A/N- Whoa boy is this a long chapter.

Katherine had deliberately not activated international roaming on her American phone when she'd boarded the jet back to Valhalla.

She hadn't wanted to receive texts from her friends wondering where she was or demanding an explanation when the truth inevitably got out.

So for the day she had been back home in Hjart, her phone had been a glorified mp3 player.

At least until she woke up at six am on her first morning back in Valhalla and realised that the time difference and jet lag meant she would be wide awake several hours before she really had anything that she needed to do.

So, out of morbid curiosity, she scanned for Wi-fi and found a strong signal with no password and first checked her email.

Since midday yesterday US time, it had been flooded with several 'friends' trying to contact her and numerous charities or people she'd networked with once now inviting her to a whole range of events.

At least six media outlets asking for interviews and even a few companies offering her exclusive benefits if she used and promoted their products.

And at the very top of this long list of emails was one from Caroline Forbes.

Caroline Forbes

Subject: WTF?!

Dear Katherine,

Seriously?!

Since when have you not only a) Been engaged and b) been engaged to a European king?! And how could you not tell me? I had to find out when I dropped past your

room because we were meant to be STUDYING today to find three guys who looked like CIA agents trying to pack everything up. They were doing an awful job btw and I

had to repack EVERYTHING (btw- hid your vibrator because I figured you wouldn't want them finding/handling it) Anyhow they explained who you really are and I

CANNOT BELIEVE you didn't tell me! Daughter of a Baron? Fiance of a prince? Are you freaking kidding me? You are the worst friend EVER.

Love Caroline

P.S- You'll be pleased to know that because SOME of us take our friendship seriously that I've emailed all your professors using your student email (and changed your

password from godiwantsex6969 to Valhalla1994) and explaining the situation asking if you can take your exams at the Kannedom Uni, which because it's the closest

college to the palaces I assumed would be easiest for you.

P.P.S- I've attached the documents you'll need to fill out to transfer from Whitmore to Kannedom for the rest of your course.

P.P.P.S- I spoke to the April the R.A about getting the deposit back on your room but she's being a bitch about it. Apparently 'royals are no better than the rest of us

that's why we had a Revolution Caroline!' But I went to Housing and think it might be sorted but might have to forge your signature.

P.P.P.P.S- Liv came past and told me to tell you that "You are the biggest bitch in the fucking universe and she hates you forever" Luke says hi and wants to know if he

and Liv can visit before they start their volunteer program in Rome?

By the time she'd finished the email, Katherine was smiling and giggling.

She hadn't even thought about her academic career when she'd boarded that plane but of course Caroline would have everything sorted out in less than twenty-four hours.

And suddenly Ansel's words are coming back to her,

"There is a secretary awaiting you at the Cousin's Palace…Replace her as soon as you are able, her loyalty is not yours and cannot be bought or won over"

Her fingers hovered over the keypad of her phone, thinking over everything she knew about Caroline and how they'd first met.

The first time she'd heard about her was when her roommate at the time, Emily, had come in and told her that the girl down the hall had been devastated by her boyfriend cheating on her while he was volunteering with a remote community in the Appalachians. He'd met a fellow councillor, hit it off and broken up with his girlfriend of nearly three years via phone call.

She'd ended fresher week bawling her eyes out in her dorm room for the entire weekend while girls on the floor made the rounds with ice-cream and vodka, all the while either thanking deities that their own boyfriends weren't assholes, that they were single or checking in with their long-distance lovers.

Katherine herself had spent a nervous evening at her desk, trying to learn about democracy in Indonesia while her right hand had kept straying to the drawer where she'd stashed her engagement ring after realising that she was the only girl in the building with that level of wealth and also, people had kept assuming it was costume and one girl had asked to borrow it. She'd kept touching the gold band and the diamond borders and reassured herself with its presence.

However, on Monday afternoon Caroline had surprised all the girls by throwing a High Tea, No Regrets party where they'd all eaten cucumber sandwiches, salmon blinis and ended up using the common room fire place to help Caroline burn anything Tyler had left with her. They'd roasted s'mores in the flames and used the ashes to make compost for the third year History major who was growing marijuana in the rarely used back laundry.

Katherine had decided then and there as she respected any girl who could have her heart ripped to shreds and still find the courage to smile.

Caroline was hoping to be an event manager and own her own company one day. She could organise and throw a party like no-one Katherine had ever met.

