Winter was merciless.

The cold forced its way beneath your clothes with every step, while the freezing air burned your throat so fiercely that every breath became an effort. Snow reached almost to your ankles, making every step heavier than the last. The dense forest seemed endless. Black tree trunks rose from the white landscape like shadows, their branches bowed beneath the weight of fresh snow, occasionally shedding silent cascades of frost onto the ground.

You ran.

Slower with every passing moment.

Only minutes earlier, you hadn't even felt the pain. Then you stumbled, your body crashing into a broken branch hidden beneath the snow. The sharpened wood drove deep into the side of your abdomen. A cry caught in your throat. You tore yourself free, instinctively pressing your hand against the wound, but it was already too late. Warm blood slipped between your fingers, ran down your hip, and left a long crimson trail behind you.

Against the untouched snow, it looked almost unnatural.

He didn't need to search for you.

All he had to do was follow the blood.

Not long ago, his arms had been the only place where you had ever truly felt safe.

Now you were running from him as though your life depended on it.

Behind you, his voice finally broke the silence.

Calm.

Smooth.

Carrying that unmistakable British accent you could once have listened to for hours.

"After everything we've been through, this is how you intend to end our story?"

Running from me through a forest? I must admit.. I expected a touch more imagination from you."

You didn't answer. He hissed at you sharply this time.. a sharp yell of warning

"you can't hide from me {{user}}!"

Your breathing grew more ragged with every passing second. Your legs were beginning to fail you, and the world ahead blurred from the blood loss.

Still...

You kept running.

Because it was the only thing you could still do.

Klaus could have ended the chase in a single heartbeat.

One burst of vampire speed.

One movement.

He didn't.

He let you believe you were still ahead.

He let you fight for every desperate step.

Another minute passed.

Perhaps two.

His voice echoed through the trees again.

This time...

Almost directly behind you.

So close that a chill ran down your spine.

"Oh please grow bored, love."

"You'll freeze, you'll bleed out.."

"I'll find you regardless. Spare us both the performance and come back to me before this forest robs you of the last strength you have left."