Night came and then went. Charlotte and Katherine were restless, moving from the couch to the table, the kitchen to the bedroom. At some point Katherine dozed off on the couch, waking up to see Charlotte asleep on the floor. Each waking at random intervals throughout the night, they'd pull the door open, seeing if Klaus was dead, their compulsion gone, and their freedom granted.
The sun was just beginning to rise when they both dozed off for the final time, laying with legs tangled on the couch, a blanket pulled from the bed. Charlotte hadn't wanted to leave the living room, frightened Damon or Stefan might come in the night and miss her.
Finally as the sun hit its peak for the day the two girls rolled awake. It was Katherine who checked this time, tugging on the door and pushing her hand out and breaking both their hearts. The compulsion still held. Klaus was alive and Damon had failed. Both girls let out the breath they didn't realise they'd been holding, Katherine's fingers curling into a fist at her side.
The day passed slowly, as they resigned themselves to their fate. Pulling the fridge open as the evening drew on Charlotte looked disdainfully in, "Does this guy eat at all?"
"He's always at the Gilbert house."
A pang of regret washed over Charlotte as she remembered Jenna, their part in the plan to break the curse. She'd stopped searching through the fridge at that thought so Katherine leant over her shoulder, pulling a drawer of the the fridge open she found a red apple, hidden beneath an empty paper bag.
"Here, no starvation today," Katherine grinned as she tossed the apple in the air for Charlotte to catch. Charlotte moved away after that, watching as Katherine continued her search and found a blood bag for herself.
The apple wasn't quite the grand welcome back to life meal she hoped they'd prepare after a hundred and forty five years, but it would have to do and so she lay back on the couch eating it. She wasn't exactly sure the plan now, she couldn't leave until Klaus said she could, her brothers hadn't come back to help her. She didn't even know if they'd made it, why hadn't they come back for her? Were her brothers even alive?
Charlotte was at a loss for what she could do now but wait.
Katherine was better about entertaining herself, shuffling about from one activity to the next, intervals where she would play music so loud Charlottes ears would ring, dancing around with her hands in the air. She'd spend an hour doing that before making her way to the kitchen, chugging desperately from a bottle of whiskey before relaxing in Alaric's small bathroom, 'self care' she called it. Charlotte would do her best to chug along but it was hard to keep up with the pace of the vampire.
Focusing on time passing made it feel slower.
Charlotte was hungry and tired, she'd eaten the rest of Alaric's food, two slices of bread lay in the freezer, and a bag of orange cheese that she'd spent several decades watching people eat. A little unsure of its legitimacy as a food item, the flavour was soft, barely there, and the texture felt like rubber. She remembered the cheese that she grew up with with fondness, but there were no other options and so she ate it, ignoring her distaste.
Her body felt sore with anxiety and she spent the afternoon into the evening of the first day curled on the couch with a blanket around her, watching Katherine who was working so hard not to be still.
That night she slept alone. Katherine had little interest in being more visible to Klaus when he returned, and with complaints of a sore neck, she spent the night in Alaric's bed. Charlotte remained hopeful, holding herself awake late into the night, curled up on the couch hopeful someone would come.
A little past two she'd had another inkling of hope, shuffling through the living room with the blanket over her shoulders. Tugging the door open, she thought truly she might be able to leave, her heart shattering for the umpteenth time when her hand reached out and the barrier remained. With nothing changed she returned to the couch with resignation, falling into a deep sleep that carried her late into the next day.
Two days from when Charlotte was first taken, the door to the apartment finally opened from the outside. She was walking from the bathroom when she saw it and it caused her breath to catch in her throat, freezing her with fear until she saw who it was and she launched herself towards the door.
Stefan pulled her tightly to his chest, arms so familiar as they wrapped around her she wanted to sob in relief. She could hear Katherine enter the room, feet stomping as she so clearly wanted to show off her annoyance.
"Two days, I've been waiting," Katherine growled out angrily, "I'm supposed to be free of Klaus' compulsion by now. He's supposed to be dead."
Stefan ignored her at first, pulling Charlotte away and looking her up and down to check she hadn't been hurt. He felt terrible they hadn't made it to her sooner, but relieved she hadn't been hurt.
Katherines foot stamped down and Stefan finally turned to her, "We ran into complications."
"Complications?"
Katherines demeanour was so changed with Stefan, Charlotte could hardly recognise the kindness she'd been shown in the previous days. Suddenly her demeanour changed again, rushing over and yanking Stefan away, she pushed him to the wall holding him by his collar. Before Charlotte had a chance to follow, the door opened for a second time.
