𝟕𝟕

a/n: Lottie's outfit for the chapter is above!

☆═━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍━═☆

Charlotte had gone back to the Boarding House for a change of clothes and a shower and left Caroline to finish a few things back at the Gilberts' when she returned the blonde was on the phone with Elena with the news that both Jeremy and Bonnie were missing, "Tell me you're not serious."

"I wish I weren't."

She took a seat on the couch, shamelessly listening in on the conversation as Elena sighed, continuing, "When we got back from looking for Jeremy, Shane and Bonnie were gone too. Shane needs Bonnie to cast a spell on Jeremy's tattoo in order to find the cure, and he managed to sneak them both out from under our noses."

Caroline asked, shrugging her shoulders, "Well, where's Damon in all this?"

"We had an argument," The Gilbert girl answered, "I thought he was just taking a walk, but then when we went to the beach, we saw signs of a struggle."

"Meaning what?"

Charlotte rose to her feet, moving to get herself something to drink from the fridge as she answered, "Meaning he got vampire napped."

"Is that Charlotte?" Elena asked over the phone as Charlotte put the kettle on to prepare herself some coffee.

The Bernard shrugged her shoulders, addressing Caroline, "Trust me, I got vampire napped so many times that it's a lifestyle now."

Caroline exhaled sharply before asking the doppelganger, "Do you think Shane took him?"

"No," Elena quickly dismissed it, "I mean, he's not strong enough to take Damon on, even with the element of surprise. He must have someone, or at least a few someones helping him."

"I'm so sorry. I wish I was there to help," The Forbes pursed her lips together.

"Well, maybe there's something you can do from home...," Elena trailed off.

"Anything. Tell me."

"So Shane's looking for the cure. We think we can find him. We have pictures of Jeremy's tattoo, but we just can't translate the map," Elena said as Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows together before turning to a very gloomy Klaus at the end of the room.

"Unless you get the Hunter's Sword from Klaus," Caroline deduced.

"Exactly."

"He'll never give up the sword," Rebekah spoke up over the phone.

"Yeah, but if anyone's gonna get him to give it up, it's Charlotte," Stefan stated as the brunette in question folded her arms together.

Rebekah wasn't convinced as she claimed, "He will never give up the sword, not even for Charlotte," She sighed, justifying, "He's terrified we'll use the cure against him to make him mortal, and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't want any of us to derive a moment's worth of happiness from being human."

Charlotte and Caroline exchanged a look before turning to the Original hybrid as Stefan reminded them, "Well, maybe he doesn't have to give it up. I mean, Klaus is stuck in Elena's house by Bonnie's spell. He can't go anywhere. There's only so many places you can hide a three-foot piece of metal."

"I'll find it, don't worry. Just e-mail me photos of Jeremy's tattoo. I'll find the sword, and I'll call you back."

"Thank you, Caroline."

"Bye," Caroline hung up, picking her jacket up from the table, "Let's go?"

Charlotte nodded about to follow the blonde before Klaus spoke up with an amused smirk, "Need my help with anything, love?"

"No, we can take it from here," She replied, following Caroline outside.

✵ ✵ ✵

"Let's make it very clear that I am only helping with this research thing so they can find Jeremy and Bonnie," Charlotte stated as Tyler opened the door to the Gilberts' house. They had just gotten back from raiding Klaus' mansion and found the sword, "Otherwise, I honestly don't care."

"Yes, Charlotte," Caroline sighed, claiming, "You have already said that like three times."

"Alright, alright, I am just making sure it's clear," The brunette said, opening her laptop.

The Forbes smiled, rolling her eyes, "Crystal."

"Well, if it isn't little orphan Lockwood. Come to show how laughably impotent you are against me?" Klaus spoke up tauntingly as the Lockwood unwrapped the sword from the blanket they got it in.

"I'm just trying to help my friends find the cure," He replied, showing the full sword, "Found this in your attic."

Klaus raised an unamused eyebrow, "And you think finding the sword brings you closer to the cure?"

"You tell me. I was playing around with the handle on the ride over, and I found this," He unwrapped the leather on the top of the sword, revealing some sort of turning device.

The blond Mikaelson got up from the coffee table and walked over to Tyler, "And what do you think 'this' is?"

"It's called a cryptex," Caroline rose to her feet, leaving Charlotte back on the couch, "I've seen The da Vinci Code. You turn the different sides to the different symbols to get the translation on the other side."

Charlotte opened her browser, stating, "And with the magic of the internet, we now have photos of Jeremy's tattoo," She looked up at Klaus, stating, "All we gotta do is crypto away—"

Caroline cut her off, correcting, "Cryptex."

"Same thing," The Bernard shrugged her shoulders before addressing the Mikaelson, "If you happened to want to help, we wouldn't stop you."

"Right," Klaus nodded before adding with a smug smirk, "Well, might I suggest using the magic of the internet to purchase an Aramaic-to-English dictionary from your nearest retailer?"

Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows together about to question what he had just said before Tyler beat her to it, "What's Aramaic?"

