The storm was the worst of the year in fact, the worst in memory. In London, Jenna delivered a healthy baby boy, surrounded by friends and family. Elijah delayed his departure for his family business interests in Europe, out of respect for the new addition to his extended family. Rebekah met with her father's business acquaintances, in dinner after dinner. Stefan and Elena shared a look over Alaric's joy when he became a father, an unspoken desire passing between them. Damon kept himself occupied and waited for a dinner invitation from Mikael Mikaleson that never came. Katherine threw herself into helping Bonnie tend the poor and Kol Mikaelson became a fixture at the Pierces' house, though not for the reasons Isobel Pierce hoped.
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Miles away, in a dark, swaying forest, trees slick with the rain that never seemed to stop falling, a small cabin stood in a clearing, smoke coming from it's chimney.
When Caroline had woken, she had been clutched with fear. She sat up gasping for breath, feeling the cold water close over her head once more. Slowly her senses adjusted and she realised she was dry, and warm and sitting on something soft. She looked down, her hands going to her body, patting herself, checking over. What had happened? She wondered. She remembered being in the carriage, and going into the water, and then it all stopped. She jumped as she looked to the side and saw Klaus's back facing her. He was lying on his side, away from her, right on the edge of the cot. He seemed to be asleep. She gingerly pushed herself to the bottom of the cot, and slid off the edge, careful not to wake him.
"Caroline?" his dry voice came from behind her, and she jumped. Twisting around she saw him looking at her, over his shoulder, his blue eyes tired, and his face unusually pale.
"How do you feel?" he asked anxiously, his eyes running over her. She looked down, realising she no longer wore her gown.
"I am... well... I think, I don't know, I can remember nothing after the water." she admitted, and saw the relief in his eyes at her words. He closed them and leaned back, the effort of sitting up seemed to exhaust him.
"Believe me, it's better to forget" he said, opening his eyes again and turning his attention to the cabin. It was dim, they seemed to have slept the whole day through, and night had once again fallen, though it could be the storm.
"And you? Are you well?" she could not prevent the worried tone from seeping into her voice, and at her words, his mouth turned up wryly in the corners.
"Unfortunately for you my dear, I believe I shall be just fine." he mocked gently. Caroline turned her face away from his words... so he hadn't forgiven her for the letter then, it seemed. Sighing, she stood up and moved to the door, the rough floor cold against her bare feet. She opened it a little. A strong wind blew in immediately, and pushed her back, ripping the door from her hands. Shocked, as freezing rain fell on her, she struggled to push it closed again.
Finally shutting it, she leaned against it, breathing hard, the scene outside playing in her mind. The darkness, the whipping rain, the wind tearing along the hillside, howling. She looked to Klaus, who had stood up also, and whipped a shirt quickly over his head, turned away from her. She raised an eyebrow at his action, and he smiled uncomfortably.
"I had not expected such modesty from you" she said as she went to her bag and rooted around for her warmest boots.
"Well, I am shy, I confess." he said, going to the fire, and adding more logs, taking up a long stick and poking the red embers, generating sparks.
"I wish I had had that luxury last night." she said pointedly, and he looked at her, abashed.
"My darling, if the choice comes between your modesty and your life... it will always be an easy choice to make." She felt her face turn a little red at the thought of him stripping off her wet clothes.
"Well, I suppose it is nothing you have not already seen" she said flippantly, and jumped again as he came to her side, and caught her under the chin, looking steadily into her eyes.
"It is nothing I have seen before, and I did not see anything last night either. Caroline, you almost died... I thought of nothing more than saving you..." he said, and she saw the honesty shining in his eyes. Softening, she sighed and gave him a tentative smile.
"I know, I apologise. Thank you... for saving my life." she said and the moment between them drew out, she realised how close he stood beside her, how warm his hand was on her face and how terribly blue his eyes were.
A log fell in the fire, and the spell was broken and they both turned to look, his hand dropping to his side.
