AN: Hello Everyone! Thank you to everyone who took the time to review, I'm really glad to hear that people are enjoying my story. This chapter ended up being a lot longer than what I had planned but that means a longer chapter for you guys until I update later. For all you Adrian fans he will be making an appearance in this chapter. Anyway, on with the story, enjoy :)
RPOV
It had been a week since I've been here. Fortunately no other students were kidnapped but the other seven students taken couldn't be found. There were guardians out there trying to find them but there was probably no use. We couldn't even tell if they were alive or not. Abe showed me the files of every student taken and I studied all of them multiple times trying to find a connection. There weren't any aside from them being dhampir's and seniors. Which wasn't a lot to go by. Abe and I were waiting for Sydney to send back the results from the jacket I found and Abe informed me that the guardians couldn't find anything from the students' rooms. This mission was different to my usuals.
I would know who my targets were and I would take them down, them being the strigoi. I rarely ever came across a mission that left me this confused and especially a mission in high school. On the positive side, I have started to grow closer to Lissa, Christian and Eddie, especially Lissa. She was the sister that I never had, and despite Christian and I bickering from time to time, he was actually a pretty cool guy to be around. Eddie was still the same but there were moments when he would enjoy himself and it gave me hope that he'll be okay eventually. My sessions with Dimitri were getting better. He wasn't treating me like a novice but more like an equal. If I was lucky, sometimes he would let loose and smile at my witty comments that always made my heart flutter.
Our session was over for today and although I was stressed out from the mission, I liked having these training sessions to let go and not worry about what I would have to deal with once I walk through those gym doors.
I was sitting on the mats with my water bottle in my hand and watched as Dimitri packed up the equipment.
"Have you been sleeping?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
I had a talent of confusing Dimitri with my randomness on a regular basis.
"Yeah…why?"
I shrugged and averted my gaze. "You seem a lot more tired than usual. Are these morning sessions cutting into your sleep?"
"Rose if this is your way of trying to get out of them, it's not going to happen."
"That's not what I meant," I replied, laughing a little.
"You've just seemed tense lately, like something is bothering you."
I hoped I hadn't crossed a line by saying that. Dimitri sighed and came to sit in front of me. "You don't have to worry about me Rose," he said kindly.
"I know but it doesn't hurt to talk about it. I might not be the first person you want to talk to, though I'm pretty sure every guardian here is feeling the same pressure as you."
He looked at me for a moment. "Well the kidnappings are taking its toll on everyone here."
Anyone could see the concern etched into Dimitri's face and it made me pity him. He wanted to help as much as he could and he wanted all of this to be solved. The amazing thing about him is his compassion towards people. It was a strength of his I admired.
"I'm sure it has been," I responded sympathetically. "The Dark One will figure this out though."
His head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "How do you that the Dark One is helping?"
Well shit.
"I overheard Abe talking about it with Alberta," I said dismissively. Please buy that lie.
"And I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to them. I'm not even suppose to know."
He bought it. "The Dark One…is not someone that I can put all my faith into. They could be dangerous but the Queen seems to trust them."
I felt the sudden need to defend myself. "They have helped people though right? From what I've heard from Abe, they only kill strigoi."
"Do you know who the Dark One is?" There was something different in his voice when he asked me.
I kept my heartbeat steady as I answered, while smirking. "If I did, I would be bragging about it. Abe won't tell me no matter how much I begged and bribed."
He seemed disappointed by my answer and it was then that I understood. "You don't like it do you? Knowing that there is a being out there that you know nothing about. It bothers you because you haven't seen them and you can't put your trust in something that makes you question whether or not they even exist. The Dark One's existence frustrates you, not because you hate them but because you just want to know something about them, no matter how small."
He watched me with such intensity that it was making it hard to breathe.
"Exactly. Maybe if I saw this person with my own eyes then I might be able to trust them. I just don't understand why they insist on keeping their identity a secret."
I played with my water bottle in my hands.
"Maybe they feel different like they don't belong. I mean can you honestly say that the moroi society will welcome someone like them? From what I've overheard from Abe, they don't seem like a creature that has ever existed. They're something more. No one in our society is going to welcome someone who is one big mystery or someone they fear."
"How much do you really know about the Dark One?"
My eyes met his. "Only what I've heard from Abe and my mother."
His expression changed. "I'm sorry about what happened to your mother Rose. It was a great loss."
"Thank you," I whispered, my mood plummeting
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I caught a glance at the clock on the wall and stood up, Dimitri following me.
