Chapter 6

*Heyyyy my peeps lol. Here is the 6th chapter of "Untitled Final". I don't remember if I put any acknowledgements up for chapter 5. I was in a rush to post it. I will do my very best to feed your hunger and finish this story. If I do so it would be the first time I did. Well enjoy my fans :p. All rights belong to the amazing L. Jane Smith.*******

The snow had fallen thick when Damon pulled into the front yard of the boarding house. Once he killed the engine he wasted no time. He ran to the passenger side. When he picked Prince up, she didn't fight him. As a matter of fact, she was silent. The door swung open as he approached it. Stefan stood in the door way, Elena behind him. Their faces turned shocked when Prince came into their view.

"Move."

They did.

Their eyes followed him as he rushed inside, making their way up to the attic. Damon placed Prince on his futon with such care.

"What happened!" Elena came behind Damon.

Damon looked down at Prince, ignoring her. He was too focused on Prince. Wrapped in his jacket and the blanket she looked innocent.

"Who would want to torture her like this?" he thought to himself.

Her eyes were closed, she looked so at peace that it scared him. He touched her shoulder.

"Prince, wake up." Damon shook her slightly.

Her eyes fluttered but did not open. She groaned and turned her head to the side.

"I need you to stay awake, Prince." Damon said firmly.

Stefan listened in amazement at his brother. Never had he heard a trace of such softness and hidden worry in his voice. He approached Damon, looking at Prince over his shoulder.

"Who attacked her?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but if we don't do something she could die," Damon responded without looking at him.

"Die? I thought she could heal!" Elena interjected.

"Not wounds made by silver," Stefan said blankly.

"I thought that was just werewolves."

"Werewolves are naturally sensitive to silver, Huntora's can only be killed with pure silver," Stefan explained.

"So, someone tried to kill, Prince? Why? She hasn't done anything," Elena argued in her defense.

"Not that we know of. . ." Damon said softly.

"What are you suggesting-" Elena snapped at him.

Damon raised up.

"What I'm suggesting is that we need to do something, now, or we will never find out. You don't know who ever did this to get away with it do you?"

"Of course not."

Elena opened her mouth again, Damon's eyes told her to choose her words wisely.

"What do you want us to do?" she finally said.

Damon took a deep breath, he knew from this moment on that what ever came his way was completely out of his control. For the first time in his life he felt he had no control. It was a sickening feeling in the pit of his belly, of what could happen. It was a very humane feeling. The feeling seemed to take over. "What is becoming of me. . ." Damon thought to himself before he came back to reality.

For the next few minutes Prince seemed to cooperate, surrendering to their helping hands. Elena and Stefan listened to Damon's orders without a complaint. Elena had retrieved as water basin and a wash cloth from Mrs. Flowers. In the meantime-without letting their eyes wander- Damon and Stefan removed her bloody clothes. While in the process of this, they noticed her skin was covered in thick, ugly tear marks and stab wounds. Some were old, others were just starting to scar. It had been over an hour since Damon had picked her up, the wounds that they saw were just starting to heal. They had stopped bleeding. Damon observed the cuts and stabs with a lump in his throat and stinging eyes. There was no doubt that these were inflicted on purpose. Damon looked closely at her neck where her attacker had ripped at her neck.

"Damon, are you okay?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know. . . ."

Wasting no more time they made use of the gauze and bandages, while covering her up with a blanket. It was then Damon noticed that her whimpers and cooperation had stopped. He tucked her head underneath his arm and supported her head like a infant, saying;

"Hey, hey, hey you can't go to sleep yet." Damon's joke fell flat.

Prince murmured something.

"C'mon stay awake." Damon's hand went to caress her face, he snapped it back as if it were a claw. She opened her eyes half way and said, "You've done enough…"

It was the closest thing to a compliment that he had heard her say.

Elena and Stefan stood back in awe. Seeing Damon change before their very eyes was a odd thing to see. He seemed not be fighting the change that was very clear to them on the outside. The sound of his voice seemed to get softer with each word he spoke to her, and his eyes seemed less black. Stefan knew Damon to fight with his emotions, but with how much care he was holding Prince told him maybe he was capable of having human emotions. It was in the past two months that they have noticed a change in Damon. A uncontrollable change that could have been triggered by Prince. Stefan understood what that change was. He smiled at himself at the thought. He then realized Prince was finally talking. They listened.

"I'll be fine, there is nothing more you can do," she spoke softly into Damon's chest.

