Title: Tale As Old As Time
Summary: For who could ever learn to love a beast? Damon Salvatore takes a young girl as his prisoner in exchange for her father's safety. But, the vampire has a secret he's hidden for years… will she be the one to break it? Will they even want to? A classic supernatural telling of a familiar fairytale.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.
A/N: And 7 months later... Sorry for the delay in updating but I did warn you. I got the sudden urge to update this today and I just had to share it with you. You can blame one of my friends posting a Beauty & the Beast/Damon & Elena video for the drive to write. Enjoy! There's a lot of B&tB and TVD 1x11 lines in this because I just couldn't help myself. Enjoy! Read and review! xx
Cautiously, Elena pulled open the door and looked down the darkened hallway. Wary of her footsteps she made her way out of the room that had been her shelter for several hours. Her eyes were puffy from her tears and she was positive streaks of mascara had made their way down her cheeks. As she walked, she wiped under her eyes hoping to rid her face of its streaks. Her rumbling stomach had been the only thing that forced her out of the room.
She made her way down the large staircase, her tiny footsteps echoing through the room. As Elena stepped off the last step, her gaze looked around her, searching for a possible kitchen. Light seeped from one of the closed doors and she stepped towards them, opening the door to reveal a spacious kitchen filled with servants.
Upon her entrance, all heads turned on her. A young man approached her and bowed slightly. "Hello, Miss. The names Stefan. Is there anything we can help you with?"
"I am kind of hungry," she stated before slipping her lip between her teeth.
Stefan clasped together. "And that is what we do. Follow me."
Elena watched as Stefan went to make it his way out of the kitchen and she reached out to stop him. "If it's alright with you. I'd like to eat here. I'll feel lonely if I'm out in what I'm assuming is a large dining hall."
His face softened and he pulled out a stool for her. "That's fine, Miss."
"Please, call me Elena."
"Elena," Stefan nodded with a smile. His back turned to her as he went about making her dinner. Various servants and cooks bustled about, cleaning and cooking as they sought fit. Elena lost herself in their ministrations, unwilling to let her mind wander through today's events. At least she had got out of attending Miss Mystic Falls. Sadness filled her being. A part of her, deep down, had wanted to run for the event even if it came with such saddened memories.
Thankfully, before she could dwell further, Stefan placed a plate in front of her filled with the most delicious of foods. She wasted no time in diving in—she was starved after all. The food helped quell some of the emptiness within her but by the time her plate was done a new hole had formed, this time in her heart. Elena had saved her father life but was it worth the price of never seeing him again, never having a life of her own will again? It had to be because she couldn't take the idea of another dead parent.
Her eyes drifted upwards as Stefan removed the plate and placed it in a nearby sink for one of the servants to clean. Curiosity got the best of her and she questioned, "How come he didn't hurt me like my father?"
The kitchen became eerily silent as all movement and quiet chit-chat halted to a stop. Stefan walked over to her side of the table and sat beside her, eyeing the people around them to continue about their business. When he turned towards her his eyes were filled with understanding. "I suggest that you don't question it and instead be grateful that he didn't."
Elena nodded. She had figured she wouldn't get much of an answer from Damon's staff. "So, I've never been in a place this big before. Is there any way I could get a tour?"
Stefan nodded, grateful for the change in subject. "Of course." He gestured around the room. "This is the kitchen."
Letting out a brief laugh, Elena smiled for what felt like the first time in ages. "No kidding?"
"Really," Stefan smiled. He stood up and helped Elena out of her seat. "And if you'll follow me I'll show you the rest of the boarding house."
"Oh, so that's what this place is."
"It used to be. Back in the mid 1800's when the Salvatore's came to Mystic Falls from Italy. After the Civil War it became more of a massive home for its dwellers."
Elena nudged his shoulder, looking around at the tapestries. "You're quite the history buff."
"We're just getting started."
Hours later, they had just wound up by the staircase leading towards Elena's floor. Stefan was going on about the history surrounding some of the paintings when Elena quietly made her way up. She was curious about this forbidden wing that she wasn't privy to. Once she was sure Stefan was unaware of her absence, she hastened her steps and made her way down the corridor. It was much darker than the rest, with broken mirrors and ripped portrait canvases. Wall paper hung at unnatural angles and random knickknacks were strewn all over the carpet.
