Katrina, The Beginning

CHAPTER SIX

  I woke up early, dressed in riding gear, and strapped my sword to my waist. Sarah, in the common room, was just putting out some fruit, porridge, nuts, hearty bread, pastry, and jams.

  “I didn’t think you’d be up quite yet, but I fixed breakfast just in case,” she said as she finished.

  “I’m glad you did. I’m starving, even though I hunted yesterday,” I shrugged as I took a large bite of pastry.

  “I’m going to take Nulla out for a ride this morning. I saw her last night. She’s all healed and now needs the exercise.”

  I finished my pastry by licking my fingers clean.

  “Mmm, I really enjoyed that. Thank you, Sarah. I’ll be back later.”

  As I opened the door to the hallway I found Simon guarding the door this morning. He turned and cheerfully greeted me.

  “How are the girls? Did they have a good time last night?”

  “If you’re trying to find out if any of them fancy you, I have no news; but yes, we all had a fine time last night. I hope we can do it again soon.”

  “I do too,” Gunter said, “training with the girls begins tomorrow, and the girls’ fathers want to make sure their daughters are serious about this training.”

  “I can assure you they are. Father also pledged to help each of us find, hone, and perfect our special gifts.”

  As we approached the stable, Quinn led out the horses. Nulla immediately let out a whinny when she spotted me. I broke into a run, so I could reach her sooner.

  “Oh, how I’ve missed you,” I told Nulla as I rubbed her forehead and patted her neck. She nuzzled me with her nose; and I her head and gave her a kiss, the soft whiskered velvet tickling my lips.

  “Look what I brought you,” I offered her the apple I pulled out of my pocket, which she hastily gobbled down.

  Simon was to accompany us as my Watcher. I was surprised when Quinn helped me into the saddle, since I didn’t need it, but understood the attention when he took the opportunity to whisper to me, “Simon had agreed to give us some privacy.” Then with a motion to Simon to mount up, they both swung into their saddles and we trotted off towards the training grounds to warm up and try some spear and arrow skills.

  “I bet you’re rusty,” Quinn grinned, obviously baiting me.

  “Would you like to make a small wager then?”

  “Fine with me. How about a kiss for every time I win and a kiss for every time you win?”

  “You drive a hard bargain, but I accept,” I said seriously, then not being able to hold it in, burst out laughing. I patted Nulla’s neck before urging her into a slow canter. Quinn threw me a quick smile as he also quickened his pace and shortly we were at the training grounds.

  The training instructors reset targets and laid out arms each morning at dawn for those who wanted to practice, and already there were several men taking the line for shooting, including Demitrie, Hun Lee, and Chan.

  “May we join you?” I asked of Demitrie.

  “Of course, Katrina,” he nodded to Quinn. We welcome the competition. We’ve had both stationary and moving targets set up. The far line is for spears, and this closer one is for bow and arrow.”

  “Let’s try spears first. It’s been a while, so don’t expect too much.” I looked at Quinn and gave him a wink. We continued over to the far line and waited behind Chan.

  “Hun Lee, that was great work!” I applauded. He bowed his head in thanks, as we watched Chan take his turn. First up was a stationary target, the spear to be released no closer than ten yards away. Point zones and bull’s-eyes were painted on each target. He hit the target easily from fifteen yards at a canter. The next object was a swinging target shaped like a man. Configured to spin when struck, you had to be careful not to be knocked from your horse by the rotating arms. More points were awarded for a head shot than a body shot. Chan grabbed a spear from the ground in between the targets and spurred his horse forward. He got within twenty feet and with a shorter but much harder shoulder-turn throw, hit the dummy square in the chest. The third and last target was a simulation of an enemy on horseback coming straight on. Two men pushed the target from the rear, with one man guiding the wheels by using a long handle from the side. This time Chan waited until the last minute and rammed the spear into the midsection of the target.

  “These men are going to be tough to beat,” I thought, but I was determined to prove myself. I was next, and adrenaline was already pumping through my veins.

  “Great job Chan,” I said, as he trotted his horse back.

  “Thank you,” he patted his horse’s neck.

  I walked Nulla up to the spears imbedded in the ground, pulled one out, and held it at eye level, it’s point toward the target, so I could judge its straightness and balance. Then I closed my eyes and turned my senses to the wind, which I judged to be slightly into my face coming from the left.

