"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.

"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here." — An Excerpt from Alice in Wonderland by C. S. Lewis

Correction Four: The Apple

The Evil Queen sent the apple in hopes that Snow White would eat it and die.

But Snow White just became much more lethal.

The lighting was low and torch bugs lit the sky. The world seemed to hum and stir with an unseen energy that only he could feel right now. The world was just a being with energy and life even though it looked to be still and resting.

Why did people sleep at night? There was so much wonder to it. The way owls flew over your head without waking the leaves. How silver bathed everything giving it an ethereal glow. And the dew tiny but still most certainly there clung to the plant life so fervently as if they were going to fall off and become one with the earth that they so hated. There was something about night that was beautiful and charming that only he could see, but he was okay with that. He did not want his siblings to come a ruin his quiet time for him.

He stumbled along the path that he had marked for himself. He had already passed the tree with the rune for fire on it and now all he would need to do was pass the mushroom field. He really did hate that field, he hated mushrooms. They tasted awful and they looked no better than they tasted. Mushrooms were a curse to man.

Ah, there was the mushroom patch! He scurried by and knew that the sooner that he had passed the sooner he would be able to practice. As soon as he was powerful enough he would turn all the mushrooms in the world into a flowers. He then frowned, thinking about all the flowers that Rebekah would try and bring into the house. Flowers made his nose itch. No, maybe he would just make all the mushrooms disappear. They had no more need for anymore flowers.

He had finally reached the spot that he had been traveling to. It was just a simple clearing. It was small ten very big horses would be enough to fill the clearing but it was bigger than the five year old and that was all he really needed. He could feel the energy of the forest―of nature humming around him. It felt welcoming as he had felt it every day for as long as he could remember. It felt like the wings of a butterfly against his skin or the soft caress of his mother; it was familiar and welcoming and soothed him.

Taking a deep breath he thought about the girl that was now in his home. He felt the power radiating from her. Every time he was near her he felt an intense heat lick at his skin like he was sitting too close to the cooking pit. He did not know what the fire meant but it was not something that he felt that he should be afraid of. The girl was about his age so it could only mean that she was like him or something made by people like him. But she did not appear to be dangerous so he could stay and play with her.

He dropped the book onto the grass and plopped himself down in front of it. His mother's grimoire was very heavy and it strained his back to carry it all the way from his home to the clearing. He flipped to the second page of the grimoire as he was not too far into learning magic and was still trying to master the basics.

Levitation was tonight's spell as it had been for the past few weeks. It was harder than most of the other spells that he had tried to do because it took focus. Little focus could drop the object while too much focus could propel the object and Kol did not want to throw the book miles away from him when all he really wanted to do was gently lift it off the ground.

She was back at school. Caroline never thought she would be so happy to say that but she was back at school!

The chalk board was clean with all the colored and white pieces of chalk all lined up in the same way that the rainbow was. All the tables and chairs were in order and the cubby was filled the usual work books and notebooks and the coat closet had all of the coats and jackets that said that the other children were in class today too. But then where were all the rest of the children?

Caroline walked around the classroom once. Maybe they went outside? Caroline peeked her head into the hallway but there was no hallway only darkness behind the door. Caroline slammed the door shut and slid down the side of the door until she felt her butt touch the ground. She was not back in her classroom. She was not back at school. She was not back at Mystic Falls.

But goddammit she wanted to be! She wanted to be home so bad. She wanted to see Elena, despite her not liking her as much as Bonnie; she wanted to see her mother, even though she would probably just leave her with a baby sitter and go and throw herself into her work; she wanted to see her father and it didn't even mater that it would probably be through a photo. She just wanted to be home, safe and sound, with things and people that were familiar. A heavy sob lifted up from Caroline, and she crossed her arms. This wasn't fair. Why was she the one that had to be separated from her family?

A low whistle rang out, "Well aren't you making this place a mess!"

Caroline lifted her head and saw the witch that put her into her current situation glance around the room before settling her eyes on her. The witch's lips tugged up, up, up, into an amused smile before her bare feet padded over to Caroline. Another sob shook Caroline's body as the witch lowered herself down to look Caroline in the eye. "A-are you here t-to send me home?" Caroline hiccupped.

