Eva shuffled her boots slightly in the forest undergrowth, her arms wrapped around her chest protectively as her sharp eyes searched through the gloom surrounding her. She refused to glance over her shoulder like some scared little girl, though she wished for eyes in the back of her head. Instead, she listened intently to the sounds of the forest around her.
Finally, after what seemed to be hours of waiting, she heard someone approaching, leaves sliding over each other like snakes in his wake. Eva glanced to her left as a man with dark hair and impossibly blue eyes appeared from between the trees like a wraith.
"Silas." She addressed him by his true name, despite never having seen him in his true form like this.
"You called." He replied, stopping a fair distance away from her and holding out his hands to present himself. "I came. So what would you of all people have to offer me?"
Eva brushed aside his words. "The cure. I can return it to you."
"Yet somehow I doubt that." Silas said coolly, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"You shouldn't underestimate me." She said just as evenly, watching his every move while she remained still.
"And why is that?" He asked, pacing slightly. Despite his cool demeanor, he couldn't keep still. She supposed desiccating into a fossilized position for over two thousand years could make a person want to never remain completely frozen again.
"Because I won't even ask for protection in return. I don't have much to bargain with. All I ask is that you kill Klaus." Eva curled her lip slightly as she spoke his name, her hazel eyes glowing with fire.
Silas laughed. "See, that is where I don't believe you. Because I can't. Don't think that I don't know about you."
"Whats there to know?" She asked innocently.
"That you are attached to Kol Mikaelson. That you're attached to the whole family through that bond." He watched her speculatively. "Oh yes, I have my ways of finding things out. And that didn't take much digging. Don't expect me to be fooled. Why would you want Klaus dead?"
"Because he makes Kol's life hell. And mine." Eva snarled, before taking a breath and controlling herself. "I might not be as attached to Kol as you believe me to be, but I still want what's best for him. And his brother being alive is not in anyone's best interests. I understand that you have the means to end his life." She uncurled her palm to show a vial of dark red liquid, darker than blood. A potion. And not just any potion. "I have the means to restore your life."
Silas narrowed his eyes and began to walk towards the vial that she held out to him, but she curled her fingers back around the glass and retracted her arm.
"First your word that you will uphold your end of the bargain." She demanded.
Eva stood her ground as Silas slowly came closer, his gaze changing to one of inspection.
"First your word that you won't kill me on the spot." He retorted.
"I'll only be able to do that once I know that you won't kill me." She raised her eyebrows.
His eyes studied her face once again searchingly.
"Can I trust that you wont try to do something so foolish as to stake me with a feeble wooden stake now? It would do very little other than make me very irritable."
Eva scoffed. "Surely I don't look that blonde. And besides, does it look like I could possibly hide a weapon in these clothes?" She gestured to the skinny jeans and shirt that she wore, impossible to conceal a weapon within.
Silas almost smirked. "How did you come across the cure anyhow?"
"The Mikaelsons aren't the only ones who can track down Katherine Pierce." Eva smiled. "Child's play."
"The Petrova doppelganger, I assume." Silas nodded – clearly he had someone who had been able to tell him all of this information, Eva summarized. He would know far more if he had some way of finding information on his own through his sorcery tricks. "Well, that would make sense by all accounts." He tilted his head, regarding her face once more. "Very well. Hand over the cure and be assured that Klaus Mikaelson will die."
"At your hand." Eva finished, eyes narrowed.
"At my hand." Silas smirked properly now.
Eva extended her hand once more, dropping the vial into Silas' waiting palm. His smirk slowly faded from his face.
"What's wrong?" Eva frowned.
"You are foolish." He said darkly, glaring now.
"I don't understand." Eva said, wide eyed.
Silas scoffed degradingly at her. "I spent over two thousand years holding the cure in my grasp. You don't think I would know when it was truly in my hands?"
"It can't be..." Eva murmured.
Silas held up the glass. "Where is the real cure?"
"I swear, th – "
"It's a pity," He sighed, cutting off her protests. "You remind me so much of a woman I once considered my friend. I loved Qetsiyah in a way, just not the way that she wanted me to, and she betrayed me just as easily as you did." He stroked a finger down the side of her cheek before flinging the vial into the undergrowth and wrapping a hand around her slender throat. Eva gasped, tugging at his forearm while he lifted her slightly off the ground so the tips of her boots scraped against the dirt.
