Chapter 1- "Ways to Go"

I didn't ask for this, you give me heart attack.

I didn't want to care, and then I saw you there.

Been working like a dog, I turned all my dreams off.

I didn't know my name, I didn't know my name.

I got a little bit longer, I got a ways to go.

(Grouplove-Ways to Go)

Family. What does that word truly mean? People who are related to you by blood? Or, perhaps, people who will always be there for you, no matter how tough times may get.

Either way, she doesn't know anyone who lives up to the definition. It was probably supposed to be bizarre to feel unloved and unneeded. From what she could tell, parents should hold their daughter when she is hurting, whispering sweet lies about how they'll forever take care of her, or siblings who look out for their sisters when people hurt them.

But, no. The truth of the matter was that she knew nothing of any of those things. No experience whatsoever. In fact, she never has, and probably never will.

The blood pumping through her veins was of no significance to anyone in her home, and as much as she wished otherwise, it's going to ruin her in the end. She'll be damaged, more so then she already is, and no one will be able to help her. She needs to get out before they turn her to mush.

The blinding sun seared the pale flesh of the poor commoners skin, imposing it's mark on her as she ensures the family chores. No one offers their assistance (unsurprising), and no one speaks to her while she sweats and bleeds in her torn and tattered clothes. She picks up her vessels of water and begins her half an hour journey back to home, hopefully in time for dinner.

Society believed work was a man's job, no place for a woman except in the home, but her father was no longer around. Her mother was sickly all the time, and her brother and sister could not be bothered to lift a precious finger unless it was to eat the food she made.

They lived off the milk the girl collected and sold from their two cows, and her willingness to do strenuous labor for small prices. Some misinterpreted that for scandalous behavior, and so, she received detestable requests from many married men, much to the disdain of her fiancé, Tyler Lockwood.

He was the mayor's youngest son, and he had gotten in many quarrels with the village men for the way they treated the girl. Because of these fights, Tyler's father claimed to be so ashamed of their engagement that he forced them to keep their love a secret, however she knew better. She knew it had more to do with the callouses on her dirty palms and fingers. Still, she loved the boy and so she ignored the hateful glares that lingered from his own family.

She, however, couldn't fathom hiding her love. She didn't want to live in the shadows so that no one would know she had already been courted, and refused to do any disgraceful acts just because someone simply offered her money.

Any time she brought up her thoughts on this, Tyler would swear to the ends of the earth that he would stick up for her, but of course his promise was never kept, just like the dreams he offered her to become reality, and the family he swore would be arriving in time. But despite his lies, she loved him.

Today, she was planning to surprise Tyler once she brought the water back home, hoping that his father or he himself would not be upset by the intrusion. He didn't usually get angry with her, considering he was aware that she had before lived through a rough past with a brutal lover. A man with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. Eyes that had been vicious at times, but she couldn't ever completely remember what he had done, just vague memories of bite marks and bruises. At the time, she was unable to leave the man. He had some sort of hold on her, something she couldn't explain. Even when she decided she no longer loved him, she couldn't help but feel as if she had to stay with him.

Then, the bastard became bored with her and left her for dead in the middle of town. Tyler was the only one who would come near her, and when he saw her still breathing, he brought her to his home and nursed her. Her mother had been furious, screaming something about how the girl wasn't allowed to just spread her legs for any man, and that it was a disgrace to their family, not that their 'family' had dignity in the first place.

But her own pride was ever-present and therefore she didn't even entertain the thought of uniting as one with Tyler until two months ago after allowing him to court her for four years. It had only been once, and it was before he was leaving town for several weeks on a business outing. The time appeared right, but afterword, the only term that could describe it was 'wrong'.

She wished she had waited, since they were clearly not ready. Or, at least she wasn't. He had been kind and gentle, but not as careful as she had wished he would be. The pain was nearly unbearable, and he never apologized for the tears that streamed down her face.

A soft moan erupted from the woods to her left, drawing her from her thoughts. She slowed down to a stop. "Hello?" She asked, but to no reply. The girl fixed her grip on her pales, then continued.

Possibly a badger. They were getting rather restless this time of year...

Another, more feral moan came from the shadows, and the girl finally sat her buckets down and moved the brush, peeking in. "I don't have time for games." She said. When no retort came, she lifted her foot, ready to allow herself to be swallowed deeper into the woods.