With her arms behind her back and that amused smile still on her face, the witch tilted her head. "Now why in the world would I do that?"

"I wanted to go home!" Caroline said a little more forcefully. Caroline was done. She was done with witches and bad tasting oatmeal and boys that had hair almost as long as her own. She was done with everything that the witch had done to her. She wanted no more part in the witch's plans. "I was good all day so now it is time for you to send me home! It's only fair!"

"Ha ha! And where did you get that idea, niña? Who told you that good behavior gets you sent home?"

Caroline felt her mouth open and close. She was pretty sure that she looked like a fish with her jaw just lowering and shutting rapidly. It was only fair right? If Caroline was good she got to go home and if she was bad then she had to stay for a little while longer. It was what made sense. It was the fair and reasonable thing to do.

"Sorry to be the one to tell you this, girlie, but I can't send you back. Your Mystic Falls doesn't exist anymore. How sad."

The way the witch said it made it sound like the destruction of her town was not all that despairing at all but Caroline had no time to be pondering the heavy sarcasm that was laden in the witch's sentence. Her town was gone. Elena, Bonnie, her mother, Matt, everyone was gone. She would never see them again. But she just said that Mystic Falls was gone. And her father wasn't in Mystic Falls so she still had him, she could still go back to someone familiar.

"And my father? If my mother is gone can you at least send me to my father?" Caroline asked. Something weak was raising her in, with every moment that the witch said nothing it grew stronger. Maybe there was still some hope that Caroline could be with someone from her normal life. And if it was her father he would go to every funeral and Caroline would get to say her goodbye to them all.

"Niña not to burst your bubble or anything but when I said gone I mean your whole world. Everyone from your time is gone. But I'm here so it can't be too bad!" the witch exclaimed. Caroline did not care. The witch was not her mother or her father or anyone else. The witch was the one that caused all of her problems and now she could not even fix them. Suddenly Caroline felt that sensation of falling again; she was spiraling downwards into some dark abyss. Caroline wanted to scream but could not find the energy to, but really why bother if no one was going to be there to catch her.

"Caroline!" the witch was falling with her and that sent a spark of cold joy into Caroline's heart. The witch will pay for what she has done. "Caroline! Stop!" Papers, desks, chairs, and books flew past them dropping into the vast unknown that lay patiently at the bottom.

Caroline gave no response and just allowed herself to fall. She hoped they hit the ground soon. It wouldn't hurt long when they finally hit. Just a small pinch and then they would be done.

"Caroline! I can lead you back to your family!"

What?

Everything stopped. A paper that was fluttering above her head slowed. The witch let out a sigh. "My family?" Caroline whispered. "You can lead me back to my family?"

The witch nodded. "I'm here to guide you. You now have a lot of power and since you're a kid someone need to teach you how to use it."

"But this power can lead me back to my family, right? I will get to see them right?"

"Yes, but you need to listen to me. As your guide I have to lead you to discover what you are."

"What I am?" What she was? Well that was simple Caroline was human. Caroline was a five year old human that needed to go back home to her parents. Caroline was the girl that trusted strangers. "Why can't you just tell me?"

The witch shook her head. "'S not allowed. I would if I could though." While suspended in air, the witch moved her way towards Caroline. Pushing aside any objects that were in her way, Caroline marveled at the world around her. It was all a flush of bright colors and floating object but all of it was paused with only herself and the witch being the only two animated objects. "My name," the witch said. "Is Esmeralda and as your guide this will be the first task I will ask you to do."

The witch's― Esmeralda's hands gripped Caroline's chin. Caroline shivered and felt the goose bumps that rose on her skin as Esmeralda's cold hands rested on her face. "What's my first task?"

"Wake up."

Caroline's eyes shot open as a wolf howled at the moon.

The next morning the whole Mikaelson family with the extension of Caroline woke up groggy. Esther awoke with large bags under her eyes and rubbing her stomach furiously. "Stop moving child," she would murmur to her swollen belly. Rebekah awoke in the usual way but stumbled a little more but still managed to flash him an innocent smile.

