Cursed Blood and Bound Fates
Chapter 18
The Mystic Falls High School parking lot and lawns were busy with preparations for the annual carnival that night and Renfri wasn't particularly happy to be working with Bonnie Bennett. Renfri normally aided Caroline with those sorts of things, but Bonnie and Elena were only doing it to help out Caroline who was still in the hospital from the accident. The redhead was stoically flipping through the papers on her clipboard and double checking her checklist as the witch spoke to Elena.
"…and Katherine looked just like you, it was freakish."
Elena gave a tight-lipped smile, "Well, she is my ancestor," she glanced at Ren, "Hey, I moved the student booths into the cafeteria." She got a nod and another item was crossed out and a brief note made on the clipboard.
"She sure fooled me the first time I saw her at the wake, I thought it was just you trying out a clothing trend, though she was vague in answering my question about John. Turns out she took off my bracelet to compel me to invite her into the boarding house, so now she has full access to my home too. I'm gonna be sleeping with one eye open for quite a while. Lucky us, huh?" Ren looked up at the brunette with a false smile and only got a frown in return.
"She's your vampire ancestor, and she didn't just resemble you like a family member would, she was you."
Elena threw down the plushies in her hands, "I don't—I don't know, I can't explain it, okay? It's creepy, it's all I got."
The Bennett witch raised an eyebrow, "Well, how do you know she's not still out there pretending to be you?"
Elena shrugged as she tied up the bag of stuffed animals and walked them over to a nearby booth as they followed her, "I don't."
Renfri sighed, "It's not like we could do anything about it, anyway. We just have to pay attention to where you are and the clothes you're wearing, I'm guessing Katherine likes to dress edgier than you do, she's more bold in nature and likely in her clothing style as well."
Her friend nodded, "You're right. I could just sit here and be tortured by the not knowing or I could get these prizes to the ring toss."
Bonnie looked down before saying, "You know, have you talked to Damon since he killed Jeremy, or tried to kill Jeremy."
Ren instantly frowned when she heard that and Elena said, "No. I haven't and I won't. I don't want to talk about Damon or anything else vampire related, okay?"
Renfri chewed her lip before lowering her clipboard, "Elena, I'm pissed at him too for what he did, and I'm so grateful that Jeremy was wearing John's ring, but you need to talk to him at some point, even if it's not today. He didn't just lash out because he was drunk and upset that you rejected him, it's because of Katherine—"
Elena spun around, "That's no excuse!"
Ren put her hands up, "I know, I never said it was, but you need to understand why he snapped. I don't want you thinking he's heartless and just doing what he wants, he was hurt. More than hurt, Katherine broke part of him. She's been fucking with his head since he was still human and he has had his heart set on her until she finally set him straight when he was vulnerable and looking for honesty. Well, she gave him brutal honesty, to the point of being cruel, by telling him that she never loved him and that it was always Stefan."
Elena clenched her jaw but said nothing, so Ren continued with serious eyes, "Elena, do you know why that hurt him so much? Damon and Stefan were both in love with Katherine as humans, but Stefan got over her, Damon didn't. He was as in love with her as Stefan is with you, and she played him for a fool. And on top of it, she threw in his face that his little brother was the only one she ever loved. It doesn't help his jealousy and bitterness towards Stefan, not to mention he's not going to open up to people again because she completely destroyed his ability to trust others with his feelings. He's learned that to be emotionally vulnerable is to get hurt, because the woman he thought was the love of his life for a century and a half ended up being a heartless bitch who only wanted him as a play toy while she chased after his brother. She broke him, Elena."
Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Ren, I understand what you're saying and I do sympathize with his situation, but I just can't trust him anymore. He killed my brother, and only got lucky that the ring was there to save him."
Renfri looked at her sadly, "I honestly don't know if he saw the ring or not…I hope he did. Regardless, I hope you can find a way to forgive him, Elena. He's a product of his environment, just like we all are, and being a vampire means your emotions are amped up to a hundred and even harder to handle. I'm not forgiving him yet either, but I'm at least trying to empathize with him because I still want him in my life."
Elena crossed her arms and looked to the side, "Well, I don't know if I want him in mine."
Renfri only sighed and shrugged, "I suppose that's fair. Just give it some thought, okay?" Elena wordlessly nodded, a short tilt of her head, before turning back to the bag of prizes.
"Alright, time to do human stuff. If I can't do normal things and only have to deal with vampire drama every day, I'm going to go crazy."
Renfri smiled at that, "I can definitely agree with you there."
When Bonnie spoke up, Ren glanced at her coldly and turned away, "Okay, we have to make Caroline proud, or she will kill us."
Elena nodded, "I know."
"I don't know how she does it all the time," Bonnie remarked.
Elena smirked, "Well, that's because she isn't human."
Renfri rolled her eyes, "Says the only one here that is a normal human…unless having an evil ancestral twin counts."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The youngest Salvatore had decided to stop by the boarding house to drop off her stuff and feed Ash before the carnival was officially up and running. She scooped some kibble into her dog's metal bowl as he stood and watched while his tail wagged excitedly. She headed back towards the den, where she had left her things, to hear the brothers having a bit of a tense chat.
"Aren't you worried that one day all of the forest animals are going to band together and fight back? I mean, surely they talk."
Renfri raised her eyebrows at Damon as she strode in, "Why, are we living in a Disney movie? If I sing, will they come help me dust the place?"
Stefan huffed at the both of them and pointed at the blood bag Damon was pouring into a glass, "Yeah, well, I'm just happy that's a blood bag and not a sorority girl supplying your dinner."
Damon only twisted one corner of his mouth up, "I like this, you walking on eggshells around me because you think I'm going to explode. It's very suspenseful. Is Elena worried too?" When Stefan didn't answer, he continued with a taunting tone, "I bet I'm your every conversation."
