1. Run

My name is Katerina Petrova and I was born in Bulgaria. The year is 1490 and I am ready to leave Bulgaria. I need the break, because I am unhappy at pa' pa. I was pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby girl, but she was illegitimate. I never got to see or hold her, because pa' pa took her from the maid. I'll never forget his unforgiving words, as he left without sympathy. He left with her as he said, "You have disgraced this family!" I was born here in Bulgaria, but I feel unwelcome these days. Pa' pa doesn't look at me and ma' ma is silent. They have disowned me, but ma' ma still cares enough to comfort me when pa' pa isn't around.

I hope that when I leave tomorrow, that I'll find a safe haven and be successful. These times are hard, because my family and I have always been poor. We have always just barely skimmed by. Hopefully, my life as I know it will change for the better.

It's a beautiful day, as I walk through a foreign place. I have left now I am somewhere far away from my village. I am quiet as I walk, because no matter what I have been through, I am a lady. I must act like one, because I will never meet new people if I don't act like I should. Ladies are quiet unless spoken to. Back talk and negligence gets a lady punished. I must obey the law of the sixteenth century, because it is the right thing to do.

Soon, I meet a man that is clearly rich; very wealthy. He says his name is Lord Elijah. It surprises me when he invites me to a ball. There's a fancy ball tonight and he would like to have me meet his brothers. I oblige, because he is such a gentleman and I am alone.

"Where shall I meet you, Katerina?" he asks me.

"Outside this village, Lord Elijah."

"When?"

"I shall be there one hour before," I reply. I then do a curtsy and say, "Thank you kind sir. You have been so graciously kind to me."

"As have you, Miss Katerina."

He gives me a smile and I smile back, before I watch him walk away.

An hour before the ball, I wait for him outside the village. He arrives and escorts me to a house not far from where the ball will soon be held at. He shows me to the bathroom and tells me that there's a surprise for me there.

When I go inside, I see a dress. It's hanging over the door. I take it and close the door. It's so beautiful with such fine trims and laces. I almost don't deserve it, because I have never had such a beautiful dress before. I put the dress on and look in the mirror. It fits and I'm so beautiful in it. Tears fill my eyes, but I bleak them away. I haven't been this happy for a very long time.

I come out in the dress and take his arm, so he can escort me to the ball and introduce me to his brothers.

It isn't long before I meet them and the ball becomes lively around us.

I do a curtsy.

"Lord Niklaus. Pleasure to meet you."

"Please. That's what my mother calls me. Call me Klaus."

I hold out my hand and he takes it, before he kisses it.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Katerina. You are the most beautiful out of all the woman I have met."

"Thank you, Lord Klaus. You are very gracious."

"This is Lord Trevor," Lord Klaus introduces me.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Lord Trevor."

I do a curtsy.

"Likewise, Katerina."

"Lord Klaus, it would give me great pleasure to let Katerina stay with us. She has been cast out and has no home," Lord Elijah tells his brother.

"She may stay," Lord Klaus replies.

He gives me a smile, before he and his brother walk away. His smile says he knows something I don't, which gives me suspicion and makes me uneasy.

Lord Elijah stands in front of me and says, "Be calm, Katerina. If anything happens, rest assure, I will protect you," as if he knows what I'm feeling.

The next day, Lord Elijah and I play chase for a while until I say, "You're supposed to catch me."

"If I catch you, the game will be over," he replies with a smile and slight laugh.

I stop and look at him.

We both stop and turn to see Lord Klaus coming from the village. He stops not far from us. There's some blood on his white shirt.

"What happened?" Lord Elijah asks.

"We got into a fight with a villager," he replies.

We watch him head towards the house.

Soon, I learn that I am a doppelganger and they are vampires. I'm fine with the truth of what they are, but it's what Lord Klaus will do that scares me. He wants to break the Moon Curse tonight, but he has to kill me during the ritual. So I run for my life through foreign woods with them after me.