"Mmm." She heard a familiar voice say, and the girl came to the realization that whoever this was is currently receiving pleasure. Her cheeks lit on fire as she stepped back, ready to turn and sprint right back to her home, too embarrassed to be curious.

"Yes, Mr. Lockwood." A breathless voice said, and the young woman with blazing cheeks spun around. Tyler's father? Mr. Lockwood was married… She could have slapped herself; she of all people knew that didn't stop most men.

Wait, he should be at the town meeting right now, like most of the representatives of this place. That meant... No. She refused to believe it. "More." The euphoric voice said, and rage and prying got the best of her as she lifted the brush once more, tip toeing behind a tree, and glanced around. Her knees nearly collapsed by the sudden loss of power in her body. The sight before her wrenched her heart out onto the forest floor, allowing the fallen leaves and twigs to jab and poke until it burst.

Pants and moans now filled the area around the three as she saw Tyler moving in front of brunette girl, her face covered slightly as she burrowed her head into the nook of his shoulder.

"Tyler?" The peasant girl asked, her voice hardly above a whisper, but he heard it.

Tyler spun around, yanking his pants up and staring between the two women, the other she now recognized as the new woman in town, Hayley. She came with a group of men, her clothes undeniably short, and her walk hypnotizing to most males. Most, including the man who the poor girl thought loved her. More lies uttered from his mouth.

"Caroline..." He spoke, his voice seemingly calm as he tried to think of an excuse. "Wait, this is not-"

"Oh, piss off." Caroline said, quickly bending down to pick up a branch from the ground that was covered in muck and leaves. She threw it at him, gracefully hitting his chest, leaving a fine line of mud all over his elegant clothing.

"Caroline, stop!" He cried out, attempting to step to her, but she bent down, gabbing more and more to throw. Call her delirious, call her whatever you'd like. Anything you could say would have no effect on the rage that was bathing her.

"The wedding is off. Weare off! I hope you catch pox from her!" Caroline threw one last stick, it hitting Hayley in her bare leg.

"Now wait a minute-" Hayley said, standing up straighter now. Caroline huffed and puffed out her chest.

"Please, I beg of you, give me another reason to hang you from these trees by your feet." She said, her glare causing Hayley to stop and look away. It better have been in shame. "For your sake, I hope he wasn't just unhappy with our bedding arrangements and that he actually cares for you. I honestly wish you luck with this one," she pointed at Tyler. "I hear he has a track record of being unfaithful." With that, she stumbled out of the woods, tears finally making their way to her eyes, but her posture never faulting.

Caroline tightly grasped the handles of her pales as if they could take her back only moments before her day had been ruined, then yanked up the water, nearly spilling all its contents.

Was life sincerely so cruel? Of course, it had to have been too good to be true. Even if their love wasn't the greatest, she never expected it to be so... Nonexistent.

She held in her sobs while stomping along the path, her ego waiting to be challenged by another person. The anger was almost more terrifying than the hurt and betrayal. How could someone put on such a big disguise? Who all knew about this, and who all had laughed at her for thinking she was something special? Of course a wealthy boy like Tyler would never fall in love with a commoner, that'd be senseless. She was so thoughtless sometimes.

On one hand, she felt so incredibly furious that her mind was having trouble coming up with what reason was on the other hand. But, when she finally did, she knew it was relief that she was ultimately feeling. She loved Tyler, but the world finally made sense now that she knew he wasn't in love with her like she was with him. And now she knew that his love for her most definitely wasn't unconditional.

But, honestly, what kind of horrible man betrays someone in the filthy woods? That's just disgusting.

She kicked a rock, it flinging from her feet to skid across the dirt until is landed by a slumped over bundle of something. Something moving. Caroline sat the buckets down, realizing it was not just clothes or garbage, but a human. A human who was bleeding.

The closer she got, the more blood she saw. Her heart was now racing in her chest as her feet picked up, pounding harder into the ground.

"Seriously?" She whispered to herself at her awful luck. This is probably a bandit's trick. She had been robbed by many who prey upon compassionate wanderers. Rolling her eyes, Caroline bent down to help remove the cloak from the person's face, revealing a man with blood splattered skin. Okay, not a trick. "What happened to you?" Her voice became softer, more gentle. She scolded herself for thinking such cruel thoughts.