Klaus entered flanked by his brother Elijah.
"Klaus, you're back" Katherine called with a coo in her tone as she tugged Stefan into view, "Look who decided to come for a visit."
Klaus looked in amusement between the siblings and the doppelgänger. He could see the distaste on each their faces though Katherine tried to hide hers behind a placid smile. He could feel his brothers poorly hidden judgement too as he took on the scene and it caused another trickle of annoyance to push though.
"You just keep popping up, don't you?"
Katherine let go of Stefan and he stepped closer to Klaus with his hands open and his face desperate, "I need your help. For my brother."
Charlotte's breath caught in her throat, her brother, she'd forgotten about her brother. She knew something had to have happened for none of them to come like they'd promised and she'd worried certainly, but she hadn't thought about her brothers immovable deadline.
Damon had a werewolf bite.
A fatal werewolf bite.
"Whatever it is, it's going to have to wait a tick," Klaus said, walking towards Stefan and then past him, "You see, I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention."
Elijah stepped forwards, "You understand how important family is or you wouldn't be here."
HIs words made Charlottes blood run hot. Fury filled her as she remembered he was the key to the plan. He was the one who'd brought upon this plan to kill Klaus and yet here he stood beside him, not only well and alive, but clearly an ally.
"The Nobel one," Charlotte said softly, her voice shaking with fury as she stepped past her brother to look at Elijah, "We trusted you. You were meant to help us and you betrayed us."
"Charlie–" Stefan tried to interject, pulling her hand back and away from the Original who could kill her within a moment.
"Stop it," she pulled herself from his grasp, "You said you were a man of your word Elijah. You were meant to help us."
Elijah didn't attempt to defend or apologise, guilt seemed to fill his face but not contrition as he replied smoothly to her, "My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own."
"And so I shall" Klaus spoke from behind, a grin clear on his face as Elijah spun around in time to see the dagger plunged into his chest.
Elijah fell dead to the floor and Charlotte felt the fear that had momentarily dissipated flood back at once. Klaus grinned menacingly down at his brother before rushing towards Stefan, his arm reaching up to grab his neck, pinning him to the wall.
"Now, what am I gonna do with you?" A dagger Charlotte hadn't seen before emerged and Klaus plunged it into Stefans chest, "Do you feel that?"
A gasp fell from her throat, Charlotte moving to leap forwards to do something when Katherines hand shot out and pulled her back, keeping her in place. Klaus noticed the commotion and grinned, looking at the pair mockingly before turning back to his victim.
"Its scraping against his heart love," he called to Charlotte, "the slightest little movement and he's dead. Wouldn't want to get too close, I might just slip."
Katherines grip loosened, Stefan groaned, and Charlotte dug her nails into her palms as she clenched her hands into fists, "He's only trying to help our brother."
"The witches said you had a cure," Stefan gasped out desperately, "Make me a deal. Just give us the cure. Let Charlotte take Damon the cure, and I'll do whatever you want."
Chuckling, Klaus pulled the knife from Stefan's chest, releasing his grip too and letting him fall to the ground with a groan. Taking the acquiesces as permission she fell towards him, her hands fussing at his injury and watching in relief as it slowly, too slowly, stitched itself back together.
Klaus sipped at a cup of blood, wandering around the room aimlessly, "Trouble is, I don't know if you'd be any good to me the way you are now. You're just shy of useless. I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, he went into Monterey and wiped out an entire migrant village. A true ripper. Sound familiar?"
"I haven't been that way in a very long time," Stefan replied, his hand moving to clasp Charlotte's tightly.
"Well, that's the vampire I can make a deal with. That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town." Silence rang through the group before Klaus spoke again, "Katerina, come here."
Katherine approached nervously, placing her hand into his outstretched palm so reluctantly it was as if his touch would burn her. Smiling cruelly at her, his fingers suddenly tightened around her wrist, bringing it to his lips and biting into it. Katherine cried out in pain and terror, when he released her she clutched her wrist desperately, staring in shock before Klaus bit again, this time into his own wrist. Forcing it to her throat to drink they all watched as the bite healed itself.
"You want your cure? There it is."
"Your blood is the cure," Charlotte murmured.
"Gotta love Mother Nature. Now, let's talk, you and I," Klaus placed a hand on Stefans back, leading him into the kitchen and away from his sister.
Charlotte followed behind uncertainly, moving with them but staying a little away, finally settling on a chair at the dining room table. Far enough away she felt safe, but close enough she could see what would happen. Klaus reached for a knife, clutching the blade in his fist blood ran down into a small bottle. Her breath hitched in her throat and Klaus smiled in amusement at her horror, amused that she seemed so horrified by the least gruesome thing he'd done that day.
"There it is. You wanna save your brother? How about a decade long bender?"
A decade was a long time, even in the life of a vampire who'd lived fifteen times that, it was still an age. Charlotte opened her mouth to protest but Stefan shot her a look of warning. She didn't want Damon to die of course, but surely they could find another solution to the bite than Stefan sacrificing himself for all that time.
"You know, I have big plans for you when we leave this town."
"I'm not like that anymore," Stefan replied, eyes following the blood filled bottle with less reluctance than he wished he had.
"Well, thats too bad," Klaus sighed, pouring the blood down the drain slowly, "You would've made a hell of a wingman–"
"–Wait."
Klaus grinned triumphantly.
"Now thats more like it," he chuckled, tossing a blood bag towards Stefan, "I want you to join me for a drink,"
"Finish it," Klaus said, a soft growl to his tone, "All of it. You do everything I say and I save your brother. That's the deal."
Stefan moved slowly, finishing the bag with a moment's break before another was tossed at him. Charlotte was silent, watching her baby brother in pain felt like it was hurting her as much as him. With each bag he drowned she felt her stomach clench with fear.
She didn't know all of what had happened in the days she was gone but she knew some things. Damon had been bitten by a wolf, he was dying but he wasn't dead yet. Elena was dead, Klaus was a hybrid and Elijah's betrayal was the reason they were all stuck suffering at Klaus' vengeful hands.
Blood bags lay scattered around them, Charlottes hands shook as she watched the way Stefan forced them into his mouth now. He was laying on the floor now, his face covered in blood, his hands covered in blood, even the floor had blood everywhere. Where before he'd struggled to sip each drop down, now he was squeezing the bags quickly, drinking as much as he could, as quickly as he was able.
"You're very cooperative," Klaus commended, tossing another bag towards him, "It's almost as if you're enjoying it."
"No more," growled Stefan, "not until you give Charlotte the cure for Damon."
"Charlotte?" Klaus clapped his hands with glee as she stood on shaky feet, "no no my friend, Charlotte has no part in this deal. Your life, for your brothers. Or, your life for you sisters freedom. It's no matter really, your choice."
Charlotte frowned, her face screwing up in disgust as Klaus sped towards her, wrapping his arm around her waist and placing his head on her shoulder. She wished she could wriggle away from him but she'd been in this position before and knew she was stuck, attached to Klaus until he let her free.
"We had a deal," Stefan coughed out weakly.
"No we did not. Not yet. I'm not a particularly forgiving man as you may have noticed. Your lovely little sister was taken to ensure you and yours would cooperate," at this he tucked her hair behind her ear.
Charlotte's face was screwed up and as his hand ran through her hair she growled out, "I'm older than Stefan."
"Hush now, sweetheart," Klaus cooed patronisingly, "Now, your brother certainly betrayed my goodwill. Surely rewarding him with his sister and my blood is a little much. It's your choice, Stefan. You can either remain here living your little life in Mystic Falls or you can embrace what you truly are. Leave town with Charlotte and I, and save your brothers life. Or you could abandon him and save hers of course, up to you."
"Stefan," Charlotte's hands shook but her face hardened, resigned to her fate, "don't let Damon die."
"That's the spirit," Klaus smiled as Stefan took the next blood bag, "Sweetheart," Klaus released Charlotte and strutted over to Katherine, "take this over to Damon and come right back"
"You want me to leave?" she asked.
"No–"
"Yes, and if I were you-" Katherine grabbed the vial of Klaus' blood, fleeing before he could change his mind, "–I'd hurry"
Stefan and Charlotte gasped out. They both knew that Katherine was on vervain and while Charlotte had a fleeting, desperate hope that she'd do they right thing, both were gripped with terror that she'd leave town without giving Damon the cure.
"She'll never take it to him," Stefan whispered.
Charlotte collapsed to the floor, fighting to keep the sob that desperately wanted to break free from her throat inside. Her hands wrapped around her sides, fingers digging in tightly. Two days alive and her brother was practically dead. Stefan was her only family now, and they were stuck with whatever twisted plan Klaus had cooked up. Two days alive and everything good in the world seemed to have shattered to pieces.
"Don't be so glum, love," Klaus crouched down, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, chuckling as she flinched away from him. "We'll leave this boring little town tonight."
a.n. ha ha Klaus is an absolutely shithead.