Chapter 14: Aftermath

He had lost all track of time since it happened. Every moment with her flooded his mind and the devastation of losing her caused him great suffering. She said she loved him. The intelligent and lovely Camille was in love with him. He who had caused countless deaths and immense suffering to so many had earned the love of the one woman who could look past his flaws and see the real Klaus that he hid from the rest of the world. He would find her, no matter what it would take. The sound of Hope's cries brought Klaus out of his trance as he stood in the open door where his beloved Camille had been however many moments before. The anger began to build and all he could think of was getting her back and punishing the one who took her from him. He felt like a cannon that was about ready to explode. The deadly calm that he forced upon himself took over as he turned towards Freya, who carefully approached with his daughter. She stopped a good distance away, surveying the damage as well as her brother's questionable demeanor. Klaus casually went over to Hope and gently kissed the top of her head, which instantly calmed her down and she stopped crying. He looked at his sister, speaking to her in a quiet but deadly voice, "Continue tracking him, if you can. I want that deviant found before he hurts her. I also want you to do everything in your power to remove our Aunt Dahlia's curse on Hayley. She is needed here to protect Hope once I am away. I told Camille…" his voice began to crack, then he quickly resumed his dangerous tone, "I agreed to bring Hayley home and I have every intention of keeping that agreement. Will you do this for me?"

Freya nodded. "I will try a locator spell on Cami. He may be covering his tracks now that he has her with him. I will need something of hers to use for the spell. I can go into her room…"

"No. I will go."

A true sadness was evident in Freya's eyes as she spoke to him. "I'm sorry this happened, Niklaus. I know how much you care for her. I enjoyed having her around as well."

"Apologies and thoughtful sentiments will not bring Cami back to us, Freya. I do not blame you for any of this, if that is what you might be thinking. Thank you for your assistance." He placed his hand on her shoulder for a moment, apparently startling her with his unusual show of kindness.

Klaus looked over at Elijah, who was watching his brother with careful observation. "Please do what you do best, Elijah. Arrange for this mess to be cleaned up and our house restored to its proper glory. We do have a small child to consider."

Elijah stared at Klaus with a look of disbelief. "Forgive me, but I am unaccustomed to seeing you in this state of uneasy calm. I expected to be cleaning up after you as well as the heretic."

"When I find her, the punishment for those involved with be swift and severe. Every ounce of self-control I am exhibiting is for the sake of my child and out of respect for Cami. Perhaps your hopes of redemption for me are finally seeing the light. How does that make you feel, Brother?"

"Fearful, Niklaus. I fear for you and for those that you will seek your vengeance upon. But, please know this: I wish you good luck in finding her. She is part of this family now and I do wish to see her unharmed and back here among us."

"I never thought I would say this to you Elijah, but I think it appropriate considering what has just transpired here. I will not apologize for what I did to Hayley and Gia. I do, however, regret how my actions caused you to feel a similar loss to what I am feeling now. That being said, I will leave you to do what is necessary."

As he walked away, he could feel Elijah merely staring at him. He knew that Cami would have wanted him to make peace with his family, not only because it was the right thing to do but he needed them on his side, protecting his daughter so he could focus all of his efforts on finding her. The burning rage inside of him continued to fester, gaining strength and feeding his resolve to find those responsible for her disappearance and bleed them dry. His phone rang and he stepped outside to take the call. "Gianna, I could use some assistance from you right now."

"I know, Klaus, I am so sorry. He took her, didn't he?"

"Yes, and managed to destroy a good portion of my newly renovated home in the process."

"I have been experimenting on his blood and I believe he has a weakness."

"Go on."

"A mixture of vervain and aconite. It should be poisonous to him. Since he is immortal, I don't know how long it would keep him down."

"That's a start. Now, we have to wait for that bloody lunar eclipse before we can enact our plans. Are you sure there isn't a way to do what we need to do without it?"

"No. The spell to activate even one Ascendant takes too much power, so it can only be fueled by a celestial event. We are talking about two of them, which has never been done before."

Elijah stepped behind Klaus. "Two Ascendants? Just what is it you're plotting?"

Klaus turned to face his brother. "Keep doing what you're doing and I'll call you later." He hung up and glared at Elijah's suspicious expression.

"Niklaus, if we are ever going to mend this family, you need to trust us."

