Ding! Ding! The sixth bell rang.
Tyler stepped forward to the four women and shackled each of their wrists connected with a single long chain that he can have to grab onto.
"I hope each of you ladies don't forget to smile. We have a guest today, the vamps sent over one of their auction men to pick a few girls here. So if you wish to get the hell out of here, just cross your fingers and hope that he might pick you from the list."
'An auction man? Why so soon? Over twenty girls were taken away just last month and only five of them returned dead so they can be properly buried by their own family. Isn't fifteen enough for those heartless vamps?' Elena thought.
Tyler got to Elena last and locked the cuffs on her wrists. She dropped her arms, turning her head to ignore his long glare at her face. His glare at her is defined by only lust and desire, his hands smoothed on her arms up and down to her elbow.
"I'll be sad to see you leave if that vamp ever chose you."
Tyler grabbed hold of the chains and yanked it forward to signal the women to move.
Back in the camp, everyone is already arranged into neat rows. Tyler unlocked the shackles before leaving the girls in the first five rows.
Right in front of the first row stood the Fortuga cabin where all the werewolves live in. On the roof stood the auction man in his fine suit and his eyes still shaded with those casual sunglasses, another werewolf remained beside him with the rectangular device on his hand.
The werewolf cleared his throat and started the announcement.
"Today is a day to make a selection of a few girls to attend to the Mystic Fall's 140th auction. When I call out your names, step forward." The werewolf shouted, not needing a microphone since his voice has the ability to make it loud and clear for all to hear.
"We will now begin..The Kingsley Family. Both daughters of the Kingsley family, Reina and Hannah, step forward."
Two girls from the first row stepped forward. A middle aged woman from the second row burst into tears and almost fell down on her knees. It is obvious the woman is their mother. The two girls looked back at their pitiful mother, and embraced one another in the safety of their arms.
"The Dawson family. The first born, Janet Dawson, step forward."
The girl in the same row stepped forward.
The werewolf continued to announce the family's names by the time the number reached to nineteen girls. One more name must be called for the humans to return back to their cells.
Rain started to pour as the werewolf paused for a short moment to scan through the rectangular device. The auction man finally removed his sunglasses as the gray clouds swallowed the bright sun.
"Finally, we have reached to our last selection. Again step forward when I call your name..The Jacks- I mean the Gilbert family. Elena Gilbert, step forward."
Elena's heart almost stopped after hearing her name. She lifted her eyes straight at the auction man in the roof who looked straight at her with his dangerous dark eyes.
Her legs refused to obey her when the werewolf called out her name again. One of the werewolves, who stood nearby, went over to her and pushed her forward. She trembled, not by the coldness of the ice cold rain, but because of the unbearable attention the auction man is giving her.
"That is the end of our selection. Now girls, it is your decision to decide if you wish to leave this place and join the auction. I am aware that you all know very well the auction is only for the purpose to be selected as a 'blood donor'. As a blood donor, the longer you stay with your owner and please him or her then your family will be escorted outside of the camps and taken to shelter and will be well fed. But if you are released under the ownership of your owners, then your family will be executed and you will also end up in the same fate as well. So to those of you, who want to accept this job, step forward, if you don't, then return back to your rows."
A long silence forced the girls to remain glued to the ground. Elena looked around, clearly no one doesn't wish to accept.
But one voice, one girl broke the silence. One of the Kingsley sisters raised her hand.
"I accept!"
Her sister beside her quickly lowered her arm down. Tears fell down her eyes and she shouted at her sister.
"What is wrong with you?! Are you mad?!"
"It's the only way for us to survive, Hannah. I must do this. You just stay here. Okay? I'll take care of it. I promise I will try my best to please the owner once I'm sold. Okay?"
"Reina!"
The auction man clapped his hands, a simper curved on his lips. "Finally. A girl who has some guts to take the job. How about the rest of you? Make your decision now."
The two sisters embraced each other for the last time. But two werewolves separated them, one dragging Reina away while the other is holding Hannah back who is helplessly stretching both her arms out to reach for her sister.
A few of the girls this time took action when Reina was gone. Some of them returned back to their rows, while others accepted the offer and were taken away by a few of the werewolves. As for Elena, she still stood her ground on the muddy ground.
There are many reasons of why the girl is trapped in the middle of even accepting the decision to accept the offer or just walk away...If she accepts, she will have to risk experiencing a tremendously painful life of being bitten over and over again from a vampire for as long as the vamp wants her, while her family is safe and well fed. But if she doesn't accept, her aunt will surely die by then and who knows if her brother might be next, he is growing weaker from malnutrition and overworking...But the image of when that "lovely merry-go-around" will finally come to a stop will be revealed a lot quicker than ever, there will be nothing but blood and shattered bones in the Gilbert family once she might be released from the vampire's ownership. A vampire's pleasure can easily change a lot quicker than a child's appetite for something more sweeter, after all.
