"Unsire yourself - instead of street-maps and sounding depths/trace your name, trace the trees, trace the night into your mind. /Close your eyes and listen to the sound - try to remember - / or try to forget - here is the place you could turn and return." - Kazim Ali, The River's Address

She was walking home from her graduation dinner balancing an armful of flowers, her cap-and-gown, and diploma in one hand while trying, unsuccessfully, to check her messages, when it happened. A car floated by, a door swung open, and she was pulled inside before she could so much as squeak in surprise.

Bonnie whirled, ready to unleash a fury on whoever her abductor was. A strong hand took firm but gentle hold of her wrist, stilling the magic curled there.

"Happy graduation, love."

The hybrid grinned, clearly pleased with himself.

"Klaus what the hell-," she snatched her hand away, words fading as she took in her surroundings. She was inside a very plush, very large limousine. There was a bottle of champagne sticking out of a silver ice-bucket, and enough red roses for all the wedding centerpieces in Mystic Falls. "You could've just picked me up, like a normal person," she rebuffed, but there was no trace of anger in her voice. This extravagance was overwhelming but, if she was honest with herself, also a little endearing.

Klaus rolled his eyes, laying his arm along the back of the seat. "Because this courtship has been nothing if not normal. Quite normal how a year ago you broke every bone in my body while I cursed your name. Why, what a normal course of events..." he smirked a little.

She wrinkled her nose, "First of all, no one says 'courtship' anymore."

His arm circled her waist and she let herself be tucked into his side, resting her head on his shoulder as the limousine cruised down the streets.

She was suddenly tired, it had been a long day. Starting at 7 am, filing into the school gym behind hundreds of others, then sitting through a ponderous ceremony before joining her friends at the Mystic Grille for dinner. Now that the exhilaration was draining away, so was her energy.

"What would you call it then?" Klaus brushed his lips against her forehead, amused. One hand toyed with the loose curls at her nape, rubbing lightly along the base of her scalp.

Bonnie nestled closer to him, fiddling with a button on his white shirt.

"It's...nice," she said simply.

Klaus' fingers stilled in her hair, like he was trying on the word 'nice' for size. Bonnie doubted many people used "nice" and "Klaus Mikaelson" in the same sentence. But after a second he resumed gently massaging her neck.

"Eira was at the ceremony," Bonnie said after a beat.

"Was she?" Klaus murmured, sounding disinterested. He clearly cared little for his grandmother's civic inclinations.

"She congratulated me, more than anyone else..." she frowned a little at the memory, "it was weird. And I'm not even valedictorian - ,"

Klaus chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"You, imagining that you are comparable to any of the rabble."

"Hey, I happen to like some of the rabble," she protested.

He shrugged, "Your regard for them can't change what they are. In any case, they will soon be mere footnotes in your illustrious history."

His words stuck in her throat like a bitter pill, hard and uncomfortable to swallow. Her eyes skimmed the plush seats and vibrant roses. She doubted any of her friends had ever seen the inside of a vehicle so opulent. It was difficult to imagine that it was rolling down the simple avenues of Mystic Falls, past the same picket-fence houses, the same sidewalks she'd skinned her knees on as a child. The back of the limousine suddenly felt large and cold.

She drew closer to Klaus, and they travelled the rest of the way in silence.

He had offered to let the limousine take them anywhere she wished. But Bonnie had had enough of socializing, and so they ended up at his manor, sipping champagne on the settee and listening to old jazz records.

Except, she couldn't quite keep track of what was playing, because Klaus' lips were leaving a hot trail down her throat. She arched her neck, a hand clutching his shirt as he kissed her pulse again and again. His hand caressed her knee and began travelling up, pausing just under the hem of her dress.

A thumb grazed her thigh, a lightly sensual touch that hinted at more.

"You smell delicious...," he husked along her jaw, nipping with his teeth. Bonnie understood he wasn't just talking about her perfume. Klaus was not someone who did things by halves. He would leave no inch of her body unexplored, no sensation un-evoked. She trembled a little, suddenly a little afraid at the prospect of being known, completely and utterly.

His movements stilled and his hand dropped back to her knee. Bonnie relaxed against him, at once grateful for and overwhelmed by how well he could read her.

"Would you like your gift now?" Klaus inquired into her neck after a moment or two.

