Hey, I'm back. Sorry that things have taken a while. It was never my goal to drag this out. That being said, this chapter was quite difficult. Hope you enjoy it and please REVIEW.

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Thank you to with-a-passion for your review. Glad you are enjoying the chapters so much, here is another one for you to enjoy.

Lisolotte

"Ludicrous," Alaric responded.

"After everything you've seen that is the ludicrous thing?" Charlotte paused and gave him a knowing smile. "You're in my dream right now. And you're dead."

"Bringing someone back to life is beyond all of that."

Charlotte knocked back three shots before she answered. "UGH. I hate this conversation. Maybe it is because I have never had this conversation. A life full of betrayals kind of makes you play your secrets close to the chest. I am being honest with you now though. I am not a medium like Claude."

"Why are you telling me this?" Alaric asked once Charlotte paused in her narrative too long.

"I need to tell someone and you're dead and can't tell anyone else."

"I could tell Jeremy. Or this Claude character."

Charlotte smiled and there was something about the smile that was off. It faded and at that point, she just looked haunted. It scared Alaric. "You could try," she said in a far off voice. "Do not tell anyone a single thing about my secrets and not even a hint of it to anyone else," Charlotte said in that same heavy voice she had used with Esther. A ghost of a smile returned to her face. "So, I repeat that you can try to tell someone, but you wouldn't be successful."

Alaric shook his head at the difficult girl. "You should probably wake up now. We'll finish our conversation later, Mystery Woman."

-ahc-

"They kidnapped Charlotte?" Klaus howled. "What audacity."

"Tell me something that we don't know," Damon said.

"So, to be clear, you want us un-killable vampires to go in and handle this Claude fellow because they got the jump on Charlotte?" Kol asked.

"I am mightily embarrassed by it myself," Charlotte said as she entered the room. Thinking about the strange nature of her interaction with Alaric, she reassessed the men in front of her. Kol, Klaus, Elijah, Damon and Stefan had gathered. To some level, she mistrusted each one of them. But that didn't mean that she had to do this on her own. "We could strategize. As much as I hate to admit it, I am probably not up to this. They obviously know enough to incapacitate me. Whoever these others are."

"Getting real tired of people cropping up to ruin our lives," Damon drawled.

Charlotte stared at him hard at this comment, but he noted that something in her expression had softened for the first time since she found out that he had killed Lexi.

"Klaus, darling, I have his name. How about you do some little research? Or are Elijah's contacts better than yours? Either way, how about we find out about this Claude fellow?" Charlotte said to her brother in law with as much sweetest as she could imagine.

A look of confusion blossomed slowly on Klaus's face. "Why are you so willing to work with us now? If I'm not mistaken, you are the same sister-in-law of mine who is furious with basically everyone one in this room. Stefan might actually be the only person who has not done something to personally offend you." Klaus paused and considered Stefan. Charlotte suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "You might not even like him considering the company he keeps."

Charlotte sauntered over to Klaus. She pondered sweet words and threats and ultimately decided there was nothing else she could do, but give up the game. "Klaus, I just got kidnapped which, considering my advanced age, is damned embarrassing. I want to neutralize these problems and get on with my life. It may not have been an exciting existence by any of your standards, but I liked my life. Do I need to let go of my anger? Sure. Doesn't mean this whole business isn't exhausting to me."

Klaus put up his hands. "I wasn't asking for a whole explanation of your motivations. Just asking for a little clarity."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "JUST WORK IT OUT." And she stormed out of the room.

-ahc-

Charlotte sat braiding her sister's hair absentmindedly. As much as she loved her own dark hair, Tatia's would always be more beautiful and better manipulated into decadent hairdos. There was not much for them to wear their hair fancily for in the New World, but that did not mean that trying them was not something they still enjoyed.

Moving had been so hard on Charlotte. She knew that is was a choice that she had made: to stick by her sister rather than sending her away, but she missed home. This land was wild and untamed; it needed a populace that would shape and form it. Maybe Tatia had that spirit that lent itself towards new and impossible experiences.

Charlotte wanted to have the courage to take her life into her own hands and make her own way, but she was terribly traditional. She would probably spend the rest of her life taking care of her sister. Defending her from every evil and ill. It was not like there was any way that Charlotte could find her own life, let alone her own husband—unless her parents chose for her.

Strangely, this didn't bother Charlotte. She loved Tatia beyond comprehension. And if that meant that she would spend her entire life bettering her sister's, she would do it. Tatia was another part of her soul.

-ahc-

Charlotte was unsure why that particular memory was so strong in her mind. It wasn't even really the memory, but the memory of the feeling she held so deeply. Perhaps feelings was the more appropriate term. The way that Charlotte had felt about Tatia, about herself and about the world had changed so drastically. Was it because the circumstances of Charlotte's life had changed so much or was extreme change in a person truly possible? Could she believe that Klaus, Kol, Rebekah, Damon, Elijah or anyone for that matter could really truly change?

She needed someone to talk to. Throwing Katherine out had been a stupid idea, but she had done it to protect both of them. She didn't want to let Katherine get tainted by all the mess between her and the Mikaelsons. Katherine would never be completely uninvolved—Charlotte was not unaware of the flirtation between Katherine and Elijah, but the fact that it remained only a flirtation was the important part.

Charlotte downed the rest of the wine in her glass and gave into the impulse. She called Katherine. It rang and rang and rang. Finally, it went to voicemail and Charlotte was unsure whether or not to leave a message. The beep made a choice for her. Charlotte was silent for a full 3 seconds before she started. "Kit, I'm sorry. I don't know if you can believe that. I really just didn't want you to get ensnared by all this mess. It's such a mess. That's why I tried to put it so far behind me. It didn't work." Here she was interrupted by a hiccup. The tears began to run down her face faster and her voice became more unintelligible. "I need you. These people are tearing me up. I need my best friend to take care of me. I can't do it without you. Please." She hung up the phone, grabbed the wine bottle and took herself to bed finally.