  “Very well, Nulla, let’s show these boys what we’re made of.”

  She reared slightly as if to let me know she understood, and then steadied down in preparation for the task. After one more bounce of the spear in my hand, I nudged Nulla with my heel, and we bolted off at a dead run.

  “She’s going too fast,” I heard.

  Then I heard Quinn laugh, “Just watch, Demitrie.”

  I crouched down over Nulla’s shoulders, then leaned to the right and from twenty-five yards, hurled the spear with all my might. Into the middle of the target it went with a thud. I circled the target and raced back to the line and grabbed the last spear in the row, before launching Nulla at the next target. My heart was pounding, but then my senses seemed to slow the action, making it feel like a slow, graceful ballet. Every fiber of my being was in tune with the spear in my hand. At ten yards I let it fly and hit the dummy right in the throat. Again I circled back to the line. As I thundered by, I picked a final spear, stood in the stirrups and threw. A second later the spear hit the moving target in the chest, surprising the men who had just started pushing it toward me. As I drew level to the target, I pulled my sword and slashed the grain-filled enemy across the throat, spilling its contents out onto the ground. At a dead run, we made a wide circle back to the line, where I pulled Nulla to sliding stop and gave her a reward pat on the neck.

  “Good girl Nulla. I think they got the general idea; we’re good,” I patted her again. We were both breathing hard as I walked her back to the start.

  Hun Lee clapped and shouted, “Unbelievable, Katrina.”

  “Too bad you’re so rusty,” Demitrie quipped.

  “True. True. Think what you could do if you practiced,” Chan laughed.

  “Well, I give up,” Quinn said, managing to keep a straight face. “I’m not going after that. You win, Katrina, and I’ll pay up on my bet with you later.”

  I gave a mock bow of my head. “I accept your surrender. Well, I think Nulla and I are warmed up. Shall we go for a ride in the woods or by the river?” I turned Nulla towards the gate.

  I waved goodbye. “I’ll see you later, gentlemen,” as Quinn trotted to my side.

  “You were fantastic back there. I really thought you’d be rusty; you haven’t done targets in at least two months,” his voice full of surprise and pride.

  “I don’t know, but since that first battle with those two fledglings, my senses seem so attuned, my instincts honed, my body and mind working as one.”

  I turned to look at Quinn and found him staring at me as if he’d never seen me before.

  “What?”

  “You’ve never seemed more alive than just then.”

  “Funny, that’s what the girls say when I talk about you.”

  I smiled at him and he smiled back. We stopped to wait for the gate to open. Thomas walked his horse right behind us, and then to our surprise Eleanor, her Watcher, and Simon came trotting around the corner.

  “Wait for us,” she called as she waved.

  She joined us at the gate.

  “I’ll stay on duty, Thomas, it’s all right,” Simon offe
red.

  So he and Eleanor’s Watcher pulled their horses around so they could follow the four of us. Thomas was all smiles as we headed out the gate.

  “Sarah packed us a lunch, but we have to be back before one o’clock so she can get us ready for the meeting at two.”

  I shook my head. “I swear I don’t know what the rest of your servants do. Sarah seems to take care of everything for us.”

  “I know, but every time our servants come to help, she shoos them away. They do kitchen work, laundry, and fetch water and supplies from the stores, but she says they just get in the way upstairs.”

  “Sounds like her. Let’s go up the river this time. The path down river has too many memories.”

  Thomas and Quinn agreed. There was a well-worn animal path that we followed along the river. There was a slight breeze, the temperature was mild and as the water bubbled along I felt myself letting go of my excited state from the target practice, and becoming more and more relaxed. We ambled along and noticed a grassy knoll to the north. Reining our horses in that direction, we were soon dismounting and handing our horses over to the Watchers, who would see they had water to drink and allow them to graze a little and walked up the knoll to have our lunch. Thomas carried the leather pouches with our picnic and held hands with El. Quinn and I followed behind, our arms around each other’s waists. It was beautiful out here and quiet, except for the birds’ singing. Wild flowers, daisies and blue bells made a lovely mosaic, one that was ever changing with the wind. Past the knoll, lilies of the valley dotted the edge of the forest, filling the air with their sweet perfume. We picked a spot at the very top of the rise; it gave us a beautiful view of the river valley below. We ate heartily and guzzled down water and a little wine. My workout earlier had made me hungry and thirsty.