"What shall we do?" she asked as Klaus started investigating the contents of the cabin. He seemed to be moving stiffly, a little slower than usual.
"Well, no one will discover us while the storm keeps up, of that I am sure. We are also not on a main road, and the road, when I saw it last was quite destroyed." he said, rummaging through a collection of pots and pans he had found.
"So -" Caroline said slowly, the realisation of the hopelessness of their situation setting in.
"We may be here a while." he surmised, as he leant down and started to look for spare boots in his bags. As he bent over, he suddenly hissed, and went down on one knee. Alarmed, Caroline rushed to his side. As he gripped onto a chair.
"Klaus! What is wrong? Are you injured?" she asked, turning to help him stand up again.
"I told you I was fine" he muttered, pushing her away a little as he gained his feet and turned his face away from her, but not before she saw he had grown even paler, and sweat dotted his brow. He pulled his boots on quickly, and seemed to sway on his feet for a moment, before he pulled on a coat and started toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Caroline cried, following him.
"We need to see if we can find water, or we must collect the rain water, and something to eat would not go amiss" he said, as he opened the door, casting a glance back over his shoulder as he started out into the wild rain.
"You stay here, keep warm. I shall return presently." and then he was gone, the door shut firmly behind him and Caroline was left standing in the middle of the cabin staring after him. Slowly she turned her attention to the one room they were sharing, and it's meagre contents. Deciding to tidy the cases at least, she went and started to shift through the clothes on the floor. She picked up her own clothes cut into ribbons, dried stiffly with brown river water. In truth she barely even felt embarrassed at the thought of Klaus removing them, she had been so cold.
She still could not remember much, but the feeing of intense cold had been unforgettable.
She put them in the log basket, deeming the rags not worth saving. The rest of the things she sorted into piles and looked around for anything she had missed. She saw the edge of a shirt poking out under the bag and pulled it. It was dirty, damp and stained. She frowned, turning it over in her hands. She saw a hole through it, and bloodstains on one side. She stared at it in shock. It was Klaus's, from yesterday, by the looks of the river stains.
He was hurt, badly by the looks of it. Why would be conceal it from her? She wondered, and instantly answered her own question. He didn't want her more worried than she already was, he was a damn, heroic fool, and now he was outside, battling through dangerous weather, with a sizeable wound in his side.
She blew her breath out in frustration. Her foot stepped on something sharp, agitatedly she reached down and found the branch, instantly recognising it as the object that must have stabbed him, from the size, shape and bloodstains on the light bark. She swallowed nervously as she looked at it. It seemed to have been embedded fairly deeply and it was far from clean. She had accompanied Bonnie enough times to understand very basic things about wounds and fevers.
The bleeding had to be stopped, not merely ignored , then there was the probability that the wound might be unclean, and blood poisoning would occur, which would kill him. As soon as she thought it, an involuntary cry escaped her lips. She threw the offending item in the fire, watching in satisfaction as it burned. She sank to her knees before the fire, feeling tears begin.
Klaus could not die, it was unthinkable. He was too strong and tough, he was too powerful and vital. A myriad other reasons why he could not die rushed through her, but she knew the truth, the stark truth of it was, that he could, and probably would die, unless she could help him. She looked at the floor of the cabin, and saw blood dotted around it. His blood, as he had saved her, helped her, before succumbing to his own, far more grave injury. And now, he was out, in the storm, hurt, trying to provide them food and water. She should have gone with him, she accused herself, then realised he never would have allowed her.
Well, she thought, standing purposefully, she could prepare for what must be done in other ways. Standing resolutely, she tried to imagine what Bonnie would do if she were here. She had to keep him warm, cleanse the wound, make sure the wood was all out. And then she would have to wait and see if an infection took hold. At the thought of infection, a small spark of memory tugged her mind. She went over to her case. She dug through until her fingertips scraped a glass bottle at the bottom. Her unlabelled wedding present from Bonnie.
