Thank you all for your awesome reviews! If you are still interested, here it is! :D

I miss Damon and Elena so much, I miss tvd! :/

Silence.

That was the only thing that Damon hadn't expected to hear.

That evening had been terrible. No, the word 'terrible' wasn't enough, there were no words that could describe it, nothing that could make him forget. He had been looking at his father's body for hours, as vomit crawled up his throat. Not because he pitied Giuseppe, because he knew that the bastard deserved it, but because he couldn't stomach the fact that the girl he loved had become cold, frozen like a statue. After she had killed his father, Damon had expected a strong reaction from her, he had expected her to sink to his arms, crying as he held her closer to him. He had expected Elena to want to be comforted, to want to be assured that she had done nothing wrong, that she had only done what needed to be done to rescue them both. But none of that had happened. Instead, Elena had disappeared upstairs coldly, no anger, no sadness, no regret. Her expression had basically been unreadable. It wasn't that he blamed Elena for not feeling guilty about murdering his father. After all, the girl had been sexually and physically abused by the monster. She had been raped by him, and Giuseppe would've forced him to rape her too had Elena not intervened. Elena, of course, had every reason to want him dead. He was happy that she did it. The problem was that Elena was pure, and he knew that something like that-self defence or not—should've destroyed her. But it didn't. He had seen the expression on her face, and it had terrified him. There was nothing. There was only emptiness. As the stake had slid down her fingers, Elena's eyes had remained with his. She'd looked at him and at the body on the floor, without saying anything, and then she had turned on her heels and left, and he had been feeling the coldness in the air ever since.

He was broken out of his reverie when he heard her approaching. "I did what had to be done," Elena said almost robotically.

"I know," Damon said quietly. "It was the right thing."

Elena nodded. "Yes, it was." Her answer shocked him, and she noticed. "I can't lie to you, Damon. That is why I agree with you. I did what had to be done, what should've been done ages ago."

Damon's breath caught in his throat. She was mad at him. Her tone was accusatory. And yet, everything she was saying was true.

"Giuseppe was only going to torment us more," Elena continued. "You saw it with your own eyes. He wanted to rape me. He wanted you to do it. He was never going to change."

"I know, Elena. He sealed his own fate." His blue eyes locked with hers.

"I don't feel any guilt, Damon," She said robotically. "I feel nothing. I feel that I've finally got my revenge. I can't feel sorry for him, not even the slightest."

It was then that Damon saw the tears in Elena's eyes, and in that moment, he felt relief. The girl he loved wasn't lost, her emotions were in check. "I am sorry, Damon, I'm sorry I can't feel guilty," She sobbed. "I know that my heart should feel heavy with this burden, with the fact that I am a murderer, but it isn't. Not after everything he had done to me." She couldn't even apologize for killing Giuseppe. Damon deserved the truth, and that was the truth. She wasn't sorry for killing him, but she hated herself for it. A small voice in her ear comforted her, told her that she shouldn't hate herself for it. What she did was mere self defence. She had done nothing wrong. She had finally punished him for everything he'd put her through.

"Why isn't my bed made?" Giuseppe barked at her face, looking at the unmade bed in the middle of the room. "What the fuck were you doing? Is this what I get after I offer you a decent meal, clothing and a comfortable bed everyday?"

"I am really sorry, Sir," Elena pleaded, trembling. "I was doing the laundry and preparing for tomorrow's big gala event. It must've slipped my mind."

Giuseppe stood up angrily. "I want that bed made, now."

"Of course, Sir," Elena stammered. His eyes were fixed on her as she attempted to smooth out the sheets whilst trying to hide her trembling hands from his view. She hated his room so much, and she hated being alone with him. Her heart was racing.

"If your heart beats any faster, you'll get a heart attack, Elena," She heard him say. She saw him laughing and then he sat down casually on the armchair, his eyes glued on her. Elena hurriedly finished making the bed, sweat forming on her forehead. Giuseppe was watching her like a hawk- His eyes were cold, everything about him screamed danger.

"Is there anything else, s-Sir?" Elena stammered. "You can go," He dismissed her rudely, and for that Elena was grateful.

"Wait."

Elena froze dead in her tracks and turned to face Giuseppe, who was still watching her intensely. Giuseppe leaned against the armchair and put a cigarette in his mouth. "Take off your clothes."

There was something scary about the way he ordered her around, about the way he spoke to her. He hardly shouted, his voice was usually calm and monotonous. And yet Elena knew better than to disobey. Her legs got stuck to the ground, she couldn't breathe. It had been quite a long time since he'd raped her, she'd thought that he was no longer interested. She'd thought that she could finally start healing, at least physically.

"Now, Elena," He ordered, his face hardening. With shaky hands, Elena unbuttoned the slave dress that he had made her wear that morning, and let it slide down her body. Her hands instantly went to cover her bare breasts, her body shaking with fear and shame.

"Why must you always hide from me?" Giuseppe suddenly appeared behind her, his voice quiet as he gently grabbed a curl that was hanging on her back. "It is very annoying." His face hardened and he pulled the curl harder, causing her to wince. She crossed her arms tighter over her chest as a tear threatened to slip down her cheek.

"You shall not hide from me," He hissed cruelly as he savagely yanked her arms back. "I can do whatever I want to you." He squeezed her right breast roughly and whispered in her ear, "You still haven't taken off your underwear yet."

