Damon Slate's Story

On January 1st, 1901, Damon Slate was born...
Two hours later his mother passed away from loss of blood. Damon’s father, Thomas, took him home the next day and made a promise to himself that he would always be there for his son, no matter what. As the days passed, the crying Damon became too much for Thomas to handle on his own and he quickly hired a nanny. Thomas felt incredibly guilty, but tried to spend as much time with Damon as possible. As Damon grew, Thomas began teaching him everything he knew, from fishing, to shooting a rifle, and of course… how to woe the ladies. Though, Thomas was quite the gentlemen, he was also quite the charmer and it appeared that Damon had inherited his father’s charm. It was not long before Damon was bringing his first “love” home to meet his father. Only being 14 that “love” did not last long. Of course there were many other “loves”, but then on Damon’s 17th birthday, while he was out on the town with some good friends, he met the most beautiful woman he had ever had the pleasure of laying his eyes on. She had long, blond hair that gently cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and the most stunning green eyes that pierced your heart like an emerald sword.
Damon was mesmerized by the young lady’s beauty. From across the room he could have sworn that her skin was glowing. As the night wore on, Damon slowly plucked up the courage to speak to the young lady. It was very unlike him to be so incredibly nervous around a woman, but there was something different about her. He knew that he could not screw this up, for if he did… that would be the end - The end of all time.

“Excuse me, Miss… but I could not help but notice your stunning beauty from across the room,” Damon smiled and gave her a little bow, as if applauding her for her good looks.
“I was wondering when you were going to make your way over,” the young lady purred. She sparkled her eyes in an oh-so-mesmerizing way and gently placed her hand atop Damon’s. “May I ask your name?”
Damon cleared his throat, slightly stunned for a moment. “Damon. Damon Slate.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Slate. My name is Lillian Groves.” She gently stuck out her hand and Damon quickly grasped it and lightly pressed his lips to the top of her silky smooth hand. “Please, call me Damon,” he grinned as he peered under his eyelashes.

Damon and Lillian spent every possible moment together after that night. They were quite literally inseparable, though, part of the reason was that Damon was very protective of Lillian and refused to let her out of his sight for mere moments. Lillian repeatedly told Damon that she did not need protecting, but Damon refused to listen. Damon was infatuated with Lillian – His life was Lillian now and he had plans to propose soon. He was hoping to do it shortly after his 18th birthday. He even had a ring hiding in his bedside drawer.
Damon’s 18th birthday arrived quickly… Lillian took him out to dinner and then to the park for a walk around the pond under the moonlight. She appeared subdued, which was not at all like her.
“Is something bothering you, my love?” Damon asked softly.
“Just a bit hungry still,” Lillian responded, staring across the lake.
“Did you not like the meal?” Damon asked with great concern on his face.
“It was alright, but I am craving something a little different.” Lillian’s eyes quickly flashed to Damon. They were different… They were no longer the soft gemstones Damon loved so much – They had become the daggers Damon remembered from the first night he had seen her. Chills danced across Damon’s skin. Before he had time to feel anything else, Lillian had him on the ground with her teeth deep in his neck. Damon struggled against her, not understanding what was happening, but Lillian was much stronger; she held him down with one hand on his chest while the other kept a firm grip on the back of his neck. Lillian then raised her head, a triumphant smile spread across her face. She inhaled deeply, “Much better”. Damon remained motionless on the ground, not realizing that she had removed her concrete hand from his chest. Lillian then punctured her own wrist and let it slowly drip into Damon’s partially opened mouth. There was nothing at first, but then Damon began to enjoy the taste of it – He wanted more. He grabbed Lillian’s wrist and pulled it close to his lips. After a bit, Lillian pulled her wrist away from Damon and placed her hand back on his chest, securing him against the ground. “The change will happen now,” she spoke darkly, gazing into the depths of Damon’s eyes. He looked at her curiously for a moment, wondering what she meant by change and also wondering why he could not have more of her blood… Then the pain began seeping through his body. He could feel it in his neck first, but it quickly spread to his entire body, taking all thoughts out of his mind and filling it with unimaginable pain. Damon struggled against Lillian’s hold, but she only pressed against him harder as she kept her eyes locked on his. She then leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “I wish I could see the final transformation – I am sure you would be quite beautiful, but I must leave. This should have ended the first night I met you. Goodbye Damon”. Lillian gently kissed his cheek, and then she was gone. Damon remained convulsing on the ground, unable to comprehend the words she had just spoken.