It was Mikael that worried everyone, mostly Niklaus. That morning Mikael awoke and the first thing that he did was shout to wake the whole house. All of the siblings had to scramble out of bed but Caroline was adamant to stay asleep. Niklaus furrowed his brow as he tried to shake the girl awake but she only waved off his hands. If they did not hurry and get to the kitchen to eat then they would have to face the wrath of Mikael. And Klaus knew for a fact that it was something to be afraid seeing as he was Mikael's whipping boy.

"Caroline, there really is no time for you to be stubborn. We must wash up for breakfast," Niklaus insisted. Caroline frowned and furrowed her brow. Klaus reached for her shoulders again, going to try and shake them but Caroline opened her eyes and slapped his hands away. Though she could not talk her eyes screamed of the irritation that she felt at his constant shaking. Really how could one girl be so stubborn?

"Caroline we really must go and―" Klaus tried but then the heavy footfalls and the booming voice of his father interrupted him.

"Why are the two of you still inside? Why is Caroline still in bed?" Mikael asked. Klaus did not think about turning around. He knew that he should turn and face his father and tell him of the simple situation but really he could not. The man was terrifying. Well-built from years of being a Viking and hardened from battle Mikael not only had the presence but also the look that could strike fear into the hearts of anyone. Klaus was one of them.

He kept his eyes trained on the girl in front of him who was looking over his shoulder at Mikael. Her head was a curly mop of blonde hair and her blue eyes looked a little glassy as her mind finally pulled itself together. Klaus wondered how the girl was going to react, but all she did was give Mikael a small smile and a shy wave. Mikael's face softened and Niklaus was surprised. If anything he was expecting his father to go on a rampage about how they would withhold the rest of the family for breakfast, usually a harsh speech about Klaus's incompetence but then again Klaus was in the presence of someone new so Mikael would want to put his best foot forward in order to impress the girl with the nice clothing.

"I-I was just waking her up, Father. I was going to send her off with Rebekah to go and bathe," Niklaus said meekly. His head was bowed as he heard Mikael grunt and shuffle away. An audible sight left Klaus and he turned to see Caroline looking at him curiously. Klaus quickly turned away.

"Come now, Rebekah is waiting for you."

She really did not know what she was expecting when she was told that Rebekah was going to go take her to bathe. She had heard of people not being as well off as she was but these people must be really poor if they had to bathe in a river. And that was the place that Caroline was expected to shed her clothing and bathe. Rebekah had done it without another thought and hopped into the slow running water. But no, Caroline was not getting into that water; she wanted an actual bath or a shower.

"Caroline, get into the water!" Rebekah hollered. She was waist deep in the water and was already soaking wet. Caroline turned away from the naked girl with a furious blush on her face. Nope! Caroline was not getting into the water especially if there was someone else there. "Caroline!" Rebekah tried.

The other girl walked towards a nearby tree and sat down. Caroline would wait until Rebekah left and then she would go. Caroline then decided to occupy her time pointing out shapes in the clouds. There was a lion, and oh! There was a gaggle of geese in the sky. Caroline smiled as she watched the bright blue sky pass by.

"Do you see the tiger?"

Caroline's eyes snapped to the side where she saw the witch relaxing next to her. Caroline's eyes dilated and she wanted to scream but her mouth opened uselessly and no scream came. She really needed to get use to this no voice thing. The witch laughed at her.

"Why aren't you bathing?" the witch asked but then she waved off the question with the shake of her head. "Well then again bathtubs haven't been invented yet." Caroline just frowned. The witch was talking crazy again. Some of her fear that was fluttering in her chest was ebbed away by the confusion but Caroline believed that she would never not be afraid of the witch that sent her here.

The witch was looking at her again. "Come on speak to me! I cannot have a conversation all by myself. Use your power, speak to me!" What was she talking about? Caroline had no special powers or anything. She was just some girl who got caught up in something terrible. "Well this is why I'm here," the witch sighed. "You need to figure out what you are faster. The world can't have part of their justice system refusing to do its job!"

Justice? Caroline wondered. The witch laughed as Caroline watched her figure fade. "Yes, niña. Justice." The witch faded away and Caroline felt the fluttering in her chest grow worse. Could the witch read minds now? And what did she mean when she said part of the justice system. Caroline was only five! She was too young for this!

