DISCLAIMED

So I haven't watched VD in a while, and I kinda need to catch up really (I'm about a series or two behind), but I wanted to write this. I've had this idea for AGES and I wanted to start writing for VD now I've finished my Avengers stories.

Also, in this story, Elijah is older than Finn.

Please enjoy.

Chapter 1

"Good afternoon and welcome to Flash News at 1 o'clock. I'm Lisa Parker. Today's top stories- flash floods in Wales are causing devastation. Energy companies are being pressured to make their profits more open to the public. A fire in Chiswick is feared to have killed three and perhaps injured dozens more. The Foreign Secretary, Ross Bowerman, is in China to discuss new diplomatic relations."

"But first, we're heading to Kensington Palace for an announcement from His Majesty, King Mikael. The topic of the announcement is unknown, but we will be cutting over in a short amount of time. Until then, we're crossing over to our Royal Correspondent, Jeremy Cutting, who will give us the lowdown on this big royal announcement...over to you, Jeremy."

"Thank you, Lisa..."

Katherine Pierce sighed as she crossed her legs. Looking down, she scowled at the dress she had been forced to wear. She looked like her mother. Well, her mother had picked out the outfit. Apparently, jeans and heeled boots weren't 'appropriate' for an excursion to the royal palace. Katherine had been tempted to wear her shortest skirt and tiniest top to see how her mother reacted, but she knew that it would just delay proceedings. She'd suggested it, jokingly (of course) to Elijah, but he had politely (but firmly) requested that she give it a rest, as today was a most important day, and she could not mess it up. She was, as he reminded her, the future Queen Consort and she would have to behave as such. Katherine often rolled her eyes at that. Queen Katherine. She only tolerated it because of its connotations of power and the fact she could force her family to call her 'Queen.' Katherine came from one of Britain's most titled families- her father was an Earl, making her the Lady Katherine Pierce. She had to share that title with her two minutes-younger sister, Tatia, so at least she could one-up her. She would be created a Duchess soon, though.

Frances Pierce had used that argument when forcing her daughter to put on the knee-length, v-neck grey number that would obviously be sold out within seconds of her being seen wearing it. The fiancée of the heir presumptive, and future king, would have to be seen in respectable dress. It was the 21st century, but Frances still acted as though it was the 19th. On formal occasions, such as going on royal duties, Katherine would have to be seen as a respectable young woman, who kissed babies and took flowers from little girls. That apparently also included dress. She could wear what she liked (within reason) during home hours and on casual days, but it was knee-length skirts forever.

"Ma'am, could you please lift your head up?" the make-up artist, Sabrine, asked.

Katherine sighed and did as requested. She didn't particularly want to be rude, but Sabrine was testing her patience and patience was not a virtue Katherine held. Her mother had tried to instil it onto her, but after numerous trips to the headmistress's office, she'd stopped. For the main part.

Soon enough, Sabrine was done and Katherine hopped off the chair as she scooped up all the cosmetics and hurried off to attend to Queen Esther, who needed a quick brush-up before her interview, as she would be stood with her husband as he made the announcement.

"Katherine, darling! Let me look at you!" Frances Pierce rushed over, her husband and second daughter following.

Frances Pierce definitely wore the trousers in the marriage. Nigel, whilst strict and stuffy, was a lot more mild-mannered than his wife, who took her children's social climbing more seriously.

"Katherine, have you hitched up your skirt? Put it down, now!"

The brunette sighed but did as asked.

"See, much nicer. Why, you need to look more like your sister. Tatia, give me a twirl."

The younger twin smirked at her sibling before doing a twirl.

Katherine hated Tatia. It is said that hate is a strong word, but Katherine had the urge to strangle her sister every time she even just heard her name or thought of her. If she could, she would. Tatia was the 'perfect' sister. She could sing, she could dance, her grades were excellent, she was a champion horse rider, and a prize-winning sculptor- the list went on. Tatia was the one who wanted Elijah, and Frances wanted her to be his wife too, but that had all fallen flat when Elijah had taken an interest in Katherine. Even Elijah falling for Katherine had not replaced Tatia in her mother's affections- Tatia could do no wrong.

