I, the Original

Chapter 9: Katerina: Part 1

Katherine POV:

Giving up her child, was not easy. She had expected it, deep down, that having it would not go unpunished by her overbearing traditional father. The Petrov family, who was one of the richest families in Tarnovo, could not afford a scandal like that.

Nadia, she had called her, right before her mother took her from her hands.

It might have been different had Genadi Dimitrov, Nadia's father, been a wealthy unmarried man and yet he was neither. The owner of a mill. Not poor but not worthy of the daughter of Hadzi Ivan Petrov, who practically owned the old Bulgarian capital. Even if Bulgaria was no more and had recently been conquered from the Turks by the Romans. Katerina remembered how her father had been puffing up his chest at having opened the city gates for Emperor Kyros.

If that was what happiness looked on her father's face, the look he gave her when he learned of her pregnancy was quite the reverse.

Disappointment.

Shame.

Anger.

Those were the emotions on her father's face, when it all happened.

The small solace she had was that her daughter was allowed to be raised by Genadi and his wife, the latter of whom was surprisingly happy to become a mother after so many years of trying. Her father had given the couple a bag of gold and the baby and told them to never bother him about her. Genadi and his wife had told Katerina that they would care for Nadia and the tears of happiness she cried then, for her daughter not for herself, were the last she shed in her homeland.

Her father would not allow for his spoiled daughter to remain in Bulgaria, especially not when he was rumored to become the first Bulgarian mayor of Tarnovo after the Roman conquest.

And thus, Katerina was banished with only the clothes on her bag and a small bag of coins for her journey to....wherever.

Her father had sent her off towards Sofia, where she was to live with her uncle Bogdan. And Katerina was so not looking towards that. Nor travelling all across the country with no escort.

That had been until she was met by a vampire named Rinaldo.

And she knew he was a vampire for the way he acted and how he avoided direct sunlight. She was a descendant of Traveler witches after all, through her mother's side, and she knew the truth about the unnatural and the things that lurked in the dark. Rinaldo had told her that a vampire by the name of Klaus was interested in meeting her and he would take her to England, where he resided.

Of course, Katerina was suspicious and yet it made little sense to be afraid. The most vampires wanted was the drain you of your blood and there were many and nearer targets for this English vampire to sate his thirst. All she knew was that she had no desire to live with uncle Bogdan and decided to take the vampire on his offer. After all, if he had wanted to drink her blood such elaborate ruses would be unnecessary.

It took them months to reach England. They first travelled to Thessaloniki, where Rinaldo led her to the ship, which would take them to London. Nightingale was its name. The ship was not as elegant as the name might imply but it was just a ship in the end. Comfortable enough.

She had asked Rinaldo about Klaus and what to expect but either the man had no knowledge of his master or no desire to answer. He taught her the social manners of the English and she soaked up these lessons in order to better adapt to the new place, she would be living in, for the foreseeable future. Whatever the case, she prepared herself mentally for whatever was to come.