Rose couldn’t believe that she was sitting here, in the same town she was sure Klaus was already in, leading story time for a room full of children. This was all in the past. Why did it matter so much to them now? Now, their only options were stand and fight and therefore die or run and never look back and keep running for the rest of their lives.
Looking for another way was going to kill them all. Still, she was tired of running and without Trevor she had no reason to live any longer if they thought what she knew could help them avoid her fate then she would tell them all she remembered.
She could tell they were still planning on going after Caroline, seeing her as his weakness, hopefully by the end of the story they were all so desperate to hear they would understand just how wrong they were.
“So where were we?”
“Big bad Klaus had been whipped enough to promise his darling love forever.”
“Yes Damon, thank you for your help.” Honestly the less time she spent with that particular vampire the better. He was so young and yet so arrogant she doubted he would last much longer in the world before someone took him out. Either human or vampire would be anyone’s guess he was equally annoying with both.
“Yes, Klaus had promised Caroline forever but he would soon learn just how hard a promise that would be to keep when….”
“He is hiding something from us Mikael.”
“Really Esther, what could Niklaus possibly be hiding from us? The boy is so weak every thought shows on his face.” Mikael would never understand the boy; he was nothing like the rest of his sons who were strong and something to be proud of.
“I tell you he has a secret. He keeps slipping away at all hours and staying away some times for the whole of the day. He has not so much as looked at Tatia in days and Rebekah tells me he does not speak of her anymore either. I think he may have a new love.”
“So what if he does? If that is so then it could only be for the good, at the very least it will help keep the peace between him and Elijah.” All the better in his opinion, all of their in-fighting had been beyond troublesome.
“Then why hide her from us? And who could it be? None of the girls of the village have been disappearing with him. I fear his new love may be one of the wolves.”
“Niklaus knows better than to consort with the likes of them, but if you are truly worried I will tell Finn to follow him when next he leaves. We will learn this secret of his then we will act on it if we need to. Better love?” He had learned long ago that humoring a worried woman was at times all that kept the peace within the household.
“Yes, of course, thank you.”
Esther knew that Mikael did not understand he still thought that Niklaus was his own, but she knew better. She was afraid that the blood of the wolf that flowed through her sons veins would one day lead him astray.
He was just so different from the others she worried constantly that her secret would be discovered, that her shame would be laid bare for the entire family to see. No, she needed to know what he was doing so that she could protect herself, she would tell Finn to tell her of Niklaus’s dealings before going to his father. Finn was her darling boy; she knew he would do it if she asked it of him.
Caroline paced the water’s edge and waited for him, she knew he would be here soon, he always came. Hearing the rustling of the trees behind her she turned and smiled at the sight of him. Seeing him always made her smile. He was the light of her life, and she hoped she was the same for him, though she would never say such to him.
She knew how men were; her father had been much the same before he died. They can feel more love for you than any other in this world, but never will the words pass their lips. They think to admit to love is to admit to weakness. Niklaus was different; he told her often how much he loved her but still she feared that if she was too forward he would vanish from her life never to return and that she could not bear.
“Niklaus, you came!”
“Of course I did love; I will always come for you.”
She let him pull her into his embrace before leaning up inviting him to kiss her. Oh, how his kisses made her head spin. She wanted to continue kissing him forever.
The two were so caught up in each other they failed to notice his brother Finn just within the trees watching them with fascination. So it was true then, Niklaus had the love of another. Headed back to the village he was determined to share this news so they could know why he felt the need to hide it from them. He wanted to go straight to their father, but he had made a promise to mother and so he went to her first.
“It is as you said mother, he has a woman, but she is not of our village.”
“A wolf?”
“What else could she be?” They and the wolves were all there was here in this wilderness.
Wow, Elena could barely believe it. Klaus’s own brother had ratted him out to their mother. Not only that but what he’d told her hadn’t even been right. Well…
“Caroline wasn’t a wolf though was she?” If she had been wouldn’t it have come up before.
“No, at least not in the version of the story I’ve heard. You have to understand there are dozens of versions out there, each slightly different. No one really knows what is fact and what is fantasy.”
“Why doesn’t anyone know the truth?” If Klaus and Caroline loved each other so much wouldn’t they want to share the story of their love? She was always telling people about how Matt asked her out back when they were together.
“The only ones who were alive back then were Caroline, Klaus, and his family. While Klaus made Caroline immediately after being turned the others waited a good two hundred years before doing the same. Not to mention that we’re talking about centuries of the telephone game here, you know I heard it from someone who heard it from someone. That’s how so many different versions got spread. No one tells the story within their hearing for fear they heard the wrong one and will be punished for telling a lie about them.”
“So what happened next?” She knew she sounded like a small child eager for the rest of a thrilling story, but she couldn’t help it. That was exactly how she felt at the moment. The story of Klaus and Caroline was just so enthralling.
