A/N: This is a story about the original Petrova Doppelganger and the Originals, although is mainly centered around Elijah and Klaus. The story's POV is mainly in Rositsa's (The Original Petrova Doppelganger) and Elijah, and in later chapters Klaus'. Is set in the year 140 A.D in Bulgaria
The temperatures had soared during the summer months in the Bulgarian village of Kaliakra. People were now enjoying the weather and bathing regularly in the safer areas of the bay. I to, was enjoying the sunshine, it was a pleasant change from the bitter winter months. "Rositsa! Your Baba is here to see you!" Mama called, I smiled at Desislava the child I had been looking after and led her back to her Mama's arms. "I am sorry Mrs Dimitrova, My Mama is calling, I have to leave." I said, Mrs Dimitrova smiled at me and told me that it was no problem, she gave me the corn that I was paid in and I hurried towards my home.
"Baba!" I cried as I entered the complex, my grandmother was a much-loved village member who rarely left her home, it was always a delight to see her pleasantly wise wrinkled face and twinkling grey eyes. Baba embraced me gently, her skin still smelling like the Karlovo roses. "Roza, it is so good to see you." My smile widened, Roza was my grandmother's pet name for me, and my friend Elijah called me Roza aswell, I much preferred it to Rositsa. "What brings you here today Maika?" My Mama said from the doorway holding a cooking pot. "I could not miss my Roza's Rozhden den." Baba replied smiling at me with a set of perfect teeth for her age. Mama had already given me my gift in the morning, which is what it was like in the Petrova household, gift in the morning then back to work. Baba did not like this; she believed birthdays should last all day. "We have already given gifts Maika." Mama said irritated, my Baba shook her head. "This is a special day for Roza, she is turning sixteen years, a proper woman now. She deserves to be special for one day." I gave Mama a look of satisfaction as if to say, see? Atleast someone understands.
"You are now a woman Roza, I am so proud of you." Baba said. We were sitting on the cliff top looking over the clear blue water, I was blessed with a beautiful environment to live in. Cape Kaliakra was the most beautiful village in Bulgaria, I decided. "Why? What have I done to deserve your pride?" I said a little confused.
"You are a beautiful, intelligent woman. There is a bright future for you my Roza."
"Thy beauty has been inherited from you, Baba. Future... That is not something I want to think about." I said turning towards the sea further. Baba's long olive fingers stroked my cheek.
"My Roza, there is many years before you, you have such a long life ahead of you. A man to love, children to raise, grandchildren to worship." Baba said with a laugh.
"I will not have a man to love. I will be stuck with my pompous cousin, Dmitri Petrov." My words flooded out fast and with menace, Baba laughed at my fire.
"Oh the Petrova fire, do not worry, your Mama and Bashta would never force you to marry Dmitri, they love you too much for that." Baba's words were reassuring she was such a wise, sharp old woman. "Here," Baba said unclasping her necklace and passing it over, "Have this, another birthday gift." The necklace was a silver, garnet, diamond and ruby pendant, I stared up at my Grandmother.
"But Baba, it is your lucky necklace!" I exclaimed holding the necklace carefully.
"It will not be for much longer Roza. Please keep it, as a token of my love for my precious Granddaughter." Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I clasped the necklace onto my neck.
The sunshine streamed through the window welcoming me to a new day. August 17th the day after my birthday. What I did not know was the horror that was waiting for me when I entered the main room. "Mama? Bashta?" I called, there was an eerie silence, my brother Yosif came out from his room. "Yosif? What is going on?" Yosif looked extremely tired and unhappy. There were great dark circles under his eyes. "Baba. Baba is dead." He said looking distressed, my face fell immediately and I began to cry. "Rositsa, it is good! It is good! She was in pain! She is now in higher places, Baba has gone to a better life." Yosif tried pointlessly to comfort me. Now I understood what she meant, 'it will not be for much longer Roza' is what she had said once she had given me the necklace. Baba knew she was going to die. "Come, Sestra, we must meet Maika and Bashta at the Church." He led me out of the house holding my arm tightly, just as I was clinging on to consciousness.
Kaliakra Orthodox Church was a small stone structure on the clifftop, it was simply designed and gradually falling down. Father Tsvetan was speaking to my Mama and Bashta quietly in the corner, they were discussing the burial no doubt. Slowly and hesitantly I walked towards my parents and the Priest. "The Ceremony will be short and pleasant, I can assure you Master and Mistress Petrova, there is no need for painful memories to be remembered. We will make sure it is a wondrous set off for Iskra." Father Tsvetan said to my parents.
