Chapter 10

It had been over a week since Caroline had laid eyes on her master. As soon as Caroline had woken up after the nightmare, Samantha had told he'd taken Alexandria with him and disappeared. Samantha seemed worried; she had been told later that when Niklaus left with female servants, they usually didn't return.

Chores around the house made her restless. She never knew when he was supposed to return, and there was no telling if Alexandria would return with him. Samantha was beginning to worry about the dwindling amount of herb left. Caroline had been in the house for just under two months. The life she had once know was like a distant dream. Although, her dreams as of late hadn't been so distant. Each night was a new nightmare of gasping for heart and racing heartbeats. They each had one common factor as well – Lord Niklaus. She couldn't get his face out of her mind. She was filled with fear and lust. She couldn't understand. He was repulsive, but he was also intriguing. She found herself delving deeper and deeper into her assumed feeling, peeling them apart to find the hidden cause underneath.

It was when Lord Elijah announced to the servants that Niklaus would arrive at the manor that evening that Caroline couldn't help but feel the longing again. The longing just to look at, or be looked at by, Lord Niklaus. Samantha came to her suddenly with a worried expression.

"Your Lord is returning tonight, and we are running dangerously low on your special herb for your special tea," Samantha whispered fervently.

"Samantha, I still don't understand why you are so obsessed with this stupid herb. We've been using it since I got here and it still has not yielded any rewards for us. We are still slaves in this God forsaken house. We are still serving monsters. We are still living a wretched existence. The herb has done nothing for us. Good riddance," Caroline spoke tersely, rolling her eyes to emphasize her point.

"You don't understand, Caroline," Samantha said sadly, "that herb protects us from being compelled. It prevents them from stealing out memories from us. It does more for us then you could ever know. It protects me from getting my blood taken, simply because my blood tastes less satisfying to the monsters. This herb, it is more necessary for life in this house than food."

Caroline shook her head. "I have no way of getting more. You know that traveling to the village is a crime against the masters. You also know those crimes aren't taken lightly. I don't know what you expect me to do about this," Caroline threw her hands up.

"You and I both know Lord Niklaus has taken a special interest in you. You could ask for the moon, and he would travel the world to find some way to fetch it to you. He wants you, and I am not entirely convinced that it is a good thing he feels so," Samantha whispered, as if someone was listening into the conversation.

"I will do what I can, sister, but please do not let your hopes soar too high," Caroline said as she walked away.

.-.

It had been over a week since Niklaus had seen his newest pet. His mind often shifted from the way her eyes shined when she smiled to the way her throat pulsed with the delicate beating of her fragile human heart. Hunger held his stomach and throat like a vise, constricting and bothersome. His other servant sat in the corner. He had done his best to keep from feeding from her. He was busy tracking his father. It had been told that Mikael had picked up on their trail again. Legends of a mysterious house that ruled over a frightened people must have sounded rather familiar. Niklaus rolled his eyes at the thought of how obvious he and his siblings had been. With the eye role had come thoughts of the blonde he couldn't get out of his head. Luckily he was returning to the house that night. Maybe he would call her to his bedchamber. Maybe not. He was suddenly feeling less confident. His pet needed to be impressed. She wouldn't just give up her defiance. He needed to win her over.

"Alexandria," he drawled lazily. She was instantly in front of him. There was no fear in her eyes, as there had once been when she was new to him. Her eyes held only a wary understanding. She had been with him for years. He had brought her onto his staff when she was younger. He didn't need her anymore. The move would be difficult enough for his siblings, the last thing they needed was more people to cart around with them. He knew it was time to let her go.

He could simply just kill her. It would be easy enough for him to do, he had done it countless times before to other servants that had outlived their usefulness. However, he couldn't bring himself to raise a hand against her. Every time the thought crossed his mind, Caroline's face flashed before his eyes. She would never forgive him for killing this innocent girl.

"I'm going to offer you a deal," Niklaus enticed. "I am offering your freedom in exchange for one last drink."

A light of excitement flashed and burned in her eyes. "Of course," she spoke quickly, not even considering all the options. Klaus found himself chuckling as she tilted her head to the side, giving him a clear view of the pumping vein in her neck. His eyes burned and he felt the pinch of his incisors coming out. He bent his head slowly and punctured her neck. The normal taste of her blood filled his mouth, it would have been intoxicating had he not kept Caroline's eyes fixed on the lids of his closed eyes. After a few filling gulps, he removed his mouth. He bit into his wrist, something he did not normally do for the house staff, and held it out to her. She looked at him with confusion.

"If you drink my blood it will heal your injuries," he said in a bored tone. He felt her grab his wrist and pull it into her mouth. The feeling he got was not anything compared to the feeling of Caroline drinking his blood. His immediate annoyance flared up the anger he had been holding back. He tore his arm from her grasp in his quickest speed. He brought his hands to rest on either side of her neck, and, with a sinister smile, and snapped her neck to the side. He knew that with his blood in her system she would become like him; she would become a vampire.

