A/N: This chapter was a rough one to write because I literally had no idea how I wanted to end this book, but now I do. Side note, there's only two chapters left after this one and So here's the chapter that I was supposed to get to you a week ago, enjoy.
3rd person pov:
Life turned to hell pretty fast, as if if could get even worse.
Amelia stood in the courtyard of the compound with Klaus, Elijah, and Genevieve as an unconscious Hayley laid on a table in front of them.
She had suddenly collapsed in the street earlier as the four of them as been walking in the funeral for god knows who at this point. Amelia didn't particularly care for whoever it was that was in the casket, so she just went along because Hayley was going to be there.
It made her suspicious when Genevieve was so willing to help Hayley, after everything that's happened in the past couple of weeks.
The redheaded Heretic watched with worry for her friend as Genevieve performed a spell on Hayley to pull her out of whatever it was she was in.
She fingered the pendant around her neck, the same one she had worn the the gala all that time ago, the the Klaus has given her. It was an anxious habit she had picked up recently.
In that moment, fate decided that Amelia hadn't been tortured enough. Suddenly a brilliant golden light shot out from the necklace, encasing her.
She pushed on the golden bubble around her, but it was rock solid. She doubled over as searing pain shot through her body. She looked at her arms to see red scratches covering them.
Her gaze briefly met Klaus' before she collapsed, her mind becoming trapped back in the dark room with the mysterious voice.
"Amelia!" Klaus yelled as she fell to the floor limp. He pounds on the shell around her, but it holds fast. He desperately tries to get through, but every attempt is met with the same result.
Amelia was trapped inside that golden shell and there was nothing he could do about it.
He turned back to Elijah with despair in his eyes. First his child was going to die, and now Amelia. Elijah nodded to him in reassurance but it did nothing.
Genevieve continued to chant, ignoring the situation behind her as she focused on bringing Hayley out of her magical trance.
***
Amelia shot up with a gasp, only to find herself within the dark room that haunted her in her dreams. She pushed herself to her feet and winced as she brushed her arm.
The scratches on her arms were still there. That was new this time around.
"My darling, did you really think you could escape me so easily?" The voice asked. It reverberated off of the walls, making it sound like it was coming from all directions.
"I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but you won't get away with it. I got pulled out last time, I'll get pulled out this time," Amelia called out into the darkness.
"My darling, there is nobody to pull you out. The beauty of the curse is that your body is trapped. They can't reach you."
"Curse? What curse are you talking about?" Amelia asked, ignoring the fear that ran through her at the thought of being trapped in this room forever.
"A long time ago, I got my hands on that necklace. I placed a special curse on it, one that no witch could ever detect. I decided that today would be the perfect time to use it," the voice explains.
"How the hell did you get my necklace. Only Nik and his moth..." Amelia stopped as she put pieces together. Her sister had almost said a name, Esther. "You're his mother."
"Ah, there you go my darling," Esther says as her silhouette appears from the darkness. Her blonde hair is a mess and there are dark bags under her eyes. Her eyes sparkle with pure hatred towards Amelia.
"What the hell is this Esther? You always said that you liked me. That you saw me as a daughter," Amelia cried as the woman came closer to her.
"I did, didn't I. But then you turned into a monster. I watched as Amelia, the innocent redheaded witch, turned into Amelia the savage monster. You don't deserve to walk this Earth," Esther spat.
Amelia looked at her in betrayal. She was about to speak until Esther waved her hand, and a wave of agonizing pain washed over her. She dropped to her knees and screamed as the scratches on her body caught fire.
It was all Klaus could do to stay sane as he watched Amelia writhe in pain, within the golden shell. Hayley had woken up with horrible news that she had seen Mikael, and now Genevieve was working on the energy surrounding Amelia.
***
As the hours ticked by, more and more scratches appeared on Amelia.
"We're losing her," Genevieve said after awhile of silence.