Stefan deflected, "Have you heard from Katherine?"
Damon's easy smile fell.
Renfri sighed in frustration, "Shut it, Stefan." She turned to her older uncle, "Actually, Elena's quite determined to hate you for snapping Jeremy's neck and she doesn't believe that you saw the ring before you did it. To be honest, neither do I, but I'm still trying to get her to consider coming around eventually, but it sure as hell won't be anytime soon."
Damon rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, he's not actually dead—"
Ren's hazel eyes grew hard and she snapped at him, "No, he's not, which is the only reason Bonnie hasn't tried to kill you yet, and I'm honestly surprised that she hasn't in light of your lapse in judgement. Elena's not even close to forgiving you, Damon. And it's not because she's making a big deal of a small thing. No, it's because she watched you snap her brother's neck and thought he was actually dead and gone for a good thirty seconds until she saw the ring, and even then she still wasn't sure." She'd gotten in his face and maintained full eye contact even as he pretended to be nonchalant about her lecture, though he was no longer smiling carelessly.
"You made her feel the trauma and pain of watching her brother be killed in front of her, even if it was only briefly, by someone who supposedly cares about her. She truly thought he was gone, some of the only family she has left. I know what that's like, Damon." She stared into his blue eyes that flickered between her own as her face shifted from anger to grief, "I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone I cared about. So stop making light of it, because she's not overreacting."
Stefan watched carefully while Damon stood in silence as his niece stared at him firmly yet sadly, before he slowly nodded and looked away.
"Alright, fine."
Renfri nodded and stepped back out of his personal space after a deep breath, "Good, thank you."
Damon glanced back up at her, then Stefan, before he straightened and seemed to shake off the heavy conversation, "On another note, I'm pretty sure that the Lockwoods do have a family secret of the supernatural persuasion because the Gilbert device affected both Richard and Tyler but the vervain didn't, so they're not vampires, they're something else."
Stefan raised his eyebrows, "Uh, what happened to focusing on Katherine? We need to try to anticipate what she's going to do next—"
"How can we?" Renfri asked, "We have no way of knowing if her agenda in coming back here, now is about trying to get to you, or Elena, or something else entirely. I'm all for looking into the Lockwoods, it could help lead to whatever the hell I am as well."
"But Katherine—"
"Oh, you'd rather some unknown supernatural element running rampant in our town, fine, I'll drop it," Damon said sarcastically.
The youngest Salvatore huffed, "I wouldn't say 'running rampant' since it's likely only one or two people, the jury's still out on Mason I'm guessing, but an unknown supernatural presence is concerning, even if that includes myself."
Stefan waved his hand out in front of him, "You do know that we haven't seen the last of Katherine, right? You do know that we have no idea what she's up to?"
Damon scoffed, "Sure we do! She came back to profess her undying eternal love for you, so I'm gonna let you deal with her."
The redhead shrugged, "Probably a good call, we don't need you getting triggered again. Although, she will probably make another attempt if it benefits her in some way…or just because it amuses her, the bitch." Damon's eyes flickered to her in annoyance then back to Stefan.
"Right, well, I have more important things to do like…explode," he mocked before walking out. Renfri and Stefan looked at each other tiredly, knowing he was going to make dealing with him difficult for a bit just to avoid acknowledging the fact that Katherine got to him.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Bonnie and Elena followed behind Renfri as they walked through the busy carnival, lights flashing and motors whirring as the rides and booths buzzed with activity.
"So the ring toss is out of those Bart and Homer dolls and Team Jacob tees," Ren listed off in a business-like manner.
Bonnie nodded, "Okay, I can grab some from the science club—"
"Also we lost a speaker in the karaoke booth—"
"Hey, Ren, look around, this is a huge success!" Elena told her with a grin, "Looks like we can do more than just wreak vampire havoc."
Renfri couldn't help a brief laugh, "Go figure." Elena turned and saw a tall, dark skinned man working on one of the booths with some tools.
"Hey, Carter, right? You're with the carnival?"
He nodded and walked over, "That'd be me."
"Okay, great—"
"Wow," he said, cutting off Elena as he eyed Bonnie eagerly, "How can I help, beautiful?"
Ren just raised her eyebrows and turned to walk away, not interested in watching the witch awkwardly flirt, she couldn't be friendly and pretend like the girl hadn't nearly gotten her uncle killed not too long ago. She spent a little while moving through the area, double checking the stocks at various booths and ensuring no other issues were occuring, when she decided to stop for a snack and waited in line to get cotton candy at one of the shiny metal shacks that sold various carnival snacks. She stood behind a tall group of boys that were on the basketball team and when they shifted she noticed Jeremy standing on the other side of the shack, paying for a carton of popcorn. She frowned when only seconds later Damon walked up with a deceptively easy-going smile.
"Jeremy, so good to see you alive."
Jeremy, being the stupid teenager he was, though rightfully pissy given his recent but temporary experience with death, decided to mouth off.
"Aren't you a little old for a high school carnival?"
Damon only laughed and snatched a piece of popcorn, "A hundred and fifty years too old."
Jeremy only grew more irritated the more relaxed and mocking Damon was, "You're pretty funny, cracking jokes when I could, I don't know, blow the whole lid on this thing by telling someone what you really are."
Damon's face didn't quite fall, but became thoughtful as he chewed, then he put down the box of popcorn and clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder. He turned him forcefully and wrapped his arm around Jeremy's shoulders as he walked them off. Renfri hissed in frustration and panic as she hurried after them in hopes of preventing the further neck snapping of stupid, mouthy teenagers.
"So, please tell me that that is not a threat."
Renfri slowed as she came up behind her uncle, "Damon—"
"Maybe it is," Jeremy replied, holding up his hand to show John's magic ring. Renfri mentally slapped her forehead. Why would you show off the only advantage you have that can be easily removed by someone who's able to snatch it before you can blink and has proven themselves to be volatile to the point of murder?
