If I were to stay here between us, I might forget where I'm bound
Klaus keeps "courting" her as he calls it, and it's starting to become scary.
Gone are the gentle words whispered in the dark, he continues to send her drawings, but there's something darker to them now, one of her in bed with the Hybrid bite fresh (red) on her neck.
She doesn't know if it's a warning or some sort of sick reminder of the night he thinks he got to play her knight in shining armor.
Then there is Tyler, who is in the middle, helplessly stuck between them and there's definitely a threat, but also the possibilities and promises of his freedom echoing in her mind like deafening screams.
It's wearing her down.
She doesn't know what to do.
She cannot breath.
oOo
She goes to the only person in the world who could possibly keep her safe, the brother of the monster she's running from. He's a man of honor, she knows that much, even though she's never had any direct interaction with him before.
"Please."
He has no real reason to help her, nothing to gain from it, but her eyes are wide, so very very young and he knows the effects his brother can have on the people he supposedly loves, even more so on the people he expects to love him back.
oOo
He tells her she needs to leave, come with him, if she wants him to protect her and he certainly doesn't plan to stay in Mystic Falls for long.
The allure of the doppelganger face – Tatia, Katerina, Elena – haunts him, tempts him, but nothing good can come from it.
He must go.
oOo
He doesn't let her know much, always stone faced, always calm, but she notices the way his brows knit together ever so slightly when he's looking on his phone. Klaus.
Klaus in anger; Klaus with threats to find them, find her; Klaus with bitterness about how his family keeps betraying him.
Caroline knows she's staring, knows she's holding her breath, knows he can probably hear her heart skip a beat in these moments when he shares a look with her.
She tries to read his face, but it's impossible.
It bothers her that she never knows what he is thinking.
oOo
They change locations frequently with whatever business Elijah attends to. She comes willingly, of course, still running from Klaus, hungry to see the world and she finds herself becoming more comfortable around him; comfortable enough to demand and complain. Occasionally.
He does not indulge her, but once she thinks she can see the beginnings of a smile on the edge of his lips when she tries to reason with him.
oOo
"Do you love Elena?"
She doesn't know what's gotten into her, doesn't even know what she expects or wants to hear, but the question has been weighing on her, irregularly yes, but repeatedly nonetheless.
There's something extra hard and calm about him in that moment and she feels intimidated by his demeanor instantly. Sometimes she wonders if this is some special vampire trick or whether it's a gift he already possessed as a human, being this commanding presence in the room that overshadows anything else.
"I do not know why that would be any of your business, Caroline."
"She's my best friend." Caroline doesn't know what Elijah was to her exactly, but she knows that she cares. It goes unspoken and he doesn't bother to say more of the subject.
oOo
Klaus finds her.
She's alone, just taking a peaceful evening walk through the streets of Strasbourg when he suddenly pops up next to her, a charming smile on his lips, dimples as deep as ever.
"Good evening, love."
Before she can do anything, run or even stop walking he links her arm into his and pulls her with him through gentle force.
"And what a lovely evening it is, don't you think?"
Caroline doesn't answer, no matter what she could say, it would only encourage him. She wonders if she's going to survive this romantic stroll he apparently wants to take her on, but it doesn't last long.
"Now to make it the perfect date, I believe there should be dinner involved."
oOo
There's a girl; blonde, beautiful, terrified. Blood is streaming from her neck where he had bitten her, blood right under Caroline's nose, calling to her like some sweet siren song.
She tries to hold back, even conjures up the images from the dungeon with her father, but nothing can stop the inevitable from happening. Her teeth sink into the girl's neck, the heartbeat thumping in her ears as it becomes slower and slower, quieter until it stops.
It's glorious and powerful, but at the same time Caroline feels as if something is curling around her chest, some boa constrictor pressing together and she feels sick (so sick) because it's really Klaus' arm, his hand softly stroking against her ribs while he's pressing kisses to her jaw.
"Very good, love."
oOo
He lets her go afterward and she all but runs home to the house she lives in with Elijah at the moment, up the stairs, through the second door on the left, right into Elijah's room. He's not there, so she crawls into his bed and pulls the blanket over her body making sure that not even one of her toes peeks out.
She used to do this as a child when she was scared of the things lurking under her bed. It's useless, she knows the monster that's chasing her now is much more horrifying than the ones she made up in her mind, but it still gives her an illusion of safety.
oOo
She doesn't know when she falls asleep, but she wakes up when Elijah comes into the room.
He doesn't seem surprised to see her, see her like that, in his bed, still smeared with blood.
"My brother told me about your evening."
He's still impassive on the surface, but it's different to her now, she can see the tension in his jaw even in her distress. He's angry and it's strangely calming to her, because it means he cares.
A breath or two pass quietly before he crosses the room to sit on the side of the bed. His hand reaches out to trace her cheek and push back her hair from her face. It's more intimacy than he has ever allowed himself (or her).
"Niklaus will undoubtedly try to continue his advances."
It's a fact, something she can't dispute no matter how much she'd like to, the nightmare future ahead of her and suddenly Buffy pops into her head, pictures of Angelus and Drusilla; Drusilla who was pure and beautiful, but who was turned into a monster by the whims of a man.
But Drusilla didn't have Elijah.
There's only so much he can do, she's aware, but at the same time the illusion is alluring, oh so alluring and she gives into it, crawling into Elijah's arms until she cannot possibly get any closer.
When he doesn't say anything, doesn't reprimand her she closes her eyes, breathes in his scent. She's painfully aware of how slowly his hands have moved to her back, where they are almost hesitantly stroking up and down her spine.
Perhaps it's better not to think about the future; perhaps she should focus on the moment, right here, right now, warm and soft and protected.