A/N: First story. Takes place during the time when Kat and Elijah were being 'friendly'. Enjoy!
[1]
England, 1492
Katerina Petrova was an utterly cheerful young lady. Most of the time. She could easily be compared to a warm breath of bouncy joy and compassion, at least so she had been informed of, mostly by Trevor, the sweet Baron of Pantene, who was completely enamored by her. He was pleasant and helpful, but unfortunately not the one Katerina so desperately seeked and yearned for affection from.
Klaus - her suitor, had kissed her hand lightly with the so typical dark, brooding look in his bottomless, grayish, navy blue eyes the last evening and in a dull voice sworn to spend today with her, but had he returned from his nightly adventures yet? No.
Katerina struggled to suppress the rapidly increasing disappointment, rising inside of her.
"Katerina."
The voice was calm and deep, and she lifted her head only to look at the endearing being of Klaus' older brother, Elijah Mikaelson - a tall, lanky man who posessed nut brown, neck long hair with slight waves, thick eyebrows and a hard facial expression.
He was also - usually - the one to keep her company on the gloomy days when her actual suitor ran off.
"My Lord," sighed Katerina, quickly rose from her chair and granted him a graceful, brief curtsy. "How is your day going?"
"I must say; it just got better."
Katerina puckered her lips. "How?"
Elijah's face softened a bit and she could even see the small hint of a smile in the corner of his thin mouth.
"Come," he uttered gently, reaching out his hand towards her. "Let us go."
"My Lord, why did you bring me here?" wondered Katerina, her voice dipped in a lousily covered mix of sadness and frustration. She and Elijah were strolling through the garden of the Mikaelson family, with ruby red roses of the highest delicacy, and grass as fresh and fluttering as the breeze itself. Katerina loved this place. It caused her to be reminded of lovely memories of her mother, who simply had adored roses and had always been so happy whenever Katerina's father had handed her a boquet.
"I..." for a brief moment it seemed as if Elijah was seeking for the right words, but he gathered himself fast and spoke; "Figured you could use some fresh air. Some entertainment, given that my brother is not around."
Katerina found herself smiling at what he said. He was thoughtful. "That is extremely kind of you, but I do not think there is a thing that may be able to lighten my mood today. I'm sorry."
"Then why are you smiling so sweetly?" Elijah was obviously amused.
"Oh." Katerina giggled, realizing that he was right. It did not take as much of an effort as she'd thought to get past the fact that Klaus had once again broken one of his hundred promises.
"You have such a remarkable decency, My Lord," she complimented blissfully and wiped some non-existent dust off her dress. "A bit difficult to find in men these days."
"Oh, why would you say such a thing?" Elijah replied. "There are plenty of perfectly decent men in this world. Only perhaps not... nearby." He chuckled.
"That is what I meant."
"And based on your courtship with my brother, I surely did assume you were quite if not largely fond of him," Elijah said. "Am I wrong?"
"No, of course not."
"I do not mean to be ongoing, but is there something about Klaus that is bothering you?"
"No. Him and I are happy. Very much so."
Elijah blinked, tongue-in-cheek. "But if something was bothering you, it'd be private."
Katerina nodded. "Yes, My Lord."
"Hopping from one subject to another; Trevor seems to me like an excellent young fellow. If you were ever to end your courtship with Klaus, he'll most definitely be ready to sweep you away the very moment after."
"Why do you say that?" Katerina thought it horribly rude and disrespectful of him to speak of her courtship with Klaus in that way. It was like Elijah had the future all mapped out, and was just waiting patiently for fate to kick in.
"Just in case you weren't aware of his tremendous affection for you," Elijah said.
"I am fully aware of - " Katerina let out a heavy sigh.
She decided to let it go.
Several minutes went by as they walked, and Katerina could feel Elijah's gaze burning in her side the whole time.
"Do you know a game we can play?" she asked, turning to him and abruptly fracturing the silence. Elijah raised an eyebrow, and narrowed his eyes.
"A game?" He looked surprised. "Why would we play games?"