He felt absolutely no desire to take her back to the house with him. He didn't need a newly made vampire walking around making life Hell for his family. He sighed. "Goodbye, Lexi." He said in his usual bored tone. He had already seen her arm twitch, proof she was working her way back to life. He laughed as he walked away, back to the manor and the girl that he couldn't get off his mind.

.-.

Caroline had been sitting in her small room when Samantha had come to collect her.

"Your master will be here any moment," she sighed, "we must go out to meet him." Caroline slowly rose to her feet. She couldn't understand the excited fluttering that was going on in her stomach. It was as if she couldn't wait to see him.

She set off after her sister. The air outside was growing colder as a new season was approaching. Caroline's thoughts traveled to new coats. She could just imagine having a coat that would get her through winter. She could picture something with warm, fuzzy white fur. She dreamed of something expensive, something beautiful.

She was jarred out of her reverie when the carriage pulled up. Lord Niklaus jumped out gracefully. His eyes found hers instantaneously. She felt a blush works its way up her cheeks. She looked away and couldn't help herself from smiling. What is wrong with me, she asked herself. She knew at that moment that there was nothing she could do. He enticed her. She couldn't keep her thoughts away, and soon she wouldn't be able to keep the rest of her away either.

"Samantha," Niklaus snapped. Caroline kept her eyes to the ground. "Retrieve my luggage from my carriage. Take it up to my room. Then you are dismissed from my service for today."

"Yes, my Lord," Samantha said before she quickly got to work. She was walking away with the luggage before Caroline could decide if she was supposed to help her or not.

"Hello, Caroline," Klaus said softly. Caroline felt a longing she had never felt before.

"Hello, M- Klaus," she corrected herself.

Klaus smiled. "Your Klaus, hm?"

"I'm sorry, sir, it will not happen again," Caroline rushed. The last thing she wanted was for him to get angry with her.

"No need to be sorry, Caroline. I was wondering if you would keep me company for a short while, before my siblings return from.. wherever they are," he said as he walked toward her. Caroline could feel the butterflies get riled up with every step he took toward her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she answered.

"Of course," she answered. It was a safe enough answer. She couldn't help but feel a little strange around him. He didn't know that she still remembered that he saved her life before he had abruptly left for God knows where.

She turned and walked a small distance behind him. He led her up the stairs and into a room she had yet to be in. She opened the door and inside were rows and rows of beautiful and expensive artwork. He led her into the room and lit the lanterns that hung from the wall.

"This is where I go to get away," he said quietly. The artwork was strung all over the place. There were several pieces hanging on the wall but most were lined up against it on top of each other. She could tell that some of the pieces were very old. Some even were painted with berries and mud. Some sculptures were sitting in the corner of the room. Caroline could scarcely breathe. She never thought that her master would have this side to him. He put forth such a rough and evil exterior. How could someone so horrible have so many beautiful things?

"May I.. look around?" she asked cautiously. She didn't know how to expect him to react anymore, since his reactions were always all over the place.

"Please," Klaus said earnestly.

.-.

Taking her to his artroom was a nerve wracking experience to say the least. Each and every work in the room had been created by him, and he knew it was a gamble to let her see so far into his head. He could see the curiosity plain on her face as she dove into the hundreds of pieces he had stored in this room. Many he had accumulated over the centuries. He also kept many sketches in his drawers, which he would never show her. They were all of her.

She squinted toward the bottom of one of the paintings he had done a few decades ago. It was a picture of the cave he had once called home with his family during the wolf nights of his youth. It was done in all dark colors. When he looked at the piece, anger and sadness instantly gripped his heart. He pushed them away, and he tried to keep his emotions in check. He could see she was trying to read the signature he had put on there.

"All these all yours?" she gasped as she finally recognized his name in the tiny script. He chuckled and nodded his head when she turned to look at him. "They're beautiful. But this one, she said pointing to the painting in front of her, this one is sorrow, guilt, and blame. Each of your paintings tells some kind of story, doesn't it?"

He could tell she was devouring the room with her eyes. She left no art unseen. He had never met someone with such a passion for something he enjoyed so much. However, he had also never let anyone other than his siblings see his art before. Why is she so important to me? he asked himself. He felt a great sense of pride as he walked her walk around, staring intently at the emotions he had conveyed to canvas.

"They are all so beautiful," she said quietly. It was obvious that she had tried to keep it so low he couldn't hear, but he heard nonetheless and felt a small smile come across his face.

"So are you," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. She turned to look at him slowly, her eyes hold a curiosity that he didn't know he would ever make her feel. She looked so beautiful in that moment. He tried to save the image in his head so he could paint it or draw it later. Her blonde hair shone brightly in the lantern light; her skin glowed in health, affirming that his blood had healed her illness. Her blue eyes caught his, and he couldn't bear to make himself look away.

She started to slowly walk back toward, her eyes never leaving his. He knew, in that moment, that he never wanted to lose sight of those beautiful eyes. The eyes that had haunted his dreams in the past week.

