Yes, ANOTHER fanfic! I just have so many ideas! :D Except this one is a crossover and I'm really excited! It's going to explore the perspectives of many minds(though mostly Rose's), and well…I'm just really excited! Enjoy!
Setting the scene:
This story takes place only a few weeks after Shadow Kiss. Only, rather than Dimitri turning Strigoi, it was Lissa who was turned. Rose spent the three weeks following in her room or Dimitri's room being depressed.
It is also somewhere between Twilight and New Moon. Edward was actually able to read Bella's thoughts though, but they still fell in love.
I opened my eyes slowly and unwillingly, only to be greeted with the sun's bright rays shining through the window.
I sat up in Dimitri's bed and searched eagerly for his face. He was the light at the end of the tunnel. After Lissa had been turned Strigoi, I could hardly function. It took hours for all of the guardians to pry me away from Lissa's bed and even after that Dimitri had to be with me to make sure I ate or slept. It was agonizing, and the three weeks, two days and sixteen hours that had passed since had not made it any more bearable.
Only Dimitri had. He held me when I cried and sometimes, when I was desperate for sleep, he would hum tunes into my ear, allowing me to drift off. After the first three nights of heart-wrenching nightmares, Dimitri had even come up with the idea to have Adrian visit me in my dreams every night just so that they stayed away.
I would have felt bad for making Adrian exert such strength and always using spirit. But I couldn't feel anything besides my heart breaking more and more each day. Everything I looked at or thought about somehow brought my mind back to Lissa. It didn't help that the bond was gone. It was a constant reminder of the loss.
So where was Dimitri? I looked around the room, but he was nowhere to be found. I sighed and forced myself out of bed. Time may not have healed the wounds I was left with, but I was slowly progressing. I was at least able to form coherent thoughts again. I was even able to hold back the crying with enough effort. Sometimes I forced myself to go out into the real world—forced myself to interact with my other friends—though that was not easy at all. They were my strongest reminders of Lissa. Especially Christian.
I went to the bathroom. A nice hot shower seemed like a good idea. Dimitri, knowing me so well, had predicted I would do exactly that and before I could even get my clothes off, I noticed a piece of white paper taped to the shower door. I groaned as I pulled it off and read it:
Roza,
Clean yourself up and then meet me in the guardian headquarters. We need to talk.
-Love,D
I groaned again and threw the note away, proceeding to the shower. Afterwards, I threw on the first pair of jeans I saw, along with a T-Shirt. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and sprinted towards the meeting place, eager to see my prince charming.
I opened the door to see a grinning Dimitri. "You're up earlier than I expected." He said and reached his arms out for me.
I slipped onto his lap. The only good thing about the situation was that Dimitri and I had an open relationship now. Nobody at the Academy really judged us, most likely because they felt too bad for me loosing Lissa.
I wasn't sure exactly how it happened, but I know that Dimitri was forced to tell Alberta about our relationship. I think she was wondering why I was always in his room.
He gave me a quick kiss and in that instant it was easy to pretend that nothing was wrong. "You said we need to talk?"
"Yes, we do." The hint of his accent always caused my heart to beat erratically.
"Well," I sighed. "Go ahead."
"Don't sound so excited," he laughed. I glared at his glorious face.
He hugged me tighter and his breath was suddenly on my neck, giving me goose bumps. "We're leaving. Just the two of us," he whispered in my ear. I froze. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
"Where?"
"It's a small town. It's called Forks. Hardly anyone lives there. Certainly no Moroi or dhampirs. I figured it would be good for you."
Suddenly, I was able to feel something other than grief. It was small, and it was only a slight tingle in the back of my mind. "We're leaving?" I had to be sure.
A low seductive laugh rang in my ears. "Yup. I already cleared it with the academy…and your mother. They agreed that it could not hurt."
Finally that little emotion grew stronger and stronger and I was able to detect what it was. Excitement.
"When are we leaving?"
"I figured you'd want to leave tonight. But if not…"
"No, tonight is perfect!" I turned my head and my lips abruptly met his. It was a lot longer than the one I had received when I first arrived, but it was nowhere near as hungry as our kisses were before the attack. Nowhere near as animal-like as when we were in the cabin. But I was okay with that, I wasn't ready for that just yet.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. I didn't have time to mope or cry, Dimitri kept me busy by making me prepare to go to forks. When I asked him how long we were staying he said it was more-or-less permanent. We would leave when we got bored.
We were pursuing the lifestyle I had always dreamed for me and Dimitri. Just us in our own little world. It was the one thing that could wake me from this ever-lasting nightmare.
We were ready to leave at about five-thirty, and I couldn't have been more excited. Dimitri, on the other hand, had a sad glint in his eyes when we decided it was time.
"What's wrong?" I asked. I didn't want him to be making a huge sacrifice for me. I hated to think that I would be dragging him down.
