I do not own Vampire Academy, Ms Richelle Mead does.
Author's NOTE: Hey, this is my first ever fanfic so pleeeeease let me know what you think about the story.
Any feedback is welcome.
Btw, it takes a while for the story to get into action but the beginning is crucial. If you miss it out, you may not understand some parts of the story.
^-^ have fun
DANKE
Over a year ago, Dominic Vercetti, my best friend, and I graduated from St. Niklaus' Academy; a school for the two races, Moroi and Dhampir. But instead of being assigned to a Moroi who I'd guard and protect with my life, my father specially requested that Dominic and I be sent to a University full of humans. I protested immediately when I had found out after graduation that I'd be heading straight to University; but I was silenced. Our headmaster, Ms Tahmina, seemed afraid of my father and I knew why; he was sly, sneaky and a professional at threatening. His look also seemed to terrify Ms Tahmina. He was slim and tall, like most Moroi. He always wore gold earrings and a suit, no matter how hot or cold the weather was and his facial expression was always the same; as if he had a secret. And something which helped to emphasise that look was his dark, black beard. I had seen him a few times in my life but besides that, we'd always kept in contact through the phone.
The only thing I remembered of my mother was her small, petite figure and her curly auburn hair. I had only seen her once. Ever. And that was when St. Vladimir's had been attacked by the dangerous, immortal, merciless vampires, the Strigoi.
"Rose..." whispered a familiar voice. "ROSE!" Dominic yelled.
I snapped out of my daze, blinking continuously at the materialising image of the cafeteria.
"Hmmm?" I replied, staring at Dominic as I pushed my lunch tray aside.
"Is Wosey Posey daydweaming again?" he said in a baby voice.
Julia laughed her head off as if it was the funniest thing in the world.
I gave him a friendly punch in the arm.
"You're-" I was cut off by squealing.
Julia's friends, Caroline, Sara and Alicia came to pick her up for their lame Ball Committee Meeting. The girls smiled at me before they crowded around Dominic, touching his arms and running their fingers over his tattoos on his neck; two molnija marks, showing he had killed two Strigoi, the tattoo which showed the bearer had been in battle, the zvezda, and his promise mark.
Unlike Dominic, I didn't show off my tattoos, mostly due to the fact that I didn't want my hair cropped into a pixie cut. My neck consisted of 3 molnija marks, a zvezda and my promise mark. It amazed me by how much room the back of my neck had to fit all of these marks.
"Aren't you going to be late for your meeting?" I asked to no one in particular.
Julia pulled the girls to her side and stood up. "Come on, we don't want to keep the first years waiting," she said before waving goodbye to both me and Dominic.
"I'll see you all later," Dominic called after the 4 girls' figures, causing them all to turn back around. He flashed them his pearly whites and winked. Having advanced hearing, I swear I heard a couple of the girls sigh before hurrying out of the cafeteria.
A lot of the girls adored Dominic. He had the normal Dhampir traits of course, the tanned skin and athletic build, like me, which was what made people think we were siblings. He was taller than me and had straight brown hair. His eyes were dark blue and he had a smile that girls sighed at if it was directed at them. He was a sweet and joking guy. He was practically stunning on the inside and out.
As for me, I was the flirty type. I flirted with the guys. A lot. And they flirted back. Girls thought I'd led guys on and funnily enough, I didn't care. Besides the Dhampir traits, I had wavy dark brown hair which sometimes seemed black and because of my lack of recent haircut, hung to my mid-back. My eyes were a deep brown, nothing special compared to Dominic's. He and I were the only Dhampirs that attended this uni. Hell, we were probably the ONLY Dhampirs that attended uni in the WHOLE WORLD. All the other Dhampirs were busy guarding Moroi, and being referred to as GUARDIANS whereas Dominic and I were being referred to as STUDENTS.
Dominic seemed to see no problem with attending uni. He simply called it 'furthering our education' but honestly, what were we going to do when we graduated uni? Become a doctor or a lawyer? Hell no! I was born a Dhampir; a soon-to-be Guardian, and there was no way I was going to become a doctor or a lawyer. Besides Dom, my stake was what gave me hope; that I'd leave this country and be assigned to a Moroi. It was the one I was given when I graduated St. Niklaus'; it was my most prized possession. In New Zealand, Strigoi were rare because most of the Moroi were transferred to the Royal Court once they graduated. Due to their preference of Moroi blood over human, Strigoi followed the Moroi. Unusual Strigoi who didn't mind human blood, decided to remain.
When dinnertime came, Dominic and his cute roommate, Tyler, decided to take me out to Burger King and I, a lover of burgers, allowed them to take me.
Once we arrived there, my cell phone began to ring. The caller ID revealed that it was my father calling. I excused myself from the two males and headed into the bathroom to take the call.
