𝟐𝟎

☆═━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 ━═☆

Charlotte placed down her last card, smiling like a Cheshire cat, "I won! Yay!"

She smiled, watching Stefan roll his eyes, saying, "I won the last three games, this was just luck."

"Sure, sure. Deny it all you want."

She chuckled, shaking her head and collecting the cards as Elena yawned, walking downstairs, "Morning, Charlotte."

"Morning, Lena," The brunette smiled, looking up and watched in amusement as Elena's eyes widened, finding Stefan playing cards on the couch, ever so casually.

"Stefan...are you okay?"

"Never been better," He stood up, greeting his girlfriend with a smile before he pecked her lips.

Elena smiled, confusion still written all over her face before she turned to Charlotte as the vampire Bernard shrugged, "All thanks to my amazing talents and remarkable skill when it comes to cards."

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte knotted her shoes and sighed before making her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, pulling out a juice pack. She turned it around to make sure it was mango flavored before closing off the fridge.

"Morning," Damon greeting, stretching his words out as if it was a song.

"Oh, hey, Damon," Charlotte smiled, turning to him as she put the juice into her bag and zipped it up, "I was just going out but Stefan is still upstairs...maybe you two could use a bit of eh...sibling time?"

"I was actually here to talk to you."

The brunette chuckled humorlessly, rubbing the back of her neck, "Me? Well, it's going have to wait since I am going out and well, you know. See you then," She went past him, pausing to peck his cheek before quite literally sprinting to the door.

"Were you ever going to tell me that Izadora isn't going to leave you alone?" Damon questioned, forcing the Bernard to take a halt.

She sighed, "Elena told you?"

"Elena knows, too? Again?"

"Well, I can't trust you with this and Elena can see it from my eyes, alright?" Charlotte snapped back, walking up to him, "I can't compel or kill Izadora. She is my niece and yeah, she hurt me but she did what she thought was right—"

He interjected, shaking his head, "Right? Char, this is kind of the moment where handling the problem is killing it off. You can't talk your way out of this."

"I can try because I can't kill her Damon, in fact, I can't kill anybody. This is not me, it's...," Charlotte paused, squeezed her eyes shut.

"Yeah, you are right. It's me."

"I didn't say or mean that," She shook her head, attempting to apologize, "She is all Serena and Cassie have and even if she wasn't, she happens to be the daughter or granddaughter of one my sisters or cousins and I can't do that to them."

"I am sorry even if it will put me through hell to get her to trust me," She sighed, adjusting her bag behind her back before she walked out of the Salvatore Boarding House.

Damon nodded, her words still swirling in the back of his mind, "But I can."

✵ ✵ ✵

Serena was sitting in front of Charlotte at a booth in the Mystic Grill, as the oldest of the two held the necklace on her neck to ease her nerves, "So, are you going to talk or postpone?"

Charlotte nodded, leaning forward to make sure no one was hearing them, "I am a vampire."

She paused, looking up to see her niece's reaction only to find Serena, raising an eyebrow. Charlotte extended her arm to shake Serena, making sure the human Bernard hadn't gone into shock, "Are you okay?"

"You are a vampire, I know that. I was kind of waiting for the part where you say why my Nana had you locked up...?"

"You know?"

Serena scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Of course, I know. I am Serena Bernard. Nothing happens in this town without me knowing all about it."

"Well, do you know that your grandmother is a vampire hunter?" Charlotte sighed, asking as she crossed her arms over the table.

"Okay, that's new."

"Yeah..."

Serena coughed, clearing her throat, "I guess that explains why she would ask a lot about you."

Charlotte nodded, rubbing her hands together before her niece spoke up again, "What does she want from you?"

"She wants me to leave Mystic Falls, forever and fess up if there were others like me," She answered, inhaling sharply. Truthfully speaking, it wasn't just about protecting Stefan and Damon. Charlotte didn't have another home, she had always known Mystic Falls and a few places in France, where her family originally came from but considering these days, there's probably no one left there from their bloodline.

"But you can't leave Mystic Falls...this is your home and you are my friend and creepily enough, my great-great, some more, grandmother...," Serena trailed off, sporting a wonderous smile at the end, "I, uh, saw the picture my grandmother found. Btw, you are like really old."

Charlotte chuckled, "I know, it hasn't exactly been a picnic of fortunes."

"So, have you been there in the 20s? 60s? 80s?" Her niece questioned, excitement shining through her eyes.

Charlotte almost felt bad, letting her down, "Not really...I have been around from 1847 to 1864...," She trailed off, rubbing her arms as she looked ahead of her, getting her mind off of whatever trauma the tomb left inside her that whenever the topic came up, she felt like she couldn't breathe or move.

"The rest of my life was not really fancy."

