A/N- Here we go, hope everyone likes this chapter, or at the very least doesn't hate me for it. I'm basing my Finn on Yusuf Gatewood's performance in The Originals because he was far more interesting than Casper Zafer in The Vampire Diaries.

"Who is she?"

Elijah frowned and he pulled his head back with momentary confusion,

"Who…?" he began but comprehension set in, his face paling and then hardening like stone,

"Not here." He tells her shortly, his hand trailing from her face down her arm to link their fingers together, "Come."

They both fix their royal smiles in place as they leave the Council chambers, descending the stairs carefully as cameras flashed up at them and Katherine treaded carefully on the plush carpeting in her heeled shoes.

By now, spectators were gathered outside, holding up their phones and Katherine released him so that he could pose for two selfies with overexcited young women, sign three autographs and then cite a meeting as an excuse to get away.

She smiles throughout all of this, strikes a conversation with one of the onlookers and pretends not to notice when one of the women tries to pinch her fiancé on the bum.

One of the downsides to Elijah being royal, young and ridiculously handsome was that women were so determined to 'win' him that they completely lost their sense of appropriateness around him. Usually the bodyguards stepped in when they got too handsy but there had been incidents of women going to great lengths to try and seduce the royal men.

Incidents that would have seen them on sex offender's registries in any other circumstance.

Elijah slips his hand back into hers and she tilts her face upward expectantly, giggling when he kisses her on the lips and whispers a sweet nothing in her ear, a subtle way to remind the world that he was spoken for.

Both of them ignore the immediate irony of the situation.

They don't return to the Cousin's Palace but to Kattegat Palace, walking through the golden gates to the salute of the guards and around the side, choosing to walk along the wall instead of through the interior where they would be bothered by courtiers and servants.

The gardens at Kattegat are stunning, divided into four sections that were designed for the four seasons so that one part would always be in bloom.

There was a lake for water sports, a maze, a small forest, a tiny mock village for people to play in and an outdoor theatre. More importantly, there were many different spots where lovers could meet in secret.

There was a grotto in the autumn garden where Katherine had first kissed Elijah, there was a rundown gazebo in the spring garden overrun by lavender where they'd had very heavy make-out sessions and there was a grotto in the summer garden where they'd been hidden from view by a canopy of roses as they'd made love on the soft grass.

They aren't headed to any of those places however. Instead, they take the path to the winter garden, the stones underneath their feet changing colour from sandy yellow to ominous grey to symbolize the season. It was a stark garden with marble statues that depicted the kidnapping of Persephone and Demeter's grief; only flowers that bloomed purple or blue were allowed to grow in its domain. The garden was enclosed by a stone wall and standing there, it was easy to believe that winter was unending and happiness banished from the earth.

There was a stone bench in the very centre where they had sat the day Katherine had left Valhalla, they walk over to it and Elijah places it jacket on the seat for her- just as he had the last time.

They sit there side-by-side in silence for a few seconds before he turns his face to her,

"How did you find out?" he asks quietly and she shrugged,

"I guessed, after all, I was gone for five years and I knew that celibacy wasn't anything we'd agreed upon, not for that length of time. So I knew that there would be someone- someone, singular- because you aren't a one-night stand or multiple girlfriends' kind of guy."

"Not since I met you," He corrects, "Before then, there were a few."

More than a few but that was irrelevant.

"Who is she?" Katherine asked again, and Elijah clicked his jaw in discomfort,

"Does it truly matter?" he queried and she twisted her body to face him,

"You can make me the most powerful queen consort in the world," she began,
"But that won't mean a thing if there's a woman at Court bragging to everyone about being your whore."

"She wouldn't…" he said before cutting himself off, "She's not part of the Court, or the nobility."

She shifted closer to him, "Elijah," she prompted, "Who is she?"

