The Bourbon Diaries ✢ The Vampire Diaries FanFiction ✢ TVD FanFic ✢ TVDU FanFic

Chapter Thirty - Gabe Morelli

The Year 1515

Pee Dee Settlement, NC

Three months passed before Gabe came back.

There were now exactly sixty-four humans in the settlement, with Winfred the last remaining witch. Not that the other settlers were aware of this. Less than a dozen humans had witnessed the witches' deaths at the Hanging Fields, Henry being one of them. As far as they were concerned, Zaif was also a witch. They were wrong, of course, but it was something he allowed them to believe. Since he wielded the powers that killed so many, he needed them to fear that he could easily kill them too, otherwise Henry would gladly put him to death.

Sorcha was believed to have been cured of her vampirism as a result of the witches' sacrifice, which was far more digestible than acknowledging that she was a human who had been wrongly accused. It was Zaif who became the bigger concern. After initially wanting him exiled, the settlers later allowed him to remain a distant member of the community for one reason only: the vampir. They were convinced that word of Zaif's powers had caused the neighbouring vampir to decamp and move farther afield, removing them as a threat. The real reason, Winifred knew, had more to do with Gabe than Zaif. He was likely back with his former vampir community.

So she was surprised when he returned as quickly as he did.

Entering her home with a small basket of vegetables that she had gathered from her allotment outside, she saw Gabe inside waiting for her.

"How long have you been here?" she asked him, putting the basket down on the table.

"A while," he replied, grinning. "I didn't want to disturb you while you were on your hands and knees."

"As I recall, that's exactly when you like to disturb me," she said, fussing unnecessarily with items on the table as she hid a smile sparked by a certain memory.

Gabe slid up behind her, wrapping his hands around her waist, his head resting on her shoulder. "Come with me."

"Yes, I remember you saying that too," she jested.

Laughing, Gabe straightened and turned her around to face him, his hands remaining on her waist. "I mean, away from here," he said, his face then turning serious. "I heard about what happened at the Hanging Fields. I'm sorry you lost everyone."

Winifred's eyes lowered. "I both lost and gained things far greater than the witches of this community."

"What do you mean?"

Winifred sighed. This was going to be as difficult for her to say as it was for him to hear. So instead she decided to show him. She removed his hands from her waist, twisted to take a knife from the table and pressed the sharp tip into her hand, drawing blood.

Gabe snatched the knife from her. "Winnie, what are you---?"

His question lingered unfinished as he watched the cut heal itself.

"I'm now immortal, like you," she explained, taking the knife from him and placing it back on the table.

She'd been turned? Gabe's jaw tensed, his lip curled, his fists clenched. He backed away, pacing the room, trying to push back the fury that was building inside him. This was not the place to release it, not in front of her. He should have been here for her. He should have protected her. "Tell me who did this to you and I will rip them apart."

"I've not been turned," she explained. "I'm simply immortal."

Gabe stopped pacing, his anger turning into confusion. "An immortal witch? How is that possible?"

"The talisman that killed the witches contained the beginnings of a spell in which I had trapped my sins. When it was used to save Sorcha, it purged me of all those sins. One of those sins was my envy of your immortality. I loved you and I knew that even if I gave in to that love, you would live far beyond me. You would eventually forget about me."