Chapter 2: Sweet Home Chicago
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.
***Happy Birthday to Miss I'm Allergic to People. I posted this one in honor of you=)
RPOV
I had to be creative in leaving the country as majority of the people in Turkey would recognize me at first sight. My picture may not have been publicized on the internet and Baba did his best to protect me from the paparazzi, but there were still many who would recognize me from public appearances over the years, so I decided the best way to do this was to leave Turkey by car and cross the border into Greece on foot. It was well guarded, but my papers were good and they didn't raise questions.
From Greece I caught a flight to Paris and then flew to Montreal and finally after three days of continuous travel my plane touched down at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. One might wonder why I would pick such a random place to start over.
Well for starters it was a large city and I could blend in. Secondly most people there would not have any interest or recognition in a Turkish Princess. They were far too concerned with their own politics and the only royals that usually hit their radar were Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton of Whales. It surprised me because they weren't even true royalty and had little to do with running the country. I did envy them though marrying for love and all.
The second reason I chose Chicago was that as a young girl I had acquired a pen-pal from the United States to practice my English with. She was a girl my age named Vasilisa Dragomir. We had written for many years and had become quite close, although she had no idea who I truly was. She knew I was from Turkey, but knew nothing of my royal status. All of my letters were sent through my mother's maiden name which had been Hathaway. They were also sent to a P.O. box as not to alert anyone to our home address. In my last letter which I'd sent nearly six months ago having cut all contact after, I had told her I was planning a visit to the Chicagoland area and would look her up should I ever be in town. She was excited at the prospect of meeting me and had expressed that I could visit and stay with her whenever I wanted and for however long. I hoped she meant that as she would soon find me on her doorstep.
For the past ten years Lissa, as she likes to be called, has been my only friend and although she didn't know the specifics, she knew my father was oppressive and wanted to arrange a marriage for me. She'd been sympathetic about my mother's suicide as well comforting me with words of encouragement and love. She did on several occasions inquire as to why we could not e-mail, talk on the phone or skype. I had no real explanation just that it was more fun to do things the old fashioned way. She hadn't pushed to subject and we continued to swap letters
Oh how envious I was of Lissa's freedom. She of course complained about her parent's so called strict rules like having a curfew of eleven o'clock, a limit on her credit card spending and no boys allowed in her room. I nearly died laughing at some of the things she whined so incessantly about like going to school all day where they wouldn't permit her to use her cellular phone.
I had no idea what it was like to have a spending limit because as a princess I'd wanted for nothing, but it also came at a price. I was rarely permitted to leave the grounds of the palace, had been privately tutored instead of attending a regular school and had minimum three armed body guards with me at all times. Forget having a social life and definitely forget having boys in my room. I wasn't even allowed to date, well that is unless he was approved by my father and an arrogant, bigoted asshole who wanted me for my looks and title. I'm betting Baba would have allowed any one of those fascist bigots into my room if I would have had them.
If only she knew just how restricted I really was. I wasn't allowed to have the internet or cell phone or anything. Baba said it was for my own protection, but I think he was afraid of what I could do if I had access to those things on a regular basis. Alberta would sometimes allow me to use her phone that had internet access and Abi had taken me to a library that had access and distracted the guards while I procured the information I needed to plot my escape. It was tiring and humiliating to have no less than three pairs of eyes on you twenty-four seven. Talk about embarrassing when you did or said something stupid.
Most people envied royalty, but I could never understand why. All the wealth and prestige in the world wasn't worth giving up my freedom. One could never understand my life without have first lived in my shoes for a day. They could never fully realize what it was like to be trapped like a mouse in a cage. I'd never done even the simplest things on my own until just now and damn did it feel good. It was a little frightening for me being in such large unguarded territories such as the airport, but I hadn't had the time to worry about it for risk of being caught. When things slowed down for me a little and I knew I was safe, the panic would set in.
