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"Where we going Mr. Damon?" Elena yawned after a while.
"To the ocean. We need to get to a boat."
Elena frowned lightly her eyes staring past him at the dark trees that flashed by. "Boat? Im scared of water...I cant swim."
Damon smiled. "You wont need to swim. It's a boat. It swims for you."
Elena fell silent again, her eyes fluttering closed. "But where are we going after the boat?"
Damon didnt have an answer for that question.
"Its a surprise."
"I like surprises." Damon smiled lightly and rubbed her back as she yawned lightly. The smell of salt water suddenly stinging his nose. They were perhaps a few miles now from the ocean. Now he just needed to find a town with a port.
Damon pinched the bridge of his nose as he stared down at the sleeping child buried under covers in the bed. Blue eyes flickered over to the window that looked out over the dark blue sea. He had compelled one of the ticket masters to give him and his..ward passage to the only place they could head at the moment. Boston, Massachusetts. It was the only passenger ship in the harbor. With that he knew he would again have to jump to another ship once they docked to head somewhere else, hopefully there would be more than one ship in the next harbor. Stefan would no doubt find out easily which way he had headed. But with the beauty of such a large city and harbor there were plenty of places they could head. Or he could set her off on her own after making sure she was in a safe place. Oh the options. Even though he was planning to get rid of her he wanted nothing to do with Stefan. Stefan had lost his mind, and Damon had just seen enough misery. He wanted to just be alone, and perhaps Stefan being on his own maybe just maybe he would wake up. Or so he hoped. He was angry at Stefan for many things, but could he actually kill his brother? He wasnt sure the anger he harbored would be enough.
Damon leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, arms folding across his chest. What was he to do with this small girl? What was the right thing to do? After all he was not human. But he had rescued her. Was it now not his responsibility to take care of her? No..He was a vampire. She was human. This was wrong. He frowned deeply. What was the right thing?
He had promised her he wouldnt hurt her. He hadnt promised he wouldnt leave her. After deciding he would find a nice orphanage for her once they docked seemed the simplest option to keep her safe. The best way to keep her safe not only from Stefan..but from himself. He hadnt really noticed his hunger for blood while on the boat. His mind had been preoccupied but sitting here alone not moving, not doing anything he was starting to focus on it.
Damon finally reached over and grabbed the crystal bottle of whiskey sitting in a crate which was nailed to the wall to keep it from sliding around and breaking. He needed something to distract him. The boat suddenly rocked a little too much, the mass of covers shifting for a moment and settled back down. The ride on the ocean so far hadnt been that tretcherous, it was literally smooth sailing for the most part. He had never fancied ships when he was human. He would have been on the top deck hunched over the railing hurling into the sea. But now, everything felt different. The rocking of the ocean had been almost like a rocking chair. Comforting.
The being he was now was more at ease in most elements. The cold no longer made his body quake and shiver. The cold no longer stung his feet and hands. The heat of the summer no longer burned him or made him wish for cooler weather. It all was the same to him. Comfortable. Pleasant. It had gotten him into trouble during the past summer when he hadnt slipped into his linens during the hottest part of the summer. He had still been wearing his winter wool coat and pants. People stared and whispered when he had made his way into town. He had drawn too much attention to himself. And ended up having several men try to take him down to the police quarters when they thought he was crazy.
But, he had learned that he could still eat, still drink normal human foods. He had remembered Lady Katherine eating during the day and at supper, but he never really saw her eat more than a few bites out of her meal. But then again women hardly ate, he had always assumed her corsett had been drawn a little too tight. At least thats what he assumed till he figured out what her real diet was. Food to him no longer really appealed to him but it still tasted the same. Which surprised him. Though, blood was more filling to him and that was what he preferred. Even alcohol was stronger on his tongue, the effect on him was nice and it warmed his skin. It also numbed him without feeling absolutely nothing. He held the crystal glass up to examine it.
A whimper from under the covers caused him to nearly drop his glass, startled. He hadnt been expecting it, lost in thought over the beauty in the hand made glass. Her body curled the covers into a ball before her little face peered out from the center. Brown eyes flickered to the window, then to his face. She had been sick a few times since they departed. She had darted to the window those times and flung it open, her small little body on its tippy toes as she relieved herself of her stomach contents. He felt sorry for her in those moments. Though when she was finished, her face pale, cheeks stained pink she had walked slowly back to the bed and curled under the covers and slept. He watched her face for a moment wondering if she would be sick again. Seeing no such signs he smiled at her.
"I really dont like this boat..the rocking is making my tummy hurt again." Her bottom lip puffed out in a pout. Damon smirked at her, he completely understood why her tummy hurt. But it wasnt because of the boat. The boat had hardly rocked today any.
