Catalina was in a bad mood now.

She felt incredibly embarrassed, having been left completely alone. Anyone who'd been watching her would have seen the exact moment she was practically dumped there like an idiot.

Thankfully, the music changed, and the couples switched partners. Which hopefully meant that no one had really noticed. But that also meant she was left in the arms of Damon Salvatore, who was just about the last person she wanted to be dancing with.

"Surprised your creepy boyfriend isn't here to get you to stop dancing with me," said Damon, which caused her to roll her eyes.

"If you grabbed me just to examine the 'extended family' and ask questions, then perhaps you ought to leave," sneered Catalina. "I'm not in a good mood."

"And why might that be?" He was mildly concerned. A one-thousand-year-old vampire who was pissed off didn't exactly sound like a safe situation, especially not for the regular civilians around them.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she muttered. "I've seen you. Asking around about me. Worrying over that doppelgänger girl. You're just butting in where it isn't welcome."

"Well, you caught me. I am worried. Maybe you'd like to pitch in to let me know if I should continue with that or not."

"What, has this den of apex predators become too frightening for you?" she asked mockingly.

He spun her around, then pulled her closer than before, digging his fingertips into her waist, which actually caused her a bit of pain. "If you know something, say it, because I'm not letting my girl get hurt."

She smirked wickedly. "You should know better than to threaten a vampire nearly seven times your age."

She slid the hand that was on his shoulder towards his neck, and with ease, pressed down, causing his collarbone to snap, which made him bite his lip hard to mask a grunt. Immediately, he loosened his hold on her waist.

"A word of advice, Damon Salvatore," said Catalina, leaning in to whisper in his ear, putting so much pressure, she could feel more individual bone fragments breaking beneath his skin. "Don't let your ego instill this much false confidence when you're in a room full of vulnerable people and six ancient vampires. We could very easily kill that little doppelgänger bitch and anyone else who stands in our way. Put your hands on me again, and I'll be taking a bite out of her heart before I rip yours out."

She shoved him back as the partners changed once more. This time, she found herself with Finn, who, according to Kol, was the Original she was closest to aside from her 'boyfriend.'

"You seem displeased, Catalina," mentioned Finn.

"I'm rather sick of being told that I experienced things I can't even picture in my head," she said simply. "Not to mention I've never liked when those young vampires get cocky and convince themselves that they can gain the upper hand. I don't know what that's about, but that boy is insistent on protecting that girl he came with."

"My mother wished to speak to her," said Finn casually. "And I suppose he is convinced that my mother intends to harm her. That's not the case at all."

Catalina scoffed. "And what, he thought to speak with me because Elijah told him that I'm Kol's 'girlfriend' and he thinks I'd be willing to rat out a woman who isn't even my mother-in-law? I've never even had a conversation with her. I don't intend to."

Finn didn't seem bothered by this. "Perhaps you might be happier elsewhere. I can see that you don't wish to be here."

"Your brother abandoned me in the middle of a ballroom, just as he abandoned me in that room one thousand years ago."

"You may not wish to hear this," said Finn, "and I myself am not sure why I'd tell you this, but my brother is not lying to you. He didn't abandon you. I still remember, very clearly, the day he brought you to meet us after you escaped the castle."

Catalina bit her lip. "Well... could you tell me?"

"Kol," said Klaus loudly when he returned after his time in Spain. He'd walked in alone at first, leaving Catalina outside. "Where the bloody hell have you been?"

"Traveling," said Kol simply.

"We were concerned Father got to you," said Elijah sternly. "You cannot simply leave without informing us. We're a family. We must stay—"

Kol held his hand up to stop him. "Now, hold on, I never intended for us to stay together. If you recall, Finn and I wished for us all to go our separate ways. You all forced us to stay. I see nothing wrong with me taking a trip of pleasure."

"Pleasure?" scoffed Klaus. "And what might this pleasure be?"

Kol exited their hut and returned with Catalina, who looked around a bit nervously. "La Princesa, Catalina León de Asturias."

"Are you mad?" said Rebekah, looking furious at the sight of her. "You stole a bloody princess?"