"Where is the cure?"
"I'm your cure, mate." Kol quipped from behind Silas, before grabbing his arms in an attempt to restrain him and free Eva from his grasp. Eva dropped to the ground, taking in an unnecessary lungful of air. Being supernatural didn't make it any less painful when you got hurt, it only made recovery time quicker.
Silas struggled against Kol, wrenching a hand free to slam an elbow back into his face, instantly breaking his nose. He spun around to face Kol, but another interruption came from behind him.
"Don't even think about hurting my baby brother." Klaus growled, swinging Silas back around to face him before sending a punch to the side of his head. Silas used the momentum of Klaus' blow to swing and right himself again before returning the punch, catching Klaus on the shoulder and making him stumble. Before Silas could do more, Caroline was there, pushing Silas away from Klaus and back into Kol's grasp. Silas used his feet to propel them both backwards until they hit a tree, momentarily breaking Kol's grip around his chest. Silas sped from his reach, looking around wildly to see whom his next attacker would be. His eyes locked on a certain individual who had remained away from the fight.
Gwen stood there, hands clasped around the slender block of stone they had carved from Silas' gravestone. The talisman was around her neck, and she was ready to channel Qetsiyah to ensure that the destruction of Silas would be full and proper, connecting his life and death in a full circle to restore the balance to nature.
In Silas' eyes, she was the biggest threat.
Caroline flew at him once she saw what his intent was, her fingers digging into the flesh of his arm like claws. He knocked her back with a single blow to the chest, causing Klaus to snarl and retaliate, plunging his hand into Silas' chest. He too was pushed off, Silas yelling in pain as a rib came out clutched in Klaus' grasp. Yet nothing held back Silas' advance as he sped towards the witch.
That is until Eva got to her first, placing her body between the two so his outstretched hand struck her first. Silas growled his frustration in unison with Eva's yelp, yet the blonde still found the strength to push Silas back towards the trees and away from the brunette. Silas grasped blindly behind him, finding a branch and stabbing it into Eva's side, grinning at her cry of pain mingling with Kol's panicked shout.
His triumph was short-lived, as Klaus grabbed his arm, twisting it back away from Eva and behind the tree trunk, dislocating it with a sickening pop. Caroline did the same to his other arm before he could use it. Kol dislocated his jaw next with a vindictive punch, before he and Eva held his legs steady as Gwen finally approached, stone stake at the ready.
Silas was trapped completely against the tree. His ice blue eyes searched the witches face imploringly, yet she regarded him impassively in return. He should have died years ago. He had been a servant of nature and yet he had selfishly wanted immortality. It was far past his time to go.
Gwen closed her eyes for a moment, before she opened them again to show their green firey depths. Silas made a noise of recognition, unable to speak due to his fractured jaw, yet he knew whose presence truly stood before him.
"Soon, my love." Gwen-Qetsiyah said, a small malicious smile appearing on her face. She clasped the stone between her palms, chanting while the moonlight gleamed off the stake and her hair. All in a whirl, she suddenly plunged the stone stake through Silas' heart, pure and true. He gave little more than a gasp as he died, and they watched as his skin turned grey and his veins thickened to show his true supernatural face. He slipped from their grasp to the forest floor, where his body snapped into fragments like stone.
They all let out a collective breath.
"He is here." Gwen said with Qetsiyah's voice, and they knew that she spoke from the Other Side, where Silas must now reside. "Thank you," She murmured to them all, her gaze resting on Caroline, causing Klaus to shift marginally in front of her. Qetsiyah clearly saw the baby vampire as someone of significance to Klaus, and spirit world or otherwise, he would make sure nothing happened to her. She smiled malevolently once more before her eyes faded to their cocoa brown, and Gwen blinked.
"Qetsiyah's gone." She murmured, plucking the talisman from around her neck and dropping it onto the pile of Silas' stony remains.
Eva sighed and let her knees bend, lowering herself to the ground. Kol instantly followed, his hands hovering over the branch that was still lodged in her side.
"Don't bother, I'll do it myself. I was a nurse." Eva reminded him, yet when she pulled on the end of the branch she let out a cry and stopped. "Actually, maybe you can do it." She amended, clutching his arm tightly as he slowly pulled out the rest of her impromptu stake, wincing with every gasp she made.
