Prologue

The two of them had always been a fight.

Over the course of five hundred years, the amount of times they had interacted could be counted on one hand. They were tragic, with literally everything against them—including themselves. When one's heart disagrees with one's mind, it is a fierce battle, after all. They may have been a battle—two strong-willed minds, two dominant personalities, who clashed and shredded and loved—but they were something beautiful. They were a modern Hades and Persephone: the man of abject darkness, who craved a bit of the light, and the woman who had once been pure light, but now reveled in the darkness.

They were not each other's first loves, for those ended tragically, as some first loves are bound to do. They were also not each other's last love, for she fell for a set of brothers—whom together but resembled the man he was—perpetuating a doomed cycle, and he fell for the odd woman over the years, though none could make him forget her, as he sometimes would wish. But, in the end, they were each other's great loves.

They were a great and terrible beauty.

It could be said that their story began five hundred and twenty years before, in England, 1492. This would be a valid opinion, after all. The first stirrings of their feelings did begin in that old castle, no matter the roadblocks presented to them. However, their story did not truly flourish until much, much, later.

It all began in the late stages of the year 2010, once again in England. They were infamous—could be called leaders, even—of a supernatural race, known around the world as some of the most powerful and deadly. He himself was second in strength only to his brother, and she was hardened after years of fighting her way to the top. For years it was he she ran from, due to quite a bit of miscommunication and misunderstandings. For years he chased her, for their game was one which would never be over whilst the both of them walked the earth.

Then, everything changed.

She needed him. It was not that she necessarily wanted to ask for his help, but she needed it desperately. He was the only being with the resources and immunity to truly help her; there was no other choice.

This is where their story begins.

Chapter 1

November 11, 2010

Katherine Pierce walked up the front steps of the grand townhouse in London, England, that rainy day, her high heels clipping on the front steps. This was probably the last place on earth she wished to be, but it must be done. She needed Elijah's assistance, and she needed it now.

He was her last resort. She had traversed the globe over the past week and a half, looking for anything and anyone who could help her get this cure. Unfortunately, the idea of a cure was more than enough to make a few witches give her a nice little aneurysm or five, and one nearly took her head off. The other three attempted to rip her organs out via a nasty little bitch of a curse, so needless to say, Katherine Pierce had abandoned the witches. After that she tried a group of old vampires who were rumored to be interested in something of this nature, but they were just plants of Klaus's, taking out any potential competition by orders of their master; quite obviously, they were dead by the end of the day. Two of the six were older than she, but all were soft from the life of lying about in their homes, and so she dispatched of them with nothing but her hands and a pair of wooden-tipped stilettos. Her interest in the item could not be revealed to the world at large quite yet.

No, she would not come to Elijah if she were not desperate.

She raised her hand and knocked on the door, carefully tuning into the home's noises. There was someone inside… The door opened to show a somewhat elderly man, dressed in a suit. "Yes miss?" He asked, his voice raspy after what was probably too many years of tobacco use.

"Hello! This is Mr. Mikaelson's residence, correct?" She plowed on, knowing she was right, as she turned on the innocent charm. "My name is Elena Gilbert, I'm a friend. Is he in?" Though she detested having to play her dear, un-departed, doppelganger, Elena was a useful person to have existing, at the moment. The likelihood of being allowed admittance into Elijah's house as herself was probably somewhere between 'not a chance' and 'prepare to die'. Neither were options Katherine wanted to explore.

The butler seemed to carefully consider her for a moment, before he stepped to the side, motioning her in. Katherine stepped over the threshold, noticing she did not need an invitation. "Mr. Mikaelson is out at the moment, I am afraid." He said. "However, he will be back within the hour. You may wait in the parlor." From what she was able to see of the house, Katherine approved of it. Elijah appeared to favor the Edwardians in his decorating tastes, with an eye for antiques. The parlor was not cluttered, nor was it sparse, but even with the elegant design, there seemed to be something lacking from the house. There was a coldness about the place; a distinct lack of liveliness.

