"Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice very earnestly.

"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take anymore."

"You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter: "it's very easy to take more than nothing. - An excerpt from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol.

Correction Five: The Curse

On the day of Aurora's birth, a witch supposedly cursed the babe.

The curse was never cast on Aurora by a witch. Aurora cursed herself.

It had been three days.

Mother had first been distraught and could barely focus. Now she was burning with anger. She would mutter and hiss curses at Caroline and it was frightening for Rebekah to see. All this anger directed at a sleeping girl, Rebekah couldn't understand why though. It was not Caroline's fault that she had gotten bitten by a snake. With this thought a sense of guilt accompanied it. Maybe it was her fault that Caroline and Kol were in this position. One time she had voiced this opinion to her mother, who had gripped her shoulders so tight that they bruised, all the while screaming to never feel guilty about anything bad that happens to Caroline.

Her mother's eyes had been wild and so very scary that Rebekah turned her face away and closed her eyes. But the fierce anger and the hatred that her mother had displayed so easily was forever burned into her head. It was the first time that Rebekah was truly afraid of her mother.

Peeking into the room, Rebekah looked to her older brother and the girl she wanted to be friends with. They both lay still. There was no longer any sign of sickness. They both breathed evenly and had a healthy flush to their cheeks. If anyone was to look at them they would have thought that the two children were asleep from a day of tireless playing but Rebekah knew better. Other than the steady rise and fall of their chests they had not moved from the positions that they were in.

Seeing her once vibrant brother laying so still was terrifying. Every time Rebekah saw him he was always moving and active. Now he was so still. Almost as if he were… dead.

No! Rebekah scolded herself. Kol could not die! He had not seen the baby be born and he hadn't seen Rebekah get married. And Elijah had promised that Kol couldn't die because he was too young. Hel could not take Kol from her yet. It wouldn't be fair.

And then there was Caroline. Poor Caroline who couldn't even talk and had no family to even really protect her. If―whenthey both awoke Rebekah resolved to be a better sister and friend. They would be as thick as thieves, the three of them.

"She will not stay with me Ayanna! Look at what she did to Kol!" Esther shouted. Ayanna lounged in a chair and gave her former student a dull look. "She is going to destroy my family."

"When she awakes I will find out what she is and I will take care of her." Ayanna stated. Esther had become irrational. It may have been due to her pregnancy or maybe the darker arts that Esther had been dabbling in. Ayanna narrowed her eyes in thought. Even before Esther had been pregnant she had been irritable and easy to rouse. "What mafic have you been practicing?"

"What?" Esther asked. She looked so…unlike herself. Her well-kept together appearance was disheveled. Her eyes had heavy purple bags underneath them and her was greasy making Ayanna wonder when she had last bathed. Surely none of this was good for the child that Esther was carrying. "Why would―"

"Nature might be punishing you. I have warned you that playing with dark magic would reap unwanted consequences." Ayanna took a sip of her tea.

"This has nothing to do with my experimenting! That little girl is the cause for all this!"

"Everything is related Esther." Ayanna took another sip of her tea before setting it on the table beside her. "Keep away from their bodies. Until they awaken nothing can be done. When they do awaken I will deal with the girl." Stalking smoothly over to Esther, Ayanna patted down her frazzled hair, a gentle gesture but her eyes were hard. "Keep away Esther."

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Kol shivered as the woman, Emmie, wrapped her cold arms around his shoulders. She pressed her chin to the top of his head and the stared out into the jumbled mess that was Caroline's mind.

It was a beautiful mess of color, like the light reflecting off of bubbles, clear yet tinted with color. There were pools of water everywhere. Some were still and other turbulent. Some were blue as they should be and others were a dark corrosive green. Caroline's mind was a beautiful disaster.

"Yes," Kol said plainly. "Beautiful." He eyed the small pool that they "sat" in front of (it always confused him how they could sit when there was no ground but it was as this vile woman said there was ground if you wanted one). This pool was one of the worst ones. It was so dark it appeared to be black and it bubbled disgustingly. Steam rose from its surface brushing a gag worthy odor against his nose. "Am I going to see more?"

He felt the woman press a kiss to his head and move away from behind him. She walked close to the corrupted water. "Yes, you need to understand fully. This is the oldest memory that she has. It's what gave her the title. You have to understand if you want to be her ally." Kol walked closer to the water and looked down at the water. He couldn't even see his reflection.

"I don't want to be her ally."

"Shoulda thought about that!"

Emmie lunged at him. She grabbed him roughly and shoved him into the water, holding him down. Kol struggled as he did with everything that she forced onto him, but his lungs burned and eventually his mouth opened. He gulped in the dirty water and the memories that came with it.

It is a good life she had here.

This woman is not someone that Kol knows. Her hair is long and a red bronze color.

