The kitchen was frantic. Servers hurried around, grabbing silver trays full of little canapes or champagne flutes. The heat in the room felt a little stifling with all of Declan's staff stuffed into the staff kitchen.
Declan checked every tray before it went out and gave orders to the staff around him. It was probably the most forceful Cami had ever seen him, but she supposed that if he messed up catering for a Mikaelson party, it could literally be life or death for him.
Cami stood at the edge of the kitchen and watched everyone else. So far, she'd stayed in the kitchen rather than carry trays through the party outside like all of the other servers had done. She'd tried to catch a glimpse of an Original when she'd entered the abattoir the Mikaelsons called home, but it had been too early before the party started and no one, apart from the other staff, had been around.
The feeling of the wooden stake that was strapped to her upper thigh and concealed by her dress made her feel a little safer, despite the fact she was in a house full of vampires. She wondered if any of the other servers were aware that they were surrounded by murderers. Considering how comfortable they appeared, she doubted it.
Cami supposed that she should grab a tray and go out there, to serve the party. She needed to sweep through the courtyard and find Klaus, and she couldn't do that if she stayed in the kitchen all night.
Beads of sweat started to appear on her back. If all went well, she would find Klaus quickly enough, and then she needed to get him alone. It wasn't like she could stake him in the middle of the party. There was only way she could think of to get him away from all of the other guests; she had to make him think she wanted to be alone with him. Whether that meant making him think she wanted to sleep with him or for him to feed on her, it didn't really matter, because as soon as they were alone, she was going to slam her stake into his heart and end the monster forever.
If things went wrong…well, she would probably be dead within the hour. That was what made her so nervous and reluctant to go out into the party.
Declan glanced up from one of the trays and spotted her standing there, shifting on her feet. He mumbled something to the server near him and marched over to her.
"Why are you standing around?" he whispered. "You're sticking out like a sore thumb."
"I'm about to go out there and kill possibly the most dangerous vampire that has ever lived," she hissed back. "Forgive me for being a tad nervous."
"Hearing that you're nervous doesn't exactly fill me with confidence right now." Declan looked around, making sure that none of his staff were listening in on their conversation. "If you don't feel ready, you can stop right here, right now, and go home. You don't have to do this."
"I can't give up now. I won't," she maintained. "These are just the jitters. They're normal."
Declan eyed her, unsure about that. "Just grab a tray, go out there, and start serving people. You can't stand around in here like this."
"I will," Cami snapped. "You need to point Klaus out to me."
"What?" Declan's eyes widened. "I'm not doing that. I have too much work to do in here, and if anyone sees me pointing Klaus out to you shortly before Klaus dies, they'll come after me. I'm not risking it."
"How am I supposed to find him without your help? All I've seen is a grainy picture of him in a vampire history book. I don't really know what he looks like." For once, she wished that her cousin would grow a spine and help her. Really, she wasn't asking for much from him. It was highly unlikely anyone would notice him talking to her anyway.
"He's blond, with blue eyes and dimples. He'll look like he's running things out there. People will be paying him a lot of attention. Trust me, you'll notice him."
That was hardly a detailed description. Before she could say anything else, Declan thrust a tray full of canapes into her hands, spun her around, and pushed her towards the door. "Go!"
She shot him a sour look, but did as he said, and went out into the courtyard.
The place was full of people, all dressed in their elegant evening wear; some probably human, but she would bet that most of the guests were supernatural. The human guests were probably only there to be food for the vampires later on. A live band played music, filling the space with the sound of their instruments, as people danced and laughed.
Cami manoeuvred through the crowd, allowing people to take canapes from her tray as she went. She had to at least pretend that she was an actual server. All the while, her eyes eagerly searched the courtyard, in search of her target.
She took a lap of the room, until her tray was pretty much empty, and to her disappointment, she still hadn't spotted Klaus. She had seen one man drinking champagne by the fountain, surrounded by a little crowd, but once she'd got close enough, she'd seen that he didn't match Declan's description. That man had darker hair and was dressed in a suit that would probably feed a small family for a week. She had the feeling that he was important – perhaps he was another Original or a member of Klaus' entourage – but she wasn't there for him.
Cami didn't like waiting around and searching. She wanted eyes on her target. It made her edgy that she hadn't seen him yet. From what Declan said, he made it seem like Klaus was unmissable.
She was growing agitated, when she looked up and spotted some people wandering around on the balconies above, that led to the upper floors of the abattoir. There were only a few people up there, but it meant that Klaus could potentially be up there too.
Biting her bottom lip, Cami glanced around the courtyard again, hoping that Klaus would magically appear within the crowd she'd already searched. Searching alone upstairs could be risky, but it looked like that was her only option.
She went around to a few more guests to get rid of the last few canapes on her tray. Once the tray was empty, she slid it onto a side table near the staircase to free her hands up and started to slowly move up the stairs.