Had he never played games with his siblings before? Katerina had used to play tag with hers all the time.
"Well, what else to do when you are bored?"
"Are you saying I bore you?" Elijah smiled slightly.
Katerina grinned. "Let's play tag! As I run, you run after and capture me." When Elijah did nothing but stare blankly at her, not quite getting what was going on, Katerina took his hand, and spun into his long, muscular arms. It was a lot of wind today, and being near Elijah made her feel warmer, a sensation she'd longed after from Klaus these past few weeks.
"Like this," she explained. "And if you manage to do that, it'll be my turn to chase you."
"I think I understand," he chortled.
"Come on!" Katerina grasped the skirt of her dark green dress and stormed as fast as she could, but Elijah stood still. "You have to chase me - "
Suddenly, he spurted after her, a playful look decorating his ivory white face. Katerina giggled loudly as they ran, the wind whipping her hair, kissing her skin with its cold lips.
Elijah gradually stopped after a short while, but Katerina kept going, and eventually also stopped by a small bench made of stone. "You're meant to catch me," she said, smiling.
"But if I catch you, the game will be over," Elijah replied and threw his arms outwards, his eyes dancing.
"Thank you for entertaining me."
"You looked lonely inside, so I took pity on you." He peeked at her, the corner of his mouth jerking. Normally, Katerina would have been insulted, but not today.
She tilted her head slightly to the side and sat down at the bench with a silent sigh. "Klaus promised to spend the day with me, but he never returned home from the night."
"Yes, Klaus does not live by any rules but his own," Elijah muttered, obivously unhappy with the sudden shift of theme.
Katerina blinked. "He is a very charming man. Hard for any woman to resist, I suppose."
She had not expected an answer quite like the one Elijah gave her; "And yet?"
"I know not why he courts me," she admitted, looking up at him. "He seems to not care about me at all."
She was unsure if she should share this with Klaus' brother, but he was a good man. He would not tell.
Elijah crossed his arms tightly over his broad chest, frowning. "Many a union has been built on much less," he stated.
"Is it wrong to... want more?" Katerina asked.
Elijah sat down with her and asked carefully; "Do you have more with Trevor?"
Their eyes met for a hasty second.
He looked as he would wither away in a heartbeat. How lost he was. Even when he was smiling, Katherine could still sense a heavily concealed agony.
Katerina understood that she was having one of those irritating inner monologues again, shook off the sudden trancelike feeling that had sunken on to her and stuck on a rushed, stiff smile.
"Trevor believes that he loves me, but... true love is not real unless it is returned." She glanced at him. "Do you agree?"
Elijah remained still, but at last came up with a gruff reply. "I do not believe in love, Katerina."
Katerina's eyebrows went upwards. How was that possible? Everyone believed in love, didn't they?
"That is too sad for me to accept, My Lord," she said tenderly, leaning closer, experiencing a dangerous need to touch his arm or hand, somehow.
"Life is too cruel. If we ceased to believe in love... why would we want to live?"
Elijah's mouth curled into a careful smile, and as their gazes once again clashed, his hazel eyes forcelly drilled into Katherine very soul, causing redness to flare up in her cheeks.
Everything had been fine. Why did he constantly feel obligated to ruin it by looking at her like that? With his eyebrows lowered, his eyes so intense, passionate... Sensual...
"What do I interrupt?"
Katherine flinched and spun around.
"He's returned," Elijah said, rising from the bench. "Long night?"
Klaus' white blouse and jacket were both covered in carmine red blood, but he was smiling smugly like there was no tomorrow, seeming unharmed.
"What has happened?" asked Katerina, stretching out her hand to look at the fabric.
Klaus stopped her by taking her shoulder, jerking her towards him. "Some villagers picked a fight at the tavern," he said smoothly. Suddenly, Katerina found herself walking after him, not asking any more questions.
She rotated her head to glance at Elijah where he stood, unable to say anything.
"Bye," Katerina mouthed, but knew he couldn't hear her.