Everything had just happened so fast. From being kidnapped, to watching my friends die and now I was being herded like cattle into a mansion-like structure. It was dark, like 'I can't see my fingers in front of my face' dark. There were no street lamps this far out in the backwoods of Montana.
They were surrounding me. Walking in a circle around me towards our destination. Where we were going I wasn't quite sure, why we were going? Well… I hoped I was wrong about that.
When we got closer to the massive structure my eyes had started to adjust, and there was even a little light coming from it. From that little light I could see a few people walking around. Carrying what looked like book bags. Book bags? What was this a school?
The men surrounding me shifted to the left a little and I went along with it. There was nothing to draw from right now, no power to be harnessed. I had to go along with whatever they were going to make me do. I saw one of the men's lips move and everyone stopped walking. That was when I noticed that we were in front of a door.
"Two men go in, the rest stay out here and get back to their posts" Said the man whose lips I had seen move. I couldn't see his face in the dark but his voice was deep yet high at the same time.
Once he said that I saw two men step forward while the rest of them shrunk back and went off in different directions. To their posts? What were their posts anyways? I guess I really was in a mental institute after all. Just as I had suspected. I wasn't very surprised they had sent me here though after what I had done.
The two men stood beside me as we walked into the building. It was all red. The walls were red with tiny pink stripes, the carpet a plush blood red. We walked down the hall, past a number of doors and then one of the men stepped forward to knock on one of them. A voice from within said 'come in' and we pushed the door open.
Inside was a short woman. Her hair was completely gray, her nose straight and looked as if it could pop a bubble it was so sharp. Her eyes were hidden under thick librarian glasses which attached to a crystal chain that hung behind her neck. All in all, she was freaky looking.
"Headmistress Kirova, we found her" Said the man on my left. Headmistress? This was actually a school? What?
"Thank you Bender. You and Rowland may leave now." Headmistress Kirova said. I looked around the room but I was too confused to really process what I was seeing.
Once the two men were gone she spoke again. "Hello Reen." She said.
"H-how do you know my name?" I asked her, still utterly confused by this entire situation.
"It's my job to know your name. Though you are one tough girl to find."
"Why were you trying to find me?" I asked.
"I'm not sure myself" I heard from behind me. I spun around, behind me stood a woman, about thirty-eight years old, thin and of average height. She had beautiful hair which she wore up in a pony-tail and brown eyes. She would have been the one to get with when she was my age.
"Ah Rose. How lovely of you to join us" Said Headmistress Kirova sarcastically.
"What is she doing here?" The new girl, Rose, asked.
"She is here because she belongs here." Headmistress Kirova said.
"No she doesn't. I made that decision for her a long time ago" Rose said. What was she talking about? Were they talking about me?
"Well whether you like it or not she's here to stay." Kirova said, getting angrier by the second.
"Well I don't like it and I can pull her out any time I want."
"You gave up that right sixteen years ago Rose. Just because you want to use it for yourself now doesn't mean you have any right to make decisions for her anymore." What were they talking about?
This entire time I had been standing there like an idiot but I finally spoke. "What are you two talking about?" I asked.
Rose's head whipped around and her eyes pierced into mine. "The little girl who almost ruined my life. So pretty much you." What? Well this was a weird turn of events.
"I almost ruined your life?" I asked her.
"Yeah. Getting pregnant with you nearly ruined it." She sneered, crossing her arms.
"You were never pregnant with me. The position of my mother has already been filled thank you very much" I said, thinking about my mom made my heard constrict but I pushed on. Maybe this really was a psychiatric hospital and she was a patient after all.
"Unfortunately I'm not lying" She said and then stormed out of the room.
"What was that about?" I asked Headmistress Kirova.
"That was Rose Hathaway. And since she's already spilled the beans I'll just tack on the end. She's also your mother." Kirova stated. Okay, now they were both crazy? Wait… did she just say Rose Hathaway?
"Did you just say Rose Hathaway?" I asked her.
"Yes why?" Kirova asked.
"Because Rose Hathaway is a character in a book." I said. Vampire Academy, one of my favourite series'. She couldn't be real. Now I was positive I was in a psychiatric hospital.
"Whether that is the case or not" Headmistress Kirova said skeptically. "She is your birth mother and you do belong at this school."
"No I don't." I said. I wasn't a moroi, or a dhampire. I was human, this wasn't the place for me.