She was pure evil, a prize bitch, but she always got away with it. Her secret? She never got caught. Her acting was so believable that very few disliked her or knew of her true nature. Tatia Pierce was the prized daughter, the number one child, the favourite. She was a placid, intelligent and conversational lady in the presence of nearly everyone, but as soon as they were gone, the mask fell and she was back to being her true self.

It was Tatia that had got Katherine into the most trouble she'd ever been. Katherine and Tatia had gone to an all-girls' school in their youth, but there was a neighbouring all-boys' academy next to them- their brother school, the ones who shared dances. The two schools were one of the most established in the country, with future Prime Ministers and captains of industry being amongst the alumni, as high as Eton or Harrow. It was very elite (read: expensive) and the school admissions board tended to find a way to reject most 'less fortunate' applicants, meaning everyone there was fabulously wealthy, whether old money or nouveau rich.

Anyway, Katherine was about eighteen, just before her A-Levels. She, as well as a few of the girls from her school and boys from the other, had snuck out one evening whilst they were supposed to be studying. They'd found a quiet wall on the eastern side of the school that no-one really bothered with, just near the chapel. It was improper for them to be associating with the boys when the occasion was not school sanctioned and this was definitely not school sanctioned. A few of them had cigarettes and Katherine had one, but she was only trying it out, she wasn't interested in it.

That's not what the pictures told.

Katherine and one of the boys, Jasper, had gone away from the others and were kissing, rather passionately, up against the fence. They hadn't gone all the way, but it had gotten a little far...far enough for it to look pretty bad.

Tatia had never flat out admitted tipping off the paparazzi, but she had insinuated it enough times for Katherine to know for sure that it was her that led to her very nearly being in nearly every major magazine and newspapers.

Nigel and Frances had flipped. They'd managed to pull the pictures. The papers initially argued that Katherine was eighteen, and nothing actually fully inappropriate was going on, but Nigel had threatened to sue their pants off.

The school had tried to chuck Katherine out, but Nigel and Frances pulled the influence card again and she was allowed to remain for the next three months under condition there was no more trouble from her. Frances never forgave Katherine for that. She was taken home and as soon as she walked into the door, her mother marched over and SCREAMED for at least an hour at her, saying all sorts of wild things as Nigel watched from the doorway. Tatia had observed the encounter from the staircase, smirking the whole time.

It didn't seem especially awful, Katherine thought, in a world with crime and poverty, but she (and the school)'s reputation was ruined, and Katherine couldn't even buy a cupcake without being branded a 'wild child.' She didn't get how she was a 'hard core party animal' when she was picking up a book of fairy tales for her cousin's daughter from W H Smith, or how she was a 'bad girl leading Elijah astray' when she was selecting some new running shoes. She hated when they accused her of that, being a bad girlfriend to Elijah. Despite all her flaws, Katherine Anne Pierce genuinely loved Prince Elijah. Katherine wasn't the sentimental type at all, who took some many pictures in hearts and told him she loved him an awful lot, but being with Elijah made her happy. Call her a bitch or a slut all you want, but just don't insult her relationship.

That was the only thing Katherine cared about.

"Still jealous, Tatia?" she looked at her twin.

"Of course not, Katherine."

"Don't be rude to your sister just because you are marrying into royalty. Tatia has all the looks, brains and ambition to marry someone of good standing. She has an excellent career as well, don't you forget about that, Katherine. Besides, Niklaus is still single, I wouldn't be surprised if we were standing here again in a few years with her standing in front of the cameras."

"Oh mother, you really think Klaus would want to marry Tatia?"

"Yes, I do."

