Woo over 400!
Thank ya'll, so much!
I think this is the last official new "past" chapter, but it's really really long, so enjoy! :)
Xoxo
October, 1567
The months flew by as Elena's powers grew.
With each moon's passing she got stronger and stronger.
Almost as strong as Damon.
She had all but abandoned her own room, choosing instead to spend her nights with him.
Either practicing or fucking.
Sometimes both.
Watching her use did wonders for Damon's aggression.
A thing she took full advantage of.
Part of her worried that they were not being careful enough.
Stefan had been asking more questions than she was comfortable with lately, but if he truly suspected anything, he didn't voice it.
And she was not keen on giving up her time with Damon.
Or the endless supply of blood he offered her.
Even now, he was wrapping up the body of their latest victim, as Elena soaked in the tub.
The witch's heart still oozed red, and the blood trickled down Elena's arm, staining the water.
"Are you going to join me?" She called, her eyes on the life source she held.
Damon turned, watching her fascination.
"Someone must clean this mess," he teased, and Elena smirked, looking up.
With her free hand, she snapped her fingers together, and the body disappeared.
"Done."
Damon rose a brow, "Where did you send him?"
"To the forest's edge," she smiled, "It will only fuel the concerns that the children of the night have returned."
"As well they should believe," Damon noted, "So we will not be suspected."
"That is the idea," she pointed out, "Now, are you stalling, or will you join me?"
She held out the heart to him.
An offering; a temptation.
"Very well," he noted, "Make room."
She did just that as he stripped his trousers and undergarment.
Once naked, he stepped into the warm water, settling down behind her.
Elena took advantage of the new position and fit herself between his legs, leaning back against his chest.
Damon's arms reached around her, holding her, and his hand grasped the heart.
She relented it to him, and let her head rest against his neck.
Damon squeezed the heart, and blood ringed out, covering her chest and neck.
She moaned at the feeling, parting her lips wide.
Damon took the cue and moved the heart up, allowing the blood to flow into her mouth.
She moaned again as it touched her tongue, and this time Damon's body responded.
She turned around, taking the heart from him.
Sitting up, she straddled him, and watched the red droplets cover his chest.
She smeared them in, loving the dark contrast against his skin.
Leaning forward, she licked the mess from him.
Damon grew harder beneath her, and she smirked.
"Taste," she commanded, bringing the heart to his lips.
Eyes never leaving hers, Damon ravished the muscle.
His teeth ripped into it, blood seeping down his chin, and Elena would swear she'd never seen a more beautiful sight.
Nor a more arousing one.
She fed him, until the heart was nearly gone, and when her hand was emptied, she leaned forward, biting the bit that hung from Damon's lips, pulling it into her own mouth and swallowing.
Damon growled approvingly, his hips thrusting involuntarily in his excitement.
She gasped at the sensation, before letting him slip inside of her.
Her head fell back as she rode him, high on the blood and on her love for the man beneath her.
Nothing else mattered.
Except making sure it could last.
"You are completely sure of this?" She asked him again, later that evening, once they had both been thoroughly satisfied.
Damon nodded, his fingertips running along her bare back as they laid out on the bed.
"It will work. I'm certain. It was among spells that belonged to my mother. I've copied it into the grimoire."
"We will need more blood," she concluded, "Powerful blood. More than any witch in Aurelia can offer."
"Well, there is one," Damon reminded her, and Elena tensed, "You mean Emily."
He nodded, "She is a Bennett witch, Elena. One of the strongest lines of magical blood."
"No," she sat up, "We cannot kill her. Pick another."
"Another witch that powerful, within the kingdom, or even your father's? Doubtful."
"It is too dangerous," she insisted, "You have felt Emily's power just as surely as I have. She is much too strong."
Damon sat up too.
"But this is where our advantage lies," he explained, "She is your handmaiden. She trusts you."
Elena huffed and stood from the bed, pulling on her silk dressing gown, and the thigh sheath that contained her daggers.
Though one was missing, the one Damon had used on her in bed.
She looked around, spotting it on the floor, and picked it up, before answering, "I will not kill her, Damon."
The lightness of his expression faded, "Not even for us?"
Her hand tightened on the weapon, "We will find another witch. Emily has grown uneasy in my company. She knows what you do, what we do, to the others! Not to mention that, shall we fail, she could tell the king everything! She knows too much, Damon. She is too involved."
"Is it not better then, to take her life?" He pressed, standing.
"No, it is not!" Elena grew annoyed, "We get once chance at this, Damon! We cannot risk something going wrong!"
"The witch will not be able to defeat us!" He insisted angrily.
"You have not seen her power," Elena reminded him, "I have!"
