"Of all ghosts, the ghosts of our loved ones are the worst."-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
She tried to save them.
Vasilisa Dragomir did everything in her power to keep her family and Rose Hathaway alive. She called 911 and commanded the first responders to get help immediately. She used proper, medical techniques like CPR and applying pressure to wounds. She searched up and down the dark, snowy road their car accident had occurred on, hoping to find anyone that could provide aid in the meantime. She prayed to God and begged Him not to take them away from her.
But the paramedics took too long. Her loved ones remained still and unbreathing and bleeding. No other vehicles drove by. God didn't answer her prayers.
It was a nightmare. A gruesome, living nightmare that Lissa needed to vanquish. There wasn't much else she could do, yet she wasn't going to give up easily. She was going to fight for their lives, just like Rose would've fought for hers as her guardian.
Lissa placed her hands on her mother's chest, while hope and resolve surged through her veins. "Mom, wake up!" she screamed. "Please, wake up!"
A few moments passed, but nothing happened.
Rhea had no pulse.
Devastation poured into Lissa, and she frantically went to her father and did the same thing. "Come on, Dad. Wake up." She choked on a sob. "Say something. Anything…"
No response.
Eric was stone-cold dead.
At that point, attempting to revive Rose and her older brother, Andre, seemed pointless. If her parents weren't alive, then they weren't either. But she'd sworn to herself she wouldn't lose faith. What kind of a sister and friend would Lissa be, if she broke such a promise?
With renewed determination, she touched her sibling's chest and forced her will onto his corpse. "Open your eyes, Andre." Her voice was encouraging—pleading—as she shook him. "I know you can do it. Please, open them."
He didn't; he was as lifeless as Rhea and Eric.
Lissa's tears flowed harder and faster, blurring her Moroi vision. Her entire family was gone. How could this be? Was this some cruel joke? Did the universe hate her?
Shuddering and weeping, she shuffled to Rose. Lissa barely held herself together, but she somehow conjured up the energy to try resurrecting her best friend. Closing her eyes, she settled her hands over Rose's heart and amplified her willpower. Her pale face scrunched so tightly, that it looked like shattering glass.
"Come back to me, Rose. Please, don't leave me." She said this over and over, like a broken record. It was nearly impossible for her to stop.
After several moments of intense concentration, Lissa opened her eyes. She scanned Rose for any sign of life but found nothing. Her other half was unmistakably dead.
I should've known they'd stay dead, she thought. I'm so stupid for thinking otherwise. So, so stupid…
Numbness replaced her misery, as Lissa collapsed beside the cadavers. The ground's coldness seeped into her skin, but it didn't faze her. She relished in the feeling of her bones and muscles freezing up. Of not being able to move. Because it gave her the chance to play dead. To seem like she was with her loved ones in the spirit world.
The guardians eventually located Lissa and the others. They had to convince the human police and paramedics to vacate the horrific scene. It took a while for the authorities to agree, yet they left nonetheless. Their purpose was to help those in need, not aggravate their problems.
When the guardians began tending to the dead bodies, Lissa ensnared them in her embrace. "Get away from them!" she growled. Her jade-green eyes were glassy and red, while her platinum-blond hair was in vicious tangles. Her clothes were stained in semi-fresh blood—her, her family, and Rose's blood.
She looked insane. Broken.
A male guardian held up his hands. Lissa couldn't quite remember his name, but if she had to guess, it was Yuri. His voice was calm and carried a Romanian accent. "We're not going to hurt you, Princess. Just let them go. Everything will be okay." He slowly stepped forward.
Princess. Lissa was now a princess.
Her father had held the title of prince, but he wasn't alive anymore. None of the other Dragomirs were. She was the last, living member. The sole representative of a powerful bloodline, and she didn't want to be.
Lissa scooted away, croaking, "I can't. I need to stay with them."
"What you need, Princess, is to come back to St. Vladimir's." Lissa jerked her head toward the new voice. It belonged to an older, female guardian with leathery skin and graying hair: Alberta Petrov, captain of the school's guard. "We can do a better job of protecting you there."
Lissa met the woman's gray gaze. Her voice was rigid. "My family died today. Our guardians and my best friend, who was supposed to be my guardian, died too. They weren't killed by Strigoi but a drunk driver. Can you really protect me that well?"
Her challenge struck Alberta speechless, but the latter quickly regained composure. She cleared her throat and stood up straight. "We'll do everything we can to keep you out of harm's way, Princess. You have my word." Alberta held out her hand. "Come on. It's time to go."
Lissa looked at their surroundings. The sky was pitch-black and littered with diamond-like stars, as the silver moon illuminated the thick and dark forestry. Crystal-white snow fell from the heavens and coated the brown earth and looming trees. Everything was silent and still. It all resembled a winter wonderland.