"Perhaps, but I think its the lack of food that is making your tummy hurt. Im not sure when the last time you ate was..so I found you something to nibble on. Here you go." Leaning forward he reached over to a bag he had acquired from a passanger. Opening the leather bag he found the dried beef wrapped in a cotton wrap to keep it dry. And a loaf of bread and cheese. He sat up and extended the open bag to her.
"Take your pick Little Miss." Watching as she leaned forward to examine the contents. Her eyebrows coming together as she grabbed the cotton wrap and opened it.
"Um..What is this ?" Damon blinked, his face blank as she tilted the beef so he could see it. Surely she wasnt serious. Had she never seen dried meat before?
"It's dried meat. It's good. Try it." She slowly took a teeny tiny bite and frowned and slowly wrapped it back up and set it back in the bag. Her hands folding across her lap.
Damon rose a eyebrow at her. "Something wrong?" He lifted the wrap and sniffed it. It smelled decent. It wasnt rotten.
"I want real food..." Elena stared at him like she was expecting him to run off and fetch her something to eat. Damons face inturn slowly turned into a mask of sarcasm and interest.
"Real food? And what would you consider real food? Soldiers and farmers eat this all the time because it hardly ever goes bad." Damon dropped the bag and lifted the glass of whiskey to his lips. The liquid burning lightly on its way down.
"I want soup. When my tummy hurts my momma makes me soup." Elenas eyes suddenly looked down. Her eyes misting over like she was going to cry. But no tears fell. He listened to her intake of breath. It was like she was trying now to hide her pain from him. To not cry.
Damon at first wasnt going to get her a damned thing other than the contents of the bag with her spoiled attitude. But with her pain and her confession he sighed and slowly stood and set the whiskey back in the crate. How could he say no to her after that?
"Alrighty...I want you to stay in here. And I'll go see if I can find something..." Elena looked up at him, her eyes still glossy as she slowly nodded. Her tiny hand raising to her hair to tuck a lock behind her ear and realized that she had hay strands still all through it. A look of horror crossed her features. Her hands shoving the blanket off, her legs swinging out from under her to stand and cross the room to the chair sitting infront of a mirror hanging on the wall. Her fingers pulling apart her braids.
Damon shook his head and turned and left the room following his nose.
He actually felt good about his catch. He held the small steaming pot in his right hand. Two tiny bowls and spoons in the other. He didnt want any trouble, but he had found pretending to be human was becoming increasingly easier. He didnt want to tear anyones throats out. Course he felt the slight burn and want. But he hadnt wanted to kill anyone. At least not yet.
The meal had been easy enough to find on the boat, he just had to follow his nose. It wasnt that large of a boat, but the ship mates on the top deck had made a make shift metal plate to fire up a meal. Compelling the men to give him the meal was simple to him. It actually smelled rather good to him it made him think of his human years. Sitting out in the fields watching the slaves move slowly as they pulled up the vegetables and pulled corn of its stocks in the far back. The small fire he would lite and the small camp he had set for himself. Sleeping under the stars, listening to the songs of the slaves light on the wind.
When he opened the door to their room he paused. Her hair was rather long and flowing down the front of her left side. She had nearly picked all the strands of hay out of her hair. He smiled sadly, remembering the women at the door who had let Stefan into her home. She looked nearly identical to her. Just smaller. He kicked the door shut behind him and set everything down, coming up behind her. His hands raising slowly to pick the small yellow sticks out of her hair that she missed at the back of her head.
"Thank you Mr. Damon.." Elenas brown eyes in the mirror glanced up at his face. He simply nodded and continued to pick and toss.
"What kind of soup is that?" Elena sniffed the air when her tummy growled. Brown eyes eyeing in the mirror the smoking pot.
"It's beef, with vegitables. Should be tasty. It was the only soup on board that didnt have fish in it."
Elena stuck her tongue out. "Fish is nasty. I dont like the way it smells. And Im always scared I will choke on one of the tiny bones."
Damon nodded. "Me too. I never liked fish. Nothing should ever smell the way it smells when left out for a little while. But sometimes its necessary to eat it. Especially when you cant hunt for yourself and all you have it the river or ocean at your beck and call."
Elena smiled when her hair was free of the hay strands. His hands coming to rest on her small thin shoulders. "You look like your mother." Damon hadnt really meant to say anything but it had slipped. He watched sadness fall across her features, her eyes moving from his face to her own. Her small hands dropping to the dark red fabric of her dress in her lap. Her fingers curling into fists.
