"Elijah! ELIJAH!"
Klaus roared as he entered the castle, carrying a bloodied and shaking Caroline in his arms. The bites were everywhere, on her neck on her arms, even a couple near her ribs. They had massacred her in the matter of seconds before he turned around and dispatched them all. It was easy and quick enough. They were four young and vicious cubs, out looking for fresh blood and trouble, but they possessed no combat skills whatsoever. But they were enough to over power a baby vampire and savage her, tearing into with their teeth and hands, before Klaus had a chance to stop them.
"Elijah!" Klaus called out a third time as he rushed up the stairs to his room. He laid Caroline gently down on his bed.
"What is it," Elijah groaned, entering his room. Then he straightened, his eyes dropping to Caroline's bloodied figure, "What's happened?"
"A pack of wolf cubs in the forest," Klaus explained, "go find Gretchen. She should be close."
Elijah nodded. "And the wolves?"
"I've taken care of them."
Elijah spun around and flashed away, Klaus turned to find some bandages, but Caroline latched onto him.
"Don't leave me," she sobbed, holding his arm in her iron grip.
Klaus turned back to her, gently removing her fingers from his forearm. "I'll be right back," he said to her and she nodded, gritting her teeth in pain.
Klaus ran to her room, searching through the drawers, trying to find extra rags or something to clean the blood off of her. It was all he could really do. She was done for. There was no cure for a wolf bite, whether it was transitioned or not, and she had suffered from several. The deadly venom would be working its way through her system. Caroline would be dead by dawn.
She screamed in pain in the next room, the sound ripping through him like a knife, and he flashed back to her, crouching down to her level.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She kept repeating.
The hallucinations had started. Klaus brushed the hair back from her sticky forehead, damp with sweat from fever, and did his best to calm her. She mumbled utter nonsense, in between her apologies for some unknown crime. Where the hell was Elijah with Gretchen?
Klaus moved to sit on the bed behind her, taking her into his arms, her poor body shaking uncontrollably. She turned and curled into him, throwing him off guard for a moment.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again, for the thousandth time.
"Shh love," Klaus purred, "it's alright."
He closed his eyes, running his hand up and down her arm soothingly, lulling them both into a deep sleep.
Caroline was alone, in the middle of the Mystic Falls gym. The lights were off, but the room was illuminated by the sunlight streaming through from the windows high above. She could hear the phantom sounds of fans cheering and shoes squeaking across the wooden floor. The Mystic Falls Timberwolf glared up from the middle of the court.
"What is this place?"
Caroline spun around. Klaus was standing there, in jeans and a henly t-shirt, wearing his trademark smirk.
"It's home," she said matter of factly.
"This is where you live in the future?"
Caroline laughed, taking a few steps toward him. "No. This is where I go to high school. It's my high school gym."
Klaus looked around, taking in the gigantic room. "So this is what the future looks like."
"Yep," she nodded, "care to see the rest?"
She held out her hand to him, wiggling her fingers in encouragement. He grinned and took it. No one was around. Mystic Falls was entirely empty. They walked through the halls of the school and out the doors, straight into the town square. If she didn't already know that this was a dream, now she definitely did. The geography of her hometown was completely wrong.
"The future is a very strange looking place," Klaus said as they walked. Caroline realized that he was seeing lights and cars and buildings all for the very first time. It would be centuries until he was exposed to all of this.
"Well trust me, there is plenty of time from 1492 til now to adapt," Caroline said, "change happens slowly."
Caroline walked them under the white gazebo at the center of the town square, stopping in the middle, and turning to face him. Klaus looked down at her, smirking, brushing a stray piece of hair from her face. It felt like they were the last two people on Earth.
"I have to admit the clothes are quite interesting," he grinned wickedly.
Caroline glanced down at her blue tank top and white short shorts. She shrugged. "It's what we wear."
Klaus ran his hand over the bare skin of her shoulders, sending chills down her spine. "I like it."
Caroline felt her skin flush under his touch. "Why can't you be like this all the time?"
"Like what love?"
She slid her arms around his waist, not sure where this boldness was coming from. Or these senses of ease either. Maybe it was part of the dream.
"Normal. Nice. Not all murderous and manipulative."
"I am normal and nice, but only to those who deserve it," Klaus replied, "and being murderous and manipulative has allowed me to survive."
