we sit then?" Esther asked before pointing to the couch.
Caroline nodded and took a seat on the couch.
Esther sat next to the young vampire. "So, I've heard that my daughter, Rebekah, told you the story of how Elena is my daughter."
"Yes, Ma'am. She was trying to make sure no one would do anything foolish in our concern for Elena. Some of our friends can act without thinking at times," Caroline said.
"Yes, I believe I saw that for myself the night of the ball. Your friends were quite volatile and rude, especially your dark-haired friend," Esther said.
"I assure you, Damon has never been any friend of mine. I basically tolerate him for Elena and Stefan," Caroline said. That much was the truth. She hated Damon, but for some reason, Elena saw good in him, so she tolerated him. He was also Stefan's brother, and despite all he'd done, Stefan still loved him.
"Ah, yes, Stefan. The other boy who was here that night. I've learned a few things about him, like the fact that he's a ripper. He's very dangerous," Esther said.
"He can be," Caroline admitted. She liked Stefan, when he was himself, but she couldn't deny that he was dangerous, especially right now. He had been very unpredictable since Klaus forced him to turn off his humanity. It seemed to be back on now, but he still wasn't the same. "He did well for a while, but human blood is like a drug for him."
"And what of your control, Caroline. If I am to even consider allowing you to see my daughter, I have to know she won't be in any danger," Esther said.
"I don't feed off of people. I use blood bags," Caroline said.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" she asked.
"Once, when I was in transition. From that point, I haven't fed off of a person," Caroline said. She couldn't keep the guilt out of her voice. She hated that this woman saw her so vulnerable, but if it meant she could see Elena, she would do it.
"Only one slip is impressive for any vampire. I've seen the bloodlust myself in my own children. It's usually uncontrollable. That you were able to overcome that is impressive. If you're telling me the truth, I would consider you safe enough to be around Elena. However, that doesn't mean you're deserving of it. So far, you've told me all I want to hear, which concerns me. How about you tell me how you really feel?" Esther asked.
Caroline sighed. She knew she was going to have to give at least a little bit of truth if she wanted Esther to think she was being sincere. However, giving just the right amount of honesty without offending the witch was going to be the trick. "That's fair enough. Finding out you locked Elena in this house made me angry. My friends wanted to come and storm the place. I stopped them only because I knew it would be useless and only hurt Elena more."
"Well, that at least makes you one of the smarter of my daughter's friends. Continue," Esther said.
"I don't like what you did. I think you made things really hard for her. You trapped her in a house with people that tried to kill her and told her things that would cause almost anyone to have a nervous breakdown. But I can also understand that this couldn't be an easy situation for you either. Your daughter was murdered and you were forced to do something desperate to save her. Klaus has also told me how all you want is your family whole again. I can understand how, from your perspective, this was the best way to do that. I can also see that there probably wasn't a good way to handle it," Caroline explained. She was lying through her teeth. There were about a thousand better ways to handle this situation, but she would say whatever she needed to get what she wanted.
Esther slowly smiled. "I appreciate your honesty. You seem to understand the situation better than my own children do. What is best for my daughter is my only concern, which is why I am willing to allow you to visit her under certain conditions."
Caroline grinned. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Mikaelson. I will of course follow any rules you set down."
"Good to hear. You may visit Elena here with my permission, but only while I am present. I will monitor every visit," Esther said.
Caroline continued to smile falsely. This was a complete power play. Esther didn't need to supervise her visits with Elena, and she knew that. She was already listening to all of Elena's conversations through Finn, according to Klaus. This had no other purpose other than to let Elena know that she was in control. However, Caroline couldn't say any of that. She had to play by Esther's rules. "I understand."
"Should you make any attempt to try to take my daughter from this house, all visits will stop, and you will regret it," Esther said in a hard tone.
"The last thing I want to do is interfere with Elena's relationship with her family. All I want is for her to know that I'm here for her," she said.
"Very well. If you're amendable, I would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow night. You may see Elena then," Esther said. She could let her see Elena now, but she chose not to. She wanted to see if the girl would follow her instructions without complaint.
"I would love to. Thank you so much. I guess I should go say goodbye to Klaus. I'll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Mikaelson," Caroline said.
"Goodbye, dear," Esther said with a smile as she watched the young vampire get up and walk out of the room.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
About ten minutes later, Caroline was walking with Klaus. He'd asked her to take a walk with him before she went home, probably to talk about her visit with his mother.
"We're far enough away that no one will hear. What's your true impression of my mother," Klaus asked.
"That she's a controlling bitch. She wants to monitor my visits with Elena. She doesn't need to do that. It's a powerplay," Caroline said.
"Yes, I agree. My brother is already running to her with every word Elena says. I must say I was impressed with you though. You handled her perfectly," Klaus said with a grin.
Caroline smirked. "I told you I knew how to be a kiss ass. Seriously though, Klaus, your mom is everything that my mom used to warn me about when it came to guys. She used to tell me that every abusive relationship starts with one of the parties being controlling. Your mom will get worse."
"I won't let that happen," Klaus said fiercely.
Caroline stopped and stepped in front of Klaus, so that they were looking at each other. "Do you love Elena?"
"Yes," Klaus said quietly. Of course, he loved her. She was his baby sister. He'd loved her since the first time he saw her.
Caroline nodded. She believed him. She believed it even before he said it, but she had to hear it. "And your other siblings love her too?"
"We all love her very much. I think even my mother does, even if she doesn't treat her that way," Klaus said.
"I believe that. Most abusive parents love their kids, at least they think they do. They just love themselves more. If you guys love Elena, you have to save her from this. Right now, I imagine that Elena's trying to play along with the situation for the most part to survive, but eventually, she will snap, and I'm afraid of what Esther will do then," Caroline told him gravely. She knew her friend well. Elena would try to do what Esther said at first, but she would eventually get frustrated and angry. She would lash out at some point.
"I won't let my mother lay a finger on her," Klaus swore.
"I know you won't, but there are other ways to abuse someone. You have to do something. I know you have a plan, or at least the beginning of a plan. Whatever it is, you have to make it happen," Caroline said.
"What if that plan involved you never being able to see Elena again? Would you still wish for me to do it?" Klaus asked.
Caroline shuddered. She'd had a feeling that it would involve something like that. This would not be the first time that Klaus and his siblings fled an abusive parent. The idea of never seeing Elena again crushed her, but not as much as Elena living in an abusive household. "If it would keep her safe, then, yes."
Klaus nodded. "Can I be assured that this conversation will stay between us?"
"I won't say anything to my friends. I don't really trust them anymore than you do right now. Their impulsive actions led to this situation," Caroline said.
"Thank you. Well, I guess we should head back. I'm sure you need to head home," Klaus said.
"She'll forgive you, you know? Elena will forgive you," Caroline said.
Klaus snorted. "I find that difficult to believe, love."
"She will. Elena forgives the unforgivable. You're her brother. She will forgive you. It probably won't happen for a long time, but it will happen," Caroline said.
"I doubt that, but thank you for saving it anyway," Klaus said before leading the way back to the mansion.