Actually she could organise anything like no-one Katherine had ever met.

She was deeply intelligent so she could probably pick up Valhallan quickly, she was a Southern Belle and Homecoming Queen so she'd be able to adapt to the strict etiquette of the Court.

And most importantly, she would have no reason to betray her.

There's a knock on her door and she looks up as Stefan comes into the room, yawning and still buttoning up his shirt, "Breakfast in the ground floor dining room" he tells her,

"They sent a chef over"

She grins and is about to clamber out of bed before remembering that she's basically naked,

"I'll meet you down there"

The dining room was a formal, state dining room and immersed in centuries of rich history. It probably wasn't supposed to be used for casual breakfasts but as Katherine hadn't found any tables in her apartment that could be used for eating meals and half the castle was still closed up, waiting for the cleaning staff to be hired, she figured no-one could blame them for making do with what they had.

Elena was still wrapped up in a dressing gown and Nadia was somehow managing to run up and down the length of the room, wide awake and full of energy while the food was brought in by a servant. Katherine had pulled on jeans and heels just in case but hadn't showered or put on any make-up.

Which was probably a good thing because the chef in question had made pancakes and waffles and all manner of carb-heavy food.

The sisters tried to get Nadia to sit down long enough to eat something but quickly gave up and sipped on their coffees while relegating the task to Stefan. He didn't get any further than they did, and eventually ended up in some sort of chasing game with Nadia just as their father came in the door.

Without even pausing Alexander scooped her up into his arms and carried her squealing with delight back over to the table,

"Elena" he addressed her, "A letter arrived for Stefan this morning from Giuseppe, one of the servants informed me that it's in the mail room"

She swallowed her coffee with an audible gulp but met Stefan's eyes and he went to collect it while she started getting her things together,

"Giuseppe summons us via snail mail" she explains to Katherine when she raises her eyebrow,

"He'll probably expect his invitation to the funeral to be hand-delivered on embossed paper by a liveried servant"

Katherine shifted in her seat, feeling the heavy food congeal in her stomach,

"Do you need me to mind Nadia?"

Thankfully her sister shook her head, "No…he loves his granddaughter, they have tea parties together"

The image of the prim, proper, staid and terrifying Giuseppe Salvatore sitting at a plastic kids table, pretending to drink tea with stuffed animals made Katherine laugh.

"Do you all have to go though?" Katherine asks, suddenly feeling lonely. She has barely contacted her sister in five years and seen her only three times in America but now…after only twenty-four hours having her back in her life she felt as if she would miss her steady presence.

Elena only smiles and wraps an arm around her shoulders, resting her sharp chin on her head,

"I'll make it quick as possible" she promised, "I'll stay long enough to let him know that we're getting the March of Orelands and that he'll be guaranteed front row seat to everything and then he'll send me racing back here to protect his interests"

Ah yes, Giuseppe Salvatore's interests.

The interests which were reliant on her marrying the king.

Her sister manages to leave before Katherine can make a vulgar remark about the burdens being placed on her vagina.

Meanwhile her father poured himself a cup of coffee before coming around the table and brushing her hair over her shoulder in a tender gesture that startled her, she couldn't remember the last time her father had been physically affectionate, he'd always been so reserved unless he was with her mother.

"There was a note for you as well" he tells her in the Romani tongue and she closes her eyes, enjoying hearing the language spoken again after so many years,

"Elijah's Press Secretary will be coming to see you this morning"

She opens her eyes and tilts her head back to see him, "Why?"

He shrugged with barely concealed humour, "I think she wants to prep you for the upcoming events"

Katherine frowned, she had already left Court by the time the palace started to catch up with modern technology. During her teenage years, there had been one Press Secretary, an old man who'd been a journalist back in the day and thought that print was the best and only way to go.

Now, there was apparently an entire press team and Mikael had become a trending hashtag.

But the idea of being prepped for the funeral and everything leading up to it?

She was Katerina Petrova, she'd been trained to be the queen, she didn't need prepping.

She gets to her feet with little grace, "I'll go get ready"

Royal Press Secretary Rose Ford, Head of the Royal Communications Department was living the dream.

Oh alright, the dream was slightly chaotic and at any moment her theoretical nine-to-six duties could suddenly become crack-of-dawn until whenever-she-collapsed-from-exhaustion but she loved her career nonetheless.

