AU: Caroline has lost almost everything in her life. With a legal guardian whom she has never met before and a whole new world, will Caroline be able to keep up with the deceits and betrayals of the privileged and the wealthy? (Loosely based on Humsafar, a drama series from my native country)

Chapter 1: Prologue

Mystic Falls 2013

Caroline sighed as she folded the last article of laundry. She wiped her hand across her forehead to get rid of arrant locks that had escaped from her topknot. It had been a long day of laundry, cleaning and cooking. She needed to take a break.

Picking up the basket full of laundry Caroline made her way from the basement to the main landing. She sighed again as she placed the basket on the kitchen table and moved to look over the sauce that she had put earlier on the stove.

"Caroline", she heard her mother's raspy voice calling.

"Coming mum"

Turning down the stove so that the sauce doesn't burn Caroline went to her mother's room. She felt a pang of emotions, just like she did every time she entered her room. Liz was plumped on her bed surrounded by a lot of pillows, tissues, ivy linked to her right wrist and a heartbeat monitor beeping in the background. She looked particularly tired today.

"Hey mum, how are you feeling?" Caroline asked lightly.

"I'm fine. Don't you have date night with Tyler today? It is Saturday today isn't it? Liz asked piercing her with her blue eyes, which still held the sparkle of her former self.

Caroline hesitated before speaking, "I had to cancel. Lots to do here" and quickly averted her eyes looking for a distraction and founded it by trying to clean a room which had already been cleaned twice since this morning.

Liz closed her eyes for a few moments. When she opened her eyes she had a very firm look on her face and set her lips into a grim line. "Why would you cancel? How many times have I told you? You don't have to be here all the time. I could have easily asked someone else to do all the chores around here." Liz admonished Caroline with effort.

"Yeah Mum. Like who?" Caroline asked not stopping from walking around the room busily, doing nothing.

Liz heaved a sigh, which send her into a coughing fit. Caroline rushed to her and handed the rotahaler. Caroline thumped her back to help her get her breathing back to normal while Liz used the rotahaler. Caroline felt her eyes moisten as she saw how much pain her mother was in. She placed a light kiss on her mother's head where the once beautiful crown of blonde hair was gone and instead a scarf had taken place. She kept rubbing Liz' back until she fell asleep in a fitful sleep.

Caroline carefully got up and left the room quietly, glancing back to check on her mother one last time before she headed back to her room to complete her homework.

LONDON 2013

"It's unimaginable to me."

"What is?" Klaus asked.

"How can you not put sugar in your tea? How does it go down your throat?" Hayley asked laughingly.

"What? I like it the way it is. How can you put sugar in yours?" Klaus inquired over the brim of his cup.

Klaus and Hayley were both seated in a booth at a small café that was just around the corner from the Mikaelson building where they both worked. It had been a long day of overseas conference calls and presentations and both needed to blow off some steam before heading home. Hayley had wanted to go to this new club but Klaus as always was in no mood to be covered in other people's sweat or to listen to blaringly loud music which didn't hold much sense to him. So a café it was.

"No matter how conscious I get of my diet. Sugar in tea and coffee is a must for me." Hayley said.

"Yeah well too much sweetness will give you diabetes." Klaus replied, lounging back in his seat.

Hayley smiled, rolling her eyes, "you have no taste, Nik."

"It's not about taste. It's about being different. I am Niklaus. What do you expect?" Klaus smirked.

"Yeah, well. You are my friend since forever. You had to be special in some way." Haley said with dancing eyes.

"How is it that something about me always ends up being something about you? Klaus asked with an amused look on his face, "something just can't be about me right?"

Hayley laughed and gave him a look for stating the obvious over her coffee and shyly looked away as their eyes met.

MYSTIC FALLS 2013

"Caroline? Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah Mum. What is it?" Caroline asked over the pile of homework she had scattered on the floor of her mother's room.

"I need you to dial a number for me. My diary is in the drawer of the dresser. Can you get it for me?" Liz asked in a scratchy voice, not used to long sentences.

"Sure." Caroline said getting up. Who do you want to call?

"Esther." Liz replied.

Caroline stopped mid step. "It must be really late there, mother. And why do you want to call her anyway?"

"Can you not ask question and just do what I asked." Liz said weakly and laid her head back down on the pillows.

Caroline just raised an eyebrow and got the diary. Taking out her phone she dialed the number gave it to Liz' left hand so she wouldn't disturb the ivy attached to her right.

"Sweetie can you get me some tea with a bit of ginger in it?" Liz asked her as the phone rang.

Caroline narrowed her eyes but left the room without asking any further questions.

Liz waited as the phone rang. She had a nervous pit in her stomach. It had been a long time since she had talked to Esther.

