Bulgaria 14th Century

A woman's scream filled the warmed up room from the flames of the dying fire, rumours had been spreading around the town like a wildfire that the second eldest daughter of the wealthy Landlord, Lord Petrova had in fact fallen pregnant out of wedlock; which the rumours were indeed true. Katerina Petrova had fallen pregnant to a man she thought loved her as much as she loved him but once he had found out about the child growing within her womb, he begged Katerina to get rid the child before it was born, when she failed to do so he then paid Lord Petrova fair amount of money to get rid of the child before it was born but Mr Petrova could not bare the thought of killing an innocent child, even if it was a bastard or not.

Lord Petrova then went in search of a family of a nearby town, when he came across a childless family, he knew that his prayers to save his family's name had in fact been answered.

Katerina's screams pierced throughout the chilling night, as she pushed on through the pain of childbirth.

"Push my dearest, one more push."

"I cannot mama." Katerina wailed as she tried to push beyond the pain, she laid back onto the bed as her younger sister, Dysabella wetted her forehead. "It hurts too much !"

"It shall be alright, Katerina, I am here." Dysabella comforted her, as Katerina pushed once more then stopped.

"Please, child, push! The baby is crowing!" Her mother pleaded as her oldest daughter, Dysabella wetted Katerina's forehead. "Push, a little more."

Katerina screamed once more, as she pushed on, her screams of agony was then replaced by that of a cry from a newborn baby; Katerina laid back trying to catch her breath as she watched her mother and sister attend to the baby.

"What is it?" Katerina asked, wanting to know what she had given birth to.

"A girl."

"A girl? Mama, please may I see her?"

Just when her mother was about to hand the baby over to Katerina, her father voice rang throughout the room. "Woman don't, what do you think you are doing?"

"Father, please... Can I just see her? Just once, please papa..."

"No! You have shamed our family!" Lord Petrova replied, as he snatched the child away in a hurry to exit the house.

"Father please... No, papa... Please! Let me hold her! LET ME HOLD HER JUST ONCE!"

"Enough, Katerina..." Her mother replied, as she embraced her daughter. "It's for the best for her, she will be better off."

"I never got a chance to hold her, mama."

Footsteps were heard as Lord Petrova came back, followed shortly by Dysabella, holding the newborn babe; Katerina was slightly shocked that her father had indeed given her the chance to see her daughter before giving her away.

"Just this once Katerina, then she will be given away."

"Thank you, papa." Katerina replied, as she smiled down at the little girl, looking back at her.

"Do not thank me, child." Lord Petrova added, as he glanced towards Dysabella who smiled sweetly at them both. "Thank your sister, Dysabella."

...

A few days had passed, the rumours of Katerina's bastard child had all but died down; but knowing she had shame her family greatly, Lord Petrova had sort out a way to banish Katerina from their home quietly when the long-time friend replied back from England, stating that can take Katerina in and show her the ways of the English life, he packed her things at once and placed her on the next ship heading to England.

"Why must I go, papa?"

"You shamed our family greatly, Katerina! We can not forgive you so easily." Lord Petrova replied, as he handed her the pass she would need to show the ship's crew before stepping onto the ship. "You will go to England, that is my final word!"

"Papa, please!"

"No! You are banished from this family!" Lord Petrova replied, as he grabbed Katerina roughly by the upper arm and threw her out of the house just as Dysabella and the youngest Petrova sister, Veronika, returned from the markets.

"What is going on?" Dysabella asked, as she helped Katerina to her feet- glaring at her father as she did so. "Why are you doing this? She is your daughter!"

"Not anymore she is not, come, Dysabella... You must come inside and meet your husband to be."

"You wish to marry me off so that you can cover the fact that you are banishing one of your daughters?" Dysabella replied, disbelief in her tone. "How can you be so cruel?"

"It is the law to do so."

"By who's law? God's or yours?"

"You are stepping on a thin line, Dysabella," Lord Petrova replied, acid clearly in his tone as he looked at Katerina. "You would side with that harlot before your family?"