At first, she couldn't understand him. Whatever it was that got him scared him to the core of his being. His body was shivering and his eyes were bulged from their sockets. But, after a few moments of shallow breaths, he found enough will power to create coherent sentences. "Beast." He whispered. "The beast are everywhere," His hand lifted, gently touching Caroline's face. She listened intently, her nerves causing her hands to tremble. "So close to us, killing us, and we never... Even. Knew it." She heard the long-familiar noise of wheezing, which was soon followed by coughing. But, instead of her mother's usual dry, dirty coughs, the man spewed fresh blood, coating the dirt around him in thick red.

Why was she just standing there? She needed to do something before he gave up. "I need to get you some help." Caroline said, placing his arm around her shoulder, but the man shook violently, waving her off.

"Go! Before they come back! I'm-" He coughed again, this time the blood came out in large clots. "I'm as good as gone." He finished with a gory smile that ripped whatever was left of Caroline's heart from where ever it lied within her chest. The man placed a hand caked in dirt on her arm, somehow switching their purposes around in an instant. She was supposed to be the one helping him, getting him somewhere so that he may return to whatever family he had, but instead, he was helping her. His eyes shined with understanding and sympathy, and she feared that he could see right through her thick skin and into the cave in her mind where she hid all of her anxieties and weaknesses.

Caroline wasn't so quick to leave though, despite her sudden fear of this man's insight. "I won't just leave you here."

The man fell on his back, revealing a still-bleeding wound in his neck. "Please, just let me die here with mother nature." Caroline sat beside him for a few minutes, holding her ground, but he once again asked her to leave, and she decided to give into him. If he truly wanted her gone, it was the least she could do. Only when she picked back up the buckets of water and reluctantly turned to leave, the man decided to call out to her. "G-girl." She spun around to see his wide eyes. "Beware the beast. He's the devil," He wheezed one concluding time. "In a beautiful disguise."

She leaned against a tree and hid her face as the man lifted his hand to the blistering sun like a silent surrender to the world. It fell limp to the ground with a smack, his breathing was no longer present, and the bleeding was finally over. She couldn't help but wonder if he would go to some after world, or just sit on the road and rot. She desperately hoped for the former...

Caroline had nearly made it to the narrow path leading to her small quaint home with tear streaked cheeks before she noticed her family was all outside. They seemed to be waiting for something. This suspicion was confirmed when her brother looked up, and told her mother something that made the older woman look at Caroline with gloomy, tired eyes.

Cautiously, Caroline walked up to her family and sat the bucket's down. "What is it? What's the matter?" She asked, and became even more guarded when they all shared a look that made her quiver.

"Some palace guards came by this morning, Caroline." Her mother told her, coughing a cacophonous sound.

Tyler now far from her mind, Caroline's knees gave out beneath her, body slamming forward with her palms to the ground. "But, we've payed our taxes. They swore to not do anything if we payed!" She yelled, her voice raising in anger and frustration. Could the day become any more atrocious? This had to be more than any human could bear.

"They did not come here for our belongings, or our money." Her brother, Thomas, stood then, walking into the house. Everyone stayed quiet, and Caroline became antsy wondering what he could possibly be building such tension to announce. He soon walked back out, throwing a full duffel bag that their father had once used to travel while trying to sale his random inventions. "They came here for you."

She didn't understand what was happening. How could they just let her go like that? They already had her things packed? "No. Why? Why do they want me?"

"They need more servants." Her sister said with utter disinterest in the matter. She was reclining on the stairs, looking at her dirty fingernails. Why were they dirty? It wasn't like she had ever done anything that would cause such a thing to happen.

"But, why me? Why am I the only one being chosen?" She asked, and this time, her mother spoke.

"They were saying strange things, Caroline. We didn't question it." She smiled sadly. "You are supposed to appear at the castle by night fall. If you leave now, you can still make it." Without so much as a goodbye, her mother stood and hobbled into the house, followed by the rest of her siblings. Did no one care that she was being forced to go somewhere that hardly anyone ever returned from? Many rumors have spread about the monarchy of the Mikaelson Kingdom. How cruel they can be to the locals, and how they seem to have crimes that are covered up by the authority happening right under everyone's noses.

There are five heirs to the throne, the eldest who was quiet and obedient named Finn, the proper and highly trained in etiquette Elijah, the ever cruel womanizing Klaus, the spoiled immature Rebekah, and the childish philandering Kol. Of course, out of them all, Klaus was known to be the most feared. He was rude, and could care less about his actions, no matter who would be harmed in the process. There had been more than one occasion where he would go out to the town with a few women, getting unbelievably drunk and quarreling with random pub-dwellers. A few died from their injuries, yet no one did a thing about it.

