Authors note:
Hi everyone, so this will be my third fan fiction and I never finished my other two.. I guess I just got distracted and kind of lost interest in those stories but I promise it won't be like that for this one. I am really passionate about this story and I have loads of free time so I will try and write new chapters as often as I can. I would love to read your reviews about this chapter. I really want to know what you think about the changes. :)
Okayy so this story is a bit different from the traditional VA storyline. It is set after frost-bite.. Yes the whole Spokane thing happened and yes Mason did die but Lissa's character doesn't exist, which means Rose isn't bonded to anyone, therefore she is not shadow-kissed. I'm not sure whether or not I am going to bring Lissa into the story later on, we'll see how it goes. Also you will notice that Dimitri wasn't mentioned in this chapter. He may or may not come into the story, I'll leave that as a surprise. :) I hope you all enjoy the first chapter and I hope to read plenty of reviews! :) - Raechel
Under Different Circumstances
Chapter One:
I couldn't move. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound escaped from my lips. I was helpless, unable to protect my best friend from being killed. The Strigoi had Mason by his neck. I was trying to run towards them and even though my legs were moving, I wasn't getting any closer to the horrific sight that was taking place in front of me. Then all of a sudden there was a deafening cracking sound emanating from Mason's neck, his eyes widened in disbelief, going blank. The Strigoi dropped him and his body went slack. He was dead. My best friend was dead. And I was still stuck in place, unable to make a sound. I looked up at the Strigoi who was standing over Mason's body with a disturbing smile plastered onto his pale face. His red-ringed pupils standing out more than usual. He looked up at me and said in his most menacing voice, "I'm coming for you next sweet Rose."
I jerked up in bed, gasping for air. My hands gripping at the empty space in front of me. My lungs were on fire, I could hardly breath. You would think that after having this same nightmare every night since Mason was killed, I would've gotten used to it, but every night it was the same thing, I woke up as if experiencing Mason's death for the first time all over again. My shirt was soaked from all the sweat, tears were streaming down my face uncontrollably and my heart was pounding at what felt like a million beats per second. I needed to calm my heart down or I was surely to go into cardiac arrest.
"One... Two... Three... Four... Five..." I counted aloud through gasps and sniffles. And then, just like that my heart-rate had slowed to a reasonable pace and I had stopped myself from crying. Counting to five was, I guess, my own little coping mechanism. When ever I was overwhelmed by emotion, not being able to control myself, I would close my eyes and, out loud, count to five. I know it doesn't seem like a full-proof method, but it always worked, without fail.
I pulled myself upright so that my back was against the head of my bed and started looking around my room, remembering all of the memories from my past. My room was a generic looking square, the type you would find in any dorm room I guess – cream coloured walls, a built in wardrobe and a small bathroom that extended out from the bedroom. The only sign that someone was even living there was the picture on my bed-side table of me with Eddie and Mason. We used to call ourselves the three musketeers, always looking for trouble and getting into mischief. It's funny, I didn't have many girl friends, only Mia. I mostly only stuck with the guys. Probably because I felt more like myself when I was around them than I did with any other girl. After Mason was killed, it took Eddie and I a little while to get back to how we used to be. We needed to deal with the fact that from now on it was just the two of us, we needed to cope with Mason's death in our own way.
I glanced at the clock sitting next to my bed and groaned when I saw that it was 4:35am in the morning, meaning 4:35pm in the afternoon for humans. But me and my school mates were far from human. Living on a nocturnal schedule sometimes took it's toll on me, I loved the sun and not being able to bask in the sunlight every day kind of sucked. The sun would still be out at this time so I decided that seeming as I would've woken up at 5:30am anyway, I may as well get out of bed now and make the most of what was left of the sunlight. I quickly changed into my work out shorts, sports bra and running shoes. I loved running, in fact, I loved all exercise. As a Dhampir, from birth I was blessed with heightened senses as well as strength and endurance. I didn't have to train as much as I did, but I wasn't allowed much of a social life, so exercise was kind of my substitute.
As I walked out of my dorm and into the fresh air, I welcomed the cool breeze that enveloped me. I looked up at the bright sky and for a few minutes I just stood there allowing the sunlight to prickle my skin from the warmth. I then continued walking over towards the running track, stretching out my body before I took my place at the start line. I then mentally counted down from three while I got into a comfortable start position. As soon as I hit number one, I was off. To any human it would've looked like I was sprinting at an incredibly fast pace, but for me, that was just a warm up to loosen my muscles.
After running for about thirty minutes, I made my way into the gym where I lifted weights for another hour, then I went to work on the punching bag. Pulling out round house kicks, spinning side kicks, Elbow strikes and several more offensive strikes. I was the best of all the students at St Vladimir's Academy. I don't say that to sound cocky, I say it because it's the truth. I was a female Dhampir and yet I was stronger then all of the guys in my grade, with the exception of Eddie, of course. After beating the punching bag to a pulp for about another thirty minutes, I decided to go back to my room, have a shower and get ready for classes, which started at 8am.