She turned the bottle from Bonnie over in her hands, and her mind racing, connecting the familiar smell all at once. She excitedly pulled the stopper from the bottle, and inhaled the familiar scent. She had smelled it before. Back in Virginia when a stable hand had had his leg crushed under a horse, and an infection had set in. They were blood purifying herbs and they had saved the young boy. She put the bottle down, turning back to their small collection of garments and riffling through, she found a fine, Parisian chemise. She ruthlessly rent it into small strips and folded them carefully to keep them clean. She then picked up the knife she had found lying by the fire and went back to the flames, thrusting the blade into the heat of them, hissing as the metal heated up and seared her finger tips, even as they held the wooden handle. She set it with the strips and used one of them to tie her heavy hair back.
Suddenly the door opened, blowing in rain and freezing air, and thankfully, Klaus. He came in and stood for a moment before her, he held one of the buckets he had taken with him, now full of water, and a fist full of dirty brown objects, which he grasped by their green stalks.
"Potatoes" he said shortly at her inquisitive gaze. She took them from his hands, and saw him sway a little, the exertion of his trip taking him over. He set down the water, and leant against the table, bracing his hands there, catching his breath for a moment, his eyes closed. She fought down her panic at his pasty complexion and laboured breathing. Coming behind him, she carefully started to ease his soaking coat of his shoulders. He tensed at her touch, and then lifted his arms carefully to allow her access. As she moved away, putting his coat near the fire to dry it, he collapsed into one of the chairs, his eyes watching Caroline as she tidied the potatoes into a bowl, and filled two deep pots with water from the bucket.
"There is well, not too far from here" he said, watching as she reached out to position the cooking hooks over the flames of the fire, yelping as she singed her soft hands again. He pushed himself out of the chair and came over, removing her hands and doing it himself.
"A lady should not spoil her hands" he said lightly, as he hung the two pots on the cooking hooks.
"I must be of use somehow." Caroline said, irritated, growing more so as he chuckled returning to the chair.
"You may be in charge of cooking our feast." he said, and Caroline nodded, satisfied, though she had never even seen a potato in the state he had brought them in.
She then went to her collection of fabric strips and dropped some in the heating water. He tilted his head to the side, watching her closely.
"I may have no claim to being a chef but I do not think they will make much of an addition to potato soup" he said, with a smile, as she came and sat opposite him, falling silent at her serious look. She took in his pallor, the tightness around his mouth and eyes, his shallow breathing, he looked moments away from dropping.
"Klaus. Where are you injured?" she asked directly, and he opened his mouth to respond, to deny he was, the denial dying on his lips at her expression. She knew, there was no doubting it.
"My side. But it nothing to worry over" he said shortly, looking away toward the fire.
"Nothing to worry over! You were impaled by a tree branch. It is miraculous you are walking about presently. I would not believe it, if I did not know how headstrong and foolhardy you are" she said derisively.
"Why would you keep it from me?" she demanded.
"If I had known this was the lovely bedside manner I was to receive, I certainly wouldn't have" he said sarcastically, still evading her serious expression.
"Let me see it" she said briskly, standing up and rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to her elbows. He glanced at her,
"I certainly shall not" he said crossing his arms over his chest.
"You certainly shall." she said determinedly, kneeling by his side as he attempted to twist away from her. He gasped as the movement clearly hurt him, and stood abruptly. Caroline followed suit and they stood before each other, stubborn expressions clashing.
"It is not for a lady's eyes" he ground out, and she rolled her eyes.
"You chose now to treat me like a lady." she said with annoyance, reaching out for his shirt, gasping the bottom, even as he pulled back, backing away from her.
"Caroline, please, it is fine." he backed into the cot and sat suddenly as it pressed against his knees. Caroline smiled grimly at the reverse situation, thinking of all the times he had backed her into a corner, or onto a bed.
