Amelie

Summary:"You have loved and you have lost, all while I have succumbed to: the darkness, the light, to my wildest dreams and deepest fears. I have loved you while you have lived your life to its fullest, now I must live mine." Klaus kept his last love a secret for a lifetime but now it's time to reintroduce her to the world.

Chapter Two

Freya stared down at the young woman in the coffin with a hint of sadness; she was condemned to a lifetime of solitude only to wake up in a new world where the opportunity to be hurt was only around the corner. The world that Klaus had created for himself would have the potential to destroy her if she wasn't strong enough to handle it.

"I see it isn't just your family you keep in coffins." She said bluntly as she watched him as he stared down at his love.

He leaned into Amelie's lifeless body and ran his finger across her soft cheek with a small smile. "Would you believe that she loved me so much that she agreed to be put to sleep?"

"Was she sane?"

Klaus let out a mocking laugh and looked at his sister. "Very funny, just do the spell."

"It's going to take some time."

"Fantastic," he glanced down at Amelie and nodded to himself, "Let me know when it's done." Klaus stepped outside of the locker.

"Klaus," Freya waited for Klaus to peer around the locker door, "How long are you wanting me to keep her a secret from Elijah?"

He looked at the coffin briefly and sighed, "Until she's ready to be reintroduced to society."

Freya returned her gaze to the coffin and lightened up a little. "You really love her, don't you? Tell me this will not end badly for us."

"Bringing Amelie back couldn't end badly; she loved me and I loved here, much more than I could've ever understood." He paused to reflect on the two years he spent with her; the two years where he felt like he was normal and swallowed back his guilt. "I'll give you two some privacy."

Klaus stepped away from the locker and paced around outside as he watched the workmen around him loading up the ships. He tried to contain his excitement but he found a grin creeping onto his face. The only thing that bothered him was how she was going to react when she finds out about Hayley, Hope and Camille. Amelie always understood that life would move on but knowing that Klaus had loved another woman after her; it would devastate her.

Hayley watched over her sleeping daughter like a guardian angel while Elijah paced around the room like a soldier. She glanced over at him with a raised brow and placed her hand on her hip. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry." He stopped in his place and clasped his hands together. "Is Hope asleep?"

"Yes, she's finally asleep so I'd appreciate it if her high strung uncle would keep the noise down." She teased as she stepped towards him, placing her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry, it's just that Klaus is hiding something from us."

"When isn't he hiding something or keeping secrets?"

"It's another coffin, Hayley." He said bluntly with a look of distain on his face.

Hayley released Elijah from her grip and folded her arms across her chest. "That's bad, isn't it?"

"That depends on who resides inside the coffin."

"You don't have any more siblings, do you?" she tried to make the situation into a joke but it wasn't going to lighten Elijah's mood.

He shook his head and smiled ever so slightly. "I don't know of anyone else that Klaus would keep locked away." He sat on a heavily padded armchair, almost sinking into it as he thought hard about the time he spent with Klaus in the past; he tried to think of any clues that his brother had given him, but there was none. "I thought I knew everything about Nik but apparently, I do not."

"Why don't you go down there and have a look?" Hayley sat on the arm of the chair beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"He's down there with Freya."

"If you don't trust him then stop him." She squeezed him gently and placed a kiss on his cheek lovingly. "You have my support no matter what you decide to do."

Elijah looked up at her and placed his hands over hers and let out a deep breath. "I know I do, but I can't push Nik away; whoever is in there, I have to trust him."

Freya finally emerged from the storage locker and walked towards the awaiting Klaus; he buttoned up his coat as she stood beside him quietly. "Well?" he said impatiently.

"She's awake but I have to warn you she's very groggy and confused."

"Where is she?"

"She's getting changed, I brought her some of my clothes." Freya looked at the small black case in his hand and pointed at it. "What's that?"

"Her violin, I've kept it for years." He looked down at it as he tried to remember that song she always played. "I thought that she'd be happy to have it."

"Klaus, I've got to warn you," Freya turned to him quickly and tried to find an easy way to tell him, "She's very angry at you. Did you do something to her before she was spelled?"

"No, we left on good terms." He glanced over at the locker and backed away from his sister, violin in hand, "This is our little secret, sister."

"I owed you one, we're even now."

Klaus thought back to the years of torture he suffered to keep his family safe and alive and just nodded. "We're even."

He stood outside the locker door, gripping onto the handle as he tried to pluck up the courage to look her in the eye again. As the door opened she looked at him, piercing through him with her blue eyes. She looked furious but it faded slightly when she saw him.

"You look well Klaus, the eighty years I was gone faired you well."

He stepped towards her silently and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Just remember that everything I've done has been for your safety." His words were almost like a warning to her; he hadn't been the person she loved while she was gone.

Amelie looked up at him and patted his chest. "You used to visit me every day for years while I slept. I know because I could hear everything while I was in that coffin," she looked over at her wooden prison and stepped away from him, pacing around him, "but, every day became once a week, once a month and then eventually once a decade."