"You lost a lot of blood, you won't heal if you don't feed," Damon stressed as if he has said it a million times.

"Yes I will, it will just take a little longer is all."

"Maybe, but its going to be extremely painful," Damon kept his tone.

"I've had worse," Prince snickered.

"I didn't know this was a who's been in worse shit contest.'"

They both laughed at that one.

"What are they saying?" Elena asked un-able to understand Italian.

Stefan smiled. "It's nothing, she'll be alright . Let's go get you home," Stefan suggested.

"But-"

"I think Damon's got it from here." Stefan looked over his shoulder, Damon glanced over his own shoulder and nodded.

Once Stefan and Elena had left the boarding house fell silent.

"You're feeding tomorrow." Damon stated.

"Mm-hmm," was all she said.

"Within minutes Damon could hear her soft snores and the un-explainable warm pain in the center of his chest. He kneeled there for hours into the night before he himself fell asleep.

When Damon awoke he was still holding Prince. As he opened his eyes she was the first thing he saw. Soft beams of morning sunlight made her auburn hair sparkle like rubies. The blood on her face had dried to a dark brown and the smell of blood had dissipated. She was still alive, sleeping soundly. Occasionally her eyes squinted as she tried to move. Damon's hold on her kept her in place.

The memory of how much of her own blood she was covered in gnawed at his chest. This thought was one of the oddest in the pool of emotions that now flooded his heart. He usually enjoyed such tortures, it was in his nature as a vampire. But somehow the even the thought of her in such pain flamed up hatred, grief, and sorrow in his chest.

It was also strange how in past two months, since her arrival, that he began to change. They came on so quickly, like a old wound being reopened. He looked down at Prince and, with one hand, he reached over and picked up the soaked wash cloth, squeezed it, then gently wiped the dry blood off. The action brought on a since of deja-vu to his gut. A image of a small faced, round eyed Huntora filled his mind. Her eyes were filled with tears and she was wearing a large band t-shirt that fit her like a dress. He was trying to get her to stop crying. It was a memory that had been buried for ten years. He could feel the rest of the memory coming back to him but he couldn't see it. Like instinct he knew what he had to do.

Without hesitation he crashed his lips to hers.

At that same moment their minds were connected, aware of each other.

"Damon!" Prince's mental voice was different.

It was her true voice, the Italian accent was very clear.

"Temperance?" Damon was shocked.

He had kissed many girls in his time, but never had he experienced something like this. He could hear her voice but could only see red stars that twinkled at the vibrations of her unique voice.

"What did you do!" Prince said, amazed.

"I have no idea," Damon responded, astonished. " I need you to show me something."

"What?"

"You know what," Damon said firmly.

"Damon I can't. . ."

"Yes you can! Ten years ago you saved my life from your family, and all I remember of that is that you literally gave your life. I found you bleeding with a wound to your chest, you, you had no heart beat! And that's all! There are gaps in my mind, big ones! I know you're the one responsible for those gaps. You took my memory away of what really happened that night and your going to fix them!" Damon got heated.

". . . .What makes you think it was me?"

"Because you wouldn't be trying so hard to push me away if you had nothing to hide."

"Damon it's for your own safety, please listen to me!"

"Why? What is more dangerous than a five-hundred year old vampire?"

"My brother . ."

Damon fell silent.

"Fortunato? That's who did this to you!" Damon was outraged

" . . .and my other siblings."

"Wait, their here! All of them!"

"Yes. . ."

Damon and Stefan could handle one, maybe two, Huntora's, but twelve?

"What about your father?"

"I killed him. . .last night."

Damon had enough of these games he needed to know what really happened that night.

"Show me!"

"Damon I-"

"Show me!"

Prince let him in finally, letting her walls come down. Breaking the seal she had put on his memory.

The memory started with them running. Prince was ahead, her short hair cut bouncing. They were running through a long corridor.

"Were not going to make it!" Damon heard himself saying.

Prince stopped, panting as she looked around.

"Here." She ran to a wall and inserted a key into a camouflaged hole.

A door opened from the wall.

"Get in!" Prince shoved Damon in his hip.

"Wait-" Damon let himself be pushed into the dark room.

"What ever you hear, don't speak." Prince whispered as she shut the door.

Damon obeyed.

The room was pitch black, soon he could hear the footsteps get closer. His eyes flashed back and forth trying to find the knob of the door. His hands glided over the door.

Nothing.

