Late that night, after everyone in the house had gone to bed, Damon lay awake, unable to sleep. There was something about the Pierce twins that seemed... off. It didn't make sense that only one of them would mourn the loss of both of their parents. Sure, Katherine could just be a dismissive twit who enjoyed causing her sister pain, but surely she couldn't not care at all about what happened to her parents.

Damon sat up, running a hand through his mussed black curls and sighing. "I wonder if anyone has checked on Elena," he thought, and decided to go do so himself. After all, it was her first night in a new place, and being sick on top of all of that couldn't be easy.

He got out of bed and put on a pair of black pants and a white shirt, and walked out of his room, down the hall, across the open space by the stairs, and into the guest wing. He was walking toward Elena's room when the sound of voices made him pause.

"My father wouldn't approve of this."

"Yes, well, neither would mine; but he's dead, so it really doesn't matter."

He frowned, creeping over to Katherine's door to listen.

"How are you so dismissive of your parents' death? When my mother died, it took me years to get over it. And you've lost both of your parents!"

He heard Katherine sigh, "Some people handle things better than others, Stefan. Evidently, my sister isn't one of those people."

"Oh, Elena doesn't seem that bad. She's rather sweet."

Katherine scoffed, "Being sweet will only get you so far, Stefan. It's the people who are good at plotting that go places."

"Well, where are you planning on going, Miss Katherine?"

Katherine giggled, "In due time, Stefan. But, for now, I called you here because I wanted to be entertained. So... entertain me."

Damon backed away from the door, leaning against the wall in confusion. What was she talking about, in due time? Another pair of voices further down the hall caught his attention, and he walked further, hearing the honey like voice of the Pierce twins' slave, Emily, "Easy Miss Elena."

"I'm sorry, Emily. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Emily gave a small laugh, "Don't worry about it, ma'am. I'll be fine. But... are you fine?"

He heard Elena give a shaky sigh, "Not really, no. Katherine is putting us in danger again with Stefan. I don't want to leave again, Emily. I like it here. I like Mystic Falls, and I... I like Damon. He's sweet to me. No boy has ever seen me like he does. They always only see Katherine, and Katherine's foolish, plain sister."

"Oh, it will all work out, Miss. Have faith."

"Faith doesn't do any good for people like us, Emily."

"Now, don't think like that! What you need is a good night's sleep, and a fresh start tomorrow morning. I'll try to reason with Miss Katherine."

"Thank you, Emily."

"Of course, Miss. Sleep well."

"I'll try."

Damon heard the doorknob twisting, and he quickly ducked into the dark shadows of the hall as Emily walked out of the lamp lit room, shutting the door softly behind her. Damon frowned when he saw her holding her wrist as she hurried down the hall. He saw her pause by Katherine's door, sigh, and continue walking. When she was gone, Damon emerged from his hiding spot, walking over to Elena's door. He brought his hand up to knock, but stopped himself; what if she didn't want to be disturbed? She hadn't sounded well at all when she had been speaking with Emily. The only reason he had come at all was to check on her, and clearly Emily had already done that...

But, he wanted to see her. He blinked a few times when he realized this.

"She had said that she liked me," he thought, smiling a bit. He liked her, too; a lot. Perhaps more than he should after only knowing her for a day. But, that didn't seem to be stopping him. Sighing, he knocked on her door.

"Emily?" he heard Elena ask from inside.

"No, it's... it's Damon."

"Oh. Just a moment."

He heard her moving around in the room, and, a few moments later, the door opened a bit and he could see her partially through the crack. She was in a pale purple housecoat, and her small feet were bare. "Can I help you?" she asked him.

He blinked a few times, clearing his thoughts, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You left so quickly during supper..."

She gave him a small smile, "I'm alright. I just don't think the soup agreed with my stomach. I haven't been feeling very well as of late to begin with."

Damon frowned, "Katherine said that you've been getting sick a fair amount since you lost your parents. Is everything alright?"

She shrugged, opening the door more, "It's a bit personal. Would you like to come in? I wouldn't mind the company."

He gave her a small smile, walking in and shutting the door behind him. She sat on her bed, which was turned down, as though she had tried to sleep, but hadn't been successful.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the spot beside her.

She nodded, "Of course."

He sat beside her, concern shining in his eyes, "You know that if you need anything, all you have to do is ask me, don't you?" he asked her.

She smiled, "Yes, I do. Thank you, Damon. You're very sweet."

A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "So," he said, glancing at the sheets. "You couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head, "No."

"Is it something wrong with the bed? If it is, I may be able to find something else-"

"Damon," she said, cutting him off, "It wasn't the bed. I just... couldn't sleep. I... have nightmares."

He frowned at the upset expression on her face, "How bad are they?" he asked quietly, taking her hand.

She glanced up at him, "Bad." She said, her voice cracking a bit.

He felt his heart squeeze at how upset she looked, "You're parents?" he whispered.

She nodded, looking away, "Yes. My parents, and... and... I'm sorry; I really shouldn't be troubling you with this."

"No," Damon shook his head, "It's alright. You may sleep better if you tell someone about it."

