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CHAPTER 5

PRESENT:

Katherine sat down in the large chair, it had been nearly an hour since the sun had set and this was the first time since she had been in the great room. All of her children were now assembled before her, but something felt different this evening.
“Which of you brought forth a human?”
“There is no human here mistress.” They all answered, Katherine could smell the warm blood of a human, a young human.
“Never lie to me Angelina, I can smell the human, and he is young and frightened. What have you been doing?”
“I brought you a meal mistress, I was unsure that you had fed yet.”
“I understand what you were thinking child, but always remember now that I am here to save the world, feeding from humans is unacceptable.”
“But you must feed mistress, you can not survive without feeding.” Angelina said looking at her.
“I can survive for several days without feeding, this I’ve learned over the years that I was alone.”
“But you’ve always told us that feeding is a large part of who we are, that we must feed to live, and live to feed.”
“We are soulless creatures that only take what we want, until after Nickolas left me I felt that way, now I know it’s take what I need and no more than that.”
“Why have you not told us this before?”
“Because you are vampires, I am more than that. I have a soul that has feelings and the regret that I feel when I take a life is one of the worst feelings. You will never understand that, but since I contain the one thing you will never have, I will share with you the feelings that you are missing.”
“Where are you going to start mistress?”
“Just before I met Nickolas, when my family was alive and happy.” Katherine replied.

PAST:
Katherine stood wearing her long bluish dress and smiled, her long dark hair was pulled away to show her light skin. Her dark eyes danced with happiness as she watched her parent’s happily discuss the birth that was to happen soon. Katherine was happy, her mother was going to give birth to her only other brother or sister, she herself was only ten years old and having someone around the house was to be wonderful. She watched as the servants moved around reading the house for the new arrival. Katherine walked up the large winding marble staircase toward her room, she slowly opened the door and sighed, soon she’d be moved into the room further down the hall away from her parents room, so the new baby would have the room.
“Is anything wrong young miss?”
“No, I am excited, momma has been talking about the baby for a long time. I am just going to miss my room.”
“You will always be the prize that made your parent’s the happiest they’ve ever been.”
“Thank you Charlotte, I must return to the dinning room since father will wonder if I am coming to eat supper.”
“Then go, your things will be in your new room before you return to it this evening.”
“Thank you.” Katherine replied as she walked down the long staircase back toward the dinning room. She walked in and sat down at the large oak table and looked toward her parents, they talked happily as food was set before them. Katherine smiled and said nothing as she ate her supper. That evening while she was sleeping, she awoke to a sudden scream, Katherine slid from the bed and walked down the hall, she could hear her father talking softly to her mother.
“Is something wrong daddy?”
“No Katherine, go back to bed child.”
“Are you sure? Momma isn’t to be screaming like that.”
“I am sure, go on now. Charlotte will be along shortly,” He answered.

Katherine walked back down the hall and back to her room. She slid back into her bed and pulled the blankets back up and closed her eyes.
The next morning Katherine slowly made her way down the hallway toward her parent’s room, she could hear Charlotte crying. She moved further toward the room and saw that her mother lay in the center of the large bed but something seemed wrong.
“Momma?” Katherine whispered as she moved into the room. She moved toward the bed and looked, her mother’s skin was pale and she wasn’t moving.
“I am sorry Katherine.”
“For what Father?”
“Your mother died trying to give birth to a son. They both died.”
“She’s gone?”
“I am sorry my daughter.” Her father answered. Katherine dropped down beside the bed and began crying.
A few years later, Katherine’s father had found himself another that caught his attention and with her he had another child, a son, the son he had always wanted, but illness took his wife. He fell into a deep depression and anger was something that now replaced the laughter that once filled the halls of the house. Fear was something that now filled Katherine’s heart. She feared her father’s anger and often hid in a small room with her younger brother. She had an older sister she rarely saw but it was her small brother that kept her sane. But then he left her too, the baby was nearly a year old when he became ill and died, the burial of one more of his family drove Katherine’s father insane. He decided that it was time to move into the palace and live with his brother and children. He knew that his oldest child would soon be married and would leave his life, but his youngest daughter was another story she’d be home for sometime learning to train to be royalty.
Katherine walked the dark and damp halls of the palace and always wondered if she had done something wrong, her father remained angry and often would start arguments with the guards and on occasion would be found hitting even her. Katherine would walk through the dark palace with a long black cloak and the hood would be up concealing her once beautiful features. Now all that she felt was sadness and anger, the sadness that her sister was to be married soon and anger that her father would be left to do as he pleased to her. Her uncle rarely stopped his brother’s rage, there had been a few times that he’d come between them but he was the king after all.

Katherine wondered the halls and found a small passageway that led into an even darker passage way. She could see smoke and hear a man talking, as she walked further down the hall she came to the lighted room and stopped.
“Welcome Child. I’ve been expecting you.”
“You knew I’d be coming?”
“Yes, its been foretold that you’d come to the palace and I’d train you in the dark arts.”
“Dark Arts?”
“You are to learn magic, only if you are willing,” He asked looking at her. Katherine smiled and looked around the room.
“I am ready, I am ready to learn. I’ve always wanted to learn magic.”
“Then return to this very place tomorrow and I will begin your training.”
“Thank you, what is your name?”
“Call me Marcus, that will be a name you will rarely use but that is my name.”
“All right Marcus, I will return tomorrow.” Katherine said as she slowly made her way back down the staircase and out of the dark hallway. An almost evil smile spread across her face.
“Katherine.”
“Yes father?” Katherine replied as she stopped dead in her tracks.
“Where have you been?”
“I am not a child any more father, uncle said I do not have to tell you all that I do.”
“You are my daughter and will tell me where you have been.” He shouted moving closer to her.
“I was walking, that is all. Was there something else you needed father?” Katherine asked as two guards moved forward. Her father shook his head and stormed down the long hall back to his chambers.
“Is everything all right?”
“Things are fine.”
“The king has been looking for you, there has been the announcement of his heir and we know it’s the prince, but he is unmarried.”
“That means I am to rule at his side, something I do not wish to do.” Katherine answered. Katherine herself was only fifteen and did not wish to rule beside her angry cousin. But she knew it was her duty and duty required that she be at her cousin’s side, and she’d do just that.

It would be another three years before the old king would announce that his son was to become king that he was too ill to remain on the throne. Katherine would rule at his son’s side, unless she found what she would call her true love. In two years she’d been seeing a man from Great Britain but in her thoughts that he was too old for her and she really felt nothing for this strange man, only thing she felt was anger toward him. During her time at the palace she’d spend as much time as she could with Marcus to learn her magic, he said she was learning quickly and would become a powerful sorceress.