He sighed, chagrined, "Her name is Gia Mohan, she's a second generation American, her parents migrated from India and I met her in New Dehli during the Holi festival when I was there for trade talks and she was there for a family wedding"

"The festival of love," Katherine noted drily, "It must have been destiny"

"At that time you had been gone for a two and a half years," he argues, "I was taking pills at that point to kill any sexual urges I might have but…I missed being loved more than I missed love-making."

"I have never stopped loving you," Katherine snaps, angry at the suggestion but he nods,

"I knew that, I also knew that to have brought you back to my world or intruded upon yours would have been the greatest cruelty and risk to our relationship. So, I introduced myself to this woman on the street, covered in paint and playing the drums, we went for a walk, we spent the week together and five months later she moved to Hjart. She's a musician who lives in the student district, I only ever go to her apartment at night and take every precaution to prevent discovery and I've had a vasectomy so there won't be any illegitimate children."

Katherine's eyebrows shoot up and she's momentarily distracted from the conversation,

"You got a vasectomy?!" she nearly cries, "When?"

He smirks, "A year after you left, Kol found himself accused of impregnating a woman for the fifth time in several months. Now, this is a common occurrence, women trying to trick a prince into marrying them but Mikael was furious about the repetition and your father suggested the operation for Kol, Niklaus and myself and an IUD for Rebekah" he rolls his eyes, "I wish I could tell you that the accusations had stopped but they still come in with alarming regularity, regardless of whether or not we've actually slept with the woman."

"Does she know about me?" she enquires curiously, and is relieved when he nods affirmatively,

"Yes" he swallowed, "I didn't want to lie to her, the truth would have been revealed in any case, she knows that we're engaged."

"Does she know that I'm it for you?" Katherine challenges,

"That I'm the love of your life and there will never be anyone else in my place?"

He frowns, obviously thinking it over and Katherine's nails scratch along the stone bench.

She wouldn't be the first woman who had to fight her way to the throne and eradicate a few enemies in the process but she had assumed that Elijah was the one front that she wouldn't have to wage war on.

"I've never spoken to her about there being any future for the two of us but I can have that conversation with her to ensure that there is no confusion,"

"Do you want me to end the relationship?" he offers quietly and Katherine stands up and crosses her arms, pacing to the edge of the garden while she considers it,

"No," she decides, "She can stay until the wedding."

"Until our wedding night?" he queries, no longer talking about his mistress,

"No" Katherine answers, "I don't know when but…before then."

He stretches his legs out and checks his shoes for scuff marks,

"And you?" he checks, "Was there anyone at Whitmore?"

"Yes" she answers, lifting her head, "Hundreds of someone's, thousands of them"

He grins at her comment, "Will he go to the press?"

She frowns as she thinks about Liam, hot but pretentious Liam, would he stay silent or would he need to be bought off?

"I think we're safe." she says and he stands, checking his watch,

"I'm late for a meeting," he informs her, "Walk with me?"

She smiles and links her arm through his, leaving the unhappy garden with their unhappy memories behind. They stride into the palace and almost immediately Elijah is beset by courtiers and staffers and Katherine bids him farewell with a lingering kiss.

Her Most Esteemed Royal Highness Princess Rebekah Claire Emma Samara Lothbrook, Duchess of Kattegat, Countess of Felandar and Protector of the Worship of the Goddess Freya- was bored.

Slumped on the two hundred year old couch in her receiving room, she pouted at the top of the line laptop in front of her and sighed at the dullness of her day so far.

She'd woken up late, had breakfast in her chambers and then kicked around on Netflix waiting for something to happen.

Nothing.

She'd checked Facebook and all her friends were posting condolences on her page, five hundred and counting so far, she'd sent a few texts on her phone and then sat back, expecting there to be a knock on her door at any minute.

There wasn't.

No-one came to visit her, not her brothers, not her Press Secretary, not Ansel, not even any courtiers or petitioners to ask her favours.

She was the Princess and she might as well not even be in the Palace.

