A/N: Hey guys! I'm re-posting this chapter to fit a little better with the later plot. There are almost no changes except the scene at the bottom. Chapter five will be up later today (and I'll put a note there too).

This prologue is short, but the rest of the chapters will be my normal length of 5.5-7k words. It will be updated as an option for "It's Thursday somewhere!" (RLT is taking the "It's Monday somewhere!" spot. This is a time-travel story with a bit of a mind-fucky plot. It shouldn't be too long, but I can't write anything short, so no promises. I hope you all enjoy it.

Enjoy!
-Angie

Prologue

2011

Caroline Forbes was incredibly bored.

She had been sitting around doing nothing all summer, and she had never hated anything more than sitting around doing nothing. Elena and Damon were off doing god-knows-what on a road trip, Stefan was on a road trip trying to forget that Elena and Damon were off doing god-knows-what, Bonnie was on vacation, Jeremy was MIA, Matt was with Rebekah somewhere in Europe, and Klaus…well, contacting him was not an option.

She laid flat on her bed, twirling her daylight ring around her finger and trying to figure out what productive thing she could possibly do with her life. Her phone chimed, and she picked it up, excited for some possible social interaction, before realizing it was just a promotional email from the dress boutique downtown.

Disappointed, she threw it back on her bed next to her, her vampire strength causing it to bounce onto the ground. Swearing, she leaned over her bed to grab it, hoping it wasn't broken, and heard someone clear their throat behind her. Flinching in surprise, she grabbed her phone, slowly sat up and turned around, praying it wasn't someone that wanted to torture her. Again.

Standing in front of her was herself.

She stared at Other Caroline. Other Caroline stared back.

"Silas?" Caroline guessed.

Other Caroline smiled. "Nope, I'm you. Well, you're me. It doesn't really matter. The point is I have to talk to you. I don't have much time."

"Prove you're me."

Other Caroline rolled her eyes. "Fine, ask me something."

"Who is our least favorite person in the world?"

Other Caroline snorted. "Damon. Ugh. Super obvious question, by the way. From this side of the timeline, I can't believe I asked it."

Caroline looked at Other Caroline in disbelief.

Other Caroline sighed. "Look, we really don't have time for this. I understand that our life so far has been full of traumatic incidents and people pretending to be other people, but you seriously need to just go with this. Okay?"

"Okay, so assuming we're the same person—"

"We are the same person."

"Right. So, assuming you're me from the future—"

"Which I am."

"Whatever. Why are you here?"

"I don't have much time, so you have to listen very carefully."

"'Kay."

"You have to go to New Orleans," Other Caroline said in a rush, "You have to help Klaus stop Marcel Gerard."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter. The point is that you have to. Like, now."

"No I don't. I'm not going to kill someone because freaky future me thinks I should."

"Well, 'freaky future you' would very much appreciate it if you would do what she says so that the world isn't doomed to centuries of pain and suffering."

"Centuries? When are you from?"

"2043." Other Caroline muttered petulantly.

"You're only 30 years ahead. That's not centuries."

"Look. Shut up a minute and listen to me. You have to stop Marcel, but it can't be immediately. You'll know when it's time."

"Seriously? Stop with the riddles."

"Look. I don't have time to argue with you," Other Caroline said exasperatedly, "just go to New Orleans as soon as possible, find Klaus, and give him this."

Other Caroline pulled an envelope out of her jacket pocket and shoved it into Caroline's hands.

"Don't bother trying to open it, it won't open for anyone but him. When you give it to him, tell him what happened—that we met, I mean, and—"

"He won't believe me."

"I am very aware of that. Tell him to compel you."

"You've got to be frigging kidding me. I'm not letting Klaus compel me."

"There's no other way."

"Of course there is."

Other Caroline gave her an exasperated look. "Like what?"

When Caroline didn't answer, Other Caroline rolled her eyes. "Exactly. So, do you understand?"

"But—"

Other Caroline took her by the shoulders and glared at her. "Do. You. Understand?"

"Yes, but—"

"Look, my time's almost up," Caroline said, closing her eyes briefly as though she was warding off a headache. "You have to get your keys and pack a bag and start driving. Now. I have to go. Good lu—"

She disappeared into thin air as though she had never been there in the first place. Caroline would have thought that she imagined the whole thing had it not been for the envelope she clutched in her hand.

Caroline took a deep calming breath and let it out. She knew that she'd just been wishing for something productive to do, but seriously?

