Cursed Blood and Bound Fates
Chapter 4
Ren was sitting in first period history next to Elena waiting for class to start and eyeing the new teacher curiously. She wondered how he would measure up in comparison to Mr. Tanner (though it wasn't hard to surpass him because he was a complete dick,) when Bonnie hustled in just as the late bell rang. Elena glanced at Renfri before leaning over and mouthing at their witchy friend, asking if she was okay, but she just shrugged miserably. Renfri raised her eyebrows and pulled her phone out under her desk to text Elena.
She looks dead on her feet, something's clearly wrong. Check-in at lunch?
Elena peeked at her phone then made eye contact with her and nodded quickly before turning to the new staff member who introduced himself as Alaric Saltzman, though he said they could call him 'Ric.' The redhead found it odd that he would allow students to call him by a casual nickname and decided that he was either trying too hard to be 'the cool teacher' or he really was that laid back. Although, it was already a marked improvement from Tanner, so he got points for a surprisingly relaxed introduction right out of the gate.
She and Elena managed to catch Bonnie at lunch and they sat at a table outside with their food. Bonnie caught them up on her recent prophetic dreams and the ancestor she keeps seeing.
"Then I ended up at the remains of Old Fell's Church before I woke up back in the woods."
"And you always see your ancestor, Emily?" Elena asked.
Bonnie nodded, then questioned the two, "Do you believe in ghosts?"
Ren and Elena shared a look before Ren answered, "I mean, if you'd asked a few weeks ago, probably no, but now…"
"I think I'm being haunted."
Elena looked confused, "I don't get it; why Emily?"
"Grams said she was a powerful witch back in the civil war days and that this medallion," she held up the amber crystal necklace around her neck, "was hers, which is a talisman."
Ren narrowed her eyes at it, "The old necklace Care gave you to wear for Halloween?"
Elena looked at her, "She got it from Damon then gave it to Bonnie."
Ren furrowed her brow, "I'm willing to bet that he pilfered it from the Founder's Party since all the historical artifacts and heirlooms were on display, that thing does look like an antique."
Bonnie's face turned to confusion, "Why would Damon want it?" The two other girls just shrugged. Bonnie didn't know about vampires, so they couldn't fully brainstorm with her on the older Salvatore's possible motivations.
"I think she's using the necklace to communicate with me," Bonnie stated.
"Okay, what does your Grams say?" Elena asked.
"No, I can't call her because she's gonna tell me to embrace it. I don't want to embrace it; I want it to stop."
Ren looked at her friend, thinking, "But didn't you say that Emily said 'help me'? What if it's something important? Why would she go to you if it wasn't?"
"What could be so important? She's been dead for 145 years," Bonnie replied.
Ren just shrugged her shoulders.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
After school, Ren walked out the door with Elena to find Stefan sitting on a picnic table, waiting for the brunette. Ren made eye contact with each of them before pointedly walking towards her car to give them space to talk. She moved slowly, catching a snippet of their conversation, and it seemed like Stefan had decided to distance himself. He had mentioned the possibility of leaving in hopes of drawing Damon away from town, but Ren didn't think that making Stefan miserable was Damon's main reason for coming back. As she neared the parking lot, she noticed a strange scene.
Damon followed a scared looking Bonnie to her car halfway down the lot, talking the whole way. Ren quickly changed directions and approached them as Damon stopped her from getting in her little blue Prius and got unnervingly close. She could hear their conversation as she got closer.
"Believe it or not, Bonnie, I want to protect you," Damon paused meaningfully, "Let me help you get Emily off your back."
Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "How do you know about her?"
Damon leaned down and stopped inches away from her face, "I know a lot of things about a lot of things, but I know more about that crystal than you do, and I know that she's using it to creep inside of you," he stopped and made a fake gasping noise, "See how scared you are? And you should be, because I will get that crystal even if I have to wait for Emily to give it to me herself."
At this point Ren had come up from behind Damon and slipped between the two, pushing him back with a hand on his chest. Of course she wouldn't have been able to move him if he hadn't allowed it.
"I know you're a bit older and not well socialized, but it's still common courtesy to give people their personal space," she snarked at him.