Even now when she was curled up on an uncomfortable settee that was older than white civilisation in America, in a room that has once been the official apartment of the Royal Mistresses but had been taken over by the communications team, trying to get a few minutes sleep after the long night. She still loved her job.

Admittedly, some days were easier than others.

Such as days when the King didn't die.

Not only did this mean that she'd had to dig up the royal protocol on handling the death of a monarch, figured out how to adjust it to deal with the twenty-first century expectations and was then told that as Aiden was Elijah's Private Secretary, over the next two months he would assume the role of Secretary to the Sovereign, which meant that Sebastian Roche, who'd been with King Mikael for his entire reign was being retired, and rumour had it that he was already quite unhappy with that. And as the Communications department was a branch of the Private Secretary's Office it meant that they'd likely be caught up in the unrest and office politics.

However, one made do.

She opened her eyes as the morning sun slowly lit up the room and her team shifted in their positions, their red eyes blinking and their backs aching after an entire night spent at their laptops monitoring the situation.

It was nine am and a full twenty-four hours after King Mikael's death had been announced and the team was scouring the major news and social media websites keeping track of the public's reaction and keeping an eye out for any issues.

So far everything had been going well. World leaders were issuing statements of condolence, the Palace twitter page was being filled with messages of support and the media was praising Prince…King Elijah for his speech last night.

The only problem was that the reporters had noticed the pretty, brunette non-royal standing with the family behind Elijah as he addressed the nation and speculation had started pretty quickly.

She herself hadn't had a clue who she was until Aiden had explained her to Rose,

The Honourable Katerina Petrova, eldest daughter of Baron Petrova, Elijah's long-time fiancé.

And hadn't that been a let-down.

If Rose was being honest with herself, she was a little bit in love with Elijah Lothbrok.

Most of the women and even a few of the men who worked in proximity to the man on a daily basis were.

He was handsome, polite, chivalrous and had the sense of old-world charm, he enjoyed classical music, literature and looked dashing in suits and alright, it didn't hurt that marrying him would mean becoming a royal princess and the next Queen of Valhalla.

And yes, she had known he was engaged, he'd been wearing the ring on his finger ever since she'd met him but considering that no-one had ever actually seen hide or hair of his fiancé it had been pretty easy to forget that he wasn't single.

Now however, his fiancé had crawled out of the woodwork, conveniently on the same day Mikael died and she looked set to become the next Queen.

So, with the media clamouring for information on her, Rose now had to meet and prep the honourable lady, teach her how to handle the press and all the attention she would be getting from the public.

Because she didn't have anything better to do today than deal with a spoilt little airheaded aristocrat who'd probably say something stupid at the wrong moment and make all the more work for her.

Oh well. It could definitely be worse.

She could be working for the British Royal Family.

Handling sex scandal after racist remark after nude photograph and nazi costumes.

No thank-you.

"Hey boss" she opens her eyes as her second-in-command, the Communications Secretary for the Royal Princes and Princess Alexandra Branson- Lexi- sat down next to her knees, "Wake-up time!"

She groaned playfully, "No, you can't make me"

Lexi laughed, "No, I can't but the Wolf is on his way and you don't him to start growling"

Rose's groan was real this time.

Ansel Wolfsbane, Head of Royal Security.

He was in charge of all combatant and non-combatant guards and bodyguards for the Royal Family, he co-ordinated with every security force in the government and provided an annual security plan for the protection of the King and his family that affected not only them but every staff member in the palace.

Officially the man was under the command of the Secretary to the Sovereign, he was meant to report to him daily and receive approval for any plans he wanted to implement. Unofficially- he had made it quite damn clear that Secretary Roche could take any orders and shove them up his arse. If fact he'd used those exact words more than once and quite publicly within the palace.

When it came to the safety of the Royal Family Ansel did what he thought was best and didn't care if it inconvenienced anyone outside of the family.

Noble, but extremely irritating.

Rose had never really had much to do with the man, except she maintained a healthy fear and resentment of him. This was due to the fact that the first time she'd interacted with him was when her former boss Logan Fell had approved a press release that detailed Prince Niklaus' acceptance into the Night Wolves- Valhallan Army Elite Special Forces- and listed the region in which he was training.

Poor Logan hadn't realised that he'd committed an epic breach of security and military etiquette, not only officially confirming the existence of the Night Wolves, but listing the location of the division which was supposed to be top secret, especially when they had a member of the blood royal with them.