"I am sorry, Charlotte. I didn't mean to push it so far but if you could just let us talk this through with my Nana, I am sure that she will find it in herself to understand your point—"

"If there was any chance of her understanding me then I wrecked that possibility," She sighed as Serena raised her eyebrow, in confusion, "I pretended that I did something I will never do just to cover up for someone important to me."

"And it all blew up in my face, the normal," She humorlessly chuckled, shaking her head at herself, "Caroline is giving us the evil eye, let's go help her and Bonnie."

"Yeah, let's!"

Serena led the way over to Caroline and Bonnie's table, grabbing extra chairs for herself and Charlotte as she addressed the blonde, "Alright, show us what you got."

"Finally, the two of you graced us with your presence," Caroline rolled her eyes as Charlotte sat down and lightly nudged her, "Let's reference last years Miss Mystic float."

"Alrighty," Charlotte nodded, excitement glowing within her as Caroline turned the computer for them to see.

Caroline stated, "This is what they did last year."

"It's—"

Caroline interjected, cutting Charlotte's sentence off, "It's exactly what we don't want to do!"

"No, we don't," The vampire Bernard nodded, forgetting her opinion seconds ago as Serena chuckled, shaking her head.

Bonnie barely balanced off the same excitement radiating from Caroline and Charlotte as she asked, "Okay! So, what are we doing?"

"Southern classic elegance."

"Gone with the Wind?"

"What's that?" Charlotte questioned, looking between the three girls. Caroline and Serena got the question and understood why she wouldn't know of it while Bonnie could careless about explaining it aloud.

"It's a book that was published way back but it's set around the time of the foundation of Mystic Falls," Serena explained, referencing with something Charlotte could picture as the brunette nodded, a new spark found in her eyes.

"Oh, that's a great idea! I am sure the style then was amazing!"

"Of course you are," Serena whispered, sporting a small smirk at the irony of the comment.

Caroline agreed before looking around her as she asked, "Where's Elena? She's supposed to be helping."

"I don't know," Bonnie responded, failing to hide her bitterness.

"There's something I don't know, too and I would like to change that," Serena stated, moving with her chair closer to Bonnie, "What's going on between you two, you really ain't subtle."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

The Forbes rolled her eyes, "Don't play dumb. You and Elena are fighting," She demanded, "Spill!"

"It's nothing."

"I...uh, can leave if you three want to talk?" Charlotte offered, attempting to give them some privacy.

"No, Charlotte, really, you can stay," Bonnie felt a binge of guilt as Charlotte went to leave, knowing that all she had been doing ever since she got back was help and make sure no harm came to anyone but it still hurt to know that in order for Charlotte Bernard to wake up from a century and a half of pain, her Grams had to die.

"It's not nothing," Caroline shook her head, pressuring the Bennett, "You know this whole float is supposed to be about friends creating something together and everyone is fighting. Matt and Tyler hate each other, you and Elena are on the outs and I don't like it! And I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."

"We just want to help, Bonnie...," Serena trailed off.

"I can't talk about it, guys, I'm sorry."

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte opened the school doors, it was nighttime but Elena called, saying it was urgent and the brunette obliged. She looked behind her, hearing a quick flash but as she looked back ahead of her, she found Damon and softly gasped.

"You need to stop doing that! It's not funny!"

"Your face says another story," She shook her at him before shoving past him and stopping at Alaric's classroom, "Hey, I came as soon as I could."

"Yeah, thanks for coming," Alaric nodded as Charlotte turned to Elena, raising a questioning eyebrow.

Damon came in, directing a pointless joke, "Sorry I'm late. My dog ate my uh...never mind," He exchanged a look with Stefan and Elena, asking, "What's with all the furrowed brows?"

"I saw Isobel last night."

"Elena's biological mother?" Charlotte asked, crossing her arms.

"Isobel is here?" The eldest Salvatore asked as Alaric nodded, "In town?"

Charlotte sighed, running a hand over her face before she turned to Elena, thinking out a way to help the Gilbert.

"Did you ask her about Uncle John? Are they working together?" Damon interrogated Alaric, quite literally as Charlotte rolled her eyes from where she sat beside Elena on a desk.

"No."

"No, they're not?"

"No, I didn't ask," Alaric shook his head.

"What about the invention?"

"Didn't ask."

"Did she know about the tomb vampires?"

"I don't know."

Lastly, Damon asked in frustration, "Did words completely escape you?"

"No, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions!" Alaric snapped back, defending himself.

"What did she even want?" Charlotte asked, turning to Elena.

"She wants to see me, Charlotte," Elena sighed, answering as the brunette patted her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.

Stefan stated, acknowledging Damon and Charlotte, "Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants."

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to," Damon turned to Elena, with some sort of sincerity swirling in his eyes.

"He is right on this one."

Stefan, confused by this sudden sensitivity, looked at Damon and then at Elena as she revealed, "I don't really have a choice."