"Hello?" a surprised yet calm voice asked on the other end.

"Hello Esther. How are you?" Liz asked in a hoarse voice. She should have had the tea before making the call.

"Liz? It's been so long. Five, four years? And what's wrong with your voice? "

"It's been longer. But I don't remember. I don't remember much these days anyway." Liz took a deep breath. It was getting harder to talk." Ess I called you for a reason."

"I'm listening Liz. You know I'd do anything for you."

Liz sighed and closed her eyes as a tear slipped away. "Thank you."

Caroline pushed her copy of hamlet inside the locker and looked for her French notes.

"Hey stranger", Elena smiled at Caroline.

Caroline turned to look at Elena and gave her a brief smile in hello before turning back to look for her French notes. Elena leaned against the locker next to Caroline's and observed as she frustratingly rummaged through her locker looking for something. Finally giving up Caroline gave an aggravated sigh and shut the door of her locker with full force creating a loud banging noise. Elena jumped and looked around, people were looking at Caroline.

"Let's go." Elena grabbed Caroline's hand and led her out of the school premises, "I texted Bonnie to meet us at the grill."

Caroline slowed down as they neared the parking lot. A single lone tear made its way down her cheek but she brushed it away. Elena saw her and stopped walking. Turning around she gave Caroline the tightest hug she could muster.

"You can talk to us Care" Elena said softly.

"What's there to say? The one person who is most important to me is slowly withering away in front of my eyes and I can't do anything about it", Caroline said with a straight face but Elena knew better.

"What did my father say on the last visit?" Elena inquired.

"That's the problem. Mum won't tell me anything. Your father won't say anything to me. I'm seventeen years old and very much a part of this. I can handle it. She has to tell me. I don't know what to do anymore", Caroline looked at Elena with tear-filled eyes but she didn't let them fall again, "I'm losing her Elena."

"Hey, don't say that. Do you want me to talk to my dad? " Elena rubbed Caroline's shoulder to soothe her as much as she could.

Caroline pushed her hands away gently, "I know Elena. I see it in her eyes every day. And your dad has been such a help. He sends over a nurse every other day to look after mum while I'm gone. I can't thank him enough." Caroline shook herself, "everything is fine. We'll get through this, I'll get through this. I just really need to take this French class. I'll see you later. Okay?"

Elena started to say but Caroline had already given her a pat on the shoulder and was making her way back into the school. Elena looked at her childhood friend with worry etched on every part of her face.

Please leave your message at the end of the beep-

"Hey Tyler, I have to cancel on the study date we had planned today. I need to take mum to the hospital. I'm really sorry. Again"

Caroline ended the call and looked at the time.

"Mum! Hurry up we are going to be late" she hollered coming down the steps from her room. Ever since her mother had been sick they had changed the study on the ground floor which previously belonged to her father, to a somewhat bedroom, so that Liz didn't have to take the stairs anymore. Caroline checked the time again, but Liz was finally coming out. Carrying a rather stuffed overnight bag.

"What's with the bag? Aren't we just going for a simple CT scan?" Caroline asked putting her phone in her jacket's pocket.

Liz straightened her own jacket and walked slowly towards the door. Caroline helped her with the bag and looked at her with questioning eyes. "Mum!"

"They need to admit me. Grayson came over to check while you were out. He says I could get better medical attention at the hospital." Liz wheezed.

"Oh" was all that Caroline could say, "okay."

Liz stretched a hand to stop Caroline so that she could talk to but her breathing suddenly changed and she started to take lungful of breaths. She clutched at her chest and moved her hands to find some sort of balance. Caroline turned around and immediately sprang into action grasping Liz' hands and rested her against her own chest to give some kind of support. She slowly sat them both down on the floor in front of the main door.

Opening the overnight bag, she searched for the rotahaler. Surely it was in it. Finding it she shoved it in Liz' mouth so that she could take the medicine but Liz knew it was of no use. She could feel the blackness around her vision and slowly looked at her beautiful daughter who was looking at her with panicked eyes.

"Mum. What are you doing?" Caroline said in an anguished voice, "you need to take this now."

But Liz with some last strength pushed her hands away which were keen on making her take the medicine and touched her daughter's cheek just like she had for the first time. when her new born baby had been placed in her arms, and caressed it. With dying adoration Liz looked at her daughter for the last time and succumbed to the darkness that had been closing in on her for a very long time.

Caroline shook Liz' body to somehow pour life back into it, as if by shaking it she could restore life but it was of no use. She clutched the lifeless body hard as a sob escaped her throat but never a tear escaped those haunting blue eyes.

A/N: So this is the first chapter. I hope you all liked it. If you did don't hesitate to tell me so. =) Also I will update the next chapter soon because I have already started writing it. Reviews are much appreciated.

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