The auction man looked straight across at Elena again. In his eyes, there is a sign of desire and satisfaction. Although the girl is bruised and worn from harsh abuse and labor, the natural beauty in her lovely face and luscious long hair are still intact to draw the attention to any man's eye..and also to any vampire's eye too.
The auction man suddenly leaped off the roof, landing perfectly on his feet once he got down. In vampire speed, he went over to the girl. Elena gasped as he appeared right in front of her in such a quick speed.
"What's your answer, sugar? Everyone is waiting now."
"...I..I don't accept..."
She turned around to return back to her line. But the man grabbed her arm and turned her back to face him again. She gasped by the temperature of his ice cold hands.
"Is that really your answer, Elena?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Well then think again. I heard a few things about you and your family, and like others here, it doesn't sound so pretty. I mean, being lashed with a whip over fifty times and adding onto your two days of imprisonment in the gas chamber is exceedingly heartbreaking, don't you think?"
"What do you know, sir? You're dead, not alive."
"Ah, feisty I see. I hope you cool that down, cucumber, once you step forward to that auction."
"I said I don't accept."
"Believe me, Elena, you will change your mind."
"Don't call me by my name...It's hard enough to have you so close to me."
"Look, I'll make it a little easier for you. I looked through the history of each of your family member. Your brother seems to be doing alright. But as for your aunt, I can see that she is very sick. Is she not? And you know what very well of what happens to the sick in this camp, don't you?"
"Don't you dare lay a hand on my aunt."
"Well I could and I did. I ordered some of the dogs here to escort her out of her cell so they can finish her off."
"What?"
"You'll see her once I go back into the Fortuga cabin with the other girls. Of course, I don't think you should touch her, by then she'll probably be very very cold."
He released her arm and turned around to walk away. But he didn't disappear in thin air by his vampire speed again, he took slow human steps, having the full confidence that Elena this time will surely change her mind.
She is torn away from the decision to actually accept this..Because both ways will lead her entire family and including herself to death...Living here is already a living hell. How worse can it be to live under the same roof with a vampire?
"Wait! Wait a minute!" She called out.
The auction man stopped. With a smile curved on his lips, he called out to her without turning back.
"Have you changed your mind?"
"...Yes! Y-You win," she raised her arm in the air, "I accept."
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The auction man locked himself in a private room in Fortuga Cabin. He paused for a short moment, to listen with his acute ears if any werewolves are nearby, not a single sign of them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed a number and raised the phone up to his ear.
"Hello? Cathy? Yeah, it's me Alaric. So far I chose twenty girls here in Fortuga Camp. Are you ready with the wardrobe?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. But there is something else I want you to do."
"What's that, sir?"
"I need you to do me an odd favor. Call for the best designer you have to make that blue dress that was first worn by the first human..the one from over twenty five years ago, you remember that girl, right?"
"Katherine Pierce? Yes, I do. Everyone does. But why do you want such a dress to be made?"
"You'll see. Just get that dress ready. I got a girl right here who will make a great impression to our clients tonight. I want Emily's team to do her makeup. Now I don't want too much color, I need innocence on that girl. Understand?"
"Yes, sir. But who is this girl?"
"Again, you'll see. I'll see you in two days. I'll be out of here by then."
"Yes, sir. Is there anything else?"
"No...Wait, yes. Make sure you send an invitation to the Salvatore Manor."
"Mr. Damon Salvatore? But sir, Mr. Salvatore has never attended any of our auctions for years."
"Oh I'm pretty sure he'll change his mind this time. Rub in with his brother, I heard he's going to be a father with that adopted vamp child. Perhaps that news might butter Damon's cold ass to get to that auction. I'm pretty sure that his brother is in need of a 'blood donor' now that he has a kid to take care of."
"Very well, sir. Is that all?"
"Yes, just get everything ready by the time I get back. Goodbye, Cathy."
"Goodbye, sir."
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Some of the werewolves went off as packs to see if the roads are safe for Alaric's departure. The girls who were chosen, are locked in separate rooms until the day they leave for the auction.
It has been only three hours since the sixth bell role call. None of the girls had the chance to say a proper goodbye to their families and friends; they were taken immediately to the Fortuga Cabin without a chance to bid a proper farewell or an exchange of a hug.
Elena sunk down on the far end corner of the wall. Curling herself into a ball, pressing her folded legs to her chest as her arms embraced them.