Of course, let's not forget the parents. Mikael and Esther. They were intimidating, and much like Klaus in the cruel spectrum. It was Mikael, though, who everyone feared the most. He had people hanged for simple things like being a day late on their taxes.

Now she had to go and stay with them in the castle? No. This couldn't be happening.

When no one came back outside, Caroline picked up the duffel bag and kicked over the buckets she had been through so much with to carry home. If they want water, they can get it for themselves. For once in her life, she would allow herself to hold a grudge against her family. She understood that they didn't have a choice, but to send her on her way without a goodbye? It was awful. The realization of such outstanding loneliness broke her in more ways than one.

About half way there, an elderly man on a carriage stopped, offering her a ride.

"Yes, thank you." She responded, tossing her single bag in the back and hopping up to the seat beside him. "I don't have money to pay you back, sir." Caroline said with uneasiness. People did not do kind things for free in this time.

"Nonsense, child." He smiled at her, his wrinkles folding over above his eyebrows. "Where are you headed?" He seemed genuine in his kindness. She smiled brightly back at him, though she felt anything but happy.

"The Castle." Such a simple response, yet it created such a big expression on the man's face. His once kind smile quickly delved into one of horror and disdain.

"Yes, well. I do hope you did not choose to go there upon your own free will." He inquired, one skinny eyebrow raising. His mouth quirked at the end when she shook her head quickly. After that, no words were spoken as they rode over holes and gravel. He drove her to the beginning of the winding, green leaved path before the castle. "This is as far as I go." He said, sternly.

Caroline nodded. "Thank you very much for the ride, sir." She got off, and slowly walked on. She had sufficient time to not be in a rush. Sunset wasn't for at least another two hours, and that was when the power hungry monarch of theirs decided she needed to make an entrance. The woods looked beautiful, lush and green. The sun shone through the pine trees, little strips of light coming out along the path in wondrous forms.

It reminded her of a time when she was a child, and chose to leave home to find an adventure in the woods. It was the woods by her house, though. And the closest thing to adventure in that area was the adventure of walking half a mile through a small amount of spaced out trees and under brush. Needless to say, she filled her day with the not quite as good task of chasing grasshoppers.

Caroline heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see a handsome man in his early twenties with what she could only comprehend as royal clothing on.

"Who are you?" He asked, cautiously moving towards her. The man was acting as if a woman was foreign and unheard of. Possibly he was help as well? But, the help did not dress so... Extravagant, did they? Maybe he was a duke or a magistrate. Something of high regards.

It was when his gaze raked up her body in appreciation that she suddenly felt under dressed in her common cloth.

"Caroline Forbes. I was asked to come here." She was very unsure of the aura this man gave off. It was dark and confusing. Like someone who was trying to be deceiving. She was just confused on whether or not he was trying to give of the illusion of darkness, or the illusion that there wasn't any. One way or another, darkness was present. When the man took another step towards her, she took two steps back.

"A new servant, I presume." He smiled, white teeth showing. He took yet another step forward, this time more bold and arrogant. "You're a tasty little thing."

"Pardon my abruptness, butwho are you?" Caroline gave him a glare, feeling insulted by his demeaning comment. He began laughing, laughing so much that he clutched his stomach as to not double over.

"Oh, everyone's going to get a kick out of you." He smiled, walking over and holding out his hand. Caroline hesitantly took it despite her better judgment, and watched him as he lifted it to his mouth and light grazed her knuckles. "Kol. Kol Mikaelson."

Chapter 2-Hungry Like The Wolf

In touch with the ground, I'm on the hunt I'm after you.

Smell like I sound, I'm lost in the crowd.

And I'm hungry like the wolf.

Straddle the line of discord and rhyme, I'm on the hunt I'm after you.

Mouth is alive, juices like wine, and I'm hungry like the wolf.

(Duran Duran- Hungry Like The Wolf)

Caroline yanked her hand back from him, mentally slapping herself. "I'm sorry your Highness. Your comment left me with the impression that you were perchance a guard."

"Careful, the guards might get cocky." He announced, knowing that there were guards around them, then placed an arm around her shoulder, moving her in the direction of the castle. "Please, allow me to give you the grand tour, my dear Caroline."

