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).
Sorry for the delay, I have been extremely busy. I hope you like the chapter now it is finally here.
Elena snuggled up into Damon's arms as they both sighed with contentment, however, the moment of bliss was interrupted by Elena.
"Damon, I need more blood." she said.
Damon frowned, he had expected her to need more, but not this soon. However, he had fed enough for her to drink from him as long as she was careful. "Only from my wrist," he told her. "that way I can monitor how much you drink." he nodded, offering her his wrist.
Elena took Damon wrist and gently bit it and started to suck. A few days ago Damon would have been turned on by the sight, but he was more concerned for Elena's welfare for it to affect him. As she drank, Damon noticed her becoming more frantic and sucking harder. Deciding she'd had enough, he pulled his wrist away. Elena's face fell.
"You've had enough for the time being. You will need to feed again soon, but I need to speak with Maud." he got up and rummaged through the drawers, pulling out a long tunic for him and a nightdress for her. He then headed over to the little contraption he had set up, which allowed him to pull a chord, this ran along all the way to Maud's room to let her know her services were required. He looked over to the bed, deciding this was possibly going to need more cleaning up than was usually required. Soon there was a knock on the secret door that led to Maud's room. "Come in." Damon called out as Maud entered the room. The moment she saw the bed and the torn up shifts she raised an eyebrow, not sure of what to make of the scene in front of her.
"How can I help mi'lord?" she asked.
Damon took a deep breath and pointed to the bed. "Elena started to have cravings," he told her. "possibly a little more than we anticipated," he added.
Elena snuggled up into Damon's arms as they both sighed with contentment, however, the moment of bliss was interrupted by Elena.
"Damon, I need more blood." she said.
Damon frowned, he had expected her to need more, but not this soon. However, he had fed enough for her to drink from him as long as she was careful. "Only from my wrist," he told her. "that way I can monitor how much you drink." he nodded, offering her his wrist.
Elena took Damon wrist and gently bit it and started to suck. A few days ago Damon would have been turned on by the sight, but he was more concerned for Elena's welfare for it to affect him. As she drank, Damon noticed her becoming more frantic and sucking harder. Deciding she'd had enough, he pulled his wrist away. Elena's face fell.
"You've had enough for the time being. You will need to feed again soon, but I need to speak with Maud." he got up and rummaged through the drawers, pulling out a long tunic for him and a nightdress for her. He then headed over to the little contraption he had set up, which allowed him to pull a chord, this ran along all the way to Maud's room to let her know her services were required. He looked over to the bed, deciding this was possibly going to need more cleaning up than was usually required. Soon there was a knock on the secret door that led to Maud's room. "Come in." Damon called out as Maud entered the room. The moment she saw the bed and the torn up shifts she raised an eyebrow, not sure of what to make of the scene in front of her.
"How can I help mi'lord?" she asked.
Damon took a deep breath and pointed to the bed. "Elena started to have cravings," he told her. "possibly a little more than we anticipated." he added.
Elena snuggled up into Damon's arms as they both sighed with contentment, however, the moment of bliss was interrupted by Elena.
"Damon, I need more blood." she said.
Damon frowned, he had expected her to need more, but not this soon. However, he had fed enough for her to drink from him as long as she was careful. "Only from my wrist," he told her. "that way I can monitor how much you drink." he nodded, offering her his wrist.
Elena took Damon wrist and gently bit it and started to suck. A few days ago Damon would have been turned on by the sight, but he was more concerned for Elena's welfare for it to affect him. As she drank, Damon noticed her becoming more frantic and sucking harder. Deciding she'd had enough, he pulled his wrist away. Elena's face fell.
"You've had enough for the time being. You will need to feed again soon, but I need to speak with Maud." he got up and rummaged through the drawers, pulling out a long tunic for him and a nightdress for her. He then headed over to the little contraption he had set up, which allowed him to pull a chord, this ran along all the way to Maud's room to let her know her services were required. He looked over to the bed, deciding this was possibly going to need more cleaning up than was usually required. Soon there was a knock on the secret door that led to Maud's room. "Come in." Damon called out as Maud entered the room. The moment she saw the bed and the torn up shifts she raised an eyebrow, not sure of what to make of the scene in front of her.
"How can I help mi'lord?" she asked.
Damon took a deep breath and pointed to the bed. "Elena started to have cravings," he told her. "possibly a little more than we anticipated." he added.
Maud looked at Elena with concern. "Do you know what triggered it?" she asked.
