Chapter 1
It's been 5 long years since I dropped out of St Vladimir's Academy and 4 since I killed my first love and mentor turned Strigoi, Dimitri Belikov. Strigoi is and evil vampire who kills to feed. I am now 23 years old and live in California USA. My best friend Naomi Rosenberg and I own a shop called Princess Perfect and share a house. The thing is as soon as we opened the shop it took off now there are over 200 stores all over America and were opening one up in Sydney, Australia in just over a week. So with the whole sharing a house thing, the house is so big that if we have an argument we can just go to either ends of the house and not have to see each other. Naomi and I are just like sisters. I met her in Siberia and when I moved back to the US she came with me. Pretty much as soon as we got here we thought about opening a shop. Naomi is a dhamphir (half vampire half human) just like me and as well as me is trying to get away from her old life as one. Over these last years I have figured out how to block out Lissa no matter how strong the emotion and how to make it so Adrian can't come into my dreams. Lissa was my best friend since I was 4 and a Moroi (good vampire). All Moroi have the power to wield earths magic, they specialize in either fire, water, earth or air. Lissa and Adrian specialized in a different area though, spirit. No one exactly knows what spirit can do but Lissa can heal people and Adrian can walk in people's dreams and see auras. Before I left her and Adrian had been practicing spirit and teaching each other their powers, so for all I know she could be up and dream walking already and Adrian could be healing. I wouldn't know because I only check on her now to make sure she's still alive. She brought me back from the dead in the car crash that killed her brother and parents and ever since then we have been bonded (I can see and feel what she does). I am now shadow kissed and am able to see ghosts and sense Strigoi.
Anyway one night we were walking back from work (I had lost the keys to the car) and I heard rustling in the bushes. I let down one of my mental walls and checked to see if it was Strigoi. It wasn't so I just kept walking. After about half a kilometre someone stepped out in front of us, as soon as they did I froze. Standing 5 metres in front of me was the one and only Eddie Castile. Eddie had been one of my best friends before I left the academy we had been through a lot together and I mean a lot.
"Rose" he breathed like he was relieved to see me and he probably was but as he said it I saw more guardians emerge from the bushes and one Moroi. Mia Rinaldi. She had been a complete bitch when we got back from our 2 year "vacation" but as time moved on we became friends. I would've said hi but then it clicked, they weren't here to chat they were here to take me back.
Chapter 2
"Eddie", I said as emotionless as I could at that moment. Naomi was in a defensive position as I spoke. She too had been trained as a guardian. She relaxed as soon as she realised I knew this person. "I'm not going back."
"Please Rose, everyone's still so depressed from when you left. Adrian even stopped drinking and smoking in case it messed up a chance of him being trying to reach you" Eddie said , "and Lissa is never entirely there when you talk to her, you have to come back. The Adrian comment hurt but the Liss one ate me up inside and he knew it.
"It kills me to know that Liss and Adrian are still not okay but I can't just leave now." I said.
"Sure you can, you guys can manage the shop from court and we can help if you want." Eddie replied.
"Okay Number 1 if I go back Naomi isn't and Number 2 that's not what I meant and you know it. I can't just leave because I have friends here now."
"Okay then first if you came back I think Naomi would want to come no matter what am I right", he looked at Naomi and she nodded "and secondly why not you just left us." Guilt spread across my face and he noticed "yeah I thought so."
"Eddie I had to leave I had to do that." I said.
"Just like you have to now", as he spoke he gestured to the guardians around him and they started walking forward, "even if we have to force you."
Naomi and I took a defensive position but then I realised it was pointless. "Fine", I said "I'll come but Naomi your not. You shouldn't have to give up this normal life to go back to a life neither of us wanted." I said but of coarse she had something else to say.
"No Rose don't you get it I don't about that anymore. I wanna go where you go, even if it's to that hellhole." She muttered the last part but it almost made me laugh. Only she could make me laugh in such a serious position.
"Actually she does have to come back," Eddie stated, "everyone thought you were both dead, but Lissa and Adrian convinced them otherwise, so they sent out another search party to come and find you." As Eddie was talking the words started sinking in.
"What do you mean another," I said.
"We've sent out at least 12 search parties it's just this time we found you because of your shop," he sighed, "apparently Liss loves to shop there."
"She would I based some of the clothes on her style."
