IV

I covered my left eye with my left hand as my breath slowly got under control.

Adam? Who was Adam?

Why did he look so much like that man I saw earlier?

Speaking of earlier… how did I get home?

“You’re awake. Thank goodness.” Lea said as she dropped some warm towels on the table and touched my forehead.

“What are you doing?” I asked in confusion as she took down her hand.

“I am checking if your temperature has lowered. You’ve had a fever for the past three days.” Lea explained as I stared at her in disbelief.

“That’s, that’s not possible. I’m supposed to be dead! I’m a vampire and we can’t get colds!”

“I know that but something strange happened to you. Your body felt like a bottomless pit, absorbing as much blood as possible while you were sick. If you don’t believe me, touch your shirt.” Lea said as I touched my shirt, surprised it was actually damp.

She was telling the truth. I did have a fever but how…

“How did I get here? Last I remember I was passing out at an alley and…” Lea’s eyes averted from mine as she stood up.

“Someone brought you here.” She said and I squinted my eyes at her.

“Lea?”

“It’s someone who you are guaranteed not to like.” Lea said as she hugged her arm protectively.

“Lea. Who brought me back?” I asked as I ripped off the needle and stood up from the bed.

“I believe that will be me.” I heard a very familiar voice that had me run to the door and pin the bastard a little above ground.

“Hello Charlie. It’s been quite a long time.” This man said with so much arrogance, I loathed it.

“How dare you show your face here Klaus?!” I growled at Klaus who maintained a stoic face.

Klaus was a handsome man. Soft black hair that laid back, blue eyes that changed with the lighting of the room, he was fair and seemed to have grown a beard over the years.

I haven’t seen this tall man in thirty years and even though he had gotten more handsome, sculpted to perfection, I wasn’t going to kiss his ass.

“Charlie please let him go. As much as I hate to be the one saying this, Klaus came here for a valid good reason.” Lea said as my eyes blinded with rage slowly settled.

I threw him across the room as he fell on the floor, his body gliding on the smooth tile before he stopped.

“I definitely deserve that, don’t I?” Klaus asked as I kicked him in the gut.

“You deserve more than that asshole.” I said as I walked into the living room, tying my hair up.

I grabbed a bottle of water and drank before I sat on the coach with my legs crossed.

Klaus stepped in afterwards, his hand on his stomach as he helped himself to a glass of blood wine before he walked opposite me with another glass in his hands as Lea sat beside me.

“Vodka my lady?” Klaus offered as I scoffed.

“If you don’t start talking, I’m two seconds away from your ripping your head off your body.” I threatened as he withdrew the wine and gulped down my share with a sigh.

“It’s nice to know that your temper hasn’t changed since the last… I’ve forgotten.” Klaus charmingly said as I clenched my fist.

“Like you forgot to be at the altar during our wedding? You left me at that altar alone in front of everyone Klaus! If you’ve come here to give me a pathetic excuse for why you ran away without a trace then you’re way behind schedule because I don’t need you Klaus!”

“I had to leave for your protection but I was too late.” Klaus replied.

I stood up and tapped his chest with an angry glare.

“My protection? You left me for my protection? I created you Klaus; don’t forget you wouldn’t be what you are if not for me. I never needed your protection and I don’t see myself starting to. Burn in hell you sonvabitch.” I cursed as I threw my empty bottle of water at him,

Klaus wanted to press on; he wanted me to reason with him when Lea’s cough broke the argument.

“As much as I love reunion, we have matters to worry about. So, tell Charlie why exactly you are back Klaus.” Lea demanded as she folded her hands as well as I.

Klaus sighed as he dropped the glass cup on the table before he fell on the couch and hunched towards us as I sat down.

“It’s about your memories Charlie.” Klaus said as I stared at him.

“My memories?” I asked as Lea and Klaus stared at each other.

“The reason your hunger increased, the dreams you see, the curse, the mark on your body…” Klaus said but I interrupted him.

“Wait what curse? What mark?” I asked as Lea pointed at her back.

“There’s a symbol on your back that drew itself when Klaus brought you here. It had me believe everything Klaus had to say.” Lea said as I sighed.