"We shall send off the message soon, My Maika had lots of friends in other villages. They should be all here by tomorrow if we set the Messenger off today. Thank you Father Tsvetan, you have been a great comfort." My Mama thanked the Father, then she saw me in the corner.
"It is true then, Baba is dead." I stated feeling tears fall again. Mama embraced me gently,
"She lived a long life Rositsa. She is at peace now." Bashta said trying to comfort. It only made me cry harder.
The day I dreaded, started bleakly. It was pouring with rain to start and a storm was waiting. The Church bell tolled fifty-six times. My Baba was Fifty =Six. I was wearing a plain white robe and a black sash with Baba's red necklace. Brown windblown tresses fell over the top of my shoulders, I had left my hair down as I was too upset to bother to try to make it prettier.
The service had been alright, the Church had been full. Baba had many admirers. There was a lot of crying that only made me more upset, but a lot of happy memories being shared too. We were now at my family home, with all the other guests sharing memories over wine and food. "Elijah, thank you for coming." I said to my Russian friend, He clasped my hands together.
"Roza, I am so sorry." He said offering his condolences. I half-smiled at him, though it would have been a sad smile. "She lived a long life, Elijah. She is at peace now." I said trying to be calm.
"Has Niklaus been kind enough to grace us with his presence?" I asked, very irritated. Niklaus was Elijah's slightly younger brother and the most arrogant person I had ever met. "He is around somewhere." Elijah said with a smirk, he knew how Niklaus agitated me.
"Drinking, no doubt." I said then hypocritically nabbed another goblet and drained it in seconds. Elijah's smirk became more prominent and his perfect eyebrows were raised. "Can we leave?" I said grasping Elijah's hand. "If you wish, Roza." Elijah answered and led us out of the house.
"Do you remember when I was younger? We spent so much time out here." I said to a quiet Elijah who stood next to me on the beach. "I do." He said so very simply. I lay down on the sand and then looked questioningly at him. "We used to come here to get away from your brother." Elijah laughed at my comment then joined me on the ground. "Much like now, I suppose." He said, I took his warm hand in mine and squeezed it. I used to squeeze his hand when I was younger, it was our secret code. One squeeze meant Thank you. He gently squeezed back twice, You are welcome. I grinned up at the sky. "Baba and I also came down here frequently, she would always tell me stories about the water, the sky and the sun." I said, Elijah's hand still enclosed mine, his was paler, I suppose because he was Russian. "I suppose you did not spend a lot of time by the water, before you migrated here." I stated.
"There was a river near our village, but my Mat' never let us go swim." He said softly stroking my hand with his thumb. "Elijah?" I said as I closed my eyes.
"Yes, Roza?" He said whilst I rubbed my toes over his toned calves.
"Thank you again, for taking me away from the funeral. For helping me. For being a friend." I said quietly. I opened my eyes and was almost shocked to see Elijah about an inch away from me. He leaned in and his lips touched mine. I melted into the kiss, letting his lips move freely with mine. Elijah tasted like honey, cinnamon, rich spices and velvety warmth. This was a completely different Elijah to the one I had known since he moved here when I was ten. This Elijah was a passionate, thrilling, handsome Elijah that I wanted to know more. I gasped as his lips went down my neck and I leant back in pleasure. He nibbled and sucked on my neck and I loved every moment of it. Then abruptly he stopped and I leant back gasping for air. "That was amazing." I said staring at him, he looked conflicted and confused. I reached out for him and when he did not return to my arms I wrapped myself around him. "Rositsa, I am many years older than you, you are my childhood friend. My innocent, sweet Rositsa." He said, I was upset at the fact he was calling me Rositsa, it meant he was feeling guilty. "Stop it!" I said feeling extremely annoyed. "Elijah, you kissed me. I know you liked it, because I certainly enjoyed it. I am not the young Rositsa now. I am a woman, you of all people should know that, I can make my own decisions." I said, he sat up beside me and sighed then got up. "I am sorry, Rositsa. I have made you confused. We are nothing more than friends, I merely felt sorry for you and had a momentary lapse in judgement. The kiss meant nothing to me. I must be leaving now." Elijah said so calmly, tears sprung to my eyes as he walked away.
