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).
I have replaced all of the chapters up until chapter 10 with modified versions to align them more towards TVD mythology. I have changed the nettle juice to vervain and mystifying to compulsion. The story was not initially meant to be a fanfic, which is why the mythology is different. I will also keep the method of turning the same for this story. Extended mythology is remaining and how compulsion and vervain work will differ slightly because of my story rules. My feelings are that the story is too far away from TVD mythology to really qualify as a TVD fanfic. If you have been reading the story and suddenly notice the changes, I have amended the first 10 chapters. This message will be posted on the first 11 chapters only. I hope this makes the story more enjoyable.
Warning for gruesome content and more death; there are also sexual references, bad language and blood drinking. Another fairly short chapter, but it ended at the right point. I hope you all enjoy it.
Damon was exhausted and coming down from his 'high'. He made it to where he last saw Matthew who had taken care of the two gentleman and was making his way towards The Temptress where Edmund must have been waiting for him. Damon vampsped ahead of Matthew with what little strength he had and found Edmund. In desperate need of blood, Damon grabbed hold of Edmund, clapped his hand around the Earl's mouth and bit down on Edmund's neck, however he only took a solitary sip, as that was all that was needed for him to regain enough strength to compel both him and Matthew as he was going to need every bit of power to find out Edmund's dirty secrets.
Edmund struggled against Damon, trying hard to scream in pain when Damon bit down, but to no avail, even when weakened, Damon was far stronger than any human. The moment the blood entered his own body, he became significantly stronger and thus let his grip go slightly to ensure he didn't kill him before he had chance to question him.
"Do not speak until a ask you to and do not move!" Damon compelled Edmund who simply stood there silently.
A few moments later, Matthew arrived laden with the goods he'd stolen from the Portuguese merchants. As he approached, he dropped the bag when he saw Damon. "You!" he cried as he ran to attack Damon, clearly remembering from their encounter in the alleyway outside the inn.
"Stop right there!" Damon commanded as Matthew did as he was told. "Do not make a sound until I say so, do not try to run or move. Do you understand?" he asked as Matthew simply nodded. "I just wish to talk to Edmund here." he smiled, turning to the Earl.
"Are you Edmund Spicer, Earl of Hallamshire?" Damon asked. "You cannot lie to me, every answer must be the truth." he added.
"I am." Edmund replied in a flat response as a result of being compelled.
"Do you still have the letter from Thomas?" Damon asked. "If you have, I would like to see it." he added. Edmund took the letter from a small pocket in his doublet and handed it to Damon. "Who is Thomas? And is this letter coded?" he asked.
"It is from George Boleyn, pretending to be a Yeoman called Thomas Bishop." Edmund explained. "He is writing on behalf of his father and Anne."
Damon raised an eyebrow. "Does his communication only contain information regarding the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey?"
"No." Edmund shook his head. "I have been sending back information regarding the teachings of Martin Luther." he replied, his face taking on a look of terror as he was aware this information could get him killed.
"Why were you tasked to get the poison for Wolsey?" Damon frowned.
"It needed to come from abroad so it couldn't be traced to those who requested it." Edmund spluttered.
"Who wants Wolsey poisoned?" Damon asked, although he knew the answer.
"Henry." Edmund began to cry. "He doesn't want to be the one to have a Cardinal executed. It would make dealings with the Holy Roman Emperor even more complicated should Henry have him officially executed. Wolsey would find a way out of it, he always manages to crawl his way out of any bad situation. The only way to put him down will be to make it look like it was an illness."
"What poison are you to give him?" Damon growled.
"I don't know." Edmund shook his head. "Matthew obtained it from one of his sources. Only he knows what it is." Damon looked at Matthew and decided to ask him later when they onboard the ship. "How long have you two known each other?" Damon asked.
"Matthew has been with me since I was six and he was four." Edmund replied.
"Do you have any secrets from him?" Damon smirked as Edmund shook his head. "Is there anything about you that Matthew doesn't know?" he asked as once again Edmund shook his head. "That's all I needed to know." Damon smiled, before probing him once more. "Does he know how many women you've had sex with and when you lost your virginity?" he knew this would be important in his role for Henry, so it was a question which needed asking.
"Yes." Edmund nodded.
