Thank you for your amazing reviews! When I started this story, I didn't know whether the idea was going to be liked or not.
Huge thanks to my beta and great friend Ren (ThroughMySoul44) for her help on this chapter!
Enjoy and please review.
The next day, Giuseppe returned to the house. His heavy steps roused Damon from sleep and he shivered after a night spent in the basement. Unwillingly, he and Elena had to get down there in case Giuseppe returned, and Damon realised that it was a good choice because his father was walking around the house already, asking Camilla about his son.
"Where's Damon?" Giuseppe asked his wife. It was a routine; he'd go out and fuck a random girl at night and then return in the morning without an excuse or apology.
"In the basement," Camilla said tiredly. "I have packed your suitcase and there is a hand luggage full of the items you might need during the trip."
He chuckled. "I know that you are happy that I'm leaving, but you might not want to make it seem this obvious."
Camilla bit her lip and turned toward the freezer, taking out a blood bag and handing it to him.
"What about the town's safety?" Camilla asked. "What's going to happen when you're gone?"
"The sheriffs are doing their jobs properly. No human will be able to enter my town, no matter the weapon they might have."
Giuseppe sipped from the blood bag slowly. "If the work I have abroad wasn't important; I wouldn't go. But I have to, and you know that. Don't worry though, our town is safe. My team members are wise. They know that they cannot disappoint me. The town is well guarded, they won't be able to come here."
"I don't like any of this," Camilla spoke slowly, "It would've been better if we all went on our own way."
"We are a lot stronger than humans."
"But they have a lot more resources and weapons."
"We have their people. They won't do anything stupid," Giuseppe reasoned. "They know that we can kill the slaves in less than a second. Times have changed, Camilla. They are the ones who have the least power. We have the upper hand this time, and it would be wise for you to remain on the winning side."
"You know that I'm on your side," Camilla tried, but his sudden laugh shocked her.
"You were not always on my side, Camilla," Giuseppe scolded her. "I do hope that you have learned from your mistakes."
"I did," Camilla told him, trying to hide her sadness.
"Don't look so glum, Camilla," Giuseppe sighed, holding her chin in a tight grasp. "Oh, and take Damon to my office, will you? Maybe they'll teach him how to be a fucking vampire and how to keep a town in order. I do hope that by the time I return, he'll be much more mature and reliable. If he wants to keep that precious slave of his, he better prove to me that he's even worthy of having an assistant."
Giuseppe sighed. "Elena will grow up, Camilla. Make sure that she knows her duties as a woman, towards her master."
Camilla's face paled and she flinched at her husband's tone. He disgusted her, but no matter how much he did she still had to silently nod.
"Maybe that timeout in the basement would do him good, remind him that if he spends too much time with the inferiors, he'll soon become one too."
At that, he picked up his luggage, threw one last glance at his wife, and disappeared.
Things quickly changed in the Salvatore house. For one, Camilla seemed more relaxed and she dedicated more time to gardening, cooking, and even taking care of Damon. Even though she still demanded Elena's contribution in the household, she treated her humanely and Damon was more than satisfied with that arrangement.
The trouble started when Giuseppe's colleague, a man called Laurence, phoned Camilla from the office and asked her to bring Damon to the park as he needed to talk to them both about the business. Damon did not want to leave Elena behind like some kind of animal, and secretly, Camilla herself feared that if they left her alone she'd try to escape and cause chaos and panic. Therefore, Camilla told Damon that he could bring Elena with them, but since it was vampire territory, the humans had to be chained to ensure that they were owned and that they were not a threat.
"Absolutely not," Damon argued. "I'm not chaining her up."
"You have to. Otherwise, she stays here," Camilla said firmly. "Elena's considered a threat out there. We have to show them that she belongs to us."
"I won't humiliate her like that."
"What if she decides to run away? Not only will she soil the family name; she will also put herself in danger."
"I don't care about the family name."
"But you care about her. She'll be at risk. The other vampires won't be pleased."
"She'll be with us. You know that no other vampire can touch someone else's property," Damon said, and then flinched. "Just stop this…you keep forcing me to talk about her like she's an object!"
"She's not an object, Damon, but she is our property," Camilla said. "I'm not telling you to hurt her, I'm just telling you to abide by the rules, for all our safety, including hers."
"Even if by doing so, I'm humiliating her? You wouldn't like it if someone forced a chain around your neck."
"Fine!" Camilla snapped. "Do whatever you want. Just don't say that I didn't warn you."
Damon went back to his bedroom, where he found Elena sitting on his bed, waiting for him like he had instructed her. He had been preparing the new room for her and because of that, he let her stay in his bedroom for the majority of the day. He had even put some of her clothes in his own wardrobe.
"We are going out," He informed her with a smile, "You're coming with us."
Elena's eyes widened in confusion. "Damon, you know I can't."
"Yes, you can," He cut her off. "Put something on, sweetie. I'll wait for you outside."
Elena nodded and went to the wardrobe, finding a selection of pretty polka-dotted dresses.
"You should really wear the blue one."
"What?" Elena turned around and he got up, eyeing the material.
"It suits you. And, I like the colour."
"Then why do you always wear black?" Elena asked him, "It's a boring colour."
"Is it?" Damon asked her in surprise. "Fine, princess, I'll change my shirt."
Elena smirked at that, took off her clothes and put the blue dress on.
True to his word, Damon did not put a chain around Elena's neck as they walked in the busy street of Mystic Falls, where life was always so hectic. The town had the largest economy ever, with thousands of vampires working in great businesses, making tons of money. Everywhere they went, people would look at Camilla and Damon with respect; but they both knew that it was because they feared Giuseppe. Camilla also knew that even though everyone smiled at her, the other women talked behind her back. Even though Giuseppe tried to act like an honourable man and treated Camilla with respect in front of his friends, they all suspected that Camilla was cheated on and abused. However, no one dared to say anything. They all feared Giuseppe's wrath.
