I, the Original

Chapter 7: La Serenissima

The voyage was a lengthy one due to storms in the sea, but he finally made it to Venice.

The Most Serene Republic of Venice, to be exact. A rather arrogant name, but to be honest Venice deserved it. At this point in time, it was probably the third greatest city in Europe, after Constantinople and Rome, the latter clinging onto ancient glories long dead. I'd always wanted to visit Venice in my old life and I finally got to do it now.

I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face, when I saw the flag of Venice with quite a bit of glee. It's so cool. The lion, the details, honestly this must be the coolest flag ever.

I love cool flags. Sue me.

It was Elijah, whom my met first, when he met my at the docks.

"It is good to see you well, brother. For a long time we feared the worst." He said after pulling me into an embrace.

"Hopefully, father dearest will not bother us for a while and get lost in the icy tundra of Siberia." I responded. "Now why don't you lead me to the rest of the family and show me whatever accommodations you have procured."

It turns out that the Mikaelsons owned a sizeable manor within the city. According to Elijah, they had been gifted it by a dying aristocrat with no heirs.

"And he lost his heirs and ended up dying before or after you saw his house and took a liking to it?" I questioned. Not that I cared.

"...after." He answered, as if the idea alone brought such terror to him. Elijah was the most honorable out of all of us but I knew that the border between right and wrong shifted too often even for him to pay attention to it all the time. "Rebekah took a fancy to it and so did Klaus. Finn was no help and Kol was even worse. Besides, hopefully, we will stick around here for a while. I have had a certain project going on."

"Oooh, sounds mysterious." Could it be...

"We have been siring more and more vampires like us. I have been collecting souls eager to better the world. Perhaps we shall do so. You are more than welcome to join us, brother, seeing as the others have little to no interest in acting on anything other than their lesser impulses. We've been calling ourselves the Strix."

"Yep, that does not sound ominous at all." So that is how and where he creates the Strix. Without Tristan around they would hopefully keep to the noble task Elijah started them on.

"The name is of Aya's creation."

"So Elijah Mikaelson was having fun while I was off pillaging villages and running from dragons?" When he saw Elijah's eyebrows rise at the mention of dragons, he indicated they will talk about it later. "So...Aya? Gorgeous, I presume."

"I have to admit, she is rather exquisite." A small smirk tugged at his lips.

The manor was rather exquisite as well. A luxurious place I could easily get used to. I can't say that my time in Venice was wasted.

Rebekah and I frequented high society circles as soon as I mastered my Italian.

Which by the way, is a huge achievement for someone who in his past life was struggling with learning a third language. Thank God for vampire memory.

Back to socializing. As expected, drama with the Mikaelsons began soon enough.

Rebekah took a fancy to Rinaldo Orsini. Rinaldo seemed to genuinely like Rebekah so I figured that it would be nice to let her enjoy herself, have a little bit of romance and be happy. Before Klaus became overly suspicious and murderous to any one who struck her fancy. That is why I supported her, helped her sneak out and go on dates with him. Everything seemed nice.