'This is it...I'm really going to be sold. I wonder if a vampire's bite is the same feeling as being bitten by a werewolf. Is it more painful since they only use their fangs other than their entire teeth like the werewolves?' She thought.
The door suddenly opened, interrupting her thoughts. Mason entered the room, but behind him stood her brother. Elena quickly pulled herself back to her feet and rushed over to her brother. The two hugged each other, not caring that Mason is still standing in front of them.
"You only have one minute. I'll try to stall as best as I can."
After saying that, he left out the door and quietly closed the door behind him. Jeremy smoothed the back of his sister's head, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Wh-What were you thinking? Are you this stupid to bring yourself this far?"
"I had to, Jeremy. I just had to...Even if it might kill me and including both yours and aunt Jenna's, at least..at least you guys will be able to live a peaceful life temporally. That's better than being trapped here, allowing our empty stomachs and weak bodies to kills us."
Jeremy pulled back just a little to look at his sister's face.
"But what about you? It's not worth being a prisoner by a vampire, Elena. It's just not worth it."
"Yes it is," she wiped his tears with the tip of her thumb, "knowing that you and Aunt Jenna can at least live a decent better life is worth everything I have to make it possible. So..So make sure you stay healthy and take care of her while I'm gone. Okay? Because..Because I can't be around anymore to do that myself now."
"Elena."
"I love you, Jeremy...You have to continue to be strong. You survived this far, you need to keep living on now there is hope. Okay?"
"This is too unfair."
Her eyes pooled into tears as Jeremy pulled her back for a hug.
"Don't forget me..Don't forget us."
"How could I?"
The door opened and Mason came back in. He separated Jeremy from Elena. Jeremy gave his sister a kiss on the cheek before allowing Mason to escort him quickly out the door.
When the door closed, Elena collapsed on the floor. Her muscles no longer aches anymore, but all the pain risen up to her chest. Endless tears poured down from her eyes, and her voice drowned from loud sobs. With her fist, she pounded her painful chest and even bit her hand hard to silence her sobs as the image of the tragic future planted deep in her mind.
There is no good conclusion as the life of being a 'blood donor'. The experience of being bitten daily by a vampire is a horrific sight and not an appealing feeling to have sharp fangs plunged into the skin. The only hope is that the longer a 'blood donor' remains by the side of their master or mistress, the longer their family are kept alive and live well in their new life. Of course, all the endured effort to stretch the years of being a 'blood donor' ends due to the vampire's wanting for a fresh new 'blood donor' or because of the unwanted behavior from the 'blood donor' himself or herself.
As for Elena, she will follow the same basic steps as a 'blood donor'. Feeling every pain. Shed every tear. Obey whether she is strong or weak. Stay alive until the clock stops ticking.
Out of all questions that she wants to know, the main question lies to this. How long will her career as the 'blood donor' exactly last?
~ In each of the girl's rooms, two female employees entered their rooms to wash and dress them for supper. For Elena, however, Alaric hired two more employees to assist her needs.
Elena is not comfortable at all of sitting in the warm bath tub completely naked, while these four strange women are fixing her up like a live china doll.
Two women scrubbed her filthy skin, making the once white bubbly water into a complete muddy black and brown. The other two women scrubbed her long hair with over two different shampoos and conditioners to soften its rough texture. Elena complained every time the ladies tried to unknot the tight knots on her hair or if they scrubbed the deep scars on her skin.
After bathing, Elena stepped off the bath tub as one woman wrapped a bundle to hold up all her hair to dry, and also slipped a robe on her.
"Go to that massage table, now." The woman said.
Elena did so. She climbed on top of it and lied down. The four women crowded around her. Each of them snapped purple rubber gloves on their hands. The two women who stood in the way end of the table, wiped her legs dry with a towel. Behind them stood a silver cart that carried all sorts of skin products on the top of its tray. The two women who stood in the front part of the table, grabbed both Elena's arms and pinned her down.
One of them spoke to her. "This is going to hurt a bit. So try not to move. When it come to waxing the skin, the only rule is that the client must never whine. Got it?"
"Waxing? Why do you have to wax my skin?"
"Well, I'm not sure if you ever looked at yourself in the mirror, sweetheart, but your skin is far too hairy and must be smooth before Saltzman puts you in that auction."
"Who's Saltzman?"
"The man who chose you. I'm sure you saw him during the selection. Now enough talking and hold still."
The two women in the way end of the table applied cold wax completely on one of her calves, they taped a few strips of transparent tape until there isn't a spot left of the gel. They waited for a moment. Then, the two women who're grabbing onto Elena's arm, pushed them down against the table.