"Nothing. I'm just going to miss this place." He gave me a sad smile. "A lot of memories."
I considered that. This academy held a lot of memories for me as well, most of them I wanted to forget. Each one a painful memory of my best friend.
"I met you here," he said simply. "I think there are two places I'll miss more than anything. The gym and the cabin."
I had to admit, those were wonderful places.
"Are you sure you want to leave?"
"Of course, Roza. You know I would do anything for you."
"I know. But do you want to leave?" I repeated. Why did I pick now to be able to think clearly?
"Yes," Dimitri said with no hesitation. "It kills me to see you so miserable. I would enjoy living in a tent as long as you were there and you were happy."
I smiled. A real genuine smile. It felt weird on my face, but it fit. "I love you."
"Believe me, I feel the same. I just don't think you realize how much." Without another word, Dimitri grabbed my hand and led me down to the school gates. We walked very slowly, neither of us speaking, just taking in what used to be our life.
Sometimes, when we passed certain buildings or spots I would see the corner of his mouth twitch or his eyes would sparkle just a little more than usual. Other times he just squeezed my hand.
Once we were at the Academy entrance I was greeted with several familiar faces. Each one made my chest ache just a little bit more, but I had to suck it up and say goodbye to all my friends.
The first—and probably easiest—good bye went out to Alberta. It wasn't a very heartfelt parting, but it still meant a lot that she would be there.
Then there was Christian. Oh god, Christian. I don't know how I could even look at him without bursting into tears. But I guess that was proof that I was slightly healing. Christian had been there with me in Spokane. That experience, plus our mutual love for Liss gave us an unspoken friendship that neither of us would admit to. Then there was the attack. When the Strigoi invaded St. Vladimir's Christian was the one who fought by my side. He was also there to witness Lissa's awakening. Somehow he was able to compose himself a million times better than me, though it still clearly eats him up inside. He loved Lissa almost as much as I did.
I gave a quick hug to Mia and even Adrian. Next was Eddie.
My last moments with Eddie were just as torturously difficult as with Christian, but for entirely different reasons. Eddie had been a great friend to me in so many ways. He had taken to protecting me and sticking up for me after Mason's death, and he was doing the same after Lissa was taken. Eddie was like a brother to me. The sadness in his eyes was evident as I broke away from his strong embrace.
As much as it was killing me inside to be leaving the academy and everybody that I loved—other than Dimitri—I knew that what I was doing was right. Getting away was only healthy for myself and my friends. My despair was weighing all of them down. It was preventing them from being as happy and carefree as they should. And would I be Rose Hathaway if I let everybody else suffer because of me?
The whole thing was relatively silent, but certainly not short. Dimitri watched it all stone-faced. He was obviously more upset about it then he was leading me to believe.
My Prince Charming, who was rescuing me and taking me to our own private castle, nodded towards the men guarding the gates. The iron gates opened slowly, and I saw a black SUV waiting. I walked uncharacteristically slow to the passenger side and hopped in as Dimitri made his way around to the driver's side. When he closed the car door I raised my eyebrows at him.
"It's just a little going away gift from the guardians," he told me sullenly. He realized a second to late that he forgot to cover up his tone.
"Dimitri…" I started, but he didn't let me get any farther.
"Rose, I'm fine." The words came out a little too tense.
"Dimitri." I repeated, more stern.
"We'll talk later. Right now, I just want to get going." He hit the gas pedal hard, and that was the end of the conversation.
I soon found out that we had an eight and a half hour drive ahead of us. I asked if Dimitri wanted to go half and half, but as usual he would have none of that. He was the driver.
There wasn't much to do other than listen to Dimitri's outdated music or go to sleep. The second option sounded much more delightful. I leaned my seat as far back as it would go and I shut my eyes. With all the bumps in the road before we reached the highway, sleep was difficult, but it eventually found me.
And I sure wished it hadn't. No matter the excitement of my life, no matter how distracted my mind was, my subconscious did not fail to bring back the painful images. The images that haunted me every time I fell asleep. Why had I chosen to rest? I should have just dealt with the horrendous music. I much preferred that to the next set of illustrations that my mind drew up.
All of the scenarios were generally the same, usually a few alterations, but they all hurt equally.
Triumph. I could smell it, I could see it, I could feel it throughout every muscle. I pulled my stake out of the last surviving Strigoi, and flashed a smile towards Christian Ozera. He had done fantastic work as well, providing an excellent distraction when the numbers became just too much for me to handle.
I turned to make sure he was alright. He had exerted a lot of magic for the battle. But instead of seeing his exhausted face I simply saw air. He was gone. I turned a few circles searching for him, but he was nowhere in near sight.
"Christian?" I called out.
Only a few instants later came a gurgled scream—no, roar. "ROSE!"