He just smiled at her, the picture of innocence, then opened Bonnie's car door and leaned on it, "Next time Emily comes out to play, you tell her that a deal's a deal." He nodded towards the driver's side, indicating for her to get in. She did and pulled away quickly, briefly stopping to let Elena in before driving away from the school.
She turned back to her uncle, "You had a deal with her ancestor? For what?"
Damon eyed Renfri, "Her little witch ancestor promised me something in exchange for protecting her bloodline. I saved her kids when the founders started purging the town of the supernatural; they burned her at the stake before I could get to her."
"So this deal has to do with Emily's crystal," she guessed. He nodded, giving nothing else away and smirked while she stood there, trying to work it out.
Renfri furrowed her brows, "I'm guessing that since she's only been able to reach out to Bonnie through the necklace that it has some kind of magic in it, and since you want it, maybe a spell or it's part of a spell you need?" She looked to him for confirmation, but he just raised an eyebrow at her tauntingly. He started to turn away.
"This is why you came back, isn't it," she said quickly and he paused to look over his shoulder at her, "to get the crystal for whatever Emily promised you. But why now? Why wait 145 years to come back for it? Why not sooner?" As she spoke, his eyes glimmered mischievously.
"What, it's not the only reason; I wanted to see my little bro and niece too," he replied cheekily, ignoring the other questions. He turned to go again, but Ren grabbed his shoulder, and this time he looked less amused and more annoyed.
She sighed and let her hand drop from his shoulder, "Look, what you did to Vicki and almost did to Lexi was fucked up, especially considering how it would have affected Stefan. But if it means you're less likely to hurt other people, then I'd be willing to help you with whatever it is that you're trying to do, if you want," his face briefly showed surprise at the offer before it was quickly masked. "However, that means that I'd need to know what exactly it is you're trying to do. I want to help, but not if it's going to get innocent people killed."
He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her, "And why would you help me, Little Red?"
She looked at him intently, "Because you and Stefan are the only family I've got left. And, despite seeing you make some very questionable choices, I think you're doing this for a good reason, at least for you. If it's something that you waited nearly a century and a half for, then it must be important to you."
Damon's blue eyes continued to stare through her, his face having lost all playfulness as he seemed to seriously consider what she said. Finally, he lifted his chin and looked down at her with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Fine," she started to smile but was quickly interrupted, "but, you're not telling Stefan. I don't need him getting in the way because he's so far up on his moral high horse."
She lifted an eyebrow at him this time, "Why wouldn't Stefan like what you're gonna do? What is it exactly?"
This time he smirked, "I'm gonna get Katherine back." Then he pivoted and headed for his car.
Renfri stared at him with her mouth open for a few seconds, then hurried to follow.
"How the hell is that possible, isn't she dead? Stefan said she had died in a fire."
"Not quite. Do you remember the story about the church fire in 1864?"
She nodded, "Yeah, Stefan mentioned it in history class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church, thinking that it had weapons stored there, but there were 27 people in it who died…Are you saying Katherine was in that fire?"
"Eh," he held his hand out flat and moved it back and forth in a 'so-so' gesture.
She frowned, "She was a vampire though, so she should have been able to get out on her own…unless she was somehow unable to get out on her own, maybe vervain?"
He nodded, "And she wasn't the only vampire in there."
She frowned, "Are—are you saying that all of them were vampires?"
"Bingo," he replied, pointing a finger at her.
"Then this wasn't a confederate attack, it was the founders purging the town of vampires; a massacre," she looked up at him, "how did she survive?"
"They had intended for it to be a massacre; an attempt to completely rid the town of vampires. Johnathon Gilbert's compass was used to help identify them. Then they were vervained and brought to the church to be trapped and burned alive. However," he looked back at her, smug now, "I managed to strike a deal with Emily. If I ensured her bloodline remained safe, then she would save her, save them."
Ren listened closely as he told the story, "How did she save them?"
"Underneath the church is a tomb. She sealed the vampires inside using a spell, protecting them, but also trapping them. I'm getting into that tomb."
Ren slowly nodded, "Okay, but why wait so long to do it?"
"Emily drew power from a comet passing over to do the spell and the crystal binds it. Both elements, along with Emily's spell, were needed to seal the tomb and the same is required to undo it. However, comets are notoriously slow to come back around."