"She's threatened to go on a killing spree."

Damon shrugged before noting their looks, "Oh! I take it that's not okay with you guys."

"No one should be okay with that, Damon," Charlotte spoke up, shaking her head at him.

"I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it."

"If it's what you want then—"

Charlotte's phone ringing made her pause as she opened her bag's zipper, pulling the cellular device out, to find Serena's name sprawled across the screen before she swiped her finger across the screen, answering, "Hey, Serena, is everything alright?"

"What? Hey, I need you to calm down, I can't hear you," Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows, barely hearing Serena's voice through her loud sobs, "I am on my way."

She hung up, about to make it to the door before Elena asked, "Wait, what the hell happened?"

"I don't know, yet. I wish I could I have been there with you, Elena, I really do—"

Elena stood up, shaking her head, "No, no, it's okay. I get it. Just text me when you get there, I need to know that Serena is okay," She stated before wrapping her arms around Charlotte, giving her a reassuring hug.

"Thanks, I really needed that."

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte ran up to the Bernard's foyer and past the police cars to find Sheriff Forbes standing with Serena and Caroline holding a crying Cassie in her arms, "What happened? What's going on?"

"Nana Izzie fell off the staircase...I thought she looked fine but when I went to help her, her neck wasn't in the right angle and now she is not answering me and when I called Caroline, all those ambulances arrived and everything is just happening so fast and I don't know what to do—"

Charlotte wrapped her arms around Serena, letting the younger brunette soak her shirt with tears as she ran her hand up and down her back, attempting to calm her down, "Hey, everything is going to be okay, just breathe."

Serena was holding onto her for dear life as a stretcher came out with Izadora Bernard's body, covered with a white sheet. Charlotte blinked back a few tears as she held Serena back, "No! She can't be dead! No, no! Let go of me!"

"Serena...please...just for Cassie, please calm down," Sheriff Forbes stated, holding her back along with Charlotte as she rubbed her back, "Everything is going to be okay."

"No, no, everything is not going to be okay! She is dead!"

"Caroline, could you please take Cassie inside?" Liz turned to her daughter and Caroline nodded, walking inside with Cassie, who could have been in a state worse than her older sister's.

"Serena, hey, look at me," Charlotte turned to her niece, soothingly, "I am right here and I am not going anywhere," She embraced the brunette once again, holding onto her longer that once as Sheriff Forbes sent Charlotte a thankful nod.

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte sighed, helping Cassie out of bed so she would get ready for school. She had been staying at the Bernard's for a little while, considering what had happened and that she couldn't leave her family when they needed her the most.

"C'mon, Cassie, I will even let you have those chocolate thingies for breakfast?" Charlotte had a small smile on her face as she offered.

"Nana doesn't like me eating them before school," She sniffled, using her knuckles to rub the sleep out of her eyes, "Is Serena awake?"

"Yeah, and she is already eating breakfast. Why don't you wash your teeth and join us downstairs?" Charlotte asked, suggestively before Cassie nodded, wrapping her arms around her neck as Charlotte was already sitting down to match the girl's height.

"I love you, thank you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," Charlotte smiled, kissing her forehead before ushering her off to the washroom. She sighed, making her way downstairs to find Serena sat like she was when she went to sleep last night, "You didn't sleep?"

Serena took off her headphones, "I didn't feel like it. I was finishing off homework and somethings, regarding the funeral."

"But I thought you weren't having the funeral until your mother would get back from Canada?" Charlotte asked, pulling out a seat to sit beside her niece.

"Yeah, and I did talk to my mom, on the phone this time," She chuckled, shaking her head as she attempting to mimic her mother, "She said..uh, sorry, sweetie, I can't be there for another month. When I said we needed her, she replied, I know, honey, I know, but it's just...work."

"In her pesky little annoying voice...I just remembered how much I hate her."

Using her supernatural hearing, Charlotte heard Cassie shut the washroom door after her, "Please don't talk about your mother like that, at least not when Cassie is around."

"It's not like I am lying," Serena rolled her eyes, "Anyways, you and Caroline are going dress shopping later."

"What, why? I am going with Cassie to her school party, I already baked the cupcakes!"

Serena shook her head, fighting a smile that threatened to turn up on her face, "Because I am not doing the float thing so you are my backup."

"But—"

Knowing Charlotte's response, Serena interjected, "I am not feeling well to participate. I will just try again next year. But please, there's no one more fit for this than you."

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte ran a hand over her face, making her way downstairs with her handbag after she packed in more clothes for a few days with Serena and Cassie, conveniently timed with Damon's shout, "Absolutely not!"

"Just hear me out."

"I'm not gonna give the device to Isobel so she could give it to John who is going to turn it to kill me," Damon shook his head, stating, "I like being a living dead person."

