Hello, my lovely readers. Another character drops into Fairy Tale land. On with the show…

Chapter 8: Princes as in Plural?

Damon stomped up to his royal bedroom. He didn't want company. He just wanted Elena. And his baby brother. And he'd settle for the rest of their friends, if they could just get the hell out of this Fairy Hell. A soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Yeah?" he yelled back. Alaric popped his head in, looking regretful. "Ric, not now. I just need to think or be drunk? Did you bring alcohol with you?"

Alaric entered the room. "No, I'm sorry…Damon." He still seemed uncomfortable with not calling Damon "your majesty," and if he did, Damon might beat him up. He did not want to be a prince in some stupid tale about girls with glass slippers and pumpkins and misunderstandings and wicked stepmommies and all that crap. Besides, he had yet to encounter any wicked stepsisters at the ball. So unless they had been hiding under a table, lying in wait, he didn't think Elena's tale was going on script.

"Okay. Well, I guess we can go back out and find something to drink," Damon snapped. He pulled off his jacket and moved to leave the room. "You got anything in leather or black? I'm really sick of wearing these." He waved at his ridiculously blue pants and white shirt. This Prince Charming getup was killing his image.

"Black? You want to look like a villain?" Alaric's eyebrows rose and a tiny glimmer of the Ric from Damon's world appeared in the twinkle of his eye.

"Yes! Yes, Ric you're a genius! I am a villain! And the best of that situation is that if I'm me, the real me, maybe I can escape this stupid story!" Damon grinned.

"But didn't the little female with the Lost Boy tell you that you can't change the tale or you'll lose the girl? Damon, don't you want to win the girl?" Alaric folded his arms over his chest, looking more and more like his Ric.

"Yeah. Of course I want to win the girl!" Damon huffed, rolling his eyes. "But do I have to do it looking like this?" he cried, holding out his hands and waving at his clothes. "Didn't anyone ever tell you: the clothes make the man?"

"Maybe in your world," Alaric said. "In our world, your actions are what makes you who you are. Now, are you Elena's prince or the villain of her story?"

Rolling his eyes, Damon sighed. "Fine. Fine. I get it. I'm stuck being Mister Do-Gooder to make my girl happy. That's fine. But this had better count as her Christmas and Birthday presents because I don't think I can top this."

Alaric grinned. "Did you still wish to go out in search of a drink? Perhaps we will fight some more pirates." Damon had a feeling he was becoming a bad influence on the Alaric of this world because this Ric seemed to become excited at the idea of fighting pirates.

"Yeah. Sure. Why not? You might want to tell Jenna not to wait up," Damon chuckled when Alaric seemed embarrassed. "Hey, man, its' cool. I am all for you two getting together, making with the little babies to run around the courtyard and all that."

Alaric laughed. "That does sound nice. When I find the courage to ask her to dine with me I would wish that it would lead to as happy an ending as I wish for you and Elena."

Damon grinned as they walked down the hall. "When do you think I should give me parents the good news that I met the woman of my dreams and have to go chasing all over the place trying to find her to put a heel on it?"

Alaric looked confused. "I'm sorry."

"Okay. You haven't read the story. It goes like this: Prince dances with mystery girl, girl runs off because of idiotic rules dictated by so-called fairy god mother, girl loses shoe, prince picks up shoe, prince sends out word to all the fair maidens of the land that he's trying to put shoe on the right girl since he's so freakin' into that he can't even remember what she looks like, are you kidding me, finds girl, marries girl, they ride off into the sunset, blah, blah, blah."

"That's a nice story," Alaric said, smiling.

Damon groaned. "Yeah. It would be if I weren't starring in and stuck going through all of these stupid loopholes just to get a shoe onto the girl's foot so that I would never be able to forget her face no matter what." Running out of steam, Damon shook his head. "I just want to get this over with. But I'm guessing that I can't just go and tell my parents now because if I do I mess with the plot and Elena gets eaten by a toad stool or something like that."

Alaric gave Damon a look like he'd lost his mind. "I would stay away from toad stools if I were you, Damon."

"Yeah. Probably good advice." Damon sighed. They were on their way down the wide and so, so long staircase—man, did he hate being human and feeling this tired—when chaos erupted downstairs. "Oh, this could be good." Damon rubbed his hands together, hoping that someone had decided to attack the palace again. What he wouldn't do for a good fight?

"Is he alive?" one of the servants asked, staring at a man that Damon couldn't see. Damn it. He really missed his vampire sight.

"What's going on?" Damon demanded when Jenna came running over to him.

"Prince Damon –" Jenna began when Damon held up a hand.

"Damon. Just Damon," he reminded her.

Jenna nodded before continuing. "This man was found on a beach not so far away. He seems to have almost drowned but by any luck survived." She turned back around and Damon decided to check out who the lucky guy was. "Of course. Hey, Elijah," he said when Elijah sat up and spat sea water on his boots, the only pieces of clothing he didn't mind. "Thanks!" he snapped.

"Damon?" Elijah looked confused. "How am I here? What is going on?"

"Beats me," Damon felt bored already. He turned to leave when Elijah grabbed him by the arm.

"Unhand him!" Alaric shouted, withdrawing a sword and pointing it at Elijah.

"I would be careful where I pointed that thing if I were you," Elijah snarled, getting to his feet.

"I really wouldn't try to fight back if I were you," Damon warned Elijah.