"I - I thought the limousine and champagne were my gifts..."

"Transportation and alcohol?" he scoffed, "what do you take me for, a barbarian?"

"Aren't you a Viking?" she poked his side, "so technically-"

He scowled, "Finish that sentence and I will burn your entire 'school' to ash."

"Just wait till after they mail out the official diplomas please," she joked.

"Real education cannot be measured in paper and ink, love," he extricated himself and walked to his desk.

"Yeah, but my chances of getting a job are," she pointed out..

Klaus returned with a large silver-grey envelope tied with blue silk ribbon. Crouching in front of her, he placed the envelope in her lap.

"One less thing for you and your little diploma to worry about then," he said lightly.

Giving him a curious look, Bonnie pulled at the ribbon and reached inside. There was a bundle of official documents, all signed and notarized. The legal jargon was almost impossible to understand, she had to read the first page over and over again.

Realization dawned, and just as swiftly sank into her chest like a stone.

"This says that I- I own land -,"

"Lands," he corrected, "that were once tended by your ancestors, Bennett witches who lived before paper and ink. Every witch needs her own plot of earth in which to root her magic, your foremothers and mine knew this."

She turned the pages of the deed, seeing her name on page after page. "But this is - Klaus this is acres and acres, I -,"

Amusement curled the corners of his mouth, "Were you expecting a garden plot?"

"I wasn't expecting anything. This is - ," her head was spinning, "- this is a lot...," she trailed off.

Klaus gave an indulgent smile, running a thumb along her cheek, "I forget."

"Forget what?"

"How unused you are to getting the things you justly deserve."

Something about his tone made her a bristle a little. "I don't know if anyone deserves this much," she objected.

"You are not 'anyone'," he retorted, calmly, pulling her into his arms again.

Bonnie tried to maintain the moral high ground, but it was hard with him so close, his hands running up and down her back while his eyes lingered on her lips.

"I can't accept this, you know that," she tried softly, playing with his collar.

"Ah, I suspected you might raise an objection. Which is why I took the trouble of acquiring these lands quite legally."

She blinked in surprise.

"No one was Compelled or killed," he clarified, "although... the queues at the office of county records would tempt far nobler souls to murder or mayhem."

Bonnie tried to picture him arguing with - or more likely, charming - some weary state employee. It was as unbelievable as it was entertaining.

Klaus had seen through every objection she could possibly raise, had even ensured her conscience was satisfied.

So what was this strange, skittish feeling in her stomach?

"Is something the matter, dear?"

Across the beautifully laid table, Eira was regarding her with cool concern. Bonnie set down her fork, contemplating how frank she could be with her strange but gracious hostess.

"I'm...just not sure why I'm here."

"We are lunching in my solarium because the light is beautiful this time of year," Eira smiled, angling her head so her pearl earrings glimmered, "but I have a feeling that isn't what you meant."

Bonnie felt her curiosity stirring again, the same curiosity as when she'd received Eira's private invitation to lunch, and before, when Eira had clasped her hand at the convocation and told her she knew Bonnie was destined for great things. It was all a bit perplexing.

"If this is about me and Klaus -" she ventured, hesitantly.

"Niklaus is a grown man, and an immortal. I think he is well past the age of needing his grandmother's advice on dating don't you?" Eira chuckled, "besides, he can hardly have chosen better than you, my dear."

"...thank you," Bonnie murmured, unsure how to accept such praise. Apparently both Klaus and his grandmother had a penchant for unsettling frankness. The simple gravitas inspired in her a similar feeling as when Klaus had placed the deeds to several hundred acres of land in her lap like it was nothing.

"In fact," Eira continued, setting down her glass of wine, "if I were him, I would do everything in my power to keep you here. A beautiful girl like you, and a powerful witch... you do know what a catch you are, don't you dear?"

"I - thank you..." Bonnie pushed her cucumber salad around her plate, unused to such praise. She had never thought of herself as a "catch". Elena and Caroline were the ones constantly fending off admirers. And being the only witch in town after Sheila's death meant she had her plate full of decidedly unromantic responsibilities.

"Your father tells me you're going to attend Whitmore College in the fall," Eira commented.

"I am. I considered NYU and Amherst but," she shrugged, "Whitmore is affordable, it's close by, and has a great liberal arts program."

