A Petrova's Tale

i know boring title. I'm not Bulgarian or Turkish so I hope I will be forgiven for any errors hereon; my muse would not leave me alone. I just had to pen these few lines. Haven't decided if its Klaus/OC or Elijah/OC and definitely hope that Feruza is not a Mary-Sue….. cringing.

*The Vampire Diaries Series does not belong to me.

My original characters

Maika - Mother Petrova

Bashta - Father Petrova (Radenko)

Feruza Rayna Petrova - my main character

Hristo Petrova - Feruza's younger brother

Shara – Bullies at work

Furat – Bullies at work

Elhovo (a small town in the province of Yamlo), Bulgaria – 2010

Feruza was furious, her feet stomping on the pavement leading to her apartment block. Shara and Furat, her 2 co-workers or rather co-conspirators had been at it again. They had made it their daily routine to 'torture' her at work. She had nearly thrown in the towel earlier when she had inadvertently eavesdropped on Furat bad-mouthing her to Elisaveta, her supervisor. She had held back her tears and feigned ignorance. She would not give them the satisfaction.

Shara and Furat were senior employees at the supermarket she worked at and tended to assert their authority as and when they wished. Truly Feruza was not a troublemaker, as a rule she tended to keep to herself due to her family 'issues'.

At 25, Feruza felt that she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her bashta had left his family some 20 years ago, a blessing in itself as they no longer had to endure his abuse. Being the eldest, Feruza had taken on the responsibility for her mai˜ka due to her advancing blindness. Her 18 year old brother had already ended up on the wrong side of the law too often to count. She learnt very early in life that there were no happy endings. You lived, survived doing the best you could under the circumstances.

There were no benevolent relatives waiting in the wings, they were very much alone in this world. Her mai˜ka originally hailed from Turkey and had left her family behind to marry one Radenko Petrova. A mistake she would pay dearly for. Radenko the proverbial drifter had been a charmer, his good looks easily swaying the ladies around him belying his true colours. She sighed, no use rehashing the past. Hristo her brother, mai˜ka had put so much hope on her son but to no avail. The only advantage the Petrova children had were their striking good looks although sometimes it was a curse. Stupid Hristo had already fathered a child out of wedlock. Feruza herself was a striking beauty, born with hair the colour of mocha, eyes a deep liquid brown with gold flecks and a natural olive-tone skin. Feruza was not dense, she knew that most men sought her for looks and she was determined her fate would not echo that of her mother's. Boys tended to circle her like vultures but Feruza held fast, her mother's warnings ever present in her mind. In between 2 jobs and caring for her mai˜ka, there wasn't much time for anything.

As she neared her apartment; if you could call it that, basically it was a 2 room flat with hardly enough room to swing a cat. Pardon the pun. mai˜ka was waiting up again for her. Inspite of her numerous arguments and cajoling; her mother insisted on waiting up for her. She worried about her mother constantly, lately mai˜ka had looked pale and listless although she had flatly refused to see the doctor. Feruza knew her mother had years of emotional turmoil and baggage on her shoulders, she had never stopped blaming herself for their predicament. It was taking a toll on her and Feruza feared that she would lose her. She could be strong, handle anything with her mother beside her.

Despite her frailness, mai˜ka never failed to have a beaming smile and a warm home-cooked meal waiting for her. Feruza couldn't hide the sorrows she carried within her, her expressions, her body language only enhanced the burdens she had in her heart. mai˜ka however was excited, she had wonderful news.

Feruza herself was astounded at her mother's surprise, as part of the ongoing cultural festivities in Elhovo; a series of cultural dances were being organized. Her mai˜ka had got her an audition for a spot in the belly-dancing troupe. Feruza had been dancing since she was 4 and though she wasn't exceptional or talented, she was passable. Good enough to perform. Best part was if she got the job, she would be paid.

She was happy seeing the excitement on her mother's face. Lately there wasn't much to celebrate with Hristo's problems and mai˜ka's illness.

She pirouetted, her hands twisting and writhing to the music. She couldn't contain her excitement as she thought about the audition the very next day. Mai˜ka had nagged her to go to be saying that she needed her beauty sleep. How can one possibly sleep?

Feruza slept like a starfish, her long hands and legs dangling over the bed and head buried like an ostrich under her pillow. She groaned, as her darling mai˜ka was shaking her telling her to get up. Mai˜ka had gone overboard again as Feruza surveyed the mouth-watering delights that awaited her for breakfast. Looking at the clock, she gasped and ran for the bathroom. Only an hour and a half left to get ready. She hugged mai˜ka as she saw that her costume and accessories had already been packed. She only had to do her makeup and hair.

She rushed out the door bellowing a goodbye to her mother. She was too rushed to be nervous, she would barely make it in time; probably by the skin of teeth. The bus journey to her destination seemed endless as she kept looking at her watch so much so that the old gentleman sitting next to her had asked if something was wrong.

Finally, she arrived; however her heart literally sank as her eyes surveyed the swirl of colours and exotic beauties around her. She knew she was beautiful but talent-wise she was mediocre both academically and artistically. Both she and her brother Hristo had dropped out of school early not unlike their father.

In character, Feruza was ordinary, relatively simple and down to earth. Her beauty had not corrupted her and she wasn't driven to flights of fancy or anything like that.

The harassed usher ran calling out numbers as if there was no tomorrow. It was a mad-house with people running around shouting at each other. Desperate to avoid the pandemonium, she quickly step aside finding a corner to stand in. Her number was 40, she had learnt that there were 200 girls auditioning for 10 spots in the troupe. After 2 hours, she jumped as she heard her number being called out. It was now or nothing she reminded herself.

She had only 1 costume, thank goodness it was still in its pristine condition despite it being 2 years old. She knew she looked good, the attire with its gold-coloured modest bustier flattered her rather full breasts and were trimmed with faux gold coins, red trimmings enhanced her natural skin tone, a gold embossed straight skirt with side-splits just below her thigh and tiny bells had been sewn around her waistline. Thankfully Feruza had a full figure instead of the waiflike look favoured by many young girls. It wasn't that she was overly reticent but she found the run-of-the mill dancing girl costume rather tawdry. Besides, almost every girl was dressed in the eye-popping revealing belly dancer costume. Less was more!

In her pre-teen years, she had preferred short hair and fought with her mai˜ka who had flatly refused to allow her to cut it. Mai˜ka had curled her hair and the luxurious mane now fanned across her shoulders ending at her derriere, a string of red beads adorned her forehead intertwined with her hair. She had put on minimal makeup relying on her natural beauty to shine through. Her bashta had always proudly stated that the Petrova men and women were the best-looking at least in Elhovo.

She took a deep breath and walked to the centre of the room, a shy smile on her face.