Disclaimer – I own nothing in the Vampire Diaries realm it belongs to so many others far more famous and talented than myself. I earn nothing for doing this beyond the headache that comes from hitting that writers block wall.
Elena sat in the Salvatore boarding house and tried to stay calm. It was taking every ounce of her will to just keep breathing the weight that had settled on her chest was so oppressive. With every word that Rose spoke that weight grew heavier and heavier until she was sure everyone could see just how hard she struggled to breath.
“So what you’re saying is that the oldest vampire in the world is coming after me?”
It was always best to be clear with these sorts of things. This man, vampire, Klaus was coming to Mystic Falls putting her entire world in danger. Again. It just seemed like the threats just kept coming to her sleepy little town.
What was it that they always used to say? Nothing ever happens in Mystic Falls.
Then Damon happened, and after him Katherine, and now Klaus. Not only did the threats keep coming they just seemed to be gaining in power and darkness as they went. Soon they would all be swallowed up by it, they had to be, no one got lucky forever.
“Yes, he has been searching for a girl with your likeness for centuries, he had the woman you know as Katherine Pierce some five hundred years ago, but she got away. She managed to trick Trevor into believing that she loved him, she used her charms to convince him to turn traitor and because of that all of us, Katherine, Trevor, and myself have spent the last five centuries fleeing from Klaus. He is not a man who forgives easily or at all as far as I know.”
“But, why? Why Katherine, why Elena?” That was Stefan practical and to the point.
“I’m not sure for certain I was only ever told bits and pieces and that was so long ago that my information may not be the best. All I know is that it has something to do with their shared bloodline and lineage. There was a curse enacted long ago and in order to break it Klaus needs the moon stone, a werewolf, a vampire, and a Petrova doppelganger. He needs to use the moonstone as a focal point with the help of a witch and sacrifice all three of these creatures on the night of the full moon in order to break this curse.”
“So, what’s the curse? Did someone make the big bad vampire limp?” And that was Damon sarcastic and certain he would always be the worst thing in the shadows. Even when it was clear to see that he wasn’t, not anymore.
“No one knows, or at least it’s never been confirmed one way or another. There are several theories about it but I think only Elijah would know for sure what it is. Some say it’s the sun and the moon curse and that if Klaus were to break it then all vampires would be cured of their aversion to the sun. Others say it is a curse placed on Klaus himself. Still others believe that the curse wasn’t placed on Klaus but on the one he loves most.”
“Who might that be?” Who could a man like Klaus ever love? The man who killed without thought and without remorse. Who could ever see past all the dark things he’s done?
“Caroline.”
“Caroline? Who the hell is she?” If Damon and Stefan had never heard of her after all their years stuck in the web of the supernatural what were the odds of her being the answer, or even real enough for any of them to find.
“More importantly, how do we find her? If she is so all important to Klaus then we need her, she could be our leverage to get him out of town and out of our lives forever.”
Rose looked almost ill after Damon’s little announcement. Her unnaturally pale complexion seeming to lose another shade in her panic.
“That is not a good idea. Klaus does love Caroline, that’s for sure, and she loves him in return. To harm one is to invite the wrath of the other. If you think that what Klaus is planning now is bad if he so much as thinks that you’re planning to move against Caroline then he will slaughter this entire town. Painfully and slowly. Just to make an example of you all, doppelganger or not.”
He wouldn’t really do that would he? Kill an entire town just because he thinks that someone in that town might be plotting against this woman. That’s insanity.
“That’s insane.” Elena hadn’t meant to let her thoughts escape, every time she spoke people just looked at her with pity these days and she couldn’t take that today of all days, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“That’s Klaus. He’s ruthless at the best of times but if you threaten the people he loves especially Caroline his rage knows no limits and he has no mercy.”
She sounded like she was speaking from experience and if she was then that would explain why she’d looked so sick at so much as the thought of hurting this Caroline woman. She had a feeling that the don’t hurt Caroline lesson was one that you only needed to learn once.
“Look, it’s obvious that you know more than you’ve already told us so since you don’t want us going after this Caroline, convince us not to, tell us about her about them.”
Stefan again being practical. Caroline still seemed to be their best option even with the dire warnings attached and the more information they had going in the better.
“Fine I’ll tell you the story as I know it. Some of it might be wrong but this is the version I’ve always heard. Not that anyone’s ever dared to tell it within his hearing to know for sure. The way the story goes is that Klaus knew Caroline back in the time before. Back when he was human…”
“Niklaus, we need to be more careful, I think your family is starting to suspect that you are not being truthful with them.”
Oh, his Caroline was gorgeous even when she was worried. She was worried about nothing of course his entire family still believed him to be enamored with Tatia like his besotted older brother Elijah. As though he would ever fall in love with his brother’s dark beauty when he had this golden goddess in his arms.
He still remembered when they had first met some six moons past, he had been besotted with his brother’s girl back then, and after finding the two of them locked in an embrace in the forest he had run off to the nearby waterfall to sulk and bemoan his life.
