Cinderella did not fit the shoe, the first time around.
"'Oh, I beg your pardon!' she exclaimed in a tone of great dismay, and began picking them up again as quickly as she could, for the accident of the goldfish kept running in her head, and she had a vague sort of idea that they must be collected at once and put back into the jury-box, or they would die." - Excerpt from Alice in Wonderland
Their mouths were connected in a furious battle of tongue and teeth. Klaus could not believe that he had her in his arms. Their mouths were practically fused together and their hands wandered one another's bodies.
Klaus kept his hands at her sides. He was still too shy to touch her where she directed. She had told him that she was fine if he wanted to explore her body, but still Klaus did not want to dishonor her. Every time that Klaus was with her, his heart pounded in his throat and his body grew hot.
She was beautiful and now she was all his. His head was heady with the thought. Everyone spoke about how beautiful she was. They spoke about how she was gorgeous and wasn't it a shame that she was all alone in that house of hers. Klaus knew that living with her was something of a gamble, but it was one that he was willing to take.
Tatia's hands combed through his hair and she pressed her body against him harder. Klaus knew what she wanted, but he wasn't ready. At least not yet. But he would be some day in the future. She pressed harder against him and all Klaus could think about was the times when she kissed him good night.
Every night it was like this. With Tatia pressing herself harder and harder against as though she was trying to push him into her bed. But Klaus was able to fend her off every time. He just… he wasn't ready for that yet. But still there was something that was aching inside of him, something that was pushing against him trying to encourage him to sleep with her.
Tatia pulled away and Klaus sucked in a deep breath and a smile spread across his face. She was so soft and kind to him. So patient when things got hard. He could imagine the room that they were going to share once his home was done being built. His body ached everyday that he returned to Tatia's house, but it was worth it in everyday if it meant that he was coming home to her.
Tatia smiled, her kiss bruised lips making her all the more appealing. Klaus knew that he looked no better than her. His hair must have been mussed from all the attention her hands had given it. And when he looked at her all he could imagine was the life he was going to live after everything finally settled.
"How is the house coming along, my love?" Tatia said as she rose from the bed and walked over to the cooking pit where she was preparing food. Klaus followed after her.
"It is coming along, love. The house is almost done. We will be moving in within the week." Klaus could feel anticipation like none that he had felt before. He was building something for himself. He was growing into the man that he was supposed to be. And now he had the power, respect and money needed in order to protect himself and his family.
Klaus knew that he was stealing his family out from under his father and mother, but they did not treat his siblings right in the first place. Moving his siblings' things into his house was going to be hard, his mother and father may fight him on it but he had inroads with the Jarl now.
He was strong and powerful. He was respected and now he had a girl that was waiting on him. Everything was coming together. His life was finally on an upswing.
Tatia turned toward him, warm food in her hands and Klaus's stomach grumbled. Building a house took a lot of work. And with all the rooms that Klaus was adding for the addition of his siblings was taking a little longer than expected. But they were at the final stages and the house would be his and Tatia's together to start a new life together.
He shoveled the food into his mouth. His hands were busy while Tatia moved around the space. Her child, nothing more than a toddler, bumbled around the room. Klaus smiled as he watched the child, a little boy, toddle after his mother.
Henrik at that age was so precious. Klaus wondered what their child, his and Tatia's, would look like should they have them. Would they have his eyes and tatia's hair? Or would it be the other way around. The thought brought heat to his stomach and it traveled to his groin. He was quick to staunch the thought.
The thought of having kinds inevitably led to the thought of making children and he would not debase himself any further than he already was. He sighed and finished the last of the food. He smiled at Tatia and rose from the ground, pressing a kiss to her cheek before he left the room.
In the early pre-dawn light there was a sense of mystique that permeated the air. It felt as though anything could happen so early in the morning. And for once Klaus was felt as though there was something to look forward to in life. Life was worth living now that he was no longer under the roof of his father.
He could breathe freely for the first time. When had he ever felt so light? So free? It was as though his body was bearing a weight for so long that he forgot how to fathom a world without its mounting pressure.
Everything was going right for him. He had respect; he had power; he had his girl. Nothing in the world could take him down at this moment. Everything was finally going the way that it was supposed to. He was growing into the man that he had always dreamed that he would become.
Klaus met with the rest of the men and they began to finish the last things in the house. Furnishing the house would be another thing, but Klaus could always go on another raid and make the house something beautiful later on. Well, Klaus could go now and commission some furniture, but he didn't want to spend all his gold in one place.