He looked away from her judgemental gaze as he realised that every intimate detail he confessed to her in ignorance did not fall upon deaf ears. She knew about Caroline, Hayley and Camille which meant that she also knew he had a daughter. He couldn't begin to imagine how she had felt for all those years and he understood now why she was so furious when Freya woke her; he didn't do as she asked… If Klaus loved another she wanted to pass over.

"How's Hope, Klaus? By my estimation she's almost four years old."

Klaus nodded and clenched his jaw as he turned to her with his hands up defensively. "I understand why you're mad at me, but let me take you somewhere safe where we can talk." He handed her the violin case and watched her look inside.

She smiled as she stared down at the instrument, running her fingertips across the strings. "At least you kept this, even if you forgot about me."

"I never forgot about you, you've always been on my mind."

She looked at him with her finger raised. "I'm not made of stone Klaus, the way I love you is so intense that I can forgive your past transgressions while I have been cursed to hear the world move around me; but I will not tolerate lies." She closed the violin case and looked him in the eyes. "I'm not blind, I can see that you love me," she glanced at the floor as she tried to recompose her emotions and returned her look to him, "I assume that you have somewhere for me to stay?"

"I have a place for you to stay, it's yours," he took off his coat and placed it around her shoulders, "let me take you home."

She lightened up and gave in to her emotions as she looked up at him with a twinkle of hope in her eye. "You gave me your jacket, just like this on our first date and every day after that." She whispered to herself, forgetting that he could hear as she took in his scent from the fabric.

As he watched her find comfort in her fondest memories of him he finally saw the Amelie he wished he saw when he first walked into the locker; but he knew that his new life with her was going to take baby steps, she was human after all and with her humanity came the emotions that she couldn't escape. Amelie had always been an emotional person, loving with all her heart and feeling despair with every ounce of her fragile body. Klaus was going to have to give her the space to take everything in, he couldn't rush things and risk ruining his dream of a perfect life.

She stepped into the apartment and looked at the fancy artwork on the walls, setting her violin on the floor and looking at the place in awe as she fell deeper into Klaus' coat. Although the apartment was small it was perfect for her; she could never be bothered with mansions and oversized homes. She grew up in a small cottage outside Paris and it was plenty for her. Klaus watched her from the hallway with a small smile and eventually cleared his throat, bursting her bubble.

"This place is in your name. I need you to invite me in."

"You can come in." she strode around the room for a moment more then picked a space on the sofa. "C'est très jolie." She commented as he took the space beside her.

"I thought you would've liked it." He gave the apartment a quick look and looked at her.

She looked down at her hands, playing with her own fingers until Klaus took her hand. "Why didn't you let me die?" she said quietly, unable to look at him.

"Amelie, please." He sighed, letting go of her hand.

"It was one of my conditions; if you found love without me I wanted to die." She looked at him and bit her lip. "Why didn't you let me go?"

"Because I was selfish Amelie, I knew that I was going to need you one day and I did; I have never needed you more than I do now."

"I understand that so many bad things have happened to you and I know that you need someone to lean on, but why me?"

He turned to face her, furrowing his brows. "I have never loved anyone the way I love you. You stuck with me at my lowest and you've always been truthful with me." When she looked away from him he placed his hand on her warm cheek and turned her face towards him. "I love you Amelie."

Her bottom lip quivered and she closed her eyes, burying her head into his hand. "I love you too," she whispered, her tears hitting the palm of his hand but she shook her head, "I just can't trust you the way I used to."

"You can trust me." He tried to convince her but it was too late, her mind was made up.

"I guess when you're trapped in a coffin for most of your life, listening to the one you love most telling you about all the women he's romanced while you're stuck, unable to show that you're hurting; trust slips through the cracks and the love of Klaus Mikaelson becomes a belle rêve… A beautiful dream that maybe wasn't mine to have."

"I thought you could forgive me?" he watched her get onto her feet as he felt like the hold he had on her was starting to slip through his fingers.

"I do forgive you, I just need time to lick my wounds and air out my insecurities."

Klaus got onto his feet and stepped into her space, placing his hands on her shoulders and placed one last kiss on her forehead. "I have always loved you, your voice got me hooked but it was your smile and your essence for life that made me fall hard for you," as she looked away from him he slid a phone into her hand and stepped away from her, even though she didn't want him to. "I know this is confusing for you but if you want to speak to me, just call me."

Amelie didn't know what she wanted; part of her wanted to keep Klaus with her and give him the love that she held in her heart for him, but part of her was scorned and wanted him to go. Klaus gave her the space she had wanted to breath, she wanted to stop him but she was too slow. All she could do was cry and be comforted by his jacket; yes, she loved him more than her words could describe, but he made her feel like a back-up plan. Amelie Bouchard wasn't going to be anyone's second or third choice.

A:N Thank you for all the favourites and reviews, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There's plenty more to come, don't give up hope for a happy Klaus :)