Klaus hesitantly did as he was told and reached into his pockets. As soon as he did, his lips turned to a thin line.
"Take the box out, please," the witch ordered knowingly.
"How did you know it was there?" my boyfriend asked without following through. Instead, his grip tightened around what was inside his pockets.
"You will know soon enough," the girl promised. "Show us the box, please."
Klaus quietly refused, shaking his head. "Her shift was too sudden. The witch could be playing some game planned by Silas."
That indeed was a possibility. Everyone else seemed to think so too. I, however, did not. I couldn't quite put it into words, yet some part of me trusted Heather with my life.
It was a sort of intuition, a familiarity she represented. The mention of her coven, and the name 'the almighty' she'd used for Klaus, tickled a distant memory in my brain.
"Honey, do as she says. It will be okay," I said. Klaus shot me a look to show he was not convinced.
"I don't trust her," he growled in a low tone.
"You don't need to," I said, "you just need to trust me."
For a moment, I thought he would still refuse. Then, with a sigh, he took out the small box and clenched it in his fist.
"May I ask you to open it," the witch continued.
Another moment of hesitation, but after a nod from me, Klaus let the wood snap open.
The open lid revealed two rings, old but shiny as if they hadn't been touched for years.
Klaus took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the witch.
"How did you know they were there? Even I had forgotten I had these."
"And yet, you have carried them with you wherever you went, haven't you? Although you cannot explain why, you know they are important."
"Yes." Klaus swallowed, shifting the box uncomfortably in his hand. He didn't like being put on the spot like this.
Elena glimpsed over my boyfriend's shoulder and raised her brows.
"Are those engagement rings? Are you two that far along already?"
I blushed, shaking my head. "No, we're not." Yet.
The witch, Heather, started chewing down on her lip.
"Don't touch the rings yet, Klaus," she said. "You two should be alone for that."
"Alone?" Damon repeated. "Don't make us curious."
The witch gave him merely a glace before she continued, "For everyone else concerned, Caroline traveled back in time once more to stop Silas' plan from unraveling. She succeeded, as you might have guessed."
"If she traveled back, does that mean, our reality has changed?" Elena asked.
"No, not significantly. At least as far as past centuries go," Heather explained. "The only change would be the existence of my coven, which was created by my ancestor Heather."
"I'm guessing your name was given to you in honor of her?" I speculated. Maybe I had known her ancestor, which would explain why the name sounded familiar.
"You assume correctly," the witch confirmed.
"So, all this means, everything is as it should be, and we mustn't worry?" my mother jumped into the conversation.
Heather nodded yes. There was more to the story, indicated by the rings, but she was reluctant to reveal more in front of the others.
I wasn't the only one to notice this. My mother gestured the others to rally and go back into the house.
"Then we should leave Caroline, Klaus and the witch alone. I'm sure my daughter will let us know everything important later on."
My friends didn't think as highly of leaving us alone but did not start a fight and followed my mother's orders.
Mom brushed by Klaus, before she reentered the Salvatore mansion, and whispered: "We will have a talk after all this, to set boundaries! I will not allow you to hurt my daughter!"
I held back an amused chuckle, while Klaus' face shifted to slight worry. I had never seen him unsure like this.
"I don't think your mother likes me very much," he tried to joke, joining my side. "I do hope I can convince her of my good intentions."
"She will change her mind once she sees how much I love you," I assured and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "But we have more important matters to tend to now."
We turned our attention back to the witch.
"There is not much I can tell you until you've regained your memories. When I said you should touch the rings when you're alone, I really meant it. Those memories are connected to intricate emotions, which only you two should share," Heather said.
"What do you mean by memories?" Klaus wanted to know.
"Oh, sorry, I should have elucidated. The rings hold the memories of your time together in the past. Once you touch them, you will have those memories again."
My boyfriend and I exchanged curious glances. How long had we been together in the past?
"I would suggest, you two take your time to regain your memories, and we will meet once more after you have. Then all explanations will be more clear and easier," Heather continued.
We decided to follow her advice and headed to my place for some peace and quiet. I texted my mother on our way there, to let her know the plan.
Heather meanwhile would join the others inside, so she'd be ready once we'd regained the memories she spoke of.
I closed the door behind us, and as soon as I did, Klaus pulled me into a hug from behind and kissed my neck.
Chuckling, I turned to face him. He leaned forward and gave me a long, sweet kiss.
"What was that for?" I smiled after he let me go.
"You were gone in the past. It was a welcome back," he said. "And a preparation for whatever those rings hold."
"The rings," I repeated. "Should we touch them at the same time?"
"I'd say so."
Klaus placed the box on the table in front of us and slowly opened it up again.
The rings inside appeared to have a certain glow to them and we both felt a strong gravitation towards the shiny gold.
"Ready?"
I nodded yes. At the same time, we extended our fingers towards the metal. I hovered above them, then pulled my hand back without having touched them.
"Wait," I said. "I think someone's calling me."
On my vibrating phone screen was a name: Rebekah.
"I should take this and see what she wants."
As soon as I picked up, the worked-up voice of my friend echoed through the speaker.
"Caroline? Something weird just happened! I touched an old necklace of mine and suddenly, there were all these flashes and images in my mind! It was like a dream, but I knew instinctively, they were memories!"
I smiled. Rebekah remembered too. Those witches in the past had to have done a marvelous job with whatever spell they created.
"The same thing is about to happen to me, I can explain everything afterwards," I promised.
Rebekah sighed.
"We will have a lot to talk about. Just know, I'm glad to remember. You're a good friend, Caroline. I'm not surprised, my brother defied history to love you."
"Defied history to love me?" I giggled. "Aren't you exaggerating a tad?"
"She's not."
I turned to Klaus. My boyfriend held one of the rings in his hand. His face was tender and loving, his eyes full of sweetness and fascination.
"I'm sorry, love. I had already touched the ring before you said to stop."
"Rebekah, I have to go. Call you later," I hung up. Setting aside my phone, I reached my trembling fingers towards him.
"You remember?" I asked.
"Yes. I can't believe what you did for me. Everything makes sense now."
With one hand, he took my fingers and carefully placed my tips on one of the rings.
Both Klaus and Rebekah had not lied. My mind was sent flying. I spiraled through memories and images.
I remembered Rebekah as one of my best friends. I remembered Heather and Kilian taking me in. I remembered almost dying for her.
I saw Ellie, my little angel, grow up, and saw myself tell her stories of Klaus, the almighty, my one true love. I saw us say goodbye to Heather, the pain still as true as when it had happened.
Tears dropped down my cheeks while I saw myself say goodbye to my second family, because that's what they were, Heather, Kilian, Ellie and everyone else.
And then, there was Klaus. The face of his past self rang in my thoughts and morphed into his present self in front of me.
I remembered everything. The good, the bad, the heartache and the joy.
Careful, I touched Klaus' face. He let me, leaning into my touch for comfort.
"It's wonderful, isn't it?" he smiled.
"That's an understatement." I lifted myself up on my tip toes and brought myself closer to the love of my life.
"You know now," Klaus whispered. "You know what I have done, past and present. The monster I was."
"You never were a monster. I have always seen the good in you. And you have always put me first."
"How could I not? I told you, I want to be your last love."
"You are. I could never love anyone as much as I love you."
He kissed me then, and as our lips touched, everything became clear to me.
My love for him. What we had been through and what still lay ahead. We would face it together.
I had remembered, and I knew. I knew the one he once had been. Now, it was time to look ahead to the ones, we would be.
Together.