Author's Note: Happy September! For all of you going back to school, I hope you've had a good first week so far. This series is a little experiment of mine, I love Shakespeare, I love the sonnets, and I was hoping to see if I could merge my lit geek with my shipper. So this is the first of what will hopefully be a series of Klaroline oneshots insipired by each of the sonnets.

This oneshot is based off Sonnet 29, and takes place in some AU verse where Hayley never got knocked up.

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries belong to Warner Brothers and Sonnet 29 was written by William Shakespeare.

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,

Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least;

He wanted more.

That was the simple fact of his life. It was nothing new (though one might already consider him quite wealthy in every way), for a thousand years he had yearned for some goal, some far off point where he told himself he would be perfectly happy. But that point never remained fixed, it kept moving. As a human, he craved the approval of his father. As a vampire, he craved the power that would enable him to never feel weak again. And as the nightmare of the supernatural world, he craved an army that would do his bidding, loyal comrades that would never leave him.

Approval, power, army. It all culminated in one thing – he wanted a kingdom.

The kitchen was swathed in the warm glow of the early morning as Klaus leant against the counter, looking out the large bay window into the quiet streets of New Orleans. The city he had helped build from the ground up, the city he should have every claim to, and yet, Marcel considered himself king. It was sickening. He was the rightful ruler; the throne should have been his for the taking.

And why shouldn't he aspire to such heights? It was unfair, really. The only reason Klaus had ever left New Orleans was because of Mikael, now that the bastard was dead, he should have been able to come back to his city and claim it without fuss. And yet, he met the resistance of Marcel's lackeys, the witches he had under his thumb, and for once, he had to admit he was outgunned. Outgunned, but not defeated, though. He would achieve his goal, one way or another.

"Isn't it a little early in the morning to brood?"

A smile spread across his face at the sound to the melodious voice. Turning around, he was met with the sight of Caroline bouncing into the kitchen, a bright smile on her face. He let his gaze run appreciatively up and down her figure; she wore one of his shirts, leaving her long legs bare. A brief pang of guilt flashed through him at leaving her all alone in bed, but his mind was occupied with thoughts of war and he couldn't lie still, despite the entrancing woman next to him.

Caroline stood in front of him, raising herself up on her tiptoes to press an affectionate kiss to his cheek. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer to press his lips to hers, giving her a proper kiss good morning.

"Hmm," she hummed happily as she pulled away, her eyes remaining closed. "Not that I don't love when you make me breakfast, but we could've stayed in bed a little longer," she said coyly, her hands wandering to the hem of his shirt, gently exploring the skin of his back. He grinned, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Sorry love, I got a bit restless."

"What's wrong?" she asked, catching on to his antsy disposition.

"Marcel, as usual. I was strategizing. This situation with him has gone on for far too long, I had hoped to put an end to it by now and have New Orleans under my thumb."

Caroline pulled away slightly, a small pout forming on her lips. "Does it always have to be world domination with you?" she asked, her voice slightly resentful.

Klaus reached up to tuck a stray golden curl behind her ear, his thumb rubbing the soft skin of her cheek. "It's hardly the world, Caroline, just one city."

"I know, I know," she said with a small huff. "I just wish I didn't have to compete with Marcel for your attention…especially when we're in bed."

Klaus grimaced. "Sweetheart, it's not a competition; it's just something I have to do. New Orleans is mine, I deserve to be king."

Caroline looked up at him skeptically and for a moment it seemed as if she was working up the courage to say something contradictory, but at the last moment, she shook her head as if deciding better.

"Alright fine, but how about we skip the tyrant act just for today? Let's go somewhere, spend the day together. We can go for a picnic!" Her face lit up at the thought and Klaus chuckled inwardly, simply raising an eyebrow.

"A picnic? Now what would that do for my reputation?"

"Right, no picnics for the evil hybrid," she said, rolling her eyes. "But we should still spend the day together!"

Klaus contemplated her offer, torn. On one hand, a day with Caroline was something he had once fantasized about, but now...there were still other issues to be dealt with.