It is a good life. This woman is well respected, has love, and a child in her belly. Her parents adore her and see and hear her. Her love is tall and dotes on her every moment of the day. He is the general of the cities militia. And she is the star child of a successful merchant .

She is perfect. Her love is perfect. Her life is perfect.

Then it is no longer.

Her perfect home in flames. The enemy rip through her love then spread his blood on her. They laugh when she screams. The next memories Kol cannot discern. There is a lot of pain. There are different people. That is all Kol can gather before the pain in the woman becomes acute and the memory sharpens.

There is blood between her legs. The last of her love is gone.

Hours later she has not stopped bleeding. No one is there for her. She will die alone. Until the general of the rival militia enters. He loves her best. He grabs her; tells her not to die and with her dying breath she curses the world saying that she will use every power at nature's disposal to get back at the world. She curses herself with the pursuit of justice.

She curses herself with loneliness.

Caroline is with her parents and nothing is alright. It was just as she left it. Her mother is crying because her father is "gay" and that meant that could no longer be a family. Elena and Bonnie still hated her or at least liked each other more than her.

Caroline loved and hated it. Everything was the way that she left it and she loved and hated it in equal measure. The witch, Emmie as she kept insisting, sat on her bed rubbing the fabric of her covers between her fingers. Caroline sat in front of her Barbie Malibu Dream House playing silently. Her mother was crying loudly in her room down the hall and Caroline was trying her best to ignore her because if Caroline sympathized with her she would cry too and crying helped no one.

And it was just awkward seeing her mother, who was the epitome of strength and iron will, sob hopelessly in her bed. It was like watching a stone cry tears. She had only seen her mother face serious, annoyed, and grim. For Caroline to see her mother's face crumple into a sob was somewhat disturbing. As if everything she knew was a lie. And it was because this wasn't actually her room and her mother wasn't actually sobbing down the hall.

"Is this what you want?" Emmie asked. "Do you want this? A sad life where no one remembers you?" Caroline ignored her and grabbed the car next to the dream house. Barbie needed to go buy groceries for the party that she was going to throw tonight. And Ken was going to be there so she needed to get a new dress. Caroline mumbled to herself about what dress Barbie could wear.

"You want that? You want friends that hate you? A broken home? You like being second best?"

Barbie was at the grocery store now. She had a list of things to get; she needed a chicken, some cookies, a cake,―oh!― and peanut free foods since Allison was allergic! "What happened to being queen? Prince Charming? A family? I offer it to you all and you throw it all away for this? I chose one that would live but I didn't choose a smart one."

Caroline's head snapped towards the witch and she threw the car at her.

"I am not stupid! I'm smart!"

"Look at you!" The with growled, her eyes hard and listless. Her eyes shot all around the room before her angry gaze returned to Caroline to burn holes through her. Caroline shifted uncomfortably. Down the hall her mother's sobs grew into wails. "You say you aren't stupid but look at you." She pointed to the door where down the hall her mother was bawling her eyes out. "Every time we meet her in your mind you always imagine your old life. You cling to it like it is something you actually want to remember. Well it isn't!

"Your dad left you! Your friends hate you! Your mother chose her job over you then comes home only to cry! And I pitying soul that I am decide to help you; I unlock your abilities, I give you a family harboring a man that will love and destroy for you and you turn it all away for this!"

She doesn't want to hear Emmie's words, she cupped her hands over her ears to hide them from the harsh words but they had already been embedded in her head echoing through her head.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

"You rather stay in a place where you're second place to everyone and everything: a nobody."

Do you know that feeling you get when the world just seems to break, like that paper thin grasp on what made bleak reality bearable had finally ripped? Caroline felt that deep within her; something hopeful and happy that held on to the thought that maybe she would go home shattered. And Caroline felt it slowly slipping through fingers that weren't trying to catch the pieces.

At home she was second place. Her mother and father were always preoccupied with fighting with each other and keeping up appearances to actually think of the daughter they were leaving behind. Elena and Bonnie were friends with her only if she agreed with what they wanted. She was always bending over backwards trying to get these people to like her that she actually wanted to go back home just to keep bending.

But her current situation was no better. Trapped in a foreign place with strangers and no reliable guide other than a psychotic witch. A sob burst from her throat with a wail of anguish.

She really was stupid.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Everything hurt. Her head, her heart, they ached with a sense of loss. Caroline felt raw. Emmie wandered closer to her, looking down her nose at Caroline. Which contradicted the soft look in her eyes. "You can prove me wrong, you know." Emmie muttered. She leaned down to be eye to eye with Caroline. Caroline hiccupped, looking at the witch's blurry face through her tears.

"And it I can't?" Caroline whined through her tears. Emmie crossed her arms.

"You will. I know it."