"I shall judge the state of your condition. Now, remove your shirt and lie back please." she said authoritatively going to the warm water over the fire and dipping her hands in it, gasping silently at the heat. Recovering, she fished the strips out, put them in a bowl, along with more hot water, and also fetched Bonnie's herb jar. Coming back to his side, she saw his eyes wary and guarded. Seeing her expression, he raised himself up and pulled his shirt off, biting back a groan as he did so, his muscles around the wound tightening and pulling on it. Falling back, he saw Caroline set down her tools and then start to untie the shirt he had tied tightly around his waist the night before, the knot holding fast.
She frowned, taking in the blood crusted fabric, so dark with dried blood it was almost black in places. She persisted, and finally the knot loosened and she peeled away the garment, almost gagging at the way it was stuck with dried blood. It came away, and she stared at the wound. It was roughly cut, with torn edges and ringed in blackish blood. Forcing a blank expression, aware of Klaus's eyes on her face, she assessed the wound, her clean hands gently pressing it's edges, as he gasped.
"That bad?" he muttered at her expression.
"No. It is not so bad. It will be fine." she said, trying to reassure herself as much as him. She picked up the herb bottle and shook some of the precious mixture into the bowl of hot water.
"What is that?"
"Blood cleansing herbs... a wedding gift from Bonnie"
"You do keep the most interesting company" he mused, watching as the herbs coloured the water a slight green, and Caroline soaked one of her strips in it, gently squeezing excess water out of it. She was so absorbed in her task, and so heart wrenchingly beautiful, with her bound hair, and soot streaked face, her slender body swamped in his clothes. She looked up at him, and he couldn't help but smile at her. Her blue eyes were calm, yet compassionate as she took a steadying breath and spoke gently.
"Klaus. I must cleanse the wound. It might hurt." she said, and his eyes twinkled at her as he fought down a laugh, if only she knew how much it already hurt.
"I shall attempt to bear it like a gentleman, failing that, you have my permission to knock me unconscious." he said and she laughed, and turned her attention to the wound.
Holding the strip above it, she gently squeezed the hot water on the wound, and Klaus moved under her, growing slightly low in his throat.
"Klaus. Do not move" she commanded, and saw him move his hands to the edges of the cot and grip on. Grimly she pushed on, her stomach heaving, as she cleared away the dried blood and caught a glimpse of the first long piece of bark embedded in the wound. Fighting down a wave of nausea she looked away, finding his eyes on her again.
"What is it?" he asked
"It is... unclean, there are remnants of the branch... I must..." she trailed off
"Remove them" he finished, his eyes concerned at her pale complexion.
"Caroline, you do not have to do this... you do not look well" he said and she felt her heart break a little. He was worried about her sensibilities, her delicate female nature at having to dig through a man. It was sweet and maybe the most gentlemanly thing he had ever unconsciously done. She picked up the knife, and looked back at him, trying to give him a reassuring smile.
"Do not worry about me. I have been assisting Bonnie for a long time. Any qualms I have about removing it, are not about the blood..." she tried to explain.
"Then what?"
"It is not easy... to cause you pain." she said honestly and saw how her words surprised him.
"Yet you are so very good at it" he quipped and then felt instantly sorry as her eyes filled with tears.
"Caroline – I am so sorry... truly, it was merely a jest, and a poor one at that." he said, concerned as she bit her lips and shook her head.
"It is not a jest, it is the truth. I have hurt you, I continue to hurt you..." she whispered.
"I have hurt you also" he reminded her.
"It is not the same." she muttered and he felt his heart beat increase steadily.
"May I ask why not?" and held his breath, awaiting her response. She looked at him for a moment, and then looked away. Shaking her head she turned back to his wound and wet more strips, readying herself for when she would bind it.
"We must finish this." she stated and he leaned back, realising she was not willing to explain her cryptic comment further. Falteringly, she picked up the knife and moved to the wound, looking at him, for permission, for a sign he was ready.
"Go ahead. I trust you" he said, lying back and gripping onto the sides of the cot again. Swallowing, she raised the knife, and started to work.
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A long time later she was using the last of the strips to bind the sweeping wound as tightly as she dared. A poultice of Bonnie's herbs, held fast against the wound.