Caroline's face fell; she could see the hesitation playing out on his face. "I guess that's a 'no' then?" she asked quietly, and Klaus could hear the undercurrent of bitterness in her voice.

"Don't you have a lecture today, sweetheart?" he asked, trying to diffuse the tension that had sprouted up.

"My prof emailed us, it's been cancelled. Thought I'd take the day to relax and I was hoping you'd join me…"

"Sorry love, no rest for the wicked," Klaus replied, his most charming smirk aimed her way. It usually earned a grin, but this time she just pulled away, looking dejected.

"Caroline…" he started, but trailed off, unsure what to say. He needed to turn his attention to his city, it was disgraceful that his fortunes were not better, and he had to establish control. He thought she understood that.

She waved off his concern and smiled at him, but he could see it didn't reach her eyes. "Whatever," she said lightly, and he winced slightly at hearing the tone of voice she reserved for when she was forcing cheer. "I'll just take a walk around the Quarter, I'll see you later."

He opened his mouth to call her back, but again he hesitated and she was already gone.

If looks could kill, Marcel would be a dead man in the ground by now. Klaus nursed his glass of bourbon; surreptitiously glancing up at the small party in the bar's back corner. Marcel sat flanked by his 'inner circle', all laughing and clanking their glasses together, despite the early afternoon hour. No doubt they would be in even higher spirits later that night, when the rest of the Quarter's vampires came out to play.

Klaus seethed as he watched the obvious display. Marcel meant to prove to him that he had the numbers to take out the hybrid, that he had friends, comrades, those who would loyally stand by his side.

He wanted that. So badly.

God, he actually envied Marcel, how pathetic was that? He, the one who had made Marcel what he was, now envied him.

'How the tables have turned.'

"Where's Caroline today?"

Klaus was jerked up from his reverie by Camille's voice; the bartender was wiping down the countertop close by, looking him over curiously.

(She was a little too curious in his opinion, a dangerous thing to be for a human. It was her curiosity that had earned her the answers about New Orleans' supernatural community, and to her credit, she took most of it in stride.)

"Caroline's just doing some sightseeing, relaxing for the day," said Klaus brusquely finding the guilt bubbling up again when he thought about the beautiful blonde. She had called him a little earlier but he had let it go to voicemail and hadn't listened to her message yet.

If anyone had asked, he would never have been able to admit it, but he was a little scared. Scared that he wouldn't be able to balance his two greatest desires, to have Caroline by his side and to have a kingdom of his own. Ideally the two goals would go hand in hand, but until the day that both were permanent fixtures in his life, he was in a precarious position. Caroline had only come to him recently, he constantly feared that she might leave on a dime. And it had become evident that New Orleans wasn't going to fall in his lap, his movements required careful planning.

"So why aren't you showing her around? Don't you know this city better than anyone?" Camille continued to question him and he took a deep breath, not particularly wanting to rip the girl's throat out just because he was having a bad day.

"We just had different plans for the day is all," he said through gritted teeth, shooting another glance at Marcel. Camille followed his gaze and they watched as the assembled vampires laughed loudly at something their leader had said, and Klaus' expression turned even dourer. It did no good to sit here and stare at them, feeling sorry for himself, but some masochistic part of him wanted to watch what he didn't have. He quickly downed the rest of his drink and slammed the glass down on the table, causing Camille to jump slightly, but she took the hint and pulled out the bourbon from under the counter.

"You might as well just leave the bottle," said Klaus darkly, and Camille did as he asked, but hesitated just before she walked away.

"So, about this whole power play thing…can I ask a question?"

Klaus rolled his eyes (did the girl ever hold back her inquisitive nature?) but made no movement to discourage her so she went ahead.

"I've heard you're way older than Marcel is – he actually told me you're like a thousand years old – so why don't you already have the whole 'army' thing going on?"

Klaus eyed her, and he smirked at seeing fear creep into her expression but he decided to deign her with an answer. "I had an army once, you know. Not too long ago in fact, more hybrids, like me."

"What happened to them?"

Klaus' hand clenched as he remembered the feeling of his hybrids' hearts in his hands, their blood spilling on the cold ground of the woods where he massacred them. "It's complicated."