I was overjoyed that Lissa thought I was just some Turkish commoner coming to America for a visit and I intended to keep it that way. I didn't want to impose on her, but I needed a place to stay tonight and for a few weeks until I got the lay of the land and figured out what to do for money and a place to live.
I stood outside the airport in awe of the place. People were bustling about at a rapid pace getting into cars and hugging loved ones.
"Miss can I hail you a cab?" A man wearing a rather odd looking outfit asked.
"Uh, yes, I suppose I will be needing a taxi," I responded.
He nodded whistling quite loudly and motioned to a yellow car that stopped at his gesture. He loaded my bag into the trunk and opened the door.
"Where to Miss?" the driver asked.
"Clark and Lincoln please," I requested having memorized Lissa's new address. She'd just moved to a flat in the city with some friends to attend university this past fall.
An hour and a half later I found myself wildly out of sorts as the man unloaded my bag from the trunk.
"That will be ninety-seven dollars please," he stated.
My eyes widened not having thought ahead. "I only have lira," I told him not being savy enough to have changed my money ahead of time.
"We don't take lira," he snorted. "We take credit cards."
I looked at him bewildered. "Oh, I don't have one of those," I said remembering what Lissa had said about her father cutting her credit card limit in half last year.
"If you'll just ring my friend, I'm sure she can help me," I told him.
"Don't you have a cell phone?" he barked in annoyance.
"Actually no," I said my cheeks burning with embarrassment. He rolled his eyes and took out his phone.
I dialed Lissa's number hoping she would answer.
"Hello," came a soft sweet voice.
"Lissa?" I asked praying to God I had gotten the number correct. I doubted the frustrated taxi driver would allow me another turn before hauling my butt off to jail for an unpaid fair.
"Yep, who is this?" she asked. I didn't have a thick accent as I'd been taught to speak perfect English, but when I was nervous it showed.
"It's Rose Hathaway."
"Oh my God Rose!" she squealed. "It's so good to hear from you. How are you? Wait, how are you calling from a three one two area code. Are you in Chicago?" she asked speaking rapidly with excitement. Her voice was exactly the way I imagined it.
"Uh yes, that's the thing. I am outside your building having come for a visit, but I forgot to change my money and the taxi driver is not so pleased with me," I explained feeling humiliated that the first time I would meet her she'd think I was a moron. I had a lot to learn about being on my own. I only hoped that I didn't embarrass myself too much before I got the hang of things.
"You're downstairs! That's fantastic. Wait there. I will be down in two seconds," she said hanging up.
"She's coming down," I told the driver who was tapping his foot impatiently glancing at his watch.
Less than a minute later the front door to the apartment building flew open and a very slender girl with long blond hair emerged with a huge smile on her face.
"Rose?" she questioned waving enthusiastically, her jade green eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yes," was all I had time to get out before she was hugging me tightly.
"I can't believe I'm meeting you and that you're finally here," she said again in a very high pitched tone.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? This is so awesome. I can't wait to introduce you to all my friends and my brother has heard so much about you. They all think I made you up because I don't have a photo." She chattered on and on without taking a breath.
The taxi driver cleared his throat rather rudely. "Can I get paid here?" he asked.
"Sure no problem, sorry," Lissa said handing the man a silver card.
"I'm so sorry," I apologized once he was gone. "I should have thought ahead, but I was so excited to come and see you that it slipped my mind," I lied. Really I was too scared and preoccupied with getting caught that I had paid no mind to much else than making sure I wasn't being followed.
"Hey, it's really no problem," she said again.
"Wait where are your bags?" she asked looking around in confusion.
"Uh this is it," I replied sheepishly referring to my one small bag.
"You only brought a duffel bag?" she asked incredulously. I take it she wasn't the type to travel light. If only she knew that the majority of my bag was stuffed with thick stacks of cash which I'd had to strap around my waist while going through security checks.
I shrugged. "Well come on then. Let's go upstairs so we can talk. Don't worry about your stuff. We have everything you need."
She practically dragged me through the revolving doors and past the man at the desk who I think was in charge of security for the building.