Klaus had lost consciousness some time before she had finished and now lay still. She had managed to make him drink some water before he had, and now he was quiet. She finished binding it, and then covered him with the coat, leaving his feet bare, unsure of whether to keep him warm or cool. She turned back to the fire, and walked numbly to it, sinking down, looked at her hands, her face scrunched as she realised her hands where covered in blood. His blood. She started to sob as she went to the door once again, and opened it, feeling the cold air sweep over her, and held her hands out, letting the driving rain wash the last hours of horror from her skin.
Finally spent, and clean, she closed the door and went to the fire, pouring herself some warm water to drink. Feeling it burning down her throat, she went back to the bed and carefully climbed in, settling herself against Klaus's back. She was hungry, and the water did little to take the edge off, but it was ignorable for now. Tomorrow, she would reassess, maybe the weather would be better, she hoped. She drifted into a restless sleep, awaking many times to check on the man beside her, feeling his forehead, terrified a fever may yet set in.
"Caroline" his voice pulled her awake and she blinked in the half light of dawn. Turning over she suddenly became aware of his arms around her, and her back pressing against him. At his sharp intake of breath she realised she must have just elbowed him in his side. Pulling herself away from him as much as possible on the narrow cot, she shuffled around, finding herself mere inches from him. He was hot, too hot, and she peeled their cover of coats back off them. She lifted her hand to his forehead and felt his skin, panic shooting through her at his hot, clammy skin. The fever had taken hold of him.
"Caroline" he murmured again, and she saw that it was in his sleep he was talking to her. She studied his sleeping countenance, and saw the tightened lines, the etched frown and pallor with a heavy heart. She raised her hand to his cheek, gently tracing the strong line of his jaw, rasping against his stubble. It glinted golden in the small amount of fire light that remained. Her hand dropped to his neck, where her fingers worked over the tensed muscles there, down still to his strong shoulders. His skin was surprisingly soft, and she ran her fingertips over the bunched muscle.
How strange, she mused as she moved her fingers over him gently, how afraid she had been of him, mere months ago, in the maze of the season's opening ball. Now, it seemed unthinkable. He would never hurt her, not intentionally, not anymore, she was sure of that. Just as she was sure he would have died in the storm outside before he left her out there.
She thought of the dreams that had been haunting her lately, the terrible memory of her parents last night, and she realised all at once why it had returned. She had not been plagued with the dream for so long, and then, with the entrance of this man, it had returned with force. As she lay there, beside him, as he dreamed feverishly, calling her name in his sleep... she could no longer deny the truth. The dream had returned, because she once again had something to lose. She loved again, for the first time in so long, she depended on someone, needed them, and it put her in the same position she had been as a child, a child left behind for love. She was helplessly caught in her emotions for this man, as wild and unpredictable as they were. She rose and fell with them, and could hold back no longer.
She was his, for how long, she was not sure, but suspected it was a good deal longer than she'd ever realise. Her running, her feelings for Tyler... had any of it been true? Or merely ways to delude herself, to escape her emotions. Because... there was nothing she feared more than loving too much, of losing herself.
He had been heavy handed and selfish when he had manipulated her, of that there was no doubt. Yet, she could not longer deny that she understood the connection between them, what had prompted him to act. There was something between them, no ordinary thing... something she had never felt before, it terrified her as it lured her in. She had been fighting herself as she fought him and she was so very tired of it. Even the last deception, the whole truth was if he had told her about his father's plan before the ship had left... it would have changed nothing, except given her ability to laugh in Mikael's face when he thought he was tearing them apart.
She needed him, she loved him, and it was no longer possible to deny it. But why did she only realise it now? As his life hung in the balance? When she once again stood on the precipice of losing everything.
Her hands stilled as Klaus's eyes fluttered open briefly, fixing on hers, and she saw their usual beautiful blue colour was clouded and dimmed, shot through with red.
