o-0-o-0-o This started as a one-shot with Elena and Katherine because I always thought there was more to be told about them and what Katherine really feels in regards to her. I never quite bought that she could only just hate her. They are technically family after all, and that's where the idea for what's now this first chapter came from. Because of the positive feedback, I finally got around to continuing it. Elena and Katherine, in one way or another are very important and connected to pretty much everyone on the show and that, in addition to the fact that I will explore the bond that does exist between Katherine and Elena more in this continued version of my one-shot, is why I'm still keeping them as the two characters in the story's description/information section. I decided to build on Katherine and Elena, but also in the coming chapters, some sooner than later, you will see A LOT of Stefan, Bonnie, Damon and Caroline. There will also be a fair amount of Jeremy and Tyler and a character or two that I imagined up. Luka and Elijah will make some appearances and you'll see John and Isobel more than a little. Alaric and Jenna will pop up too, and the awesome Lexi and Shiela "Grams" Bennett will get some mentions. Liz Forbes, Bonnie's dad and cousin Lucy pop up, and so does Luka's dad.
This story is not just about Elena and Katherine at all, but there are so many relationships and bonds that are born out of a relationship or love of one or the other, or both of these girls. It's not only about the ties that exist between Elena and Katherine. It's about the ties that bind everyone. This is a story about family, friendship, love and loyalty.
I have 4 main ships on the show, but I think you'll find some moments to love for all the pairs that are out there that people ship (at least the ones I'm aware of) even though I personally do not ship them all. I did not go a romantic route for all of these pairs but I've tried to create some nice moments for everyone all the same. If you love Stelena, Steferine, Bamon, Forwood, Delena, Matt/Caroline, Beremy, Bonnie/Tyler, Stefan and Lexi, Damon and Katherine, Stefan and Caroline, Stefan and Bonnie, John and Isobel, Bonnie and Luka, Caroline and Damon, Isobel and Alaric, and Alaric and Jenna I think I'll be able to make you smile at least once before this story is finished
If you're like me and love the friendship between Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline, you'll have a lot that will hopefully make you happy.
This first chapter takes place a couple days after the events from the episode "Katerina" from Season 2. And now I think this intro bit is done. Time for the story. I really hope you'll enjoy it (and continue to enjoy it for those who already read it as a one-shot). Leave me reviews as you read and let me know what you think. I love hearing from the readers. Hope you'll like it! o-0-o-0-o-0
"I've walked the earth for more than 500 years. And in that time I've loved three people, really loved, three people. It's not a lot, but no one can ever say that I've never loved. When I love, I love with everything I've got. Yeah, I'm evil and selfish and a bitch- all true for the most part, minus those three people. Funnily enough, Elena, you're connected to every single one of them."
"Tell me Katherine, who did you love? Or who do you love and do you hate me?" Elena asked. "You might as well tell me the truth, because I'm gonna end up dying pretty soon. Maybe you will too, if Klaus really is on his way," Elena said, shoving some blood at Katherine.
Katherine just looked at Elena for a moment, considering not answering just to annoy her, but she decided against it. She could answer one question.
"I love my mother, my daughter and Stefan. And yes it is love and not loved because I still feel it."
"Do you hate me?" Elena asked again, truly wanting to hear an answer. She'd been wondering this for quite awhile.
"You not only look like me, but my blood runs in your veins. I'm not a stupid woman, and as annoying as you are you aren't stupid either, so don't act like it. Go away Elena. You should start running. Klaus will probably find you, but running at least gives you some time," Katherine said, not answering her question.
"Do you hate me?" Elena repeated.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Katherine grinned.
"Do you really want me to die?" Elena asked, wanting answers so badly.
"How's Stefan?" Katherine asked, not answering yet another question.
"You do love him, don't you? In your own way, you really do love him."
"Ding, ding, ding. Correct," Katherine answered flippantly. "What's not to love about him?" she said, closing her eyes, taking herself back to a different time.
"You messed him up, you know that?" Elena said. "He doesn't believe that you loved him and I think that sometimes carries over to me."
Katherine raised an eyebrow.
"Sometimes I think he really wonders if I love him. Sometimes he thinks that I want Damon, which I don't. I think it all goes back to you. I know he loves me and I know he wants to be with me, but I really wonder sometimes if he's completely let you go... And you, why did you let him go? Why did you leave him? Why didn't you take him when you ran all those years ago?"
