Elena sighed as her alarm clock sounded. She turned it off and stared at the numbers shining brightly at her. 7:00 am. She sighed again. She had slept barely 4 hours last night. But that wasn't unusual for her those days. She rolled out of her bed sheets, quickly made her bed, and then headed for the shower. She knew she only had 30 minutes tops before she had to be downstairs to begin her chores for the day.

She tried to relax as the warm water rolled over every tight muscle and aching joint on her body. Sometimes she wished she had more time to spend relaxing and enjoying her life a little bit more. But the truth was, she did not enjoy her life. Not anymore, anyway. Her stomach clenched in sadness whenever she thought back on how happy she used to be. She missed coming home every day after school and spending time with her parents and her brother, Jeremy. She missed those simple nights, huddled around the TV, watching their favorite sitcoms together. She missed Jeremy's inherent teenage angst and her dad's warm hugs. She missed late nights sitting up and talking to her mom about things only a young girl and her mother could talk about.

But that didn't matter anymore. It had never mattered. Her fate was set out for her when she had turned 18. It was the law. When the Mikaelson family, the Original vampires, had moved into town, they had changed everything Elena knew about life. They murdered the city council in cold blood and anyone who had dared to defy them. After that, hordes of vampires took over the city, claiming it as their own. And then it was decided. Every young citizen, when they turned 18 years of age, was to be taken from their family home and given as a slave to a new vampire home. There they remained for the rest of their short, fragile lives.

On Elena's 18th birthday 2 years ago, the Gilbert's received a knock at their door. Stefan Salvatore had come to collect her. It was decided that she was to be given to his brother Damon Salvatore. Stefan gave her just enough time to pack her things and say her goodbyes. And that was it, the day her life changed forever.

Elena bit her lip and pushed away the memories. She turned off the water and climbed out of the shower. No point in starting her day with such depressing thoughts. It took her only 10 short minutes to pull her hair into a tight bun, put on some clothes, and a light layer of makeup. She took one last look in the mirror at herself, sighed, and then left her room.

The Salvatore manor was massive in size, much bigger than the simple home she grew up in. But in the months since she moved in, she had memorized every nook and cranny. She had grown to love the beautiful house. That wasn't to say that she had learned to love its owners, however. The younger Salvatore brother, Stefan, wasn't so bad. He was very kind, rarely ever bothering her or ordering her around. Caroline Forbes, Elena's best friend, had been given to Stefan just 2 months before Elena had moved in. As far as she knew, he treated Caroline very well. Damon on the other hand…

Damon Salvatore was ruthless and unforgiving. He did what he wanted when he wanted, without any regard for who he might hurt in the process. Elena had heard first-hand from the other help in the house that Damon had had many human slaves in his home. They didn't last long however, as Damon frequently got too bored with them or too…"hungry." Elena shivered at the thought. Somehow deep down she knew that her life might not last as long as she had hoped it would. But she kept a stiff upper lip, trying to do everything in her power to please him in a feeble attempt to keep living for as long as possible.

The house was rather quiet that morning as Elena reached the living room. She made her way to the kitchen, where she found Caroline cooking breakfast.

"Good morning!" she exclaimed, her normal cheery self.

"Morning," Elena responded.

"How did you sleep?" Caroline asked.

"Same as usual," Elena replied. "So what's on the agenda today?" She sat down at the table.

"Stefan informed me that a new shipment will be arriving around noon. We will need to clean out the basement before they arrive." Elena's heart pinged with remorse. The 'shipment' of course was Stefan and Damon's own personal supply of humans to feed on that they kept in the dungeon below them. Generally, they were humans unfit for the life of labor as a slave. Most were the elderly. Some were adults who did not have children of their own to give to the vampires, and some consisted of the disabled: physically, mentally, or otherwise. But the Mikaelsons had demanded that every human in the city contribute in one way or another to the service of the vampires or be murdered as a consequence. So every month or so when the old supply of humans had 'gone dry', a new supply was gathered up and sent over immediately to the vampires who needed them. And Elena hated it.

"Well, Stefan's breakfast is done," Caroline said, breaking the silence. "I better go deliver it to him." Elena nodded and Caroline gathered up the plate of food and the glass of brandy in front of her. She headed towards the kitchen door but stopped and turned back toward Elena.

"Oh, and Damon wanted to see you first thing this morning," she added. "You better go see what he wants." She gave Elena a small smile and left the kitchen. Elena sighed and stood up from the table. She took deep breaths as she headed up the stairs towards Damon's room. He always seemed to put the fear of God in her, no matter what it was that he was asking her to do. She reached Damon's bedroom door and knocked.

"Come in," the deep, smooth voice answered. Elena opened the door and stepped through. He was lying on his bed farthest away from the door. He seemed at ease, his hands behind his head, and his eyes closed. Elena's stomach dropped when she noticed he was not alone. The red headed vampire lying next to him pulled the bed sheet higher up over her naked body and glared at the human intruder. Elena cleared her throat.

"Good morning, sir. I was told you wanted to see me." Damon looked over at her and gave her his best half smile. Elena's heart fluttered. He might have been cruel, but that didn't make him any less attractive.

"Good morning, my pet," Damon responded and sat up straight in bed. "I trust you slept well?"

"Um, yes sir," Elena replied. Damon sighed in slight frustration.

"Please, Elena. I think we're past the formalities." He swung his legs off the bed and leaned down, grabbing a pair of cotton pajama bottoms. Elena averted her eyes from his naked body as he stood up and slipped them on. Her heart fluttered again.

"What can I do for you, s-." Elena bit her tongue, realizing her almost mistake, knowing every little slip up could cost her her life. "I mean, Damon?" He only laughed.

"I'm hungry." He turned to the woman in his bed. "Are you hungry?" he asked her. She nodded and began to climb out of the bed. Elena took a few steps back, keeping her head down.

"Elena, would you be a dear and go fetch us a snack?"

"Yes, Damon," Elena confirmed. She excused herself and left the room, closing the door behind her. She exhaled deeply and started for the basement.

She hated going in the basement. It made her sad, mostly because of the fact that she could do nothing to help the poor people trapped down there. They lived a torturous existence, much better than her own she realized. Elena was given food regularly and a warm bed to sleep in. Those people down there were treated like wild animals, in every sense of the word.

She reached the dungeon door in the basement and peered through the slot in it. A woman sat in the corner, chained to wall. She was sickly pale and looked like death itself. But she was alone. In some ways, Elena only wanted to speed this process up and put her out of her misery. She unlatched the lock on the door and opened it slowly. As she stepped inside, the woman lifted her head and looked right at her. Elena wasn't sure what to say to her, so she decided to say nothing at all. She avoided looking in the woman's eyes as she approached her and began to unlock the chains around her wrists.

"Are they going to kill me?" the woman asked unexpectedly. Elena swallowed the lump in her throat. Of course the answer was yes, but she just didn't know how to respond.

"I…I don't know…" She finished unchaining the woman and helped her to her feet. They spoke no words to each other as Elena helped her out of the basement and up the stairs towards Damon's room. She knocked on the door and took one last look at the woman. The woman did not meet her gaze. Instead she stared forward, mustering as much strength and defiance as she could. Damon opened the door and smiled slyly.

"Thank you, Elena." He grabbed the woman's hand and helped her inside. The woman looked back and met Elena's eyes.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing Elena could think to say as Damon took her into the room and the door closed behind them. Elena tried not to cry as she walked away to attend to her other duties for the day.