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.
Elena found him with his back to her, mulling over some ancient texts. Usually she would just continue on her, not bothering to interrupt his research, but today was different. She felt the urge to pounce on him—and not in the sexual way (though there were times when that crossed her mind too). No. Damon was so often on alert that she could rarely scare him in the way he so often scared her. He would pop up in places she didn't expect him, tap her shoulder as she was buried in a book, he even started a snowball fight while she had been out walking.
This would probably be her only opportunity and she had to take advantage of it.
With careful steps, she approached him and made sure to keep her breathing low. Just as she was mere inches from him, she screamed and firmly grabbed hold of his shoulders. Damon didn't even flinch. A pout on her face, Elena crossed her arms. "Really? Not even a little?"
"Nope. You're loud as hell. Try to walk a little lighter there Sasquatch."
"I was!"
Damon leaned in close, his eyebrows wiggling with amusement. "Word to the wise: Never sneak up on a vampire."
"Word to the wise," Elena teased back, "Don't call a pageant girl Sasquatch."
"Oh, stop. You know you look stunning."
Elena was taken aback. She froze in place, her eyes wide and her mouth agape, as she let Damon's words take hold. Never before had he complimented her, even appraised her in the way boys often did at school. "Uh, thank you."
Damon walked past her to return the book in his hands to its rightful place on the shelf. "Do they still do that barely-touch-each other waltz?"
"Yes," Elena answered, fiddling with her fingers.
With an arched brow, Damon looked towards her. "You're not nervous, are you?"
"Not at all. Those steps have been ingrained into my brain since childhood."
He shrugged. "Just checking."
"Do you know the moves?" Elena challenged.
Damon laughed. "I've known them since before you were born. I was at the original Founder's Ball."
Elena's eyes were filled with excitement. "You were?!"
"Founding family." He shrugged.
"I just didn't… I never put it together. You weren't kidding. You really are old."
"And I'll still dance circles around you." He smiled at her.
Elena laughed. "We'll just see about that."
"Tonight's the night!" Stefan chimed as he walked into Damon's bedroom. As he took in the chaos of the room with various tuxes and suits from different eras strewn about the floor, his face fell. "Hectic morning?"
"What was I thinking?" Damon groaned, buttoning up his white shirt.
Stefan bent over and went about cleaning up the floor. "You were thinking that you want to get to know her more. That maybe she's the one that will break the curse."
As he slipped on a black jacket, Damon muttered, "I don't think I can do this. Having her in my arms, that close, I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself."
"Have you fed today?"
"Of course!" Damon all but growled. "And I was talking about that kind of control. I'm talking about the kind of control that stops me from pouring my heart out to her the way guys do in all those corny movies you watch."
Stefan blushed momentarily. "Then don't hold back. When the time is right, confess your love for the girl."
"Love?" Damon blanched. "I wouldn't call it love. She's only been here a few months. I'm not capable of…"
"Then what exactly would you call it, uncle? You care for her, don't you?"
Honesty poured from Damon's eyes. "More than anything."
Stefan walked forward and placed a hand on his uncle's shoulder. "Well, then you must tell her."
There was a knock at the door and Damon beckoned whomever inside. The door opened to give way to Bonnie, who curtsied and smiled at the men before her. "The lady awaits. And if I may say, sir, that suit looks dashing on you, Mr. Salvatore."
"Thank you, Bonnie." He took one last look at the mirror and sighed before squaring his shoulders and buttoning his jacket. "I suppose it's now or never."
"Best of luck," Stefan stated.
"We're all rooting for you," Bonnie added.
Damon gave them a rare smile. "Me too."
The dressing room was packed with pageant girls as Elena entered. The room smelled of perfume and hairspray, mixed in with the roses that rested in vases. Without hesitation, she walked over to the grooming station that had her name. She put down all her things and went about preparing her curling iron and getting her makeup all out. As she waited for the curling iron to heat up, she placed her dress on the rack.
"Elena!"
Elena turned to see Caroline racing towards her, already in her green dress and her hair pinned to the side. "Hi, Caroline!"