Ayana frowned as she opened her book. It wasn't odd that Caroline fell ill since she was harmed by a snake but what was odd was that Kol had fell ill too after touching her. This had to be the work of magic. If Esther was right and it was in the girl's nature to destroy and nothing else then she could possibly be trying to destroy the boy.

Ayana took in a large breath. She was going to need this if she was going to be talking to the Spirits. Ayana began to chant. Like always the words did not come naturally to her. They seemed jumbled and mechanic coming out of her mouth at first, but soon the rhythm of the words became smoother and more easily pronounced.

Soon the words seemed to vibrate with in her very being and Ayana dropped to the ground her eyes still open but no longer seeing the world in front of her.

She was in a dark place. There were only two chairs and a table which her mother sat at. A smile graced her mother's lips and she motioned Ayana over to sit. Once she was settled in her seat her mother gave another quiet smile.

"You wish to know of the girl, Aya?" Her mother said. Ayana nodded her head, her face set into grim determination. This girl held so much power in such a small body, to put up a flare and then to survive a night out in the woods during a full moon. There had to be something special about her.

"Mother tell me."

"We have seen that she has chosen an ally."

"An ally?"

Her mother folded her hand on the table but did not say a word. Ayana sat there her mind bursting with questions. What did this mean? An ally? Why would the girl need an ally when she had so much power? Her mother sighed before shifting in her dress. It was the same dress that she had died in. Gray and plain like the rest of her dresses.

"The girl is a certain type of witch. All that you need to know is that you need to protect her. Teach her how to wield her powers." Ayana's mother sat back in her chair and tilted her head as if she was listening to something important. Ayana really did hate talking to the spirits. They were always so cryptic and they never wanted to give straight answers to whatever it is that you asked about.

"Watch over her, Aya."

"Of course mother."

Ayana's eyes focused on the ceiling of her home and she groaned. Talking with the Spirits always gave her a headache. It was all so confusing. An ally? The girl was a witch? Ayana knew that witches were just as mortal as humans but the girl seemed to be more.

But the Spirits had said that they told her all that she needed to know was that the girl was a witch and she needed to protect her.

She would do as she was ordered and ask no more questions.

Caroline woke up with a gasp.

Everything was spinning. She closed her eyes and paid attention to the panting besides her. She opened her eyes again when she thought that everything would finally stop spinning. Turning to see who was beside her she saw one of the boys, one of Rebekah's brothers. Kol. His name was Kol.

Kol was looking back at her with his brown eyes with something akin to apprehension and understanding. "Hello Caroline," he said. His voice was hoarse like he hadn't talked in a long time.

"Hello," Caroline said and then stopped. She had her voice back. She had just spoken. Her eyes widen comically as Kol stared at her. "Hello." She repeated the word rolling them around in her mouth and stretching out every syllable. "Hello Kol."

A grin cracked her face as she squealed happily and launched herself at Kol. "I can talk." Kol giggled and wrapped his arms around her and squeezed.

"You aren't mute?" Kol asked.

"I never was. Until my voice got taken by the witch." Kol's face screwed up in fear.

"You mean the witch? Emmie?" Caroline pulled away from Kol to look at his face and knew that he was telling the truth. There was no way that anyone could hide that disturbed look in their eye after their first encounter with the witch.

"What did she do to you?" Caroline asked. She pushed away from him and looked around the room. It was midday and the sun was high in the sky. There was no one in the house judging from the silence. Her eyes wandered back to Kol, who was playing with his shirt. He didn't want to answer she could tell, but it was always better to talk about things than by keeping them in.

"I'll tell you what she did to me. But only if you tell me what she did to you."

Kol seemed to ponder over this and nodded. "Okay."

"I'll go first."

And they told each other everything.

No witch cursed Aurora on the day of her birth.

She cursed herself. With terrible power, terrible beauty and no one to share it with.

Author's Note: Okay so this isn't as long as it usually is, but this is just a sort of "hey I'm alive" update.

I can't say that I am sorry for not updating because I just haven't been feeling it. Though since I put myself into TVD/TO rehab (meaning that I am going cold turkey) since October I felt that I needed to do something. And this was it.

SO I hope that you enjoy it. I don't really have any plans for this story since everything just comes right off the top of my head but let me tell you in this first part with Caroline just discovering herself it will mainly focus on her and her friendship with Kol as they grow up together and learn more about magic.

I honestly don't think that Klaroline will come in until later when they are teenagers. I guess you can say that this first part is very Caroline centric.

We won't really learn what Caroline's role is in the world until later so sorry for those who were anticipating that in the last chapter. I apologize for the crappy chapter as it has been a while since I have written fanfiction. It is going to take me a while to get back into the groove of things.

Anyways enjoy. Tell me what you thought. Tell me off. Whatever just review.

Until next time,

Wanderlust-bitethedust