At the very end of the hallways she took notice of a glowing light coming from one of the adjacent large wooden doors. She felt that familiar tugging feeling, pulling her towards it and soon she was pushing open the door that gave way to what could only be described as a bedroom. Even in this state of disarray, Elena could tell that it had once been a master suite. The large bed was situated against a wall with its broken posters and ripped sheets. Shards of glass covered the floor and Elena was careful not to prick her feet against them. It was then that she noticed it: there in the center of the room, glowing in the moonlight entering from the floor to ceiling windows was a single rose hovering inside its glass prison.
The delicate flower was trapped and Elena couldn't help but walk over and lift the glass and let the magical flower breathe.
She admired it lovingly and found one of her hands reaching out to touch it. It was remarkable how it just seemed to hover there with just magic. H finger reached out to touch it and she pricked the tip of it on a thorn. Just as she went to pull back and survey the small trickle of blood oozing from the wound, darkness covered her and her eyes drifted up to the feral face of Damon.
In a flash he stood in front of her, effectively blocking her from the magical rose and quickly covered it in its glass prison once again. He turned towards her his eyes intent on hers until he took an intake of breath. The moment the air filled his nostrils his sights turned south on the small drop of blood currently on the utmost tip of her finger.
"I-I'm sorry," Elena muttered, unaware of the current internal dilemma warring within in the monster in front of her.
"Why did you come here?" Damon growled through clenched teeth. "I warned you to never step foot in here. You deliberately disobeyed me."
"I didn't mean any harm," she reasoned, backing away as Damon stepped closer and closer. His eyes never veered from her wound.
"Do you realize what you could've done?" He screamed, throwing a stack of books off a table with a swipe of his arm. They slammed against the wall across the room as his fist slammed down on the table, splitting it in half. Elena cowered in fear at his strength and the veins protruding from underneath his once bright blue eyes. The darkness was taking over.
"Stop!" she screamed as she trapped herself against a wall. He could kill her any minute, second even.
Damon's eyes were fully black now and his fangs had protruded out. "Get out!" he screamed, his fist denting through a wall. "Get out!"
Elena turned and ran as the monster behind her began to thrash about his room. He had given her freedom and now all she had to do was escape before he thought better of it. She quickly pounded down the stairways and towards the front door only to come face to face with Stefan.
"Where are you going?" he questioned in urgency.
"It doesn't matter what I promised," she got out as she pulled open the door. "I can't stay here another moment!"
"Wait! Please! Please!" Stefan called out before she shut the door behind her effectively cutting herself from the monster inside. She raced towards her car, getting it started within seconds and drove away from the place filled with nightmares. Her tires screeched against the pavement as she wondered down the vacant, darkened road in search for the highway. She needed to put as much distance between her and the boarding house as she could.
It was then as her eyes shifted in search of a sign that she caught sight of a wolf in the middle of the road. In fear of hurting the animal she swerved off the road causing her car to hit a guardrail and tumble down the road. Her head banged against the window beside her and the dashboard in front of her until the car finally came to a stop. With a gasp she felt around to find a way out of this mess. That was until she heard the growling.
Most wolves had gathered since the accident and all of them were intent on her. Elena screamed as she fumbled with her seatbelt, trying to escape the danger she had found herself in but it was no use. She was stuck. Tears began to form in her eyes, her heart began to race. There was nothing she could do. In a matter of minutes she would be dead, torn apart by wolves.
Just as they were inches from her car Damon appeared and all-out war began. She didn't know which side would be better but at the rate her was going to save her, she put her faith on the monster. At a rare moment of impasse, Damon stood in front of her upside down car and stared at the wolves. In a taunting voice, he whispered, "Here doggy-doggy."
And one lunged at him. The fight began again as Damon plunged into the animals chests and they clawed at his skin. A wolf even bit into the thin flesh at Damon's neck and he screamed into the night. Elena could do nothing but sit—or rather hang— there in fear. When it came down to Damon and just a handful of wolves, he grabbed the biggest one and pulled out its heart causing the rest to retreat in fear. At last the fight was over. Damon turned towards her and quietly made his way until he knelt beside her window.
The tears were spilling over in full force now.
"How you doing in there?"
Elena sighed. "Damon…." She meant to apologize for invading his space, for getting him into all this trouble but he cut off with an observation.
"You're stuck."
Through her sobs, she pointed out, "It's my seatbelt."
Damon stood and pulled the door off the car and threw it behind him with ease. He then knelt beside her again and ordered her to put her in hands on the roof. Ignoring her stiff muscles she did and Damon quickly ripped the seatbelt free from her body and caught her with ease. With the gentleness unknown to him he picked her up in his arms and stepped away from the vehicle.