"Good. Well now you are almost useless." he added before turning to Matthew. "Close your eyes and count to thirty, do not go anywhere, wait for me. If anyone tries to steal any of the goods, do not let them." he compelled the manservant who did as he was told, while Damon return his attention to Edmund. "You're coming with me." he said, vamp speeding him into the hut where he'd found the tools required to dispose of Pero. Fortunately there were more empty sacks and items capable of weighing a human down in the water never to be seen again. "Don't scream, but be scared, be very scared." he told Edmund, his voice purring like a cat who was about to eat a whole salmon to itself. With those words, Edmund had a sudden look of panic on his face, as if he knew the end was coming. He stripped Edmund naked as he didn't want him to be identified should his body be found after Damon had done with him. Damon turned Edmund around and bit his carotid artery from behind, drinking in the delicious nectar of blood which gave him back the strength he had used up with disposing of Pero's body earlier.
This time Damon didn't drink quickly, he needed to access Edmund's memories. Vampires could look into the heads of a victim while feeding and discover what the victim had seen in their lives. Vampires only ever used this to find out where their victim had recently been just in case they were questioned on the last movements of said person. Rarely would any vampire have need to take in the entire life of a victim as it would usually be pointless. Vampires could only view the images, they couldn't hear conversations, know how the person felt, what the motivations were for being in any one place at any time. On this occasion Damon thought it would be the ideal way to understand Edmund. He had read Edmund's diaries, he could visualise Edmund's memories and he could question Matthew about all of the events. In fact, Damon had decided he was going to view Matthew's visual memories too. The one good point at only being able to see what a person saw was always open to interpretation and Damon's perspective may differ from Edmund's. This was why he would look at the shared memories of Matthew and quiz him until he understood everything. This meant Damon would need to perform two memory captures in one night. A vampire didn't need to kill their victim to read their memories, but it did take time and the blood had to be sipped slowly, which was an act Damon engaged upon obligingly, until every last drop was drained from Edmund's dying body.
Moments later Edmund's body lay lifeless on the floor. Damon didn't want to waste the euphoria on cleaning up the mess, instead he had the urge to find a whore and enjoy himself by letting off some steam in other ways, unfortunately he had business to attend to before he could enjoy his bloody gorging and he still had to dispose of Edmund's corpse. Putting the clothes to one side, he searched for a sack large enough, but the biggest one was a little too small, therefore Damon took Edmund's sword from it's scabbard and chopped the dead man's arms, legs and head off, allowing him to fit the dismembered torso in on sack and the remaining parts into another. Damon's actions were swift and the lack of blood in the body made the job considerably less messy than chopping up a normal body, however not all mess could be eliminated, so Damon emptied a bag of straw onto the floor to cover up the bloodied floor in the hope nobody would find it until Damon was long gone.
To ensure nobody recognised Edmund's face, Damon scalped him and punched the his face in with such force that it was no longer recognisable. Damon then tied rocks to the two sacks and crept out of the hut and vamp sped to the water, where he jumped in and swam to the deepest part. Despite the murkiness of the water, Damon's vampire eyesight was working overtime due to the fresh blood and he could see everything as clear as day as he buried the sack underneath the silt. This took all of five minutes before he swam to the surface and returned to the hut; where he threw his own clothes into the water and changed into Edmund's, which turned out to be an almost perfect fit, although Damon did retain his own tights and codpiece.
A few moments later, Damon had returned to Matthew, who was still stood there looking dazed. It appeared nobody had attempted to steal their goods, which would make life easier.
"Come with me and bring our things with you." Damon commanded Matthew to follow him until they arrived at the wall to the port where it was dark enough for nobody to be able to spot them. As Damon needed Matthew alive, he wasn't going to let the manservant get too aroused by the experience, therefore he would have to drink slowly to see Matthew's mental images, including the ones he could not remember. "No need to be afraid, do not scream." Damon said softly. "This won't hurt." he promised as he bit into Matthew's neck. It took all of Damon's self control to stop himself from killing Matthew. The blood was delicious and Damon was feeling more and more powerful. He wanted to feel Matt's pleasure, but Damon knew this wasn't about feeding, it was about finding out information and he needed to stay focused.