Damon briefly touched the kid's wrist as if curious, then quickly wrapped the teenager into a tight headlock.
"Damon, stop it!" Renfri snapped, stepping closer and glancing around to make sure they were far enough away from the crowd to not be noticed as they stood in the shadow of a nearby ride with backing.
Damon glanced at her as he said, "So, here's what we're not gonna do," he tilted his arms down so he could whisper into Jeremy's ear while the boy struggled against his grasp. "We're not gonna walk around like we're invincible when it's this easy for me to end you."
"Damon, let him go."
Damon glanced at her again as she glared, her face furious, before he let the teenager go. Jeremy scrambled to get away and turned to face the vampire. He took a step forward angrily, but Renfri swung out an arm, telling him silently to not even try.
The vampire spoke calmly, "If you wanna tell people what I really am, go ahead and try," he lifted his hand to show the ring that was no longer on Jeremy's finger and his face became serious, "I will shove this ring so far up your ass, you'll really have something to choke on." He flicked the ring into the boy's face and Renfri had it. She lunged forward and shoved at her uncle, pushing him back a step as he looked down at her in mild surprise but allowing it. She scowled at him and shoved him back again.
"Move, I'm so sick of your temper tantrums! What, are you hitting your terrible two hundreds early?! Get away from the stupid teenage boy before you really screw everything up for good," she growled through her grit teeth, ready to slap the clipboard across his face even if she made a scene if he didn't listen. When she began to lift it, he threw his hands up in surrender.
"Hey, easy, I'm going. I was just teaching him a lesson about vampires, the kids far too arrogant for his own good."
She snorted, "Look who's talking. You're lucky you haven't died from running your mouth off to the wrong vampire yet, you prick." He just shrugged and allowed her to turn him around and steer him away from the shaking teenage boy behind them. She glanced over her shoulder at Jeremy briefly with apologetic eyes and mouthed 'sorry.' Jeremy just shook his head and glared at Damon's back as they walked away.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
After having led her uncle away from the youngest Gilbert, Renfri foisted management duties onto the vice chairmen of the planning committee who had been slacking so she could enjoy herself the rest of the night. She and Damon had made their way over to the arm wrestling booth in the cafeteria where Tyler was drawing a small crowd as he repeatedly defeated his challengers easily. Renfri had slipped away to buy a corndog and a caramel filled churro. She returned to her uncle's side to find Stefan had joined him just as Tyler defeated another opponent.
"He's got strength," Damon commented.
"He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course he's got strength, but how much?"
"Is he still winning?" Ren asked before taking another bite of the deep fried hotdog.
"Yup," Damon said shortly, just as someone else approached the booth.
Mason stood across from his nephew in a friendly challenge, "I bet I could take you."
"Enter the uncle," Damon intoned as Tyler told his uncle to 'bring it on, surfer boy.'
Renfri hummed in interest as she munched on her snacks. She offered the churro to her uncles and Stefan just shook his head but Damon ripped a piece off happily while he kept his eyes on the show. They all watched Mason grin as Tyler visibly struggled, his face looking surprised, then promptly lost.
"Is that it?" Mason said with a bit of laughter, making Ren's eyebrows twitch in worry at the small taunt, wondering if it would set off her friend. The dark-haired teen took it well, though, and admitted his uncle was 'the champ' and called for another challenger to take Mason on.
"Hey, Stefan wants a go!" Damon called, while said brother turned to look at him accusingly. Ren couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips.
"Yeah, come on, Stefan! I bet you can take him," she added loudly and nudged him.
"Thanks," he muttered before clearing his throat and saying louder, "Yeah, I'll, uh, I'll give it a shot." As he approached, Ren tossed her corn dog stick in a trashcan and shifted her churro to her left hand while following behind. Stefan took Tyler's place across from the boy's uncle and put his elbow on the table.
"So, Mason," Ren introduced cheerfully, "this is my cousin, Stefan–second cousin, really– and the instigator back there is his older brother Damon, who thinks his little bro can beat you. Thoughts?"
Her lips pulled a little wider, enjoying the charade, as Damon called, "Get him, Stef!"
Tyler smiled in amusement while Mason chuckled and said, "Well, he'd be wrong."
The two grabbed each other's hand and when the bell rang, Ren's eyes stayed fixed on the two, standing closer to her younger uncle's side, and watched their hands and faces closely. Stefan kept up his resistance, testing the other man's strength for about five seconds before slowly allowing Mason to push his hand to the table and the crowd groaned. Renfri looked at Stefan curiously, wondering if he even put much power behind it before letting the seemingly older man win. She smiled and waved to the two Lockwoods before following Stefan back to his older brother.
He was met with an accusation, "You didn't put in any effort at all."
Renfri raised her eyebrows at Stefan who gave her a look before turning to Damon, "Yeah, actually, I did." Damon's annoyance quickly turned into surprise and he tilted his head to one side. They followed Damon a little further away by the karaoke booth and he turned to look at Stefan, eyes serious.
"Is he–?"
Stefan quickly shook his head, "No, no, it wasn't that kind of strength but it was more than human, if that makes any sense."
The dark-haired vampire looked back towards the two Lockwoods, "What is up with that family? They're not vampires, then what the hell are they?"
Ren shrugged, "It's hard to guess when we don't know much or even what myths actually have some truth to them. So whatever they are is potentially genetic and Mason has strength that's beyond human but weaker than a vampire. But why wouldn't Tyler be as strong though, if they both reacted to the Gilbert device? I don't think I'm especially strong, either."
"Yeah, it doesn't add up. I wouldn't lump you in with them yet though," Stefan remarked as Damon hummed. They both looked at him curiously.
"What are you thinking?" Ren asked as they saw his face turn towards scheming. He didn't answer and turned to face a guy working on a speaker behind them, the same guy Bonnie had been flirting with earlier.
