Author's note:

Hello my dear readers,

thank you for your support and your opinion on this story. I'm really happy to know that there are some people out there who like what I'm doing.

Thank you shoppe69 for being my beta. I'm feeling honored to have you!

I've had a pretty rough week which taught me once more how valuable life is, and that we should be thankful for the time we have with our loved ones. Sometimes it's much shorter than it should be, and everything changes in the blink of an eye.

xoxo Giuna

Chapter 15

The next morning, Damon opened his eyes and a smile spread all over his relaxed face. Elena lay cuddled against his bare body while one of his arms had sneaked around her waist. With his fingertips, Damon traced an invisible circle on the velvet skin of the small of her back, enjoying the freedom he was feeling. Finally, he was happy to be at home.

Elena started to moan quietly in his arms. She pressed herself closer against Damon and raised her leg, resting it around his hip, causing him to smirk against her forehead. He loved that Elena couldn't get enough of him. Feeling his mouth twisting, she couldn't stop herself from smiling too, but it faded abruptly when she felt Damon slipping out of their intertwining.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she pouted, sensing that her body instantly missed his warmth and proximity. Damon moved downward on her taut body. Caressing her skin with his fingertips, he left a track of goose bumps behind.

Suddenly, Elena felt his breathing on her pubic bone just before he opened her legs and rested himself between them.

"Damon, what…?" she gasped and her head shot up in shock, not able to finish the sentence.

"Relax, honey. I'm going to please you and you're going to love it. I promise," he almost begged her for letting him go down on her. He had tried it a couple of times before, but for some reason she hadn't wanted it. His last attempt had been a while ago, and he was ready to try his luck again. She had changed a lot; maybe she was open for it now.

He looked up into her eyes and waited for her to answer. Her breathing was erratic and it was obvious that she was very nervous, but then she nodded almost unnoticeable.

"I trust you," she whispered and bit her full bottom lip before she rested her head against the pillow. She had told Jenna about the reason why she hadn't wanted to experience this kind of intimacy again, but she had never been able to tell Damon. She was sure that it would have driven him insane to know what Mason had done in his fury.

With closed eyes she breathed deeply in and out for a couple of times and was glad that she accomplished to handle the memory. It belonged to her past, but she wouldn't let it affect her present, she repeated inwardly like a mantra.

Instantly, Damon got a bad conscience. Observing the way her expression changed from stressed to disgusted and from pained to relieved, he suddenly realized that he must have trigged some bad memory. Fuck, he was such an idiot!

"I'm sorry, Elena. I've no idea, what I was thinking. I should have waited for you to ask for it," he admitted and sat up. Elena opened her eyes and locked hers with his, holding his gaze firmly

"Well, to be honest, in this case I wouldn't have asked at all," she confessed shyly. "Please don't feel bad about it. I know that your intention was selfless in the first place."

"Selfless, huh? No, seriously, Elena. We can wait. We have all the time in the world. We're not going to do this just because I initiated it. Don't get me wrong, I would love to do it, but I would love it even more if you were really ready for it. And according to the effort it costs you to keep yourself together, this is not the right time."

Elena nodded faintly, "You're right. Actually it's not. Though I'm able to stand the memory without breaking down, I'd rather it wouldn't boil up at all."

Still staring into her eyes, Damon felt his throat constricting, but he tried desperately to appear unaffected. How bad must this memory be, he asked himself silently when suddenly all kind of unbidden pictures rushed through his mind. What had this bastard done to her? God, sometimes he wasn't sure what the lesser evil was to know all the horrible details or the lack of knowledge which caused his mind to make up its own brute images.

Elena noticed the confusion on his face and all of a sudden she wasn't so sure anymore that her decision to leave him in the darkness about almost everything had been the right thing to do. She had made such great progress, and she knew that she could tell him without reliving the situation all over again; without projecting her pain on him.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" she questioned softly, witnessing how hard he tried to hide his emotions.

Damon inhaled deeply. "I'm asking myself what he's done to you," he pressed when the images in his head became even more disgusting.

"Would you rather I tell you than to imagine what might have been?" Elena offered in a tender voice.

"You would tell me?" he asked with disbelief, but relieved at the same time.

"I would. I trust you and I would rather tell you than seeing how you torture yourself with gruesome possibilities," she explained openly.

