In the Lion's Den

by Erin Salvatore

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.

Note: Okay, guys, I decided to do a reimagining of an old story that I had written two years ago. It's a Klaroline AU and the plot is this: Caroline Forbes is a writer who comes to New Orleans to find inspiration for her next book. However, she gets more than what she bargained for when she meets Klaus Mikaelson, a mysterious man who is similar to a character in her book.

Don't ask, just take it as it's written.

French Quarter, New Orleans…

The afternoon sun shone brightly and there was a breeze blowing through the streets as Caroline Forbes made her way through the French Quarter. She had come to New Orleans two days ago, having left her small town of Mystic Falls due to a case of writer's block. Caroline was the author of a hugely popular series of paranormal romance books known collectively as the Destiny Meadows series, where the heroine, Destiny Meadows, is a spunky detective who solves mysteries with the aide of a man known as Sebastian Kruschev, a 900-year-old vampire who claims her as his mortal Bride. The series currently had close to fifteen books, and now, Caroline was planning the plot of a sixteenth, and her mind just wouldn't give her anything.

During her trek, Caroline came across a shop that sold special herbs and, her curiosity eating at her, walked inside to see just what these "special herbs" were. She was about halfway into the shop when she could've sworn something was following her. But, that was ridiculous, right? She was the only one there, so why would anyone or anything be following her?

"Well, it's not every day I get a famous customer in my shop."

Startled slightly out of her reverie, Caroline turned around to see a young woman about her age looking at her. Placing a hand on her pounding heart, she said, "Don't scare me like that. You could've given me a heart attack."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the woman replied. "I just can't believe that I'm actually looking at and talking to the author of the Destiny Meadows series." She smiled. "By the way, I'm Sophie Deveraux."

"Nice to meet you, Sophie," said Caroline. "So, you're a fan of the series?"

"Oh, huge fan," said Sophie. "I'm even introducing my niece, Monique, to the books. She's definitely liking the chemistry between Destiny and Sebastian Kruschev. Of course, I think it's because she's gotten a bit of a crush on him."

"That happens a lot with younger fans," said Caroline. "I'm looking for some inspiration for the next book, and unfortunately, I hit a bit of a snag, so I thought leaving home and coming a city like this would help motivate me."

Sophie nodded. "I think I may have some herbs that will help you. If you'd like, I could sell them to you and because we're fans of your work, I won't charge you for anything you buy here. Think of it as a way to thank for sharing your world with us." She saw that Caroline was about to protest. "Ah, ah, I insist. You look like you can really use some help working on your next book, so this is just what you need."

Caroline saw that Sophie was determined to sell her some herbs to help with her creativity, so she reluctantly agreed to let her sell her the herbs. Once she had gotten what she needed, she thanked Sophie and even promised to dedicate the next book to Monique before walking out of the shop, her basket in hand. Once she was outside again, the feeling that she felt in the shop had returned. She remembered that Destiny often had strange feelings that she couldn't explain, which her colleagues couldn't understand, but this was real life. People didn't experience this sort of thing. Did they?

Relax, Caroline, it's just your nerves, she thought. You'll be okay once you get home and put these herbs into a tea.

However, the feeling refused to go away as she walked past an alley, where she was then grabbed and pulled inside, the contents of her basket falling onto the ground. Caroline went to scream, but the man who grabbed her roughly cupped his hand over her mouth, growling as he did so.

"Shut up, bitch! If you scream even once, you're dead!"

Scared out of her mind, Caroline kicked her captor in the groin area, taking advantage of the screaming to get out of his grip and run. She didn't give a shit where she was going as long as she got away from whoever wanted to hurt her. However, she didn't get far, because she came to a dead end. Shit, I'm trapped. What am I going to do now?

No sooner did she complete that thought than Caroline turned around to see her attacker coming toward her. As he got closer, she saw that what looked like fangs. Wait, was he a...no, that couldn't be right. Vampires were just fictional. At least that's what she was taught to believe.

Then, before the dark figure could begin his assault, he found himself being knocked to the ground. Caroline watched as another dark figure was fighting him off. Good, she was being rescued. Or was she? Oh, please let it be the former and not the latter. I'd hate for this other guy to kill me after fighting off the one who pulled me into the alley before.

The man who was fighting Caroline's would-be attacker continued to punch and kick until he pushed him up against a nearby wall, his hand over his throat, growling at him as he said, "That is no way to treat a lady."

Not giving the asshole time to respond, he snapped his neck, sending him to the ground before turning to meet the gaze of a still very frightened Caroline.

"It's all right, love. You're safe. He's not going to hurt you or anyone else ever again."

Caroline heard his accented voice, but didn't give a verbal reply, just continued to look at him. Then, before she knew it, she fainted and before she could land on the ground, the Good Samaritan caught her and scooped her up in his arms. The poor thing, the excitement from nearly killed must've been too much for her. Not wanting to remain here in the alley, he sped away, Caroline still in his arms. He had to get her somewhere safe and the best place he could think of was his family's mansion in the Garden District. True, they wouldn't be expecting him to bring home a guest, but it was better than leaving her in the same place his now dead opponent was.

Note: Thus begins another new Klaroline AU. And yes, the Good Samaritan that saved Caroline is Klaus. Stay tuned for more!