She watched him for a minute, then sighed and allowed him to walk her off. His pace slowed to a crawl as he walked past each of the places that he had stories about, and he told her every one. They mostly consisted of his hidden rendezvous with women, prompting her to ignore him and take in the scenery.

To the left of them, there were gorgeous pine trees that stood higher than any mountain she had faced. The ground was covered in a layer of leaves from the turn of the seasons, and that's when Kol's voice came back to her.

"It reminds me of being a child." He said in a more serious tone, drawing her thoughts and returning her to the present. "When me and my siblings would go outside and bury each other in the leaves, not realizing that we weren't just playing, but hiding." His eyes were locked on the wooded area.

"Hiding from what?" Caroline asked, forcing him from his painful memories.

Kol looked at her, possibly deciding whether or not he could trust her. "Nothing," his smile made it's way back, and Caroline nodded, knowing that the answer was no, he couldn't.

They entered a gate after a few more humiliating stories, several guards appearing to talk to Kol about business. She thought they sounded important, things about an 'Event gone wrong', but he told them to go away, saying things such as "I have to show this peasant the ropes," or "We're heading to my chambers. Let us be," That particular one earned an elbow to the ribs from Caroline. He had smiled and laughed with her, and even though he was infuriating beyond compare, she still didn't feel as horrible as she did on the way over. Of course, that was until the sister made an appearance.

"Brother, what are you doing?" A silky voice asked, and Caroline saw a gorgeous blonde woman walking towards them, each step looking as if they had been carefully thought out in advance. She looked gorgeous in a tan satin dress with blue and green embroidered flowers running up the sides.

"Ah, good evening little sister. This is Caroline. I believe she is to be the new servant." He said, his arm touching the small of her back. "Isn't she just eye-catching?"

"Well, she's doing something to my eyes, that's for sure." She looked at Caroline with a deep scowl, and Caroline once again felt the loneliness of her situation. "Look at the rags she is in. Hurry up and get her to the servants housing, she's making us look bad." Rebekah said, sighing in exhaustion as she started to walk away. Before Caroline and Kol could leave though, she called back to them over her shoulder.

"Finn, Elijah, and Niklaus are coming home today, Kol. Be sure to have food ready for them when they get back." Rebekah said, then left.

"Don't mind her. She's just upset her latest boyfriend isn't living up to par." He smiled. "Speaking of, I would advise staying away from her room late at night, it can get a little noisy." He spoke with disgust, and Caroline took a moment to understand what he meant, but when she did, her face turned blood red.

"Are you a virgin, young Caroline?" Caroline looked at him pointedly, showing how she disapproved of the question. He threw his hands up defensively. "I was simply curious."

"Yes, well, curiosity killed the cat your Heinous." Caroline feigned surprise. "I mean Highness."

Kol chuckled, walking her to a wooden door. "Beauty andbrains? What have I done to deserve such privileges?"

"Absolutely nothing." Caroline replied, laughing at her own joke.

Kol rolled his eyes. "Darling, I think you're going to enjoy yourself here." He said, smiling at her with a wide grin. "Maybe even find a love that will last a lifetime? Or two?" He said, His eyebrows raising suggestively. Caroline watched as he took her in for the 100th time that day, his eyes becoming hooded as he lost himself in thought.

"I doubt it. I'm not the type for epic tales of love and romance." She said, dismissing the possibility. Caroline watched Kol fumble with the door handle, walking in as he opened it. "Ah, I hope I'm not being too forward too quickly, but today..." She paused to take a deep breath as the memory flooded in. "Today, a man died beside me on the old Oakland path. He had a terrible neck injury."

Kol looked at her in shock for a moment before regaining himself. "How peculiar."

Caroline nodded in agreement. "I would like to be allowed out of the castle to give him a proper burial." She had thought about it plenty, and decided it was too awful to leave his death completely up to nature. Besides, she wasn't invading or anything, just simply helping the process along.

"I'll send some of the guards to do it." He smiled and gestured to the room. "The maids quarters." Before she could get completely inside, Kol grabbed her arm. She rotated slightly, catching his glance. His eyes were a dark brown with orange flecks. "I find you interesting." He told her, and Caroline laughed.

"Yes, me along with every other woman we saw on the way here." She reminded him, and Kol tried to protest saying something about false accusations and curvatures of a woman's body calling to him. Caroline laughed it off and said her goodbyes. "Thank you for the tour, your majesty." She bowed, then walked fully inside.