"Hi Rose" finally Mia pipes up.
"Hi Mia, hows court." As soon as I said it I regretted it. I forgot that Lissa and Christian moved there after graduation and Adrian already lived there.
"Absolutely dismal Rose please come back without you everything is so depressing."
"Come on Rose we should just go you don't have to be a guardian or tell them about what happened, but just incase you do need to talk about it to someone who already knows I'll be there so come on." Naomi said.
"What do you mean she doesn't have to tell us of course she does, we're her family." Eddie said "if anything we have more right to know than you."
"Shut up Eddie you don't know what you're talking about and you'll never find out." I replied coldly.
"Of coarse we will," said Eddie "but now we're going back the court jet is waiting for us."
"Okay."
Chapter 3
We were on the plane and Naomi and I had fallen asleep. I woke up a little bit but kept my eyes closed to hear them talking.
"But she won't tell us what happened and I doubt Naomi will either there's no way of finding out." Eddie said.
"Yes there is but I don't think the person I'm thinking of will like it very much." A voice replied. I sat for a moment before realising whose it was. Christian Ozera. Lissa's long term boyfriend. And by long time I mean 6 years. He is a Moroi and specializes I fire.
"Who," Eddie responds.
"Oksana." Christian's response scared the crap out of me.
"No!!!" I heard myself yelling, "You have no right to do that to Me." I had met Oksana during my trip around Siberia to find Dimitri. Oksana is another spirit user and has the power to reach into your head and see your memories and thoughts. She and Mark are the only other bonded people we've managed to find.
"Rose you don't even know what we're talking about," Christian said coldly.
"Yes I do she can reach into your mind and that's not fair Christian."
"No what's not fair is you leaving us to go kill your undead lover and then not coming back after 5 years and not telling us about not only another spirit user but not telling us about another bonded couple." Said a voice I only knew to well.
"Lissa," I said at this point I looked around the jet and saw who was there. Naomi who is now awake because of all the yelling, Eddie, Mia, Christian, Lissa a few other guardians and Adrian. When he saw I was looking at him he put on a lazy smile.
"Hey Little Dhamphir."
"Hey Adrian. I'm really sorry I didn't keep my promise I just thought that after everything you wouldn't want to know me anymore."
"That's okay you're here now." He said.
"It's most definitely not ok," Christian yelled, "she left and made us all think she was dead!!!"
"Rose please tell me what happened," Lissa pleaded "not knowing is killing me. And also how did you keep us out of your dreams did you even look through the bond."
"Liss for one I'm not telling anyone what happened and if you bring Oksana in I will just block her out like I did you and I only checked through the bond every now and then to make sure you were alive."
"Rose I didn't have that luxury. I didn't know if you were dead or not. And two how can you tell someone that you've known for 3 years what happened and not someone who has known you your whole life."
"Because I trust her. And right now I think I trust her more than even you."
"How dare you! I was there no matter what stupid thing you did and always tried to help you. And yet you still trust her more than me."
"Excuse me I'm still in the plane and I would just like to say that I didn't judge her for her choices when she made them." Naomi said. That girl was exactly the same as me and wanted her voice to be heard whenever it could.
Chapter 4
That was the most aweful plane trip I've ever taken. Even worse than the one when I just started seeing ghosts.
The plane trip consisted of glaring and yelling. All mostly by Lissa and Naomi. I think Lissa doesn't like the idea of me having someone that knows more about me than her. She did the same thing when I told her about me and Dimitri. Anyway when we got back to court Naomi and I were taken to guest housing. Lissa offered for me to stay at her house but I said that I wanted to stay with Naomi and that just let out another round of yelling and glaring. So here I am sitting on the couch I our room.
"I'm going to go check on the shop and tell everyone that we had to move but we're still keeping the shop okay," Naomi yelled from down the hall.
"Okay then thanks," I yelled back absentmindedly. I wasn't really concentrating on that right now I was thinking about other stuff like that I know that because they know I won't tell them anything and neither will Naomi that their going to call Oksana and Mark and get them here by tomorrow night at the latest. They should have fun with that. Oksana doesn't like having to reach into peoples minds and Mark, her bondmate and husband is very protective of her. Like I was before I left Lissa. I heard someone knock on the door but Naomi yelled out "I'll get it" before I could even twitch a finger. So I just went back into my thoughts. That was until I heard a voice I never wanted to hear again.