  “You should have seen Katrina this morning,” Quinn said proudly. “She sure put the three young men on the spear target line in their place.”

  “You’ll be doing the same thing soon, El,” I promised.

  “I almost forgot, our fathers want to make sure we’re serious about this, so our training begins tomorrow. Plus we have to travel once every three months or so to one of our homes to show what we have learned,” said El as she put another grape into Thomas’s mouth. I couldn’t believe how sweet they were together.

  Quinn added, “Simon said the same thing this morning, and I assured him you were serious, all of you.”

  Simon and Leo, El’s Watcher, came up the knoll with the horses.

  “Time to head back,” I sighed, as I brushed off my hands and Quinn helped me up.

  We mounted and began the walk down to the river. In the distance I could see the palace and noticed an approaching caravan.

  “That’s strange,” I pointed.

  We rode back at much quicker pace than we had come. As we dismounted, we discovered a coach being unloaded, with servants rushing around moving trunks and carrying them and baskets full of goods into the palace. We handed the horses over to the grooms who were waiting for us.

  “Who’s arrived?” I asked the one who was to take Nulla.

  “The Baroness and her daughter,” he said.

  “Which Baroness?” I asked.

  “Why, your mother, Baroness Von Dracek,” he said looking at me as if I were a fool, which is exactly how I felt.

  “Katrina, wait,” I heard Quinn say as I rushed into the Palace. I had to speak to Father; this was crazy. My mother? How could this be? I had always assumed she must be dead, because of the pain that crossed Father’s face when her name was mentioned or that he had forbidden me to bring up or talk about her. But why had her existence been kept from me, where had she been? Then it hit me. And her daughter? Not only had I never seen my own mother, but there was a possibility I had a sister too! Somebody had some explaining to do and right now!

  As I walked I was becoming more and more angry, the closer I got to the rooms where I knew my father would be.

  “Father, I need to talk to you,” I burst through the door.

  He was standing in front of his desk, his back to me and turned as I entered.

  “Ah, Katrina, what timing. I’d like you to meet someone.” Father gestured toward the front of the room and stepped out of the line of sight that effectively blocked my view until that moment.

  There smiling back at me was a face resembling my own! Older yes, but the features we shared made us look remarkably alike. I let out a gasp and thought I was going to faint. Compose yourself, my mind told me.

  “Come meet your mother, Katrina,” Father reached out to me. I put my left hand onto my chest hoping it could keep my heart from bursting out.

  “Katrina, this is the Baroness Elizabeth Von Dracek, your mother.”

  I gazed into eyes that were the same hazel color as my own. Her light brown hair was done gracefully atop her head, and she wore a lovely green velvet dress, her cape and hat edged in what looked like fox. She smiled and started walking toward me. I suddenly felt sheer panic. I wanted to turn and run. I was shaking, my palms were clammy, and my throat was suddenly dry. When she stood right in front of me, she threw her arms around me and started to cry.

  “My little girl, my Katrina, I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for this moment. Let me take a look at you. She’s lovely, Fredrik!”

  “She looks like you, my dear.”

  “There’s someone else for you to meet, Katrina. This is your sister, Katherine.”

  My attention had been totally focused on the woman, completely blocking out the other occupant of the room. I took one look at my newfound sister and gasped. My knees buckled, and the room turned black. . . .

  As I started to come to, I was still groggy and not sure if I was dreaming or not, but I could hear Father’s voice. He sounded stern and anxious at the same time.

  “I told you it was going to be too much of a shock for her, Elizabeth. You should have sent word you were coming, so I could have prepared her.”

  “And take the chance our enemies would find out before you did? And how was I to know you chose not to tell her what happened to me and that she had a twin sister?”

  “Twin sister!” I opened my eyes and tried to focus “Oh, my head.” I slapped the side of it with my left hand and let out a moan.

  “She’s coming to,” I heard my father say. “Go now; let me talk to her alone, please Elizabeth.”

  I could hear footsteps across the wood floor and heard the door open and close. When I opened my eyes again, Father was sitting beside me, a worried look on his face.

  “Katrina, are you all right?” he asked patting my hand. “Katrina, I’m so sorry.”