As the light from the rising sun began to dance across the pond, Damon opened his eyes for the first time – The first time as a Vampire. Everything was different. His life was different, too, he now realized. He would not be able to return to his father. He had to find Lillian…

Damon searched far and wide for her. He asked every person he passed on the street if they knew her or had seen anyone like her recently. He searched for her name in directories and never found a Lillian Groves. He was determined to find her, though. She had to love him… If she did not love him then she would not have said goodbye to him, she would have just left after… biting him. Damon hated to think the word. He hated what he had become. His mother died because of blood loss and now he needed to take the blood of others in order to survive. He refused to take the blood of a human. He did not like the idea of taking blood from an animal either, but it did not seem as bad as taking it from a human.
As time wore on, Damon’s drive to find Lillian began to fade. He was growing tired of visiting country after country and searching for her name. He thought that she would have contacted him by now, but then again he was not at home where she could contact him. So, Damon returned home for the first time in ten years. His father was reading the local paper in the kitchen when he arrived. When Thomas finally looked up from the paper and saw his missing son standing in the doorway, he fell off his chair. He clutched at his heart and Damon rushed to his side. Then the scent hit him… The butter knife had fallen to the floor and grazed his father’s arm. Beads of blood were forming along the thin cut. Damon’s jaw went rigid. He had resisted human blood for ten years – His father’s blood smelt absolutely tantalizing. Before even thinking it, Damon’s teeth sunk into his father’s neck. It was not long before death began taking over his father and Damon stopped. He peered down at the pale figure beneath him. A growl ripped through Damon’s chest. “LILLIAN!!!” He roared. “I will find you, and I will kill you!” Damon ran from his home and into the forest. He ran for days, unsure of where he was going, but determined to find Lillian. Many more years passed and the hunt for Lillian slowly faded into nothing. Damon tried to resist human blood as much as possible as he often thought of his mother, but if the right scent filled his nose and caused his mouth to water, he would kill without a thought. Eventually the guilt he felt when killing a human faded. He no longer cared about anything or anyone. The only time he resisted human blood was when he wanted to stay in one place for a longer period of time. As he ventured to Scotland he became quite comfortable there and so he killed less humans and returned to feeding on animals only.
Then, one night as Damon was hunting deer in a thick forest in Scotland, he followed the deer’s trail to a small meadow. As he reached the edge he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes opened wide in shock and wonderment. It couldn’t be?

“Lillian…” he breathed. A beautiful, young lady lay curled upon the grass and wildflowers, her long, blond hair spread out beneath her. Damon slowly made his way toward her – If his heart still beat it would be thundering in his chest. He could see tears on the young lady’s cheeks and became curious as to what was upsetting her. He also could not help but feel concerned for her, which was strange given that Damon had stopped caring for people quite some time ago, but if this was Lillian it made sense that he would be concerned… He painfully still loved Lillian. Then the young lady’s scent blew across his face on the breeze. Human… and delicious. Damon was kneeling beside her and had his teeth in her soft neck before you could blink. She struggled just as he had, and he held her against the ground as Lillian had done with him. When he was done feeding he stared at the young lady for a moment. She was beautiful, just like Lillian. Her hair was just like Lillian. Then the young lady opened her eyes briefly… Damon gasped as he saw her emerald green eyes sparkle before closing again. He could not let this beauty die. Damon sank his teeth into his own wrist and then let the blood drip over the young lady’s mouth. She soon grabbed at his wrist as he had done with Lillian. It was an odd sensation to have his blood sucked this time… It was sensual. He soon stopped the young lady and then backed away from her. He knew what came next and felt sorry for her. He watched from the edge of the meadow as she convulsed on the ground, grabbing at the grass and wildflowers… Chloe Wilkinson was becoming a Vampire. When the transformation was complete, Damon promised himself that he would never leave Chloe’s side. He felt compelled to show her the way of life as a Vampire… And he could not help but feel something else, though he was not entirely sure what that was yet.