Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries
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There are many stories that attempt to explain the birth of the vampire species. Some say they are older than men, cursed by those with magic to live in the shadows. Others believe they are the descendants of demons and mortals combined. Then there are those who try to convince others of the creatures evolutionary superiority, believing immortality to be the highest pinnacle of development.
It is the accounts from the time of the Founders that truly interest this author. Priceless scraps of parchment from the library of Rowena Ravenclaw describe a new species they had never before encountered. Monsters that drained their victims of blood, that couldn't abide the sun. Accounts of these 'strange new creatures' weren't confined to the British Isles either, every corner of the wizarding world were beginning to record sights of similar monsters.
It is because of this that many of my colleagues, past and present, have speculated that 'the vampire' rose to prominence at that time. Just over one thousand years ago.
Rei ran her finger over the words swiftly, scanning the pages with her eyes, trying to locate the information she'd been searching for, for the past two hours now.
Defence Against the Dark Arts had always been her primary interest in school, she'd probably read more on the subject than even Hermione had. There just wasn't another branch of magic that was able to captivate her like this one did. Of course, like anyone else, there were countless aspects of charms, transfiguration, even potions, that fascinated her. She wasn't disputing that. But when it came to DADA, she loved it all. And when she'd moved to America, most of her favourite books made the journey with her.
She'd flicked through more than fifteen volumes on Dark creatures already, trying to the find the obscure passage Rei knew she'd read. Growling, she shoved aside Sharon Thomas' 'A Journey Into the Wilds of the East', and reached for the next book on the pile, flipping it open.
She hadn't been reading longer than five minutes when she found it.
Hastily bringing the book closer to her face, she squinted at the pages, finding it made the irritatingly small print easier to decipher.
…What is even more interesting are the whispers our world have come to hear from the vampires themselves.
Mutterings of those they call 'The Originals'. The ones they believe to be the genesis of their species…Nothing has ever been proved. Many academics have thrown scorn on the theory, believing these 'Originals' to be nothing more than myth. Even in the vampire community it is clear that there exists no one accepted belief.
From the little we have been able to garner over the years, most vampires seem to believe these Originals the oldest of their kind, if not the first...
Flipping the page over, determined to find out more, Rei almost screamed with frustration when she saw the next paragraph had been dedicated to the rumours of cross-species breeding.
"Great," She muttered, pushing her hair back angrily she clambered to her feet, her muscles stiff from sitting on the wood floor for the past two hours.
Tapping her finger against her lip she scowled up at the ceiling.
"I knew his name though…" Rei murmured to herself.
She knew, somewhere, hidden in the hundreds of books she'd brought with her was more information. Information that named these Originals. Maybe someone had told her? Tilting her head speculatively to the side, she tried to cast her mind back, tried to associate what she knew of that family with a face from her past. Albus? Moody? Remus? They didn't ring a bell, but…
The abrupt interruption of her door bell echoed through the house, destroying her train of thought.
Scowling, she stomped out of the attic and down the stairs, trying to calm her temper as she went. It wouldn't do to frighten the person that was calling on her, now would it?
The doorbell rang again.
"I'm coming!" She yelled, only for the door bell to ring again.
Merlin, what ever happened to patience?!
Just as she was coming to end of the stairs, the front door just ahead of her, the bell rang again, but this time, the person was obviously holding the button down because the annoying chiming didn't stop.
Rei halted, her eyes narrowing on the closed-door suspiciously.
Her breathing instinctively quietened as she shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet.
Moving through the hall and into the adjacent living room with a silence she had long since perfected, Rei sidled up to the white, sheer curtains, keeping her small frame pressed against the wall to avoid casting shadows in the dusk light. Pushing her body even closer to the wall's corner, steady fingers reached out to flick back the edge of the thin curtain.
Rei's mouth tightened at the sight that greeted her through the clear glass panes.
Four men were circled around her closed front door, all of them varying degrees of brawny.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," The largest male, the clear leader of this little troupe, smirked wickedly at his companions as he removed his finger from the doorbell. "We've got some things we'd like to discuss with you."
Eyes cold, Rei released her hold on the sheer curtain, letting it fall back into place.
