Author's Notes: Katherine very much belongs to duchess-susan/octironstar. I just thought she and dear ol' Johnny would make a cute match, so here's a prelude to it. I don't know when this happens or how old he is now; it's up to you to place it in the M:SS timeline.

He knew she was a princess the moment he saw her. It was the way she carried herself; like she was queen of the world. It was the way she flicked her hair – like it was some luxurious whip that would flash in front of your eyes and dazzle you. Of course, the fine attire helped. That and the fact that she lived in a castle.

Johnny was disappointed to realize he was wrong; in fact, she wasn't a princess – only a prince's daughter. But that didn't matter. He wasn't a prince himself; only a Duchess's son. But that was alright. It wasn't like he wanted to marry her. How could he want to marry anyone, to love anyone else, when he had everything he could possibly want already? He had his crabby mother, his genius father, his smart-alec brother, and of course Charlotte, his perfect sister. Well, he did need a knife. But that could come later.

No, he didn't like like Katherine. He wasn't even sure if he liked her at all. But there was something about her that made him follow her around now and then, when no one was looking. She seemed to think she was so perfect and lovely. He liked her smile; it was dangerous, and sharp – something dazzling that you could prick yourself on if you weren't careful. You had to be delicate and clever to pass her challenge. And he liked challenges.

Sometimes he would wonder how one would go about killing her. She was a vampire – he could tell by those fangs and pale complexion –, and that could make things... difficult. He considered running her through with stake, but then she would only be dust, not dead, and then even if he scattered her ash she'd still be alive. Maybe something holy could do the trick. Perhaps reading a long chapter of gospel, dousing her with holy water, and other such things would make her slowly melt away.

But he didn't want to inhume her. Not yet, at least. Now he just wanted to watch her wander her court yard, looking so… so different from anything else he'd ever seen.

He was stalking the stalker. How silly was that?

Johnny Teatime grinned between branches, the prey gazing down at the huntress for once on the disc.