Raising the rest of the house was a simple task that took until midday. When the sun was high in the sky the house was finished. Klaus walked through the space. This was his. He had made it with his own two hands. This was now his home and he could allow or bar anyone from entering because this was his place.
Something in Klaus's chest tightened. After so long of living under his father's roof, there was a part of him that never thought he would escape. There was a part of him that thought he never could escape. But with this house in front of him, all that he knew was that he had done it. He had made it out from Mikael's grip alive.
The house was ready and Klaus knew that his siblings were going to love it. Once they saw it of course. Klaus walked into the house and looked around the space. He looked at the walls that he had built and all he could see was the future that he was going to build.
This house would be once full of joy and laughter, not haunted by the fear of the moods that one would experience. Here their family would be happy.
There was a knock at the front of the door that shot Klaus out of his thoughts. He turned and Caroline stood there, a bright smile on her face as she took in the space.
"Wow, this place is big," Caroline said as she walked into the room. Around her neck was the necklace that Klaus got her. It was a gold necklace with a large green emerald in the center. The gold was in the shape of a snake and with the snakes that always seemed to be following Caroline around, Klaus thought that it would be appropriate. The necklace lay above her breast, and despite Klaus living with Tatia his eyes could not help but trace the line of her chest, following the seam along her skin
Klaus pulled his eyes away. Being with Tatia, the most beautiful woman in the village, was something that Klaus drew a sense of pride in, but there was something inside of him that yearned for more. And Caroline was a part of that more.
He did not know what he wanted from her, if he wanted a quick lay or if he wanted some deeper connection with her. But surely this was all because he was growing into something great. All great men have ravenous appetites and it was not heard of married men having a lover or two.
He smiled as Caroline looked around the space, marking where and what he would need. It would not hurt to have someone to care for him when Tatia was busy. The thought settled in his mind and made perfect sense to him.
Caroline wandered the space, taking in everything about the house and she turned to him with a wide smile. Klaus followed after her.
"I knew that you were made rich from the raid, but I never thought that you would have the house up in such a short time. How much are you paying everyone?" Caroline asked as she ran a hand against the wooden wall.
Klaus was a step behind her watching the sway of her hips in the blue dress she was wearing. His hands itched with the urge to draw. Gods it had been so long since the last time he had drawn something. He could afford to buy some paper and charcoal and he would make something beautiful. Maybe he'd draw Caroline.
"The men have been fairly compensated, I assure you. And I also had the help of their slaves," Klaus said. Caroline froze at the words. Klaus tilted his head curiously. He knew that she had some hang ups about the fact that there was slavery in the world, but he never understood it. It was not like the people were mistreated. And even if they were it was within their rights.
Caroline shook her head and then looked around the space once more. "I have barely seen you since you have been back," Caroline said. "With the house and you always being at the Jarl's place I never thought that I would get a moment alone with you."
Her words sent his heart pounding. She wanted to be alone with him? Never before had Klaus felt so desirable. Never before had a woman wanted to be in his presence. And now he had two women that liked him: Tatia and now Caroline. Klaus tilted his head and pursed his lips, considering Caroline as she walked through the empty house.
"I have wanted to be with you too. It feels like so long ago that I was staying in your home," Klaus said. For the briefest moment Klaus remembered when it was the two of them inside the cottage. Caroline waking him up in the morning with a smile and a hot meal. It was blissful, well before they started training.
Caroline was looking at him. And was it him or were her eyes roving his figure. Did she want him in the way that he was now thinking about her? The thought made his blood heat in his veins. All he could see was the blonde of her hair, the warmth in her eyes. Yes, she was pretty maybe just as beautiful as Tatia.
Her lips were plump and lush and he could almost feel the press of them under his own lips. Caroline smiled at him; there was always something bright about her, as though there was light shining out through her. Despite everything that she had been through and everything that she had seen with his family, she was still as bright and cheerful. It was something that he admired.
She gained a wistful look on her face. Something that made Klaus yearn to touch her even more. "It feels like years despite it only being a couple of weeks ago. You know I miss waking up and making you breakfast."
"It doesn't have to change," Klaus said. His heart was thumping hard in his chest. He could scarcely breath, but he needed to make this jump. He needed to see if everything whirring around in his head was the same for her. Caroline looked at him with raised brows. Surprise alight in her eyes.
"Well it's not like I can come and live with you," Caroline said with a sad shrug of her shoulders. Her face was there with a wry smile as if to say "what can you do?" But if Klaus knew one thing it was that he needed to take a chance or go to bed wondering what if. And Klaus had learned to hate the words what if.