"I see," Eira dabbed a napkin at the corner of her mouth. "Bonnie, what if I told you there's a way for you to travel the world, study what you really want to, train beside powerful witches and warlocks from all corners of the globe?"

Bonnie laughed, "Is this where you give me a letter to Hogwarts?"

Eira either missed or ignored the reference, her eyes glittering with purpose as she leaned forward on the table, "Tell me, did Sheila Bennett ever speak to you about The Society?"

Bonnie shook her head, a frown forming, "No but...I read about it in one of her books. I thought they were just a legend."

"Oh that they are, dear. A living legend."

Eira nodded her head at one of the uniformed servants in the corner of the room who glided over and placed a small wooden scroll in front of Bonnie. Strange runes gleamed along the handles, palpable magic that made her fingers itch.

"Go ahead," Eira urged gently, "open it."

Glancing at the older woman, Bonnie unfurled the scroll, and saw her name, alongside the words "scholarship" and "honor".

"I- I don't understand, I never applied for this -,"

"My dear, one does not apply to The Society. The Society chooses you, based on deeds, aptitude, skill...," Eira smiled, "and of course, recommendation."

Her meaning was plain.

"You recommended me..."

"Niklaus is not the only one who's noticed how remarkable you are," Eira's voice took on a deeper, more intent timbre. "Bonnie, you have accomplished more in a few years what most witches labor lifetimes for. You came close to killing an Original. You are intelligent, daring, and prodigiously talented. It was a privilege to recommend you."

"Eira that's...that's really nice of you but I couldn't possibly-,"

"The Society will cover all your expenses. Transportation, lodging, supplies, all of it."

There was a rushing sound in her ears as Bonnie ran her hands over the cursive writing on the scroll. Another witch had written this. Somewhere, there was a whole world of witches, full of experiences and powers she could learn and share. She thought of those almost-drowning moments in the swimming pool when she'd been surrounded by a vision of Bennett witches standing like trees in a forest, and felt that same longing twist in her heart.

"This is amazing..."

Eira was watching her expectantly, "If you do decide to accept however, you must leave in no less than a week."

"A week?"

"I'm afraid so. They are rather...strict about Time. I'd be happy to speak with your father if you'd like. If there is anything you need, anything at all..."

Bonnie cast around for the right words, "Eira...you're being so generous but...you hardly know me. Not to mention I almost killed a family member," she finished a little dryly.

There was that smile again, slow and knowing, white teeth gleaming. "You know, I used to be a young witch like you, a very, very long time ago of course," she gave a small self-deprecating laugh, "Born into a small village, dreaming of what lay beyond the mountains, prepared to do anything, pay any price, to get out." She paused, briefly lowering her eyes before fixing Bonnie with a piercing look, "Even risk my life against an insurmountable opponent."

Bonnie wanted to object, to say she'd had loftier reasons for channeling the power of a hundred witches and trying to end Klaus. And yet, all she could recall was the smell of lightning in her air, the heave of power in her veins, the heady knowledge that she might die in a firestorm of her own making. She remembered almost tasting the charred freedom of death, wanting her spirit released like a howl into the night.

Bonnie felt a strange lightness in her feet, like they were no longer touching the ground. Leave Mystic Falls on different terms, on her own terms: could she do it, deep down? Untie herself from this place she had given so much to? The place where many of her ancestors lived and died, where she had died?

The younger witch swallowed, "How did you then? Get out I mean."

There was a flash of steel in Eira's features,"One day I simply decided I had enough. I pushed my way out, and I did not turn back."

"It would mean leaving -" Bonnie whispered.

"Everything," Eira said softly.

Every witch needs her own plot of earth in which to root her magic.

Except her magic felt anything but rooted at the moment. It was dancing and tickling her palms, like a hundred white feathers floating in a sunlit room, suspended with potential, buoyant with longing.

Eira's eyes glowed with sympathy, but her voice was unshaken. "The land of our birth can nourish us for a time, but it can also tie us down, keep us from becoming all we are meant to be."

Bonnie blinked, memory melting into the present. The woman across from her was not Elena, and she was no longer sixteen, no longer a wide-eyed young witch thinking an amulet and her conviction were enough to protect her from the world.

She was feathers on a wing, and the wind was turning, the window at last swinging open.

