Through the Darkness

Chapter 10: A Natural Progression

Upon discovering her natural ability to heal, Klaus watched Cami attempt to heal one of the burns on her hand, but apparently ran out of energy and quickly passed out. He picked her up and carried her back to her campsite. The sun had come up by this time, casting a lovely glow upon her face and he couldn't help but stare. As he laid her down on her sleeping bag, he watched in fascination as she slept peacefully. He found himself completely in awe of this amazing woman and realized that he wouldn't ever get enough of her. Their fight and subsequent intimate moment in the woods reinforced his determination to follow through with his plan and that he was making the right decision. After letting her sleep for about an hour, he laid down next to her and propped himself up on his elbow. "Camille?" He called out gently.

She turned towards him and slowly opened her eyes. Gasping in sudden awareness of where she was, she propped herself up quickly and looked around. She immediately winced in pain. "What happened?"

"I decided to have mercy on you and let you sleep for a while. But do me a favor, Love, and don't let word get around. Can't have anyone thinking I've gone soft." He gave her the crooked smile, which elicited a slight giggle out of her.

"My lips are sealed. Of course, that's probably the only thing on my body that doesn't hurt right now," she replied as she carefully shifted to sit up, grunting with each painful movement.

He raised an eyebrow. "Am I to take that as an invitation for another kiss?"

Cami thought about their moment in the woods after their fight and she could feel the anticipation growing inside her. Smiling at the thought of his wonderful lips on hers again, she decided to play coy. Clearing her throat, she responded, "Well, that depends on if you plan on throwing any more insults at me."

He leaned towards her, their faces inches apart. "Well, that depends on whether you decide to obey your instructor and not be a pain in the ass."

"I think I can hold my own against your tyrannical methods. Bring it on."

"Oh, I plan to." He kissed her passionately, smiling as she responded just as eagerly. He held her for a moment, gently massaging her sore arms and shoulders. When her yelps of pain began to subside, he stood up and helped her to her feet. "There is no time to lose. Shall we continue?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. They walked towards a heavily wooded area, not too far from the stream. Klaus pulled out an axe from behind a tree and handed it to her, which she had trouble holding off the ground because it was so heavy. He pointed to a small tree nearby.

"Take it down."

Cami looked at him incredulously. "I can barely lift this thing!"

He put his hands behind his back and stepped closer to her in an intimidating manner. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, Love, but I expect you to find a way to take that tree down. Am I making myself clear?"

The resentment of being told what to do began to eat at her and she gritted her teeth, grasping the axe in hand and swung at the small tree. The muscles in her arms began screaming at her, but she did her best to take another swing, then another. Suddenly, she stopped and threw the axe down on the ground. Recalling her earth manipulation skill that she learned, she concentrated and was able to lift the roots out of the ground with her magic, causing the tree to topple over that way. She grinned in victory, despite all the pain running through her body. Looking at Klaus, Cami could tell that he was impressed, which pleased her greatly.

Klaus then began going over basic hand-to-hand combat techniques with her, which took up the rest of the morning. At one point during their lesson, she managed to divert his attention with a dust spell just long enough to avoid his attack, but quickly found herself flat on her back with him on top of her. Once again, the sparks between them were intense and he took the time to steal a kiss, which she anxiously returned.