"Take her back, now!" roared Klaus. "I will not have Mikael descending upon us because you felt the need to grab a royal-caliber plaything."

"I've already turned her," said Kol. "She left the castle of her own volition. If you wish for me to stay, you'll allow her to live here."

Finn, who was displeased, but wasn't about to be rude to this girl, got to his feet, extending his hand to her. That seemed to help her relax, as she'd shrunk back while the siblings yelled at their brother.

"Finn Mikaelson," he told her. "It's a pleasure to meet you. If you're to stay with us, there are rules."

"Kol informed me of them already," she said quickly. "I must not slaughter, or it will draw the attention of Mikael. He's already taught me to feed and compel the victims to forget once I've healed them. We covered our tracks. I'll behave. I just wish to stay here with all of you."

Finn looked at Elijah, who was ignoring the indignant looks on Klaus and Rebekah's faces.

"Perhaps we ought to vote again," suggested Kol. "All those in favor of letting her stay?"

Elijah, Finn, and Kol raised their hands. Klaus and Rebekah had to accept it.

"You arrived looking afraid of the world," mused Finn. "You'd clearly never set foot outside of the province your castle was in. You were eager to make a new life for yourself. You were so obedient. Every rule we gave you, you followed. You were helpful and you wished for us to teach you to work with your hands so that you needn't rely on anyone. Soon, you were spending time building things and harvesting with the humans. You were compassionate, especially those first few years.

"After I was daggered, I do not know what became of you. But in the beginning, we were friends. You were the only one who respected my decision not to sire anyone. My other siblings did it constantly. Even you did, for fun. But they judged me, and you did not. I felt most comfortable speaking with you. We would spend time together, and you were the one who introduced me to Sage."

Catalina frowned. "I don't remember meeting Sage like that. I suppose since the memory ties in with your family... it's altered. I remember meeting her and the others through mail. Lucien contacted me through a letter. Helped me meet the others in writing. I remember keeping in contact with them. I recall a few of the things we wrote to each other about. But a lot of it is blank. So now I'm not sure if I did meet any in person. Especially not Sage."

"I'm not quite sure how it happened," said Finn. "That must have taken place after I was daggered. If you'd gotten to know the other first sired, you would have mentioned it. And you didn't." He noticed how sad she now looked. "If you wish to leave, I can have it arranged. My mother will gladly aid you in slipping away before Kol can notice. It isn't quite fair for you to be kept here as a prisoner when you haven't the faintest idea what history you have with your housemates. It's rather strange. Alas, Kol has always been desperate. You were, indeed, the only person who ever loved him unconditionally. I suppose he feels as though a part of him has been lost ever since you hardly recognized him in that cave."

"Couldn't another Original undo the compulsion?" she asked. "That would be painless... right?"

"I'm not quite sure that's possible. Besides, you ought not leave yourself susceptible to compulsion. You should begin to take vervain and wolfsbane. Just a bit in a morning tea. To prevent any of my siblings from making you do something you don't wish to do. And, of course, to build up a tolerance to it. I assure you, this won't be the end of Niklaus's revenge. Now that my sister has learned that you don't remember the animosity between the two of you, she may compel you to do her bidding. Unfortunately, as she has quite an attitude, she fails to make genuine friends, and often has to have them compelled."

As the dance ended, he stepped back, and bowed. She curtsied, finding she felt a bit better. "If you'll excuse me," said Finn, "I must assist my mother."

She watched him go, feeling as though their talk hadn't answered any questions, even if she had learned a bit more about her past. But she did feel as though she'd made a friend. Or, technically, rekindled an existing friendship.

She chose to walk outside, needing some fresh air. She drew a deep breath, staring up at the sky, which still looked the same as it had the last time she'd been able to relax beneath it. At least there was one constant.

She looked over her shoulder when she heard voices. Rebekah, walking with a blond boy. She ignored them, turning to face the other way. She could hear their voices in the parking lot, in the midst of a group of strange vehicles. It was hard to believe that cars looked like that now. Clearly she'd missed a lot of development.

Soon after, Rebekah and the boy were coming back. The two women shared a look. And Catalina could almost remember hating her. Rebekah's expression bothered her. Smug. As if she knew something that Catalina didn't, which was indeed the case.