It took her almost three days of patient explanation and not a few frustrated tears to finally convince Rudy about The Society. When he acquiesced at last, with a weary but fond look in his eyes, like he had always, somewhere deep down, seen this coming, Bonnie almost wanted to take it all back, just so he wouldn't have to watch her leave.

Caroline swallowed the information gamely enough, but not without wringing a promise from Bonnie to see each other at least once a year. The blonde also agreed, in that resolute way of hers so carefully concealed beneath a bubbly facade, to keep the truth from Elena.

She determined to tell Klaus the following night. Made up her mind, prepared her words and asked him to meet her by the lake, the place that had wordlessly become theirs.

She wanted to tell him...and couldn't.

It was strange. A year ago she had faced him fiercely and hurled fire and brimstone on his head. Now she lay with him on an old blanket under the stars, her head on his chest, listening to the lap of lakewater in a moonless night, and words stuck in her throat.

I'm scared, she wanted to say. I'm so scared.

She wanted to tell him and couldn't. Her world was about to change, and he was one of the fixed points she didn't want to let go of.

Klaus was quiet, one hand tracing patterns on her back, seemingly content to wait for her to speak. If he'd prodded her, she might have crumbled and told him all: how scared she was, how uncertain. How worried that she would arrive at The Society and shrink into an insignificant speck among more worldly witches. How terrified that this might be the last time she lay in his arms like this.

At length, Klaus' deep voice broke the silence.

"Is there a reason you are nervous? Aside from being quite alone in the woods with the proverbial wolf."

I'm afraid to leave. I'm afraid I don't want to leave.

I'm afraid you'll convince me to stay.

I'm afraid I want you to.

She took a breath and said, archly, "You're not that terrifying."

"Is that so?"

"What's that phrase? All bark and no-,"

A gasp of surprise cut her words off as she found herself on her back, him looming above her. A wicked grin curved his mouth, and his eyes flashed gold, trailing over her neck. "Is that a challenge, little witch?"

He was teasing her, but she sensed the subtle promise behind his words, and was seized with a sudden sense of urgency that made it hard to breathe. Impulsively, she grabbed one of the necklaces dangling out of his shirt and tugged him down.

Klaus looked amused, as if to say, playing with fire are we?

She rather clumsily pushed her mouth against his, kissing him with all the unruly passion, the youthful abandon with which she had once tried to end him.

The kiss deepened. Her arms entwined his neck like ivy, clinging as he pushed her down on the blanket. She was melting into the moonless night and the breath of the forest and him. She was the soft riverbank, water sucking at her ankles. When Klaus' lips found her throat she arched up, offering him her leafy pulse. And now she was the warm dark sky, a star pulsing open each place he kissed.

A hundred twinkling thoughts filled her closed eyes. His hands trailed over her breasts and waist, drawing a heated gasp from her. When his fingertips started travelling up her calf, she raised her leg, her skirt falling away like water from the shoreline. Bonnie pushed herself into him, urging him on with her body, willing him to-

-but Klaus did not quicken in his ministrations.

She bunched her hands in his shirt, thrust her hips against him, offering herself in the only way she knew how. Finally, in a moment of recklessness, she reached for his belt buckle.

Klaus broke their kiss, his hand encircling her wrist before she could fumble with the clasp.

"Now now," he chided huskily,"what kind of hybrid do you think I am?"

She was breathless, her heart racing. "Don't - you want to...?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to?"

She lifted her chin, drawing her knee up his side in a display of boldness she did not feel, "of course I do..."

Klaus lifted her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist, his warm breath fanning the sensitive skin, "Then why are you shaking like a leaf?"

"I'm not shaking," she protested.

"Mmm, no of course not...," he murmured into her pulse, giving her a sidelong glance.

She tried to be flippant, but her shaky voice betrayed her, "Besides, aren't maidens supposed to tremble? I'm pretty sure I read that in one of those Viking romance novels."

Klaus clucked against her wrist, "What have I told you about learning about Vikings from other sources?"

"That they're full of lies."

"Precisely," he flashed a seductive grin, "and in any case, you should at least let me undress you before the serious tremors set in."

She smiled a little, some of the taut, stinging feeling ebbing from her skin as Klaus lowered his head to kiss the side of her jaw.

"Close your eyes."

Bonnie felt a shiver of deja vu. He had said those same words once, all those months ago when he first brought her here. His voice was different, deeper and softer, but no less commanding.