...
Damon came to with hiss of pain. It was only when he tried to raise his hand to his eyes and something stopped him that his mind caught up and his eyes flew open.
A mousy boy he'd never seen before grinned down at him. "Morning sunshine," He sung jovially.
Damon scowled, opening his mouth to deliver the stinging insult on the tip of his tongue when, all of a sudden, he froze.
Rick!
As if summoned by the mere thought of his name, ice blue orbs inadvertently locked on the dead body of his friend lying at his feet. A swift, frantic glance at the history teacher's hand calming him barely seconds later. He was wearing his ring.
"Well," Damon coughed. "This is different."
Jules stalked into the room, a long gun at her side.
"Nice to see you again, Damon," She smiled sarcastically.
"Jules," He glared at her blackly, the image of Rose's pained face flashing in front of his eyes as he stared up at her killer. "I'd say it's a pleasure, but my Mother told me never to lie."
"Cute," She brought the shotgun up, aiming it at his chest. "Where's the moonstone?"
A bloody grin spread across his lips, he couldn't help it. "You have no idea how ironic this is." He barked out a laugh. "And for the record, I don't have it."
Her eyes darted over to the mousy boy and suddenly his neck was jerked to the right, sharp wooden nails digging deeply into the vulnerable flesh of his throat. He groaned, gritting his teeth against the scream that wanted out. He refused to give the bitch the satisfaction!
"Don't play games with me," Jules took a threatening step forward. "I know you have it. Tell me where it is."
The pressure on the chain around his neck abated, letting him draw in a beautiful, unneeded breath.
"You're like a dog after a bone, aren't you?" He wheezed mockingly. "Isn't that just typical? I realise that I've been alive a few more years that you Jules, but I'm pretty sure 'getting your facts straight', is lesson number one in torturing someone for information."
Instead of flying into a rage as he'd been hoping the werewolf smiled darkly, her golden brown eyes glinting with barely restrained malice as she stared him down.
"I have a feeling that your little green-eyed girlfriend will be more than willing to tell us what we want to know." Damon froze. Jules's grin widened as she caught his reaction. "Deacon isn't exactly the most patient of people, he'll get the location of the moonstone out of her soon enough. And then I won't have to torture you for information, vampire. This can just be for fun."
Icy dread seemed to spread through his body like quicksilver as she talked.
"You sent people after her?" He stated lowly. "After a human?!" Jules shrugged, but he caught the flash of guilt in her eyes. "She doesn't know anything!" Damon shouted furiously, pulling at the cuffs that bound him to the chair. "We don't have the moonstone, okay?! It wasn't where Mason had hidden it! She doesn't kno-!" Sharp wooden spikes suddenly pierced his newly healed neck, cutting him off viciously as the chain was pulled back sharply.
"You want them to leave her alone Damon?" Jules asked, her voice almost a croon. "Just tell me where the stone is, and I make the call…She's such a small thing. Against four werewolves, she doesn't stand a chance."
...
A vicious growl, followed by the crashing noise of a door being forced open as the lock broke resounded through the house. Rei didn't look up from the steak knife she was busy shoving up her cardigan sleeve.
"I can smell you," The baritone laugh was loud in the sudden silence.
Rei spun around, grabbing the carving knife hanging above her stove.
"Boo!" A breath ghosted past her ear, the male body it belonged to quivering with excitement at her back. She didn't hesitate.
With a small grunt of effort, Rei drove the carving knife back, imbedding it deeply into the person's soft middle. Turning around, she glared at the wide-eyed man standing in front of her and twisted the handle sharply, driving the metal in deeper.
He screamed.
"You little bitch!" A brown-haired man came tearing round the kitchen island, his black eyes furious as he took in the damage she'd done to his friend.
Thinking quickly, she shoved the gravelly injured werewolf into the man's arms and jumped up onto the counter, sliding to the other side. Before she could blink a third body was in front of her, and this one she recognised.
"Not so fast there, little girl," The man who had rung incessantly at her door grinned down at her cruelly. The leader. "We'd like a chat with you."
…
"You bitch," Damon spat, fury practically leaking out of him as he glared up at her.
