Chapter Text
It started, as all things did, with blood.
There, at the beginning of it all, was a woman. So human in her kindness, in her loving, and in her heartbreak, in her fury too. At her fingertips there was magic, flowing wild and free in her blood, as much a part of her as her bright eyes and gold hair.
There too, at the beginning, was a man. Predictable in his strength, bravery, and in his fickle nature, too. He loved easy, but he did not love terribly hard, and he did not love particularly long.
She thought of eternity and saw his face in it. He looked her in the eyes and promised her his future, even as he thought of another woman. If she had been less in love, or if perhaps he had been more, things would have never ended the way they had.
It was human to be naive, though. Human to be trusting. It was human too to be deceptive, to be secretive. And when she called for him at night, when she spilled her blood on stone and swore him an eternity for the two of them, all those secrets came tumbling to the surface. My love, she said, did you not promise me forever?
But forever seemed so much like a prison now, even as his heart stirred, even as he looked into her blue eyes and thought she was the most beautiful creature on earth. He looked at her bloody palm, smelled at the magic in the air, and walked out before it was too late.
There was someone waiting for him, just a few steps away. He thought of her dark hair, dark eyes, soft mouth, and suddenly his shoulders didn't feel quite so heavy anymore. He walked out the room and did not look back. If he did, he might've noticed the magic hadn't faded, he might've noticed her bright eyes, burning in a way it never had before.
She saw it then, in his split second of hesitation, another woman's face reflected in his eyes. The betrayal cut deep, through her chest, but the anger gave her purpose, gave her direction. She didn't call her magic back, she didn't leave to go home and cry. She used her blood and turned that eternity he once promised her into a curse. My love, she whispered into the night, I will be with you always.
When morning came, she was lifeless, eyes open but unseeing, her golden hair stained with her own blood.
He never did forget her, even as he loved and loved again. He knew he never could, for when his first child was born, when he welcomed his daughter into the world, he thought there was something so familiar about those blue eyes of hers.
*
Magic, no matter how strong, was an enemy to time just as anything else.
When a witch, heartbroken and betrayed, had created the curse of the doppelgängers, she intended for her image to haunt his for the rest of eternity. They would recreate the story over and over again. Her, with her shining yellow hair. Him, with his with his sharp jaw. And then the other, with her dark hair and inviting eyes. The story would always end in heartbreak, in blood, in death.
Eventually those stories got lost to time, the magic started to forget. The curse was strong, still coursing through red, red blood, but the magic lost its way. It forgot the story it was supposed to be telling. That witch, her fury, her anguish, time swallowed it up like it was nothing.
Her face started to appear in time without him, only one part of the equation that wouldn't be fully formed again until magic deigned it so. And then once, while he was in stasis, waiting to be born again, it was just her and the other.
*
Tatia was well known amongst the other villagers. A widow with a child, who sometimes still acted like a child herself.
There was a proper way to do things, and Tatia had turned her nose up at all of them. Some found her foolish, others found her brave, but what no one could deny was that she was beautiful. It was perhaps the only reason why she was allowed to come and go as she pleased. No one could quite say a word against those brown eyes or that charming smile of hers.
Then there was Astrid, who had just come of age, and was beautiful in an entirely different way. Astrid with her long, blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, Astrid with her lovely laughter and compassion. If a man wasn't looking at Tatia, he was looking at Astrid.
It would've been easier, Elijah mused, if him and Niklaus weren't so inclined to want the same thing.
He watched quietly, for a moment, as Astrid sat by the river, washing clothes. He took the time to properly look at her. Her golden hair hung in waves, framing her face, tumbling past her shoulder and down her back. Even just from here she looked breathtaking. Her best feature, he knew though, were her eyes. Bright blue and so open, so expressive. So unlike Tatia's dark, unfathomable eyes that promised things he couldn't dare to dream of.
"Is someone lurking?" Astrid's soft voice shook him from his reverie. She didn't seem scared, merely curious.
Elijah stepped out from behind the trees, his hands behind his back. "I didn't mean to intrude."
She looked surprised to see him, but then a smile blossomed on her face. "If you're worried about intruding, you're welcome to help me with the washing."
There was a playful edge to her smile, letting him know that she was only joking. Still, he felt compelled to sit down beside her, and took a couple pieces of cloth into his hands.
"You—" She seemed a bit stunned that he actually took her up on her offer. "It was only a jest."
"It's alright. I'm happy to assist."
For a second she simply looked at him, as if making her own observations, before she burst out into laughter and snatched the clothing back from him. "As much as I appreciate the help, you'll be doing no one any favours by doing the washing wrong."
He coughed a bit, somewhat embarrassed. The men didn't do things like washing or cooking, so Elijah wasn't accustomed to helping with things like this. He was aware that if he were speaking to any other woman, she would not have so bluntly told him he was doing something wrong, but he quite liked that she felt able to be honest enough with him to inform him when he was being of no help. Even at the cost of his pride.
"Apologies." Elijah scratched at the back of his neck somewhat uncomfortably.
All Astrid did was smile, however, something teasing dancing at the edge of her eyes. She didn't let him help with the washing anymore, but she did let him stay, keeping her company. It was oddly freeing, being able to talk to her so casually. Elijah spoke about things he usually wouldn't dare bring up around his siblings, including his trouble with Tatia.
Astrid listened patiently, and didn't look at him oddly when he mentioned how both he and Niklaus were both quite taken with Tatia. He was grateful for it, for he was worried she would think him awful for harbouring feelings for someone his brother had all but claimed for himself already.
"You do not think it shameful, how I feel for Tatia?" Elijah couldn't help but ask.
She hummed, pondering it for a moment. "Is it love, that you feel for her?"
He froze, just for a second. He hadn't wanted to admit it, and had been denying it for so long, but when she asked he felt strangely compelled to tell the truth. "Yes. I love her."
"Then no, I do not think it shameful." The smile she had on her face as she said those words took his breath away. "I don't believe anyone should ever have to apologise for love."
Elijah felt something restless settle in him, finally. There was something miraculous, something a bit impossible about Astrid. Elijah was never more grateful for it.
*
It ended, as all things did, with blood.
Waiting under the full moon for Niklaus to arrive was Henrik, and Astrid. Astrid, who Henrik had always had a strange fondness for. Astrid, who looked after Henrik as if he were a brother.
When Niklaus returned in the morning, shirt stained with blood, he was holding two bodies.
Esther howled with grief, with agony, as Astrid's mother collapsed onto her knees, eerily silent. Niklaus couldn't bring himself to look at either of them, he gazed unseeing at his red, red hands, his guilt resting heavy in his stomach.
Niklaus knew he would never be able to forget the sight of Henrik, bleeding out on the forest floor. Or of Astrid, who'd flung her own body between Henrik and the wolf, as if to shield him, despite his already cooling body, despite his lifeless eyes.
*
The three pieces of the puzzle don't fit together again until much later, until Mystic Falls. Caroline Forbes, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, had no idea just what was in store for her.