A/N: Here's the next chapter. It's time to get into some of the Moroi world before switching back to Rose's. I hope you like.
A very special thank you to Guest1, Valerie Belikov, evilneevil, Guest2, Little Dhampir, FMN for reviewing the very first chapter, it means a lot. I also like to thank everyone who has been reading this story, favored, and alerted too. Thank you so much. You guys keep me going ^^
Please R&R
Bloody Hell!
Lissa POV:
Sorry?
What could Rose be 'sorry' for? I received her email this morning around 3 am but I didn't look at it until 7 am after I showered. Her message was short but it held many meanings. There was no way of knowing where to start. It worried me that she might have done something regrettable or unforgivable. But what? Rose has never done or said anything to hurt me. It wasn't like her to do so.
Should I be worried?
No, I told myself and shrugged it off. She was probably saying sorry because she forgot to called me the moment I arrived at St. Vladimir. Rose always called to make sure I made it okay, then we would catch up on things we'd missed in the past few days. Staying friends wasn't easy for neither one of us. My brother Andre had advised me to stopped talking to her, it disgraced our family in befriending a dhampir. Luckily, I always won by reminding him that she was going to be my Guardian when I graduate. Of course, I needed to talk to her, I needed to know that she was one hundred percent loyal and committed. Andre never argued with that. He wanted to me to safe, well protected, and who better than Rose to fit that description.
"Lissa are you going to join student government this year?" a dark brunette girl called me. She stood behind the table with a huge Government sign hanging in the front.
There were at least a two dozen tables lined up in main hall, each offering some sort of club or activity to join and just about each table was crowded. People were signing up, looking through pamphlets, or chatting up with the ones in charge of the club. But the student Government table wasn't as crowded as the other tables and that's only because student Government was exclusive to the royals. The only way you can get in, even if you were not a royal was if the student king or queen let you. In this case, my brother.
Putting on my best fake smile and I walked over to Avery.
"Um, not this year. Maybe next year when I'm a senior." I said as kindly as possible.
I did not want to join student government because of the way they run it. They are the ones responsible for scheming against Fyodor Academy and will not get in trouble for it. Nobody was foolish enough to rat them out. Like last year, the student government members did the cruelest thing. They wrote Bloodwhore Children in big bold letters in the brick wall fence of Fyodor near the entrance. It not only offended the novices but it also offended the Guardians both from here and from Fyodor. Headmistress Kirova was furious and demanded the names of the people who did this. Nobody stepped up to say anything, unfortunately. It's as if everyone was proud of what they had done to Fyodor. The entire school was forced to clean up graffiti and apologized to novices and Guardians by holding a banquet for them. This gave another reason for my 'kind' to continue hating novices which is why I cannot join student government. I cannot do what they do.
Avery gave me a confused look, "If you join now, you can be elected for student queen next year. Don't you want that?"
Uh, how do I answer that?
I didn't have to, my brother did.
"Of course she does. Lissa is joining student government. All Dragomirs do." Andre approached us and swung an arm around my shoulders, making me feel like a child in front of Avery.
"Great, sign up here." Avery handed me a clipboard and a pen.
I couldn't help but notice Christian Ozera, Jesse Zeklos, Ralf Sarcozy, Aaron Drozdov, and Camille Conta names in the first five lines as I wrote mine. It looks like Avery has found recruits for next year. This my stomach drop knowing that I'm one of them.
I handed the clipboard and Avery smiled her self-satisfied smile "Welcome to the club."
"Thanks," I mumble, feeling guilty for some reason.
"Who join the club?" a voice spoke.
My head turned to my left and found Adrian, Ivan, and Tasha joining us. They too are part of the student government. Adrian and Ivan are my brother's best friends. Tasha and Avery are each other's best friend. Between them all, they make ferocious leaders.
It scared me to think that my brother and his friends were going to turn the recruits and me just like them.
"My little sis." Andre answered proudly as he petted my head like a dog. I squirmed under his hold. My brother was really making me look like a child!
"Andre!" I whined.
Adrian chuckled.