One woman on the far end of the table, grabbed Elena's other clean leg, while the other woman started to removed the tape off her calf. Elena gritted her teeth tightly as the woman stripped each tape off in lightening speed. She understands now why it is necessary to have someone to hold her down, the experience is unbearably painful.
The three women loosened their hold on her, as the other woman started to apply the wax on Elena's other calf.
A good hour passed of waxing Elena completely naked like a plucked chicken, but the beauty process did not end there. After they washed the wax off her, they dried her again and slipped her back on her robe.
The same woman who spoke to her earlier took Elena by the arm and pushed her down to a chair. "Remain seated. And again, try not to move. After we trim your brows and clean your nails, all there is left is for you to change into the outfit we prepared for you."
Again the women crowded around her, doing different things all at the same time in order to finish this makeover once and for all. One woman cleaned her toenails while two other women between her cleaned the dirt off her finger nails. The woman, who spoke to her, pushed her head down on a pillow as she plucked unwanted hair of eyebrows to make the two arches perfect with a pair of tweezers.
Elena winced of being trapped of being strapped down like this, and allowing these women to literally doll her up into a completely different person. But the woman finished trimming her brows a lot quicker while the other three women focused on cleaning every bit of dirt tucked in the small gaps of her nails. The woman unwrapped the towel off Elena's hair. She pushed a black cart behind her, the cart heavily carried hair products and odd looking devices that Elena never seen before.
The woman placed the wet towel on the handle of the cart for it to lay there. She first picked the hair dryer, and dried Elena's wet hair. Elena again complained of how her cheeks burned by the hair dryer, but the woman ignored her and continued to dry the rest of the wet strands of her hair. After her hair fell dry enough, the woman placed the hair dryer down on the cart, and picked a curling iron. She raised the heat up high and waited for a minute for it to get warm.
The woman, who finally finished cleaning Elena's toenails, lifted her head and asked the woman who busied herself with Elena's hair.
"Emily, should I bring the dress now?"
"It'll only take me a few minutes doing her hair. But I'll think it'll be alright. Yes. Bring it here."
"Alright."
Elena went through another irritating experience as the flaming hot curling iron curled each strand of her hair. With a finish touch, Emily turned the curling iron down, checking the condition of every strand of the hair now curled into large volumized curls.
"There. You're finished. Stand up so you can change."
Elena stood up from the chair and stepped a few steps forward as one of the women brought the dress she's suppose to wear for the dinner. Emily removed her robe off her, and handed her a new pair of undergarments and a bra to wear. Elena quickly slipped them on, no longer feeling uncomfortable of being looked down at by the women.
Emily slipped a dress over Elena's head and slipped both Elena's arms through the entrance of the sleeveless holes, and she lowered the tight skirt down that ends to half way down her thigh. The dress is lavishing yet tight, the top is a sapphire blue see through silk; a tight undershirt connected with the tight skirt of the dress, the tight skirt is midnight black and its length is short that exposes her bare hairless legs. To cover the scars on her calves, the women helped her slip on to a pair of black fish net stockings; something respectable to wear to cover her skin but at the same time to show the embellishment and its scandalous patterns of cuts to show her feminine skin.
Emily took Elena gently by her arm and took her back to the chair.
"Sit down so I can do your makeup," she turned to face the other women, "I'll take it from here. You all can leave before me."
The three women nodded and left out the door. Elena sat down on the chair just as Emily said. Emily placed the makeup box on her lap and took out a bottle of concealer crème. She pressed a dab of it on her finger tips, with her hand resting on Elena's cheek, she applied the crème on the small unwanted scars on the edges of her forehead.
"Those dogs haven't been very nice to you, have they?"
Elena shook her head.
"Well, I hope you brace yourself, child, things won't be pretty once you end up in the hands of those vamps."
"You..You're not a vampire?"
"Of course not. I'm a human being just like you, I assure you. I'm just doing my job like how many of us are doing. Working like this doesn't pay much, but it at least keeps the bread on the table, and also keeps us out of places like this."
A pang of anger arouse inside her. Although Emily is suffering much as she is, she at least got herself out of the camps by escaping or possibly accepting other optional jobs when the auction men stop by. It angers her that the woman is not one bit bruised or scarred as much as she is, and how she is managing to survive while Elena has suffered ever since she was a child in this camp.
"You may be a human like me. But you're not the one living miserably like an animal here."
"Now don't get all nasty with me, child. I myself lived in death camps like this as well. And for me, when I was born, I had no mama to take care of me. I was raised and watched over by my daddy till the day he died..Oh Lord that man protected me every minute of the way. I was young and weak. He also was weak but he risked getting his throat burned and getting whipped by my wrongdoings by the time I was seventeen."
