Chapter 13

As Caroline cried over Klaus, thoughts flashed through her mind. Even a few years ago, she wouldn't have ever imagined spilling tears over Klaus… Klaus, the one who had tried to kill most of her friends… at least once. Klaus, who had tried to sacrifice her for a ritual. She thought of how much things could change. Someone she had once wanted dead was now secretly the person who filled every day of her existence with life.

Suddenly, Klaus drew a sharp intake of breath. Caroline's head shot up. "Klaus!" she gasped. She felt so relieved. Klaus's eyes darted to her. "Caroline?" He looked slightly reassured by her presence. Then a look of sheer terror dominated his expression.

"What is it?!" Caroline asked.

Klaus's eyes grew wide, and he slowly turned his head from side to side. "No… no… NO! This is not happening." He gradually lifted his nervous gaze to meet her eyes. "Caroline, I think I'm human."

"What?!" Caroline asked, clearly in disbelief.

So you remember me.

"Yes, I do. Yeah, I remember you," Charlotte replied. She was nervous. She didn't know what to say. This was the guy she had a secret crush on for six years. No, it was more than that. fact that someone, a stranger, would just save her like that was so touching, not to mention his polite, gentlemanly attitude. And not to forget his impeccable looks: his striking blue eyes, his smooth perfect blond hair, and his face. He was almost… a fantasy. How could somebody be that perfect? Could such perfection even exist?

She suddenly felt awkward. Not knowing what to do, she looked back at her foot. It was miraculously all healed! Not fully believing it, she stood up cautiously. It felt fine too!

"It's already better!" Charlotte exclaimed.

Legolas grinned. "This liquid was gifted to me by the lady Galadriel, who is a very powerful and respected leader among the elves. It has extraordinary healing qualities."

Charlotte suddenly remembered something. This man who had occupied so many of her thoughts, as well as so much of her heart, throughout the past few years, was nameless to her. She said, "I'm Charlotte." He smiled warmly at her. "What's your name?" she asked.

"I am Legolas of Mirkwood," he answered.

Legolas, wow. That was certainly a name she had never heard before. It was a nice name.

"That's a really cool name. I like it," she told him with a shy smile.

"Thank you," he said. "I like your name too."

After a small awkward silence, he asked her, "So what were you doing out here?"

She easily decided that he could be trusted, so she told him, "Oh, I was heading toward the headquarters of the Varden."

"I see. Do you have business with the Varden?"

"Yes," she replied. "I'm actually a member of the Varden, but I'm in a special task force within it, and I'm new, so I've never actually been to the headquarters yet. I have a short week-long break, so I was going to go there and spend my week there… what about you? What brings you here? Last I saw you, you weren't in this world."

"Ah, yes. I got a psychic to teleport me here," Legolas replied. "And my business is…" he broke off, hesitation clear in his voice.

Charlotte quickly told him, "Oh, it's okay. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Legolas looked at her contemplatively for a few seconds and then spoke. "I'm here to find a friend of mine who has gone missing. I am very worried."

Charlotte gave him a look of sympathy. "I hope you succeed and find your friend all safe and sound." Then she added, "I'm sure you will."

"Thank you," Legolas said. It was very difficult to interpret him. She couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling most of the time because his face was always presented in a composed, polite manner.

Charlotte wondered when they would part ways. She was loathe to do so; she liked being around him so much. Every moment around him seemed magical, even if they weren't speaking or making eye contact. He just had this aura to him that was so appealing and perfect. But she couldn't stand not knowing how long they would be together, so she asked, "Legolas, which way are you heading?"

"I do not know my friend's whereabouts , so I will check the Varden first. Even if he's not there, perhaps I will be able to find information that will help me find him, so I will travel with you."

"Oh really?!" she blurted out. It was just way too much excitement all of a sudden.

When Legolas stared at her curiously at her sudden outburst, she flushed and said, "I mean, that's cool. I like travel companions. I was starting to get bored anyway."

Legolas just smiled. "What is that smile supposed to mean?!" Charlotte thought. She felt so nervous around him, and she found herself wondering about every little eyebrow raise he made, every look he gave her, and every word he spoke.

Legolas said, "We could get there before the end of the day if we travel fast enough. Let's start walking." The pair picked up their travel packs and started walking.

As they walked, they exchanged short tales from their lives. Charlotte told him about her university life at the RMC, and Legolas spoke of his duties as the Elven prince of Mirkwood. They exchanged a couple of laughs as they recounted amusing experiences.

"Once," Charlotte said, stifling back laughter, "on the first day of school, there was this one student who was SO arrogant. Oh my god, he actually thought he was all that. He looked down on everybody, apart from his friends, but as soon as we started training and learning, he wasn't even average! Sure, he was good enough to get in to the RMC, but he was a notch under average… his face when he realized that he wasn't the best anymore was so priceless."

Legolas gave a light chuckle. "Those people are always amusing. I remember, once while I was fighting against an enemy, he looked so conceited and I could see what was on his mind. He thought he could defeat me easily, so he even motioned for me to come to him and attack him first. I did, and took him down in one strike. Then, he just tried to crawl away."

Charlotte laughed, "He was crawling away… crawling away!" She found it hard to stop. There was something about Legolas… he made her laugh so easily. "Wow… that's just hilarious. Just priceless!" she said.

They laughed together. The harmony of their happy laughter filled the evening with light.

"What do you mean you're human?" Caroline asked. "That's impossible," she muttered.

"That's what I thought too," Klaus said, clearly in shock. "But I think it's true. I feel different now. I can't do anything a vampire can. Or anything a werewolf can."

He looked very troubled. If the sky could be used as a metaphor for his expression right now, it would be stormy for sure, with myriads of tornados and hurricanes wreaking chaos.

"Turn me," he murmured.

Caroline could see how much he didn't want to be human, so she obliged. "Okay."

She bit into her right wrist and held it up to his mouth. He drank up the blood quickly, and pulled away. "You do it," he said.

Caroline looked at him with a pained expression.

Klaus's panicked expression calmed down a bit after looking at her, and he softened, "Please. I lack the means and materials to do so right now. I'm sorry."

With great reluctance, she snapped his neck with her vampire speed. She wanted to do it as fast as possible.