"I told you something like this would happen, Niklaus." Kol said fiercely, alternating between wide, worried eyes at Eva and glaring anger towards his brother.
"For God's Sake, Kol, I'm fine." Eva growled, still clinging to his arm for support.
"I warned you, and now Eva is injured." Kol ranted, ignoring Eva's protest.
"You will soon be injured if you don't shut your trap." Eva warned, helping him wrench out the branch the rest of the way and grabbing his face between her small hands so he had no choice but to look at her. "I. Am. Fine. Okay?"
Kol was conflicted, but he exhaled through his now healed nose. "Okay," He murmured, pressing his forehead against her temple. Eva closed her eyes at the sweet, gentle gesture.
"I'm so sorry," Gwen said quietly. "He caught sight of me before he was supposed to, and you ended up getting hurt to protect me."
Eva chuckled lightly. "Better me than you."
"Whats that supposed to mean?" Gwen frowned.
"Sweet as it is that you can't see it yourself," Caroline smiled at the brunette to soften the words while Klaus finished her sentence. "Do you really think that Elijah would ever forgive any of us if he came home and found you with a single scratch upon your body, or even a hair missing from your head?"
"He couldn't pay that much attention to detail." Gwen scoffed, though her eyes showed her true emotions – she was both shocked and flattered.
"Lets not test that, shall we?" Kol said, standing and carefully lifting Eva into his arms despite her faint protest.
Gwen set a final resting spell across the pile of rubble that used to be Silas, and the odd family made their way back to the house to call it a night.
Klaus caught Caroline's hand as they walked, drawing nearer to her to ensure that Kol, Eva or Gwen wouldn't overhear them.
"This is why I want to marry you, sweetheart." He breathed quietly, pressing a kiss to the knuckles of her hand that was still specked with Silas' blood. "Life is too short."
"Too short?" Caroline let a small laugh loose into the night despite their macabre situation: the pair of them walking through the woods hand in hand at midnight, dotted in blood – and talking about marriage, of all things. "We have eternity." She reminded him.
Klaus smiled slightly. "That isn't enough time for me."
"Impatient, are we?" Caroline teased. "I thought that was my trait."
"I believe it is shared, now."
She smiled at the simple thought of sharing anything and everything with him. "When do you want to tell your family then?"
"Soon." He replied. "After the cure has been given to whomever it shall be given to and we know that life is as peaceful as it ever can be." Klaus studied Caroline's face. "What about your friends? Your mother?"
Caroline pursed her lips. "I don't know. I want to tell them, but in all honesty I don't care what they think. I have you, and I'm happy."
Klaus knew differently just from looking at her. "Don't lie to me, sweetheart. Their opinions matter to you."
"No, their feelings matter to me." Caroline corrected, tightening her grip on his hand. "I want them to feel happy for me, but I don't care if they don't think this is right for me, because I know otherwise."
Klaus knew she believed her words to be true, but he still was troubled. He loved her so fiercely that it was impossible to imagine ever being apart from her, and it shocked and startled him. What stunned him even further was the idea that he would gladly do anything for her, when he had never done a single selfless thing for anyone in his entire thousand year existence. He supposed it wasn't selfless – he got such joy and pleasure from seeing her own dreams turned into reality, even from seeing her reactions to everything day to day. Surely when he got such selfish satisfaction from her happiness, it could no longer be classified as a selfless love.
Yet he was very much in love. He would not deny that any longer, it was so set in his very being that he couldn't believe he had not felt that way ever before. Even with Tatia, he had not felt such a level bordering on devotion, affection, wholeness. Klaus supposed it had everything to do with the fact that Caroline was the most decent person he knew, her kindness and compassion balancing his selfish and destructive manners to fill out his hollow little life. That and the almost impossible fact that she returned his love and was unequivocally his only.
He would never understand it. But he was certainly grateful and blessed for his angel.
...
Elijah, Rebekah and Elena returned the next morning. Elena stayed for breakfast but left soon after, despite Caroline's offer for her to stay and chat.
"I'd love to, Care, but I should probably face the drama waiting at the Salvatore house." Elena admitted. Caroline couldn't help but be a little proud that her friend was no longer running away or avoiding confrontation – that she was willing to speak with the brothers, even if it was to say that she was feeling confused still. So she sighed, enveloped Elena in a hug, and waved her off.
