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She had been surprised when she received it, for she was certain he didn’t know where she was and she had demanded that he do not contact her until she decided to come back. It hadn’t even been fifteen years, he had absolutely no reason to reach out to her.
Caroline thought about burning the letter without reading a word of it, but if he had sent that letter, went through the hell it must have been to find her, he must have had a good reason. That’s why she indulged him and took the letter from the housekeeper of their domain in Toscane.
She then took a seat under the sun and asked to be brought a tea as she opened her letter and began her reading.
My Dearest Love,
I know that you do not wish to be disturbed, and I hate to take you from the calm you must have found in Toscane, which is where you are if you received this particular letter. I’m sorry to write to you this late after discovering what pushed me to reach for you, but I first tried finding you for a week and found out instead that you have not lost your touch. I was indeed unable to find you and spent the last day writing letters that are to be sent to every one of our residences around the world.
Do not worry about our family, everyone is well and even awake with the exception of Finn who betrayed us as Mother tried to kill us. It is a long story that I do not have the time to write about once more, the important parts being that my wolf part has been freed and both my parents are now dead. I would apologize for not reaching for you when I found the new doppleganger but I am not sorry because it kept you away from my parents and the danger they represented.
The urgent matter that pushed me to contact you is still to be unveiled and here it is. I was pushed to return to New Orleans by a threat against our family, but what I found there has been a true surprise. I am happy to inform you that the boy we once called our son is alive. Marcellus has taken over the French quarter after our departure nearly a century ago. You ought to know that your boy is living.
You shall do whatever you will with that information, I decided to stay in New Orleans and the situation is quite strange between myself and Marcellus. I would of course be thrilled to be joined by you but the decision remains yours, as it always is.
With all my love,
Always and forever Yours.
It wasn’t signed, but a signature wasn’t needed, there was no doubt on who the expeditor was.
“Georgio !” the woman called between two sips of the tea that had been brought to her while she read.
Soon enough the middle aged Italian arrived, “Sì Signora Mikaelson ?”
She smiled at his eagerness to help her, he was one of the reasons why she affectionated that residence so much.
“Please, prepare my painting, it needs to be ready to travel and find a private jet to take me to New Orleans.”
“Of course, when do you want to leave ?”
“In less than two hours, I want to be there as soon as possible.”
He nodded, “I’ll do everything for you to leave soon, do you not wish to take anything else ?”
“Thank you Georgio, but I’ll have anything I need there.”
The man smiled and inclined respectfully his head before slipping back into the house to obey her commands.
She went back to observing the view, it would take a while before she would come back. During the last thirteen years, she had been drawn back to this house again and again, it had been the second place she went to and then she came back nine times, all in all, she had spent three of these years in this house. She knew she would miss Georgio, next time she would be here he would probably be long gone.
Once her tea was finished, she raised and entered the house, she then walked to her bedroom, deciding to take a shower. She needed to go through her walk-in closet to reach her bathroom and seeing the designer dresses she had acquired just a month before in her last trip to Paris, she reevaluated her previous decision and turned around.
She walked to the room she knew Georgio was in and found him wrapping a painting in protection paper. As always, she smiled at the painting, her love had that talent to capture a moment and to reflect it perfectly through his paints, the moment was from centuries earlier. She could still remember it perfectly, they had adopted Marcellus less than a year before and were preparing him for his first ball, he was worried and eaten up by insecurities that day, so she had tickled his sides and that was a clear declaration of war. They hadn’t stopped until they were both on the floor, not caring about her gown or his costume, the painting was of the moment when they stopped, when she had looked up to Nik, smiling in pure bliss as she held her son against her.
She never parted from the painting, taking it to every location she moved to, it was not the first time Georgio found himself wrapping it in layers that would ensure its safety.
“Signora ?” called the man. “Do you need anything ?”
She smiled at him, finally taking her eyes off the painted picture.
“Yes, I know I told you I wouldn’t need anything but could you pack my last dresses please ?”
The man nodded, “Of course. I already took care of the jet, it will be ready to depart in just an hour, the ideal for you to arrive there as soon as possible would be to leave here in half an hour.”
She smiled at him, “You’re perfect Georgio, that’s what we shall do then.”
The man lowered his head in sign of respect as she left the room.
And half an hour later she was indeed leaving the Mikaelson domain in Toscane. It took some time to arrive at the airport she would depart from, but it gave her time to think and to reread the letter. She laughed while thinking about all the letters Klaus must have written to her, even she wasn’t certain of how many residences they possessed around the world, she believed only Elijah would be able to know with absolute precision.
