A/N- Man I don't even know what I did with this chapter.
So continuing on from last week, there was some confusion, Katherine and Elijah are IMAGINING their HUMAN lives as they would have been in 10th and 15th century. Although I forgot the human part and wrote a different ending to this story where Elijah turns Katherine. I don't know people I've had a lot of weird food today.
Also, for those of you with profiles, where can I go/how do I check how many followers I have?
Katerina had been stunned the moment she had met Lord Elijah, as if all air had left her body.
She had managed to utter the proper greetings and bob a curtsy but her eyes had stung every time they'd left his face.
And he…
He had looked at her with such wondrous disbelief.
He'd made her feel beautiful but nervous all at once.
She spoke slowly that night, enunciated her English accent, made sure that she was charming and witty.
Or as much as she could be.
Somehow, she and Elijah had spent most of the night standing there in silence, struck dumb by each other's company. Their teasing misconstrued and their jokes falling flat.
Niklaus had arrived, late to his own party and greeted her in Bulgarian, she had giggled in joyous disbelief but when he had tried to lead her away from his brother, away from Elijah they'd both stuttered and stammered about the fascinating interest of their discussion which they couldn't possibly be drawn away from.
Two golden eyebrows had shot up to meet the golden hairline but he had yielded and left them to their exquisite awkwardness.
But at the end of the evening, when she was lingering on the stairs, feigning difficulty with her cloak so she could delay her leave, she gazed longingly about for Elijah only to jump in surprise when he appears in front of her.
Ever so gently, he undoes the tangled knots that paired with a good gust of wind would likely strangle her and boldly she reaches out and rests her hands atop his,
"Thank-you my lord"
His lips are thinned, he nods and bids her goodnight as Trevor leads her to the barge.
She spends the night tossing and turning in her bed, one moment recalling how much he had lingered in her company and the next moment remembering that she had been as witty as a donkey.
She could barely rise the next morning, she was pale and drawn from exhaustion.
She is feeling colourless and dresses accordingly in a grey dress with black sleeves and kirtle.
Dispiritedly, she does not join Lady Grey for breakfast but sinks into the window seat in the gallery with an ungraceful thump.
She is resting her head against the cool windowpane when she hears a footstep on the rushes, she looks up curiously and wonders if she is dreaming.
Lord Elijah is standing before her in the chilled gallery, a vision so unlikely that she pinches the skin on her left hand to ensure that she is not dreaming.
The corner of his lips upturn ever so slightly and he comes forward just as she tumbles to her feet,
"Good morning my lord" she murmurs, so stunned that she fails to hold up her hand and he has to reach down to lift it up to his lips,
"I did…I was not told that you were joining us today"
He coughs, "No…I…uh" he winces and tries again,
"I received word…this morning that Lady Grey has been summoned to court immediately, she is leaving today in fact and I thought…perhaps…rather than you being left here alone that you might wish to come stay with Niklaus and myself"
The bells of the local church began to toll to ring in the seventh hour of the morning.
She could barely hear them herself, she was too busy noticing the faint blush that graces his cheeks.
A lock of her hair tickles her neck and she realises that she'd yet to dress it, she reaches up to tuck it out of the way but Lord Elijah still holds her right hand in his own, she swallows and tries to find the right words,
"I…thank-you my lord, you are most kind"
He smiles and escorts her down to the courtyard, where she takes her leave of an absent-minded Lady Grey as Elijah has her horse saddled and brought around for her.
They are three miles down the road before she remembers that she hadn't packed a single possession and when they arrive at the castle, a team of servants are sent hurriedly back to fetch her things.
Everything proceeds wonderfully after that.
They both find their voices and natural wit in the bright days filled with games in the garden or rides through the forests and long evenings when he read to her the romances or she played the lute for him until weariness overcame her and he'd escort her upstairs to her chambers, infuriatingly kissing only her hand as he bade her goodnight.
That is, until the summer turned to autumn and he chased her laughingly through the garden, only this time he caught her and held her in his arms as he kissed her mouth and broke away only to utter two words,
"Marry me"
She wasn't sure if it was a question or a demand but she eagerly said yes and kissed him back.
They are married a month later in the castle church with their neighbouring lords in attendance.
She is married in a gown of marigold yellow, with matching ribbons in her hair.
Everyone wishes her well and though Niklaus arrives late to the celebrations he does not spoil her happy mood.
She is dancing with one of the many Plantagenet girls when she notes her husband's absence, she goes in search of him and finds him in the side hallway in an intense conversation with a red head woman with a sour face.
The woman departs and she laughingly accuses him of searching already for a lover. He pulls her into his arms and whispers in her ear that he doesn't plan on having the time or the energy to find a mistress.
She quivers and suggests that it rather might be time for their wedding night.
