CHAPTER 1 of THREADS OF FATE UNRAVELED

"Caroline, Niklaus, they say that the first year of marriage is the hardest and a real touchstone for every newly married couple. But knowing and seeing the two of you close by, I can say with outmost respect and admiration that I have no idea what they are talking about."

Elijah heard the room laugh at that and so with a little smile, he continued, "You two have made me see the issue from another perspective. It's only hard, if you haven't fought to be together for years. Only couples who have had smooth sailing up until getting married will find the first year to be challenging, but not your two. You know what it takes and I know that you have never taken any moment married together as something that comes along naturally. I'm so proud of you, brother. To finally have what you wanted all along and you never gave up on it." Elijah raised his glass looking straight at Klaus. "To your happiness." He then looked at Caroline and added, "Both of yours."

The room was silent for a minute and the Kol broke it, "I'll drink to that."

Everyone laughed as they looked at the happy couple and drank in their honour.

"Okay, Elijah, time for speeches is over. Time to be festive now." Klaus told everyone standing up and as if on up in the sky there was a lot of fireworks and in came the servants with wine glasses full of red liquid. They knew exactly which ones had blood in it and which ones had just red wine and handed them to the correct people.

Klaus sat back down and Caroline leaned closer to him and whispered, "You outdid yourself. Again."

"This? This is nothing, sweetheart." He smiled at her and pulled the hand closest to him to his lap and kept holding on to it during their conversation, just like they had during Elijah's speech.

"But it is. It's not the elaborate party I envisioned at first but I'm glad Hayley talked me out of it."

"She did what? I would have given you that party, if you wanted one. Why didn't you tell me that someone tried to deny you of something you wanted." Klaus was getting mad, looking at Hayley with murderous expression and some people noticed it.

"No need to make a scene, Klaus. It's better than a big party."

"Are you sure?" Klaus' expression softened as he saw only truth In her eyes.

"Yeah, sometimes I don't know what's good for me."

"Oh, don't I know it." Klaus teased her.

Caroline hit his arm playfully and they both laughed.

Getting serious again, Caroline added in a whisper, "This so much better. Intimate."

"Don't say words like 'Intimate' right now, Caroline." Klaus groaned. "You know how much I want to get you out of that dress and be INTIMATE with you right now."

"Well, what's stopping you?"

Klaus looked at her, raising a brow at her.

"Come on, they are all occupied with each other, they won't realise we were gone and by the time they do, we'll be back."

Klaus couldn't fight that logic and they sneaked upstairs to be alone a little while.

Caroline was right, by the time Hope started asking for her father, Klaus and Caroline returned, with a glow about them that made everyone else share an all knowing look between them as Klaus took his 5 year old daughter in the kitchen for some ice cream.

Later, when everyone had cleared out to be alone and deal with their own stuff, only Elijah and Klaus were still in the courtyard.

"What do you think we have done good in our lives to deserve that kind of happiness in our lives, Elijah?"

"Absolutely nothing." He said taking a big gulp from his drink.

"Then why-"

"Let's just count our blessings. Besides, maybe it's not for us, per se. Maybe it's for Rebekah, or for Hayley, or for Caroline or maybe it's so that your daughter could grow up in a family as normal as possible, Niklaus."

"Yeah, maybe." Klaus agreed with his brother as he finished his drink. He then stood up from the stool.

"Going already?"

"Yeah. 4 minutes and 50 seconds ago I told Caroline that I would be up in five minutes, after one drink with you, so-"

"So, you can't let her wait any longer, not a woman like her."

"No, I can't." Klaus agreed and started to go up the stairs in human speed. "Good night, brother."

Elijah didn't raise his eyes to look at his brother, he simply stared down at his glass and nodded.

Klaus saw that something was bugging his older brother but he didn't know what it was. But he recognized the familiarity of it. Hayley gave off the same vibe that something was wrong between her and Elijah.

As soon as he opened his bedroom door, he heard Elijah starting to go up the stairs too. Klaus smiled and went in, "Caroline, do you know-"

But then he realised she was not inside the room, he realised that her scent wasn't strong enough to say that she was anywhere in the one mile radius. He knew It was pointless, but he searched their quarters for her and just as he was starting to expand the search area, he heard Hayley call for Elijah. He flashed there to see that Hayley was descending the stairs to the yard, looking frantically for her husband.

"Hayley," Klaus called out for her.

"Klaus, I can't find Elijah. One second I heard his footsteps on the stairs and the next it was gone. I didn't hear him anymore and now I can't find him anywhere."

"Same."

"Wait-What? Caroline is missing too?" Hayley asked and Klaus nodded.

"That's odd." Klaus heard Marcel say who had joined them. Not only Marcel. Rebekah and Freya were there too.

"Odd, doesn't even begin to-Hayley, who's with Hope?"

"Mary. She's okay, I just checked."

"Even so. Could you please go to Hope's room and get our daughter."

Hayley rolled her eyes but went to get her anyway.

Caroline was laying in the bed, waiting for Klaus when she heard the door opening and he looked at it in anticipation, but raised on her elbows as soon as she saw that the closed door was now a bit ajar but there didn't seem to be anyone there.

"Klaus?"

No answer.

Caroline started to worry and stood up and put a polite robe on for going out of their quarters if necessary.

"KLAUS? Stop messing around!" Caroline almost yelled now in panic. He then heard a man call out for her and she simply smiled and ran towards the sound.

But the arms that caught her when she was about to collide with their owner, weren't her husband's and the voice didn't belong to him either, she suddenly realised.

"Elijah."

"Caroline." She felt him sigh a relief. Probably happy that he wasn't in this alone.

"Where did he go, Klaus, I mean?"

"I'm afraid, We have a much bigger problem than that, Caroline."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not just that our spouses are missing. What's worse is that I'm human and so are you, Caroline."