"How is that possible? She's an Original," Hayley reminded the witch.
"I don't know. All I know is that her body is growing weaker. If I can't break through this energy soon, her mind is going to stay trapped forever," Genevieve responded.
"Well then work faster, otherwise I'll tear your head off of your shoulders," Elijah threatened. Ameliana was practically his younger sister, and he couldn't bare seeing her in this amount of pain.
"How did she come out of it the first time?" Hayley asks.
"I don't know," Klaus responded. It was the first words he had said in four hours. All he had been doing was watching the love of his life wrestle around in pain while he was incapable of doing anything.
"You mean she's done this before?" Elijah asks.
"Yes. When you and Rebekah were off saving werewolves in the Bayou, Amelia was in this same state. She just didn't have a golden energy shell around her, but she was unconscious and in pain just like this," Klaus said miserably.
"Niklaus, if she was okay the first time, she will be okay now," Elijah told his brother, but he was also trying to reassure himself.
"I hope so," the hybrid said, before going silent again as he watched Genevieve continue to try and free Amelia.
***
"What do you want?" Amelia asked when she was allowed a brief relief from the pain. She lay panting on the black ground, completely surrounded in a shroud of darkness.
"What do I want?" Esther hissed. "Must you really ask that question? I want you to repent for your sins. You must learn that as you are now, you will never be able to walk the Earth again. But if you ask for forgiveness, I will let you free."
"Well then I'm sorry for whatever I've done," Amelia said as she struggled to her feet. Another wave of pain washed over her, but she did not waver. She remained on her feet and grit her teeth when Esther cast another spell on her.
"You have no idea what you've done wrong, do you?" Esther asked menacingly.
"Not really," Amelia replied. She pushed her red hair out of her face, barely able to see her hand a few inches in front of her. The darkness was heavy, and it was slowly suffocating her.
"All the people you've killed," Esther says. "All the families who have suffered because of you, including mine."
"How did I make your family suffer?" Amelia shot back.
"You ripped Niklaus' heart apart. All of my children grieved heavily over your death, and when you came back you chose not to find them," Esther said bitterly.
"I'm sorry that your husband convinced me that they no longer wanted me. I've been made aware that that was a foolish mistake, and if I could take it back, I would. Life was hell when I was first turned. When Mikael tortured me, I only wanted to curl up in Nik's arms and cry. As he stabbed me over and over I wanted to rip my own heart out. I eventually did, but even that didn't end my suffering. I came back, only to face the same torture again," Amelia cried. Esther froze when she said this, but it was only momentarily. She quickly recovered, and the pain that she was inflicting on Amelia increased tenfold.
"If you think sharing your sob story will make me forgive you, then you're mistaken," Esther sneered. "You're pain is nothing compared to the pain you've inflicted."
"I'm sorry for all of it, okay?" Amelia asked. "I'm sorry that I've hurt people, but sometimes it was necessary to survive Esther. You don't understand."
"I understand it perfectly fine," Esther replied. She twisted her hand and Amelia's legs snapped, toppling her to the ground as Esther approached her. She grabbed Amelia's read hair and pulled her head back so that she was looking her in the eyes. "Listen here you stupid wrench. You will never be free from here. Even now as my son's witch frees you from your cage, your mind is too far gone. You'll never see your precious Niklaus again."
***
Klaus watched as the golden shell faltered and then came down from around Amelia. In an instant he was there by her side. Elijah and Hayley had left to take care of the Mikael situation, but Klaus hadn't acknowledged him when they asked him to come with them.
"I fear it's too late," Genevieve says. Klaus looks up at her, his eyes blank.
"For your sake, I hope it's not." He vamp speeds her up to his room and gently lays her down. Genevieve comes in shortly after.
"I may have a way to save her mind," she says.
"How?"
"The magic that did this to her, came from her necklace. If I can break the curse on her necklace, it will hopefully bring her back."