Katherine busied herself for half an hour or so, sipping at a cup of tea whenever she was not mentally preparing herself for what could be a nasty confrontation. Of course, she doubted Elijah would actually kill her; it was more of the fact that she was willing giving herself over to the possibility. And there was the small manner of him hunting her for the past five hundred years… Oh, hell. What was she getting herself into?

It was when she was bored enough to begin browsing the bookshelves that 'the master' arrived home. Katherine heard the butler inform him that, "a Miss Gilbert is in the parlor", and mentally steeled her will. When she could hear him at the door, Katherine turned around, a smirk plastered on her pretty face. "Mystery novels, Elijah? I would have believed you to be someone who enjoyed the more predictable things in life."

He raised an eyebrow from his position by the doorway. "You are not Elena. Obviously."

"Really? I had no idea." She laughed that haughty laugh she had spent so many years perfecting. "I was not sure if you had a 'no entry' list, and it can be so useful having a doppelganger at times. Especially when mine is currently in her dingy little town, adjusting to the bloodlust."

"Why are you here, Katerina?" If this was just to be another one of her games, Elijah was bored already. Then again, she was not idiotic enough to risk her neck for something trivial. It was…interesting to see her here, in his house. She seemed out of place, with her laughs and coy looks, among the general solitude

"It's Katherine now." She corrected sharply. "And maybe I just wanted to visit an old friend."

"You and I have not been friends for many centuries."

"Someone's irritable." Katherine rolled her eyes. "Anyways, you're right. I have a proposition for you."

"I'm listening. Though, not for very long." Elijah crossed the room and poured himself a drink. He offered one to Katherine, but she declined.

"Considering your siblings are fanatically searching for it, I assume you have heard of the cure for vampirism." She gestured as she spoke, continuing on when she received a nod of affirmation. "I want it. Not for myself, of course, but t—"

"You want to trade it for your freedom. I assume you wish for me to act as the go-between?" Elijah raised an eyebrow, actually intrigued. This was risky, gutsy. Not to mention the daring she possessed in even showing up here. Also, it would be nice to do something other than purchase and remodel real estate.

"You're basically the only person who didn't run screaming for the door—or attempt to chop my head off—by this point in my speech, you know. Of course, any contacts you have wouldn't hurt either."

"The mighty has fallen, I see." He said, a smirk playing upon his mouth as she narrowed her eyes.

"I suppose you admit that I am one of the mighty, then." Katherine seemed amused by this notion. "I did come prepared."

"How so?"

"By definition, a partnership such as the one I am proposing is mutually beneficial. As such, I had a few of my remaining minions' do a bit of digging, and they took the liberty of hunting down the LaHaye coven." She gave him a feral grin, looking like the cat-that-ate-the-canary.

Elijah was impressed. The LaHaye vampires had recently offended him a great deal—really, the imbeciles should have known not to lay claim to one of his cities—and it was well known that he was searching for them. "You have my attention."

"I assumed as much." The lady said. "Which is why I have five of their members imprisoned at my nearest house. I hope you don't mind that I did a bit of torture. I am dearly fond of knives, and it got the locations of five more." Katherine smiled sweetly, as if they were talking about something sickening like…unicorns. Or babies. Or worse… Unicorn babies.

"Katerina, I do believe we have a deal." They met in the middle and shook hands, eyes locking. Really, what did he have to lose? Niklaus would remain thoroughly in the dark until the last possible moment, just by the very nature of what they were about to do, so that was one threat eliminated. Rebekah was far too obsessed with Mystic Falls to leave anyways, and Kol was off doing god knows what with god knows who like usual. Plus, he got those pesky vampires out of the deal. There really were no drawbacks.

"I believe we do." Oh yes, this was going to be the start of something dynamic.

November 13, 2010

Katherine sashayed back into her hotel room, kicking off her heels as she walked in the door. Yes, she did have a lovely house about an hour away from Elijah's, but it was…unusable at the moment. Torture victims were always so whiny at night, and she was a woman who enjoyed her beauty sleep, thank you very much. Yes… A long soak in the bath, and maybe some of those chocolate-covered strawberries she had spotted on the room-service menu would make this evening perfect.

