• • • New Orleans, May 1821 • • •

Kol looks down. His back rested against the big tree and Charlotte had laid her head on his lap. She had been silently admiring the many colors in the leaves above them whilst he had been admiring her. "Lottie."

"Kol." Charlotte repeats, imitating his tone in a teasing manner. She gives the vampire an apologetic look upon seeing his unimpressed expression.

"I," Kol hesitates. "I'm happy you're here."

"You invited me to this picnic." Charlotte reminds him, fingers brushing over the sleeve of Kol's shirt. She smiles at the idea of the vampire dressing up just for their little date.

She didn't often get out of the house of the Mikaelsons. This was mostly by her own choice. Her sense of responsibility kept her clustered at home, trying to tidy the already spotless rooms or spend more time with her dear Marcellus when he had time off from his lessons with Elijah.

"I did." Kol agrees. He lets his finger trace Charlotte's jawline. He had always been mesmerized by the way Charlotte had accepted his touches, unafraid. His hands had caused plenty of pain and bloodshed throughout the centuries, but she could still appreciate their softness.

"I have a question."

"Pray tell." Charlotte hums, eyes closing against the glare of the lowering sun.

"Do you love me?"

Charlotte smiles and peels her eyes open to look up at Kol. "You know I do."

"Can you say it?"

"I love you, Kol." Charlotte whispers.

Kol looks at Charlotte with something that can only be described as utter adoration, before a cheeky smile makes its way onto his face. "I'm sorry, darling. Can you repeat yourself? I didn't quite hear you."

Charlotte laughs before indulging in his request. "I love you."

Kol bends down to place a kiss on Charlotte's forehead before gently nudging her off his lap, allowing him to rise. "Now that we have re-established that fact, let's take a stroll. I wish to show you the new animals Niklaus has acquired."

Charlotte sits up with a frown, a little indignant at Kol's teasing. She grabs hold of his offered hand and also rises to her feet before looking up at him. "Kol."

"Yes, my dear?"

Charlotte raises her eyebrows, expectantly.

"Ah, yes." Kol grins apologetically, ducking his head a little in a bashful manner. "I also love you, Charlotte."

She takes his statement into consideration before shooting him a grin. "Last one at the stables is a foozler!" Charlotte shouts over her shoulder as she takes off running.

• • • New Orleans, present-day • • •

"Room service!"

A cheery voice calls through the door, successfully waking Florence from her eventful dream.

"Kaleb?" Florence lets out a startled sound as the door swings open with a bang.

"Rise and shine, sunshine!" Kaleb shouts. He hands the dazed-looking Florence a cup of coffee, tosses the bag with pastries on the bed beside her, and strides towards the balcony, aggressively opening the curtains, and letting bright light pour into the bedroom.

"What are you doing here?" Florence complains as she sets the coffee down on her nightstand. With one hand, she pulls the duvet up to cover her face, hoping to drown out Kaleb's loudness.

Kaleb glares when he recognizes a familiar figure on the sidewalk across from Florence's hotel before turning back. He rolls his eyes when he takes in the lump beneath the duvet that was Florence. "Here to wake you, of course. We have a flight to catch in a few hours."

"We?" Florence throws the duvet off her and stares at Kaleb in disbelief.

"You didn't think Marcel and I would let you go to Chicago by yourself?" Kaleb's tone is rightfully incredulous, and he shoots the girl another one of his impatient looks.

Florence disregards the rhetorical question. "You and Marcel decided this together?"

"It is in both of our interests to keep you alive and safe. Strangely enough, the old man cares for you." Kaleb shrugs. He had been incredibly mature about the whole deal and was quite satisfied with himself to have come to an agreement with a vampire who suffered from an inflated ego and undeserved sense of self-importance.

"That's very kind of you both, but I'll be fine. I traveled to New Orleans on my own."

"Which was incredibly foolish on your behalf, by the way." Kaleb admonishes half-heartedly.

"Thank you for the lecture." Florence asks before biting into a chocolate kouign amann.

"You're welcome. Now, time to get dressed, we have a few errands to run before we skip town."

"What kind of errands?" Florence sighs, knowing there was little she could do to make Kaleb change his mind about joining her.

"I need to buy an airplane pillow, you're meeting my mother, oh, and we need to grab some stuff from one of the real witch shops." Kaleb counts the activities on his fingers. He scoffs when his eyes land on the violently purple bag from the Bone Lady's voodoo shop. Florence had carried it when they had met each other.