Once Elena's car had swung out of the driveway, she turned and went to rejoin the family at the table, prepared to discuss the cure.
"Firstly, may I just state that after all we went through to get the cure, I deserve it." Rebekah stated. "Being near Katerina drives me up the wall. Especially with how she was eyeing you off, Elijah."
Elijah raised his eyebrows. "She was doing nothing of the sort, sister."
She scoffed. "Please, she had that simpering look combined with that annoying swaying walk like she was underwater trying to sashay down a catwalk."
"Well clearly that's enticing." Gwen remarked dryly, running her hand along Elijah's shoulders as she went to place her plate in the sink, her smile indicating that she clearly wasn't bothered by Katherine's attempts.
"Regardless, we now have the cure in our possession." Elijah brought them back to the topic. "And might I suggest we find a use for it before it is used against us?"
"Like me taking the cure to have a shot at humanity?" Rebekah added sweetly.
"You can have humanity and still be a vampire." Eva reminded her, before nodding in Caroline's direction. "She's doing it."
"Thank you." Caroline smiled, before turning her attention back to Rebekah. "Besides, Bekah, if you really had to live without your vampire skills, I don't think you'd enjoy it."
"Really?" Rebekah asked sarcastically. "I'm sure I could."
"Try it, then." Klaus said. "I doubt you'll last a day."
"Done." Rebekah frowned at her brother.
"You're all forgetting something." Kol interrupted. "What happens if you take the cure and you become exactly the age you are – a thousand years old." He smirked. "You won't be getting a husband and family life like any other human if you're a wrinkled old crone."
Klaus and Caroline shared a glance at the mention of husband and family, but it went unnoticed by most of the surrounding vampires, aside from Gwen who nudged Elijah and he in turn nodded.
"Eva, control him, make him bearable." Rebekah whined.
"I can't do that if I agree with him, Beks." Eva shrugged, and dodged the saltshaker that was aimed at her head. It hit the wall behind her with a thunk.
"Bonnie deserves the cure." Caroline piped up before Elijah could open his mouth to chastise his sister.
"Why should the Bennett witch get it and not me?" Rebekah asked.
"She was turned and she never wanted to be a vampire, and its my fault so I have to fix it." Caroline said.
"Get her a fruit basket then, you don't have to make her mortal again." Rebekah said carelessly.
"She's cut off from nature." Caroline continued, frowning at Rebekah's flippant remark.
"And if she's given the cure, she'll go back to square one, with just baby witch abilities." Rebekah retorted.
"You can't know that for sure." Caroline said, her voice tinged with doubt.
"Well if that's the case, then I'd be happy to mentor her." Gwen interjected, and Caroline turned to her hopefully.
"Really?"
"I'd be happy to. Its been a while since I taught someone the art." Gwen said.
"I suppose that brings up a good thought." Elijah said. "Does anyone else want the cure themselves, or think there is someone the cure should be given to?"
Silence reigned around the table.
"Then perhaps we should gather everyones views on whom the cure should be given to." Elijah continued, before turning to Gwen.
"Bonnie." She said simply, before shooting an apologetic view to Rebekah. "Don't get me wrong, but the girl has been cut off from the person she always wanted to be, and you have a family who loves you and wants you around for another millennia."
Rebekah seemed to see the sense in Gwen's words, but she still persisted. "Eva?"
"I honestly don't know enough to say who deserves it." Eva said slowly. "But I can certainly say that I don't want to lose you as a friend. We have too many centuries to catch up on, and I want many more together."
"Elijah?" Rebekah asked her big brother imploringly.
He sighed. "I am torn, Rebekah. How could I not be? Bennett witch aside, how can I ever say that I want my sister to grow old and die, even if it was what she so desired?"
"We've had twenty lifetimes together. And I want to lead a normal life." Rebekah said.
"While that is touching, I can't imagine you enjoying your fleeting moment of human life followed by a swift death." Klaus interjected dryly. "And death is perminant, my dear sister, in case you forgot."
Rebekah shot him a glare. "It also means a fresh start. I can grow old and have a family and fill my days with meaning, knowing that each one matters."
"How poetic." Klaus smirked.