It had been a long day, in which she had spent the majority of the time either attempting to drag more names out of the LaHaye's, or searching for clues as to where this infernal cure might be. Mmm… Maybe room service itself would be tasty, as well. There was nothing quite like blood right from the source, after all.

Not to mention the fact that even being around that blasted man was beginning to drive her insane. He was stubborn, sarcastic in a way that made you think twice about what he said, and just utterly frustrating. She was not entirely what it was about him that drew her in, but damn it, it was distracting, and she had a mission to complete! Maybe it was the damned elegance that seemed to come with his mere voice, or the power and Old-World charm which surrounded his presence, but there was something about Elijah that just lit her up like a bloody torch. He always had, even back then; she just had not expected it to still be there, five hundred plus years later. There was the obvious, and quite explainable, physical attraction—honestly, one would have to play fully for the other team to not be attracted to him—but occasionally there was something else. Something unidentifiable, that she had not expected; that was what drove her crazy, even after only two days.

-0-0-0-0-0-

September 6, 1954

Katherine maneuvered her way down the streets, shielding herself from the autumn sun with the parasol that was all the rage these days. At least these dresses—unlike those from a few decades before—allowed one to have a bit of a figure, no matter how nonsensical the accessories were. She was not entirely sure why she was going to his house. Of course, she had it under good word that he was not in town, but still… This was a bad idea. She had been dead for nearly a century, and this could blow her cover. And yet, she was still going. She blamed that witch, of course, for putting thoughts of a certain person into her head once more. Maybe seeing where he lived would erase the plaguing thoughts—the what-if's and the times that had been—from her mind. Maybe she would receive relief.

Finally, the vampire reached her destination. It was a grand townhouse, and she had expected no less, though it appeared very…sad. There were no flowers in the small garden, and the only adornments upon the property were the house itself, and the front gate. As Katherine looked up at the place for a few minutes, she pursed her lips and sighed.

It appeared there was to be no relief for her yet.

Inside the townhouse, Elijah Mikaelson sat, reading over some documents. He was supposed to have been halfway to America by now, but instead postponed the meeting with Niklaus for another week. He needed to cross a few more potential locations off of the list of where the rest of their family may be hidden before meeting his brother again. Besides, the residual anger from their last meeting was too great, at this point, to consider seeing Niklaus.

Suddenly, something caught his eye from outside the window. His house did not get many visitors, and the sight of someone—a lady, no less—standing at the front gate was puzzling to say the least. Elijah was about to step outside and see what she wanted, when he took another look at the pretty woman in the lavender dress. His undead heart nearly stopped. She was supposed to be dead. Katerina Petrova was supposed to be dead, trapped in a cave he had likely played in as a boy, and instead she was standing at his gate, tracing her gloved fingers over the stylized metal 'M'. Frozen in shock, he watched her stand there for a few more moments before she turned and walked away.

If he had not been entirely sure of the sight, he would have believed she had a doppelganger walking the earth. However, that woman was Katerina Petrova and none other. A doppelganger would not have shown up at his house for a random reason, much less pause. She carried herself like Katerina as well, with the haughty feline grace she never managed to lose, no matter which cover she was utilizing at the time. She should be dead, and yet, Katerina Petrova had been at his gate. He was glad she was alive, but the questions which were spurred from her appearance plagued Elijah for the days which were to come.

AN: So, I am so incredibly excited for you all to be reading The Taste of Blood and Wine! I have been working on this story for some months now, and everything was planned and written down to the very last little detail. This story will take place in the gap between like 4x03 or so and 4x20, just so everyone knows.

For those of you who are familiar with my stories, this story is compliant with the ATCL 'verse, and even functions as a suitable prequel of sorts. Things referenced in that story will be happening in this one as well, so that's just a few spoilers for you! Flashbacks happen every single chapter, as this story is one which needs the past to build the present, if that makes any sense.

Anyways, I hope you all love this story. Katherine and Elijah are my heart and soul, and this story is basically my love letter to the ship and to the Kalijah fandom. I hope to do them justice, and give them the story they are due.

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!

-Abi