I woke up to the sun shining directly into my eyes. I had no idea where the hell I was, and my mind was still kind of slow. Nicholas entered the room with a large breakfast tray. I watched this pretty damn gorgeous creature walking in, smiling at me as if he knew me. A dark-haired man walked behind him, carrying a big thermos of coffee. Also smiling.
He introduced himself to me: "Hi, my name is Nicholas Michaelson, and this is my brother Elias Michaelson, and yes, the TV show, The Originals, is based on us. Good morning, Luv. Today, we could talk about you. Who are you, and how did you get here? Why did you want to kill me? We think you've been brainwashed, so no hard feelings. We reversed the programming, so you should feel more like yourself now."
He put a tray on the table near me, and the other man put a thermos there as well. It took time for me to answer. The fact that vampires existed did not even really register in my mind yet.
I replied in amazement, "Yes, I do feel more like myself. My name is Krista Saarnio, and I'm from Finland. I was kidnapped from my house, and it was the 13th of May. And I have no idea why or by whom. Those thugs took me to Kotka, and then this other guy killed them. Some of them were Russian, and a man took a sample of my blood, called me a jackpot, like they would have known me already. All I remember before I woke up in that hotel room was being dragged out of that damn cage in that damn van, tied to a stretcher. Cannulated and anesthetized with some kind of drug. I think we were in Helsinki at the time."
I found I was hungry, so I thanked the breakfast tray and eagerly went to eat. Coffee was sublime, and I had not even processed my altered appearance or what had happened to me, yet alone what I would do now.
After breakfast, I chatted with both of them and told them what I remembered. Elias took his phone and started to look up something. I excused myself and got up. I felt quite damn strange. Then I went to the bathroom. Did my business and then looked in the mirror while I washed my hands. Then it hit me. It truly did.
In the mirror, a stranger looked back. I was skinny at first, skinny as hell. I had no breasts really at all, and I used to have very large breasts. I had never been this damn skinny. No loose skin. I had been fat, and I had few medical issues, but somehow, I knew they were no more.
I looked inside my clothes, I had an actual waist, my ribs were jutting out, and I looked a bit too skinny, and my face was foreign. I had a narrower face. No more of my dad's family resemblance around my mouth, or my mom's facial shape.
My eyes were perhaps the only ones I recognized. My mouth was fuller, my cheekbones more pronounced, my chin narrower, and my neck longer and more slender. My teeth were perfect, pearly white, and aligned perfectly.
I looked much younger, almost a teenager, and I was over 60. Well, it's good to have a makeover, but it was a pretty damn radical change. My body made me look even more teen. fucking shit. A few snappy Finnish curse words escaped from my lips. No one would recognize me. I didn't have a trace of a family face on me. Not a drop.
I came out of the bathroom and said, "Where am I? I mean, what country, what city? I know for sure I'm not in Finland, but where?"
Nick explained that I surely was not in Finland. But I was surprised to find that I was in America, in New Orleans. Four months had passed, nine weeks of which I had spent with them. Programming had not been easy to dismantle as I had been drugged so damn deeply.
Elias said, " It has been some time now. It is the 12th of September, so you probably have to come to terms with that. And I guess you don't look the same as you did."
I wondered how he knew that, but yeah, I didn't look like myself, and that would add another complication as I wouldn't match my ID card, and who would believe I was over 60 when I looked like a bloody teenager?
I thought, great, I need to go to the Finnish Embassy and go back to Finland. I had my fingerprints in the system, so surely those could be used to identify me. I told the men my intentions. They looked at each other, expressions quite somber, and Elias then brought me a tablet, and there were Finnish news sites. from a few months ago. His expression was serious and calm, but somehow apologetic.
"Thank you," I replied and started reading.
I was shocked, so there was no going back to my own life when I read this article about a fire in Kymenlaakso, just seven kilometers from the Russian border, where a woman was killed when an old house burned down. It was supposed that one lightning strike in the middle of a storm had hit my house, and the house was obliterated. That woman was me. Krista Saarnio was dead and buried, and I realized that that was the end of my life, and now I would have to start all over again.