"You can. I have more than enough space for both you and my siblings." Klaus could feel the hoping rising in him. And whatever was in his face matched her own for a moment. And then something happened. The emotions crashed down in her eyes and she shuttered.
"And Tatia?" Caroline asked.
"What about her?"
Something flashed in Caroline's face. "What about her? You have been living with her since that fight with your dad. Everyone has seen the two of you together, kissing and stuff." Caroline crossed her eyes and measured him with a look. Klaus's mind was spiraling though.
"Well it isn't like I am married to her. And besides it's my house and I can decide who comes and who goes. And I want you there," Klaus said, his voice almost pleading. He did not understand where he went wrong. Everything seemed to be going the way he wanted and then veered off the path.
He wanted Caroline and he was sure, in his mind, that she wanted him in return. So then why were things now panning out the way that he thought it would? Caroline shook her head and a flush came to her cheeks and she started to shake her head, but Klaus pressed closer to her. He held her face in his hands, preventing her from shaking her head.
"I want you Caroline. I want you in my house." And then he kissed her. Their lips pressed against one another and it was everything that Klaus imagined. Her lips were soft though a little chapped and he felt as though something was ascending out of him. But as soon as the kiss started it stopped. Caroline pulled away and as quick as a whip, her hand snapped out and slapped him.
His head turned with the force of her hit and Caroline stood in front of him panting. Her face was flushed with color and the set of her mouth was hard. There was a tenseness to her body as though she was a mother cougar getting ready to pounce. She wiped a hand across her lips and Klaus flinched at the action. She was wiping him away, the feeling of him. Klaus felt that same heat bubble up in his chest, but Caroline was faster when it came to talking.
"I am not going to be the other woman for you. I refuse to be a mistress or lover. I am worth more than that," Carolien said, her eyes alight with fire and heat.
"I am not married," Klaus said as though that explained everything. Why could she not see that he was unmarried. Unattached. There was nothing that was preventing them from doing what they wished. So what if Tatia was somewhere in the mix. That did not mean that the two of them could not explore this connection that they shared together. Klaus wanted to explore these feelings burgeoning in his chest with her. He wanted to know her and learn more about what he was feeling, but Caroline was getting in the way of that. "Tatia is just kind enough to allow me to stay with her.
"You are 'attached' Niklaus. Do you not see the way that Tatia looks at you? You are courting her and I refuse to be the one that breaks the two of you up. I want someone who will always choose me. And you have already chosen Tatia," Caroline said. And her eyes, that were once alive with so much fire, suddenly dampened. "You've chosen Tatia."
"I have chosen no one," he said through gritted teeth. How could he get her to understand that he wanted to explore this relationship with her? How to get her to understand that everything around him was just… Just what?
"That is still a choice, Niklaus. And it still is not me," Caroline said. She looked around the space once more. "It really is a nice house."
And then she turned and walked from home leaving Klaus alone. Without a second thought Klaus punched a hand against the wall. He felt the skin of his knuckles split, but he knew that it was nothing more than pain to clear his mind and his thoughts.
And it is still not me.
Why did she look at him that way? As though she was used to being passed over and unseen. Klaus shook his head. She was the apprentice of the medicine woman in the village. She was respected and they liked her, or at least more than him from his understanding. He shook his head once again.
He needed to speak with Elijah.
Kol could tell that something was bothering Caroline the moment that she entered into the glade where they spent their time practicing magic. She was tense, there was a stiffness to her shoulders that was not usually present.
He knew better than to say anything. Caroline would tell him in her own time, in her own way. They were practicing battle magic and Caroline always had the upper hand in these things. They sparred each one throwing magic spells to one another and pushing the other.
But every round Kol lost. Caroline's magic was too powerful. It slammed into him with all the strength of a tidal wave. When Kol was laying flat on his back, looking up into the sky. Caroline loomed over him. A pout was on her lips.
"Why are you holding back?" she asked. She looked at him with something akin to anger, but not quite in her eyes. Frustration, the word populated in his mind and from the maligned set of her shoulders Kol knew that Caroline was about ready to explode. "I'm not going to get any better if you are holding back."
"You know I can hardly withstand your magic. I don't know what you're expecting," Kol said. He knew that what he was saying was going to rile her up. He wanted her anger. Caroline's mouth twisted and she looked down at him.
"I need you to at least try. Become creative, you are good at that."
