Originals 1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **If you've seen the movie Atonement, this story is loosely inspired by the ending. If you're not familiar with the movie, just know that this story is going to hurt.

(This is for Juliete, who gave me the idea one day and we've both been asking ourselves what the hell is wrong with us ever since).

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**Part One**

Almost forty years have passed since the last time she set foot in this house, but one step over the threshold is all it takes for the memories to come rushing back. They were never far from the surface, but being there again is like opening an overwhelming portal to the past. She can practically hear their voices – one in particular – as her eyes dart around the room.

The décor is familiar, but details have changed over the years. The curtains are new, the paint is fresh and the hardwood is a different color, darker than the original and she has to assume that's intentional. The New Orleans Preservation Society declared the home a landmark, but that doesn't stop them from using the local lore to scare tourists into spending money for access. After all, legend claims vampires owned the house for centuries as they ruled the supernatural scene.

Given the reason she's there, she knows she has no room to judge anyone for using the house or its history for financial gain. But none of this is her idea – not the location, not the interview, not even the book itself. Her name might be on the cover along with what she considers an overly airbrushed 'candid' photo on the back jacket, but she can't take credit for the idea and she's certainly not interested in the profits. This entire venture is the fulfillment of a promise made long ago, one that she's wanted to keep and as difficult as coming here again is, she's willing to make the sacrifice to ensure the message gets heard.

"Ms. O'Connell?" A petite brunette with an overly cheery smile that seems completely out of place in this house steps in front of her, pulling her from her thoughts as she politely holds out her hand.

"Cami," she replies, surprising herself for offering up the nickname usually reserved for a select few, as she shakes the woman's hand. Cami decides to chalk the slip of the tongue up to her surroundings. Standing in this foyer, shaking hands and faking a polite smile unnerves her more than she was expecting.

The woman introduces herself as Margo and explains that she's the production assistant assigned to keep her company until it's time to go on camera. Margo leads Cami into the formal sitting room that's now transformed into a mini-television studio. She offers her water and a snack and after Cami declines both, she's seated on the couch while Margo touches up her makeup and makes small talk about the weather.

A few minutes later, Margo holds a mirror in front of her face to show off the finished product. Cami manages another polite smile, even as she fights the urge to wince at her reflection. She looks every single one of her sixty-three years and then some and the caked on stage makeup does not help anything. But this isn't about her so it doesn't matter how she looks once the camera starts rolling.

Margo excuses herself and Cami folds her hands in her lap, trying not to fidget as the lighting and sound crews do their thing. Once everything's set, Samantha Davenport, the local news anchor, sits down across from her and offers a polite handshake. Cami notes that she bypasses a firm grip to protect her manicure and the gesture is so vain and ridiculous that it somehow calms Cami's nerves.

The reporter explains that they're going live in two minutes. She'll open the broadcast with a brief history of the house they were sitting in and then she'll summarize Cami's book before she introduces her and begins her questions. Cami nods as her nerves come roaring back, twisting her stomach into knots. After so many years of keeping everything buried deep inside, it doesn't feel right to sit in this house of all places to pull back the veil. But it needs to be done. This is the final step. It's her only shot at reaching a large audience.

Samantha puts on her best smile and faces the camera, welcoming the viewers to the heart of the French Quarter. She talks about the local lore and Cami assumes the production crew is running b-roll footage as she describes the house and the ugly, bloody history surrounding it. Then she holds up a copy of Cami's book, rattles off a condensed version of the description and then lists Cami's credentials before she turns in her direction.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Camille O'Connell. Welcome, Ms. O'Connell."

"Thank you for having me," Cami replies. She's echoing the reporter's overly formal tone as she quietly reminds herself that she can do this – she's come this far. Cami has talked about her book in great lengths before – from the time she'd sold the initial proposal to when the finished copy had first hit the shelves. But this is different. This is being back here and _remembering_ and answering questions that were no one's business on live television because she has to get the message out there. She owes them, _him_, this final favor.

"Let's start with the big question of fact versus fiction," Samantha begins. She's got her best reporter smile in place and Cami braces for the onslaught. "Even though the Mikaelson family once lived in this very house, some say for centuries, your book is classified as fiction. Why?"

"It is fiction," Cami replies. She's mentally prepared her response to this question, but it still pains her to say the words. "Parts of my book were inspired by local lore, including the legend that surrounded the Mikaelson family, but all of it is just that. It's a _fictionalized_ account of life's tragedies," she stresses.

Samantha nods, a small smile playing across her lips like she's trying to appear amused. Cami wonders if she's fighting the urge to wink at the camera as she pauses before her next question. "So you don't actually _believe_ that the members of the Mikaelson family were secretly vampires that lived in the French Quarter for hundreds of years?"

"Of course not," Cami replies, letting her tone convey that the mere idea is completely ridiculous. "There's no such thing as vampires." _Anymore_, her mind adds and she feels like someone is reaching into her chest and squeezing her heart as the familiar pain floods through her. _Breathe through your nose. Don't show emotion_, she mentally pleads.

Samantha holds her gaze for a long minute like she's expecting her to change her mind and Cami keeps her face carefully blank until the reporter lets out an exaggerated sigh that's mixed with a laugh. "Well I had to try, didn't I?" Her southern drawl seeps through like they're ladies gossiping over tea and Cami manages a small laugh. The moment passes and Samantha's face turns serious again.

"You've said the book is a tragedy and it _is_," Samantha confirms. Her eyes are shining when she turns to the camera once more. "I went through several boxes of tissues." She pauses again and Cami assumes she's playing to the live audiences, but it seems silly when it's only them and the camera crew in the room. "Now I've also heard you describe the book as a love story. Whose love story?" she asks.

The vice grip of the invisible fist tightens around her heart and Cami struggles to prevent the emotion from seeping into her voice. She can't bring herself to stare directly into the camera so she focuses her gaze on Samantha. "There are several love stories in the book, but at its heart is the love between family members and the lengths people will go to protect their family. No sacrifice is ever too big."

Samantha nods like she understands and Cami digs her fingernails into the skin of her palm to hold her temper in check. The reporter will never understand – no one will understand – but she can't say that. She can't let her emotions get the best of her because this isn't about her. As far as the world is concerned, her only connection is the research she did to write her book.

"What about the love between the king and his historian?"

Cami feels the lump rising in her throat. She's prepared for this question too – she's certainly talked about it enough with her editors and the people who came to her book signings as she toured the country. But being in this house makes it too difficult to detach from the situation and the memories flash in her mind's eye.

_She's sitting at the typewriter while Klaus angrily paces the room, moaning about how his siblings are out to get him. It's the only time she knows her thoughts are her own and she's desperate to be able to recall them later. That's why she's drawing the code. It's her only chance. He realizes she's not typing and she gives him a piece of her mind, calling him out on his delusions and the fact that he blames his siblings for his unhappiness instead of taking responsibility._

_He ignores her words and continues to insist that everyone is out to get him. She's frustrated to the point where she wants to scream, but she doesn't get the chance because her drawing catches his eyes and he demands to know what's she's doing so she replies with a version of the truth, knowing he'll assume she's being sarcastic._

"_It's an ancient mystical plot I'm using to destroy you."_

Her mind snaps back to the present and she gives Samantha the best smile she can muster. "You're skipping ahead. The relationship between the king and the historian does come into play in the book, but it's not the focus. This is a story of a family and the strong bond they shared through the best and worst that life had to offer."

Samantha nods and sends her a knowing look that Cami would love to slap off her face. Instead, she digs her nails into her palm again, red crescent marks dotting her skin. But it does the trick and some of the tension eases from her shoulders as she waits for the next question. "The bond is certainly unique. As I read the story, I was never quite sure if these people loved each other or planned to murder one another while they slept. If the slept…" The twinkle returns to her eyes. "Do vampires sleep?"

The question is supposed to sound like casual conversation and Cami wonders if anyone in history has ever walked into a trap that obvious. The forced smile on her face widens despite her very real desire to start screaming and never stop. "There are no vampires. As I've said, my book is _loosely_ based on the lore of the Mikaelson family, who some did consider royalty. That's why I chose to give the characters titles instead of names. It allows people to picture whoever they'd like as they read."

"Creative," Samantha comments and Cami can see that's not the word she wants to use, but she's as professional as ever as she opens the book on her lap. It probably looks like she opened it to a random page on camera, but Cami is close enough to see the corner is bent just enough to be a placeholder. "Well it seems we'll be starting with the queen." Her face shifts into a sympathetic expression. "Describe her in three words."

"Strong, resourceful and lost," Cami replies. Her voice threatens to crack on the last word, but she manages to squeak it out as her mind drifts to a heavily pregnant woman walking beside her at a funeral procession. Everything about their official first meeting had been inappropriate – her uncle had just died _in transition to becoming a vampire_ and Hayley wanted a favor. But all she'd had to do was mention her distrust of Francesca and Cami had forgiven the major social faux pas and agreed to help her.

If only she'd discovered the truth sooner. Even now, Cami can't help but think everything might have been different if she'd realized who Francesca was before the full moon or if she'd been able to warn Hayley or Klaus or Elijah or _someone_. She knows better than anyone that it's not healthy to dwell on what ifs or to live in the past, but sometimes, she feels like that's the only way to survive because the guilt and pain is all she has left and she _cherishes_ it.

