recklessthings | © cami o'connell

"Thank you."

It seems inadequate, given what he did for her yesterday, but in some aspects, she doesn't regret it. She got the chance to say goodbye to him rather than the deluded monster the curse turned him into, and she knows, consciously that she needs to hold on to that. She hugged him goodbye and walked out the door and Kieran died. Everything that came after was something else.

If only she could actually convince herself of that, focus on that, not the flashes that kept echoing through her mind.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Not long enough considering…" He puts the glass of water in her good hand. "Only about four hours or so." During the time Marcel had been with Cami, Klaus had placed Kieran’s body in a coffin and moved him to a secure location. If Cami so wishes, the man can have a proper burial and not a burning.

"I should not have left the church." But he had needed to look into the business of the bayou bombings. Attempt to find the culprit or culprits responsible. He knows it wasn’t Marcel. The witches, on the other hand, they are still a possible suspect and he cannot rule them out just yet.

"If Genevieve had not informed me that the hex would return, I might not have been there in time."

"You couldn't have known."

Her fingers grip tightly around the glass for a moment, almost as though they're glad to have something firm and solid to hold on to. It's something at least, and it's channeling her effort into something that isn't playing those memories in her head over and over again.

There's a part of her that wants to blame him for leaving her alone, but she knows that she isn't the priority. Hayley was on the other end of that particular situation, Hayley and his baby, and she wouldn't have wanted to keep him from protecting them. It's one of the few human urges he shows.

(The other is her.)

"He was fine. He seemed fine."

His concern with Hayley has to do with the fact that she is carrying his child and nothing else. But he had shown far more compassion and kindness yesterday than he has in centuries. He had even allowed Marcel to return to the Quarter in order to pay his last respects and to be with Camille in her time of need. It seems possible that the prospect of having a daughter; his very own flesh and blood, someone he will have a true connection with at last, has at times made him a little less of a monster.

Then there is Cami. The human that he clearly cares for. The one he seems to respect and adore, and would do anything for.

The one who is sleeping with his enemy… As he has been told.

"Cami, I am truly sorry for your loss." Kieran was a good man. His involvement with the vampires had allowed them a chance to thrive in the city and to live in relative peace. A man like him will be hard to replace. "I can help prepare the funeral arrangements if you would like. But first you need your rest. I should let you get more sleep."

Once. She slept with Marcel once and she told him it couldn't happen again, because she didn't want to jeopardize Klaus's trust in her. She doesn't tell him this because she doesn't have to justify herself to him. She doesn't have to justify wanting to have something that was just hers in a moment where it felt like everything else was falling apart.

And she doesn't deny that it was worth it.

But he wasn't wrong about secrets breeding more monsters than the truth ever would. And the fact that he took the news somewhat better than she thought he would (she was so sure there would be something more ... violent) gives her hope that somewhere under there is a person that understands enough to respect that those were her choices, even if they hurt.

(He gave her Marcel last night, when she needed him the most. He broke his brother's banishment for her. That means something, she just is too tired and sore to put her finger on what.)

She also knows that he's right about her having to rest. She feels it, the exhaustion that never really went away, despite the hours of sleep she did get. She nods slightly, in agreement, before there is a slightly anxious glance to the door.

Even though Kieran is dead, the mission wasn't completed. She's still alive. Maybe she wasn't the initial target, but there's a reason why the hex wouldn't simply let him die.

"Are you - " The question cuts off, because she has no right to ask that of him. She knows that he has other matters to attend to - the bombing in the bayou for one. But she also doesn't want to be alone. " - is Marcel - "

Asking for help has never really been her strong suit.

"Am I safe here?"

Genevieve had informed him of Cami’s involvement with Marcel in a bitter attempt to ruin his friendship with the bartender, but Klaus will not give the witch that satisfaction. His knowledge of what has transpired between the two has only so far proven to solidify his anger with Marcel. It is not enough that the vampire he sired was the cause of Rebekah’s betrayal towards him. Now he means to steal Camille away.

"I am afraid Marcel’s time in the city is up. But I do have a rather thick book to finish." He has his mother’s grimoire with him, which will keep him occupied for long enough. He will not be leaving Cami on her own. Having someone be willing to look to him for protection and for company; most only tolerate his presence out of fear or out of force, is fairly new to him. He quite likes this.

Klaus will stay and take the opportunity to look for a protection spell against hexes as they will need it. Considering the hex affects both the living and the undead, such a spell would prove useful all around.

"I will have Josh bring Davina by in the afternoon." Klaus plans to have a word with the young witch anyways, and he knows Cami would be glad to see her. "Rest assured, you will never find yourself alone. I promise." She will always have the company of friends, and someday she will have a family again.

Unlike most people, Klaus's promises actually mean something to her. Where she is concerned, he usually keeps them. They're not meaningless words that he uses to manipulate - they're actual promises.

She smiles softly before nodding in agreement, shifting to lean back into the pillows behind her again. Her eyes close and it's not long before she's drifting off to sleep again.

© cami o'connell | the originals

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	✔ Cʀᴏssᴏᴠᴇʀs/AU ✔ Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ✔ Pʀᴏsᴇ	✔ Pɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ✔ Oᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ✔ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs	♥ F/M, F/F ⏰ Uᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