  He was looking down now, shaking his head.

  “Father, why didn’t you ever tell me? All these years, I thought she was dead.”

  “I never told you that,” he said sternly looking back at me.

  “You never told me anything! What else was I supposed to think?” I closed my eyes again and rubbed my forehead.

  “I thought I was protecting you and your mother. I told myself I would deal with my decision when the time came, and now it is here.” He sighed, “You know I love you, don’t you?”

  “Of course, Father, and I love you. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

  “When you live as long as we do, it’s sometimes a long time to stay with one person, although, of course, some couples do. Over the years interests change. Elizabeth wanted to travel the world, and I wanted to save it. When clan wars broke out, I had to decide over and over, to either help or stay with her. The need for Peace always won; I chose to make sure we could live in peace and not be driven into hiding like so many other races and your mother grew tired of watching me ride away. So, your mother chose to go. Neither one of us could face losing you girls, so your mother and I reached a compromise. You stayed with me and Katherine went with her mother.

  Elizabeth found there were many others who wanted no part of the life I, and many others, had chosen. So, they gathered to
gether and formed their own clan and went secretly to an unknown location to seek sanctuary. Very few of us knew, and we have kept their secret all these years. After a while people just assumed, like you, they had died, and we just never told anyone anything different. Most of them wanted to start a completely new life with their own laws, and unless we found anyone was putting our existence in danger, we left them in peace. But if, however, they ever violated our territories and our peace, they were dealt with swiftly. Remember last summer when I had to give help to the Gomon clan? That action turned out to be led by some rebels coming out of hiding and trying to overthrow a peaceful territory.

  As Father’s story unfolded, it dawned on me - Damien’s mother had also disappeared, maybe she had chosen sanctuary too.

  “I didn’t know if your mother would ever come back again, and as no one was to go looking for them, it would be up to them to decide whether to come back or not. Does any of this make any sense to you, Katrina?”

  “It’s just a lot to absorb, Father. What are their plans, do you know? Are they going to stay? And a twin sister is quite a shock you know. What does she think of all this?”

  “Well, you’ll have to ask her. She’s known about you all along, and from what Elizabeth has told me in the short time she’s been here; Katherine was the reason they came back. She wanted to get to know us; she wanted to be a part of our life. Your mother wants that too, whether she decides to stay in Germany or not.”

  “But Father, this is an awkward time for all of this, isn’t it? With all the families here, there are bound to be a lot of questions. So why now, after all this time?”

  “Again, you will have to ask your sister. Elizabeth says Katherine just felt an overwhelming need to come now, that’s all I know. Yes, for her to come here now, during Council’s special call and the change of leadership is high profile. There will be questions, but we’ll just have to take each situation as it presents itself. I hope you can forgive me for not telling you all this sooner.”

  “You did what you thought was best for me, I know that.”

  He gave me a hug and sighed with relief, patted my back, and finally kissed my forehead before releasing me.

  “We still have a Council meeting this afternoon. Are you up to it?” he asked as he stood.

  “I think so, if you could ask Sarah to bring a change of clothes, I’ll change here. I’m still a little shaky.”

  “Of course. I’ll send for her right now.”

  Then he walked out of the room, nodding to Quinn as he came in.

  “Kat, are you all right?” Quinn’s face reflected his concern as he came to my side.

  “I guess so, considering I was blindsided with a Mother I thought was dead and with a sister I didn’t know I had. A twin sister at that,” I said as I tried to stand.

  Quinn helped me, but my knees were still wobbly and I had to sit right back down.

  “I feel so weak,” I rubbed my head again.

  Quinn went to the door and locked it. Then walked back to me, his knife in his hand. As he got close he took the point of his knife and made a slice into the vein on his wrist. He could see the shock on my face.

  “No time, Kat. Just drink.”

  He lifted his wrist to my mouth; the smell of his warm blood combined with his human scent was intoxicating. By instinct I grasped his arm. As I drained blood from Quinn’s vein, I felt not only a surge of energy, but a feeling I now recognized as having had before. The feeling built until I was wildly aroused. This was nothing like when I had daydreamed of how it would feel to make love. I realized now, this is what it would feel like and my daydream paled by comparison. It took all my willpower to force myself to stop. When I pulled back and came to my senses, I realized we were both breathing hard. Quinn looked away from me busily wrapping his wrist. This brought back a memory from home.