Finally, the woman and children reached the park and Camilla shook Laurence's hand firmly, trying to act all business-like, when in reality she disagreed with Giuseppe's way of leadership. A boy around Damon's age, dressed in fine clothing, greeted Damon politely, but the latter was not paying attention. His gaze was fixated on a girl of around thirteen, who was standing by the boy's side. She had a collar around her neck, multiple bruises on her body, her eyes downcast.
"Mister Salvatore," Laurence greeted. "This is my son, Dominic."
This time, Damon gave him a polite smile. Laurence ignored both Elena and the other girl completely, and asked Camilla to sit with him around one of the picnic tables. He took out his file, sat down and looked at Damon again.
"I haven't seen him in so long," Laurence smiled at Camilla. "I seem to forget that they grow up but we do not."
"Indeed," Camilla forced a smile.
"Have you fully transformed into a vampire?" Laurence asked Damon.
"No," Damon said without hesitation.
"No?" Laurence looked surprised. "But his body is ready to bear the changes, isn't it? Why would you wait to turn? You'd rather remain this way?"
Camilla stepped in. "He's not yet ready for the transition. When he is, he'll transform immediately," She lied.
"Good. You're as good as a human is if you do not turn," Laurence said, and then turned to Dominic. "Dominic, show Mrs. Salvatore the mistake in the paper work. I'll order a bottle of fine wine as we work this problem out."
Dominic nodded and Laurence quickly placed the order.
"I already taught him to take over the business," Laurence said, turning to face Camilla. "I'm quite confused why Giuseppe didn't. I mean, Dominic comes to the office very often. Damon should do so, too, after all, he'll be running the town one day and Dominic will be assisting him."
Camilla didn't bat an eyelid. "Don't worry, sir. When the time is right, he will learn."
Laurence forced a smile and turned his attention to Elena, who was sitting next to Damon quietly. Before he could say anything, however, the server placed a bottle of wine in the middle of the table.
"Laura!" Dominic suddenly barked at the girl beside him, "Where the fuck are your manners? Serve us the wine!"
Fear was evident in the girl's eyes. "Yes, sir."
With shaky hands, Laura started to pour the wine into the wine glasses. It was all going fine until her hands suddenly shook from the very same fear and the bottle escaped her hands, the spilled wine staining Damon's shirt immediately.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Laura panicked. Before Damon could say that it was just an accident, Dominic rushed towards her and kicked her in the abdomen, the force causing her to fall to the floor. Damon, Elena, and Camilla remained frozen in their places as Laurence casually continued to pour wine into the glasses and carried on with the conversation, not even caring that his eleven year old son was beating a defenseless human girl half to death.
"It's okay, really!" Damon panicked, "You can stop! It's okay!"
But Dominic kept kicking her even as the girl screamed her lungs out and cried in pain.
Laurence read Camilla's shocked face like an open book. "Don't tell me that you do not discipline your slave?"
Camilla didn't know what to say.
"He's going to kill her," She said at last.
"It doesn't matter. She's actually his third, I'll buy him another one in that case. They need to learn discipline."
Damon noticed a few tears run down Elena's eyes.
"Where's her chain? Why isn't she chained?" Laurence demanded.
"I believe that it is up to the master to decide," Camilla said firmly. "Now please, tell me where I have to sign because I have a lot of things to do today."
Suddenly, the screams of the young girl stopped and Dominic joined in with the business conversation, wiping the blood away from his hands casually and going through the papers. He smiled at Damon lackadaisically and Damon tried hard not to look at the battered body of the girl on the floor next to him.
Laurence sighed and looked at Laura. "Your fourth murder, my son. Good," He praised him, and then he called the server.
"Make sure to tell the garbage collector that there's a girl to collect."
At that, Camilla gasped. "She doesn't even get a proper burial?"
"Oh, no, Mrs. Salvatore," Laurence said, equally surprised. "We do not bury our pets now, do we?"
Camilla was afraid to say anything more. Instead, she just signed the papers she needed to sign and said a polite goodbye, all while Damon held Elena closer to him.
When they returned home, Elena did not even have the courage to speak. After what she had just witnessed, she was too upset and scared.
"Talk to her, Damon," Camilla said after a while. "She needs you."
Damon was surprised by this, but Camilla sighed. "I have a heart, Damon. I'm not your father. Talk to her."
Camilla sat on the sofa, just staring. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. Maybe Giuseppe was right…she was too compassionate. But who could blame her? She had fallen in love with a human, for Christ's sake. And she was once a slave.
Before she could get lost in the memories, her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Salvatore?" The voice asked urgently.
"Yes. Whom am I speaking to?"
"We need you to come to the hospital right away. There has been an attack."
"An attack? What attack?" Camilla panicked.
"By the humans," The woman said. "They are near…Closer to us than ever. We need your help!"
Camilla's breath caught in her throat.
Hmm, Camilla is much more than the broken, abused woman I always write about. Even though Giuseppe is the governor, she still has an important part in the running of the community, and as it turns out, she might also have some life-saving skills hidden inside. The humans have attacked despite what Giuseppe said, and the leader of the human race (The governor) is no one other than Grayson Gilbert, whose out for revenge because his daughter was kidnapped and brought to the slave market. He doesn't know which town she's in, but he'll soon find out...
As you very well know, there is a story between Grayson and Camilla, which will be revealed soon.
Stay Tuned!