She was also glad that he had managed to keep all of his siblings awake and a little hurt to know that he had not called her when he found the doppleganger, she, after all, wanted his curse to be lifted just as much as he. It had to happen during her Mikaelson free vacation, and apparently all their problems were resolved without her there, she felt a little bit meaningless at that moment, did they really not need her ?
They arrived at the airport and she pushed all these thoughts aside, she knew that Klaus would kiss her insecurities away as soon as he saw her. He needed her, that much she knew, and that was enough to comfort herself.
Georgio opened the door for her and she got out of the car, they had stopped right in front of the jet and the plane crew was standing before her, they all presented themselves to her and she nodded before she demanded they took care of the luggage and painting.
She hugged Georgio before getting on the plane, telling him how much she had appreciated his work and his company, she decided that she would come back before the end of his life, she knew she wouldn't have a hard time convincing Klaus anyway.
She slept for most of the flight, knowing that she would stay awake long that night and that the time frame would make her arrive in the middle of the day at New Orleans, when she had left Italy in the middle of the day too, she needed rest because what should have been night to her would be afternoon in New Orleans.
She took an Uber while on the plane and was happy to find it when she got out of the plane, the crew gave her luggage to the driver, she didn’t take her eyes off the painting while he put it carefully above her luggage, verifying that he did not damage it.
She then entered the car and the driver took her to the Abattoir, surely they would be in their home. A man came out as she got out of the car, a vampire without a doubt, he simply stood before the gate, watching her. She smiled his way and told the driver to wait a second, she walked to the vampire.
“Hi !” she said. “Would you please help me with my luggage ? I just need you to bring them to the master bedroom,” she asked, still smiling.
The man laughed, “This isn’t a hotel miss, I suggest you find yourself one.”
She raised an eyebrow, still smiling even when her eyes were now cold and looked him in the eyes.
“And I suggest you do as I say,” she soon realised that the compulsion didn’t work, why would the vampires be on vervain ? Seriously what had gotten into Nik ?! “Before I decide to simply rip out your heart,” she threatened, she didn’t like to threaten people, time was lost, and then you had to do what you said you would otherwise you might lose your credibility. And she hated killing without meaning.
But the man laughed once more, clearly this man had a death wish… she didn’t hesitate, plunged her hand in the guy’s chest and watched as he realised what was about to happen. She smiled at him before ripping his heart out of his body.
The man’s body dropped to the floor and she let his heart fall on him before turning around and plunging her eyes in the driver’s.
“Stay here, don’t be afraid.” He nodded and she entered the place she had once called home.
“Is anybody here ?” she called. “Or did I really kill the only person present ?”
As soon as the words left her mouth a few vampires were standing before her, she recognised none and all seemed ready to fight.
“You broke our laws,” said one of them, he had beautiful hair, she remarked. “The sentence is death.”
She rolled her eyes, “It would be a shame for all of you to die when you could be carrying my luggage. Why do you wish to die ? I really need someone to carry them.”
A vampire ran in so fast she wasn’t able to see him and could only see him when he stopped before her, bowing. “I am your humble servant here to serve your every need,” said he, and she couldn’t see his face but imagined without any struggle the smirk present on it.
“Oh, I know,” she assured him, “but start by giving me a hug, Kol.”
He obeyed and she saw his smile just before he engulfed her in his arms.
She pulled away after a minute and smiled at him.
“I’ve missed you.”
“You would have seen me earlier if you hadn’t left ! Can you imagine ? I woke up and you weren’t there, I thought Mikael had gotten you for Nik would never have put you in a box. I screamed for ten minutes before he told me you had taken a vacation !”
He was making his hurt face and she couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe he woke you up without me demanding it.” Kol was her best friend, he never spent more than thirty years in a box because she needed him, and she indulged it only when they really needed to run and be discrete.
“Mother demanded,” he answered, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yeah, you need to explain everything to me. But first, my things need to be moved to my room !”
He made a face at her words and passed a hand in his hair, “About that… hum…” he was nervous and she hated the fact that he wasn’t explaining where the problem was. “We don’t really live here anymore…”
She raised an eyebrow, “Decided who ?”
“In fact, Marcel lives here since we left and we didn’t really come back because things are quite tense between Marcel and Nik even if everyone tries to act as if it wasn't the case…” he stopped and attempted a smile. “But I can bring you where we do live, Bekah and Elijah are there, they will be happy to see you.”
She took all the information in, then shook her head, “I do not care for these two’s problems, go fetch Elijah and Rebekah, we are coming back home,” he nodded and as he was leaving she added. “And take care of that luggage matter for me, will you ?”