However, he'd realised pretty quickly when Ansel Wolfsbane had stormed into the office and loudly and quite colourfully ripped him a new one, using language that had possibly never been spoken aloud within the hallowed halls of the Royal Palace. He'd then fired the man- even though he hadn't the authority- and told him to get out of the country- again, without authority. Logan had gone to Secretary Roche but even with his considerable power he'd been unwilling to challenge Ansel, the man could quite easily make life a living hell for the lot of them.

So Logan had packed his things and been escorted out by foot guards and, after a year of unemployment, he'd managed to find work with the Hjart branch of The Guardian, covering all Royal news. Rose had accepted her promotion and now here she was, about to deal with the Wolf of Kattegat himself.

With a heavy sigh she sits up and takes the coffee Lexi offers her,

"Thanks, you got anything for me?"

She shakes her head, "Not really, Prince Klaus had taken leave from the Night Wolves and returned to the Palace but he hasn't been assigned any royal duties yet, I assume he'll be taking on all of King Elijah's former commitments after the funeral. Prince Kol partied it up in Mexico but nobody managed to get anything too scandalous or criminal on him. Princess Rebekah is missing school right now but I'm not sure whether she's going back to Lycee Louis le Grand or continuing her education here. Prince Henrik will be going back to boarding school a week after the funeral. I've drafted statements saying as much, just waiting for Sebastian to confirm the details before I hand them to you"

Rose sipped her coffee and took in all this information, she was about to reply when Ansel walked right through the open doors, taking in the mismatched desks which ranged from four hundred year old priceless antiques to twenty dollars from the bargain corner in IKEA and the people who were wearing suits but had kicked off their shoes and were all clutching caffeine of some kind. He looked behind him to Jackson- their appointed security guard- and raised an eyebrow. The young man offered a one shoulder shrug and bit back a smirk.

"Ms Ford" he came forward, extending his hand and Rose cursed the fact that she was sitting on the couch with her heels across the room and her clothes wrinkled, she'd been hoping to look professionally elegant when he came in, not like a business student in finals week.

"Mr Wolfsbane" she rose quickly and shook his hand, "How are you today?"

He exhaled through his nose and she felt a thrill of triumph at his annoyance, the man hated small talk, but even he had to concede to politeness in the Palace,

"Well" he answered, "And I was just coming to inform you about updates and adjustments in Palace security"

She feels her attention span packing its bags already, "Of course"

He held his hands behind his back, "I will send you over all the security details for the funeral once the arrangements for the ceremony have been completed, however the basics of what you need to know for now are as follows, Elijah's current bodyguards are being promoted so that they can continue working for him as per his request, in fact most of his household will be taking over from King Mikael's servants pending my vetting them. As Niklaus is now heir to the throne and on leave from the Night Wolves, he will be receiving a new detail that I will be handpicking personally, the rest of the children will be maintaining their current teams. And per new protocol, as Official Partner to His Royal Majesty and future Queen, Lady Katerina will be receiving a security detail. I am considering your brother Trevor for the role, pending her approval"

"Trevor?" Rose blurted, interrupting hi and focusing on the information that concerned her personally, "A bodyguard?"

Ansel nodded briskly, "He escorted her from the United States to Valhalla successfully, I believe that he could perform the duty effectively"

Trevor Ford. Her older step-brother. One of the youngest Generals in the Valhallan army reduced to a bodyguard for a spoilt brat.

She resisted the urge to toss her coffee into the arrogant bastard's face. "Very well, continue"

"As the Cousin's Palace is now going to employee a full staff I am going to be vetting everyone selected by the Master of the Household for the positions as well as appointing security and any modifications that might be needed"

"So" Lexi drawled, "Essentially you're going to be vetting upwards of one hundred people personally and overhauling the security of a royal palace? And how long will this take?"

He tilts his head ever so slightly, acknowledging her, "I have already begun with a top-down method and those who pass are notified immediately so they can begin work. The whole process should be complete by the end of the week"

Rose's felt her eyebrows shoot up and struggled to force them back down and regain composure. She wondered what exactly went into the vetting process and whether Ansel would be sleeping at any point in the next five days.

"Alright" she cleared her throat, "Thank-you for the update, I have to go speak to the Lady Katerina today, would you like me to tell her as well?"

