Wandering Souls, part 3.
Heya everybody! This is the last sequel to my KAUWEEK drabble! I hope you liked this small fanfic!
Enjoy!
PART 1 - PART 2
She stumbled upon them after quite the perilous hike through the lush greenery of the hills surrounding Fort William. And her weakened state certainly did not help whatsoever.
At first, she thought them to be a mirage. A wishful thought caused by the blood loss and the various recent traumas. An illusion her mind had created in an effort to bring her some warmth and familiarity amidst the damp and cold forest. A way to cope with loneliness.
The sight of Klaus tending to Cailean, one of the youngest Mackenzies that had gone to fight for his heritage and cause, barely fourteen years old, treating his pouring wound in his lower stomach, trying as he could to bandage it and hold it as closed as he could… A conjured image of what she imagined their final instants to have been. Even through the anguish and deep grief, it brought a warmth she had thought would be forever gone from her life to imagine them united and caring for each other even in those kind of settings. A feeling she had resolved herself to never experience again, especially not while she was being held by that sick bastard Lockwood in Fort William.
Then a butterfly whizzed by her head and landed as a whisper on Cailean's shuddering shoulder. Shock, relief, horror, sadness erupted all at once, like a volcano waking up from its slumber. She really took hold of the situation, realized they actually really were there, and the lad really was bleeding out, and even the slightest bit of comfort she had felt at the sight of the survivors crushed down around her.
No! No! No! Please, no!
This couldn't be happening! She just found them alive after thinking that everybody lied still on what would be their massive grave. Caroline couldn't bear the thought of having to say goodbye. Again. And with proof of death right before her eyes.
“KLAUS!”
At her shout, he glanced her way with surprise in his eyes. She saw the deep but brief relief and joy at seeing her. She also saw the worry in his eyes creep back almost instantaneously, his gaze going back to Cailean's open flesh with organs and innards peeking out and a red fountain pouring out of him. Saw the despair and unwanted fatality stiffen his posture. But still, he held him, murmured reassuring words she couldn't quite decipher yet.
Caroline had began rushing to them as soon as she realized they weren't a figment of her imagination. Finally, while cursing the physical state she was in for not permitting her to get there faster, she reached their position under a big oak with a bed of radiant moss at its feet.
“Cailean…”
A choked sob tried to get out of her at the image he made.
His young, fit body trying to draw breaths and fighting to live. The beautiful emerald moss that cushioned him clashed violently with the rich blood oozing out of his torn stomach.
She gulped, swallowed back the emotions and tears that wouldn't help whatsoever right now.
“Mis- Mistress F-F-Forbes… P-plea-sure to se-see you.”
His every breath was pure agony and yet she still saw the truth of his words in the pleased glint of his half closed eyes and the slight smile splitting his face.
“Oh Cailean… I'm happy to see you as well.”
He tried to speak again.
“Shhhh… Don't speak, you need to keep your air in your lungs in order to heal, alright?”
She could see the doubt each one of them had in her words, or rather the intrinsic knowledge that they were actually lies. They knew he had no chances of living through this. They were resigned to that fatality. But, she also saw the reassurance her soft tone and words gave him, as if this last sympathetic gesture helped him pass on to better things.
Klaus had remained quiet since she arrived, but she could see the struggle he held in him by the clenching of his jaw and the stiffness of his shoulders. And yet, his hands on Cailean's stomach remained gently firm.
As she sat up further and placed softly the young man's head on her lap she threw a look to him, and then to the wound. He understood the message, understood it's necessity, but clearly didn't like it judging by the deep furrowing of his brows and the contriteness of his eyes. Still, he headed her counsel, and slowly lessened the pressure his hands put on Cailean, until he released completely any hold he had on him.
He took Cailean's blanket itched in his clan's colors, previously covering only his legs, and slowly inched it further. Delicately, he draped it over the struggling chest, covering the wound, preserving his last shred of living dignity.