Elijah POV
Roza's words rang in my ears the rest of that evening, as did the memory of her lips upon mine. I did believe she was a woman; she was the woman I loved. But she must never know that because she will never be mine. She had long ago changed from the kind child I looked after to the young woman I was falling for. Her features were different, her eyes were wider, lips fuller, her body more shapely and I could tell she was thinking more seriously. Idiot! I cursed at myself, because I kissed her she was falling for me too. She was never supposed to. Rositsa Petrova was supposed to marry her cousin Dmitri, to continue the noble Petrov bloodline. Yet here I was fantasizing about her. Fantasizing about loving her, marrying her, living with her, having children with her, growing old with her, seeing our grandchildren with her... Elijah! I said to myself, I was letting dreams mingle with the reality. The reality was I could never be hers, and she could never be mine.
It seemed like I had been unconscious for days, I had remained sullen and at home for a while. I awoke now on the morning of July the twentieth. Oh no! I had completely forgotten, nine days ago it was Roza's birthday. I had entirely forgotten her special day. She was a woman now-In the village terms-She was sixteen. "Elijah! Rositsa wants to see you!" Klaus called. Klaus and I lived in the same house, we had bought it together when I was twenty-two, four years ago. I did not really want to see her, I did not want her looking at me with those wide brown doe eyes and making me forget that I was not supposed to love her. So I did not respond to my arrogant brother, besides I was not dressed for company, I had on no shirt and no sandals, my hair was uncombed, it was not appropriate. "I know you are avoiding me." A calm, sweet yet hurt voice sounded from the doorway. I sat up in my bed, Roza stood at the foot of the bed, she was blushing beautifully as she saw my naked chest and turned her face downward towards the floor. "You should not have come." I said staring at her drooped head. Defiantly she looked upward and met my eyes straight-on, "Niklaus let me in. I had to see you." I smiled at her stare, it had defiance, fire and passion. I took in her looks, she was wearing a simple robe that clung to all the right areas of her body, her hair was clean and loose with a few braids, and her eyes twinkled with nerves and excitement. "I care for you Elijah, I really do." She said and she sat daringly on my bed. The bed barely groaned under the new weight, Roza was very light. Roza pulled the sheet over us both and lay down next to me. I felt excitement course through my veins, she had never been this close to me. Roza, whose beauty went above and beyond the stars, was next to me in my bed. "Roza..." I whispered, she was working her way through my layers of resistance and rationality. She took that as an invitation to come closer. I felt her warmth now, her olive skin was against mine and her hands lay against my chest, her soft head of hair nestled into the crook between my shoulders and head. "Roza, we cannot do this." I said trying to move away, but her weak arms had managed to keep me firmly in place. "We already have." She whispered against my neck. There was nothing I could do, she was not about to move, and truthfully I did not want to.
Rositsa POV
Hours passed, we had just laid there, holding each other and occasionally kissing. It felt like a dream. He was such a gentleman, only kissing me. "It is getting late..." Elijah murmured against my head. He was true the sky was rapidly darkening. "Mama will wonder where I am, I suppose." I said, Elijah sat up before I pulled him down into my arms again. "I will not tell anyone what we have been doing for one thing. Give me your word that you will not regret this, give me your word that you will not pretend this never happened." I said to him, he half laughed. I was so hoping he gave me his word, he was a man of honour, if he gave me his word he would never go back on it. "Are you negotiating with me my krasiva?" He said with a smile that had a trace of humour in it stretching across his face. A smile stretched across my face also, he called me 'his beautiful'. Then he sighed, "I give you my word, my krasiva Roza." Then I kissed him.
"I shall see you soon, Elijah."
Elijah POV
After Roza had left, at around six, I had bathed and changed into fresh robes. Klaus was drinking some alcohol in the vestibule. "Unmarried girl in your bed. Are you taking a leaf out of my book, brother?" He said pouring me a drink. I laughed and took the glass from him, though Roza and Klaus did not get on, he and I were close friends. "We did not do anything, brother." I said downing the glass, Klaus raised his glass to me. "I bet you would like to... Who would not want Rositsa, the most attractive girl in the village. You can tell me brother." He said whilst searching for more alcohol. "As you said, everyone would want her. I suppose that includes me." I said without really revealing anything. "Hmm, and she is so innocent and young... Is that part of the attraction?" Klaus said smirking, I slammed the glass down. "Unlike yourself Niklaus, I do not prey on the young innocents, it just happens that Roza is younger and more innocent." I said slightly angrily.
"Relax, brother. I will not go after your girl. Though if you get bored of her..." I threw my goblet at him, it just dodged his head. "Do not go near, Rositsa." I said threateningly. I was becoming territorial and animalistic. Roza was mine. All mine, she should be no one else's. I knew how Klaus loved to toy with young girls emotions, and then leave them broken after bedding them. "Fine... Since you asked so nicely. Besides, she despises me." He said before leaving the room. I almost growled, but was thankful that Roza did not like my brother.