She held her breath the whole way up, half expecting someone to notice and yell at her for going up there, but everyone was too occupied with themselves to care.
Since there were a few guests lingering around by the railings ahead, Cami quickly darted down the nearest hallway, going further into the abattoir to avoid them.
She walked with as much confidence as she could muster. She'd learned from her previous missions that people generally didn't question you as much if you at least acted like you belonged there. False confidence was an easy way to throw people off.
Cami peeked into open doorways, in search of anyone. She wasn't quite prepared to open any of the closed doors yet, out of fear of whoever could be on the other side. She didn't want to walk in on a group of vampires who would try to take a bite out of her. She didn't want to waste her time or energy fighting them.
So far, the upstairs was empty. The only people she'd seen were the ones on the balcony, above the courtyard. Then again, it was a large house and there was another floor above her, so she continued searching, trying not to get lost along the way.
As she glanced into yet another room, expecting it to be empty, she froze at the sight of a man standing at the built-in bar, drinking from his glass. The room seemed to be a sitting room, although she found it hard to imagine any of the Originals relaxing there.
He seemed to be by himself, taking a breather away from the party below. Since he hadn't noticed her, she took a moment to examine him.
He had blond hair, which matched Declan's description for Klaus, but it was hardly a unique hair colour. Declan made it seem like she couldn't miss Klaus, which made her think that Klaus would be more the centre of the party rather than hiding away upstairs. This man had a relatively average build and he was probably only a few inches taller than her. He didn't seem like an original. She couldn't rule him out though.
"Are you quite done staring at me, love?"
Cami paused. She wanted to slap herself. The man was obviously a vampire. While she'd initially assumed that she'd gone unnoticed, he'd probably heard her as soon as she'd looked into the room. It was a stupid mistake.
"I wasn't staring at you." It sounded childish even to her ears.
The man turned his head to look at her, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Really?"
Blue eyes, her mind noted. "Really," she confirmed, crossing her arms. "You're not much to stare at." Okay, she was definitely lying about that, but the words just slipped out before she could stop them.
To her relief, he chuckled into his glass of bourbon, rather than tearing her throat out for the insult. "Oh come now, we both know that's not true." His eyes stared at her over the rim of the glass as he took a sip.
She swallowed. "Arrogance is not an attractive trait, you know."
"Barely two minutes into our conversation and you've already insulted me." He put another glass on the bar and started to fill it with bourbon from a decanter. When it was full, he held the glass up in her direction. "Only having a drink with me now will ease the sting of your words." Somehow she doubted that any of her words had stung him at all. He didn't seem the slightest bit offended.
Cami stared at the offered glass. "I shouldn't drink on the job," she referred to her cover as a server. It seemed like as good an excuse as any. She didn't have the time to sit around and drink with this man.
Ignoring her excuse, he placed the glass in her hand anyway. "One drink will hardly make you tipsy. No one will notice." Still seeing her hesitance, he said, "I wouldn't usually let a stranger get away with insulting me, but luckily for you, I'm bored up here, and you seem like someone who could entertain me, so take the drink."
She tightened her grip on the glass and nodded at him. "Someone that could entertain you? What a compliment," she said, dryly.
"It's quite one coming from me."
Her eyes rolled at that. Why did vampires have to be so arrogant all the time?
He stepped closer to her. "I can offer much sweeter words though, if you want."
His close proximity made her breath catch. He was so close; she could feel his breath tickling her cheek. She didn't know quite how she'd ended up in this situation, but she needed to steer it in another direction.
Despite knowing that, Cami didn't move away from him. She wouldn't show how nervous she was. She'd been around enough vampires to know that they loved that sort of thing.
Her chin tilted up as she looked him in the eye. "You're too forward."
A look of mock innocence crossed his features. "Oh dear, have I offended you?" He didn't sound at all apologetic or bothered by the idea. She could still see the amusement in his face, and she didn't appreciate that he found her so funny for some reason.
"It takes a lot more than that to offend me," she said. "Why are you up here when there's a party downstairs?"
That wiped away any amusement from his expression. He wandered over to the couches – finally giving her some much needed space – and sat down, slumping back against the cushion as he tilted his glass, and watched as the remaining liquor inside swirled around. "I found it tedious. Sometimes, I feel like I'm constantly having the same conversations with people, the same old small talk. Although I suppose, when you're as old as I am, that's to be expected."
Cami sat down on the couch across from him. While she assumed that he was a vampire, she decided to play dumb and mess with him a little bit. "You can't be that old. You don't look like you're even thirty yet."
As expected, he laughed. "Appearances can be deceiving."
She smiled at the sound of his laughter, although she looked down to try to avoid him seeing. "Oh really? So you're an old man then?"
"Older than you, to be sure." He watched her from beneath his lashes. "Truthfully, I'm also avoiding my brother. We had a little tiff earlier and I don't feel like being around him."
