16

Elizabeth nodded. She took a few long breaths before continuing. "You're correct. It's hard to describe, but I'll try." She looked at Denis and then at Merit and said, "Katherine's not really tall now. But he was once... compared to other people in the fifteenth century." "Denis, do you remember the first day of school? It was the first time I ever heard you make a prophecy. You looked into my palm and said I'd meet a boy, a dark boy, a stranger. And that he wasn't tall but that he had been once."

Merit gave a little nod in response, but Denis made a muffled sound and staggered backward while seeming bewildered. "You mean-"


"I mean he lived in Renaissance Italy, and the typical person was shorter then. So Katherine seemed taller by contrast. And, wait, before you pass out, here's something else you should know. Dominic's his brother." "I mean he lived in Renaissance Italy, and the average person was shorter then."

Merit nodded again. "I had a feeling something along those lines, but if that's the case, then why has Dominic been insisting that he's a college student?"

Elizabeth flinched as she tried to explain that "they don't get along very well," and that "for a long time, Katherine didn't even know Dominic was at Fell's Church." She was getting dangerously close to Katherine's personal background, which she had always believed was his little secret to keep to herself. But Merit was correct; the moment had come to reveal the complete truth about what had happened. "Listen, it went something like this," she said to him. Elizabeth let go of Merit's hand and showed them the intricately carved golden circlet set with a single stone of lapis lazuli. "Katherine and Dominic were both in love with the same girl back in Renaissance Italy. She was from Germany, and her name was Katherine. The reason Katherine was avoiding me at the beginning of school was that she reminded him of her; she had blond hair and blue eyes, too. Oh, and this was her ring."

"And the thing was that Katherine was a vampire. A guy named Klaus had made her one back in her village in Germany to save her from dying of her last illness. Katherine and Dominic both knew this, but they didn't care. They asked her to choose between them. "And the thing was that Katherine was a vampire. A guy named Klaus had made her one back in her village in Germany to save her from dying of her last illness.


Elizabeth paused and offered a crooked grin, thinking that Mr. Tanner had been correct; history did repeat itself. between them the one she wanted to marry Elizabeth stopped and thought that Mr. Tanner had been right; history did repeat itself. She could only pray that her life would not end in the same way as Katherine's had. "But she picked both of them, and she swapped blood with both of them. She then told all three of them that they might be friends for all of eternity,"

Elizabeth paused and flashed a crooked grin, reflecting that Mr. Tanner had been correct; history did repeat itself. She just prayed that her narrative wouldn't end the same way as Katherine's. "But she selected both of them. She shared some of her blood with both of them, and then she told them that they may be partners for all of eternity together.

Merit said that it sounded ridiculous.

Elizabeth responded to her by saying, "You got it." "Katherine was lovely but not very intelligent." Katherine and Dominic's feelings for one another were already strained. They informed her she had to make a decision, that they wouldn't even consider splitting her with anybody else. She then stomped off while sobbing. The next day, well, they discovered her corpse, or at least what was remained of her body. To prevent being murdered by the sun while going outside, a vampire requires a talisman much like this ring on their finger. And Katherine stepped outside into the bright sunlight to remove hers. She believed that if she removed herself from the situation, Dominic and Katherine would be able to patch things up.

"Oh, my God, how ro-"

Elizabeth interrupted Denis with an angry, "No, it's not," and continued, "It's not romantic at all." Since that time, Katherine has been forced to live with the guilt, and I believe Dominic has done the same, despite the fact that he would never confess it. The immediate consequence of this was that they both went and grabbed some swords and started killing one other. Yes, killed. Because of this, they have become vampires at this point, and
That is the root of their deep-seated animosity for one another. Because of this, I'm quite sure I'm going insane trying to get them to cooperate right now.

"In order to collaborate on what?

" Merit asked.

"I'll elaborate on it at a later time. But before we get to it, I'm curious to hear about what's been going on in town while I left.

Merit cocked her eyebrow and added, "Well, hysteria basically." She continued by saying, "Your Aunt Judith's been really terribly off." She thought she was hallucinating when she said she saw you, but you weren't really there, was it? And it seems as if she and Robert are no longer together.

Elizabeth grimaced and said, "I know." "Go on."

"Everyone in the school is in a bad mood. I really wanted to speak to Katherine, particularly when I started to get the feeling that you weren't truly dead, but he hasn't been at school recently. I'm extremely sorry. Matt is, but there is something wrong with him that prevents him from continuing. He has the appearance of a zombie, and he won't engage in conversation with anybody. I tried to comfort him by telling him that there was a possibility that he may see you again one day; I believed it would make him feel better. But he wouldn't listen. Because he was behaving completely inconsistently with his usual demeanor, at one point I was afraid that he was going to attack me. He would not hear a word that was spoken.

Something terrible was stirring at the bottom of Elizabeth's mind, some memory that was too upsetting to be let loose. She couldn't handle anything more right now, she thought, and she slam dunked the memory back down. "Oh, God-Matt." Something terrible was stirring at the bottom of Elizabeth's mind.

Merit was taking place. "It's clear, though, that some other people are suspicious about your 'death.' That's why I said what I did in the memorial service; I was afraid that if I said the real day and place that Alaric Saltzman would end up ambushing you outside the house. That's why I said what I said in the memorial service." It is fortunate that Denis did not know anything that she could divulge to him since he has been asking a wide variety of inquiries.

Denis objected, saying, "That isn't fair. Alaric is just curious, that's all. And he wants to assist us through the trauma, like he did previously." Alaric was just interested. He's an Aquarius-"

Elizabeth said, "He's a spy, and perhaps much more than that." However, we will discuss it at a later time. Where does one stand with Tyler Smallwood? I did not see him when he was at the service."

Merit seemed to be very bewildered. "You mean you don't know?

"

"I have no idea what's going on; I've been sleeping in an attic for the last four days."

Merit took a moment to compose herself before continuing, "Well... Tyler just came back from the hospital." The same may be said of Dick Carter and the four rough men who attended Founders' Day with him and his crew. That nightfall, they were ambushed inside the Quonset hut, and as a result, they lost a significant amount of blood.
The question of why Katherine's Powers had been so much greater that night had been solved, as had the mystery of why they had been progressively weaker ever since. He presumably hadn't eaten since then, which was the likely cause. "Merit, is Katherine a suspect?
"