Katherine snorted. Frances still had this dream that Tatia would marry Klaus. They were the same age, and Klaus had gone to the school next to theirs, so they met up many times and wandered in the same social circle. The Pierce family had been tight with the Royal Family for generations, but no tighter than now. Birthday parties, weddings, funerals, the Pierce family were always near the front row on these special occasions. The girls had grown up with rumours of them hooking up with one of the princes at one point or another. When Katherine had first stated dating Elijah, the rumours surrounding Tatia were inflamed. Problem was, it was exclusively focused on Klaus. Finn had been dating Sage, his university girlfriend, since they were in their teens and Kol was a younger womaniser, so no one suspected too much about him. The aforementioned factors tended to contribute, especially when they were at the same parties. One time, at a winter party, Klaus had been a gentleman and given Tatia his jacket to wear so that she wasn't cold. The next day, and half the papers knew. They only printed it on small celebrity pages, but those trashy magazines you see in the supermarket queues ran it as front page news.

Frances nearly had a heart attack out of sheer joy until Tatia told her that Klaus was just being nice and nothing was happening between them. Mikael had also confronted Klaus about it, saying that if it was true, he would be 'nearly proud of the boy.'

Not that Klaus cared.

"Also, I don't think having a minor job at a publishing house is exactly an 'excellent career.' I admit, sure it's cool or whatever, but I don't think her telling men that will make them fall at her feet."

"Katherine," Tatia pulled the face again, "I don't know why you're being so mean. If you feel I'm intruding on your big day, please tell me, I don't mean to do so."

"Ugh," the brunette rolled her eyes and stormed away, huffing.

When she was safely away from her family's judgemental eyes, she leaned against a wall, massaging her head as she attempted to make sense of the day's events. She wished she could tell everyone the normal way- ring up all the family, tell all the friends, go through the whole wedding process with a lot less stress than she would be going through in the next few months. Unfortunately, however, she was marrying the future King of England, so every part of her wedding would be under scrutiny. The thing under the most scrutiny, however?

That would be her.

Here she was, in a stupid dress, and all she wanted to do was go home, change into something fun, and go out to a party or something, let go of all the pressure. She didn't care about stupid royal protocol, it was the 21st Century, for goodness sake.

Katherine was a very observant person, so she decided to observe her surroundings. PR staff was running around the place, making final checks. Security was frisking all of the gathered camera-people and journalist, who were all making final practices. Some, she was pretty sure, were getting ready to tweet the online world- she was sure that one of the journalists was from TweetNews. The brunette rolled her eyes at the sight, checking her nails. God, she needed a manicure- she cared more about that than the journalists gathered in front of her.

Her mother had made her paint her nails grey in order to match the dress. As soon as it was off, she was going back to red, her colour of choice. Again, Frances tried to make her go for soft, 'ladylike' colours such as pink. They didn't match her party clothes, and Frances knew it. Even the matriarch of the family couldn't stop Katherine, or Tatia, from going out and getting loose.

Her eyes darted to the side as she saw Edith, a member of the Palace Communications Team, scooting past, her eyes straight at the clipboard in front of her. Edith had been the one preparing her for this day, something that she had not enjoyed. Edith was rather old (mid-seventies at least) and like Frances, was stuck in her ways. She was rather condescending towards Katherine, acting as if she was marrying above her station and that she could not compare to a member of the royal family- the future King, no less. Katherine had been close to the family since birth, she knew the ins and out more than the majority of people Edith found herself in front of. She knew when to stand and when to sit, how to address and where to go. She could easily get a job as an etiquette expert at Debrett's, advising the tabloids whenever some foreign dignitary made some faux pas with Mikael or Esther, and how wrong it was that they did whatever they did.

Edith, interestingly, did work at Debrett's, many years ago, maybe in her early twenties, when she was starting out. Katherine wasn't surprised one bit when she heard that.

Sighing, she looked around again. Her mouth turned into a firm grimace, biting her lip slightly as she looked around. One hand was on her waist, the other against her cheek, her posture alone showing her displeasure at the situation.

"Katherine?"

She looked up to see Elijah looking at her, concerned.

"Yes?"

"Is anything the matter?"

"Well, I'm stuck in a dress that I don't even like that my mother made me wear, waiting to go in front of paparazzi who will flash their cameras and act like I'm some sort of damn circus exhibit whilst I smile like my life depends upon it, so no, nothing is the matter."