"Thank-you, no" he actually smiles then, a tiny but genuine smile, "I will be seeing her later to inform her personally"

He leaves then and even though he always strides through the palace like he's late to a meeting, Rose waits a full minute before turning to Lexi,

"Is it just me or does he actually like Elijah's fiancé?"

Lexi shrugs, "I've heard rumours that he's friendly in the presence of the royals, maybe he's capable of human emotion?"

"Other than anger and disapproval you mean?" she snorts, "I'll believe that when I see it"

She checks her watch, "Right, I have half an hour before I have to meet this mystery fiancé so if we happen to have any information on her, that'd be great"

Lexi winces, "Actual written down information is a no-go, she left Court before the commsec department came in, but…" she throws her a winning grin, "Would you know it? I'm best friends with her brother-in-law"

Rose shows her surprise this time. As a rule, the only time courtiers deigned to acknowledge the Royal staff was when they wanted something, and even then it was usually only those who had daily face time with the King or heir.

A servant who was on friendly speaking terms with either of those two elite could make a killing in backhanders, one of King Mikael's valets had earned twenty thousand in one year for casually conversing with the king about hunting but then he'd overplayed his hand. If you were caught selling your access to the royal family your position was terminated immediately and you faced prosecution.

And Lexi had access to the Royal…siblings she supposed they were now, no longer the Royal Children.

"May I ask how?" she inquires cautiously but there isn't even a hint of fear on her deputy's face,

"Stefan Salvatore- Katerina's brother-in-law- is friends with Prince Niklaus and was in the room when the prince was picking charities to support for his twenty-first birthday I suggested the Valhallan Leukaemia Foundation and when he asked why…I told him about my brother Leonard"

Seeing Rose had no idea what she was talking about Lexi elaborated, "My brother was diagnosed with Leukaemia when he was eight and I became his guardian after my mom died and my dad bailed, and because we were born in Greenland we didn't have citizenship before he got sick so we were denied universal healthcare, I was struggling to pay for his treatments but Stefan heard me talking about it and arranged for Leonard to be admitted to the Royal Hospital and given Valhallan citizenship. He was given priority in stem cell treatments and now he's in remission and gods willing, he stays that way"

Well, wasn't that sweet for a married man to go to such efforts for a total- albeit beautiful- stranger. Rose hoped her suspicious mind was wrong, certainly the way gossip raced around the palace she would have heard if her deputy was sleeping with a married aristocrat, still…she checks her watch, this is not getting her work done,

"Katerina Petrova" she prompts, "Go"

"Eldest daughter of Baron and Baroness Rose Seng, born 1994 at the local hospital, has a sister Elena who is married to Stefan and a niece Nadia. Both girls went to Rose Seng primary school and spent spring and summer term at the high school but winter and autumn term at Chateau de Rosey in Switzerland where most of the aristocrats send their kids. She was betrothed to Elijah at seventeen and then went to America for college at eighteen where she has been for the last five years"

She finishes and takes a deep breath and Rose processes the information, "Right, got it"

She forms an impression in her mind as she hurries from Kattegat to the Cousin's Palace, racing through to the front entrance hall so she'd have five minutes to catch her breath and compose herself before presenting her credentials to the guard at the door. Walking through the inner hall she was surprised to see a footman or well foot woman sitting at a white and gold desk,

"Ansel vetted you then" she spoke without thinking and the woman giggled,

"Just in time" she answered cheerily, "May I have your name please?"

"Ms Rose Ford, Royal Press Secretary Head of Communications, here to see Lady Katerina Petrova"

"Of course Ms Ford" the woman greeted, her finger already scrolling on her tablet for the schedule, "Lady Petrova will see you in the East Drawing Room"

A silent footman appeared through the doors and with a click of his heels turned around to lead her down the hall to a white and gold filigree door, he opened it for her and she stepped in, her eyes sweeping the room and seeing it empty,

"Lady Petrova will be with you shortly" he murmurs in a barely audible tone before disappearing again and she checks her watch, one minute to spare and stalks over to the gold settee facing the door, her footfalls cushioned by the plush rug. She's just setting her tablet on the table and mentally counting down from ten, about to reach one when the door opens again,

"Good morning" her voice breaks the silence of the room, "You must be Rose"

It takes her five seconds to curtsey and during that time her eyes scan every available detail.

Katerina is average height, beautiful, looked thin but she was adorned in black, she moved gracefully but there was something in her walk, a slight swagger or something equally confident. The nonchalance of the nobility perhaps?

