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 Seventeen

It felt as if fire burned in her veins and as much as she wanted to move to ease the pain, she couldn't. Darkness surrounded her like a cloak, a whisper that lured her to embrace the flames. She gave into the pain, becoming its servant and when it was finally over, the light caressed her.

As much as she wanted to wake up, she couldn't. Flashbacks of all the times Klaus helped her, flooded back; the night he took her away from the poor house in Chicago, waking her up from her slumber and saving her from a miserable night with Jon. But what stood out the most was how he guided her through her transformation. He cared deeply for her and she loved him more than she could describe.

"Are you sure she drank the blood?" Freya watched her brother as he stared down at the still lifeless Amelie. She had been dead for over an hour and it was starting to look unlikely that she was going to reawaken.

"I'm certain she did, she wouldn't leave me." He looked over his shoulder at his sister and sighed slightly. "I have the faith that she wanted to spend forever with me."

"And why wouldn't she want to?" Elijah emerged from the dark hallway, his blazer over his bare arm and his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow.

"What are you doing here? Is Hope okay?" Klaus moved to get up but Elijah held his hand out.

"Hope is fine, a little shaken but she's a strong girl. Her mother is with her across the street. How are you holding up, Nik?"

Klaus gave him a single nod and looked down at Amelie's closed eyelids. "I'm alright, brother. Her wounds healed up which was a good sign."

"I think you should delay your plans, Klaus. We don't know how she's going to be when she wakes up." Elijah stood beside Freya and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"What plans?" Freya asked curiously, she couldn't stand not being in the know.

"Can I tell her?"

"If you must, Elijah." He couldn't bear to look at his siblings; he felt like they were going to look at him in a different light, perhaps laugh at him for thinking that he deserved happiness.

Elijah looked down at his elder sister and flashed the tiniest of smiles. "He wanted to propose to Amelie tonight."

Her eyes widened and her brows stood at attention as she turned to Klaus. He kept his back to her, knowing that she was going to be too excited and ask a million and one questions. Nobody thought that Klaus was the marrying type, he had been a tyrant that plagued the earth for centuries but now he was a changed man.

"I thought you didn't want to get married, I'm pleased for you but what brought on the sudden change of heart?" she asked once her excitement died down and the elder instinct kicked in. "Is this really what you want?"

"I want her to be a part of this family and to carry the family name." he took Amelie's cold, petit hand and smiled slightly. "She made me want to show her a real promise of forever. And I wanted to give her the chance to plan her dream wedding."

"Is it what you want though? I don't want you to be trapped into something you don't want to do because you think it'll make her happy." She was showing her protective side and although Klaus appreciated it, he shot her down.

"I want this more than anything, I just need to wait for the right moment to do it. Tonight, could have been so perfect if it wasn't for Jon." He balled his hand into a fist for a moment but released his anger from his mind. "At least he's gone now."

Underneath the palm of his hand, Klaus could feel Amelie's fingers twitch back to life; her eyelids fluttered and slowly her eyes opened, showcasing the pale blue eyes that Klaus adored so much. When she sat up slowly, the siblings rushed to her side, guiding her back to the pillow propped up against the headboard. She looked at Klaus and bit her lip weakly, hiding a small smile.

"I bet I gave you quite the fright."

"Yes love, you did. But it's alright now that I know you're alive. You need to complete the transition." He nodded towards the small vile on the bedside table and glanced away from her, catching the caring gaze of his brother.

She reached over and gripped onto the small piece of glass with her fingertips and stared at the small amount of blood. "Are you sure you want to use this for me?"

"There's no one else that I want to drink that more than you."

She took the cork out of the neck of the vile and tipped her head back so that she could get all the blood into her system. It was sweet, sweeter than Klaus' blood but perhaps that was because she had a vampire side now that craved the metallic liquid. She closed her eyes and licked the taste off her own lips and when she opened her eyes she craved more.

"That felt good," she grinned at the mattress and touched her neck, feeling for a scar but there was nothing, "I can't believe I'm finally free of him." She glanced up at Klaus and then his siblings. "Where's the body?"

"We had someone take the body to his brother. I think he should be the one to bury him." Klaus said lowly as he took her hand.

"Jon mentioned something before he died, about a brother?" Freya reminded, almost as if she was ready to spark an investigation.

"I wasn't my parents' only child as much as I liked to pretend that I was. They had a son years before I was born," she looked at Freya and tilted her head a little, finding comfort in herself, "his name was Jacques but he died when he was a child."