Emily squeezed some more of the concealer on her finger tips, and this time she focused on the purple hand print bruises on Elena's neck.
A bitter taste of guilt and self-pity soured Elena into silence. She regrets it now for ever saying such a thing to a woman who is clearly on the same page as her.
"I..I'm sorry."
"No need to be sorry. He's long gone anyway. Its better that he's dead though. Now there isn't a single dog hurting him or yelling at his face."
"How did you get out?"
"Simple. I sweet talked into one of the werewolves there and married him. Once I married him, I was under his protection according to the rules of justice, and then I got a job by working for the vamps, I've been working for them ever since."
"You married a werewolf, why?"
"Why, you say? Child, you don't seem to understand the power both the werewolves and vampires have. Now listen. The vamps are on the top, all high and mighty and every single one of those dead folks are rich and live well-off. The werewolves are below them; they work in these camps or get some land and live their own lives, but just because they are below those vamps don't mean they are not strong. If it wasn't for their settled treaty of separating the territories, then the vamps and those dogs will still be in war. Now the lowest class is us, humans. That's the way it works. If you marry a werewolf, then your little husband's pack can protect you from the power of the vampires."
"I..I never thought of it that way."
"Neither did I. It took me nearly three months to gather the information before I got hitched."
"How did you marry anyway?"
"My current husband, Opel, my fiancé then, took me away from the camp and we ran away to Virginia and got married in this town called Mystic Falls. That town is still running. It's the only place where you can go that will lead you to the vampire territory. Our marriage was only legal if we get married off by a vamp priest. There was a church in that town, so we invited a random person from the street as a witness to our marriage, we signed a few papers – I just drew an X since I couldn't write, I still can't – and then that was that."
"Are you still married?"
"Obviously, yes."
"Do you live together?"
"We only meet a few times per year since no werewolves are allowed to trespass in any of the vampire territories. As for me, I live protected under our deal of me being his wife. You will never believe how many times I have to show my papers to strange vamps that I'm a werewolf's wife."
"Why can't the vampires hurt you?"
"You got soap in your ears, child? I told you, werewolves are strong too. If something happens to me, then my husband and his pack will grow angry and the war between the dogs and those dead vamps will start a war again. A war is what the vamps fear of most. That's why they try their hardest to keep every different species separate. Like right now for instance, half the human population is pushed to one side with the dogs, while the vamps live happily in their free lives in the other side."
"Has many women married werewolves just like you?"
"I'm not so sure about that. Maybe...But one thing for sure, child, we all humans have a story that can make anyone cry. Once your journey starts of being a 'blood donor', you're going to be just like me, a woman filled with stories and marked for life..Take care of yourself, and behave. Those two advises will most certainly save your life."
The door suddenly opened. Both Emily and Elena turned their heads toward the door. Mason entered the room.
"Elena, you have to come with me. Saltzman wishes to see you for supper."
"Are the rest of the girls there too?" Elena asked.
"Yes. Everyone is there already. You're the last one to be summoned."
"Alright."
Emily closed the seal of the concealer and placed it back in the makeup box. Elena stood up from her chair, whispering a quick thank you to her before walking toward the door.
The long glass dining table is filled with all varieties of rich food; three large plates of mutton chops with a light spicy sauce, two different kinds of soups served for each person; one a green hazel nut and the other a purple colored soup sweetened with soft sweet yams, large bowls of buttery mashed potatoes, baskets full of both wheat and white warm slices of bread, large dishes of a refreshing combination of salads and lemon squeezed fish, and a volcanic melting molten chocolate cake for dessert.
The girls filled their plates with food and stuffed their mouths with the meals that they never in their lives ever tasted before. Alaric ate in a slow pace, slicing his meat with his knife with care and chewing thoroughly by each bite he took. Elena grabbed both the bone of the mutton chops, eating both of them clean. But other than drawing her attention only on the food, Alaric's main focus at her distracted her from enjoying herself by feasting to the meal she never had the chance to eat.
Elena scooped a big scoop of mash potatoes on her plate, and also another mutton chop. She grabbed the end of its bone, dipped the meat in the mash potatoes and took a bite from it. With her back leaning against her chair, she finished the mutton chop clean and also her plate of mash potatoes. She grabbed her dinner napkin and wiped her filthy hands and also her mouth.
She looked around the table, the food is almost gone and the girls' appetite level doesn't seem to decrease at this point. But the only thing that's disturbing to her is not how the girls are eating so heartily, yet it's the attention she is still getting from Alaric.