"I never let him go. I checked on him plenty throughout the years and I always wanted to see him again one day. But I left without him because I loved him. If I didn't give a crap, I would have grabbed him from the cold, hard ground and put him in that carriage with me instead of kissing him goodbye and telling him I loved him and promising that we'd be together again one day," Katherine said, turning away from Elena for a moment.
"If Klaus did find me and I had Stefan with me, he would have been a goner too. I never wanted that. I'd never allow that. There was something comforting about the thought that even if that bastard did find me and kill me, that Stefan would still be out there, alive or, I guess existing, and well."
"What about Damon then, why didn't you take him with you? He would have been company," Elena asked.
"I wasn't in love with Damon, but I did care about him. I didn't want anything to happen to him. The main reason for not taking him, though, was because of Stefan. And while I had my fun playing around with the both of them, I shouldn't have pitted them against each other. Those two loved each other then, and they still do now, it's just harder to see. I knew Stefan would grieve my loss and it would be cruel to take away his brother away from him, too. Believe whatever you want, but I don't have cruelty in my heart where Stefan is concerned. I don't want him to suffer."
"I believe you loved him. Hell, I even believe you love him now. But how can you say you don't have cruelty in your heart for him after everything you've done so far, after making my aunt nearly kill herself? You had to know that after that, I'd finally take your damn warning about me and him not being together seriously and end things with him. How can you say you have no cruelty in your heart for him? When I went to end things with him he was crushed. He was devastated. He was destroyed. If you would have seen him, even you would have cried. Why would you want him to be sad like that, even if you hated us being together?"
"Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind," Katherine said.
"Seriously? That's your answer?" Elena asked, eyes narrowed.
"Let's get something clear. I want him back. Stefan is mine. I had him first, I made him. All those years ago, I fell for him. I fell hard and it freaked me out. I wasn't supposed to fall for him," Katherine stopped for a moment, turning away again. "But he made me care, he made me love him. He was the sweetest and kindest guy ever and it wasn't bullshit. It was genuine. I wasn't used to that. The things he would say and the way his face would just light up when I walked in the room were beautiful. I hate that he's with you for more than one reason, and you can believe whatever you want, but I hate seeing him sad. I hate seeing him down. Getting you two to break up served more than one purpose. It got you the hell away from him, which was for me, but the main reason was for him. If you two would break up, I thought maybe his feelings for you would start to lessen. Maybe it would kill him a little less when Klaus eventually came for you and murdered you," Katherine said simply.
"Oh," was all Elena could say.
"Oh indeed," Katherine said with a tired laugh.
Elena knew she wouldn't get any more out of Katherine about Stefan, but she wasn't done with her yet. She had so many questions for this woman.
"What am I to you, technically?" Elena asked. "Give me that at least."
"What the hell, why not," Katherine said, indulging her. "I'm telling you now; you're going to hear a lot of the word daughter."
"Tell me."
"You're my daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's, daughter's daughter's daughter," Katherine said.
"You didn't even have to think about that, that's pretty impressive," Elena said, a little bit in awe at how she didn't even have to think about it to make sure she had gotten it right.
"I know my bloodline, what can I say?" Katherine mumbled.
"Have you seen all of them, I mean, at one point or another?" Elena asked. She didn't know why, but she wanted to know this woman, she wanted to know more about herself.
"Yep."
"When did you find out about me?" Elena asked her.
"You're annoying me," Katherine said.
"That's nice, I don't care," Elena said. "I'll be dead soon enough and you don't give a crap, which is fine, but you owe me information."
Katherine took a long look at Elena and then shook her head as if she was trying to get something out of her mind. "I saw you the day you were born," was all Katherine said.
"My mother- Isobel, did she ever love me?" Elena asked, her eyes suddenly watering.
She felt pathetic. She hated this. She didn't know why, but she wanted this woman to talk to her so badly. Without this woman, she wouldn't even be here. Elena hated her for all that she had done, but right now, at what seemed to be very close to the end for Elena, all she wanted to do was talk to this woman, know about her, and learn about herself. The parents she was raised with were wonderful, and she loved them, but she needed to know where she really came from. Elena knew enough about her Gilbert side, but she wanted to know about her mother's side. Felt like she needed to. She needed to know who she was completely before she died.