She gives Rose's hand a quick shake and gestures for her to sit down,

"I've sent for tea and coffee" she informs her politely, "Are you hungry?"

She realises she hasn't had breakfast but looking at the girl in front of her, she doesn't want to risk clumsy eating and getting crumbs on her outfit. At least she'd changed before leaving.

"I'm fine, thank-you for agreeing to see me"

Katerina smiles politely, "Of course, how might I help you?"

She was well-spoken with a Valhallan accent, despite five years in America, she was dressed in high waist jeans with a sheer black top that exposed the black bra underneath, high heels that showed off her delicate feet and natural make-up. Technically she was wearing the required black mourning but she looked less mournful and more model.

She could not be seen outside like that.

Rose cleared her throat, "Well…as Elijah's fiancé, the eyes of the media will be on you from now until…well…until"

"Until the day I retire from public life due to old age or ill health" Katerina finishes for her as a maid brings in the tea tray, her friendly tone diminishing somewhat. They wait as the tea is placed before them, already steeping and when the door is closed again, Katerina scoots forward and pours two cups with skilled grace,

"From the moment I re-entered Valhallan society I re-entered the public eye"

She sips her tea and smiles over the cup, "Da Hong Pao tea" she says sweetly,

"The third most expensive tea in the world, from His Majesty's personal collection"

Rose was not a connoisseur of tea and as such, almost felt guilty drinking something so luxurious with no palate for it, all she could determine was that it had a floral taste,

"Following your presence behind His Majesty during his address last night there has been growing interest in you and I would like to compile a profile so that the public might recall who you are"

Katerina gave a truly delicate shrug that Rose wished she could herself perform, setting her cup down on the gold coaster provided she settled back against the settee, her clothes hugging her body and her curls draping over her shoulders.

She was so insouciantly seductive and Rose had a momentary fantasy of Elijah kissing her on that couch, "Ask away"

Forcing herself to concentrate she picked up her tablet and accessed her notepad,

"Well, I know your history, you went to primary school in your local village and spent two terms a year of high school there too?"

Katerina nodded, "Yes, my father wanted my sister and I to connect with the people of Rose Seng, to know them and be a part of the community, it was slightly more difficult attending two very academically different high schools but we had classes by correspondence during our summer and spring terms, I undertook the International Baccalaureate in both English and French and graduated with awards of excellence. I received early admittance into Whitmore University in America which is the leading university in the country for its focus on ethnic minorities in relation to Globalization and Climate change and I graduated summa cum laude and Valedictorian with a degree in Political Science and Diploma of Spanish, I was pursuing my Masters in International Development before King Mikael's untimely death"

Rose listens to the rote recollection of Katerina's academic career and picks up the pride in her tone, pride she can't even condemn the woman for, it is impressive although listing it in a media profile would likely alienate the general public who didn't have access to the most expensive boarding school in Europe.

She notes it down however while her journalistic brain whirls,

"And your personal life?" she asks with feigned sweetness, "When did you fall in love with His Majesty?"

Admittedly, a part of her, the tiny part that daydreamed of the handsome King falling in love with his Press Secretary, had hoped to catch her out, but Katerina only lowered her gaze with an almost innocent, school girl blush,

"I met Elijah when I was fifteen…a month before I turned sixteen" she corrects hastily and Rose decides to make it sixteen for the sake of propriety,

"We fell in love…" she opens her mouth and frowns slightly, "I can't really remember ever not being in love with him, I suppose it was after the first time we met, we first kissed at my debutante ball and he proposed to me when I was seventeen" she runs her thumb over the large engagement ring on her finger,

"I was a fan of Marie Antoinette at the time, I had dressed as her for a masquerade so he proposed to me with her own wedding ring"

"Seventeen is awfully young to be engaged" Rose points out and Katerina chews her lip,

"This is common knowledge in the aristocracy anyway but at the time, I was technically betrothed to Kol- Prince Kol and the only way that arrangement could be broken was if I made another match, Elijah and I were deeply in love and…" she sighs,

"You might hear rumours in the palace of the closet incident we were caught in flagrante delicato and well" she waves her hand and rolls her eyes,

"At that point it was either betrothal or shame on us both"

Rose types a few notes on her keyboard and tries to see this as something other than two foolishly in love youngsters who were now half a decade older and still not married,

"You were away from Court for five years?" she questions and the warmth in Katerina's eyes from recalling her romance fades,

"Six years" she corrects, "When I became engaged to Elijah, Queen Esther- Gods be with her- began training me for my future role as queen"

"Away from the Royal palace?" Rose jumps on that fact, "Surely it would have made more sense to train you at Court?"