He raised the wine glass to his lips and took a sip from it.
"Are you already full, Elena?"
She nodded.
"Good. I'm glad you liked it."
"So what's the plan, exactly?"
"The plan is for me to make all of you beautiful and make sure you behave to make a good impression toward my clients. After you're sold away, it is up to you of how you're going to please your master."
"When do we leave?"
"In two days."
"Can..Can I ever contact my family?"
"Of course not. That's against the rules. And I highly doubt your master would approve of that neither."
"Is your use of saying 'master' a little signal for us that the clients you're referring to are just men..I mean, male vamps?"
"Precisely. You all are young and pretty, I'm sure it won't be any challenge for you to attract the opposite sex. So far of what I hear about how the dogs behavior in this camp, most of the situation involves attempted rape which tells me that most of you girls here have what it takes to attract people. Believe me, girls, if you can attract a dog - those aggressive bastards - then it is possible for you to do the same with a vampire...As for you, Elena, you seem to be the smart one out of all these girls."
"Why would you say that?"
"Well, for one thing, you actually had the guts to talk back to me before you accept this job, and right now at this moment, you're the only one who's asking me the right questions to think of new ways to keep yourself alive. As for the rest of you, stop eating for a minute so we can discuss something real quick."
The girls stopped eating and wiped their mouths and hands with their dinner napkin. Alaric paused for a moment once they all placed their dinner napkins back down on the table.
"The auction will be held in Mystic Falls. I called for my personal assistant just a few hours ago to make sure all the arrangements are settled for you girls. Now after my employees finishes the makeover for each of you, you all must remain as a group and wait at the back of the stage. I will call each of your names and you will stand on stage with me so I present you more properly to the clients. The only thing you have to do is to keep your mouth shut and smile. And if I tell you to do something – spin a little to show off your dresses, expose a glimpse of your legs, or lift your head a little higher – you must do as I say. To this very evening, I am your owner, and until my clients buy you under their care I am no longer your owner or responsible for whatever that might happen to you. Do we have that clear?"
The girls nodded.
A manservant walked in the room suddenly with a silver tray on his hand, carrying small twenty glasses of red wine. He went around the table, placing each glass in front of them. When the servant placed the last glass to Elena, Alaric raised his glass slightly up in the air to make a toast.
"Let's make a toast. Pick up your glasses girls."
Elena and the other girls picked their glasses and raised their arms awkwardly like Alaric. The custom to make a toast with alcohol is not something the girls are familiar with, but they still went on with the toasting anyway.
"To the best of the auction! I wish all of you girls my best wishes for your future!"
Alaric clanged his glasses with the girls who sat beside him. The girls did the same with each other, again thinking of how clinging fancy glasses is a ridiculous idea. When Alaric took a sip from his glass, the girls did the same to the very last drop.
When Elena placed her glass down, the taste of the wine forced her throat to choke. She swallowed the horrible taste of the alcohol and coughed harshly. The girls resulted to do the same.
Elena stared straight at Alaric, to the sign of his smirk, she knows that he did something to the drinks.
"What did you give us?" She asked, with one of her hands holding her throat.
"Vampire blood."
"What?" Elena gasped.
She clenched her belly and coughed even harder to the point that she can almost puke. The other girls did also reacted the same. Alaric just chuckled as they tried to force themselves to puke.
"You girls are really stupid. Is it that horrible of that fact you just drank some of my blood? Why won't you look at yourself and think again?"
Elena looked down at her hands to see what he means by that, she gasped to find them all smooth without a single sign of dried cracks on her skin. She looked down at her arms also, the bite mark Paul once gave her is now gone. She pushed her chair back and looked down at her legs. The whip lashes on her calves are also gone, leaving just the smoothness of her skin.
"Like I said, it's not so bad of drinking my blood. Hopefully, your masters will be generous enough to give their blood to you every time they bite you. Believe me, being bitten by a vampire is not an experience you would want to go through again. But drinking their blood is like medicine, it heals you and encourages you in a way that giving your own blood to your masters is not so bad after all."
"What's the other effect it has on us humans? Can it give us wings so we can fly away from them?" Elena asked sarcastically.
"No. The only effect it has is healing you weaklings and also has the power to turn you just like us if the venom of our fangs goes to deep into your veins."
"Oh really? Perhaps you can tell me more about this vampire life you live in. Not that being a vampire is the number one career everyone wanted, but since you probably went through it for more like a century, tell me what it's like selling people to those crazy vampires and see them die when they're grabbed and bitten against their own will."