"Where is he!"

Damon stopped. He recognized the voice as Bencutio, Prince's father the leader of the Huntora clan.

"He ran-" Prince began.

"What!" Bencutio yelled.

Damon could sense her fear for her father.

"You let him get away!"

"No, papa- he over powered me!" Prince argued.

"Don't you raise your voice at me! Louis, Maria, Natalie. FIND HIM" He said firmly.

The three of them ran off.

"Papa?" Prince questioned.

Slap!

He heard Prince hit the door and whimper.

"I know you're lying! You're using your power to hide him!"

"No, I'm not," Prince tried to convince him.

"Hold her."

She was removed from the secret door.

"Papa, he ran to the city!" Prince tried again.

A key slid into the key hole, Damon backed away. The key turned.

Damon had to think fast. Bencutio swung the door open and out flew a swarm of black bats. The bats flew up and out of the corridor, only one remained in a hidden corner. Damon watched the rest of the scene through his bat eyes.

Her father turned to face her.

"I told you."

"You're a terrible liar, my daughter," he said sinisterly.

"But, papa! He wasn't in there like I said!"

Bencutio shook his head.

"Papa?"

"If he wasn't in there then why would you have sent a warning though to him?"

Fortunato whispered into his little sister's ear.

Damon could hear her heart begin to race.

Bencutio then reached into his suit jacket. Prince began to squirm and thrash in her brother's grip.

"This hurts me so, but treason is a crime in this clan. Do you know the consequences for treason. . ." Bencutio said as if he was bored with the procedure.

Prince then began to cry.

"Papa, please." Prince cried helplessly.

"No, my child you will not get away with this tonight, not ever again. . ."

He finally pulled out a five-inch long sliver dagger.

Prince's heart rate picked up, as if it could beat any faster. It was the loudest thing Damon could hear, or was that his own? His thoughts and breath ceased, only his eyes on them. His mind barely processing the things he was seeing the words he was hearing. They made no sense to his advanced brain. Prince's whimpers echoed inside him, miserable and desperate to live. He was frozen, watching in horror. One emotion surfaced in the chaos. Grief. Whether he was feeling this in the memory or as he watched it he couldn't tell. But no matter how much he wanted to look away, he didn't have the will. The scene continued to go on!

"You have a five second head start." Said Bencutio as he ran his thumb and pointer finger over the magnificent blade.

He nodded at Fortunato.

Once his hands where free from Prince's shoulders, she took off as fast as her legs would go.

He counted down from five.

"Five, four," he drew up the dagger.

Damon saw her run slow in his eyes, everything seemed to go in slow motion as the horror unfolded.

"Three, two."

Prince then looked back for one slip second, but not at her brother or father, but at Damon. In that half a second he saw everything she needed to say. His brain couldn't decode such a message, but only his head could.

"ONE!" Bencutio threw the dagger with precise force.

Even slower the scene became as his eyes widened, the dagger flipped threw the air slicing it. The dagger hit the center of her back hard and fast, and with a grunt Prince tumbled to her knees, then a second later she fell on her side. Her body lay still.

At the sound of the dagger Damon's breath escaped, he was then watching with

sorrow and shock.

Fortunato was facing his limp sister when his father came to him.

"It was for the best my son." He said calmly.

Fortunato nodded.

With that they left, without a glance up at the corner Damon was hiding in.

Finally Damon ripped himself from the memory.

"They . .?" he couldn't find the words to say.

In his hesitation she understood his meaning.

"Yes. . ." she said breathlessly.

"Why?"

"Because I saved your life. . ."

"No, why did you do it?" Damon reached out for the answer, he could feel her pull away.

"You don't want to know . ."

"Don't I have a right to know?"

"Why do you even care anyway! You don't have a emotional or even caring bone in your body! You're a cold, ruthless, selfish, heartless KING of the damned!"

"Yes, I do believe you're right about those things, but there is something about this connection between the two of us right know. It's.. REAL. I know you're

lying, and trying to push me away. I can feel it. Can't you just TELL me why? Why you have been trying to push me away all this time? Why you erased my memory in the first place? Why you won't talk to me? Why you are so distant from people? What are you afraid of?"

Prince's mental voice began to weep.

". . . Damon please even here you are not safe. Please!"

"Why should I? I have kissed thousands of women in my time and never had I felt anything remotely close to this. There is something going on beyond are control so sooner or later its going to make its self known. So I want to have answers as much as you want to leave me."

He could feel Prince's mind want to give in but strain with the urge. Her strength came around and help her sanity in place.

"Why do I even matter to you now? I'm just a exiled vampire hunter from Italy. You could have very easily finished me off last night when you found me in the road. All your problems would have been solved. You are the dumbest vampire I know, to leave me alive when I come into another vampire's territory. Especially, knowing that being an exile I can't fight back! I'm free gain! Yet here we are kissing!"

Damon could feel her mind slip away.

"Prince, don't!"

The vision shattered and Damon opened his eyes. Prince was raised up right looking at him.

"No wait." Damon wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer.

"Damon, what the hell!" Prince slapped her palm to his shoulder.

"I've got something to say."

Prince realized then, that she was half naked. Exposed and embarrassed she turned her face from him, blushing wildly.

"Make it quick!" she huffed.

"I think I know why I haven't killed you . . .I've felt . .different since you came back. I don't understand why but . ." he hesitated, looked away for a second then returned them to her. "Temperance, I think I may be in love with you." Damon blurted out.

Prince snapped her head at him, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

"What? . ." Prince searched his face for a lie, a hint of a bluff anything that could prove his words wrong. Nothing. "You're . .in love. With . . Me? . ." Prince whispered slowly trying to make since of them.

"I am." Damon said with uttermost confidence.

Prince shook her head looking away from him again. Damon tried to call her name once more.

"No . ." she muttered harshly shoving his arms away from her with such strength it knocked him of the futon and onto the hard wooden floor. Once free of him she picked up her bloody clothes and ran into the bathroom.

Stunned, Damon lay on the floor gathering his thoughts. At first he could not think of any action, only the replay of her strength in his thoughts. Her strength was ineradicable but that's not why he was so shocked. Her reaction to his words left him in the dark once more. Never had he had a reaction like that. Then again he never said those words to anybody. But he understood. He could still feel her mind, he could still feel it somehow. He seemed to understand why she hated him so much, why she tried so hard to grow a gap between the two of them. She went through so much effort to hate him, and grow a shell over her heart, that she never came up with a plan B if those walls didn't hold. He knew this not only because he was on the inside of those walls, but because he has been doing the same thing for five-hundred years.

He didn't know where his words had come from. He had said them, in his heart, the organ he thought had died along with his soul all those years ago. They have been buried, and somehow the reappearance of this one exiled vampire hunter dug them up. Know that organ was red hot and pulsing. He could actually feel it. He heard the shower turn on. The pumping organ, alive once again lifted him from his broken place on the wooden floor. He made his legs walk him over to the narrow door, he leaned his body against it. At first just listening to the crying girl that lay beyond, then his brain formulated words and his lips began to move to form them.

"Prince?" he said over the shower.

No answer.

"Prince." he said a little louder.

Nothing at first, then a quiet;

"Go away."

"Prince, are you alright?"

Again no response at first. He waited.

"No . . ."

Damon hesitated, then he said.

"May I come in?"

This time he received an immediate response.

"Hell no!"

He stepped back running his hands through his lengthy black hair, then returned to the door and asked again.

"Please, I feel . . Bad." He lied.

"Good . . .you should." Prince sniffled.

"Why are you crying?" He asked in a softer voice them usual.

"Like you don't know."

That was it, he was done with the games. He turned the knob of the unlocked bathroom door and walked in. What he excepted to find was Prince to be under the hot running water of the shower, instead she was in the corner of the tub, hugging her knees with her damp hair buried into them. Damon kneeled down in front of the tub.

"Why are you crying?" he said softly.

"Just go away. ." her voice muffled by her naked legs.

"Well this is my house." Damon said tried to joke.

"Just shut the fuck up already!" Prince lunged at him from the tub, their faces inches apart.

"I'm the one who saved your life this time, you don't need to be snapping at me." Damon got closer to her.

Prince blushed, her menacing face faltering. She gave up the look and fell back into the

form that he found her in.

"Please. . .Just . You don't know what you're talking about."

"What do you mean?" Damon leaned into the tub.

"You can't be in love with me. . .you just can't be. . ." Prince sounded as if she were talking to herself.

"The last time I checked being in love was a good thing."

"Not for us." Prince stated. " Last night was nothing compared to what they will do to you! I've lost too many people to that word and I'm not about to lose you too!"

"So explains it. . ." Damon said his eyes looking into the distance. "You love me back don't you . ." Damon looked into her eyes.

