"Katerina, there you are." Klaus walked over to the lonesome young woman waiting for him in the hallway and kissed her cheek. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?"

Katerina averted her gaze to the stone floor beneath her, feeling her heartbeat rising. "I was with Elijah, my lord."

Klaus cupped her cheek and made her look at him, his eyes kind. "You know I prefer it when you refer to me by name, love."

Katerina removed her gaze from his and glanced over his shoulder instead, scanning the area as if she was looking for someone.

"Is there something that troubles you?" he asked, seeing her nervous stance.

"No... It's just that you haven't had the best of reactions when I have spent time with your brother before."

"And I apologize for that sincerely. I trust that you will stay faithful to me Katerina, you have a pure heart." Katerina brought out a smile and he kissed her bright lips as to savor it. "I love you."

"I love you too Klaus."

What the hell was that? Katherine asked herself and frantically scanned her bedroom as she snapped out of her sleep-like state, just to see if any vampires were manipulating her mind or something. This memory was new, or perhaps it had simply been a dream. She couldn't remember Klaus ever telling her that he loved her, not even when he was courting her all those years ago.

Katherine felt a sudden headache, making her slowly lose consciousness as everything faded to the foggy haze of year 1492 once more.

Katerina Petrova loved Klaus Mikaelson, and he again loved Katerina Petrova. Both of them living in their own perfect world, both bearing lies and secrets.

Klaus had fought so hard against his emotions, because the last thing he needed was to fall for the doppelganger. But he was only a man, a man that happened to lived forever. His emotions had never been hard to control, but he was in love, even how much he loathed it. He would still use her, as that was his original plan. The only difference was that he decided to enjoy her for as long as possible before he had to do what was necessary.

Katerina had always wanted love and wished for nothing more than to feel happiness. She did not yet know how cruel the world would be towards her, ruining her at only eighteen. It all started when she fell for the two Original brothers. She knew it was wrong to love them both, but she was never truly happy with them. They never seemed to love her back, until now. Klaus had declared his love for her, and now they were about to spend the rest of their lifetimes together, at least so she thought.

Katerina didn't know why Klaus stood where he stood. She thought she knew it back then, but after a few weeks, he had told her that she was to die for the greater good. She didn't understand how he could have toyed with her like that, but it only proved what she already knew; Klaus Mikaelson was nothing else than a monster. That was the lie she had been told.

True love can not be real unless it is returned. That was the rule she had lived by ever since she had her heart broken by the stable boy those years ago. But that was not them. He loved her, and she loved him. That was why he stood where he stood—the altar.

"I do."

Katerina Petrova had it all. Two charming men both waging for her heart, friends with high status to replace her disowning family, a marvelous mansion, a hundred times bigger than her old cabin in Bulgaria. She was truly lucky… at least so she had thought.

He loved when she murmured his name, but only his. His jealousy was quick to consume him when it came to his brother, or his servant Trevor. Katerina was a beauty, so there was no surprise that so many men craved her. But she was his, only his.

The feeling of love is craved by so many, and Katerina was no exception. Blinded by the time spent in his noble company, his gentle touch, the empty promises whispered in her ear. When she realized the monster behind his name, she wanted nothing more than to be free from his hate, his love. But freedom always comes at a price so high.

She had not expected him to chase—Chase after her, and only her.

"Katerina, don't run. I'll catch up to you wherever you go."

Katerina stopped in her path as she heard his voice call out her name. He was too close. He had found her. Out of her eye escaped a small tear; why he couldn't just leave her alone, she didn't understand. She had done nothing but love blindly, but maybe that was the problem. She was not only his.

"Stop running, love," he murmured as he walked up to her. She was terrified, yet curious. What more could he possibly want from her? Revenge? "Look me in the eyes."

Katerina nervously raised her head, letting her eyes meet his. He gently caressed her cheek as he stared into her deep brown eyes for the last time, admiring her every feature as if he had not memorized them by now. She had the face of women before her and women that would come after, but only she could wear it with such radiance and beauty. Her eyes glowed brighter than any star, even when she was so terrified.