"Hey, you," Damon called bluntly.
Carter scoffed, "I have a name."
"Yeah, I don't care," Damon replied and clapped his hands on the guy's shoulders as he began to compel him, "I need you to pick a fight with someone, a kid named Tyler Lockwood."
"Damon, don't do this," Stefan said, though he really didn't sound like he was trying, knowing he couldn't cause a scene.
Damon wiggled his fingers at his brother dismissively, "No, no, no, it's just an experiment." He continued to compel the carnival worker, "Get him mad, but don't back down no matter what he does."
Renfri frowned, "Damon, that's not the best way to–"
He ignored her, "Okay?"
"I won't back down," Carter repeated in a monotone voice.
"I know you won't," Damon said confidently. As Carter walked away, Renfri watched her uncle with slightly judgy eyes.
"You enjoy stuff like that a little too much, you know." He just shrugged with a small smile as Stefan turned on him quickly with an anxious face.
"You do realize somebody's gonna get hurt, right?"
"No," Damon said, "somebody's gonna get mad, as in rage."
"And what's that going to accomplish?" the younger brother asked.
"That Tyler kid is incapable of walking away from a fight–"
Renfri sighed, "Unfortunately, yeah, thanks to his asshat of a dad hammering toxic masculinity into his brain from a young age."
Damon nodded at her, "Or thanks to something else. ."
"Yeah, maybe not the best way to provoke any kind of supernatural abilities."
He glanced at his niece curiously, "You get angry like that Tyler kid? I know you can go off on people when you want to, it was very entertaining watching you unload your anger and wooden bullets into Logan Fell, but is it a problem for you too?"
Renfri looked at him in surprise and hesitated before answering, "It used to be."
Stefan looked at her in surprise, "Really? I wouldn't have guessed that was an issue for you."
She shook her head, "It was when I was little, but my Dad was a doctor and noticed the signs early on, so they got me into therapy and I learned how to cope with it. That's how I got into track, exercise helps me manage it along with things like meditation. I've learned how to manage it, but in stressful situations I can definitely snap, like with Lee."
"Lexi's boyfriend?" Stefan asked and she nodded.
"Yeah, I'm sure Damon remembers that I was a bit beat up when he found us, but it's because I kept fighting back because I was so pissed, I was a bit out of control until he hit me hard enough to make me dizzy."
Damon hummed thoughtfully, "Let's see who intervenes when the Lockwood kid goes off…maybe it's the ambiguously supernatural mystery uncle."
Ren looked at him doubtfully, "What if Mason isn't even around to see Carter go after Tyler? He seems to be more gifted than Tyler but that doesn't guarantee he'll be there to intervene."
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" Damon said easily and wandered off.
She shook her head as they watched him go, "He's so problematic sometimes."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Stefan and Ren found Tyler and followed him from a distance out to the parking lot. Carter came from the opposite side of the lot and as they were about to pass each other, he quite obviously bumped Tyler's shoulder while he was texting. Carter made it so painfully obvious that it was intentional by shrugging his shoulders and arms forward so that it looked ridiculous. Ren had to bite down on her tongue to stop herself from laughing and giving themselves away as they crouched behind a parked car to watch.
Tyler turned to face the worker with an annoyed face, "Watch where you're going."
"You got a problem?"
"Yeah, you walked right into me," Tyler said like it was obvious and he couldn't believe the guy even had to ask.
"What are you gonna do about it?" Carter asked, the provocation clear in his tone.
Ren quickly whispered to Stefan, "If things go too far, you'll intervene, yeah? Tyler doesn't need to catch a charge tonight because Damon was too liberal with his experiment's guidelines." He nodded silently in response, reassuring her.
Tyler raised his eyebrows, "You're kidding right?" When Carter suddenly shoved him, he automatically flinched back and warned, "You better back off." When the worker repeated the same action, Tyler looked to be in disbelief. He gave one final warning, "You hit me again and I swear to god–"
He couldn't even finish his sentence before Carter swung at him, clipping his cheek and causing a grunt of pain to escape the teenager. The two immediately started grappling to get a hold of each other, which Renfri thought looked kind of ridiculous since they were just shuffling in place, when another voice called out.
"Hey, Tyler!"
Mason quickly ran up to the two to break up the fight, causing Stefan and Ren to watch more carefully and cautiously. Mason pried the them apart, but Carter kept trying to move towards the teenager.
Mason pushed him back with one hand firmly, "What the hell, man?"
Carter didn't even look at him and went right towards his nephew, so the mysterious uncle grabbed the carnival worker by the throat, making Renfri's eyes widen. Carter knocked his hand away and punched Mason in the jaw, sending him reeling before he shoved him over the corner of a car, setting its alarm off. Tyler lunged after seeing his uncle get attacked too, but Carter turned and tossed him, using his momentum against him. Renfri was beginning to get skeptical, seeing as the loner surfer uncle just got owned by a random guy, until Mason came running back and vaulted back over the trunk of the car before leaping straight over the carnival worker and cleared him by several inches with his knees to his chest. He did it in a way that was strange, like an animal on four legs, not someone practicing parkour. When he landed on hands and feet in a crouch, facing his nephew, his eyes glowed amber.
"Your eyes," Tyler said in surprise and Renfri pressed her lips together. She knew Tyler couldn't let that go, it was too much to ignore, beyond the abnormal strength and agility Mason had just displayed. Mason turned and backhanded Carter so hard that he fell to the ground and didn't get up right away. Mason grabbed Tyler and tugged him along as he ran from the parking lot.
Stefan and Ren glanced at each other then came out from behind the car they'd been crouched behind to check on Carter.
"Hey, you alright, man?" Stefan asked as Carter sat up and looked confused. Renfri stiffened when she saw dark red liquid dripping down the man's lips and she eyed Stefan warily but he seemed to hold his breath as he approached.