"Can you stand? Is anything broken?" he questioned.
Elena shook her head with a groan. Everything hurt but she was pretty certain there were no broken bones. Her body just ached and in the fallout of all her adrenaline disappearing from her body all that was left was tired, sored, scared girl. Damon tried to put her on her feet but her knees buckled instantly and she was once again gripped by her savior's arms.
"Whoa! You're fading fast, Elena." He held her tight with one arm as his other went to his mouth. Elena caught brief sight of the spider web veins before she heard the tell-tale sound of teeth biting through flesh. The smell of blood hit her senses before Damon thrust his bleeding wrist to her mouth. The copper taste hit her tongue and she tried to fight against it but with Damon's quiet urges, she gave in. There was something else to the taste, something akin to holiday cookies and chocolate cake. She began to swallow greedily, already feeling her body stir to life.
When he pulled away, he gently cleaned up her lip with the pad of his thumb.
"Elena, look at me." Her lidded eyes opened. "Focus." She met his eyes and couldn't help but look away. "I'm gonna bring you back home, okay? You've lost a lot of blood so you might get dizzy. Just stay tucked into me, okay?"
She nodded. His thumb went to rest on her bottom lip as he assessed her face. The color was coming back and she was beginning to get strength back to her legs. Elena's eyes drifted to the nape of his neck where the wolf had bit him. "You're hurt."
"I'll heal," Damon promised. He lifted her up in his arms with an "upsy-daisy" and Elena tucked her head into Damon's leather jacket. She felt herself being moved at a fast speed but focused on the bourbon coated leather smell that emitted from Damon. Then before she could complain about the lightheadedness, they were stopped. Elena removed herself from Damon's nook and found herself in the parlor. With ease, he lay her upon the couch and wordlessly walked over to one of the bookshelves.
Elena had never noticed the vast amount of books that covered the house. Then again, she had been too focused on snooping and finding an escape to notice. She looked on as Damon opened one of the books and pulled free and crystal bottle that was filled with a crimson liquid. Feeling her strength come back to her she stood and walked over to him. He stared down at her still holding the vial in his hands.
"Can I?" she asked, gesturing to the wound on his neck.
Damon nodded and craned his neck as Elena lifted a hand to touch it. At the touch of her finger he pulled back and growled. "That hurts! You don't see me poking at your wounds."
"That's because I don't have any…" she mumbled.
"Yeah, because I saved you!" He gestured to his neck. "And this would've never happened if you hadn't run away!"
"If you hadn't frightened me I wouldn't have run away!"
Damon uncapped the vial and took a sip of its contents. "You shouldn't have been in the west wing."
"And you should learn to control your temper!" Elena crossed her arms, staring down the man before her.
Shaking his head in defiance, Damon returned the vial back in its rightful place. Silence passed between them as Damon walked over to his decanter and poured himself a drink.
"What was that anyway?" Elena asked curiously.
With a sigh, Damon answered. "It's blood from an ancient vampire. It's the only cure for a werewolf bite."
"Those were werewolves?" Elena gasped.
Damon nodded, taking a sip of his bourbon. "Normal wolves don't set up an accident for dinner time. They hunt and kill without human logic… or a vampire's."
In the silence that passed, Elena recounted everything that had happened tonight. Even though the monster before her was unpredictable, he had risked his life to save her. If she had any hope of some kind of peace for the next eternity she would have to hand over the olive branch. In a quiet voice, she uttered, "Thank you, Damon." She saw him pause in his sip. "For saving my life."
He looked towards her with curiosity and a newfound fondness before replying, "You're welcome."
"Damon?"
"Yes, Elena?"
She cleared her throat. "There's a pageant next week in my hometown—"
"Miss Mystic Falls."
"Uh, yes," Elena said, taken aback. "Well, I signed up for it and I was just wondering if I could go."
"Are you asking me on a date? Because, while I'm flattered, I'm a little old for you and it might get in the way of the whole master/prisoner relationship."
A blushed flamed Elena's cheeks. "No," she laughed.
"We'll discuss it later," Damon smiled. "For now let's just make sure you get used to the highlights of living her so you don't run away again."
Elena nodded already feeling her fear of the monster inside Damon lesson. They had reached an understanding tonight and that had made an impact. She only wondered if it was enough to last.
