England, spring of 1492- CONTINUED

Part I

I jump off the horse and run off of the road for a distance before Trevor can speak. Suddenly I stop in the middle of the field, and plop down on the cushy grass, letting Trevor tie up the horses and then parade over to me.

"Katerina. You know, do you not? Why have you not fled? Do not look away from me, Katerina. I know of your shy look. I know of your mendacious look. I know what each and every expression on your face can mean. You can not deceive me, Katerina, and think that I am fooled. For if that is the case, than you are the wrong one, the fooled one. Katerina, tell me what you know, or your life is at stake."

My lips curve upward in a mocking smile. Pleasant pain spreads throughout my body as I clutch my sides, laughing manically.

Trevor stares at me with those wide, shocked eyes of his, probably thinking that I have lost all of my sanity. Soon enough, I wind down, as I am nearly out of breath from laughing so hard. I jump up and pace in front of Trevor for a minute before sitting back down.

"Trevor, do you have a secret?" I ask, dodging his immediate question.

"Why, do you?" Trevor responds quickly, warily.

A small smile creeps up onto my face, "As a matter of fact, I do. Now that I've answered your question, would you please answer mine?"

"Why does it matter so much, Katerina?"

I frown, annoyed that Trevor keeps dodging my questions even though I am doing exactly the same thing to him. I look up into his face, begging him to drop the subject.

I know what he sees; a bronze-skinned beauty with curly brown hair, large blue eyes and a "sweet" soul that he believes he loves. It was what all the boys back home saw. 'Such a sweet young lady', they would say. The sad thing was that despite all of this being true, not one of the could recite more about me than Trevor, even though they knew me for much longer than Trevor has. I suppose in a way, many would consider it a good thing, since Trevor is a handsome young man. But I do not consider it good; in fact, I consider it terrible since my suspicions may be true, and so I will have to just tell him them sooner.

I bite my lip, so hard that I draw blood, and look away, contemplating how to come right out with it since I do not want to lie to this honest Trevor.

"There was that day with the hole in the wooden floor," my stomach has bats flying around in it as I begin, "but it was just the beginning. I began to find many more odd things around the house, all connecting to either the entries that I had read in the journal, or somethings else. I kept going back there when I knew Klaus was out, since I couldn't bear the thought of him finding me pawing through his private possessions.

"About... maybe a couple months after I had found the alcove in the floor, I was passing the study when I had heard Elijah and Klaus talking. 'Listen, Elijah,' Klaus had said, 'I do not want the girl finding out about any of this, do you understand? This is a serious matter, for all of us. This ritual cannot be a failure, for there may never be another chance as good as this one'. I might have gasped or something because Klaus paused for a moment, just like he had heard me. When he resumed, he had said, ' Enough talk of this. Now why don't you run along now and find the stable boy? The horses have been needing a grooming.'

"That was about it that month, until I found a piece of paper wedged between two bricks behind the wood pile, nearly impossible for anyone but someone getting wood to find. It had come with the wood as I had pulled the log out, if I remember correctly, and it had said '12 more Midnights, B of D, Woods, Ritual.'"

A shiver runs down my back as I remember the curly, lengthy handwriting that the note was drawn out in. I glance at Trevor and see that he watches me carefully, speculating my every move, saying nothing.

"And then... never mind." I stutter as my feeble mind transports me back to that clear memory of that appalling day.

I sat in my bedchamber as I looked out into the brown grassy yard. Klaus had gone out for supplies from town, or so he claimed, and so 'twas only I and the servants. Elijah had not stayed with us for quite a while, since he currently visited family.

With every soul gone from these grounds and the land stretching out before my hungry eyes, I took the liberty of advancing down to the expansive meadow from my empty bedchamber and strolling around, collecting my thoughts of what home meant to me now.

The slim threads of grass waved in the slight gust of wind and the bees hummed softly and rhythmically, lulling me nearly to sleep. As I had adventurously and oh-so conveniently left my shoes and stockings in the mansion, the soft brown soil pleasantly squished between my toes.

The air hummed with the tension of an oncoming storm and the animals prepared daintily; squirrels and rabbits, deer and chipmunks, all raced about the shining field in anticipation of an oncoming storm that was likely days away. I noted how lively and upbeat the animals were whenever Klaus, Elijah and Trevor were out; the little creatures were so much more confident in their small actions.

As the trees swayed to the feel of the light air current, I had lain back on the rocky soil, not caring if my silk dress got dirty- I could always go straight to the maids; they wouldn't question it. The sun beat down upon my pale face as I listened to the chirping of the crickets and the thrum of the Hummingbird's wings.

I couldn't get the incident of the... niche in the floor, out of my mind. It plagued me day and night as I wondered exactly how I can into play in all of this. It couldn't be coincidence that Klaus took me in without question and taught me everything he knew without pay. There were no kind men in the world, I had learned. Or were there?

It could not be fate that led me to that hiding place for all of those documents, those secrets... Only for my mind.

A thin wail pierced through my deep, delving thoughts, penetrating my concentration. I automatically twitched in response to the seemingly animal shriek. It was high and shrill in tone and it chilled me nearly to the core. Shivers of despair ran up and down my arms and I intertwined them in front of my chest as I naturally did when I became spooked.