Jules smiled, clearly finding humour in his rage. "You know the thing about buckshot? It spreads throughout the entire body, maximum damage." Her face hardened. "Where's the moonstone?"
"Perhaps, I might be of assistance?"
Ignoring the fiery pain in his neck, Damon turned to look at the owner of that familiar, cultured voice with effort.
Elijah stood in the middle of the cavernous library, his expression blank and infuriatingly calm.
"Who are you?" Jules demanded.
"Unimportant," The Original waved her question away. "You are interested in the moonstone's whereabouts?"
Damon glared at her darkly when the female werewolf's eyes flickered over to him, as if for guidance.
The mutt could rot in hell for all he cared!
"…You have it," She guessed softly. Her eyes, for the first time, uncertain.
…
"Where's the moonstone?"
Rei raised an eyebrow and looked behind her. The man she'd stabbed was healing, that was obvious, but she'd done some real damage with her attack and his friend was having to carry him. The fourth man had appeared as well, eyeing her with a look that set her teeth on edge.
She turned back to face the leader of the group.
"What makes you think I have it?" She asked, her mind turning over as she used the time to plan.
"We didn't," He leaned closer to her and laughed, his breath putrid on her face. "At least, not until you just said that."
Without effort, Rei allowed a supremely condescending expression to slowly transform her features, knowing that with the ego this man clearly possessed, he wouldn't be able to handle it. Her lips curled up at the corners just a little, carefully composed evidence of mocking amusement while her eyelids drooped, a lazy haze entering her eyes as she looked up at him.
There was no fear on her face, no bravery either. There was only simple, infuriating disregard.
His smile dropped.
"Why are you looking at me like that?!" He growled angrily, his large hands fisting at his sides, trembling with the effort to keep them there. "…Stop looking at me like that!"
"Deacon," One of the men behind her spoke his name warningly, a silent message to control his temper.
Rei's eyes flashed to the glass panels over his shoulder, her large back garden outstretched behind it. If she could just…
"Like what?" While her voice was innocent, and the only thing those behind her would hear, she allowed the smallest smirk to pull up the left side of her mouth. Blatantly provoking him.
…
Elijah canted his head to the side, one eyebrow raised as he regarded Jules.
"No," He answered crisply. "But then neither do the Salvatores."
The group of wolves exchanged slow, bewildered glances, unsure whether or not to believe the confident vampire that showed such a disturbing lack of fear in their presence, despite being outnumbered.
Knowing that time was of the essence, Damon took his chance and spoke up. "They've sent people over to Rei's house!" He called out, urgency colouring his voice.
Dark, fathomless eyes immediately focused on him, a slight frown wrinkling the previously blank face.
"Please," The word almost got stuck in his throat, his pride fighting against begging the Original for anything. "She's just human, they'll tear her apart."
Elijah regarded him in silence before his eyes flicked around the room to take in his unwelcome guests.
He chuckled.
Damon's jaw dropped, staring at the Original with mute horror before he finally managed to find words again. "She's on Elena's list!" He growled, yanking furiously at the cuffs holding him still, his temper rising with alarming speed.
The man was standing there, laughing, while Rei was probably being torn apart for not being able to answer their questions!
"You misunderstand my amusement, Damon," Elijah replied calmly. Walking slowly towards the werewolves, his eyes dark. "I'm sure that Miss Potter can take care of herself." He stated with absolute confidence.
Jules laughed, immediately attracting the Original's attention.
"Like she could take care of herself yesterday? Like she could take care of herself when Brady broke her wrist or she passed out from blood loss?"
Damon glared at her, his eyes slits.
It was Elijah's reaction that surprised him though.
Without warning, the vampire ripped out the hearts of the two werewolves he'd been steadily approaching and grabbed Jules in a chokehold, raising her off the ground so her feet dangled in mid-air.
"Are you telling me that Rei Potter," He emphasised her name like it should mean something to them beyond the obvious. "Was conscious while you tortured her?" His voice was still smooth, utterly in control, but there was a disgust that coated his words which Damon just couldn't make sense of.
...
