Stubborn Love -Klaus

Chapter Nine -Her Dying Compromise.

"Niklaus, there is nothing more you can do for her. She'll awaken when she's ready." A male voice mumbled reassuringly from across the room. As the man spoke, consciousness swooped through Alice, alighting her body with repressed panic from events previous. She bolted up with a chocked gasp, startling the men in the room. Her eyes are wide and frightful, tears forming with each haggard breath she pulled in. Her heart was thumping away like a humming bird in her chest, smashing into her rib-cage with each scared pump, forcing her blood to rush through her body, crashing against the narrowed veins in her skull, the sound was almost deafening.

"Aleysia?"

Alice couldn't place the voice, she couldn't find it. Her eyes had focused on the creme wall before her, but the more intently that she focused the quicker the wall melted away, replaced with horrifying memories of the night before -Of Ester gutting her like a fish. The cold, uncaring gaze of Ester's brown eyes seemingly gazing into her exposed soul as she slide the knife effortlessly into her gut was brandished into her mind. They were haunting. She couldn't blink them away. Every time she closed her own eyes Ester's danced closer.

Alice's hands clenched at the duvet beneath her fingers and she shook her head. Her lips trembling as her fear soaked into every pore. She was so scared.

"Aleysia?" The voice was closer and it was so familiar to Alice that she wanted to cry out. Beg the voice to make it stop. But she couldn't spit the words out, her lips were clamped together, frozen with the unaltered fear coursing through her veins. She was stuck. She didn't know how much more of this she could take before the fear was the only thing left for her to feel. Once it had devoured her wholeheartedly she didn't think she would ever be able to bring herself back. She didn't know if she'd want to.

Suddenly the fear was ripped from her as a hand clamped down on her shoulder, she unexpectedly felt cold and empty as if the fear she had been experiencing was keeping her alive. It felt like someone was pouring liquid nitrogen all over her body it was that cold. And with the seeping coldness came the drain of her energy.

"Aleysia?" Another hand was placed on her other shoulder, holding her up as her body slumped forward.

Her body grew increasingly heavy as she let it fall. If it wasn't for the pair of hands holding onto her, she was sure she would have fallen from the bed, not that at this point it really matters.

"What's wrong with her?!" Someone growled above Alice's limp form.

One hand moved to the back of Alice's head, supporting it as the other grabbed her waist before leaning her backwards so that she was lying down on her back facing the ceiling.

Swiftly Alice's sight was restored- all figments of Ester gone for the moment and she could finally make out the worried blue eyes hovering over her form. Klaus' hands remained on her except they moved for comfort. His left hand cupped her cheek, brushed away stray red hairs and the other was gently placed on her arm, his thumb brushing soothing circles over her exposed skin. Alice's eyes is the only thing still temporarily working as she gazed up at Klaus.

Looking into Klaus' concerned blue eyes dissolved everything around them, it was only him that she could see, the world blurred, emphasizing every defined feature chiseled on his face. She never before realised just how beautiful this man was and her heart burned painfully at the thought. She knew him and she knew that now. But she couldn't remember. There was nothing about him that triggered any kind of previous thought... Just feelings. Looking into his eyes now, she knew from the bottom of her heart that she did once love him- she could feel it inside her, but she couldn't grasp it long enough to drag forward and relish in it. Every time she acknowledged it it slipped just from reach and gave her a harsh slap in the face.