She gave him a small, shaky smile, "Well, sometimes I... I have nightmares about... Katherine."

He frowned, "Your sister? Why?"

She shrugged, "I suppose she's intimidating."

He gave her hand a squeeze, "Elena... did Katherine ever... do anything to you?"

Elena's head jerked up, her brown eyes wide, "What?" she snapped.

Damon flinched, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be imposing..."

"I don't want to talk about her, Damon. Alright? I just... don't."

He nodded quickly, "Of course. I won't mention it again. I promise."

She nodded, but didn't smile. He knew then that he had struck a nerve. That only could mean one thing. Katherine had done something to her; something terrible.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked her, and she met his eyes. After staring for a few seconds, she silently shook her head. He nodded, also silently. After a few moments of silence, Elena sighed, "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I shouldn't have..."

"No," Damon shook his head, "I had no right to impose like that. You have every right to..." he grinned a bit, "Snap at me."

She gave him a tiny smile and stood up, walking across the room to fiddle with one of the many roses that were in there. Damon smiled, "You like the roses?"

She turned to him and nodded, smiling, "I do."

He smiled and stood up, walking over to her side, "You know, different roses have different meanings."

She nodded, "I know. White symbolizes purity, or unity, yellow represents friendship, and red..." she smiled at him, "Red represents love."

He nodded, smiling down at her. They both jumped when there was a knock at the door.

"Miss Elena? Are you still awake?"

Elena's eyes widened, "It's Emily," she said quietly.

"Something tells me I shouldn't be in here while you're supposed to be sleeping?" Damon said, a small smile tugging at his lips.

She suddenly frowned, "Well, why shouldn't you be? Katherine is always allowed to have boys in her room, and heaven knows what she does with them. Why shouldn't I be allowed, too?"

Damon gave her a small grin, "It's your decision, because, if you need me to, I've gotten very good at sneaking out the windows in this place from when my father used to ground me."

Elena giggled, "I think I can trust Emily not to turn you in."

She walked over to her door and opened it, to find Emily standing there, looking a bit nervous, "Miss Elena, I really hate to bother you, but the bi-"

Elena almost unnoticeably shook her head, and Emily then noticed Damon standing behind her, "Oh. What I was saying was... could I speak to you in private, please?"

"Please, don't let me intrude if it's important. I'll just..." Damon grinned, "Go back to bed, like I probably should have in the first place."

He took Elena's hand in his own and kissed it, "Goodnight, Elena."

She smiled softly, "Goodnight. Thank you again."

Damon nodded and Emily stood aside for him to exit, and walk back down the hall. Once he was gone, Emily quickly walked into the room and Elena shut the door.

"The bite won't heal. I tried an herbal mixture, and a small spell, but it wasn't strong enough. I haven't gathered enough of the herbs I need to properly heal it, and Katherine took a lot of my blood earlier this morning, as well..."

"You need me to heal you," Elena said, understanding what Emily was implying.

Emily guiltily nodded, "You know I wouldn't normally ask, but I can't fix it on my own..."

"No, no, don't feel bad. It's my fault you're wounded in the first place."

Emily bit her lip, "Miss Elena... if you didn't wait so long between feedings, perhaps you wouldn't do as much damage? You also wouldn't get weak and sick..."

"Emily... you know that I can't. I don't want this!" Tears were shining in Elena's eyes, and she sat down on her bed, "I'm not like her. I can't embrace what she turned me in to... I can't hurt people any more than I absolutely need to."

Emily sat beside her, and then thought twice and stood back up; it wasn't proper for a slave to sit by her master. Elena noticed this, and shook her head, "Sit, Emily, please. You are not a slave to me... you're my only friend."

Emily cracked a small smile, "Pardon me if this is rude, madam, but it would seem that Mr. Salvatore wishes to be your... friend."

Elena cracked a small smile, "He's so sweet. But... I can't involve him in all this. Katherine has already put Stefan in danger... I can't do that to Damon, too."

Emily gave her a sympathetic look, "Miss Elena... you do realize that it isn't any better for you to be alone than it is to be with others. Because, if you seclude yourself from the company of humans, you will begin to only see them as food. And, once that happens-"

"I turn into Katherine."

Guiltily, Emily nodded, "Yes."

"So... you think I should... embrace Damon's company?"

Emily nodded, "Absolutely. And, if it comes down to it... perhaps one day you will be able to be truthful with him. From the way it sounds, Stefan already knows, but your sister is compelling him to not tell anyone, and to not be afraid of her."

Elena looked frightened, "Emily... if his compulsion wears off, he'll know everything! He could react badly and... oh!" Elena gasped, noticing the blood seeping from Emily's wrist onto the rose patterned quilt, "Emily, I'm... I'm sorry..." Elena felt her eyes changing, and drew in deep breaths to calm herself. She then bit into her own wrist, biting back a cry, and held it out to Emily, "Here. Heal yourself."

Emily gave Elena a small smile, and placed her lips onto her wrist, drinking deeply. On Emily's wrist, her wound rapidly healed until it appeared to have never been there at all.