Three times, I read an article saying that I died when my house burned down. There were statements, pictures, the whole damn yard had been burned as it had been so dry that fire had spread into the nearby forest, and even the closest neighbours had been evacuated. "Seriously, is this true? "
The article had an interview with the landlord and a brief statement that it was an accident, and I died from the smoke and fumes long before the flames got hold of me. There was very little left from the house, only piles of rubble and ashes. Everything about my life up to that point was destroyed in that fire.
My memories, things were still alive in my memory. And my memory seemed so fucking sharp. I could recall a lot of stuff from my past and with freakish clarity. The landlord had gotten compensation for the land, as it was now pretty useless.
"I'm afraid it is, Luv," Nicholas replied.
"I mean, this seems a bit too much, I don't mean whole being dead, but this devastation, they really wanted to erase everything, but why, why am I so special?"
Elias said, "We have no idea. We keep you safe, worry not."
I was a little surprised by all the new stuff and, perhaps most of all, that the brothers were vampires. They showed my fangs and veins around their eyes and whatnot, so no bluffing. They explained vampires had always existed, and some came out now and then. Stories and books were based on vampires who had told people about themselves but made them forget themselves, only leaving behind these people as inspiration for books, movies, and TV series.
I had to admit I had watched The Originals as well as Vampire Diaries, and I told them a lot of what I had read and what I thought of vampires, which were cool in my opinion. I was not afraid, not at all. There was this trust despite everything that had happened.
Books and movies served them well. They let the vampires be hidden but still have some contact with humans, and all this popular culture around vampires was superb entertainment for them. They made up all sorts of rumors, like sleeping in a coffin or in sunlight, making them real fantasy characters. Also, the fact that they were undead, Pale, and Cold-blooded was a nice rumor to make up.
Being undead meant nothing, and both of them let me feel their hearts beating, them breathing. As i was had always been interested in all stuff medical, let's just say that my questions made them smile more than once as I pondered.
Elias said, "There are books; we can get some for you, too."
Both of them were very handsome and kind, and it was hard to understand their predatory side, as they were fiercely protective of me.
Nick resembled an actor from the series in parts, but perhaps a better description was that the result could be pretty close if Joseph Morgan, Richard Dean Anderson, and Michael Shanks were put together. Of course, I told him this, prompting him to check who the hell I was referring to.
Elias was again a combination of Robert Urich, Daniel Gilles, and Giles Marin, so they looked different from the show, but there were similarities. We discussed those shows, and both of them were somewhat rolling their eyes at romantic notions in the series.
Nick loved to paint, wanting to paint me, and Elias always wore a suit; for him, it was not the same thing as in the series, he was just vain. He spoke in a refined, elegant way, while Nick spoke with an English accent, with an old-fashioned inflection, and somehow his long existence came through in his speech.
They were special. They made me food, promised me a lot of things, and what I got from them both was loneliness. There were not really many people in their circles who were genuine. It seemed most of those they knew were always scheming or wanting something, not just hanging out and talking.
I got to know both vampires; they were actually quite funny guys, and we talked about TV shows. And they said that the show about them was as funny as it was, and maybe at first, their sisters, Freya and Rebecca, weren't as nice as the show implied. Their other brothers, Cole and Fin, were also very naughty.
Family dynamics weren't so cut and dry as the show let on, and Nick said, "We are not perfect. Not at all, I have no idea what the future brings, but if I ever hurt you or am nasty, sorry, I am not perfect. I can and will hurt those who are nearest and dearest to me, too."
Nicholas, though, said he was naughtier than the series implied. He could do a lot of pretty damn nasty stuff without blinking. What it came to their family, Freya, for example, didn't know whether she was a bird or a fish, so to speak, or whether she liked girls or boys, or whether she was just using sex as a tool to get stronger.
He explained that as age accumulates, sexuality and all carnal stuff kind of blur, and in the long run, everything goes. Rebekah was another pansy who decided to love someone at one moment, but was in the mood to be a spoiled little girl or a vengeful slut at another. Vampire females were like this. A lot of them.
Elias said, " Both my sisters are sadly weak-minded, fickle, and then they use their bodies to get men. Age had truly gotten them, too."
