Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).
A slightly shorter chapter, but I ended it at the best cut off point.
Elena ran out of the in a state of panic. Her body had been reacting to Damon in unspeakable ways, feeling things she'd never previously felt in her life. She thought a kiss would not hurt too much, but pulling away hurt more than she could ever imagine, which made the situation even more difficult. Clearly Elena's feelings for Damon were far stronger than she had ever considered. To compound matters, she'd had this unwitting desire to, as Bonnie put it, rip Damon's clothes off. Elena knew she was a bad woman who had sinned in the sight of god, and for once, would deserve whatever punishment Stefan would give her.
Damon quickly followed Elena out of the hut and caught up with her. She was stood with her back towards him facing the waterfall. He couldn't tell if she were crying or not, but he needed to resolve the problems immediately. Whatever it was between them was not going to go away, no matter how much one of them willed it. They were inexplicably drawn together, and Damon was resolved to the fact that, even if it took years, they were meant to be together, and he was prepared to play the long game for her. What he already felt for Elena, dwarfed any feeling he had ever had for Katherine, even when they were first married.
"Elena." Damon called out softly, not wanting to scare her.
Elena turned to face Damon, her heart stammering from fear of her feelings for him, and desire to just see his face again.
"We shouldn't have done that." she whispered. "It was wrong. I am a married woman." she cast her eyes down.
"Married to a man who never intended to marry you in the first place." Damon insisted as Elena's eyes flew open with fear.
"What makes you say that?" she asked nervously.
"That was what he said to you wasn't it?" Damon asked, slowly edging his way towards her, as if she were a frightened horse.
Elena nodded. "How do you know." she asked in a small voice.
"I overheard it all." Damon admitted, casting his eyes down. It was time to open up to telling Elena he knew how Stefan was treating her. "I mean everything." his eyes flashed to hers. "You do know what he is doing to you is wrong."
"It is what a bad woman should expect." Elena raised her head and looked to the skies.
"You are not a bad woman." Damon pleaded.
"So what was that?" Elena asked, pointing towards the hut. "What we did just now. How was that not a bad thing?" she asked.
"Under most circumstances, I would never condone loving anyone other than whom you are wed to." Damon told her. "I have been married and I know that. But I thought I had a real marriage with a woman who loved me, not a sham of a marriage with a woman in love with someone else, which what it really was. Your marriage is a lie Elena, you know it and I know it. Stefan even admitted to it." he said. "He claims to be a man of god, but he was unfaithful to you, he was using you for goodness knows what. And trust me, I would like to know exactly what it is. He hurts you, emotionally and physically. He is even blaming you for not producing an heir when he knows he is the one who is trying to avoid getting you with child. Instead he forces himself onto you as a punishment and not for what it should be about, which is when two people love each other like we do." he stopped as he realized he was starting to get angry with Stefan.
"So you don't think what we did was wrong?" Elena asked.
"I guess it depends on how you view your marriage." Damon admitted. "If you love Stefan, then yes it was. If you don't then no, I don't think it is. Do you believe Stefan used you?" he asked.
Elena took a deep breath. It was a question she'd asked herself over and over again, but had struggled to answer because she didn't dare admit it to herself. However it was one thing to admit her fears to herself, but confessing to someone else was a totally different matter. But for some reason, Elena felt she couldn't lie to Damon, not about something this important.
"I don't love him anymore." Elena admitted. "I suppose I didn't love him in the first place. I felt affection towards him. But I guess the pressure to marry a handsome, charming man, who had a good name, and also who happened to be a minister was too much. My father was desperate for the match." she shrugged. "I thought I loved him, but now I know better." she said sadly. "I don't think he has ever loved me. I think I was convenient and again from a respectable family. On paper we were a perfect match." tears welled up in her eyes as she finally admitted her fears.
"A man who truly loves you wouldn't hurt you." Damon told her. "I learned that the hard way when I used to hear my father beating my mother when I was a child." he said. "My father would say he loved my mother, but he didn't. She was just there to produce an heir. Nothing more."
"But I have betrayed my wedding vows." Elena insisted. "Regardless of why we married, that is a sin in the eyes of god." she said.