"It's a dead language," The Forbes answered, huffing out, "It hasn't been used since, like, biblical times."

Klaus titled his head back, "Qetsiyah's native tongue, I'm guessing. You know, even if you had the best dictionary in the world, it could take days to translate," He sat down on the coffee table, "Perhaps weeks."

"In bas so-teen-too ara-ma-eet."

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, "What is that supposed to mean?"

The Mikaelson smirked, answering, "If only you spoke Aramaic."

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte ran a hand over her forehead, turning to Caroline, "This is not working well. None of this makes sense."

Caroline, not wanting to lose hope just yet, shook her head, "Let's just put them all together."

The Bernard rolled her eyes, arranging the pictures, "Yes, sure," She sighed, speaking aloud, "Passage inside...requires a young senator, and a petty flower—"

Tyler interjected, "Pretty." She frowned as he stated, "It's a pretty flower not petty."

She nodded, "Okay that makes sense," Charlotte then shrugged, "Makes sense that a flower is not petty but all of these? They don't work."

Out of nowhere, Klaus started speaking and none of them could understand what he was saying but Charlotte assumed it was Aramaic before he translated to them, "Requires a powerful witch and a hunter in full bloom."

"What are you doing?" Tyler inquired.

"I don't need to tell you my reasons," He dismissed before addressing the petite brunette, "Charlotte, would you please bring my sword over here?"

Charlotte got up and held the sword close enough for Klaus to read the cryptex, "Silas rests on the far side, the means of his destruction at hand," He glanced at the pictures of Jeremy's tattoo on the computer screen, "Turn the cryptex to the right," Charlotte obliged, "Stop. The top of the hilt reveals a key to a nautical map."

"Turn it to the left," She turned it, "Now turn the other piece," She did so, "There's something else."

Charlotte waited impatiently as he spoke in Aramaic and didn't translate right after, "What does it mean?" He just smiled back, "Klaus, what does it say?"

"Wouldn't you love to know?"

Charlotte huffed out, putting the sword back on the couch, "Of course, you would help us on your own terms."

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte called Rebekah's phone when Stefan and Elena's phones had no signal, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Charlotte. We have the translation of the tattoo," She said, checking as Caroline emailed the pictures, "We are emailing the pictures of the map and instructions right now."

"Got it. Thanks."

Klaus said, taking credit, "Actually, it was me."

"Nik, you helped?" Shock is evident in his sister's tone.

"You sound so surprised, little sister."

"Shouldn't I be?" Rebekah sighed as Charlotte left her phone on speaker on the table, "I mean, you don't want me to be human. You don't want any of us to be human. Why would you help us find the cure?"

"Maybe I finally realized the longer I stand in the way of what you want, the longer you'll continue to hate me," He walked over from the coffee table as far as he could with the confines of the spell, "Perhaps I want my sister to finally know happiness."

She chuckled humorlessly, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me a hundred times—"

Her brother interrupted, claiming, "No more fooling. No more games. I hope you get to live, and die, as you wish."

"So do I."

Charlotte sighed before the hybrid spoke up again, "There is one more thing, Rebekah," The three of them turned to him as he spoke quickly, "There is only one dose of the cure. You need to find it first and take it. It's the only way you'll—" Tyler rushed to end the call.

Charlotte's eyes widened, "What the hell?" He only shrugged his shoulders in return.

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte leaned back on the porch's railings when Caroline and Tyler walked out, the latter seeming very stressed out, "Every time I think I have him, that son of a bitch gets the upper hand."

"We won't let him hurt you," Caroline assured him, claiming, "Stefan and Elena will bring back the cure."

"We don't know that," Charlotte replied as the two turned to her, "I am just stating what everyone is thinking. Rebekah, Shane, and God knows who else is on that island and somehow Elena and Stefan will be the ones to get it first?"

"And if they don't, Klaus kills me," The hybrid shook his head, realization dawning on him, "I need to get out of town to figure out how I'm gonna stay alive—"

His girlfriend's eyes widened, stopping him, "Wait, hang on, okay? Gosh! Before you get all doomsday, just...," She turned to Charlotte who just shrugged her shoulders cluelessly, "At least let Charlotte try and talk to him."

Charlotte gaped, shaking her head, "What the hell do you think that is going to do?"

Tyler reminded the two vampires, "He's got nothing to lose. His brother's dead, his hybrids are gone. All he wants right now is blood, starting with mine."

"I'm not gonna say goodbye to you again, do you understand me?" She told him and Charlotte looked from her friend to the Lockwood before squeezing her eyes shut.

Charlotte walked back inside to find Klaus sitting in an armchair in the Gilberts' living room. She took a deep breath, commenting, "You are in a good mood. Up for any favors?"

"I am not sparing Tyler."

She pursed her lips together, "So straightforward, huh," The brunette sighed, "I mean...why not?"

The hybrid shrugged his shoulders, stating simply, "I have to. I have a reputation to uphold. Moreover, I want to."