She didn't want to believe her future self, but her gut feeling told her to play along. And just because she often ignored her gut feeling didn't mean that it wasn't almost always right. She dragged out a suitcase from under her bed and started packing. She had to stop herself from bringing her entire closet, and she reminded herself that she could buy beauty supplies in New Orleans. She grabbed her laptop and her phone, zipped the suitcase, and dragged it down the stairs along with a cooler of blood bags to her car. She started the ignition, was relieved to see that her tank was almost completely full, and pulled out of the driveway.

Fourteen hours, three blood bags, and about twenty-five plays of "Rolling in the Deep" on the radio later (she'd only started counting after two hours of driving), she was pulling into the French quarter of New Orleans, trying to decide how best to find Klaus.

Clearly, he and his family would live in the most opulent house possible. She decided to look for the most affluent part of town and try to spot his car.

She rationalized that knowing what his car looked like was actually going to turn out to be helpful, and therefore she shouldn't kick herself for paying enough attention to know exactly what she was looking for.

After driving around a good half hour, she finally spotted a huge house with an ornate gate adorned with a large scripted "M" on top. Figures.

She drove up to the gate and found a man—Hybrid, she thought—standing next to it playing a game on his phone. She rolled down her window and cleared her throat.

He looked up. "What do you want?"

"My name is Caroline, and I'd like to see Klaus Mikaelson please."

He scoffed. "Get in line."

"I think you'll find that he'd like to see me."

"Yeah, whatever."

She gave him her best head cheerleader glare. "Page him and tell him Caroline Forbes would like to see him."

He gave her an exasperated look. "I'm not paging him for some random girl. He'll kill me for disturbing him."

"Oh trust me, he'll kill you for not paging him if I'm here."

He sighed melodramatically and pressed the intercom button. A crackling voice came over the intercom, probably another Hybrid. "What?"

"There's a Caroline Forbes here to see—"

Almost immediately Klaus' voice came over the intercom. "Let her in."

Caroline shot the Hybrid her best I-told-you-so look, and he opened the gate to let her through. She drove up the driveway and a Hybrid met her at the entrance, he opened her door before she could, and held out his hand.

"Your keys please."

"Why do you want my keys?"

"To park your car."

"I can park my own car."

"Mr. Mikaelson would like me to park your car."

Groaning, she shoved her keys into his hand and stomped to the door. The Hybrid drove off with her car and she found Klaus standing on the doorstep.

"Caroline, love. What a pleasant surprise."

"Klaus."

He held to door open, "Please, come in."

She breezed past him trying not to smile, allowing him to shut and lock the door behind him. He led her to a study off the front room, and closed the door behind him.

"What do you need?"

"Why do you think I need something?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh. Fine. Here, I'm supposed to give you this." Caroline pulled the envelope out of her purse.

He held out his hand for the letter.

"Before I do, I should tell you that I was visited by my future self in my bedroom, and she told me that I have to help you kill Marcel Gerard, whoever that is."

He let his hand drop to his side. "I beg your pardon?"

Okay, maybe that hadn't been the best way to phrase it.

"My future self like, randomly appeared in my bedroom—"

"No, sweetheart, I heard you. I just find it rather hard to believe."

"Shetoldmetoletyoucompelme."

"I beg your pardon?"

"She told me to let you compel me. Which I am seriously uncomfortable with, by the way."

He frowned.

"Just a moment."

He left the room and returned with a cup. "Give me some of your blood."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I want to see if you're on vervain."

"You don't trust me?"

He snorted, and held out the cup. Rolling her eyes, she bit into her wrist and dripped some of her blood into the cup. He lifted it to his lips, keeping eye contact with her the entire time, and sipped it, his eyes closing as he savored the taste. Caroline made a face.

"So, once you're done being thoroughly creepy, I want to know what's going on."

He licked his lips slightly and put down the cup, which was still half-full.

He caught her eyes in his. "Were you visited by a future version of yourself?"

She nodded.

"Tell me about it."

She did.

When she was done, he frowned. "This had better not be a trick, Caroline."

She shook her head. "It's not."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "The envelope?"

She stuck it into his outstretched hand.

He slid it open, his eyes skating across the page, before he spoke again. "He's going to sacrifice witches to gain strength. We have ten days to stop the sacrifice. I'll send a hybrid to show you to your room. You'll need a good night's sleep for tomorrow."

"I'm not staying here."

He gave a heavy sigh. "Yes you are. It's too dangerous for you to stay in the Quarter."

"I don't care."

"Well, I do." He said firmly, before leaving and shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Well, fine then," she mumbled to the empty room.

She sank onto the couch in the corner and reflected to herself that as reactions from him went, the conversation had actually gone very well.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think. :)
Hugs!
-Angie