"Caroline -" he muttered, shuddering with his fever. She felt a sob rise in her throat. She pulled herself closer to him, and pressed a soft kiss onto his hot forehead.
"Do not talk. Rest" she whispered, feeling her tears run down her cheeks onto his face.
"Caroline, listen to me. The well is about five minutes walk, north, if there is a well, there is a village. Leave this place when the storm passes. Walk until you find it, you can do it, you are strong, stronger than you know." he muttered.
"I am not leaving you." she whispered, the words hurting her throat as she held back her sobs.
"Sweetheart, you may not have a choice. I cannot make the same promise, I am afraid." he murmured and a sob escaped her at his words.
"No, you are coming with me. We will leave here together" she murmured, her voice laced with panic. He smiled against her throat.
"Thank you." he said softly, and she pulled back to look at him.
"For what?"
"For... taking care of me. For sending me happily into whatever darkness surely awaits a man such as I."
"The darkness cannot have you, you cannot leave me... I need you" she whispered, her sobs unable to be held back now.
"You will reach a village before long, I am sure of it." he murmured reassuringly, feeling her thin body shaking against him. She shook her head vehemently.
"Why are you saying this? You are willing to give up so easily? Do I mean so little to you?" she asked, accusingly, her eyes leaking tears as she stared hard at his ashen face. Her irrational anger was overwhelming, her need to shake him and slap him, and make him stop pretending to be ill, to make him stand up and show her the trick of his wound, and then she could be angry at him and he would tease her for being naïve.
"Caroline -" he started, and she couldn't stand the sad look in his fixed him with the sternest look she could manage, despite her red cheeks and tear stained eyes.
"You cannot... die, do you hear me? You are not allowed to... because I haven't forgiven you yet. I do not forgive you, do you hear me? I do not forgive you... so you need to get better and take me home and make me forgive you. You have to be here, for me to forgive you. You have to be here..." her voice was filled with tears now, and she started to sob.
Klaus felt his heart shudder in his chest, as he saw Caroline's pain. He gently put his arms around her and she pushed them off roughly. She was angry, and upset and he didn't know what to do.
"No! Stop it, stop comforting me, as though you were already dead, as though it were already too late. You did this to me.! You made me love you... trust you, depend on you, and now you are just going to leave me... like they did. You are going to give up and leave me all alone... I hate you!" she said, her face twisting with her tears. She leaned back against the wall, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, sobbing into the dark space they created.
Klaus felt another spasm of pain go through him from his side, as his heart felt ripped in half. She loved him. She had just revealed to him that she loved him. He was stunned. He would think it was only the soothing words of a warm hearted angel, easing the passing of a damned man who loved her too much, if it weren't for her anger.
She was genuinely angry at him, and the knowledge overwhelmed him. He felt humbled by it, undeserving of it, struck mute by it. Somehow, at some point in his worthless life, he had won the heart of this woman, the only thing he had ever truly wanted for himself, the only person who saw him as a redeemable man, a man worth saving.
"Sweetheart, I am not sure I have a choice in the matter" he said quietly, longing to reach out and touch her.
"Of course you do.., you have a choice. You can choose me." she whispered, and he felt his own eyes sting. This head was spinning with the fever, yet he pushed it aside, strove to be comprehensible, desperate to make her understand how he felt about her.
"I would chose you with my dying breath Caroline. You have brought purpose to my sad existence. Knowing you... made every miserable day I have lived up until I met you have meaning, have worth, and I would repeat them all for the chance to know you again, to stand beside you at the alter... to have you smile at me, cry for me. To have you mourn me, would mean I am glad I lived, even if it was only for mere days... it is enough. You have made it enough." she pulled her face out of her arms at his words, and he saw the torment in her blue eyes.
"It is not enough... it is not enough for me... I need you. I need to be good to you, I need that chance. To be by your side, to have your children, to grow old with you..." she whispered, and at her words Klaus knew he could die a happy man. It was more than he ever expected to hear from her. He turned his face away, coughing, feeling the wound throb. Breathing deeply, he closed his eyes, feeling her words sink through him, a deep feeling of peace following them.