A woman with dark brown hair that fell down her back in glossy waves looked to Caroline as she approached. She was gorgeous, and Caroline suddenly felt small and inferior. Her insecurities were beginning to get the best of her, when the beautiful woman spoke. "Are you new?" She asked. When Caroline nodded, the girl smiled warmly. "I'm Elena."

Caroline's fears melted away at the sight, and the fact that the girl was actually kind to her. Maybe someday they could learn to be great friends. She had never had any friends growing up, considering the hard work she was always having to do to help out her family. Other girl's were always intimidated by the fact that a girl of their day and age could carry 60 lbs of weight without breaking a sweat. However, she learned what they were from seeing her sisters friends while growing up. That had felt like enough for her.

"Caroline." Caroline looked around at the females getting dressed in knee length black laced dresses. "What's going on?" She had never seen such outfits before.

"These are our uniforms. We have to clean up before the young master's get home. Which is..." Elena looked around frantically. "The young lords will be home in less than one hour!" She announced, dragging Caroline over. "You can borrow one of my uniforms until you get your own. We must hurry."

Caroline was already becoming fond of this girl. She was sweet to everyone around her, and Caroline wondered if maybe the girl did enjoy being here? She seemed at ease in her place here, and she wasn't quitein charge of the rest of the maids, but they listened to her and respected her, which was more than Caroline herself could ever hope for.

When she was changed and a few older women gave everyone a part to do, all of the servants rushed out into the house, cleaning efficiently. Elena told Caroline to just follow her for now, doing the chores that were assigned to Caroline even though she nearly ripped the rags from Elena's hands. She didn't like others doing what was given to her, she felt wrong and otiose.

Elena was busy laughing at Caroline's pouting face when a woman came in, saying how little time they had. The pretty brunette told Caroline that next time, she would definitely allow her to do her own chores and that she would help her with everything when they weren't in such a small time frame. Would the other girls be like this? Obviously not all of them, considering she had already gotten quite a few rude glares from the bunch.

Almost the exact second Elena had finished wiping down a table, a man came to a nearby hallway, announcing the arriving Mikaelson children.

Elena grasped Caroline by the hand, forcing her to follow her lengthy strides out of the castle. "We have to greet them when they arrive." Elena stated, seeming displeased by this. She looked at Caroline, surprised by something that she saw. "No one's told you yet, have they?" She asked, and Caroline shook her head, unsure of what she was supposed to have been told. Was it important? It wasn't her fault no one bothered to speak to her about these matters. She had done nothing wrong that she knew of. "Just, don't do anything to draw attention to yourself, alright?" Elena said, continuing her brisk pace.

On the way, Elena told Caroline that the Mikaelson boys had been out camping and hunting in the wild for the past three days, a thing that they tend to do at least once a month. Apparently, every time they come home, no matter how short the trip, it is a celebration. She mused herself by telling Elena her absurd thought of the castle holding a large extravagant party when the boys return home from simple task like going to the town for medicine, and Elena caused her further delight by saying that they had done it before. The eldest, Finn, had returned from going to see his fiancee for a few hours, and the mother, Esther, had set up a huge affair for him when he walked into the door, causing the man to walk right back out.

A feast would be going on tonight, but when Caroline asked what would be the main course, Elena dodge the question, her demeanor changing from relaxed to rigid in the blink of an eye. She tried to play it off by telling her where they were going to stand in the crowd. Caroline followed Elena to behind the castle as three horses barely began showing in the distance.

Caroline looked around, seeing all of the female and male servants around her. They were making small gestures, but an overwhelming majority were doing the same thing that it caught her attention. They were fidgety, covering their wrist with their long sleeves, or messing with the collars of their uniforms. Caroline looked and saw Elena had a face of disinterest and she was trying to move as little as possible.

A loud trumpet sounded, and Caroline could now see the faces of the three men. She'd never seen them before, so she couldn't put a name to any, but she did know it was going to be Finn, Elijah, and Klaus. As she watched the men riding in, she noticed no baggage or game from their hunting trip. Had they eaten what they killed already? What did they use to clean it? How did they kill it? Maybe it was just her pettifogging every small detail, but something seemed off.

"Presenting Prince Finn!" A man yelled, and the eldest looking man, but handsome none the less, got down from his horse and came to stand at the front of the crowd. His hair was clipped more than the rest, and he looked like he didn't truly want to be at that place at the time.