The longer Damon drank, the more images he saw, like an old black and white silent movie. All images but no words. The story was incomplete, yet he was able to witness the same as what Edmund had seen, and then some others which Edmund wasn't privy to. Some images made sense, many didn't, and the rest Damon could work out for himself as he saw Matthew's entire life flash before him. Once he reached the present moment, Damon stopped and bit his wrist, feeding a drop of his own blood to Matthew so that the manservant could heal. The images would only make sense with context and their trip back to England and Edmund's home in Derbyshire would allow Damon to get to understand everything about Edmund and Matthew's life, so much so that he would know them both better than Edmund ever did.
Once Damon had finished, he looked at Matthew. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.
"No." Matthew shook his head. "But I think you might be a demon." he added honestly.
"Close, but not quite." Damon smiled. "I am a vampire and I kill people who I don't like." with this remark, Matthew appeared absolutely terrified. "But don't worry." Damon went on. "You and I are going to be friends as you are going to forget everything that just happened. I am Edmund Spicer, Earl of Hallamshire and your companion for the last 18 years. You know me extremely well and you cannot remember the man who you thought was Edmund, I am the only one you have ever known. Do you understand?"
"Yes Edmund." Matthew nodded.
"No need to be scared." Damon continued. "Tonight I played Primero and lost, you retrieved our winnings by beating the shit out of Antonio and Francisco. You didn't see anyone else about, just like you do whenever you leave."
"A normal leaving night Edmund." Matthew agreed.
"Why are you calling me Edmund and not mi'lord?" Damon asked.
"I always call you Edmund when nobody else can hear." Matthew explained. "I am your bastard half-brother. We share the same mother." he added. That piece of information shocked Edmund. This wasn't something which was clear in either Edmund or Matthew's memories as it wouldn't be noticeable from a visual perspective.
"Who was your father?" Damon asked.
"Nobody really knows, but most think it was the groom Giuseppe Salvatore." Matthew replied to which Damon was astounded.
Giuseppe was Damon's step-father and disappeared when his mother died in 1505, which would have been around the right time for him to get a woman pregnant with Matthew, who was a couple of years younger than Edmund. Damon studied Matthew's face and knew the manservant wasn't lying. Upon closer inspection, despite Matthew having a much fairer complexion than Giuseppe, there were clear physical similarities to Damon's step-father.
"Did you meet Giuseppe?" Damon asked.
Matthew shook his head. "The Master dismissed him when he returned from court and found my mother had given birth to me. Mother was sent to a convent and one of the maids raised me. It was mother's wish we should be raised together. The Master loved her enough to agree to those terms. To save embarrassment, it was said she died in childbirth of a younger son, which is what you was told. But she died only a year later. I was raised by the servants, they told me all about the scandal and that I was to never tell you the truth about how she died, although you know I am your half-brother." he said sadly. To which Damon smiled, he already knew something about Edmund which the late Earl did not.
This interesting development that not only were Edmund and Matthew half siblings, Matthew was also technically Damon's own step-brother. This also explained the strange relationship where in public they would appear as if Edmund treat Matthew like dirt, yet Matthew didn't seem to mind. This was clearly a facade and beneath the public image, these two men were brothers despite their different status. Deciding there had been enough quizzing for one night, Damon needed to enjoy his blood gorging and was ready for plunging himself into a local whore. He had seen in the images of both Edmund's and Matthew's minds that this was a common pastime for them to engage in and this was the perfect opportunity for them to be brothers.
"Where are we staying tonight?" Damon asked.
"The ship leaves at dawn. So we can put our things onboard and have fun for the next couple of hours before boarding." Matthew told him. "I made an agreement with the captain for us to be able to stay onboard as you requested and paid a considerable sum for." he replied.
"Has anyone on the ship ever seen me, even from afar?" Damon asked as Matthew shook his head.
"You wanted to keep your identity secret in case anyone got wind of us sailing back. I think Wolsey might be onto us. George Boleyn warned us to be on our guard and give false names." Matthew smiled.
"What names did you use?" Damon asked.
"Damon and Matthew Salvatore." Matthew answered leaving Damon shocked. "It is the name we always use when sailing."
"Why Damon?" Damon asked.
