Katherine

1492

Deep in Romanian Lands

I had crossed the border of my homeland; Bulgaria into the neighboring Romania. Well in to my first month as a Vampire, and I have done nothing but feed and flee for my life from Elijah who's been hunting me relentlessly since escaping the sacrifice his monster of a brother; Klaus had planned to use me in. It feels strange I can no longer consider myself human, but considering the new-found power I have gained since completing the transition. The strangeness I now feel as Vampire bothers me little for what I have gained in return. Perhaps this will fade, the older and more powerful I become. But only if I can escape Elijah's hunting party! It was Trevor who had been the one to warn me of Klaus's intent. I thought it might have been Elijah, the man who to be the one to intervene given the connection that had been formed between us. I was wrong, it was Trevor's blind devotion that had allowed me to escape the clutches of the Mikaelson's. Had Trevor not been so enamored with me, I would not be here to speculate what might have been.

I had hoped to return to my family in Bulgaria, perhaps if not my papa then my mama would be filled with joy to see me back home. But that could no longer be; for upon my return I found all my family, papa, and mama…slaughtered. Klaus's rage given form by the slaughter of my family. The consequence of running from him. The Petrova bloodline wiped from the face of the world. Though that was not entirely true. Because there was still my daughter; born out of wedlock and taken from my arms at birth. I may not have been able to hold my own daughter in my arms, but it affords me some small comfort knowing she will never be endangered by the Originals. For they know nothing of her existence. And I would keep that to my grave should I ever be buried in one.

Elijah and his men were sure to have crossed the border of Bulgaria into Romania by now. It would only be a matter of time before they caught up with me. And given I have few precious hours left before the Sun rose beyond the horizon, I would need to seek shelter. Perhaps a cave in the mountains. I wonder if those are the Carpathian Mountains? Where Vlad Tepes built his great fortress to guard against invasion from the Ottoman Turks. I could perhaps seek shelter in the old ruins. While making my way through the Romanian Wilderness towards the mountains I recall a conversation I once had with Trevor, Elijah, and Klaus, about the "Impaler".

January 1492

It was by this time I had learned what Elijah, Klaus, and Trevor truly were. It was at one of Klaus's famous celebrations where we had gotten to the topic of my homeland Bulgaria, but not feeling comfortable with the topic, given the loss of my daughter and my own banishment by my father, I redirected the conversation to Bulgaria's neighbor; Romania.

"If we are to be discussing Romania Lady Katerina then we must speak of its greatest Legend." Trevor sipped his eighth or ninth cup of wine as he spoke. "Have you heard of the monster known as Dracula?" I was of course paying attention to Trevor speaking and his question, but I could not help but notice both Klaus and Elijah's expressions darken at mention of the name.

"Come now Trevor there is no need to bore Katerina with legends." Elijah seemed to try to change the subject, I wonder why that is? With my curiosity now enticed I turn to Elijah.

"I am rather intrigued by myths and fairy tales. After all I believed Vampires to be that and yet here three stand before me." My gaze goes to all of them but it ends on Elijah to who I give a soft smile. Smiling he meets my gaze for a moment, I feel myself blushing. Looking to Klaus I could see he was eying the two of us, his expression told amused but his eyes? Suspicious.

"Yes well…" Klaus began adding to the conversation. "I find this topic of conversation rather dull." It seems he wasn't a believer in the tale. "Dracula is a story fabricated to get unruly children to do as their told." Klaus finishes his wine. I looked to Elijah who was shaking his head, perhaps he did not agree with Klaus.

"Come now Niklaus, as Katerina has stated, we are believed to be fiction to the unenlightened, so who are we to say it is fabrication?"Elijah ask as Klaus has the cup bearer refill his glass. I think about Elijah's question, this "Dracula" seemed intriguing, especially giving the different beliefs he seems to inspire in Lord Klaus and Lord Elijah.

They exchange a look, one that I cannot decipher. After a moment, Klaus motions with his head towards me. A gesture for his brother to go on with the tale.

"Well some say Dracula is an avenging spirit, a Prince of Romania who perished in battle with the Ottomans. The Prince is believed to have returned from the grave to rid his land of the grip of the Turks." Elijah had a way of telling a story like no one I have ever met before. Klaus scoffed and shook his head. Though Elijah noticed he continued. "The hatred he bore for his enemies was so great that he would drink their blood from a golden chalice as he watched them suffer on the barbed pikes which he had his them impaled on. This made it so that their demise was not sudden and they would suffer for days before death finally claimed them."

"We'd get along marvelously." Klaus remarks whilst smirking.

Elijah ignores his brother while offering me an apologetic look. I nod in understanding and wait for him to continue.

"He did such cruel things to protect his people. If the legend of this Vampire is to be believed; one could not fathom what such a being would be capable of." It was a question to be pondered for sure, for Elijah was not looking to me but the Lord Klaus when he spoke. A slight shake of his head, Klaus gives Elijah a smile that I cannot read.

