Chapter Twenty-Five

Ella smiled as she looked around her new bedroom. It was about twice the size of the room she'd had when she lived with Marcus. A large four poster bed with soft white curtains sat against the back wall. All the furniture was a dark silky mahogany and there was a cream chaise in the corner and an ensuite bathroom as well. The room was beautiful and Ella felt like she was in a fancy hotel.

"Knock, knock," Damon called from the open doorway. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Ella shrugged. She had been standing in the middle of the room and now walked over to the chaise and sat down. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to see if you're settling in ok and if there was anything you need," Damon explained. He had entered the room, but still hovered by the door.

"It's strange, being in a new room, especially one as beautiful as this," Ella told him honestly. "I guess it'll just take some getting used to is all."

"Ok," Damon nodded. "Well just make yourself comfortable, this is your home now."

Ella smiled widely. "I like the sound of that."

Damon moved further into the room. "I...wanted to give you something."

"You've already given me a place to live Damon," she smiled warmly. "I don't need anything else."

"I have eighteen years worth of birthdays to make up for," Damon shrugged. He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and handed it to Ella.

Ella was curious as she took the box and gently opened the lid. She gasped when her eyes fell on the gorgeous ring that lay inside. An oval cut sapphire was surrounded by an intricate web of gold and diamonds. It was obviously very old and very expensive.

"Wow," Ella breathed because she couldn't think of anything else.

"You like it?" he asked hopefully.

"Damon it's beautiful," she told him honestly, looking up at him with wide eyes. "But I can't accept this, it's too much."

"Of course you can," Damon argued, sitting on the lounge chair next to her. "It's a family heirloom; my mother gave me it before she died. She said she hoped that someday I'd have a daughter to pass it down to. When I became a Vampire I knew, or believed, that her dream was impossible. Until I met you, now I can do what she asked."

Ella couldn't speak for fear that she'd start to cry. His words and the sentiment were so touching that Ella thought her heart may explode. She could feel the joy he felt at being able to fulfil his mother's dying wish.

When she didn't move, Damon removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand. Ella stared at the beautiful ring and felt a single tear slip down her cheek.

"Are you okay?" he asked when she still hadn't spoken.

Ella nodded. "Yes," she whispered, still staring at the ring. "Thank you Damon."

"Do you think...?" Damon started to ask but trailed off.

"Do I think...what?" Ella prompted, looking up from the ring. Damon looked uncomfortable.

"Do you think you'll...ever call me Dad?" he finally choked out.

Ella laughed softly. "I don't know, it's a little strange don't you think?"

"I suppose..."

"It's not that I have any aversion to you being my father, I mean I'm still wrapping my head around it, but so far it's been nice," Ella rushed to explain. "It's just physically you're...what? Twenty-four? That's only six years older than I am now and even though I know you're actually really old it's just a little weird."

"I understand," Damon nodded. "I guess it would be a little strange."

They lapsed into silence then and Ella was afraid that she might have hurt his feelings. She was thoughtful for a few moments, thinking of a way she could make it up to him. An idea came to mind then, but she wanted it to be a surprise.

"We should get started," she said instead, getting to her feet. "We have to prepare you as much as possible. Who knows when she'll come after you."

"All right," Damon agreed. "Where do we start?"

Ella led Damon down to the lounge and made him sit on the sofa. "Empty your mind," she instructed.

"Clear my mind?" Damon asked incredulously. "Won't that make it easier for her to get inside my head?"

"Just trust me Damon."

Damon sighed, but didn't argue. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It wasn't easy, trying to clear his head, there was so much going on, but after a few minutes he managed to block out all thoughts.

"Good," Ella said in a low and calming voice when his mind was clear. He didn't bother to ask how she knew without him telling her. "Now...I'm going to project some images into your head, nothing too bad, all you have to do is stop them."

"How?" he asked.

"Same way you just silenced your own thoughts," she explained. "Empty them from your mind, block them out. Maria will use this to torture you, she can make you see things and make you think it's real, she'll make you beg for death."

"Ok," Damon nodded, focusing on keeping his mind empty.

When the first image hit Damon felt like he'd just been hit by a truck though his body never moved. The image itself was harmless, it was a picture of Ella's ring, it was the force of it being thrust into his mind. The sensation was very disconcerting.

Damon focused on clearing the image from his mind, but it was easier said than done. After a few moments he felt like his head was going to explode and he stopped. He felt mentally and physically exhausted and was panting.

"You need to calm down," Ella instructed. "Take a deep breath and just clear the image from your mind."

Grumbling under his breath, Damon did as instructed. As he breathed out he tried to push the image with it and relax. The image flickered slightly, but remained firmly implanted in his mind's eye. He tried again and then again. Several more times he tried to dislodge the picture, but still it stayed.

"Let's stop there," Ella said and the image was gone. Damon felt as if a large weight had just been lifted from his head.

"That's it?"

"Yes," Ella nodded. "I don't want to push you too far. You're trying to build a mental tolerance, that takes time."

"Time we might not have," Damon pointed out.

"I think for now you're ok. By now she probably knows that I have my memories back and that I'll have warned you. She won't attack when we're expecting it, she'll wait until she thinks our guard is down."

"How do you know that?"

Ella shrugged. "Because it's what I would do."

Damon didn't want to talk about it anymore. Thinking about Maria and the damage he had caused made him feel sick. Then it made him think about Ella and how she'd grown up without him and how painful it was to be her friend when he really wanted to be her father.

"You should get some sleep," he told her. "You couldn't have gotten more than a couple of hours last night and you've had a busy day."

"Okay," Ella smiled and kissed the top of Damon's head. "Good night Damon."

"Good night Ella."

TBC...