"Caroline! Caroline! Nik! Elijah! Do something!"

Caroline's eyes suddenly focused. There was a lot of movement and sound; it all overwhelmed her senses making the world a blur of movement and color. Caroline blinked rapidly as she tried to focus on what the hell was going on. Something was on her arm, she realized slowly.

"Don't worry about anything, Caroline. You'll be okay." Said one of Rebekah's long haired brothers. Caroline looked down at her arm. A snake had decided to make a meal out of her and had its fangs deep in her skin. Caroline's eyes widened.

Oh.

She looked back at the siblings who were all fretting and scrambling for something to do. They obviously did not know what to do in this situation. Caroline didn't either, so she fainted.

Kol watched his mother press down on Caroline's arm with as much force as possible. He could see that his mother was trying but she was not working as hard as she usually work. Kol knew his mother; he had seen that stony, yet flighty look that she got when she really wanted to save the life of whoever she was tending too. And Kol had seen that look on many of the people that his mother was trying to save all but the hopeless cases. And at first seeing the supposed effort that his mother was giving made Kol a little sad. They had only just met the girl and she was already going to leave them. But then Kol remembered Egdna, a farmer's wife. She had been bitten by a snake that was hiding in a bale of hay and his mother had been able to heal her. That meant that is Caroline could be healed also, so then why wasn't his mother trying to help poor Caroline.

Elijah had told him and Rebekah that mother had wanted them to stay away from the girl, but Kol thought nothing of it. The girl was just a girl like Rebekah. But then again there was a village of people who turned into monstrous wolves and Kol was a warlock also. If what they could do was possible then maybe the girl could do something also, something that his mother was deathly afraid of if she was willing to let the girl die. But did that make it right, to let a girl die because she had some ability like him?

"Kol." Kol turned to his mother. Esther was looking at him with stern eyes and pursed lips. She possessed a cool look on her face and there was something odd about her demeanor; something too relaxed. "Watch Caroline for me while I go fetch some water. Alert me immediately if her condition changes."

Kol barely had time to murmur his consent before his mother was already out of the hut with a bucket in her hand. She appeared to be going fast but he knew the way that she was taking was going to be the long way to the well. His mother would not be back for a while. Kol walked into the room where Caroline lay. Her breathes were shallow and her skin gleamed with a thin layer of sweat. She tossed and turn on her pallet, muttering to herself.

Physical contact was something that Kol liked. He liked the reassurance that someone was there right beside him. His father said that only dogs loved to be petted and patted, but no matter how much the comment hurt Kol ignored his father, seeking out as much physical contact as possible. Though other than the pleasure that it gave him Kol liked to touch people for one more reason: the visions. He loved watching the visions that touching people gave him. Their darkest secrets or most private thoughts were all at Kol's fingertips if he just closed his eyes and touched them. He liked all the things that he learned through this and it made life here in the village so much more interesting. Kol wonder what he would find out if he touched Caroline. Grabbing her hand Kol closed his eyes and watched.

There was something about being sick that Caroline had always hated. Whenever the other kids in her class would comment on how Becky or Tyler or Jason were so lucky that they got the flu and got to skip class, Caroline would always look at them with confusion. There was nothing graceful or lucky about being sick. When you were sick, you were tired, had a runny nose, coughed, and were practically useless to the world. But then again those kids had parents who would dote on them. Caroline did not get that luxury.

"Don't worry it's almost over," Esmeralda sighed. Caroline frowned as she looked at the witch by her side. "You have almost absorbed all the poison." Caroline sighed though it quickly turned into a grimace as a wave of pain racked through her body.

"What do you mean by that?" Caroline asked. Esmeralda gave a sly smile. She lay down on her stomach and drew circles in the ground. It was obvious that Caroline was not going to get any answers from her.

"I am going to die?" her voice was small and shaking. The pain was still there surging through her body. The pain burned; it felt like fire in her veins and it was slowly eating her from the inside out. God, it hurt, but she could not cry out.

"No, no, no! Snakes are your friends! Their weapon is your weapon." Caroline let out a heavy pant. She turned her head to look at the witch who was smiling at her again. Everything felt hot and the world was starting to spin. She felt like that one time when she ate too much funnel cake at the fun fair and then went on this ride called the Tornado. The Tornado spun so fast that Caroline was glued to her seat and the wind forced her to stand still. Everything spun around in a dizzying display of color just like it was now.

