A/N- Here we go, thank you all for reading/reviewing. If anyone is interested in making me covers for this story let me know, if anyone is interested in the pictures, from this story head on over to my tumblr page klaro-addict.
Also I've been nominated in the Klaroline Awards so thank-you to everyone who voted for me!
Valhalla's Fairy-Tale Romance
Prince Elijah's True-Love and Future Queen.
The Most Honourable Miss Katerina Petrova, daughter of Baron Rose Seng, caught the public's eye on Wednesday night when she attended the national address of Prince and King-to-be Elijah, standing beside the Princes Niklaus and Kol in a very privileged position.
We understand why our readers might not have immediately recognised this brunette beauty as she has been out of high society for nearly half a decade but Katerina is the long-time fiancée of our beloved Prince.
Born in June 1991, Katerina is the first born daughter of Doctor Alexander Petrova and Miranda Petrova nee Sommers, her sister Elena Salvatore nee Petrova is only a year younger and the two were often mistaken for each other as children, bearing remarkable similarity in looks.
Katerina had a wonderfully happy childhood in Rose Seng, despite being heiress to a Baronetcy she attended the local primary school with the other children and was active in the community, enjoying as normal an experience as possible as per the wish of her parents.
The Petrova family is a remarkably close, tight-knit unit and while Katerina spent her autumn and winter terms at Chateau de Rosey in Switzerland, she attended Rose Seng high school in the spring and summer terms when the entire district is abloom with the roses after which it is named.
It was during the spring term holidays in 2007 that the late Queen Esther, who'd long since considered the Petrova's close friends, suggested a betrothal between Katerina and the Prince Kol. The two quickly became good friends, having similar interests and enjoying the party scene around Kattegat however after a year their engagement was dissolved when those close to Katerina and Prince Elijah realized that the two had fallen deeply in love with each other.
They first met at Katerina's debutante ball when she was sixteen and he was twenty-one, even though there is a five year age gap between the two, they were immediately enchanted with one another. One source close to the pair recalls that they were unable to keep their eyes off each other the entire evening and pestering their friends for information about one another.
From there they continuously found excuses to be in each other's company and as the two families spent more time together, Katerina became affectionately known to the royal siblings as Katty.
When it became apparent that the Crown Prince and Lady Petrova felt true love for one another, the late King Mikael formally broke off the engagement between Prince Kol and Katerina and the same night Elijah asked permission of his father to propose to her.
She remains good, close friends with Prince Kol.
As it is no easy task to become Queen in an absolute monarchy, the late Queen Esther took Katerina to Ensamhet Castle for rigorous training, she felt true affection for the Future Queen and Katerina cared for her when she fell sick.
Wishing for her future-daughter-in-law to have one last experience of a normal life; Queen Esther requested that Katerina obtain higher education outside of Valhalla so that she could focus on her studies out of the public eye.
Attending Whitmore College in Virginia, USA, Katerina was a straight A student who participated in a range of different activities and charities, continuing on with a Master's Degree in International Development. Sources say that during these five years she and Prince Elijah wrote long love letters to each other weekly and sneak away to Dublin, Ireland for romantic getaways.
She will be formally reintroduced into public life at the funeral of King Mikael.
See Page Six for our profiles on the Royal Siblings.
Katherine had read the entire article with a perfectly contoured eyebrow raised.
Of course all articles in gossip magazines had to be taken with a grain of salt but she has to admit, she's impressed by how wonderful they'd made her life sound.
How enchantingly easy.
Perhaps all women- at least once- should have their lives summarised by a Press Secretary and then handed over to a magazine journalist to be embellished with pretty words and glamorous photos.
And on cold, dark lonely nights they could take the article out of the bedside table drawer, read it over and over again, close their eyes and pretend that fantasy and reality were intertwined.
