A nice long chapter for you guys… over 3000 words WOOT! Hope you enjoy… don't forget… R&R!

~~THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN RE-EDITED SINCE ITS ORIGINAL POSTING~~

The Secret Hathaway

Chapter Three

Orientation and Painful Memories

I was ushered into the building quickly after that. Probably so I wouldn't have the temptation to cause any more trouble before I was enrolled. I sighed and shifted in the uncomfortable seat again as I waited for Ms Kroaker… sorry, Kirova, to finish going through the papers that were faxed from my four tutors. It had been one of the calls I'd made back home before leaving. They weren't happy about it my situation, but nothing could really be done about it. Not if they didn't want to raise a lot of suspicion. I was home schooled along with the res of my kind. Of course, being who we are, we couldn't simply show up to a normal vampire academy.

"So, it seems that you're actually up to date with everything we teach here, in fact judging by these figures, if they're real, you're well and truly top of the school. I don't really know how to accommodate your timetable at all. We wont be teaching you anything you don't already know. However, due to academy rules, we have to enrol you in all of these classes, regardless of how well you know them."

I sighed. Fucking fantastic. "Couldn't you just, I don't know, stick me in combat and leave it at that? Maybe I could help teach the subjects to those who are having difficulties? You know, help with tutoring?" Ok so I wasn't a complete bitch all of the time, maybe 95per cent, 90 on a good day… But there was no way I was going to re-learn stuff I had been taught three years ago. Fuck. That.

She looked at me for a few minutes, probably trying to figure out if I was actually being serious or not, then she sighed and closed her eyes. "I suppose so. But I don't really see how I can get the board to accept this. Would you be willing to sit through some tests so we can gage your knowledge levels? If they're high enough then it shouldn't be a problem."

"Sure. You want me to sit them now? Are they written or verbal? Because I can do both."

"Well, it'll be a few days before we can test you. The board representatives will have to fly over from the Royal court to assist us in our assessments. We can do one right now, but you may not have the energy to do it ju-"

I laughed, cutting her off. "Please, I have more than enough energy, no matter how jet-lagged you may think I am, I am more than capable of doing just about anything right now. What did you have in mind?"

"We want to test your physical strength. If I get Guardian Belikov to show you to your rooms so you can unpack and get dressed, we should be ready for you in an hour. Guardian Belikov will be assessing you himself, he's one of the best guardians in the world at the moment."

"Sure. I assume there's going to be an audience right? Not that I mind in the least, just need to prepare myself," I stood up to leave before I thought of something "Oh before I forget, the three humans still with me, I kind of need them to stay. They know all about our world and have been sworn to secrecy. It really is crucial they stay with me at all times."

"I'll think about it, but I'm sure we can accommodate it. With the funds your tutors sent through to us we can afford to house them in a separate room all together if you wish."

"As long as they're close by. Thankyou."

She nodded at me and called Belikov back in so he could escort me to my room. On our way over I noticed everyone staring at me in open astonishment. I sighed internally. I knew this would happen. I am very attractive, all of us Hatha- um I mean, Heathrowe's, are attractive. So it wasn't my fault, but at the same time I was glad I hadn't been poked with the ugly stick.

We finally made it to the door of my rooms. A key was produced for me, but before I could use it the door was flung open, revealing a short curvy girl with long dark hair that fell to her waist in curls, much like mine. Her skin was naturally tanned, giving her a beautiful ethnic look. Her brown eyes flew over me quickly before turning to Belikov. Her face lit up upon seeing him and it took all my control not to roll my eyes and snort in disgust. A quick scan to my left showed me the same barely concealed emotion on his face too.

"Geez could you two be any more obvious?"

The girl's head snapped up to look at me in surprise. "What do you mean?" she asked, looking at me quizzically.

"Well, it's obvious isn't it? You two are so in love with each other. It's a little sickening, but hey, who am I to judge right?" I stuck my hand out to her "Janeeka Heathrowe, I'm your new room mate."

She looked at me in shock and slowly shook my hand. "R-rosemary Hathaway," she shook herself from the shock as she smiled at me welcomingly "But please, call me Rose."