I faced the direction it came from and immediately spotted Christian. He was about twenty yards away, and he stood in front of a glowing fire. It took me a moment to realize there was a body under the fire. Damn, we had missed one.
I began to sprint over to him, but before I was even half way across the distance, I read something in his eyes. It was now or never. "No! Christian I got him!"
He didn't listen. He closed his eyes and I saw the force he put into his magic. Tons of flames sprouted from the fire that had already existed, but it died almost instantly. Christian's body landed to the ground with a thump. Shit.
The Strigoi may have been free, but he was almost burned to a crisp. I ran to Christian's side as quickly as I could, but apparently it wasn't quick enough. The Strigoi was beside Christian, but his eyes were locked on me. Recognition flashed. It was the blond Strigoi. The one that had gotten away from us. His words echoed in my head:
I'll come back for you after I finish her.
But he didn't get to her, Christian caught him and now the Strigoi's lips were moving towards Christian's neck—moving quickly. But I was moving so slow. Why were my feet moving so impossibly slow?
Finally, I was only about a yard away. I clutched my stake, and I braced myself to attack, but I never got the opportunity. Somebody had taken the Strigoi by surprise and pushed him. It wasn't a guardian—the shove was much too light. Was it another Strigoi just trying to get the blond one out of the way? I didn't know and I didn't have enough time to pin him, because he was falling towards me. On me.
We both fell to the ground and I heard a frighteningly loud crack and a scream to match it. My scream. My bones cracking. No, of course not, it couldn't have just been one broken bone. It couldn't have been just my arm, or ankle. That I probably would have been able to deal with. I probably would have been able to continue fighting. But no. Of course not. It was my whole left side. From my toes all the way to elbow.
Crushed by the damn Strigoi, who was hardly even affected by the fall other than the fact it had slowed down his attack. Once he had gotten back to his feet I could see who the push had come from. I don't know how I wasn't passed out on the floor, or even on the verge to bleeding to death. But maybe it would have been better if I was. The next scene was much too horrible to have witnessed.
I screamed, and I tried to fight. I tried to force myself to get off the ground. But none of that worked my body was not capable of such tremendous acts. The only thing that resulted was Christian waking up. He was in a panic, but realization clicked in much too late. By then, the blond Strigoi already had my best friend unconscious in his arms and was making a run off of the campus.
"NO!" My whole body shot up. I was back in reality, but I didn't know where I was, and I didn't really care. All I could focus on was the excruciating tear in my heart that always came with the memory.
I was breathing heavily and my vision was blurred with tears and rage and depression. How was I stupid enough to let it happen? How could I have allowed such a treacherous act? Vasilisa Dragomir, the last Dragomir, was now a Strigoi and it was all my fault. There were only eleven remaining families left, and it was all due to the fact I hadn't been able to stop him. But I was the only one who thought so. Why did nobody blame me when it was clearly my fault?
I needed blame. I needed punishment. I deserved it.
Maybe, though, everyone knew that I was dealt my own punishment? Maybe they realized that no amount of time in jail or whatever cruel things they did to murderers was nearly as bad as the emotional damage this left on me. All the physical harm that had occurred to me that night felt like nothing compared to the heartache I felt when I thought of Lissa.
I was more than breathing heavily then. I was actually hyperventilating. I couldn't breathe. It was too much. It was all too much. My hands went out to the nearest things around me and I gripped with all my force onto whatever it was they had found. My nails dug in as I tried to breathe.
"Roza!" A heavenly voice had broken into my anguished haze. It held so much concern so much tenderness that I remembered I had to stay strong. I somehow recalled how to breathe, and I was able to see once more.
"Roza, please." The voice pleaded over and over again. It was so soft, so full of desperation. I needed to control myself.
I don't know how long it took, but I eventually came back to myself. My breathing was still labored, but it was it was slowly getting better. That was when everything crashed back down on me.
I was in the car with Dimitri—always my savior—and we were on our way to Washington. We were going to live together like I had always dreamed, and he was going to help me move on. I looked towards the gorgeous Russian face and saw all of the love and heartbreak that it held.
It hurt him when this happened to me. It was as much torture for him as it was for me. That was how our relationship always worked. Our souls were practically one. Our hearts practically beat together. I hated having to cause him so much pain, but it was inevitable. I really couldn't control it.
I realized that he had pulled to the side of road—right before the highway. "Roza," he breathed. This time it was in relief, rather than woe. His hands were clutching the steering wheel, so much so that his knuckles were turning white. I looked at my hands. One grasped the side panel of the door; the other was clasped onto the side of my seat. I released the pressure and he quickly followed.
"That was the worse it's ever been," I whispered as I turned my head back towards him.
He closed his eyes and didn't respond for a while. He was trying to gather himself, I realized. "That was the scariest it's ever been," he said, finally.
TA-DAH! Chapter one :D
I know, they haven't even gotten to forks yet, but hey, that seemed like a good place to stop.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!