"You knew her?" Damon shook his head no and sighed lightly his right hand raising to run through his dark black hair.
"No I didnt..I just..I saw her at the door before the monster entered your home..anyways. Lets get something in your belly. Im sure youre rather hungry it has been a few days since you ate."
Damon felt horribly uncomfortable with her question. He couldnt tell her why he had been there at her house. He couldnt even tell her what he was. He feared her reaction he just wanted to get her to safety. Then she would never know. She would never have to know. He in her mind would just be a good man coming to the rescue. It would be over soon.
Moving he filled the bowl for her and turned and set it down on the table. He breathed on the spoon and rubbed it on his coat and extended it to her. Elena reached out, her fingers touching his, her little heart in her chest skipping a beat. Damon blinked a little confused wondering why but decided to let it go. It must be the excitement of food. He reached down and grabbed the leather bag with the died meat, bread and cheese and pulled out the bread and cheese. Breaking them apart he set some on the table for her.
Damon watched her eat three bowls of soup. He was fascinated with the formality of the way she ate. Her small hands holding the spoon, how straight her posture was as she sat. Dabbing her lips with a napkin she pulled from her hidden dress pocket. He hadnt really wanted that much, he had stopped after his first bowl and half. The burn in his throat flared during the meal. Confusing him. It hadnt been this bad..but all of the sudden it was almost immeasurable. He needed to feed. Now. But he was paranoid to eat on the boat. If he killed someone, they would surely know someone on the boat wasnt normal. Sighing lightly he leaned back and closed his eyes considering the idea of going out and finding someone alone. Could he feed off someone and not kill them? He wasnt so sure. He hadnt ever not killed someone when he fed.
"When are we going to dock?" Damon didnt open his eyes when her question was asked. He felt edgy. Irritated.
"It's been a few days so perhaps tomorrow or so if the tides and wind keep up." He had just repeated what he had asked someone when going up to fetch her meal. He wasnt so sure anymore if being on this boat was a good idea.
"Oh...then what are we going to do when we get to where we are going?"
Damon opened one eye and watched her face. His shoe began to tap, the irritation in his system getting stronger. Should he tell her he planned to set her off at a orphanage or just drop her off and leave her without a word? No, that would shock her, and at the moment he really didnt need the headache.
"Im not sure." Seemed like a better idea to not tell her. He didnt want to shock her,..or listen to her rambling for the rest of the trip.
Elena sighed lightly and turned back to the mirror and began to pull her fingers through her hair separating the long strands so she could braid it. He watched her for a moment. Her actions as she pulled her fingers through her hair bothered him. It reminded him of when he would watch Lady Katherine out in the gardens under the tree reading a book in her lap, her fingers pulling through her curls before loosely braiding her hair.
"Mr. Damon...can you tell me a story? A happy one?" Irritation suddenly flared through his system when she pulled him from his memories. She kept talking! And was she a witch? It was like she was pulling his thoughts directly from his mind and into the air. He took a deep breath to settle himself. Her scent made his mouth water.
Hunger burned Damon. Feeling the usual ache in his face around his eyes. His upper jaw pulled with pain as his fangs threatened to extend in his closed mouth. She had no idea she was in a room with a monster, the same type as the one who had slaughtered her family. And that with each question she would ask. Even though it was a honest question that wouldnt irritate a normal man, it bothered him. He watched her for a moment trying to focus on her face, not the pulse in her neck. He tried to remember he had rescued her for a reason. He wanted her to live. Brown eyes in the mirror on his face. Her brows slowly came together in confusion.
"Are you alright?" Elena slowly turned around to look at him. Her small body raising to stand. Her hand extended as she moved closer.
Damons reaction was too swift as he gripped her wrist. Her eyes wide with alarm. "What are you doing?" It was very difficult for him to not pull her into him, to let his face change and bite into her flesh. To quench the hunger that called for blood. Her blood.
"I wanted to check and see if you were warm..you looked like you were suddenly sick. Is it ocean sickness?" Elenas eyes left his face to look out the window, measuring the waves of the water. Surely it couldnt be the water? She hadnt felt sick , and she hadnt seen him once get sick.
"Im sorry Mr. Damon.. I shouldnt have assumed I could touch you." Damon frowned and slowly let her hand go. He rose and turned his back on her, it was almost physically painful to do so. He needed to find someone to feed from or she wouldnt last long with him in the same room. He hadnt understood why he was so in need of blood suddenly. Was it the food he just ate that made him hungrier? That had to be it. His body was working too hard to process the food and with the action he now needed blood.