"You have some spunk, Elena. I honestly have to say that I like that. Perhaps you shouldn't hide that side from the clients. Some of the gentlemen I am acquainted will find it refreshing to meet a human like you who just doesn't cry pathetically like a child and beg for mercy."
"Oh yeah, I'll probably annoy the hell out of them until they literally kill me instead of just feed on me."
"Not exactly. Vampires have their ways to force humans to obey them."
"And what is that?"
"Compelling. The safe side about being human is that the vampires must be invited in to enter a household that does not belong to them. So if one of you girls end up traveling with your masters, run into any building that does not belong to your master in case he loses his temper. Believe me, it'll do you some good."
"What is compelling?"
"Do you always ask these many questions?"
"Only if it's a matter of life and dead. And since right now is a perfect example of that, then yes I do have a hell lot of questions for you to answer to me."
"Compelling is manipulating the human mind. When a vampire use the power of their eyes, they make a command that forces the humans to do exactly as they say, the only hard thing is that the human never remembers they just been compelled by the vampire."
"Is there anything we can do to prevent that? Like some protection from that power?" Reina Kingsley asked.
Alaric smiled. "Finally, somebody else is brave enough to talk to me..The answer to your question is something I have no knowledge of, Reina, I am so sorry. The only thing that you can do is just take careful precautions."
The vampire walked toward Elena. She turned to run, but the vampire went to her in vampire speed and caught her by the arm.
"You can't run away from me, sweetheart."
Elena walked backwards as the vampire walked forward, his deadly fangs ready to bite her and his eyes dangerously black and bloody red.
"No. No. You stay away from me! Stay away!"
She is now trapped, her back pressed against the wall. The vampire grabbed both her arms tightly in his marble cold hands, pressing his torso against her. His eyes lured on her bare neck, the sound of the blood rushing through her veins are clear and heard easily to his ears. He licked his lips and pressed his cold lips on her neck. He breathed in through his nostril of her sweet scent, and licked the small side of her warm neck.
"You smell so good...I knew when I bought you, you were the perfect girl."
"Please..Don't. Don't do this."
Tears rushed down her eyes. As a few drops of tears dripped down to her chin, the vampire licked them away and savored the salty taste. He returned his lips on her neck and pierced both his fangs on the side of her neck. Elena gasped in pain, gritting her teeth hard as she tried to swallow her screams. The vampire sucked in her blood, taking mouthfuls of her sweet delicious blood.
After a long savoring of her blood, his fangs removed from her neck. With his tongue, he licked the blood away that is left on the perfect two small hole. He looked at her eyes, and his mouth devilishly curved into a smirk.
"You are so beautiful. So beautiful..What a pity you've been kept hidden in those damn camps for this long. If you stayed there any longer, your fine beauty would have faded away by then."
In vampire speed, he rushed to the bed and pushed her down on it. Elena helplessly tried to get back up, but the vampire pushed her down by getting on top of her. He ripped the front of her dress, revealing her bare breasts. With his cold hands, he pinned both her arms above her head and leaned against her, kissing her chest across her collar bone.
Elena lied their trying to move, trying to shake her body to break free from the deadly grip to loosen, but it's no use, she is trapped.
"Please..Let me go. Let me go."
"Elena. Elena, wake up." A familiar deep voice said.
Elena quickly sat upright, droplets of sweat formed on her damp temple, and her mouth still moving as if the dream is real.
"Let me go...," she covered her eyes with her hands, "Oh..It was just a dream. It was just a stupid dream."
Mason wrapped an arm around her neck, and gently smoothed the back of her head.
"It was just a nightmare. Okay? I'm here. There's nothing to be scared of."
Elena dropped her hands from eyes. She looked up at Mason and shrugged his arm off her.
"Thank you..What are you doing here?"
"I heard your voice in your room, I thought you were in trouble so I came in. I didn't know you were sleep talking."
"Well, thank you again. Now leave. I need to sleep."
"...Of course. Goodnight."
"Goodbye, Mason."
Elena fluffed her pillow and lied back on the bed, facing her back from him. Mason gave an understanding nod and stood to leave.
In her mind, she despises Mason. Although he never hurt her or even her family, he is still her enemy. He's a werewolf who only lives to imprison the humans and allow vampires to buy them away for themselves. But Emily came to mind, recalling something that she told her while she was putting her makeup on for the dinner.
'…That's the way it works. If you marry a werewolf, then your little husband's pack can protect you from the power of the vampires.'
Alaric announced to the girls at dinner that they'll be heading to Mystic Falls for the auction. This is perfect. If Elena convinces Mason to marry her, then she will be protected under his protection and along with her family. But can she really risk using the man since from the very beginning, all he ever gave her was nothing but kindness?