With a growl, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her body close to his own, glaring down at her.
"Deacon!" This time it was a different voice that spoke up from behind and Rei had to hide her smile of satisfaction by looking down. "Come on, there's no need for that…she's human."
"She stuck a knife in Frank!" The man who had a painful hold on her spat back. "Stop being such a coward, Simon."
Knowing that it was time for her speak up, Rei gave a small tug on her wrist and let water pool in her eyes as she glanced over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry! Please! You scared me, I just reacted!" Her face was miserable, absolutely terrified, and she saw all three of them falter. Turning back around she looked up at the leader with eyes bereft of fear. "I never meant to hurt anyone!" Her voice was trembling as she stared up at him with a cocked eyebrow, daring him to do something.
She saw his hand rise above him and, ruthlessly pushing down her anger, purposefully let it connect with her cheek.
"That's enough!" One of the men behind her leapt forward, pushing the leader away from her forcefully. "Jesus Deacon, you're not Brady! Don't act like him!"
Rei clutched both hands to her face, letting the tears fall and her chest heave with distress. Merlin, it hurt! She had to look down at the floor, unable to hide her venomous glare from the world. The werewolf hadn't held back, that was for sure! Had he been trying to break her jaw?!
"She's playing you!" The leader yelled, shoving back the guy that had intervened.
"If anyone has a right to be mad here, it's me," The man she'd knifed stepped forward gingerly. "I say that we ask what we came here to ask, and be on our way."
Rei threw him a quick look, surprised by the considering light in his eyes. She wouldn't be so charitable towards someone who had plunged a knife into her, that was for sure.
"I'm in charge," The leader suddenly growled, fixing his pack-mates with challenging amber eyes. "I call the shots here. If anyone has a problem with that they can challenge me to a fight, otherwise, shut your cake-holes."
There was a darkness in his eyes that Rei recognised in that moment, a sadism that made her heart sink.
She'd miscalculated.
They wouldn't cross him. Even if they wanted to, self-preservation wouldn't allow it. Her hand tightened on the knife they'd stupidly forgotten to take off of her, knowing that she'd have to act when the moment came. It was one of the hardest things she ever learned in the war. You couldn't let pity rule you, not if you wanted to survive.
She wasn't surprised when all three werewolves eventually looked down, baring their necks to show their submission, just disappointed. But she took the chance it afforded her with both hands.
Without hesitation, she brought the carving knife up and slashed it deeply across the throat of the man standing closest to her, making sure that the cut was deep enough that even with accelerated healing he wouldn't be getting back up.
The man fell to his knees, gasping as the blood poured from his massacred throat. Yells of shock filled the kitchen instantly, his comrades leaping back with alarm. Rei was already moving. Purposefully not looking at the face, the knife left her hand with confidence and pierced through the second man's throat, the wound fatal.
Strong hands grabbed her forearm, swinging her around and into the wall. The putrid breath she smelt told her exactly who forced her elbow up and behind her back, pushing down hard.
Ears ringing with the force of the knock to her head, she vaguely heard someone shout about checking the perimeter as she caught her breath.
"Just you and I, sweetheart," The leader breathed in her ear, his voice husky. "Dangerous little thing, aren't you? Don't mind spilling a little blood to get your way. We're similar like that." Rei jerked back when a wet tongue suddenly licked up her cheek to her temple. "...Pretty too," He groaned.
Lips pulling back into a snarl, Rei drove her pointed elbow into his stomach as hard as she could, the unexpected attack making him loosen his hold on her just enough for her to rip her arm free. She spun around, bringing her knee up to connect with his groin as she went.
His eyes widened impossibly, his body instinctively moving to a protective fourty-five degree angle. Rei withdrew the steak knife from her sleeve with one smooth motion, her eyes focusing on the part of his chest that she knew hid his heart as she brought it whistling down through the air.
A hand caught her arm, yanking it down and away.
"Oh no you don't," The fourth werewolf, Simon, spat at her, grabbing her wrist in an ever-increasing pressure until Rei had no choice but to drop the knife with a pained gasp, her fingers completely numb.