Unfortunately Niklaus insists that they bid the guests goodbye first and the ensuing ribaldry and suggestions make Katerina's cheeks burn bright red.
Elijah sends her ahead to his bedroom with her maid and stays behind to ensure that nobody follows them in the interest of witnessing the consummation.
She dresses in a white sheer nightgown and tries to untie all the ribbons from her hair, her hands are trembling and the maid assures her that all will be well, that she has married a gentle and proper lord and that after the first time it shan't hurt so badly.
She knows this. She inhales slowly and sits on the edge of the bed, running over and over in her mind the farce she has prepared for the night.
Elijah can't know that she isn't a virgin, she would be disgraced.
He comes to her shortly, still dressed but with the assurance that nobody is within earshot of their chambers.
She laughs and he draws the heavy curtains of the bed to keep in the warmth and offers her wine, she shakes her head and waits nervously in the enclosed space as he undresses and comes back in only a nightshirt.
They kiss and he lays her down gently against the pillows, hovering over her and kissing her again and again until she is breathless and his hands lift up her nightgown, over her head until she is naked before him.
She blushes and covers her breasts with her hands but he draws them away and replaces them with his lips until she is gasping and writhing against him.
His nightshirt ends up on the pillow beside hers and she steals a glance before blushing and turning her face away. He takes her chin in his fingers and kisses her, muttering sweet promises and assurances before he runs his hand down to her thighs and parts them so that he can guide himself to her warm entrance and-
She gives a sharp cry and unintentionally bucks, her nerves having made her muscles tense, tears spring to her eyes and he gathers her into his arms, apologising for the pain, swearing that it shall only hurt this one time.
Relieved that her act has been believed, she settles back against the pillows and he gets on with his…well, the act and she finds that after the initial intrusion it really isn't so unpleasant.
In fact, the second time it is rather nice and the third time he rolls onto his back and tells her to pretend she is riding a horse and she finds that bedding can be quite enjoyable.
She falls asleep after the fourth time and wakes the next morning wrapped up warmly in her lord husband's arms.
They kiss and cuddle, laughing when he finds a yellow ribbon still tied in her hair and claims it for his own until his manservant brings in food and he throws back the curtains to welcome the day as she pushes back the covers.
When her confusion and distress over the lack of 'buckets and buckets of blood' that she was told was custom at a consummation becomes apparent he chuckles and assures her that it is only a little bit of blood and when she is not comforted, he takes a book knife from his desk and pricks his wrist, ensuring that the sheets are appropriately stained.
After they break their fast in bed, feeding each other the bread and cheese, Elijah gets dressed and sends in her maid who Katerina makes pleasant small talk with whilst sending prayers heavenward in thanks that her ruse worked.
She is finally married. Finally respectable and looks forward to her new life.
That winter they are invited to Court for Michaelmas and Katerina goes with sumptuous gowns and songs on her lips as she and Elijah ride down from the north, stopping in the homes of nobles who readily welcome the married couple.
The Court is a dance of delight and finery.
King Henry VII determined to prove his royal status by showing off his wealth to the kingdom.
There are endless days of dancing and general festivities that Katerina enjoys right up until the moment she realises that she has caught the king's eye and that he would very much like to make her his royal mistress.
Memories of her ruin haunt her at night along with the great loss she suffered. So no matter how bright the sparkle of the jewels he sends to her or the promises he sends through missives, she sends back each present and makes sure that everyone can see how deeply she is devoted to her husband.
When the king invites her out to hunt in a party of two she claims illness and spends the day in bed with Elijah, frolicking with him between the sheets as she teaches him a few words in Bulgarian and he teaches her to read in English.
She receives a carefully worded letter from her cousins in February, telling her of an orphaned girl that they have in their care, a sweet little child of two years called Nadia,
"Like your sister" Elijah notes, stroking her side as she sits on his lap,
"It is a common name" she tells him quickly,
Her cousins ask if she, in her new station, might be able to spare coin for the child and she barely has the request worded in her mind before Elijah promises that they will send a bag of gold for the little girl.
She thanks him warmly and her hand strays to her still flat stomach before they are distracted by a messenger knocking on their door with another gift from the king for her to send back unopened.
They leave Court suddenly in March, after King Henry, furious and impatient with Katerina's refusal, challenges Elijah in the joust and, despite having his armour misplaced so that her husband is forced to ride without cover, is humiliatingly defeated being knocked to the ground while Elijah walks away without a single scratch.
Niklaus is not at the castle when they return, a week or so after her marriage there was a strange night she could not quite recall and both brothers went missing for two days before returning and since then, Niklaus had clearly been restless and spoken often of visiting their sister Rebekah in Rome.
Katerina herself suggests that they might join his siblings, in need of distraction as their first year of marriage draws to a close and she has yet to show any signs of being with child in spite of sharing her husband's bed every night and many afternoons.