"Am I this obvious?" Damon grinned ironically. "Actually, I guess I want to know it, but not if it makes you feel miserable. That's not a price I'm willing to pay. In that case, I prefer my imagination."

Elena took his hand in hers and looked at their intertwined fingers for a while. When she raised her head again, she smiled slightly.

"Then I'll tell you," she stated, hoping that his fantasy was a darker place than what had been her reality. "But before I start, Damon, I want you to remember that I've found a way to deal with it, to accept it. There is no need for you to feel bad for me… or at least not more then you probably do now. And there is absolutely no reason to freak out, because you can't change it anymore, okay?"

"Okay," he replied, but narrowed his eyes hesitantly, feeling instantly uncomfortable towards her upcoming revelation.

"Well…," Elena took another deep breath and lowered her face, focusing on their hands again. "You know that Mason raped me. What you don't know is that he thought that I would enjoy it at some point. Every time he noticed that my body didn't respond the way he thought it should, he got more and more indignant until he completely lost control. So, he went down on me, telling me that I wouldn't be able to keep myself from getting wet for him. What he never understood was that he would never be able to elicit a response because I hated him and he disgusted me. When he forced my legs apart and lowered his face between my thighs, he wasn't gentle. He was in such a rage that every hit of his tongue felt like a lash and when he noticed that this treatment didn't achieve the desired effect he started to torture me even more. He sucked and bit my clitoris so remorselessly, it felt like I would die of pain…," Elena ended at this point and searched Damon's face for a reaction. Seeing the pained expression on his face, she knew that he wouldn't be able to stand hearing that Mason had done it a couple of times in a row, for several days, until he had realized that he would never be able to force her body to respond to him. As a result he had changed his punishment and had locked her up in her room in the basement for 36 hours - without food or water.

Damon needed a while to regain his composure before he could face her again. What she had just told him, resembled pretty much his own fantasies, although he had been hoping that his imagination was worse than her reality. Sadly enough, he's been completely and utterly wrong.

"Honestly, I don't know what to say," he admitted silently while he met her gaze and couldn't help the urge to wrap his arms around her. Holding her tightly against his chest he hoped that she would find some consolation in his embrace.

"It's okay, Damon, I'm fine," she assured him, cuddling closer against him. His proximity was just what she needed and gave her all the comfort she could wish for. "What he's done, was indescribably gruesome. I really hope that he is rotting in hell by now," he hissed, revealing only a small part of his rage. Right now, he was in the mood to destroy something - anything.

"Me too," Elena whispered, feeling his suffering by his body's tension. "I shouldn't have told you, right?" she asked quizzically and rested her head against his shoulder, looking him straight in the eye.

"No... Yes… I…," he stuttered but tried immediately again. "I'm glad that I know it now. It enables me to understand you much better and to behave appropriately. It's just that I wish it had never happened to you," he pointed out sincerely and hugged her even closer.

"I know. What I just told you describes the most traumatic part of my past, but I know for sure that one day even those wounds will be healed. Please don't forget what I've said before: I have learned to live with it and so should you. We can't change it anymore, but together we can create new memories to replace the old ones, right?" she requested still holding his gaze.

"Of course! We will create the most beautiful memories for us," he promised softly and caressed her cheek most tenderly.

"In this case, everything is perfectly fine," she stated and kissed him gently.

After they got dressed for the day, Damon and Elena walked down the stairs to find Stefan and Caroline. On the previous night, Caroline had invited them to a birthday breakfast for Stefan.

Walking through the living room, Damon suddenly stopped in front of the fireplace, remembering something he had noticed the other night.

"Elena, wait for a sec, please," he pleaded and turned around to face her.

"What is it?" she asked slightly irritated and looked up into his eyes.

"Yesterday, when you greeted Stefan, I saw the way your body was tensing up for a moment and I wondered if something happened."

"Yes, indeed. When I shook his hand, I sensed the same kind of electricity like when I touched you for the first time, but the feeling was completely different. Comparing those two times, I would describe the sensation of our first touch as an information. As if my gene was activated and told me that you could be my vampire. When I took Stefan's hand, it was more like a warning to stay away" she filled him in.

"Huh, sounds quiet logic to me. Stefan could be a threat to our existence, which he of course isn't, but your gene can't know that."

"That's what I thought, too," Elena confirmed.