"Dad?" I said, more of a question than an answer.
"Rose, my dear, there's something your mother and I need to tell you. But, aside from that, I need you and Mr Vercetti to come to Palm Springs." His voice sounded weary.
"What do you need to tell me?" I asked, curiously. "And w-w-w-wait. You have a mission for Dom and I?" My voice sounding excited, earlier signs of curiosity fading.
"Yes, in Palm Springs. I have both of your tickets booked and ready. Your flight leaves tomorrow at 2am. Sorry about the early booking but I need you both here ASAP."
I looked at the time on my cell phone, 19:34. In less than 8 hours, I'd be out of this country and in another; one full of action with Strigoi to destroy and Moroi to guard. I could barely contain my excitement.
"Ok dad. I'll tell Dom. See you soon."
"Bring your stake," he said, obviously with a smile upon his face, before he disconnected the call.
I sprinted out of the bathroom and straight to the table where Dominic and Tyler were. I couldn't stop smiling as I headed back. I sat across them and I opened my cell phone on the table.
I began pressing buttons on my phone, trying to make it look as if I was texting.
"Dom, nod if you can hear me," I whispered as low as I could, knowing Tyler couldn't hear me. I looked up and saw Dominic nod, his eyes showing his curiosity. Tyler however, was wondering what to order and wasn't paying attention to neither Dominic nor me.
I whispered the whole story to Dominic and he seemed as thrilled as I was.
Once we all had agreed on what to order, and that Dominic was buying my meal, we joined the queue which seemed to be quite long due to the fact that it was a Friday night.
"So Bro," Tyler said once he had ordered, "You still up for tomorrow's basketball game? We need you as one of our forwards."
Dominic quickly ordered his food and my own before answering. "Um, sorry Ty but tonight is both I and Posey's last night. We're being transferred to Palm Springs."
Tyler's eyes widened with shock. "Oh. Was that what the phone call was about?"
I nodded, staring straight into his grey eyes. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. You're both pretty lucky. When does your flight leave?"
"2 am. But don't worry bro; I'll pack straight after we're done here. I don't want to disturb you while you sleep," Dominic said, trying to sound helpful.
"Pack whenever you want to. I'll drop you and Rose off to the airport. It's the least I can do to help."
"Posey, COME ON! We're going to be late!" Dominic yelled silently as he knocked constantly at my door. "It's a half hour drive to the airport!"
I looked at the digital clock on the wall. It showed 01:27.
I had been packing since 10pm and I still wasn't done.
"Wait. I'm nearly done!" I said as I pulled my hair up in a ponytail, making sure it didn't look too tidy. I studied myself in the mirror. I was wearing my black, low-cut Chucks, my black skinny jeans, a white singlet which clung to my torso, clearly showing off my curves, and my black leather jacket. I reckoned I looked pretty badass.
"I'm ready now," I said as I opened up my door and wheeled my suitcase out of my room.
"Finally," Dominic breathed out. "Taking your time much?"
Tyler laughed and studied me for a moment. If I didn't know any better, I would have said he was checking me out. He looked lost for words.
"See something you like?" I flashed him a dangerous dazzling smile.
"I—Uh—Um—" For a second there, I thought he was going to begin drooling.
"Ty," Dominic said as he elbowed Tyler out of his trance, "You ok?"
Tyler blinked and shook his head. "Let's go."
With Tyler's dangerous driving, we managed to get to the airport with 10 minutes to spare.
Once parked, we walked through the cold, bitter wind of the early morning, into the warmth of the busy airport.
My phone rang and the caller ID once again showed that it was my father. This time, I didn't bother hiding my conversation with him.
"Yes Dad?" I asked, trying to hide my excitement.
"Dear, see the Guardian near the escalators?"
I looked towards the escalators and surely enough, stood a tall, tanned, built man in a black and white suit, his silver stake tucked on the inside of his belt on his pants.
"Yes, I see him," I replied.
"Well, he has you and Mr Vercetti's tickets. Just walk up to him, collect your tickets and leave. I shall see you soon," and just like that, he disconnected the call.
Tyler and Dominic were in deep conversation so I just walked to the escalators, whispering goodbye to this wonderful country; the country which had more sheep than people.
"Guardian Hathaway," the Guardian greeted as he handed over our tickets.
I giggled at how he referred to me as 'Guardian Hathaway'. It sounded awesome.
"Thanks," I murmured as I headed back to the bickering boys.
"Dom, we have to check-in now. And then probably board the plane straight after. It's almost 2am," I said as I picked up my luggage.
Dominic and Tyler did a complicated handshake before Dominic jogged into the check-in line, leaving Tyler and I alone.
As a sign of gratitude, I kissed his cheek. "Thanks for dropping us off," I said as I stared at him.
