[Mystic Falls, March 26th, 2010]

"Rose never ended up taking you back to Klaus, did she?" Elena asked, her dark hair swaying as she nodded her head.

A weak Katherine replied "No. But not because she had a change of heart."

"I don't know about Katerina, but after that night, I've never set eyes on Niklaus since." Ana explained, her eyes glistening with tears from relieving painful memories of the past.

★·'¯'·★

[England, April 6th, 1492]

Ana shrieked, watching Katerina drive a knife through her soft flesh. The seventeen year-old felt queasy, wanting to get back to her vampire fiance, which she knew may not happen.

Rushing into the room, Rose gave the youngest Petrova a sharp look, saying "What's the commotion? It's nightfall. Time to go."

"She... she stabbed herself." Ana cried, clutching the hem of her dress.

Rose strolled around the side of Katerina's bed, tutting when she saw the gaping wound on her stomach "Stupid girl."

"I'd rather die than go back to Klaus." Katerina confessed, gasping as she lost more and more blood. "Please just let me die."

Shaking her head, Ana pleaded "Please, save her? Katerina, I can't lose you now."

"If either of you die, then Trevor dies with you." Rose admitted, biting into her wrist and shoving the blood into Katerina's mouth. The vampire sent a cautious look over to Ana, but didn't feed her any blood, knowing it would anger Klaus more if he wasn't the one to change her.

Katerina struggled against Rose's hold, screaming "No. No!"

But her yells were muffled as she was forced to drink the blood, and Ana couldn't hold her sigh of relief.

"Thank you." Ana breathed, moving over to her sister, but Katerina turned her head away, ignoring her younger sister.

Heavy footsteps pounded on the floor, and the voice of Trevor rang through the small hut "Where are they?"

"You have set us both on a path of death." Rose snapped, speeding over to Trevor and pinning him against a wall. "I only hope that Klaus sees the honor in returning the girls to him. Did you know the younger one was his fiance?!"

Trevor shook his head, answering "But Katerina... he will sacrifice her. And being condemned to a life of Klaus Mikaelson's rampages would be torture, I did the fiance a favour."

"Klaus won't see it like that, and you know it." Rose hissed, leaned into her companion for centuries "Let him sacrifice the doppelganger!"

"I love her, Rose." Trevor confessed, his eyes glassy with tears.

Before Rose could answer, the distinct shouts of Ana alerted both vampires attention, the youngest Petrova exclaiming "Katerina! No, stop!"

Rose turned her head, rushing into the room just as Katerina knocked the wood from beneath her feet. On the floor, Ana sobbed hysterically, not willing to believe that her sister had just killed herself.

Angry with Katerina and herself, Rose gripped Ana's arm harshly, roaring "Shut up! Don't you know what this means!"

"Please... I'm sorry..." Ana whimpered, scrambling to the wood stack that her sister had previously been stood on, her heart aching. That was the end of the Petrova sisters.

★·'¯'·★

[Mystic Falls, March 26th, 2010]

"You killed yourself?" Elena asked Katherina, shocked at the revelation.

Katherine nodded, seemingly impressed with herself "Klaus needed a human doppelganger. As a vampire, I was no longer any use to him."

"It was a disgusting plan, that still makes me feel sick today." Ana spat, her chocolate eyes shadowed.

"But it didn't work." Elena concluded, realising that the vampire was still running. "You didn't really escape. You've been running from Klaus ever since. But Ana, I don't understand. Why are you running? If you were engaged to him, wouldn't he be happy to see you."

Ana frowned, replying "True, but part of me was always scared that he'd moved on, or that he believed I left him. Maybe I was just never ready to face Niklaus after what an intense history we had."

"Plus, Klaus is probably vengeful for you humiliating his honor." Katherine added, smirking at her sister "He has a strong spirit for vengeance, but living out of a suitcase is better than dying so that you could have your blood spilled over some silly little rock."

Noticing Elena's put off look, Katherine continued "What's wrong? Afraid I'm right? You don't wanna die? There's another way out."

"Don't listen to her, Elena. There are other solutions, I know most of them from my time with the Mikaelsons in the 15th century." Ana told the human, shaking her head at her sister.

Ana scoffed as Katerina cut her wrist, an opportunity for Elena to become a vampire. "Better hurry. Your opportunity is going, going, going... and gone."

"I made the other choice." Katherine chuckled, tilting her head at Elena.

"Then what choice did you make?" Elena asked, turning to Ana "I mean, it's not like you were in any immediate danger, and Rose didn't even feed you any of her blood."

Forehead creased, Ana said "I didn't make any choice; my life was decided for me."

★·'¯'·★

[England, April 6th, 2010]

Katerina Petrova gasped as she awoke, coughing and spluttering while led down.

"What did you do, Katerina?" Trevor asked, and it took Katerina a minute to recognise her trembling sister in the arms of the vampire. "I would have helped you live. Too bad your sister won't, not after the way you betrayed us. Don't take it personally, it's called revenge."

Watching her sister cautiously, Katerina said "You would have helped me run. That was never going to be enough, but please... don't hurt Ana. This was my fault, not hers."

"Do you not see, Trevor?" Rose asked her vampire friend, walking into the room and glancing over the only human in the room "She used you to help her escape and me to turn her. Klaus will see our role in this."

"And you think killing Ana will be beneficial?" Katerina asked, inching forward. "It won't. Not when she's the most precious thing to Klaus; you'd be signing your death certificates. I am sorry for dragging you into this."

Rose nodded "As am I. For this."

The centuries-old vampire went to sink her fangs into Ana, but Katerina got there first, speeding her sister to the other side of the room.