Samantha's voice brings her back to the present once more and Cami only catches the tail end of her statement, but it's enough for her to fall into the conversation. Samantha wants to read a passage from the chapter and Cami knows which one it will be before she even begins. Cami just nods and forces another polite smile onto her face while Samantha digs out her high school drama class voice as she reads about the queen giving birth to a stillborn baby as war tears the city down around the castle.

"Powerful," Samantha says in an exaggerated whisper. Cami carves another crescent into her palm and this time she thinks she might have drawn blood, but she can't look. "The loss of the baby rocks the fragile kingdom, but as the child's mother, the queen suffers the most, doesn't she?"

The question is so stupid that the polite smile slips from Cami's face, but she manages not to outright glare at the woman. "After the baby was taken from her, the queen didn't know who she was anymore. She lost her identity and couldn't find a way to accept her new reality. The family tried to help her, but they were grieving too."

Samantha makes a comment about postpartum depression and rattles off statistics that scroll across the teleprompter before she picks up the book again and reads about how the queen slipped further and further into her depression and isolated herself from those who cared about her, specifically the duke. She raises her perfectly shaped eyebrows at Cami. "I think we've stumbled on another love story."

Cami nods. "They loved each other deeply, but it wasn't enough to save the queen from her sorrow. The changes that she went through would have been crippling enough on their own, but without her baby…" She can't bring herself to finish the sentence because she knows her voice threatens to give out on her, but Samantha is all too happy to pick up the thread and talk about the queen throwing herself out the window.

"The image haunts me," Samantha says. She's using that exaggerated whisper again and facing the camera. "The poor queen leaping to her death and the duke that loved her so much, finding her body on the concrete and cradling her in his arms once last time…" She pauses and reaches up to brush an imaginary tear from her eye, but Cami is barely paying attention because the truth is so much more troubling than fiction.

_Bodies littering the courtyard are nothing new. The stench of death and blood greets her every time she sets foot in the compound, which is why Klaus does his best to keep her away, but she's never been good at taking orders. Cami averts her eyes from the carnage and bile churns in her stomach as she moves toward the entryway. Before she can open the door, a scream pierces the air and she freezes. She feels the rustle of wind and she barely has time to register what's happening. Suddenly, she's on the second floor balcony. There's an arm draped across her waist holding her body against a firm chest and a hand is covering her mouth, but she's too stunned to even attempt to scream._

"_You should not have come back here." His lips nearly brush her earlobe when he whispers the warning and her heart leaps right into her throat. She makes the smallest noise of protest, but he doesn't remove his hand from her mouth and she knows why when she hears movement down below. Everything inside of her protests, but it's not enough to stop Cami from letting her gaze drift to where Hayley is now standing near the fountain. She's feeding from a girl who looks young enough to still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings._

_As Hayley sinks her fangs into the girl's neck, Cami feels Klaus' arm tighten around her waist and she leans into him without thinking about what she's doing as her eyes move past Hayley to the other bodies and Cami realizes they're all young girls, barely old enough to be in high school. The girl in Hayley's arms tries to scream and Cami wants to help her, but Klaus' grip is like iron. Tears burn in her eyes as she watches the last flicker of life drain from the girl before Hayley unceremoniously shoves her body away and wipes the back of her hand across her mouth._

"_Honey, I'm home!" she calls. Hayley's voice carries throughout the compound, echoing off the stone walls and making it even more sinister than the expression on her face. As if sensing their presence, she turns her gaze toward the balcony, but Klaus is faster and instantly they're hidden from view by one of the large pillars._

_His hand drops from her mouth to her shoulder and Klaus spins Cami around, pressing her back against the pillar as he leans into her, so close their noses are practically touching. "You need to leave now," he growls. His voice is barely above a whisper, but she hears the command loud and clear. "Take the east stairwell down to the garage and exit through there. Do not look back."_

_Cami shakes her head, not sure if it's pure stubbornness or fear driving her, but she doesn't want to leave, not when Hayley is like this. "She needs help. She…" Klaus cuts her off, covering her mouth with his hand once more and this time, Cami tries to protest, but he ignores her, his gaze drifting down to the courtyard and that's when Cami hears another familiar voice._

"_Hayley."_

_With Klaus' attention on the scene below, Cami manages to shift just enough to be able to peer around the pillar as well. Elijah approaches Hayley from the opposite end of the compound, his hands held out at his sides as if to show her that he means no harm. His eyes are focused solely on Hayley and even from the distance Cami can see the anguish in them. He looks completely and utterly broken as he stops a few feet away from Hayley, ignoring the bodies surrounding them._

_Hayley's facing away from them now, but Cami can see the defiance in her posture, her back straight, her hands on her hips as she faces Elijah. "Sorry I haven't been home for a few days, but I had some things to do." She jerks her head in the direction of the fallen bodies and Cami watches as Elijah's face crumbles and she can't help the gasp that leaves her mouth. _

"_Shh." Klaus' mouth is back at her ear and his hand presses tighter against her mouth. "If she knows you're here, she'll try to kill you." He speaks directly against her skin and Cami doesn't know if it's proximity or dread that sounds a shudder down her spine, but she knows she's in trouble either way. She lets her body go rigid to show him that she's heard the warning, her eyes still on the courtyard below._

"_These are children. They're not witches or vampires or werewolves. They're just innocent children. None of these girls were your enemy." Elijah's eyes are on Hayley's face and he seems to be searching for something as he watches her. Cami sees the other woman's shoulders lift in a shrug and another flash of sadness crosses Elijah's face._

_Hayley laughs. The sound is hollow and manic and Cami feels a second shudder go down her spine and this time she knows it's pure terror seeping into her veins. Klaus somehow manages to shift even closer and Cami welcomes his presence. She's not sure she'd be able to keep standing on her own. "Oh Elijah, don't you see? I'm saving them from a life of misery. They're orphans," she says like it's the most logical explanation in the world. "Why wait for them to grow up and see how terrible the world is when I can spare them that pain right now?"_

_Elijah is rendered momentarily speechless and his gaze drops to the bodies at their feet before he looks to Hayley once more, that same broken, tortured look on his face. "It doesn't have to be like. Please let me help you, Hayley." He takes a step forward and Hayley moves so fast that Cami's brain takes a moment to catch up and by the time it does, Hayley's mouth is on Elijah's neck and she takes a vicious bite out of his skin. Cami tries to scream, but no sound comes out as she watches Elijah's face contort in pain._

_Hayley takes a step back and then she's the one screaming, the brutal, animalistic sound coming from deep inside of her. She pitches forward and Elijah catches her in his arms, holding her to his chest as she fists her hands in his shirt, both of them ignoring the blood dripping from his neck. Hayley lets out another scream and the anguish in the sound has Cami struggling against Klaus' grip. She doesn't know what to do for the woman, but she can't just stand there and watch. Klaus simply holds her tighter and Cami tries to turn her head and glare at him, but his hand is still on her mouth and he won't allow the movement._

"_Elijah, please," Hayley cries. They've shifted slightly and now Cami can see Hayley's face too and the sorrow and disgust reflecting in her eyes makes her heart clench in her chest. "Don't make me do this anymore, please." Her knees give out and she slides against Elijah, pulling him down with her until they're both kneeling on the pavement. "I never wanted to live this way and without my baby."_

_Tears burn in Cami's eyes and she doesn't try to stop them from falling as she watches Elijah lift one of his hands to Hayley's cheek. His eyes shine with unshed tears and Cami sees him brush his thumb over Hayley's skin. "We can find a way," he tells her, his voice laced with desperation like he already knows his plea won't matter, and Hayley lets out another choked sob._

"_No." She shifts and rests her forehead against his, her fists still clinging to his shirt. "You told me that I would always have a choice." The words must register for Elijah because his entire body stills and Cami feels Klaus stiffen behind her as well. She takes the opportunity to struggle against his grasp once more, but he simply shakes her and then holds her tighter, making it clear that she's not going anywhere._

"_I don't want to do this anymore. I can't. Please Elijah, make it stop. I never wanted to live like this to be one of these creatures. Make it stop, if not for me...for Hope..." This time, it's Klaus who gasps and Cami barely has time to register that before she sees Elijah reach into Hayley's chest and a second later, he's holding her heart in his hand. Hayley's body sags against his, her head landing on his heart. His gaze remains on the heart in his palm and he doesn't seem to hear the screams piercing the air._

_Cami feels hot tears against her neck and it's only then that she realizes she's the one who's screaming because Klaus hand has fallen from her mouth. His arm is still around her waist and his face is buried in the skin of her neck, both of them shaking. She manages to turn around and she clings to him just as tightly as he's holding her, the scene playing on an endless loop in her mind. Klaus finds his composure before she does and he stiffens in her arms, but he doesn't let go of her until she finally stops sobbing._

_She meets his gaze and his face is stony, but she recognizes a mask when she sees one. Cami reaches out to him, but Klaus catches her hand before she can touch him and shakes his head. "Leave the way I told you to and do not come back here." He's gone in a gust of wind and Cami turns back to the courtyard, her heart breaking all over again when she sees Klaus kneeling beside his brother and offering him his blood to heal him._

"_No." Elijah's voice is defiant and he gets to his feet, lifting Hayley's body into his arms. "I do not wish for you to heal me, Niklaus." He carries Hayley away, disappearing through one of the doors that lead into the compound. Klaus drops his head to his chest and then he looks up and meets Cami's gaze. She sees the moisture in his eyes before he picks up two of the dead bodies and speeds off toward the gate._

"Ms. O'Connell?" Samantha's voice pulls her from her thoughts and Cami realizes the reporter is staring at her. She feels color rising in her cheeks and wonders how long Samantha had been trying to get her attention.

