Hi guys! So basically this is my new story. I've been planning it for quite a while now.
Brief idea of what the story is about: The story will start when Damon and Elena are children and it will continue to when they are teenagers/young adults. Damon is a young vampire (Or, is in the process of becoming one as Vampire Mythology will be different) He has a kind and gentle nature and he is therefore blinded to the real world out there. However, when Elena is auctioned and bought by the Salvatores, Damon will slowly be exposed to the real world out there, one in which things aren't always what they seem and not everything is like what Damon was taught in school. It will be a story of what Damon and Elena will go through to fall in each other's arms, about social injustice and inequality, fear, pride and pain and finally the inner battles these two characters, especially Damon, have to face.
Rated M for dark themes, involving abuse, violence and profanity.
Would like to thank ThroughMySoul44 and PorkChopSmall, two amazing friends and writers, for helping me out with the story and supporting me. Special thanks to ThroughMySoul44 for the title as I chose her suggestion after both writers both suggested a list of titles. The image of the story is inspired by Bound, Gothic Love (Slavery "Chains" are obviously a key feature in the story)
Vampire Diaries does not belong to me, all rights go to the CW, LJ Smith, Julie Plec and everyone else making a profit from the show.
Thank you for your support, please Review
Damon looked around, a sigh escaping his lips. He was on the beach, scooping up handfuls of sand and letting them slip through his fingers while he listened to the calming sound of the waves hitting against the shore. There were plenty of families swimming and enjoying the summer sun, but he wasn't in the mood to participate.
He wanted to be alone which, quite frankly, was ironic seeing as he hated being by himself. But the recent events shattered everything around him. All he wanted was to hide away and grieve in his own way, not caring what others thought of him.
"Damon." His mother appeared by his side, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's time to go."
He nodded, not wanting to look at his mother, not even once. The boy had seen the pain in the woman's eyes for far too long, and far too often. Sadly, this pain only augmented after Enzo, her nephew and Damon's best friend had perished. The disease had killed him, turned him into nothing but ash. He was spared the details, but Damon wasn't stupid. He knew that Enzo had suffered greatly before his death. His mother's pale, lifeless face was validation enough.
As soon as Enzo was going to be placed in that casket, Damon was going to be lonely again. That was the worst part of all. He had always been incredibly lonely as a child, and with his only friend gone, things were going to become worse. He sighed and took his mother's hand as they walked to the cemetery where his friend was to be buried and Damon unwillingly let a tear stream down his cheek.
3 Months Later
"Damon, it's your twelveth birthday," Camilla Salvatore said when she looked at her son whose gaze was locked to the television screen. "You can't keep doing this. It's been three months now and you need to move on."
"You know that I'm unable to make friends, mom," Damon sighed, tapping away at the game on his smartphone, "Enzo was my only hope. He was my friend."
"Oh, honey," Camilla sighed. "Your father and I are so worried about you."
"My father?" Damon scoffed. "The only thing my father cares about is trying to make me a man. I haven't transformed fully into a vampire yet, he cannot pretend that I'll be strong as he is."
"Your father knows that it's dangerous out there," Camilla quickly said. "You shouldn't say such things. You've lived for only twelve years, your father and I have lived for a hundred. He only wants you to be able to protect yourself."
"You know it's not true," Damon said. "He made me kill our neighbour's cat. He knows that I can just have blood bags instead, that there was no need for me to kill it. Stop defending him, mom. He broke you enough already."
"Don't talk like that about your father, he loves us," Camilla looked sternly at her son and it was then that Damon realised that he had to shut up.
It was one battle he would never win. His mother was blinded to the things that went on in their house and defended the way his father acted. He was a harsh man, demanding and strict. His appearance was everything to him and he would do anything to keep that up, no matter who he hurt. Damon tried to distance himself as much as possible, but it was hard to avoid his own father.
"I heard that the mayor is bringing a new supply in town, today," She said a few minutes later.
His bright blue eyes grew wide at her words.
"Supply of what? Humans?"
"Yes," Camilla sighed.
