Set at the start of 'Dark Reunion'

And by the way, Elena is still alive and didn't die at the end of 'The Fury'

Katherine is dead. Klaus is not. That's all you need to know lol. Please read and rate!

Charlotte Salvatore was bored.

She had been lounging high up on a tree for a long time now, with nothing to do but watch the world go by, unbeknown that she was watching.

This was her favorite place to come when she had nothing to do. Occasionally one of the pretty boys of Fells Church walked by, and she licked her lips in anticipation. She was going to feed tonight. She hadn't done in a whole week, and that was a long time for her. Boys. With their lovely necks and muscles that were generally...wow.

Charlotte stretched her legs out, making the most of the large space available on the tree. When she'd first come to Fells Church, she had looked for a good place to relax where nobody could see her. This was perfect.

She was glad she had come to Fells Church, as there were quite a few not-bad-looking boys about. She could make boys forget her after she'd taken their blood, but sometimes she didn't wipe their memories completely. She wanted them to remember the way she had kissed them and looked into their eyes. They always told their friends about the beautiful Italian girl they had dated, and the envious looks they got from them must have been a big boost for their self-esteem.

She was beautiful, although she had never really thought about it. Her long, wavy black hair and green eyes were her most notable features, and when she styled them she could literally knock several men down just by glancing at them. She had a pale, high-cheek boned face, and all these features caused her to be a very desired young woman.

Charlotte came from Florence, Italy, and had been Changed into a vampire at the young age of sixteen in the 15th century. Her stupid brother's girlfriend had seen to that. Charlotte clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes as she thought of Katherine.

Katherine hadn't changed Charlotte herself though. She had asked the vampire that changed her to do it as she was too weak from changing both Charlotte's brothers, Damon and Stefan.

She leaned her head back, resting it against the hard oak. Closing her eyes, she daydreamed of the night that had changed her life.

***

It was a relatively cold night in Florence, Italy, and Charlotte Salvatore couldn't get to sleep because of it. She tossed and turned in the thin blankets of her bed, and finally giving up on sleep, she lay staring out of the window.

Her father had asked to see her that night, as soon as she returned from her long travel back from France. He had looked at her a bit strangely; she had changed quite a bit since she had left. Her father had ordered her to leave, and she had been very reluctant. But there was no arguing with your father back in those times. You either did what they told you, or you were removed from the family. But she had never understood why her eldest brother Damon had never been removed from the family. Their father had despaired over and over about his continuous gambling, drinking, and a never-ending line of women. She suspected because he's the heir to the Salvatore family. And he's male. People were very sexist back in those times, a lot more than they were now.

She hadn't seen any of her family in two years, so she wasn't exactly surprised when her father asked her into his study, perhaps to welcome her. Since Charlotte had returned to Florence that afternoon, she hadn't seen either of her brothers, though that didn't exactly worry her. Damon was presumably out drinking with his amici, and Stefan in his chamber, studying or sleeping.

As she had walked the long halls of the Salvatore house, she thought her father would just welcome her home, then send her off back to her chamber to sleep. How wrong she was.

She knocked on the study door, and heard her father's booming voice telling her to enter. She did.

He was standing, which was a surprise. He stood next to the several bookcases in the corner of the room, and he walked forward as she entered.

Giuseppe Conte di Salvatore had aged over the years, and there were more lines on his face than the last time she saw him. Tears came to her eyes. As much as she loved France, she had worried about her father's health. He was an old man now, who knew what could happen to him?

"My daughter," he said, smiling, moving forward to hug her.

She smiled, tears spilling out of her eyes.

He leaned back to look at her properly.

"You've grown up."

"Yes, father."

"Please, take a seat. You must be tired after your long journey home," he gestured towards the desk. He sat behind it, and she sat opposite.

"I have something to tell you, my child."

Charlotte tried not to appear confused. This was not what she expected. And from the look on her father's face; it was not a good piece of news.

"Your brothers...they have been killed."

She sat there, frozen, as he went on.

"Katherine has disappeared, and your brothers both...in their grief...killed...each other."

Her father stopped, and looked down.

Charlotte left her father's study less than five minutes later, and couldn't really think about anything else but sleep. It had been a very long, tiring day. She didn't have time to grieve for her brothers right now. She hadn't really known them, but they were her family.

She went straight to bed, completely unaware of what would happen that night...

***

Still high up in the tree, Charlotte remembered the beautiful man, Klaus, as he walked gracefully into her room. He had stayed a while longer than necessary after he had changed her. The Old One had kissed her, and touched her, and slept for a while beside her. But in the morning he was gone, leaving a ring on her bedside cabinet.

Right now, she was staring at the same ring he had given her. It protected her from the sun, although she rarely went out in it anyway. She had always been a night girl.

Leaning back further into the trees- she thought of her brothers. Damon was a lot more like her than Stefan was, as he was as restless as herself. Stefan was the nicey-nicey one. The one who did everything he was asked, with no questions. She hadn't seen either of her brothers for nearly five centuries, but she remembered what they looked like. They had probably forgotten all about her. She knew they were both vampires, Klaus had told her. She had had no reason to doubt him; after all, he had Changed her hadn't he? She also had heard- as her father told her in his study- that one of the maids had run back to the house from the gardens, screaming that she had seen Stefan walking towards her. Charlotte now knew the maid had been telling the truth, but at the time, she didn't, and her father had already dismissed the maid from his employment for saying such a horrifying thing.

Charlotte herself had used to be a sweet, shy child back in those days. But now she knew what the world was really like: and it had hardened her soul. Nothing could break her emotional barrier now.

A few raindrops splattered onto her nose, and she brushed them away impatiently. Time to leave. Rain was not her favorite thing in the world, and above all, she hated getting her hair wet.

She pulled up the hood on her black jumper, and hopped from branch to branch down the tree, edging closer to the ground.

I'll go to the boarding house first to change, then get a tasty boy to drink- she thought excitedly.

***

There were many boarding houses in Fells Church, and Charlotte lived in one of the newly-decorated ones on the south side of the town. It was fairly modern, with large glass windows that looked gorgeous on a sunny day. The building itself was tall and surrounded by groups of flowers.

Only four people were living in the boarding house at the moment. Charlotte, and three boys, Sam, Kian, and Lee.

As gorgeous as all three boys were, she didn't want to feed off them, as she proffered to keep feeding outside of her home.

She opened the front door with her key, and gracefully made her way up the stairs towards her room. Lee was coming out of his room, and she heard his heart stop beating for a second as he glimpsed her. She smirked. It was amusing to her when boys saw her- some even gasped.

"Hi, Charlotte!" Lee managed to compose himself fairly quickly.

"Hey, Lee. Doing good?" Charlotte asked politely.

"Same old, same old."

They paused, looking at each other.

Charlotte looked into Lee's eyes. She noticed for the first time that his eyes were a deep chocolate colour, and they had a sparkle in them. He looked especially gorgeous today, she thought. His blonde hair was newly washed with only a tad of gel in it. He had a dark brown buttoned shirt on, with black trousers and black boots. Wow. She'd never noticed how gorgeous he was.

Lee coughed nervously, still staring at her.

Charlotte brought herself back to her senses, and was angry at herself. How could she look at him that way?! She didn't like anyone, and she didn't want to like him.

"I...better be going then," Lee said, now staring at her lips.

She paused, then decided she should say something.

"Yeah."

"I was thinking....there's a party on tomorrow. Some girl's birthday. You should come."

A human party? Oh, how fun.

"Yeah, I might come."

Lee smiled widely.

"Cool. Erm... I'll see you later then."

She smiled at him, and heard his heart rate quicken.

"Bye then."