live2write123: hey! well, this is my first official story on Fanfiction, and of course it's a Klaroline fanfic because i'm absolutely obsessed with them more then any other pairing on TVD :). i've been thinking about writing one for a while now after reading plenty before, but for some reason it won't let me edit the chapter after i had already posted it. i don't know if it's just my computer or the website, but i hope i don't lose your interest in this story because of my lack in knowledge towards this website.

ps: first off, i'd like to thank everyone so much who had review, took the time to read and favourite this story! and second, i can't begin to say how sorry I am for the inconveniences. I'm very, very, VERY new at this website and all I ask is for your patience and cooperation, please and thank you! but onto the prologue! enjoy and please leave a review :)!

Prologue

Flashback (Viking Age - 1058)

Stepping out of the haven from his isolated hut, a young traveler stretched his arms out above his head, and easily snapped his stiff bones back into place. Even after six months of living among a brand new village that was build on the old where no one know what he was and where he came from, he realized that he would never become accustomed to living on the run, in hiding and amongst his wise, stone-faced older brother Elijah and his devoted, naive younger sister Rebekah. After everyone had fled their old village, the three remaining Mikaelson children burned the ruins to the ground. Three centuries later, European settlers had rebuilt a new village on top of it and lived it freely without the knowing the history of this tragic amount of land. But everything was worth the sacrifice. She was worth the sacrifice for his new found fear and discomfort of new surroundings.

He sighed contently to the daylight around him, the cobalt blue sky changing as the blinding orange orb of the sunlight ascended beyond the horizon into the distance. His eyes fell down to the village below him, where his hut was built on top of a hill and separated from the grassy valley where the rest of civilization remains. His home was built at the mouth of the valley, and every morning he would watch the village from above. The village was made up of various livestock pens, smoking fire pits, and a maze of small, deprived huts that were multiplied everywhere. The European villagers were all asleep at this time of morning, but not for long. He personally enjoyed waking up before everyone else, for a particular reason. Simply because he wasn't the only person who was fond of waking up this early prior to when everything started its daily routine.

He easily eyed and singled out one hut among the neighbours around it. He watched a young woman slip out between the curtains of her home, and she tip-toed to the corral of horses beside it. She stroked her white Pinto's mane and fed her an apple before leading her out of the pen, closing the gate behind her, mounting her mare's back and silently walked through the village until she was out of the village, she kicked her horse into a gallop pace and rode off into the thick forest without awakening the villagers. He quickly returned to his hut, careful to not awaken his sleeping siblings, and slid on his knee-high boots, pulled on his leather coat before stepping out of his hut and pursuing the woman into the forest.

By the time he was near her, he remained hidden to the darkness, silent and continued to follow her until she stopped at the watering hole. Her horse obediently stayed by her side after she had dismounted off its bareback. The woman knelt beside the small pond, placing her bow and arrows on the ground next to her before she cupped her hands into the water and drank from them. She was beautiful. She had smooth fair creamy skin, big cobalt blue eyes framed with thick black eyelashes and long wavy blonde hair that reached past her hip. It was normally braided back out of her face, with colourful flowers intertwined into the simple hairstyle. But this morning, it fell freely fanned out around her bare shoulders and back.

Abruptly, she stopped sipping from her hands after the sixth cupful and cautiously looked around her. After a brisk morning breeze encountered her body, playing with her hair, she hesitantly reached for her bow and arrows. In a blink of an eye, she was already on her feet and pointing an arrow directly at his body, who still stood in the midst of the darkened trees. She shot the first arrow, followed by a second into the darkness, fully aware that someone had followed her here and was watching her where her pursuer could not be seen. As always, the arrow connected his and he was easily able to avoid it from piercing his heart. Instead, the first arrow grazed his shoulder and pinned the loose clothing of his jacket to the tree trunk behind him while the second arrow pinned his other shoulder flawlessly to the tree. The woman came to retrieve her arrow and held a sharpened arrowhead, made of stone and as big as a human hand, to his throat. Although he knew that he couldn't be easily killed as a normal human could be, but she was a huntress. She could kill anyone and anything, even him, if she knew how or what he was. Let alone, that he was one of the first vampires to ever exist amongst the world.

"Who are you, stranger?" She hissed through her clenched teeth.

He slowly raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "It's me, Caroline. Niklaus."

Her eyebrows creased together in confusion and barely lowered her weapon from his jugular vein. Not that it would permanently kill him like any ordinary human. "Niklaus? Why have you trailed me here in such secrecy? I could have killed you."

"But you didn't kill me. I knew you wouldn't have killed me without questioning your pursuer." He explained incompletely, cleverly evading her first question.

Caroline sighed, relieved and her body relaxed as her eyes finally adjusted to the brightening sunrise and she stepped back from him to examine him through the darkness.

"You know me so well, don't you? But it's better be safe than be sorry, Nik. I could never live with, let alone forgive, myself if I had succeeded just now."

The corners of Niklaus's lips slowly curved his signature, devilish and dangerously charming smirks. "I cannot help but feel grateful that you would mourn for my death, my dearest Caroline. I did not know my existence has an impact on your guilty conscious."

She rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Nik. How cruel of you to tease me? Are you admitting to me that my life is valueless compared to yours?"

Niklaus gave her an obvious look, stating she already knew the answer. "You know the very reason, Caroline. "Do not make me say it to you, again."

"No, I need to hear it, Nik. I beg you to tell me the truth. For once tell me something you have never told anyone before."

The truth. Something Niklaus hasn't done in a very long time. Even back in his old village where he was raised along with very few good memories and plenty of bad memories, he was never truthful to his neighbours in the villages he lived in for less then a few months. It was just never an option for him and the truth had always ended up hurting people around him, leaving permanent scars behind. Once the truth is revealed, no one can revoke it. Because for once, he wanted to stay in this village as long as he could. He was tired of running away from his avenging father that had hunted them down since the first day he and his became a vampire. He was also tired of meaningless killing for his own personal gain and thirst blood. It only takes a few decades of to grow tired of hunting humans down and draining their bodies of blood until they were forced to move to another village before people would discover the missing villagers. He wanted to start anew, beginning with this life with Caroline.
"Release me from these restraints." He demanded in a hushed tone.

Instantly but slowly, Caroline stepped forth and broke the arrows binding his jacket to the tree trunk in half while keeping her eyes fastened to his. Once he was free, they continued to stare at each other from a close proximity and enjoyed every second of being physically closer then opposed to at arm's length away from each other, which is the way it had to be in the view of others. It was forbidden for Niklaus to be this physically close to her, he always knew that. Let alone the feelings that grew towards her before he even met her. Ever since day one that he arrived to village and the first time his eyes found hers, he hadn't been able to look away from her again.

Never had he felt this way towards anyone in his life as a vampire. Even after that tragic incident with the woman that almost tore the strong brotherhood between Elijah and himself apart, he was able to find a possible love again. A love that was willing to stay this time.

"What is it that you wish for me to say? Tell me now and I will speak the truth." Niklaus whispered, gazing into her warm eyes.

"Show me, rather then tell me, Niklaus." She urged with anticipation and desperation. "Show me what you feel."

And he did just that. He wrapped his strong arms around her narrow waist and hugged her into his body until it moulded perfectly together with his. His chapped lips found her soft ones and showed her just how much he cared for her. She eagerly accepted his kiss and snaked her arms around his neck. Although she had never told him before or confirmed her feelings to herself, she knew how she felt towards him and how he would be the only person to be able to make her feel this way ever again. No one in a thousand years would fulfill that accomplishment.