Although I have red hair, I am not Richelle Mead, and therefore do not own Vampire Academy :(
This is my first time writing FanFiction, so I hope you enjoy and leave plenty of reviews so I can become a better writer!
Looking up at the gray ceiling, I felt a dull ping of excitement break through my constant misery.
We're coming to see you, Lissa exclaimed through the bond.
Sitting up I stretched. My muscles were stiff from leaning against the wall in the same position for hours.
Or maybe days. I don't know how long it's been since my hearing. There are no clocks and the guards only speak to me when delivering a bowl of soup and bread two times a day. They could have at least brought me something that wasn't nasty looking and tasted weeks old. Maybe a doughnut. Or éclair. Hell, even a piece of cold pizza would taste better than that crap.
My stomach growled.
Waiting for Lissa, I thought back on when I first got here. After the hearing, I was returned back to my cell. I let hot angry tears spill from my eyes for a few brief seconds. I had never felt more helpless. I was framed for killing the Queen, and almost everybody seemed to believe that the insane and crazy Rose Hathaway did it. I had no clue how I would get out of this. Abe said he wouldn't let anything happen, but even the old man had his limits.
Nobody was allowed to see me except Abe. And after his first visit he told me he would be leaving for a couple of day for "investigation work" and to "pull some strings", whatever that meant. So I sat alone in my cell, thinking about Lissa, Adrian, and Christian, my mom, and sometimes Dmitri. I wondered if he tried to come see me like everybody else did. I heard Lissa, Adrian and Christians voices arguing with the guards multiple times, but I never heard Dmitri's.
Not that I really wanted anybody to see me like this anyways.
From time to time I would slip into Lissa's mind, but that lost its appeal after a while. I was already miserable and Lissa's emotions on top of that were too much. I could barely keep myself together.
But I knew I had to.
I had to escape and find Lissa's half sibling, and it will possibly be the last thing I'll ever do. I knew there was a slim to none chance of me getting out of this alive, and if Abe didn't come back with good news, I had to escape, and escape fast.
"Rose!" said Lissa, breaking me out of my mental tirade.
I looked up and saw her, Christian, and Adrian standing there, looking hesitant, almost scared, but loving none-the-less.
"H – Hey" I managed to croak out.
"Oh Rose!" Lissa ran forward towards the cell. "I've missed you so much! I can't believe they wouldn't let us in before now. I mean, it's not like you actually killed the Queen. There's no way they can convict you. They just can't! I know everything will be alright, it has to be. Oh Rose I've missed you so much!" Lissa stretched her arm towards me, almost succumbing to complete hysterics.
I reached my arm out, grabbed her hand and squeezed it. That's as much comfort as I could offer. I couldn't reassure her that everything would be alright, because it probably won't be. I can't let myself to hope getting out of this alive. I had to fight, fight to the very end, but never hope. I don't think I could handle if I hoped and things didn't turn out, I might finally break.
"Liss, I've missed you too" I replied.
"What about us, baby?" Christian said, walking forward with Adrian. I rolled my eyes.
"You realize you looked like a caged animal?" he snickered as Lissa hit him on the arm.
"Yeah and all I need is a rabies shot, then I'll be free to attack your ass." I responded.
God, I had really missed them. Even Christians sarcastic sneer makes me long to get out. I looked at Adrian, who was unusually quiet. As he came closer I caught a whiff of cloves and alcohol but I couldn't be mad. He just lost his favorite Aunt and his girlfriend. I just missed them so much my stomach hurts.
"So what's going on in the free world?" I asked.
Adrian finally spoke up. "It's close to madness. People are reeling from Tatiana's death. There hasn't been an unexpected death of a monarch in over 100 years. The royals don't know how to act."
I looked at Adrian. He was a wreck. His usual stylishly messy hair laid flat on his head. His clothes were wrinkled and didn't match. Dark bags were under his eyes. He looked like he hasn't slept in a week.
"And since the Queen didn't recommend a successor, there are power struggles going on. A lot of arguing and screaming. It's crazy." Lissa added.
"People are split. Some think you're innocent, some think you're dangerous. They are trying to find who the next ruler is, but the successor list seems to be missing. Nobody knows what to do" said Christian.
The successor list is an old list that gives the order of royal families to rule. If the king or queen didn't chose is successor, the next royal family on the list were to go into power. But how could it go missing? It's like the United States constitution! Kept in an unknown location under lock and key, and always protected by at least one guardian? It's one of the Moroi culture's prized possessions.
Lissa started eyeing me up and down. I could feel her assessing me.
"How are you doing Rose?" she asked in an almost whisper. She didn't want to upset me, but I could sense what she was thinking. My hair was a tangled wreck, I haven't been sleeping, and I've had to at least lost 10 pounds from barely eating. But she was looking beyond my appearance. She could tell I've changed.
Defeated she thought. She could no longer see that trademark Rose fire in my eyes. Looking through her, I could see that my eyes looked dead.
"How do you think I'm doing?' I said, attempting to ease her worries with some sarcasm. Her lips lifted a little.
"I'm being serious Rose."
"I know. I'm just-" I said looking for the right words, "I'm doing the best I can".
"And that's all that we can ask for." Christian replied.
"Princess, it is time to go" said a guardian standing behind them. Looking behind them I noticed just how many guards came with them. There must be at least 20 more than my usual guards. Did they really think I'm that dangerous? Like I would break through the bars and hurt my best friend. That's sick.
Christian and Lissa said they're good buys and started to walk away. Adrian looked at me then came closer.
"I'll catch up with you later" he said to Christian and Lissa, "I want to talk to Rose a little bit longer".
Some guardians stayed behind, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Rose" Adrian said, barely more than a whisper. That one word held more emotions than Lissa and Christians words combined. I could see heartbreak and devastation on his face. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to ease his pain, comfort him, shield him from the pain he's experiencing. Unlike Lissa, he realized what the Queens death meant. He knew I will be sentenced to death, and it looked like it was killing him. In his mind I could tell he already lost me.
I went as close to the bars as I could, and reached my arms through them, wrapping them around his body. He responded by draping his arms around my waist, leaning his head on my shoulder. A silent tear fell down his face. I wish I could make him feel better, but there was nothing I could do. By the end of this month he will have lost the two people he loved. I loved him, and it hurt to see him in so much pain.
"Adrian, I'm so sorry" I whispered, "I love you."
He looked into my eyes, and kissed me. It started tender and sweet, his lips moving softly against mine, but it soon took on an edge of desperation. Like he thought this would be the last time he would see me. The kiss deepened to that of pain and lust and love, my hands running up his back, while his lowered to my butt. In that moment all I could think about and wanted to think about was Adrian, the feel of his back, his lips against mine. I wanted Adrian, wanted to hurt him.
What?
I had this urge to hurt Adrian, tear his arms and legs of his body. Such a deep anger sprouted out of nowhere, I pulled back looked at him. Jealously coursed through my body, while a bitter taste entered my mouth. What the hell?
Then I saw him, standing behind Adrian, staring at us. I looked up into his eyes.
"Roza"