"Katherine..."

"If you're going to give me a lecture..."

"I am not," he looked into her eyes, "Katherine, I understand this is a big deal, I really do. I do understand that you are not accustomed to waving and smiling like this, but you must try. Today is for the public, but the rest of our lives are for us. Katherine, when I proposed to you, I knew that you knew what it entailed, being married to a prince. I also want you to know that it entails that I will care for you for the rest of my life, and that today will be no exception. Katherine Anne Pierce, I will be marrying you within a few months and that is something I am very, very excited about. Please know that I am here for you, every step of the way, from being a circus exhibit today to being a circus exhibit on our wedding day."

For the first time that day, Katherine genuinely smiled.

"Sentimentality does not suit you, 'Lijah."

"Nor does it you, my dear Katherine."

"I wish you would call me Kat like everyone else does, it's much better."

"Couples, and sometimes friends, tend to have terms of endearment, do they not? Love, baby, sweetheart. That, to me, is unnecessary- just calling you by your name should inform you of the fact that you I care for you with every single part of me."

That last sentence made her tingle, and she let this known by letting out a smirk on her signature red lips. He responded in kind by bringing her closer, a soft kiss bringing them both together. Elijah was uninterested in large amounts of affection, at least when they were not alone in their home, but he knew that a small kiss would at least calm her nerves. Katherine was upset, but she would not be too open about it- Katherine was strong-willed and headstrong, and did not tend to show if she was hurt. In the years he had known her, he had not seen Katherine cry once. One time stuck in his mind, even though it was not an even that was particularly traumatising for a person, happened several years ago. Kol, when the girls were distracted, had locked all of the girls (Tatia, Rebekah, Katherine and a few others) present at a party in one of the upstairs rooms during a game. They'd been there a good few hours when they'd been found by some of the parents who had gone on a search party. All of the girls were sobbing and in a state of distress, apart from Katherine, who was seated calmly against a wall, a poker expression calmly on her face.

"Erm, your Highnesses?"

They both turned around to see one of the palace staff.

"It's nearly time, you both need to get into position," she scurried off.

"Ahem," Elijah cleared his test and adjusting his tie, held out an arm to Katherine, "Shall we?"

She nodded, taking the arm offered, letting him lead her to the side, where they were out of view. Henry Watson, the Palace's media guy, stood at the front.

"Presenting their Majesties, King Mikael and Queen Esther."

He bowed and walked over, allowing Mikael and Esther onto the front, the Queen Consort on her husband's arm.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman of the press, and of course, to the citizens of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world."

After a long, fake smile and a few camera flashes, Mikael opened his mouth.

"It is my honour, and my privilege, to announce the engagement of my son, Elijah, the Prince of Wales, to the Lady Katherine Pierce, daughter of the Earl Nigel and Lady Frances."

There was an immediate muttering from the gathered crowd as Esther removed her arm from Mikael's, moving back to allow Elijah and Katherine to walk forward.

As soon as they walked forward, the pair was greeted with hugs, save for Elijah, who was simply given a handshake by his father. The senior royals walked off, leaving the engaged couple to cope in front of the world's media.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Elijah took the lead, "I thank you all for coming here to celebrate the engagement Katherine and I. I proposed last Saturday evening for all those interested, and we chose to wait a small while before informing the public. Furthermore, I cannot express my excitement well enough, I feel nothing but joy at the idea of marrying the woman I have been happily dating for the past four and a half years. There is no doubt in my mind that Katherine and I will enjoy a long, and happy life together, as I am sure that I have found the woman whom fate intended for me to be with. I am so glad that I have found someone like that- she is someone so different to what I imagined, but she is the perfect person for me to be with."

Katherine felt herself smile again.

"If any of you have any questions, we are happy to open the floor for a few. However, we will have to be hasty, as we have prior engagements."

A BBC news journalist named Becky was the first to get in.

"Was it a romantic proposal?" she asked.

"Very, rather unlike Elijah," Katherine laughed, "He outdid himself. He swears that he did it all himself, but I don't quite believe it."