Elijah gave Damon a hard look and then moved to smack the sword away from Ric only to find the pointy end right under his chin. "Again, I will warn you to back away from the prince," Alaric seethed, glaring at Elijah.

Damon folded his arms over his chest, grinning happily when Elijah backed off, placing his hand to the slow trickle of blood that Alaric's sword had made. "Not so fun when you're not the toughest guy in the room, now is it?" Damon questioned Elijah who narrowed his eyes. "Welcome to Fairy Tale land where we're all screwed."

"Damon, language," his mother's voice echoed through the room and Damon felt a lump in his throat. "Alaric, please, put your sword down. We do not threaten guests with harm."

"He tried to attack the prince," Alaric informed Lily while taking a knee before her.

Lily turned to Damon. He shrugged and she turned back to Elijah. "Prince Elijah, I did not know that they taught you to attack the princes of other kingdoms under their very roofs?" Her voice came out cold and Elijah looked confused.

"I'm sorry, madam, but you must have me mistaken with someon—" Elijah began when he noticed Damon making slicing motions with a flattened hand and wide eyes.

Damon dropped his hand when his mother's eyes moved to him. "He almost died and might have a little amnesia. He might have bumped his head like Caroline," he suggested, the picture of innocence.

Lily looked thoughtful before nodding. "Yes, that does tend to happen a lot in our kingdom and the surrounding ones. I must go back to bed or you father will wonder where I have gone to. Good night, Damon." She walked over and kissed him on the cheek and then walked away.

Elijah watched Lily leave. "Who is that woman?" he asked Damon.

"My mom," Damon said, his mouth twisting downward. "Well, not my mom but she looks and sounds like my mom, so…"

"That must be hard," Elijah replied and Damon squinted at him.

"Do I look like I want your pity?" Damon demanded, feeling anger rising up while Jenna sent the other servants away.

"No. I just thought it must be hard losing your mother. I still feel a pang when it comes to my own although she has done heinous things to me and my siblings." Elijah's gaze moved to the floor.

The silence that descended on the room made Damon feel uncomfortable. "Okay. Thanks for the sympathy vote. Let's get back to: Why in the hell are you in my story?"

Elijah frowned, looking up at Damon. "Your story?"

"Yeah. Welcome to Fairy Tale Land where you get stuck playing out some wacked out fantasy. Elena doesn't seem to mind half as much as I do." Damon scuffed the floor with his boot.

"Elena Gilbert is here?" Elijah straightened up, looking around like he thought she might just walk into the room.

"Don't even think about it," Damon snapped, narrowing his eyes.

"About what?" Elijah stared back at Damon.

"Elena, like that," Damon crossed his arms over his chest. They were more evenly matched in this world and he would happily have Elijah locked up in a dungeon if he tried to make a move on Elena.

"Oh." Elijah's lips moved into a slow smile. "No, Damon, I do not intend on pursuing Miss Gilbert as fond as I am of her. I feel nothing but respect and friendship for the woman you are in love with." Pausing, Elijah's eyes darkened. "I actually am in a relationship and seem to have lost the woman I was with. Hopefully she ended up here, too."

"Who?" Damon relaxed. Good for Elijah to find someone of his own to play with. "Don't tell me it's Katherine?"

"Katherine?" Elijah's eyebrows furrowed. "No. Is she here? I thought she was dead."

"She is. Was. Is?" Damon felt confused. "Anyway. Last time I saw her, she was a pirate."

Elijah laughed. "Yes, I remember she once told she wanted to live on a ship and steal the treasures of the world. It seems she's living her fantasy."

"Who's the woman you seek in our land?" Alaric asked Elijah, reminding the two princes of what they had been talking about in the first place.

"Oh, yes, Hayley Marshall. We were looking at some fairy tale books in our attic, hoping to find something suitable to put her daughter, Hope, to sleep and the next thing I know, I'm waking up, here, in this castle, with no memory of what happened." Elijah shook his head and Damon could see his frustration.

"Sounds vaguely familiar," Damon replied. "Okay. So you woke up on a beach, after nearly drowning, have no memories, you don't remember any ladies with fins hanging around?" Elijah shook his head again and then he took off. "Hey, where are you going?" Damon called after Elijah.

Alaric followed Damon out of the room and out the front door of the palace. Elijah had broken into a run and Damon cursed the fact that Elijah was still faster than he was. Weren't all fairy tale princes created equally? "Slow up!" Damon shouted after Elijah. "What's the rush?"

Elijah slowed just a little bit so that Damon and Alaric could catch up with him. "In the Hans Christian Anderson version, Ariel stabbed herself to death at the end of the tale. Hayley might be in grave danger."

"Come on, man, these tales might be twisted, but they're not that twisted." Damon said when Alaric slammed into him. "Sir, run!" he shouted.

"Why?" Damon snapped when he caught sight of a giant werewolf that snarled back at them.

"Oh, shit!" Damon shouted. "Everyone, run!"

For anyone who was curious about the geography of this Fairy Tale Land. You can imagine it like a world where you can seamlessly slip from one area to another because there is no real space between the the kingdom that Damon lives in, the forest that the Lost Boy's live in, the area where Elena meets Rumplelockwood or the ocean that Hayley appears in. Just take about twenty steps in anyone direction and find yourself in a new story. Thank you, Redbudrose for asking that question.

Thank you for reading, faving, following and reading.

Peace,

Jessica