This week's edition is from the follow up to my amnesia Elijah fic. The series will tentatively be called screen violence. In keeping with tradition, the violence will largely be emotional.
Set loosely after the end of TO, Caroline has asked Klaus for help with saving Josie and Lizzie from the Merge.
The phone only rang for a moment before Kol came on the screen. Klaus moved so that he could fit Caroline in frame as well.
“Nik, what—oh, hello, darling.”
“Hi, Kol.” She waved and then broke off awkwardly.
“Now, Caroline, if Nik and ‘Lijah are not enough to satisfy you, I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere because I am quite spoken for—“
“Kol.”
Caroline laughed. A decade ago she might have been embarrassed by Kol’s innuendo, but she was well past 30 now and had several of those years raising teenagers. Her girls might only be twelve, but the school covered all grades. She nearly made a comment about Hayley being the one he needed to watch out for before remembering.
“Your virtue is safe. I would never throw an orgy on campus. Ric’s barely holding it together with Elijah in his business as it is.”
Kol laughed, startled but delighted.
“Well, aren’t you grown up. What can I do for you, Mistress Caroline?”
There was no spin of innuendo in his voice that time, so she went with it.
“Klaus said you had researched the Gemini Coven and might be able to tell me about the Merge. My girls—“
“Are Gemini twins, yes. Has the coven been bothering you again? I thought they were rather hunted to extinction.”
Since @idreamofspring1 asked last week, here is some more of this scene from last week.
Over the weekend, I also posted this and this from other parts of the Screen Violence series as part of this ask game. You can find all related posts in the Screen Violence tag below.
“Are Gemini twins, yes. Has the coven been bothering you again? I thought they were rather hunted to extinction.”
“No, they’re gone. We haven’t heard from anyone since Kai died. I don’t think there’s anyone left except maybe Valerie, but she was a Heretic, and she wasn’t interested in the girls.”
“Why the interest in the Merge then? The coven is dead.”
“I only have 10 years to try to stop it though. When they turn 22—“
“Nothing happens, Caroline.”
“What? But Jo said—“
“The coven used to force them. It’s just a ritual. If no one says the spell, nothing happens.”
Could a vampire faint? She felt lightheaded.
“Are you alright?”
Oh. When did she grab Klaus’s arm? She made herself unclench but didn’t fully let go. She needed the contact. He didn’t seem to mind.
“You’re saying it’s not a curse? Kol, are you sure?”
“I’m sure. It’s not a curse. It was a cult. I’ve known Gemini witches, Caroline. I’ve helped them escape. I can put you in touch with one, probably. Or Nik can.”
“But it—oh my god. Jo believed it was a curse. She believed it, and so we believed it. I need to sit down.”
“You are sitting down, love.”
“I need—I am going to kill Ric. Do you know how long I have wasted worrying about this and researching this and—Klaus, I am going to kill him.”
Klaus hung up over the sounds of Kol objecting that he wanted to watch.
I probably won't post every week, but who knows? Regardless, my WIP Wednesday zoomies have returned so WIP Wednesday 2k26 starts now.
(For anyone not familiar, this is a game anyone can play. The only rules are post something you're working on and tag it so we can find it. I will try to leave notes on posts I see.)
Here's some more of my not-so-secret companion to I wonder if I should have changed my accent. Follows immediately from this snippet from last year.
Oh shit.
"You know about that?" Caroline felt herself flinch. She had a decent poker face when she was prepared but fuck fuck fuck.
"Of course. For years now."
Okay, new plan. For years now meant he didn't remember. He didn't look at her like he remembered. Not that they had known each other well, but that was not a man looking at the girl his brother had a ridiculous crush on, and Elijah definitely knew about that. Had known.
"Your memory isn't back." He clearly wanted to talk—wanted an audience. She could do this. "Then how?"
"Elijah Mikaelson is known for his secrets, is he not? Why should I tell you?"
She shrugged like it didn't mean anything. Casual as anything like her internal monologue wasn't red alert klaxons. Like every scrap of information he gave up wasn't everything. He didn't just know he was on their radar, he knew who he was but hadn't done anything about it. For years.
"Worth a shot. You'd be surprised what people will tell you if you ask." That was easy to say because it was true. "If you don't want to talk about it, do you want help cleaning up? I can also just go if this is an alone time thing. I did what I told Rebekah I'd do."
She didn't even try to leave. She didn't actually want to. Not yet. She needed to know more about what was going on. She needed it before the adrenaline turned from focus to shakiness.
"You're remarkably unafraid. Tell me, Caroline, what makes you stand in front of a man of Elijah Mikaelson's reputation, having caught him washing the blood of his latest kill from his hands, and expect to be allowed to leave?"
She didn't have to worry about running out of adrenaline with him pulling out lines like that. She had known she wasn't going anywhere if he didn't want her to. She knew exactly what he was capable of, but he wasn't supposed to.
I considered not posting this week since I've been rather prolific lately on the posting to AO3 front. The past week, I've dropped a number of things: Caroline's POV of her conversation with amnesia Elijah and two new fics: no one broke my heart quite like that man and the friends and faith I lack. They are, as you might imagine, angsty as fuck.
So my gift to those of you who have been down in the angst mines, is a preview from part 4 where things start to improve. Under the cut for those who wish to avoid spoilers or who can't deal with big feelings at the moment.
(set a few hours after Caroline says goodbye to Klaus in NOLA for what they both believe is the last time)
When the tears hit again, she nearly burst the first bag from squeezing it so hard. She made herself open her hand slowly. Uncapping it and sipping slowly helped her focus until the urge to sob subsided.
