New Beginnings

Leaving Salvatore School was both the hardest and easiest thing she had ever done.

Spending over a decade at the school, it had become home. She learned to control her powers; she embraced those same powers and used them to do good. She made friends. She fell in love. She faced some of the hardest choices of her life and managed to survive.

Was she proud of the last few months? In a word, no.

Bracing her left hand to the steering wheel, she pressed her other to the skin at her neck where it felt naked every day since her humanity returned.

The way she treated Aunt Rebekah, it was harsh, but she knew her aunt had forgiven her before the taillights of the car she stole even faded in the distance.

Because Auntie Bex knew. She understood everything happening inside of Hope. Her aunt had always loved hard and to the fullest. She also knew what it felt like to be a new immortal. Hope controlled the blatant impulses of being a vampire better than any other newbie but controlling the amplified emotions proved too much.

She wished she had been stronger.

But the truth was, it was okay.

She didn't have to be strong every day of her life. It didn't make her weak or pathetic.

It made her human.

Lizzie taught her that.

Her friend had struggled with her mental health almost as long as Hope had known her. She went from being the prima bitch to taking the steps to be a better person. She sought out help to learn to manage all the emotions flooding her mind. She took medication to correct her brain chemistry. She fought a battle on a daily basis.

Lizzie Saltzman was one of the strongest people she knew.

She felt regret for a lot of the things she had done with her humanity off. She couldn't change any of it though. She couldn't heal Doctor Saltzman, and she couldn't unkill Lizzie. She couldn't give that poor man in the road his life back either.

It was a testament to the strength of both of them that they didn't hold her actions against her. She loved both of them and knew they would always be important to her. All of the Saltzmans would.

Leaving them behind wasn't easy, but it wasn't goodbye forever.

It was time though.

Time to cut ties with the school that had been her saving grace and her safe haven from the world.

Time to stop hiding from the world.

Time to start living in it.

Before she could really start living though, there were two things she needed to take care of.

Two regrets.

Doctor Saltzman's words had weighed down on her since he uttered them.

"The worst is when you have regret. When you're unable to say the things you need to say."

Aunt Rebekah was one of those regrets. She wished she went into battle wearing her necklace. It was part of her legacy. Not just the name, Mikaelson, but also the legacy of love. She didn't need the necklace to remember who she was though.

She wanted to apologize to Aunt Rebekah. She wanted the necklace back, and she needed to thank her for all she tried to do.

Her other regret had been nagging at her even though she kept telling herself it was pointless. The more she kept trying to push it out of her mind, the more it kept coming back.