My eyes widened slightly at that, and I knew she saw because her right eyebrow quirked up at me questioningly... well she tried to anyway, but it was very obvious that no amount of practice would help her to master it. I quickly discarded my shock and decided to think about this little discovery later. (The discovery of her last name that is… not the eyebrow thing… though that was quite comical… or would be if I could actually experience the emotion.) I raised an eyebrow back at her.

"So, you gonna let me in, or am I going to just stand here all day while you two ogle each other out of the corners of your eyes?" I rolled my eyes internally at their simultaneous blushes.

Rose quickly stepped aside for me and I walked in quietly, taking in my surroundings. It was like a small apartment I suppose. To the right hand side of the door there was a small coat rack and a bench. On the bench sat a small bowl with several keys in it, and a vase with out-of-season orchids. Someone's been using spirit. I'll have to question that later. Moving further into the apartment there was a small lounge room on the left with a three-seater couch and a single armchair to the left of that. In front of the couches was a small coffee table, magazines and remotes strewn across the surface. A flat screen TV hung off the wall. Cables running from the TV plugged into a Foxtel box and several game consoles. Kris would approve, I thought I'd have to invite him over soon anyway. Opposite the lounge room was a small but spacious kitchenette. The cupboards were done up in a white lacquered finish, and the bench tops were marble. Fancy. There were black steel barstools sitting at the island bench, which had a sink embedded in the marble on the far right hand side of the bench top. Directly in front of me I could see three closed doors, which led to other rooms. I found that the two on each end were the bedrooms; Rose's was on the right closest to the kitchen and mine was the far left closest to the lounge room. The door in between led to a joint bathroom.

I wondered what she'd done to get such a good room, considering most dorm rooms here, according to my sources, were very small and usually consisted of a single room only. (bathrooms were shared by the entire dorm usually… and meals were in the mess hall.) I nodded appreciatively at my surroundings. "Cute. A little small, but I'll deal with it I'm sure. Right, well, better go get ready. I'll see you in an hour Guardian Belikov." With that I strode towards my room and shut my door, locking it behind me. I'm sure if I had bothered to look back I would have seen the shock on both of their faces as I dismissed both of them so quickly

I looked at my room and smiled. The door to the bathroom was on my right; I could see one of the humans setting up my toiletries in there. By the brief glance I could see a shower and a bathtub. The vanity held two sinks, each with a mirrored cupboard above them, giving each resident equal space to store their belongings.

Looking away I saw my bed pushed up on the opposite wall. It was a queen-sized bed, and at this moment looked like heaven. I walked over and collapsed for a few minutes before I opened my eyes to scan the rest of the room. There was a big wardrobe next to the door that led out to the main part of the apartment. Four large doors adorned the walls and were all currently opened as the other two staff members bustled around the room, putting my stuff in the places they belonged.

"Ma'am, the room is quite bland, and not exactly at your standards, so we've called the decorators and they said they would be here this afternoon to draw up plans on making it more homely for you. Is this ok?"

I nodded my approval and sighed as I lounged back on my bed again, watching my staff as they finished unpacking for me. I had only been relaxing for about three minutes when I heard a dull thud. I shot up into a sitting position to assess the situation.

"No! What the fuck do you think you're doing with that? Can you not see the 'Handle with care' sticker on the side of that box? Honestly, who trained you? Monkeys?" I got up and stalked over to the quivering human as she tried to get an apology out, but her lips couldn't utter a sound. "Well? ANSWER ME! Were you, or were you not, trained by monkeys?"

"N-no Ma'am, but, I may as well have been. I apologise. I'll just… I'll pack my things and go. Thank you for the opportunity of working for you-"

"Oh quit your jabbering, I'm not firing you. I'm training you. I'll let this slide, but only because I've got a headache and I cant be bothered punishing you properly. But let this be a warning," I looked up at the other two who were staring at the human in front of me with concern and slight fear "to all three of you. Piss me off and you will regret the consequences. Understand?" They all nodded at me earnestly and replied with a chorus of "Yes ma'am's" before I dismissed them to finish up.

What a long fricken two hours. I was seriously starting to think about accepting Kris's earlier offer. It would be good to get the last two days out of my system. It all flooded back to me in pictures; my mum dying in my arms, killing dad, the guardians taking control of my life, and, to top it all off, I was noticing a slight weakening in my mental barriers… barriers that helped me hold back and control the emotions that humans Dhampirs and Moroi all believed were important in preserving ones soul. What a load of bullshit. It was all getting to me and I was coming on with a slight headache. I needed to eat.