Cami gives her what she hopes is a sheepish smile, but fears is probably a grimace. "I'm sorry. Would you mind repeating the question?" She probably looks like a pretentious jackass so moved by her own words that she stopped paying attention to the conversation, but she can't bring herself to care.

Samantha flashes an indulgent smile and Cami stifles the urge to punch the woman in the face. "While he's dealing with his grief, the duke is also recovering from a battle injury. Even though his brother the king wants to help him, the duke refuses. I have to admit I was surprised by the king's reaction. Why didn't he try to take control of the situation?"

For a moment, Cami is almost impressed by the insightfulness of the question, but she doubts Samantha came up with it herself. Judging by most of her comments and her desire to focus on the love story, Cami is skeptical that the reporter read the book at all, aside from the paragraphs that had been selected for her to discuss in the interview. _But that's not the point of this_, Cami reminds herself. She forces her fake smile back into place.

"The king might not have admitted it often or ever, but he looked up to his older brother and he respected his decision because it was the only comfort he could offer at the time," Cami replies. The words feel far too simplistic on her tongue and she wanted to say more, but it's impossible to explain to anyone else what it had been like in the compound after Hayley's death. And even if she could come up with the correct terminology, Cami does not want to share this part of the story with the world. Grief is far too personal.

_Cami is still sitting on the balcony when Klaus returns to pick up more bodies. He doesn't glance in her direction so she leans back against the pillar and waits. The compound is silent around her, but she's been around supernatural creatures long enough to know that's not going to last. She lets her eyes drift shut and immediately regrets it when she sees Elijah pulling Hayley's heart from her chest flashing across her eyelids._

_She chooses to stare at the wall across from her instead, her eyes drifting over a crack that snakes around it. Cami's eyes follow the broken line and she wonders how longs it's been there. Was it there the first time the Mikaelson family lived in this house? Or maybe they're the cause of it – she imagines one of the vampires using super strength to toss an enemy against the concrete. She wonders if they've ever considered having it repaired. Do vampires make home repairs?_

_The thought is so ludicrous that a laugh bubbles in her throat, but she quickly covers her mouth before letting it escape. The last thing Elijah needs is to hear laughter while he's mourning Hayley. The thought immediately sobers her up and Cami realizes she's probably in shock. That's the only explanation for her newfound fascination with cracks in the wall and suddenly she's crying again, the tears running down her face in hot streaks as her shoulders tremble against the pillar. _

_Cami cries until she feels like there's no more liquid left in her entire body. Her throat is scratchy and sore, her nose is stuffed up and the ache in her chest is so unbearable that she's genuinely surprised she can still take a breath. She rests her head on her knees and wraps her arms around herself. The scene in the courtyard continues to play on an endless loop in her mind and she feels helpless. She'd known Hayley wasn't coping with being a hybrid, but Cami had stayed away from her because it wasn't her place to interfere or at least that's what she'd told herself. But maybe she could have done something – anything – to prevent Hayley from reaching this breaking point._

_The sky grows darker and the air turns chilly as night falls over the compound and Cami has no idea how long she's been sitting there when she hears the first shout coming from down the hall. It's Elijah and he's calling for Hayley, pleading with her to let him help her. Cami scrambles to her feet and runs in the direction of his voice. She sees the closed door and reaches for the handle, but another hand gets there first and Klaus yanks her away from the door._

"_I told you to leave." Behind the door, Elijah screams again and Klaus glares at her, his nostrils flaring. "This is the final time I'm going to ask nicely, love." He moves closer to her, leaning in so they're nose to nose once again. "Elijah chooses to suffer." A crash from the bedroom makes Cami jump, but she stands firm, crossing her arms over her chest. Klaus growls, "This is only the beginning of his darkness."_

"_You can try and scare me away all you want, but I care about Elijah too. I'm staying." Cami holds her position, wanting to make it crystal clear that challenging her is pointless. Klaus moves closer and for a second she worries that he might try to physically remove her from the compound, but he just mutters, 'suit yourself' and then he disappears into Elijah's room, slamming the door at his back before Cami can see what's going on inside._

_She hears another crash and Elijah calls out for Hayley again. He begs Klaus to let her come home and the anguish in his voice is enough to make fresh tears well up in Cami's eyes. She slides down to the floor and tucks her body against the corner of the wall. There might not be anything she can do to help anyone, but she knows she can't leave, not now. Voices rise and fall on the other side of the door and she tries to drown them out when she starts to feel guilty for invading their privacy._

_As the night wears on, the noise from Elijah's room reaches deafening levels. Other times, there's no noise at all and that's when she's most frightened. But Cami stays where she is, ignoring the ache that spreads through her limbs and down her spine from sitting on the hard floor for hours on end. When the sun begins to chase away the dark sky, the door opens and Klaus appears. His eyes meet hers and Cami knows that as long as she lives, she'll never forget the agony she sees there. He closes the door behind him and sits down in front of it, letting his head fall back with a quiet thump. She knows better than to try and engage him in conversation because there's nothing to say. No one is all right. They may never be all right again._

_Several hours pass by and neither of them says a word. Cami watches Klaus drum his fingers against his knees. It's the only indication of his discomfort and she imagines putting her hand over his and halting the movement to remind him that he's not alone, but she can't bring herself to leave the corner. She doubts Klaus would want the comfort so she just watches his restless fingers, choosing to focus on that instead of the horror surrounding them._

_She has no idea how much time passes before the door opens again and Elijah stands on the threshold. His shirt is caked with blood, his hair is sticking out in all directions and the emptiness in his eyes makes Cami's heart turn over in her chest. He glances in her direction, but she's not even sure he truly sees her there before his gaze lands on Klaus, who is looking up at him. "It's time, brother." Elijah turns and goes back into the room and Klaus gets to his feet and starts to follow, stopping only to spare her the briefest of glances. "Leave."_

_This time, Cami listens. She exits the compound the way Klaus instructed her to earlier, unable to bear the thought of walking through the courtyard. She steps out of the garage and the bright afternoon sunshine nearly blinds her. Without looking back, Cami turns away from the compound and runs as fast as her legs will carry her, not stopping until she's behind the door of her apartment. She slips the chain into place and collapses on the couch, unable to stop her mind from reliving the terror of the evening._


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

"With the queen gone and the duke succumbing to his pain, we see the historian and the king starting to spend more time together," Samantha comments. That twinkle is back in her eyes and Cami hates that there's no way to avoid the topic, even though the last thing she wants is to share her private memories with this woman.

"Yes," Cami confirms. She wants to shift in her seat, but she can't let anyone see how uncomfortable this makes her because she's talking about fiction. _Fiction, fiction, fiction_, her mind repeats the mantra, trying to make it stick. But her heart isn't fooled by the lies and it slams against her ribs like it wants to tear itself from her chest and she can't help wondering if that would hurt less than this does.

Samantha is watching her and Cami knows she wants her to expand on her answer so she fights back a sigh and continues. "The king wanted his entire life to be well-documented and he trusted the historian to do that, but he wasn't always interested in letting her in so sometimes she needed to push him. She knew that he didn't want to be alone, but he also feared opening up so she walked a fine line between the two."

_Two long months pass after Hayley's death and Cami finally sees Klaus again when he appears at a corner table in the new bar she's been working at since Francesca unceremoniously fired her. His gaze meets hers across the room and he simply nods at her and then picks up the expensive bottle of scotch the wait staff had already brought to his table. He doesn't bother with the glass in front of him, choosing to drink straight from the bottle. _

_She turns to the other bartender and asks him to give her a few minutes and doesn't bother waiting for him to reply before she makes her way over to Klaus' table. She hates the wall-to-wall people that she needs to wade through because the place is constantly crowded with drunken, rude tourists and the music is much too loud and the lighting too harsh, but a job is a job. She slides into the seat across from him and he just takes another drink. _

"_I've been worried about you." She'd ached to seek him out ever since that night, but she hadn't wanted to intrude after the loss, just like she'd stayed away in the months after the baby's death. But he'd sought her out tonight and she needed him to know how much she wanted to be there for him. "Please talk to me. You wouldn't be here if you didn't want to talk."_

_He ignores her in favor of another drink from the bottle and then he sets it down on the table and leans forward. "I'm here for the alcohol and nothing more. I've already opened a tab with the lovely redhead." He nods toward one of the waitresses and a slow smile appears on his face. "She seems quite willing to make sure my evening is a satisfying one."_

_Cami shakes her head and gets to her feet, angrily pushing the chair back as the verbal slap hits its target dead on. Some things would never change and she can't help the frustration that pours out of her as she leans forward, purposely getting in his face. "Keep telling yourself lies, Klaus. We both know there are hundreds of other bars in the city, but you chose this one. You don't have to be alone." He glares at her, but Cami is already moving back to the bar. _

