Alright, so I hate writing out big, long author's notes, but this one is important. I promise, there will be no more after this.
1. This story takes place in the world of Vampire Academy, a book and series by Richelle Mead. If you haven't even heard of the series, don't worry! The canon laws, politics, and social structure will all be explained within the first few chapters, so if you stick around, I promise it'll make sense.
2. That being said, while this fic will loosely follow the events of the first book (Vampire Academy) and set up the necessary plot points for later books (which will be written after this one because I really like the idea of Klaine in Richelle's world), that means major characters from the book series will not be in this fic. However, if you are a VA fan, it'll be quite easy to tell who replaced who. There will also be some familiar faces popping in and out at different times, so look out for them.
That's about it! Enjoy!
I woke up to her screaming.
Or rather, I woke up from her loud dreams of blood and fear and the sounds of twisting metal moments before she started screaming and thrashing.
"Britt!" I hissed, throwing back the covers of my bed and diving across the room. I forced her body still and shook her awake gently. I could feel the fear subsiding in her as she slowly woke. "Brittany. Welcome back, love."
She looked around wildly and I let her go. In the corner of my eye and out the window, I saw a shadow move under the tree across the street. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Had we been compromised?
"You're alright," I whispered, pushing a damp piece of hair off her forehead. "You look kind of pale, but you're alright."
"Very funny, Kurt," she muttered, pushing me back enough to sit up.
The shadow across the street moved and goosebumps started trickling down my arms.
I looked at her carefully. She was pale, even by vampire standards, and more so than usual.
"When was the last time you fed?" I asked softly.
Fear struck through her core again.
"They didn't find us," I said, already soothing the thoughts that trickled into my head. "But we should probably leave anyway. Get dressed."
Two and half years ago, Brittany and I had snuck out of our school, St. Vladimir's Academy, and had been living on the run ever since. We moved from town to town, not settling down long enough to lure the guardians to us but not short enough that people would get suspicious anyway. Right now, we had been staying with a couple of college kids in Portland and had just started our senior year of high school. We were so close to freedom that getting caught now would be absolutely horrible.
We had been in Portland for a while, I realized with shock as I shoved myself into the first pair of jeans and tennis shoes I could find. Brittany had already dressed, her stuffed cat tucked under her arm. Her brother had given it to her a long time ago and it was the one thing she held onto for her life.
A pang of guilt rushed through me as we quietly tiptoed downstairs and out the door, car keys in hand. Though thoroughly untrained and slightly out of practice and shape, I was her future guardian. Her parents had specifically requested me after we had become really close throughout our school years. It was my job to protect her from harm above all else.
Getting caught by a team of guardians sent out by Figgins himself and dragged back to school was not keeping her from harm. It was only throwing her back in it.
Chills started running through me as we set off at a brisk pace. I had parked the car a few blocks down which wasn't very smart of me right now and I could feel Brittany's fatigue. I was tired, too - Britt had been having more nightmares than usual lately and they kept me up and awake for a long time.
She wasn't the only one that dreamed of smoke and dying.
About two blocks away, I started feeling uneasy. I may still be a novice by my school's standards, but natural dhampir instincts kicked in and I could tell we were done for. There was on way we could get out of this one.
Grabbing her hand, I started into a jog. "Britt? We're going to have to run. And fast."
If I felt bad about lying earlier, it was nothing compared to the guilt I now felt when her face fell. Brittany was one of the kindest, sweetest girls on the planet, and her hurting anything or anyone was beyond incomprehensible. She would've made Hitler smile given the opportunity.
Running was hard. We were both tired and Brittany needed to feed, something I knew we wouldn't have had time for back in the room. I tripped over my own feet but my dhampir reflexes kick in and I was barely able to avoid falling flat on my face.
We got surrounded half a block away from the car. There were easily twelve guardians, all dressed in the standard black and white outfit, and they seemed to have jumped around us out of nowhere. One of them in the back yanked Brittany into his arms.
"No!" I shouted, and turned and lunged for the guardian. A pair of strong hand grabbed my arms and forced me still. Not thinking at all, I shoved my elbow up into the body behind me and a loud noise of disproval hit my ears when I felt it connect with a jaw.
The hands around my arms turned into arms and around my body and I fought against the grip. Whoever it was had a strong hold on me and I struggled to break free. It wasn't supposed to have ended like that.
"I would stop fighting if I were you," a male voice whispered in my ear and almost immediately, I stopped.
Almost.
I gave it another moment or two before I fell limp in the guardian's arms. He turned me around and let two others grab my wrists tightly behind my back.
The typical stoic mask all guardians wore while on business was in place, but I could tell he was satisfied with finally capturing Britt and me. We were practically wanted fugitives as far as our government was concerned. Nobody just ran away from school.
I wanted to smack all of the arrogance out of him.
His eyes stopped me, though. They were a clear, honey shade of hazel, and were a little below my line of sight. They held the years of an experienced man. I was shocked that such a tiny person was capable of such great strength.
"Thank you. It'll make this whole process a lot easier." His eyes - those captivating eyes I was still struck by - flicked to another guardian in the group. "Hathaway? Radio in that we found them."
"Who are you?" I finally managed to sputter out. I was in no way happy that we'd been caught or that I couldn't see Britt. Her emotions were loud and clear, however, and she kept asking me if we would be alright.
There were times when I desperately wished our mental bond was two-way.
The guardian allowed himself a small smile. "My name is Blaine Anderson. I'm the head of the guardian team sent to find you. Welcome back, Mr. Hummel."