"Austin." The boy looked up at me questioningly.

"Yes ma'am?"

"I'm hungry, come here."

He nodded and set the shirts back in the box he was currently unpacking. He walked over quickly and sat on the bed next to me, tilting his neck to the side, inviting me in. I smiled and got down to business quicker than I usually did. He gasped and then started moaning. I growled between swallows and he shut up. They were not allowed to moan. It made what I was doing sound sexual, and although it was, I didn't want that with my humans. I finished and wiped a hand across my mouth. "Go clean up." I instructed him. He nodded and quickly walked to the bathroom to wash the remaining blood from his neck.

"You'll all have to wear scarfs while we're here. I don't want anyone knowing what I am. Austin you can borrow one of my older ones for today, but I expect you all to go shopping later for your own. Do not, under any circumstances, let anyone see the marks I leave on you. If it becomes too difficult, I'll have to use a different artery. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes ma'am" they chorused, yet again. I was going to have to think of something else for them to call me.

"Good, now back to work." They scrambled back to their positions and continued once again.

Through this entire ordeal, I had heard Rose and Belikov whispering to each other about me from the lounge-room. They really need to be more conspicuous. I thought to myself. Oh well, I suppose if I was normal I wouldn't be able to hear them. Also, I couldn't really blame them. I hadn't really been very inviting towards them, not to mention I was a stranger and new student who appeared out of no-where. I would be gossiping too if the same thing happened to me back home.

I felt myself starting to drift off to sleep as I thought about home. The images of my mother lying in my arms took over and I was tossed back into the near past without warning.

"M-mum, no! Stay with me mum, hold on, I'm going to get you help." I sobbed, bloodstained tears falling down my face as I stared down at her slowly fading body. Her breathing was ragged and her face scrunched up in pain. I reached up and brushed her bloody hair away from her face. Her eyes opened and looked up at me. Chocolate brown laced with pain and pride shone back at me.

"Janeeka, my beautiful baby girl, I love you so much. I am so proud of the young woman you've grown up to be," I started shaking my head at her, my tears falling more steadily now as I hiccupped and started sobbing harder, I didn't want to hear this… I'd lost grip of my emotional barriers and I was feeling things I'd never thought I would ever feel before. It was horrible, disgusting and slightly degrading. I felt sick as I felt love for my mother coursing through my body. What the actual fuck. Seriously… why would anyone ever actually want to feel this way?

Noticing my obvious revulsion, she continued before I could object "No, don't deny yourself baby, I am so proud. You're so strong and determined. You saved yourself when I couldn't and for that I'll be truly sorry. Promise me something Janeeka; promise me you wont forget who you are. Don't let it take over. Fight for control baby, for me. Will you do that for me? Can… can you do that… for me…?"

I nodded quickly as I realised I didn't have much time left with her. "Y-yes of course mum. I'll fight; I'll stay in control. I'll do it for you." I cried harder at what I was going to say next. My mind didn't want to accept the inevitable, but with so much proof in front of me I couldn't deny it any longer. "I love you mum. I always will, and I'm sorry I didn't say or show it before now. But you have to go now. Go, rest, be free mum. They're waiting for you."

She smiled and closed her eyes, and I barely heard her whisper "I love you baby girl." I felt her body go limp in my arms as she faded completely, leaving me all alone in this cruel world.

I'm alone, all alone. She's gone. She's actually gone. My mother is dead. Gone.

I looked down and started crying harder than I ever have in my entire life. It was quite sickening, and I promised myself that once I got through this I was never going to let anyone in ever again. Never again would I allow myself to feel something for another person. It was too painful, and, quite frankly, completely useless; what was the point if they were just going to die someday anyway? I hear someone screaming and then I realise it's actually me. Had I been fully conscious I would have been quite embarrassed, considering the room was full of guardians staring at the destruction surrounding us.

I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders and screamed at them, clutching mum's body closer to me. She was mine; I had to protect her. They would hurt her otherwise. Torture her and punish her til she complied to their every whim. I thrashed and yelled louder as more hands descended upon me, yelling at me to let go.