"Do you believe that there's any truth in what Jon said?" Elijah interjected firmly.

"I think Jon would've said anything to make me spare him. I don't know how it would be possible for him to still be alive, even if he did survive his childhood." She shook her head a little and chewed the inside of her cheek. "If you two don't mind, I'd like to talk to Klaus."

"Of course, come on Freya, it's time we left these two alone." Elijah stood up and helped his sister out of the chair.

"Let's see how Hope is doing." As she moved to walk out of the door, Freya stopped and looked over at Klaus and Amelie, holding onto each other's hands, unwilling to let go of each other. "I'm glad everything worked out."

Klaus couldn't help but look down at Amelie's angelic face as she rested her head on his chest. She was very quiet as she played with his fingers, concentrating hard on the patterns and swirls that made up his identity.

"I'm really sorry that Hope had to be around to see Jon in his true element. I just pray that she doesn't hate me for endangering you."

"Hope could never hate you, she is very fond of you." He shifted onto his side and stared down at her with a loving look. "You hold a special place in this family, you're the first person who has made me truly content."

She examined his face in vivid detail and let the corners of her mouth curl up. She couldn't help but fall into the feeling of elatedness as his words warmed her heart. Her feelings towards Klaus had grown in her new hybrid status, she didn't just love him but she was grateful for him, almost indebted to him. It was always Klaus who saved her and this time was no different.

"Before I can move on from today, I must know the truth," she finally broke her silence and propped herself up on her elbows, "I need to know if Jon was lying when he said that Jacques is still alive."

"I will do everything in my power to help figure it out. I never knew that you had a brother, you never told me."

"It's hard to talk about a sibling that I never met. My mother very rarely spoke of him and my father, well he wouldn't breathe his name. I knew very little, only the bottom line."

"Do you think they would lie to you about him being dead, just to hide him?"

She raised a brow and nodded. "They kept my family heritage secret. If it wasn't for that day at the ice rink, would I ever have found out about my wolf genes? I'm starting to learn more about my parents, now that they're long gone and buried." She reached up and touched his bristly face gently. "If I was a parent, I'd never keep secrets. But, my only key to unlocking these secrets is Jon's brother… Someone that should've died along with that bastard."

"If I were you, I'd let him calm down and mourn his brother. I don't think he'll be the talking mood today or any time soon."

Margot had to listen to the distress call that Alexander had left her and from the sound of his voicemail, he was worse for wear. She stepped up to the porch and noticed the front door was cracked open and a glimmer of light was coming from downstairs. She could hear sobbing coming from the basement and once she realised that it was Alexander, her heart sank; he never really showed his emotions, even towards her so hearing him cry was very strange and surreal.

"I should never have cut my ties to him. How am I supposed to live without my older brother?" he mumbled into his hands; he couldn't bear to see his brother lying there, lifeless and stiff.

"Don't say that," Margot crouched beside him, looking at the corpse from the side of her eye, "you still have me and I will help you through this." She slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I don't even blame Amelie for this. Jon knew the risks as did I, and I didn't even stop him; he was so far gone in his depression." He laughed ironically at himself and shook his head. "I failed as a brother."

"You said so yourself, he was too far gone. I only knew Jon for a short time and I could see that he was too possessive about this girl. You didn't fail, you did everything that he wanted and do you really think he would want you to sit here and feel sorry for yourself, or would he want you to live your life?"

"I just need this night to mourn him. Christmas will never have the same meaning to me now… It'll forever be the day I lost my brother and my best friend." Jon stood up and stared down at his brother's closed eyes, wanting them to flicker back to life. "I'll be okay," he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and took in a deep breath through his nose, "I just need to stay with him before I can bury him."

Margot stared up at him, secretly worrying for her own love's safety; she could never understand how it felt to lose a sibling but what she did know was that Alexander would either grow from the pain or let it drag him down.

"Take as long as you need, Alex, I'll stay here for the night."

"No, Margot I think it would be best if you stayed at your place. I have preparations to make and I need the space to lick my wounds."

She was taken aback by his request but relinquished her will to him. She got up quickly and composed herself. "Well, just call me if you need me." She quickly kissed his cheek and retired up the staircase, taking a moment to watch him go through everything in his mind.

He would be okay, he was Alexander St Martine, he would bounce back in no time.

A:N Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter.