Note: Even though my life is a mess at the moment I'm finally back but the upload is not the Steroline fanfiction somebody was waiting for. I have thousands of ideas for that story but everytime I open my laptop to write, my mind goes blank. It sucks so I've just decided to take a break and write something new and here I am with a Delena fanfiction. The plot is easy: a revisited version of The Beauty and the Beast, Delena style. At the beginning it should have been a one-shot but it turned longer than I had expected. I've really enjoyed writing this one and, unlike other ffs of mine, the main idea seems good but the judgements are up to you.

"Come on sweetheart go to bed before mom comes home and finds out that daddy has left you stay up until now" his voice was like a melody and in a second that little thing was under the cream sheets of her bed.

"But Maggie is not sleepy. Read me a fairytale, daddy" that sweet, deep blue eyes were looking at the same blue, wishing to get a 'yes' and a beautiful story before falling asleep. The answer took more than she expected but her handsome father couldn't possibly deny a fairytale to her princess.

"Okay ma'am what do you want me to read tonight? Cinderella? The little mermaid? Harry Potter?" a laugh came from his lips while Maggie rolled her eyes at her father's sarcasm.

"You've already told me all those stories more than a hundred times daddy, I want a new one" she was as beautiful as her mother, brunette and with a sweet smile that makes your body melt, their resemblance made him smile.

"Then I have the perfect one. Do you know The Beauty and the Beast?" Maggie nodded "well that's just a fairytale for children, which you are, but I'm going to tell you what really happened to the Beauty and the Beast" her eyes lit up in excitement and while her father sat down on the bed next to her, Maggie took her mother's teddy, hers by now, preparing herself for the story.

"This story is about a charming prince that had lost his soul and a young lady that had lost anything but the ability to love"

"So it's just a love story, daddy?"

"Not just, this is the love story" he smiled "Now close your eyes and listen to me"

Once upon a time there was a young prince, he was the most beautiful man of the kingdom: ocean blue eyes, a charming smile, the perfect body and all the women were in love with his beautiful face but no one ever felt in love with his heart because he didn't have one. He wasn't capable of loving, he had never loved a girl in his life, just their bodies and one night he paid the consequences of his love for beauty.

It was a stormy night, dark and scaring but the castle was lighted up by thousands candles and a joyful melody was coming from the ballroom where some minstrels were singing and dancing to celebrate the wedding of Prince Stefan and Princess Caroline.

Unlike the custom of those times Stefan and Caroline's marriage hadn't been decided by their parents, they felt in love when months before when Prince Stefan and his older brother had visited the nearby kingdom. Caroline's parents, King Bill and Queen Liz, were very happy once they got to know about the wedding but Prince Damon, Stefan's brother, wasn't at all. Let's just say that Caroline was definitely beautiful, light blue eyes and long blond hair, but her kingdom was poor and what was the point of a marriage if it doesn't bring more wealth? So Prince Damon tried everything to change his brother's mind but it didn't work and he just accepted his bother's desire to marry Caroline. He would have done anything for his brother and that's why at the wedding ceremony he just pretended a smile wishing all the best for the newlyweds.

Damon wasn't really a loving person but he tried to be asking a dance to his sister-in-law but before the prince was able to open his mouth a guard interrupted him saying that there was a mendicant at the front door that required his presence.

"Just send him away" Damon spoke in a law voice.

"Her" the guard corrected.

"Whatever, we have nothing to give her"

"But she does, she said something about a wedding gift for Prince Stefan" Damon's eyes went wide: how can a poor woman have a gift for a prince?

The curiosity took control of his body that slowly left the ballroom, leading himself to the front door where an old and ugly woman was standing still.

"Who are you, old lady?"

"My name is Katherine young boy and I have a special present for your majesty but in return I beg you to let me in. It's cold out here"

"And what is this special gift?"

The old lady showed a red rose to Prince Damon, it was the most beautiful flower he'd ever seen but it was far away from being a suitable gift for his brother.

"A rose? We have thousands of roses, what makes this one special?"

"It's magical, as long as you take care of it, the rose will give you the most precious gift of all: love" that last word echoed in Damon's mind before his lips left out a noisy laugh.

"Love? Love is just a fairytale you tell children to hide how real life is, that feeling you call love does not exist in my world. Now go away" but Katherine wasn't intentioned to move "go away!" Damon yelled at the old woman.

"I see, you really don't know what love is, your own little and dark world is deprived by the light of a warm heart, you've lost your soul. You don't feel, you're cold, just the touch of a body can warm your blood. You're not human, you're a beast" those words made Damon angrier and when he was about to close the door and go back to the party the ugly figure in front of him turned to a beautiful woman with long dark hair and red lips.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I've told you, my name is Katherine"

"What are you?" Damon was now yelling.

"People call me a witch but I consider myself just a helper of nature. Most importantly do you ever asked yourself what you are?" Damon was confused.

"What kind of question is that? I'm a prince!" at his answer Katherine laughed in amusement.

"You wasn't even able to help a poor old lady, how can you be the great King your people need? You can't reign over human beings if you're a monster and, dear Prince Damon, this is your punishment: you'll be a real beast until you don't find a heart to love and that loves you back. But if you don't get your soul back before this rose dies you will be a beast, forever" with these words a beam of light surrounded Damon and suddenly his blue eyes became red, his body stronger, his feet faster, his heartbeats stopped and there was only one thing is his mind: blood.

Katherine turned Damon in a real monster, an abomination that the ancient legends used to call 'vampire'.

Damon looked at the woman wondering what was happening to him but the thirst took control of his mind and led him into the ballroom. Blinded by the need of blood Damon left out the monster he had been turned to and after a second the room was filled with the blood of the guests and Damon and Stefan's father was lying on the floor, lifeless.

"Damon what happened?" Stefan was shaking and so was Caroline, hidden behind his back. The guests who were still alive, were leaving the castle screaming in despair.

"Stefan you should go" when Damon raised up his face to talk, Stefan jumped at the sight of blood on his brother's lips. Everything had happened so fast that Stefan didn't have time to realize who was doing that but that realization scared him even more. Damon was now holding his father's body into his arms, the despair in his eyes. It was like he didn't know how that happened.

"I.. I can't leave you" Stefan was just like that, when he sees people in pain he helps them and this time was his brother so he had to do something even if he didn't know what. Damon, in that precise moment, was literally the only relative he had left. Their mother died 23 years before, giving birth to Stefan and, even if Damon was only 5, he promised to himself to always protect his little brother. Damon was trying to keep that promise.

"No, go. I don't know what's happening to me, I don't want to hurt you or Caroline. Please go!" the blue eyes were coming back and they were begging Stefan to leave and that was exactly what he and his wife did. They left Damon alone, crying on a dead body killed by his own teeth ad in that moment Damon thought that his soul was really lost forever because after all who will ever learn to love a beast?

"I'm sure somebody would, he seems so lonely. Nobody should be lonely" Maggie shacked his head.

"He stayed alone for years but one day he met somebody that changed his life forever. But you have to let me continue if you want to know how it happened"

"He's just been lucky" the little girl teased.

"This is not about being lucky, it's destiny"

"What's destiny dad?" that 4 years old ocean blue eyes didn't really get the meaning of that word, how could they? Barely adults know what destiny means and mostly all of them don't know what it really is. But fairytales do not just tell you a story, they help you to get what you're looking for, your own truth and Maggie was about to discover hers.

"Just listen.."

In a little village, not far away from the castle of the Salvatore, there was a young lady, considered by everyone the most gorgeous creature of the 13 kingdoms, a girl so beautiful to define beauty itself. Her name was Elena, daughter of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, died less than a year before, after leaving their younger son, Jeremy, to the care of Elena. She wasn't just good-looking, her chocolate eyes were pure, her lips, that were hiding the pain of her loss, always had a bright and sweet smile for everybody, her heart was charitable but strong. Before her death, Miranda had taught everything she knew about the herbs of the woods and thanks to those lessons Elena was now able to heal people: her hands were considered magical. Elena wasn't just a beauty, she had the biggest heart of all.

But one day the medical herbs that were growing around the village seemed not strong enough to heal Jeremy from a fever tougher than the ones he used to catch. Jeremy has always been weak, he was always sick but somehow Elena's knowledge was adequate to heal him.

"I'm going out" Elena said, wearing a blue mantle and taking the basket next to the door.

"Go where?" Jeremy asked between a cough and the other

"In the forest to get some herbs" she smiled, trying to hid her concern.

"Elena do you see those grey clouds? It means that a storm is coming and the last thing you should do is going out there" Jeremy pointed at the window. The sky was grey, the rain would have started to fall soon but Elena needed those herbs, she didn't have a choice.

"Jeremy you need a medicine and I will be back before the storm breaks out" Elena was now next to Jeremy, her hand was holding his face.

