November 7, 1491

Eleven days since the night Ana died. I wasn't counting, not on purpose anyway. The numbers just came to me, stuck with me day after wretched day, reminding me that nine, ten, eleven days had passed since the death of my twin.
And there was no way I could feel emptier than I did right then.
I tried to tell myself that it wasn't my fault, that I couldn't have saved her, that Klaus was stronger than me, he would have killed both of us in an instant.
But it was no use. I kept remembering that night, how I didn't even try to save her, try to protect her. I just stood there, gaping at the scene that was the murder of my sister.
And I began regretting other things as well. How I was never nice to her, always let her take the fall. How she was the sweetest, kindest girl I had ever met, and now, she was dead.
I cried until there weren't any more tears left in my body, and reprimanded myself over and over again.
I didn't run away from the Mikaelson's. I had nowhere to go. I was pregnant and had no clothes, food, or money. And I couldn't stay inside the mansion either, I was too afraid of the men that lived within.
So I had stayed on the land that was part of the large estate, hiding under trees and behind bushes.
I feared the brothers would come out, go looking for me, but from what I had seen, no one had gone in or out in days. It was like the entire house had shut down. The normal bustling activity and life of the place was gone.
The blinds were closed, doors locked.
I couldn't even spot candlelight inside at night. It made me wonder if they were even still there, but of course, they were.
The horses were all still in the stables, perfectly intact and looked after as well. I considered taking one, but then realized the consequences that might come into play after me stealing the horse.
The grass was still perfectly trimmed, somehow. Everything looked spotless, and to an outsider, it wouldn't look like everything had shut down.
I didn't know how the brothers did it, but considering whatever they were, they probably had some spell on the place to keep it like this, even if they were secluded inside.
These were the kinds of things I thought about while I sat outside, still in my now torn party clothes.
I wondered if I would die like Ana, at the hands of Klaus, or if I would just die of starvation. I was already experiencing hunger pains. I didn't know what to eat, as I had never learned what was poisonous in nature. There was a small pond on the land that I was extremely grateful for. It gave me clean water that at least kept me alive, even if I didn't have any food.
One rather hot day for November, I sat by the pond lazily, picking at the grass.
It was if I had gotten worse in the past few days, less careful, less cautious that the brothers would catch me or see me.
I still was not content on anything, I worried constantly, but my mind took a well deserved break at that moment, and I just took time to breathe.
But as I did, and my mind was free of worries, a hand clamped around my mouth with great speed.
My attempted scream was muffled by the hand and I grabbed it, trying to pull it down but it was to no use.
"Oh, come on Katerina. You can do better than that!"
A familiar voice taunted me.
"If I take my hand off of your mouth, promise you won't scream?"
I was desperate for him to get off of me, so I nodded frantically.
He slowly took his hand off of my mouth, and instead grabbed my wrist, turning me to face him.
I stared up at Klaus' face, now returned to normal, human form, but I knew what was behind that grin. A monster.
"You killed my sister!" I said to him, with a mix of gritted teeth, choked up feelings, and pure rage.
Everything I had only thought about until now was ready to flow out. I would hurt Klaus in any way possible, even if it was just with words.
He shrugged.
"Agree to disagree, Katerina. She is dead, but it's more undead than anything else."
"What?"
Nothing he was saying made sense in the moment, and I was overwhelmed with what he was saying.
"Your sister happens to still be breathing."
My eyes widened as I finally realized what exactly he was saying.
"But... But I was there... I... But I... You killed her! I saw!" I was stammering over my words, trying to get a grip on what had just happened.
"I did, but my brother and I did something that prevented her from dying. In other words, she's like us now." he said. He seemed disgustingly proud of what he had done.
I was positive I was shaking.
"And what are you, exactly?" I said, trying to make myself seem confident, but really making me seem weak and vulnerable, as my words shook uncontrollably.
"We're referred to by many names, by many different cultures, but you probably know us best by this name."
He paused slightly and then leaned in closer to me. His grip on my wrist tightened.
"Vampire."
I gasped. I knew it, I had known it from the minute I saw the fangs protrude from his teeth.
My fear was growing steadily. Was I going to die? Was Klaus going to kill me? The way this was going, it truly seemed like it.
"I also heard an interesting conversation between our siblings." he continued, as if nothing had ever happened, as if he had never just confessed to me that he was a vampire.
"Ana says she's planning to kill you."
"Wait, excuse me?"
Ana, trying to kill me? Ana could never hurt a fly. Which meant, she wasn't Ana anymore. She was a vampire, a bloodthirsty, awful, undead monster.
"Yes, she said something about how this is all your fault and how much she hates you and your unborn child."
I was shocked at what I was hearing. Klaus continued his story.
"Elijah's taken her far away. He doesn't believe in killing. But she's a vampire now. Her emotions are on an all time high. She wants to kill you, and she will find you, and she will murder you. I promise you that."
I shook my head.
"I have no way to protect myself... Not against.. Not against that." I couldn't call Ana "she" anymore. She just didn't seem like a girl anymore, but just what the Mikaelsons were. She was a nightmare.
"I have a few ideas." Klaus smirked and looked at me knowingly.
"Well, please share." I said, looking up at him. Right now, my only priority was to keep myself safe, from him and from Ana, so keep him distracted and rather happy, and to be able to not let her find me.
Klaus gave a few interesting ideas, but I couldn't really agree with any of them. They all sounded very smart, but not anything I could do.
I couldn't take down something with super speed, super strength, and amazing agility.
And, just as I was beginning to lose all hope for my life, Klaus gave an idea that really made me think.
"You could beat her at her own game. Become a vampire yourself, be equal, have an equal fight. Who knows, maybe you'll even kill her yourself."
"That's actually an amazing idea, Klaus. I could fight Ana if I was a vampire. And it would be fair."
He laughed slightly.
"You just have to promise me one thing, Katerina. After you turn, you and I are in this together. You want to kill Ana, I want to kill Klaus. We each have our own reasons to do so. But we travel together, help each other out. And when we meet Klaus and Elijah, it'll be two to two. Do you agree?"
I didn't even hesitate.
"I agree."
Klaus let go of my wrist and held out his hand. I took it, his handshake firm and decisive.
It was done.