=500 years ago.=

=England=

Katerina sat flabbergasted at what her closest friend was telling her.

"You want me to believe that Niklaus is going to use me…in a sacrifice? To what? Satan? No. That's the devil! That kind of thing doesn't exist outside of fables and plays. You're trying to scare me away! You must want him for yourself! Or for someone else!" Katerina shouts. It's inconceivable. Niklaus is well bred from a wealthy family. He is her way back into the good graces of her family. She would not be duped out of it.

Perhaps it was jealousy because Katerina caught the eye of such a man. Mother had warned her about friendship; it was a con. Surely this was proof. "Niklaus is interested in marrying me. You're going to have to accept that." Katerina dismissed her friend; at least she taught she was, anyway. In the same breath, trying to also wish away the confusion and rising fear. But Katerina couldn't be more wrong; Klaus' wasn't her preference. Lucky for her, no one asked, and she would never tell.

Katerina refused to believe such absurdities; the answer was simple; it was all lies.

And she would have dismissed them earlier if not for the rumors. The scared warning looks of the servants in the house. At first, when people whispered, she believed it was about her. Perhaps they had heard of her daughter, the one born out of wedlock. But when she listened closer, she realized the whispers were of much scarier things.

"Listen to me! You're not a stupid girl. Don't cloud your mind with wishful thinking just because you believe this family is your saving grace. They're not. They were doomed long before they met you. To Niklaus, you're a means to an end. You were born with something in your blood, and it's your only value to him." The woman spoke with two parts urgency, one part desperation. If Katerina had any chance at all, they would need to move quickly.

"My blood? None of this makes sense!" Katerina exclaims, dropping her arms hard at her sides. She was frustrated and becoming more scared by the minute. She could feel it build up in her throat. Her friend grabs her by the shoulders forcing Katerina to look at her. Desperation takes over, and she hopes Katerina sees the truth in her eyes.

"You've heard the rumors. You'll find no honor here. You won't live long enough. Vampires are as real as you and I. The Mikaelson family is the first in existence." Katerina's heart began to race, and she was slowing to lose her ability to breathe.

"Niklaus is even rarer than that. He was born half beast, and magic turned into a monster, whatever humanity was left. If those two sides of him ever co-exist again, he will be one of the strongest creatures on earth, if not the strongest. His problem is that the beast remains trapped inside him. Your blood is the only way to set it free. 500 years ago, your ancestor's blood was used to turn that family into what they are. Do you understand? We are talking about powerful magic here. Magic that transcends generations. There was no happy ending for Tatia. It is a story witches have passed down in secret."

Katerina remained still and silent, her eyes closed to hold back tears. She didn't want to die. She also didn't want to believe her friend, but she couldn't ignore her instincts. "What am I going to do?" Katerina whispered, the tears freely falling now.

"There are very few witches in my coven willing to give me an answer, but I believe I have worked out the best way." Her friend explained. "Witches? Them too…is that what you are." Katerina guessed. "Yes, one of the good ones, I promise. I know this is overwhelming, but you must listen to me because what you do next is important. The only way for you to survive is to find a vampire and have them turn you. You have to die with vampire blood in your system, then feed to complete the transition. You'll be dead but alive, and your blood will be useless." There was the plan all laid out for her.

"Why are you telling me this? What do you have to gain?" She asked the woman, beads of water in her eyes. Her friend laughed with no humor. How to explain that she loved her in a way that could get them both hanged. That was one truth she would take to her grave. Instead, she offered up another reason.

"I am just like you in many ways. Abandoned by our families for being disgraceful. I am your friend, and I want to know that you lived long enough to be happy. Listen, you remember my sister, Celesta? She is here in the kitchen, make your way over to her, and she will get you out of here. I will try to stall and keep them from noticing you've left. We are your family now too. Us disgraces need to stick together." She said with what little humor she could muster. Time was of the essence.

"Go! I will buy you time." She urged. "Why does this feel like goodbye?" Katerina asked, looking at her friend. The woman smiled at her. "Perhaps it is, but you can't worry about that now you have to go. And if this is goodbye, then I look forward to seeing you in another better life." Her friend pushed her out the door. Katerina rushed away, and the rest was a blur.

Katerina never saw her friend again, not in that life anyway. For the next 500 years, she would spend it checking up on the Chantraine bloodline out of respect for the women that had helped her. All women that had somehow already known who she was. Just like before, they too would help keep her safe.

=Present Day=

=Mystic Falls=

Nyx waved her hand in front of Katherine's face snapping her fingers to get her attention to the matter at hand. Nyx was 14 when she met Katherine in the French Quarter in New Orleans. She had been sent to gather ingredients for the hunters. It was the only time she could go off by herself. Nyx knew nothing but the basics of life and everything to do with hunting. She was homeschooled because the Forbes Matriarch didn't want a record of her anywhere. Nyx didn't exist, a fact that always bothered her. It made her feel like she wasn't real.