"Welcome to the club, cus." he handed me a paper cup filled with blood and handed Andre another. At least Adrian wasn't like the others. He had a womanizing and drinking reputation that perceive him since freshman year but it was all an act. Adrian was the kind of person who talk to you in a friendly matter and make you feel part of group no matter who you were. He doest judge but he does point out the ugly truth when nobody does. And no, he and I weren't real cousins but we might as well be. He's just as protective of me as Andre is. He was family. His presence made me at eased while standing next to Andre and the others. Especially when I'm the only junior in a crowd of seniors.
"Cheers." Tasha said enthusiastically and held her cup toward the center.
Our cups meet in the middle with a small thud sound.
I took a sip of my drink. Besides being cold, there was a sugary flavor mixed with corn and water in the blood floating through my mouth and I couldn't help but convulse. This was not blood at all.
Automatically, I spit out it before letting the liquid run down my throat.
Seconds later, Andre and the others spit out their drinks. Spatters of red liquid tainted our clothes while some of it stuck to the lips.
"Eww! Eww! EWWWW!" cried Avery. Her face twisted in disgust as she danced in her tip-toes and shook her hands frenzy like she was begging for someone to whipped the liquid off her dress, lips.
Andre used the back of his hand to whipped it off. He stared at the sticky liquid for a brief moment and look up at us, searching for some answers. "What the-"
He couldn't finished his sentence as the entire hall exploded into chokes, coughs, and squeals. Everywhere I looked, people were spitting out their drinks. Red spatters showered everyone and everything. My face grimaced when people started throwing up.
Disgusting, I turned away before I too started throwing up.
Everything went into chaos after that.
I watched as the adults rush to students and check up on them as if they had been poisoned. The Guardians standing by the doors gathered around the snack table and started questioning the lunch ladies like primary suspects. Students skittered away to the restrooms, crying like identical copies of Avery.
I followed Andre and the others to an empty classroom, dabbing liquid soap onto the red marks at the bottom of my skirt and hoped it wouldn't stain permanently.
"This is all of doing of those novices." Ivan hissed as the rest of us gathered around.
"You sure?" Adrian's eyebrows furrowed as he questioned Ivan.
"Yes, and I bet it was Belikov's idea."
"Hold on." Tasha interrupted in her most calmed voice. "How can you be so sure? I know Dimitri, he's not like that."
"You forget he was recruited last year like us. He's probably the leader of that sorry group." Ivan spat.
I knew Ivan and Dimitri were rivals, Rose told me this one summer ago which is why I didn't missed the hatred in Ivan's words when he spoke of Dimitri. Those two could not be in the same room without choking themselves. Three years ago, in our annunal Halloween Masquerade Ball, the one night when both Moroi and dhampirs are present in the same room, Ivan and Dimitri got into a bloody fight. Even the Guardians had a hard time pulling them apart. I thought for a second there that Dimitri was going to kill Ivan. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Ivan and Dimitri were thrown out of the dance, though. Nobody know exactly what happened between them, especially when they were really close long before schools were separated. It's sad to see two friends hate each other the way Ivan and Dimitri do. To be honest, it scares me to think that it could happened to Rose and me.
"So we strike back." I heard Avery say. The determination her voice told me that she was looking for a good payback. Especially since her expensive dress had been ruined. Avery told Tasha on our way to the classroom that she was throwing the dress away. She had no intention of keeping something that had been tainted.
The others nodded in agreement.
How could they all agree? Even Adrian and Tasha who had been a little skeptic about what happened a few minutes ago in main hall nodded their heads. I wanted to say something, anything to change their minds about following through with petty idea. But my mouth seemed to forgot how to open because no words came out.
"Tasha get the new recruits and let's meet back here in a hour. " My brother ordered. She nodded as she understood what was being asked do. He then turned to the rest us. "We'll wash up and meet back here. We'll come up with ideas to get back at the novices, show them not to mess with us."
Again, everyone nodded.
Except me. I wasn't sure if I like this. Planning against Rose seemed wrong. Very wrong. So how do I get out of this?
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