When I trip over a trig and then get to my feet, I see Lord Elijah.

"Please. I can't run anymore," I beg.

"There's a cabin that way." He takes out a necklace and hands it to me. I take it and he continues. "Take this and show the woman there this necklace. Tell her that I sent you. Go. I can't hold them off for much longer."

I run with what strength I have left, and soon reach the cabin. I bang frantically on the door, hoping that I won't be caught.

A few minutes later, an old woman opens the door and another woman comes to stand at her side. I show the necklace as I hastily say, "Elijah sent me. Please. You have to help me."

A moment later, the younger woman turns and looks at the older woman.

"Bring her food and water."

The older woman nods once, and the younger woman says to me, "Quickly. Come inside."

I oblige and she closes the door behind me.

When I have eaten and have had water, the younger woman leaves the bedroom. I'm seated on the bed.

Soon, the younger woman comes back into the bedroom with Lord Trevor. The old woman watches them on the side lines, as they argue.

"I'm taking her back to Klaus. Maybe he'll show us some mercy."

"He'll sacrifice her."

"Then so be it."

"I love her, Rose."

"Don't you get it? Anyone that double crosses Klaus ends up in his debt."

While Rose and Lord Trevor argue, I slit my wrists with my dagger. Rose smells the blood and comes over to me.

"What happened?"

"I tripped. It happened in the woods."

"No. I would've smelled it."

She bites her wrist.

"No. Please, just let me die."

She forces her blood down my throat and then takes her wrist away. I gag and she and Lord Trevor go back to arguing. As they do so, I see a length of rope hanging from the ceiling. I tie a noose, stand on a chair, put the rope around my throat, and knock the chair over. Then everything goes black.

When I wake up, I'm on the bed and in transition to become a vampire.

"Why did you do it? I would've helped you escape," Lord Trevor says, as he stands over me.

"No. You would've helped me run, and that would never have been enough."

I get to my feet.

Rose comes at me with a stake, but I push the old woman between us. Rose accidentally stakes her, instead and the blood overwhelms my senses. I bite into the side of the old woman's neck, before I look at Lord Trevor.

"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

I go back to her neck and drink.

"Don't you see? She used your love for her against you," Rose tells Lord Trevor.

A moment later, I throw the old woman at Rose and then flee the cabin.

When I arrive back at my village by horseback, everyone is dead; slaughtered; I weep over my ma' ma who's on her back with her throat torn open. Pa' pa and the maid are on the floor in the same position with the same wound. Uncle Cornelius is against the wall by the door of the bedroom with a sword through his chest.

Soon, I flee from my village on horseback. Klaus did this to get back at me for running. He's a monster! He ruined my life!

Soon after, I go to England but am later banished I'm young and don't have anyone to teach me how to act human, so I was found out. So I travel around the world and make up my mine to go to Mystic Falls, Virginia.

When I arrive in America, I change my name to Katherine Pierce.

When I arrive in 1864, my story is that I'm an orphan, due to my family being killed in a fire. I stay at the Salvatore boarding house on their estate. I meet Giuseppe and then Stefan, his younger son. And then, when the oldest one, Damon, comes home from fighting in the war for the south to see his brother, I meet him too.

After a while, I let them know that I am a vampiress. I compel Stefan not to be afraid of me, since he's so afraid when I tell him. Damon isn't afraid, though. Each night, I give them a little of my blood.

When Pearl, another vampire and my friend shows me that there's something called vervain that some of the villagers are buying, this worries me. Secretly, I make a deal with George Lockwood to help me escape if a vampire raid comes. He agrees.

When the night of the vampire raid comes to be, George helps me escape after I give him the Moonstone. Sadly, I had to sacrifice Emily, a good witch, and all of my vampire family. I wish I didn't have to, but this is survival. Pearl and her daughter, Annabelle, are alive though. Anna escaped, and I made sure that Pearl would end up in the tomb. As for Damon and Stefan that I fell for, they were shot dead in the street by their father for trying to save me. They will think I'm dead when they awaken in transition.