Prince began to cry again.

Damon scooted to the end of the shower and turned the knobs until the water stopped flowing. Then he slowly stood into the tub and kneeling down next to her.

"Prince . . ."

"No! Don't you say my name like that! I hate you! I hate your fucking guts!" Prince started to beat on his hard chest roughly. "You ruined my life! My childhood!" Prince cried. Damon didn't fight her, though she was very close to breaking his entire rib cage he could lift a hand towards her. Not even a finger. Instead he held her to him, he could feel the sting in his chest build and blood trickle from between his lips, but still he held on.

After five minutes she grew exhausted. Slowly she stopped, allowing herself to lay against him, painting heavily

"No you don't." Damon finally said.

"Huh?" Prince tried to look up at hi, but his grip wouldn't let her.

"You don't hate me. I know you don't."

"I just broke your ribs and you say I don't hate you?"

"I can prove it."

Prince was silent.

Then he spoke.

"You saved my life, gave me your own to protect me, for that I am forever in your dept. Two, you have never stopped protecting me, you even influenced me to forget you. You tried so hard to push me away because you couldn't bare to see me hurt. I felt something in your thoughts today. Love. You love me so much that you rather see me safe,

than be happy yourself. And out of all the places in the world to run you come here." Damon whispered in her ear.

Prince was silent for a few minute. She tried to move away form him, this time he let her. Finally she spoke.

"This is wrong. They will kill you don't you understand that!"

"Their not strong enough to kill me." Damon said cockily.

"Stupid!" Prince smacked him in the temple. "You arrogant aristocrat, listen to me. There are ten vampire hunters after me, TEN. They will fucking eat you alive, literally. I've been tortured, bitten, burned, stabbed, raped,

thrown in front of buses, trains, trucks. I've even been hung by wooden splitter rope from a tree. The entire time thinking of you and swearing to myself I will neverlet them do that to you."

Prince paused to make sure he was listening.

"I can't fight anymore like I used to. I just don't have the will. Far too much pain I've endured as a child. Last night was my last fight, now that Fortunato is the leader. . . "

Damon paused, trying to process her words.

"What are you saying!"

"What I'm saying is to get out of here. Get Stefan, Elena and her friends and get as far from Virginia as possible. Please, this isn't your fight." Prince began to get out of the tub.

He grabbed her wrist.

"Are you saying you're giving up! That's suicide!" Damon was getting angry.

"I gave up a long time ago, it just took me this long to actually go through with it."

Damon let her go of her wrist, his eyes started to sting.

"Then why did you even bother finding me?"

"Because . . I came to say goodbye."

Damon's eyes snapped at her, black irises filled with pain.

"No, don't say that . . ."

"Damon-"

Damon jumped out of the tub then and grabbed Prince by the arms and slammed her against the wall.

"So you're just going to give up! Just like that! Huh?"

Prince looked away from him without a word.

"For the first time in my life I feel-good. Finally the darkness in my heart has a light to guide it. A sun! not a little candle that fades over time or a false light that was never really

there but a real light. And now your going to just kill yourself . . ." Damon said the last part in a whisper. His eyes getting hot, a lump building in this throat.

"I didn't for you to fall in love with me!"

"Well, I'm sorry I ruined your suicide attempt!" Damon mumbled, tears he was holding back now falling on their own accord. He then let go of Prince and leaned against the sink.

After a few minutes of silence Prince put her hand on the door knob.

"Please don't leave." Damon begged placing a hand on hers.

"You got over Katherine just fine, what makes me any different?" Prince spat, thrust the door open and walked out into the attic room.

Damon ignored that blow, and followed her.

"Prince please don't do this." Damon pleaded.

Prince was hopping into her bloody jeans and tossing on her torn t-shirt.

"Damon there isn't any way I can make this any less painful for either of us. We are not meant to be. For me to have any peace, I have to finish what I started.

"What about me?"

"What about you?" Prince turned to look at him.

"I started this to, I'm a part of this too."

"Not anymore." Prince looked away. "Your no longer part of me or my life. You never will be. WE will never be. The sooner you realize that the easier it will be on us both."

She walked to the door and opened it, she said over her shoulder, "This will be the last time you'll see me."

Then for one last time she called his name, he looked up at her. His onyx eyes filled with falling tears of five-hundred years.

"I love you." She whispered to him.

With that she shut the door behind her.

* Please review! I hoped you enjoyed it. XDDDDDDDDD*****