He spoke in a disapproving tone. It seemed both of them had some nasty experiences with women, vampire women at least.
He has done far worse, that is, if he said he is not nearly as noble as the series makes him out to be. He was an old creature with a lineage that did not serve him, and sometimes the past could be a burden more than a source of wisdom. And he, too, could be persuaded to do less good stuff.
Nick is not the power-hungry person that the series said. But he had bad habits and a nasty past, making him volatile sometimes, and he admitted he loved to cause drama and scheme, even if it did not always pan out.
Just because Cole and Finn were portrayed as victims in the series does not make their brothers more human or better; they are not bloodthirsty. They too were warped by age, and Nick told me that it is one thing what one needs to remember when dealing with supernaturals. Age accumulates, erases empathy, and makes things like sociopathy more pronounced, as well as a certain sense of power.
Finn and Cole are now living with their spouses, and Cole with Davina. Finn, well, he likes boys, and Matt Donovan was a very good boyfriend to him. Cole and Davina were usually on or off, their relationship very unstable, especially when Freya mixed in.
Elias and Nick don't want to drink blood or mutilate people, only because they are so old and they are the originals, but also because they have been told they are the first of their kind and that they don't care so much about the moral code. They have their ways, their habits. According to them, they were not eager to mutilate their victims but to drink humans dry.
The boys gave me a room, a laptop, and a credit card if I wanted to get something. But first, I wanted to see if I could get even part of my old life back. My Facebook page was a memorial page, and there were pictures of funerals and of a stone with a plaque on it for me, too.
It was my grandmother's grave, and there were my mother's ashes buried there, my sister's ashes, and now my ashes too. Basically, my whole side of the family, everyone who was alive, believed I was dead—no coming back. None of my emails worked. I couldn't find my old stories online. I had written a few short stories here and there, but they were nowhere to be found.
My nickname didn't give any hits, and Nick theorized that whoever kidnapped me wanted to erase my existence as thoroughly as possible. He told me straight up that my fingerprints would have been changed as well when I told him I had my prints in the system. He suspected they might try to grab me again because mere attempted murder was not enough motivation for such a large-scale erasure. I would just have to learn about my new life.
"We need to keep you safe. There is something special to you, I can literally feel it in my bones, and to be honest, you are no longer just human but a bit more. Whatever they gave you has rejuvenated you as well as upgraded you, I would say your system works now 120 percent, what a normal human, fit one." Elias remarked as we were now sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee and eating tasty little cakes.
Nick said, "It is time for you to have a new life. We will help and keep you safe as much as we can while trying to get to the bottom of it. We have a lot of contacts."
First, I had to come up with a new name for myself, and somehow, I just said, "Mimi Springcove."
That was Mimi kevätlahti in Finnish, and my last name was Springcove; well, it was an inside joke that only I knew. My sister would have gotten it, but cancer took her a few decades ago.
My last name was unique, my own invention, and it felt right. My first name was more or less homage to a few of my cats, so it all felt right. This was my life, one that I had no idea of.
Days went by as vampires made sure I got well and they fed me, introduced me to all kinds of new foods, and had fun when some spicy food made water come from my eyes, and I was desperately needing some milk to neutralize the damn burn in my throat. I was kind of skinny, about 45 kilos or less, and my body was revving up faster than a human, needing more food.
We got to know each other, and they told me about this and that, as well as what kind of creatures there are out there. The rule of thumb was being suspicious; an encounter with too handsome man vying for my attention usually meant either an incubus seeking a meal or a vampire, not a good option either of them.
But there were good guys too, as well as grey ones, wizards, witches, shifters, and werewolves.
One night, as we usually chatted during the night and I slept late in the morning, I asked, "Tell me a story, some story, a rumor going around, some story about some legend that happens to be going around among the vampires. I'm curious. I can then tell you something about my life. My life wasn't that amazing."
Nicholas and Elias looked at each other for a moment, and Nicholas spoke. Something went on between them, and they had told me they had a kind of telepathic connection, so it might seem odd sometimes when they were speaking out loud but telepathically.
"All right, I'll tell you then. This is a story that almost every vampire has heard at one time or another. No one knows if it's true at all, or just a fairy tale meant to make vampires wonder. But I'll tell it, anyway."