It hadn't been like this before, when her mother had been alive there'd always been something going on, events for her to attend, activities for them to do, they'd always been entertained and together as a family.

After she had died, Mikael had sent everyone but Elijah away, it had been easier than being a father to them.

She supposed that after the Coronation she'd be sent away again.

Back to Paris, to her luxurious but empty dorm at the vapid boarding school with the irritating sycophants that would never have given a damn about her if she hadn't been a royal princess.

Except that maybe she wouldn't have to go back.

She was seventeen years old now, she was almost an adult and pretty much about to graduate anyway, she could easily finish her studies by correspondence and remain in Hjart.

She was the only princess the family had, and sister to the King, she could be useful in the palace.

She would be needed and once again, have a place where she fit in and belonged.

Excited by her newfound purpose, she bounds off the couch, and is halfway out her door before skidding to a stop to check her appearance in the mirror.

She takes a moment to calm down, lest people see her flushed cheeks and glowing eyes and realise that she was beginning to move past mourning her father.

That would be very inappropriate for a princess.

She manages to keep a sedate pace as she walks through the palace halls, finally encountering the courtiers as she reaches her brother's rooms, clearing her throat so that she is noticed and they step back and curtsy as she sashays past without deigning to look at them.

A liveried servant bows and leads her to the door of Elijah's antechamber, knocking politely and stepping in to announce her while Rebekah puts her hands on her hips and resists the urge to tap her foot.

She's the King's sister for crying out loud, why on earth does she need to be announced?!

She should have permission to enter Elijah's rooms without ceremony whenever she bloody well wished.

"Come in, Bekah."

She jumps in surprise at hearing Nik's voice instead of 'Lijah's but the door is open and she walks in to see all three of her older brothers sitting on the couches with coffee in their hands and a platter of sandwiches on the table,

"Did I miss the invitation for a tea party?" she demands sarcastically, dropping down onto the couch beside Nik before remembering belatedly that she was supposed to wait for Elijah's permission first.

Elijah however, seems distracted, "Not at all little sister," he murmurs, not even looking up from his papers, "We were just discussing politics."

"More to the point," Kol elaborated, taking a long sip of the coffee that Rebekah would bet a pair of diamond earrings was flavoured with Guinness,

"All the politicians that Elijah pissed off today."

Rebekah sat on the edge of her seat and put her hands in her lap between her knees, trying to focus her brain on being as alert as possible,

"What did you do?"

"I dissolved the Royal Council and warned them that I would be making moves to appoint ministers based on merit as opposed to nobility" he looks up with a smirk,

"Nor did I stop there, after my Coronation I am going to be establishing a committee that will be tasked with granting more political rights to the citizens of Valhalla, finding a way for them to have representation and even a say in governing."

Rebekah processed all that information and then frowned, "But…won't that diminish our power? The power of the royal family? Won't that turn us into figureheads like the Windsors?"

"Not all of us," Kol jumped in, "Katty is going to be granted the title of Queen, instead of just Queen consort, and in 'Lijah's absence, Queen Regent"

Rebekah could hear the blood pounding in her ears, and her fingers clenched together,
"So, the rest of us are going to be turned into useless ninnies but that upstart gypsy is going to be ruling over everyone?!"

Elijah's head shot up at the racial slur, "Romani or traveller is the correct term," he explained coldly, "Otherwise, you could simply refer to her as Katerina. She is to be your sister-in-law after all."

Rebekah slumps back on the couch, blushing with humiliation at being scolded,

"I didn't come here to fight brother," she says by way of apology, "I came to help, after all I am the Royal Princess, there has to be something I can do to help you with your duties."

Elijah smiles and Nik slips his arm around her shoulders, hugging her close to him,

"Father's charities will need to be seen to," he tells her, "Aidan was planning on having me attend the headquarters of each one personally but if you were to go in my stead that would be very helpful."