"Are you alright, love?"

She turned to see Kol in front of her. She crossed her arms and looked down. "I figured you would not wish to speak with me anymore."

"I was going to return to dance after I cooled off," said Kol. "And then I saw you with Finn. I got jealous."

Catalina frowned. "Why would you get jealous? According to the both of you, we were just friends. Finn says I introduced him to Sage."

"But you don't have your memories anymore," said Kol. "Perhaps Finn seems more appealing now. I always thought that if anyone ever stole you from me, it would be him. You two got along well. I need to ask what you think of him."

She shrugged. "He reminds me of Bermudo. The older, wiser, voice of reason. Someone I don't feel connected to, but amconnected to no matter what I think. He strikes me as being too attached to your mother."

Kol relaxed visibly. Good. She'd said nearly the exact same thing one thousand years ago when he'd been worrying about her and Finn before.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Finn," noticed Kol one evening when she was brushing her hair. "Might I ask why?"

"He's lonely," she said. "And he reminds me of my brother. Bermudo and I were never really close because of our age gap. Seventeen years is far too much. Between Finn and I, the gap is nine years. It feels as though I've finally gotten to know what it's like to have an older brother. You lot don't treat him very kindly. He reminds me almost of myself. Unloved by his own siblings."

Kol raised a brow. "Well, if he'd cease being so boring—"

"He isn't boring, Kol. You just haven't given him a chance to express himself. It seems he spent his entire life being your mother's right-hand-man. He's adjusting to being without her. He still grieves immensely."

"And you're sure you wouldn't rather be with him?"

She giggled, turning to face him. "Kol Mikaelson, if I wished to be with him, I would be. I was a princess. I got anything I wanted, like that," she snapped her fingers. "If I had any interest in sleeping with your brother, I'd be in his room. Not here. Not with you. You must realize I've chosen you and I will continue to choose you no matter who else I meet. You saved me from having to marry that awful man. You've made me feel happiness I never thought possible. I'm never going to stop loving you."

Kol still wasn't convinced. "And you're certain about all of that?"

She set her brush down and got to her feet, slipping off her nightgown, which caused Kol to gulp as she slowly walked toward him, and pushed him onto the bed so that she could straddle him.

"I'm certain," she whispered, dipping down to kiss him. "I want you. No one else. Especially not a man who is like a brother to me. My relatives may be alright with that, but I'm certainly not."

"What are you even doing out here?" asked Catalina, rubbing her arms. "There isn't anything exciting to see. I suppose I thought it would be better than the party but it ended up disappointing me."

"Rebekah called in her favor," said Kol. "She wanted me to kill her date to hurt that doppelgänger girl. Rebekah despises her, and that boy, Matt, seems to be close with Elena Gilbert. We were going to do it outside to keep from ruining our mother's party, but the boy gave her his jacket and she swooned and swept him back inside before I could do anything."

Now that was something that would certainly make her feel better. Feeding. Blood. Killing someone. Causing a problem. She liked the sound of that.

They heard the music stop, and Kol sighed. "I believe my mother wishes to make her toast. As soon as that's through, you can retire to your bedroom."

Catalina said nothing, and simply followed him in, looking up to see Esther on the staircase. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," she said. "Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass."

Kol plucked two champagne glasses off of a nearby tray, handing one to Catalina. She took it carefully, smiling slightly as Esther continued, "It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" repeated the guests. Catalina and Kol let their glasses touch before they each drank.

"That champagne was better than the one they had earlier," commented Catalina, downing the rest of her drink before narrowing her eyes to where Rebekah was walking to the stairs. "Perhaps you ought to confront your sister about the miscommunication earlier."

Kol smirked slightly. That sounded more like the Catalina he remembered. He walked toward Rebekah, catching her under the stairs before she could ascend.

"There you are," he said. "I was waiting for you outside. Where's Matt?"

"About that," said Rebekah a bit nervously, "I, uh... I changed my mind. I don't want to ruin mother's night."

Kol raised a brow. "Don't tell me you like this boy. What did he do? He gave you five seconds of his attention? Don't be so predictable, Rebekah."

