Enigmatic Departures: A Klaus Mikaelson Love Story {5}

Chapter 64: A Spark

I entered the illusion and saw Cami and Klaus saying their goodbyes to one another. Klaus was even more upset than I thought he would be. And Cami did what she always did, gave him the right advice.

"Be good okay?" She told him. "Someone has to be."

"I'll miss you, Camille." Klaus confessed. "The legend of the brave bartender will be told for generations to come."

"I love you Klaus."

"I—I love you too." He hugged her and as he pulled away she started to cough and stumble. I dashed up to her and caught her in my arms.

"I got you." I told her. Klaus gave me a knowing look and disappeared, leaving the two of us alone.

"Nice of you to finally show up." She said in between coughing fits.

"I'm sorry, I was—"

"I know." She said with a smile still. "It's kinda funny... even though we're so different, I feel like I've always known you. Maybe it's because I've been in your mind, or maybe that's just how you know you love someone."

"Cami, I do—I do love you, okay?" I told her as tears started to form in my eyes. "I really really love you."

Her smile faded as she finally came to grip with the fact that today was the last day. "Why humour me now? Wait till tomorrow, please? I really don't have another tomorrow, do I? The noise, the people... will you make it go away?" As the people vanished I sat her down on the fountain and she gripped me in a panic. "What's happening to me?"

"Your heart is slowing down. But it's still beating. You're fighting, because you want to live." I told her.

"I wanted to be brave. I wanted to handle this with dignity. But I... I can't. I... I don't want to go. I'm so scared." She said as the tears began to flow from her eyes.

"I'm here, I'm here, I promise that I'm staying here." I assured her.

"So much for the brave bartender, huh? When I said I was ready to die, I was full of it. I just wish I had done more than serve a few drinks, fail completely as your husband's therapist and wait until my dying breath to tell you how I feel about you."

"Don't for a second think you failed Nik. Trust me when I say you helped him more than anyone ever could, even me." I told her as I wiped away her tears. "And it doesn't matter when you told me, because you did tell me. You are brave, Cami! You always have been. And because you are brave, unlike all of the souls I've encountered and forgotten in the long march of time... I will carry you with me."

"I guess that makes me immortal." She said with a sad smile.

"Always and forever." I replied.

"I also wish I was brave enough to do this." She weakly pulled me towards her and kissed me. I kissed her back and while it may not have been with the same love that she felt, it was love nonetheless. She began to pant harder and harder and I knew she'd be gone in the blink of an eye.

"Come on now love, stay just a little longer. Please, please, please, for me. For me." I begged her. She nodded and caressed my cheek with a weak smile.

"Do you remember the Bible verse on Kieran's headstone?" She asked me.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." I recounted.

"I was never naive enough to think that... I was your light. But there is light in you. All that anger, the cycle of abuse that Silas began, that the world perpetuated, you can end it. You have to. So you can be the light for not only Klaus, but for your little girl too. For Grace." She told me. "Now, tell me something beautiful." She rested her head against my chest and began to take slow and heavy breaths.