"Why am I so intrigued by you?" he asked her softly. She shook her head; he assumed it was because she didn't have a suitable answer for him. She was close enough to smell now. She smelled like sunshine and flowers. She smelled good. She smelled like something he had never smelled before. He found himself moving forward to close the distance between them.

.-.

Caroline couldn't help herself. He was one big unanswered question that she couldn't help but feel she needed to answer for herself. He drew her in, and she couldn't help but walk toward him. He thinks I'm beautiful, she thought to herself. She knew with ever fiber in her body she shouldn't want him. She knew that she should bolt from the room and never look back. But she couldn't. She was caught in his gaze, and it would never be enough to stare into his eyes, even if it lasted eternity. The longing she felt in her stomach spread. She could feel it in every bone, every muscle, and every cell in her body. She wanted him. She wanted to touch him, to love him. She wanted him. She threw her caution to the wind. She stopped walking a few paces from him, but he was still close enough to smell. He smelled like fire wood and fire itself. He felt warm and inviting, even though he had no heat. She found herself caught in his blue eyes. Every other time she had looked into them, they were cold and calculating. They were the eyes of a predator looking at his prey. But now. Now they were soft and loving. She recognized the look her father gave her mother before he became a drunk. It was full of need.

"Why am I so intrigued by you?" he whispered to her as he started to move toward her slowly. She couldn't breathe.

.-.

Does she know how I feel? he asked himself. Do I know how I feel? It didn't matter. He had his hands on either side of her face. She closed her eyes slowly. There was only one thing he wanted to do in that moment. He wanted to feel her lips on his. He wanted to trace every part of her body, and memorize the feel of her pressed up against him. He wanted her; he wanted all of her.

But he also wanted to take things more slowly. He wanted her affection, not just her body. He'd had enough one night loves to last a life time. He wanted her love. He wanted her small smiles and laughing. He wanted to experience a happiness from her that only he could bring out. He didn't want her to ever kiss someone else. He didn't want her to ever look at someone else. He wanted her to be entirely his, in every sense of the word. And the best way to set such an event in motion would be to kiss her. He had never wanted to do something more than in that moment.

He bent his neck; he could see the goose bumps trailing down her neck into her clothes. He closed his eyes and felt his lips make contact with hers. What he hadn't expected was the fire that erupted inside of him when their lips met. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. It was better than drink blood after days without. It was better than everything. He put his arms on her lower back, easily bending her back and forcing her to be even closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a passion.

.-.

There was nothing, no words to describe the kiss. He had paused for only a moment after she had closed her eyes before capturing her lips with his. She couldn't think. Her brain froze. All she wanted to do was force him to never let her go.

Caroline kissed him back with a passion she didn't know she had in her. She felt his arms snake around her waist and come to rest on the small of her back. She felt herself pressing closer and closer to his hard chest. She threw her arms around his neck, trying with all her energy to prolong the kiss. Every breath she took felt like fire. Every heart beat lightning in her chest. She wanted to do so many things to this beautiful creature that she was attached to. He removed one of his hands from her back and brought it up to cup her cheek.

He stopped kissing her and pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. "You've bewitched me, Caroline Forbes, heart and soul," he said breathlessly.

They both turned their heads suddenly when they heard a throat clear from the corner of the room by the door.

"Excuse me, big brother. But if you could stop screwing all the help, I need you," she heard a feminine voice call from the other side of the door. She heard Klaus curse under his breath. Caroline unattached herself without looking at him. She curtsied low with her eyes glued to his shoes.

"Goodnight, my Lord," she said formally before she walked out of the room and down the stairs. She couldn't help but feel like a fool. How many servants has he said and done this to?

.-.

"Rebekah," Klaus fumed. He was furious that she dare interrupt him. He could feel the need to smack something traveling throughout his body. The look that crossed Caroline's face was so full of sorrow it broke his heart. He could always count on Rebekah to ruin something so unbelievably euphoric.

"What? Is this one 'different', brother? You are the main reason I will never fall in love again. Men are pigs. Anyway I thought you'd want to know," she drawled quickly in a bored tone.

"I'd want to know what?" Klaus asked angrily as his mind raced to think of a way to convince Caroline of how much she meant to him.

"Mikael has sent us a message."

Klaus whitened.

"He's coming for a visit."

AN

Hey guys! Worth the wait? ;) I gotta love the good time Klaroline action. I'm sorry if it didn't live up to expectations. I don't think I'm very good at writing that kind of stuff. Don't be shy! PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW. It is so unbelievably rewarding to see how much you all enjoy the story. Almost as much as I enjoy writing it!

Almost 200 followers! I think we can get there after this chapter! What do you all think?

Thanks for reviewing : Mystery Girl3, crazypie, Clarity23, pleasesaycaroline, tinkerbell988, ashlytores24, dee, Redbudrose(2), and my two guest reviewers!

If you all want to ask questions, leave them in reviews and I'll answer them when the new chapter comes out (hopefully soon).

Like the length of this chapter? Longest chapter I've written by 1000 words. You ask, I listen. :)

I love you all my readers.

Happy Reading,

RL