I had stayed by Rebekah's side for a while until I made sure she wouldn't do anything reckless after Niklaus' loss. I had promised I would be by her side and I did, but time was passing by and Katerina would be who knows where. Kissing my sister goodbye was not an easy thing; I even preferred to do it while she was sleeping as any form of goodbye was not really my thing. I had thought for a moment that leaving her a letter would help, but I was wrong. A month of searching for Katerina was filled with nothing but constant phone calls from Rebekah, leaving me empty handed. I had come to the point of turning off the irritating device that she and Niklaus had insisted I obtain long ago. There was no one I wished to speak to, not even Rebekah, and no one I trusted enough to aid me. I would find Katerina on my own. I had found a lead in Georgia, made an acquaintance of one who was loyal to her. It wasn't hard to find him, considering my family had made alliances for centuries. The family name was one to be respected and feared. The surprise on his face showed that my presence's power was still here. Answering my questions wasn't hard, he questioned the reasoning yet, he knew better than to speak it aloud. By the end of the meeting I had the information I needed and he would never remember this meeting ever took place.

His directions brought me to a town surprisingly not too far from Mystic Falls. I should have expected it. My knowledge of Katerina's ways explained already as to why I shouldn't have been surprised, yet I gave her the advantage of doubt as she was running for her life from the moment I turned her. A walk by the small town determined that Katerina would hang out on a few of them, centered around the place that would be her usual whereabouts, the town's dinner. As her friend instructed me, she used to spend her time there. Pausing for a moment to realize what was about to ensue, I entered the considerably renewed door, settling deep within the furthest corner. I did not wish to be noticed just yet. Scanning the surroundings with mild interest, my eyes casted towards her. It was her. Even if she had her back turned on me, the effect was instant. I could feel myself heat up by her frame, her luscious brown locks, the very presence of her igniting the same fire as so much time ago. I still wanted her. Maybe even more than before as now I could be with her if she wished to. After the ecstatic state I was, I finally came to notice that she was alone. That was an unusual occurrence. How could anyone not try to win her interest? I continued to watch in silence, in curiosity of what she would do but after a while the back of her head failed to be enough. I needed to see her. Her eyes, her smile, everything. How would she react at the sight of me? Would she be happy, scared, run away? Would I be able to say the things I wanted to tell her without backing up? All these questions and many more spiraled in my mind, releasing a low sigh. I would never find out if I did not try. Without a sound, I slid from my seat and into the bench across from her, elbows brushing against the brass surface. She had not seen me yet. Parting my lips just slightly to whisper "Katerina…" was more than enough. That simple statement of her name was all that was needed for her to draw the attention on me by directing her gaze on me.

At the mere sight of me, Katerina visibly tensed up, her fingers nearly shattering the glass between her hands, immediately checking around her for possible people that would seize her, but of course there was no one that would be considered a threat. She was in a mode of defense, weighing the choices she had in attempt to decide what the safest option would be. Looking back at me once she was sure I was alone, she stayed like that for a long moment. I could see her chest heaving with each breath; the hypnotizing features had not been altered in the slightest. My eyes lowered to the plush formation of her lips, lips that I had dreamt several times of tasting them, making them mine. She was a true beauty, my beauty. I was dragged from the sleepless dream in a second; the unbroken eye contact with Katerina came to an end the moment she shifted from her place, bringing the alcoholic drink to her lips, downing it instantly before striding out the door, her hair cascading from the move. She left without bothering to speak to me? No. I would not accept that. Without giving the opportunity to let her get away, I swiftly followed as she exited the dinner.

Once outside, the hot Virginia summer sun beat down, causing the sidewalk to have a near sizzling effect. I remained a mere few steps behind Katerina, weaving in and out of the humans littered along the sidewalk, beginning to get irritated by the amount of people being on the street at this time. Did they not have businesses to attend to? Something to do? From within a distance I saw Katerina take a sharp turn to the right. I walked by her path with seconds of difference, seeing we were brought to an alleyway, but it did not stop there. She continued on past the building into the thickened woods. She wanted to go away, away from me. She must have known I was following her.

I kept pace patiently for a few yards into the trees before Katerina spun on heel abruptly to plant a glare full of mixed emotion of anger and fear and who knows what else on me, her words coming out as a near snarl "What do you want, Elijah?"

I took an easy step forth but with caution, returning her gaze with an unfeeling expression, burying everything I felt in that moment as I prepared for the opposition that was sure to come, "I simply wish to inform you of your freedom." I paused, watching the wave of confusion wash over her face as she narrowed her eyes perplexed, then continued, "Niklaus is dead."

With blank features, I observed in silence the changes of emptiness that crossed Katerina's face, her expression not able to conceal the confusion, the procession of her mind to identify the trap that was sure to exist, coming to decide that there must have been something left unspoken. Aggravation and frustration coursed through her as she tilted her head to the side cautiously, the solid disbelieving scowl depicting that she did not trust me under the cruel words filled with her apparent annoyance "Do you think I'm stupid Elijah? I am not sure what game you think you are playing here, but I am not the foolish girl you met five centuries ago."

I shook my head in denial uttering steadily "There is no game, Katerina, you know as well as I do that if I had wished you dead you would be," my words were a simple undeniable fact.

"You wanted me dead, helped Klaus in that and yet the mighty Elijah failed, didn't he? What's to say you don't seek my death in order to please him even if I cannot be sacrificed for his plans anymore?" Katerina's brows lifted, the chestnut ringlets bouncing with the movement of her shaking her head in a mocking gesture as she said nearly bitterly "Don't waste my time with petty threats, if you are going to kill me, kill me." The mere sound of the words brought my hands to curl into fists against the urge to sink my fingers into them, my face hardening at the accusation. How could she be like this? How could I convince her differently? "Why must you believe I have an ulterior motive?" My question was nearly a sigh as the resistance I had expected began.

"Because you do not lie without cause, I have eyes in Mystic Falls; do you not think I would have done everything to find out which original's life I was bound to? I must say it was a tad ironic to find that it was in fact Klaus' line that I belonged to. So, you see…I am still alive and that leads me only to gather that he is as well, so you want something and you believe that by lying to me you will achieve it." Through she was right in a way as it was an effect of my compulsion speech, Katerina had begun to stroll in a circle around my stiff form the enticing sway of her hips failing to aid in the maintaining of my resolve, as her arms were folded firmly around her chest with an occasional elevation of one arm to point a finger at the emphasized words, her icy gaze roaming me entirely as she was examining me the whole time. My eyes followed every move she made unable to retract them or form an objection to what she was saying.

I should have expected that she would not believe me. After all I had imposed compulsion on her that dreadful day I let her go and my current admittance could not overcome the power of that. Optics narrowed shut for a second to not allow any of the pain over that brought me to a weakening position to her, even if by what it seemed I was at disadvantage and things could not get worse. The words came without thought or hesitation, out of the sheer need to be right and hope for a change on the way she viewed me whispering, "I sired your bloodline directly, Katerina…"