When he had first reached the falls he had thought himself alone until he sat on the bank just in time for his goddess to break the water’s surface. At first he had thought her a creature of some sorts, maybe a siren or a water nymph until she had spotted him at the water’s edge staring at her. She had screamed so loud he had been tempted to cover his ears before watching her move quickly to the shore and her clothes.
After that day he had been obsessed with his beauty of the water. He sketched her image constantly, always careful not to let anyone see them, and he returned to the falls every day waiting for her to return. When she finally did he had been so pleased it had taken him a moment to note the fear in her eyes and several visits thereafter to finally make it fade. Now they were inseparable, together as often as possible, they always met at the falls before heading off on some adventure or another.
She was fearless in all things. She did not act like any woman he had ever met before and he found that refreshing and exhilarating. He found the longer that he knew her the less he wanted to share her so they kept their association a secret from his family and his village.
She lived alone with only her mother in a house in the woodlands between his village and the werewolves’ territory so it was only his family that was kept in the dark. It had not been hard to let them all believe that he was still heartsick over Tatia even though now he rarely ever even thought of her other than to remark about her relationship with Elijah. Now being able to look at the situation without his heart being involved he had begun to realize how manipulative and insincere she was in her affections. When he had tried to explain this to his brother he was accused of jealousy and told to mind his tongue.
That was one of the main things he loved about Caroline. She never looked down upon him nor did she ever assume the reason behind his actions without speaking with him first and she always trusted and believed in him unlike the majority of his family.
“We are careful love, and as it is now I do not care if they do find out about us. I love you and you love me and I do not care who knows it. We will be together forever, you and I.”
“Most people say that that promise is what started the vampire race.”
“What do you mean?”
How could a promise to be together forever start an entire race?
“It’s said that Klaus and his family are the Original vampires that every vampire in existence is descendant of them. They say that Caroline was the first vampire ever spawned by them, the first of the next generation. That if Klaus hadn’t wanted to keep his promise and be with her forever and then tried to turn her that none of them would have known it was possible to create more like themselves and they would have been the only vampires in existence.” That was both romantic and tragic.
“Oh goodie this fairy-tale has a moral. Let’s all guess what it is.”
“Mock all you want Damon but you were the ones who asked to hear this story I would be just as fine with not telling it at all. Klaus is on his way I think we would all be better served preparing for his arrival rather than having a nice long chat about ancient history.”
She could understand that, but she also knew that knowledge is power and the more you had the better off you would be in a fight. They need to hear this, if it was true, then Klaus had a weakness.
Klaus paced around his bedroom in his new home. Mystic Falls had changed a great deal over the centuries, he hadn’t stepped foot here since he’d been turned, and now that he was back he could honestly say he hadn’t missed it at all. Since he’d come back he’d been plagued by memories of his human life, he hadn’t been able to focus, so instead he focused on the one good thing that had happened here for him. Caroline.
If he closed his eyes he could still see everything, every moment they spent together while their hearts were still beating, all of it with crystal clarity.
Shaking himself he brought his mind back to the present, that was all that mattered at the moment, the doppelganger was here and this curse was nearly at an end. He’d found out the girls name, Elena Gilbert, but it seems she’s been a little harder to find than anticipated. She wasn’t at home, or at school, in fact no one around town had seen either her or her brother for days.
She was hiding from him.
He shouldn’t be surprised that was the Petrova way of course, he had yet to meet a single one that would just stand their ground and fight. Caroline would he knew, even when the odds were against her, Caroline always fought. She never gave up; he didn’t think she knew how.
Looking around their temporary home he saw signs of his girl everywhere. A perfectionist, nothing entered their home without her approval, everything was always tasteful and immaculate. He couldn’t care less so he always left all the decorating and party planning to her and it always worked in his favor to do so.
He had loved Caroline for a thousand years and he would love her for a thousand more and far beyond even that. They would never be parted the two of them. Never.
“Nik? What are you doing?”
“Nothing darling, just thinking about our next move. Any thoughts?” He always asked her opinion; she was as cunning as he was and twice as ruthless when she needed to be.
“Well, you need to find the girl but can’t find her or her family correct. Well then if you can’t find her family by blood, find her family by soul, where are her friends?”
Of course! This girl wasn’t like Katerina who’d had no one and trusted just as many people, no this girl was outgoing and surrounded by people. Now all he had to do was find these people Elena kept close to her heart and then decide what to do with them.
Kill them one at a time to draw her out? Take them and use them for leverage? Or maybe just trick them into giving up the girl’s whereabouts? He couldn’t go to them himself, there was too much vervain floating around this town. They were on the lookout for him, but he had another option available to him.
“Darling it’s been awhile since you’ve mingled among the masses, how do you feel about going back to school?”
“Sounds like fun.”
Turning to face her he was as always in awe of her beauty. She hadn’t changed a bit; she was still his Siren of the Falls.
Kasey1939 