"Then get started," Klaus said. He moved out of her way and Genevieve went over to the redhead on the bed. She stood over and removed her necklace, before starting to chant, trying desperately to bring the Heretic back, if only to save her own life.
***
It felt like days later when Amelia finally received a break. She panted as she lay paralyzed on the ground, afraid to move and make the lingering pain worse.
"You're resilient," Esther comments as she circles Amelia.
"I learned it from your husband, and the multitude of enemies I've encountered over my thousand years of life," Amelia snapped, fed up with Esther's control over her.
"You still have your spirit I see. Well, I'll fix that. When I'm done with you, you'll be only a shell of yourself," Esther says with an evil smirk. Esther turned her back on Amelia for only a second, but a second was long enough for Amelia to mutter a spell under her breath.
Esther doubles over in pain and turns around with blood running from her nose.
"What did you do?" Esther asks in horror. Amelia struggles to her feet, standing despite the lingering pain that courses through her body.
"You forget that I'm still a witch Esther. I'm fighting back because that's what I've always done," Amelia answers confidently.
The blood continued to pour from Esther's nose, as she falls to her knees clutching her head.
"You can't kill me," Esther wailed.
"I know that, but I can get you to leave me alone," Amelia responded.
"You will never get out of here. I may leave you alone, but you're too weak," Esther sneered. Amelia looked at her sadly.
"I'm prepared to take that risk," Amelia said sadly. She twisted her hand and Esther's neck snapped, before her body dissolved into thin air. As soon as it did, Amelia collapsed on the floor, exhausted. The pain was still coursing through her body, and she let it wash over her as she fell unconscious once more.
***
"The curse is lifted," Genevieve said. Klaus walked over to Amelia as Genevieve took a step back.
"Why isn't she waking up?" Klaus asked.
"I told you that it might be too late," Genevieve reminded him.
"I won't accept that answer, wake her up!" Klaus demanded.
"I can't do anymore for her Niklaus, I'm sorry," Genevieve says. Klaus pinned her against the wall by her neck, slowly squeezing the life out of her.
"I didn't ask. Wake her up, or I'll kill you," Klaus threatened. Suddenly, a gasp was heard from bed. Amelia shot up in bed, and Klaus immediately dropped Genevieve onto the floor. She got up and immediately rushed out of the room in fear. Klaus walked over to Amelia's side and took her hand in his own. Amelia was back to her horizontal position, her eyes closed.
"Lia?" He asks. When he gets no response, his heart sinks. "Amelia please. I need you to wake up."
Amelia's hand twitches, but after that no movement comes from her.
***
Klaus stays by her side for the next five hours, until finally Amelia stirs.
"Lia?" He asks. Amelia's blue eyes open, and Klaus lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god."
Amelia slowly rolled over with her eyes glazed over. Her mind was on fire, and her body felt like it was dissolving. She groaned in pain as her senses slowly came back to her. There was a ringing in her ears, making the pain in her head worse.
"Amelia?" Klaus asked again gently. She groaned again and rested a hand on his chest, trying to signal him to shut up. Klaus takes it in his brings it up to his lips, kissing the back of it. "Love are you alright?"
Amelia waits a minute before responding.
"I'm fine," she manages to respond. Her voice is weak, but the words were clear. Klaus propped himself up on his elbow and admired her pale face. Her eyes were distant and unfocused, but they still had their natural sparkle.
"I thought I was going to lose you," Klaus whispered. Amelia looked over at him, and when she met his eyes, the pain in her head didn't matter. His blue eyes searched her own, and to him it was obvious she was in pain. To her, all she saw was love. She leaned up and kissed him, savoring the moment as the searing in her brain stopped for the time being.
"I love you," she whispered when they pulled away. Klaus smiled and kissed her again.
"I love you too," he replied. He then laid down and tucked her safely in his arms. The searing in her mind resumed, but it wasn't as horrific as before as she let Klaus' pine scent wash over her, and lull her to sleep.