Caroline didn’t know what to think about Mystic Falls High, or the people in it. She had never gone to school really, back when she was human you learned by doing, and after she became what she was now and time passed until it became common to go for formal education rather than that being just a luxury for the rich, she had already learned all she needed to know through experience.
It all just seemed so pointless to her.
Whenever she and Klaus would settle down in this modern world she would always say she was eighteen so that no one would ever question why she wasn’t in school. She had been seventeen when she was given her new longer life so it wasn’t a stretch to pass for a year older physically.
Deciding to just go with the flow like she normally would when facing something new or foreign to her she marched right up to the front doors and walked in like she owned the place. When in doubt, always look like you belong.
Finding the front office wasn’t hard at all and luckily they had already bled all the vervain out of the office secretary the night before and compelled her not to question Caroline or her records.
Now to find some of Elena Gilbert’s friends so she could get out of this stupid town with all its memories as soon as possible. It wasn’t that she hated Mystic Falls; it was that she hated what being here was doing to Nik. It had taken him centuries to put his past to rest and being here was just making everything come flooding back again.
They would find this girl, break the curse, and leave simple as that. She would not allow for any other outcome and when she wanted something she always got it, no matter what.
‘Hey have you seen Elena lately?’
The question came from down the hall; she had been listening for any mention of Elena or her brother Jeremy. It could not be this easy could it? Either the girl had some very stupid friends or she hadn’t told them about what was happening so they were just confused about her abrupt departure from their lives.
‘No, Matt I haven’t. Maybe you could ask Bonnie she might know. Those two are like joined at the hip, you know sister from another mister and all.’
Matt and Bonnie now that she had names to work with this would just be easy as pie now wouldn’t it. She didn’t know what to hope for. That it would be easy and therefore boring or hard and exciting. Either way she supposed it would at least be something different.
She made it to the end of the hall just in time to see a blonde boy in a letterman jacket and owner of the voice she heard heading away from the crowd. Easy it was then.
“Matt? Hi, I’m Caroline, I’m new in town and just started today. I couldn’t help but hear that you were looking for Elena. Well, she was supposed to show me around today but we seemed to have gotten our wires crossed, I thought she was meeting me here and she thought she was meeting me at my house to show me the best route to school. She had her Aunt Jenna drop her off, but she was in a rush and left before Elena made it to the door and realised her mistake and now she’s stranded there, I was just going to pick her up if you wanted to come along, I’m sure after a morning like this a friendly face would go a long way to brightening her day.” She kept her smile sweet and honest, no threat here. The fact that she looked like one of those cheerleader types went a long way towards the look as well. Cheerleaders weren’t threats after all, they were just cheerleaders. Especially to a jock.
“Ah, sure that sounds great, I’m sorry what was your name again?” His smile was open and engaging, happy to meet someone new with just a little bit of sheepishness thrown in after forgetting her name so quickly. He was adorable.
“Oh, I’m Caroline.” Way too easy, people these days were just too trusting.
Klaus was sitting in his studio trying not to worry too much about Caroline and what was happening to her while he wasn’t at her side. She had not been away from his side for more than an hour in decades now, not since the last time she’d been hurt.
He just kept telling himself that it would all be worth it in the end. That the faster they found the newest Petrova or Gilbert as the case may be, the faster they could leave this place and all of its memories behind.
He didn’t hate this place, no he was lying he did hate this place with a passion always had and always would; he mostly hated what it was doing to Caroline.
Ever since they had crossed the town line she had been frazzled and stressed. She was worried about him and he knew that, but he also knew why, and he doubted she noticed the real reason behind it. Yes, this place was bringing up bad memories for him, but it was bringing up just as many unpleasant memories for her and if she focused on him and his reactions she wouldn’t have to deal with her own.
He knew her well and after her day at school he was going to have to distract her as much as possible.
Hearing the door open he glanced at the clock noting that she hadn’t been gone nearly long enough to put in a full day at school, perhaps she had found nothing worth staying for. Looking at his newest painting he found it nearly done, he couldn’t wait until she saw it. He had made it just for her, a reminder of happy memories here to counter the bad ones that had been plaguing them both.
It was a painting of the falls where they’d met, all those years ago with a light silhouette of her beyond the water beckoning him into her arms.
“Nik I’m home and I brought a present.”
Rushing down he found her standing in the entryway with a blonde football player who looked to be about seventeen.
“Well, love I see you’ve made a friend.” His first instinct was jealousy, but the mischief in her eyes belied any true interest in the boy. He really was a “present” in her eyes, a gift, a way to pass the time.
“I have, Nik meet Matt Donovan, Elena Gilberts ex-boyfriend.” The boy was already beginning to twitch nervously, his instincts going crazy but with no clear signal of danger.
“Nice to meet you mate, I’m sure we have plenty to talk about.”
Kasey1939 