The sounds of his ragged breath, and wheezing mouth broke the stillness of the forest. But, Cailean deserved more. Deserved to have his short life where he tried to bring joy for all those around him him celebrated. He deserved more than a grim parting. So, Caroline softly hummed the air of a lullaby forgotten long ago, from times both past and not yet realized. Until he made no sound anymore and her tears broke the shadow of her song.
They buried him as well as they could, right where he died. Klaus and her collected stones to put over his body (she wasn't that useful what with her own wound, but she owed it to Cailean to do her best), moss too, to soften the resting place of a gentle soul.
When they finished covering him, Klaus knelt with sword in hand and point in the earth, and recited what she guessed was a funeral prayer. It was too soft for her to understand, but the words sounded foreign in her ears.
Then, they stood at his feet, silent, in contemplation or maybe prayer.
Caroline wasn't much of a believer, in anything, she was too cynical for that. But, if anybody deserved to be taken in some type of heaven or whatever else that would bring eternal comfort and joy to a deceased, it was him.
She hoped her silent message of hope passed on to any possibly existing entity relevant.
The blonde time traveler couldn't say exactly how much time passed as they stood as silent protective statues. What she knew however, was that when they did walk further in the forest, the grave behind their backs, night had already fallen and with it, the cold.
They traipsed through the darkness of the woods for a long perilous while, Caroline following Klaus silently. It seemed he knew where he was going, at least she hoped he did.
Finally, they reached a small cave, that if one didn't know was there almost couldn't be seen. It was rather perfect considering they were both fugitives. She threw him a questioning gaze with a side of raised eyebrow. But no answer from him.
Silence still prevailed while Klaus started a fire and they mechanically took the outer layers off them. Every motion they made was by reflex or habit. Caroline spreading their garments so they could dry quicker, Klaus going out for more wood. Her taking out the food she snatched from Lockwood, holding out a part for him and him taking it with a nod. Both sitting down next to the fire, backs towards the cave's walls and eyes glancing every few seconds towards the entry. His hand reaching out for hers, and hers gripping it tightly. Never letting it go away. Needed the support and ability to ground herself it gave her.
The lust and affection they always had boiling between them, no matter how reluctant she had been to admit it or face it before, was more like a simmer. One they almost didn't feel, still too wrapped up in everything that happened these last few days, and in the prospect of living in a hollow world deprived of Cailean Mackenzie's brightness and youth.
After a long while, hours surely, without any movements from any of them, Caroline slowly started thinking, dealing with all the events that took place: the men's departure to battle, the loss of it, the deaths, Klaus' presumed one, the altercation in the Castle Leoch, her injuries, the prison cell, the rape, and the attempted one, her kill, her escape, finding them, only to then have Cailean taken away.
Klaus switched the hand that was holding hers, and with the one he just freed, he embraced her with a quiet strength. She hadn't even realized she was crying, but when she felt his arm draped around her shoulders (the pain in her back was there, but she almost could forget it if it meant being right there for however long she could), sobs and cries left her mouth like a cacophony of pain and suffering.
She didn't know how much time Klaus held her while caressing her dirty matted hair while silently crying with her too.
Usually, Caroline Forbes wasn't one to show any weakness, especially not tears in front of another person. However, she refused to feel any ounce of shame for this. Grief and pain left no place for shame anyway.
She needed this to heal, needed its cathartic nature. Needed Klaus' strength and affection.
And, she knew he wouldn't judge her for it, knew that he would understand her, not only because of everything he went through himself and their shared pain, but also because he always did, even when she didn't want him to.
Her sobs quietened, and her breath progressively returned to almost normal (she was still injured and in his arms!).
“Thank you Klaus.”
“Don't thank me love. It is not needed.”
She only hummed in response.
Her thoughts turned to Klaus again, his understanding of her, his trust in her. And she needed that trust. But, for trust to be, truth needed to be too. She knew that too well, had been burned too many times. Therefore, she made a hard, and much awaited, decision.
“Klaus.” her tone was resolute and guarded.
His eyes turned away from the fire to anchor themselves in her pupils while his hand was still deeply ensconced into hers. Caroline took hold of her resolve and braced herself for the conversation to come.