Damon nodded. "As you know, I went to London last night. Because I had to fly, I made four kills. There was blood on my clothes and Elena woke to the scent of human blood, albeit dry and stale. I think this is what triggered the bloodlust." he explained.
"Oh," Maud nodded. "I see. Well, it looks like we'll have to make sure you are fully stocked up on vampire blood. We'll need another chest like this for Elena," she pointed towards Damon's blood chest. "but this one will need to be filled with vampire blood and allow Elena to open it." she smiled. "We'll use something other than those blood bags you use. A pigs bladder might do the trick or one fashioned from leather. That way it can be re-used." she frowned.
"Why can't we use the ones Bonnie has been sending?" Damon asked.
"Don't you think your friends might start asking questions when you suddenly need two or even maybe three times the amount of blood you would normally need?" Maud folded her arms. "Oh, and another thing, we are going to need a lot of vampire blood, and I mean a lot. There is a chance Elena might need more as the pregnancy progresses." she added.
"Just a small point, but how am I supposed to give Elena all of this blood?" Damon asked.
Maud smiled and shook her head. "Elena needs vampire blood. She needs some of your blood every day as you are the father, but other than that, any vampire blood will do." she shrugged.
"Are you suggesting we find another vampire?" Elena asked.
"That is exactly what I am suggesting." Maud grinned.
"And how do you expect us to find one?" Damon asked. "I mean it isn't as if they make themselves known to every local witch. On top of that, I doubt there will be many who would offer their services to feed a human." he frowned.
"I can think of two who would be prepared to help," Maud told him. "One is a certainty, the other would depend upon whether the witch spirits would allow such a thing. It is already bad enough having two vampires with access to them." she said.
Damon looked at Maud in shock. "Klaus?" he asked. "Klaus knows nothing at this point."
"That is true, he doesn't know anything, but others do and did. Enough was known to warn him to visit Maggie and sleep." Maud explained.
"Sleep?" Elena asked looking confused.
"Starve." Damon raised an eyebrow, then something dawned upon him. "When we saw Klaus on our honeymoon, was that because he was nearby?" he asked.
Maud nodded. "You couldn't be told at the time, for obvious reasons. I was kept in the dark about all of this until two days ago. Maggie warned me Klaus had arrived and that I was going to need him, although she didn't say what for. It also appeared Klaus only knew that he had to go to Maggie's and sleep until he was no longer needed."
"What good will he be if he is asleep and starving?" Elena asked.
"He won't be," Maud replied. "With a little bit of magic, Klaus from the future will merge into the body of Klaus from the past and be a donor for Elena."
"Has Klaus agreed to this?" Elena looked at Maud with concern. "Damon said he was evil."
"Isobel told me he raped her," Damon added. "In fact, Maggie told me he was evil and he raped Isobel. She gave me a sob story about Isobel's life."
"Klaus has a reputation to keep up. He did not need to rape Isobel, she was near death when he found her. He saved her." Maud told him. "Maggie believed what Isobel told her. The witch spirits have since contacted Maggie and explained everything. He has been secretly working for the witch spirits for almost a millennium, trying to find the Witch King. He has to be believed to be evil, or at least nasty for him to do his job. The witch spirits told him to turn Isobel as she would be the one to turn the Demon Saviour." she added.
"Am I now to believe, that after everything I've heard about Klaus, he's really a pussycat?" Damon raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not." Maud shook her head. "The real Klaus is no more vicious than you, or the Klaus you know from the future," Maud explained. "however, he has to be known to be vicious so he can fool the Witch-King into not considering him a threat. Klaus does have a lot more victims than you and doesn't suffer fools gladly, but this is a cover for him and has been for a long time. I can imagine it is hard for him to not be the person he pretends to be after being that person for a thousand years. The Klaus from the future is the one who will be helping you, his spirit will reside in the body of the Klaus who lives walks among us now." she said.
"How?" Damon asked.
"Maggie has chosen to become a Timewitch. Her powers will allow her to bring his spirit from the future and place it into the body of Klaus from now. His spirit will be swapped. The Klaus of today will be sleeping in the body of Klaus from the future, the spirit of Klaus from the future will reside in the body of current Klaus. He will feed and be able to move freely, although he won't be as physically strong as he is in 2019." Maud explained.
"Who will be protecting his sleeping body?" Elena asked.
"Elijah." Maud replied.
"How is he going to escape the office?" Damon frowned.
Maud shrugged. "Ask him when he gets here." she said.
"And when will that be?" Elena asked, her voice sounding bright with curiosity.