"Never thought I'd see one," Damon replied passively. "Have you ever seen one?"
Camilla bit her lip, glancing at the blood Damon was drinking. She knew that she could never explain this to her son, whose kind nature prohibited him from seeing things the way they really were.
"No," She lied. "I'll take you to town tonight. It wouldn't hurt to know who'll be living close to us."
"I learnt at school that humans are vampires' pets," Damon said after a few moments. "According to my teacher, a vampire should own one because the human brings out the superiority in a vampire. What are they exactly? A new breed of cat or dog?"
Camilla cringed at her son's innocence. She couldn't tell him about the horrors of the world out there, not when she herself didn't agree with what was being done to the humans. Her husband Giuseppe, however, had his own views about the world out there and she could not, and would not, dare ever express her thoughts with him.
She looked at her son and saw kindness and goodness written on his face. In all honesty, she didn't want to take him to see the poor humans suffering, but Giuseppe had told her that they should be there as this was a special event and that Damon should not be blinded to what lies beyond Mystic Falls. After all, Giuseppe had said, it had been too long since there was a human in town and they should consider themselves lucky that the mayor brought a supply of humans so that they could buy them and keep them as slaves.
"You'll see tonight," She sighed, turning back to the kitchen.
As soon as Giuseppe arrived home from work, Camilla immediately told her husband that she had informed Damon about the new supply in town. To her surprise, he congratulated her for doing as he asked her, stating again that it'd be good to show Damon what the real world offered. He fought frequently with her because of this and often blamed the woman for Damon's character. According to Giuseppe, their son was weak because of her and her own upbringing. He never wanted a son who was kind and passive. He wanted a son who was aggressive, violent, and took whatever he wanted. It was, according to Giuseppe, the only way they could survive out there.
Damon threw a light shirt on and followed his mother. Young vampires were always accompanied by an adult in times like this, even though Mystic Falls had never been involved in a real war. He sighed as people greeted Giuseppe, treating him with respect because of his high position in the vampire authority. After, they walked through the open market, occasionally glancing at the items for sale, but then, Damon was startled when he heard crying.
A large crowd of vampires descended on to the town square, all gathering, pushing and shoving to get to the front. Curiously, Damon made a move forward, but his father clamp a large, strong hand on his small shoulder.
"What is that?" He asked.
"Oh, the humans must've arrived," Giuseppe said, a smirk forming on his face. "Come on, Damon. It's time you met the human-the real enemy."
"What?" Damon's eyebrows raised, remembering what he had learnt at school. "I thought humans were pets. I didn't think they had the ability to cry."
"You and your nonsense," Giuseppe snarled at Camilla, "Your son is weak."
"I'm sorry, Giuseppe," Camilla said, the fear evident in her voice. "I wanted to spare him the details."
"It is a woman's job to ensure that the son knows what to expect as soon as he reaches a certain age," Giuseppe spat. "You failed miserably in that task. Come on, Damon. Let me show you what a human is. What they really are!"
Damon was led to a large area in which vampires were gathered around, their gazes locked on the cages that were being unloaded from a large merchandise truck. Damon tip-toed and looked at the cages, trying to get a clear view of these 'humans'. He was surprised to find none. He frowned and looked down and around, but still, no hideous monster or creatures caught his eye.
"Where are the humans, mom?" Damon asked her in a whisper.
"There..." Camilla whispered back, "In the cages."
Damon looked again, this time his eyes widened when he realised that the people in the cages were no monsters. They didn't have four legs like dogs or cats did; there was nothing strange about them. In fact, they looked like a normal vampires did: Some pale skinned, other slightly tan, hair on their heads, two arms and legs. They looked normal. And that was what surprised him most.
His gaze fell on a girl of about nine or ten years old. She was a brunette, and her eyes were chocolate brown, full of tears as a local police officer led her by the chain which was currently tied around her neck. She stumbled forward and out of the cage, bumping into one of the officers. He bared his fangs, causing her to shriek as he shoved her away from him.
"What is he doing to her, mom?" Damon gasped, "Why are they treating them like dangerous dogs?"