Rebekah nods eagerly, "I can do that, send him to me today and I can start tomorrow."

Elijah is distracted by his phone buzzing and checks the screen, "I'm afraid he's going to be rather busy, can you check in with his office? They'll have all the information you need…also the Lord Chamberlain's Office apparently wants to start preparations for the wedding so if you want to work on that, the Petrova's will appreciate the effort."

Kol rolls his eyes, "Tea parties and weddings," he shoots to his feet,

"I'm growing ovaries just listening to this, come along Nik, let's go shoot something to re-establish our manhood."

Nik gives him a withering look, "I actually have duties to attend to, much like you do little brother."

Rebekah pulls herself to her feet, "I'll go, now that I have my instructions and everything."

They're both at the door before remembering protocol and turn around to bow and curtsy but Elijah is handing Nik a sheaf of papers and doesn't even notice their hesitation.

So they simply walk out, heading past the courtiers who try to catch their eyes, their followers and hangers on. Rebekah waits until they're at the large sitting room that was one of the main intersections for the royal residences before turning to her brother.

She wants to thank him for pulling her out of that situation before she'd lost her temper with Elijah and said something that would have had her sent back to Paris in a heartbeat but Kol's texting on his phone,

"There's a new dj at my club tonight," he announces, "Want to come along?"

Yes.

Rebekah loved parties.

However, she also wanted to talk about the fact that Elijah had just brought up his impending wedding to the she-cat without a care for the fact that he was marrying Kol's ex-fiancée.

A woman Kol had truly been in love with until she'd been caught sleeping with Elijah behind his back, shattering his heart into a million tiny pieces and revealing to the world the power-hungry, manipulative bitch she really was. Then she had swanned off to the beach with their mother for a bloody holiday disguised as 'training' and never even told anyone Esther was sick until it was too late, until they only had five days left with her.

If that hadn't been bad enough, she'd boarded a plane the same day of the funeral and gone off to America to 'get an education'- as if Valhalla didn't have some of the highest ranking higher education institutions in the world.

She was completely heartless and for all her hoping that her older brother would come to his senses and break off the engagement, Rebekah had seen Katerina standing beside her insipid twin at the announcement and realised that she was still on track for becoming queen.

The thought of having to curtsy to Katerina Petrova made Rebekah's fingers curl.

Still, she's a Princess and has an image to maintain, so she agrees to have Kol pick her up at ten and, with nothing else to do, heads for the Private Secretaries Office, she walks in without looking and nearly collides with someone on the way out.

She opens her mouth to berate the idiot only to find herself pulled into a gentle hug,

"Oh my darling sister," a smooth voice whispers in her ear, "I was just coming to see you!"

Rebekah smiles and returns the embrace, "Hello Freya."

Behind her, she sees Finn and waves happily,

"Hello little sister," he says, "I would hug you but I do not think Freya plans on letting you go."

She laughs and steps back, finding her hands being taken by her two half-siblings,

"Come," Freya looks between the two of them, "Let us lunch together."

Rebekah glances at the office staff and decides that her scheduling can wait for another day, she instead follows Finn and Freya as they lead her out of the office section of the Palace into the public area and then around to the front gates,

"There is an absolute darling restaurant across the square," Freya tells her, "And we'll need a very long meal so that we can catch up on absolutely everything you've done every second since we've been separated."

Rebekah snickers, "The two or three seconds which I didn't tell you about in the emails you mean?"

Rebekah hadn't even been in Paris a month when Freya had emailed her, talking about her and Finn's lives, about how boring Hjart was without their darling little sister and asking about how she was adjusting to her new school. Freya had told her how positively jealous she was that Rebekah got to have a top-notch education in the most beautiful city in the world and how she must spend an afternoon reading on the banks of the Seine, or shopping at Gallery LaFayette, however she must not go to the Moulin Rouge without her and Finn, lest someone get the wrong idea…

In short, in a three thousand word email, Freya had made Rebekah feel so much less homesick and excited about her new life in Paris. After that, every time she had felt lonely, she had typed an email to her sister and grown so close to her half-siblings.