"What did you argue about?" Cami asked, deciding to be bold and question him further. He seemed like he wanted to talk to someone, so why not push him a little?
His jaw clenched before he answered. "My sister mostly, and her relationship."
"Let me guess; you don't like her boyfriend?" Sean had felt similarly about some of her past relationships.
"On the contrary, I like him a lot. We're actually quite close, but I don't like them being together."
"So, you're jealous?" When he looked at her with surprise, she explained further. "You don't want your sister to steal your friend, or vice versa."
A minute passed as he thought about that before he spoke again. "I suppose," he said slowly; cautiously.
For a brief second, she felt a pang of sympathy towards him, before she reminded herself that he was a vicious monster. Then again…he looked so lonely. "If they're really your friend, it won't matter who they date. They'll still be there for you. And your sister will always be your sister. No boyfriend can ever change that. Blood is thicker than water, and all that."
He smiled ruefully. "If only I could believe that. I think my life would be a lot easier."
Dimples, she noticed. Her stomach dropped at the sight, Declan's description coming to mind. She took a deep breath and kept her face blank. It wouldn't do for him to notice her discomfort. "What's your name?"
Looking at her coyly, he said, "Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."
She hated that the way he was looking at her affected her. Her face heated a little, a sure sign that she was blushing. God, was she actually blushing because of a vampire? Her ancestors would roll in their graves.
"Camille," she answered. "Conor." She couldn't say her real name, out of fear that he would recognise the O'Connell name. Her grandfather's name had been the first substitute to come to mind.
"Camille." Her name rolled off his tongue smoothly. She fought a shiver at the sound.
"Everyone just calls me Cami," she added.
He sat forward a little. "Well, Camille," he emphasised, "my name is Klaus Mikaelson, and it's a pleasure to meet you."
Her heart hammered in her chest, as she mustered a small smile in response to him. This was the monster she was supposed to kill. This lonely, arrogant, intense person was the worst vampire in history. It didn't seem right. Wasn't he supposed to be some sort of beast?
While her thoughts raced around her head with panic, she took her first sip of the bourbon that he'd poured for her. Suddenly, she was very aware that she was alone with him, alone with the most dangerous person possible.
She shifted the hem of her dress up her leg a little, hoping that she could somehow reach the stake strapped to her thigh. It wasn't like she could just reach fully under her dress and pull the stake out. With his vampire speed, he would grab her in a second.
Klaus must've noticed her unsubtle attempt to get to her weapon. "Slow down, love. I haven't even finished my drink yet, and you're already trying to lift your skirt."
If she hadn't swallowed her bourbon a second ago, she would've choked on it. "I was just adjusting my dress," Cami insisted, glaring at him. She had to snuff out any sympathy she'd felt for him earlier. This was exactly why she didn't talk to vampires before she killed them. She didn't want to look at them like they were people.
He smirked. "Whatever you say."
Run, Run, RUN, her mind screamed. It was like her body was intuitively aware that in this situation, she was the prey, and he was the predator that could snap her neck in an instant. She was scared; more scared than she'd ever been facing any other vampire before, and she hated the feeling. She was supposed to be stronger than this.
"I should go," she fought the words out, her throat tight with fear. She couldn't do it. She thought she could, but she couldn't. She was going to fail. He was going to kill her. Run!
Her whole body felt tense as she placed her glass down on the coffee table and stood up, moving towards the open doorway. All she had to do was get downstairs and get back to the staff kitchen, so that she could hyperventilate in peace.
"Wait," Klaus blurted out, jumping up from his seat. Apparently, her sudden desire to leave surprised him. "I want to see you again."
She froze. The idea was completely preposterous to her. "Why?"
Once again, he moved closer to her. "I like talking to you. You," he stopped to think of the right word, "interest me."
From a regular man, she would probably like that, but this was no regular man. But, if she did see him again, she could perhaps create a better plan and kill him then. This whole mission wouldn't be a complete failure.
"I'm not going on a date with you."
"Well sweetheart, you're the one bringing up dates. I just said I wanted to talk to you again." He fought a smile.
"Stop teasing me," she said. She would not bow down and cower, no matter who he was or how she really felt.
He held his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm sorry. I'll find you soon and we'll talk again, without the party or your work getting in the way."
"I doubt you'll be able to find me in this big city," she countered.
"You'll soon learn not to doubt me."
Cami looked him up and down with scepticism, before she turned on her heel and walked towards the doorway, feeling his eyes on her as she went.
Author's note: I hope people enjoyed their first meeting! I'm really excited to continue this story. This fic will be darker than my last one. We're dealing with pre TVD Klaus and a more violent Cami, so it won't be all sunshine and roses.
Also, I changed the summary just to let you guys know that this fic is set in early 20th century New Orleans, before Mikael ran Klaus, Rebekah and Elijah out of the city, so that's why there's no modern technology. Thanks for reading!