He smiled and grabbed hold of my hand. Until now, I didn't realise my hands were freezing. They were absorbing the warmth of his.
"If you ever come back to New Zealand, give me a call?" He said, giving my hand a little squeeze.
"Sure, just make sure your number never changes or else..." I shrugged, "Your loss..." I smiled before giving him a tight hug before sprinting into the check-in line, checking in almost immediately.
Both Dominic and I boarded the aircraft on time. First class. The flight was very long. I slept most of the time whereas Dominic constantly ordered food. Once we arrived somewhere, which wasn't Palm Springs, we were transferred to another flight. I was too groggy to be paying attention to whatever was happening. Dominic practically dragged me wherever we needed to go.
"Rosalie Hathaway," boomed Ms Tahmina's voice.
I walked towards her. I shook her hand, collected my graduation certificate and joined the other graduated Dhampirs. We were all waiting to receive our promise mark. This was the first tattoo we'd earned.
I clenched my fists and closed my eyes tightly, trying to ignore the pain. I gritted my teeth. The piercing needle on my neck was killing me. Scream. Let out your pain, yelled my conscience. NO WAY! I thought. Not in front of an audience. After what seemed like hours, I got off the tattooing chair and smiled at the applauding crowd. Queen Tatiana gave me a puzzled look as her guardians handed me my stake.
Ms Tahmina was going through the names of the assigned Dhampirs. I'm not a very patient person. Name after name, I grew anxious and I began to tap my foot. I didn't want to be assigned to the stuck-up Antonio Zeklos.
Finally, Ms Tahmina was going through the H section.
"Jordan Halest" Ms Tahmina called. "You will be assigned to Renaldo Drozdov."
My name was next. I was waiting for it.
Only thing is; it never came.
"Annalisa Hawthorne, you will be assigned to Jaden Lazar."
What the? Ms Tahmina forgot my name. There had to be an explanation for that.
Dominic was coming up soon. Ms Tahmina sped through the R's, S's, T's, U's and was now at the V's.
"Jacob Van Hueson..."
I wasn't paying attention. I just wanted to see who Dominic was assigned to.
"Veronica Williams..."
Was Ms Tahmina missing us out on purpose? As a joke maybe?
Once the assigning ceremony was over, I stormed over to Ms Tahmina.
"What the f—"
"You're both not being assigned," Miss Tahmina interrupted, obviously not wanting to hear the rest of the F word.
Dominic remained silent.
"But—"
"No buts. It's your father's orders."
"But I passed the last test with great results!" I yelled.
"Miss Hathaway, lower your voice. Your father wants you and Mr Vercetti to attend uni."
Tears welled up in my eyes.
"Come on Posey," said Dominic, "your father probably had his reasons."
I pushed Dominic away and sprinted for the nearest gate.
"Rose! ROSE! COME BACK!" he yelled after me, not able to reach my pace.
Speed was my gift.
I needed to hurt something. Not my father though. Although he was responsible for this, I didn't blame him. I pushed past the protesting guardians and sprinted into the forest. Out of bounds of the school's wards. It was the midday for the Moroi. Late at night for the humans.
Snap! Something was standing a few metres away from me. A velvet figure. Snap! Snap! Snap! Shit. I was surrounded. By guardians? I wish.
"You're one pretty little lady," snarled the male Strigoi as he moved towards me. "Now, let's see how pretty you look once I awaken you." He grabbed a handful of my hair and tilted my head in an angle, giving him a good look at where to bite. He was probably about my age when he was changed. He was obviously a Moroi, whose skin was once pale and clear, with eyes that were probably once a pale blue. But now, his skin was a sickly, chalky white, with red ringed eyes. His presence made me feel sick.
My hands gripped my stake tightly. I was almost happy I had brought it with me.
"Here goes," I thought as I escaped his grip as fast as I could. He was surprised at how fast I could move. That was my chance. I scraped my stake across his flailing arm, drawing blood. He snarled as he moved towards me, aiming his fangs at my neck. I used that movement of his as my advantage. I used all of my strength and I pushed the stake through the left side of his chest. He stopped abruptly, giving me time to pull my stake out, and he fell to the ground, crumpling up.
"GET HER!" yelled a female Strigoi, who was probably a human when she was changed.
I looked around. There were at seven Strigoi surrounding me. I was going to die; not by surrender though; but by a fight.
I let out a battle cry before I ran head-on towards the yelling female Strigoi.
I tripped. Damn Strigoi. I tried to regain my balance but failed. I was turned onto my back as my arms were being pinned down by two male Strigoi.
"Keep her down!" commanded the female Strigoi.
"We. Can't," replied the Strigoi who was struggling to keep my left arm down.
If I hadn't lost control over not being assigned, I wouldn't be in this mess.
Why did I crave action? Why?