_The night is a particularly busy one since several local colleges are on break and Cami lets herself get lost in work, doing her best not to glance in Klaus' direction. She doesn't need to look at him to know that he's still there. She hears Ashley ask for another bottle of the top shelf scotch and Cami knows it's for him, but she still refuses to look in his direction. The night wears on and she announces last call as the crowd and the staff dwindles down until it's just her and the bouncer. He locks the door after the last customer leaves and it's only then that Cami realizes Klaus left at some point without her noticing._

_She sends Steve home and goes back to counting the money in the register and getting the deposit ready for the morning. Cami washes down the bar one last time and takes off her apron, hanging it up on the hook in the staff room. Cami slides on her jacket and grabs her purse, moving back into the main area of the bar to turn off the lights, only to find Klaus once again sitting at the corner table, a bottle in front of him, but now there are two shot glasses on the table. "Care for a drink?"_

"_Are you kidding me?" Cami cries. Her heart is beating so fast that she wonders if it's possible to have a heart attack at her age. "What are you still doing here besides scaring me to death?" She refuses to move closer to him on pure principle and just glares at him across the room._

_Klaus shrugs, unaffected by her response. "More for me then," he says as he lifts the bottle to his lips and takes a long sip. He sets it down and in the blink of an eye, he's standing in front of her and Cami can smell the alcohol wafting from him. She takes a step back and finds herself pressed against the wall. Klaus moves forward, placing his hand on the wall behind her as he leans closer. "You should fear me."_

_Cami rolls her eyes at his bravado. "Well I don't." She pushes her hand against his chest to try and put some space between them, but he digs in and it's like trying to move a brick wall. "I want to help you and I think you want me to help you or else you wouldn't be here." She sees something flash in his eyes, but she's not ready to give up yet. "You don't have to be alone."_

_He shakes his head and for a brief moment, Cami sees the loss and sadness in his eyes and she thinks maybe he's finally going to open up, but he blinks and the look is gone, replaced by his usual indifference. She tries again, resting her palm against his heart and this time, she sees uncertainty cross his face. "I'm right here," she stresses. "Please let me help you. You know I don't scare easily."_

"_You should," Klaus growls and then his mouth is on hers and Cami gasps. Klaus takes that as an invitation and he deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding roughly over hers and seemingly taking all the air straight out of her lungs. Cami doesn't think about what she's doing. Her hand is still on his chest and she slides it up, grips the chain around his neck and tugs him closer._

_Everything is a blur after that. Clothes are torn or shoved out of the way, hands and mouths desperate to find the skin hidden beneath them. She feels like she's burning from the inside out and she's never felt more desperate in her life. Each touch, each kiss, each slide of the tongue or nip of teeth makes her greedy for more and then her legs are wrapped around his waist, her head thrown back against the wall as she feels him buried deep inside of her. There's nothing sweet or tender about his movements. He fucks her hard and fast and she's tearing at his hair as she tumbles over the edge._

_Afterward, he's straightening his clothes and not meeting her eyes while she does the same. For one of the first times in her life, Cami doesn't know what to say, but she knows she needs to say something because she can already feel him pulling away from her again. She doesn't want him to disappear on her again, not after this. "Klaus…"_

"_You need to run from this town and never look back or it will destroy you." He's gone before she has a chance to open her mouth and Cami has to lean back against the wall to make sure her legs don't give out beneath her. _

"Ms. O'Connell…Ms. O'Connell, are you all right?"

"Yes," Cami replies. She knows her face is red and she hates that she got lost in that _particular_ memory on national television. _She can still recall waking up the next morning and wondering if the whole thing had been a dream. But the aches in her muscles told her otherwise_. She pushes her embarrassment aside and focuses. "The king tended to take one step forward and ten steps back when it came to the historian, but she knew that and she still wanted to help."

"But it was also a matter of safety, wasn't it?" Samantha asks. She flips to another chapter in the book and reads a passage about the war surrounding the castle. "The emperor had returned and wanted to take the power back from his sons. Unfortunately…" She pauses for dramatic effect and Cami decides that she definitely hates this woman and her over the top need to dramatize everything. "The duke did not have his head in the fight anymore." She pauses and turns to the camera, batting her eyelashes to pretend she's blinking away tears. "Or should I say his heart?"

"The duke was incredibly loyal and he loved his family above all else," Cami explains. Samantha's eyebrows shoot up and Cami realizes she probably sounds defensive. _Stop making it personal. This isn't about real people. _But the warning was next to impossible to heed when the memories played across her mind. "The queen was the crack in the duke's armor and he was never the same after her death."

"Is that why the emperor targeted him?" Samantha leans forward like she has new gossip that she can't wait to spread. "After all, the king was the one with the power. The duke was his second in command, but the emperor killed him first. Was he trying to send a message or did his suffering make the duke an easy target?"

"Both," Cami replies. She hates this part. It's one of the chapters she spent the most time revising because it felt wrong to give the emperor that kind of power, but she couldn't bring herself to write the truth. It's the same reason she changed the details surrounding the queen's death. It hurt too much to put anything even remotely resembling the truth on paper.

_Mikael has risen from the dead and relishes killing the city's vampires. Marcel had been tasked with creating a new army to fight the werewolf insurgence, but Mikael always seems to be a step ahead of him. Cami witnesses one of the battles firsthand when the Mikaelson patriarch slaughters five vampires in a matter of minutes and it isn't until she hears Elijah whisper the word 'father' that she realizes who this man is._

_From her spot behind the bar, she barely has time to dwell on the fact that Elijah has ventured outside the compound before she's trying to process how and why Mikael has returned from the dead. She watches in horror as the older man pulls a stake from his inner jacket pocket and somehow she just knows it's the weapon Klaus described – the only one that can kill an Original. _

_Elijah's eyes widen and then he's moving, dodging Mikael's advance toward him. Mikael crashes into the wall and spins quickly, rushing at his son and punches are thrown as their fight escalates in the center of the bar. Cami desperately looks around for a weapon, but she knows the glass bottles will be useless against two Original vampires. She scrambles for her phone and with trembling fingers, texts Klaus. There's another crash and Elijah is pinned against the bar, his hands struggling with Mikael's as he tries to drive the stake into his son's heart._

"_Stop!" The command instantly has Mikael stumbling back and Elijah manages to eradicate himself, shoving his father away and sending the older man flying into the wall. Cami's eyes widen when she sees Davina on the other end of the bar. She holds out her hand and forces Mikael to stand. Elijah watches her with interest and then he disappears in a flash of vampire speed. "It's too soon for this," Davina tells Mikael. He's glaring at her, but seems powerless to fight her._

"_Davina, what are you doing?" Cami asks. She realizes she hasn't seen the teenager for weeks and she wonders if this is why. _

"_I'm doing what needs to be done," Davina replies. "Let's go," she orders Mikael and the two walk out the front door, the stake still firmly grasped in his hand, like it's the most natural thing in the world for a teenage witch to be controlling a not-so-dead, incredibly dangerous vampire. Cami's brain can barely process what's happening and even though the young witch was dead once herself, Cami can't fathom that she made a choice to bring a lethal vampire hunter back to life._

_By the time Klaus finally arrives, Cami has mostly put the bar back together because it's the only thing that makes any sense to her. Putting tables and chairs back to their places is simple and she needs the distraction of the task. She's sweeping up some broken glass when he charges through the door and the determined look in his eyes is a familiar one. He doesn't have to say anything for her to know that he's already gotten the story from Elijah and is prepared for battle. He walks right up to her and Cami's hands tighten around the broom because her first instinct is to reach out and touch him and she knows that won't go over well, not when he has that look in his eyes, so she stands still and waits._

"_You need to stay away from me and from Elijah and Marcel and anyone else connected to my family until we can vanquish my father back to the hell he escaped from," Klaus says. His voice is filled with anger and the tension practically vibrates from his shoulders. "This is not a request. He's more dangerous than you can imagine and I will not have your blood on my hands too, do you understand?"_

_She swallows hard and nods once. Cami doesn't trust her voice, but it's enough to satisfy Klaus because he turns and leaves without a second glance. She's holding the broom so tightly that her knuckles turn white and Cami loses track of just how long she stands there, staring at nothing and silently praying that the people she cares about will survive._

_An entire month passes before she sees Klaus again. She's just gotten home after a long night at the bar and changed into her pajamas. She debates grabbing some food or a hot shower, but the pull of her bed is too great to ignore and those things can wait until morning. She's just slid her tired body beneath the covers when she hears the front door open – the door she most definitely locked. Cami sits up and reaches toward the nightstand for the knife she keeps there, but Klaus appears in her doorway before her hand can close around it._

"_You have to stop scaring me." Her heart is pounding against the wall of her chest and then he steps further into the room and the sliver of moonlight from the window illuminates his face and everything inside of her stops. His skin is too pale, his eyes stare unseeing and his mouth is open just enough to make it look like he'd been frozen mid-scream. She scrambles out of bed without thinking twice and meets him in the center of the room, throwing her arms around his neck. She doesn't want to imagine what could have put him in this state so she closes her mind and just clings to him._