"It was the name of the horse which my father named for my mother." Matthew explained, which made sense, Damon was Giuseppe's father's name, and who Damon was named after, not any reminder of Damon, who Giuseppe despised and regularly beat when he could get away with it.
Damon nodded in acceptance before deciding to return to the original topic of conversation.
"Fancy a trip to the whorehouse?" Damon smirked.
Matthew smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."
"Lead the way." Damon offered as he had no idea where the whorehouse was.
"With pleasure." Matthew agreed. "I'll just put our winnings on the ship." It was at that moment Damon had a brainwave. As Matthew loaded the items he had stolen onto the ship, Damon took the bargueño out of his bag and pressed the button to make it grow to its full size. When Matthew returned he looked at the chest in confusion.
"This needs to be kept safe in our quarters." Damon compelled him. "This was one of the items we won from Antonio and Francisco. You will never go into any of the drawers or cupboard without my explicit consent." he warned as Matthew nodded and took the chest onto the ship.
When Matthew returned, Damon was waiting patiently for his new found brother. "Let's get pissed and fuck some whores!" Damon grinned. "But first, let's make sure you have the best night of your life." he added, deciding that his new found brother ought to have something to make up for having lost his parents at such a young age and this would be a good opportunity to bond with Giuseppe's son.
Damon bit into his wrist and clamped it against Matthew's mouth while his manservant began to struggle. Vampire blood could do three things for a human, heal them, turn them into a new vampire and it heightened sexual experiences. The reason for these reactions as they were all intrinsically linked to creating new vampires. Giving someone blood as a gift in this manner was almost unheard of as it generally served no purpose, but this man was the closest he had to a real sibling, the Borja lot was inconsequential to him. As such, Damon decided he wanted to bond with Matthew, therefore he gave him the best gift he could, vampire Viagra. "Forget you drank this." Damon added before they set off.
Damon and Matthew spent the next four hours and a lot of money at the brothel. Damon would have little sips of blood from some of the women and give a little back to ensure they both had a good time. Some of the women were offering for free after the first one who claimed Damon must be an angel as he had taken her to heaven. However, despite the vampire blood, Matthew's stamina couldn't match Damon's, therefore they had to eventually call it a night. They returned to the ship and boarded; Matthew led the way to their sleeping quarters, which although were not exactly the Ritz, they were comfortable. They both had a bed and their luggage was neatly packed into a corner. The bargueño was kept in the corner where Damon could keep an eye on it. They settled down for the night and Damon fell soundly to sleep.
When Damon awoke he could sense the ship was already moving. He peered out of the window and saw they were already far from where the boat was docked, although they were yet to set out to sea. Damon looked around and noticed Matthew was nowhere to be seen, which wasn't surprising. Despite being brothers, Matthew was still Edmund's manservant and as such he had duties to carry out before Damon even opened his eyes. Finding breakfast would be one such task. As Damon was going to quickly require his own breakfast, he decided to find out whether the bargueño really worked. He wandered over to the chest and touched the buttons to open the drawers and began to go through each one to see if Bonnie had sent him any real breakfast.
The first drawer he found which contained something was a small vial and a not from Bonnie saying;
'Vervain. Drink it all at once and return it with the note. Don't forget to return the bloodbag.'
Damon groaned, so much for enjoying his powers, he knew it was too good to last. He rummaged through the other drawers and finally found his bloodbag, which he drank down in about thirty seconds flat. He placed the bloodbag in the drawer he found it, making a mental note of which one to find it in next time. Then he opened the vial for the vervain. He closed his eyes and held his nose as the stuff was disgusting to vampires. He coughed, winced and shuddered in disgust as he managed to put the bottle and note back in the correct drawer. As he did so, the effects of the juice began to take hold. The buzzing of power in his body dissipated, his muscles felt heavier, and he knew for certain there was no way he would be able to jump as far as he normally could. The combination of bloodbags and vervain were not a pleasant one for a vampire. If Damon just happened to have fresh blood, then that would overcome some of the shortcomings of the bloodbag. Just as that thought crossed his mind, there was a knock on there door before it opened and Matthew entered with a tray of unappetising looking food.
"Breakfast?" Matthew smiled.
"I thought you'd never ask." Damon replied with an evil grin.
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