"Look Elena, I believe the only reason you are married to Stefan is because Katherine is dead." Damon told her. "You know yourself, god often moves in mysterious ways, and I believe we were fated to be together. And this may have been the only option god had to make that happen. Otherwise we would never have met." he said, a statement he truly believed in. Maybe not a move by gods own hand, as Damon was skeptical about religion. However he did believe in fate, which was why he was sure he and Elena was meant to be together. However, Elena needed to question his answer.
"But how can we be fated to be together if we can never marry?" Elena asked.
"You can already petition for a divorce." Damon told her. "Although right now it would be extremely frowned upon as sadly many men do treat their wives with the contempt and disregard in which Stefan treats you." he continued. "However, I have suspicions regarding Stefan which may give you grounds for a more valid divorce. One where people would find it more acceptable. But we would have to wait a while." he admitted.
"How?" Elena frowned.
Damon walked up to her and took her hands in his. "Right now, I don't want you to concern yourself with this. Although I may need your assistance in the future." he said. "For the time being, all I will say it I am trying to find out why he said you weren't supposed to be married. I want to know what his plans were, and whether they were nefarious in nature." he said.
"Why would you think that?" Elena frowned.
Damon took a deep breath, this was a hard thing for him to admit, but it was time someone heard what he had to say. "When Katherine died, there were letters from Stefan." he told her. "Some of the contents were not pleasant to read. But thinking back, there were some comments in the letters which sounded strange. I didn't understand them at the time, and unfortunately I burned all of the letters." his sighed. "But I don't think I had all of the letters." Damon told her. "Right now I am looking into that."
"You think there are more?" Elena frowned and Damon nodded.
"I can't be certain." he sighed. "But I have to look." he said.
"Is that why you went to see Sheriff Forbes?" Elena asked.
Once again Damon nodded. "I need to produce evidence first." he said. "I don't want to open a case against my brother until I have proof. Nobody would believe it." he lowered his eyes.
"Would he be going to jail? I mean you did got to see the Sheriff." Elena asked, Damon nodded his head.
"I believe most of it was Katherine's doing and Stefan got swept up in it." he said. "If Stefan does go to jail, you would have a legitimate reason to divorce him. And even if the community did not like it, they would not be able to say anything as I am too powerful in this town." he assured her.
Elena took a deep breath. "I want to believe you." she said. "But what if you are wrong?" she asked.
"I'm not." Damon told her confidently. "I just need more proof." he said. "But do not concern yourself over that small detail." he said, kissing her knuckles. "That is for me to work on." he added, pleased she didn't flinch at him kissing her knuckles.
"So what do we do in the meantime?" Elena asked.
"I say we make the most of our time alone." Damon smiled. "We can have our picnic, and pretend it is just you and me, because I promise you, when the time is right, that is how it will be. You and me against the world, and I will not care who tries to stop us!" he said defiantly.
"And what if I am with child beforehand?" Elena asked.
"Then I will treat the child as my own." Damon assured her.
"I don't mean with Stefan's child." Elena lowered her eyes and blushed.
"Oh!" Damon replied looking shocked. "I was unsure whether you would want to go down that path before we were to wed ourselves." he said.
"You do not wish to?" Elena asked.
"I very much wish to." Damon smiled. "I just wasn't sure whether you would want that." he said.
"Maybe." Elena admitted, remembering the sensations she got from just kissing Damon. From what Bonnie had described, that way only the beginning as making love was the most beautiful thing in the world. Even better than chocolate, although Elena had reservations as to whether it was possible for that to be the case as she loved chocolate.
They settled down to their picnic and continued to talk about the topics which were currently important to the town. Apparently the local tavern had been having trouble with some out of town riffraff. Once they had finished, Damon took Elena's hand and helped her to her feet. He walked her over to the look at the waterfall and stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. He rested his chin in the crook of her neck and pressed his face up against hers.
"When we are here." Damon started, his voice practically a whisper. "It is just you and me. And until the time comes when we can make it legally binding, for all intents and purposes, while we are here, at this spot, we can be man and wife." he suggested. "My little hut will be our home, until we can live in the plantation house. This here, is our garden. What do you say?" he asked.
