"Where am I?" I muttered, my hand immediately flying up to my head.
"You're tied to a chair using vervain-coated rope," a female voice replied. I blinked, opening my eyes widly and trying to twist my head to the side. Every time I did, a hard, rough, wet fabric rubbed against my skin. It burned. I screamed. "I wouldn't move if I were you," she added.
Suddenly two brown eyes appeared before mine. I threw my head back, whining as loud as my voice would allow. It couldn't be. It just wasn't possible. It just couldn't be her. Could it?
"Elena?" I croaked, my voice hoarse. The woman took my chin in her fingers and brought my face down to the same level as hers.
"Try again," she breathed.
I thought hard. It had to be Elena. I recognised every feature. The wide, brown eyes. The long, dark hair. The tanned yet somehow pale skin. The thin, flawless body. I knew this girl. I've hated her for years.
"You are Elena," I accused. "I've loathed your very existence for years. I know who you are, and you can't lie to me. It's not possible for you to be anyone else."
"But I am not Elena," the woman sighed, impatiently. "Elena is my incredibly annoying doppelganger. She's so boring. The complete opposite of myself. But, of course, she has the Salvatore brothers fighting over her. History really does have a habbit of repeating itself. But this time around, I'm getting in the way. While Elena's relationship with Stefan has never been better, I'm left with Damon chasing after me like some lost puppy. You'd think that after all the Salvatore brothers and I have been through, Damon would have given up by now. But he's still into me. It's driving me crazy."
I gritted my teeth, the rope continuing to burn my skin. What a typical time to experience the agony of vervain. "If you're not Elena, then who are you?" I challenged.
"I'm Katherine," she replied simply. "Has your boyfriend never mentioned me? He used to have an incredibly annoying obsession with me back in 1864, and he still can't leave me alone. What a naughty boyfriend he is. Not telling you all of the details. He should be ashamed."
At that, Katherine stepped back, pulled out a gun and fired at my leg. I gasped, struggling for breath. The pain in my shin grew stronger by the second. Meanwhile, Katherine just laughed a delicate, tinkling laugh.
"Oh. This is fun," she giggled. "I see why the werewolves get a kick out of it."
"Why are you doing this to me?" I whispered. "What have I done to you? I mean, you're obviously not Elena. She wouldn't be such a bitch. So, who are you? What have I done to upset you?"
"Well, sweetheart, as I said, I am Katherine. Katherine Pierce. There's no point in me telling you my age, because you would never be able to count that high." She smirked at her own joke. "Anyway, I'm bored. The Salvatore brothers won't let me anywhere near dearest Elena. Klaus and Elijah left a longtime ago. Huh. I miss those two. They were good fun. But, back to the topic. Jeremy nearly succeeds in staking me every time I go near him, and Bonnie has actually gotten better at her witchy magic. Not even I can resist the pain she causes anymore. And then there's Caroline. I just get frustrated with her whiny voice. So, while out stalking Stefan - as I do every evening - I saw your pretty little arse snogging Damon, and just new immediately that you'd make a good chew toy."
The speed of my breath increased rapdily as I began to hyperventilate. Katherine just grinned at me; her eyes wide and child-like. The very thought of the cruel things that she could do to me made me shiver. And then, before I could scream again, she opened her mouth to speak.
"So, while you're here, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" she prompted innocently. "I promise to listen like a good girl."
I paused, considering what to do. I could tell her what she wanted to hear, or I could just ignore her until she got bored and decided to let me go. But, who knows when that would be? I decided to take the first option.
"I'm Elizabeth Jameson," I said slowly. "I'm from England. Hampshire, to be exact. My parents both came from London. I was turned a couple of days ago, by Damon Salvatore. I'm seventeen years old. I moved here when I was thirteen, to be close to family after my parents split up. My mum was murdered about a week ago, and my dad is probably quaralling with my nan over who I'm going to live with. That's all I'm telling you." Did she even need to know that much?