He paused to think how to tell the story, or then it was supposed to be told a certain way.
"A long time ago, there was a powerful witch, a strong wizard, a married couple, and they had children, twin boys. This family had such strong magical power that their pack or coven always had to have ten. This power always had to be divided among the ten. Otherwise, it was corrupted. The power caused poor harvests, pestilence, and accidents if it was not controlled by ten."
His voice was pleasant to listen to, and he was an excellent storyteller. He leaned back, steepled his fingers as he continued.
" The witch and the wizard were, shall we say, morally ambiguous. i.e. black. Evil. But they saw themselves only as strong, good, and evil; well, evil was strong, and goodness was weakness according to them. Empathy, caring, and love were all weaknesses that they greatly frowned upon. There is no turning back once a witch or wizard turns black. It is permanent. However, a black wizard is not the same as a sorcerer; those are nasty ones. But this couple, their parents, jealousy, bitterness, and all things shitty corrupted them as well, and then affected this couple, turning them black too. So they got twins, and it was a surprise for them too. "
He looked at me, and I was almost transported into the deep past, some hut where the nefarious couple had children.
"The twin boys were immediately very important to them, especially the firstborn, who had a clear purpose: to worship his parents. This boy had a clear evil, black power, A taint that had transferred in him in utero, and the parents immediately saw as strong, evil, but strong and very important to them—the perfect heir. The boy was already strong in all things black and wicked from an early age and did not question his parents about what they decided or commanded, no matter what it was, even killing a kitten..."
He sighed and continued. The story was interesting as to how a child can be bad. Aren't children born innocent and corrupted by time? How or what kind of taint transfers in utero? The world of supernaturals was truly a weird one. I realized just how much there is to be learned here.
"The boys were only a few minutes apart, but the younger one was nobler. He was clearly good, and the parents saw him as weak, not important, and not worthy of being their heir. He had a clear moral compass, so his parents considered him weaker and inferior to his older brother. They did not consider the boy strong enough to be worthy of even magical powers. And the boy never obeyed and did anything bad. He didn't kill kittens, but helped them, stroked them, and played with them. This child was curious and explored everything. He had to know everything, how everything worked, and he just didn't obey his parents directly. "
Nick kept these brief pauses, almost as if trying to recall this story. I guess there were many versions of it, and he was trying to tell the right one. He looked at me, and his age flashed again in his expression. There was a certain kind of weariness in him.
"The younger boy showed no interest or ability in magic. He was considered almost as a mistake, surplus, burden, but as they were identical in appearance, he would have his uses, as this family was very good-looking. So, the boys were handsome and would grow up dashing. Then the family faced tragedy, or the parents saw it as a tragedy. The older son fell ill with an epidemic or something similar and eventually died. At that time, there were epidemics all the time. The parents were grief-stricken. There is a plot twist that makes this into a legend. But supposedly, the parents made a secret rite, a secret magic, and united the boys. The older dying boy was put inside, and the younger one. Hoping one day the older son would take power and gain his parents' strength. They now taught this combined child, trying to show the naughty side how to stay afloat and how to weaken the good side again."
His voice almost whispered, and in my mind, I could imagine a cold chamber, little boys lying next to each other, some chanting...I had a good imagination. I could almost smell musty air, hear rustling, and feel the atmosphere.
Nick continued, his voice low, "And since the boys were now just one being, the parents hoped they would no longer need ten to control the powers. They hoped for him to marry a sorceress, a truly evil being, a female one, and create a whole new dark lineage. Destroyer of worlds. or enslavers. They believed that as the wicked side grew, he would eat the soul of the good side, strengthen himself, and grow into the strongest and blackest wizard of all time, stronger even than the original wizards. They are the very first wizards, and they are not nice, but the universe is in balance, and that is why there are original witches, and they are good. Good and evil, always in balance."
