A/N: I am SO, SO sorry for the long delay. I am currently on day 18 of a massive fibromyalgia flare-up after Loki, and I went on a small hike a few weeks ago. To make matters worse, last week I caught Covid and while it was only like having the flu, it really affected my fibromyalgia and I had to be drugged up to deal with the pain. Today is the first day I've been able to sit on the computer.
One thing I was able to do while resting was to read the much-hyped story - Manacled. OMG, my heart. I still do not know how to deal with what I read. The amount of detail and realism that was put into the story is what I love about Fanfiction. Wow.
Anyway, please accept my apologies with a very long update. Enjoy xoxo
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SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE
The dinner was going well, too well. It unnerved Ric, who had barely said a word as he intently watched Damon, John, and Elijah.
"So..." John smiled sweetly over at Elijah, "What's this I hear about the Founding Families not actually being founders of this great town?"
Damon hummed curiously, the action making Ric grit his teeth; Damon hated hearing anything historical. "Do tell."
"Yes," Elijah stroked the creases from his tie. "I believe it was Aella who I shared such information with."
Damon seemed to tense at the witch's name being spoken, and Andie's eyes curiously scanned the men, "Aella. What a strange name." She turned to Damon, "I heard she's dating your brother?"
John scrutinized her, "If that's all you've heard about Aella Bennett, you're not a very good reporter."
Ric snorted into his scotch while Damon waved for Elijah to continue, "Please."
"Well, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years, they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."
Andie's eyes narrowed, "Because they were witches? There's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem."
Damon beamed at John, "And there's that journalist instinct."
Elijah ignored the pissing match occurring between Damon and John as he added, "Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire."
Ric's brow raised, "You speaking of the massacre of the one hundred?"
Elijah looked at the teacher curiously, "You're aware of this?"
Against his better judgment, Ric nodded, "Aella told me about it."
"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me," John faked a smile, placing his napkin on his empty plate.
Damon ignored John turning to face Elijah, "Why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?"
"You know..." Elijah's eyes burned into his tormentingly. "A healthy historian's curiosity, of course."
A muscle in Damon's jaw twitched, "Of course."
The room became quiet.
John was amused with the tete-a-tete while Ric was on the edge of his seat. Andie just smiled, "Isn't this a lovely dinner?"
Damon stood up from the table, "Would anyone care for some cognac? I have a bottle that I've been saving for ages."
"None for me, thanks," Ric declined, knocking back the rest of his wine in one gulp. "Nine bottles of wine is my limit."
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An Elemental Difference - FIRE - Book 2 (Stefan Salvatore)
قصص الهواةAella's existence in Mystic Falls had changed many things for the better. But with Katherine Pierce now in town, and the Originals on their way, how can Aella protect her boyfriend, friends, family, and town. Armed with a new power, Aella must trus...
