❝in need of a savior.❞
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

JUST AS CHARLOTTE WAS PREPARING TO LEAVE THE GRILL, SHE LOOKED AROUND, TRYING TO SEE IF BONNIE WAS STILL LINGERING WITH HER DATE. Her brows furrowed when she saw the table they'd been seated at, holding just Bonnie's jacket.

With one more glance around the bar, she frowned when she saw no other sign of the witch.

Walking over to the table, she grabbed Bonnie's jacket and made her way outside, her dark eyes flickering through the night that was lit up by the yellow-hued street lamps. "Bonnie? Are you out here?"

She waited for an answer, slowly turning to walk towards the parking lot where Bonnie's car was still. "Bonnie?"

A trickling sense of anxiety dropped into her stomach, and she clutched onto the jacket in her hands as her eyes landed on a figure standing a few feet away beside an open trunk. "Hey– you're Ben, right? You're Bonnie's date,"

The man turned around, eyes widening at the sight of her.

"Bonnie left her jacket inside, do you know where she went?"

His hardened gaze faltered and she saw a moment of hesitation as his eyes drifted downwards to the open trunk, and Charlotte followed his line of sight instinctively. Her forehead wrinkled with the force of her frown, and she narrowed her gaze on the shadow of what seemed to be a hand laying close to the opening of the vehicle's back hatch, letting the slightest bit of light illuminate it enough for her to see.

A gasp left her lips suddenly and she felt her grip loosen on Bonnie's jacket just enough that it slipped from her hand and fell to the ground at her feet. "Bonnie–"

Just as her friend's name spilled from her lips, Ben was rushing towards her with familiar speed and black veins crawling beneath his eyes, and Charlotte's yell of terror was cut short when his elongated fangs pricked her neck. She choked around the horrible, rushing sensation and before she could even attempt to fight back, her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell unconscious.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Charlotte woke with a soft groan, and her hand immediately flew to the throbbing pain in her neck. She winced when her fingers skated over the scabs of blood there, and she dreaded to find out what her reflection would hold in her current state.

Her vision cleared of any streams of unconsciousness, and the sleeping figure of the vampire came into focus at the end of the bed she'd been left on. Her eyes quickly darted around the room and she was remiss to find no sign of Bonnie anywhere.

Moving as quietly as she could, she stood from the bed, blinking away the lingering dizziness from her blood loss the night before. The sunshine that managed to stream through the closed curtains told her she'd been gone for quite some time, and when her eyes dropped to the alarm clock on the nightstand, she found she was right.

Twelve hours was a long time. She briefly wondered if anyone had noticed she was gone, and then she pushed that thought away. For all she knew, they could be two states over by this point and no one would be coming for her.

She pressed onto her tiptoes and swung her legs over Ben's outstretched leg, keeping a careful gaze on his sleeping face and watching for any signs of waking.

Charlotte made her way to the door, and she mentally cursed at the chain lock. Looking over her shoulder, she decided the best way to do it would be to just rip the bandaid off. Quickly, but as quietly as she could manage, she slid the lock over and let the chain fall as she swung the door open.

Before she could even take a step out of the motel room, she was being pushed backwards, and the door was slammed shut again.

"I told you to keep an eye on her,"

Charlotte's head snapped over as she realized Ben was awake now, too, and she dropped her gaze back to the short girl before her. "Anna– you're Anna,"

The girl narrowed her eyes at Charlotte, and then at the wound on her neck, and she shot Ben a sharp glare again. "You didn't heal her?"

Ben stuttered around an excuse, and Charlotte's hand came up to cover the wound instinctively, shielding it from the two vampires. "If Stefan shows up here and sees her like this, he'll kill you."

Charlotte tensed at the sound of Stefan's name, and though couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of relief at the sound of his name, the thought of him coming to get her made her think twice. Her eyes darted to Ben, and she wondered if he knew that she wasn't Elena.

Forcing herself to move on, and not show any sort of confusion, she looked at Anna, completely disregarding Ben. "Where's Bonnie?"

Anna's eyes narrowed in her direction again, and she rolled her eyes, bringing her wrist up to her mouth and tearing into the skin there with her fangs. She moved to press her wrist against Charlotte's mouth, but the girl dodged her arm and stumbled backwards, putting distance between them in the small room.

"I don't want your blood,"

"You need to be healed,"

Charlotte glared, clenching her jaw. "I'd rather you kill me than risk becoming a vampire,"

Anna eyed her for a moment before dropping her arm, letting the skin close up quickly. It didn't take much for her to give up on the endeavor luckily, and Charlotte let out a mental sigh of relief.

"Where is Bonnie? What did you do to her?"