She saw a heavy wave of sorrow wash over him. The more she learned about this man standing in front of her, the more she found out how much his life was steeped in tragedy. It made no excuse for the things he had done and the things he had yet to do, especially to her, but her heart couldn't help but reach out to him. She stood there in his arms, as he ran his fingers across her shoulders, her face, and down the rest of her as if he were trying to commit every single part of her to memory. His lips hovered near hers and Caroline was tempted to close the gap between them.
"Klaus..."
"Yes love?"
"Why are we in Mystic Falls? In a dream?"
"You brought me here," he said emphatically, "I thought you would want to see something nice, before the end, and this is what your subconscious chose."
Caroline shook her head. "I don't understand."
Klaus's hand stopped moving on Caroline's arms, his face turning serious. "Because you are dying. The wolves, they bit you and I tried—but—" Caroline chuckled a bit at his stuttering, which Klaus mistook for hysteria. "Gretchen is coming. I swear I will make that witch find a way to save you."
"Klaus it's easy," she said with a smile, "I just need your blood."
Klaus's brow wrinkled in confusion. "My blood?"
She nodded. "Your blood is the one cure for werewolf bites. You saved my friend Damon once when he was bitten."
"I did?" He asked incredulously.
"Well not because you wanted to," she quipped. Caroline winced as a sharp sensation of pain sliced through her. She doubled over, clutching her stomach. Klaus reached out to catch her.
He pulled himself from the dream, Caroline still shaking in his arms on the bed. She was hissing, her fangs extended, tears streaming down her face from the pain. Caroline had said all she needed was his blood to be cured. How did she know this? It was something he never thought about before, but it was worth a try. Klaus rolled up his sleeve and bit into his arm, so Caroline would catch the scent of the blood. Her head whipped up her expression fierce and feral. She could smell the blood.
Klaus smirked. "Have at it sweetheart."
Caroline took his arm and bit down, drinking in his blood. She wasn't gentle in drinking, as she had been that first time in woods. That moment seemed like lifetimes ago now. Klaus cradled her head as she sucked greedily at his arm. Soon she slowed and collapsed, exhausted. Klaus laid her back in his bed, the wound in his arm already healing. He stretched out next to her, watching her face as she slept.
"I hope this works," he whispered to her, running the tip of his nose down the side of her cheek. He inhaled her, breathing in her usual vanilla scent, mixed with the remnants of her spilled blood. He didn't know if god or gods would ever listen to a creature like him, but he silently prayed that this baby vampire's theory would prove to be right.
A while later, Elijah arrived back with Gretchen. The two of them burst into the room. Klaus was standing in front of the door as they entered.
"About bloody time," Klaus snarled. It had been an hour since he had sent Elijah out in search of the witch.
"How is she?" Elijah asked.
"See for yourself," Klaus stepped back and swept out his hand to reveal Caroline, resting peacefully on top of his sheets.
Once she was passed out, Klaus had the servants come in a clean the blood and sweat from her. Her wounds had closed and were now just angry red scars. There had been more of them than Klaus had realized. It was no wonder why her condition had taken such a deadly turn so quickly.
Gretchen rushed over to Caroline's side, taking her hand and checking her over.
"There's no fever," Gretchen said, "she's not dead though."
"She should be," Elijah mused.
"Sorry to disappoint brother," Klaus smirked, stepping over to Gretchen and the still sleeping Caroline. Gretchen looked up at him, her brows furrowed.
"I don't understand."
"Call it a miraculous recovery," Klaus replied, "turns out we won't be needing your services after all witch."
Caroline walked into school and toward her locker. She was running late and she knew she would have to figure out some way to compel her teacher to give her a free pass. Ok, ok maybe it wasn't the most moral answer to her problems, but she wasn't a saint and she definitely couldn't afford to be late again.
At her locker she quickly grabbed her books and shut her locker. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Alaric standing behind her.
"Shit!" She exclaimed, "Ric. Er-I mean Mr. Saltzman, sorry, I didn't see you there."
"Caroline," he said reaching out to steady her. Caroline paused and looked up at him. The way he breathed her name. It was odd. It wasn't like Ric at all. It sounded more like...she didn't know what. The way he was looking at her was odd as well. He was looking at her like she was the ocean and he hadn't seen a drop of water for a thousand years.
