ℜ𝔲𝔫𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔶 𝔎.𝔐𝔦𝔨𝔞𝔢𝔩𝔰𝔬𝔫

• Chapter 01

- England 1492 -

As Katerina and I ran through the forest we could hear voices talking amongst themselves in the distance, carried by the wind from men with torches.
Katerina tripped on her dress and quickly crawled to hide beside a log, I dropped beside her, as we huddled together.
"Katerina? I know you're near." A voice we knew too well shouted.
"I can smell your blood." It was quieter this time but the wind brought the words to our ears.

"If you come to me now Isabella, you will be spared of punishment." The words sent shivers down my spine. But I would not leave my sister to run alone.
"It's pointless to run. Klaus will find you both wherever you are."

"This way. There's more blood over there." There was another voice, one I could not recognize from this distance.
We stayed hidden beside the log, holding each other as we stayed as quiet as we could.
Their footsteps descended.

We started to stagger to our feet. The second Katerina took a step someone appeared, pushing her back against the tree.
It was Trevor. "Head east. I can't lead them astray much longer."

"We can't run anymore." My sister spoke for the both of us, but she was not wrong. We were exhausted and she was bleeding.
"Never mind. There's a cottage. You'll be safe there. Go now. Go." We quickly left, on our way to where he directed us.

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We got to the cottage soon, it was not far from where we were. My sister pulled me to the door. Banging on it. "Help. Please help us." She cried out as someone opened the door. A woman, quite old with her hair in braids.
"Please help us." I cried out just as my sister had moments before.

"I don't invite strangers into my home." The woman only held the door open a quarter.
As she went to shut the door, I put my hand out.
"No, Trevor. He said that you'd help us."

A younger-looking woman came to the door. "Damn him. Always making promises I don't want to keep." As she saw us she froze for a second, it was quick but I saw it. Looking my sister up and down. "Let the girls in."
The door was opened and we quickly entered, hiding from the outside world.

"Bring them water and something to eat." Was said to the older lady as we got inside. The woman nodded and walked outside.
"You must be Rose. Thank you." Trevor did mention a Rose at some point, my sister must have remembered.

Rose looked over at us as the door shut. A hint of fear in her eyes but none that people would say anything about.
"Trevor said to show you this. To prove we are who we say. That you would help us to freedom."
Halfway through talking my sister pulled out the rock we had stolen during our escape.

"You stole this from Klaus?"

"It was to be part of the sacrifice ritual so I grabbed it once we made our escape."
My sister explained even though I'm sure Rose was more scared then confused.

"People do not escape from Klaus. Everyone who tries ends up in his grasp. And anyone who helps them dies."

"I know the risk you bring on yourself by giving us aid."

"I am risking nothing. At nightfall i will bring you both back to Klaus and beg him to show both Trevor and I mercy." She grabbed us both by the arm and pushed us into a room behind us, locking it, ignoring our cries.

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We had been sitting in the room for a few hours now, alone. At the time we had both stabbed ourselves with a knife I had hidden in my corset, wanting to die rather than go back to those people.

The door opened, revealing Rose with ropes in her hands. "It's nightfall. Time to go." She walked over to us, moving my sister's skirt to reveal the wound on her side. "When did this happen?"

"In the woods, we tripped," I responded, but Katerina and I both knew she wouldn't buy it.

"That's a lie. I would have smelt it."

"We would rather die than go back to Klaus. Please just let us die." I begged, hoping she would show us mercy.

"If you die, then Trevor dies with you." She bit into her arm, forcing us both to drink it, ignoring our cries before our wounds healed.
Trevor burst into the cottage. "Where are they?"

As Rose sped out of the room, to Trevor where we could no longer hear them, my sister moved quickly before I could stop her.

They came into the room to find my sister hung and me on the bed with my throat slit, which my sister had done before hanging herself.

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I had woken up a mere minute before my sister, frozen by the shock that my own sister had killed me.
As she awoke getting up from where she lay, Trevor started to speak. "What did you do, Katerina? I would have helped you live."

"You would have helped us run. That was never going to be enough." She spoke before pulling me to my feet.

"It was enough for me." I could see the pain in Trevor's face but there was nothing I could do to ease it.
Rose entered from the door. "Oh, do you not see Trevor? She used you to help her escape and me to turn her. She even dragged her sister along with her. Klaus will see our role in this."

"And for that, I'm sorry."

"As am I, for this." She sped toward my sister with a weapon but Katerina shielded herself with the older woman, my sister pulled the weapon out of the woman and fed on her.
I desperately wanted not to, but I couldn't help it. It smelt amazing. I could not stop myself from doing the same.

As we lifted our heads back up, "Please understand." was the only thing I said to Rose and Trevor.

"You have just signed our death sentence."

My sister grabbed hold of me. "Better you die than I." We both sped out of the cottage together, fleeing.