Charlotte rubbed her hands together, "If you look at it from my logic, technically, you screwed him over first."

He rose to his feet, walking up to the brunette, "Would you elaborate on that logic, if anything, I freed him from his curse."

"And turned him in...what did you call it, yes, your little bitch." She forced a smile onto her pink lips, "Turns out he is not a big fan of that."

"So he got himself unsired," Klaus said, continuing on with her little game, "And then got my other hybrids unsired."

She shrugged her shoulders, "He is a natural hero, what can we do about it?"

"Spoiler alert, the hero dies at the end."

"What if we...make an exception?" Charlotte purposed, raising her eyebrows hopefully, "Consider it a late birthday gift? Now, you know you don't have to get me anything extravagant that I would refuse to take."

"So he gets to live a happy life after he turned all my hybrids against me, after he tried to kill me, after he made it his life's mission to find the cure so he could use it against me—"

Charlotte interjected defensively, "We all want the cure, just the same."

"Do we?" He raised an eyebrow, "Do you?"

"I did, yeah," Charlotte nodded, answering, "But it doesn't matter now. It's one dose and I won't be the one to take it," She sighed exsaperatedly, "So bye-bye forever, human life."

"We are not the same, Klaus," She realized where he was heading with that question and stated, "I miss it every day. I miss being vulnerable and getting excited over the little things because the little things used to matter."

She held her breath, starting, "I know you care about me. So I am asking you now as someone who cares about you too," Charlotte looked up at him, continuing, "Please let him go. He doesn't have to stay here. He can live far away from here but don't kill him. My friend is out there and she is counting on me to make sure that the guy she is head over heels for doesn't die."

"She is depending on me, so please don't make me let her down."

"Very well. Tell him to leave town immediately," Klaus started walking away but turned back, adding, "And tell him to run and hide in a place I will never find him."

"Of course," She nodded, moving to grab her purse, "Thank you—"

Her words were cut off as he finished, "Tell them that this is the mercy I extend for your sake...that I will give him a head start before I kill him."

Her smile faltered as she turned back to look at him.

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte pursed her lips together, telling Caroline, "I am so sorry, it was all I could do...I know you are tired of the goodbyes and I know you hate this, I do and I wish there was something I could do—"

Caroline pulled her into an embrace, cutting her off, "No, no, it's not your fault...Thank you for giving me a chance to say goodbye...Even if it's like this."

The Bernard nodded before pulling away. She watched Caroline walk off the porch and get in the car with Tyler to help pack his things. She ran a hand over her forehead before moving to sit on the porch swing.

She looked down at her phone, buzzing in her hands. Serena <3.

Charlotte picked up, "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah, I am okay but the tattoo, it's gone," Serena answered as Charlotte frowned, "Does that mean Bonnie started the spell?"

The brunette vampire held her breath, "I think so, yeah. I will try to reach them and call you back."

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte called everyone she knew was on the island and it didn't reach them. She assumed they were in too deep that they have the worst signal on Earth by then. She was still sitting on the porch swing, contemplating what she was supposed to do then when the front door opened and Klaus walked outside.

She got up, "How did you get out?"

"I fear something awful has befallen your friend Bonnie," He stated as the worry crept into Charlotte and her eyebrows knitted together. He made a move to approach her and she tensed, "Don't worry, love. You know I'd never hurt you."

"Reflex reaction," She replied before stating, "I think you should leave, you have done enough with your time here."

"I don't think you realize how much I have done for you," Klaus shook his head, nearing her, "I've shown kindness, forgiveness, pity...for you, Charlotte. It was all for you. I didn't have to do any of this but I did it for you."

She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, "Why? I can see that...I do, I just don't get why you would do any of that for me."

"Isn't it obvious? You have said it yourself, I care about you."

Charlotte shook her head, chuckling, "Me? Seriously me? So all of this banter thing wasn't just for your amusement or because you are just really annoying sometimes?"

Klaus raised an eyebrow, a smirk making its way to his face as she nodded to herself, "Fine, you like me and you don't plan on beating around the bush, I see."

He released a small laugh, "Now why would I do that?"

"Oh, it's just that I am used to beating around the bush," Charlotte said, fidgeting with the ends of her sleeves, "Just when it comes to feelings though. Otherwise, I am mostly straightforward—"

"Feelings?" He cut her off, picking that up, "So you are indicating that there is some form of feelings?"

"What? Feelings? Who...who said feelings?" Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows together, shaking her head repeatedly.

"You, you just said that."

Charlotte raised both of her eyebrows, "What? No, no, I didn't. You are hallucinating. You have been stuck in that living room for long enough to start hallucinating."

Klaus insisted, looking down at her, "I was not hallucinating, Charlotte."

She pursed her lips together, "Now, you will pretend you were for my sake. Until I am ready to say that out loud."

"That's good enough for me."

She rolled her eyes, "Okay, you can leave now," She shook her head, jokingly moving to push him off the porch, "Go home, do your 'evil hybrid' things."

✵ ✵ ✵