"Yes Reen, you do. You are a dhampire. Rose is your biological mother, and Adrian Ivashkov is your biological father." What? But Rose is with Dimitri, not Adrian.
"But that's not possible. They're a work of fiction and I'm a real person" I said. My brain spinning more and more with every new word that came out of her mouth. It didn't make any sense for them to even exist.
A man came through the door then. A little voice at the back of my mind whispered Dimitri.
"Headmistress Kirova. I'm terribly sorry for Rose's interruption." He said, not looking my way at all. It was as if I didn't exist.
"That's fine Guardian Belikov" Headmistress Kirova said. Wait Belikov? This actually was Dimitri?
"Good Luck" He said. Still not looking at me, he walked back out the door, trying not to slam it. What was going on?
"Now, Reen, I know you must be tired so I'll give you your class schedule and then have a guardian show you to your room. You're expected to attend all of your classes and be there on time." She told me.
"Wow, wow, wow" I said. "Hold up."
"What is it?" She asked, probably expecting a smartass comment based on my 'Mom's' attitude.
"I just got here, you just turned my world upside down, I am sixteen years behind everyone else and you expect me to just get up tomorrow and go to class like nothing has happened?"
"That is exactly what I expect" She said.
"If I jump into these classes I'm going to get slaughtered! I have never been in a fight in my life, never taken any self defence classes, and my only knowledge of guardian classes is what I read from the books featuring Rose which wasn't much because she kept getting kicked out of class" I told her.
"You haven't been taught how to fight?" She asked, skeptical. "Rose should have arranged it so that your adoptive parents at least put you into self defense classes."
"How could she? I just met her a minute ago. She doesn't give a damn about me!" I said.
"I guess we could get you a tutor." She said, pensive. I can't believe she hadn't thought of this before.
"I'm sixteen years behind them. I don't think a tutor is really going to help." I said.
"That's the best I can do right now" She said. What?
"So you drag me here, screw up my view on, well, everything and now you're telling me that you can't even help me out a little?" I said getting exasperated. I was fuming so before she could respond I said "You know what, never mind. I'll just get slaughtered. Give me my class schedule and show me to my room" I said and she looked at me funny then muttered something under her breath.
She handed me my schedule and then pointed me to the door. I walked out and there was a man standing there, waiting for me.
"I'll show you to your room" He said and turned on his heel, navigating the corridors with ease. I followed close behind him and we reached my room soon. He gave me a key and left me alone. I unlocked the door and noticed how bland the room was. At least I don't have a roommate, I thought. It would be a lot easier if I didn't have someone with me all the time who was better at everything than I was.
I couldn't believe she didn't have some sort of plan for me. What did she expect me to know? Everything? That I would be on the same level as everyone? I knew what they learned here and they sure as hell didn't teach it at public schools. I had no fighting experience, well there was that one time but technically it hadn't been me fighting.
No. I couldn't think about that, not when I was in this crazy house.
I went over to the bed and collapsed on my back. I looked to my right and saw that on a desk was a laptop and a few textbooks. At least they had looked into that. I got up off the bed and walked over. Reading the spines of the books. Theory of body guarding said the top one. Below that was a grade 11 math textbook, below that was a handbook which was full of self-defence techniques and on the bottom was Salavic Studies. Well, that class was sure to be boring. I looked at my schedule then.
Period 1: Combat Training
Period 2: Body Guard Theory
Period 3: Combat Training
Period 4: Lunch
Period 5: Math 11
Period 6: Mori Dhampire Combat
Period 7: Salavic Studies
Oh my god, that was such a long day. I was not going to be able to do this. It was way too much to take in, what happened two weeks ago and now this? I needed a spot to just chill. It was then that I remembered a place from the book. Where Lissa and Christian used to go. The storage space above the church. If it could calm them both down, I might as well go and see if I can sort through everything that was bombarding my brain.
I got up, grabbed my key and headed outside. I had seen the church on my way here so I thankfully knew where to go. I hiked up the front steps and was grateful that it was completely empty. Looking around I could see all the normal features of a church but there was a door at the back, I went through that and found an old concrete staircase. Perfect. I climbed up it and found the storage room, it was just as I had pictured it.
I could see the window seat from here, along with about a hundred boxes and a broken table with a beaten up looking chair beside it. I made my way over to the window seat, trying not to disturb anything. I took a seat and then I heard his voice.
"I see I'm not the only one who enjoys the view."