N: Hey guys! So, I'm super excited about this chapter…I have my own version of how the first vampires were created (the story of the Originals) and all and I can't wait to find out your opinions on it. Please, please let me know if I did a good job or the idea's completely ridiculous and I should just find some other way to kill my time, lol!

Thank you Valerie (2serendipity) for beta-reading this, your suggestions had been very helpful!

The passion is underneath each reason

"Alexander was my firstborn; Elijah and Tatiana were next, then Niklaus and a year after, Remus. Three years after Remus, I got pregnant again, with twins again. The pregnancy was a difficult one with a lot of complications, and the doctor insisted on bed rest two months before term. I did everything I could; Neo brought me the best doctors …but my two boys didn't make it; they died at birth," Ophelia wiped away a tear and took a deep breath she didn't need before continuing.

"I couldn't bear it…I blamed myself for their death, so I did the only thing left…"

"You called in a witch," Damon said and Ophelia nodded.

"The best…her name was Irene; she was part of this Order…"

"The Order of Magus," Elena interrupted her.

"Yes."

"What's that about?" Damon asked.

"Well, they were a group of pureblood witches and warlocks, who'd vowed to protect the world. They were really powerful, but they weren't allowed to interfere with the human world. Irene was the first to break that rule. She came to the palace the very night it happened and I told her I'd do anything to have her bring me back my babies. She told me it wasn't up to her to give or take life, but she offered to conjure death…I accepted, even though she told me death doesn't work cheap."

"So she did it…she put you face to face with death…" Elena mumbled.

"She did…"

"And death made you into vampires?" Damon asked impatiently.

"Not really. Death offered to restore my children's lives in exchange for my family and myself becoming her servants. 'Death lasts forever, so you shall live forever, but as death is to life what the dark is to the light, your progeny will be forever bound to the night; as death is cold, so shall you be; death comes quick and without mercy as will you; the quickening of life's blood is death's antithesis… so blood you shall crave; blood is what you will kill for. Every kill you make shall be in payment to me.' That's what she said…I was scared and out of my mind, and I just wanted my baby boys to live… so I accepted and she gave them their lives back. She told me that, in time, we would all become her soldiers and then she disappeared."

Damon and Elena were now watching her in silence. Elena was trying to understand the mother that did what she had to do to save her children; Damon was trying not to blame the woman in front of him for Klaus's existence, for Katherine's, for what had happened to him and his brother and pretty much for all the vampires in the world.

"At first it happened to me and Neo, then to Alexander, Elijah and Tatiana and so on. It was painful and disorientating; we didn't know what was happening. I was forced to explain to my husband what I'd done…he said he understood, but that didn't stop him from taking advantage of his new abilities."

"What about the journal… how did it get in your possession?" Elena asked and Ophelia smiled sadly.

"By mistake; Elisaveta was sending them away from the castle. That one got sent my way and I decided to keep it."

"Why?"

"Well…when you'll have children…" Ophelia started, then she stopped and looked at Damon before continuing, "…if you ever have children, you'll understand it's all about them. That notebook held a way to kill my son; I wanted it away from anything or anyone that was willing to take advantage of that," Ophelia give them an 'I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry I did that,' look.

"Of course, Klaus found out about that. He knew a member of the family had it, but he didn't know which one. I decided he was better off not knowing so I didn't say anything. The only one that wasn't a 'suspect' was Elijah since he was with Klaus in Germany when it happened…"

"So Klaus' killed' the rest of you one by one to make sure the journal wouldn't ever be found," Damon said, figuring it out.

"Yes, only later he realized that nothing stays hidden forever, so he started looking for it. Irene was the one that told him the key to his death was his son, so that's when he stopped looking for the journal and started looking for Adney instead. From what my son…Elijah told me, there are rumours that the first doppelganger found him…"

"Katherine…yes, she did; she's the one that brought Adney here," Elena said.

"So I guess they weren't just rumours then."

"No…"

"I just hope that you're not going to change your mind once you see your long lost son and stop us from killing him," Damon said coldly and Elena gave him a reproachful look.

"You won't kill him…you can't…he will die…" Ophelia mumbled.

"What do you mean? Does he have, like … an expiration date?" Damon asked.

"No; it's simple…it's all about the blood. Killing his son will kill Klaus as well. Elisaveta wanted to make sure her son would be protected…so she bound their blood. She always was a smart girl and she knew Klaus. She loved him …she actually loved them both. I guess if you've read the other journals, you know the story…?"

"I do…" Elena answered.

"What story?" Damon asked, looking at Elena in confusion.

***season three – off the wagon***

"I need you to do something for me," Klaus said and Stefan raised an eyebrow at him. "I need you to go to LA."

"What's in LA?" Stefan asked.

"Hopefully, Katherine."

"Oh…and what if she is? She won't come with me; you know that she's still stronger than I am."

"I know that…I don't want her to come with you, I just don't want her to leave. Do whatever you have to do to keep her in the city until I get there!"

"Alright," Stefan mumbled and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

***season three – off the wagon***

"I'll let you two talk," Ophelia whispered and walked out of the room, leaving Damon and Elena alone on the couch.