"Where have you been? Your father said you ran away! There have been all sorts of rumors going around saying that you were knocked up or worse!"
Nerves caused her palms to sweat. She had never been very good at lying. Thankfully, Damon had gone over their story in the car already promising that he had altered her father's memory so that he wouldn't cause a scene and try to take her back. With a calming breath, she spoke. "I just needed a little time to myself. I met a guy, fell in love, and moved in with him. I'm enjoying my freedom. I just couldn't stand missing the pageant after how much my mom wanted this for me."
She couldn't shake the feeling that her words didn't feel much like a lie anymore.
"Elena Gilbert! You're living in sin, shacked up with some stranger?!"
As Elena got ready, Caroline kept busy filling her in on all the towns' gossip and routinely questioning her about Damon. The time flew by and soon, Elena was all dressed in her blue dress with her hair set in curls and half of it pulled back with strategically placed royal blue flowers. Just as Caroline was about to launch into another line of questions, a council member walked in and called the girls to order.
One by one they lined up in order and proceeded into the hallway to stand near the top of the staircase. Below they could hear the crowd gathering as the gentle sounds of a piano played in the background. Mayor Lockwood took the microphone and began his opening speech about the history of the even and Elena could almost picture Damon smirking. Then the piano started up again and the girls were announced as they stepped down the stairs.
"Miss Elena Gilbert escorted by Damon Salvatore," the mayor called.
Elena took a deep breath and began to make her way down the steps. She wasn't ready for this. She could already hear the hushed whispers of the townspeople as they questioned her escort. Shaking it off, she placed a faux smile on her face and focused on the fact that Damon was there to meet her. It was only when she took in the clean lines of the suit that molded against his body that she didn't have to fake her smile any longer.
When she reached the bottom stair, Damon took her hand and they began to follow the other couples towards the backward. "They're talking about us. They know something's wrong," Elena whispered.
"No," Damon promised. "They're talking about how beautiful you look and how lucky you are to be on the arm of such a devastatingly handsome man."
As they stepped outside, Elena caught sight of her father next to her Aunt Jenna and her boyfriend, Alaric. She smiled brightly at the sight of her father, healthy and happy. It replaced the horrible images that had taken over her mind of him coughing up blood and ashen with sweat. He looked proud of her and not worried in the least. John waved off the comments of Jenna, and gestured to Elena mouthing something along the lines of "look how happy she is." It tugged on her heartstrings and nearly forced a tear to fall.
Damon and Elena took their place across from one another among the other four couples. The music began and they bowed. Together their hands rose and stopped just short of touching as they moved in a circle never once taking their eyes off one another. They repeated the step in the opposing direction just as Damon smirked at her in challenge. Elena couldn't help but let the small smile lift the corners of her mouth.
Both hands than raised and they walked the length of another circle before she let the music bring her into Damon's arms. There was a momentary sense of shock as she felt her body relax in his embrace and her eyes briefly travel down his body before meeting his own once again.
Elena was taken aback by the obvious connection between them, the way her eyes couldn't stray from his and how she didn't even need to think about the steps because she trusted Damon to move her. She found her heart expanding at the sight of his smile and rejoicing in the way the entire crowd seemed to disappear leaving just the two of them and the attraction that had never been so evident to Elena before. Seeing him like this, being so human, almost made her forget the monster he was and damage he had caused. For the first time since meeting Damon, she finally saw him for who he truly was.
As the finally chords of the song began to play, Elena found herself dreading the moment when she would have to let go and when it happened she felt the distance weigh down on her. What did all of this mean? Was she truly falling in love with her captor?
"I missed you, too, Daddy," Elena whispered as she hugged her father.
Her coat shielded her from the cold, harsh winds as she pulled back already feeling that traitorous tear make its way down her cheek. Her father noticed and reached his hand up to brush it away. "Don't worry. We'll see each other again."
"I know. It's just… hard."
John nodded. "I know but at least I know you're being taken care of." He looked over her shoulder towards where Damon stood. "He cares a great deal for you, 'Lena."