_He doesn't move and when she presses herself closer to him, Cami feels something wet and sticky seeping into her shirt. She doesn't have to look down to know what it is and her mind has a guess that she refuses to acknowledge. She keeps holding on as tight as she can, wanting him to know that she's there. Her traitorous mind tosses questions around, but she shoves them aside, not allowing them to become fully conscious thoughts. She's never seen Klaus this still and it frightens her almost as much as the answers she's not sure she ever wants to hear. "Come with me," she whispers, pulling back and reaching for his hands. She tugs him toward the bathroom and turns on the shower._

_It's not easy to remove his clothes without his help, but she manages and quickly strips her own, adding them to the growing pile on the floor. Cami takes his hands once more and pulls him into the shower, letting the hot water soak both of them. She reaches for the soap and lathers it over the skin of his chest and stomach, carefully scrubbing off the blood that's dried there. When the task is complete and the shower spray has washed away all the remnants, she reaches out and brushes his wet hair back from his face and for the first time since he appeared in her doorway, his eyes focus on her._

_A choked sob leaves his throat and she feels her heart shatter and then he's kissing her desperately. Cami returns the kiss, her hand cupping the back of his neck as he pushes her against the wall of the shower. She knows she's going to have bruises later, but she doesn't care because he needs this and she wants to help him more than she's ever wanted anything else in her life. His hands seem to be everywhere at once and she cries out when he strokes her center. Her hips jerk against his fingers and she closes her eyes, assuming it's going to be a frantic repeat of their first time._

_But his movements slow so suddenly that Cami's eyes fly open and she wonders if she's done something wrong, but he's just watching her as his fingers slide against her slick walls. The intensity of his gaze and the care he takes as he touches her makes her feel beautiful and special and for that moment, she forgets that something unspeakably terrible has brought him to her. When his mouth claims hers again, the kiss is slow and almost reverent and she sighs into it, the hot water cascading around them as their bodies come together._

_Hours later, the moonlight gives way to morning and the sun streams through the blinds into her room where she and Klaus lay side by side beneath her comforter. He still hasn't said a single word and it goes against all of her instincts to remain silent, but Cami is afraid if she pushes, that he'll leave and she doesn't want him to be alone. She told him that he didn't have to be and her words must have sunk in or he wouldn't be there and she refuses to give him a reason to run away from her again._

"_Mikael cornered me at the house."_

_Cami jumps at the unexpected sound of his voice breaking into her thoughts and she turns to face him. His eyes are focused on the ceiling and the detached look is back like he's describing something that happened to someone else, something he saw on a TV show that didn't hold his attention. She recognizes it as shock and her insides churn, not wanting to imagine what would be powerful enough to send Klaus Mikaelson into a state of shock. _

"_He slipped off his leash again when the little witch was distracted. We fought. I told him that I was a hybrid and he would never get the best of me." Klaus lets out a bitter laugh and the hollow sound twists something inside of her. Cami can't help thinking about Hayley's manic laughter in the moments before she died._

_Klaus has fallen silent beside her, but one look at his face and she knows he's reliving whatever it is that he can't say. Her heart turns over in her chest and the ache is almost too much for her, but she won't let him suffer alone. She reaches for his hand and lifts it from the bed, holding it against her face. "Show me," she whispers. _

_He looks at her and beneath the horrors shining in his eyes, she sees the hesitation so she repeats herself, asking him again to show her. She closes her eyes and after a brief moment of darkness, she feels his memories slipping into her head. Klaus and Mikael are fighting in the courtyard, Klaus' eyes are yellow and his fangs are bared as he tackles his father. He's trying to bite him, but Mikael dodges each attack, his hand tightening around the stake._

"_Is that the best you've got, boy?" Mikael hisses. He shoves Klaus aside and gets to his feet, brandishing the stake in front of him like a sword. "You never could fight like a man. Does being an animal make you feel more powerful?" He laughs, the cold, ugly sound echoing through the courtyard. "I always knew you weren't my son because no son of mine would ever be such a sniveling coward."_

_Klaus growls and leaps at his father, but Mikael spins out of the way and uses his speed to cross the courtyard. He's smirking as Klaus gets to his feet and glares at him. "What's the matter, hybrid? Did I strike a nerve?" He smirks coldly at his son and taps the stake against his fingers. "You are worthless. Is it any wonder your child died before she had to suffer the shame of having you for a father?"_

_In the blink of an eye, Klaus is across the courtyard and he grabs his father and throws him against the wall. Before Mikael can recover his bearings, Klaus is pinning him to the wall, their hands struggling for the stake. "Do not speak of my child. I will send you back to hell where you belong."_

"_You will fail because it's all you know how to do. You've been a failure your entire life and you will remain one when I rid this world of your existence once and for all," Mikael snaps. He manages to free himself from Klaus' grip and reverses their positions, slamming Klaus against the wall as he raises the stake. "You are nothing. Do you hear me, boy? Nothing!"_

_His arm comes down, but Klaus is shoved out of the way and a shout of, "Run brother!" pierces the air. Time seems to stand still as Klaus watches Mikael plunge the stake into Elijah's heart. A scream tears from his throat and Mikael's momentary shock is replaced by a satisfied smile as he watches his son's body burn. He plucks the stake from Elijah's chest and turns to Klaus. "All he did was spare me the trouble of hunting him down after I killed you."_

_Klaus is frozen in place, unable to look away from his brother. Mikael moves toward him and raises the stake again, but his arm halts over his head and he lets out a curse. His body is violently tugged back to where Davina stands at the entrance to the compound. "My friends are not safe," she reminds him and then she turns to leave and Mikael is forced to follow her._

_Tears are streaming down Cami's face as she watches Klaus sink to the ground beside his brother, but then the vision is gone and she's left with the darkness behind her eyelids. She understands why Klaus doesn't want to show her anymore and she blindly reaches out for him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck. "I'm so sorry," she whispers over and over again as she sobs._

_Klaus doesn't say anything, but he doesn't push her away either. Cami isn't sure how much time passes after her tears subside, but she won't let go of him. She can't stop Hayley and Elijah's deaths from playing through her mind and she thinks of her uncle and her brother and their last moments and everything inside of her aches as she feels herself shattering into millions of pieces._

"_You cannot come to the compound again," Klaus says and so she's surprised to hear him speak that she lifts her head to meet his gaze. The haunted look has been replaced by familiar anger and for once, Cami is happy to see that reflecting in his eyes. "Mikael cannot know that you are important to me. Do you understand?"_

_She nods, but before she can say anything, he gets out of bed and slips into the bathroom, returning less than a moment later fully dressed again. She knows what's coming, but she desperately wants to help. "I want to talk to Davina. I know she's angry, but…"_

"_No," Klaus snaps. He moves back toward the bed and takes her chin in his hand, tilting her head up so she's forced to meet his gaze. "As long as she is aiding Mikael, she cannot be trusted. Stay away from the little witch. Stay away from all of us." He's gone before she has a chance to respond to his warning. Cami stares at the empty room and then buries her face in the pillow that still held the indentation of his head and sobs for everyone they've lost, including themselves._

"The queen is dead." Samantha pauses dramatically. "The duke is dead," she says and then another dramatic pause as her eyes shift to the camera. It's like she expects the audience to all be holding their breath, waiting for her next word. Cami fights the urge to roll her eyes. "The emperor remains determined to take down the king and everyone close to him and the king's pushing the historian away," Samantha finally turns back to her. "It certainly seems like all hope is lost and then the historian makes a bold choice to go against the king's wishes."

Cami keeps her expression neutral. "I'm not sure 'bold' is the right word. It was more of a desperate choice because she hated seeing someone she cared about suffering so much. The historian wanted to fix things and she couldn't fight in the war so she tried to make a plea on the king's behalf."

Samantha nods like that's what she meant to say all along and then reads a passage from the book, describing the friendship between the historian and the troubled young girl, who many believed had psychic abilities and had a surprising control over the emperor. When she finishes, she looks up and meets Cami's gaze. "At this point, does the historian still trust her?"

"She wants to," Cami replies. It's easy to call up her fonder memories of Davina and her desire to protect the young witch from further horrors. But once the Harvest ritual was complete and Davina returned from the dead, she had changed in ways that Cami had never been able to understand. She'd tried her best to find her friend underneath all the pain and suffering, but Mikael's influence proved too great.

"_Elijah and Hayley are dead. Klaus' daughter is dead. You can't let Mikael kill him too," Cami pleads. It's the middle of the night and Davina agreed to meet her in her uncle's apartment, but the conversation is going in circles. Cami begs her to change her mind and Davina insists Klaus needs to pay for the crimes he's committed._

"_He killed Tim," Davina reminds her. "He tried to kill me. I have to stop him and this is the only way – the only way we'll be safe." She crosses her arms over her chest and the hard look on her face is too dark for someone so young, but Cami knows she's already faced more of the world's ugliness than anyone should._

"_What about Marcel?" Cami asks, trying a different approach. "His relationship is complicated, but you have to know that he'd never want him dead. Please, Davina, just send Mikael back to where you found him. There's got to be a spell to undo this." Cami gestures to the secret room behind the wall. "We can find something together."_

"_No," Davina replies. "Marcel might be upset at first, but he'll realize that I'm right and this world is better off without Klaus. I'm sorry about Hayley. And Elijah," she adds after a brief hesitation. "But Klaus has to die. You should stay away from him. He'll just take you down with him." She turns to leave, ignoring Cami's continued pleas._

"When the seer refuses to help, the king still finds out the historian went against his wishes." Samantha lifts the book and begins to read the passage describing the angry king confronting the historian. Samantha's playing up the drama to the camera with more of her dramatic pauses and shifting eyebrows as the king and the historian fight over her safety. "And then my favorite part…" Samantha grins at the camera and then reads the full description of the passionate kiss between the historian and the king. "Their first kiss," she says with a dreamy sigh.