The magazine- Royalty Monthly Valhalla - had been delivered to her this morning on her silver breakfast tray, brought in by a fresh, young maid clearly on her first day of the job. Katherine had smiled but otherwise been too occupied by the glossy image on the cover.
The glossy image of her.
In a black and silver gown with her hair in a chignon instead of her usual loose curls, with a polite but reserved smile on her face.
She had been attending the opening night of Antigone at the Ensamhet Theatre with Queen Esther, she remembers the night only vaguely; the pinch of her shoes on her little toe, the brush of her earrings through the holes, the itch of her mascaraed eyelashes.
Meet Valhalla's Future Queen- the banner scrolled across the skirt of her gown with headings on the side speculating about how Elijah would adjust to his role as King, Mikael's funeral, the Coronation and already they were discussing her wedding as if anything had been organised.
Her nerves had got the best of her so she'd left the magazine sitting on her tray as she'd showered and dressed for the day before sitting back down on her bed to read it.
After her second perusal of the article she turns back to the front cover, the image was five years old but at least it had been taken after her engagement to Elijah.
Following their meeting two days ago, Katherine had half-expected Press Secretary Rose to find the least flattering pictures of her during her period of betrothal to Kol imaginable.
She was glad that she hadn't, otherwise the poor woman would have found herself dragged into the murky world of intrigue, ambition and treachery that was daily life in the Royal Court.
Something that the newest additions to the Palace staff wouldn't understand but despite all attempts to modernise, those that lived in proximity to the Royal family and relied on their favour were as devious now as they had been for the last nine hundred plus years.
They had to be.
Otherwise, without the gossiping, slander, backstabbing and social climbing, the nobility would come to the realization that they were the last remnants of a bygone age.
Ghosts lingering on in a world that was slowly forgetting the traditions they held so dear.
A high laugh breaks her concentration and her head turns to the gilded door.
It reminds her that while she is sequestered in her bedroom, her State Room is slowly filling up with aristocracy. The younger generation of nobility, the rich and privileged who saw life as a fun game for them to play.
Katherine's 'friends'.
Those who had looked down on the lesser ranked courtiers and those who were wealthy but untitled. Those very same people who'd turned up their noses at the Petrova's for being so new to their station and called them gypsies to their faces, either not understanding that it was a racial slur or simply uncaring. Of course the second they'd discovered that Katerina was to become a Princess they'd opened their doors to her and when they'd found out that she was to become Queen, well…
They loved her, simply adored her and never had a bad word to say about her.
In public at least.
Still, there were some among them who she had truly liked and thinking of them now, she tosses her copy of the magazine on the bed and slips on her engagement ring, striding through to her interior apartment she checks her reflection in the old mirror before opening the door to her State Room.
They're on her in an instant. Crowding around her, pulling her into brief hugs and air kisses, pretending to be dispensing with etiquette and precedence when in reality keeping a sharp eye on the situation to ensure that nobody steps out of place.
"Kat, oh my god, it is so good to see you again!"
"Katerina darling, you look gorgeous!"
"You have to tell me everything about your time in America!"
Katherine smiles and plays the pleasant witty socialite until she sees an actual friend standing by the window waiting for her.
Isobel Fleming.
They'd become friends during high school and Katherine found herself genuinely smiling as she joins her, "It's good to see you" she tells her truthfully,
"Yeah" Isobel agrees, "It's been a while"
Katherine isn't entirely sure how she's going to explain away her five year absence yet, thankfully she doesn't have to. Elijah chooses that exact moment to arrive and as much as her circle enjoys fawning over the Future Queen, King trumps Queen to be.
Elijah has a smile on his face, he greets those the approach him by name and utters small pleasantries but at the same time he's making a direct line to her and she knows that any obstruction in his path will irritate him.
As a rule, Elijah didn't let people in and while he understood the necessity of the courtiers, he was more likely to be on better speaking terms with his attendants than with anyone titled.
Not that that had stopped many people from trying but the future King had an eye for falsity and little patience for it.