"We do not have the time to find another, Elena. If we want this to work, you must be reasonable!"
She groaned in frustration, turning to sink the dagger into the wall by Damon's head.
"Fine," she hissed coldly, "But if you want her dead so badly, you can kill her yourself."
She turned to walk toward his door, but Damon grabbed her arm.
"Elena."
His tone was firm, commanding, sexy.
She closed her eyes, "Release me, Damon."
His grip tightened, and he pulled her back into his chest.
The entirety of his hard body was pressed against her.
The one weakness of hers that he knew well and exploited often.
His lips pressed against her neck, softly, "Do not be angry with me, love. I want this to work as much as you do."
Elena sighed, falling back into him, and his arms laced around her.
"I know," she told him, "But please, let us find another."
His chest rumbled, but she felt him nod, "If that is what you wish."
"It is," she looked up at him, "Thank you."
His answer was a chaste kiss on her lips, then her shoulder as he pulled away to find his own clothes.
Elena crossed her arms, in thought.
"It will require a great blood sacrifice, correct?"
Damon nodded, pulling on his trousers, "It does."
"If we simply kill a civilian, where lies the sacrifice?"
Damon looked over at her, "A civilian will not do for this. Nor will just magic. It must be a sacrifice of our giving. We must lose something to gain something."
Again she considered this, "What possibilities did you consider?"
Damon's voice was void of emotion, "I am not too overflowed with people whom I love. But I am sure the death must be familial. Blood to blood and all."
Elena bit her lip, "My father..."
Damon sighed, walking to her, "I would not ask that of you, Elena."
She crooked her head, "Then who? You hate your father so it's hardly a sacrifice, and Stefan..." she trailed off, "Stefan."
Elena lifted her gaze to Damon's, "He is your blood...and he loves me."
Damon shook his head, "Stefan shares my blood, but he is not of my blood, nor I of his. It would not be a strong enough bond. Too bad we have no available virgins. That would do the trick."
Elena blushed at her next thought.
"What of...lovers?"
Damon blinked, then followed her thought, "As if I would let him touch you," he growled, "No. Besides, you do not love him. The sacrifice would not work."
"Then what?" She was out of ideas.
"My father will have to do," Damon decided, "I may not hold any love for the man, but he is the blood of my blood. Royal blood of Aurelia. The sacrifice of the patricide should work."
Elena nodded, "Then we only need to locate a witch before the comet's passing."
Damon agreed, "We will have three possible nights to perform the spell. Then we must die to be reborn."
Elena swallowed, "And if it does not work? If we remain truly dead?"
Damon cupped her cheek, "Then I pray my soul finds yours in the afterlife. For I do not wish to live this one absent you by my side."
Elena smiled.
She felt the same, "Then come death or immortality, we shall be together."
Damon kissed her soundly, "Forever."
Emily knew something was wrong.
Days had passed since she had seen the Princess, and his highness was beginning to question her absence at meals.
She did not know what to tell him.
But to her fortune, he never asked her.
She did not wish to betray her mistress, or to lie to the crown.
Not that prince Stefan was a fool.
His saddened looks seemed to confirm that he had noticed that Prince Damon's random appearances had stopped along with Elena's.
Perhaps he just did not wish to believe the truth, nor have it confirmed.
The king never addressed the matter.
Emily doubted he much cared.
Dinner was finally dismissed, and she packed a tray for the princess.
As she did most nights of late, to leave in her bed chambers.
Sometimes she would find the food eaten upon the morning, but most times, it remained untouched.
She sighed as she climbed the stairs.
A right fit mess that one was getting into.
She only wished her lady had listened to her about the dark prince.
She opened the door to Elena's room, not surprised to find the princess absent, and placed the tray on the stand near the bed.
Then she picked up the flower pot, noticing the petals were drooping a little on the plant inside.
It was when she turned that she felt another presence.
Emily stiffened, the pot falling from her hands.
She heard the crash.
The breaking of the clay.
She didn't care.
Because this was the moment she had been expecting since she had discovered the prince's identity as a Shadowcaster.
She swallowed, "Your highness."
He stepped forward, and she turned.
His blue eyes were calm, steady.
"Emily Bennett," he returned with a smile as he reached behind himself and locked the door.
Her muscles tensed.
"You have something I need."
When Elena awoke, it was to a cold bed and an empty room.
She sat up to look around, but Damon was nowhere in sight.
A small fire blazed under the mantle, but it's warmth was minimal.
"Damon," she called out.
Silence answered her, not that she had really expected anything different.
But something felt unsettling about his absence.
It was after dark; late after dark, as they had fallen to sleep together after supper...and dessert.
Where could he possibly be?