"He will be here later today," Maud told them. "In the meantime, I will change the sheets. I suspect it would be a wise idea to announce a delay to the festivities, stating that an old friend will be visiting from overseas so that he can join in with the banquet," she added, before getting to work on pulling the sheets from the bed. "I'm best to sort these out," she said breathlessly, tugging at the sheets. "Don't want the rest of the staff seeing the blood. They'll be thinking you've lost a babe," she said. "And we don't want those sort of rumours." she rolled the sheets up into a ball. "But never you fear, auntie Maud has a solution in her quarters to get rid of this before I take it down to be washed properly. Always a good idea to know a witch who can get rid of blood stains." she muttered more to herself than to Damon and Elena who watched on impressed. "I'll be back in a few minutes to dress the Countess, I would suggest you head to your dressing room and allow your usher to dress you." she told Damon as she scuttled off down the secret passageway.
Elena turned to Damon. "What do we do now?" she asked.
"I think we do what Maud suggests. I'll go and get dressed while Maud comes to dress you. I've got to write to Bonnie." Damon told her as he gave her a quick peck on the lips and headed to his own dressing room to change.
Half an hour later, Damon was alone in his study. He hadn't written to Bonnie in a few days and he didn't really know what he could tell her. He was no longer recording as he wasn't around Henry and the recordings had been specifically to study the major historical figures of the time. Damon couldn't tell Bonnie about Elena being pregnant, nor her need for blood. He couldn't mention Klaus or his mission. Then he had an idea of what to write and how to tackle the problem.
18th March 1531
Dear BonBon,
Not sure if Jo told you, but Jenny is pregnant. She's here with us at Norton Hall and we are all looking forward to having a little one running around. I suppose this will prepare me for when Elena becomes pregnant. Maud is helping with the midwifery side of things as she dealt with that at Henry's court.
Nothing else really to report on my part. I will be starting Jeremiah's training the day after tomorrow as we are having a banquet tomorrow night, although depending on how well he can handle his alcohol, we might have to delay it by another day.
How are the little ones? How is Charlotte doing? Is motherhood all it is cracked up to be?
Any more news on this virus situation? I'm getting a little worried. How are you going to get hold of all of the blood bags to feed the vampires, including the ones for me? There needs to be another solution. Maud suggested leather water carriers might help. I could fill a few up and then re-use them. How does that sound? Check with Jo for me.
Is there anything else going on in the office? Surely you must be driving each other crazy all being locked up together. I'm glad I'm here, the thought of having to spend a lockdown scenario with Klaus would drive me up the wall.
Lots of love
Damon x
Damon sighed to himself as he sealed the letter and placed it in the bargueño. He hated being duplicitous towards his best friend, but the only way he could get any intel on Klaus was to bring his name into the letter, and considering Damon and Klaus were known not to get on, he couldn't do it nicely. He just hoped the nice Klaus Maud had talked about was someone he found more tolerable than he did in 2019.
The rest of the day was spent talking estate matters over with tenants in the Great Hall. Although Jeremiah wasn't to start his official training for another two days, Damon had invited him to sit in and watch how he dealt with the trivial matters of people coming forward with their complaints and any local issues the people of the surrounding villages and towns thought the Earl ought to be aware of. Even when he was human, Damon was a landowner and as such he had the same role to play, which allowed for a more seamless transition into the role of Earl. The workload was greater than that of his human life, but the basic principles were the same. Everything was going swimmingly until one of the smallholders called Harry came to speak to Damon.
"Mi'lord," the old man bowed his head. "I'm Harry, I run Crabtree Farm." he said, which quickly got Damon's attention.
"Speak!" Damon nodded.
"One of my labourers hasn't been pulling his weight lately," Harry told him. "his wife died a while ago and he's always in his cups. I've tried all sorts with him, but nowt works. This mornin' he didn't even bother to turn up. I can't pay me taxes and rent if me farmhands don't work. I'm at me wit's end. He's not answerin' his door. I'm not allowed to break in, so can you spare someone to go and 'ave a word with him? I know you can go in as Crabtree Farm sits on your land." he asked.
Damon knew what would be found when they broke into Peter's house, which was why Damon decided it was his job to sort the mess out. He turned to Jeremiah. "Would you like to come out for a ride with me to Crabtree Farm?" he asked. "I can show you how to deal with this type of issue."
Jeremiah nodded eagerly. "Of course my Lord." he grinned.
"Matthew, ready Sir Lancelot, along with Jeremiah's horse and your own." he commanded.
"Yes, mi'lord." Matthew nodded and disappeared into the distance.