She knew that Elijah, Nik and Kol didn't really like Finn and Freya, calling them everything from boring to pretentious to fake but at least their half-siblings noticed Rebekah and how special and important she truly was.

They enter the restaurant and suddenly, all eyes are upon them, from the diners to the waiters and the maitre d' who comes running over and offers them the best table to be had, in the very centre and goes running to bring them the bottles of champagne Finn orders.

"What do you think of our brother the King's new plans regarding the Royal Council?" he asks her curiously after pleasantries are exchanged and Rebekah makes a face which causes the waiter bringing out the oysters to hesitate uncertainly,

"I don't understand much of it at the moment but I don't like the sound of it," she admits freely,

"It sounds like we're going to end up with the Westminster system and we'll all just be figureheads with no actual power."

"That's what I said," Freya tells her, pride in her voice as she kisses her cheek,

"But Elijah is determined to go ahead with the idea, bringing in the American man the gypsy recommended."

Finn pauses while sipping his champagne and glares at Freya who shrugs, "No-one can hear us and we're with our family," she turns to Rebekah,

"Besides, feel free to tell anyone you like that I don't care for Katerina Petrova or her damn family of political progressives."

Rebekah toys with the oyster in her hand, her silver fork tracing the shell, "So it's Petrova's idea to make all these changes then?"

Finn shrugs and sighs, "We have to assume so, as goodness knows, our brother the King wasn't exactly the champion of modernisation until she returned to Valhalla, now suddenly he believes in everything she does?"

"Well then, someone should say something," Rebekah suggested, "Tell him not to be led but to be his own man."

"We have tried," Freya takes the lunch menus and hands one to her,

"We spoke to him and then Niklaus to try and have him speak on our behalf, however Elijah won't listen to reason, Niklaus cares too much about his new duties to intervene and none of the courtiers will say something because they're too busy dancing attendance on your brother, after all, now that he's King, he'll be the one deciding whether or not they get invited back to Court after the funeral."

Rebekah's shoulders slump and she looks between the two of them,

"There has to be something we can do though?" she asks with a failing sense of hope, "Someone who can speak to him to make him see reason?"

Finn bites his lip and meets Freya's eyes to see her shrug and nod, "I think we can tell her, she might be able to help us find her after all."

Rebekah waved away the waiter approaching with the champagne, "Find whom?"

Finn smirked, "Elijah's mistress of course"

Katherine knew that future Queens did not pick up their employees from the airport.

They sent a staffer and a car, if that, and waited for said employee to check in at the Palace.

But that doesn't stop her from ordering a driver and warning the security team that she was headed out.

Fortunately the press don't have any time to pick up on her location and when she steps into the international airport, very few people realise who she is until she's standing in the arrivals section, looking up at the board to double check that Caroline's flight had landed.

Half an hour ago, which allowing for the time it took to disembark and collect her baggage, plus the ten minutes for Caroline to sweet talk her way through security, she would be coming out those doors any minute.

Aware that the people around her are watching her and pointing her out to their friends and family, she steps right up to the partition and maintains the composure she was taught by Esther. The art of not seeing those around her.

She fixes a polite smile on her face as people trickle through the doors which breaks into a wide beam as Caroline emerges in deep conversation with a fellow tourist.

She lifts her hand to wave and call out before remembering herself but her friend spots her and squeals with excitement, hurrying over to the partition and reaching across to pull her into a hug.

"Seriously?! This is amazing!" she gasps, kissing her cheek as she stands back and grabs her suitcase,

"You look great!"

Katherine looks down at her own outfit, "You look perfect as always"

Caroline Forbes could walk through Hell and come out the other side still looking adorable and today is no exception. She was wearing one of her typical floral dresses but had slipped on leggings, a faux leather jacket with a grey scarf and an adorable crimson beret.