"Hey Raoul, this is my friend Rose. She's going to be staying a while so make sure you put her on the list," she said.
"Yes, Miss Dragomir," he replied pulling out a fancy ledger.
"So, I live on the twelfth floor with my friends Mia, Sydney and Jill. We have a four bedroom suite. It's really fantastic.
"It sounds like you are pretty full. Are you sure it's okay that I stay?"
"Oh yes, don't worry. We have a lot of space. You can take Sydney's room. She is moving in with my brother in a few days so it will be vacant anyways. She spends most nights there now. She's just finishing bringing her stuff over.
"Wow, you have a nice place," I said in awe of the opulence of her living quarters. I hadn't expected anything so lavish. I myself was used to the finer things, but I had always imagined the rest of the world living shabbily. At least it looked that way in movies.
"Eh, it's okay. I kind of miss the comfort of home, but it will do for now," she said tossing her keys on the counter.
So this is the living room and the dining room. The kitchen is through that door and there are two bathrooms that connect the bedrooms. You'll be sharing with me and Mia and Jill share the other. Here's your room. It's a little bare, but we'll fix that.
"Are you sure Sydney won't mind me being in here?" I asked trying to be polite. In reality I had nowhere else to go and was dying to have a hot shower and sleep in a real bed.
"Nah, she'll be fine. Like I said she's already moved most of her stuff. She won't be sleeping here anymore."
I nodded. The room was a decent size with a double bed, a large closet and a few shelves. Some held books and the rest were bare.
"I'll let you wash up. Jill should be home from work soon and Mia's in class." She closed the door behind her leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I set my bag down on the armchair in the corner and flopped down on the bed groaning as it felt so good to rest after such a long and strenuous trip. I wondered for a few minutes how angry Baba was that I was gone and how much trouble Alberta, my nanny was in. He had to have figured out she was in on it. I just hoped he wasn't too severe with her. I loved her like a mother and hadn't been away from her for more than a few hours since I was five.
I rose from the comfort of the bed and decided a shower was in order. There were fresh lavender towels lined up on a rack and the tub was stocked full of nice smelling shampoo and every other toiletry one could imagine.
I reveled in the feeling of the hot water beating down on my back. I had freshened up a little, but hadn't truly had the chance to get clean before now. I lathered my long locks with shampoo that smelled like lilies. Lissa sure has good taste. I marveled at the décor of the bathroom. It wasn't very spacious, but there was a magazine rack stocked with all types of fabulous fashion magazines, a small cart that held all kinds of cosmetics, lotions and perfumes and the soap dish had little soaps in the shape of a fleur-de-lis. Several small paintings depicting famous scenes in Paris adorned the cream colored walls and a little pink poodle soap on a rope hung from the doorknob. I snickered a little as I caught sight of a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers in the corner.
I wrapped myself in a towel and another around my head and left the steamy confines of the bathroom. I nearly jumped a mile as I found Lissa sprawled out on my bed thumbing through one of her magazines.
"Hey," she said smiling. I glanced around uncomfortably. Was it customary in America to break into your friend's room when they were indecent?
"What's wrong?" she asked noticing I had ceased all movement.
"Uh, nothing. I just wasn't expecting you," I said.
"Oh yea, we're all very close here. If it bothers you I can leave," she offered.
I hesitated before telling her she could stay. I wanted to fit in and she was my closest friend. So what if she saw my unmentionables. I wasn't the princess here. I was just Rose and as they say when in Rome. I dropped my towel and began rifling through my bag for something clean. I had two spare pairs of panties, an extra bra, a few shirts and a pair of jeans. I grabbed the jeans, a clean pair of panties and a red v-necked shirt.
"So what do you say I introduce you to my friends and then we can all go out tonight. We could get dinner and then hit a club or something," she suggested.
"Sure that sounds like fun," I told her.
"Do you have a fake?" she asked.
"A fake what?" I asked.