Cami can't seem to force a smile onto her face so she just nods and looks down like she's embarrassed about the flowery language. This part of the book is pure fiction because the reality was too harsh for her to even think about adding it to the story. Kissing her had been the furthest thing from Klaus' mind when he'd confronted her about talking to Davina after he'd warned her to stay away.

_The rain made the short walk between the bar and her apartment more unpleasant than usual, but Cami just pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders and kept her head down. She needed to invest in an umbrella, but the only time she ever thought about it was as the rain drenched her. She turned the corner onto her street and a hand closed over her mouth. The scream stalled in her throat as a cold metal knife presses against her neck._

"_Do you see how easily someone can kill you?" Klaus speaks directly against her ear and Cami's entire body sags with relief until she feels him the blade glide across her skin. "You'd be dead before you knew what happened."_

_She elbows him in the stomach, but he doesn't loosen his grip on her or move the knife from her neck. "I told you to stay away from Davina. She's just as dangerous as Mikael now." He lets her go with an angry shove and Cami whirls around to face him, fury boiling in her veins. She lifts her hand to slap him, but Klaus dodges the blow, moving around her to stand in the street._

"_He will destroy you, Camille." Klaus drops the blade and Cami watches it clatter against the pavement. When she looks up, Klaus is gone and she turns to run in the direction of her apartment. It's not until she's safely behind two locked doors in her bathroom that she looks in the mirror and see the small nick on her throat._


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

Samantha's gushing again. The next section of the book continues to develop the relationship between the king and the historian. He opens up to her while she documents his story. War rages in the kingdom, but the two find sanctuary in one another. He promises to keep her safe and she convinces him that it's not too late for him and he's still capable of love, even after everything he's lost. Their bond deepens and soon they are inseparable, but the battle looms.

Again, the entire section of the book is nothing but fiction – pretty words and false hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. Cami remembers writing the words and the way her imagination had run wild. Some nights as she hovered over her keyboard, she'd allowed herself to live the fantasy and watch the scenes play out in her mind's eye. Lost in her head, Cami found herself smiling and then reality would set in and she'd stay awake sobbing until the sun rose over the horizon to remind her that she had to keep going.

When Samantha finishes another romantic passage, she turns to the camera once more and allows her face to become serious. Cami feels the tension seeping into her muscles because she knows what's next. As if sensing her discomfort, Samantha gives her a patronizingly sweet smile when their eyes meet. "The king receives another setback when the prince dies in battle."

Cami manages a small nod and gathers her strength to try and get through this without breaking. "Things had been quiet – too quiet." Her voice sounds hollow and robotic, but it's better than the alternative. _Fiction, fiction, fiction, she repeats. _"One day, the historian returned to the castle after a trip to the marketplace and discovered the prince's body in the courtyard. The emperor left him there to send a message."

Samantha makes the appropriate horrified noises and then lifts the book to read another passage. It describes the tense relationship between the king and the prince, who he loved like a son, but also too often saw as a possession. The prince rebelled, but when the battle began, he remained on the king's side until the bitter end.

_Several weeks had passed since the night Klaus accosted her in the rain and Cami had stayed away from the compound. She'd gone to work and she'd studied and each night she'd returned to her apartment and locked the doors and the windows, determined to keep her distance from Klaus. Her stubbornness and pride got the best of her and every time she looked at the tiny scar on her neck, she told herself she'd made the right decision and if Klaus died, it wouldn't matter._

_The constant ache in her chest taunted her and she swore sometimes her heartbeat sounded like the word 'liar', but he'd rejected her help and Davina refused to listen to reason so what else could she do? She pushed the question out of her head for what felt like the millionth time and locked up the bar for the night. She reached for her phone and noticed several missed calls and a voicemail. When she brought the phone to her ear, Cami heard Davina's frantic voice._

"_Cami, he's gone. I don't know what happened." Davina sounds like she's on the verge of hyperventilating, her voice squeaks and she takes harsh breaths between her words. "I thought I could control him. I…" Cami hears a crash and then what sounds like the phone banging to the ground and then nothing._

_She tears out of the bar, running down the dark streets as fast as her legs will carry her. It doesn't cross her panicked mind to check and see how long it's been since Davina left the message. All she knows is that her friend needs help and even though she's not sure where Davina has been staying lately, Cami's confident Klaus will have an idea. He's the only one who can help. She pushes her body harder, racing to the center of the quarter and the looming compound._

_The gates are open, which should have been her first clue that something terrible had happened, but Cami is distracted by Davina's voice in her head. She rushes to the courtyard and stops so quickly that her body pitches forward from the force and her knees buckle. Cami manages to keep herself upright or maybe it's just shock holding her in place. Her hand flies to her mouth of its own volition, but the rest of her remains still, staring helplessly at the body sprawled out in the center of the courtyard._

_One leg is bent at an unnatural angle, both arms are stretched out to the sides and his eyes are wide open. His skin has already started to decay, turning a sickly gray color that resembles the ancient statues stationed throughout the quarter. Cami doesn't realize she's crying until she feels the hot tears sliding down her cheeks. The first time Marcel showed up at the bar flashes through her mind – big smile, cocky attitude and just a hint of the sweetness he kept beneath the surface._

_She'd pegged him as a bad boy with a 'danger' sign flashing over his head, but that had only been part of the story. He became her friend and one-time lover and she saw his good heart over and over again, even if it got buried beneath the dark nature that came with being a vampire. Cami couldn't remember the last time they'd had a conversation and now he was gone – one more person she'd loved taken from her by this horrible war. _

"Of course the historian mourned the prince, but she feared for the king's life, didn't she?" Samantha's question startles Cami and she blinks, trying to focus, and probably looking like a deer caught in the headlights to the camera. She'd never expected this interview to be easy, but she'd underestimated just how much it would hurt.

"She did," Cami confirms. In her mind's eye, she sees herself rushing through the compound, searching for Klaus. But Samantha is leaning forward in her seat again with that look on her face like she's about to start salivating over the next part of the story as if it were a juicy steak dinner. Cami's chest tightens and she digs her nails into her palm, reopening one of the cuts she'd made earlier in the interview and a searing pain shoots through her.

Samantha gets tired of waiting for her to speak, narrowing her eyes just enough to show Cami her irritation before her expression changes to the familiar compassion she'd been selling to the camera all night. "We haven't talked about the lost princess. She ran away from the kingdom to find her happiness. Did she find it?"

"Briefly," Cami replies. Even now, her memories of Rebekah bring her discomfort. Cami had never liked or trusted the woman, but she'd also felt sorry for her because she'd lived over a thousand years and still remained so lost and broken, just like her brothers. "The princess wanted a different life and for a while, she had one, a happy one."

The explanation felt too simple and much less than Rebekah deserved after everything, but Cami had purposely kept that section of the book vague. Samantha didn't seem overly concerned and Cami imagined the reporter just wanted to get to the next part. Sure enough, her eyes are practically dancing when she meets Cami's gaze, but she keeps her voice respectfully somber. "What happened when the historian found the king?" she asks.

_Seeing Marcel's body in the courtyard, witnessing Hayley's death, Klaus sharing Elijah's with her – none of those tragic moments prepared Cami for what awaited her inside the house. After searching the first floor, Cami hurries to the bedrooms, finally finding an open door. In her desperation to find Klaus, she doesn't notice the scent of burning flesh until she enters the room. Once again, her body seems to paralyze itself, keeping her firmly rooted in the doorway and all she can do is stare at the scene in front of her._

_Klaus sits on the floor with his back to the bed and his arms wrapped tightly around what Cami instinctively knows is Rebekah's body. Her skin is gone, charred beyond recognition, only a few strands of golden hair still clinging to what's left of her skull. Klaus sits completely still, cradling his sister against him and muttering so quietly that Cami only knows he's saying anything because she can see his lips moving. _

_Tears stain her cheeks and Cami has no idea if she started crying again or if she never stopped. Klaus doesn't acknowledge her and she knows there's nothing she can offer him, not now and probably not ever again. Cami leans heavily against the doorframe, letting it support her weight while she watches him continuing to speak quietly to Rebekah. His cheek is covered in the ash from what had once been her skin, but he doesn't appear to notice or care. _

_She's not sure how much time passes. At some point, her legs give out and Cami falls to the floor. She stays near the doorway, wanting to give Klaus the space he needs and she still makes no effort to speak to him because there's nothing she can say – absolutely nothing that can even begin to make sense of the losses he's suffered. He doesn't acknowledge her presence, but she notices when he stops whispering to Rebekah and just rests his head on top of hers, silent tears falling from his eyes._

_It's not until Davina appears behind her in the doorway, limping, wide-eyed and with blood covering half her face, that Klaus finally lifts his gaze. Cami sees the hardness in his eyes and doesn't know if she should try and protect Davina or if it's already too late for both of them. But Klaus surprises her by asking a simple question. "Is it done?"_

"_Yes."_

"The king took the princess' death especially hard since they'd been estranged." Cami's voice is steady and she's proud of herself for holding it together while her memories ravage her mind and shatter her heart all over again. She keeps her eyes on Samantha, her expression giving nothing away while she speaks clinically of fictional characters from her book. "But losing his family gave him new resolve to stop the emperor and he did."