She glared at him darkly before darting a quick look in the direction of the leader that he'd saved through his annoyingly timely intervention. With murder practically leaking from his eyes, the huge werewolf staggered to his feet and approached her, obviously having recovered from her low blow.
"Miss Potter?" A masculine voice called urgently down the hall.
Her head snapped to the left. From where she was standing in the kitchen she could see all the way down to the empty rectangular space her front door used to stand in. Emerald eyes widened.
"Invite me in," Elijah ordered lowly, his eyes narrowed on the two werewolves that were circling her.
"Vampire," The leader growled, looking very much like his wolf half as he sniffed the air.
Elijah fixed dark eyes on her two attackers, face tense and his jaw clenched. "If the lady in your grasp comes to any more harm at your hands gentlemen, I can promise you that you will not live to see the dawn."
Simon's grip on her hand suddenly strengthened and he went to tug her forward, a mocking expression on his face as he eyed the vampire.
Acting fast, Rei swept her leg out, taking his feet from under him. Scrambling for the knife he'd forced her to drop earlier, an iron arm suddenly swept around her waist and jerked her back against a hard chest.
"Piss off vampire," The leader ordered with a growl, his two large hands settling on either side of her head, poised to snap her neck. "Or I swear to God, I'll do it."
"What?" Rei hissed furiously, toes barely touching the ground. "And once I'm dead he can come in at his leisure and kill you? Moron!"
"Shut-up!" He shook her roughly, the action far more painful than it had any right to be with his tight grip on her head.
"Miss Potter," Elijah spoke directly to her. "Invite-me-in."
She scoffed as best she could, "No way, Mr Original." Her eyes roaming the area as her mind worked frantically for a plan. "I can handle this myself."
"Do you think this is a joke?!" The leader trembled with fury behind her, the pressure he was exerting on her temples incredible.
"Rei!" Elijah actually shouted, seeing her pain. "Invite me inside, now!"
"You want to help so much?!" Rei spat.
Twisting her body up, she hooked a foot behind the leader's ankle and pulled with all her strength. He lost his footing, his arms immediately letting go of her head in order to steady himself. Rei spun around and planted both her hands on his chest.
"Have at it!" She met the leader's surprised eyes with a lethal glare before shoving him backwards.
He barely had time to fling his arms out in a last, desperate effort to stop himself from falling before he hit the glass panel with an explosive crash, his body landing awkwardly on her wooden porch outside, covered in glass fragments.
Elijah was there barely a second later, plunging his hand into the werewolf's chest with a sick, squelching noise.
A loud war-cry from behind her was all the warning she needed.
Darting to the side, she grabbed the barbecue fork that was sitting on the countertop and drove it down into the gap between the man's throat and his collar-bone as he slid past her.
Her eyes dimmed with sadness as she watched him sway.
He staggered back, hands going to his throat as he crumbled to his knees.
Rei drew in a long, deep breath.
He was looking at a slow, agonising death if she didn't finish the job. She knew that. Rei stepped forward, hardening her heart.
"I can do it," She looked behind her to see the Original watching the scene with knowing eyes, watching her. "You don't need to. Push him out here."
Her eyes became chips of ice as she determinedly turned her back on him and approached the werewolf clawing desperately at his throat, trying to draw in air.
"You think I haven't had to do this before, Mr Mikaelson?" She asked lowly, bending down to pick up the knife he'd forced her to drop. "You think I haven't murdered? Haven't had to go in and finish the job? At least this time they attacked me first, not the other way around." Meeting the brown eyes looking up at her, she saw acceptance and even a little relief in their depths. With swiftness, she drew the blade across his neck, making sure to hit his carotid artery so that he'd bleed out in seconds. "I've done this before." She stated coldly.
"I never intended to imply that you are weak, Miss Potter." Elijah spoke softly, his voice grave. "Quite the contrary. You certainly have the strength to do what must be done, however, anyone could see that it hurts you to do so."
Rei turned around to face the vampire standing on her porch, unable to enter her house without an invitation.
"How did you know they would be here?" She asked, ignoring his comment, despising the way his words resonated within her with alarming truthfulness.