Isobel steps back with a soft sigh as Elijah reaches Katherine and she's smiling as she steps into his arms, his hands cupping her shoulders as he kisses her cheek, their faces turning towards each other and their lips almost touching before remembering that they're being watched,
"Good morning" he said, reaching down and rubbing his thumb across her engagement ring,
"Ready?"
She nods, "Of course"
He takes her hand, their fingers linked and they stride from the room, down the stairs to the Front Hall where the staff immediately get to their feet, uttering 'Good Morning Your Majesty' as they pass.
His thumb runs across her engagement ring again as they reach the doors,
"I can call for a car if you'd like?" he offers gallantly and she smirks,
"It's not even a kilometre across the square and how would that look?"
"I can take a bit of backlash on expenditure if…"
She reaches up to kiss him before realising that she can't unbalance herself in her boots, she grips his shoulder and when he ducks his head she presses their lips together and teasingly gives him a hint of tongue, "I'll be fine"
"Besides" she adds, "I look amazing"
"You always look amazing" he points out, but he follows her when she tugs on his hand and they walk out the doors. The gates being opened for them and curious passers-by were already stopping to have a look.
It was a brisk morning in Kattegat, the sky was an ominous grey with the threat of an afternoon rain. The autumn leaves scattered across the square from a nearby park were the only colour amongst the cobblestones and old buildings.
The Royal Council Chambers were to the south, directly opposite the Cousin's Palace, cornered on an avenue which housed the various Ministries and populated in between with expensive cafes, restaurants, bars and hotels for the government and palace staff.
Katherine fixed the bright, airy smile on her face, keeping her head up and her walk graceful and light. Elijah had the same pleasant, mannerly expression that he always wore in public
People were staring, recognising their King and phones were being whipped out for photos and videos.
It was strange how technology had changed the way the people saw them. The last time Katherine had been out with Elijah, there had been a few cameras and even fewer phones but otherwise, people had watched with their own two eyes, now they looked at them through the lens on their devices, more interested in recording them than actually being there in the moment with them.
She acknowledges the one or two who don't have their phones up in front of their face, she gives a brilliant smile to a pair of obviously jetlagged tourists and reminds herself that Caroline Forbes will be arriving tonight.
Caroline Forbes with her genuine smile and enthusiastic hugs.
She blinks and banishes her friend from her mind before she ruins the façade.
Professor Saltzman is waiting for them at the avenue corner, with an overpriced cup of coffee, a newly dry-cleaned suit and an air of nervousness about him.
"Good morning" Elijah grins, holding out his hand and shaking it firmly. The poor professor hovers for a moment, clearly uncertain about protocol and Katherine steps forward before he can embarrass himself by trying to bow.
"Katerina Petrova" she grips his hand to make sure he knows to shake instead of kiss it.
In high society, in the royal circles or at Court men would kiss her hand in greeting and women would curtsey to her but Katherine instinctively knew that wasn't a tradition that should be taken out to the streets when she and Elijah were trying to appear modern and progressive.
"Nice to meet you"
The professor has friendly eyes but Katherine can see the shadows underneath them, poor man likely hadn't slept last night.
He might be an American and probably proud of his republic's form of government but it would still be nerve-wracking to find himself suddenly asked to serve on the Royal Council.
Elijah nods at the coffee in the professor's hands, "You know, I heard there's a twenty percent discount for all Royal staff at these cafés, but my Head of Security isn't allowed loyalty cards anymore, he used them to the point where he actually became a loss for the business"
Saltzman laughed, "Sounds like my kind of man"
He falls into step beside them and Katherine sees Elijah noting his jitteriness and frowning slightly as he tries to figure out how to put him at ease. She strokes his hand with her thumb and beams at the professor, "So, do your students know where you are today?"