"My sister is no harlot, she thought that Thomas would marry her once she told him about the child," Dysabella replied, matching her father's tone. "But like most men these days, he ran like the scared child he is. It is not all Katerina's fault! Can you not see that?"

"If you wish to defend her, then you too can go to England!"

"Fine! I shall and pack my things!"

Lord Petrova was lost for words, Dysabella had been his favourite daughter and he had not hidden it from the family; he always gotten her the finest clothes, jewels and beauty products that money can buy, now that had all went away as she sided with Katerina.

"Fine," Lord Petrova replied, hurt clearly in his tone as he watched Dysabella walked into the house. "Go..."

Dysabella walked inside, ignoring the looks of remorse, anger and curiosity that the Williamsons, the family her father clearly wanted her to marry into gave her as she stalked towards her room; she was a prideful woman in her early age of seventeen, once she gathered as much items as she could carry, she walked out.

...

The Petrova girls were at a lost, they both were now banished from their home, they had used the last little money they had left to buy food for their long journey to England; Dysabella had to sell her most favourite necklace to gain a boarding pass to England, which was like Katerina's. It sadden KAterina, knowing that her sister had turned her back a good marriage filled with wealth and possibly love for her, she didn't deserve anything from Dysabella, she made a small promise that she would make a better life for herself and her sister in England.

"Dysabella, you did not have to sell your things for me."

"Katerina, if I had not, how would I gain access to the ship?" Dysabella replied, arching a thin eyebrow as she picked up her skirts of her dress and followed the people that were walking towards the grand looking ship. "Besides, you would be all alone, on this wooden transport, heading to a country that is the home to a friend of Father's that we had never heard off nor met?"

"Do you believe that father's friend will not be there to collect us?"

"No, sister, I believe father doesn't have a friend in England at all," Dysabella replied, sighing as she handed the ship's guard her boarding pass and had her things ready to be expected by the guards up front. "He would just leave you penniless and homeless in England, I couldn't allow that fate happen to you."

"But you let it happen to us both," Katerina replied, as she too handed her boarding pass and waited in line, once their things were declared they continued on their way to find a good spot to do their needlework. "You had a good life back home."

"I know."

"Do you regret it?"

"Of course not, sister."

"I am glad then," Katerina replied, smiling as she started mending the find fabric of her needlework. "I am happy that you are coming with me to England."

"As I am too, sister."

Days passed as passenger after passenger came down with seasickness, rashes of all sorts; twice Dysabella fell ill but twice she gained her strength days later, Katerina was helpless as many people couldn't understand what she was saying until someone decided to teach her a little English and she then started to teach Dysabella, both spoke English well as if it was their native tongue.

"How do you feel, Dysabella?"

"A little better than I was the day before," Dysabella replied, she was a little pale but her colour started to returned back to her cheeks, she then noticed that a black woman, a slave she thought looked at her. "Who is that?"

"Who? Oh, that woman? Amelia, well that's her English name." Katerina replied, sighing as she looked towards the woman. "She has been attending to you since you fell ill, she gave you some kind of foreign liquid from her homeland."

"She's a slave?"

"Yes, she was taken from her home by English settlers," Katerina replied, as she turned back to Amelia and gave a small wave to the woman. "Her story is horrible, her mistress didn't want her anymore so she sold her to the Captain of this ship, he placed her with these people thinking someone would pick her up and take her on as their slave. No one wants her because of her magic."

"Magic?"

"Yes, magic." Katerina replied, sighing. "She cooked up many of the cures to many of the rashes and sicknesses this ship is filled with and yet they wanted to throw her overboard thinking she brought it with her, I had to speak for her."

"So now she belongs to us?" Dysabella asked, sitting up a little as she stared at Amelia, who gave her a small nod and turned back to what it looked like a small book of some kind.

"For the moment, when we get to England I am to set her free."

"I believe she will love that."

"I hope she does, sister."

