A/N Thank you Courtney for Beta-ing this chapter for me, you're awesome ;D Check out her stories-Her pen name is Cdaye8184.

Oh, have you seen the "New Image Manager" button, writers? I used a new image. Though the girl obviously isn't Elena, the image has a meaning. The open book reprsents Elena's diary which we will learn about later and it's a symbol of Elena's story. The girl's sad face represents Elena and the red rose is the rose Elena gave Damon earlier in the story which we will also learn about. The rose also represents life and death. The picture just fit perfectly.

IMPORTANT: This chapter is full of flashbacks that will guide us to solve the things that have been going on lately.

"Damon, I remember everything now," Elena wept. "I remembered everything the second they brought me here. Don't you remember, Damon?"

"Remember what, Elena? Remember what?"

"That you already tried saving me once, Damon. But I never made it out."

Damon's blood ran cold. What the hell was she talking about? The words "But I never made it out" made his heart ache. He looked at the girl in front of him and for a while he thought that he was staring at a ghost of some sort. Elena was weeping, squeezing his hand, now begging him to leave.

"I'm not leaving you," Damon finally came to his senses. "What's going on, Elena? Tell me!"

"Damon, it's useless," Elena wept, "Go. They will kill you, you know they will!"

"What…" A lump formed in Damon's throat. "What are you saying, Elena? Why are you saying such things?"

The door suddenly opened and a strawberry blonde was pushed inside the room.

"Elena?" The woman said, and Elena gasped.

"Aunt Jenna?"

"Oh my dear God," Jenna gasped, reaching forward to hold her niece. Her face was tearstained, and she was sobbing so much that Damon's heart ached.

"Aunt J-Jenna…" Elena wept in her chest. "Oh my God…"

"Elena," Damon finally reached out to hold the girl, who still needed her rest after the blood loss. He cradled her head in his arms and stroked her hair lightly. "Elena…What do you remember?"

"Damon, it's over for me now," She said, "You don't have to go through this. Go home, live your life…and forget me."

"Nonsense," Damon cupped her cheek. "Elena, please…"

"You don't remember anything?" Jenna gasped, in horror. "Not even that night?"

Damon braced himself for whatever it was they were talking about. "I keep having memories and dreams about Elena," He finally confessed. "I see fire." He turned to Elena.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elena asked, knowing that her dreams were the same.

"I didn't want to upset you," Damon continued, "But I have to know. Whatever happened…I have to know. What's important is that Elena is here, and I'll protect her no matter what. I can handle anything."

Jenna wiped tears from her eyes. "Damon, when you hear what I have to say…"

"I don't care. Say it."

May 20th, 2004

"Damon…"

The girl's voice melted the ice around his heart. He couldn't believe how much he loved this little girl, this innocent human being. They were both in the forest now, where they had met two years before, when Elena was just eight years old. She was nine years old now, turning ten in a couple of months.

"Yes, princess?" He tucked a piece of her wispy brown hair behind her ears.

"My mommy says that I have to go," He noticed tears in Elena's eyes. "She says we have to move."

"Move? Move to where?" Damon's heart swelled at the thought of losing his little princess forever.

"She didn't tell me," Elena's lips wobbled. "But she says it's not safe anymore. She says that bad people are trying to harm me."

"Can I come and talk to your mother?" He asked, wanting to help in any way.

"My mum doesn't know that I'm meeting you," Elena said, "She doesn't want me to speak to strangers. But I don't want to leave, Damon. I'll miss you so much…" She walked all the way to his lap and hugged him as tight as she could. "You remind me of my brother…"

She looked at her little wristwatch. "I have to go, Damon…I will come tomorrow…"

Damon had hardly slept that night. He couldn't bear the idea. That girl was his only link to humanity left. Without her, he would be just a vicious monster.

He didn't care. He had to go and pay a visit to her mother.

And that's what he did.

He knew where she lived, of course. They spent almost two years meeting in that little forest.

However, he gasped in horror when he saw Elena's house falling to pieces. Elena was screaming. Somebody was hurting his little girl.

He blurred to the house in an instant. He couldn't enter, though. He saw Elena and her mother screaming and weeping next to a corpse. Elena's mother was attempting to do some sort of ritual.

"Damon!" Elena screamed, her eyes filled with tears. "Damon! Daddy's dead!"

Her words broke his heart.

Elena's mother turned to Damon. "Damon," She begged, "Help us. Feed my husband your blood."

Damon didn't have the time to process how she knew his secret.

"Come in," She begged, and the moment his legs went through the door, he knelt next to the man. He bit in his wrist, forcing the man to swallow. Elena's tear stained face was heartbreaking.

But the man did not move.

Elena's mother let out a cry of helplessness.

"Let me take you away from here," He pleaded.

"No," The woman said, "Take Elena. Please, protect her…They're after her…Please…"

"I have a safe house I can take you to, please let me," Damon said as he took Elena in his arms.

The woman complied.

When Damon took the two girls in the house he shared with his brother, they were devastated. Elena's mother, Miranda, was heartbroken. He made a cup of coffee for her and tried to soothe them as much as possible.

"I know that you and my daughter were meeting," Miranda said when she took a sip of her coffee. "I'm a witch. My daughter's the last heir of the Petrova power. Our magic differs from other witches."

"If you knew what I am…then why…"

"At first, I was afraid. But then I realized that your intentions are pure, and that you won't do anything to harm my little girl. I saw when you and your brother saved her from that snakebite a few months back. I'm grateful for that."

"Why are they after Elena? Who is after her?"