"Good morning! Slept well?" Caroline interrupted their conversation and grinned.

"What do you think?" Damon replied rhetorically and smirked mischievously, placing a kiss on Elena's cheek.

"Good morning to you too, Caroline. May I help you with anything?" she offered and rolled her eyes at Damon. He could be so cocky.

"That's nice, Elena. Actually, yes, you could fetch the orange juice from the fridge and then everything is ready for the birthday boy!" Caroline chirped and clapped her hands excitedly, causing her blonde locks to bob up and down.

"No problem," Elena giggled at her reaction and headed for the kitchen while Caroline and Damon stepped into the dining room.

"Where's Stefan?" Damon interrogated and leaned against a sideboard.

"Oh, Stefan is out hunting, but he should be back any minute," Caroline mentioned casually while she double-checked that everything was in the right spot.

"So he is still on animal blood then?" Damon concluded and frowned with disapproval.

"Yes, he is. Do you still think that this is a problem?" Caroline demanded and to Damon's surprise she really seemed concerned.

"Yes, I do, especially with Elijah still being in town."

"But Elijah is our friend, and Stefan even invited him for dinner tonight," she informed Damon and looked quite shocked when she saw Damon's eyes narrowing further.

"He did? Well, in that case I hope that he knows what he's doing. Don't get me wrong. Elijah is an honorable man, but he still is an original vampire. I'm just not sure if it is wise to trust him that much. But again, I haven't been here for a while and maybe he has changed. Still, I think Stefan shouldn't make it too easy for Elijah to mess with him, and that's exactly what he is doing by being on a bunny diet," Damon declared and shrugged.

"Maybe you're right, but you also know that he is totally afraid of the way he reacts to human blood," she reminded him.

"Yes, I do, but I might have an idea how he could handle it," Damon mused before his thoughts were distracted by Elena's reappearance.

"Okay, Damon, but please do me a favor and wait with the revelation of your idea until tomorrow."

"Will, do."

"What idea?" Elena demanded out of curiosity and placed the orange juice on the table before she walked towards Damon.

"My brother doesn't feed on humans but on animals, because he's some kind of a blood-addict. The problem is that the animal blood is enough to stay alive, but it doesn't provide the same strength for a vampire like human blood does. In short… he's weak," Damon ended, "And he's coming!" he whispered, hearing Stefan entering the front door.

"Yay!" Caroline beamed and ran into the living room to meet him half-way.

"She's cute," Elena grinned while she watched the blonde leaving out of sight

"She used to be very, very annoying," Damon breathed and made a long face.

"Oh c'mon, she is young and carefree… more or less," she added and smiled. She liked Caroline. She was like a whirlwind of positive vibes and pretty funny too.

"If I'm not mistaken, she is you're age!" Damon reminded her and cocked an eyebrow at his girl.

"She is? Huh, this is kinda weird. I really don't feel like 20, rather like 30 or something like that," she admitted and frowned.

"That's because you have an old soul," he joked, "An old soul I love very much!" Damon lowered his head and brushed his lips on hers while his hands found their way into the silkiness of her long hair. Pulling her close, he kissed her passionately, but stopped abruptly when he heard his brother walking towards the dining room.

Smiling brightly, Damon locked eyes with her for a moment, relishing the simple peace he felt being close to the woman he loved.

"Stefan! Happy birthday, baby-bro'," he exclaimed and winked at Elena before he moved to hug his brother.

"Thank you so much, Damon. I'm so, so glad, that you're here," Stefan replied and firmly hugged his brother back.

"Of course, Stefan! It's a pleasure for us," he answered and in this moment he absolutely meant it. Disentangling himself, Damon stepped aside for Elena who already waited in line.

"Happy Birthday, Stefan, and all the best for you," Elena wished him and embraced him too.

"Thank you, Elena. And thank you for bringing Damon. I know I owe that to you," he told her and smiled sincerely at her.

"Oh. Err… you're welcome?!" she stuttered and looked apologetically at Damon, but exhaled in relief when she saw him smirking.

"Ha-ha! You know me well, bro'," Damon laughed.

"Please, sit down everybody, I'm starving!" Caroline barged in, pointing at her flat stomach.

"Me too!" Elena confirmed and grinned at Caroline. Together the two women took their seats, and waited for the men to do the same. Only moments later, everyone was busy with eating and sipping coffee and they started to chat amicably.

