04| Heartless Truths

                                    

                                          
Just as Klaus met Katherine's gaze, and the moment of nostalgia threatened to break through his façade, his features hardened, and he swiftly regained his composure. "You're drunk, Katerina. I do not have a heart, I believe you know that better than anyone."
She raised an eyebrow, her tone taunting, as if completely undeterred. "Scared of confronting your emotions, Klaus? You've always been a man of passion." She was clearly letting the alcohol do the talking now.
His eyes bore into hers, his expression hardening once more. He wasn't sure what game she was playing with him, but whatever it was, he wouldn't let her win. "Do not mistake me for Elijah. Emotions have no place in my world. Only power, and greatness."
Katherine could feel the tension in the room thicken as Klaus's patience dwindled by the second. She could tell he was almost on the brink of strangling her, but she just couldn't resist the urge to push a little further. If she could push him just over the edge, he might actually give her the sweet release of death she was looking for.
"You know, you could be quite charming when you wanted to," she teased, her voice laced with a hint of mischief as her eyes involuntarily trailed his form, taking in how good he actually looked in that suit. She hadn't let herself even think about it earlier, but now her mind was trailing off involuntarily. She couldn't control it. The suit was a stark contrast to the medieval clothing she had known him in, and for a moment, she let herself slip into fantasies of a different life, a life without the torment and cruelty that defined him. Where he had never turned out to be the monster she discovered he was, and had simply just been the English nobleman who offered his hospitality to her, and took her into his family where they would live and die together. But that was the fantasies of a dead girl. A foolish, dead girl who had gone by the name of Katerina Petrova.
Klaus studied her carefully, her flushed cheeks and glossy eyes. The tension in the room was palpable as his voice dropped to a low whisper, his gaze locking onto hers. "When I invited you for a drink I wasn't talking about a trip down memory lane, Katerina, so I suggest you stop talking."
She was completely unfazed, continuing to test the boundaries and defying the danger that clearly hung in the air. "Or what? Are you going to kill me?" she asked daringly, taking a step closer to him. She didn't know where all this bravery was suddenly coming from, but she felt fearless. "Unless you can't, of course? Unless you still hold some affection for me."
Klaus scoffed, his mask of indifference soon returning. "Running for 500 years has truly made you delusional, sweetheart. I never cared for you. You meant as little to me as livestock, simply a means to an end. Like a pig at the slaughter, getting nicely groomed and fed before brought to the butcher."
She felt her pride sting at his words, at how quick he was to dismiss her, but she refused to let it show. Deep down, she knew there had been moments when he had cared for her, and that was what stung the most. 
"Then why don't you kill me?" She met his gaze with unwavering determination. "Kill me, Klaus. If I truly mean nothing to you, it should be easy."
But he only stared back at her. For a long time, his gaze remained unwavering, as if caught in a moment of contemplation. Then he shook his head, his hesitation betraying him as he finished his glass and put it down on the counter. 
"No."
"I knew it," Katherine scoffed. "Why are you so afraid to admit your true feelings?"
His usual, cruel grin crept back onto his face, and his eyes locked onto Katherine's with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. "I made a vow to make your death last half your lifetime, did I not? I intend to keep that."