"Klaus!" she cried out, putting her hands to his shoulders and clutching them tightly. He put his arms around her, pulling her gently down, her head resting on his chest.
"If you love me, don't leave me. If you do, I shall never forgive you." she vowed solemnly and he smiled against her hair.
"I shall do my best, my dear. But know this, in case time robs us later. I love you Caroline Mikaelson. I love you, as no man has ever loved. You have given my life meaning, and I shall never be far from you side. In this life, or the next. If my heart continues beating through this night, it is because of you. And every day afterward, it shall only be because you will it."
"I'm listening to it. I will not let it stop" she said determinedly from his chest and he relaxed, feeling her settle with her ear over his heart. He closed his eyes, feeling the darkness being kept at bay by her light, her blinding light, as she lay awake, watching the shadows dancing on the walls and listening to his steady heartbeat.
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Klaus didn't wake up the next day, nor the day after, but continued to sleep, except during the times when she changed his dressing, when he mostly woke enough to swear at her, in his stupor. It was reassuring and she welcomed his crude words, anything to know he was holding on.
Caroline lost count of the number of times she felt his pulse and listened for his breath. She fell into a kind of routine, collecting water, heating it, changing his bandages, freshening the poultice of herbs, rooting for potatoes in the muddy earth outside.
The potatoes, she washed and set boiling. After hours, she had eaten one, hesitantly at first, then ravenously as she recognised the familiar taste. She had eaten three in quick succession, her hunger overtaking her. Then, placing the last three in a bowl, with some of the water that they were boiled in, brought a chair over to Klaus's bedside. Quickly feeling his forehead, she thought she felt a slight reduction in his fever, and she replaced the wet cloth she was keeping there.
"Klaus" she murmured, touching his shoulder. He tossed his head to the side, away from her.
"Dinner" she murmured, tilting his head up and attempting to open his mouth and pour some of the potato stew into his mouth. His mouth remained closed and she huffed frustrated. She pushed more and more clothes under his upper body, until he was sitting reasonably upright, and then, pinched his nose. She held it relentlessly as his head started to turn from side to side. Suddenly, his eyes flew open at the same time as his mouth did. She immediately popped a spoonful of potatoes in, smiling in satisfaction. He coughed, his eyes alarmed, and then finally, recovering himself, started to swallow them. He opened his mouth to speak and she spooned in more. He chewed, rolling his eyes in frustration, but she hardly let him take a break, knowing it could only be minutes before he succumbed to sleep again. After he had managed a decent amount, she set the bowl down and he relaxed back, his breath laboured. His eyes shut and he coughed again.
"What day is it?" he murmured.
"I am not sure... I think it has been about four days, maybe more" she said, as she spoke, her stomach growled, despite having just eaten. His eyes fluttered and he turned his head toward her.
"Caroline, you have to find a village, you must eat something. You must be starving -" he muttered. She shook her head stubbornly.
"I am not leaving. If you want me to eat something, you better hurry up and recover and take us home" she said firmly.
"And I thought I was stubborn" he murmured, a small smile playing at the corners of his bloodless lips.
"Go to sleep"
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She did not tell him that she had considered going to a village, and attempting to bring help back.
Every time the rain let up, she thought of making it to the road and seeing if she could find a village or house and once had made it outside.
The forest was dripping, damp and heavy was the air as she made her way down the slopping, tree covered hillside toward the road. Upon reaching it, she could see where the carriage had gone off. The entire road had torn away, leaving an impassable hole in the way, and with a sense of dread, Caroline turned, and saw a matching obstruction on the other side. Only the section of road in front of the forest had survived, as torn and littered with rocks and trees as it was.
They were fenced in, no carriage or even rider would be coming along this section of road anytime soon. The clouds were brewing, a deep grey, and Caroline wondered if it might not yet rain again, and the river was dangerously high, sweeping along furiously, brown with dirt, frothing with thirst.