"While I don't share Niklaus' lack of compassion," Elijah sent his trademark very-unimpressed-expression towards Klaus. "I must admit that I share his concern. Rebekah, it is no secret that you are impulsive, emotional, and at times morally questionable."
"He's right, you know." Kol piped up, and Eva and Caroline nodded quickly in confirmation, much to Rebekah's dismay.
"How do you know that being human is the answer you seek?" Elijah continued. "It is a romantic notion, which leads me to believe it is another one of your whims. Prove that you know precisely what you are giving up here."
"I know that it will be a short human life, and I know it will have sickness and strife. But it will have a family. And constant change. And I will change with it." Rebekah said, and she made a compelling argument.
"But you have family now, Beks." Caroline said softly, capturing her attention far better than a raised voice. "You have all of us. You want change – we have all changed. You only need to look around the table to see that. Change doesn't have to be with physical age." She smiled, making light of the situation. "Do you know how many women would kill to be in your position? A thousand years old and still looking young?"
Rebekah let a smile grow on her face at Caroline's joke, but otherwise she contemplated her words.
"Always and forever." Elijah reminded her. "Those words are as important to me today as they ever were."
"And me," Klaus added quietly.
"And me too, Beks." Kol said, for despite not being there for the original statement, it was still true for him. Their family stuck together, always and forever. "Who would I tease for eternity if it wasn't for you? Who would help me get up to mischief?"
Rebekah chuckled, brushing a traitor tear from her cheek. "Right, you have all made your point."
"So what is your decision?" Caroline asked.
"Always and forever." Rebekah murmured.
...
Bonnie opened her front door to see Caroline beaming on the front porch.
"Want your life back?" She asked, and Bonnie noticed the object she held in her hands.
"How...?" She asked, speechless and unable to continue the question.
"Long story, we got it back from Katherine though." Caroline summarized.
"But Silas..." Bonnie attempted again, still unable to finish the sentence.
"Silas has been taken care of." Caroline said, a serious look flashing on her face for a moment before smiling at her friend again. "He can't take the cure if he's dead, so that means its up for grabs, and I think you get first pick."
"How did you kill him?" Bonnie asked, frowning. "He's the most powerful being."
"Was." Caroline corrected. She glanced back over her shoulder to where Klaus waited against the front gate, well aware of Bonnie's disapproval of him and wanting to respect Caroline's wishes. "It was Klaus' plan really. We found a way to kill him that was close to how we tried to kill them." Caroline shook her head in disbelief, laughing. "Its weird how the world has worked. I never would have thought I'd end up here, but I am, and I'm happy." She looked back at Bonnie. "So do you want the cure?"
"Honestly? Yes." Bonnie said, as if she were admitting the darkest secret she had. "But Elena – "
"Elena doesn't want it. She's talking to the Salvatores right now, but she knows for sure that she doesn't want it. And you deserve it, Bon. You're the number one priority." Caroline encouraged, placing the vial in Bonnie's palm and smiling when her fingers curled around it.
"Thank you." Bonnie whispered, enveloping Caroline in a tight hug. Caroline returned it with just as much strength before slipping away.
"Tell Jeremy I said hi, okay? And tell me how you are when you've taken it. And...just keep in contact, okay?" She smiled once more, a laugh on the edge of her lips at the sheer sunny brightness of their entire situation. Everything was right in Mystic Falls, and while she knew that it rarely lasted, she certainly hoped that it would for a little while.
Caroline turned and walked up the garden path to Klaus, who took her by the hand and walked up the street with her. Bonnie watched them go from her place on the porch, the vial still clasped in her hand. They looked so sweetly in love, so right together, so right for each other. It was near impossible to remember that Klaus was a dangerous monster. But he was. Bonnie tilted her head, regarding them. Yes, he was a monster. But Caroline kept that in check. And he in return challenged her. The light shone a certain way for a second, and Bonnie saw a vision in a flash; of sunlight and happiness, Caroline in a beautiful long dress and Klaus in a tux, people and smiles, and love so sweet that she could almost taste it. The feeling of love and contentment stayed with her long after as she blinked, losing the odd vision just as quickly as it had come.
Bonnie glanced down at the little glass vial in her hand, looked back up to Klaus and Caroline, and with a faint smile, turned back inside the house to find Jeremy and tell him the wonderful news.