Klaus walked past Elijah and headed inside, ignoring him. He debated about whether to tell him, but his main focus was getting Freya started on the tracking spell. He went to Cami's room and felt his heart drop. Seeing her clothes on the bed and inhaling her perfume that still hung in the air further fueled his anger at not having her with him. He looked at her vanity and saw some golden strands of hair in her brush. He grabbed it and took it to Freya, who began working on a spell immediately. She had Hope sitting on the floor nearby, playing with some toys. He smiled at his daughter, who looked up at him with adoration and he felt a small glimmer of joy in knowing that she loved him unconditionally. Elijah entered the room and looked at Freya, who was busy chanting and concentrating.

"We need to talk, Niklaus. Now." He ushered him to the living room and Klaus decided not to fight him. Freya needed to be left alone as much as possible. He motioned to the couch and they both sat down. "I do believe that you were attempting to apologize to me a little while ago. As much as I want to accept it, I will not do so until you tell me the truth. Why do you have Gianna involved and what is the meaning of the other Ascendant?"

Looking down at the floor, Klaus ultimately decided to trust his brother, but not with everything. "I have been keeping a secret from Cami only to protect her. Once I reveal it to you, you must swear that you will not tell her. The outcome of the Merge depends on it. Do you understand?"

Elijah nodded. "Agreed."

"The interference in Cami's life by Madame Regina and the Green Serpent Guild is inexcusable. They are not to be trusted and should not be allowed to obtain any further powers over anyone, least of all the heretics. They hurt her, not only by keeping her brother imprisoned for their own personal gain, but by turning her friend against her. As you know, Elijah, I always find a way to have the upper hand against any of my enemies. I knew that I would need a powerful witch to assist me when I paid them a visit, so I called upon Gianna."

"Yes, I recall the alluring seductress that won your affections and caused such a scandal."

Klaus chuckled. "Well, that was a long time ago. I'm afraid I had to disappoint her with the news that I was already pursuing someone. Anyhow, I had learned of the possibility that a warlock named Hugo was banished by the Green Serpent Guild for unspeakable crimes against them and imprisoned in a secret prison world. One could say that he was psychologically unbalanced, very much like the chap in Mystic Falls that murdered his pregnant sister. Gianna created a diversion while I stole the box containing the Ascendant that leads to Hugo's prison world. We will bring him back here to destroy the Green Serpent Guild, once and for all. Then, he will take command of the heretics. No matter who wins the Merge, the winner will not be burdened by that responsibility and their master will be one who can control them."

After taking a moment to process the information, Elijah responded in a stunned voice, "Let me understand this: you have been plotting this whole time to bring back a psychopath to enact your vengeance upon the Green Serpent Guild, thus allowing him to be set free into this world, only to hand him an army of powerful heretics on a silver platter? Don't you think that is unwise, to say the least?"

"Hugo will seek his revenge on them, I have no doubt. They tortured him before he was exiled. It was all documented in the text that we found wrapped around the box. The Green Serpent Guild should not be allowed to ever see the light of day. If their exile cannot continue, they must be wiped off the face of the earth. Yes, I want to see them punished for forcing Cami into this ridiculous Merge and for causing her such distress."

"So, you think that Cami would try and stop you? Is that why she cannot know about this?"

"Yes. She will see this in the same way as when I killed the witch for hexing her brother. A revenge vendetta that she will not want to be responsible for. I also fear that if Camille were to win the Merge, she would attempt to control the heretics out of obligation and would find that she would not be able to handle them. It will be too much for her and they could overpower her. That is why Hugo will fulfill that duty."

"Or perhaps, you want to ensure that she will have no other responsibilities except to you."

"I am trying to protect her!"

"I still think you are holding something back."

"Elijah, I don't care what you think. I've made my decision. Everything that I do from now on will be not only in the best interest of my daughter, but also Camille. You can object if you wish, but I will do what I think is best for both of them."

"Niklaus, I think you are making a mistake. All of this will depend on who wins the Merge. Only then will we know what danger you'll have unleashed on this world."

Klaus got up in disgust and went back to check on Freya, almost feeling guilty for keeping the other secret from his brother. He already knew how the Merge would end.

The jarring and metallic noises startled Cami as she awoke from her forced slumber. It was pitch black and her hands and feet were strapped to a chair. She couldn't move at all, but could tell that she was in some sort of moving vehicle. As terrified as she was, she managed to put on a brave front as she called out into the darkness, "Who's there? I demand you speak to me right now! I will fight you with everything I've got and if you think I'm a bitch to deal with, wait until my hybrid boyfriend finds me! Yeah, that's right! I'm dating Klaus Mikaelson! How about that?" After a moment, a sliver of light appeared off to one side. As the light filtered in, she realized where she was: in the empty boxcar of a fast-moving train, with a dark, shadowy figure coming towards her.