“I am going to tell you something. Something that may sound crazy, and I know that right now after everything that happened you will probably attribute it to shock or something, but it is the truth. As deeply inconceivable as it may seem. So, actually, I'm, uh…, not from here.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“No, Klaus, I'm not talking about Scotland. Obviously! You already know that, everybody does! What I'm trying to say is that…”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“Klaus, please let me talk! It's difficult enough without you butting in every few seconds!”
She was frustrated and anxious, and she couldn't interpret the small smile he sent her. He released her from his embrace momentarily and with both of his hands grabbed hers, and turned the rest of his body fully towards her.
“No, sweetheart, it is you that does not understand. I know, love.”
She could see him look at her no doubt puzzled face and sighed a little, fondly and with amusement almost.
“Caroline, love, I know you are from a different time.”
“Oh...” he has said it so matter-of-factly that during a short instant she was about to just nod and.
And then, she truly realized what he said, the implication of his words, and for a good moment there, she just wasn't present, she was sitting, numb, unresponsive and with what she guessed was a dumb look on her face.
Did she just hear him right? He said he knew she was from the future? What the fucking flying fuck was even happening right now?!
“How the fuck do you know that?! Was I that obvious?! Did I say it while sleeping?! I thought I had gotten myself rid of that unfortunate habit! Fuck! Do you really, I mean, really, think I'm from the future or was it some sort of test?!”
His chuckle made her realize how quirky the situation actually was. And, involuntary, a small grin took hold of her still befuddled face.
“Stop laughing! I'm serious! How long have you known?”
“Sweetheart, I knew it since the moment we found you.” his tone was as soft as she had ever heard him, the kind of tone one would use not to spook a cornered animal. She didn't appreciate it, but, well, she could understand where he was coming from so she just ignored it, save for her raised brow, of course.
“But, how?”
“I know those stones. I have felt them. I know the stories. And, most importantly, I went through them myself.”
His words had the effect of a bomb being dropped. If she had been dumbfounded before when he told her he knew what she was trying to say, she didn't even have the words to describe the extent of her shock right at that time.
She didn't know how long she sat there unresponsive but she guessed it was quite the long wait by the trepidation she could see creep into his previously soft, amused and reassuring expression.
“Wh… What time are you from?”
“I passed through the stones in 1132, four years ago.”
And suddenly, small details that didn't ring right, and things she filed away as him just being foreign to these parts made so much sense. Like the foreign words, and proverbs, the lack of religiousness really uncharacteristic of the time, the different style of fighting, or even the displeased expression he sported while wearing a kilt while they infiltrated Clan Macdougal.
She sat there, looking at him, her face the picture of a blown up mind for an embarrassingly long time. And catatonic state was only broken by his voice distracting her from the fact that: fuck! He was most probably a fucking Viking judging by the year he went through the stones! So it's not unilateral, it's not just from the future to the past? HE'S FROM THE 12TH CENTURY! Fuck.
“Caroline? Are you alright?”
She took a few moments to ask herself that same question: was she alright? The obvious answer would have been no. After all, hadn't she just had a breakdown (at least it wasn't a panic attack, that would have been awkward) for very good reasons. She was injured, hungry and tired. Plus Klaus just dropped a bomb the size or Uranus on her. But, surprisingly, she felt fine-ish. About his revelation at least. Everything else… it will take weeks if not months to feel fine about any of it.
Caroline was curious of course. Everybody would be when someone says they come from the 12th century! Plus, it was in her nature to snoop, research and discover things, hell, she made it her vocation!
But, she had also been drained of any energy by her entire ordeal, her injuries were killing her and she could feel herself slipping away by the second.
Also, she trusted Klaus. Sure, it was mind blowing, but hadn't she went through approximately the same thing? Couldn't she be just more accepting considering that?
“Yes. I'm alright.”
“Don't you have any questions? I struggle to believe that the Caroline Forbes I came to know these last months doesn't have anything to badger me with…” he smirked at her teasingly.
“Oh, don't worry, I have more questions that you can count. And you'll have to answer each one of them. But, right now, I'm exhausted and need to rest. Also, we'll have all the time we want to talk on the road, I can't in good conscience take the only fun thing away from walking miles, and miles, and miles, right?” she winked (since when does she wink?) at him playfully.
