Skye Says: I've been writing nothing but Labyrinth fanfics lately, so I figured I'd take a break. This is my first Princess Bride story, so I'm not sure whether I'll write more.

Disclaimer: I own everyone except the charries from the movie, which I love to death and would never claim as mine.

Chapter One- The Letter and the Oath

Sicily, Italy

A STEADY RAIN was falling from the sky, just as it had been for several weeks.

Every day, the sun would come out, warming the land until about noon, and then the torrential downpours would begin. Though rain was a necessity, flooded streets and overflowing rivers were not.

Twenty-three year-old Caterina strolled along the desolate streets, puddles of rainwater soaking the hem of her crimson skirt. Crimson, though it was a color she herself despised, was what she had chosen to dye all of her dresses. After her lover had told her that it was scarlet that suited her best, Caterina had worn nothing but crimson, scarlet, and shades of purest ruby.

Really, she no longer had a reason to wear red any longer. Her lover was dead now, murdered by Prince Humperdinck of Florin.

Caterina swore, despite the fact that she'd been brought up in a family that simply did not use such language. She couldn't help it- she always cursed at the thought of the wicked prince.

Prince Humperdinck. A man she utterly loathed. He'd courted Caterina in his desperate quest for a perfect queen, but had been rejected when he'd asked Caterina's father for Caterina's hand in marriage.

"She is already spoken for, Your Highness," Vizzini had said, laying a hand on Caterina's arm. "Solanio, a merchant from Venice, is her fiancé. For Caterina to choose you over him… such a thing would be inconceivable."

Humperdinck was incensed. He demanded to be shown to Solanio immediately. Vizzini had lied, telling the prince that the merchant had returned to Venice. The next day, Humperdinck left Sicily, vowing to track down Solanio if it was the last thing he'd do. He swore that he would do everything in his power to prevent Caterina from marrying the merchant.

True to the prince's word, Solanio failed to awaken on the morrow of his wedding. Caterina had found him in his study with a piece of hammered steel protruding from his chest.

Caterina blinked back the sudden wave of emotions that washed over her and nodded politely to a passing stranger. It was a woman she knew, though she couldn't quite place the woman's name.

To add insult to injury, Prince Humperdinck had lost interest in Caterina after slaying Solanio. Vizzini, at seeing how grieved his daughter was, declared that Caterina would never have to even look at Prince Humperdinck again. Caterina's mother, Bianca, had also declared this.

Caterina sighed to herself as rivulets of rainwater- no, those were tears- coursed down her cheeks. It had been six long years since she'd seen her beloved slumped over on his desk, yet the grief still tore at her heart. She needed to move on, she knew that, but she knew that the only way she could move on involved seeing Humperdinck die.

Startled to feel a tap on her shoulder, Caterina halted abruptly and whirled around to find herself face to face with a messenger girl.

"Bongiorno, Caterina," the messenger girl greeted, holding out a sealed envelope. "I have a message for you."

"A message?" Caterina queried, accepting the letter and regarding it with curiosity. "From whom?"

The girl shrugged and ran off, leaving Caterina puzzled.

OoOooOooOoo

"Mother!" Caterina called, her ebony ringlets bobbing as she sprinted into the house, tracking water in off the streets. "Mother, I'm home! I have something to show you!"

Bianca, the wife of Vizzini and the mother of Caterina, staggered into the foyer groggily, looking half-asleep. "Caterina, must you shout? Honestly, you know I haven't been feeling well."

"I apologize for my outburst, Mother, but I wanted to show you this," Caterina replied, handing over the envelope. "I just received it from a messenger, though I don't know what it-"

Before Caterina could finish, Bianca had swiftly torn the envelope open and had hastily begun to read the letter inside. After a moment, Bianca's chocolate eyes lifted from the message, shining with tears. Caterina's mother swore quietly, despondently, then fled the room and sobbed furiously.

The letter, which had fluttered to the floor, was obviously not very pleasant. Caterina balked at the thought of actually reading it, but she also balked at the thought of not reading it.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of her- as it often did- and she gathered up the letter. Her voice trembled as she read aloud, but her words never faltered.

"Mistress Bianca and Miss Caterina:

It is with ill tidings that this message is presented to you. Please know that I offer my deepest condolences over the death of your husband/ father, though it is I who has caused his death. Vizzini had been employed by Prince Humperdinck to kidnap and murder Princess Buttercup, his fiancée.

Your husband/father had successfully taken the princess as far as the Cliffs of Insanity- and farther- when he had realized that I was pursuing him. After besting his Spaniard and giant, I made haste to go up against Vizzini himself. He challenged me to a battle of wits, and I'm sorry for you to say that he lost.

Know this, Mistress Bianca and Miss Caterina: Vizzini made me swear on my life that I would send you this message after he died. He held you both in the highest regards, I'm certain.

If you wish to know the agent of his death, it is called iocane powder. Your father was kind enough to tell me its origins, I might add. Australia, in case you were wondering. Iocane is odorless and tasteless, though it is the deadliest poison known to man.

If you wish to know the name of the man who delivered the agent of Vizzini's death, there is only one name I can divulge. It is a name feared by many and thanked by few, but it is a name, all in all.

Therefore, Mistress Bianca, know that it is the Dread Pirate Roberts who murdered your husband.

Therefore, Miss Caterina, know that it is the Dread Pirate Roberts who murdered your father."

A choking sob escaped Caterina's lips as bitter tears blurred the words on the paper before her. Surely, this is all just a nightmare, she thought as uneasiness settled in her chest. Surely, my father is still alive. There is simply no way that this man, this Dread Pirate Roberts, could defeat my father in a battle of wits. Father is- was- the smartest man alive… or, uh, dead…

Hearing her mother weeping in the next room, Caterina was forced to face the awful truth: her father and her mother's husband, Vizzini, was truly dead.

A hollow ache tore through Caterina's figure, threatening to suffocate her as she sank to her knees on the cold stone floor. Burying her face in her hands, the tears came unbidden. It seemed almost as if a dam behind Caterina's emerald eyes had finally burst. The floodgates of sorrow had opened once again.

Caterina realized that the intense pain searing her heart was almost identical to the pain she had faced at the arrival of Solanio's death. A bitter rage was consuming her once again, and the torturous flames of vengeance were burning her strong-willed soul. Only the act of committing murder would ease such an despicable pain.

"Now there are two men I must destroy: Prince Humperdinck the Foul and the cursed Dread Pirate Roberts," heartsick Caterina declared boldly, her harsh tone carrying a fierce finality. "I shall have my revenge..."

Caterina took a knife from the table nearest her, rose to her feet, and slit the flesh on her palm. As crimson- blessed crimson, her blessed crimson- blood bubbled from the wound, Caterina closed her eyes and repeated the oath. "I will have my revenge."

Her cut hand left a bloody handprint on the letter, contrasting with the black lettering.

Caterina smiled a twisted smile- or rather a crooked sneer- as the pact was sealed.

Vizzini had always told her of the importance of a blood oath- a promise sealed with blood should never be broken.

Caterina let a cruel cackle escape her parched throat as she continued to streak the paper with her blood, strengthening the oath. The parchment was stained a deep ruby. The room stunk of iron.

"I shall have my revenge!"

Skye Also Says: Looks like Caterina isn't as timid as she seemed at first. Vindictive little thing, isn't she? I would write more, but a) I just relapsed into a terrible bout of Writer's Block and b) this seemed like a fine place to leave off. I'm not sure what should happen next at the moment, but I will write more as soon as I'm struck by inspiration. Perhaps I should watch the movie again...