Damon turned to Harry. "If you would like to make your way to Peter's cottage, I will meet you there. I assume you are not on foot."
"A mule mi'lord." Harry nodded.
"Good. I will meet you there in an hour." Damon smiled before turning to the rest of the audience. "That will be all for today. My secretary Arthur will take down any complaints which need my attention before Friday." he said standing up, to which everyone in the hall lowered their heads. Damon jumped down from the dais and walked through the secret door, followed by Jeremiah.
"Where are we going?" Jeremiah asked breathlessly trying to keep up with Damon's quick pace.
Damon turned around. "I'm just going to tell your sister that I will be gone a few hours and not to worry. You will stay here while I am gone as she may not be appropriately dressed to receive you." he said.
"But she's my sister, why wouldn't she be dressed properly?" Jeremiah looked confused.
"Because if I had the time to have my way, your sister would be completely naked on the bed and screaming out my name," Damon smirked. "I doubt you would want to witness that." he raised an eyebrow as Jeremiah looked at Damon in shock. Damon frowned. "Lesson number one in being a Lord. Keep your wife happy, worship her like a goddess and never betray her. She can be your best friend and closest confidante. Oh, and when you make love to her, always make sure she comes." he grinned.
"Comes from what? Or where?" Jeremiah asked.
Damon looked at Jeremiah in shock. "Are you still a virgin?" he asked as Jeremiah nodded sheepishly. "Well, looks like we'll need to get that sorted out. Can't have you betrothed to a good woman if you don't know how to make her scream your name with pleasure," he said as Jeremiah turned bright red. Damon slapped him on the back. "Don't worry, just takes a little practice. I'm sure we'll find you a nice lass who is willing to help you out," he said. "But for now, you wait here while I go and see your sister." he added before running off and leaving Jeremiah stood in the dark passage looking bright red and flustered.
When Damon entered Elena's chamber she was having her hair brushed by Maud. She looked at him confused as did Maud. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Old Harry Crabtree from Crabtree farm wants someone to go and knock some sense into Peter." he looked at Maud who nodded knowingly. "I thought I'd take Jeremiah to see him and find out what to do in those circumstances," he said knowing Elena wouldn't know who Peter was, but Damon had heard footsteps which sounded like Jeremiah's, therefore Damon thought it best to leave Maud to explain who Peter was to Elena. "If our guest arrives whilst I am away, will you be able to greet him as head of the house?" he asked.
"Of course." Elena nodded.
"Thank you." Damon walked over to Elena and kissed her passionately on the lips.
"What was that for?" Elena asked.
"Just to make sure you know I love you and not to be flattered by our guest should he arrive early." Damon smiled. "Don't let him charm you. Nobody gets to share your bed but me, and vice versa." he added.
"Oh be done with you and go sort out Harry Crabtree and his problems." Elena laughed as Damon blew her a kiss and rushed back down the passage, only to find Jeremiah was far closer than he had left him.
Damon looked Jeremiah up and down. "Pervert," he muttered. "Now come with me." he instructed as they headed out towards the stables.
Once Damon, Matthew and Jeremiah were ready, they set off for Peter's cottage. Damon had decided to keep the conversation breezy to make sure nobody suspected he thought anything was likely to be wrong. Thus he turned it to Jeremiah's impending deflowering.
"So, Matthew. Any ideas on who would be willing to deflower a future Lord. Needs to have the patience to teach him how to please her in the best possible way." Damon asked.
"There's old Agnes in Chesterfield." Matthew suggested.
"Isn't she getting on a bit now?" Damon raised an eyebrow, his kills from the previous night were haunting him already. "How's a sixteen-year-old lad supposed to get it up for a woman pushing forty?" he asked.
"When I was his age it would've worked on me." Matthew shrugged.
"I'm nearly seventeen." Jeremiah said quietly.
"When is your birthday?" Damon asked.
"Next Saturday My Lord." Jeremiah blushed.
Damon sighed. "Rule number one, we are not surrounded by staff, therefore you can call me Edmund, I am your brother-in-law." he said.
"Thank you, Edmund. By the way, everyone calls me Jeremy in private." Jeremiah told him.
"Thank you for telling me, Jeremy." Damon shook his head. "I wonder why Elena never said anything." he frowned.
"Because father wouldn't let Elena call me Jeremy. The only time she could is when nobody else was around. Mother doesn't mind though." he added.
"Alright." Damon nodded. "Well then Jeremy, rule number two, you are not allowed to be a virgin at seventeen. It is my law!" he joked as Matthew burst into laughter.