She released a breath, "Oh, so you had to wait for the comet in order to undo the spell. Damn, that's a long time to wait." She glanced at him curiously. "You know, Stefan said she compelled you guys after you discovered she was a vampire, that she forced you to drink her blood and act as if nothing was wrong, that she used you. Why do you want her back?"
Damon paused by his Camaro and turned back to look straight into her hazel eyes, his face serious, "That may have been the case for Stefan, but it wasn't for me. She never compelled me. I knew what she was and I drank from her willingly; it was real for me. I'm going to get her back."
Renfri stared back for a few moments, eyes roving over his face, mulling over everything he said.
Her lips thinned, "Okay, I get it. Although, I don't like that she was probably playing mind games by carrying on with both of you and pitting you against each other." He said nothing and continued to watch her.
"I'll help you, but I have one concern: the rest of the tomb vampires. They're likely to try to get revenge on the town for what their ancestors did to them, so it'd be dangerous to release them all. We have no way of ensuring that, if they get out, they don't go on a massacre of their own."
Damon shrugged, "Eh, I don't care as long as I get Katherine."
She frowned at him, "Damon, ignoring the fact that you clearly don't give a shit about the rest of the innocent people in town, I live here. I don't feel like being terrified of dying every second of every day. News flash! I'm a Salvatore and they're definitely going to target the founding families first since their ancestors are the ones that put them in the tomb. I'd like to be able to live normally and not be scared of dying the second I step outside the house. I think that's a reasonable desire, yeah?"
He sighed dramatically, "I seriously doubt they can get out just from the spell being lifted. They've been in there for 145 years with no blood, which means they will have desiccated like a mummy; too weak to even open their eyes, never mind get up and walk out to find bodies to suck dry. If they don't get blood, we should be fine. You worry too much."
Ren stared at him with exasperation, "And you don't worry enough." She paused, "I suppose you're right, but I'd like to have a backup plan just in case, for whatever reason, they get a hold of blood while the spell is lifted. Maybe whatever witch you find to lift the spell can reseal it?"
"Or we could just douse the place in gasoline, light it up, and be done with it?" Damon suggested cheerfully.
"Wow, killing them the exact same way they were supposed to die the first time? You're a little twisted, you know that?" she told him dryly.
"That's what makes me the fun uncle," he replied proudly.
Ren huffed, "Fine, if it comes to that, I guess." She checked her phone, "I've got to get going, I'll see you at home later."
She waved at him as she turned away but he caught her arm before she could take another step. She turned her head back to see him leaning in close, his eyes intent.
"Don't forget, not a word to Stefan, or Elena," he leaned back and beamed at her, "or I'll make sure you have a stuffed puppy instead of a live one."
Renfri scowled, "I already said I would help and I understand why you don't want Stefan to know, although I think you should consider asking for his help if this becomes far more complicated than expected." He scoffed and she shrugged, "Fine, I won't tell them unless you want to, but that only stands if you follow through on your promise to ensure the tomb vampires don't get out and destroy the town."
Damon let go and waved his hand at her lazily, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Little Red."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
That evening, Renfri went over to the Gilbert house to join Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie for a girls night in an attempt to get the two friends to make up after their tiff over the necklace. As she knocked at the door she heard Elena yell that it was open. She found them in the kitchen where Caroline was pulling containers out of a paper bag while Elena was getting plates and napkins. Seconds later, they heard the door open and Bonnie came in behind her. With her entrance came tension as the blonde and the witch glanced at each other then away, avoiding eye contact. As Bonnie turned to help set the table in the dining room, Elena put her hands on the counter, staring daggers at Caroline, and tipped her head sharply in Bonnie's direction. Ren watched with some amusement as she opened containers, Caroline giving in and deliberately turning to Bonnie.
"I'm sorry. There, I said it," she said, not sounding very apologetic, but she was making an effort. "If you want the ugly ass necklace, keep it; it's yours."
Ren internally sighed, Damon had been compelling her again in order to try to get the necklace from Bonnie, but when she failed he resorted to good old harassment and fear tactics. She was hoping to get it from Bonnie herself, somehow, so he wouldn't bother her anymore and he would move on to finding the spell and a witch to do it…hopefully not the baby witch beside her that had only just discovered her power.
Bonnie glanced at Elena and cringed, "Will you hate me if I tell you that I threw it away?"
Ren's head snapped to her friend with her eyes wide.
Caroline's mouth dropped open, "What!? You threw it away!?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but the necklace was giving me nightmares. I had to get rid of it."
Renfri put a hand on the counter, "You could have had one of us hold onto it to see if the dreams stopped, you didn't have to throw it away."
"Or you could have just given it back to me," Caroline retorted.
"Why?" Elena jumped in, "So you could give it back to Damon?"
Caroline's face sobered a bit at that and Ren looked to the side a bit guiltily, knowing that her compelled friend wasn't the only one who could be accused of it, but they didn't know that.
The blonde seemed to come to a decision, "Screw Damon, are we doing manicures or what? Who has their kit?"
Bonnie pointed to her purse at the dining room table behind them, "Mine's in my bag."
Caroline went to open it and dig for the nail kit, "Elena, how long do you think this fight with Stefan's gonna last? Is it like a permanent thing?"
Elena glanced at Renfri, who was plating the food with her, "I don't know, Caroline."
They heard the blonde scoff. "Why are you such a little liar, Bonnie?" she snapped in a snotty tone.
"Caroline!" Elena admonished and looked up while the other two turned around in confusion.
The crystal necklace was hanging from Caroline's hand.
All three of them stared in shock while Caroline glared at Bonnie. Renfri wondered why Bonnie could have had the necklace in her bag if she'd thrown it away? Had she actually thrown it away or just said that to get Caroline to stop asking for it? Or to make Damon think she didn't have it anymore? As her mind worked to understand what had happened, the other girls began to flounder.
"I'm not lying to you, Caroline, I swear I got rid of it," Bonnie insisted.
Elena backed her up, still looking bewildered, "I watched her throw it into a field!"
"A field?" Renfri repeated, but Caroline jumped in again, clearly angry at being lied to.
"Well, then explain it!" She demanded, her arms crossed. There was a pause, the silence between them unsettling as Bonnie looked across the counter to Elena then to Renfri next to her.
"Emily?" she suggested nervously.
"Who's Emily?" Caroline questioned, but was ignored.
Bonnie looked at the other two, "The ghost?" Now Elena looked thoughtful and Renfri was feeling conflicted: she was relieved she didn't have to search a field for the necklace but unnerved that this ghost could do more than just give Bonnie dreams; what else could she do?
"Oohh, the ghost has a name now," the blonde said mockingly, clearly not on the same page as the rest of them.
"Caroline, please," Elena said, raising a hand to her without even looking away from the witch.
"I wonder why she won't leave me alone."
"Okay, what is going on!? Why am I not a part of this conversation?" When she didn't get an immediate answer, just vague looks from the two brunettes and a cringe from Renfri, her tone shifted to show she felt betrayed, "You guys do this to me all the time."
Elena shook her head, "That's not true," but Renfri raised an eyebrow in silent disagreement.
"Yes it is," Bonnie cut in and turned to her upset friend, "I can't talk to you, you don't listen."
Caroline looked offended, "That's not true!"
Bonnie looked at her intently and said slowly, "I'm a witch."
"And don't we all know it," the blonde mocked again.
Renfri groaned, "Caroline…"
"See!" Bonnie exploded, "That's what I'm talking about! I'm trying to tell you something, but you won't even hear it." She said the last few words softly, upset, then stormed out of the room. Elena and Ren turned to look at Caroline accusingly, who was gaping.
"I listen! When do I not listen?"
"Care," Renfri said in a reproaching tone, "it's not actually listening if you ignore her feelings and then proceed to act like it's not serious even though it is for her." The blonde's mouth clicked shut at that, she couldn't deny she had been a bit of a bitch when Bonnie was clearly stressed about this.
Elena added, "How is she supposed to confide in you if she thinks you might judge her instead of support her?"
Caroline's mouth twisted and her eyebrows pulled together, feeling bad now. She clearly needed to work on using the filter between her mouth and her brain.
"Well?" the redhead said, giving her a small smile to reassure her, "What are you waiting for? Go fix it!" She waved her hand, shooing her to the living room around the corner.
After Caroline made up with Bonnie and they finished dinner, they decided (unwisely) to listen to Caroline's suggestion of having a seance to relieve their boredom. They sat on the floor of Elena's room in a circle, the flickering flames of the candles at the center being the only light in the dark room besides the moonlight filtering through the window. Bonnie had put the necklace back on and they were now following Caroline's instructions to hold hands and close their eyes.
"Bonnie, call to her," the blonde said, low and soft.
The witch took a breath and hesitated, "Emily…You there?"
Renfri couldn't help but snort and opened her eyes to see the other two girls giving Bonnie disbelieving looks.
"Really? 'Emily, you there?'" Caroline said, mimicking her, "That's all you got? Come on—"
"Fine, geeze," Bonnie relented and they settled again as she took a deep breath, calming herself, before speaking slowly.
"Emily, I call on you. I know you have a message, I'm here to listen."
They sat in silence, waiting for something, anything.
Fwoosh!
The flames of the candles shot several inches higher, then dropped again, startling all the girls into letting go of each other and staring, frozen in place.
Elena spoke first, "Did that just—"
"Yeah, it just happened," Caroline confirmed.
Renfri couldn't help but shiver as she felt a cold breeze drift over them, with Caroline hugging herself as well. She looked around to see that the windows were closed, there shouldn't have been any air flow from outside or anywhere else.
"It's just the air conditioning," Bonnie tried to tell us, and herself.
Ren shook her head and started to disagree, "It's not even on, Bon—"
Fwoosh!
The flames shot up again and stayed at their extended height. The girls looked at each other, panicked.
"Ask her to show you a sign," Caroline urged, "Ask her!" When Bonnie just shook her head fearfully and stayed silent, Caroline did it herself, "Emily, if you're among us, show us another sign."
Silence.
The girls all looked at each other warily and Bonnie said, "See, it's not working."
BANG!
The window doors burst open and hit the walls to each side, causing the girls to all gasp and scoot back away from it and the candles. Bonnie jumped to her feet and ripped the chain from her neck.
"No, I can't, I'm done!" she shouted, and threw the crystal down beside the candles. All of a sudden, the flames went out, leaving them in darkness.
"Get the light! Please, get the light on!" Bonnie called with fright.
Renfri heard Elena scramble to her feet beside her and she did the same while mumbling, "Shit, shit, shit—" as Caroline got up muttering panicked words as well. Elena hurried across the room to the switch by her door. The room was dimly illuminated by the lamp on the desk and the girls let out a collective breath once they could see again.
Their relief only lasted seconds as Bonnie looked to the floor, "Guys, the necklace, it's gone."
Renfri felt her heart pounding as she whipped around, scanning the room for any glimpse of the amber crystal as Elena came back over and confirmed with wide eyes. Bonnie did the same, even bending to check under the bed. It seemed it wasn't even in the room anymore.
Elena turned to Caroline who was standing with her arms crossed.
"Okay, fun's over, Caroline. You made a point and I get it, now give it back."
"What?" the blond replied.
"Elena, what fucking point would she be making by pulling a stunt like this, and how the hell would she even accomplish it?!" Renfri jumped in nervously, still glancing around the room.
"I didn't take it!" Caroline insisted.
Elena turned her head to the side a bit, looking confused. Renfri saw a shadow of movement in her peripherals and turned to look but saw nothing.
"Did you see something?" Ren asked, frowning uncertainly.
Elena furrowed her brows, "I don't know. Jeremy? Are you home?" She called for her brother and headed for the dark hallway. Caroline and Renfri watched her but Bonnie moved towards the bathroom when a sliver of moonlight reflected off of something on the carpet by the sink.
"Uh, guys?" the witch called as she slowly approached the unlit room. The other girls followed her and watched as she crouched to pick up the crystal necklace that had disappeared a minute ago. When Bonnie made eye contact with them, all of the bathroom doors slammed shut and they could hear Bonnie begin to scream and yell for help desperately.
"Bonnie? Open the door. Bonnie!" Elena called.
"What's going on!?" Caroline exclaimed while they both pounded their hands on the door and jiggled the locked doorknob.
"I'll try the hall door!" Ren shouted back as she ran to try a different way in. She grabbed the doorknob and twisted but it refused to budge. She could hear Bonnie begging for help and the other girls fighting to open the door in Elena's room. The next moment, the lights began to flicker on and off and Bonnie's shouts turned into wordless screams of terror.
Then, it all stopped.
