Sanctuaries: A Klaroline Fanfiction

24: Deal or no deal?

She was shocked beyond words. Wait… this is Esther? The Original Witch? His freaking mother who tried to kill him and his siblings? And incidentally, all of us? She took his hand into both of hers, unconsciously moving a step closer to him.

"Well, son, there is one thing you could never be accused of, and that is a lack of brains, is that not right? I should say I am proud of you, but we both know I would be lying."

Caroline felt him tense at her side and straightened, outrage drowning out her fear now. "You may have borne and raised him, Mrs. Mikaelson, but you have absolutely no idea of who your son is. You don't know the first thing about any of your children, even if you have watched them from the Other Side for a millennium. But you have only ever seen them with your eyes. Not with your heart."

Klaus looked down at her with a loving smile. "Do not bother, Caroline. She cannot hurt me anymore, therefore whatever she says is of no consequence."

She shook her head. "It is to me."

He gazed at her again and somehow, she felt what he was saying. I love you, Caroline. The butterflies were now dancing a Polka inside her, despite the anxiety that was taking hold of her.

"How touching," the monk said in the strange, female voice that was so irritating. "And you, Miss Forbes, honestly believe that you know Niklaus better than I do?"

"No," Caroline replied serenely, "I don't believe that. I know it. Because unlike you, I love your son, and I am making it my business to learn everything there is to learn about him. Every single day. Just as he does for me. And it is Mrs. Mikaelson, by the way."

She felt him squeeze her hand again before he said icily, "I suggest we get down to business, mother. What is it you want?"

"Your help, Niklaus."

He laughed out loud, a sharp sound that made Caroline flinch and gave her a glimpse of how deeply he must actually be hurt to this day by the way his parents had treated him all of his life, no matter what he said about how they could no longer get to him. Caroline was absolutely certain that somewhere deep inside, maybe in a place close to his dungeon, he had always kept a little spot for them, which was why it still hurt him every time he felt their coldness, their indifference, their hate even. She could hear it through his hard, unyielding voice as he spoke now.

"Mother, I killed you. You tried to kill me in exchange, and more than once. I do believe we are at an impasse. What in the name of the Gods makes you think I would so much as consider helping you, whatever it is you require help with?"

"I am not expecting you to do it out of love for your mother."

"I would have to call you a fool if you did."

"However," the monk went on, "I have something to offer you. And as a sign of my goodwill, I have arranged for you to receive the primeval Original Grimoire, containing the information on your Signum that was missing on the copy you received centuries ago, which is something I learned about only very recently. You did a respectable job covering your tracks, son." The monk laughed which gave Caroline goosebumps. She felt Klaus stiffen almost unnoticeably at her side, and she clutched his hand more forcefully as the strange voice sounded again.

"Let me not bore you with the admittedly extensive and rather intricate tale of how I came to know of the manuscript's existence and of the fact that you own a copy. Suffice it to say that I am still the Original Witch. But you did feel the magic that emanates from the papyrus when you retrieved it, did you not, Niklaus? It is the original document, there can be no doubt about that." The monk inclined his head. "I understood the meaning of the first paragraph at once, but I never reckoned that any of it could come to pass, not in a thousand lifetimes. After all, who would willingly exchange a Signum with you? But I am digressing. You are aware that I have been severely weakened by the failed ritual I performed on you. However, one thing has not changed – I am the Original Witch, and I can still inhabit humans, witches or vampires on this plane, even if for very brief instances only. It weakens me considerably, as does watching someone from the Other Side. So I had to be careful how to utilize what little strength and energy I have left, and I chose to invade a vampire and then compel the monk to collect the papyrus scrolls from their original hiding place and deliver them to the Pope. I joined the monk in vampire form once more when he was in audience with the pontiff and compelled the Pope to hand the document to you the moment you came to collect your copy. Incidentally, your Signum did take me by surprise. You do love her, do you not, son?"