"There was some trouble at the Salvatore Boarding House this evening. The female werewolf, Jules, was using the fact of your trespassers as a way to torment Damon. He was quite distressed by the thought of your demise. Strange, considering the last I heard you were injuring him with cutlery at the town's local restaurant."
Rei looked at the bodies at her feet and couldn't find it in her to be amused.
"You know about my magic, I assume?" She stated flatly.
There was no use denying it. As soon as Bonnie and Caroline had told her that the warlock that had saved them last night worked for Elijah, she'd known that someone with as much experience as the vampire opposite her would quickly figure it out. Combined with what he'd just seen, his knowledge was hardly a question anymore.
"Yes," The Original nodded slowly, his eyes running over her figure with curiousity. "When Jonas mentioned that the wolves had managed to restrain you, even inflict harm upon you without any real consequences, I suspected. The elder Salvatore's recount of the evening, despite his hostility, did nothing but deepen that suspicion."
Rei looked up at him through her lashes, her figure tense. "I'm not a fool. You chose to help me tonight. Why? And don't give me that crap about your deal with Elena, I'm fully aware that its existence is to serve your interests, not hers." She snapped impatiently.
She had seen real, honest concern in him when he had ordered her to invite him inside. He had been worried about her, a virtual stranger. Why?
Elijah shrugged, "You are a remarkable person, Rei Potter. Both your experiences and the little time I have spent in your company have made that all too clear…Your magic might not be at its strongest right now, but I would not see a person as honourable as yourself brought low by the likes of them."
Rei stared at the vampire mutely, stunned by his honestly.
The Original cleared his throat, "I left Damon Salvatore in his restraints but I doubt that shall hold him for much longer." He commented wryly before glancing at her seriously. "…Your secret is safe with me, Miss Potter." He bowed his head in that old-world way about him, and Rei felt her lips twitch.
He turned to leave.
"Elijah!" She called out, inwardly cursing herself for once again raising her voice. He turned back, cocking his head to show he was listening. Rei bit her lip before nodding to herself, happy with her decision. "I believe that you are looking for a moonstone?"
All at once, his face became stone.
With speed her eyes couldn't hope to follow, he was suddenly a mere arms breadth away from her. His body hovering as close to the barrier blocking his entrance to her home as physically possible.
"You have it?" He breathed, eyes dark and hopeful.
She nodded once.
Elijah smiled dryly, shaking his head. "I might have known."
"The amount of magic the stone harbours is difficult to hide," She admitted unapologetically. Something that powerful ought to have been hidden more carefully. "I just need to know one thing," He nodded at her. "...Will I regret giving it to you?"
For the first time the vampire hesitated, eyeing her with heavy consideration.
"The curse that Niklaus hopes to break is not the sun and the moon curse," He stated abruptly. Rei raised an intrigued eyebrow at the new information. "It is a curse that was placed solely on him. It inhibits the werewolf side of his DNA, stops it from manifesting as it should. If he should succeed in breaking his curse, he will become a true hybrid of the species, enjoying all the advantages that that status entails."
Eyes wide with shock, Rei instinctively stepped forward.
"A hybrid?" She breathed, horrified. "Half werewolf, half vampire?"
"Yes," He nodded.
Rei swallowed dryly, the thin hairs on her arms standing on end.
"…I'll get it for you." She promised softly, rubbing her arms against the chill that had suddenly overtaken her. "Come by tomorrow morning, early, I'll have it then."
Elijah stared at her in silence, almost as if he were measuring her worth, deciding whether or not to trust her. Rei instinctively straightened her spine, jutting her chin out stubbornly as she glared at him.
He chuckled and inclined his head, "…Thank-you, Miss Potter." With a gust of wind, he was gone.
Barely seconds later, Damon's voice hollered down the hall from the ruined front door. "Rei?!" He shouted urgently. "Rei! Are you alright?!…Rei!"
A hybrid…
Shaking herself out of her stupor, she forced her body to move so that she could see down through the house.
"I'm alright, blue eyes," She called, waving at him as she came round the corner. "A bit worse for wear,...but fine."
…
Giving the moonstone to Elijah…wonder how everyone else is going to feel about that?
(GRIN)