While Damon listened to Caroline's stories of the past months, he again thought that the girl had changed. She seemed to have developed a greater sense of responsibility and although she behaved pretty girlish from time to time, he noticed that it wasn't as annoying as it had been. The ultimate proof of her change, however, was in her eyes. The way she looked into Stefan's face with sparkling eyes didn't go unnoticed and it was clear that she really loved and accepted him for what he was. That had always been Damon's biggest doubt - not that she wouldn't love him, but that she was too fascinated by Stefan being a vampire instead of facing the ugly reality. Obviously, she could handle it.

After breakfast, Caroline and Elena offered to clean up and winked at each other mysteriously. They wanted to use the alone-time to talk about their vampires while Damon and Stefan went for a walk in the nearby woods.

After some time walking in companionable silence, Damon began to speak, "I know it's your birthday, Stefan, but I need to talk to you about something important and I would rather do it face to face than over the phone."

"Sure! Is everything okay?" Stefan asked concerned and stopped walking, looking his brother straight in the eye.

"Yes, right now everything is fine. What I want to talk about is something that might happen in the future," Damon explained and sat down on a tree log.

"Then spill it," Stefan pushed, feeling more and more uncomfortable.

"Well, it's about the blood-slave connection I have with Elena. You found out that when she dies, I will desiccate and when I die, Elena will drown in the blood she's producing for me. I need your help if this scenario comes true," Damon pointed out and stared at his brother, his expression dead serious.

"How?" Stefan demanded confused and narrowed his eyes.

"First of all, I need you to find another vampire for Elena…," Damon started but Stefan interrupted him instantly.

"WHAT? Are you insane?"

"No, I'm not. Will you listen to me first?" Damon barked and looked annoyed.

"Okay, okay," Stefan softened his tone and waited for his brother to continue.

"I need the other vampire just in case that something happens to me. I've talked about it to Elena, and although she said she would accept to die, it's out of question for me," Damon stated and nodded, even though he got sick by the imagination of another man with his girl.

"Damon, this is totally wrong! What am I supposed to do? Should I force her into the connection with another vampire? You can't be serious about it!" Stefan argued and looked as shocked as his voice sounded.

"NO! Of course you're not going to force her. Damn it, Stefan, you're going to convince her. You and Caroline!"

Stefan shook his head in disbelief, "I don't get, Damon. Why can't you respect her decision?"

"Because it's a stupid one!" Damon hissed while his rage boiled up inside him

"It's not a stupid one if she doesn't want to be with another man. It's one out of love," Stefan noted and closed his eyes, preparing himself for what he wanted to say next, "It wouldn't be the same situation as with Sophia, you know that, right?" Stefan whispered softly, internally waiting for his brother to hit him, but the punch never came.

Instead Stefan opened his eyes again to find Damon sitting on the trunk with his head hanging down.

Damon exhaled sharply, "I know," he breathed and tousled his hair, "But I can't just let Elena die when it's obvious that it would be my fault. No matter how you look at it, in the end it is I who might be too weak, too distracted or maybe even too arrogant to keep us both alive," Damon told him sincerely and raised his head to meet Stefan's eyes, showing him how desperate he was.

"Then you'll have to learn to keep yourself under control and stay out of trouble," Stefan gave it straight to Damon. "Besides, for me there is a higher probability that it's going to be her death that will end your existence. She might be supernatural, but she is as vulnerable as a human!"

Damon breathed heavily and it cost him much effort to remain calm. He understood, though. For Stefan, Elena was a kind of a threat to lose his big brother, so he had to deal with the imagination of him gone which obviously wasn't easy to deal with. Unfortunately, Stefan's rage did nothing to dissolve his desperation. He couldn't be responsible for Elena's death, "Okay, I got it. Let's make a deal then. I promise to stay out of trouble and to do everything in my power to protect her, and in return you'll try to convince her to get linked to another vampire if my death is self-induced," Damon suggested.

Stefan hesitated for a while, deep in thoughts. "Fine, count me in," he confirmed finally, walked over to Damon and shook his hand.

Damon nodded in approval and felt quite relieved with the deal. He got what he wanted without even making a compromise. He had sworn to himself that he would keep Elena safe a long time ago, and he knew exactly that staying out of trouble was essential to be successful. What was absolutely new to him was that suddenly his own life counted for something too.