Of course, the key to her beauty was the happiness and excitement in her bright aqua eyes, the light inside her that had drawn everyone including Katherine to her.

"So, do I have to curtsy to you or something?" she asks as she starts walking along the partition to the gap, carrying on the conversation as Katherine had to walk alongside her, as much as possible with people in the way.

"No, we'll cover that later" she promises as they finally manage to get Caroline out,

"Come on, I have a car waiting unless you want to lay waste to the duty free section?"

Caroline shakes her head, "Nope, but don't think I don't know about the shopping centres in town, we're going to go to every last one of those!"

Wouldn't that be a security nightmare? However, it could also be a PR dream- the future Queen, shopping like a regular citizen, supporting the local economy.

The drive was short, and Caroline spent the entire time looking out the window, trying to see everything that Hjart had to offer while Katherine enjoyed seeing her capital city through new eyes.

"So…" Caroline asked as they pulled into the Cousin's Palace and Katherine had them dropped off at the front doors,

"When do I start? Where is my apartment building? Is there an instruction manual and will I have time for language classes?"

Everyone stood and nodded respectfully as the two of them walked through the Entrance Hall and Katherine saw Caroline blushing at the attention,

"You get used to it," she promises kindly as they climb the stairs, "The trick is not to become blind, you still have to see the people and respond"

She leads her down the west wing, to the room just before hers, turning back to face Caroline with her hand behind her back on the knob,

"As for the apartment I promised?" she grinned, pushing open the door and stepping inside,

"This was what I had in mind."

They walked into the yellow sitting room that Katherine had had prepared earlier that day and Caroline stopped dead in the middle of the room and squealed,

"Seriously?! This is mine?!"

Katherine nodded, "As my Private Secretary I need you on hand at all times," she jerks her head, "I'm three doors down."

Caroline hurries to the largest door on the right and tentatively pushes it open to find her bedroom,

"Oh my God!" she screams, launching herself across the room onto the bed, "This is amazing, everything is so beautiful"

"Good," Katherine followed her in, perching on the edge of the bed,

"I'm glad, now focus on this happy feeling, because your bathroom hasn't been updated since the early twentieth century"

"I get my own bathroom?!"

Katherine laughs and points to the barely visible door beside the wardrobe, covered in wallpaper with a subtle handle, Caroline bounds over and pushes it open, squealing with delight at the quaint bathroom, taking photos with her phone and gushing over how cute it is.

"Why is there a velvet couch in there?" she asks when she emerges, adorably confused and Katherine shrugs,

"Sheer decadence?"

Caroline giggles and walks back over to the bed, falling onto the cover with a yawn and stretching,

"Thanks for the first class ticket by the way," she says, "I've never travelled so well in my life!"

"Thank-you for dropping everything for me at a moment's notice." Katherine replied,

"It means a lot to know I can count on you."

Caroline's smile faltered and she sat up suddenly, "Speaking of…" she pauses and looks around,

"Are there any listening devices or whatnot here?"

Katherine shook her head mirthfully, "No, security sweeps the place once a week."

"Okay" she sighs relieved, "Good, because my boyfriend Liam came by as I was packing my bags…"

She stopped to make sure that Katherine could follow the coded message and she nodded,

"How is he?"

"He is in a really happy place at the moment, he's not saying anything but he is planning on applying for med school soon and maybe looking for an internship?"

Oh.

Katherine leaned back on her hands and considered this information. Liam's silence would be bought by admission to med school and an internship.

Of course, both would have to be prestigious institutions to completely buy his silence. What were her options here?

Her father could bring him to Kattegat University and easily grant him a placement at the Royal Hospital, but if he did, Liam would probably want to come to Court as well, or at least enter high society. So Valhalla was out, maybe Paris or…it would have to be England or Sweden. She would ask him tonight and trust him to get it done without further questions; especially if she phrased it as a friend wanting a leg up.