But she knew better than to be enraptured. There were bound to be Strigoi lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. Lissa could just picture a horde of the immortal monsters ambushing her and the guardians. Their red-ringed eyes and deadly fangs. Bodies falling one by one, until there was no one left to see another day.
Snapping out of her unnerving thoughts, Lissa shook her head. She swallowed hard and gripped Alberta's hand. When she was on her feet, Yuri led her to one of St. Vladimir's SUVs. She kept her gaze to the front, yet every once and a while, she glanced behind her to look at her loved ones.
Even when the body bags shielded them from her view.
Dr. Olendzki was tending to a novice with a sprained ankle, when Lissa and Alberta rushed in. She initially furrowed her brows at their presence; Moroi students rarely came to the infirmary, due to not having a physically demanding education. But then, her jaw dropped and a hand pressed against her racing heart.
"Oh my god! Vasilisa, you poor thing…"
Alberta led the girl over to Dr. Olendzki. "Can you please take a look at her injuries? They seem minor, but I just want to make sure there's no serious damage."
The physician nodded. "Of course." She sat Lissa down on an empty bed and began her examination. "Is she the only one, or are there others coming in?"
"She's the only one." A lump formed in Alberta's throat, but she swallowed it down and took a deep breath. "The others didn't make it." She couldn't help the trembling in her voice.
Dr. Olendzki gasped. Her hand froze above the gash on Lissa's temple. "Everyone else died?" Alberta nodded. The doctor cradled Lissa in her arms, as tears flooded the girl's eyes and broken sobs filled the room. "It's okay, Vasilisa," she cooed, stroking her hair. "Everything's going to be okay."
"Wait a minute. What happened?" The novice who had been receiving medical attention before Lissa and Alberta had arrived sat up straighter in his bed. "Why is she crying?"
"The Dragomirs died in a car crash, Novice Barnes. So did Rose Hathaway," Alberta answered, her voice now steady.
Dean widened his eyes and paled. His jaw went slack. "Holy shit…" He focused on Lissa, who was facing his direction with her chin resting on Dr. Olendzki's shoulder. "How the hell are you still alive?" he asked, puzzled yet amazed.
Alberta narrowed her gaze at him. "Apologize to Miss Dragomir this instant, Novice Barnes. Never again do I want to hear such insensitivity."
He flinched at her harsh tone. But before he could say anything, Lissa said, "It's okay, Guardian Petrov. I don't want his apology." She just wanted to disappear.
Alberta blinked in surprise. "Oh…Well, all right then." She pointed a callous finger at Dean and chastised, "I still want you to watch your mouth, Novice Barnes. Understand?"
He nodded vigorously, stammering, "Yes, Guardian Petrov." He remained silent, after that.
Satisfied with Dean's response, Alberta directed her attention to Dr. Olendzki. "How is she?" she wondered, gesturing toward Lissa.
"Aside from the gash on her head, she has bruises and shallower cuts. She also has general neck pain, swelling, and a sprained ankle. As you suspected, it's nothing major. She should be fine, in a week."
Alberta nodded. "That's good."
Dr. Olendzki stood up from Lissa's bed. "I'm going to get her a cast, hot compress, and ointment. Even though I said she'll be fine, I still want her to stay overnight. Just to be safe."
"Okay, thank you." Dr. Olendzki disappeared, and Alberta turned to Lissa. "I'm going to see Headmistress Kirova." She bowed and gave a small smile. "I'll come back to check on you, Princess. You should get some rest."
Lissa nodded, despite not meaning it. Resting was the last thing she wanted to do. Memories of the car crash would only resurface to haunt her. She needed to keep her eyes open, no matter what. If she didn't, the darkness would take her.
When Dr. Olendzki reentered the infirmary, Alberta left. The doctor tended to Lissa's injuries, humming lullabies and whispering soothing words. Lissa pretended to be at ease, smiling along and staying still. Dean watched them from his bed, solemn and quiet.
And light shone throughout the room, keeping them all safe and warm until the darkness creeped in.
"I'm terribly sorry about the tragic loss of your parents and brother."
"May the Dragomirs rest in peace. They'll be deeply missed."
"How does it feel to be a princess?"
"I can't believe you were the only one who survived the car crash!"
Lissa was bombarded left and right, while she was escorted to Headmistress Kirova's office the following day. All she wanted to do was run to her dorm room and hide in her bed forever. She'd been used to the attention she'd received as a high-ranking, royal Moroi. But she couldn't stand it anymore. Too much negativity surrounded her family name.
She arrived at her destination, minutes later. Although Lissa knew she was going to get similar treatment from the headmistress, she appreciated everyone else not being around.
