Chapter 14: An Extreme Case of Jetlag

From the way Klaus, Freya and Elijah were staring at her—like she'd just died and come back to life—Cami realized she must look as bad as she felt.

The room spun as she lifted her head. Wow, she must really have tied one on.

Except that this was like no hangover she'd ever suffered before. Thankfully, she didn't have the usual feeling of a hammer cracking her skull open, but every other part of her—every cell in her body—felt awful. Her lips were as parched as a desert, her mouth felt like a cat had given birth to a litter of kittens on her tongue, and none of the muscles in her arms or legs wanted to work. In short, she felt like she'd been hit by a truck.

It didn't help that she'd just about had a heart attack when Freya shrieked like a banshee only three feet away from her.

Cami tried to sit up, floundering around on the bed like a baby turtle trying to make it to the ocean. And all three of them were watching her in fascination. Hadn't they ever seen the aftermath of a heavy night before?

Klaus rushed over to sit beside her. "You're awake," he said, making it sound more like a question than a statement of fact. She noticed his hands were trembling as he put his arms around her and helped lift her up into a sitting position.

"More or less." She leaned against him, grateful for the assistance at first and then appreciative of the firmness of his chest against her cheek and the way his arms were wrapped protectively around her. Cami would have enjoyed their closeness even more if she didn't have the sudden desire to throw up all over him.

"I'm sorry if I startled you a minute ago," Freya said. "How are you feeling?"

"On a scale of one to ten, about minus seventeen," she replied.

Klaus chuckled and placed a soft kiss against her hair, surprising the hell out of her. Had she been in an accident or something?

"That's to be expected after what happened," Freya said. "From experience, I can tell you that you'll feel woozy and disoriented for a while. I'd liken the feeling to an extreme case of jetlag. It will pass quickly."

Cami nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. But what did happen?"

"It's hard to explain out of context," Freya replied. "Think back. What's the last thing you remember?"

Cami closed her eyes. Gradually, memories began to take shape in her mind. Being held captive at Lucien's penthouse, making her escape, running into Klaus' crazy ex…

"Aurora," she said, opening her eyes.

Elijah stepped forward. "She abducted you in retaliation for taking her brother. Do you remember what happened when you were held hostage?"

Cami took a deep breath to help her focus. "I remember we were in Kieran's church. She asked me questions…I don't remember what about, though. I remember her mood was unstable; one minute she'd be angry, the next she'd be laughing."

"Sounds like Aurora," Klaus muttered.

"Do you remember seeing anyone else in the church?" Freya asked.

"No," Cami said. "There was nobody else."

A face began to materialize in her mind. A face looming over her…

She instinctively recoiled.

"What is it?" Klaus ran a hand up and down her arm soothingly. "What do you remember?"

"I did see someone else," she told him. "An old lady. A scary old lady."

Elijah and Freya glanced at each other before Freya turned back to Cami. "Did Aurora refer to her by name?"

"No." Cami shook her head. "I don't think so. Why?"

"You were cursed by a witch, and we think that old woman must be her," Freya said. "She placed you under a very powerful sleeping spell. It's a miracle you came out of it."

"I was cursed?" Cami's mind didn't want to process the idea. "How long was I out for?"

"A week," Freya said matter-of-factly.

"A whole week?" Cami let out a puff of incredulous laughter. "Well, I guess that explains why I feel like someone ran over me. Then backed up and ran over me again."

"Know this, Camille," Elijah said, his face deadly serious. "The Mikaelson family does not forgive or forget such treachery. We protect our own. We swear to you that we will avenge you for this."

Klaus pulled her tighter. "I promise you I will find this woman," he murmured against her temple, "and I will kill her." Damn the man if he didn't make it sound almost like a lover's vow.

Which meant Cami must have lost all sense of reality, because she liked it.

"Thank you all," she said, "but I don't think that will be necessary. I remember after she got in my face and started muttering some mumbo-jumbo, Aurora snapped her neck. I appreciate the thought, though."

"That takes care of one problem, I suppose," Freya said.

"There is still the matter of Aurora de Martel, however," Elijah said in a very menacing, Elijah-like way.

