**** For those of you that have read this story, I am rewriting it. The direction I was taking the story was not one I really wanted to continue writing. So I am going to rewrite it from the beginning, and take it a different direction. Hopefully everyone will still enjoy it, and if you do please leave reviews and let me know. Thanks for reading!****

She was beautiful. She was divine, and he wanted her. He needed her was more the word. Her long chocolaty brown hair fell over her face as she looked over the balcony and his heart skipped a beat. Why had he not been told of this one? Why had he not been offered such a rare and exquisite beauty?

He saw her smile and laugh as a man came up behind her gently wrapping his arms around her waist. Unexpected anger coursed through his veins as he watched their open display of affection and feeling left feeling uncomfortable. Turning his head away he turned to the man sitting next to him.

"Who is she?" He asked not hiding the disappointment in his voice. The man's eyebrows scrunched together in concern.

"She is my youngest," The man replied and he could hear the fear creeping in his voice.

"Her name, what is the girl's name?" He asked now in an even more aggravated tone, his face displaying his irritation.

"Elena sir," The older man said in a timid voice his eyes flickering to the balcony the girl stood on with the young man by her side.

"I want that girl, Elena" He said following the old man's gaze a haze of lust replaced the anger in his eyes.

"Sir please I do not mean to offend you, but she is my youngest. She knows nothing of what is happening, my other daughters are ready to be at your service. "

"I want her, or we have no deal. Just name your price and the promise of protection will still be applied unless you anger me further." He gave the man a cold smile and watched the old man shake his head, and put his head down. "Well then, I guess I will be leaving. I'm sorry that we could not work out an agreement." Panic flew into the old man's eyes, and then slowly defeat crossed his face.

"The same as before I suppose," His voice was filled with pain as he looked at the man, "But please I ask you to let me inform her, she isn't like my other daughters. She knows nothing of what is going on, she is innocent sir." He nodded at the old man, and watched him walk away with his head down. He himself took a swig of the whiskey out of his glass and sat patiently waiting for the girl that would soon be his.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Elena Gilbert walked down the long hallway of her home hand in hand with her fiancé Matthew. At this moment, she couldn't be any happier even if she was having an arranged marriage, because she had gotten lucky it was to her best friend.

Was she in love with him, no not by any means. But they had grown to be fast friends, and Elena knew that one day it could grow to be more. She saw a figure up ahead rushing in her direction and soon saw it was her maid Millie. Elena saw the look of concern on her face as she approached them.

"Millie what's wrong?" She asked concerned for the young girl who looked to be in distress.

"Your father has requested to have a word with you in his study. Hurry now he was rather impatient for me to come and fetch you." Elena and Matt both began after Millie who then turned to both of them, "Just Elena now Mr. Matthew."

"It's alright just go wait in my sitting room and I will be back shortly." She gave his a swift kiss on the cheek and hurried after her maid fearing for the worst. Finally they made it to her father's study and walked in Elena becoming even more concerned when she saw her father hanging his head in-between his legs.

"Daddy!" She cried rushing forward and he picked his head up, Elena saw tears running down his face. "What is wrong?" She grabbed her father's hands becoming frozen in fear that something terrible had happened. She had never seen her father cry before, not even when her mother had passed away.

"Oh my dear child." His hand cupped her face tenderly and Elena held onto it trying to understand what could have put her father in this state.

"What is it? What's wrong you can tell me daddy." Her eyes searched his face searching for the reason, that has him so upset.

"My dear sweet Elena, what a breath of fresh air you are looking so much like your mother…" Elena smiled at this, "I'm afraid I have bad news my love. And I'm afraid after today you will hate me, but I want you to know I am doing what I believe is best for my children. For you, I love you so much know that ok." Elena's heart twisted in fear at these words.

"I couldn't hate you no matter what, please tell me what is going on you are beginning to scare me." Her father sighed besides her and shook his head sadly.

"As you know I have had some financial problems," Elena nodded to her father. "Well they were more serious than I let on. I had invested in some money from some very dangerous people, and I lost that money. I put you and our family at risk, at risk for losing our lives."

"Ok…" She was puzzled to know where this was going,

"I have had a young man offer me a way out of this situation. This is so hard for me to tell you, my beloved sweet daughter but he has come to get what I promised him in return to help our family out of this hole I have put us in." He paused not wanting to tell his daughter that he had just sealed her fate.

"What did you promise him Dad," Elena pulled her hands away from his not liking the way this story was going. She looked back to Millie who stood in the back and saw she was crying as well. "Dad what did you promise him?" Her voice was desperate now for an answer as she shook her father's shoulders.

"You."