Thanks go once again to CalligraphersNib for reviewing. The hugest biggest thanks I can give. I really didn't want to kill Tyler even though he is not my favorite character. I think that Caroline needs to really chose between him and Klaus for herself (I won't tell you who I think she should choose though!). Katherine and Damon aren't going to be friends anytime soon, but it is possible that she could manage to apologize!

I hope you guys like it and please REVIEW so I know what you think!

Lisolotte

It was just the postman, but that moment of tense expectation reminded Charlotte that their fight was far from over. She just wasn't sure how to tell them that. "Hey guys, by the way, there is someone who could possibly be using ghosts to try and kill us." It didn't really roll off the tongue or inspire confidence. Not that these people intimidated Charlotte, right? She had no idea anymore. To be honest, she was just exhausted.

So, she let them think that the worst was over. It might not be the best decision, but Charlotte could hold her own until she figured out what exactly was going on. She was not used to being around other people let alone this many at once. It would be good for her.

Slowly, they all left with promises to keep in contact and visit soon. They were even more comments about how amazing she was. Charlotte knew the truth though. They had returned to a world that had existed before they met her. Everything was right in that world for them, thanks to her, but that did not mean that it would now include her. It was not the nicest of feelings, but Charlotte had expected it. A tiny part of her had hoped that someone would put up a fight about leaving her, but one by one they left Chicago. About a week after Rachel successfully separated Tyler and Klaus, she was greeted by absolute silence for the first time in a while.

She fell in a routine after a while. She would read a book each day. It would be anything, really. Sometimes a biography, sometimes the newest bestseller, other times a bodice ripper and more often than not it was a novel about finding yourself. It felt to Charlotte that the books she was choosing were trying to say something to her. That there was some sort of personal journey she needed to go on. Maybe it involved travelling the world or maybe getting a new hairstyle and outlook on like. All these novels had different ways of inspiring the hero (or more often heroine) to reevaluate everything they had previously held true.

The problem with this was that none of these people was 1,000 years old. At a certain age, it becomes nearly impossible to change these kinds of opinions. She realized that her subconscious was probably trying to tell her that she needed to deal with the whole Elijah-Tatia situation, but that seemed grim. She hated that Elijah had chosen her sister over her like that, but if he still had tender feelings for dearly departed Tatia, Charlotte probably wouldn't be able to cope. Could you imagine what it would be like to be reminded, over 1,000 years later, he still liked her sister better.

Over a month after her "friends" had left, she was still thinking about what to do next. Her ghost contacts had told her next to nothing about her mysterious assailant with ghost contacting abilities. She knew talking to Tatia might bring her closer to the truth, but that was something that she would only do in the direst of circumstances. There had been nothing to suggest that would be necessary. She had not been attacked again, nor had anyone else who had been in her apartment. Rachel was still in Chicago, taking over where Gloria had left off and the rest were in Mystic Falls arguing amongst themselves. Rebekah had said to Charlotte before she left that she wanted to get things right between her brothers and herself before she would dedicate herself solely to Charlotte and their wonderful friendship. Charlotte had understood. Rebekah had chosen her over her brothers in the past, but their family was in a big enough mess that they demanded more attention at the time.

Katherine had given Charlotte a warm hug and told her that she would be back eventually. She wanted to settle some scores so that she could finally set down some roots. She had a lot of enemies and she wanted to get rid of as many of them as she could before she went "straight" as she joked. Like Katherine Pierce could ever be mistaken for a mobster.

Damon had winked and walked off. Charlotte wasn't sure what to make of that. If her information was right, he had gone back to Mystic Falls with them, but he had been in and out of town. Charlotte couldn't bring herself to pry deeper into his whereabouts. The answer might not be to her liking.

So instead she read and wrote and enjoyed the city. Chicago had always had its own special and magical charm. She still did not feel at rights though. She began to have nightmares that included visits from her mother-in-law. That might not be too alarming, but they started to be every night. She would toss and turn and wake up more exhausted than when she had lain down. Soon, she was sleeping nearly 16 hours a night. The dreams with Esther became more intense. What Charlotte remembered more distinctly was the fact that Esther would apologize to her profusely every time. She would talk about how this was just necessary and she was sorry that it had to happen to Charlotte. She claimed to have always loved the girl like a daughter. Most nights Charlotte just ignored her.

One night, after about two months of being alone, she finally broke her silence with Esther. The woman had once again launched into her speech about being sorry, but this time Charlotte interrupted her.

"Sorry? You're sorry? You killed my only sister! And that is only the beginning of the slights you have committed against me. Don't apologize to me anymore. I cannot stand to hear it. I would rather have you tell me all about everything you and Mikael did in your marital bed than hear once more how sorry you are. You are not even close to sorry."

Esther looked very chagrined. "You're right, Charlotte. I have done you many wrongs. More than you even know about. That does not change the fact that there is something I must do to right the worst of my wrongs. It is unfortunate that I must use you in order to do that. I promise I have tried to do it other ways."

"I am not going to help you kill your children. Something about that strikes me as not cute. Find someone else."

"It truly is regretful, Charlotte. Unfortunately for you, it is not a matter of choice. I really wish it could happen to someone else. You are the only vampire who has not used to abilities I had endowed my children with to mar the face of this earth. This does not save you from my spite though. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me eventually."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "It is obvious that you aren't going to tell me what you're doing. So, why don't you just save it, sister? I would like to get some rest."

"Ask and you shall receive. You won't be waking up for quite a while now, Charlotte."

Charlotte stood up quickly. The dream, in which she had been sitting in a garden with Esther dining on tea party fare, slowly dissolved. She tried to wake herself up, but to no avail. She started to scream and cry. Anything. As a child, she suffered from serious nightmares. She had developed a few trusty tricks to help herself wake up. Not a single one of them was working right now. Esther, that witch, had done something to make sure that Charlotte couldn't wake up. Even worse, Charlotte had no idea why she had done it. Now she was alone in dreamland, with no one to tell. Who was going to save her? Who would even know? Would she slowly decay away to nothing when 400 years later the Mikaelsons settled their issues and Rebekah came looking for her. When Katherine had settled all her scores and was now ready to live a peaceful and fruitful life? Fat chance. Or when Esther used her to whatever nefarious end.

Damon was driving up Lake Shore Drive, on his way to Charlotte's house. He had the windows and roof down. The wind was blowing through his hair and to his right was nothing, but the beautiful blue water of Lake Michigan. He had tried to stay away from Charlotte. He knew that she preferred to live alone and having all those people around had probably been a shock to her system to have all of them living in her house. She had also had to fight repeatedly to defend her life. So, he had given her time. He tried everything he could to distract himself. There was something about Charlotte though. He felt like they had so much unfinished business. In the very least, he wanted to hear the rest of her story. He had not met a woman as interesting as her in all his life. Katherine Pierce had nothing on her.

Damon pulled up to her house and parked the car. He walked up and knocked. When Charlotte didn't answer, he rang the bell. Still, he heard nothing inside the house. He tried the knob. It was unlocked. Of course it was unlocked, what did Charlotte have to fear. Anything that would walk into her house had a hell of a vampire princess to deal with. Damon doubted they would even get past her living room. He smiled to himself. He was glad to be seeing her finally. He heard nothing moving inside the house, then a rustle in the upstairs. He found Charlotte asleep in her bed moaning and groaning.

He couldn't wake her up though. Nothing. Damon tried everything he could. Even entering her dreams to wake her up was impossible. Something was stopping him from getting in.

They were in trouble.