The Jewel of the New Orleans ⚜ The Originals

Chapter 10: Nevertheless, She Persisted

Cami screamed in agony as Colette and Davina worked on her. At some point, they had given Cami time to rest long enough for Davina to call Josh to come over. She had let him when they convinced her that he was a friend and he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. For someone who was still so recently turned, Colette was extremely impressed by Josh's self control. She wouldn't have let herself in when she was as new to it all as he was. Cami cried, "Oh god, it hurts!"

Colette knelt down in front of her, lifting her head up gently by her chin. "I apologize, Cami. But you need to remember everything and Klaus compelled you so often, it is going to take awhile to break it all."

Cami was covered in sweat, panted as Josh added, "Believe me, I know what it's like. You're okay. And hey--all these notes that you made? It's very Momento of you. Nice work."

"We've been at this all night. I don't understand what's happening to me, I don't understand any of this-"

"But you will," Davina told Cami as she bent down beside Colette. "We will unlock every stolen memory, undo every piece of mind control that any vampire has ever done to you. When I'm done, you will understand all of it, and you'll be free."

Colette waited a moment before adding, "We can stop for a bit if you want."

"No, don't stop," she said as she braced herself. "I want to remember everything."

Cami cried as she gripped the sides of her head and the de-compulsion spell started to work its way towards its end.

Colette and Davina dropped to their knees in front of her, Davina telling her, "You should start to feel, like, a weight lifting."

"And your cheat sheets are about to make a lot more sense," Josh told her. He dropped the files down on the floor next to them. His hand burned as he did because of the sunlight that came in through the window. He winced as he jerked his hand back.

"Josh, I'll try to get a daylight ring for you as soon as I can," Colette told him. "That's a promise."

He nodded. "I know, just... don't worry about that right now."

Cami picked up one of the pieces of paper, a code that deconstructed written on it. "I remember why I wrote this. I found a picture of Klaus and Marcel from 1919." She pushed herself off the floor, going to sit on the couch behind her as her memories slowly returned. "Klaus compelled me to go out with Marcel, to spy on him. That's what he said yesterday, before he told me to forget. I'm remembering."

Colette got up as well and took the seat on the couch next to her. She moved her hands up to Cami's temples. "It's nearly done now. Just a little more and you'll be free."

Cami nodded and allowed her to work out the last of the tangled mess that was inside her mind. As the knot of it all unravelled, Cami's nose bled. A small price to pay for the return of lost time.

Colette pulled the battery out of her phone, dropping both parts into her purse. One of the Nightwalkers knew how to trace phones and hack, something Marcel had been loving until Davina came along. All she needed now was to go get ingredients together for a cloaking spell and they'd be in the clear.

Davina shut the water off and set the glass down in front of Cami, having mixed the water with a bit of Colette's vervain that she kept in her bag. "Keep drinking. You need the vervain in your system so you can't be compelled again."

"Hey Colette, you don't have any like... human blood in your bag, do you?" Josh asked, standing behind all the girls.

"Oh, yes." She dug around in her bag before she found the container. "I hope you like A+."