"...Why did I just do that?"
Renfri looked on in surprise as Stefan just shook his head and gave no answer while helping the guy up before he walked away, dabbing at his bleeding nose.
"I didn't know someone could be hit so hard that it broke through compulsion," Renfri remarked and turned to her younger uncle.
He watched Carter and shook his head slowly, "Not usually, but Damon can be kind of lazy with how he does it. If the compulsion isn't very powerful or deeply rooted, enough brain trauma can knock them out of it. Maybe because it damages a part of the brain that the compulsion takes over? I'm not sure."
"Hmm, well, it seems we got our answer on Mason at least. He's definitely something, though Tyler I'm still doubtful of. He didn't do anything special." Stefan nodded thoughtfully and they headed back to the carnival together to find Damon, only for Stefan and Renfri to pause when their phones both vibrated in their pockets.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
They were once again meeting in Alaric's classroom, this time in the dark with only his desk lamp illuminating the space. Damon sat on the edge of the teacher's desk across from the anxious looking Elena while Stefan paced. Renfri stood in front of her older uncle with her arms folded over her chest and deeply furrowed brows.
"How did this even happen?" Stefan demanded.
"Well, I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her, and A plus B equals…" Damon trailed off, not even needing to finish.
"But why, why would she turn Caroline?" Elena asked.
"Because Katherine is a nasty, manipulative little slut," Damon said bitterly.
"But she said 'Game on,' what does that even mean?" Stefan asked in frustration.
"It means she's playing dirty and she wants us to know," his brother replied.
"But why Caroline?" Elena asked again but Damon only shrugged.
"To fuck with you," Renfri said, her voice betraying her anger, and they turned to look at the girl who had been oddly quiet up until then. "She gets a kick out of pretending to be you to get close to Stefan, she's screwed with Damon already, and now she's screwing with you by going after the people you're close to. I wouldn't be surprised if she goes after Jenna or Jeremy at some point, honestly."
"What? But what did I do–"
"Seemingly nothing, Elena, we don't know why she's doing this," Renfri threw her hands up in frustration, "I think she's lying through her teeth when she says it's because she wants Stefan back. She's here for something else, otherwise she wouldn't have come back now when she could have found him any other time. She's resourceful enough to have done it in the past hundred and fifty years. She's here for a different reason."
Damon nodded in agreement, his eyes sharp as they met his nieces, noting the rage and worry in her eyes.
Stefan shook his head worriedly, "Caroline must be completely out of her mind, she has no idea what's happening to her."
"Oh, I think she does."
They all turned to look at Damon questioningly and Ren asked, "What are you talking about?"
"All my compulsion from the past? It started wearing off the minute she was in transition."
The redhead sighed and nodded, "So her memories of you feeding on her made her realize what she was turning into. That doesn't mean she can control herself though, she could hurt somebody or expose herself."
"We have to find her," Stefan declared.
"Yup," Damon said, "and kill her."
Renfri looked at him in shock, "What?!"
Elena immediately denied him, "You're not gonna kill Caroline," she reached out to Stefan for comfort at the thought.
He had the gaul to look surprised, like it should be the obvious answer to their problem, "She knows who we are, she's a liability, we've got to get rid of her."
"Damon, absolutely not," Stefan told his brother like he was crazy.
Renfri's uncle looked at them in much the same way, "Need I remind you of the tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan?" Stefan seemed to reluctantly take pause and Damon continued, "Yeah, Caroline of all people will not make it as a vampire, her mother's a vampire hunter." Elena was shaking her head and wouldn't look at him. Renfri's frustration was growing at his tone and assumption that they'd agree with him on killing their friend as he drawled, "Guys, come on, we all know how this story ends. Flip to the last chapter and–"
"Shut the fuck up already."
The other three turned to look at Renfri who was scowling at her older uncle, "We're not killing Caroline." Her older uncle glanced at her appraisingly before turning his eyes to his brother.
"No? Your silence is deafening, Stefan."
Renfri looked his way and was surprised to see him looking conflicted as Damon continued to make mocking allusions to the sad death of Matt's sister, "Wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? Huh, talk about a town where history repeats itself…you know I'm right."
Stefan seemed to rock a bit where he leaned on the window sill and Renfri scoffed, "I don't think you are." Damon's eyes flicked to look at his niece doubtfully as she added, "Your drawing comparisons between two very different people. Vicki was a mess and a drug addict with zero self-control or care for others, so of course she was a shit vampire. Caroline may be a bit shallow and a control freak, but she actually does care about people. Her need to be in control could actually help her in keeping a leash on her urges rather than send her into a tailspin like Vicki whose first priority was chasing a high to avoid any kind of negative feelings and not making sure she didn't kill someone."
Stefan nodded, seemingly more convinced by Ren's arguments, "She's right, but regardless, we need to find Caroline before she hurts somebody or she gets found out by the council." He moved past the two with Elena right on his heels. Renfri glared at her uncle and he just shrugged innocently before they followed behind the other two.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Elena had asked Stefan point blank if he agreed with Damon, based on his stoic silence as they moved through the carnival crowd, but he said that he was only right about what was going to happen. He thought Katherine had turned her to torture him because she would need to be put down and had 'signed Caroline's death warrant.'
"Look, this isn't helping, we need to find her," Ren insisted before her eyes shifted to her uncle, "Stefan, if she's attacked someone and there's blood when we find her, will you be able to handle it?"
He glanced at her and hesitated before nodding, "I should be fine, as long as I stay away from the bleeding person I should be okay. I really only lose control when I taste human blood."
His girlfriend seemed appeased but his niece looked uncertain and unconsciously rubbed the side of her neck, "Yeah, but you recently had a…relapse, so are you sure? Being around it, smelling it when it's fresh, that won't push you over the edge again?"