His terse tone didn't dissuade Camille from getting in one more comment, although her voice was noticeably more subdued. "I guess it must've been nice to be like that though," she said, inclining her head towards Marcel's friends again.

Klaus contemplated what she had said. In the time that he had had a small legion of hybrids, had they ever laughed together, enjoyed one another's company? They were loyal, no doubt – they had to be. But then, that loyalty wasn't entirely genuine…

"Who do you have besides those whose loyalty you've forced?"

His father's words almost cause him to growl right then and there, but he just barely managed to contain his anger. The rage on his face finally sent the hint to the foolish bartender and she scurried away, leaving Klaus to his solitude so that he could properly wallow in his circumstances. This was interrupted though, by the chirp of his phone, alerting him to the message he had yet to listen to. Caroline's message.

Weighing his phone in his hand for a moment, he lifted it to his ear to listen to what she had said.

"Hey Klaus, um, I'm not sure why I'm calling, just seeing how you are I guess. I'm just walking around the French Quarter, I took this tour earlier that was all about how haunted this place is, and I don't think the tour guide knew the first thing about actual ghosts but it was a really cool tour anyway– oh God, I'm rambling right? I just…I guess I miss you. I wish you were here to tell me more stories about his place but –sorry I'm being weird, right? I'll just see you later tonight. Bye Nik.

He stared at the phone for a good five minutes after her message ended. Then he listened to it again. And again. And twice more for good measure. It was only after he realized Camille was giving him a funny look that he became conscious of the wide smile on his face.

Whenever he had envisioned an army, he had to admit he never imagined having someone like Caroline on his side. Granted, he saw her as less of a soldier and more of a queen, his equal, but for a thousand years he had strived to find a way to bend others to his will, he was still unfamiliar with how to go about earning loyalty from somebody. But was he was willing to put in the work when it came to her?

Yes. Of course.

She was worth it, completely.

Glancing once more at Marcel, the sight didn't nauseate him as much as it had just ten minutes earlier. Where Marcel was surrounded by lackeys, Klaus wondered if the vampire would ever have someone like Caroline by his side, and once more he found himself scorning his former protégé.

Just then, Marcel looked up and glared at Klaus with narrowed eyes, no doubt suspicious of the smile the hybrid wore. Klaus raised the bottle of bourbon in the vampire's direction, the mock salute conveying all the contempt he felt and without a word, he hopped of the stool and made his way into the street.

"I know you're standing behind me, Klaus, it's creepy."

Klaus chuckled but made no move to stop his observation of her. Around them, busy tourists rushed through Jackson Square but Caroline stayed still, admiring the cathedral and snapping pictures of the surrounding park. She was so vibrant, so full of life; he would never tire of seeing her eyes light up. The guilt bubbled up once more upon realizing that he hadn't been around her to see that light in the recent weeks.

'Time to make amends'

"Why don't we take a walk, love?" he asked charmingly, hoping to appease her frosty attitude.

Caroline glanced over her shoulder, looking him once over skeptically. He hoped he looked contrite, hands clasped behind his back, head bowed while he stared up at her with an apologetic gaze. She pressed her lips into a hard line and Klaus could tell she was struggling with remaining irritated or seeing what he had to say, so he pled his case further.

"Please love, let's have a chat? I thought you were missing me earlier?"

She huffed, spinning around to face him fully, her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I missed you. Then I remembered why you weren't there, why you've been around less and less for the past few weeks, and then I got angry!"

He didn't want to risk angering her further, so he kept his distance, though his hands itched to reach out and pull her into his embrace.

"Caroline, come with me, allow me to acquit myself."

In spite of herself, her lips tugged up at the old line, and he smirked. She walked closer and he allowed himself to reach for her hand, squeezing it tightly. Together, they made their way through the park. Both remained in silence while Klaus picked out the exact words that would fix his mistake.

"So, I've been thinking…" he started, licking his lips. "I've been thinking about us –"

He stopped abruptly as Caroline stopped in her tracks and ripped her hand away from his. He faced her and was startled to suddenly see her looking up at him in fury.