Samantha nods. She's leaning forward in her seat again, doing her best to look fascinated. "Defeating the emperor made the kingdom safe, but the king remained broken. All he had left was the historian. Did he push her away?" she asks.

Cami shakes her head. "He surprised her by pulling her closer. Losing everyone he loved could have broken him once and for all, but it didn't. Instead, the king realized that he was capable of love and all his family ever wanted was for him to believe that he could have love and he could have a good life and be happy." Her nails are drawing blood in her palm again and she wonders if she's going to end up scarring herself. She thinks it would be ironic to have a physical scar after carrying the emotional ones around for all these years.

"I have to admit that I didn't expect this story to have a happy ending," Samantha says. She offers Cami a big smile. "I cried so much while reading your beautiful words and then to see the king and the historian end up together and live peacefully after everything…" Her voice trails off and she reaches up to dab the corner of her eye with a tissue.

The reporter's insincerity forces Cami to carve another indentation into her palm in order to refrain from rolling her eyes. Their time is almost up and she needs to get one more thing on the record before they end this interview. "It's a story of hope," she says. Her eyes go to the camera, ignoring her nerves. "Hope kept this family together and they were willing to sacrifice themselves because they believed hope would prevail. Always and forever," she adds. Her voice does crack that time, but Cami doesn't look away from the camera.

"_Always and Forever: A Story of Hope_ is available at booksellers nationwide and on our website," Samantha announces. She rattles off the web address and then turns to Cami with another beaming smile as she extends her hand to her. "Camille O'Connell, ladies and gentlemen." Samantha carefully protects her manicure once again as she thanks Cami for her time and then turns to the camera and signs off, promising the viewers she'll be back on their screens soon.

Cami waits until the director announces they're off the air before she allows herself to slump in her seat and just breathe. Samantha mutters a quick goodbye and she's out of her chair and walking away before Cami even has a chance to respond, but it doesn't matter because she has nothing left to say to the woman. She notices the reporter left her copy of the book behind, but that doesn't matter either because the interview is done and the message is out there and she's fulfilled her promise after all these years.

Margo reappears with a polite smile to usher Cami out of the house. She explains the crew needs to clean up, but Cami doesn't need to be asked twice. As she gets to her feet, she finally looks at the mess she made of her palm and sees ugly red crescent marks and dried blood cover most of her hand. Margo notices as well, but doesn't comment. She just offers Cami another smile and shows her to the door.

The cool night air feels good after sitting under the hot lights. Cami wraps her arms around herself and turns away from the bright colors of the quarter. The network had offered to set her up with a fancy hotel room in the center of the city, but Cami had declined. She'd lied about having relatives that still lived in the area and booked a room in a small bed and breakfast off the beaten path. She probably should have called for a car, but it's not that long of a walk and after everything she's lived through, the threat of a mugger is the least of her worries.

As she turns onto the street that leads to the small hotel, Cami's mind is already on the hot shower and the warm bed she plans to sink into when she gets to her room. She has no intention of staying for breakfast – she's already arranged for a cab to pick her up at five a.m. and take her to the airport so she can fly back to New York. She would have left directly after the interview if she'd known for sure how long it would take.

"Cami?"

Her entire body stills at the sound of the familiar voice. For a brief moment, she wonders if she slipped back into a memory, but the way her bones ache remind her just how much time has passed. It takes her a full minute to find the strength to turn around and when she does, she feels like she's looking at a ghost. But she knows the woman standing in front of her is very real. "Davina."

The younger woman takes a few steps forward to close some of the distance between them, but she doesn't make a move to reach out to Cami. Instead, she slides her hands into the pockets of the jeans she wears beneath a red pea coat. Her dark hair only falls to her shoulders now and the skin around her eyes has a hint of crinkles, but for the most part, she doesn't look much older than the teenage girl Cami remembers. A small smile crosses her face as if she can sense what Cami's thinking.

"Being a witch does have some perks."

Cami nods and attempts a smile of her own, but the night has taken too much out of her to muster one. A thousand questions seem to pass through her mind at once, but she doesn't ask any of them. Cami knows this reunion can't possibly be a coincidence so she says nothing and waits for Davina to tell her why she felt the need to seek her out for the first time in forty years.

A long minute of silence passes before Davina speaks. "Why did you lie?" Cami's brow furrows in confusion and Davina shifts uncomfortably, making it clear that she doesn't want to be standing there either. "You gave Klaus a happy ending in your book," she says. "Why would you lie about that? No one else got one."

The thinly veiled bitterness in her voice causes anger to flare up in Cami's chest. She's tempted to yell and scream and take all of the frustration she's built up that night out on the woman in front of her – the woman who once made a choice that ended up costing them everything. But what good would that do? Davina lost everyone she loved too and Cami doesn't doubt that guilt weighs her down every single day. She recognizes the haunted look in Davina's eyes – it's the same one she sees in the mirror each and every day.

"Everyone deserves hope," Cami says. Davina still looks confused, but Cami doesn't care. She's exhausted and the last thing she wants to do is talk about any of this for another second. "Everyone deserves hope," she says again, "Even the damned." Davina's eyes widen at that, but she has the good sense not to respond. Cami thinks of the young girl who showed up on her doorstep and woke her up from compulsion and suddenly her heart feels heavier than ever.

She takes a step forward and reaches out, placing her hand on Davina's shoulder. "In the end, Klaus did what he had to and so did we." Her voice cracks and the tears she's fought all night pool in the corners of her eyes. "I wanted to honor that so I gave the king the happy ending that life didn't. I needed to do that for him."

Davina nods and Cami sees tears shining in her eyes as well. This time, Davina takes a step forward and envelops Cami in a hug. It takes a few seconds for her body to react because it's been so long since she allowed anyone close enough to show her any kind of affection. But Cami manages to briefly return the hug before pulling back. "Take care of yourself."

"You do the same," Davina replies. Cami nods and then continues to walk in the direction of the hotel. She glances back over her shoulder, but Davina is nowhere to be seen and there's a small part of her that questions if she'd ever been there in the first place. Cami rolls her eyes at the mere thought and pulls her key from her pocket as she makes her way up the steps to her room.

After a long bubble bath, Cami slips into her pajamas and slides beneath the worn comforter. She turns off the lamp beside her, but she doesn't close her eyes. Instead, she stares up at the ceiling, looking at the random shapes the shadows of the furniture make in the moonlight. For the first time since she arrived back in New Orleans, Cami allows her mind to go back to that fateful day – the one that started her on this path in the first place.

"_What's going on?" Cami's voice sounds hoarse from lack of use and she looks back and forth between Klaus and Davina, waiting for one of them to explain. But Davina avoids her gaze and Klaus' attention is on Rebekah as he gently lifts her body into his arms and gets to his feet. He places her on the bed and leans in to whisper to her once more. He brushes his hand over the top of her head and straightens up, his eyes going right back to Davina. _

_The young witch juts her chin out, but the false bravado she's trying to project falters when she opens her mouth and her voice shakes. "I don't know how much time we have. The spell won't keep him down for long."_

"_Mikael?" Cami guesses. She staggers to her feet, using the doorframe to support her as she tries to get her bearings back. It's not hard for her to put the pieces together since she knows he's the only one who could have the strength to kill Marcel and Rebekah. "I thought you were controlling him." She hears the accusation in her voice and maybe it's unfair, but too much has happened to worry about tact._

_The stricken look on Davina's face confirms the harshness of her words and there's a part of Cami that almost wants to feel bad and under different circumstances, she would. Davina regains her composure quickly and shakes her head. "The spell broke. I wasn't strong enough to keep it going and he got free and went after Marcel." Davina chokes on her words and pauses to blink away the tears that threaten to slip from her eyes._

"_We need to get out of here," Cami says. She turns away from Davina and her gaze finds Klaus'. He looks tormented and broken and the thought that he will never recover from this once again crosses her mind. But there's something else in his eyes beneath the pain, something familiar, something Cami has seen one too many times since she's known him. She already knows what he wants to do, what he will do and she closes the distance between them so fast that someone might think she possess vampire speed._

"_You can't." Cami grips his shoulders, her eyes locking with his. "I know you're strong and you want to fight and punish him for this, but he's already taken too much." The words come out in a jumbled rush and they don't sound like enough, but she needs them to be because she's seen what happens to people who go up against Mikael and she won't lose him too. "We can run away. This town isn't for everyone." Repeating her uncle's words hurt and she feels the pain of his death all over again…and Sean's and Hayley's and Elijah's and Marcel's and Rebekah's and everyone else they've lost._

_For the first time since she stumbled into the room, Klaus looks at her like he sees her and knows she's there. His palm comes up to cover her cheek and Cami leans into his touch, her eyes silently pleading with him to give her what she asks just this once. But his answer is written all over his face. A choked sob tears from her throat and Klaus lifts his gaze over her head to meet Davina's. "Leave us."_

