Sometimes he marvelled at the wisdom of young Shakespeare. He had known him of course, for the short time he had lived in London, had come to admire and respect him for his beautifully written words.
He had been an artist in every sense of the word. He was someone who deserved to be immortalised, so he could share his beauty and his words with the world for many centuries to come.
Shakespeare it seems had got it right.
And in his honest opinion, no one was better at the great play than Katerina Petrova.
She had been an English countess, a French Queen who had been powerless to stop her country from falling into Revolution, and a now dead Russian princess whose last days were shrouded in legend and intrigue.
Her last identity had been messy, rumours rife that one of the princesses had escaped execution. She had had to hide her face for many decades following her stint in Russia as a princess of the royal family.
But still she had played each part to perfection, hiding in plain sight and managing to evade the clutches of Klaus and his minions for centuries now. That was an achievement in itself. Playing the role of such public figures meant guaranteed safety for Katerina Petrova. Not only could Klaus not attack her without drawing attention to himself and possibly the supernatural world, but no one had managed to evade him for longer than a few days.
It was also a slap in the face, an insult to Klaus and his ability to curtail the slightest threat. Klaus did not take to this lightly, sending his minions and servants out after her at every opportunity he got.
None of them ever came back alive. And of course there was that memorable occasion where she had shipped the head of his most trusted vampire advisor back to him direct from France. He doesn't recall a time when he'd seen Klaus angrier than he had that night he'd received the box from her.
That had been the final straw, and Klaus had finally sent Elijah out on the hunt.
After faking her death in France she had slipped into Asia, and he had lost her trail quickly. Asia was a confusing place, full of people with different faces, speaking languages and sounds that he'd never dreamed of hearing.
He thinks he saw her once in Japan, playing the part of a geisha fluttering a fan in front of her eyes as she passed him on the street. He had turned and watched her walk, taken in the languid sway of her hips and her coy smile as she turned to look at him over her shoulder.
He knew with every fibre of his being that it had been her. He had her within his sights. But he had let her go.
She possessed a fluidity and grace that frightened him at times. How could someone as graceful as she be so ruthless and manipulative at the same time?
And it was here and now at the Masquerade Ball that she was in her element.
She was putting on quite a show. He watched from the fringes of the party, in the shadow of darkness. Watched as she seduced the Salvatore boy and utilising him in her distraction.
She was a master at the craft.
But he was not here for her. He was here for her doppelganger. Klaus it seemed had finally lost interest in the enigma that was Katerina Petrova. For the last 300 years or so, he had dedicated his efforts to breaking the Sun and the Moon Curse that had been placed upon him.
With whispers of the re-emergence of a true doppelganger, Elijah had been instructed, albeit reluctantly to abandon the hunt for Katerina Petrova, and turn his attentions to Elena Gilbert.
It was entirely by chance that they were both there. Reaching up to adjust his mask, he strode confidently across the dance floor to where she was twirling around with the youngest Salvatore.
Polite as ever, he requested to cut in, surprised when she accepted, brushing Stefan aside with not even a glance. The younger man looked hurt, but offered a quick bow before scurrying away.
Turning back to him, her blood red lips morphed from smile to smirk as she looked him up and down almost predatorily.
"Hello Elijah. It's been a long time."
Twirling her around, he rested a hand against her waist as they swayed to the music.
"Hello Anya." He returned lightly. "Or is it Marie? Sophie? Or have you come up with a new identity to protect your safety?"
She threw her head back and laughed throatily. It was with a pang of longing that he realised how much he'd missed that sound.
"It's Katherine now. Just Katherine." She replied in a bored tone as she looked at her surroundings.
It was somewhat fitting he mused, as he studied the tempest in front of him. She would have no doubt chosen an odd way of spelling the common American name, a throw back to her true Bulgarian name.
"I always liked Katerina better. You know that Stefan Salvatore's merry band of misfits are here to kill you?"
She smiled knowingly as he pulled her closer, as if he could shield her from the danger that would follow her tonight.
"I always love a good masquerade don't you Elijah? Shakespeare was definitely on to something when he wrote that all the world's a stage." She quipped, forming quotation marks with her fingers as her voice caressed the familiar words.
Peering around him, something had her distracted and he turned, following the direction of her gaze towards a stunning blonde wearing a blood red dress. She was looking around nervously, and she let out a squeak that only they could hear when she caught sight of the pair of them watching her curiously.
Well he was watching her curiously. Katherine was eyeing her off like she was prey. With one last nervous glance the blonde disappeared into the interior of the vast mansion. Turning back to Katherine, he was surprised when she kissed him on the cheek, lingering for a few seconds more than what was appropriate in the present company.
"If you'll excuse me." She murmured into his ear. "It seems that I'm due for my entrance."
He could only watch entranced as she shot him one last coy look over her shoulder, hips swaying as she climbed the stairs leading up into the mansion. He was not the only one captivated by her every move, all of the young males around were gazing at her with an expression on their faces he was sure mirrored his own.
Finally rousing himself to the task at hand, he forced himself to banish Katerina Petrova from his mind.
All the world's a stage indeed.
A/N: My second one shot for this pairing... I was in a Shakespeare kind of mood and this one shot flowed so beautifully! Just an exploration of how Katherine could have escaped Klaus' clutches for so long. Hiding in plain sight seems like something she'd do! I can totally imagine her playing the part of Marie Antoinette or Anastasia Romanov...
Review?