She stood and dressed, looking for a note of some kind, or any clue, really, to his whereabouts.
When nothing came to, she decided to use a new technique.
Something Damon had shown her recently.
Calling upon her magic, Elena focused on the blood she'd consumed.
Damon's blood among the rest.
His particular sense was louder than the others, because she knew him so well.
And she could find him like this.
As long as she focused.
With a deep breath, she released all other thoughts, putting the entire essences of herself into the pull of Damon's blood.
Then she felt it, felt him.
And it hurt.
Elena gasped, her hands flying to her side in pain.
"Damon," she whispered.
He was hurt.
Without thinking, she teleported, trusting her magic.
When she opened her eyes, the scene before her made her mouth fall open.
She was in her bed chambers, only the bed was currently sideways, her desk also flipped, broken things scattered about.
Emily was off to the side, eyes closed, with hands on her temples.
Blood ran from her nose.
Damon was on his knees before her, writhing, as Emily chanted something, faster and faster.
Damon bellowed in pain, breaking Elena's shock.
Damon was hurting, and she could end it.
That was all that mattered.
Without any more hesitations, Elena reached to her sheath, then lunged forward, and in a single move, sank her dagger into Emily's back.
The girl didn't even have time to scream.
With a move Damon had made her practice over and over, she severed Emily's spine, twisting up to kill her, without damaging the heart.
Her maid's limp body fell to the ground.
Damon was shaking of the remnants of the spell Emily had been casting, and after a big exhale, Elena rushed to him.
"Damon!"
She helped him stand, "I'm alright."
He was a little shaken, and his side was bleeding, but nothing life threatening appeared to be wrong.
Elena swallowed, her worry giving way to anger.
"Grab the body. We need to go back to your room."
Damon nodded, doing as she said.
Elena used her magic to straightened the room back to its original state, then followed Damon.
When she opened her eyes, she was in front of the fireplace.
Emily's body was in front of Damon's altar, and he was sitting on the edge of the bed, now shirtless.
She could see the wound now, and sighed.
She could yell at him later.
Right now, he needed her power.
"Stop moving!" she commanded a few moments later, as Damon groaned, once more.
"I can not."
"Well, you must," she instructed, "Otherwise I can't heal you."
He was lying on his stomach, his back covered in blood that leaked from the stab wound beneath his shoulder blade.
Apparently Emily had used her magic to take control of the blade meant to kill her.
"You will not be able to," his voice was gruff, "Emily was more powerful than I expected. More prepared. The blade cut deep."
"She knew what you are," Elena reasoned, grabbing the cloth from the water bowl near the bed to clean him again, "What we are. I told you. She knew it was only a matter of time before-"
Damon winced.
"Apologies," she flinched, "How do I heal you then?"
"Spell," he groaned, "Summon the altar over. My grimoire is there. It should have the incantation."
Elena nodded, doing as he commanded, careful of Emily's body.
"You can really only find fault in yourself, you know," she pointed out.
Damon sighed as she turned the pages of his spell book, "Yes, I know, darling. You warned me of going after her. But it does not matter. She is dead, and we have all that we need for the spell. Her magic is powerful enough to see this through. Tomorrow, we will see this through. My father will join Emily in death, and you and I shall be freed, at last."
Elena leaned down, kissing his head, "Yes, my love. At last."
Her hand covered his wound, having found the correct spell.
"Brace yourself," she warned.
He healed instantly, and Elena was a tad impressed, though she felt a little drained from the act.
Closing the book, she sighed.
"If we are going to take her power, we should do it now. I grow weak, and she will soon start to bleed out."
Damon nodded, standing up.
"Give me your dagger."
Elena handed it over, not needing to even ask why he needed it.
After all, Damon was much better at cutting out the whole heart than she was.
She watched as he kneeled before her handmaiden, and suddenly, she had to look away.
The urge seemed childish, but unfightable.
She heard the crunch of bone, the slick, wet sound of her blood, and Elena flinched.
She should be used to this now.
She was used to this.
But...it was Emily.
Her servant, her friend.
And the girl was now dead, at her hand no less.
Elena blinked back sudden tears.
Why was she crying?
Emily was dear to her, sure, but her loyalty to the girl didn't outweigh her love for Damon.
Damon.
He was why this had to happen.
So they could be together.
She wiped her cheek, feeling more certain in this decision.
Emily was, after all, the strongest witch in the kingdom.
And her sacrifice would be recognized.
Elena forced herself to turn around.
To stand, and walk over to Damon and the corpse.
The deed was done.
Emily's heart was in his hands, blood dripping, and glass jars of it surrounded him.
"You want the honors?" He offered, lifting the heart toward her.
Elena swallowed, staring at the body beneath her.