Once the ship had pulled into the English dock, Katerina, Dysabella and Amelia- who did not want to leave their side since they spoke up for her- were approached by a young, handsome looking man who introduced himself as Trevor, the ward of their father's friend, he was quickly taken by Katerina's beauty but Dysabella couldn't help but feel there was a darker, sinister side to Master Trevor than he was letting on but she didn't know how dark until it was too late.

When Katerina had failed to return to the home they shared from the small party that Trevor had invited them both too, one she declined to attend, she started to slightly panic; she was about to go on her way to search for her sister, when the carriage that Katerina left in came to a stop outside and Katerina exited it from the carriage, dressed in the finest English silk dress and slippers.

"Katerina, oh my! You look beautiful."

"Thank you sister," Katerina replied, smiling. "I have some good news sister! Lord Niklaus, one of Trevor's friends wishes to court me."

"Lord Niklaus?"

"Oh, he is the handsome Lord who invited us to the dinner party but you declined to attend." Katerina replied, smiling. "He gave me this dress, do you think it suits my eyes?"

"Very well, sister."

"He also wishes for us to move into his home," Katerina laughed, clapping her hands in pure excitement. "He is very curious to meet you, too."

Dysabella shook her head, this was happening too fast for her to simply process; her sister, Katerina just met the man last night and now he wishes to court her after a few hours of meeting each other? Was the man still drunk on last night's wine?

"Are you not happy for us, Dysabella?" Katerina asked, looking a little worried. "We do not have to live in this shabby cottage for one more night! Isn't that splendid?"

"I love this cottage."

Katerina waved her reply away, Dysabella sighed as she was pulled towards the carriage by her older sister, chatting away about the Mikaelson brothers.

"There is two of them?"

"Yes, Lord Niklaus and Lord Elijah." Katerina sighed, as she tapped the roof to let the driver know to return to the Manor. "They both are quite handsome men."

"Oh no, Katerina, please tell me you are not going to let them fight for your heart." Dysabella replied, shaking her head at her sister's childish games. "We are not in Bulgaria anymore, your charms won't work as much here as it did back home."

"It worked quite well last night," Katerina replied bitterly, pouting. "Lord Niklaus was quite taken by me."

Dysabella sighed as she looked at the cottage that was disappearing into the late afternoon sun, she had a dark feeling that she would not see that cottage again.

Mystic Falls, 2013

Niklaus 'Klaus' Mikaelson walked down the steps that lead to the basement of his home, he sighed as he reached the stone bricks; he then pressed a loose brick which revealed a small passage way that lead further into the stone wall - it was time he visited her.

He walked towards the tomb like shrine that hid from the world above the one thing that was close to his heart, the one thing that he knew that people would use to weaken him, Dysabella Petrova.

As he came into view of the altar, where she laid upon, still- at first she appeared to be dead but if you looked close enough you would see the slow rise and fall of her chest.

Klaus leaned over the sleeping form of the girl, he touched her soft lips with his finger; he smiled as a light shade of pink swept across her cheeks.

He knew that the spell that Gloria's ancestor placed upon Dysabella aloud the girl to hear and feel but it failed to let her speak or make any other kind of communication apart from her facial expressions, he longed for the day that her eyes opened to reveal the chocolate brown, doe-like irises that laid beneath her close eyelids - but first, he needed to find a powerful witch that could undo what Gloria's ancestor done; he had hopes that Greta Martin proved to be powerful enough to be the one to do it but she failed and so did the Martin family - epically.

He had noticed that her deep brunette hair had grown longer since the last time he visited her; it now spilled over the stone altar like a waterfall of brunette locks, twisting and knotting itself down towards the ground.

"Dysabella," Klaus whispered as he kissed her lips, expecting the brunette beauty to gasp awake like the pathetic princess do in the faiytales he had heard and read during the centuries he had been alive. "Please forgive me."

A tear rolled down Dysabella's cheek as Klaus made his exit, he paused before he replaced the stone door back across the entrance of the shrine; he made plans to visit her tomorrow, once this dinner that he and Elijah were having with the Salvatore brother was over and done with.

Little did he know, that Elijah had a small unexpected surprise awaiting him.