They sat in complete silence for a few seconds as they realized both the lights stayed on and their friend had stopped screaming and gone silent, then she heard the other door swing open with a light creak. She rushed back to Elena's bedroom and stood behind the other two girls in the doorway. Bonnie stood in the center of the bathroom with her head down and hands covering her face. They all stared in shock with their chests heaving as they recovered from their panic.
"What happened, are you okay?" Elena immediately asked and stepped forward, worried.
Bonnie slowly lifted her head from her hands and looked up at her, "I'm fine."
Caroline was immediately pissed, "Unbelievable, you were totally faking it!"
"Caroline, come on," Elena said pleadingly.
"Care, I don't think that kind of fear can be easily faked," Ren added.
The blonde ignored them and said angrily, "No, you scared the hell out of me!" Then she stormed away from the bathroom and back into the bedroom.
Ren and Elena watched wearily as Bonnie saw them staring at her and said, "I'm fine. Everything's fine." She stood with her hands clasped in front of her and her face was calm.
Far too calm; it creeped Renfri out.
Bonnie then walked past them out of the room and into the hallway.
"I can't believe I fell for it," Caroline complained, feeling betrayed.
Elena quickly interrupted her, "Are you okay?"
"I must go," Bonnie said in a monotone voice and they followed her to the stairs.
"If she's leaving, I'm leaving," Caroline said.
"Hold on," Renfri jumped in, "you can't leave, something's clearly wrong with Bonnie."
"Oh I can, I've had enough freaky, fake witch stuff for one night," Caroline retorted and folded her arms, clearly more unnerved than angry.
"Thank you for having me," Bonnie interrupted in that same eerily calm tone, "I'll take it from here."
"Where are you going?" Elena asked as the girl turned around and started down the stairs.
"Back to where it all began," she replied evenly without stopping.
"What the hell is she talking about?" Renfri muttered. Elena attempted to call her name multiple times but the girl didn't even react and continued on her way, like she hadn't even registered her name being called.
"Oh my god," Elena muttered, then called, "Emily!"
Renfri was shocked when this time, Bonnie stopped and whipped around to look at her friend intently, "I won't let him have it, it must be destroyed." Then she turned and hurried out the door, ignoring further attempts from Elena to get her to stop.
"Holy shit, Emily took over her body?" Renfri said breathlessly as Elena rushed down the stairs after her only to have the front door slam shut again and Elena struggled to open it.
Her and Caroline pulled on it together as Renfri cautiously came down the stairs after them, only for them to scream as it suddenly opened.
"What the hell?" Jeremy said as he passed them in confusion, then shook his head and walked further into the house. Caroline immediately bailed, breathing hard and overwhelmed. Renfri stood on the platform halfway down the stairs and whipped out her phone at the same time Elena did.
She typed out a quick text to Damon. She really should have earlier, but was rather busy panicking about all the creepy ghost shit happening.
Bonnie has the crystal and just left the Gilbert house. I think Emily possessed her and said she's going "back to where it all began" and I think she's going to destroy the crystal to keep it from you. You need to find her, but please don't hurt her.
She hit send as Elena began talking to Stefan on the phone and warned him of what just happened. When Stefan asked where she might have gone they thought for a second.
"She said 'back to where it all began' and she kept having dreams about the ruins in the woods," Renfri reminded her.
"She's going to Old Fell's Church, that's where Emily took her in her dreams," Elena concluded. Renfri sent Damon another text with the presumed location then followed the brunette as she hurried to grab her jacket and keys and run to her car. They both got in and Elena pointed them in the direction of the ruins in the woods.
As Elena threw the vehicle into park, Renfri leaped out the door and sprinted into the woods in the direction of the old church, her copper hair trailing behind her. Her natural athleticism and regular training gave her an advantage, making sure to step high to avoid tripping on unseen debris. She was able to get far ahead of Elena, who she could hear stumble frequently as she ran between the shadowed trees and through the underbrush. She soon heard her uncle's voices arguing ahead and as she came to a stop in the clearing, she saw Bonnie drawing in the dirt and pine needles with a dead log.
"Things are different now," the witch said as she glanced at Renfri then dropped the log, looking at the brothers.
"Don't do this," Damon pleaded, surprising his niece with how desperate he sounded.
"I can't free them; I won't," Emily replied with finality.