“Your wish is my command,” he said, bowing playfully before going.
She felt him as he passed through to bring her luggage up the stairs and into her room. He came back down at a normal pace and stopped to kiss her cheek.
“Compel the driver to forget me and go away, please.”
“Of course, Darling,” and just like that, he was gone.
She turned back to all the vampires who were still standing there, looking at her. They had lost their fighting stance, understanding that she was an original and that they didn’t stand a chance.
“Do any of you know where I’ll be able to find Marcel ?”
Using that name was strange and unnatural, they had named him Marcellus, shouldn’t he be called that ? That desire to change his name had begun when he was turned, but back then everybody still called him Marcellus, it was weird to know that now people knew him by another name.
A man, the one with the beautiful hair and who was brown skinned, made a step towards her.
“I can take you, he’s at Rousseau’s with Klaus.”
She smiled, “Perfect then, lead the way.”
She followed him out of the house and was pleased when she saw that the vampire she had killed earlier wasn’t there anymore, they were efficient to say the least.
She followed him until they reached the bar Rousseau’s, she remembered that place to be where the best beignets were made in town, she was sad to know that it had become a bar, now she had to find a new place for her beignets…
She entered the bar without any hesitation, she saw them immediately, they were both seated at the bar, talking. As the door closed behind her, she saw Nik still and straighten himself, him being a hybrid must really have enhanced his senses, he would never have smelled her this fast before. She was happy to see that he did not turn around even if she knew he was aware of her presence, he had probably guessed that she wanted to surprise her son.
As she was making her way towards them slowly she took her son in, he hadn’t changed physically but he held himself straighter than he would have when talking to his father before, even from away, she saw the tension between them.
A hand appeared between their bodies, taking her focus off her son. The blonde bartender was giving his drink to Nik and she heard him ask for a Mojito, she noted that he was ordering her a drink but her attention was still on the hand of the bartender which was “accidentally” grasing Nik’s skin as she moved away. Did that whore think that he wore a wedding ring for the fun of it ?
She could almost feel the smirk of her lover by seeing her son’s face, who was astonished by his father’s lack of reaction. Of course he waited for her to interfere, for he always loved when she got mad. But she really wasn’t that mad, the girl would be dead soon enough, no need to ruin her return to Marcellus for that.
She flashed and in a fraction of second she was facing her son, taking him in, checking that he didn’t have any scars the way she did when he was little, it didn’t matter how useless it was, it reassured her. His eyes widened, barely realizing that she was here and as she could feel him under her palms, the last protection she had put up in case it was all a dream broke down, tears spilling from her eyes. She cried as he pulled her close and hugged her, soon she was pushing back, needing to see him, to always have her eyes on him. She then pulled his head towards her and he bent willfully, letting her kiss his forehead, his temples, his cheeks, his hair, as to make sure he was real. He let her do whatever she wanted to, that silent hello lasted a few minutes as she went from hugs to kisses and to simply watching him.
“Hum… Hello ?” how to ruin a moment…
She turned to face the blonde bartender and saw the drink Nik had ordered earlier in her hand. She smiled as she took the glass “Thank you, which one of you gentlemen thought about me ?” she asked feigning ignorance. “It’s so sweet of you !”.
She completely dismissed the bartender as she turned towards her son once more, perfectly aware of the fact that her husband’s eyes were fixed on the back of her neck. “Don’t you have something to tell me Marcellus ?” she asked using what Kol called her ‘Mom voice’.
Marcellus looked down, resembling the boy he was when they adopted him, an uncertain young boy at a loss of words.
“Welcome ?” he asked more than anything.
“Why ?”
He flinched at the simple question, she knew it probably hurt him to hear her talk to him this way, it was never her intention to hurt him, but she needed to understand.
“I’m sorry…” he barely managed to say. “I’m so sorry Mama.”
She didn’t get her answer, but she was a mother and she couldn’t leave him this way. “It’s alright,” she said, kissing his forehead once more.
Once his breathing was even again she talked again. “The first place I went to when I arrived was home, I was quite surprised to see what you did with the place.” Once more, her son’s eyes found themselves on his feet. “I sent Kol to tell Elijah and Rebekah that we were moving back in. It isn’t a problem, is it ?”
“Of course not,” he answered, shaking his head.
She kissed his temple affectionately, “You’ll help me and Nik clean it this week, right ?”
“Yes.”
She smiled, satisfied and was about to turn towards her husband to finally be greeted properly but a voice got there before her.