Anna lifted her hand and pointed to the closed bathroom door, and Charlotte, perhaps foolishly, turned her back on the vampires to swing the door open. Her eyes immediately fell on Bonnie's unconscious frame lying uncomfortably still in the bathtub, and she rushed over, shaking the girl by her arm.

The bathroom door slammed shut behind her, but Charlotte paid no mind. If they wanted to lock her in here, she would at least be able to keep an eye on Bonnie.

Her hands shook with fear as she stood, grabbing a starch white washcloth off the towel rack and wetting it beneath the sink faucet. She kneeled carefully beside the tub and brought the cloth up to the scabbed wound on Bonnie's forehead, dabbing at it carefully as the witch began to stir.

"Bonnie?"

Bonnie's eyes opened, and she could see the witch hesitate, waiting for her blurry vision to focus before she responded. "Charlie?"

Charlotte let out a small sigh of relief, nodding her head. "Are you– what hurts?"

"My head," Bonnie groaned softly, eyes squeezing shut again, and Charlotte nodded knowingly. Bonnie's eyes snapped open, a sudden panic hitting her as she regained her senses. "Oh, my god, Ben is a–"

Charlotte shushed Bonnie quietly, holding a finger to her lips before gesturing to the closed door. "They can hear,"

Bonnie's chest heaved with panicked breaths and Charlotte stood swiftly, flicking the sink faucet on high, flooding the bathroom with the rushing water.

Bonnie groaned as Charlotte sat beside her again. "I'm so stupid,"

"No, no," Charlotte shook her head, giving Bonnie a small smile. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known what he was, or that he was working with Anna."

"What's going on? Why are we here?" Bonnie's eyes drifted around the dingy bathroom. "Is Elena okay?"

Charlotte cleared her throat softly, nodding. "Elena's fine as far as I know, I, uh– it's been like twelve hours since we were taken. Someone's bound to show up at any time and get us out of here."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know," Charlotte shook her head, feeling all but useless with her lack of knowledge as to why they'd been taken. Perhaps if she knew, she could bargain with Anna to let Bonnie go. "I think it has something to do with the tomb, though. They might need a witch, or something."

Bonnie's eyes widen and she shakes her head furiously. "I won't help them,"

"I know, Bonnie. Look, I think that they think I'm Elena, so–"

The bathroom door bursts open and Charlotte startles, jumping back to shield Bonnie from Ben's cold glare as he turns the sink off.

"You're wasting your time," Bonnie says. "I won't help you."

Ben moves quickly, grabbing Charlotte up from the ground and wrapping an arm around her neck, pressing on her windpipe. "That's why she's here. Motivation for you to behave."

He pauses, tilting his head at Bonnie. "You know, you shouldn't be so desperate. You made it too easy."

"She wants to talk to you," He wrangles Charlotte up to her feet and pushes her out of the bathroom, and Charlotte catches herself on the dresser with a grunt.

"Well, well," Anna's voice drawls, making Charlotte look at her from her hunched position. "Elena Gilbert. You really are Katherine's doppelgänger. You must have the Salvatore boys reeling,"

Charlotte was, in some ways, relieved that they thought she was Elena. Mainly because it meant Elena wasn't the one in her position right now, at risk of being killed at probably any second. And, it gave her an advantage because that meant neither her nor Ben knew that they were twins. As long as she could keep up the facade of being Elena, her younger sister would be safe, and it would give her and Stefan more time to find them.

"What do you want from me, Anna?"

Anna blinked, feigning a smile at Charlotte's pushing. "What, you don't want to get to know me? I mean, I'm practically dating your little brother."

"Yeah, well, kidnapping his big sister probably isn't the best way to get on his good side."

Anna narrowed her eyes as she turned to glimpse out of the window, just barely shifting the curtains. Charlotte took the cue and sat on the end of the bed, gathering her messy hair over one shoulder.

"You're braver than I thought you'd be," Anna mutters, sounding irritated with the prospect. "Certainly mouthier."

"If I'm going to die either way, I'd rather die defending myself."

"I'm not going to kill you," Anna looked at her, rolling her eyes slightly. "At least not yet."

Charlotte heard the unspoken words and she scoffed lightly. "Bonnie's not going to help you open the tomb."

"Oh, I think she will," Anna continues looking out the window, running her fingers along the fabric of the thick curtains.

"Do you really want Katherine out that bad?"

Anna faces her at that, looking resentful at the assumption. "Trust me. No one I know wants to see that girl again. Except Damon, the love-struck idiot."

