On The Run

Keep Holding On

The title is dedicated to a song by the same name by Avril Lavigne. I was listening to it on repeat and on full blast while writing this.

Even on full blast I can't hear it. The little munchkins running through the house are pretty dang loud.

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"So what do you think?" Klaus asked his warm breath against her neck as they rode atop a city bus viewing the capital.

"It's beautiful." She said taking in the view. It was truly magnificent, when he'd promised to show her the world she never could have imagined what all the world had to offer. "Where is your favorite place to visit?" She asked turning to him getting lost in his blue eyes.

He laughed. "That is a difficult question to answer."

"Why?" She rolled her eyes at him.

"Well sweetheart when you've been around as long as I have you find that places change and grow sometimes for the better and sometimes not so much. I think the last time I was in Brussels the car hadn't even been invented yet. It was just a small little blip on the map, but look at it now." He said gesturing with his arm, and she looked around at the city listening to him talk. "It's a flourishing city, beautiful architecture, museums, markets, shopping."

"Is it hard to watch things change?" She asked looking around again trying but failing to imagine how it must look through his eyes.

"Yes and no. Things and places change slowly it is easy to adapt. Sometimes you don't even notice the change, unless it has been a long time between visits. It's the things you don't want to change that are hard." He paused a small smile playing across his face. "We use to own this lovely castle"

"You owned a castle?" she interrupted looking at him eyebrows raised.

He laughed. "Yes in London many centuries ago. It was my favorite home. It was quiet and beautiful. Close enough to the ocean that you could smell the sweet salty air and if you were really quiet you could hear the waves crashing onto the beach." The smile faded from his face and he became quiet. She looked at him waiting for him to continue. "Mikael found it. Destroyed it. It is overrun with vines and the walls are crumbling. Or at least it was thirteen years ago when I last went there. It's probably even worse now."

She frowned at the sadness in his voice. She'd begun to understand him more since they'd been together the past few weeks. He'd opened up to her. She understood now why he lashed out. Why he had turned his humanity off. She couldn't imagine having her parents hate her the way his had. She didn't excuse what he had done, but she understood now why he lashed out. Why he didn't connect. Deep down he was scarred and hurt, and desperate for someone to love him. Most importantly he didn't find himself worthy of someone's love "Have you ever thought about fixing it back up?"

He gave her a sad smile. "All the time." He looked away. "It would be pointless though. Mikael would only destroy it again."

"He's not going to be around forever. We will kill him eventually." she said looking into his sad blue eyes. She hated seeing him vulnerable.

A smirk spread across his face. "My sweet Caroline are you actually suggesting harming someone."

She laughed at the playfulness in his eyes and swatted at him playfully. "It's called self defense. When someone threatens to kill you, one usually fights back."

He smiled and pulled her up with him. "This is our stop."

"We're actually going to stop somewhere other than a hotel?" she asked looking at him surprised. He'd never said they had to keep moving, but she knew something was going on. They bounced around way to much.