"NO! I WONT LET YOU TAKE HER! I WONT LET YOU DO TO HER WHAT THEY DID TO ME!"

"JANEEKA!"

"NO! I WONT LET YOU-"

"JANEEKA, WAKE-UP!"

"NO I-" what? Wake up, that didn't make sense, I was already awake wasn't I? They were trying to take her from me. I couldn't let them do that…

"Janeeka?" The hands shook my shoulders again.

"Janeeka, wake-up!" I heard someone muttering. "She's not waking up."

"Move aside," the voices all sounded so familiar "Ma'am? Miss Heathrowe? Please wake up. You're having a bad memory again. You need to come back to us."

I cried out and shot up in bed, panic setting in. "Where is she? Where's my mother? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?" I screamed at them and began frantically searching the room for signs of her lifeless body.

"Ma'am! Miss Heathrowe! Please, listen. You had another memory, a bad memory. It's going to be ok. Remember where you are ma'am, who you are. Remember your promise to her."

I closed my eyes and remembered. The guardians' leaving me alone, my um… peers… yes. My peers coming and helping me come back to myself so I could say goodbye to her properly. The memories flooded back and I sighed and collapsed back onto my bed as I remembered. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's ok Janee-" That was Rose's voice, I remembered.

"No miss, she's not apologising to us."

"Then who-"

"That's not for us to tell."

I sighed again as I stared at the ceiling, ignoring the quiet whispers. "I'm sorry I forgot, I promised you I wouldn't, but I didn't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I started sobbing again. Shit. This whole crying thing was starting to get old.

"Ma'am," someone whispered to me so that only I could hear "Do you need to, erm, eat again?" I looked up at the voice. Emily, one of my humans, was looking down at me in concern. I nodded slightly at her and she smiled before turning around to face my audience. "You all need to leave now. We're sorry for disturbing your afternoon, but Miss Heathrowe needs to rest."

"But she's supposed to be taken for combat testi-"

"I don't care what she's supposed to be doing. My charge is in no condition at the moment to be put up to any sort of testing, physical or otherwise. When she is ready we will inform you, but, until then, I'm kindly asking you to leave us be so we can take care of her needs." Emily's words were stern and gentle at the same time as she took control of the situation. Maybe these people weren't as bad as I originally thought. Damn I'm going soft.

They left quickly after that, leaving me alone with my humans.

"Who would you like Ma'am?" Emily asked me.

"I don't care, you choose between yourself and Marcus. Austin hasn't had enough time to replenish his supply."

"Ok, I'll give you my blood ma'am. I can't see any of your other scarves suiting Marcus." I laughed once at that and beckoned her over. She sat next to me and I quickly attached myself to her neck. She was much more behaved than Austin, only allowing a small sigh to escape her lips as the pain faded into pleasure. I took more than I should, and, once finished, placed a scarf around her neck and had Marcus and Austin help her to a chair in the corner of my room to recuperate. I couldn't have her leaving looking frail and weak when, just moments ago, she had stool tall and strong, willing to risk her life for me.

I sighed, leaned back into my bed and closed my eyes. Two minutes later I groaned in frustration. The blood was working its way through my veins quicker than I thought and I was starting to get a little… restless.

No sooner than I had thought this, my phone started vibrating.

RIIIIIING … RIIIIIING … RIIIIIING

I picked up without looking at the caller ID, knowing exactly who it was going to be.

"What?"

"You know what. I'll be there in ten?"

I sighed. "Make it five, I don't think I can wait that long."

I flipped the phone shut before he could reply and told everyone to get out and finish the job tomorrow. They quickly stacked the unpacked boxes in a corner of my room. Austin picked a sleeping Emily up and they left quietly as I made my way towards my closet to find something a little… less… to change into. I seriously needed to get these emotions out of my system.

Authors note.

So what did you think of that chapter?

This took me maybe an hour or two to write (originally; I've since spent another hour or two updating the first three chapters…). I don't know. I lost track of time hehe.

PLEAVE REVIEW!

I really wanna hear your opinions of the story! I'm guessing you all know what the other half of Janeeka's DNA is. But I don't want to introduce it to the story just yet. Maybe in another few chapters.

Next chapter is pretty much written as well, but I'll need to go over it and change a few things. It's gonna be a little schmexy, and a little citrusy ;)

-Jackie xx