Written In Blood

Chapter Twenty Eight.

As night fell the next night, Elijah and Rayna made their way to the Lafayette Cemetery number One, better known as one of the Cities of the Dead.
They stood at the gate, waiting for the witch.
"These are sacred grounds; you need to be invited in." An old voice sounded.
The pair spun around to see an old woman stood by one of the tombs.
Her dress and shawl were matted and somewhat torn but, despite her age, she was rather beautiful.
"Will today be that day?" Elijah raised an eyebrow.
"Only for one." She replied, looking to the Heretic. "Come in, dear Rayna."
"You're not going in alone." Elijah told her.
Rayna turned to him and took his hand.
"I'll be fine. Just wait here."
Elijah thought about it for a moment, then reluctantly nodded. 

The woman led Rayna to the middle of the cemetery, so there was little chance of Elijah being able to listen in.
"Who are you, exactly?" Rayna asked.
"My name is Ophelia. My name and my family originated in Greece." She said.
"So you know about what happened to create the Doppelgangers?" Rayna clarified.
"My family lived amongst what you now know to be the Travellers, though we are pure blood witches. An ancestor of mine knew the original Doppelganger, Amara. Tales of the first immortals still ring through my family tree to this day." Ophelia explained.
"Original immortals? Yes, I rwad about that in the book I found in Washington DC. But I always thought they were the Mikaelson family." Rayna raised an eyebrow.
The woman chuckled. "They are the Original Vampires. Not the original immortals. The story goes a woman named Qetsiyah fell in love with a man named Silas. The two were to be married and as a token of her love, Qetsiyah created an elixir to make both her and her husband-to-be immortal so that their love could live forever. When Silas didn't show at the altar, Qetsiyah went in search for him, only to find out that he was having an affair with her handmaiden, Amara. As punishment, Qetsiyah led Silas to believe that she had killed Amara, then fed the immortal elixir to him and turned him to stone, using her own calcified blood. He is buried somewhere to this day, wishing only that he could die and join Amara at peace."
Rayna took a moment for the information to sink in.
"So what does this have to do with Doppelgangers?" She asked.
"Immortals were never supposed to have existed. It disrupted the balance of nature. So as a way of restoring that balance, human Doppelgangers of both Amara and Silas were created." Ophelia told her.
"There's a male Doppelganger?" Rayna was slightly taken aback.
"I'm assuming by your surprise that the Hybrid does not know about this either." Ophelia pressed.
"Not that I am aware of." Rayna replied. "Why did you not give this information to Elijah?" "Because of how loyal he is to his brother."
"But I've been friends with both those brothers for over seven hundred years. How are you so sure that I will not tell Niklaus?" Rayna questioned.
"I am aware of your relationship with the Mikaelsons. But I trust you more than I trust them. I can feel you. I feel your magic." Ophelia responded.
Rayna thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Thank you for your time, Ophelia. You have been of great help." Rayna gave her a small smile, then turned to leave.
"Rayna." Ophelia called, causing Rayna to turn back. "I hope my instincts are right about you. Niklaus must never know." Rayna nodded and then left. 

Back at the gate, as soon as Elijah caught sight of Rayna, he ran to her.
"Are you alright?" He asked, a thick coating of concern painted across his face.
"I'm fine." Rayna replied, blankly, still processing what she had been told.
"You don't look fine, my dear. You look like you've seen a ghost." He touched the Heretic's arm, softly.
"Cemeteries will do that to you. Now let's get out of here." She replied, walking away from his touch. 

Back at the Plantation, Elijah walked to catch up with Rayna as she headed for what had been decided as her bedroom.
Elijah closed the door behind him as Rayna sat on the large bed, situated in the centre of the room between two huge windows.
"What did she say?" Elijah asked.
Rayna reached for her bag and took out a smudge stick of sage.
"Incendia." She whispered into her hand.
She then offered her hand, closed, to Elijah, who watched intently.
When her hand opened, there was a small ball of fire inside it.
Elijah smiled.
"It's not often you use vocal spells." He said.
"Well, I was feeling like an off-day." The Heretic smirked, using the flame to light the sage. "With this, no one can hear us."
"Could you not have just waved your hand around like you did earlier?" The Original asked, unable to keep a slightly playful smile from his expression.
"I could've. But like I say, I'm having an off-day." She replied, placing the sage into an ashtray that decorated her bedside table. "Ophelia told me some things that may make you and your siblings question yourself."
Rayna patted the bed, gesturing for Elijah to sit.
"What did she say?" He asked, taking his seat.
"You were not the first immortals." She replied.
Elijah looked rather taken aback by her words.
"Let me elaborate." Rayna sighed. "You were the first Vampires, yes. But you were not the first immortal beings. That title was given to a man and his love affair two thousand years ago." 

As Rayna explained what she had been told, Elijah took her words in, carefully. He never said a word, simply listened until she was finished.
"So that's how the Doppelgangers originated; for nature to balance itself out." She finished.
"That sort of makes sense as to why Niklaus needs one to break his curse. Vampires are not natural beings, neither are Werewolves, so something that represents the counteraction of these two should be necessary." He concluded.
"I suppose so, yes." Rayna nodded.