"There is something else, Stefan," Damon added as he let go of his brother's hand.

"Now, what is it?" Stefan questioned and exhaled exasperated.

"If I fail and Elena dies first, will you stake me? You know what it must be like to desiccate and turn into a mummy. I… I can't… I…," Damon stuttered and rubbed his palms over his face.

"Of course, I promise," Stefan whispered without further ado. He understood his brother and even though he hoped the day would never come, so he wouldn't have to stick to his promise, he would never let him down.

"Thank you, Stefan, that means a lot to me," Damon said relieved and got up. "Well, that's it. I'm done with the pity party! Let's go back and celebrate!" he suggested, comradely clasping a hand on Stefan's shoulder.

"That's probably a good idea. The girls definitely had enough time to tattle," Stefan grinned and nodded at the imagination of Caroline getting into her stride.

In the evening, shortly before the dinner party was about to start, Elena got herself ready in Damon's bathroom. While applying some modest make-up, she thought about what Caroline had told her. The other woman hadn't held back with old stories of Damon and Stefan, and she had been eager to tell her about Damon's darker side, although she hadn't even wanted to know about. Why was everyone thinking that she should know about his past? And above all, why was everyone assuming that she was too stupid to believe that Damon was indeed dangerous?

She knew that! Still she would never want him to change! That didn't matter to her! For Elena, he was all she needed, just the way he was. And even though it was kind of controversial for herself, she felt drawn to his dark side. He was unworldly strong; able to break her body in an instant, but he would never hurt her. From time to time, he would be a little rough and demanding, but at the same time he always showed her how much he loved her. And the most outstanding had been him standing by her side during her darkest hours. His patient and unwavering help had supported her so much that she would never ever question him in any way.

She had told Caroline about her own experiences with Damon, but had skipped all the nasty details about her past. It hadn't felt right to tell her, besides she owed this information to nobody. After Caroline had stopped with her flood of details about Damon, she had finally talked about Stefan. It had been quite funny to hear about another vampire/human couple. Caroline and Stefan seemed to love each other deeply, but for them the vampire topic was actually kind of a problem. At least in the beginning, Caroline hadn't fully understood how complicated such a relationship could be. She had completely underestimated the magnitude of the blood-lust and how it affected everything. Caroline was happy about Stefan's way of feeding, but thinking about it from Damon's point of view she wasn't so sure about it anymore. Stefan hadn't tried human blood in a long time because of Caroline and because of his fear what the attempt could do to their relationship.

Unfortunately, Elena hadn't been able to give any good advice since for Damon and her the blood-lust was completely natural. Still she had been able to convince Caroline to listen to Damon's proposal concerning Stefan's diet.

Turning away from the mirror, she stopped in the motion when she saw Damon leaning against the frame of the bathroom entrance.

"You look beautiful," he complimented her and pushed himself off the frame, reaching out for her. "Red suits you perfectly," he said, referring to her red cocktail-dress.

"Thank you, Damon," she smiled and took his hands, letting him pull her against his chest. "You don't look that bad yourself," she purred and caressed his black suit with her hands.

"One does what one can," he smirked and placed a soft kiss to her red lips just when the door-bell rang. "The party is starting! C'mon let's go!"

Walking down the stairs, Elena's eyes fell on a stranger. At the sound of their feet on the stairs, he raised his head and his eyes found Elena's in an instant.

Elena swallowed heavily at the empathic stare of the man and looked down to the floor. He stood there and his whole demeanor seemed kind of royal. Suddenly she knew exactly who he was and fear crept up her spine

Reaching the last step, the man held out his hand for Elena. Feeling Damon's reassuring pat on her back she took it. The second their hands met, she almost lost consciousness. Her gene's warning was so strong; it caused her legs to shake.

"Elena?" She heard Damon's concerned voice like from far away, but felt his supporting arms around her slender body. After a moment, she got better.

"I'm sorry," she breathed and stood upright again. "What a great first impression," she tried to joke and smiled politely at the man whose facial expression was something between amusement and curiosity.

"Oh, it's not the first time a woman collapsed into my arms at the first encounter," he stated and returned the smile. "You must be, Elena," he noted, but refused to shake her hand this time.

"Yes, I am," she confirmed and nodded slightly. "And you must be Elijah," she countered, bravely reaching out her hand again. Elijah nodded, but frowned at her gesture.