Stefan's eyes tracked her hand as it fell from her neck and his eyes became remorseful, "Ren, you're safe, I won't lose control." He paused, "I know I lost your trust when I fed from you–"
"You didn't just feed from me, Uncle Stefan, you almost killed me," she whispered in a hoarse voice.
"Ren—" Elena tried to interrupt, but Stefan cut her off.
"No, she's right, I almost killed her. I'll never be able to make up for that and you'll never know how sorry I am, Ren. I'll stay away from anyone bleeding, if that makes you more comfortable. I'd let Damon handle it alone if I could, but I don't trust him to not kill her if I did."
Renfri eyed the teenage vampire for a long moment before she nodded and let out a breath, "Alright, just be careful and focus on Caroline. If anyone's bleeding, we'll deal with them and you get yourself and Caroline away from there, okay?" She waited for a nod before she gave a firm one herself and let him take the lead again. Elena put a hand on her shoulder and gave a squeeze with a gentle, comforting smile before following her boyfriend.
"How are we going to find her? Where could she be?" the brunette asked and Stefan suddenly stopped and turned back around, making Ren jerk to a halt to prevent herself from smacking into him.
"What? What is it?"
"Do you hear her? Stefan, what, what's going on?"
"Elena, be quiet so he can—"
Stefan interrupted her and said, "It's blood, I can smell blood," before moving back towards the area behind the ferris wheel. His steps faltered and he hissed, "Damon found her, she's freaking out," then he grabbed the both of them and took off in a blur. Ren gasped when she was suddenly dropped onto asphalt, but steadied herself before looking around. They were by some kind of back storage building with an open garage door and a flatbed truck parked by it.
"Stefan!" came an annoyed voice.
The green-eyed vampire had knocked a wooden stake from his brother's hands and pushed him away from Caroline who had blood smeared all over and around her mouth. Elena and Ren stepped towards their friend carefully, glancing over to see Carter lying dead on the truck bed with his neck torn and covered in red, but Caroline flinched away and put her hands up defensively.
"Stay away from me, you killed me!" the blonde cried in a broken voice.
Elena shook her head and reached out to her, "Shhh, no, Caroline, that was Katherine, not me," but Caroline just shook her head again with teary eyes and a grimace.
"No, she did, she killed me!"
Everyone froze and Stefan and Damon turned away from each other to look in disbelief as the newly turned vampire pointed an accusing finger at their shocked niece. Renfri stood with her jaw dropped and she closed and opened her mouth, struggling to form words.
"I—you—what!?"
"Caroline, what are you talking about? It was Katherine that killed you, right?" Elena asked her desperately while glancing at her other friend in confusion and worry.
Stefan and Damon's eyes widened as Caroline shook her head wildly, getting her hair in her face, "No, Renfri did. Why did you do this to me, I thought we were friends? Why!?"
Ren took a step back as each shouted question hit her like a bullet to the chest. She was still unable to believe what her friend accused her of and replied shakily, "There's no way—I'd never hurt you, Caroline! You're–you are my friend!"
"Could Caroline be compelled?" Elena asked uncertainly, trying to figure out what was happening. Damon shook his head and moved up next to his niece who's breathing had picked up pace, letting his arm brush against hers as he crossed them over his chest.
"No, compulsion is broken when you die, her real memories came back the moment she was in transition."
Stefan moved towards the blonde and reached out slowly, "Caroline, are you sure it was Renfri who killed you? Can you tell us exactly what happened?" She flinched but let him put a comforting hand on her shoulder then moved it to rub her back.
She took a shaky breath and curled her hands into her chest, "I—I was in the hospital and I was sleeping. I woke up when she came in, Ren said that she had a message for the Salvatores from Katherine: 'Game on.' Then she took my pillow and—and she pushed me down," Her voice became pinched and broke as she continued, "She held it over my face, I couldn't breathe! I tried to fight her but—" She let out a sob and put her hands over her face.
Renfri sucked in a sharp breath as her friend confirmed that she had ended her life and forced her into transition, "I—I killed her? But…" She shook her head, lost for words. Stefan wrapped an arm around the newly turned vampire and began to guide her away with a sad glance at his niece.
"I'm sorry, Caroline. She didn't mean to, someone made her do it. Just come with me."
"Katherine must have told you to do it when she compelled you to invite her in," Damon surmised then turned to his brother who was moving the blonde away from the group. "Stefan, she's gonna die, it's only a matter of time."
His little brother looked over his shoulder firmly, "Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna be tonight," and turned to lead the baby vampire away.
"Oh yeah, it is."
Renfri jumped and gasped again as Damon sped behind them before moving past her towards her bloody friend.
"No!"
Elena flung herself between the two vampires and Damon stopped inches away with the stake raised as Elena stared up at him desperately. Renfri took the pause as her chance and ran to put herself next to Elena, blocking his access to Caroline as well.
"She's my friend," Elena pleaded.
"Uncle Damon, please," his blue eyes shifted to his niece as tears gathered in her eyes but she refused to let them fall, "Katherine made me kill her, and I don't even remember doing it!" She swallowed the lump building in her throat and her voice came out a bit stronger, "She's my friend too, so please…let us help her."
His face remained stoic as he studied her face then Elena's before slowly lowering the stake.
"Fine," he looked to his niece, "if that's what you want." His eyes pierced the two girls, "But whatever happens is on you. Don't say I didn't warn you." Damon slowly took a few steps back and Ren felt like she could breathe again. She nodded to him in thanks and one tear escaped down her cheek in relief which she quickly swept it away.
The two girls turned to Caroline who flinched when she looked at Renfri. The redhead slowly and carefully reached for her friend and lightly grabbed her hand in both of hers.