Klaus only laughed a little bit, and she was thankful for being able to cause that. He had been tense and strained since they found each other, which was certainly understandable considering he went through a battlefield with thousands of deaths around him, escaped somehow with a young man he used to protect and teach, only to feel him die in his arms. Also, this all happened centuries away from the time he was born. So he had all the reasons in the world to not be happy or relaxed. And, also, it wasn't Klaus' usual personality either, he was an intense guy from the beginning, part of the allure, she guessed.
A pleased small smile etched itself onto her lips, the quiet kind one wasn't even aware of spouting.
She basked in the brief moment of joy they shared, aware that the road awaiting them from then on wouldn't give much occasions to be joyous at all.
After a while, she could feel the fatigue settle itself in her spine, in her eyes and in her mind.
However, before she could just fall into Morpheus' arms, she needed to check her wound and see if it was healing any, hoping that there wouldn't be any sign of infection. And by that, she meant Klaus needed to check it for her, since, you know, she didn't have eyes on the back of her head.
“Klaus, could you please look at my wound, see if it's healing or if there are any problems?”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
She turned her back on him and slowly brought down the red stained, previously white fabric of her under dress, revealing the extent of her injury. She heard him gasp a little and saw in the periphery the clenching of his fists.
“Caroline! Why didn't you tell me?! You must have been in agony!”
“Klaus, calm down, we had other things to worry about.”
“That may be true but your health, your life should be your priority, love! Who did this? Tell me! I'll kill them, tear out their throats and stomp on their remains! CAROLINE! Do not laugh, it is no frivolous matter!”
“I was not laughing at you nor because I don't think it's important, I was just laughing because you do not have to worry about it, I already killed both the soldier and Lockwood.” she turned to face him and grinned at him ruthlessly.
For a minute Klaus only stared at her, and she couldn't quite decipher the look he was sending her, some kind of mixture of pride and something else?
However, her thoughts were stopped completely when she felt his calloused fingers take her cheek suddenly and bring her face to his. His lips took hold of hers and she was lost.
Lost in the feeling. Lost in the comfort. Lost in him. Lost in them. Lost in the them they could become in the future.
Never in all her years has she experienced such a thing. Such a kiss. The kind that everybody thinks is a made up dream when they see it in movies. The kind that shifts your view of the world, your beliefs, yourself. The kind that gives the other person your heart even if it shouldn't have been free to give.
Klaus and his lips were an ambrosia she would have never believed to be real.
She felt in her entire body tingles and flashes, lights under her closed eyelids. Her breath was short and irregular. Her hands were pressed of their own volition on his neck and chest. Her throat let out moans and grunts that her head would never have been able to hold back. Her brain was short-circuited with only one thought going round and round in it: Klaus. Klaus. Klaus.
Nothing else mattered at that moment, not the place, not the time, not the circumstances. Only him. And her. Together.
And when that kiss ended she was still under its mercy with her knees weak and trembling heart.
“You're such a magnificent creature, my Caroline. A warrior of her own.”
Had she been able to think clearly, Caroline would have opposed him, especially the “my” part, but the kiss rendered her almost dumb, so only a smile came out. Still, she couldn't resist teasing him even as she reminded him of the task they begun before the kissing part.
“Come on, warrior, take the flask that's sticking out of my dress and clean up my wound. You need me alive if you ever want me to kiss you like that again.”
They walked for days. Collected herbs and honey so that she could heal. Hunted and caught fish in the fresh rivers of the Highlands.
And during it all they talked without stopping about everything and anything, their pasts, their respective times, their hopes and dreams, things that they wanted in life, what they planned for them. Unless, of course, their mouths were otherwise preoccupied.
Together, night and day. Mostly they elaborated a plan. Using both their knowledge from different eras. His, of warfare and politics. Hers, of the future and the events to come. They knew they couldn't change major things, or stop them from happening, but who forbade them to turn it into their advantage?
Their. Hers and his. Together. From now on to forevermore.
