Timeless

Chapter 5

When she woke, the wolves were gone. Her head felt fuzzy and her body still tingled from the torture. The locks on the door clanged open in front of her and she held her breath, bracing herself for more torture. The door opened to reveal a shadowed figure. She couldn't recognize who is was, but she could tell it was a man.

"Who's there?" She called out weakly. The figure didn't answer, he just stepped forward and knelt down in front of her. Caroline's vision was blurry and she couldn't make out a face. The shadowed man began ripping apart the manacles and chains around her limbs. She whimpered as he tenderly touched the marks where she had been bound.

"It's ok, I've got you..." he whispered softly, "I've got you."

He picked her up and she curled into his chest. Feeling safe and warm in his strangely familiar arms.

Suddenly she was awake. But this time for real. The dungeon, the werewolves, the shadowed man had been a nightmare. But the real nightmare was around her. Flames raged all around her, hot and red, licking up her bed to swallow her up. Her eyes came into focus and she noticed Klaus's face above her own. He was shaking her, trying to get her to wake up.

"I've got you," he said pulling her out of bed by the hand. She staggered a bit, pressing herself against him to avoid the ever-growing flames. He wrapped one arm around her back, holding her safely in place. The entire room was overtaken and there didn't seem to be a way out.

"What do we do," Caroline shouted, looking up at him.

His eyes searched the room until they landed on the wardrobe. Klaus pulled her over by the hand, dodging falling beams and ash, covering her head as they stumbled along. Caroline coughed as the smoke swirled into her lungs, burning her throat. Klaus yanked open the wardrobe and pulled back the dresses, tossing them into the fire. The flames swallowed up the velvet and silk without hesitation, still making its way toward them.

He reached inside and pulled away at the false back revealing a dark secret passage. He stepped inside and extended his hand to Caroline and she took it without hesitation, allowing him to pull her into the dark hallway.

Klaus rushed her down the short corridor and then down a narrow flight of stairs, gripping her hand in his the entire time. She coughed from the residual smoke that still filled her lungs. But they were out of the fire, the cool dampness of the passageway feeling so much better than the hell above. He stopped once they reached the bottom of the stairs, finally allowing her to catch her breath.

"Are you burned?" Klaus asked turning toward her.

She glanced down at herself, silently thankful that she had fallen asleep in her gown instead of shimmying into bed naked again. Nothing appeared to be singed.

"Yeah I think I'm good," she breathed, her lungs finally feeling normal again.

"You sleep like the dead," he remarked with a small smile.
"I am dead," she returned with her own grin.

Klaus reached up and whipped his thumb across her cheek. Her breath caught at his touch.

"A bit of ash," he said, his voice deep and low, echoing off the gray stone walls.

Caroline gulped and nodded, feeling how incredibly close he was to her, his shoulder pressed into hers, his hand lingering on her face. She couldn't help but think back to just moments ago, when he had pulled her from her bed and wrapped his arm protectively around her, making sure she was safe. He was a bit singed too. Soot covered his blonde curls and ash smeared across his face. Caroline reached up and repeated his action, whipping her own thumb across his cheek.

"You too," she said quietly.

"Well, well isn't this touching," a new voice echoed from the darkness.