"Oh, this," Elena gestured with her hands to show what had just happened, "happens during every first contact with a vampire." She feigned nonchalance. Inwardly, she was fighting the urge to grab Damon's hand and run as fast as she could. Instead she waited bravely for him to take her hand, so he wouldn't notice the effect he had on her. Elijah narrowed his eyes, but then shook her hand nonetheless.

"Mmh, looks like there are a few blind spots in my knowledge about blood-slaves," Elijah admitted and let go of her hand to greet Damon.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked while taking Elena to the side as soon as Elijah headed to the living room.

"I guess so, but the contact felt really intense," Elena told him and rubbed her palms against her temples. "It shocked my whole body…," she continued, inwardly trying to name the feeling it caused her and decided for fear.

"He frightens me, Damon. Actually, every fiber of my body tells me to stay away from him," she admitted and swallowed heavily.

"I figure it might have something to do with him being an original vampire…," Damon said and tucked a strand of her smooth hair behind her ear. "Are you going to get through dinner or should I tell Stefan that you're not feeling well?" Damon offered concerned and scrutinized her face.

"No, I'll make it through the night," she stated and nodded empathically.

"Okay, I'll take care that you don't have to sit next to him. To be honest, I don't have a good feeling either, but all alone he isn't able to harm us. As long as he doesn't have a witch with him, nothing is going to happen!" he tried to convince Elena and put his arm around her shoulders protectively, pulling her against his side.

"Let's do this," Elena decided, looked up into Damon's beautiful blue eyes and couldn't resist stealing a soft kiss from his lips.

Taking their seats, Damon kept his promise and had placed her the farthest away from Elijah on a chair next to himself. Elena's fear vanished slowly, but steadily. The atmosphere was cheerful, and while they all drank their aperitifs it loosened even more. Damon saw Elijah glancing at Elena from time to time, but it didn't bother him too much. She was a beauty, he couldn't blame him.

"Before we start dinner, I would like to present you with your gift," Damon addressed Stefan and smiled brightly at his brother.

"A gift? It's enough of a gift that you two came here," Stefan protested but Damon furrowed an eyebrow at him.

"No reason for false modesty, please. I know you love presents," Damon teased and smirked at Stefan.

"Okay, give it to me!" Stefan laughed and happily to the wrapped present which Damon handed to him across the table, earning a warm smile from Caroline.

"I'm pretty sure you're going to like it!" Damon pointed out, wiggled his eyebrows and watched Stefan unwrapping the present, excited about his brother's reaction.

When Stefan finished, he held a small, old looking box in his hands.

"What is it?" Stefan asked, hesitantly staring down at it.

Damon frowned at him, "Well, you should probably have a look inside," he suggested and rolled his eyes at the audience who witnessed the scenery with amusement.

The second Stefan opened the box he closed it again immediately and gasped in awe. He stared at his brother with tear-filled eyes, not able to say one single word.

"I knew, you would like it," Damon grinned, reached across the table and clapped Stefan's shoulder brotherly.

"So what is it?" Caroline got unsettled on her chair, curious to find out about the content of the box and even Elijah seemed interested as he eyed Stefan.

Stefan opened the box for his guests to have a look at its inside, but wasn't ready to talk again just yet.

"Oh my God, is this…?" Caroline sighed and stared at the woman on the small framed picture. "This is our mother," Damon explained, "I managed to save it just before our father burned all our mother's belongings after she had died."

Elena smiled at Damon and caressed his leg under the table, silently signaling him how much she appreciated his gesture.

"I had it long enough now, I thought it should be yours for the next 150 years," Damon joked, making Stefan smile genuinely.

"Thank you so much, Damon. This means a lot!" Stefan sniffed and took the frame out of the box, regarding his mother once again, when suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Huh? Are you expecting anyone else?" Caroline wondered and turned to Stefan.

"No, I don't," Stefan said and looked puzzled.

"I'll go see who is disturbing us," Damon offered and jumped to his feet, vamp-speeding to the entrance. He opened the door and expected to see God-knows-who, but not the one person who stared coldly into his eyes.

"Hello, Damon. I've heard you got yourself a blood-slave. I hope you don't mind if I make her mine!" Klaus trilled unceremoniously with his unmistakable accent.