Endearingly, Elijah never comments on her continuously flat stomach but insists that they remain in England for a while yet, giving vague answers when she questions him.
It is not until July, a week after her birthday that she finally discovers why.
Her husband had been absent for the entire day but she hardly noticed, she had been in the creamery supervising the maids when his manservant asks her to join her lord husband in the Great Hall.
When she comes upon him, he takes her hands and draws her to the window, kissing her tenderly and telling her that he loves her.
He then notes how she had been sending a purse of gold to her orphaned cousin in Bulgaria each month which she panics at momentarily before he tells her that he thought, as they had a great deal of wealth and no dependents, perhaps it was their Christian duty to take the child in?
Her world spins about her and she can hardly bring herself to nod before the newly employed nursemaid comes in with the bundle of a child in her arms.
At first glance, Katerina is terrified that Elijah will see the resemblance between them, but he only greets little Nadia cheerfully, kissing her tiny hand and introducing her to his lady wife.
"Zdraveĭte Nadia" Katerina murmurs holding out her arms and gathering her daughter against her chest.
She tries not to weep with happiness as she presses her cheek to her tiny head.
Her daughter is bewildered by the sudden changes in her life, used to sleeping in a bed with four other children and now in a large room by herself, in a foreign country where only Katerina speaks her language and she is taught to speak English.
In a large castle filled with people who give her as much food as she could possibly want and who dress her in fine clothes every day.
Katerina diligently hides how deeply she loves her daughter and Elijah chalks up her motherly tenderness to natural feminine temperament.
He too, cares dearly enough for the little girl that when he hears her crying at night, he will bring her back to their marital bed so that they can tell her fairy tales until she falls back asleep.
Another year passes and Katerina finally bears a child, a much longed for son who Elijah requests they call Henrik after his lost brother.
Their son thrives but Katerina somehow is unable to fall pregnant again, although Elijah never condemns her for it, assuring her that two children is enough for him.
Time runs quickly after that and Katerina's steps slow and her youthful glow fades.
Nadia however, grows more beautiful by the day.
When she is twelve, the resemblance is too great to ignore and Elijah confronts her with the indisputable fact that she was as much a virgin on their wedding night as he was.
She tells him that he can either accept her for all her faults or she and her baseborn child can leave.
Not that she ever has to. By the time she was five years old, Elijah loved Nadia as if she were his own, he considers himself her father and losing her would break his heart.
He offers to take them to Bulgaria, in the hope that Katerina could reconcile with her family.
She steps into his arms and they share a kiss of reconciliation.
Both their children marry exceptionally well, happily and advance at the English court despite the insanity of the reign of Henry VIII.
Their castle is a home of happiness and laughter as three generations settle under the one roof, grandchildren always underfoot and friends always coming for
dinner.
She lives to the ripe old age of eighty before she and Elijah die in each other's arms.
Well-loved and well content.
A/N- Next chapter. Nadia comes to the Garden District to meet Elijah for afternoon tea.
A/NN-
You know what, here's the original ending I wrote.
"Zdraveĭte Nadia" Katerina murmurs holding out her arms and gathering her daughter against her chest.
She tries not to weep with happiness as she presses her cheek to her tiny head.
Her daughter is bewildered by the sudden changes in her life, used to sleeping in a bed with four other children and now in a large room by herself, in a foreign country where only Katerina speaks her language and she is taught to speak English.
In a large castle filled with people who give her as much food as she could possibly want and who dress her in fine clothes every day.
Katerina diligently hides how deeply she loves her daughter and Elijah chalks up her motherly tenderness to natural feminine temperament.
He too, cares dearly enough for the little girl that when he hears her crying at night, he will bring her back to their marital bed so that they can tell her fairy tales until she falls back asleep.
A year later he receives a letter from his brother at dinner and announces suddenly that they are invited to join his siblings in France, where they had gathered after the death of the Borgia pope.
Katerina is surprised when he asks her how soon she can pack and argues that they can hardly leave with the harvest season coming up and Nadia finally coming to grips with the English language, furthermore, she is only four years old and the journey would be a gruelling one for any child.
Still, Elijah is adamant and reminds her firmly that as she is his wife, she is obedient to him. She continuously protests until, in a temper, he asks her if she is with child.
Her hand, which she is now in a habit of resting on her flat stomach, brushes the silk of her gown and, with gritted teeth she shakes her head.
He tells her that as she and Nadia had both made the journey from Bulgaria to England- a much longer and more treacherous path, they would think little of the travels to France.
She yields with little grace and that night when Elijah's hands touch her nightgown, she rolls onto her side and claims she has a headache.
Katerina is surly towards her husband for a great deal of the trip, insisting that Nadia travel by carriage and joining her instead of riding with Elijah.
On the ship from Dover to Calais, she watches her little girl nervously for signs of seasickness until Elijah swings his adopted daughter into his arms and shows her the fish in the water before pretending to throw her overboard to her squeals of delight.