"I can't lose you sister, you're the only family I've left" was Jeremy who talked but Elena was thinking the same: he was all she had.

"You won't. I'll be back but promise me that you'll stay inside until my return. You promise?"

"Promise"

"Good boy, now try to sleep" and giving Jeremy a soft kiss, Elena left the small house and she headed towards the deepest part of the forest.

Elena had just the time to go there and find the plants before the rain started to fall, everything became dark, she wasn't able to see what was right in front of her and, trying to get home, she lost herself in the woods. A some point Elena decided to find a place to shelter. She started running, being careful at the little basket that was carrying the herbs, and a couple of minutes after a flash lit a disquieting castle. It was surrounded by a river, the same that crossed her village, with high walls and a creepy atmosphere surrounding it. She didn't take long before recognize the enormous fort: it was of the royal family. The people of the village had different theories about why the Salvatore had left their royal place but the only certainty was that the castle was empty: the perfect place to protect herself from the rain, Elena thought.

Elena needed a couple of minutes to cross the bridge and reach the gate and the only thought in her head was 'please let it be unlocked'. She tried with all her straight to open the door but it was too heavy for her fragile body. Lost any hope, Elena leaned her back to that piece of wood that was preventing her to get in. She suddenly heard a creak behind her back and she found the front door slightly open. She didn't know how that happened but it did and without thinking twice about it, Elena slowly got herself inside the dark manor.

The foyer was dark and the only light that was illuminating her path was the one of the thunderbolts coming from the big, gothic windows. Elena was shaking, her clothes were wet and that place wasn't just cold but even unearthly. The shivers down her spine were not for the temperature, she was feeling something, like a presence and a whisper came out from her mouth.

"Is anyone here?" at the realization of what she had just said, Elena felt stupid. There wasn't a living soul between those walls, the Salvatore had left the castle years before, that place was empty and quiet. But the silence didn't last long, a feeble creaking coming for the stairs made Elena jump. She frenetically started to look around, repeating the same question that made her feel stupid the minute before but nothing happened, not an answer, not another noise.

"Elena stay calm, that was probably just an animal" she said to herself. That tiny body had no idea how close it was to the truth.

Even though she tried to calm herself down she couldn't help but feeling frightened of anything: the dark surrounding her, the storm outside, the idea that something could have showed up any second. And that was exactly what happened: out of the blue two red eyes flashed in front of her to disappear right after. Elena left out a scream, she was about to run out the door when a figure stood up in front of her trembling body. She didn't even have the time to breathe that two strong hands were already holding her and instinctively Elena closed her eyes, waiting for something bad to happen. But nothing occurred, she just felt the cold air touching her body, like she was moving, and then nothing.

Million thoughts rushed into her mind in a second, what had just happened or who was that person.

Elena's eyes were still closed, she was scared to open them up but she had to. What was right in front of her alarmed Elena even more: she wasn't in the foyer anymore, this room was smaller and enlightened by four candles. She turned around to see some steel bars that were dividing the location: it was an underground dungeon.

Brown eyes were searching for an escape when they stopped on a shadow, hiding in the dark, right next the only entrance of the room.

"Who are you?" she cried.

"Actually I should be the one who asks you that question, since you got in my house without any permission" his voice was deep, the kind of voice that scares you but inevitably attracts you.

"I.. I'm sorry I thought it was empty. I just wanted to protect myself from the storm" these words didn't come out easily from her moth, she was afraid of was going to happen. Why did he take here in a prison?

"You shouldn't have come here" his voice broke the silent, her heartbeats running loudly when the obscure figure slowly came out from the darkness. He was anything she had expected. A tall perfect body, dark hair, pale skin, blue eyes. He was frightening in his own beauty.

Elena couldn't take her gaze away from the creature in front of her, there was something in those sad blue eyes that didn't allow her to breathe.

"Then maybe I should go" Elena replied with a whisper.

"Here's the thing: once you get in you can't go out" he was talking with a seductive tone, her fingers stroking her cheek and then her neck. Elena didn't know if she was trembling in fear or in pleasure but she didn't have time to find an answer. The beautiful face standing over hers turned into her worst nightmare: the ocean of his eyes turned red, his lips were bended into an evil smile that was letting her see white teeth. Elena didn't have the time to scream because those teeth were already on her neck and her blood was rushing away from her body. Elena slowly lost consciousness and at some point she was floating in the darkness.

Of course this is just the beginning but you thoughts about this first part would be really appreciated.

I just hope, you've enjoyed reading as I've enjoyed writing.