My Sunshine | Camille O'Connell

(34) Farewell to Storyville | Part 2

I had the fucking stake.

I had a bloody white oak stake in my clutches, and Elijah had the stupid blade that is somehow supposedly worse than the daggers.

And Niklaus was now unarmed.

And yet, my fear and nerves for my sister's life had not dissipated.

His posture, his facial expressions, Rebekah had struck a nerve.

Because he doesn't want to admit that she's right.

It shouldn't be possible. What she did was absolutely detestable, for all of the reasons I had already listed. She acted irresponsibly, put all of us in danger, and yet...

I understand where she's coming from. Because throughout this excursion all she has done is explain herself.

And it worked!

Am I still upset at her for what she did? Of course I am! However, I forgive her in spite of my feelings.

And I hate that it took her summoning our father for Niklaus to see the full extent of his actions and what breaking us down has wrought.

This is his fault as much as it is hers. Call it sibling favoritism, I don't give a fuck. If Klaus was just mature enough to let go of his leash on our sister. His par-asocial dominance that he manages to reserve just for her, none of this would have happened.

The worst part, is Klaus' pretentious behavior, walking around like he doesn't need to give an explanation for his actions. I hate that attitude more than anything.

"So what's it gonna be? You both hold weapons. Tunde's blade would put me down, but the stake could finish me off for good." And now he's trying to play the victim and twist the narrative yet again.

I smirk cruelly. "It would be simpler for your brain to tell you that I was really capable of..."

"Fratricide." Elijah finishes, bored.

I turn to him briefly. "I know what fratricide means, Elijah! Are you lot the only ones who can pause when you speak?" I turn back to Klaus. "I'm keeping this thing away from you until you learn to calm down, and maybe after that as well. As for the blade..."

Elijah holds the nasty thing up. "This is our insurance."

Klaus gets heated again. "Why must you two defend her? Rebekah betrayed you, as well, when she brought Mikael here." Stating the obvious.

"I've already been over this with myself and our brother. She fucked up, she's sorry, let's move on!"

He turns to stare directly at me. "After all the shit you gave me earlier about taking your emotions into account, now you try to tell me it's not a big deal?"

"Were those my words?" I ask rhetorically. "I know you. Forgiveness is beyond your grasp of understanding. Mistakes are beyond your understanding. But in all this time we have been stuck here, Rebekah has not once tried to hide or downplay what she did. She has taken full responsibility for what she has done and proven on my account that she is regretful of how events transpired. She is sorry, Niklaus! And for me that is enough."

"Well then. That's that." He laughs as he turns to our brother. "What's say you? Why are you suddenly willing to throw yourself in the fire for her?" Why do you think dipshit?

"Because she is our sister, and because I like to remember her the way that she was before we became what we became." He smiles at the memory. "She was an innocent girl, quick to laugh, full of life."

"My memories serve to make her betrayal more painful." For fucks sake!

Elijah tries his next words carefully. "Can you not then accept some small part of the blame? After all, Niklaus, it was your cruelty that led her to do what she did." I haven't seen Elijah like this in a long time, but I wasn't complaining at the appearance. He was acting as a protector, not only making sure our sister was safe but actually seeing her side and defending it! Why can't this Elijah be around more?