"Caroline, I'm so sorry. I don't even remember doing it, but Katherine forced me to, she controlled my mind. I hope you can forgive me eventually, I would never intentionally hurt you." Caroline looked at her with watery eyes and wobbly lips. She seemed hesitant but also clearly wanted to believe her, so she gave a jerky nod. Ren let loose a sigh of relief and released her hand.
Elena waved in her boyfriend's direction, "Go with Stefan, Care, he'll help you. We can talk later." As the two turned towards the building they halted again as they saw Bonnie move out of the shadow of the garage door, staring wide-eyed at her friend who had a blood drying around her mouth.
"No, you're not—you can't be," Bonnie shook her head in denial as she stared at the undeniable evidence of the new vampire in front of her. She suddenly strode forward and Renfri moved to block her.
"Please, I need to know. I need to feel–" the girl cut herself off, unable to even voice her fears. Renfri watched her warily but nodded and stayed still as she allowed Bonnie to reach around her to grab Caroline's arm to feel the truth of the situation with her powers. The blonde girl only looked distraught and confused as the witch held her arm while staring at her in horror.
"Bonnie?" Caroline asked brokenly as the witch's eyes filled with despair and she stepped back. She shook her head then looked past them and to the body lying still on the truck bed.
"Oh god," she gasped and moved to grip the edge of the flatbed as she stared at the body of the cute boy she had been flirting with not too long ago. Elena pushed Caroline gently and Stefan pulled her away to get cleaned up. Renfri felt a bit of relief as Stefan walked away from the scene, and the fresh body her friend had torn open.
She heard Bonnie inhale wetly and she turned to see the girl had begun to shake and held a hand over her mouth to suppress the sobs. Renfri couldn't help but feel a little bit bad for the girl, twice now she'd been screwed over just after becoming interested in a guy: Ben had been a vampire who kidnapped her and Carter was almost immediately killed by one after they met. She glanced at Elena who was watching her friend with pity and sadness.
Bonnie sniffed, tears pouring from her eyes freely now and she turned away from the body, "Oh god, I can't believe this is happening."
Damon had gone off and returned quickly with a shovel in hand from the other side of the truck. Renfri supposed he planned on burying the body somewhere in the woods, again.
"Oh, come on, don't pout about it," he told her lazily, "we've got a body to bury." He rounded the platform and came up beside the brunette, and at Elena's affronted look he turned to her and said, "I thought you were calling the shots, no?" When Elena said nothing and Ren just sighed tiredly, he lifted the shovel onto the platform next to the dead man and said flippantly, "Sucks to be you, buddy."
Suddenly, Damon clutched his head and doubled over while groaning in pain. Renfri straightened and moved toward him.
"Damon? What…" She heard the squeak of metal and turned to see the hose turn on and the open end of the rubber tubing shift so the water spilled in their direction. Damon cried out as the pain seemed to increase and he dropped to the ground as Ren looked up at the distraught Bennett witch.
"This is your fault, he's dead because of you."
"Ahhh, I didn't do this!" Damon yelled as the spell, what Renfri guessed to be a brain aneurysm, continued to keep him down.
"Bonnie, stop this right now," Renfri spat out angrily as she glared at the witch, still crouched beside her uncle.
"She's right, Bonnie, you need to stop, this wasn't his fault," Elena said quickly in concern.
The Bennett girl scowled through her tears at her brown-haired friend, "Everything that's happened is his fault, Elena," she turned to look at the vampire on the ground with her eyes full of grief and blame.
"Bonnie, stop, if you don't—"
Elena interrupted Ren, "Bonnie what are you doing?" They watched as the water reached her uncle's pant leg. He looked up at this, grimacing through the pain, and all their eyes widened as the water by the mouth of the house was set on fire, as simply as if it was gasoline. The fire quickly followed the liquid across the asphalt and to the two Salvatores huddled on the ground. Renfri jumped back in shock as the fire lit her uncle's pant leg on fire and crawled up his calf.
He began to shout as he slapped desperately at the flames, his sleeve catching on fire as well. Renfri watched with wide eyes and tears formed at the corners as the fire began to engulf the bottom half of her uncle. Her eyes shifted across the blazing line and found Bonnie Bennett as she muttered her spell while watching the vampire burn.
Renfri grit her teeth then took a running leap over the line of flames, just as Elena called out to Bonnie and was ignored. The Bennett witch seemed to be in a trance, she didn't even seem to see her approach.
Not until an open hand cracked across her face.
Bonnie's head snapped to one side and she stumbled, nearly falling over from the force of the blow until Elena caught her after jumping over the dying flames.
The redhead whirled back around and hurried back to her uncle while pulling her light jacket off. She used it to smother the flames on Damon frantically while trying to keep from burning her hands as well. By the time she was done, she was crouched over her uncle and holding her burnt jacket to him tightly as both their chests heaved from their panic. The overwhelming terror at possibly losing a family member again had pushed Renfri into a shaking mess of fear which quickly transformed into a seething rage.
She stood, the air puffing past her lips as they curled into a snarl even as her tears still fell, and turned to find both girls staring at her in shock. Bonnie had a hand held to the left side of her face while Elena's mouth was gaping open.
"You can't blame him for this," Renfri growled, "He only did what you demanded of him by feeding her his blood, and it saved her life, but Katherine made me kill her. I don't give a shit what you think about him, Bonnie Bennett, but you will NOT take the only family I have left from me!" Her voice had risen to a hoarse shout by this point. "If you think you're so high and mighty just because he's a vampire and you're a witch, then you need to grow the fuck up! Trying to kill him because you blame him makes you like him. Just stay away from both of us, and if you try to kill him again, I'll make you regret it."
Bonnie stared with wide eyes as the redhead spun back around to crouch by her uncle, not waiting for an answer from her ex-friend.
He groaned as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and hissed, "I should kill her for—Ow!" He yelped as Ren slapped one of the healing burns on his legs.