As I hopped in the shower, I involuntarily started thinking of Mason again. It had been two and a half months since his death and it still haunted me every night. About a week after he died I had made the decision to leave the Academy. I no longer believed in our schools motto that 'they come first'. They meaning the Moroi. The good Vampires that went to the Academy alongside the Dhampirs. Of course they didn't train like we did, they mostly learnt about their history and how Dhampirs became their protection, their Guardians. It wasn't always like this. It was said that a long time ago Moroi fought alongside the Guardians, taking the fight to the Strigoi rather than laying in wait for them to attack us. Somewhere along the line, Moroi got it into their heads that they were too important to risk their own lives, but not the Dhampirs. They were expendable. We became their shields. More like their slaves. I used to believe in the cause, I used to think becoming a Guardian would be a great honour. That all changed after Mason died. When I had gotten back to the Academy, the first question that I was asked was, "Oh god, are both of the Moroi alive?" Not Are you okay? Or I'm so sorry about your friend! They didn't care about us. All they cared about were themselves. And I was damned if I'd willingly lay my life out for them.
It was lunch time and I was sitting at a table with Eddie, Christian and Mia. We had all become pretty damn close since we were kidnapped and held captive in Spokane. We never really talked about it but it hung over all of our heads. My respect for both Christian and Mia had grown a lot while escaping, because instead of running into the sunlight to save themselves, they stayed with Eddie, Mason and I to fight. Of course physically they weren't very apt for it but they used their magic to distract and ward off the Strigoi. If it weren't for the both of them, I would most likely be dead as well.
I was in the process of scoffing down a dozen original glazed doughnuts from Krispy Kreme when Christian, snarky as ever, had to comment on my odd obsession with those masterpieces. "My god, Rose. Slow down would you! If you eat any more of those things, you'll turn into a doughnut truck, and then you'll start eating yourself because you taste so good!" We all started laughing at that. Even if his comment hadn't made much sense, it immediately lightened the mood.
"How can you not see how deliciously seductive doughnuts are, Christian? I just can't understand you." I said, faking exasperation. The conversation stayed light and playful throughout lunch and the rest of the day floated by quickly without interruption.
Classes had ended for the day and seeing as though my friends and I hadn't made any plans to hang out that afternoon, I decided to go for a walk. Surrounding the Academy was thick forest and the boundaries of the wards stretched around most of it. I always loved how much space there was to just explore. Although it was pitch black outside, the moon lit up enough of the grounds for my heightened eyesight to pick up more then enough light to see where I was going. I walked aimlessly for a while just thinking about what I would do and where I would go after I left the Academy. I also thought about how I would tell my friends that I was leaving. I hated the idea of leaving them, but I knew I couldn't stay in that place. After Spokane, Headmistress Kirova had approved of me having my own silver stake. She knew there was no way I would take no for an answer after what happened. My silver stake looked the same as all the other Guardians on campus, but I had it inscribed along the blade – 'Property of Rose Hathaway – To remember the Dhampirs who have protected, fought and fallen in order for our race to survive.' I smiled at the thought of actually having some kind of protection when I left the Academy. I hated to think about what I would do without a silver stake.
I had sat down under a tree just at the forest line, tilting my head back and closing my eyes. I hadn't felt so relaxed in quite a while. I was a naturally tense person so feeling this free was... nice.
"Out for a midnight stroll, little Dhampir?" The all too familiar voice questioned. I had only met Adrian not long ago at the ski lodge but he had, to my distaste, taken it upon himself to flirt endlessly with me, to the point of it becoming inappropriate. To be honest I didn't mind the attention he paid me, it was fun to flirt back every now and then.
"Well technically I'm sitting, not strolling. So you'd be wrong, but hey, what else is new?" I smirked cheekily up at him. He took my smile as an invitation to have a seat. I didn't protest. He began pulling out a cigarette as if by habit and looked over at me while I shot him a warning glare. I despised him smoking, especially in front of me.
"Alright, alright fine. I'll do the gentlemanly thing and not smoke around you. Do I get a reward for being so chivalrous?" He teased, although behind his teasing tone there was a hint of genuine hope that I would oblige.
"Yeah, you get to not be punched in the face for having such a disgusting habit. You know they'll kill you. Maybe not in the near future, but they will." Although I didn't want to sound like an over-protective teacher with my zen life lessons, I hated seeing Adrian do that to himself. The alcohol and the smoking, all it was doing was hurting him. As much as I hated admitting it, because he was so arrogant, I was actually attracted to Adrian. He was, after all, very handsome and he could be awfully charming. He always had scruffy brown hair that looked like it was styled just to look messy. He had soft green eyes that knew where and how to look at you to make you blush. Most of the time he would have a cheeky smirk securely in place, but on the rare occasion I actually got to see a genuine smile. I would only ever see it when I would say something that surprised him, usually it would be some resemblance of a compliment I would pay him.
"Yes, little Dhampir, so you keep saying. Maybe I'll give them up one day... But only for you of course." He smirked once more. We sat together for a while longer, talking, flirting and laughing together as if we were good friends. I liked having those kind of moments with Adrian and I would surely miss them once I was gone.