The One You Once Were

It Can't Get Worse Than This, Right?

I held back tears while I headed back to Ayana's house. Under no circumstances would I let myself dissolve and give Klaus the pleasure of having broke me.

Why was I not unscathed by his words? I should not care if Klaus hated me or not. Yet my heart ached as if in a million pieces and whenever his voice echoed through my mind, the world around me seemed to crumble.

Could it get worse than this? A horrible foreboding settled into my mind, but I pushed it away when I knocked at Ayana's door. Ayana opened, immediately inspecting my face.

"Caroline. You're back."
I nodded.

"Are you alright?" she asked, worry in her eyes. I feared she could see through my façade, call out my bleary pain.

"I'm fine. Just tired," I lied. "Would you mind if I went to sleep?"

"No, of course not," she answered. "You'll need your strength for the spell."
"Is it ready?" I asked surprised.
"Indeed, it is."

It was sunset when I awoke after my long, duly needed rest.

Ayana was already waiting, her fingers lingering over a lit candle, listening to nature's call. Her concentration broke and she looked up when she noticed my presence.

"Before we get started, there's some information you're going to need. Sit."
I took a seat across from her.

"The spell requires a lot of energy, so we will have to wait until the middle of the night as my power will reach its limit then. I will draw from nature, the spirits will help me set the world back into tune."

She pointed at random objects that filled her house.
"We'll need all these. Don't ask why, the spirits requested it."
I nodded. Never question the spirits.

"What does the spell do exactly?" I wanted to know. "Will it just send me back to my time?"
Ayana shook her head.

"If that were the only effect then it wouldn't be that difficult. The spell turns back time, erasing all the moments you spent here. Time will return to the moment you first arrived here, then bring you back to your time. When you get there, it will be like no time has passed at all. You were never gone and never here in the first place."

"Everyone, who knew me here, will have no memories of me?"
"Even beyond that. Their lives will have been exactly like they would have without you here. All events will be the same."

The same. Klaus would go on loving Tatia, then evolve to the person he was in my present. He wouldn't have any of the moments with me. Rebekah would go on hating me, et cetera.

"What about you?" I asked.
"I will not remember you either."
I nodded, though couldn't help but wonder if I would forget everything too.

Was I ready to let the memories go? No doubt, it had been a bizarre experience, but not entirely grim. Some moments had been joyful - even precious - especially with Klaus. I had felt - no, stop! I pushed the looming contemplation of my feelings away, my throat suddenly dry.

"Any other questions?" Ayana pulled me out of my head.
"None."
"Alright. Now we shall wait."

In that moment, a slight knock at the door disturbed us. Ayana got up and blocked my viwes while opening the wood with a creak.

"Niklaus, what are you doing here?"
My head spun around. Klaus? What was he up to?

"Can I see Caroline, please? I know, she's here. I only wish to talk." His voice sounded rough and calm.

Ayana turned to face me, her expression questioning my answer.
"It's okay. I will be fine," I told her and went to the door.

There he was. His eyes softened when I stepped into view. My heart strained, and I braced myself for whatever he had come to say.

"I shall give you two privacy. Caroline, you know when you need to be back."

I stepped outside and eyed the Original.
"Why are you here? I thought, you didn't care anymore," I said bitter.

He took my hands in his.
"I am so sorry for my reaction yesterday, I was being overly dramatic. I do not want us to part like this. We shall see each other again in the future, right? At some point. I believe in it."

I couldn't help but smile. He had no idea.

"I just wanted you to know, I will never forget you nor stop caring - no matter what I say. You must believe that," he paused for a second, then forced himself to say the next few words with the utmost tenderness. "Do not forget about me, promise."
I gave a slight nod.

"Goodbye, Klaus," I whispered and wanted to turn around. I couldn't look at him any longer or my thoughts might start to spiral once more.

"Caroline!" He grabbed me by the shoulders, turned me back to him and before I could say a word, I felt his lips on mine.

My entire body tensed for a moment, then softened, sinking into the kiss. I felt my lips return his longing and put my hands on his chest.

It should have felt wrong, but it didn't. More the opposite. My mind manifested a clear thought, scary yet truthful. This was the one thing, which had been fated to happen all this time.

In this instance, nothing around us mattered. It was just the two of us. Him and me.

We leaned in, his hands on my waist pulling me closer. My hand moved up to his cheek and I nuzzled his long hair, unintentionally messing it up in the process.

Another thought nested itself into my brain and left a sour taste, pushing away Klaus' sweet flavor. This was a goodbye kiss. Something neither him nor I would remember after the spell.

I swallowed, my lips curling into a frown. Klaus, misreading my expression as rejection, tried to move away. I shook my head, following his mouth to show him I was not refusing his affection.

He smiled and opened himself to me once more, a hungry groan escaping him when I intensified our touch. His teeth pierced my lower lip and blood filled both his and my mouth.

The kiss was longer than it should have been. When he finally pulled away, it felt like something was missing.

We looked each other in the eyes, a certain desire still in his. When he looked away, my heart sank.

"Goodbye, my love."

With these words, he turned around and was gone in the blink of an eye. Though somewhere, deep in my heart, I wanted him to stay. To come back and be by my side when I was sent away for good.

Or one better, I didn't even want to go back. The entire time I had spent here, we'd been so close. How could I not have known? I wasn't stupid, just ignorant.

Before I went back in, I sent a prayer to the spirits. Please, let me remember all this in the end. Let me remember Klaus.