  “You’ve done this for me before, haven’t you?” I said with shock.

  “Yes,” he said sheepishly. “The other time you were in danger of going into dormancy; there was not a moment to waste. I know it’s forbidden, but both times it was necessary.”

  I stood, renewed strength filling my body. I was amazed how quickly it had happened, and I could also see why it was forbidden. It was like a drug, and a vampire could get thoroughly addicted. I went over to him, put my arms around his neck and kissed him, exactly what I had wanted to do the last time. As we kissed I could tell he was as aroused as I was.

  “I want to ask you something,” It embarrassed me, but I wanted to know. “How does feeding me like that, make you feel?”

  Now it was his turn to be embarrassed.

  “Heavenly,” as he looked down, his face began to change color. “It’s very erotic. You?” he asked still not looking up.

  “The same.”

  He kissed me again, and then we both jumped when we heard someone try to open the door, then knock.

  “Katrina?” Sarah’s voice sounded worried.

  I walked over, unlocked and opened the door.

  “Are you all right?”

  “That’s the question of the hour. I’m better, thank you. Did you bring a change of clothes?”

  “Of course, and combs and some fruit,” she sounded put out, clearing resenting the implication she’d forgotten anything.

  “Out with you, Mr. Quinn, I have a job to do. She’ll see you later,” Sarah pushed him out the door. She had brought me a lovely, but simple dress of yellow cotton. As she combed my hair she told me just what I had predicted, my mother and sister’s arrival had touched off a round of rumor and gossip that would be unrivaled by any other topic at this council gathering. As I left the room, I was still feeling overwhelmed by the knowledge this direct feeding had not been the first, by the gut-wrenching emotion it brought, and by all I had seen and been told regarding my sister and mother. Entering the hallway, I could hear the loud buzz of voices coming from the Council room.

  “Well, here we go,” I said to myself. I entered the Council chamber just as Father was calling the meeting to order.

  “We are here today to finish the business of this special session, answer any questions you may have and hopefully solve any problems brought to this Council,” he stated with authority. “Let us finish any old business first.”

  Then he went over new laws to be enacted, elections to be held in each territory, four council positions to be filled, and a list of minor and mundane subjects. As the hours passed, the chamber took on a restless, bored atmosphere. Finally the agenda came to the subject everyone had thought the special session had been called for in the first place.

  “Now let us discuss new business. We have consulted the Vikings on news of the New World; the Americas to be exact. They are experts on the subject and they advise we should soon send an envoy of senior council members. This envoy will make a tour of cities already established there, to help us decide the most advantageous places to establish clans and how to best infiltrate the ruling governments and upper classes, just as we have in all the territories where we reside today. It has always been in our best interest to be well established in an area, before moving full force into any situation. This way, we always know local and regional information ahead of time, and can influence and take advantage of trends. It is imperative we choose the correct locations, as well as the best positions in business, government, and society. We will send our envoy this very summer. We have been informed the United States has recently ended a four-year war, and we believe this is a fine opportunity for us to begin to establish our presence there. The envoy’s survey of the situation should be completed by early next spring, and will allow us to make final plans at that time. Are there any questions on this subject?”

  “Yes,” said someone in front, who I could hear but not see. “Who is to go on this first expedition?”

  “Not everyone wants to be away for almost a year,” Father told him, “so I will consider volunteers.”

  After much discussion it was decided. Philepe agreed to go,
since Gerhardt could manage his estate; and since their daughters would be staying with us anyway, Ricardo, Edward, and Michael also agreed to go. Others with expertise in banking, law, and accounting had also been chosen. Assignments were given and accepted, final business was discussed further, questions were answered and disputes were settled, after which the meeting was adjourned and all were invited to the dinner and ball. Council business concluded, departures would begin the following morning for the long journeys home.

  I was relieved no one had brought up the new arrivals, even though their visit really was no one else’s business. My mother - the thought still shocked me - and sister - that thought shocked me more - had wisely stayed out of sight so far that afternoon.

  “Katrina,” called out three voices together. They rushed toward me, pushing through the crowd that was leaving the opposite way.

  “We were so worried. Sarah told us you fainted! You look recovered. In fact you look…glowing,” El eyed me suspiciously.