He sighed, finalizing his decision. He was not able to kill the girl who had ignited his dead heart, who was able to pleasure him as few could ever dream of doing. He shut out any sliver of humanity that might have remained in him then, anger by her betrayal soon overtaking him as he muttered his following words.

"You will forget all that has happened these past months. I never loved you, we never married. I simply courted you, but it ended when I told you about the ritual. I am a monster, that you will remember. You hate me, I hate you."

Katerina Petrova closed her eyes. Her mind manipulated her memories, and shortly after, history was rewritten. She threw one last glance at Klaus before speeding away. He let her go.

For the next centuries, this would be their little game. She would run, he would chase. He would be quick to forget his feelings and let his desire for vengeance consume him. Because love is a vampire's greatest weakness, hate is not.

Compulsion, Katherine thought as she closed her eyes. How? Why?

She thought about every possibility. The most likely one being the spell to reverse her aging, the spell that had removed all magic on her; it must have removed the compulsion as well. But how? "Did Klaus and I-," she whispered to herself in shock.

She soon found herself wandering the streets for the first time in what felt like forever, after managing to sneak out past her guards—needing some time alone to process all she had just seen and re-experienced. Klaus had kept those memories from her. For five hundred years his compulsion had loomed over her, leading her to live a lie. Those days ago in his art room, when he told her he had loved her all those years ago, she had not been able to understand him fully. But now, it all got a new meaning. He hadn't lied to her, but he had kept it from her, locking her out of memories that should've been her own, not just his. It made her question everything. Had he seen things completely different all this time? Or was he not affected at all by their past. When he had kidnapped her under his returning to town, and he had asked her what shirt looked best as if he was asking the opinion of a dear partner then thanked her and kissed her forehead, had it meant something to him? Had he just toyed with her all along? Had the status of their relationship as enemies been a lie this entire time? Too many questions swirled her mind as she walked that small road down a nearby street.

She soon noticed someone stalking her and quickened her pace until she reached the corner down the street. She hid behind the nearest building and waited for the shadow to pass her. As soon as it did, she quickly dragged the person to the side and pressed them up against the wall.

"You've been following me," she snarled, pressing her arm tighter around the man's neck, holding him in place. When he didn't fight back, she raised a brow. "You're human?"

The young man grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away from him. "I'm not here to hurt you," he started, making Katherine roll her eyes. Even if he was intending to harm her, he wouldn't be able to. He didn't exactly look like the most buff guy in the world, and she had 500 years of combat experience under her belt. "I heard you're Klaus's prisoner, and I'm here to offer you a deal. What's your name?"

"My name's Katerina... Katherine, I mean. Oh god, they've gotten into my head."

The guy looked confused at first, but quickly shook it off. "Look. What I know is that the people I work for ordered me to follow you and talk to you about this."

Katherine crossed her arms and pulled a bitchy stare. "Okay. And?"

"We got word that you're the doppelganger Klaus Mikaelson gets his blood from, so he can turn the werewolves in New Orleans into hybrids. Considering what we heard about the relations between the Petrova doppelgangers and him, and the fact that you've never been seen outside of that compound before now, we assumed you're being held captive. In exchange for helping you escape, we want your help taking down the Mikaelsons. We could use an insider."

"Captive?" Katherine laughed mockingly. "Not exactly. It's a cute offer, but let this be known. If you or any of your affiliates lay a hand on any one of them, I will rip you to shreds. I might be human at the moment, but you do not want to get on my bad side."

She took a threatening step towards him until she was completely close to his face, smirking as she put her lips to his red ear, looking down at his frightened expression as she did.

"You can tell your boss this is a warning," she whispered before launching her knee sharply into his stomach, making him bend over and groan in pain. She kicked his behind so he fell to the ground and put her shoe in his mouth, filling it entirely so he couldn't speak or cry out. "If you can still speak, that is," she said nonchalantly before swiftly pushing down her foot with full strength, snapping his jaw open. She smiled viciously as she turned around to walk back to the compound, leaving the guy to wither in pain behind her.