They arrive in Rouen to find that the Sweat that plagues England has reached France, Katerina is terrified and wants to turn back immediately but Elijah takes them to the Guise Hotel in the city where he speaks privately to the current Guise lord in attendance and they are admitted with full honour.
However, disease seeps into even the noble houses of gold and silver.
Nadia complains of feeling hot one afternoon and Elijah carries her upstairs to her bed and she is fine by morning, Katerina dizzy with relief as she realises it must have been a false alarm.
Then she herself falls ill, she sweats and gasps for air, Elijah sending for physicians who shake their heads and suggest a priest.
She begins to cry from fear before Elijah presses a cup of tonic to her lips, it tastes foul and she tries to push it away but he forces her to drink it and that very evening she feels completely restored.
So restored that she climbs from the bed and plays with Nadia, chasing her from room to room until a strange hand from nowhere grabs her and suddenly she is falling down the stairs, landing on the floor with a tell-tale crack as her neck snaps.
She died.
But she does not stay dead.
She awakens with a gasp to find herself abed with Elijah holding her, apologising profusely for all their cross words and kissing her lovingly, she tries to tell him that she has had the strangest dream when he presses another goblet to her lips.
She opens her mouth obligingly but the liquid touches her tongue and she instinctively realises that she's drinking hot blood.
She fights but Elijah is so much stronger than her and forces her to drink the entire goblet, when he releases her she hurries to the chamber pot, determined to throw up but the blood settled heavily in her stomach.
She is horrified, certain that her husband has run mad and hurries from the room, desperate to see to her daughter lest Elijah has fed her blood also.
She is at the threshold of Nadia's chamber when her eyes go black and her fangs protrude from her gums, the nursemaid screams in terror and awakens Nadia just as Elijah grabs her around the waist and drags her back to their bedroom.
He orders her to remain still and she finds herself unable to move as he explains to her what he is, what she now is.
He says the word, he gives it the proper name and she wants to scream.
He claims that he never wanted this life for her.
She does not want it either.
She doesn't want the hunger that makes her face monstrous when she feeds.
She doesn't want to crave the blood of her own child.
She doesn't want the scalding pain that burns her flesh when she steps into the sunlight.
She doesn't want to remember any of this.
Worse still, she remembers the strange night he'd made her forget.
The night he'd carried her into the forest and stood watching as Niklaus had slaughtered two other women before turning on her in the darkest of sorceries.
When the Sweat leaves Rouen she wants to take Nadia and flee but while she had been cowering in her rooms, Elijah had been caring for her daughter who now calls him Papa and loves him dearly.
They ride at night for Paris and along the way he keeps his horse beside hers while Nadia rides in a litter, he explains everything to her again and again, how she is now immortal, ageless and powerful beyond words until she can make sense of it all.
When they arrive at the Louvre, Niklaus has a witch ready and waiting to perform the spell for the daylight ring, afterwards, Elijah takes Katerina out to hunt.
When the siblings tire of Paris they go to the Royal Court in Madrid, then to Venice.
Years pass and Katerina does indeed remain as youthful as she had been the night she died.
Nadia however, grows more beautiful by the day.
When she is twelve, the resemblance is too great to ignore and Elijah confronts her with the indisputable fact that she was as much a virgin on their wedding night as he was.
But with her mortality had passed her fear of shame and abandonment. She tells him that he can either accept her for all her faults or she and her baseborn child can leave. She knows that with her new power she could carve out a life with her child anywhere she wished.
Not that she ever has to. By the time she was five years old, Elijah loved Nadia as if she were his own, he considers himself her father and losing her would break his heart.
He offers to take them to Bulgaria, in the hope that Katerina could reconcile with her family.
She steps into his arms and they share a kiss of reconciliation.
Four hundred years later, their arguing routine is the only thing that hasn't changed.
Katerina had caught him flirting with a courtesan and had run off in a pique to Virginia where she had encountered a pair of gorgeous brothers. When the town had begun hunting vampires, Elijah had arrived to carry her off and now the Salvatore boys had no memory of their maker.
They bicker and throw insults until Nadia decides to take a holiday in Austria and Rebekah, Klaus, Marcel and Kol ask to join her. New Orleans is apparently too small for them to live comfortably while Elijah and Katerina are fighting.
And it is definitely too small for them to be within a hundred miles when they make up.
Katerina awakens with a yawn and comfortable stretch, looking around in bewilderment when she sees herself in the middle of a field in broad daylight.
Elijah is beside her, as naked as she is herself but that only offers some explanation.
With a shrug she lies back down and allows him to draw her into his arms.
This is her life and she wouldn't change it for the world.
A/N- See how off track I went? I don't know people, I'm batshit insane today.
Also, may write an actual story based off this chapter.