"I'm meeting your mother?" Florence asks just as Kaleb starts stuffing random pieces of clothing into her suitcase, successfully wrinkling every article of clothing in his haste.

Kaleb looks up from his task, a little dazed, before nodding. "Yes, she will want to know who has me traveling all over the country."

Florence scoffs. "That's hardly my fault, I never asked you to-"

"Now, let us not talk of blame." Kaleb grins. "Get dressed, get eating, and let's hit the road!"

"I'm already eating." Florence grumbles as she takes another big bite of the flaky pastry.

• • •

"Is there anything I can do to help you, Florence?" Marcel offers. He was still reluctant in letting the girl walk into her doom, but aiding her in any way did ease his conscience a little.

Marcel had offered Florence and Kaleb a ride to the airport and the three of them were seated in the back of one of Marcel's luxury vehicles, chauffeured by Thierry, who expertly guided them away from the crowded streets of New Orleans.

"There is actually," Florence replies after a moment of thought. "Do you happen to know a vampire in the region of Asheville?"

"I'm sure I can call someone, why?"

"I need them to compel my parents." Florence continues upon seeing Marcel's raised eyebrows. "I doubt they miss my presence very much, but if they do suddenly get an epiphany and start caring about my whereabouts, I don't want them to go looking for me.

"What do you want me to tell them?" Marcel asks. If there was no vampire near Asheville, he would travel down there himself. He was familiar with neglectful parentage and would love to have a little chat with the parents of Florence before compelling them.

"That I am traveling, and I am safe, and that they don't have to look for me if they don't hear anything from me." Florence mumbles, letting the reality of the situation really sink in. There was a serious chance that she wouldn't survive a meeting with any of the Mikaelsons.

Marcel eyes Florence thoughtfully at these words, but nods before sharing a knowing look with Kaleb. He trusted the young warlock to protect Florence to the best of his abilities.

• • •

"What do you think we will find in Chicago?" Kaleb asks, looking up from his leaflet. He had been scoffing a little whilst studying the contents, there was no way crouching down would safe them during a plane crash.

"I'm not sure. I don't want to get my hopes up, but perhaps there are traces of the Mikaelsons there as well, or at least of Delphine and her family. Maybe someone has even sighted Niklaus."

"The supernatural community in Chicago is supposed to be as impressive as that of New Orleans, even more so, according to my mother." Kaleb nods. "We will find answers, Florence."

"Your mother is a very kind woman."

"You're saying that because she showed you my baby photos, aren't you?" Kaleb wants to scowl, but can't suppress a grin. His mother had been a little too happy with him bringing home a girl. "But, yes, I'm lucky to have her."

"Yet, you leave her behind to risk your life to help me." Florence's tone was a little accusing. She was a little relieved to have a friend by her side whilst venturing into Chicago, but couldn't help but feel guilty for endangering Kaleb.

"She knows it's important for me to help friends." Kaleb gives Florence's hand a little squeeze. "Alright, if we happen to find Klaus's whereabouts, which is a big if, how do you want to go about contacting him?"

"I know Delphine practiced message spells. We can try that. Send him a note?" Florence suggests. She hadn't really thought things through, she had simply expected to come across the next clue, just as she had in New Orleans when she found her way to the compound.

"We can't just drop off a note to the Original hybrid." Kaleb shakes his head a little, unimpressed with the idea.

"Why not? We need to lure him out some way."

"What do you plan on putting on that note? It can't be 'hello, I am the reincarnated version of your-" Kaleb halts his rambling when Florence jabs him in the ribs with her elbow. "What was that for?" He whispers loudly whilst rubbing his side.

"Don't shout about such things on a crowded plane." Florence mutters under her breath before smiling politely at a woman who was staring in their direction. "I can probably try to find paper similar to that they used back then and try to copy Delphine's handwriting?"

"You didn't tell me you were in training to become a con artist." Kaleb grins.

"I'm not. How about we just… try to wing it?"

Kaleb's expression blanks and Florence could see the slightest eye twitch. "I love the confidence, Florence, but I don't think we should try to 'wing it' when both our lives are at stake."

"You know, you're bringing an awful lot of critique to the table without contributing any strategies." Florence grumbles, arms crossing.

"My strategy is simple. We do not contact Klaus at all and instead go on a fabulous road trip, far away from any Mikaelson-related drama." Kaleb raises a hand, gesturing to the horizon out of his plane window, at the lowering sun.

"Funny." Florence deadpans.