"No–"
"Incendia!" the Bennet witch shouted and fire burst from the lines she traced in the ground, revealing it to be a large pentagram. The flames lifted high, preventing anyone from entering without risking burning alive.
Then, she turned to lock eyes with Renfri.
"I know you want to help him, he's your family, but I have to protect mine." Her voice shifted to a dark, ominous tone, "But, beware the curse that runs through your veins. A darkness approaches with more to follow; you must keep your innocence to escape a grave fate."
With that she turned away again, leaving Ren to stand there, baffled. Stefan and Damon glanced at her in confusion as well before looking back to the possessed teenager. Emily stared at Damon and lifted the necklace in her hand, almost as if taunting him, showing that he will not get what he wanted.
"No, please," he begged in a breathless voice, his face filled with emotion more than Renfri had ever seen before. Elena finally caught up and yelled Bonnie's name, but Stefan stopped her before she got too close. The dead witch tossed the necklace into the air and Damon screamed, "NOOOO!"
The crystal exploded in a burst of sparks that showered down around them. Renfri noticed Damon slowly lower his head to stare at the girl in the pentagram, his eyes filled with pain and anger. She shifted a step forward warily, standing not quite directly across but a bit to the side of him on the other side of the circle of flames. Suddenly, the fire went out, plunging them into darkness with only the moonlight peaking through the trees. Bonnie shuddered before opening her eyes.
Renfri took another step forward, not moving her eyes from her uncle and said in a hushed voice, "Damon, please don't."
He either was too wrapped up in his anger or just didn't care, because the next second he rushed at the confused girl in the center of the clearing. Renfri dashed forward as well, but knew she would be far too slow, and watched as he sank his fangs into the flesh of her throat, causing the girl to scream in fear and pain.
Renfri yelled, "Uncle Damon, stop!" as she ran and shoved her shoulder into his side, bringing her hands up to help her push him. She didn't know whether it was the use of the new title with his name or the surprise at her practically tackling him or something else, but he let Bonnie go and stumbled a few steps back. As the girl dropped to the ground, Stefan sped over and checked her. Renfri put a hand on the older Salvatore's chest and another gripped the sleeve of his jacket tightly, in an attempt to anchor him to her if he tried again, but he didn't move. He just stood there, looking defeated despite the bit of blood clinging to one corner of his mouth. His blue eyes were like melting ice in the silvery moonlight. They flicked down to hers briefly before shifting back to the girl he'd torn into. Ren maintained the firm hold regardless but couldn't help but let her right hand lift and fall, giving a soft pat to his sternum. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as the younger Salvatore checked Bonnie's bloody neck and put an ear over her chest to listen.
"She's alive but barely," he said to her and Elena, "I can save her." Renfri watched as he bit his wrist and put it to the nearly dead girl's lips, then noticed Elena bringing her hands to rub the sides of her neck anxiously and pivot to glare at Damon. The redhead shook her head slowly, warning Elena away from saying anything to him. She didn't know his state of mind right now and couldn't say how he would react to any kind of accusations from her; he just stood there and watched with dull eyes as Stefan brought Bonnie back from near death. She sputtered and choked as she came to and gasped for air. She scrambled away from Stefan after she noticed who exactly had helped her up and Elena hurried to her as she began to sob. The three Salvatores watched silently as Elena attempted to console her traumatized friend and began to lead her back to the car. Stefan followed behind at a distance with a deep frown and worried eyes, Renfri assumed, to ensure they got there safely without scaring her further.
Renfri loosened her grip on her uncle's jacket and dropped the other hand from his shirt since all anger had seemed to have been drained out of him. He started to step back but she gripped his sleeve again and tugged lightly, making him pause. She looked up into his face, seeing the pain in his eyes as they gleamed with wetness but didn't allow any tears to fall. He refused to meet her gaze and stared past her at nothing.
She let out a shaky breath, "As much as I'm upset that you hurt Bonnie even though it wasn't her fault, I understand why you did that." She paused but he gave no reaction, remaining a statue carved from stone. She then lifted her arms, slowly, to give him a chance to move away if he wanted, and wrapped them around his waist, placing her cheek against his shoulder. He somehow stiffened further and kept his arms awkwardly at his sides.