"I beg you, Master," Elena cried, tears streaming heavily down her cheeks. "Don't hurt me."

"I won't hurt you if you cooperate…" He said, his finger hooking around the elastic of her panties and inching it slowly down her legs. "Stay still." Elena had no choice but to obey. She knew how painful it was when he was angry. Giuseppe sighed as he let her panties fall on the ground, and then, to Elena's surprise he went back to sit on the armchair. He lit up another cigarette and poured himself a drink as he stared at her up and down.

"Come here," He ordered, and Elena walked towards him robotically. She stopped in front of him, but he yanked her forwards and sat her on his lap. He forced the glass of scotch against her mouth.

"You know, Elena," He spoke, "The world isn't black and white as most people portray it to be." His hands started to stroke her body. "There's more than that. There's gray. More than one shade of gray." He grabbed her face roughly and forced her to look at him. "You think that I am cruel and sadistic," He said. "And you're right, I am. You think that vampires are monsters. You hate me for making my son blame you all of those years. You hate me for raping you, for touching you," He continued as his fingers brushed against her nipples. "All these things are true. But your people are not innocent, either. They hurt my family. They hurt me. They don't hesitate to murder our children. It isn't simple at all, Elena. In our eyes, you're the monsters."

His grip on her tightened. "There is indeed something special about you. I don't know what it is, but it keeps me from killing you." He put his hands in his pocket and took out a small pocket knife. Elena's eyes widened.

"It'd be so easy," He sighed, placing the knife against her cheek. "I'll finally rid my son from the thing that's forcing him to be weak and I will get my revenge, I will find your father myself and I will give him your head on a silver platter."

He lowered his knife to her lips, down her throat, and past her breasts, drawing circles around them. "He did fuck my wife, after all."

More tears came from Elena's eyes as she remained still, unable to move. He trailed the knife down her bare stomach to her belly button before resting it on her inner thighs. Elena closed her eyes and held her breath. "But where would be the fun in that?"

He suddenly started laughing evilly, and used his vampire speed to throw her on the bed in the middle of the room. Elena screamed as she landed on her stomach, but he was already on top of her, holding her down with his weight. One of his hands tangled in her hair as he unbuckled his pants, but Elena continued to scream, hoping that someone, somewhere would hear her and show her some mercy. "I said, shut up!" He yanked her hair roughly and within seconds, Elena felt something inside her mouth and then tightening around the back of her head. "You better not tear that belt up, it's my favourite," He smirked sickly as he swatted her behind.

"Don't bite too hard." As Elena heard the familiar sound of his pants unzipping, she knew that there was nothing to do except to hold on to the covers as tightly as she could, as she prayed to God that he finished quickly.

"He deserved everything he got." Elena whispered as she realized that she'd let herself become consumed by yet another terrible memory. Damon was holding her hand now, a tear in his eye.

"I saw it," He sobbed.

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. "Saw what?"

"The night he raped you," Damon choked. "The memory you've just had. I saw it. All of it."

Elena's eyes filled with tears and she fell to her knees, letting out all the tears and pain that she'd been holding. Due to Giuseppe's compulsion, she could never really tell Damon about her sufferance, and now that Damon had seen it with his own eyes she felt a weight being lifted off her chest, and yet another burden forming. There was a time where she'd been angry at him, and she had really wanted him to see what she'd been through just so he could realize what he had done to her. There was a time where she wanted him to know, so that he could never sleep again. And then, there had been other times where she just wanted someone to share that hell with. But now that he had seen everything, now that she could see the genuine anguish in his eyes, the shame, she felt that she was a monster for wishing it on Damon. He fell to his knees next to her and hugged her closer to him.

"I promise you, Elena, I will fix this. I will fix everything."

It didn't take Damon too long to bury his father's body. But even as he was digging the grave, he felt that nothing was ever going to be buried permanently. He'd killed Tyler, and his father was dead too. He knew that if he got caught, he would end up in jail or executed. That didn't worry him, what worried him was what would happen to Elena. On the rare occasion that the master died, the slaves would be auctioned off again. He couldn't imagine putting Elena through all of that. Now that his father was no longer a problem, Damon started to consider getting out of there, and move to an entirely different continent. Running was now a more possible option. But even as he was thinking so, something bothered him. He didn't want to run. He didn't want to live in fear and he certainly didn't want Elena to live in fear. And even though Giuseppe was dead, there were still so many people who disapproved of his methods, of his relationship with Elena. Elijah's offer rang in his ear again. He could protect both of them, he could continue running the town. He just had to accept his deal, he just needed to fund his research. A research that would impregnate many more human slaves. He couldn't even say that out loud. It would also keep you and Elena safe, and there will be less kidnappings. The other voice taunted him. A small price to pay for the greater good.

His hands shaking, Damon dialed Elijah's number.

"Damon?"

"I accept your terms," Damon said coolly.

"All of them? No hesitation?"

"All of them," Damon repeated.

"Then I will be on my way to discuss our agreement," Elijah said after a long pause.

"There's only one condition," Damon interrupted.

"What is that?"

"Elena can never know that I am funding this. I don't want her to know."

"Agreed," Elijah said without hesitation. "I will be there in an hour."

Damon said goodbye and hung up, fully aware that his entire body was shaking. "I'm sorry," He whispered to himself. "But I must protect you."