"So, what story?" Damon asked again as the door closed behind the Original.

"Well…apparently Elisaveta was Klaus's wife, but…she had a thing for Elijah as well," Elena said, sounding unsure. She was kind of trying to avoid thinking about that, it reminded her too much of…no, she wouldn't, she couldn't think like that….

"So…?" Damon pushed.

"What do you mean 'so'? She was married to Klaus, so she had no right to feel about Elijah that way!" Elena shouted, standing up and walking away from the couch.

"Elena, it's not as black and white as that. It's not like you can choose the way you feel about someone… They're feelings… They're just…there."

"She slept with Elijah, ruining the relationship between those two brothers. She changed them…. She said she loved Klaus so much that she gave her life to protect him, but she just wasn't able to stop the way she felt about Elijah… At least her love for Klaus was good and pure. But the way she felt for Elijah has been wrong and painful; from what I read, it was burning, consuming her until she gave in; for a moment of passion, she put at risk what she'd had with Klaus."

"At least she got to know real passion. You know how hard to find that is?"

"That doesn't make it right…"

"I know that…"

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for her to stay away from Elijah, to pretend she didn't feel the way she felt about him, to be so close to him, all the time, but not be able to really be with him?"

"Are we still talking about Elisaveta and Elijah?" Damon asked, rising from the couch. He used his supernatural speed and was standing in front of Elena in a heartbeat.

"I…yes…yes…" she mumbled, taking a step backwards.

"Are you quite sure about that?" he asked in a whisper as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Elena closed her eyes at his feather light touch and let out a soft gasp.

"We…we can't…" she murmured.

"You don't think I know that…I know we can't…" he continued, close to her ear. Each whispered word he uttered, gave Elena chills all over her body. He straightened, "I should probably go…"

"Yes, you probably should…" Elena confirmed.

Damon let out a deep sigh…the sensation of his cold breath on her sensitive flesh making Elena tremble slightly. He pressed his lips on her cheek and closed his eyes, enjoying the moment while he had the chance.

As soon as he left, Elena started breathing again. She let her body sink down on the cold linoleum, taking deep breaths. Soon she realized she'd let out the part of the story about Elisaveta's curse and what Adney had told her.

***season three – off the wagon***

Damon stopped in the doorway of his room and watched Tatiana standing near a small table to mix a drink. She drank half of it in one gulp and put the glass back on the table.

"How long are you going to just stay there?" she asked and Damon's lips curled up in a half smirk.

"I like a woman who can hold her liquor," he said and she smiled.

"You're in luck then, 'cause this is my fifth glass,' Tatiana said winking at him over her shoulder. When she turned around, she knocked over the half full glass and a grimace of pain flitted across her face. Damon was by her side in less than a second; he picked up the glass from the floor and placed it back on the table.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yes…I'm…I'm fine," she mumbled, but Damon didn't buy it for a second. He noticed she had her hand curled up around her middle so he took advantage of the fact that she was weak and a bit tipsy and brushed her hand aside, pulling up the shirt just enough to see the scratches on her abdomen.

"You're not fine! You're hurt," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"It's nothing; I got into a fight," she said.

"A cat fight?" Damon asked, grabbing her hand and turning it around to reveal another set of scratches.

"It was more of a dog fight actually."

"Dog…you got into a fight with a werewolf?"

"Yeah," she answered and Damon's eyes opened wide. "Oh, don't worry, tiger, I'll be ok; it's not like this is the first time I've taken one down."

"But it's not a full moon… a hybrid?"

"Remember you told me about the vampire-wolf girl that killed your friend? I tracked her down…"

"By yourself?"

"Well, yeah. You're offending me, Mr. Salvatore! After all, I am an Original! I'm even older than Klaus and I'm a pretty good fighter."

"I'm sure you are…" Damon said softly.

"Anyway. Your hybrid is dead now…"

"You killed her?"

"Yep." The slang rolled off her tongue without a hitch.

"How?"

"Decapitation and fire. You'll find they work pretty well," Tatiana said with a smile as if they were talking about chickens.

"Did she bite you?" Damon asked, concerned.

"Yeah, the bitch got to me as I tried to compel the boy she was trying to kill when I found her, to get out of there," Tatiana answered as she pulled up her shirt. Her back looked even worse than her stomach and Damon growled.

"It won't kill me, but it takes a while to heal and it hurts like shit! That's what the Bloody Mary was for," she said, pointing at the drink that was spilled all over the floor.

"Here, " Damon offered her his hand, and guided her towards the bed, "You just stay In bed, and I'll bring you something that will help you deal with the pain better than that cheap drink you've got there."

"Hey, it's blood with vodka; nothing wrong with that," she protested. "Besides, I don't need you to take care of me, Damon. I'm about a thousand-and-something years older than you… Plus, it would make me like you and I don't want to like you."

"I thought you already liked me…"

"I think you're hot. There's a difference," she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"If you say so," Damon said, pulling the covers over her slender body.

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"I think someone else has more need of you than I do," she said and Damon looked at the door. There was no one there, so he turned back towards Tatiana in confusion.

A few moments later, Elena appeared in the doorway.

N: A very anxious author waiting for your reviews!