Alaric shakes his head, "I…uh…was concerned some of my more, hard core students would declare me a traitor for joining what they perceive to be an…"
He promptly closes his mouth with an audible clack, probably remembering all of a sudden the lese-majesty laws and the fact that the King was right beside her. Katherine shrugs,
"An outdated, exclusive and likely corrupt form of governing?" she finishes for him, "That's why we invited you after all"
"Perhaps your students could attend one of the meetings of the new Council once it's formed?" Elijah offers,
"Or I could attend one of your lectures and speak to them?"
Alaric seems genuinely surprised that he's making an offer to be so readily accessible to his students but Katherine had fallen in love with Elijah precisely because he was so generous towards others, happy to go out of his way or help in any way he could.
The Royal Council Chambers was a grandiose, imposing building, Katherine herself had a touch of nerves as they entered. The Lord Great Chamberlain of the building greeted them at the door in full ceremonial regalia and bowed to Elijah,
"Welcome Your Majesty" he greets in keeping with tradition, "May you rule with Odin's Wisdom and Thor's bravery"
There are a few press members in the designated roped off area in the entrance, taking photos and recording the scene as Elijah nods and waits for the man to be handed the ceremonial sword, a long sword with golden hilt and embedded with rubies. When the Chamberlain holds it up, he turns and leads them up the stairs into the entry-way of the chamber.
"I didn't realise that this was a formal thing" Alaric mutters nervously, as she makes sure they are both two steps behind the King.
"It's not" she whispers back through her smile, "This is casual for the Council, formal would be a lot more…well, the entire court would be in attendance and Elijah would be wearing his crown"
The Council chamber was a lot small than people realised. It wasn't a room set up for a multitude of people but for a select few.
That wasn't to say that it wasn't ornate, with gold filigree on the walls, two hundred year old chairs covered in velvet, a fireplace which was already crackling merrily with new flames and a chandelier that cost more than the average income for a Valhallan citizen.
And the room carried the perpetual smell of cigar smoke and expensive whisky, the very perfume of exclusion.
Katherine has to roll her eyes when they're announced by the page and the Ministers all rise to their feet as slowly as they can without slapping their disrespect in Elijah's face. Every last man is wearing handmade suits, their medallions of service, chains of office and all the finery they could muster without looking ridiculous.
They were trying to appear opposing and powerful in the hopes of intimidating the young King.
Elijah only raised his eyebrows in disapproval,
"Gentlemen," he approached the gold seat at the table, "You will have to forgive me, I didn't realise it was Frippery Friday"
One of the men scowled and settled his angry eyes on Katherine as she led Alaric to the seats against the wall,
"It's okay" she whispered, "They hate you a little but they hate me more"
"No talking in the chamber without the permission of the King" the Minister for Culture- closest to them- snapped, Katherine's head shot up in surprise at the contempt in his tone,
"My Lord" Elijah's voice was light but his tone was sharp, "The future Queen has permission in perpetuity to speak when and where she wishes, in fact, in the event that I am not able to attend Council she will sit here as Regent and speak for the monarchy"
Katherine's eyes went wide with shock and she had to quickly school her features so she didn't portray her emotion to the room.
The men at the table weren't quite so practised as she, they were obviously appalled by Elijah's announcement.
A Queen hadn't sat on the Council as Regent since the First World War and had only done so then because every male of Royal blood had been away fighting.
Queen Esther hadn't even entered the Royal Council Chambers during the entirety of her reign, she hadn't been allowed any political power at all.
"However," Elijah continued, "That is not relevant information for today as I have hereby decided to dissolve the Royal Council formed by the late King Mikael and will be appointing new members prior to my coronation. I thank you all for your generous service and wish you well in your retirement"
The Minister of Culture shot to his feet, "If I may speak Your Majesty?"