  “Physically, I’m fine. I’m just still in shock from learning I have a Mother I thought all these years was dead, and a twin sister I didn’t know existed, both of whom showed up this morning. It’s a bit overwhelming that’s all.”

  They gave me a hug and I told them I would tell them all about it as we got ready for the festivities to be held that night, but I had to go over to Father’s and spend some time with my newly enlarged family.

  Thomas was waiting outside, looking concerned.

  “I’m all right,” I said before he could ask.

  “I knew you would be. You’re strong, Katrina, and if you can handle yourself in battle you can handle this,” he said with conviction.

  “You’re right, Thomas, thank you.”

  He was right. I could and would be fine; I had no choice, I decided. I nodded to Thomas, shrugged my shoulders, and we continued on. My apprehension was gone by the time we reached Father’s quarters. As Thomas opened the door for me, I took a deep breath and walked in. Father wasn’t there yet; I knew that because Gunter wasn’t outside. Mother and Katherine were out on the balcony and I saw them turn as they heard the door open.

  “Katrina, I’m so glad you’re here at last. Katherine, come let’s sit and get acquainted. How was the talk with your father? Do you have any questions for us?” As she spoke I noticed the look of concern on her face.

  It was so odd to look into the faces of two people who looked so much like me. Of course, as I looked at Katherine I realized she looked exactly like me, except our hair naturally parted on opposite sides. She was my mirror image, which would mean she was left-handed while I was right-handed.

  “He explained why you left and why he didn’t tell me. I know he kept the secret because he thought he was protecting us both. And while I understand his reasons, I have a question for you. Didn’t you ever wonder how I was doing?”

  “Oh Katrina, of course I did, but I had my spies,” a conspiratorial smile flashed and she patted my hand. “They told me you were doing well. Besides, I knew your father loved you so much, he would make sure you thrived.”

  I looked to Katherine, “He also said you were the main reason both of you came back. Is that true?”

  “Yes, I wanted a chance to know both you and Father, as I’m sure you would like to know Mother. I felt this was the time; Mother recognized and took my urgency seriously, and well, here we are.”

  “Well, as I thought Mother had died, I often wished I’d had the chance to know her. Now I know you exist, I can’t wait to know you better. How long are you going to stay, Katherine?” Although, I addressed my sister, I looked to my mother for the answer.

  “We haven’t decided yet,” Mother said. “We’ll just have to see how it goes. Seeing your father again brings back wonderful memories for me, and I realize the two of you deserve a chance to have the closeness that most other twins have, Katrina.” She took my hand, and a range of emotion played across her face as she continued, “What seemed like the right decision all those years ago just makes me sad now.” The emotional moment drew out and then she brightened. “But what’s done is done; I can’t take it back, so I’ll concentrate on what we have now. We have time, and as you know, time is on our side. We live for centuries, after all.”

  Father came through the door then. “Oh, good, you’re all here; my family as it should be.”

  He seemed as happy as I’d ever seen him. Could it be? Would they reconcile? Too much to ask for, I supposed. Still, Mother was right, time was on our side. When I looked at her, she was beaming. Katherine and I exchanged a look, realizing it really could be true. We grinned at each other and I motioned for us to leave and give them some privacy.

  “Father, I’m going to take Katherine to meet the girls. May we take her things, so we can all get ready together, Mother?”

  “Mother, that sounds delightful. May I, please?” Katherine asked politely.

  “Of course you may, but come back here when you’re dressed, and we’ll all go together. The others will want to enter with their fathers too.”

  “Very well,” we said in unison, then laughed and walked out.

  “Is it as strange to you as it is to me, to have another person that looks just like you?” I asked Katherine as we walked down the corridor. I had to laugh as I saw the double-takes from the people we passed.

  “Not really, because I lived with Mother and she looks so much like me—like us. I suppose I’m used to it.”

  “Hmmm, I never thought of that. Where are your trunks?”

  “Downstairs, I think.”

  As we headed down the stairs we could see Thomas and Gunter talking near the bottom. They stopped and looked over as we approached.

  “Well, fancy that. And we thought one was a handful,” Gunter said, and we all laughed.

  “Katherine this is my Watcher, Thomas, and his brother, Gunter, who serves my father and is the head of the Watchers.”

  “Do you have Watchers with you, my Lady?” Thomas asked.