"ID," she responded causing my heart to leap up into my throat. How in the hell did she figure out that my ID was fake? Had she peeked in my bag? Was it that obvious?
"Why would I need a fake ID?" I questioned trying not to sound as high strung as I was.
"Duh Rose you have to be twenty-one to get into the bars," she said laughing.
"You do?" I asked sighing in relief that she hadn't figured me out after all.
"Yeah, how old do you have to be to drink in Turkey?"
"Eighteen," I said.
"Lucky, you could go anywhere there. We have to stick to the less fun spots that don't look to closely at ID's," she said pouting.
I nodded like I understood where she was coming from, only I had no clue. I had never gone to a bar or a club or anywhere cool. My only experiences with alcohol had been at royal functions and then it was one or two glasses of champagne or some other fancy concoction.
"Can I borrow your blow dryer?" I asked not having packed anything that would take up too much room.
"Sure, it's in the drawer," she said pulling it open as she followed me back into the bathroom taking a seat on the edge of the tub while I dried my hair. She really was friendly.
"So, are you planning to stay long? You didn't bring much," she said.
"Uh, I don't know exactly how long I'm staying. I sort of left in a hurry," I admitted.
She looked up and I caught a glimpse of pity in her eyes.
"Did your father find a husband for you?" she asked softly.
I nodded shaking my head. "I had to get away."
"He was that bad huh?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't really know him. I'd only met him once or twice in passing."
"Why would your father do that? Is that common where you are from?"
"It's old fashioned, but yes it is very common where I come from," I told her not really referring to Turkey, but to being royal, not that she could decipher my hidden meaning.
"Well it's a good thing you came. I have been waiting a long time to meet you. You can stay as long as you want. Consider this your home now," she said hugging me tight.
"Shouldn't you talk it over with your roommates?" I asked.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. We were going to have to look for a new roommate with Sydney leaving anyhow. There's no reason it shouldn't be you," she said.
I nodded extremely happy that things were working out so well. I just hoped her roommates liked me and that they wouldn't recognize me.
"So what do like to eat?" she asked grabbing a small laptop computer off the desk in the living room.
"I'm not too fussy," I said taking a seat across from her at the breakfast bar. I glanced around the room noticing the décor in here had an Italian theme to it. There were little chefs all over and red checkered curtains.
"Did you decorate this place?" I asked being nosy.
"Actually we each chose a room and picked a theme. Mia did the kitchen Italian because her grandparents were from Italy. Jill decorated the bathrooms French because she's obsessed with going to Paris someday and I did the living room Victorian because I would have loved to be a princess back then.
I bit back a snort at her comment. If only she knew how oppressive being royal was, she wouldn't wish for it so much.
"So I was thinking we could go to the Grand Lux Café. It has a little bit of everything and the food is excellent. What do you think?" she asked holding up her laptop screen so I could see a photo of the place. It looked really awesome, but then again I'd never been to a restaurant before so I didn't have anything to compare it to.
"Sounds good to me," I said swinging my legs back and forth off the stool I was sitting on. In truth I was way overly excited to be doing something so normal.
"Hey is there somewhere I can change my money?" I asked jumping off the stool. I owed her ninety seven dollars plus a tip.
"Sure, we can hit a currency exchange on the way," she said still fiddling with her computer.
A few minutes later the door opened and two girls entered chatting animatedly.
I stood up nervously smoothing down my hair.
"Hey guys, come in here a sec," Lissa called. Two girls entered both tall with blond hair.
"This is Rose, my pen-pal from Turkey." Both of their eyes widened as they gave me a once over. For a few seconds I was worried they'd seen my picture and knew who I was.
"Damn, we owe Sydney twenty bucks," the one with the childlike face groaned causing the other one to scowl.
"What why?" Lissa asked in confusion.
"Jill thought you made her up," the childlike one said. That must make her Mia.
"Hey it's better than you thinking it was her imaginary friend," the one named Jill countered with her hands on her hips.