She needed to know this woman in front of her, and her mother to know who she was. She needed to know the woman who caused the rift between the love of her life and his brother. She needed to know the woman who Stefan had loved, the woman who still loved him. She needed to know the woman who wanted to ruin her happiness with him.
She wanted to know this woman. She needed to, because no matter what kind of anger and resentment she had for Katherine, this woman, indirectly, was the reason she existed. She was descended from this woman. This woman was her blood.
"Elena, who gives a shit? This doesn't matter. Get the hell out of here, you moron! Run!" Katherine snapped.
"You bitch, run where, huh?" Elena yelled. "You said it yourself, he's going find me anyway, and I'm more worried for the people I care about than myself. If anything I want them to run. So shut up and stop telling me to run. It's not like you care anyway. Just shut up and tell me what I want to know. I know virtually nothing about who I really am and you owe it to me to tell me what I want to know before I die."
Katherine looked like she wanted to say something but she kept her mouth shut.
"Screw you and screw my mother too," Elena said, getting up to leave, feeling more than just pissed off.
"Of course your mother loved you," Katherine finally said, before Elena could leave.
Elena stared right at Katherine and this time Katherine didn't look away.
"You wouldn't have been able to tell that I was my mother's daughter by looking at us. I didn't look like my mother, but I had her eyes. You look exactly like me- you have her eyes too," Katherine said.
Elena wasn't really sure how to answer so she kept quiet, as did Katherine. Elena wondered what she was thinking.
"I don't hate you, Elena," Katherine finally said. "I hate that my guy loves you, and make no doubt about it, if we all survive I will try to get him back, but I don't hate you... Like it or not, you're mine. You're my blood. You carry on my blood-line. I look you in the eye and I see my mother, and I-" Katherine said, taking a pause... "The past year or two aside, you had a pretty good life, didn't you?" Katherine asked Elena.
"Yeah," Elena admitted.
"You're welcome," Katherine said sarcastically.
"Am I supposed to thank you for something?" Elena asked, sarcasm in her voice too.
"I've kept Klaus and the rest of his merry gang far away from you for nearly your whole life. I managed to keep your existence mostly secret from anyone who could do you harm and even when whispers started going around that maybe, just maybe, the Petrova bloodline did not end with me, I always managed to get them sent in the opposite direction. And your mother, though I never told her any specifics, has been trying to keep you safe too."
"I don't understand you," Elena said, frustrated. "You act like you hate me, but you say you don't. And you know what, I think I might believe you there. We're blood and I can see that that means something to you, but now you come back to Mystic Falls and you've been trying to set up everything so that you can hand me over to Klaus. Why the hell now, after you apparently looked out for me, are you so ready to let Klaus kill me? Are you just tired of running? I don't get it."
"I'll let you in on a secret if you do something for me," Katherine said.
"What do you want?" Elena asked.
"Tell Stefan that I love him. He doesn't believe me when I tell him myself."
"You want me to tell my boyfriend that you love him?" Elena asked.
"Yep," Katherine answered.
"Fine, I think he needs to hear that anyway, even if it's not for the same reason. I'll do it."
"Let's just say that yeah, I'm scared that Klaus is coming, and trust me, he is coming. And he's coming with nothing but death on his mind. You pissed me off big time a couple days ago and so did Stefan. I may have overplayed my willingness to sacrifice you. I might have a plan that could possibly put you in a whole lot of danger and still get you killed, but if this plan that I may or may not have works, you and I could be sitting pretty for a long time without any worries," Katherine said with a bit of a grin.
"Well, this plan you might have sounds pretty awesome compared to guaranteed dying."
"You need to find something, preferably lots of that something, if this plan could work," Katherine said. "This something you need, can be found in Mystic Falls, you just have to find it. I don't know where. Get your little gang together and start working your asses off."
"What do we need to look for?" Elena asked.
"It's called white-ash wood. Chop chop, Elena. The clock is ticking," Katherine said.
"Tell me more," Elena said, wanting more information.
"That's all you get right now. My game, my rules. Don't say I never do anything nice for you. Don't ever say I don't at least try to protect my own."
"Thanks- I guess," Elena said awkwardly and unhappily.
"Be sure to send Stefan my love," Katherine said with a grin, back to her typical bitch mode.