Cami felt Klaus stiffen. "That matter has also been taken care of," he said quietly.

Elijah and Freya both looked at her, obviously curious to see how she would take the news that Klaus had killed his lover as punishment for cursing her. If she was honest with herself, she wasn't all that horrified. Maybe she had become desensitized to violence—or she had lost all perspective because of her feelings for Klaus—but she accepted now that if someone came after a person any of the Mikaelsons cared about, that someone would suffer. Plus she had learned through experience that there were some threats that could only be dealt with by terminating them with extreme prejudice.

Not to mention Aurora had tried to terminate her.

"Ordinarily," she said, "I'd be telling you all not to kill anyone for me. But Aurora hates me so much I'm afraid she would've come after me again." Cami rested her hand lightly over Klaus'. "So thank you for making sure that doesn't happen."

Klaus twisted his hand around, and their fingers interlocked.

It felt bizarre yet entirely comfortable for them to be holding hands and cuddling while they discussed murder and revenge.

"There is still one more threat," Klaus said. "Lucien is not going to forgive me for Aurora. I should have dealt with him at the time, but I admit I wasn't thinking clearly. I think it's best if you stay here until I find out what his intentions are."

Cami nodded. "Whatever you think."

He squeezed her hand in response.

"Niklaus," Elijah said, "seeing that Camille is safe from harm for the time being, you and I should discuss how we will deal with Lucien."

"I suggest it can wait, brother."

Cami could hear the irritation in his voice. She didn't want to let go of him either, but she knew his mind wouldn't rest until he had put a strategy in place to take care of his remaining enemy.

"It's all right," she told him. "I really want to take a shower and freshen up."

He nodded. "Very well. If you need anything, you only have to call out, and I'll come immediately."

As he got up to follow Elijah out the door, Cami realized she didn't know if she had anything to change into. "I might need to stop by my place, get some clothes. Pack a toothbrush."

"That won't be necessary," Klaus said proudly as he walked over to the antique mahogany armoire and threw open one of the doors. "I brought over everything you need."

She could see a selection of her clothes hanging inside. "I'm impressed."

Klaus looked slightly embarrassed. "You needn't worry about a thing. Just relax. Get to know my sister a little better. Feel free to talk about me."

Freya smiled maliciously. "Don't worry, we will."

"Of course you will. What other topic is as fascinating?" He gave them both a dimpled grin as he left.

"Obviously sarcasm is lost on him," Cami said, shaking her head.

"My horrid little brother is insufferably cocky, I'm afraid," Freya said, but she was smiling affectionately. "Before we share war stories, if I were you, I would check to make sure that what he thinks is essential and what you actually need are the same thing."

Cami laughed. "Good idea." She started to fossick through the drawers and rifle through the clothes hanging in the closet. It didn't take long before she began to notice a pattern. Everything was pretty—and pretty impractical, especially for someone who was supposed to be lying on a bed comatose. Holding up a lacy thong in one hand and a curling iron in the other, she turned to Freya. "I suppose I should be thankful he brought my best underwear instead of the stuff with holes and dead elastic, but really? He remembered to pack hair appliances but not one pair of pyjamas?"

"Perhaps he didn't think you'd need them," Freya said, raising an eyebrow.

Feeling the heat of a blush forming on her cheeks, Cami busied herself rearranging the drawers.

"I can lend you whatever you need. In my brother's defense," Freya went on, "he wasn't really in his right mind when he made that selection."

Cami turned around. "What do you mean?"

"Camille, you were condemned to sleep forever unless we could find a way to free you from the curse. Klaus was frantic to save you from eternal oblivion."

Thinking of Klaus trying desperately to rescue her made Cami's heart do a very peculiar dance. "I guess it's more serious than I thought. You might want to tell me exactly what happened."

"Are you sure?" Freya asked. "It could take a while."

Cami went over to the bed and sat cross-legged on it. "I've got all the time in the world. I'm supposed to be relaxing, remember?"

"Then let's start at the beginning." Freya climbed onto the bed and tucked her feet underneath her. "One week ago, you fell into a deep slumber…"