"Guys, she is not imaginary," Lissa growled rolling her eyes. "As you can see she's right here and you're being rude."
"Sorry, I'm Jill and this is Mia," she apologized sheepishly. She was wearing some sort of strange get up. She must wear a uniform to work.
"So how would you guys feel about Rose taking Sydney's room?" Lissa asked. I bit my lip eagerly awaiting their response.
"It's cool with me," Mia shrugged.
"Yea, sounds good. We've heard a lot about you. Lissa has been telling us about her infamous Turkish friend forever. It's finally good to put a face with a name," Jill said.
I let out a breath of air. They were both really nice. I had really lucked out.
"So how about you guys go get changed. I thought it might be nice to take Rose out tonight. She's never been to Chicago before," Lissa explained. Truth was, I'd never been anywhere but Istanbul and I'd seen very little of that.
Mia and Jill disappeared into their respective bedrooms and Lissa clicked on the television. I hoped to God my father hadn't reported me missing to the entire world. My eyes widened at the thought of my picture all over the six o'clock news. I was relieved when she put on and episode of some comedy.
"This show cracks me up," she guffawed.
"What is the name of it?" I asked. It was rather amusing from the humor I was able to catch.
"The Big Bang Theory," she said.
"Do you get any American shows by you?" Jill asked joining me as Lissa went to change.
"Sure we get some. I love Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond and I've recently become hooked on Pretty Little Liars," I admitted.
"I love that show!" she cried. "We have the first season on DVD."
"You bitches ready?" Mia called coming out of her room.
I felt entirely underdressed as Lissa joined us. They were all wearing short dresses, big jewelry and make-up.
"Are you going to wear that?" Mia asked directing her question at me.
"Uh, I don't think I brought anything like that," I said gesturing to their pretty clothes.
"No problem, did Sydney leave that red dress we bought her in the closet?" Lissa asked.
"Yep, she said it wasn't her style and she felt too exposed," Mia piped in.
"Cool, She's about the same size as Rose," Lissa said.
"Yea give or take a cup size or two," she said assessing my bust.
"It's stretchy, it won't matter," Lissa said grabbing me pulling me into what was now my room.
"Are you sure I should wear this? Won't Sydney be upset? She doesn't even know me."
"Nonsense, she never wore it. She's a little on the conservative side. Her parents are religious bigots," Mia whispered.
Ten minutes later they'd completely transformed me from plain Jane who was trying to blend in to some sort of supermodel who would definitely stand out.
"I'm not sure about this," I said appraising myself in the mirror. The dress was made of a very nice stretchy material. It was short, tight and had one strap holding it up.
"Damn you look hot!" Mia said wolf whistling at me.
"Hey go get that necklace you wore to prom," Lissa ordered Jill.
"There, that is perfect," she said letting my hair fall loosely down my shoulders.
"Won't I be cold?" I asked as I slipped on a pair of silver heels.
"Take this too," Mia said stuffing a silver purse under my arm.
"Which one do you think looks more like her?" Lissa asked holding out two drivers licenses.
"That one," Mia said pointing to the one on the left.
"Yea, definitely that one," Jill agreed.
"Here, take this," she said thrusting it at me.
I looked at it curiously. It said my name was Leila Aknouch and I was twenty-four years old. It also said I was five foot three and weighed one hundred and fifty pounds.
"Who's going to believe this?" I scoffed. I was five foot seven and one hundred and twenty-five pounds.
"Trust me, they won't look at it that close," Mia said stuffing it into my purse.
"Just flaunt these babies and they won't even ask to see it," she said putting her hands on her breast and pushing them up so they were practically in my face.
Holy crap was I in way over my head, I thought as I followed my new friends out the door and down the stairs.
So I just wanted to give a little background on why she picked Chicago and set up her living situation. The next chapter is going have a DPOV and an RPOV, but will they meet face to face? Only time will tell. Review if you want to be next in line to marry the Russian Prince=)
Also check out my new pole on my profile!
