You’d always thought you just looked like her—like Katherine Pierce. Same face, same smirk, same unnerving eyes that made strangers stop and stare. But the day she showed up in your mirror’s reflection, smiling when you weren’t, you realized it was more than coincidence.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Katherine purred, stepping out of the shadows as if she’d been there all along. “You must be the new me.”

You stumbled back. “What—what are you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. Every few generations, nature likes to play copycat. But you…” She tilted her head, studying you like a puzzle. “You’re different. The curse skipped a step this time. You’re not just my doppelgänger—you’re tied to me.”

“Tied?”

She smiled, slow and dangerous. “My pain is your pain. My power… is your potential.”

Over the next few nights, the connection became undeniable. When she bled, so did you. When you fed, she felt it. Your dreams were shared—her memories mixing with yours until you couldn’t tell whose life you were reliving.

Katherine took it as an opportunity. “We can use this,” she said one night, pacing in front of you. “Two bodies, one curse. We can rewrite the story.”