Elena smiled. "Well Mr Salvatore, I happen to believe you are a hopeless romantic."
"That I am." Damon agreed.
"But what would we do? The hut is small, how would we pass the time." she asked flirtatiously.
"Well..." Damon started. "Books, we could read to each other." he suggested.
"And?" Elena asked.
"We can talk, just as we were just now." Damon offered.
"Go on." Elena said.
"Kiss, sing, play music, if you want." Damon suggested. "It'll just be our little world, for a short time every other day." he said, a twinge of sadness in his voice. "But it can make up for all the badness we have to live with." he added.
Elena frowned. "How would we have music?" she asked.
"I also play the violin." Damon smirked. "I could bring my old fiddle up here. Nobody would know it is missing."
"I think I would like that." Elena smiled.
"So would I." Damon agreed with a huge grin on his face.
"But you never answered my question. What if I am with child, and the baby is yours?" she frowned.
"Pretend the baby is Stefan's." Damon sighed. "We would have no other choice." he said.
"Wouldn't he know?" Elena asked. "He tries to make sure I am not with child." she told him.
"Even the way Stefan tries to prevent you from being with child is not a guarantee." Damon told her. "Ask Bonnie." he winked. "Accidents do happen." he said.
"And as long as we both completely deny everything, he can't prove the baby isn't his." Elena agreed. "But lets hope it doesn't come to that. If we are lucky, we might be able to find out what he was up to." Elena thought for a minute. "Stefan has letters." she said. "He kept them. I saw a few, but he caught me before I could read many. He beat me hard that day." she told him.
"I wish I could tell you I could stop him, but who would believe me?" he asked. "Stefan is a Pastor, his word is almost as good as the law around here. I always had a the bad reputation as a child, even though much of it was to protect Stefan from father." he said. "I don't believe in hurting children, but maybe if Stefan had been made accountable for his own actions, then he may have turned out differently. Covering up for him may not have been the smartest thing for me to do. But I had to protect him, I couldn't let him get hurt." he said.
"That is very noble of you." Elena sighed with contentment as Damon nibbled her ear, causing her to giggle.
"I love hearing you laugh." Damon chuckled. "I don't hear it often enough. That is something I intend to change." he said when suddenly he stopped and sniffed the air. "Do you smell something?" Damon frowned.
"Like what?" Elena asked.
"Smoke." Damon replied as he continued to sniff the air.
Elena held her nose up and took in a deep breath, and indeed she could also smell smoke. "Yes I can." she frowned. "Where do you think it is coming from?" she asked.
"There is nothing east or west from here for about twenty miles." Damon told her. "To the north is the Lockwood plantation and Mystic Falls. To the south is our house, the servants quarters and the stables." he said as he licked his finger and raised it in the air. "It's coming from my plantation." he said, his voice taking on a sense of panic. "We need to return as quickly as possible." he said as they quickly gathered up the picnic basket and blanket. "Do you think you can canter?" he asked.
"I can probably make it as far as the tree next to the ridge." Elena told him as he helped her mount Onyx. "I know my own way back from there. Once we get to the tree, just go as fast as you can." she said.
"Are you sure?" Damon asked as he climbed on Matilda's back.
"Onyx will look after me." she assured Damon. "Wont you boy?" she asked as Onyx twitched his ears as if he were promising he would take care of her. Elena quickly patted him on the head in appreciation as they set off.
"He better." Damon warned Onyx. "Otherwise Matilda will not be next to you tonight." he said, to which both Matilda and Onyx huffed as they set off.
Ten minutes later they reached the tree next to the ridge. By this point they could see down into the valley, where plumes of smoke rose above what looked to be the stables.
"Oh my goodness." Elena cried. "Would there be any horses in there?" she asked in a panicked voice.
"No." Damon shook his head. "they turned them out just as we left, thank goodness." he sighed. "Who in their right mind would do such a thing." he frowned.
"I hope there was nobody in there." Elena said in a worried voice.
"The only person usually around there at this time is Bob Marshall. Head of the stables." Damon told her. "Elena, I have to go." he said.