Nicholas looked at me for a moment and said, "I don't know if that's true, I don't know. This story has been told for a long time, and it always changes where it happens. This is a story, and now I'm not sure if this story is the inspiration for the Gemini coven that appears on that TV show. The Gemini coven exists. It just works differently from the show. So there are always many children born into a family, and two will unite, but not to defeat each other, just to unite to protect their family from their siblings. Unification is always a decision for both, and it's a beautiful thing—a beautiful event. It is the true merging of souls, two become one. No one will ever say whether this story is true or a fable. But there is always more or less truth in every story. But if it ever comes out, you never know."
Elias said, "There's a bit more to this story, which made it very interesting."
I asked, "What else is in the story? What makes it more interesting, I mean, the story is pretty damn interesting. I could already imagine a character like this: sometimes kind and helpful, and then cruel and immoral. Always war with itself."
Elias said: "Rumour has it that this younger boy became a vampire and strong. Now, I don't know if that rumor was just added to explain the dichotomy of vampires. I mean, we can kill a human just like that, think of it as a meal, but then again, we can protect and help those we want to. "
Elias looked into the distance for a moment and said, "I don't know if this is true or if it's true at all. Witches and wizards have always existed, but if a witch and a wizard have children, that child becomes a vampire. In the series, a vampire can't be a witch or a wizard, but in reality, it's different. It's always worth remembering that. A vampire can be a witch and a wizard. One ancient vampire wizard is a boy called Wulfe. He looks like a teenager, but he's really strong and old, so looks can be deceiving. It's worth remembering that. He is the oldest, but he is not black. He is something not to be underestimated, even if he usually lurks in shadows and talks in riddles."
Nick said, "As I said about that story was that the parents wanted this stronger boy to eventually marry a sorceress because a sorceress is always evil, whereas witches are from white, pure, good witches to black, evil witches. So a witch can be good or evil or whatever. All shades of grey will do, but a sorceress is always evil. There aren't many sorceresses. Personally, I've tried to kill everyone I know, but there may still be some left over. The same goes with sorcerers. They are evil, through and through."
A few weeks had passed as I started to get more fit and even went to the shops or outdoors with vampire brothers. I got some clothes, learned how much I needed to eat, and what. My memory was so damn sharp, and I could recall everything that I heard or saw. Vampires were taking care of me. They had contacted several guys, told them about me, and the guys were trying to get to the bottom of this, even for wizards. I always had two bodyguards outside. I told them about my life, my cats, my dogs, and everything I had been through, and they listened, enjoyed, and laughed.
Nick said, "We can't have cats and dogs, not really any animals, because a vampire is a creature that an animal can sense and is afraid of. Even a little kitten or a puppy is always afraid of us. But your stories, you tell them so well, and they are something new to us again. We are ancient, and sometimes the millennia weigh on us, but your stories shake the years off my shoulders, and I feel younger."
They promised to get me papers, an apartment, and some kind of cash allowance so I wouldn't have to look for a job right away. Neither of them had ever hinted that they would even consider making me a vampire because the vampire life is not always so glamorous, and they saw me as an innocent, pure soul.
One night, I realized I was out of milk and agreed to get a can from a nearby kiosk. This was not a strange thing to do. I had been to the kiosk myself before. They had vampires patrolling the neighborhood and watching for rumors at all times.
Nicholas said, "Come back soon, little one. Our favorite movies are about to start."
I told the boys I really liked the Marvel movies, and we had watched them several nights already. We also reviewed other movies, and oh, how they sometimes had good looks on their faces when I gave feedback and rebuked a scene or movie. Our movie night would start as soon as I got some milk and some other goodies. I was hoping to do some baking or cooking in between. I hadn't figured out where I was going to start my new life. I'd lived with the boys for two months since I'd woken up. Christmas was coming up, too.
I put on my shoes, put on my jacket and went out. I was on my way to the kiosk, in my thoughts, wondering if the boys would even celebrate Christmas. I hadn't asked Nick about Hope, Haley, or Camille because I sensed he didn't want to talk about it.
I wasn't watching my surroundings and didn't see the van pull up. Three men got out and grabbed me, and I felt a sting in my neck, and darkness took over my mind. I didn't even feel my legs buckle, as I was already unconscious. In the alley behind me were three vampires being killed, Nick's people, who were supposed to keep me safe. I was loaded into a car, and the car sped away, leaving no trace.