Curiosity finally overruled my good judgment, and so I made my way over to the eastern edge of the woods surrounding the sunlit field, all the while waiting for a catastrophe to happen. What, I did not know. But I did know this: every instinct in my body - every atom, every cell, in my body - warned me to stay away from the constant yowling.

It wasn't as if I hadn't heard the noise before; I had. I realized why it was quite so familiar: It wasn't an animal screaming. It was a human. Or rather, not one, but many. This time though, it seemed more urgent, more intense. My legs moved stiffly as I made my way to the brick building from where I had located the noise.

Klaus never used the structure, and forbid any of us to. He claimed it was unfit for life, that it was dirty beyond help.

My fingers scraped along the rough brick wall as I walked next to it with my fingers drifting along the side of it. The shrieks grew in number and tone and soon I had no choice but to cover my sensitive ears. The tragic moans and unbearable cries weakened my concentration for finding out what is in there.

I scooted along the outer edge of the old, crumbling building. My heart raced and my palms were sweaty despite the cool breeze. My tangled hair caught on twigs from the bushes surrounding the structure and I quietly yanked free, gasping with each hair lost. But somehow I knew that losing hair was the least of my problems.

My mind reeled with expectations of what I would find, with the horrific possibilities of the tortures that one could endure and that would make someone wail like that, all piercing and outright.

The door was in sight as I painstakingly stepped the last few feet to the doorway. I glanced back at the main house, hoping so hard that none of the servants would see me snooping and come to investigate. Chest tight with fear and hope, the door creaked open as I pressed my fingers to it.

"Hello?" I whispered into the darkness.

Hurt human groans and frightened screeches responded. As soon as my meek eyes adjusted to the weak lighting, my breath was stole away at the cataclysmic image of what stood right in front of me. I was a frozen statue as I saw the forlorn and calamitous state that people I knew, my own neighbors, were in.

What was happening?

I blinked my eyes to rid of the growing tears. How come this incident even came into my mind? It would have been terrible had I spilled this dark secret to Trevor. No, although I had told him all of the others, this one was mine to keep. Adjusting my eyes in the blinding light of the sun, I look to Trevor and decide to speak some of the truth.

"I have my suspicions, Trevor. I may look... not smart, but I most certainly am."

"Katerina, I know what this may seem like, but-"

"-do you? Do you know what it seems like to me, Trevor? I do not think you do," I say, all my old, pushed-down anger rising up, "No, you walk around all day, pretending to blend in. You think people do not notice it, as you think you charm them. Let me tell you, you have no clue what it looks like to me or to any other person, you creature from hell." My eyes open wide, while my jaw drops as I process what I had just said to him. He is my friend. Well, he was my friend. I would not blame him if he sucked my veins dry right now. I am a terrible person, saying that to Trevor. Why is it not possible for me to behave more lady-like?

He swallows, looking closely at the dirt, picking out each and every speck from the one beside it, "Katerina. D-do you mean... do you mean that? Is that really what you think I am?" Trevor asks, meeting my eyes.

I can do nothing but nod, as I am shocked beyond being able to comprehend my own words after what I had just said to him. My heart begins to wildly beat in my chest as I hold my breath, seeing that my life is nearly over as I stand there in the field, with Trevor taking slow, predatory steps toward me. My hands feel clammy, and my legs are shaking quite badly.

Five more steps unitl he reaches me...

Please, Trevor, can you not let me live? This knowledge does you no harm if I tell no one.

Four...

Of course not. You are a predator. Why would you let your prey live?

Three...

I should have at least been able to say goodbye to Mama and Father, if I am sentenced to death, right?

Death in two more steps...

I shall take this with dignity if this shall be my fate.

I raise my chin and straighten my shoulders as he takes one more step...

He leans in toward me as I close my eyes, prepared to die...

Goodbye, world.

Part II

My eyes fly open in pleasant surprise as his lips meet mine in a passionate, sweet kiss. As soon as I see of his probable motives to make me die a long, painful death, I gladly embrace it, pretending that I kiss Finn instead of Trevor, the only man I have ever loved, and Finn also is the Father of my poor, lonely child, though I would never tell my family that. I grow confused as he slowly and carefully backs away, Trevor's face showing nothing but joy.

Suddenly, his head snaps upward toward the house, and his face becomes a mask of sheer anger, his perfectly formed features twisting into another person altogether.

His hand grips my arm in a hard embrace as he tugs me along behind him, 'what is happening?' I wonder. My skin turns red from the pressure of his fingers as he clutches my arm tightly, weaving me in and out of the trees. Dirt spews as I struggle to escape the growing hurt of his grip. The field of flowers surrounded by trees suddenly looks like a beautiful but terrible place to die, and suddenly I am scared not only for my life, but also for Trevor, despite his... conditions. His actions are beginning to start to scare me, for he has never acted this way before. 'Is it his reaction to what I had just told him?' I wonder, knowing that it is quite probable. Subconsciously, I hear a whisper of a thought, saying, 'Danger, danger, danger...'

"Trevor? Stop this nonsense right now! It is ridiculous! Why do you act this way? We were enjoying a peaceful day and you suddenly grab me and yank me to my feet? It is not a gentlemanly thing to do, you know!" I scold him as my feet stumble for footing on the slippery grass.

When he looks at me, the Trevor I knew is no longer reflected in his eyes. Instead there is a wild beast who has urgent instincts that are being taken out upon me.