"𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫? 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠."
― 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐞
𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟗
𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒. She couldn't believe what she had just done. It had been decades since she had been in school, yet here she was, enrolling for Mystic Falls High as a Junior. It was the only way she could protect Elena Gilbert, the innocent girl that the Mikaelson brothers were planning to sacrifice.
Stefan chuckles from the entrance of the Salvatore boarding house. He had been kind enough to let her stay at the home, he owed it to her after all. She was the reason he got his ripper side under control.
"This isn't funny," Renee pouts, slumping in her seat on the couch, "I haven't been to school in literally decades. I can't imagine learning the shit they teach now."
"It can't be that bad," Stefan shrugs, walking down the wooden steps, hands in his pockets. He plops down in the seat in front of Renee with a kind smile, "at least we won't be complete loners. If we don't make any friends, we can always stick together."
"Mm, I think that's a you problem, Steffy," Renee grins, reaching for the bottle of bourbon sitting on the table pressed against the back of the couch, "everyone loves me. I always end up being everyone's friend."
"Says the literal mother of all creations," Stefan scoffs as he watches Renee pour herself a glass of the brown liquor, "they have to like you, you're like their mom."
"Ew," Renee shakes her head at his wording, "don't say that, it makes me sound old."
"You are old," Stefan rolls his eyes, pushing himself off of the couch and towards the dining area behind Renee, "what are you four hundred years old?"
"No," she scoffs, sipping on the bourbon, "I'm only... six hundred and eleven."
"Oh, I am so very sorry," Stefan yells from the kitchen.
"Steffy, don't make me make the squirrels gang up on you when you go out to feed," Renee threatens, downing the rest of the bourbon. The taste was so familiar, nostalgic even. The hints of oak and caramel with notes of vanilla reminded her so much of someone she tried so dearly to forget.
Her eyes land on the bottle, sighing as she sees the brand. Jim Beam. Oh, the memories that the brand had brought to her. Her throat stung slightly as the liquid lingered in her throat, and her eyes began to sting too.
"Why is it that you always get the same brand of bourbon?" Renee laughs, pouring the liquor into two separate glasses. Ezekiel's eyes glimmer in admiration as he absorbs every detail of her face. Noticing his silence, she looks up, eyes meeting with his blue ones. "What?"
"Nothing, you're just so beautiful," he gets up from his side of the kitchen island and circles over to Renee. His finger gently brushes over her cheekbone and then down to her chin as he tilts her head up. He tilts his head down, lips brushing against hers, "I get this brand so every time I drink it, I'll think of you, and vice versa."
"Renee?" a voice startles her out of her thoughts. She looks over towards the door to see Zachary Salvatore walking in with a handful of groceries. He smiles kindly at her, she was one of the few supernatural people he actually admired, "I got the cereal you wanted. Oh, and some more bourbon since you're addicted to it."
"Thanks," she places the glass on the table next to the bourbon and pushes herself to her feet, "I'm going to go for a walk, tell Steffy please."
"Got it," the man nods as she walks past him and out onto the patio. Renee always admired the architecture of the boarding house. It was big, yes, but it was homey. The detailing was all older, along with the style of the home itself–it was reminiscent of her days of traveling, running rather.
The fresh air wrapped Renee with a big hug as her feet hit the concrete ground. She needed a distraction from him. Despite not being near him, he still managed to haunt her mind. It was frustrating. She wanted to forget about him, forget about the 1700s. But she couldn't.
It was times like these that reminded her that she still, in fact, was running from the Mikaelson's–well, one of them at least. The fact that she, Mother Nature, was running from something was vexing, however, she was not taking any chances.
Now that she had located the doppelganger, she was no longer going to run. It was only a matter of time before they showed up, and when they did, she'd make sure she could keep the doppelganger alive.
God, did she miss when she was free from the burden of running.
━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━
𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟗
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐓. The witch bloodline will always be held dear to her heart, especially after they had been so kind to her in the past. Renee looks at the brown bricked home. She knew that Sheila Bennett could already probably sense her presence so when she went to knock and the door swung open, Renee was far from shocked.
"I knew you'd stop by soon," the Bennett woman smiles, opening her arms for a hug. Renee didn't hesitate to give her one with a bright smile. Sheila ushers her into the living room, "how've you been, sweetheart?"
"I'm sure you already know," Renee chuckles, running her manicured fingers through her hair. There was no doubt that Sheila could feel the constant state of paranoia that the girl was in, from the way she continuously glanced out the window and her constant fidgeting.
The Bennett witch nods, "I've heard you got a big bounty on your head. Say, how did a pretty innocent little thing like you get a crazy Mikaelson wrapped around your finger?"
"I wish I knew–all I know was it was a big mistake," Renee huffs, eyes landing on the open grimoire, "what are you looking for?"
"Nothing," Sheila waves off, "it's just a fun way of passing time. I've been waiting for you to come. My ancestors speak highly of you."
Renee smiles, a warm feeling growing in her chest, "I'm honored to hear that truly. Look, if you ever need anything, I'm happy to help."
"Look, if you ever need anything, I'm happy to help," Sophia Bennett says, grasping Renee's shoulder with tearful eyes. It was a bittersweet goodbye. It was time that Renee went out on her own and fulfilled her prophecy.
"I'll keep that in mind," Renee sniffles lightly, gripping the hand on her shoulder tenderly, "bye, Sof."
"I'll keep that in mind," Sheila Bennett responds with a sweet grin, "here's to new beginnings."
"Amen," Renee forces the memories back into her head. She couldn't deal with all of the things she had buried deep in her mind, not now at least.
𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐥
𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫
𝐢 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭!