Charlie knew exactly where Rebekah was. He was seething. Sure, the two of them were going through a rough patch, but he didn't expect her to sleep with anyone so soon. He didn't bother lifting his head to see who entered the house because he knew she would be back.
Kol glanced at Charlie before he got up and sped in front of his little sister. "Well, well, well...there's our girl." He smirked, tilting his head to the side as he watched her stomp toward him.
She stopped short when he stepped in her way, sending her brother a glare. "Get out of my way, Kol."
"Out all night. What a scandal. I trust you did better than that commoner, Matt, was it?"
Charlie pursed his lips as he ignored Kol's comments that were obviously meant to irritate the Immortal. Kol wanted Charlie to get angry, go after the man Rebekah had slept with, cause a little mayhem.
Rebekah instinctively looked to Charlie, who didn't react. Her jaw clenched as she looked Kol dead in the eye. "If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth," She snaps before pushing past him. "Don't start, Nik." She hissed as she stomped out of the room.
Klaus, who was busy drawing, wore a small grin on his face. "I didn't say anything," His tone showed that he was amused by the situation but didn't want to admit that to her.
Kol plopped down beside Charlie, who strummed his guitar every once in a while before writing something down in the notebook sitting on his leg. "I'm bored. Our sister is a trumpet, but at least she's having fun--apologies, Charlie." Kol groaned as he looked at the other two men sitting in the room. "I need entertainment."
"What are you waiting for?" Klaus questioned, shading a bit of his picture before glancing at his brother. "Go on. Have at it."
"It's no fun to go alone. Join me, Nik. It's the least you could do after sticking a dagger in my heart."
"Okay, why not?" Klaus nodded, putting his drawing and supplies on the table in front of him. He looked at the boy to Kol's right and raised an eyebrow. "Are you coming, Charles?"
Charlie looked up, and his lips parted as he shook his head slightly. "Oh, no, I think I'll stay and work on-" Kol and Klaus grabbed each of his arms and began lifting him from the couch, making him drop his things on the sofa as they forced him toward the door. "Oh, okay-"
"You're coming with us because you're going to find a nice girl-" Kol noticed Klaus' look, and he smirked slightly. "or guy, to forget about our dear Rebekah, understand?"
"I don't have a choice, do I?"
Kol smirked mischievously. "No, you don't."
Charlie sighed, nodding his head. "Yeah," He breathed, allowing them to pull him out of the house.
▪ ▪ ▪
Charlie, Klaus, and Kol approached the bar, where they overheard Alaric and Meredith's conversation. "Ah, come on now. Let's not blame the new family in town just because you lot have got yourselves a killer at large. My brother, Charlie, and I are just here to let off some steam. Right, Kol, Charlie?" Klaus asked, looking at the two boys for their answers.
"Right," Kol confirmed, his eyes focused solely on Meredith, who looked uncomfortable from his attention.
Kol and Klaus went over to order some drinks, but before Charlie could follow, his arm was caught. He looked to the side and raised an eyebrow at Alaric, who wore a frown on his lips.
"You doing okay, Charlie?"
Charlie's lips quirked up as he looked at the older man he quite honestly considered as another father figure, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I'm alright, Alaric, I promise." He squeezed his shoulder softly, sending Meredith a small smile before he ventured off toward Klaus and Kol.
"He's a good kid," Meredith mused with a small smile as she sipped her drink.
Alaric nodded as he turned back to his date. "Yeah, I just wish he would come back home."
Charlie smiled as he listened to what Kol and Klaus were bickering about, absentmindedly doodling on a napkin with a pen he pulled from his pocket. It was nice to hear banter like this again, it made him miss Jeremy and Elena. He let out a huff as he capped his pen, stuffing it back in his pocket before he downed his drink.
"So, Charlie, look at your selection; who will you be using as a distraction tonight?" Kol asked, nudging Charlie's elbow with his own as he sipped at his drink.
"You know, I don't think picking a random person to use for my own gain is a good option to forget-"
"It is and you're doing it." Klaus interrupted the boy. "Rebekah will fall in love with any man that gives her the time of day, and I must admit, Rebekah being with you made me happy that she had fallen for a good man. But Rebekah made the wrong choice in not trusting that you did everything you could to bring her back, which was mostly my fault. Now, you're going to find a worthy candidate and you're going to have fun."
Charlie's lips parted as he silently nodded, making Klaus and Kol chuckle as the boy surveyed the room. He wanted to have fun, and he really did, but his mood was far too dark and gloomy to truly let loose with someone and forget about Rebekah.
His eyes landed on a blonde that looked so familiar and his eyebrows furrowed as whispers filled his ears, and he straightened up as his brain became foggy. He stood up, leaving behind his drawing on the bar as he turned to leave.
"Charles, where are you going?"
He stopped short and turned toward the bar, flashing Kol and Klaus a playful grin. "To find myself a nice girl, or guy, to forget about our dear, Rebekah."
"That's my boy!" Kol laughed as Charlie spun back around and left.
Klaus chuckled slightly as he and Kol downed a shot, but his eyes landed on the napkin sitting on the counter. His eyebrows furrowed as he reached over and picked it up, eyeing the names of his siblings that sat in the branches of a tree. His attention was drawn away from it as Kol mentioned Caroline, making him pocket the drawing, and moving on from it.
Charlie didn't know where he was going, but alarms were going off in his brain. It was like he had no control over his body or his actions. He broke through the undergrowth, and it suddenly felt like his body weighed a thousand pounds as he walked towards a pentagram where Finn and Ester stood.
"Ah, Charles, you've arrived just in time."
Charlie grunted as his spine began cracking, dropping to his knees in front of her. He panted as his bones began resetting, looking up at her with pain-filled eyes. "What did you do to me?"
Ester tilted her head as she gently traced her fingers along his jaw. "I made you."
Charlie honestly didn't think the girl he was going to find would end up being Ester.
▪ ▪ ▪
Charlie screamed in pain as his bones reset themselves over and over again. His cries echoed across the clearing they stood in, drawing the attention of Klaus, Kol, and Elijah as they approached.
"My sons, come forward," Ester called after the three.
"Stay beside me," Finn said softly, moving to her side.
Ester shook her head, sending him a small smile. "It's okay. They can't enter." She said as she entered the pentagram and took Finn's hand.
"That's lovely. We are stuck out here while the favorite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are, Finn." Kol scoffed as they stopped a few feet away from the circle of fire.
"Be quiet, Kol," Ester said harshly. "Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine."
Elijah stepped forward slightly. "Whatever you think of us, killing your own children would be an atrocity, as well as using Charlie. He has nothing to do with this; let him go, mother."
"My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago," Ester said calmly.
"Enough. All this talk is boring me. End this now, mother, and let Charlie go, or I'll send you back to hell, he has nothing to do with this." Klaus snapped, glaring at the woman he used to cherish.
"For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you, felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood. Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you're no better. All of you...you're a curse on this earth stretched out over generations." Ester said before she looked down to Charlie, who writhed in pain on the ground, beads of sweat pouring down his forehead.
"Charles has everything to do with this. I created him twenty-three years ago, mapping out the rest of his life with the intention of infiltrating your lives to destroy the five of you once and for all. So if you've come to plead for your life...I'm sorry. You've wasted your time."
One last cry of pain escaped Charlie's eyes before a deep growl crawled up the back of his throat, beady scarlet red eyes taking the place of his chocolate-brown ones.
Ester closed her eyes, her palms up as she focused her magic on Charlie. All of a sudden, his body shuddered, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious as Ester's eyes flew open. "No. Sisters, do not abandon me!"
The flames grew dangerously, making the others shield their faces as Finn used this time to escape with Ester. When the fire dissipated, Klaus rushed to Charlie, kneeling by his side. He pressed his fingers against the boy's neck and let out a breath of relief when he felt a pulse. "He's alive." He said to Kol and Elijah, who stood behind Klaus. He paused for a moment, reaching into his pocket to produce the napkin, finally realizing what it was. "I think Charlie was trying to tell us what was happening."
Elijah took the napkin Klaus offered, and he pursed his lips. "He tried to tell us what Ester was planning."
"You do realize what we have to do, don't you?" Kol said suddenly, drawing their attention as he crossed his arms. "If Ester truly did create Charlie to destroy us, we can't trust him anymore."
The three of them looked down at Charlie, who lay on the ground, his weak body laying on its chest, his cheek resting on the ground as he slept through the pain he was put through. There was no way they would know if what Ester had done to him was going to work. There was no way they could trust Charlie until Ester was dead.
A/N: Sorry for the late update, and thanks for being so patient! After three weeks of Covid, I am finally symptom-free! This chapter is a little rough around the edges, but hopefully, you all enjoyed it-- and don't be afraid to ask me questions if you're confused about the plot or leave comments. I also enjoy seeing some of the hilarious comments you guys leave me; they always make my day. Love you guys, and thank you, again, for being patient with me during my short hiatus.