This is why she couldn’t go home yet. She couldn’t burst into tears because someone had been kind of her and it wasn’t Klaus. Not where Ric could see. Klaus would never be unexpectedly kind to her again, but Ric could still be expectedly cruel.
She ate her breakfast, hungrier than she had realized. She hadn’t eaten since before she left Klaus the day before. She cried again. She drank the second blood bag. She washed her face and stood staring into the mirror until she was certain nothing was coming back up.
She checked her phone. She had a voice mail.
From Klaus.
Timestamped 6:13 a.m. Today.
And a text from Freya a few minutes later, It’s real. Listen to it.
She sat down hard on the floor, shaking as she pressed play.
Caroline, I’m sure you’re still asleep—she paused it, unable to breathe. She wanted desperately to hear that something, anything had changed. That they had more time. She wasn’t sure she could survive it if it was another reprieve and not a victory. She couldn’t say goodbye to him again. Three times—twice in the past two days—was more than enough for a lifetime.
Not knowing would kill her faster. She started it over. His voice had been strange. She needed to hear it again.
Caroline, I’m sure you’re still asleep. I wish you were here, love, but if not you should be safe in bed. I don’t quite know how to explain. Kol and Freya and Davina—well, it’s over. The Hollow is gone. And we are alive, ‘Lijah and I both. Call me. Whenever you’d like. I’ll not be able to sleep. Or Freya if—well. I’ll understand if you don’t wish to. We’re on strange ground now.
Lost. His voice was lost, shaken. She needed to—she needed to get off the floor. She needed to call him. To hear that he was still there. She wasn’t confident in her legs. The floor was as good a place as any to call from.
It rang once, less than once, before he picked up.
“Caroline.”
He sounded so relieved, shaky.
“Klaus.” Her voice broke. She couldn’t bring herself to be embarrassed. “How—“
Ask related to this. Anon is off, but anyone is welcome to play.
Hi Jack (again)!
You know that she should be screaming aka part 2 of Screen Violence is the Caroline POV of the events of I wonder if I should have changed my accent (all related posts are in my #screen violence tag or linked from my pinned post). It's tentatively going live in mid-Feb for International Fanworks Day.
IFWD is the day after Valentine's Day. I hope everyone is in the mood for angst and suffering. Screen Violence is very Klaroline very steeped in the expectation of Klaroline, but I am going to put everyone through it to get there.
Previously posted snippets: part 1, part 2. After part 2:
"This is what I get for not calling Klaus before I came," Caroline muttered. She knew he could hear her. She did wish she had back up. But Klaus being here for this would be so much worse. He would protect her, no question. Who would protect him? Fighting Elijah like this would break him.
Cue nervous rambling.
"You know, Rebekah was so worried about you. It's not even that I didn't know you're like this. You're practically a cartoon supervillain, worse than Klaus in some ways. The old you was, at least. This you was not supposed to be. My plan was to get Christophe before he made contact with hapless Piano Elijah. Who isn't real, apparently. I guess that makes sense. So. You're right. I don't have a plan for an Elijah that has something to hide and doesn't care that I'm friends with his siblings."
Yep, he was curious. A tiny bit of blood in the water, just the flavor of her knowing more mixed in with telling him what he already knew.
Hi Kat! You are getting a shorter snippet than I gave Jack, but I haven't announced this fic yet so you get to break news. I wonder if I should have changed my accent (aka my amnesia Elijah fic) is getting a Caroline POV companion.
Standing in the doorway, Caroline knew two things for certain. The first was that Rebekah sending her here was a waste of time; Elijah was more than capable of taking care of himself. And the second was: It was too late to run.
She reached into her pocket slowly. Maybe it was stupid to call Rebekah right now, but the last thing this situation needed was for her phone to ring and startle them both. Rebekah couldn't help, but she could get Caroline killed. "I'm not calling the police," she said, showing him Rebekah's name on the screen.
"Rebekah, yeah, I've seen him. He's fine."
"He's fine, that's all I get? Did you even do what I asked?"
"Christophe is dead. Nothing to worry about." Rebekah hung up without a goodbye let alone a thank you. Rude. "Right. You're welcome, bitch."
At least now Caroline could focus on getting out of this situation alive. "You probably have questions..."
She would tell him she was following the witch. He had been hunting vampires. That would make the most sense. She could sell that.
"The Mikaelsons sent you. They were worried that this Christophe would get the better of me in my fragile state."
No spoilers in this one. I am finally unstuck on chapter 3 of an epitaph won't make you whole, so that should be forthcoming soon. This is not actually from that, but I'd be lying if I said I knew for sure where this piece goes other that Future SV TBD. But it amuses me, so here we are.
The mail was delivered to Elijah’s desk. It always was. Niklaus would not open it unless he was expecting something. There was little that did not go directly into the shredder these days. The days of waiting for important dispatches were long past.
Still, he sorted and reviewed the deliveries as a matter of routine. There was something to be said for the ritual, largely unchanged despite the passing centuries—and Rebekah was ever so put out when one did not respond to her invitations in a timely fashion. She accepted RSVPs through an app like anyone these days, but the invitations came only on carefully chosen stationery.
Today was largely the same advertisements for services they had no need of—one could hardly take a Bentley to Jiffy Lube no matter how aggressive the coupon might be—and credit card solicitations. One thing that held true down the centuries was how eager creditors were to lend to those who had the least need of it. Only the one letter addressed to the prior homeowner today. He set that aside to have returned to sender. It did nothing to reduce the mailings, but there was a certain satisfaction to it.
