Chapter 2

-Whitehall Palace, London 1522-

Katerina entered the rooms of Queen Katherine for the first time. The woman was old but she could tell she had great beauty at one point. Katerina had learned from Anne's sister that she had many pregnancies that ended in tragedy, but she help to think the woman was kind of pushy. She was announced to her new mistress and behaved as she had made Anne and Mary teach her.

"Your majesty," she bowed.

"You may rise, Lady Anne," Katherine spoke with a thick spanish accent. The Queen looked her new lady-in-waiting over. Her curls were wild and her smile innocent but there was something about her eyes.."I was told your eyes were piercing blue"

"They are" Katerina asked compelling the Queen.

"I have never seen a set so bright, anyways my chief-lady-in-waiting, Lady Maria de Salinas, will show you your living quarters and your tasks. I am tired and am going to retire for a bit." Katerina was dismissed and followed Maria to where she would be calling home. When they entered the chambers she would be sharing with Mary Say. When they entered the room though it was empty. Katerina turned to the woman who would commanding her around. She knew she had to be careful when she used her compulsion. If she truly wanted she could have the whole court at her beckon call but that would bring attention to her in a way that would get her noticed by Klaus. She knew he would come eventually but she needed time to prepare. So instead all she did was compel Maria to honestly tell her everything she knew of the court and her new mistress. After she had Maria show her how to do her job which Katerina finished with ease.

The other ladies gave her a suspicious look but Katerina was used to that. Being a vampire made her face flawless which tended to make women dislike her. Katerina wasn't here to be liked but she needed these girls to do so if she wanted protection and she couldn't just compel it. Eventually Katherine will need to poison court with vervain, it would make them immune to her compulsion and hurt to eat, but it would mean Klaus wouldn't be able to compel them either. She smiled at the women and walked over to try and make friends with the very plain looking women. First there were the Stafford sisters, the daughters of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham who was executed for treason, Anne and Elizabeth. Their father was executed by Richard III for treason, but their mother married Jasper Tudor after his death. That, mixed with their richly royal bloodline made them look down on Katerina, for Anne's father was only a knight. Then there were the Scrope sisters who were just odd; Elizabeth married her Viscount husband's caregiver, the Earl of Oxford, after he went mad and died. Her sister, Margaret, still wore black in mourning of her husband who was executed nine years ago. He had been in the tower for seven years previously. Lucky for Katerina, the next lady was hard of sight as she was Anne's step-grandmother Agnes Tinley. Then there was Anne Hastings and Katerina's bunkmate Mary. The ladies seemed semi off-put by Katerina and she could tell she intimidated them. Katerina has become well educated as she ran and it showed.

When they were dismissed the ladies went to see which nobles they could find in court while Katerina went back to her chambers to read. She needed to find a witch, but she had to be careful about where she looked. She had heard some names, her top pick was named Bennett but she needed to get the woman to court somehow. She also needed to figure out her next move, she needed to secure a public place in life to make it harder for Klaus to hurt her. She also needed to find a source of vervain. She decided she couldn't give it to the whole court, it would be impossible; certain people though needed to be protected in that way.

The first couple of months were quiet, she had found a way to discreetly send a message to the witch and was learning her duties quickly. She had found vervain hidden deep in the garden and successfully dosed jewelry of all the ladies and the Queen. The Queen had honored her with the the title of maid of honor. She had slowly started to introduce herself to court and the men decided to swoon over Katerina. She made them all believe she had a blue eyes and kept an eye out for a husband that could keep her safe. She had been spending more and more time with a Lord Henry Percy. He was a bore but kind enough.

Katerina was able to continue this way for four years, she lived in the open in peace for four years and then he arrived. Not the man she feared but the one she once adored. She was following Queen Katherine into the dining hall to meet King Henry and his court for a feast, there were knew visitors from Italy, he was the visitor: Elijah Mikaelson. She hid her surprise well and kept her head down but he knew he saw her. She kept her calm as long as her duty demanded and then she left running for a place to hide the palace but it was futile. One minute she was running the next he had her pinned to a wall.

"Katerina," he whispered. She always loved the way her name rolled off his lips but this was not the time to concern herself with that.

"Elijah, so glad to see you," she choked out.

"My brother has been looking for you for awhile, give me one reason I shouldn't tell him your here like a sitting duck," he growled letting her go.

"Because you love me. And because I am not quite the sitting duck you think I am. I might be vulnerable but I am no longer Katerina but Anne Boleyn and people will come looking for me. More importantly it'll lead to Michael to come looking." she said.

Elijah's eyes rippled, "How do you know about Michael?" he asked deeply.

"I have spent the last thirty years learning about Klaux. I know about the imposters you have running around in your place. I know Michael is trying to hunt you down. I know you wanted to save me..." Katerina said shyly.

"I found a way to save you, but you ran and became a vampire instead," Elijah replied sadly.

"It might not have worked, and I couldn't take that chance." Katerina said.

"I will not reveal your secret but you need to make your position stronger of you plan to stay in the open, Klaus will find you eventually and he will be ruthless when he comes, if you rise and give those around you vervain as you did the Queen you shall be safe,"he said and then he was gone.

Katerina headed and grabbed her hood before sneaking out of the castle. Down in the village she arrived at an inn where Ursula Bennett resided. Ursula was in a trance when Katerina walked into her rooms, "Ah so you have seen Elijah, how did it go?"

"Well I'm not dead so there is that. He promised to keep my secret but warned me that I'm not safe enough from Klaus, that I need to raise me station," Katerina replied haughty.

"Oh really?" Ursula asked standing up, her dark hair flowing over her tan skin. Her mother had defied her parents and left her tribe in Southern Africa to travel north and learn the ways of the Egyptians and eventually the world; she was a witch and wanted to learn more than the ways of her village. When she eventually arrived, she met a French man. They fell in love and he whisked them back to France, but when her mother fell pregnant he left her to her fate. He had a wife he never mentioned and so Ursula was born a bastard. But she was also a witch and had light enough skin to not stand out and learned how to survive. Katerina had befriended her in France and they were quite the troublemakers together. "Do you trust him?"

"I do, Elijah is..honorable above all else. He won't tell Klaus, but he is right. Sooner or later he will find me." Katerina sighed.

"So what are you going to do about it? Where do we run next mon amour?" Ursula ran her hand under Katerina's chin, caressing her face.

"You won't like my idea, but it might be my best bet and I even had an out if it goes badly." Katerina said.

"What's your plan?" Ursula asks sitting in her lap.

"Become the Queen of England." Katerina smiled.