AN: Damon's rage will quiet down in future chapters and more tender moments to come between the characters just like the Disney version. I planned this story to be 15 chapters total; only six more to go. Thanks for reading. Thanks to all the new followers and as always thanks for the reviews. Please leave me your thoughts.

Chapter 8

The hostile environment of the mansion had been partially erased. Ever since the moment by the fireplace as she cleaned him, things had been different. The beast was gone even though she knew he still lingered in his dark soul. She was careful to upset him knowing how ugly he could get.

Elena walked down the main stairs taking deep breaths. She was walking into another situation with him blindly. Her skin crawled with nerves and uncertainty.

A proper dinner was in order tonight.

By request, she had obliged to join Damon for dinner in the great hall. Her stomach growled with hunger seeing as she had very little to eat. The thought of food made her dreamy and she soon hoped to feel full again. Starvation wasn't fun.

As she stepped down on to the marble floor, she noticed small torches of light were lit within the house. This was something she had never seen before. He liked to live in the dark and in the shadows, something she did not care for.

She missed the sun. She missed the fresh air. She missed nature and all its glory. But what she missed more than anything was home. The warmth of her bed, Alaric, and the joy of admiring the old works of great authors at the local bookstore were in the past. She wondered if she were ever able to experience her prior life again.

Taking a different path, an unchartered corridor she had yet to explore to the great hall, she took each step with ease. Wherever Damon, the beast lurked he knew she was coming. She only been so willing to accept his offer knowing she could not pass up food. However, a part of her was keen to the idea. The side of him that wasn't monstrous and mean could come out to play when asked subtly. Elena hoped to see that side of him again.

She smoothed her hands down her mangled dress. It was the only piece of clothing she had since she had been imprisoned. Many occurrences had caused it to become dirty and torn. She wished she had something more decent to wear, but reminding her of where she was and whom she was with, it didn't matter.

Two double doors a good three feet taller than her stood at the end of the hall. More lit torches lined the walls. Elena took deep breaths.

With her hand inches from the knob, she quivered. Was it a cold breeze coming through or was she nervous? Her fingers fumbled with the door. But she was unable to open it a gust of heated wind swept her long hair back and she was met with the beast.

Growling and wild, he paused at her arrival.

"I thought you weren't coming." He said dropping his stare and looking as if he was searching for something below at his feet.

"What made you think that?" She asked.

"You're late." Damon hissed still not looking at her.

"Oh." Elena replied.

His eyes flashed with bright red pain. They met her gaze once again. "You will be on time when I request you to do things. Understand?" He asked in a demanding tone.

"Yes." Her answer was out before she could comprehend.

Not sure why she was agreeing to his pitiful request, she bit her tongue. She followed him into the great hall. Crumbling under him was not like her. She was a strong woman, not one that answered to demeaning men. Stefan had been her biggest obstacle and she felt like she had exceeded his pushy comments. Now, she faced Damon, who was ten times worse.

"Sit." Damon ordered. "Eat."

Elena fell into a large chair. A plate covered by a silver dome sat in front of her. She took the cloth napkin and dropped it on to her lap. Hesitant to know what was under the cover, she took the lid off.

"Are you going to stare at it all night or are you going to eat it?" He barked from the other end of the table at her. Food was already being shoved into his mouth with his hands.

Another deep inhale and she prepared herself for what she was about to be served. As she removed the lid, warm, delicious smells of a home cooked meal filled her. Red meat with crisp potatoes and green vegetables were the dinner of choice. Appearing edible and delectable, she was careful as she took small bites with her fork. To her surprise, it was better than expected.

"I know it isn't much, but I figured you must be starving." Damon spoke up swallowing his food. He extended his arms on the table and stared at her. In the depths of the giant room all she could see were the shadows of his face and the glowing of his eyes.

"Thank you." She graciously responded. "It's actually quite good."

Even in the dark, she swore she saw the smallest smile come to life. Left in silence and only the topic of dinner, Elena knew she had one question she had been dying to ask. It was risky and personal, but she had to know. And she knew asking it would be dangerous.

"Can I ask you something…Damon?" Elena forced the words of her mouth.

In the middle of chowing down on the red meat, he glanced up at her. "Depends."

Elena dropped any silverware in her hands on the table and bunched them in her lap. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but how did you end up like this?" She asked.

Ready for full retaliation and an outburst made for the centuries, she braced herself. Damon pushed himself back from the table and wiped his face. It was coming.

"You have no right to ask that." He said on a low tone.

"I know." She whispered. "But isn't it only proper to know more about one another since we are both going to live here…forever."

It was a plausible case, but in his eyes it was much more than that. She would fight him if she had to. Confrontation seemed to spark some truth in him even if her life was at stake.

"She was beautiful, much like yourself." He stated. Elena was shocked to hear him speak without yelling or threatening promises. His tone was calm, but a little hostile. "She came to my door in the middle of the night and asked for a place to stay. A place for shelter for the night."

"You let a stranger into your home and she did this to you?" She was quick to conclude the outcome.

"No!" Damon shouted. "I didn't. She didn't show her beauty to me until I denied her."

"I don't follow." Elena spoke shaking her head.

A guttural moan came from the other side of the table. Damon had tossed his plate to the ground. "And why should you? You'll never understand." He was standing up now letting his body shake.

"Maybe I could if you just continue and tell me." Her voice staggered.

"I was tricked! I was cursed! All because I was too selfish to accept an old hag, who turned out to be a beauty in the end." He screamed and smashed his hand against the wall. "For eternity I would be cursed with the same ugly appearance that she had worn. A life of misery and torment is what I would lead."

In the attempts to understand his story, Elena remained still. The thuds and crashes came as he broke down and released his anger out on everything in sight.

However long ago, a woman dressed in disguise had come to him. She was appalling at first sight, but kind when spoke. Her plea for shelter from the unknown forest and the bitter weather was all she had asked. Disgusted by her appearance, Damon, a once handsome and growing young man blinded by only perfection turned her away. With his denial, the woman granted his refusal and before she parted ways she showed him what lied underneath the hideous mask. Her beauty and striking transformation had him confused and tricked. As he asked for forgiveness and excused his poor manners, the woman did not believe him. Instead of leaving him with the guilt, she had cursed him for eternity to know what it is like to be masked with ugliness and deformity. Along with that, the uncontrollable beast now grew inside of him and awoke when his urges called. This was his tragic story.

"How to do break this curse?" Elena inquired from his explanation.

Spinning around and stomping his way over, Damon hovered above her frail frame. She slipped down in her chair. The beast had been awakening in him. He was torn between good and evil. She saw the confliction in his face. Elena did not mean to upset him by bring up his past, but it was a story she had wanted to know.

"It doesn't matter how the curse is broken." He yelled and spat. "All that matters is that I'm going to be like this forever."

"I'm sorry." She uttered.

"You're sorry?!" Damon exclaimed. "Dinner is over."

And with that, he left the room in haste.