"Vasilisa."
Kirova rose from her swivel chair and nearly ran to the girl. She wrapped her arms around her, and Lissa didn't know whether to return the gesture or pull away. She'd had never been this compassionate.
"I'm so glad you're alive and all right. If you hadn't made it, only God knows what would've happened. May He rest your family's souls."
Lissa offered a weak smile, when they separated. "Thank you." That was all she could say.
Kirova nodded then sat down, and Lissa did the same. The former folded her hands on her mahogany desk and returned to her authoritarian nature. "I'm afraid you'll be spending winter break on campus, Miss Dragomir. You're not leaving this school, even if you're invited to a vacation. It's the best course of action, right now."
"But Christmas is coming!" Lissa couldn't help countering her. She didn't want to be treated like a prisoner. "I should be celebrating it someplace else. It won't be as fun and special, if I stay. The same goes for New Year's."
Her argument earned a condescending chuckle and headshake. "You don't need to be away from home or school, to have a wonderful vacation or break." Then, Kirova fell strict again. "You're remaining behind the safety of the wards, and that's final. You'll also be assigned a guardian."
Lissa furrowed her brows. "I haven't graduated yet."
"Being the last Dragomir makes you a perfect target," Kirova explained. "Strigoi will be jumping at the chance to eradicate a prestigious, royal family like yours. Therefore, you need a guardian early." Her gray eyes pierced Lissa, who squirmed in her seat. She felt like a vulture was staring at her.
"Who's going to be my guardian?"
"The process is still underway, Princess. I should know, in about a week." Kirova smoothed out her black, pencil skirt. "In addition, the funeral is going to be on campus after winter break. The Queen will be in attendance, as well as other high society Moroi and the entire school."
Lissa grimaced. How would she be able to deal with all that attention? People were already offering their condolences everywhere she went, and it only made her remember the tragedy she wanted to forget.
Is everyone trying to have me lose my mind? she thought.
"I understand this'll be a difficult experience for you, Miss Dragomir," Kirova said. Do you really? "But your family deserves to be honored and celebrated for the lives they lived." Rose does too. "That's all for now. You're dismissed."
Lissa nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She was so happy to leave, that she wanted to sprint out of the office. But all that'd do was make her look rude. She also needed to take it easy on her ankle.
Instead, she got out of her seat and walked to the door with grace and calmness. As much as the cast would allow, anyway.
When her hand touched the doorknob, Kirova's voice broke the silence. "I know Miss Hathaway was your friend and future guardian, Vasilisa. But you shouldn't waste your time mourning her. She was expendable and a troublemaker. If she hadn't been a novice, she only would've been a blood whore."
Anger ripped through Lissa's chest. Yet pain took its place, as she spoke about her best friend—her sister—in past tense. "Rose was more than that. She would've been a great guardian. One of the best." She couldn't believe she was acknowledging that Rose was gone.
Kirova rolled her eyes and swatted a hand. "Whatever. Just go and get some rest."
Lissa stormed out without another word.
Blazing fire, mangled metal, oozing blood, suffocating smoke, dead bodies…
Lissa tossed and turned in her bed, as those images flashed in her mind for the second night in a row. She tried to wake up, but it wasn't possible. Her eyes were glued shut, and the awful memories were too real to erase. The darkness was too strong to defeat.
She remained trapped for what appeared to be forever, until she felt a hand touch her and heard a voice calling her name. Lissa finally jerked awake, hyperventilating and drenched in a cold sweat. Her head whipped around, as her gaze darted all over her dorm room. She expected to find her roommate, but Natalie Dashkov wasn't there.
Only her.
Author's Note
Hello everyone, and thanks for clicking on this story! I thought it'd be really cool to explore the concept of spirits and the afterlife, so I created a what-if scenario about Rose dying in the car crash but still being around as an earthbound ghost, which is a ghost that lingers in the physical world for various reasons (violent death and unfinished business, for example). This obviously changes a lot of what happens in the books, but I'm going to fill you guys in on what happens between the car crash and graduation. Plus, I'm still keeping key elements of canon: Dimitri being Lissa's guardian, Lissa activating her spirit magic, Sonya Karp going insane, Victor Dashkov's plan.
This story WILL NOT be novel-length. I'm planning it on being 10 chapters, at most. This also WILL NOT be updated frequently. Cursed by Fairness is my main priority, and if any of you are following it, I aim to update this weekend. Early next week, at the latest. I really needed to focus on something else, since chapter seven just wasn't working out. But I'm inspired now and prepared to jump back in.
Let me know your thoughts, in a review! Constructive criticism is especially welcome. Please follow and fav, if you want to continue reading.
Question: Do you believe in ghosts?
Until next time...