Katherine laughed again. "Tell me more, little Lizzie. I want to know everything about you. We could be friends. Some time in the future." I didn't want to believe her, and every ounce of common sense inside me screamed not to, but I couldn't help but trust her. She looked like Elena, and I think, in the end, that's what won me over.
"What do you want to know?" I groaned.
She thought about it. "I want to know how you met Damon."
Why did she care about that? "I met him at the Grill. He came over to me. That was it. He took me back to his, and I've known him ever since. Is that enough for you?"
"No. Do tell. I need to know everything."
I growled. "It's none of your fucking business."
Katherine tutted sarcastically. "Don't swear, Lizzie. It's rude. There might be small children present."
"I'll tell you everything if you just let me out of this chair. It hurts."
"Well, that's the point." She rolled her eyes. I sat and glared at her. Then she gave in. "Fine, I'll let you out of the chair."
She grabbed the rope from around my neck, wrists and waist. After one, gentle pull, it fell to the floor in a heap. My whole body seared as the wounds healed themselves. Supernatural healing powers. Sweet. Damon had never told me anything about that. And then I looked at Katherine. She was in no pain, and hadn't even drew in a sharp breath when she handled the ropes.
I suddenly realised that Damon hadn't told me anything. All he'd left me with was a tacky necklace and a few tips on how to avoid getting caught. But then I remembered that was Katherine's fault. If she hadn't of taken me in the first place, I could know everything there is to know about vampires by now. But, I do know one thing, for certain. I need to get my sorry arse out of here.
A rush of adrenaline came over me as I bolted to the door. And then, as my hands desperately clutched the door handle, they began to feel like somebody was holding a lighter over them. I let out a noise of agony.
Then I felt thin, bony hands on my neck, slamming me against the large, metal door. Katherine spun me around and held her face about an inch from mine.
"If you try to escape again, I'll pull out your dead, little heart," she threatened. "Understand?"
"Yes," I choked. "I understand."
"Good," Katherine approved, releasing her grip on me and walking to the other side of the room. I let out a long breath, sliding my back down the door until I was sat on the floor. This was going to be a long day.
*****
"Wake up," Katherine demanded, slapping my face. "Wake up. Now. I'm getting bored. You've been asleep too long."
"Leave me alone," I moaned, taking her hand and digging my fingernails into her flesh. She sighed.
"You're going to have to do much better than that if you're trying to hurt me."
"Then give me a fucking wooden stake already," I hissed, throwing my head back against the brick wall. "I'm getting bored."
"You're getting bored?" Katherine asked sweetly, as if I hadn't already made myself clear. "Well then. I'll just have to bring in my friend." I eyed her wearily. "Alex?" she called.
And, from almost out of nowhere, walked a human.
I could sense he was a human from the rich, tempting smell pouring from beneath his skin. He was tall and fairly muscled, with dark, blond hair and small, blue eyes. He reminded me of Matt Donovan, only more mature.
"Alex," Katherine whispered, gesturing him to come closer. "There's someone I want you to meet."
Katherine dragged me to my feet and pushed Alex in front of me. I licked my lips, letting out a long, deep breath. He smelt so tempting, not to mention the fact that he was wearing nothing but shorts, and I had a full view of his six pack. Oh, Hell.
He stepped a little closer, until my eyes were no more than a centimetre from his neck. I could see his pulse - a tiny little movement near his jugular. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath, trying to resist my constant longing to bite him.
"Come on." Katherine was right beside me, and I could feel her hot breath on my neck as she spoke. "You know you want to. I'll help you stop just before he dies. I promise."
As she said that, my canine teeth extended, my gums began to ache and my face began burning. It was more agonising than vervain. But I didn't want to bite him. I couldn't.
"I can't do it," I mumbled to myself. "I can't do it. I won't do it."
"Do it or you die," Katherine offered.
Butt I just couldn't. I couldn't drink the blood of a human. I mean, I've drank from a blood bag, but that's different. It's not as cruel.
And, in the end, I gave in to the temptation, sinking my fangs into Alex's skin. Katherine joined me. Together we shared the man, until his body was limp in our arms.