"Go on." Elena urged him. "I'll be fine. Just be careful and don't do anything stupid like trying to get inside." she insisted.
"Kiss me first." Damon said as he leaned over."
Elena looked around to make sure there was nobody about as she leaned towards Damon who kissed her almost chastely on the lips. "Now go!" Elena told him.
"Yes ma'am." Damon called out as he quickly set off, galloping towards the burning stables.
Elena followed at a much slower pace. She was still a novice and she would be an idiot risking herself as Damon would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. As she and Onyx walked back, she reflected on their time at the waterfall. Up until the moment they realized something was wrong, it had been perfect. Elena knew Damon was powerless to stop Stefan from hurting her. He'd already put water in the whiskey to calm him down, which had somewhat worked, although Stefan was now drinking more instead. Elena wondered if Stefan knew his brother suspected, which was another reason why he'd calmed down.
All the time she had been contemplating this so she could keep her mind off what was happening at the stables. She knew it was selfish of her, but Elena hoped Damon wouldn't rush inside to try and save anyone and get killed himself. She wouldn't be able to bear the loss of the man she was beginning to believe she was her destiny and maybe soulmate.
Sadly she could not ignore what was going on for long as she approached the yard. Elena remained on Onyx as she watched from a little way back, making sure she didn't get in the way.
Men were lines up with buckets of water, passing them to one another, the final man at the end of the line throwing it on the fire to try and put it out. Six lines in all were trying with earnest, but the fire did not seem to wish to abate. Elena looked around for Damon, but initially struggled to spot him with all of the smoke, which was now thick and black. Eventually she saw him in one of the lines, passing water along as if he were one of the hired hands and not the owner.
Suddenly Elena began to cough with the amount of smoke.
"You need to get down Mrs Salvatore." one of the young stable lads said as he ran over with a small stool. "I can get Onyx to the other stables, Matilda is already there." he told her.
"I'll take him." she said once she was on the ground. "He'll feel safer with me." Elena insisted.
The stable lad shifted around slightly. "Sir wanted me to take him." he said shyly.
"Well Mr Salvatore will have to take the matter up with me personally." Elena replied, feeling confident she could talk reasonably to Damon about this. "I won't let him get angry with you." she said, although she knew Damon wouldn't hurt him, Elena knew her decision should not affect the boy's role.
"Fine Mrs Salvatore." the boy sighed as he led them to the other, smaller stables, where Matilda was waiting patiently for Onyx. Elena handed him over to the stable lad before saying her goodbyes to the horses.
Elena got back to the house, where she asked Bonnie to help her change into something which did not smell of smoke. Bonnie was beside herself with worry as not only was Bob Marshall missing, but his lady friend, the widow Mrs Nancy Green. She had gone to visit Bob at the stables that morning, just after lunch. Elena knew they would often meet as she would bring him some fresh baked bread. Usually she would arrive a little earlier, but the original plan was for Damon and Elena not to ride out until one as Damon had a meeting with the bank. However the meeting had only taken an hour, so instead they'd ridden out two hours earlier than their usual time and had a picnic instead. That was when it occurred to Elena that had they have been at the stables around the time when they were meant to be there, it could have been her and Damon stuck in the burning building, not Bob Marshall and Mrs Green. Elena dismissed the thought as absurd, however it did not stop a shiver running down her spine at the thought.
Suddenly Damon entered the parlor looking exhausted, hot, sweaty and black from the soot and smoke. Elena desperately wanted to run up to him and hug him, but that was not an option. His eyes were red, but Elena wasn't sure whether it was from crying or smoke.
Damon looked at her sadly. "The fire is almost out." he told her. "The stables are gone. Bob and Nancy are missing, but we think they were inside. Screaming and coughing was heard at first, but it soon died down." he gulped as Elena could see he was struggling to hold back the tears. "Ron the groom saw two men running away just after the fire started. "We think it was done on purpose." he sighed. "I'm going to take a bath." he said, sounding exhausted as he momentarily closed his eyes and shook his head before leaving Elena and Bonnie in the parlor looking at each other in shock.
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