“If this is some sick prank Klaus, I don’t like you messing with my best friend’s head.” I argued and stood up.

“If you don’t believe me then I want you to answer a simple question.” Klaus said as he blocked my path.

“Okay.” I said as I placed my hands on my hip.

“Tell me one thing you remember before you were turned into a vampire. A month before your transformation.” Klaus specified as I smiled.

“That’s easy I…” I paused as I tried to think far back to a month before I was transformed.

Something didn’t feel right within me.

Why couldn’t I remember anything from a month before my transformation?

Why did images of that man from a few days ago keep popping in my head?

“That spell, that potion… it was, it was all a lie. Lea could you check if there’s any magic residue in my body?” I requested as Lea nodded.

She stood up and I lowered my head before we both closed our eyes as I gave my body permission to let her magic work on me.

“There is. It’s quite a powerful spell that is slowly disintegrating.” Lea said as I clicked my tongue.

“That witch!” I cursed Larissa. “Turning us into vampires wasn’t enough for her, manipulating my memories is another sin I can’t forgive. So all those dreams, those flashes, that curse… they’re all my,”

“Memories. They are all your memories and that memory is actually a warning.” Klaus said as I and Lea faced him.

“A warning about what?” I asked as I finally decided to pay attention to Klaus.

“Thirty years ago on our wedding day, I heard a voice. It looked like you except I knew it wasn’t because you looked dead, cold so I followed the creature. This creature causes death, bad luck, pain, famine, strive.”

“Shadows. Creatures of negative energy like demons.” I said as I bit my nail.

“How do you know?” Lea asked as I ran to my study, picked a book and ran back.

I quickly flipped the little encyclopedia to where I needed it and dropped the book on the table.

“In one of my dre-memories, I saw a picture of this creature in most of the stories I read to someone. Larissa’s books also had a few details about it.” I said as Lea took the book and started to read a little on them.

“What do they want with Charlie?” Lea asked as she stared at Klaus.

“It’s not what they want; it’s what is going to happen to them when Charlie and her lover finally fall in love again.” Klaus said as he intertwined his fingers.

“Adam.” I said as Klaus nodded.

“There’s a war coming. One greater than the one we faced with the humans Charlie.” Klaus said as Lea’s eyes widened.

“Vampires, witches, werewolves, demons and probably humans will battle for the fate of this world.” Lea said as Klaus nodded and pointed at me.

“And you Charlie will be the cause of this war. The key to the myth Armageddon.” Klaus said.

“Okay there is no possible way that I will be the one to start a war between these species. First you tell me that my whole life, my memories has been nothing but a lie and the next I’m the key to this so called Armageddon. This is so much information to take in right now.” I spoke quickly with a splitting headache that had me massaging the side of the skull.

“That is why we need to break the curse on you and that werewolf if we want to win this war.” Klaus said as I touched my head.

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Lea asked.

“By making sure you don’t fall in love with Adam.” He said as Lea and I frowned.

“And what basis do you have for me to believe you Klaus? How do I know if I can trust you?” I asked.

An image flashed in my head about the only person I longed to see as a tear drop escaped my eyes.

“Hope is alive and the reason she disappeared all those years was to buy us time. The reason you never met Adam again even after death was Hope’s doing.”

“That was why we could never find her because she wasn’t in the human realm.” Lea said as I covered my mouth and smiled.

“That’s not possible. Hope has been missing for a very long time for you to know I would meet Adam at this exact time.” I noted as Klaus nodded.

“I never left you Charlie. When I touched the shadow, I got dragged into a dark, lonely place for twelve years with nothing but shadows around me. Then Hope’s projection found me and then she exposed a lot before she expelled me from that place. I wondered around, searching for you and I did find you eventually.”

My daughter, my daughter, my Hope is alive.

“Then how do we break this curse?” I asked as I stared in Klaus’ eyes.

I watched as he raised a beautiful, custom made ring and went on his one of his knees before he raised the ring at me.

“Charlie Griffin, no, Eliza Willows…will you marry me?” Klaus proposed and there was only one catchphrase I could think of.

“Fuck my life.”