The blonde looked almost hurt. "You don't have to be rude about it. Just leave him be, okay?"

She walked away, and Kol said, with a wicked grin, "As you wish, sister."

"You're still going to kill him, aren't you?" said Catalina once he started to lead the way back upstairs.

"Naturally," he said, before spotting the boy exploring the second floor along with a few other curious guests. "You're welcome to tag along."

Kol sped off, and Catalina followed. They ended up on a balcony that Matt was about to pass by.

"Matt," Kol whispered, trying to get his attention. The boy took the bait. He peeked into the balcony, seeing no one, as the vampires had ducked back into the hall. But before he could exit, Kol appeared behind him. "Good evening."

Matt turned around, appearing nervous as Kol said, "You're Rebekah's friend. We haven't met."

The blond extended his hand to him. "Matt Donovan."

"Kol Mikaelson," said the Original. He shook his hand, squeezing so hard, his bones started to snap, causing Matt to groan in pain. "Now, be a good little boy and stay quiet so the lady here can have a drink."

"I've been needing this all night," said Catalina, pressing Matt onto the wall and biting into his throat. He tried to get away, which she enjoyed. She always loved when her victims flailed beneath her, trying to escape. She never quite let them do that.

Kol came over to the other side of Matt, sharing a look with Catalina before biting in. The two vampires kept the boy silent as they drank, at least until they heard someone say, "Hey, hey, hey!"

They disconnected, only to see Damon Salvatore. Matt slumped down on the ground, and Catalina cracked her knuckles. "That's twice in one night you've made my mood worse," she sneered to the vampire. "Perhaps you'd like to supply the blood you're clearly denying me."

She lunged at him, and Damon tried to dodge, only to find himself being grabbed by Kol, who held his arms behind his back. "She said she wants to feed on you," whispered Kol venomously in his ear. "You're going to let her."

"It's a shame your suit is going to end up bathed red," said Catalina, grabbing onto Damon's face roughly, turning it to the side before she took a bite.

Immediately, she drew back, starting to cough. "Vervain," she wheezed, feeling it burning her lips and the inside of her mouth. Damon immediately leaned back against Kol, which was the opposite of what the Original expected. He kicked his legs up, sending Catalina flying off of the balcony, and slamming to the ground below. Kol threw Damon off as well before jumping down, but Damon had landed on top of Catalina, digging his foot into her throat. Kol tackled him, and Damon started trying to punch him.

The doors flew open before they could get too far. The rest of the Originals, along with Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert, rushed out to see what was going on.

Catalina was yanked up by Rebekah, who restrained her while Elijah, Stefan, and Finn ripped Kol off of Damon, who was bleeding, and seemed to be enjoying how he was getting beat.

"Damon, are you crazy?" snapped Stefan.

Damon got to his feet. "Maybe a little." He looked right at Elena. "Far be it from me to cause a problem."

He walked away, not bothering to look back. Finn let out a scoff of disappointment and walked away, while Rebekah and Elijah released the other restrained vampires.

"How dare you?" snapped Elijah, looking mostly at Kol, though he peeked back over his shoulder, seeing Rebekah rushing upstairs to help Matt. "Our mother said several times that there was to be no violence!"

"Why don't you ask Rebekah about why I did it?" sneered Kol. "She wanted me to kill Matt! I was just attempting to deliver."

Elijah pointed at the house. "To your rooms, both of you. Clean yourselves up. You're covered in blood. Do not let anyone see you."

"Excuse you," said Catalina, not about to follow his orders. "You haven't spoken a single word to me since I got to this house, and now you wish to tell me what to do? No one commands me. Especially not a man who would allow one of his brothers to ruin the happiness of the other."

"If you won't abide by our rules, then you may leave," said Elijah sharply. "Your lack of memories is no excuse for a blatant disregard of human life."

"I'm a vampire," she said, spreading her arms. "I don't know what you expected. You should know me better, but you obviously don't. I think I will leave."

But before she could speed off, Kol grabbed her. "One more day," he said pleadingly. "Give me one more day and then you can go."

Elijah didn't seem pleased with this, but he had to keep his mouth shut, because Catalina nodded, albeit reluctantly.