"Elena's the last heir of the Petrova powers. Our powers can end all species, including Klaus's and the Original Family. They killed my son to get me to give them Elena. Now…my husband's gone." She tried to be strong, but Damon saw her pain.

"Our magic started on four necklaces. Every bloodline of witches starts on an object. Ours started on four necklaces, which were once as one. Over the years, they were stolen from us and hidden by humans, since they thought that the pentagram only represented evil. A witch that gets their hands on the necklaces can have great power. Klaus wants them all to destroy every witch on earth, however if those necklaces are destroyed, the world will all be put at risk. Klaus will be truly immortal-Since those necklaces are what provides us with power to end him."

Damon knew the Original family. He knew how much Klaus wanted power.

"But why is he after Elena specifically?"

"He wants to kill her. Elena's different. She developed powers at a young age. He fears that she is able to kill him…with or without the necklaces. We've been running for years now. We always get caught. Last time, my son paid the price with his life."

Damon could only imagine the pain that woman had to go through.

"I fear that my time has come," Miranda continued, "Please…I've been watching you with my daughter. She changes you, and you protect her. Can you promise me, that if I die, my little girl won't be alone?"

"Of course," Damon promised without a second thought. "Of course."

May 23rd, 2004, 1.00pm

"She doesn't want to eat," Stefan informed Damon, a plate of pasta in his hands.

It was amazing how much things changed in those last few days. Damon gave everything and did everything he could to help heal the poor girl's heart.

Damon's face fell. He didn't like Elena's condition.

"I'll talk to her," Damon sighed, taking the dish.

When he went upstairs, he felt a lump in his throat when he saw Elena on the bed, curled to a ball. Her father's death had obviously effected her, and Miranda couldn't even comfort her daughter.

"You have to eat something, princess," He told her, grabbing her chin and stroking her hand with his thumb. "Your daddy wants you to be strong."

"My daddy is gone," She said, tears forming in her eyes.

"No he isn't. He's still with you," Damon soothed her, "And I've got you now. You're safe, okay? Even your mother is. You're both safe."

She hugged him as tight as she could. "Thank you, Damon."

He stroked her hair, rocking her gently.

May 23rd, 6 pm

"Have you seen Elena anywhere?" Damon asked Stefan, "She isn't in her room."

"No, I haven't seen her since earlier this afternoon," Stefan replied, "Maybe she's in the garden or something?"

Damon called Elena's name.

No reply.

"Elena, where are you?" He said again, but no answer was given.

"Where is she?" Miranda asked, "She was here a few minutes ago. She said she was going to water the plants on the porch."

Damon suddenly quieted. "I smell blood," He finally choked out.

"Elena?" Miranda panicked. "Elena where are you?"

"The tracker spell," Miranda continued, "We have to do a tracker spell."

…

"She's by Wickery Falls," She finally said.

"That's so far away. She couldn't have gone there on foot…"

Damon was not listening. He had already taken off.

"Damon, you have to calm down," Stefan tried to calm his brother down, but he was failing. "One wrong move can lead to her death. Calm down!"

"Calm down? How can I calm down when I see them hurting her like that?" Damon roared, "It has to be Klaus's doing."

"We'll get her out of there, Damon, but we have to think this through…"

But before they could breathe a word, they felt darkness overwhelm them.

"Funny how much you changed, Damon Salvatore," Klaus spat through clenched teeth. Damon wasn't seeing properly, his vision was blurring and he was in pain. He realized he was being shackled by vervain chains.

"I'm going to get the girl no matter what, Damon Salvatore," Klaus continued, "Tonight's the full moon. I finally got my hands on the girl…and her mother, as well…You lose, Damon. You cannot do anything to save them anymore." He turned to Stefan. "You're weak just like your brother. This isn't you."

"She's here if you want to say goodbye."

Two vampires came in the room, holding Elena tightly by her arms. Elena was hurt and bruised, and she was sobbing softly, her eyes avoiding Damon or Stefan's.

Klaus came in front of her and stroked her cheek lightly. "Don't worry, little girl. I won't let you suffer. You won't feel a thing."

"Get your hands off her," Damon roared and fought against the chains, but it was useless. The vervain was burning him, and his wrists were too tight.

"Oh dear, it seems I've hit a nerve," Klaus smirked, then told the vampires, "Take her away. Get her in the forest and bring the witches."

Agony filled Damon and Stefan's bodies as they refused to stay there like nothing was going to happen. "They're taking her away," Damon gasped, "There's Miranda too…"

"Damon, it's useless," Stefan said helplessly, "We can't do anything…"

"No, don't you dare say that!" Damon groaned, "Don't you dare!"

He kept pulling and fighting against the chains, hoping and praying that they would finally snap. He could hear a fire-circle and Elena being thrown savagely in it. With one large push, Damon managed to get one of his hands free.

He continued to struggle until his wrists finally were free. With a quick movement, he helped Stefan out and they ran to the direction of the forest with vampiric speed.

They were too late.

Klaus had his hands wrapped around the little girl's small waist, the fire circle trapping her, making her unable to move. He was drinking hungrily from her.

Damon blurred next to them, but all he saw was Elena's pale face. Without warning, Klaus let go of Elena and threw her harshly on the floor. Her lifeless body was by Damon's feet.

Damon let out a cry of helplessness as he lunged at Klaus, however the environment quickly changed too. Elena's death had truly effected the world-the weather suddenly was black, and the wind was strong, much strong than it was supposed to be. And then, Miranda's voice was heard, and she was crying and chanting-or better-begging someone to help.

To be continued…