"Are you even real?" The witch gave another smile and went back to drawing circles in the ground. Why did that look like a snake eating its own tail?

"Ayana!" Ayana turned in time to see Esther storm over to her. Her former apprentice roughly grabbed her by the arm, pulled her behind a tree, fervently whispering. "The girl has fallen ill. A serpent bit her while she was with Rebekah bathing. The wretched thing probably tried to make the snake bite Rebekah. I do not wish to assist the girl but I appear to be for appearances sake."

Ayana turned to the younger woman and frowned. "No, you will save the girl." The sternness of her voice and the look of disappointment in Esther's eyes reminded her of when Esther was young and just learning how to use her magic.

"Can we use our magic to make people do as we please," a young Esther would ask.

"No. We have been given these powers to balance nature. To use them for any other purpose would be wrong," Ayana would answer.

"Sad, then. I would have made the baker's son give me free sweet rolls," Esther would pout.

Moments like these had long passed though and all that was left of the young girl from that past was something that Ayana could barely identify. There were moments where Ayana wondered where that girl had gone, but there was barely anytime for Ayana to truly go and search for the lost girl; there was only enough time to try and keep this new woman from destroying the remnants of who she was.

"Save her? Why on earth would I want to save her?! In nature was evil, I felt it!" Esther hissed.

"You will not kill a girl that we know nothing about! Her nature maybe evil but her heart may be in a good place!" Ayana hissed back. There was no justice or balance in the murder of a child. No one would gain anything from her death and Ayana would find out nothing about what Caroline was if she was dead.

"I told you of what I felt! I told you of how what she is will bring nothing but destruction!"

Esther's face was red with fury but Ayana's was nothing but cool apathy. Getting their emotions involved would do nothing but make the two women lose their levelheadedness, which was greatly needed at the time. Ayana just nodded her head. "A beast no matter how tame and docile it becomes will always obey its true nature, you taught me that." Ayana kept nodding her head.

"That I did." Ayana turned and began to walk. The trees were beginning to lose their flowers and the beginnings of fruit were just starting to show. Soon pies and other such sweets would be made by the bucket load. Ayana then looked to Esther who was still looking at her. "But whose destruction the girl will bring about is unknown."

There was much to be considered now that the girl was here and Ayana still needed to use the spell to find out about what the girl was. The fact that Esther would rather kill her so quickly instead of discover and learn showed how fast the darkness was consuming her.

How long would it be until Esther was lost to them all?

Everything was dark to Kol. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but darkness and that made where ever he was seem smaller. It was humid and the surface of where he was sitting was rough, callous to the touch. "Mother?" Kol cried out.

Nothing could be heard except loud whispers. They seemed to crowd against his ear, all of the voices growing louder in volume trying to catch his attention. All of the voice wanted him to listen to them. Soon enough the voices were shouting.

"She did this to me!"

"Do you not see what you have invited into your home?"

"She has done nothing but good!"

"How did she get here?"

"How many more do you think will die now that she is here?"

"A hundred more!"

"A thousand more!"

The voices cackled as they all shouted their bets. Something icy cold slid down Kol's back and he ran. The humidity, the voices, they all needed to stop. Kol needed to get away from them all. Even though he could not see Kol ran. He stumbled and tripped causing the voices to laugh.

"Look at the boy! Look at him fall!"

"Are you a cripple boy?"

They laughed and jeered, bringing tears to Kol's eyes. He slapped his hands over his ears and ran faster down the dark tunnel screaming. "Shut up! Shut up! Be quiet! Quiet!"

Kol ran and ran and ran until he felt his feet begin to tire and ache. The voices wouldn't stop. It was dark and Kol was alone. Kol kept his hands around his ears as he cried. He moved forward and his feet began to feel wet. Kol uncovered his ears and if he ignored the voices he could hear the rushing of water.

"Do you think you are safe boy?"

This voice was low in timbre but Kol could not tell if it was a male or female voice like he could all the others. Fear crawled up his spine.