"There is no honor in this," she sighed, "Just a necessary sacrifice."
She leaned down, and placed her lips on Emily's forehead.
"Thank you for your sacrifice, Emily," she whispered, "Know that I am eternally grateful.
Damon watched her, a small smile on his lips.
"It is wise to respect the spirits," he commended.
She nodded, "I pray her soul knows peace."
Damon looked down, "Would you like to dispose of her body, or shall we burn it?"
Elena shook her head, "We have not the time, if you wish to complete the ritual with tomorrow's comet."
Damon nodded, then snapped his fingers, Emily's body disappearing.
Then, once again, he held out the heart, "Eat."
Elena took it from him, "Pray this works."
She bit into it.
A rush of power unlike anything she'd felt before filled her.
She moaned, ripping into the muscle again and again, before giving the rest to Damon.
As he ate, she picked up a jar of the blood, and drank.
She almost choked on the amount, but the euphoria of the magic made it bearable, and she knew that she would need it.
They both would.
Damon drank his fill after her, and smiled.
Red coated his teeth, ran down his chin, and joined his own blood on his torso.
His eyes followed as hers roamed, and soon, he was pulling her against him.
She fell into him, and forced his body back onto the chaise at the end of the bed.
"Strip," she commanded, needing his trousers gone.
As he worked to remove them, she poured some of Emily's blood into a goblet and brought it over.
She straddled Damon, sloshing a little onto his pec, but she licked it clean.
She took another drink, offered him one, then sat the cup down.
Damon squeezed her hips, grinding her against his erection.
Her head fell back, and she lifted her arms.
On cue, he stripped the dress from her.
Once naked, she pushed him down onto the chaise, and slid him inside of her at the same time.
They both moaned.
Elena rode him steadily, paced, enjoying the pleasure.
Damon watched her, his eyes reflecting the light of the fire.
He moved then, grabbing the cup.
Elena smiled when he brought it to her chest. They had done this before.
He titled the goblet until blood spilled over, running down her collarbone, her breasts, her stomach.
It dripped onto his chest.
She sighed breathlessly as Damon palmed her, smearing the blood in and increasing her pleasure.
Then his mouth was on her tainted skin, sucking her, licking her, tasting everything.
She kissed him, the blood lingering between their lips, a bittersweet promise.
Her climax grew, and she was left gasping her ecstasy into his red stained neck as he bit hers, both of them riding their pleasure, understanding that this could be the last night they had to do so.
Elena stood in front of the fireplace, which burned hot.
Damon slept naked on the bed behind her, though his body was stained with the blood of their...activities."
Her blood, Emily's, his own.
All mixed together on the canvas that was his skin.
She also wore nothing except the blood, dried on her skin, and the amulet Damon had given her, which she was now unfastening.
She held it up, once it slid from her neck, so that the fire light shone through.
He had told her not to remove it, but she knew the importance of her task was worth the risk.
Tomorrow night, Damon would kill the king, and their spell would start.
She threw a glance to him on the bed.
Her chest swelled with emotion.
Her love for him was overwhelming at times, passionate, and full forced power.
Damon consumed her very being.
And this could be the last time she'd ever see him.
For if they failed...she flinched.
They could not fail.
Her eyes turned back to the necklace dangling from her hand.
The blood diamond sparkled from the fire, spinning on its chain.
Elena gripped it in her hand.
She had faith in their plan, she did, but there was still so much that could go wrong.
That could ruin everything.
This was her insurance.
The amulet held a great power; she'd felt it, fueling her own abilities.
It would be powerful enough to bind a simple spell.
She reached for Damon's dagger, which lay forgotten on the floor after their lovemaking.
With its tip, she pierced her finger, beginning to chant at a low volume, as she placed the wound onto the center of the blood diamond.
She watched as, with her words, the stone absorbed her blood, it's color darkening.
She focused then, drawing up every emotion she had, centering on the burning love she felt for the eldest Salvatore prince.
Filled the essence of her amulet with it.
So no matter how tomorrow ended, she knew, at least, her heart would be preserved within the stone.
She would not forget this love, or the man it longed for.
Once the act was completed, Elena put the necklace back on, and crawled back into bed.
Damon slept soundly, but his arms encircled her as she moved closer to his side.
She rested her head on his shoulder, looking up at his beautiful face.
God, how she loved him.
Her eyes fluttered, and she knew sleep would soon take her.
But she managed to place one last kiss to his cheek.
"Forever," she whispered into the night, "I will love you forever."
Sooo it's the night before!
Emily is dead and they are ready to dorder the spell! :)
Let me know what you thought, and if you picked up on the little things that had been mentioned in past chapters ;)