★·'¯'·★

"So... you weren't turned at that point?" Elena asked Ana, tapping her foot on the floor.

Ana shook her head "No, I was. That comes at the next part, also explaining why me and Katerina will never be on speaking terms. Not in this century, and probably not the next."

"My favourite part." Katherine croaked, grinning at her sister, but Ana only gave the captive vampire a cold gaze.

★·'¯'·★

Katerina stood in the forest, leading her trembling sister away from the cottage. In the dark, Klaus Mikaelson watched his fiance be dragged away, ready to intervene at any given moment.

"Please, Katerina... return me to my love." Ana begged, squirming in her sister's strong grasp "You've escaped Klaus, now let me live peacefully."

Shaking her head, Katerina replied "No sister, I can't. Klaus, he'll... he'll hunt everyone I love for what I've done, including you, Ana. I won't let that happen."

"You really think I'm so ruthless as to kill my fiance?" Klaus revealed himself from the dark and Katerina jumped back, pushing her sister behind her. "Give her back, Katerina. You've already angered me once tonight, don't do it again."

"I won't let you marry my sister. You're a monster." Katerina spat, turning to her sister. "Let me turn you, Ana. We can run together, we can stay as a duo like we always have been."

Ana shook her head, tears streaming down her cheek as she replied "No, Katerina. We will never be a duo again, not if you keep me from my true love."

Growing impatient, Niklaus rushed forward, his voice thundering through the forest "Katerina, you will give me back Ana right now, or heads will roll! I give you three seconds! One... two... three!"

Closing her eyes, Ana exhaled, waiting for Niklaus to behead her sister, or for Katerina to go speeding off, but neither happened. Instead, Katerina sped off and Ana felt a burning sensation at her neck. Katerina whispered "I'm sorry, sister. I can make it all better, I promise."

Katerina Petrova was draining her sister dry in order to complete her transition, letting Ana fall unconscious in her arms. Before Niklaus could see the limp body of his fiance, Katerina fed her sister a drop of her vampire blood, draining the rest of the blood from her body.

"NO!" Klaus howled upon seeing Katerina holding Ana's limp body. "What have you done, Katerina?!"

"I did what was necessary. You would've probably killed her anyway, at least I did it in a peaceful way." Katerina replied, her stomach in knots as she imagined facing the wrath of Klaus Mikaelson.

Niklaus was now shaking, his body a trembling mess as he hissed "Peaceful?! You drained every single drop of blood from her body! You mistake me, Katerina... I wouldn't ever dare lay a finger on her! I... love her."

Taking Klaus' vulnerable state for granted, Katerina sped off, leaving her sister's body on the ground. Klaus, thinking his fiance was dead, walked over to her body sprawled on the grass. If the original hadn't seen Katerina draining the teenager's blood, he would've thought her to be asleep.

"Ana dear, I'm sorry I've failed you." Niklaus murmured, stroking a finger across her cold cheek. "You have the first woman that I have loved with such... intensity and desire, and you will be the last woman to wrap your fingers around my heart. Before you disappeared, I was sat in my study, writing our vows. I suppose you will never hear them, so why don't I read them now?"

Elijah Mikaelson, watching the exchange from afar, had tears in his eyes as he sat on the ground. Katerina Petrova may have broken his heart, but killing Ana was as low as she could've possibly gone.

Taking the parchment from his suit, Klaus clutched his vows with trembling hands, as he recited it word for word. "Ana Petrova, I love you. I love your soft smile, I love your dark hair, but most of all... I love your eyes." Klaus' voice broke as he recited the speech from memory, tears running down his cheeks. "Your eyes were what drew me in that night at the ball, when you danced with such elegance. I had never met a woman like you, a woman so sure of herself, and I doubt I ever will again. Our children, if we could ever get a miracle witch, would have your big eyes, and hopefully not my temper." Laughing under his breath, Klaus continued. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that Ana Petrova... I don't deserve you. How can someone so beautiful, talented and caring love someone like me? I was blessed to know you for even a second, and I hope you rest in peace... my Ana."

"That was beautiful, Niklaus." Elijah spoke from behind, and Klaus immediately tensed, turning to face his older brother.

Rising from the ground, Klaus' demeanour changed, and he asked "Would you help me bury her, Elijah? I thought she deserved a proper send-off."

"Of course, brother."

Both Mikaelson brothers stayed silent as the let the soil encase Ana's body, neither brave enough to discuss the events of the night.

But Ana Petrova wasn't dead.

★·'¯'·★

"You seperated Ana from the man she loved because you didn't want her to die, yet you don't even have a relationship?" Elena asked, rubbing Ana on the back whilst she sobbed silently to herself. "Do you not care that you ruined your own sister's life?"

Katherine turned to Elena, her eyes wide "Better Ana hate me than be dead, or married to that monster. I'm selfish, Elena. Haven't you learned that by now? If you're smart, you'll be the same."

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Ana, ignoring the eldest Petrova sister as she browsed through her family book.

Ana nodded silently, responding "Sorry for the water works, it's just... a subject that I don't often relieve."

"Don't apologise, Ana." Elena said, her eyebrows furrowing while she watched the crying vampire regain her composure. "If you don't mind me asking... what happened after you were buried?"

"I awoke alone, covered in dirt." Ana stated bluntly, her eyes emotionless as she continued. "It took me a few hours, but eventually I figured out that I was in transition. I devoured some poor village boy, went on a rampage, and then, turned my humanity switch off."

Elena's eyes widened "Straight away? Jesus, Ana."

"Well, let's just say that it took me almost two centuries alone to realise that there's hope. Somewhere. I just haven't found it yet." Ana confessed, leaning her head back against the wall.

★·'¯'·★