Her eyes fluttered shut. His hand stroked the inside of her thigh, light as a butterfly wing, making her sigh. The touch was hypnotic. When his fingers grazed her underwear, Bonnie gave a throaty sigh. For a few moments it was a delicate torture as he stroked her there, his lips buried in her neck and shoulder, taking his time, teasing her. Heat gathered between her thighs, and when at last he thumbed her clit she arched up, wetness seeping out of her slow and warm as honey.

She felt his whole body tense, and realized Klaus was not entirely unaffected by the way she was melting in his hand. His fingers easily bypassed the fabric of her panties, and then - oh.

Everything on her mind, all the serious words and thoughts she'd been harbouring to tell him, about The Society, her own fears, dissolved when Klaus edged his finger inside her. His touch was slow, almost lazy, coaxing in circles, unravelling her breath by breath.

It wasn't enough and entirely too much, both at once. She moved her hips feverishly, wanting more and more-

- Bonnie almost sobbed in protest when he withdrew his hand, her eyes flying open to fix him with a burning look.

His own held a wicked glint as he carefully slipped off his daylight ring before burying his finger fully inside her. "There...," he breathed,"...much better."

She gasped, her eyes falling closed as he began moving faster. "Klaus...,"

Now his pace was measured and relentless, and she couldn't have formed a complete thought if she tried. She was so very, very wet. She didn't think it was possible for anyone to be this wet. Her hands had a death grip on his shirt. She could've sworn the air was still as an indrawn breath, a thousand leaves unmoving, silent, watching. It was all too much, she wanted to shake off this unbearable feeling building at her center.

"Yes, yes...," she started moving her hips more insistently, her whole body crying out for him to finish it.

"Easy, sweetheart. You will get there," he promised, voice husky in her ear.

It only took a few swipes of his thumb across her clit. She came with a broken kind of moan, holding on to his neck, helpless to withstand the deep waves rocking her head to toe. Bonnie wanted to stay in this moment always, just her and him and the forest, her pleasure spilling across his hand, the lake lapping slowly at the throat of night.

She let her head loll on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath. The night was lush and content, somewhere little nocturnal creatures croaked and scurried, the leaves rustled, and the stars did not blink.

"Shall I take you home?" Klaus asked after several moments, stroking her back.

Bonnie tightened her arms around his neck, hiding her face there, absorbing the feel of him into memory.

Come morning, she knew what she had to do.

She whispered, "Not yet. "

"We need to get going."

Her escort from The Society was young, thin and coldly unimpressed with Mystic Falls.

Bonnie spared the woods one final glance. If she took three steps, her feet would find the dirt path trodden into shape by her and Klaus' visits. Another hour or so and beyond those trees, the lake would flush with sunrise.

For all the violence and chaos of the past few years, her hometown bid her a serene goodbye.

For a second, as she turned back to the car, her eyes caught a gleam of something, a sudden, startled movement. She had the strangest feeling of being watched.

But there was nothing except a solitary raven, circling the morning sky.

A/N: And this concludes "No Soft Lights". I'm a little emotional because this story means a great deal to me, and it's my first completed multichapter Klonnie *throws confetti at self*. The sequel, "The Farthest Moon" is in the works and will start posting soon-ish, so keep an eye out for that.

This story really pushed me to grow as a writer, and so I would like to take a few minutes to thank those of you who also contributed to the process:

Much love and huge thanks to my beta-bae Cait who helped me expand Bonnie and Klaus' world and read every chapter with beautiful thoroughness. Thanks also to thefudgeisgrumpy for being a fellow Sufjan in a Katy Perry world and keeping my spirits up through a wild semester. Thanks to Chelleward for always being ready to talk Klonnie headcanons and helping me get inside Klaus' head. Huge hugs to the Klonnie fam here and on Tumblr, y'all know who you are. Special mention goes to bluemagicrose, thehedgerider, MaloryArcher, tehzo, , LadyMaurelle, ThoughHellShouldBartheWay, CheleOnRage712, AGDoren, mizgardenia21, TalulaJones, and all the guest reviewers. My sincere apologies if I forgot anyone, but please know that your support means the world and helps keep me writing. I would also like to point out that many of the people mentioned here are wonderful writers for Klonnie and more, so do check them out and show some love.

As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!