Elijah looked as if he'd very much like to deny the man his right but sighs and waves his hand,
"Your Majesty, my fellow ministers and I served for father loyally for over twenty years, we care only for the preservation of the monarchy and the kingdom- as such, we cannot stand idly by when tradition and ceremony are ignored, threats are being made to the foundation of everything we stand for and our way of life and everything we believe in is being cast aside for…"
Katherine smirked when she realised that this speech had obviously been planned without accounting for the risk of her being present and the man falters as Elijah's eyes grow hard and cold,
"Finish that sentence" he dares him, "By all means, you were describing your fear of progression, modernization and racial integration in the monarchy I believe?"
The ministers are all suddenly trying very hard not to look at Katherine as she daintily crosses her ankles and places her hands in her lap, making sure that her engagement ring is visible.
"Your father would not have stood for this" he finishes firmly and sits back down,
"That isn't the discouragement you were hoping for" Elijah comments dryly,
"Gentlemen, I understand that you are firm in your belief in your nobility, your place above the common people and your right to rule both your lands and Valhalla, unfortunately the world is changing and we must change with it. Our citizens have the ability to speak up now and we can no longer ignore what they are saying, as of this moment the crown is protected by the love of the people but we cannot abuse that. We cannot continue to choose our ministers through friendships and personal favours at the expense of suitability and merit. We have to take the opportunity to give our people rights and choices before our own rights and choices are taken from us and we find ourselves in the midst of a bloody revolution and facing down a firing squad"
One of the men scoffs, "This monarchy has stood for thousands of years"
"So did the German, Chinese and Russian monarchies" Elijah points out, "They stood right up until the moment they fell and I have no wish for the Valhallan monarchy to join them"
The ministers are clearly unhappy but Katherine can see that they can't continue their arguments any further.
Every last man had been appointed by the late King because he liked them or they'd bought their positions, they held the title but were largely unqualified to fill the role, most having never bothered to learn and heavy reliant on their staff to keep entire sectors from collapsing; of course this self-awareness hadn't stopped them from collecting rather large annual incomes and giving themselves the occasional bonus.
Katherine makes a mental note to speak to Elijah about putting a cap on ministerial salaries, that way, nobody would go into politics for the money and it would earn him points early into his reign.
"Your Majesty?" the Minister for Finances raised his voice, "What about our offices?"
Elijah nodded, "Your secretaries will be expected to take over the running of the offices until I have appointed replacements, I ask that your resignations and reports regarding your positions and your ministries be sent to me by Monday morning"
One last time, the Minister of Culture stands up to speak,
"The nobility won't stand for this insult" he announces, his head up, staring straight ahead at the frescoes on the wall as if he is the last standing bastion of the graceful Old World.
As if the greater part of the nobility could even name the men holding the ministerial positions or even cared whether any governing was done whatsoever.
"The nobility" Elijah sighs, "The nobility can be as unhappy as they like, bearing in mind that I am the King of an absolute monarchy and able to reward my supporters and punish dissenters as I see fit"
The warning is clear and Elijah nods to the page who opens the door, the men take their cue and file out, some striding out quickly with their heads held high, others lingering and shuffling around papers as they tried to look like capable ministers.
When they were finally alone Alaric let out a long breath, "Well that was intense"
"I hope it hasn't scared you away from politics entirely?" Elijah inquired as Katherine swept over to his side and lay a hand on his shoulder, watching the professor as he scratched the back of his head,
"Not entirely but I'm not exactly sure how I could possibly help" he shrugs, "I don't know anything about running a ministry or office"
"We aren't planning on making you a minister" Katherine answers him, interrupting Elijah, but he falls silent and allows her to speak for him.
"What we- the King- needs is advice on restructuring the current governing system so that the majority speaks for Valhalla instead of the minority"
"I would make you a Royal Advisor and have you head a committee brainstorming ways in which this could be achieved" Elijah continued,
"In such a way of course that I am still King in an absolute monarchy, I will not surrender power for myself or my heirs in that regard"
"You'll create your own responsibilities in the role and we'll trust that you pick academics who are either supportive of the monarchy or whom at the very least aren't planning to make us 'first against the wall'" Katherine finished and Alaric nodded,
"Right, okay, I think I can do that" he checks his watch, "But I have a tutorial in half an hour so…"
"You're dismissed" Elijah says and after a moment of uncertainty, Alaric turns around and lets himself out. Breaking about three rules of protocol but neither Katherine nor Elijah are going to condemn him for that.