Charlotte looks down at that, feeling that familiar mixture of sympathy and irritation she always feels when it comes to Damon and Katherine. She can't help but feel bad for him, but she hates to see him going to the lengths he does, all for a girl who, on all outside accounts, would never do the same for him.

But Anna's words strike more than her soft spot for Damon, and she furrows her brows as she watches the vampire, rethinking what she'd said. "If it's not Katherine, then who's in the tomb that you want out so bad?"

Anna appears only somewhat surprised at her question, turning away from the window as a bitter look crosses her face. "My mother's in there."

Charlotte's eyes widen in surprise, and in spite of herself, she feels a pluck of pity for the girl before her.

"Katherine couldn't help herself. She just had to toy around with both of the Salvatore brothers. And when she got caught, so did my mother. I watched Jonathan Gilbert take her away,"

Charlotte shook her head, looking at Anna. "I'm sorry."

"You really mean that, don't you?" Anna scoffs lightly, looking at her oddly. "Yeah, I think we'll skip the dead mom bonding, so you can start serving a purpose."

Charlotte flinches lightly and looks away, giving Anna a wry smile when she looks back up. "Which is what, exactly?"

"Leverage," Anna turns, picking up the cellphone off the table behind her. "This belong to you?"

Charlotte reaches for her phone, but Anna pulls it back out of reach, dialing a number on it. Charlotte's stomach drops, and she hopes that whoever she calls doesn't let Anna pick up on the fact that she's not Elena.

When the line picks up, Charlotte can hear Stefan's tinny voice come through on the other end in the silence of the motel room.

"Thank god– are you okay?"

"She's fine, for now." Anna tilts her head, giving Charlotte a smug look at the relief in Stefan's voice. "Tell me you have the grimoire and she'll stay fine."

"I can get it."

"Which means your brother has it," Anna scoffs. "And I have the witch, so, one of you had better meet me in the very public town square in 30 minutes so we can safely discuss how fun it's gonna be to work together."

Anna pulls the phone away from her ear and hangs up, walking to the bathroom door and banging on it. "I'm leaving."

Charlotte snaps her gaze over as the door opens and Ben walks out with Bonnie, and she lets out a sigh of relief when she sees Bonnie relatively unharmed.

"Keep them buttoned down," Anna glares at Ben sternly. "Compulsion won't work, just use violence."

"Right. I got that." Ben pushes Bonnie over to the other bed as Anna leaves, slamming the door shut behind her. "Sit. Behave."

He pulls his jacket off, draping it over a chair as he turns to face Bonnie again. "So, you're the key to this. Literally. The one who opens the door. Tell me," He sits on the arm of the chair, looking at Bonnie. "How long have you been a witch?"

Charlotte crosses her arm, determined to keep Ben's predatory gaze off of Bonnie. "Is there anything to drink here?"

Ben stands, approaching her with a shark-like grin. "Are you offering again?"

Charlotte shifted back on the bed, keeping her gaze on Ben to try and hide the shiver that went down her spine at the thought of him attacking her again.

"There's water on the nightstand,"

Charlotte waited until he turned away to grab the glass, and Bonnie turned to face her as she lifted it to her mouth.

"Hey, can I have a sip?"

Charlotte frowned at Bonnie's insistent look, but handed over the glass anyways.

Bonnie turned and slung the water in it onto Ben's arm, and it burst into flames seconds later. As Ben yelled out in pain, Bonnie and Charlotte stood, running to the door. Just as Bonnie got out, Ben wrapped an arm around Charlotte's waist, pulling her back into the room with his fangs bared threateningly close to her neck again.

"Come back in, and shut the door!"

"Bonnie, just go!"

Bonnie stepped back into the room, clenching her jaw as Charlotte whimpered. "Don't hurt her,"

"Don't make me,"

Bonnie shut the door, and Ben jerked his head at it. "Lock it."

Charlotte met Bonnie's gaze as she slid the chain lock into place, and felt the dread in her stomach settle like an anchor. Her hope for rescue dwindled by the second.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

author's note; i received this comment on my stefan salvatore book, athena, last night, and this was the conversation that followed.

i have since muted this person so they can no longer comment on my books, or message me, or interact with me in any way, and i don't need anyone to reach out to them in any manner. but i would like to reiterate the fact that i am in fact a human being, and am allowed to speak and write whatever i please because none of you pay me to do this and therefore have no right to act like i owe you a single thing. and if you have ever taken one of my authors notes as condescending or thought me rude, i suggest you stop reading my books now because i won't roll over and take disrespect just because some stranger on the other end of a screen thinks that i need to act a certain way. i am eternally grateful for the love my books get, but do not in any way think that i am indebted to you because of that. thanks for listening to my psa.

edited and published; 12.5.22.

- liz