"I'm sorry, I tried," she whispered against the leather of his jacket, her breath tickling his neck. It took a bit, but the tension slowly left his body and he went somewhat limp, leaning into her but only a little. Then, she felt the light press of his jaw against the top of her head. They stood there for several more moments with nothing but the quiet of the forest around them before she let go and stepped back, giving him space. He glanced down at her and nodded minutely before turning to walk over to a piece of a stone wall from the ruins and sat to stare into nothingness once again. Renfri watched him sadly but said nothing more, not knowing what else she could do or how much sympathy and compassion he would even allow her to show him before his pride rejected it, so she turned and headed back the way she came. She passed Stefan on her way back to the car.
"Go easy, Uncle Stefan," she whispered, and he gave her a small smile in return at the use of the familial title. He nodded and continued past her and back towards his brother. Renfri continued on to Elena's SUV. She found Bonnie in the passenger seat and Elena closing the door behind her. Elena turned to see her and raised an eyebrow at her.
Ren just shook her head, "Let's just go back to your place, we can talk there." She paused, "We're going to have to tell Bonnie everything now, she's a part of this and as a witch she should probably know about vampires." Elena nodded. Renfri frowned, "Do you think her Grams knows about vampires? She's been telling Bonnie about her heritage for years, she just never took it seriously."
Elena shrugged and sighed, "I don't know, maybe. It might be easier if she does, then she can help her transition into all of this." She waved her arms around her, gesturing vaguely. They leaned against the hood of the car with hands tucked in their pockets, sitting in silence for a minute or so.
Renfri heard the crunch of leaves underfoot and lifted her head to see Stefan return. She nodded at him and climbed into the back seat of the vehicle, closing the door behind her as they began to talk. She could hear their voices but it was muffled and unclear.
"Ren? Do you know what's going on?" Bonnie asked shakily, turning around to her.
The redhead nodded, "Yeah, I do. We'll explain back at Elena's house, just try to breathe and stay calm for now." She eyed her up and down before nodding wordlessly and faced forward again.
Renfri sat in thought while the vampire and the brunette continued talking, looking sad and serious. Her mind turned back to Emily's warning. She leaned forward and opened the center console, rummaging around for a pen and paper. She found a memo pad and a blue pen then sat back, uncapping it. She jotted down what she remembered of Emily's ominous words, though it wasn't word for word:
– a curse in your veins
– a darkness coming, bringing more after it
– keep innocence to avoid grave fate
She twirled the pen in her hand, not sure what to make of it. Emily was a dead witch, so she wasn't sure how she would know anything about her or what 'darkness' could be coming. Then again, she'd only just entered the world of the supernatural, so what the hell would she know? Could Emily have been referring to the tomb vampires? Or something else? And what was this about a curse in her veins and keeping her innocence to avoid what sounded like death?
Ren sighed heavily, feeling a headache coming on. She decided to give up on it for now and ask her friends and her uncles later, right now she just wanted to go home and sleep for ten hours. She ripped the sheet from the little pad and dumped the tools back into the console. She tucked the paper into her back pocket just as Stefan walked away and into the dark forest with Elena calling after him, looking ready to cry. The brunette watched him go before pivoting to make her way into the vehicle and start the engine. They all sat in a tense silence for a few seconds before she shifted gears and drove them away.
Back at the Gilbert house, they headed up to Elena's bedroom after a quick hello to Jenna who was going through some cardboard boxes. They spent the better part of an hour explaining to Bonnie about the existence of vampires and what had happened so far since her uncles had come to town, along with Elena explaining her relationship turmoil with Stefan, which now seemed to have turned completely around. She now felt that she could be with him, having adjusted to him being a vampire and being aware of the supernatural, but now he thought he was no good for her and wanted to stay away to keep her safe.
Bonnie and Elena had let their tears fall, the emotions of the night overwhelming them both. Renfri was also upset but exhaustion seemed to overtake everything else for her. They ended up sleeping over, sharing Elena's bed and borrowing some pajamas. Ren made sure to send a quick text to Stefan to let him know and ask him to feed and take out Ash one last time before locking the dog door, which he readily agreed to. The three girls took comfort in each other's presence while huddled under the comforter.
Renfri vaguely thought she heard the doorbell ring at some point but it was quickly forgotten as she drifted off with Bonnie and Elena's hushed conversation in the background.
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