Katherine taught her better. She taught her about womanhood and makeup. How to use her feminine wilds and other truths about life. She taught her that her body was hers, and she chooses what happens to it and who touches it. At 18, Nyx was turned by a vampire. If the Forbes's ever found out, they would have killed her for sure. Katherine had been Nyx's first call. She taught her everything she needed to know. They figured out a way to mask detection through magic, and she was able to remain undiscovered.

One of the reasons Nyx was here now was in case Caroline's powers get triggered out. As far as she knew, Liz had bound her powers when Caroline was a child to keep her safe. The rules were different for them; they were Siphoners.

"I was thinking about the past. I never got an answer. How does it work? How did you know about me? When I met you, you knew my name" Nyx smiled and took another drink of wine. "No other generation has told you? How many Chaintrains have you met?" She says with a laugh. "How does it work?" Katherine asks again.

"I've dreamt about you for as long as I could remember. A woman who called herself my ancestor told me the very tragic story of Katerina Petrova. I saw images of your face. I saw her cast a spell that calls to all the descendants in her bloodline to protect you. To tell us you were important. You remember my aunt Alice, she says that there have always been two sisters born, no males. Since my ascendent was the eldest of two sisters, she thinks that's why I got all these messages and memories. But the plea was for everyone. Even though Caroline didn't have context, I think there's something inside her that knows you're family. She seems to trust you a lot for someone that killed her."

Katherine gave a small smile. "You mean made her better." She joked, but there was something, an overwhelming emotion that stirred in her. She didn't deserve all this. All this and she never knew what came of her.

"Why? Why do you think she did all this?" Katherine questioned. Nyx shook her head. "What do you mean? She was trying to save her princess, the love of her life. You two would never have happened; girls arent your thing, and sure as hell not in 1492. So in an act of love, she tried to give you what you wanted most—your life and family. Friendship didn't save you, Katherine, love did."

The room hushed with a pause as Katherine let the words sink in. "It'll save Caroline too if we can sort that situation out, you know, before the hunters and whatever else comes," Nyx said, pushing out a long slow breath. Katherine checked her phone. Caroline hadn't called.

"What do I tell her that I found out about the hunters? How much can she know? Also, for the record, I don't like this plan of keeping her with Klaus. I don't think you're betting on the right horse. They might be scared of him, but she should be too. Which reminds me, she hasn't checked in to update me on what happened with Klaus." Katherine pouts.

"You don't like him, I got it. Noted. Do you think he went to help her?" Katherine nods dramatically with rolled eyes. "Are you kidding? He's obsessed. What won't he do for her? As long as he sees her as his angel." Katherine scoffs. She tries to message Caroline again. "She's not answering. We should go to her house and check to see if she's there and she's okay." Nyx agrees, and the women take off.

Katherine notices Klaus's car in the driveway when they arrive and tells Nyx, whose eyebrows rise. Without attracting too much attention, the women look inside the house's first level and see no one.

They share a look. "Which window is hers?" Nyx asks, and Katherine points to the side window. Nyx rushes, using her own vampire speed to get on the rooftop of the neighbor's house. Nyx runs back to Katherine, unable to contain her laughter when she reaches her. "He's in, there! He's in there! They're in her room. They're horizontal." Nyx silently claps with excitement. Relief washing over her, easing up on some of the anxiety she'd been running on.

The women start walking away. "This is great! Oh hell yeah! All this time I spent hating Liz for the lie, she told her family about Klaus being her soulmate and protector. The guy is basically up there interviewing for the position! She's gonna be okay!" Nyx looks elated. Katherine spots someone running up the street.

"I tried to tell you, them wanting each other isn't the issue. They've bumped uglies before. It's everyone else around her pulling them apart that's going to mess up your master plan. See that guy running up the street. That's Tyler Lockwood. If he sees Klaus at Caroline's, he's gonna go apeshit, tell her friends, and they'll be ripped apart. If Caroline doesn't fight for Klaus, he'll get all butt hurt resentful and drop her. He'll refuse to help her after that. He's King of Petty."

The women faced away from Tyler, who was so focused on his fitness and the music playing in his ears that he didn't pay them any attention. Nyx sped behind him and snapped his neck. Tyler's body dropped to the floor like a sack of flour.

"Fine, so then the goal's changed. We don't need to get them together. We need to keep them together. We need to do something about those friends of hers.

"But first," Katherine said in a sing-song voice, gesturing to Tyler's limp body on the floor. "How important is he? Will he be trouble later? Should we kill him now?" Nyx asks.

"Important, not really. Will he be trouble? Very much so, but if we kill him, Caroline will not like that. "She explains. The women resolve to leave him at his house, in the front yard. He was too heavy to carry further.

"So looks like Caroline is going to be busy today, so tomorrow, meet up with her and tell her that you found out that these hunters are a family from New Orleans. I'm going to study the friends. Everyone has a weakness." Katherine shook her head.

"Okay, but he's not who you think he is."

"For all of our sakes, let's hope he is exactly who I think he is," Nyx responds. "Let's hope he is ruthless and blood thirsty. Because the Forbes Clain will be relentless, and mother is going to want revenge for the magic she lost."

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