"Well that well has run dry. I'm all out of tricks."
"Then try something you have never done before, I don't know."
Caroline was running hands through her hair. Her hair was braided, tied together with a leather thong, but Caroline was already tugging at it, bringing her long blonde hair out from the wrappings it was. Kol kept pushing.
"Maybe you should ask Ayana to teach you something else."
"You know Ayana will not teach me anything else. She says that she has taught me everything that she knows and I have barely mastered that."
"Then ask —"
"No." The question was shot down before it could escape Kol's mouth, but a smile curled at his lips.
"We need her information. You need it more than anyone else. Besides, she knows what you are and you need to know in order to master your magic."
"I don't want to talk to her."
"But you need to try."
"I said I don't want to talk about the stupid magic and mystery of what type of witch I am!" Caroline exploded. Magic lashed out strong and heavy. Kol was just fast enough to shield against the worst of the magic. His feet slid back, kicking up dirt and rocks. But Caroline was unmoved. Standing in the epicenter of the blast Caroline looked around the space once, twice, her eyes glowing with power.
Kol lowered his shield for a moment, but he heard someone groan from the circle of trees around them. Kol turned. Caroline could not hear the groaning, mired in her emotions the way that she was. Kol rose turned and jogged over to where the groaning was coming from.
Sitting there on the ground was none other than Henrik, holding his head. Kol gasped and rushed over to his side.
"Henrik, what in the world are you doing here?" Kol demanded. Henrik rose from the ground with the help of Kol. He shook his head this way and that as though he was trying to dislodge something. "You shouldn't be out here."
"I want to see you and Caroline do magic," Henrik said with a roll of his neck. Kol shook his head.
"It is too dangerous for you to sit there and watch us. Caroline and I are working with some high level magic. You cannot just… watch us. What would mother say if you came back hurt?"
"What would father say about you learning magic after he told you that you could not," Henrik countered. Kol shook his head.
"That is not what we are talking about."
"Henrik?" Caroline asked as she turned to see where Kol was. "What are you -"
Kol shook his head and that shut Caroline's mouth. Kol knelt down so that he could be face to face with Henrik. "If you want to come and watch us then that is fine, but you cannot sneak up on us and watch us. We need to know that you are there so that way we can adjust our spells to account for you. Do you understand me Henrik? You tell me that you are coming or else I will tell mother. Promise me."
"I promise," Henrik said with a bright smile on his face. Kol nodded on his head and turned to look at Caroline.
Standing there, Kol could see the emotions that flitted past on Caroline's face. She was upset. But there was still something that was bothering her that he was trying to get to the head at. Kol sighed. Maybe it was time to stop playing games and confront her directly.
"What is bothering you Caroline?" Kol asked, rising from the ground. "And don't try to say that nothing is bothering you. I know you better than that."
Caroline stood there with a look of contention and consternation on her face. She was weighing her options trying to get everything inside of her under control. But then she sighed and her shoulder slumped. She sat down in the center of the divot in the ground that she had made and wrung her hands. Henrik and Kol made their way over to her and they both sat in front of her.
Sitting there, Kol could not help but feel more childlike. There was always something distinctly youthful about Caroline as though no matter how much older she got she was still that girl without a voice that appeared in front of their house.
"Niklaus wanted me to move in with the rest of you," Caroline said with a sigh. "And he… kissed me."
Kol tilted his head. He was going to ignore the fact that they were speaking about his brother and inside imagine that it was someone else. Niklaus had kissed her? He knew that his brother and Caroline had grown closer in the time that they shared a home together, but to kiss her?
"Nik likes you?" Henrik asked.
"That is what I am trying to understand. He is with Tatia. I don't want to play second fiddle to her," Caroline said, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes. She rocked back and forth and Kol tilted his head.
"Then don't. Make Nik leave Tatia for you. It shouldn't be hard if he already likes you." Kol said. It was simple really and besides Caroline was much prettier than Tatia.
"You make it sound easy."
"It really is."
Caroline tilted her head and considered his words. Kol knew that he was right. All good things in the world you have to fight for. And this would be no different. She sighed.
"Fine. I guess."
Kol jumped up from his seat on the ground and then offered a hand to both Henrik and Caroline. "Now then. Let's get back to magic!"
Caroline reached for his hand and Henrik rose on his own. Kol smiled at the two. Wishing that this could last forever.
Author's Note: And that is where we shall start for this installment. Wonder what is going to happen between Klaus and Caroline going forward. Have a great week everyone!