There was a laugh from those present.

"Have you any date in mind?" a CBS reporter managed to get in there second.

"We are thinking a summer wedding- June or July. I think it may make the children happy if we give them a day off from school."

Another laugh.

"Who do you plan to have as your Maid of Honour?"

"My dear sister, Tatia Pierce," Katherine spoke through gritted teeth.

"And your Best Man?"

"Through prior arrangements, I have decided upon my brother Niklaus."

There were whispers of shock- Elijah had three brothers, they thought that they would all be equal attendants, it seemed only fair to them all. Then again, Elijah had a special relationship with the third brother, so it made sense in that context. Though, through 'prior arrangements,' made it sound like they all had some kind of pact.

"Bridesmaids?"

"Princess Rebekah will be another bridesmaid, along with my cousin's daughter Lacey, family friend Rosabel and Elijah's goddaughter Amelia as the junior bridesmaids."

"I am sure they will be happy with the day off too," Elijah added.

More laughter at the lame joke Elijah told.

"Did you ask for Earl Pierce's permission?"

"I did, yes, as well as my father's, as per royal tradition."

There were a couple of more questions; ones that caused a few laughs that Katherine was sure would be mocked mercilessly on the internet later, it was time for them to head off so they could prepare for the interview that would come later on that week.

"Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen, but it is time for Katherine and me to depart."

They both said their goodbyes, Elijah's hand on the small of her back as he led her away. As soon as they were out of the sight of the cameras, Katherine turned to him.

"That wasn't so bad, I guess. Your jokes weren't funny though."

"On the contrary, Katherine, I found that they were hilarious."

She shook her head, smiling, "Oh no, they really weren't."

"Oh they were. Listen, I have things to discuss with my father," he kissed the top of her head, "I will see you later, we'll have dinner today."

"Bye," she smiled.

He walked away, leaving Katherine all alone.

Just as she was about to turn away, a voice interrupted her.

"Enjoy that, then?"

Niklaus Mikaelson was stood leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded. Out of all of Elijah's siblings, Katherine could only stand him. He may have been a bit of a dick, with a volatile temper, but she actually didn't mind him. He wasn't boring like Finn, annoying like Kol or a complete bitch like Rebekah. Katherine didn't hate Rebekah anywhere near as much as she did Tatia, or maybe even hate at her all, but she did extremely dislike her. Katherine and Rebekah were both very hot-headed and stubborn, so they therefore clashed an awful lot. Unfortunately, she had kind of been forced into having Rebekah as a bridesmaid. To the outside world, they were close friends who had grown up together, but that was a load of bull. She liked her junior bridesmaids well enough, but still, they were kids, she couldn't be friends with them and didn't want to be.

"It wasn't as bad as I'd envisioned," she responded.

"Enjoy the hug from the Devil?"

"Original."

"I know."

Katherine was one of the few who knew the depths of Klaus' hatred of Mikael, as she was one of the very few people he trusted. The only people he did seem to speak to were his siblings, and his best friend, Stefan Salvatore. It was not an open conversation, Klaus didn't tend to delve too much into it, but that didn't mean he hadn't before. It was more of a quick, cutting comment once or twice, maybe even open defiance, but that was extremely rare.

"You didn't answer my question, Katherine."

Klaus, like Elijah, often called Katherine by her first name. It was only Kol out of the Royal Family who actually called her 'Kat.' Maybe it was just in his nature, he didn't know. Klaus was not one for nicknames, or even shortenings- like Charles to Charlie- so it was Katherine for him. She often called him 'Klaus,' as 'Nik' was for family members. Well, Elijah, Esther and Mikael called him by his full name at all times. Sometimes, it was just 'boy' from Mikael, not the affectionate 'my son,' the name given to Elijah, and sometimes Finn. Kol never got the name either, but it seemed the three younger siblings were the disappointments of the family.

"It was fine," she shrugged, "Ya know, just your average hug, nothing special."

"You know that rumour that was in the paper a few years back?"