"Presenting Prince Elijah!" One of the two left got down from his horse gracefully, his chin held high. Yes, he was the proper one. She could tell by his impeccable posture and elegance. It was a wonder why they didn't call him a womanizer as well, considering how charismatic he was, but possibly he didn't treat the women like his brother did. This seemed more likely when all of the female servants seemed to straighten up at his presence.

That left one man. Klaus.

Caroline glanced up at him, and involuntarily looked over his body, her eyes straining themselves so that she could see every portion. Every inch of perfect muscle on his sweat laced arms, and the way his clothes hung off of him in a torturous manner. She wondered without knowing what it would feel like to touch them, to kiss them. God, when had she come to have such loathsome lecherous cerebration? Sure, he was nice to look at. Okay, maybe that was a complete understatement. He was undeniably captivating. But, he wasn't going to make her some sort of thought-harlot, and she surely was not going to allow him to have an effect on her like he just had. No man should have that kind of hold over a woman.

The wind was blowing his hair slightly in his face, and Caroline's hair fell in front of her eyes, blocking her view. As much as she desired to be strong enough to leave it there, or even relocate it from where it was and just simply not gaze at him broadly, she just wasn't that evolved.

"Presenting Prince Niklaus!" She reached up to move her strand of hair, and when she could now look back up, his eyes were locked with hers. All of the muscles in her body quickly felt like ice as she shivered. Caroline's eyes widened, and she glanced away quickly, biting her lip.

He saw her. He most definitely saw her. Had he been looking at her while she was at emotional war with herself? Her cheeks began to redden at the thought, a sick warm spilling throughout her body. How could it be that someone she had never even spoke to was making her insides churn so loudly? Caroline wasn't the type to judge based on looks.

After a few moments, glancing back, she could see that he had a smirk on his face, and was at the time looking between his brothers who were conversing, and her. The commoner. The poor peasant in a crowd, surrounding him to celebrate his return home that he most likely did not even deserve. She was the worst of the worst. Then, the next time his eyes darted to her, his lustful stare shook her with such a force, she had to look away and breathe in and out a few times just to remember where she was. She felt her body get hot, and Elena stiffened beside her. What? Had she done something wrong? Other than the fact that the prince's eyes were now practically having coitus with her from across the yard, of course...

"If everyone would please stay still, this won't take long." Klaus said, sparing a glance for his brother's before waltzing into the crowd with determination. Caroline was vaguely aware of Elijah and Finn entering the crowd somewhere near the front, staying in the same general area they entered in. But the other brother had a different idea. Klaus was heading straight for her, forcing her heart to race in anticipation. Wait, no. No, she wouldn't get excited over this. He was savage. Barbarous and cold. She refused to fall for such behavior. 'Get a hold of yourself, Caroline.' She mentally chastised herself.

Promptly, she adverted her eyes and stepped out of the way like the rest of the servants as he rushed towards her. Klaus chuckled darkly to himself and traveled right passed her, much to her dismay. He snatched the girl directly behind her and walked back to the front. Oh. Well, that was mortifying. Maybe he wasn't even looking at her in the first place. Why would he? She was nothing extraordinary.

Finn had reluctantly grabbed a tanned skin girl from the other side, and Elijah had a young, petite blond who looked scared out of her wits. They all stood in their original places by their horses, and Caroline was deeply confused. "What is happening?" She whispered to Elena, who turned slightly with sorrow in her eyes.

"Do not show an anxiety. Whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself, do you understand? I'll explain it all later, but for now, don't make a scene." Caroline agreed, not sure what was about to happen, and was now more distressed than ever before. This appeared to be serious.

But, Caroline couldn't help the panic and feeling of insanity that set in when the men lifted the females wrist and revealed sharp canines. She couldn't help but want to scream as she watched them bite into the soft flesh, red liquid dripping down their chins. Caroline wanted to run away, but she was frozen in her place. She felt whatever attraction she had to Klaus, or any of the others quickly explode, leaving nothing but ruins and dust of what it once was. "Oh god."

She had barely even whispered the word, but from ten meters away, Klaus glanced up from the girls arm, catching Caroline's stare and smiling before getting a better grip. It was a cold smile, and she felt bile rise in her throat at the sight of it. Caroline watched in horror as the girl's eyes began to roll to the back of her head, and much too soon, the girl dropped, her limp body lying on the pavement.