Chapter 7

Today was the day the psychic was set to arrive. Charlotte was so excited. She would get to go to another world! How exciting and interesting would that be?!

"Gather around, everybody," Durik called, gesturing for everybody to come to the centre of the meeting room. "The psychic of the Varden, Annika, will be arriving in ten minutes. Brace yourselves, and if there is anything that you forgot to pack, you can quickly go do that now. But be back by the eight-minute mark."

Suddenly, a blond girl appeared at the centre of the room. She had exquisite green eyes that gave her an enigmatic impression. "Hey, friends! I'm Annika, and I'm happy to meet you all!" she gushed as she smiled widely.

Charlotte thought, "There goes that enigmatic impression."

Durik approached her with a smile that lit up his whole face. Charlotte had not seen him this happy before. "So he's not always depressed!" she thought.

Durik gave her a warm hug and she suddenly took his face in her hands and kissed him hard on the lips. Many of the agents were taken by surprise, looking on with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Durik seemed surprised himself, but he kissed her back passionately, before pulling away and clearing his throat in front of the crowd.

Charlotte felt an odd feeling of unease. "Jealousy?" she asked herself. "No, it couldn't be," she thought, banishing away the thought. "I don't like him in that way. If it is jealousy, it's probably because of how great their relationship seems."

Caroline took note of Charlotte's reaction, and looked disappointed at the kiss. Charlotte knew why. Caroline had made no secret of how much she "shipped" Charlotte and Durik as a potential couple.

"Anyway," Annika said."Let's travel. Woohoo!"

She told everyone to hold hands. Everyone had to be connected by human contact. She held Durik and Damon's hands and teleported them all to Alagaesia.

When they arrived, Charlotte found herself in what looked like the countryside. It was strange though. It looked as if it was set centuries back. It was interesting because she had always wanted to go to a world that was more old-fashioned than hers, just to see what it would be like. Also, so many interesting stories seemed to take place in the past, or in past-themed settings.

Everyone was looking around, trying to take in every inch of the place. Fascination and curiosity captured everyone's hearts.

Annika pointed to a big hill, where there were several cottages. She told them, "This is where you'll be staying. It's not exactly like a five star hotel, but it's cozy."

They all got settled in, and Durik quelled down everyone's excitement about the new setting. "I know you are all excited about being here. I'm sure it's incredibly interesting, and I'm sorry to cut you short on your excitement, I really am. But right now, our main goal is completing our mission. Tomorrow, I have intel that Murtagh is going to be in the edge of Surda. We are going to ambush him, and I am going to send fifteen of us to herd him from all sides, in circle formation. Then, the remaining eight will be positioned with sniper rifles on high ground, ready to shoot any of Murtagh's men, if he brings any. Remember, you can't kill Murtagh. You can hurt him, but if you shoot him, you've got to make sure it's in a non-fatal place, alright?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Bitch," Damon cursed when a soldier stuck a knife in his gut. He took it out and stuck it up the soldier's neck.

It was the middle of the ambush. Murtagh and his men didn't see them coming, so they had surprise on their side. It helped them take down many men at first, but soon, the fight became harder for the Gard. Murtagh had five times the amount of men as they did, and he himself was a very good fighter.

Klaus was fighting very well. He alone had already taken down fifty of Murtagh's men. Despite this, it was a tough battle, as many of Murtagh's men were elites. Things were looking hopeless for the Gard. Durik fought hard, but he couldn't help but despair as his gaze fell on his fallen comrades. Almost half of them had fallen. He let out a cry of pain and rage, attacking a soldier fiercely as he did. He took down soldiers skillfully and edged his way toward his target: Murtagh.

Charlotte had just decapitated a soldier, and saw that Murtagh was in close range now. He was fighting against Alana at the moment. It looked like he was mere seconds from making quick work of her with his sword. Acting quickly, Charlotte kicked him from behind. She didn't want young Alana dead too. He dodged the kick, but in a quick move, she took his arm, twisted it, and flung him against a tree. There was a loud thud, and a few leaves fell as the branches quivered. Murtagh fell, disoriented. However, he recovered quickly. Picking up his sword, he raised it over his head. In a swift strike, he made a move to bring it down upon Charlotte's head. She had no sword at the moment. The only thing she had then was a gun which had just inconveniently run out of bullets. There was no time to reload, so she instinctively protected herself with it, acting as if it were a sword, parrying. His sword strike had so much force behind it that her gun split in two. Charlotte threw it down. It would be better to rely on her quick moves. She was trained in hand-to-hand combat, after all.

Murtagh attempted another swipe at Charlotte, but mid-swipe, he stopped. Charlotte looked at him, wondering why he halted. She wondered if someone had stabbed him in the back, or if he had been sniped. However, he showed no signs of a new injury. He dropped his sword, not even seeming to register his now defenceless state. He just looked captivated by her and tears started to well up in his eyes. He choked up and muttered a single word: "You?"

Charlotte was deeply puzzled. "What does he mean? Does he think he knows me? Surely, he must have mistaken me for someone else. I've never seen this guy in my life. Am I a doppelganger, like Caroline's friend, Elena?" she wondered.

But before she had time to say anything, a figure whizzed from behind her, and daggered Murtagh in the leg. "There, he won't be able to run away now," Damon said, before rendering Murtagh unconscious with a swift blow to the head.