Crimson Peak

The challenge

Klaus had been in a foul mood the entire night. He had taken his fill from a young couple a few hours before and while that had satisfied his thirst for blood, he still felt restless, angry, and conflicted.

He was angry with Rebekah for her stupid desire to become human, he was angry with Elijah for denying him the cure, but above all he was angry with himself. He was Klaus fucking Mikaelson, the vampire that every monster feared and yet, here he was drinking his sorrows away and feeling like an idiot, over a girl, a girl who only came to him whenever she needed something. A girl whose friends had murdered two of his siblings and whose boyfriend had betrayed him by turning his own pack against him and what had he done? He had rewarded the son of a bitch and allowed him to come back into town to make her happy.

His fingers clenched around the glass, a low growl escaping from his chest. He, the untouchable hybrid had been reduced to helping a baby vampire with her prom dress.

Caroline

There were so many conflicting emotions inside of him at the thought of her. Caroline was beautiful there was no denying that. But beauty was irrelevant after a thousand years on this earth. He had met countless of girls like Caroline, fucked and murdered plenty of them too. Why did he continue to pursue a girl who had made it clear that she loved another? And why had he allowed Tyler to get away?

Because he wanted to impress Caroline, because perhaps she would finally give in if he did something nice for her. The more Caroline refused him, the more he wanted her, mainly to prove that he could have her. But what bothered him the most was not his desire to have Caroline in his bed but the things he had done in order to try and accomplish that.

In order to win Caroline's affections, he had been reduced to a pathetic creature. He was acting like a fool, like a teenager with a crush. He was the Original Hybrid, the most powerful creature in the supernatural world and he was practically begging for a girl's affection.

Something had happened tonight, something had changed as he had watched Caroline and Tyler dancing through the window. It was almost as if a blindfold had been pulled away from his eyes at last. Something had clicked into place in that moment.

After letting Tyler run off into the night, Klaus had not followed like he had threatened to do. He had taken off and ended up at this bar on the outskirts of town. There was a lot he needed to think about.

What the fuck am I doing? Klaus thought angrily. Why was he even still in Mystic Falls? Elena was a vampire, she wasn't useful anymore. He had safely stored some of her blood bags, he would run out eventually but still, he had enough to sire more hybrids, he didn't need Elena. Silas was a threat that needed to be dealt with and there was the cure to think about. But still, even with those threats looming about, he could easily disappear from the face of the earth in the same way he had done after his father had run him out of New Orleans and Chicago. He didn't need to be in this little town.

Klaus had achieved what he had always wanted. He not only broke his curse but he also had a pack of loyal hybrids under his command, and his father-the only person he had ever feared- was dead. He should be relishing in his triumph, he should be conquering the world with his army, he should be hunting down those who had wronged him, those who had murdered his blood but instead, here he was pinning over a girl.

How pathetic was that?

For a thousand years he had a single goal, to break his curse. He had wanted to become a hybrid and create his own army to keep himself safe from his father. He had accomplished that and his father was dead as well.

So what was left?

What was he supposed to do now?

Klaus felt empty inside. He had always felt empty, like he was missing some important part of himself. Becoming a hybrid had not filled that void, like he had assumed it would. Creating more hybrids and having a pack of loyal followers had not filled that void either. Not even his infatuation with Caroline could make that awful feeling go away. A thousand years working furiously to break his curse because he had truly believed he would be complete at last. But the awful truth was that he wasn't. Nothing seemed to be able to fill the void inside him. Nothing could take away the emptiness eating him inside.