Hero?

25

After breakfast Damon escorts Ana outside. The tents had been put up. Ana thought he meant camping tents. She didn't know he had circus tents.

"These aren't circus tents, Little One, they are event tents. Although, now that you mention it, the events are much like a circus after all." Ana ignores him and his chuckles as she looks up in wonder at the small chandeliers as they are set in place and turned on.

She enjoys the feel of Damon's hand as he takes the hair out of her face and tucks it behind her ear. "Even your tents have chandeliers. Where does it end, Damon?"

"Where does what end, Little One?" Damon asks getting down on one knee to better face her.

"The wealth and waste. You are so used to it you don't see it do you?"

Damon takes a look around and has to admit that she's right, "I'm sorry, Little One, I don't."

Ana gives him a small smile, "It's okay. You were raised this way. The chandeliers in here alone could feed a family of four for months. Likely the material used in this tent could pay for their housing and other costs for the same amount of time. It's wasteful, but beautiful."

"Tell you what, Little One, you help me be less wasteful and tell me how to help others, okay?"

"You mean it?" Ana looks up at him with shining eyes. In that moment Damon felt like a hero instead of the villain he knows himself to be. 

"I mean it. I'll set up scholarships and funds to help those less fortunate. Deal?" Damon smiles at her and holds out his hand.

"Only if you help me do the same," Ana looks at him with hope.

"Of course," Damon replies and sees her smile with true happiness. He loves this little girl so much.

Ana takes his hand and shakes it. He calls Calum over and talks to him about what they wish to do. Calum looks from Damon to Ana in disbelief. "You're going soft Damon. Spider will be all over you, not to mention the new comer that is trying to eat our borders."

A hard and dark look takes over Damon and Calum shivers at the smile he gives. "They can try, but they won't like what happens when they do."

Calum looks over the girls as they are shepherded into the tent. Some of them are fairly decent looking. "Hawk would have gotten a good bunch of money for this lot. If he would have fed them any ways." It is obvious that many of the girls, those likely held for some time, suffered from lack of food. Calum scowls at the bones showing on them.

Ana is furious at the state many of the girls are in.

"Damon, is this normal, to starve the girls before auctioning them off like cattle?"

Damon shrugs, "It depends on the one that gathers them. Hawk only cared about the underage girls younger than you. The others brought him money, but like my father he was wasteful."

"Do you use the auctions, Damon?" Ana hadn't ever thought to ask him that before.

"I haven't used them since I took over, but my father had me go there every time to buy and sell." Damon believes in being truthful with Ana.

"Oh," he doesn't pay much attention to her little answer. 

He has the girls line up. "I want the virgins over here." There is a shuffling of girls and a small group make their way to where Damon is pointing.

Ana frowns. There are two girls that are identical. "You aren't a virgin?" She goes to the girl that remains  in the main group.

"I was when we were taken, but the ones that grabbed us, decided to have some fun. They knew that their boss wouldn't mind as long as one of us remained untouched." The girl replies bitterly.