"Such a Vampire or any other would die at my hand brother. As cruel and formidable such as "Dracula" may be, he is still nothing compared to an Original." Klaus grasp Elijah's shoulder giving it a squeeze. "Now let's move on from this dull topic of discussion shall we?" Looks to me with a smile that more resembled a smirk. "May I have a dance Katerina?" He ask before extending his hand out towards me. I wanted to decline Lord Klaus's offer but that would be improper and bring even more shame on my family's name. I looked to Elijah, perhaps he would intervene on my behalf. But when Mt eyes fell on him, he refused to meet mine. Why? Did he not wish to continue our talk, or perhaps it is to not upset his brother? "

'He would rather endure my discomfort than risk the ire of his brother? Coward." I thought darkly to myself. That was the first time I ever thought ill of Elijah. I take the offered hand of Klaus who then proceeds to lead me to the dance floor. I look to Elijah who looked back on me with regret.

Present Time

Collapsing against a tree from fatigue from my growing thirst for blood, I lean against its bark to catch a breath I did not know vampires needed. Believing I only needed a moments rest before I could go on had cost me. In an instant five blurs of motion had come out of the forest surrounding me.

'Elijah's hunting party. But where is Elijah?' I think to myself while slowly rising back to my feet.

"We finally found you." The man in front of me said as he wore a smug expression. "Lord Klaus will be very pleased to hear of your capture." Grins arrogantly. "Hell, he'll even reward us for delivering you to back to him." His laugh mocks me.

"What will we do about Lord Elijah?" Another of the men questions the one who spoke first. The leader among them looks back to the one who had just spoken.

"Lead Lord Elijah away while we take the girl north. We'll need to put considerable distance between us and the rest of the party." The leader ordered the man. I let slip a laugh at their ridiculous plan.

"You are more a foolish brute than I thought if you think Elijah will fall for your treachery like he did with Trevor." I mock them, even though I was at their mercy. The leader takes a threatening step towards me.

"We did not fucking ask for your opinion wench." He practically hisses at me. Bringing his hand up as if to strike me, I close my eyes in anticipation of the blow. It never comes, for I could hear with my heightened hearing that the others had fallen under attack. Opening my eyes, I beheld a struggle of blurs, as my captors struggled with a new group of men who began to overpower them. The man the leader had spoken to had a pike driven straight through his chest. The body slumped to the ground as his skin began to turn gray in death. The other rogue men from Elijah's hunting party met a similar fate. Turning grey in death as their hearts were pierced through or ripped from the body.

Seeing his compatriots fall at these newcomers' hands, a look of desperation came unto him. Looking to me, the man lunges. Perhaps he seeks to use me as leverage into surviving the new threat that had dispatched his men in such a short time. To exhausted from my lack of feeding, there was no time to move away from him. I did not flinch, there was no reason, before the man had gotten close enough, he had been snatched out of the air and pinned against the tree I had been leaning on earlier. Gripping my attacker by his throat with only a hand was a man in a wolf's cloak, his long black hair falling over the top back of the cloak. From where I stood I could not make out my saviors face saves for his thin mustache and short goatee.

"You-" My attacker struggled to speak through the man's grip. "Lord Klaus will see you dead for…your inter…ference!" He manages to choke out. At my attackers words, my rescuer leaned threateningly closer to him.

"Klaus? The Old One dares break his word... to me?!" My savior's voice became low and dangerous. "You shall suffer the consequence of your Lord's betrayal." My attacker's eyes go wide in terror at the man's threat. He tries to break my rescuer's grip, but cannot; this new man was just too strong for him. "Before you meet the true death, take heart. You will soon be joined In hell with the rest of your Judas's." At the last word the man dropped the brute back on his feet. Coughing, my attacker rubbed his throat at looking from the man in the wolf cloak to the dark forest over his shoulder. Making a desperate attempt to flee, he is stopped as the hand that once held him firm against the tree now swatted his head clean off of his shoulders. I watched as my attackers now truly dead body fell to the ground at my rescuers feet, while the head? The head had flown clean off Klaus's man, but it was coming… straight at me! Not knowing what else to do I ducked under the head while tripping over the dress I had worn since escaping Klaus and Elijah's clutches. I stumbled right into the arms of the man who turned fully towards me, in order to see where my captors head would land. As we stood there in each other arms, slowly our eyes met as I slowly looked up from the ground. His facial features were tight, not a trace of excess skin. His eyes… a piercing blue, like the brightest blue sky. You could get lost them if one decided to stare to long. He bore into my own brown eyes, cocking his head ever so slightly.

"I…I…" I struggle to find words to formulate to the man. I feel his hands move up to my face. Before I even knew what was happening, a sickening crack had filled my ears as my world turned black.