Katerina shifts position, "Probably but unbeknownst to many, the poor queen was ill, under the pretext of training me we retired to Ensamhet Castle where I did undergo training and then later… I cared for Esther during her final days"

She blinks slowly and Rose senses her grief before she continues with her charming air and cavalier tone,

"And then when I returned, as per Esther's suggestion I asked leave to retire from Court whilst I pursued my degree. She wanted me to have the opportunity her children would not have to study and live as a private citizen capable of associating with regular people, I adopted the name Katherine Pierce in America and did as she requested"

What a story, a nice, charming story.

With only a few loose threads that could unravel everything, but that was an issue for another time. Rose smiles and sips her now cooling tea,

"How lovely, and now that you're back, when do you and His Majesty plan to wed?"

"In a year" Katerina answers, "There is a traditional mourning period and all the planning to account for"

"Of course" she concurs, "Now, as his fiancé you will face a lot of media attention and as I am his Press Secretary, I will likely be assigned to you as well, as such I will handle all communications between various organisations, the media and you. I will advise you on how to handle your response and issue statements in your name"

"With my permission of course" Katerina interjects sharply and Rose grits her teeth as she smiles,

"Of course, now we'll have to talk about your image…"

"Sweet country girl with a happy family from the rose district who fell in love with the heir to the throne" she interrupts,

"Deeply in love, a true fairy-tale from the chance meeting to the wedding in a year's time"

Rose can't resist eyeing the girl's outfit again, for a fairy-tale princess she is dressed a lot like the villain,

"That would surely catch the public imagination but it might get old quickly in this day and age, after all Duchess Kate in England and Princess Mary in Denmark already have that story"

"So I shouldn't tell the truth?" Katerina asked sarcastically, "What's my story then?"

Rose pressed her nails against the backing of her tablet,

"Well, perhaps we could expand further on your betrothal at seventeen and your training under Queen Esther?"

Katerina sighed clearly out of patience, "Look, who do I need to be? Lofty heiress? Young woman in love? Girl next door? I can be anything you ask so long as you don't ask me to be myself"

Fuck.

Rose blinked, that statement had been delivered with an annoyed tone but something there was something there that was so raw…

"I'll send my deputy Ms Branson around later today to flesh out the profile" she offers weakly and receives a satisfied nod,

"Wonderful, I look forward to meeting her" she rises smoothly and holds out her hand, gripping hard enough this time to hurt Rose's fingers,

"Shall I see you out?"

When Rose returns to the Press Office fifteen minutes later, she's still stunned and slightly mortified. She manages to regain her composure when her team swarms around her, eager for details about the mystery fiancé.

"She's beautiful" she tells them firstly, as she sits down at her desk, "Absolutely beautiful, graceful, well-dressed and well-spoken but also very intelligent, aristocracy so there won't be any media backlash about raising a commoner but she was part of the community in her village so she won't be inapproachable…all in all" she surmises, "I think we have a wonderful future queen"

Katherine did her best not to stomp as she strode back to her apartments.

Did her best not to clench her fists.

Did her best not to show her fury and frustration on her face.

Damn Press Secretary.

Damn woman with her condescending tone, her judgmental look.

Katherine knew when she was being condemned as a slut for the way she dressed.

And apparently a power-hungry gold digger too.

As if a seventeen year old girl could have caught the twenty-two year old Crown Prince if he hadn't fallen for her first.

Gods knew that it would have taken more than the promise of power or the crown jewels to keep her around after everything.

The woman worked for Elijah, she should swallow whatever story she was told to.

If Katherine told her that she was a young girl who'd fallen madly in love with a man who just happened to be heir to the throne, she should accept that as truth.

After all, it had been the truth.

Once Upon a Time.

She walks into her interior apartment and shuts the door behind her, pressing her palms and lower back against the polished wood and looks down at her legs, positioned so that her heels are against the carpeted floor.

Fairy tales always ended too soon.

Right after the Prince and Princess rode off happily into the sunset.

They never warned little girls about what happened when night fell.

A/N- I don't know what happened here, I think I'm building a really complex fucking world here.