The Tale of the Moon and Sun (A Klaus Fanfiction)

Chapter 4: Uimire

A beam of sunlight burned through my closed eyelids. As I started to recover conscience every single muscle in my body ached with pain. I tried turning my back to the sun but was unable to move, it was too painful. I scrunched my eyes tight in order to mitigate the amount of light but it was useless, the sun was too bright this morning. 

Then in the distance I heard a voice. "Finally!" It was Cami.

I slowly opened my eyes so they would become accustomed to the light around me. Then little by little I incorporated myself and sat down. Looking  at myself I noticed I was still wearing yesterday's clothes and then I looked around me and  saw I was lying on Cami's bed. It didn't take much more to note I'd woken up in her apartment yet I had no idea how I'd gotten there.

"You must be really hung over." She pointed out as her hands served me a glass of water. "Klaus and you must've partied really hard. When he brought you home at around five you were passed out."

As she said this I tried to remember last night but I couldn't. The last thing I could recall was that Klaus and I were sitting down at the park talking, there was no alcohol involved. But other than that I couldn't gather a thing. "He brought me here?" I asked.

"Okay now I know you had way too much to drink. But did you at least have fun?" Cami smiled and handed over the glass of water. I accepted it eagerly and took a long sip. The water cooled down my aching throat, which hurt more than anything else. I stroked my neck softly only to feel two little marks perfectly aligned with each other. 

"I...I don't know." I stammered. The only thing I remembered before last night was the horrible sensation of paralyzing fear. But it slowly faded away as well. I was starting to remember a few things. "I guess we did." In my mind I saw myself smiling as Klaus and I explored the Bucharest night scene, but the thing about that memory was that it seemed fake and almost fabricated. 

Cami sat down beside me and a smiled. "I'm so glad Len. Since Luca you haven't been out much and I was worried about you." At the mention of Luca my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. 

"Don't mention him anymore." I responded remembering how he tried to force himself on me last night. "I have no idea what I ever saw in him."

"What happened between you two yesterday? I was happily drinking my vodka tonic when out of nowhere Luca is on the floor and Klaus is towering over him. You never did say what went down." Her love of gossip was something I'd always been aware of but I couldn't take it at the moment. 

"Long story short he tried to kiss me and he forced himself on me." My voice came out emotionless. Luca no longer awoke sadness and rage in me, he now produced pure disgust. 

Cami's eyes opened wide and she hugged me without saying anything. 

The morning went on pretty chill that day. We ordered in breakfast and watched a few movies. I was feeling really sick and weak so I wasn't in the mood to go home. So that day we spent it at Cami's eating, watching movies and doing what best friends did. 

That night I received a call from my mother. She was back home and wanted to see me. She also told me my father was sending Andrei to pick me up. Despite it being night time it was still light outside. Cami and I went out on her balcony and opened a bottle of wine before I had to leave. Looking into the busy city I found myself wandering off to unknown places. I didn't want to spend the whole summer in Bucharest. Going from my house to Cami's and back every single day seemed like torture. I needed adventure. As if on cue the doorbell rang. Both Cami and I stared at each other, not knowing who it could be. Andrei had just left my house so it couldn't be him, he was still a good twenty minutes away. None of our friends had texted either so it was highly unlikely for it to be them. 

Standing up, Cami and I headed towards the main entrance. The doorbell had rung only once so whoever it was wasn't in a rush to get in. As Cami opened the door I held my breath, once it was fully open there was no one in sight.

"Strange." Cami muttered and then bent over to pick up something on the floor. "They left this." She said as she showed me a single hydrangea tied with a blood red bow. Hanging from the bow was a piece of parchment.

"Is that for you?" I asked curving my lips into a smile. "I had no idea you had a suitor."

Cami rolled open the parchment and looked up at me with playful eyes. "Right back at you."

I stared at her puzzled and then snatched the parchment from her hands. Then I saw it, in beautiful calligraphy it read: Ilena, thank you for a wonderful night. You were delightful. Klaus. My mouth gaped open as I tried to figure out what I'd done in order for him to send this. And what was most surprising was he'd known that white hydrangeas were my favorite flower. 

Cami began grilling me with questions I didn't seem to have answers to. Thankfully Andrei arrived quicker than expected and we made our way back home. 

*

The days that followed went by in a homogeneous daze. My mother and I hung out with each other for most of that time. She told me about her travels through Russia, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine. She had been away for three months and it was only when I saw her I really knew how much I'd missed her. As she told me about the fancy parties in Moscow and the small quaint villages in Estonia and Latvia my heart fluttered with excitement. I wanted to be just like her. My dream was to travel everywhere, free as a bird and she got to do just that. The problem was my father and the fact my mother seemed to want to raise me to be just like him. 

After she was done telling me her tales she'd lock herself in her art studio to paint until late hours of the night. In that time I'd go down to Bucharest to hang out with my friends and do typical young adult things. Yet despite everything I did to keep myself busy I couldn't get Klaus out of my head. I wanted to see him for some reason. I yearned for his presence every single day. It was as if my faith and his were tightly linked. But I only had his letter and an undying white hydrangea. 

*

It had been a week since our night out in Nomad. Irina and I had decided to go out for coffee and people-watch. We never hung out just the two of us but Cami was visiting her mother back in her hometown, Constanta. She had invited me to go with her. Part of me wanted to say yes. I was craving the beach, laying out in the sun reading a book and drinking Margaritas. But a part of me told me to stay, it felt as if I couldn't leave Bucharest. At least for now. So I'd said goodbye to her yesterday and I'd be seeing her in about a month. She had made it clear I could go over there whenever I wanted so I didn't discard the idea of getting a tan by the Black Sea just yet.

As I sipped on my cold brew and listened to whatever Irina was saying I felt it. The same presence I'd sensed the day I met Klaus. The air suddenly became colder and I found myself holding my breath. The past week I hadn't sensed anything out of the ordinary. I did find myself being able to guess people's mood and even feel it but this was different, stronger. I could no longer hear Irina, I was too caught up in myself and the sadness I now felt. 

"Len...Ilena!" Irina exclaimed snapping me out of my trance. 

"I'm sorry." I mumbled. 

"Did you even listen to me?" She asked annoyed. Her usually pleasant face became serious. She ran her fingers through her wavy ash blond hair and shook her head clearly irritated. 

"I did. You were telling me about..." As I searched in my mind for something trivial to add I found my gaze drifting past Irina. My heart began to flutter and my lips unwillingly curved into a smile. There he was, walking towards us in a plain grey t-shirt and black ripped jeans. He was wearing sunglasses so I couldn't get a glimpse of his mesmerizing blue eyes, yet the smirk that played on his lips gave him away. It was Klaus.