"Do you think you are safe from her wrath?"

Kol dunked his head under the water and saw Caroline.

How could Ayana want to just leave the girl alive? That this was a menace and it needed to leave immediately. Esther walked towards her home in a hurried pace. Caroline needed to leave and if anyone though otherwise well it would be too late seeing as the girl was already dying. It would be so simple to just let the girl perish by poison but Ayana already knew. She was so foolish to tell Ayana about her plan to kill the girl.

Trust no one, Esther, she reprimanded herself. Ayana seemed to think that Esther was still her apprentice. That her word was still law like it used to be. But that was no longer the case. Esther was now a grown woman and had a family and power of her own. Esther made her own rules and laws. Esther was her own witch now and would do as she so well pleased.

"Nothing is going to keep me from destroying that girl before she destroys my family."

The girl's nature was to destroy and that was what she was going to do. Why could Ayana not see that? A dog no matter how tamed and kind once backed into a corner will bite. The girl may not be a serious problem now but what about in a week or in a moon cycle. The girl may be nice now but there would always be the urge to destroy no matter how much she fights against it.

A monster shall always be a monster.

But what if what Ayana said was true? What is she was not there to bring about the destruction of her loved ones but someone else's? Was this girl here to bring about the end of the wolves? No, then the girl would be with the wolves waiting to destroy them. No, this girl was meant to destroy this town, starting with her family. She was doing the town a favor by allowing this poison to kill the girl.

Esther walked into her home and poured to water into a bowl. She would allow the girl to at least think that Esther was helping her. "Kol!" Esther called. "Fetch the rags from the room."

There was no response.

"Kol!" Esther tried again. There was still no response. Esther frowned thinking that the boy had gone off to play with some of his friends. She would have to give that boy a very stern talking to. He could not just run and leave an ailing person unattended even if that person was going to die anyways.

"Ack…a-ah-ck."

Esther frowned as she heard the sounds of choking from the other room. Caroline was probably choking in there. Should she just allow the girl to die in there? Well if she wanted to make the whole ruse convincing it would not hurt to try and keep the girl alive for a little while longer. Esther walked into the room with the bowl in her hands, prepared to dab at the sweat that certainly had gathered on her skin.

"Kol!"

The clay bowl shattered on the ground as Esther rushed towards her son. The boy was twitching erratically, foaming and choking on his own spit. Foam gathered around his mouth and his eyes had rolled into the back of his skull showing only the whites of his eyes. Tears gathered in Esther's eyes as she shook her son, hoping to magically cure him from whatever it was that was ailing him.

"Kol! Kol open your eyes! Mother is here! Kol do not die!"

Kol continued to twitch.

Kol opened his eyes.

"Well glad to see that you have finally woken up!"

His eyes met the green eyes of a tan skinned woman.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Miss Esmeralda Schiff, but you can call me Emmie. Welcome to the memories of the Executioner!"

While the apple was did its just and poison Snow White. It did nothing but make her stronger.

It forged her into a weapon that the Evil Queen could not even fight against.

Author's Note: Well, it has been a while since I last updated hasn't it. I'm sorry for the delay.

I would like to thank my wonder beta Camila! She made this story readable so she deserves good pat on the back.

So as you can see I changed my name again! From Miss Wicked Lovely to wanderlust-bitethedust! You guys need to keep me from changing my name so much. I think it may be confusing for some people.

Anyways all the latest developments on TVD have greatly upset and bored me. Queen Katherine is gone and went to Hell apparently which makes no sense to me. I mean Silas was twice as bad as Katherine and he didn't go to Hell so why Katherine. Well there goes all my Kalijah dreams. It appears that Elijah now has to die so he can be with Katherine in Hell.

Enzo seems cool. I like him, but I don't really know if I ship Carenzo. I could get one board with it but I sometimes I think that Enzo is just a cheap Klaus to get Klaroliners to move on.

So what do you guys think of the chapter? What do you think about Caroline's predictament? Kol's? Esther's hate towards Caroline? I spent a while trying to type this so I hope that you guys enjoyed it. I loved writing it!

Follow me on tumblr if you want at wanderlust-bitethedust . tumblr . com

Until Next Time,

wanderlust-bitethedust