"So it is true, Rose is back." Jesse Zeklos said from the door. Jesse was my least favourite person in the whole world before I left. When Lissa and I came back from our "vacation" he was nice but after awhile he became a complete jerk. He made up some pretty nasty rumours about me and tortured Lissa. "Well can I come in or are you just going to make me stand here all day." he said in an innocent tone. Naomi must of seen the scowl on my face cause she turned to him and said:
"I'm pretty sure Rose wouldn't care if you stood there for the rest of your miserable life you jerk." and slammed the door in his face. My jaw dropped.
"What if he was my friend," I said still in shock from what just happened.
"By the look on your face he wasn't but if I was wrong I can go apologise." she said slowly as if to make sure she wasn't wrong.
"No,no,no I couldn't have said it better myself it's just that how did you know that was Jesse." I said confused and happy at the same time, this girl was brilliant.
"Well you told about your life at the academy and there wasn't many people you hated that much and it wasn't Tatiana or Tasha seeing as it was a guy so my guess was either Jesse or Ralf." Ralf was Jesse's bestfriend.
"That was awesome Naomi. You know me so well, and was it that obvious that I hated him that much?" I asked. I thought I hid my emotions pretty well usually.
"No but as you said I know you to well not to know that it was upsetting you that much." She replied sounding pleased with herself. "Anyway I called the manager of the shop in California and he said that it was okay and that he'd be fine up there but we have to change the head office location if we intend on staying here but I know you need some time to decide so you have untill 2 months time to decide." she said without taking a breath.
"Breathe Naomi everythings going to work out. Together we'll be okay, even if it's Lissa, Tatiana, Christian or hell even Jesse!!! We'll be okay." I said not bothering to even hint that I'm terrified about Oksana reading my thoughts.
"Yeah everyone but Oksana." She replied looking me in the eye.
"How did you know that I'm scared of her?"
"Ever since Christian said her name you've been freaking out and you know zoning out." She replied.
"I just don't like the idea of having her knowing my every thought about everything."
"Then why don't you just block her out like you did everything else."
"Because she's most likely to strong even for me."I said ashamed that I let someone beat me and of coarse she noticed this.
"Oh Rose, its okay. Through anything you know I will be there for you and not judge you."
"I know. Now before this day gets anymore depressing lets go get some food."I said.
"You should when was the last time you ate?" said a voice from the hallway that I recognized as Lissa's and obviously so did Naomi judging by the swowl on her face. And as if on cue Lissa walked through the door and smiled at me then noticed Naomi in the room and started scowling almost instantly. So I started talking trying to ease the tension.
"Well probably not for a while since lunch before Eddie kidnapped us on our way back from work." I said.
"That was days ago Rose!!!!! I can't remeber you going 5 hours without food unless you were sleeping before you left," she giggled at the end of that last part.
"Thats okay. I've gone alot longer than a few days without food Liss." Naomi and I giggled at this but she went silent. I don't know if it was the fact that I had gone weeks without food before or the fact that I had just revealed some of my past from her that silenced her but either way it was creepy. Usually Liss never shut up.
"Close your mouth or you'll catch a cold," Naomi said as she passed Lissa to grab her jacket. "You know what I think you two need some quality bonding time. Call me if you need me I'm going exploring." And with that she left.
"So Liss now you we're talking about food I'm starving lets go grab a bite and catch up." I said hoping she had forgotten my last comment but even with my luck she hadn't.
"How do you do it Rose." She asked sounding genuinely amazed.
"Do what?" I replied.
"Be able to talk about something like that and act as if it's nothing."
"Because compared to what I've been through it's not. Now I'm really hungry and unless you want to come and eat can you just let me go."
"Of coarse you can go I just don't know why you think you can't tell me what happened."
"Liss your bringing in Oksana anyway your going to get to know."
"I would just feel less guilty if you told me and we don't have to hurt you."
"I'm sure Christian prefers the 2nd option." I mumbled.
"Rose he's just angry because you upset us all so much and made his life a living hell. Now I put it that way his anger is pretty justified and I better go comfort him before he blows up even worse."Lissa said, "see ya later."
"Okay I guess thats fair bye Liss."
And so I walked to get dinner by myself. Until when I got to the restaurant it just so happened to be the one Mia owned. And my life just keeps getting better.