"Are you ok Ric?" She asked keeping her voice low. She called him Ric, even though she shouldn't have since they were at school, but she wanted him to know that she was asking as a friend, not as a student.
He shook himself, removing his hands from her arms, and gave her a smile. "Yes. Yeah. Sorry. Long night," he said.
Caroline smirked, "Maybe you shouldn't hit that bottle so hard on a school night. Huh Mr. Saltzman?"
"Maybe not," he chuckled, "maybe you should get to class young lady."
"Yes sir," she said with a fake salute and a grin. She spun around quickly and headed off. She could feel herself blushing as she walked away. She hadn't meant to accidentally flirt with him, it just sort of came out. Something was different about him she just couldn't put her finger on it.
Caroline opened her eyes. She was awake, staring up at the ceiling, her eyes blurred with sleep. She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hands, trying to break through the fog in her mind. The last thing she remembered was the pain of the wolf bite. She jumped up and quickly checked her body over for injuries, but her skin was smooth and perfect. Someone had cleaned her up, the tears and bloodstains in her dress served as the only evidence that she had been attacked.
As she looked around, she realized that she was in Klaus's room. In his bed. But he was nowhere to be seen. The door to his bedroom opened. Caroline held her breath in anticipation, but released it when she saw Gretchen walk through the door.
"Good morrow, little vampire," Gretchen greeted her warmly. She walked over to Caroline, extending her arm to offer her the goblet in her hand. "Drink up. You need to regain your strength."
Truthfully, Caroline felt fine. Her body hummed with electricity and power. But she took the cup from her, draining it, smacking her lips at the delicious taste. Gretchen took a seat in the red armchair that was fixed beside the bed.
"It's good to see you in the land of the living Caroline."
"How long was I out?"
"All through the night and most of the day. It's past supper. The sun will go down soon."
Caroline had slept through an entire day; in Klaus's bed. She wondered how much of it he had spent with her. A tiny shiver ran through her body at the image that came to her head and she quickly pushed it away.
"You're a lucky girl," Gretchen continued breaking her out of her little fantasy, "Klaus never did mention what brought about this miracle."
"He didn't?" Caroline cocked her head. But if she had learned anything about Klaus in her time with him, it was that he liked his secrets. "I don't really know," she evaded, "I was blacked out for most of it. The last thing I remember is being attacked in the field."
Gretchen nodded skeptically, but didn't press her any further. "Well now that your life is no longer hanging in the balance, I think it's time I tell you what I've discovered about this little spell that has brought you here." Caroline sat up in attention, waiting to hear what Gretchen had to say. "I still can't just send you back home," Caroline's shoulders sagged in disappointment, "I've been consulting with my ancestors, it seems that you must complete a task before you can return to your time period."
"Complete a task?" Caroline question.
"Yes," the witch nodded, "as I told you before, you are meant to be here Caroline Forbes. It is your destiny."
Caroline did her best not to roll her eyes at medieval witches and their drama. "So what kind of task are we talking about?"
"I don't know."
"But it could be anything!" Caroline exclaimed. She thought for a moment. "Does it have to do with the doppelganger and Klaus's deal?"
"Perhaps."
Caroline groaned. She didn't know if Gretchen was paying her back for being evasive about the werewolf cure or if she genuinely didn't know.
"I don't need to mention any of this to Klaus if you don't want me too," Gretchen offered., "in case you wish to leave him once you've fulfilled your promise to protect the doppelganger."
Caroline looked at her. "Why are you helping me?"
"Why not Caroline? You are not my enemy."
"But aren't you loyal to Klaus?"
The witch chuckled. "Witches never belong to vampires completely/ We always protect our own."
"I'm a vampire though," Caroline countered.
"True enough," Gretchen smiled, "but I wouldn't help just any vampire. You have a good heart Caroline, I can see that. You fight for your humanity unlike most vampires I've met. I can only hope that speaks to a change in your species for the future."
"What about Klaus though?"
"Klaus. I have known him for a very long time. Too long probably. I know too much and that is probably why he chooses to keep me very close," Gretchen stared off into the air, her tone sound half endeared, half regretful. "Klaus isn't truly as evil as he seems to be." Caroline nodded as she spoke. Gretchen dipped her head down, looking up at her knowingly through her eyelashes. "But you've already begun to figure that out, haven't you?"