"Go ahead, say it," she spat, with a lot more vitriol than he had expected. "Say it and get it over with, say that your kingdom is more important, say that we're just not going to work out despite the fact that you were the one who practically stalked me but obviously that doesn't matter because as soon as you had me I wasn't impor –"

Her enraged rant was suddenly interrupted as she found her mouth otherwise occupied with Klaus' lips. He cupped her face and moved his mouth against hers frantically, desperately trying to convey every inch of desire and regret he felt. He sighed in relief as she parted her own lips, inviting him in and wrapped her arms around his neck. After a few more moments, they remembered they were in a very public place and pulled apart, both breathless.

Caroline looked up at him, confused. "So – you weren't going to…"

"I'm not giving you up, Caroline, not after everything," Klaus said, his voice low and serious. "Do you seriously think after I've had a taste of what being with you is like, I can seriously let you go?"

Caroline sighed quietly and moved to pull away, but he kept his grip on her waist tight and she had nowhere to go. "Look, I know you haven't exactly said anything like that…but every time you say something about taking down Marcel or building an army, I wonder if that's all I'm ever going to hear, 'rule this', 'take over that' – I didn't come to New Orleans to be second choice. Not again."

Her voice was strong, determined, but on the last two words he could see the vulnerable young girl she still was underneath the strong façade. And he wondered if that wasn't why they were perfect for each other in his mind – underneath it all, they both yearned to be loved and put first.

"You mean the world to me Caroline – and I'm not good at showing it, but it's true. Ruling a kingdom with all the soldiers in the world will mean nothing if I don't have you by my side as queen."

"Queen, huh?" she asked, a small smile on her face. "I guess I can go with that. But I meant what I said this morning, Nik, I hate having to compete with Marcel!"

He chuckled lowly, leaning down to peck her lips. "Sweetheart, it's no competition. Trust me."

She remained quiet for a moment, and Klaus waited anxiously for her verdict, but at least she made no move to leave again.

"You're right," she said, "you are terrible at showing it – but I get it, you do care. And I mean, I don't want to be clingy or neurotic, but I also don't want to end up leaving so – "

"Are you planning on leaving, then?" he interrupted, a low growl building in his chest.

Instead of cowering (as most would have) or scoffing (as she usually would have) she just laughed at him. "You've got to let up on that," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere; I'm telling you the truth. I don't want to end up in that place – just promise me we'll try to work through this?"

Klaus ducked his head, his mind a jumbled mess. "I can't promise I'll give it up, Caroline. I want New Orleans back. I need it."

"I get it – and I want to help you. But…I guess I just want balance. Can we do balance?"

To answer her, he dipped in and kissed her once more, slowly and sweetly so that she knew just how much truth was behind his promise. "We can do balance," he whispered softly as he pulled away again. She beamed up at him and he cursed himself once more for not being around to seeing that bright smile more often.

"Now, I know I've wasted the day, but how about we spend the evening together, have dinner at this lovely Italian restaurant I know?" Taking her arm, they continued down the street.

"Which one are you thinking of?"

"The one at the corner of the Via Principe Aemedo and Piazza Manfredo Fanti," he said, the Italian rolling of his tongue smoothly.

"But I don't know those streets, they're not in New Orleans…" she said, puzzled.

Klaus' smirk grew. "No, they're in Rome."

She stopped again, but this time she was grinning, delighted. "We're having dinner in Rome?"

"Dinner in Rome, dessert in Paris – the world's at our feet sweetheart."

She squealed happily, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "What about building your army here?"

"I think I can take the weekend off. Let Marcel have his army here – I have you."

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;

For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

So there's that! Thoughts? Love it, hate it? Let me know, I'm not entirely sure how many of these I'll write, ideally I'd like to add one about every week or so, in between classes and the other fic I'm plotting. If any of you happen to be Shakespeare fans as well and have a sonnet in particular you really like, let me know! I definitely haven't read all of them and I'll gladly take the inspiration!

So again, leave a review and thanks for reading!

(Feel free to follow me on tumblr at hummingbirds-and-champagne)