_Cami doesn't turn around to see if Davina complies, but a few seconds later, she hears the door close and knows they are alone. "Klaus…"_

"_No." The force behind the small word makes her eyes widen and instinctively, she wants to take a step back, but the fear is not enough to convince her to break away from his touch. He keeps her cheek in his hand and guides her to the bed until she is sitting on the edge, trying not to think about Rebekah's body behind her. Klaus sinks to his knees in front of her and Cami remembers the night in her apartment when he ignored her wishes and took away the pain of losing her brother that she'd desperately clung to like a lifeline._

"_Davina came to me earlier and warned me that Mikael broke free." His voice is calmer than she'd expected it to be, but the hatred for his father burns in his eyes. "I sent Marcel to warn Rebekah and we both knew it would cost him his life, but he went anyway." She hears the tremor in his voice this time and watches his Adam's apple bob when he swallows hard, burying his grief deeper so he can continue telling the story. "He gave her the time she needed to take care of what had to be done."_

_Cami's brow furrows in confusion as she tries to make sense of his words. "What do you mean what had to be done?" She doesn't understand why Klaus would say Marcel succeeded, considering he and Rebekah were both dead. She wonders if his mind is already destroyed and if that's the case, she knows she needs to try harder to convince him to leave with her because she can't let him go up against his father in this condition – or at all. _

_His expression is pained and she watches his eyes drift past her to Rebekah. New tears break free and slide down his cheeks, but he pays no attention to them as he meets her confused gaze once more. "I knew Mikael would bring them here to taunt me one final time and Davina cooked up a spell to subdue him. It's temporary, but the effects have lasted long enough for her to perform one last spell. My father's existence is now linked to mine. When one of us dies, we both shall die and the world will be rid of vampires forever."_

_All she can do is stare at him as she tries to process what he is saying. The room falls silent and her heartbeat echoes loudly between her ears. She vaguely wonders if the maddening sound frightens him as much as it does her, but Cami knows that's silly. He's Klaus Mikaelson, the Original hybrid, and nothing frightens him…except for his father, the man who should have loved him more than life itself and instead made it his mission to take away everything and everyone Klaus has ever loved._

"_You can't do this." Her desperation bleeds into her voice, but Cami doesn't care. She takes Klaus' face in her hands and tilts his head up, his broken gaze meeting hers once more. "I know what your father has done, but it's not too late. We can leave and run away and make sure he never finds us." The world was a big place and she knew the Mikaelson siblings had outrun their father before – the two of them could do it again and maybe, just maybe, find some semblance of peace along the way. "Please, Klaus, don't give up."_

_The resigned look in his eyes scares her much more than the dangerous glint he prefers ever did. He's already made up his mind to sacrifice himself and there's nothing she can say to change it. But Cami doesn't understand. He's survived for over a thousand years and she knows he doesn't want to die. "Why?" she asks. The word comes out in a broken whisper, the fight already slipping away from her because she knows how stubborn he is and it's not like she can knock him out and make him do what she wants. _

_He surprises her with a smile. There's no joy in it, but she sees a flash of something she can't quite read in his eyes as he begins to speak. "I'm afraid you don't know the entire story, Cami. We needed to keep the truth in the family. It was the only way." His grip on her cheek tightens and she wonders if she needs to be scared of what he's about to say. "My daughter is alive. She survived the witches and we sent her away with Rebekah to keep her safe."_

_Nothing could have prepared her for that revelation. Cami's mouth falls open, but she's at a loss for words because the possibility had never crossed her mind. She'd watched Klaus and Hayley and Elijah grieve the child they'd lost. And that's when it hits her that they weren't grieving the baby's life, they were grieving the life they'd never have with her because their home wasn't safe and they had far too many enemies and suddenly everything she's seen makes perfect sense. _

"_A witch helped Rebekah keep her hidden and Marcel warned my sister that our father was coming so she brought Hope back to the witch and asked her to leave New Orleans. She called me to say goodbye." His voice breaks and his eyes go to Rebekah once more. "My dear sister kept my daughter out of harm's way and then our father murdered her to send me a message that no one I love will ever be safe from him."_

_Fresh tears stream down her cheeks, but Cami ignores them. She understands now – she knows the sacrifice Klaus wants to make for his daughter. The baby will never be safe as long as Mikael is alive and she hates this plan with every fiber of her being, but she knows it's the only one that will succeed. "Hope is a beautiful name," she whispers. Cami leans forward and presses her forehead against his. "What can I do?"_

_He smiles at her and for the briefest of seconds, she can pretend that none of this is happening and everything will be okay because Klaus' smile is genuine and he doesn't seem like an Original vampire that has walked the earth for over a thousand years and lost almost every single person who has ever matted to him. In those seconds, he's a father, who loves his baby girl and wants to give her all the happiness life has to offer. "I need you to tell my story, Cami. Promise me that you'll tell my story so my daughter will know she was loved, not just by me, but by her mother and her uncles and her aunt. Promise me."_

"_I promise," Cami replies. She shifts off the bed and joins him on the floor, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He embraces her and she knows this is it – this is the goodbye she never expected to have to say. None of the words that pass through her mind seem appropriate or big enough so she just holds onto him a little tighter. _

_After a long moment, Klaus shifts away and reaches into the waistband of his jeans and pulls the white oak stake from behind his back. Cami's eyes widen and she feels her heart jump into her throat. Even though she knows it would be fruitless, she wants to beg and plead with him to change his mind and find another way. She knows better though. Tears fall silently from her eyes and he reaches out to brush them away. "There's one last thing I must ask of you." He takes her hand and places the stake against her palm._

"_No." She shakes her head and tries to drop it, but Klaus' hand closes around hers, forcing her to hold onto it. "I can't. No," she says again. Cami tries to move away from him, but his grip only tightens as he guides her hand to his chest, pointing the stake at his heart. "I can't, Klaus. Please don't ask me to do this." She sounds hysterical and maybe she is – maybe this is the final edge she needs to fall over to lose her sanity completely._

_His expression is much too calm and he's looking at her with more patience than Cami ever imagined he was capable of having. She doesn't understand why he'd task her with this – why he'd want her to be the one to drive the stake through his heart after everything. She continues to struggle against his grasp, but he doesn't as much as flinch. He keeps the stake level with his hear, the point grazing the front of his shirt._

"_The binding spell is specific. I can't be the cause of my death or it will break and Mikael will remain here. The little witch cannot wield the stake either without breaking the spell. It must be you. Please," he adds and the simple word destroys what's left of her resolve. Her body is racked with sobs, the tears falling so fast and heavy from her eyes that she can barely make out his face even though there is little space between them. _

_Klaus waits for her to calm down, wait for her tears to run out and her gaze to find his once more. When it does, he smiles at her, a sincere, sweet smile that breaks her heart all over again. He presses their joined hands more firmly against his chest, the tip of the stake tearing a small hole in his shirt. "Farewell, Brave Bartender."_

"_Goodbye, Hundred-Dollar Guy." Cami whispers the words and holds his gaze for a final time before using every ounce of strength she has to drive the stake through his heart. His face contorts in pain and then his body falls back to the carpet and bursts into flames. Cami has no more tears left to cry as she brings her knees up to her chest and watches him burn._

In her dark hotel room, Cami finally allows the tears she's held back all night to flow freely. She lies in the unfamiliar bed and sobs, the grief that's lingered beneath the surface for over forty years pouring out of her in waves as she finally lets go as she spends one last night in the city that took everything from her.

(~)(~)(~)

Eighteen hundred miles away, a woman steps onto a balcony, her eyes drawn to the fading colors of the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. The reds and pinks mix with blues and purples over the dark water, the moon already rising over the vast ocean. As pretty as the colors are, her focus turns to the moon. She's always been fascinated with it and its ability to control the tides. It amazes her that an object so far away can exercise control over the vast oceans and bend the water to its every whim.

It's the kind of power and strength that shouldn't be allowed because it's far too great, but remains just another mystery of nature. She's spent most of her life studying nature and trying to unlock its secrets and each time she feels like she understands it, a new revelation makes itself known and she feels like she's back at square one – trying her best to keep up with a beast that can never be tamed.

She hears the sliding glass doors open behind her followed by quiet footsteps and then she feels familiar strong arms wrap around her waist. She takes comfort in him, leaning back against the warmth of his chest. He presses a kiss to the top of her head and she can feel the smile on his lips. "Did that special answer all your questions about that book you've been obsessing over?" he asks.

His voice is teasing like it always is when he brings up the subject. He doesn't understand why a work of fiction affects her so strongly or why she even read it in the first place when she normally prefers nonfiction or classic literature. "It answered some of them," she replies quietly, her eyes still on the moon. After a moment, she turns in his arms, wraps her arms around his neck and flashes her best smile, the one she knows he can't and won't resist.

"I was thinking we should take a trip." He arches an eyebrow and she grins, knowing he's already halfway to agreeing because he's always telling her that she needs to take more time to herself. "Have you ever been to New Orleans?"

She sees the surprise flash across his face and he shakes his head. "I can't say that I have." His arms tighten around her waist. "So what's with the sudden desire to see the French Quarter, Hope?

Her eyes drift to the moon as it ascends higher into the sky. "Family business."


End file.