She started back through the forest, pushing upwards into the trees and away from the worrying sight of the road. Alone in the woods, she had suddenly heard a sound from deep within it's dark heart, and not nearly far enough away, and it had chilled her to the bone.
Wolves, howling in hunger.
Abandoning the plan for now, knowing her chances of survival against a hungry wolf were slim to none, she was also scared of leaving Klaus alone. Is she was eaten by wolves, he would die too, alone, thinking that she had indeed abandoned him in the end. His wound, still open and raw looking, had not developed the red lines that she feared and she knew it was the constant application of Bonnie's herbs that was holding the infection at bay. She had started taking his knife with her on her trips to the well, and she was aware that the meagre patch of vegetables that had been planted behind the cabin was running low.
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More nights passed, and Caroline thought Klaus seemed to be resting more peacefully, and there was no doubt that his fever was reducing. She had burned nearly all the furniture in the house, as it was the only dry wood around, and she began to fret over what would happen when it ran out. She began to sleep a lot, tired beyond anything she had ever experienced, knowing it was from lack of food, but unable to prevent it. She lay beside him, putting her arms around him and abandoned herself to oblivion. In her dreams, they were at Westmere, riding Theia and Lelantos for hours in the sun. Then they returned home, to a massive feast, the food crowding the huge table. Klaus was smiling and laughing as he lifted her from her horse, and filled her plate, his face shining with health and happiness.
Always she woke, cold and hungry, turning to him instantly to check he still breathed, her heart clambering into her mouth. Feeling his soft breath on her hand, she would drop onto his chest, which was becoming harder and more boney day by day and stared at the ceiling, her tears all spent, listening to his heartbeat counting the seconds of their exile. As long as that beat continued, she could carry on, find a way. So long as that beat continued.
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The days began to blend together, and she found it difficult to tell what was night and what was day. She went to collect water, and sometimes would realise the moon was in the sky. The only constant was changing the bandages and trying to get Klaus to eat something. The last remaining potatoes she keep in a pot and mashed one up to feed to him when she could coax him to sit up and eat. Now and then she would take a bite herself, but it only sparked her hunger. She drank a lot of warm water, she drank it to fill her empty stomach and when she lay down, it moved like a wave inside her, making her feel dizzy. He hand sought out his, and she held on, that contact once again anchoring her.
There was no looking glass in the cabin, and she was glad. She could see her arms and legs, and their new slenderness, and feel the way her bones poked up at her shoulders and hips, and whatever beauty she had had once, she was sure it was now gone. Her hair, once so beautiful and lustrous, seemed thin now, fragile, and she tried to keep it back to prevent it from breaking. She tried to keep her hands busy, so she didn't notice their shaking as much, she tried to sleep, so she didn't have to think.
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There was one potato left in the pot, and none left in the ground, she had been back and forward over it, time and time again. She was looking at it, her stomach a cavern. Wondering how she could get Klaus to eat it. Wondering if she should have one bite, or if that would be her ruin. She had completely lost count of their time there, nights and days were unimportant. She counted time by potatoes. One potato left. She stared at it.
A sound came from the door. It sounded like a knock. Caroline stayed focused on the potato. It must be a tree branch.
Again the knock came and she slowly turned toward the door. It was swinging open slowly. Caroline looked up, feeling as though all her motions were under water. Sunlight filled the room, real sunlight, for the first time in over a week, she could see the sun, the rain had stopped. It burned her eyes and she turned her face away.
"Caroline" she heard a concerned voice say, a man's voice, so like Klaus's.
"Klaus?" she mumbled as she felt strong arms go around her.
"No, it's Elijah, and Kol, and Miss Bennet. We have come for you... we are here. You are safe now."
"Klaus" she said again, her hand waving in his direction.
"We have him, we will take care of him, we will take care of both of you, we are taking you home" Elijah's voice was so warm, she felt the last of the fight leave her body as she gave into the overwhelming tiredness.