"Shut up, Uncle Damon, I just saved your sorry ass. Maybe you should learn when to shut your mouth. Your douchebag comments are really going to get you killed one day…and I can't bear that." Her face fell and she dragged her sleeve across her face to erase the tear tracks. Damon looked at her for a moment as he sat up, glancing at Elena who was herding Bonnie away from them, and sat up fully. He stared at his niece, who determinedly kept her head down as she pulled her burnt jacket from his legs and watched as the skin healed over through the holes where the fire had burned through the denim.
Renfri felt a hand clap onto her shoulder and she tilted her head in his direction but didn't look up as he spoke lowly, "Don't worry, Red, I don't plan on dying anytime soon…now let's get off the ground so we can bury a body."
She couldn't help the snort that escaped her despite her still watery eyes, "Yeah, alright, I guess I'll be your accomplice for tonight."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The microwave beeped incessantly until the door was opened and the mug of hot milk was removed. Renfri scooped brown powder into it and stirred until the liquid turned a light brown before she sprayed a swirl of whipped cream into the cup and then her mouth.
"Ooo, gimme some," Damon said as he walked into the kitchen. She managed a smirk even as her cheeks were puffed out from the whipped cream. She tossed the can over the island at him and he caught it with one hand then squirted some straight into his mouth as well. Renfri turned around and headed for the door as she took a sip from her mug of hot chocolate.
"You healed up okay from the burns?" she asked as he tossed the can back into the fridge.
"Yup, a fresh bag of blood and I'm as good as new, easy." He shrugged as they walked down the hall, "Though what I really need is something a bit stronger after today's events."
She snorted, "You mean being set on fire by a spiteful witch was mentally straining enough to push you to drink? Odd." He rolled his eyes at her sarcasm as they turned into the den and he moved straight to the liquor table. Renfri passed it and headed for the couch on the left. As she turned her body to sit, she paused as she saw Ash sitting happily at the feet of an unexpected visitor sitting in one of the chairs against the wall behind them.
Damon tilted his head in the same direction slightly but continued to pour a glass of bourbon, "The hell are you doing here?" Renfri lowered her mug as she glanced warily between her uncle and the youngest Gilbert sitting with a dark hoodie on and a stake in his hand as her dog sat with his tail wagging beside him.
"You don't lock your front door," Jeremy said simply.
"Yeah," Damon replied dryly while Ren looked at him pointedly, as if to say 'this is why you should.' He then went to take a sip of his drink of choice.
"I wouldn't," Jeremy said quickly and Damon paused, "I laced it with vervain." Damon sniffed the glass lightly before dropping it onto the table quickly, annoyed. He turned to the boy as Renfri approached and grabbed the glass to smell it as well, catching a bitterness that was almost hidden by the dry burn of the alcohol. She took a sip and stared at the liquid oddly.
"I can smell it…and taste it," she murmured in confusion and her uncle glanced at her questioningly before he looked back at the younger teenager in the room.
"And why would you do that?" the vampire asked, his eyes sharp.
Jeremy held up the jagged piece of wood in his hand, "So I could stake you, with this."
"You came here to kill me?"
He shrugged and tossed the stake on the floor in Damon's direction, "You killed me first." Renfri raised an eyebrow as she watched the oldest Salvatore stoop to pick up the length of wood.
"Doesn't seem like you really thought it through, especially since it looks like you've changed your mind," she commented.
"What made you wisen up?" Damon asked calmly, since the kid didn't seem to have any intention of attacking him. Jeremy shook his head and ran a hand down the dog's head and neck.
"My father hated vampires, my uncle too. They were absolute, they knew exactly what they stood for," Jeremy told them as Damon took a seat on the couch on the right and she followed suit on the opposite one. "I figured maybe I should too—stand up for something."
Renfri sighed, "Jer, you decided to try to kill vampires because you wanted to be like your dad and uncle? By the way, John is a shit role model, so I'd think twice about doing anything in his image."
The boy nodded, "Yeah, you're right. After I planned on killing him I thought, 'What's that going to do?'" He looked to the vampire in the room and Renfri watched hesitantly for his reaction.
Damon twisted the stake in his hands, "Look, I don't do the big brother thing very well, sorry I don't have any milk and cookies to offer you."
Jeremy's face shifted immediately into anger and regret at opening up to the vampire and he stood.
"Dick," he muttered and turned for the doorway.
"Uncle Damon," Ren murmured under her breath scoldingly and he rolled his eyes but called out.
"Wait." Jeremy paused in the doorway and turned to look at the older man as he twirled the wood in his hands, "My father hated vampires too."
Jeremy looked surprised, "He did?"
Damon made a face like 'of course' and told him, "Same reason yours did."
Ren snorted, "Just like every superstitious person back then who believed in the 'demons of the night,' right?"
Damon smirked, "Yep, very typical," he looked at Jeremy, "except it was 1864 and people knew how to widdle." He held up the sad excuse of a stake that the boy had butchered, which made Jeremy give a startled laugh along with Ren.
"Did you do this?" Damon asked and Jeremy shrugged.
"Yeah, I tried, it's harder than it looks."
"Clearly," Renfri remarked and Jeremy rolled his eyes at her. Damon smirked as Renfri leaned further back into the couch with her hot chocolate, a smile pulling at her lips as she was finally able to relax again. As Jeremy turned to leave and Damon got up to get an untainted bottle of bourbon, she pulled out her phone. She stared at it for a few seconds, feeling conflicted, before she began typing.
Hey, Care. I know you might not want to see me because of what happened and I know it might be hard for you to, but I want you to know that I'll be here to talk or help you adjust however I can if you'll let me.
Renfri added a few heart emojis before she hit send with a sigh and tucked her phone away before taking another sip of the warm, creamy drink. Ash joined her on the couch to curl up alongside her legs and Damon settled into the opposite couch with a fresh drink as they settled into a calm silence in front of the crackling fire.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-