When they're alone Katherine perches herself against the table, a massive sign of disrespect to the Council, King and the historically valuable table but after the display she'd just witnessed from the soon to be ex-Ministers she's not feeling very respectful.
"They won't go any further" Elijah murmurs, shifting in his chair to rest a hand on her knee,
"They might complain about impure blood but the moment we're married they won't dare stand against you"
She looks down at her engagement ring, "It's a long way from the Prince's heart to the Queen's throne" she intones,
"Giuseppe Salvatore said that to Elena and advised her to encourage our union as soon as possible"
Elijah rolled his eyes, "Giuseppe Salvatore quotes should be published somewhere, the man's wit is enviable" he stands up and cups her face in his hands,
"Giuseppe stands with you, Niklaus stands with you, Ansel would kill for you and your father would help him cover up the murder. You will walk beside me at my father's funeral and have a place of honour at my coronation, in a year from now we shall be married and three months after that you will be crowned Queen"
His smile is small but radiant, "You shall be the most powerful Queen in Valhallan history" he promises, lowering his head to kiss her cheek.
She turns her face as he goes to pull away and kiss him on the lips, a slow lingering kiss that has his hands slipping from her jaw to her neck, then down to her shoulders and she waits until he's holding her hips before she stops him,
"Elijah" she whispers, "Who is she?"
Caroline Forbes smiled apologetically as she narrowly avoided braining a woman as she pulled her carry-on luggage down from the overhead locker.
"Förlåt" she mutters in what she hopes is the correct pronunciation. Valhallan is such a hard language to learn, especially when she's only really had a day or so to try and pick it up.
Three days ago Katherine or Katerina Petrova, Honourable Lady something of somewhere, sent her an email offering her the chance of a lifetime.
She would come to Valhalla and be Kath- Katerina's- lady-in-waiting. Not like the ladies-in-waiting of old however, nothing like the women on the Tudors, no, she would be more like a Private Secretary. In fact, now that she thinks about it, she's pretty sure that's what the email said- Private Secretary- she'd get to organise events, work with charities and meet diplomats from around the world.
And more importantly, she'd be given an apartment, a living wage and brilliant experience for a future in event planning and international development.
In fact, it was the last three reasons that really convinced her to pack up her college dorm as quickly as humanly possible, drive like hell back to Mystic Falls and dump it all in her old room before picking up her passport and getting her mom to drive her to Richmond airport.
She'd been halfway through buying her ticket before a breathless attendant came over and told her that she'd already been booked first class all the way.
Caroline had decided that she liked first class very much and the attendants had all been super nice to her and one had even helped her practise her Valhallan when she came around with the dinner.
She made sure to thank them and tip them with the last of the U.S currency in her wallet before struggling to drag her small suitcase off the plane.
She paused on the steps for a moment and stared around at the new country, the first country she'd ever travelled to.
The air smelled different from American air, it was colder and sharper and she shivered before the annoyed woman behind her coughed and she apologised again before clambering down the steps and setting foot on the tarmac.
It was early evening and already a giant full moon was rising out of the sapphire sky, revelling in the noisiness around her, the people in the orange vests, the bright light from the airport and the heavy suitcase at her feet; Caroline tilted her head back and looked up at the stars.
She had the feeling that she was about to have a wonderful adventure.
First against the wall- I'm not sure if this is purely a British/Australian saying but it means first to face down the firing squad in the event of a revolution/uprising/coup etc.
Förlåt- Sorry in Swedish. The words I use as 'Valhallan' are a mixture of Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and whatever I can pull out of Google Translate/ looks pretty.