Rue | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 37

No one was willing to give her idea a try.

"This is ridiculous!" she said angrily, once everyone (minus Kol, and including Elijah, who had been resurrected) was standing around her. "If I'm going to go crazy, if my bloodline is naturally weaker to The Hollow's magic, if this can't be cured and I can't be purified, then the obvious solution is to kill me before I get to a point where I hurt my own children!"

"That is not a solution!" snapped Klaus. "Perhaps it was lying, perhaps that blade won't do anything to you!"

"It's not a lie," said Cami, holding up her ledger of dark objects. "It's right here, the blade looks exactly the same. According to these notes, the symptoms become apparent within a day of being scratched. She'll start hallucinating, losing track of time, acting out irrationally... and combined with the fact The Hollow got into her mind and stabbed her with it, and Vincent predicted that that infection couldn't be cured; it's never been for anyone of her bloodline."

"Then perhaps we buy time until a solution can be found," said Rebekah. "Freya, you did it once, linking us to Nik so we'd give Hayley time to find cures for us. You could link Ibeth to Nik. Put her to sleep until a cure can be made."

"These are dark objects we're talking about," argued Vincent, seeing that Ibeth was shaking her head at the idea. "These are not meant to ever have a cure. And when it's something that induces madness, that's even harder to fix. Klaus tried with Kieran, didn't work."

"Being comatose for a long time isn't the way I want to live," said Ibeth. "If I'm going to die, then I want to die as I am, without me becoming violent and different than my normal self. I am..." she gritted her teeth, feeling an itch beneath her sleeve. She lifted it to reveal her veins were already turning blue, bulging under her skin. "I am already out of time. Just give me a chance to say goodbye to my son and then kill me quickly. I refuse to do what The Hollow wants me to. She's still out there, I can feel it. She could be inside me for all we know. Before I grow mad and do her bidding in murdering Hayley and Hope, end my life. Please."

Klaus shook his head. "That is not an option."

"It's the only option! I know you want to fight against fate but it's too late. I'm infected and I only have a short time before I start snarling at the people I care about. I want to die with dignity. So kill me... please."

They didn't agree to her wishes. Vincent, Cami, and Hayley seemed to be the only ones who respected what she wanted, but still couldn't bring themselves to kill her. She was led up to her room and laid in her bed. Cami made her some soup and Vincent tried a few spells to ease the spread of the blue veins, hoping to keep her comfortable for awhile longer.

"Hayley," she pleaded. "Please bring Jayden. And my grandmother, if possible... and Nick and Kurt. I need my time with them."

The hybrid nodded. "Of course. I'll be back soon."

She curled up in her bed, hugging her pillow and releasing all the tears she had to give, in the hopes she wouldn't be crying when her visitors arrived.

"Oh, Ibeth," said Cami softly, stroking her hair. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she whispered. "I'm just glad you understand that I want it over before it gets bad."

"Losing my uncle was hard," said Cami softly. "Watching Klaus kill him was the hardest part. But I knew it was a mercy killing. He was suffering, and not even vampirism took the madness away. I know the last thing you want is to hurt Jayden. So, while I am sad to think we'll lose you, I admire your strength in knowing when the battle is over. Some people are more stubborn and will put themselves in a position where they might hurt other people because they want to live so badly."