Hey everyone. Okay, so I just finished Blood Promise yesterday (I finished it in one day!) and I coudn't stop myself from writing a fan fiction because I'm going crazy thinking about what's going to happen in Spirit Bound! To those of you who read my other Vampire Academy story Blood Promise: Awakened this does NOT mean that I'm going to stop writing on that story too, because I'm going to finish it to the end :)

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Prologue

After you've been faced with the choice of dying or becoming undead, you really get a new appreciation for living your life. One day at a time, little steps is what you have to take to get back on the track of how things are supposed to be. Of course, people heal and move on at their own pace. Some people faster than others, some more confidently than others. You have to keep strong and keep going on with your life, no matter what happens and no matter what obstacles you've faced, and trust me, I've faced them all.

No one said life is easy, after all. No one said that love was easy, and no one said that losing the one person you'll ever truly love is easy. I know from firsthand experience. You know in Titanic how Rose had to pry Jack's cold, lifeless hands off that piece of floating debris she was laying on? Ever think about how she might have been feeling in that moment? Sure, he was already dead and gone, but she had to push his body into the Atlantic Ocean, never to see him again. I'm sure to her it felt like she was killing him herself.

Well, that is what I did. I killed the man I love. No, I didn't push his body into the Atlantic Ocean. I drove a silver stake into his chest, making him fall into the Ob River in Russia near Novosibirsk. However, days after I thought I'd delivered the kill, I discovered that I hadn't. I had irresponsibly ignored the second most important rule of combat: never turn your back until you're sure your enemy is dead. The first most important rule of combat is do not hesitate. I had broken both of these rules in the space of just a little over a week.

I know, I know. I'm supposed to be Rose Hathaway, expert Strigoi killer. After all, I'd killed more than I could possibly count in the last couple months. I'm not supposed to hesitate, and I'm not supposed to turn my back until I'm absolutely positive that my enemy is dead. But this last time, I didn't, because I was so weakened both physically and emotionally. But could you blame me? Would you have been able to kill the man you were in love with without a second thought? I didn't think so.

But he was a Strigoi. I had no choice but to try to kill him. It was what he wanted; it was what I had promised him I would do, long ago, when we'd discussed the subject. I had to free his soul and let him find peace.

You see, a Strigoi is one of three types of vampires we have in our world. They are evil and sadistic, and they kill without a second thought. They kill to survive. Sure, it's survival of the fittest, but they go about it in a sick way. They drink the blood of their victims until their bodies have no more blood. They do this forcefully, or they kill the person before they begin to drink. Some Strigoi are forcefully made, however, and some choose this sick way of life. The ones who are turned forcefully…well, they get their blood drank and then they are made to drink the Strigoi's in return, thus making a new Strigoi. The ones who choose, however, drain a person's blood killing them. Like I said, it's sick, it's evil, and it sure as hell is twisted. The only way a Strigoi can be killed is in one of three ways: decapitation, setting them on fire, or driving a silver stake into their heart. The silver stakes are made of four different types of magic by Moroi who specialize in those elements.

The second type of vampires in our world, however, are Moroi. They're the good ones. They're the Batman to the Strigoi's Joker. Many Moroi come from one of the twelve royal families, but there are plenty of non-royals too. However, all have the power to wield one of the four magical elements: fire, earth, air, and water. Though not long ago, my best friend and bond, Lissa, and I discovered that there was indeed a fifth element: spirit. When a person wields spirit, others think that they just don't specialize and just keep low control over all four of the other elements. But that's not the case. Spirit is powerful. It can give the Moroi super powerful compulsion, they can see auras, and they can even heal. One particular spirit user I know, however, can walk in people's dreams…he likes walking in mine particularly. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about: Adrian Ivashkov. However, very recently, I learned from a spirit user I had met that they can also "brush" people's minds, seeing their thoughts and memories and even the powerful ones can create fantasies in people's minds. I'd had that done to me by a twisted Moroi girl who had specialized in spirit: but she got what came to her. She had created a bond with two people: her guardian, and her brother. The spirit that she had sent out to fight with had come back to all three of them forcefully, completely frying their brains. No more bad magic using for them I guess.

When a person makes a bond, it makes their bond shadow-kissed. That means that in order for a person to be shadow-kissed, they must be brought back to life after they die. I am shadow-kissed. I died in a car crash with Lissa's family and she had brought me back, making a bond between us, however it only works one way. I can get inside her head and hear her thoughts and feelings, but she can't do the same to mine. It frustrated her often, but she dealt with it. She had enough to deal with anyway.

Now, the third type of vampire that exists is dhampirs. I, myself, am a dhampir. Dhampirs are half-Moroi, half-human. They are created by a Moroi and a dhampir reproducing. However, two dhampirs cannot reproduce. Don't ask me how or why because I'm no geneticist and I have no clue how any of this works. Just trust me. Anyway, dhampirs have some advantages that Moroi don't: we're sturdier, we have more muscle mass in our bodies, and we are damn good combat fighters. Most dhampirs train to become guardians to Moroi, but a very few choose to settle down after a while. There are many more men dhampirs than women ones, however, since the women usually decide to stay home with their children. But not me – I don't even have any children, but you get the point.

When a guardian kills a Strigoi, they get molnija marks on the back of their neck. It's basically two tiny lightning bolts crisscrossing each other in the shape of an "X". I currently have two and a star on my neck, the star meaning that I have killed many Strigoi in battle.

Yes, I know what you're thinking: man, this girl is messed up! No, I'm not. I've just seen things that would blow your mind and make you hide under your blankets for a month.

Others may be thinking: I want to be like her! No, you don't. No one wants to be like me, or even be me, for that matter.

Just keep that in mind next time you want to go out and kill a bunch of evil vampires or fall for a guy who's seven years older than you before he turns into one of the said evil vampires.

Nothing good comes of it. Trust me. Remember: I know this from experience.

So, the only thing left for you to do is hear about it since you have yourself convinced that you really don't want to be me.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

If you want more, then you have to REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! You know you want to :) The next chapter will be up ASAP.