Elena smiled. "I love you. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
"I love you, too. We'll talk soon! Now off you go!"
With one last hug, she turned away from her father, away from her town and normal life once again and marched towards the unknown, towards Damon. His mouth was set in a half smile as she approached and he held out his hand, silently asking her to take it. After a moment of silent debate, she took his hand and let her guide her down the driveway.
"Elena?"
"Yes, Damon?"
Damon didn't meet her eyes; instead he looked about the thicket that surrounded them. "Are you happy at the boarding house with me?"
Hesitantly, she responded, "Yes." Elena was shocked at her own answer; shocked that she had meant it. Before she could elaborate further, Damon stopped walking and came to a sudden halt. Elena looked around them finding nothing. "What is it, Damon?" Then suddenly, and without warning, Damon was struck with an arrow deep in his stomach. He collapsed on the ground with a pain-filled growl and Elena stood over him, looking around in confusion.
There, running towards them, crossbow at the ready was Alaric. "Elena! Get away from him!"
"Ric!? What are you doing?"
As he reached them, he pushed Elena back, shielding her body from Damon. "He's a vampire!"
"I know!" she screamed back, pushing him off her. She ran to Damon and bent down, pulling the arrow from his stomach. Blood poured from the wound, coating her fingers and staining his shirt.
"And yet you consort with him? He's a monster, Elena!"
Elena shook her head and stood to meet Alaric's eyes. "You don't know a thing about him!"
In a flash, Damon was between them, pining Alaric against a nearby tree. "Next time, aim for the heart." Without warning, he bent his head down and ravaged his neck as fearful screams tore from Elena's throat.
"Damon! Stop! Stop it, Damon!" She ran towards Damon and tugged at him in an effort to save the only man who had ever treated her aunt right. But Damon was having none of it, he pushed her away, causing her to fall to the ground and scrape her leg. Tears were spilling from her eyes as she looked towards the man she had convinced herself she loved, with disgust. This was the monster that haunted her dreams, the villain that tore her from her family. "Stop it, Damon!"
Suddenly, Damon stopped and turned towards her. Remorse filled his eyes as he took in her state. He flashed towards her just as Alaric's body slumped to the ground and tried to reach towards her leg only for her to slap his hand away.
"Don't touch me!" she screamed as she stared at the blood coating his lips. Alaric's blood.
"Elena, please. I-I didn't mean to. I thought you were… I thought…"
"No! That's the problem! You didn't think! He's my family, Damon! And you're… you're a monster."
Damon stood instantly, staring down at her as a war raged within his mind. Damon turned towards the unmoving body and bit into his own wrist before lifting it up and placing it on Ric's slacked jaw. The blood pooled into Alaric's mouth, giving him strength and soon enough he was pulling away from him. Damon looked into his eyes. "You will forget all this and drive straight home, text your girlfriend that you weren't feeling good and burn the clothes you're wearing. When you wake up in the morning, you'll have all the side-effects of a hangover."
Rick blinked and began to slowly walk down the driveway to his car. Elena could only watch on in fear of what Damon would do to her. There was no fighting what he just did and it made her wary of his approach. She stood instantly, making sure to keep the weight off her hurt leg.
"Are you going to make me forget, too?" she challenged.
"No."
Elena crossed her arms. "Then what? Just do it and get it over with!"
"I release you," Damon replied in a monotone voice. "You are no longer my prisoner."
In amazement, Elena responded, "I'm… free?"
"Yes." He stepped towards her, standing above her. "There's just one thing."
Elena felt a sort of eerie calm take over her as she met Damon's eyes. She felt herself in a trance and that was when everything became hazy. She felt herself reaction to what Damon was saying but for some reason the memory of it just wouldn't stick. Before she could plead with him to repeat himself, to stop whatever trick he was doing to her, he was gone and she was left with a feeling of deep sorrow and guilt for the vampire.
It still didn't change the side of him she witnessed tonight. She thought herself foolish for thinking she could ever love such a beast.
The problem was, despite it all, she did.