Damons face slowly began to change. Black and blue veins surrounded his eyes, his fangs slowly extending from his upper jaw as he opened the door. He heard her take a step forward. "Stay here. Do not leave this room Ms. Elena." He shut the door behind him a little to hard.
Damon stood in the hall listening to everything around him. He could hear her sigh lightly and sit on the bed. He could hear the rustle of her dress as she sat. He could hear down the hall the rats scurrying across the floor. The heart beats of the sailors on the deck above him. He needed to find someone who was alone..and he needed to do it now.
Damon held the body of a black man in his arms like a large doll. He had killed him unintentionally. Mentally kicking himself he threw the man over his shoulder. He had tried rather hard to not kill this one. He most likely had been a freed slave and his freedom had led him to an unlikely death. Regret and shame filled his thoughts as he moved through the lowest deck and found several crates near the roped off luggage area. He pulled one open with his right hand, the nails holding the lid to the box squealing in protest. He shoved the man inside and replaced the lid. Turning around and leaning against the box he ran his hand through his hair. He was tense still. The blood lust wasnt that bad at the moment. But the burn was still there. Could he try and feed once more without killing? If he messed up again they would certainly realize someone was on board killing ship mates. He had hoped that the black man would go unnoticed.
Damon pushed off the crate and slowly made his way up to the next floor. He had gotten neater at his killing, it wasnt all over his clothes or his face. He pursed his lips and shoved his hands into his pockets. Perhaps he could get the hang of this. Stefans face flashed in his thoughts. No. He would learn to feed without killing. He would learn this. It had to be possible.
A women turned into the hall he was walking down. Her pale yellow dress was nothing fancy but it was a step above being poor. Most likely why she wasnt in the first or second class floors. Blue eyes under a mass of neatly braided brunette hair found his face after roaming over his attire. Caught in the action her cheeks turned pink. He smiled lightly at her. Was he that appealing to her?
Coming to a pause he lightly bowed, cobalt blue eyes never leaving her face. "Madame." Her gloved hand rose to her mouth hiding a playful smile. Her other hand gripping her dress as she curtsied. "Monsieur." Her french accent heavy in the air.
Damon straightened back up, his hand extending. His eyes changing lightly to compel her. Her body relaxed in his stare. He extended his arm to escort her. "Let's go find us some where more private so that we can...talk." The brunette smiled brightly as she held onto him.
The lower deck was empty still when they arrived. Other than the dead body in the crate not to far away. He pressed her small body against the wall. Her heart in her chest picking up. " Monsieur what if we get caught? I will surely loose my reputation."
Damon smiled as he leaned in, his lips touching the corner of her jaw in a light kiss. "No, I would never let that happen to you Madame." Her breath caught in her throat as he continued lower to the main vein in her neck. The burn around his eyes coming back, the ache in his jaw almost a relief. He punctured the delicate skin, his arm lightly wrapped around her small waist.
Her breathing kicked up a notch as she arched her torso into him. He pressed harder into her center. Her right leg raising to wrap around his waist as he hiked up her dress. Her bloomers in the way. A moan escaped her lips as he drew blood from her.
"Cela se sent incroyable. Continuer veuillez." Damon hadnt understood a word she just breathed as he thrusted his hips against her in a dry grind. He could hear her heart in her chest slowing down. He needed to pull back, but the excitement coursed through him causing him to pull just a bit more. He heard her heart skip a beat and Stefans face flashed in his mind again. That was when he pulled back to look at her.
Would she die? A slow smile crossed over her lips and he slowly smiled at her. No..she wouldnt die. Cobalt eyes found the two puncture wounds on her neck. Oh no. What was he supposed to do about that? He closed his eyes thinking. If he didnt get rid of those then everyone would know a monster was on board.
Oh!
Lady Katherine had always fed him her blood when she fed from him to heal him. It always made him feel stronger too.
Damon lifted his left arm and bit into his wrist. "Here. Drink." The small girl placed her lips on the wound and drank. His eyes closed in the unexpected pleasure of the blood letting. He hadnt realized it would feel this good. Licking his lips he pulled his hand away after a moment.
"Now clean up. Look decent and go back to your room and remember nothing." Smiling she straightened her clothes. Licked her lips of the blood present and turned and left the lower deck, her hips swaying.
Damon right behind her with a smile plastered on his face. Who ever came up with the term practice makes perfect had been correct. He just needed to will and motivation to get it done.
Well. We are going to dock next chapter. And I wonder what is going to happen. Will he just leave her? Or will he keep her. Or watch over her from a distance? He needs to figure out what he wants next chapter. =] Please review.
I hope you guys liked it. If you want to follow me on twitter my account is : Kae_Luhh_
