ENGLAND, 1492
THE FIRST TIME SHE MEETS KATERINA PETROVA, HER DEAD HEART BREAKS JUST A LITTLE BIT.
When Katerina Petrova steps out of the carriage that fateful first day, hair unkempt and raggedy dress slightly disheveled, Ingrid Mikaelson is intrigued.
Not just because of the uncanny resemblance between Tatia and the girl ( even though it is quite shocking, really )
Certainly not because when the girl looks at her with those doe eyes that had once captivated her brothers, there is a hard edge to them. Not because when Ingrid first saw Katerina, her immediate thoughts were this doppelgänger is deeply troubled.
Ingrid Mikaelson knows, deep down, that whatever Katerina Petrova has been through, it will not be the last of her struggles.
And when Ingrid plasters a big, genuine smile on her face and says "Welcome!" Katerina Petrova looks startled.
As if she had never been welcomed- has never been wanted before.
Ingrid's heart shatters just the tiniest bit, because she too knows how it feels to be an outcast.