2. Attacked

The year is 2013 and I live in Mystic Falls, Virginia. My name is Elijah Mikaelson and I am a vampire-werewolf hybrid like my brothers and sister. our father and mother are dead. Our family is unlike others, because we feud for so long. I'm not like my brothers and sister, though. I'm far from it. I live by loyalty, honor, justice, love, and doing the right thing. I love them, even though I'm not like them. I don't take things out on others and I don't go for revenge, like Klaus and Kohl and Rebecca do. But no matter what, I still love Katerina. And though we may feud, our words of promise still mean everything. "Now and forever," is our promise to one another. It means that no matter what, we'll stay together until we are no more.

It's a dark night, as I walk casually through the woods. It's one of the few things I enjoy the most. It's enjoyable, and it helps me think if I need to. Tonight is beautiful with a full moon shining overhead. Everything is quiet, except for the crickets chirping.

I stop, sensing it; a vampire. Then I'm attacked by him. He pins me down on the ground on my back, his hand around my throat.

"Elijah," he says.

"Yeah; and you are?" I say through the pain of his hold, having never seen him before.

"Judas; an old enemy of Klaus'; I'm sending a message to him," he answers me.

"What's the message?" I ask.

"You'll know soon enough," he replies.

In a swift motion, he stabs me with a dagger and I smell vervain. Pain surges through me, as he stabs me. Then everything goes black.

3. Helper

I'm taking a walk through the woods, when I smell the scent of another vampire. So I follow it and before long, I see an unfamiliar vampire walking away from Elijah.

At vamp speed, I throw him to the ground and stake him with a stake. Then I'm instantly kneeling down at Elijah's side. I smell vervain, but I don't care. It's Elijah. I pull the dagger out of his chest and toss it to the ground. His wound quickly heals, but he's still unconscious. I lightly pat his right cheek with my hand to wake him up.

"Elijah," I call. "Wake up. It's me."

After a few minutes, he slowly wakes up, and I smile down at him in greeting.

"What happened?" I question, though I'm sure I can guess.

"He called himself Judas and said he was sending a message to my brother. I don't know what the message was. He wouldn't tell me."

"Well, then we'll never know. I killed him," I inform him.

"Well done, Katerina."

I get to my feet, and then help Elijah to his.

"Are you okay?" I ask him.

"Not to worry, Katerina. I'm okay."

I smile and he smiles back.

"What do you say I walk with you?" I ask.

"That would be very kind," he replies.

So we walk side by side silently for a while. Sometimes, the silence between us tells everything. Elijah and I don't need words. We only need the smallest gesture, or to look into one another's eyes, to know what we want or need; and if either one needs help, we'll be there for one another. That's how our relationship works.

Once outside the Mikaelson place, we say our farewells and I head home to the boarding house. It's not much of a home, but it has extra rooms for me to stay in. It's not much of a home, because Damon and Stefan show me physically and verbally that I'm not welcome. What choice do I have, though? I can't be homeless.

4. Safe

I head inside and upstairs towards my room. Because Judas is dead, I won't tell Klaus that he went after me. He doesn't have to know, unless he asks.

I walk into my room and close the door, before I go over to my bed and lay down. It's time for me to go to bed. I'm okay, but I should sleep the vervain off. I close my eyes to let sleep come to me.

When I awaken a few hours later, I feel refreshed. Vervain doesn't give hybrids a strong reaction. It only happens with regular vampires. All it does to hybrids is make them black out. It's worst for vampires, though. It makes them weak.

I get to my feet and jump out my window. I would like to make sure Katerina made it home safely.

When I arrive outside the Salvatore place, I can hear that she has.

I smile happily at that. I then head back home and await when tomorrow morning is to come.