"What is so funny?" Jeremy asked.
"Edmund is making up laws as he goes along again." Matthew rolled his eyes. "It was a nightmare being overseas with him. He was constantly making up new laws. Thankfully he'll never be King, but the one about virginity isn't new. He made me lose mine before I was seventeen." he shrugged. "Best rule he ever made."
"Well thank you for your kind feedback." Damon smiled. "But we need to find either a whore who is truthful, which is about as likely as finding hobby horse shit." he sighed. "But a whore is more likely to know when she's about to come. And trust me, Jeremy, to get a woman with child, she must be fully pleasured." he said firmly, despite knowing the old wives tale to be untrue, Damon felt it was his kind duty to the future Lady Gilbert to ensure she would have a very pleasant marriage.
"Aye, it is true young Jeremy." Matthew agreed although Damon wasn't sure if Matthew knew that it was the truth or whether he was saying it to back Damon up.
"It's all in the action of the tongue." Damon smiled as he noticed the gathering around the cottage not far ahead of them which belonged to Peter. "Hmm, looks like we'll have an audience." he sighed. "Back to being business-like boys. Pretend I'm scary." he added as they arrived at the cottage. The eight people who had gathered around bowed their heads and looked at Damon as if they were terrified of him. "What's wrong?" Damon frowned.
An old woman spoke up. "There's a terrible smell coming from inside. It smells like death mi'lord." she looked to the ground.
Damon dismounted. "Move, move, move. Let me pass." he demanded pushing those who had gathered out of the way. "Matthew, keep hold of the horses for me. Jeremiah, I want you by my side." he instructed as Matthew took hold of the reins of Sir Lancelot and Jeremiah's horse. Damon slammed his fist against the door. "Peter, open up. This is Edmund Spicer, Earl of Hallamshire. Answer the door.!" he said but as Damon expected, there was no reply. The smell of death was oozing out of the doorway and even Jeremy was wrinkling his nose. "PETER OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!" Damon yelled, but there was no sound from within. "I'M BREAKING THE DOOR DOWN AND YOU CAN PAY FOR THE REPAIRS TO HARRY OUT OF YOUR EARNINGS!" he shouted as he took a deep breath and turned to Jeremy. "On my count of three we need to hit the door with our shoulders, alright?" he asked as Jeremy nodded. "One...two...three..." Damon and Jeremy hit the door with their shoulder and it opened up.
When inside they were met with a gruesome sight of a very dead looking Peter, his neck slit with bloodstains everywhere. The room was just how Damon had left it, but now in the cold light of day and as Peter's body which now looked waxy. Although the body hadn't been there for long, the fire was still smouldering, so he had been stuck in a warm house for almost twenty hours. Rigour Mortis had set in, setting the look of sadness on Peter's face. Jeremy ran outside and threw up, to which Damon followed, not being able to look into the eyes of the man whose life he had taken less than a day ago. He turned to Harry Crabtree.
"Does he have any family?" Damon asked as he heard sobs in the background.
"He has a brother mi'lord." Harry nodded.
"Well as you are a man short, I will send one of my men to let his family know," he said before turning to the group of people. "In the meantime will someone fetch Father Jack, the priest? This man is dead and he will need us all to pray for his soul." Damon looked towards Harry once more. "Can I leave this with you? Any problems come back to Norton Hall and report them to Arthur. I need to get this one back, I doubt he's ever seen a dead body before." he said, looking over at a very white looking Jeremy.
"Aye mi'lord. I'll take care of everything." Harry nodded. "There's a queue of em waiting to work on me farm, I won't be short for labour long. Just get him buried and the house cleaned out."
"Good." Damon smiled. "Sorry I couldn't help more." he said.
"No mi'lord. You've helped plenty. Pity Peter wasn't still with us when you came." Harry said sadly.
"You think he did it on purpose?" Damon frowned. "It could've been a shaving accident." he offered.
"He kept tellin' everyone he'd be dead by Easter. Didn't think he'd do it himself." Harry said.
"All the more reason to speak to Father Jack. Peter will need all of our prayers." Damon replied as he mounted his horse after helping Jeremy mount his. "A good day to you Sir, my family will see you at mass on the morrow for a service for Peter." he said as he, Matthew and Jeremy rode off back to Norton Hall in silence.
Thank you all for your kind reviews. They do mean a great deal to me.
If you like this story, please like, follow and/or review it. It helps motivate me to get the chapters written and published quicker.
Mandzipop.