anne

02| Once you're in, you're in

TVD timeline - S5 E14 - aftermath

• ____________ •

Charles called in to Anne's office at half-past four, as agreed, sitting on one of the couches and handing Anne a book from his bag. She leant over the coffee table to retrieve it, giving it a glance over while Charles explained, "It's a journal. I know she used to write a lot in these things, but she kept them hidden really well. I found that one accidentally, but I'll look for more this weekend after Caroline's recital on Friday night." 

Anne flicked a quick look at Charles, resting his elbows on his knees while he rubbed his forehead in stress. His eyes searched hers for some kind of approval, some kind of confirmation that this journal would unravel everything. 

"Well? What do you think?"

She skimmed through the pages, seeing lots of strangely worded phrases from entries that filled each corner of the page. Finally, she looked back up at him and said, "This is incredibly helpful Charles," He sighed in relief and fell back into the couch, head to the ceiling. 

Anne took in his appearance. Dishevelled brown hair, tie untucked, dark circles around his eyes, knees bouncing. With every client she was always careful how she revealed her investigations to them, seeing how most of the time they came to her from a place of desperation, not strength. When she first took on this case Charles looked a lot more restful and full. Now—with her investigation pulling more dirt from under the rug than he'd gotten from previous agencies—his eyes were heavier and smile was strained. 

Anne stopped skimming through the diary and shut it, putting it beside her on the couch. "Charles, I will find every secret your wife has put in this and any other journal, okay? This is a huge step, let me take it from here. Right now, your girls need you more than this case does, so you take time to be with them, alright?"

He continued staring at the ceiling, a tear running down his left cheek as he softly nodded.

"It's not my place, but seeing as I've been working your case for a few months now and I consider you a pretty decent guy, I want to ask if you're still going to family therapy sessions with them?"

Charles sat up, wiping his nose and shaking his head, "No, not for the last two weeks. I know it's bad, I've just been distracting myself with work and—" He cut himself off, "There's no good excuse."

"Only good explanations," Anne finished, smiling.

Charles' nostrils flared, "Which I need to hear; an explanation!" He waved his hands in the air, "She's been gone for two years and all I have to show for it is some dusty journals dated years ago only hinting that she wanted to run away but never saying why! I just need to know. I need to know why she left."

Anne felt a pang in her chest, recalling that that is precisely what she'd done. She left the Mikaelsons all those years ago without truly telling anyone why.

/  /  /  /

1431

She had felt sowed into the ground of the village, finding it to have been a struggle against herself, a self-betrayal to run away. While fleeing back to the Mikaelson's Castle, she felt in her soul that she should've been killed back there, that in escaping she selfishly took a second chance. And she hated herself for that. Each second her life continued was stolen.

Within minutes she was inside the castle walls, bolting up the stairs and into her room. She grabbed everything she could that held value and put it into a travelling bag for her horse to carry.