"Good for him," she declares and Caroline beams with relief before yawning again,

"Uh oh," she laughs, "Somebody needs a pick me up."

She stands up and holds out her hand, "Fortunately for you, we have caffeine stashes all over the palaces."

They step into the hall and walk along to the end, to the sitting area just outside her rooms where traditionally, petitioners would wait when there was an overflow, she directs Caroline to the three thousand dollar coffee machine that Ansel had bought nearly one hundred of from Jura, choosing it because he declared it idiot proof, with a simple one-touch option. She feels a buzz in her back pocket and takes her phone out to find a message from Elijah,

Elijah- The irony does not escape me, but the Lord Chamberlain wants to discuss our wedding plans, the Press Office probably wants to start leaking details after the Coronation.

She smirks and types the reply,

Katerina- Send him this evening, I've been planning since our third kiss.

Elijah- You waited much longer than I did.

She snickers and looks up to see Caroline approaching, her hands clasped around the glass mug, her smile gone and her face slightly pale,

"Is the jetlag hitting you that hard?" she asks concerned but her friend shakes her head,

"There was a man who helped me with the machine…everything was in Valhallan, but…he was packing heat!"

Packing heat?

For a moment Katherine thinks that Caroline is pale over how hot the man was before the phrase translates in her mind.

"You mean he was carrying a gun?" she clarifies and her friend nods, "It was concealed in his jacket but it was there."

"Tell me what he looked like." Katherine demands, her eyes flickering to the emergency button behind the chaise lounge. There was one in every room in the palaces, designed to set off a silent alarm that alerted not only palace security but also the federal police force and the military.

"He was middle aged and medium height," Caroline begins, a true cop's daughter, she had instant recall in situations like this,

"Dark brown hair, light blue eyes, lined face, aquiline nose, hasn't shaved today and wearing a grey suit with a blue, white and gold tie with a grey shield on the bottom."

Katherine sighs with relief and smiles, leading the way to the coffee machine where, sure enough, Ansel was glaring at it like it had personally insulted him.

She calls his name and he turns to her with a smart tap of his polished shoes but clear exhaustion in his eyes,

"Caroline, this is Ansel," she introduces the two of them, "As Head of Royal Security he's one of the few people allowed to carry a weapon in the palace. Ansel" she gestures to Caroline, "This is my private secretary and best friend, Caroline"

Ansel takes Caroline's hand and shakes it firmly, his other hand holding the glass to his mouth as he gulps down the triple espresso,

"Nice to meet you." He says in perfect English.

Caroline blushes with embarrassment, "I'm so sorry, I saw you were carrying and knowing that gun control is really strict here I thought something was wrong."

He shakes his head, "You have a good eye child, for future reference, for the last five hundred years only palace security are allowed to carry arms in the royal residence. Anyone else either finds themselves shot on sight or facing down a very lengthy prison sentence."

Caroline nod, filing away this information and Katherine jerks her head to the door, "My rooms are through there, go have a look around."

Her friend shows slight confusion over the dismissal but heads off anyway, her gasps of admiration almost as audible as the sounds of her phone camera.

"She's savvy." Ansel comments, reverting back to Valhallan as he makes himself another coffee.

"She's deeply intelligent," Katherine tells him, "Deeply empathetic, bright, creative, well-organised and completely and utterly loyal to her friends."

"And how much do you love her?" he asks, sipping his coffee in a display of nonchalance.

Katherine gives him a sad smile, "Almost enough to let her know the real me."

A/N- Everything I include in these chapters is relevant. But I will include some Kalijah flashback sweetness next chapter I promise.

A/NN- For those concerned that I've sterilized the entire family, vasectomies are reversible and men are still able to conceive afterwards. Also, this story is fiction, so if I decide there will be no complications, then there won't be.