Disclaimer—I don't own anything:)
"We've all known Rose since she made her debut her as a feisty five year old," There was a sea of nodding heads and smiling faces. "The day we became friends was the day we were just beginning to learn to write. We were partnered up and told to help each other, after learning she had to write Rosemarie Hathaway and that I had to write Vasilia Dragomir instead of just Rose and Lissa, she chucked her book the teacher and called her a Fascist Bastard. Mrs. Greene retired after that year," Lissa stopped and took a deep breath, tears falling freely and unashamedly down her face. Even with her make up running and face red, she was a vision, filled with the love of remembering her fallen sister. "As all of you know, Rose was in the car accident that claimed my family. If we were inseparable before, we were practically Siamese twins afterwards. She even looked after me for two years when we ran away from the academy. She thought of nothing else but my safety and well being." Lissa paused for another deep breath, "Even though Rose had a quick temper, she never did anything she didn't feel was just. She was not only my guardian, but one to anyone who she thought needing guarding. More often than not, you saw a smile on her face and tried not to let anyone get her down. Rosemarie Leigh Hathaway was not only one of the best people you could meet, she was my sister."
At the end of her speech, Lissa lit a candle on the podium and stepped off the stage, taking her place in the front row. Christian snaked his hand into hers and gave it a gentle squeeze which she tried to return but felt too weak. The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, different faces crying, sharing the Rosemarie Hathaway they knew.
She would've hated this, Lissa thought numbly as she looked around and saw all the red, swollen faces. She hated funerals. She hated people crying, and unless you were going out to have fun and be sexy, she thought black should not be worn. With this last thought, Lissa looked down at her own dress, a knee length, loose fitting black dress. She wanted to rip it off, she had wanted to wear her powder blue sweater that Rose had gotten her just because she thought it would look good on her and it did. It hugged every curve of Lissa's body which was a task seeing as she was small and frail. Dimly, she was made aware of the music playing as everyone got up and left the auditorium. She allowed Christian to lead her to the cafeteria where there would be lunch. Christian sat her at a table, telling her he'd get something for the both of them. She just nodded her head, not wanting to speak. As she scanned the crowd uninterestedly, she saw someone walk in that was an hour late this spurred Lissa out of her catatonic state and made her rush over to the red headed woman.
"What do you think you're doing here?" Lissa growled.
Janine Hathaway drew herself up to her full height, which wasn't much and spoke, "I am here to attend my daughter's service, just as you are Princess Dragomir."
"You couldn't even bother to come to her funeral!" Lissa screamed, not caring about the stares or whispers going on around her, "You think you can just dump your own child and then try to act like nothing happened?! You couldn't even be found when she was in the hospital, she asked for you, did you know that? After everything you've done to her, the only thing she said was about you." Lissa spat venomously at the woman. Janine just looked at the young girl as you would a child throwing a temper tantrum. A hand clamped around Lissa's wrist and dragged her out of the cafeteria.
Christian said nothing, just looked into her eyes and Lissa began crying for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
"Christian, I can't live without her, I can't live without her," She sobbed in his shoulder, Christian didn't know what to say so he settled with rubbing her back, cursing Rose for doing this to them.
