𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐘 | 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄 [𝟭]

𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

As the blonde stepped down the staircase, she heard the unfamiliar sound of the doorbell. She was so used to guests just waltzing inside the house, she forgot that they even had a doorbell. Jenna rushed over to the door. She gave Klara a smile just before she pulled open the front door to see John standing at the threshold. Her face dropped. "Who invited him?"

"My guess? He invited himself." Klara raised an eyebrow as she watched John breeze straight past Jenna and inside the house where he was obviously unwelcome "Nobody else here likes him."

"John." Damon gasped. "Surprise. Leave." He deadpanned immediately, while John rolled his eyes.

"When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games," John spoke just as Jenna scoffed and walked straight past him.

"They aren't gonna be any games tonight, John." Alaric stepped into view. John's head turned toward him. "It's just a friendly dinner party."

Klara nodded in agreement, though John still decided to stay and enjoy the evening. Damon gave Klara a look, just as the doorbell rang once more. The Salvatore stepped forward and opened the door to see Elijah wearing a suit. The blonde had established that suits were probably the only form of attire he owned. 

"Good evening." Elijah greeted with a charming smile as Klara stood a little behind Damon. 

"Thank you for coming." Damon gestured for the Original vampire to enter the home. "Please, come in."

"Just one moment." Elijah hummed. "Can I just say that if you have less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider."

Damon stuttered for a moment just before Klara stepped beside him and flashed Elijah a fake smile. "Oh, no. I've warned Damon to play nice this evening. I wanted to know a little more about you, Elijah."

Elijah mirrored Klara's fake smile. "Hm. Well, that's good." He eventually stepped inside the house but stopped beside Damon. "Because, you know, although Elena and I have this deal, if you so much as make a move to cross me I'll kill you both and everyone in this house. Are we clear?"

Klara's breath hitched in her throat. "Crystal." Damon eventually mustered out before Elijah took himself off to socialize with the rest of the dinner guests.

 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town." Jenna couldn't hide her glee as she topped up Damon's glass of wine.

"Hmm, do tell." Damon's eyes flickered back toward Elijah. 

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1960s. Over the next hundred years, they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution." Elijah revealed to the group while they all continued to eat their food.

Jenna chuckled quietly. Klara couldn't tell whether she truly found it amusing, or whether she'd had too much wine. "Because they were witches."

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem," Andie added. Andie was Damon's compelled girlfriend. Klara had lost count of the number of times she'd walked in on him feeding straight from her neck.

Klara nodded slowly. She finished her mouthful of food and then looked toward Elijah. "She's got a point. Do you know of any proof, Elijah?"

Elijah simply cleared his throat. "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. Could you pass the—" Elijah motioned to the food on the table.