Royal Sacrifices

Never Forever

Stefan looks around the large room he has been given to stay at within the castle until the wedding. Truthfully it looks almost exactly like his bedroom in he and Damon's Mystic Kingdom manner, save a few personal articles here and there. Same overly large wooden structured bed covered in silk and fur, same oak wardrobe made from trees in the Mystic forest, same bearskin rug, same writing desk, a single glass window overlooking a very similar (though larger) garden, he could go on. The point is that though it is beautiful, it is not Italy. Everything here looks the same- just in varying degrees of ornateness. Objectively Stefan knows that the same can be said of his home country, but... when everything in his home is the same it is comforting, but here he is just reminded at every turn that he is thousands of miles from Italy and the person he decided to stay here to court is all but avoiding him and he does not know why.

"knock knock" a soft voice calls from the doorway along with the light sound of knuckles on wood.

Stefan looks up and smiles a little "come in Caroline"

The blond positively beams; strolling into the room she places herself right beside him, sitting at the edge of the bed. They sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments; each basking in their own melancholia, feeling comforted by each other's presence.

It is Caroline who finally breaks the silence "okay, I know why I'm moping around like a child, but why are you?" he turns to face her, the sadness in his eyes making it clear. The look he has is one that only a man with a broken heart can possess. She smiles sadly at him, wrapping her small, soft hand around his "Elena will come around, I promise. She is just confused"

He sighs heavily "you cannot know that." She is about to argue when he continues "and it is not just Elena. I miss home, and believe it or not, it does affect me to see one of my best friends about to sign her life away- especially when there is nothing I can do about it!"

Caroline's heart aches seeing her friend in such a miserable state "hey" she says reaching for his hand "hey do not worry about me. I will be fine, honestly. This is my choice and I would not make it if I thought I could not handle it" she smiles a little more genuinely, trying desperately to make him believe her

"I know you can handle it, but you should not have to. I want you to be happy"

"And I want you to be happy" Caroline says "but it looks as though we are both going to be disappointed unless we make ourselves happy"

Stefan laughs a little "Caroline that makes no sense!"

"Of course it does! To rely on other people for ones own happiness is a ridiculous notion. I choose to believe that we are both interesting enough people to make ourselves happy" the princess smiles again, she finds herself doing that a lot when she is with Stefan. It is a little ironic that as she sits here proclaiming that people should be able to make themselves happy, Caroline realizes that this is the first time she has actually tried to be positive about the next sixty or so years of her life, and she knows that it is only because of Stefan. Knowing that someone else wishes you to be happy is by far the greatest incentive to be happy. Not that Caroline would ever say that out loud and undermine her entire point.

"Do you really think you could ever be happy with the king?"

"Do you think you could ever really be happy without Elena?"

Stefan looks down pensively, remaining silent for a moment "yes" he says after some consideration "it would not be easy, but eventually... I would move on"