"Humans are pets, my son," Giuseppe smiled.
Damon's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "But...they are no different than us..."
He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence because his father had already slapped him with so much force that his head snapped sideways. While he didn't exactly feel the pain, he fully felt the humiliation when vampires around him started to whisper.
"Never, ever compare a human with a vampire!" Giuseppe nearly screamed, "Or it will be the last thing you'll say."
"I'm sorry...father," Damon said, his voice shaking and his face heating up.
Giuseppe's gaze locked with Camilla's, the same way he always looked at his wife for her failure as a mother. Damon's throat was taut and dry, anticipating his mother's eyes to meet his, but they never did. She simply stared at her hands, positioned slavishly beside her husband.
"The performance is about to start," He smirked sickly after a while, watching as two police officers tied a woman to a column in the middle of the square they were currently in. Damon didn't have the chance to react to this because before he could register, the two police officers began to hit the woman mercilessly.
"No!" Damon yelled, looking up at his father, "Why? Make him stop! You can stop him! He's hurting her!"
"You're weak, my son. That's not a vampire out there-That's a human. A pet, an object. She cannot feel anything. She's a monster."
Damon quieted a little at that, and noticed that the woman was, in fact, quiet as if she was not feeling any of the blows against her skin. She didn't cry or scream, she just stared straight ahead, flinching every so often when the whips tails cut into her flesh once again.
"See? That's the devil's child," Giuseppe said. "You're afraid of the devil, aren't you, boy?"
Damon wanted to speak, but an unfamiliar scent suddenly filled his nostrils, immediately stopping his words. He turned around to see vampires around him celebrating, their fangs elongated. Somehow, they were all running towards the woman. Damon froze on the spot and it was only when he inched closer that he saw blood running down the human's neck and vampires licking at it.
"What's going on?" Damon asked, fear overwhelming him when he continued to watch the gruesome spectacle, "What are they doing to her?"
No one paid attention to him, but Damon turned around at the sound of someone crying. There, in the corner, was the young brunette he had seen a few moments before, who was crying at the scene in front of her. At that, Damon only became more confused-Giuseppe had said that these monsters do not cry. He turned to talk to her but before he could even move, another police officer grabbed the young girl by her chain and locked his eyes with hers. The girl seemed to be in a trance for a moment, however she then shrieked harder.
"Human girl for auction here!" The police officer screamed, covering the girl's mouth with a gag and securing it tightly at the back of her head. Damon noticed the tears streaming down her cheek and his eyes narrowed in confusion. Somehow, he couldn't see a monster or a 'devil's child', all he could see was a girl.
"Starting price 1,800 dollars! Makes an excellent pet!" The man shouted.
"I'll give you 2000!" Someone screamed.
"3,000!"
The girl desperately tried to escape the officer that was holding her, whimpering behind the gag.
"Shut up, bitch!" The police officer snapped when the girl continued to scream. His hands closed around his belt and he unbuckled it, prepared to hit the girl.
"No!" The word left Damon's mouth long before he could stop it. Giuseppe turned to face him, his eyes cruel as they pierced Damon's.
"I mean," Damon justified, looking at the small girl, "I'm going to buy her."
"Damon..." Camilla started, "What are you saying? You know that you..."
"It's my birthday," Damon cut her off and turned to Giuseppe. "You can buy her for me as a birthday gift. You said that I ought to know what the world is made of. This is my chance."
"A human is no toy, it's a pet," Giuseppe warned him.
"I know that now," Damon lied.
"And what do you plan on doing with her?" Giuseppe asked him.
"She'll be mine. I'll train her to keep me company," Damon continued, looking at the girl's brown eyes, eyes that were looking at him in utter fear.
"Done," Giuseppe said after a while, surprising Camilla. "It will be a good idea for Damon to learn to control his inferiors. Don't screw this up, my son."
Giuseppe looked at the crowd. "I offer 10,000 for the girl," He screamed out loud.
"5-4-3-2-1..." The police officer smiled, "The girl is now sold to Mr. Salvatore. Well done."