“Do you want another drink, Klaus ?” If that wasn’t begging, Caroline would have to look up the definition. Really, couldn’t that girl just take a hint ? His eyes had not left her since she got here…
“No thanks,” the blonde vampire answered for him in a perfect ‘Bitch voice’.
The bartender raised an eyebrow and refused to move but Caroline didn’t care anymore, her eyes had found his and she was already lost in them. Her vision was now limited to him and nothing else could reach her. She raised her arms and let them fall on his shoulders, joining her hands behind his neck.
“Hello,” she finally said.
“Hello love,” hearing that voice brought her back to life. Oh, how she had missed him, how she had missed that voice full of love that was only ever meant for her.
“Missed me ?”
“Every second of the last thirteen years, two months and nine days.”
She smirked at the precision, but soon her smirk was turning into a smile. “Then act, Mr Mikaelson.”
“It would be my greatest pleasure, Mrs Mikaelson.”
The kiss was heated, passionate, full of love and longing, the last fifteen years of frustration turned into a fight for dominance over the other’s mouth. She had no idea how long they kissed, it could have been an eternity just as easily as it could have been a mere second.
“I love you,” he told her, smiling as their foreheads rested against one another.
“Glad to know our marriage has a meaning.”
He laughed, “Well, you’re the one who ran away.”
“Oh please, if I can live without Kol for fifty-two years, you can live thirteen years without me.” Fifty-two years was the longest her best friend had been daggered, she had been mad at Klaus for thirty years for this one.
“The relationship we share is hardly the same as the one you have with my brother.”
“Of course,” she assured him, “I was committed to him long before I was to you.”
“I millenium serving your every need and I’m still behind my brother,” he complained.
She laughed, “It earned you a few privileges he doesn’t have.”
“It did.” He was leaning forward to kiss her again but stopped himself in the middle of the way, sighting and pulling back. That’s when she saw what caused his sudden change of behavior. Rebekah had just entered the bar.
A fraction of second later, Rebekah was throwing herself in her arms. “I missed you so much ! How could you leave me all alone with them ?!”
She hugged back the woman she called her sister, laughing. “You brought me to the airport yourself, remember ?”
“Well, I didn’t realise it would take you so long to come back to us,” she said, making Caroline laugh once more.
“It’s time to go home,” the newly arrived vampire said once she had calmed herself down. “We have a house to clean.”
“And a ball to organize,” added her husband. “Your return must be celebrated properly.”
The four of them got up and walked out of the bar, Klaus had an arm around her waist in a possessive way, she didn’t mind, she was just as possessive over him as he was over her. Now that she thought about it, she had a matter that needed attention.
“Nik ?”
“Yes, love ?”
“I want that bartender dead.”
He sighed. “Your wish is my command,” he told her. “Do you want to do it now or can it wait until tomorrow ? I believe you still haven’t seen Elijah and your dear Kol.”
“Oh I saw Kol,” she told him. “He’s the first I saw.”
Her husband sighed, “I should be used to this by now, but I still don’t get how I’m less important than my brother…”
She laughed, not mentioning that her encounter with Kol had been pure coincidence and that she had been searching for him. “He’s my best friend.”
As per usual, Rebekah protested without really meaning it, her relationship with Kol was not something any of them could or would ever deny, they had such a fusional relationship. He had been the one to walk her down the aisle when she finally wed Klaus a few years after they were all turned, when they stopped running for the first time.
They finally arrived home and as soon as they passed the door, Elijah was there. He smiled at her. “Hello, sister.”
“Hello, brother.” She ran to him and hugged him, he returned her embrace immediately.
“You have been missed,” he told her once they parted.
“I would never doubt it,” she answered as she walked back to her husband who pulled her close as soon as she was within his reach.
They had a great evening, Kol went to compel a chef and they had a family dinner in the house. The night was filled by laughter, they told her all about what had happened in the last few years and she even found time to speak with Kol of his newly found love.
She observed her son all night long, saw the interactions he had with the vampires who weren’t part of their family and realized just how much he had grown. He had earned all these people’s respect, he seemed to be a good ruler. Pride washed over her, she was so very proud of the man he had become. She also felt a bit sad, he didn't need her anymore. She knew he would always be her baby, no matter what happens, but her work was done, there was nothing more she could do for him, he had learned to fly by himself.
When light began piercing through the sky, as Caroline layed on the bare chest of her husband, she looked up at his peaceful face, he was looking at her, his hands playing with her hair.
“Nik ?”
“Hmm ?”
“I want to adopt another child.”
He smiled, agreeing silently with her and she fell asleep there, sleeping better than she had in over thirteen years.