  “No, we don’t. We only have vampire guards.”

  “Well, you will need a personal Watcher while you’re here. I’ll see to it myself,” Gunter resolved.

  “As you wish.”

  Katherine pointed out her trunks and we pulled out her things for the night’s ball. They were beautiful –“just purchased in Paris”, she told me as we set out for the common room. She couldn’t tell us where they had traveled from, only that it had been a long trip and she was tired. When we got to our complex, I saw Quinn standing by the door and I felt my spirits soar.

  “Nice to see you feeling better, Kat,” he said, his eyes softened.

  Then he looked at my companion.

  “Katherine, this is my friend Quinn; Thomas and Gunter’s brother.”

  “I am pleased to meet you, Quinn, and you may call me Kate.”

  “I’m stunned. I had no idea you were identical twins.”

  “Mirror twins,” we said again in unison and then giggled.

  “What does that mean?” he looked shocked.

  “It means she’s left-handed and…” I began.

  “. . . she’s right-handed, and our hair naturally parts on the opposite side, that’s all,” Katherine finished.

  “I see. Well, at least we can tell you apart that way. I wanted to let you know your father has arranged for Vampire guards to be on duty tonight, so my brothers and I can attend the ball, except for Gunter, of course. He even kindly arranged formal attire for all of us. You’re going to love Father, Katherine.”

  “I already do.”

  “That’s great news, Quinn. Wait until you meet the rest of the brothers Kate, one of whom will become your Watcher, and another one will be Mother’s.”

  “If they’re anything like these two, I can’t wait,” she bit her lip in a smile.

  Thomas laughed, “Double trouble.”

  “Indeed,” Quinn added.

  “Let’s go meet the other girls and tell them the news. We’ll see you both la
ter.”

  Then I clasped Kate’s hand and we rushed up the stairs together.

  “Watch the dress,” I ordered, and in we went.

  “Greetings, everyone! I want you to meet my sister, Katherine. Katherine, may I present Rosalinda, Arletta, and Eleanor.”

  “She’s…you,” gasped Eleanor.

  “I know. Isn’t it eerie?”

  “Gracious, this is going to take some getting used to,” Arletta was intrigued but her shock was apparent.

  Rosa added, “That’s an understatement.”

  Sarah, of course, had everything well in hand. Snacks and Crimson were laid out so we could keep our strength up. Kate needed that, but of course thanks to Quinn, I was fine. I’d have to think more about the matter of his feeding me again later. While she ate and drank greedily, we told the girls Mother might be staying and that she and Father seemed very happy to see each other. I informed Kate there had been no other women in Father’s life since they left, as far as I knew. She told us although there had been many suitors, Mother had also remained single. The girls insisted on telling Kate what a hero I was, and how we would all be training together from now on, at least until the envoy returned from the Americas. We had forgotten she didn’t know anything about that either, so we were quick to explain the situation, and added we all hoped to be included in the colonization. She seemed very excited at that idea, saying she intended to go wherever I went.

  “Now to the important things,” El had a devilish smile on her lips. “Did Quinn or Thomas tell you the news about the ball tonight?”

  “Yes, isn’t it enchanting? I’ll have to thank Father,” I was happy that father had agreed to this.

  “You are in for a treat Katherine. All the brothers are gorgeous. Letta and I haven’t decided on which of them we like best, but those two are smitten with Thomas and Quinn,” Rosa, pointed to El and me.

  “Please, call me Kate, and I saw for myself, before we came up here, how much Kat and Quinn meant to each other.”

  “She told them if the others were anything like them, she couldn’t wait to meet the rest.”

  Letta laughed. “She fits right in already.”

  “They’re calling us double trouble,” Kate laughed along.

  “If you ask me, they have no idea yet, how true that’s going to be,” Rosa joined in.

  “Do you want to move in with us?” El asked, excited she had thought of it.

  “There’s an empty room. Oh, please say yes! It’ll give your parents some time to be alone, and we’ll make sure you both get time with them,” Letta was excited at the prospect.

  “How about it?” I asked, turning to Kate.

  “I think it would be delightful. Thank you so much for making me feel so welcome. You don’t know how afraid I was, no one would accept me - including Kat and Father.” As she spoke her eyes filled with tears.

  “Stop, you’ll make us all cry,” Letta gave her a hug.