"The one where His Majesty only kissed and hugged a few babies and children to steal their life force and make himself strong? I can't even believe they ran that, it is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I know the press print some shit, but that is just pure fiction, and they know it."

"I started it."

Katherine raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it was a joint collaboration with Kol. He suggested doing something to wind Mikael up, and I came up with that. Managed to get it to a journalist- I am the 'reliable source' mentioned in the Mirror and the 'source close to the King' in the Sun."

Katherine shook her head, "Niklaus Mikaelson, you are insane."

"Hey, I'm going to be related to you in a few months," he punched her arm.

She turned and grinned slightly, "Incoming."

Tatia was rushing over, champagne glass in hand.

"Katherine, please no, don't leave me with-oh hello, Tatia, darling."

"Why hello, Klaus, you look dashing," she winked at the young prince, "Are you having a good time?"

"Yes, I am, and you?"

"Oh, very good," she winked. Klaus let out an involuntary shudder at Tatia's attempts to be seductive. Sure, she was stunning- exactly the same as Katherine, but you could easily tell the difference once you knew them- but when she tried, it just didn't work. She was an easy charmer when she wasn't trying too hard (she was the most talented flirters Klaus had ever seen), but she seemed to lay it on too thick when with Klaus. He didn't like her, not one bit, but it seemed she hadn't noticed in the past twenty-five years they'd known each other.

"I was out shopping the other day, you know," she twisted a curl, "When I happened upon a magazine talking about the rumours regarding a relationship between us. Still happening a couple of years, how about that?"

"You'd think people had nothing better to talk about."

"Yes, so true," Tatia nodded.

They stood there awkwardly for a while, Tatia staring intently at Klaus, who was desperately trying to avoid her intense glaze.

"Tatia, darling!"

Saved by the Frances.

"Bye bye," she waved, turning and strutting away, evidently trying to look impressive. Klaus just watched her retreating figure with his eyes raised.

"Yes, mother?" she arrived to see her mother pouring over a sheet, Katherine at her side.

"We have decided that Elijah and Katherine should get a wedding planner. Dear Elijah will be so busy with all of his royal duties, so we decided that Katherine should get someone to help her out. Now, Virginia Watson works in the industry so I asked her for the best. She narrowed it down to five, then the three of us took it down for three. We took further research and decided on a final one."

She handed the sheet to her daughter.

White Bliss.

"Quite a charming name, isn't it?" Frances mused, "It's a family run business, goes back many generations, run by the original founder's granddaughter, Violet Huntington. She uses that name for business purposes, and uses her husband name for personal reason. She's an absolute peach apparently, a very lovely woman. I Googled her, she is such a stylist and classy woman, I believe that she will choose the right person, or people, to assist Katherine. She has the best industry, she's snatched women from all over the globe. Now, I know that you are Maid of Honour, but this wedding should not stop you from working so hard in your job, so that was a factor. I just wanted to let you know, as you will be working closely with them."

"It seems wonderful Mother, such a good choice," she beamed.

"Now, Katherine will be meeting with them tomorrow morning to discuss plans. We'll play it by ear after that, we want to see how the professionals do it. There will be some obvious things- we know where the venue and reception will be, and we'd prefer a British designer for the wedding dress, as that will play well with the public, but we can't have it all the Royal way, can we? We need to inject a bit of Pierce into it, as long as it was ok with His Majesty."

Frances was a bit of a sycophant when it came to the Royal family. There was a fine line between being a royalist and being a suck up, and Frances has crossed it. She was a close friend of Esther, and practically worshipped Mikael, always talking about him to the press.

"Now, I knew this could be all fun," she beamed, "Katherine?"

"Yes mother, yes it will..."

Chapter One done. It's only a starter, it will hopefully get better.

Next time: We meet Caroline, and so do Elijah and Katherine.

Update wise, I'm looking at 1-2 weeks between chapters. My first few chapters are written up but I'm at a little bit of a loss where to go after, so I'll spread them out instead of clumping them together and then waiting a long time to update.

Thank you for reading, I hope to see you all again in the next chapter xxx