~ ETERNAL SEARCH ~

Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership of L.J. Smith's and CW's characters.

Rumor had it that Klaus was gone for good. Staked by the wood of the infamous white oak tree. But Katherine knew better than to believe rumors, especially since from her last conversation with Damon over the phone, it was clear that the Salvatore brothers that may have been turned by someone who was turned by Klaus, were well and alive.

So either, he was incapacitated somehow, or Klaus wasn't the founding bloodsucker of his line of turned Vampires and really was dead. But she didn't get her hopes up yet.

Far, or at least far enough from all the trouble that seemed to always be cooking up in the same damned town of Mystic Falls, Katherine attempted to enjoy her new-found freedom. Or rather, her temporary freedom. As a vampire, she had learned that trouble would follow you around anywhere eventually.

"Ma'am, are you going to buy that?" The short sales girl looked up at Katherine frightened. Gazing down at her own hand, Katherine found that she had almost ripped a hole into the dress she had clenched in her fist.

"Yes," she replied coolly. "And I'll take one of each of those dresses over there in my size." Materialism and vanity wasn't immune to Vampirism. Although they only brought her very temporary pleasure, she liked to indulge herself in them to keep herself distracted from her paranoia. Bliss was ironically only short-lived for a Vampire.

"Okay!"

Amused, Katherine took out her wallet with the money she had 'borrowed' from a generous blood donor earlier in the morning. Should be enough to cover at least half of those dresses. She'd have to 'borrow' some more after wards.s

"Whether you like it or not, I'm going to have every single piece of clothing in this store, Brother." Seemed like Katherine wasn't the only determined female here.

But when she looked up, she saw the unmistakable mane of blonde hair, belonging to no one but the miserable and despicable sister of Klaus, Rebecca. Terrified, Katherine scanned the store because there was bound to be a brother of hers around, which turned out to be…

"Elijah." With nowhere to escape in the light of the day and surrounded in a store full of people and cameras, Katherine had no choice but to charm her way out of this one.

"Ah Katarina. Seems that you too have resorted to returning to the place it all began, haven't you." By that, Katherine knew that he meant England, the place she was first introduced to the two brothers. And eventually left this country as a vampire.

"Well, it was temporarily, really. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to leave now, since trouble has caught up to me, again."

Elijah, however, did not appear merciful enough to let her escape, as usual. "I won't, as you put it, be any more trouble to you. As will my dear sister," he added, a little louder for Rebecca to hear, who looked up from a pair of shorts displeased.

"Klaus is dead now." The grief was clear on Elijah's face, but it wasn't enough to tame the wariness Katherine had accustomed to feel around him. "You won't have to run anymore."

"That's right," she replied hastily. Running was exactly on her mind right now. "Sorry about Klaus, but at least your brother had finally received what both of you had hunted me for a really long time."

Frowning, Elijah shook his head. "I never wanted to be a part of it. Klaus wouldn't have it."

"Really? Because it seemed to me that you played a big part in his whole scheme to make me a human sacrifice for him," she replied nonchalantly. "Babysat me when he was gone. Made sure that I would be provided for his personal use on the night of the sacrifice."

The betrayal she felt was buried deep within her, but she wouldn't ever allow herself to tell either one of the brothers that had toyed around with her head and feelings.

Skimming through a near-by rack of leather jackets, Katherine attempted to keep herself from making any eye contact with him, so that her eyes wouldn't give anything away.

Plus, things always got really ugly for her when one of the originals compelled her.

"To grant you some closure, I assure you that I didn't have a choice, but to submit to my brother's wishes. It was either that, or I too would've been killed. Survival is important to all of us after all, won't you agree?" The tone in his voice was light, but when she met his eyes, they were serious. Katherine averted her gaze away from his and shivered as she moved a bit further away from him.

"Well thanks for the 'closure', but I really have to get going," she retorted, in a sarcastically sweet manner. But Elijah cut her off to, blocking her way by standing amidst the two racks Katherine wanted to walk past to exit the store.

"I never wanted any of this, Katherine. Believe me."

This time, it was harder for her to keep the betrayal she felt from rising to the surface. "Why should I? Somehow, the sacrifice happened and she got out of it alive. Ironically, with your help. Elena seems to be the only one worth saving."

"You found out about that? I thought you escaped as soon as you were released and didn't look back once."

"I kept in touch with people. I had to make sure that I didn't have to worry about your brother to compel me to torture myself again," she replied venomously. "Now let me go."

Smiling triumphantly, Elijah stepped out of her way and gestured to the exit. Unsure what he had meant by that gesture, Katherine decided to go ahead anyways, before he changed his mind.

"Oh, and Katarina? You're a bit wrong there. I did not entirely contribute to ensure that she would come out alive." Katherine turned to look at him, to see whether he was serious or not.

"I only suggested using a method to save her that I had originally come up with for a previous doppelganger. Had you actually been at the sacrifice then, you would've known that."

"Just dump the rest over there." Katherine gestured towards the large black couch. The two young guys she had compelled to carry her new wardrobe from the store obediently placed the shopping bags on the couch and left without a word.

Her last encounter with Elijah had been a very different one. The last time she had, what she now considered, a pleasant conversation was quite long ago. Ever since she had left England to see her family again, she had come to fear the Originals. The brutal murder had served as a reminder of what they were capable of ever since.

Shaking from the old, gruesome memory, she started skimming through the bags to find a color and style to start her wardrobe renewal off with. When she had gotten her new apartment, Katherine had made sure to choose one with a lavish walk-in closet.

Unfortunately, it didn't help much with her new worries that bubbled up within her upon seeing Klaus' siblings.

But what she still couldn't believe that after all that running and constant feeling fear they had made her go through, that Elijah once believed that she was worth saving. Gentle, yet emotionally detached Elijah.

"I do not believe in love, Katarina."

What a romantic fool she had been then. A fool she'd give anything up to be again. But Klaus took that away from her, and Elijah had made sure to keep the bait ignorant of her fate what was to come.

She decided she wouldn't believe Elijah because after all, a lot of time had passed since then. He could make all kinds of claims now, but it wouldn't change the past.

Katherine suddenly sensed someone in her apartment. "What do you want now, Elijah?"

But when she turned around, she found that it wasn't him. Not even close.

"Remember me?"

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment!

Also, please check out my Crossover story called "Transpire" - CW's Damon meet's L.J. Smith's Elena.