Elena pushed herself to sit upright, she turned back to Mason and called for his name. Mason turned around.
"What is it?"
"...Can you stay with me?.."
"What?"
"I can't sleep as long as I have someone beside me...Please..."
Mason's expression softened into a more hopeful look on his face. He nodded and returned back to the bed. He removed his shoes and Elena scooted back to give some space for him to lie down. The mattress creaked as his massive weight weighed down heavily on it. But Elena pretended not to notice.
The two lied down on the bed. Mason opened out an arm for Elena to lie down on it as a pillow. She did so, and smoothed his chest with her hand. She snuggled closer to him as his eyes looked down at her lovely face.
"Thank you..." She whispered.
"No. No, Elena. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For finally opening up to me like this."
Dawn started. The first bell rang, signalling for all the cells to open. Elena, still use to the wake up calls, got out of bed – quietly trying not to wake Mason – and went over to the window. She watched the werewolves unlocking the cells and forcing tired humans outside to report to role call.
Just as usual, long rows of people formed in less than twenty minutes. A different werewolf took the role as role caller and walked across each row, calling out each family's name.
Warm arms suddenly embraced her waist. Elena gasped, but relaxed a bit once she realize it is just Mason. His bare chest touched her back, giving her a kiss on the back of her head.
"Come back to bed?"
"I'm not tired..."
"Your family is going to be fine, Elena. Now that you took the job, Alaric already ordered one of us to escort them to shelter; he bought a house for them just last night."
"What? I didn't know that..But why?"
"I guess he pitied you."
"But why just me? How about the other girls? They're in the same situation as me. Why didn't he do the same for their family?"
"I don't know."
'Am I some kind of special toy that Alaric thinks is too precious to waste? I'm just a girl who is actually stupid enough to get herself this far..I'm not smart. I'm nothing special. So..So why did he do something that far?' She thought.
Mason tightened his arms around her waist, and lowered his head on her shoulders, kissing them softly with his warm lips.
"So now that you know your family is safe, come back to bed with me."
"No...I-I'm not tired anymore..You should go and report back to your duties."
"No, they don't need me yet. I have a few extra hours to kill before heading back to work. And right now, I want to waste those hours with you."
Elena took his arm and pulled them off her. She turned to face him and Mason looked at her confused.
"Listen, Mason. There's something I have to tell you."
"And what is that?"
"Mason..I...I don't have feelings for you..Last night was not real..I mean, for me it wasn't. I lied to you. I..I didn't need anyone to be next to be that night. What I really want from you is to – "
"Marry me." He finished the sentence for her.
Her voice silenced after hearing that. Mason took both her cheeks with his warm hands, and gently held them in place.
"I overheard you talk to that makeup artist. I figured you might fish out a plan involving me."
"...Why did you let me pretend all the way through last night? Why didn't you just push me away and get out that door?"
"Because I am willing to help. I can arrange the marriage for us just like you planned before."
"Mason."
"It's the best plan that can protect you. Think about it. If you accept, by the time you're taken away to Mystic Falls, I'll go with you. We can easily slip away from Alaric's control and elope in a nearby church."
"Mason, I really did wanted to do this. But..But are you really willing to do this. Because I have to be honest with you, I'm not going to go through with this marriage through love, only for convenience."
"I know...I admit that I want our marriage to be real, not played or used as a shield to protect your own skin. But if it's the only way to keep you alive, I will no doubt marry you regardless of the circumstances."
"By tomorrow, will you be there to escort me then?"
"Yes."
"Okay..When we reach to Mystic Falls, prepare an appointment with a priest, I'll sneak out of my room and meet you somewhere so we can go on with the wedding. Okay?"
"I'll just meet up with you somewhere. The real challenge to this is not finding a priest, or finalizing the marriage, the main thing we have to worry about is how you're actually going through with this. Although the vamps will have to be careful with you, they will still hurt you and if any injuries or illness happens to you, they will use your job as an excuse to the cause of your symptoms. Make sure you keep in mind of that."
"I will."
"I'm serious, Elena. Life as a 'blood donor' will seem like heaven, but once you return here back to me, you will no longer be yourself. You will be scarred both physically and mentally. Living in the same house with a vamp, who always appears out of the blue to feed on you, can make any person insane for the first day..You mustn't lose yourself and most certainly never die. Okay? Promise me that."
"I have to promise it. If I die, it'll be the end of my family. I need them alive...whether this job will hurt me or change me to a complete maniac, I will risk it."
"So it's settle then. By tomorrow night, we will be married."
"Yes.. I just hope it'll all go well."
"I hope so too."