Elena sighed, assuring him, "But it'll be useless, Bonnie can take its power away."

"I don't trust her," He said, turning to Bonnie with an evident glare on his face.

"I can remove the original spell," Bonnie said, looking up at them.

"John and Isobel will never know."

"What's going on?" Charlotte asked, sighing as she joined them in the living room, "I have been a little out of the loop, considering...."

"Isobel took Jeremy so Damon would give her the invention...," Stefan elaborated, sending his brother a look, "But he could care less right now."

"Jonathan Gilbert's invention? What does it even do?"

"I don't know but I wouldn't wanna find out by dying," Damon shrugged, attempting to walk away from that discussion.

"Damon, I have had a rough couple of weeks and it's really not the time for this, just give it to them, already," Charlotte rolled her eyes, exhaling sharply.

"No, I'll get Jeremy in my own way."

"Really? How are you going to do that?" Stefan asked, crossing his arms over his chest, "Because Isobel is a vampire and Jeremy could be dead the second you walk in the door."

Damon turned to Bonnie, raising his eyebrow, "Are you even up for this? I mean no offense, you're no Emily Bennett," He shrugged, "Emily knew what she was doing."

Bonnie stated, "I've been practicing."

"It's not piano lessons, honey," He dismissed her, rolling his eyes.

"What's your favorite book?"

"What?"

Bonnie repeated herself, "Name a book, any book."

He hummed, thinking aloud, "Name a book...How about Call of the Wild, Jack London?" They watched her turning and looking at the library before a book flew out and landed in Damon's hands, he looked down at it, nodding, "Jack London. Great parlor trick."

"We're doing this, Damon. And we're doing it my way," Elena sighed, finishing, "Now give me the device. We're wasting time!"

"I don't trust you, I tried to kill you," He finally turned to Bonnie, looking at her intently as if sensing a lie.

"You're right, you can't trust me."

"But you trust us," Charlotte spoke up from beside the Bennett, meaning herself and Elena, "And we trust her, so...," She trailed off, opening her hand up for Damon. He seemed hesitant before sighing and placing it in her hand, "Thank you."

Elena and Charlotte are standing next to Bonnie while Damon and Stefan are a few meters away as the brunette witch chanted with Emily's book open and the device next to it. In a few minutes, she shrugged, "Done."

"That's it? No ghosts screaming? No white lights? Nothing?"

"What kind of movies do you watch?" Bonnie asked, chuckling.

Charlotte took the question seriously, shrugging an answer, "Cartoon."

"Okay, now what?" Damon asked.

"Now we give it to Isobel."

✵ ✵ ✵

"I am back," Charlotte called out, walking inside before pausing in her steps as she found Serena and Cassie way past asleep on the couch. Serena had her sister sleeping in her arms and the vampire smiled before pulling out a blanket from her bag.

She kissed both of their foreheads and closed off the livingroom's lights with a long sigh. Charlotte made her way out of the house and sat on the porch's swing, attempting to scroll through her phone for a few minutes before going to bed.

The brunette looked up, hearing someone approach, only to find Damon with a bag in hand, "Cheeseburger, extra fries. Thought you could need it, considering the rough week."

Charlotte sighed, taking it from him, "Thanks, it's really been hard."

"Like...I haven't even stopped for a few seconds to think about how everything happened so fast," Charlotte ran a hand over her face, moving over so Damon could sit beside her on the porch swing, "A week and a half ago, Izadora knowing who I was...was my biggest problem but now, her death is just..."

"Sad, I know."

Damon said and Charlotte paused, furrowing her eyebrows, "No...her death was...convenient."

Charlotte rose to her feet, turning to Damon, "She died on the same day you declared that she needed to be killed...Her neck was snapped which is, according to you, the fastest way for a vampire to kill."

"Char..."

"Please don't tell me you really did this."

"I had to. She was hurting you."

Charlotte shook her head, swallowing a lump in her throat, "Get out of here—"

"Charlotte—"

"Damon, get out of here before I say something I regret!" She cut him off one last time before getting inside and closing the door after her.

✵ ✵ ✵

At the Gilbert residence, John Gilbert was sitting on the couch before his phone rang and Isobel's name was sprawled on the screen, "Hello?"

"On your doorstep, you'll find what you've been looking for," She stated as he stood up from the couch.

"And my ring?"

"Don't screw this up. You know what you have to do, John," Isobel said as he opened the door and picked up the envelope.

"I got it. I won't fail," John assured her, opening the envelope.

"You better not. Katherine wants all of those tomb vampires dead, and I want to add two more to that list," She said as John placed his ring on his finger.

"Let me guess."

"Stefan and Damon. I don't want this life for Elena," Isobel sighed, finishing, "Charlotte Bernard stays out of this. Katherine gave clear orders that she stays alive."

✵ ✵ ✵