"Maybe another time," I suggested. "I have to get ready before breakfast."
"Of course, I'll you see later Roza." He picked up his bag and left the gym.
Roza. My Russian wasn't the best but that was my name in Russian. Oh god, the things this man is doing to me. I liked hearing it though, it sounded intimate. A name just for me. I shook my head in disbelief. I need help. After taking a shower back in my room, I decided to take a nap. The morning training and the stress of the mission was making me exhausted. I had enough time before breakfast so I crawled into bed and it wasn't long until I fell asleep.
Unfortunately for me, I wasn't alone. "Hey little dhampir."
I opened my eyes and saw that I was in a beautiful garden wearing a long white dress. It was the usual place that he would take me to. I quite liked it, there was something about it that made me feel relaxed.
"Adrian, we've talked about this. You have got to stop disturbing my sleep."
"You are asleep," he replied dryly. "Besides I figured you would miss seeing my gorgeous face."
I joined Adrian on the bench. "There are a lot of things I miss and you are not one of them."
"Even when we're miles apart you're still not nice to me," he said, pretending to be offended.
I laughed. "How are you two?"
"We're great. Sydney actually asked me to dream walk you and it is way too early for you to be awake now anyway."
I didn't bother telling him that I had training sessions at six. He wouldn't believe me.
"Sydney did a few DNA tests on the jacket you found. She found two sets of DNA."
"Who did they belong to?" I wasn't expecting two people's DNA being on it.
"A dhampir named Mason Ashford and a human girl- Lauren Wakefield who was reported as missing about a few days ago."
"Mason was the student that went missing. The academy ruled him as deceased. I only smelt human blood on the jacket though not dhampir blood."
He was nodding before I had finished my sentence.
"I know, the blood was Lauren's but there were hair follicles that belonged to Mason. The jacket must have belonged to him."
I stood up and started pacing back and forth. "That blood was fresh Adrian, I don't understand how the jacket ended up there and how blood from a random human was on there, unless Mason…" My voice died down and I came to a stop.
"Unless Mason is a strigoi." Adrian finished.
"No," I whispered. "No you don't think he…" This was going to crush Eddie if it were true.
"It's a strong possibility little dhampir."
I looked at Adrian. "Or a strigoi could've stolen Mason's jacket." It sounded even more ridiculous saying it out loud. "Can Sydney find out for sure about Mason's death?"
He grimaced. "Probably but you know how I feel about this. I don't like it when Sydney gets mixed up in strigoi business."
"Adrian, she literally see's dead strigoi's to get rid of their bodies."
His green eyes narrowed at me. "I know but they're dead strigoi and this kind of work stresses Sydney out and increases her caffeine intake by a crazy amount."
"If it's that bad then give her a massage and help her relax in your "Adrian" way."
He smirked. "Adrian way? What is that?"
"Don't make me explain it," I groaned. "Just have her try and look into it. If she can't then it's fine, but I need something to confirm Mason's death."
He dropped the smirk and stared at me.
"Adrian, stop that."
"Stop what?" he asked innocently.
"You're reading my aura and I hate when you do that. You can't read my mind with it. You might be a spirit user but even you have your limitations."
"I am sort of in your mind right now but I was staring because I don't think I've seen you so worked up over a mission before."
I averted my gaze, suddenly interested in the grass. "I'm just passionate about my missions, nothing new."
"You got attached didn't you? It had to have happened eventually, why now?"
Stupid aura reading.
"There's this guy-Eddie-he was Mason's best friend and seeing how affected he is by the loss of Mason reminded me of what I went through when I lost my mum."
"Little dhampir," he whispered, pulling me into a hug. "You can't save everyone and you know why it's not good to get attached. I know you're trying to help, but what if this mission doesn't go as planned?"
"Then your great aunt will have my head," I mumbled into his shoulder. "I've been on several missions, but none that required me to develop a trusting relationship with other people, at least not for a long period of time."
He pulled away, his hands still on my shoulders. "This is temporary. This entire undercover thing isn't going to last. When you have this figured out, you're going to leave and continue to be the Dark One and move onto the next assignment. It's how it's always been."
He was right. I couldn't see Lissa, Christian or Eddie as friends. I couldn't see Dimitri as the attractive teacher I had a crush on because when this case is solved, I move on with my duties and they move on with their lives. It sucked. I rarely had the privilege of meeting people I liked. Abe, Adrian and Sydney were family to me and I loved them, but it would be nice to be able to have more friends.
"How do I not get attached, Adrian?"
He didn't say anything for a moment and it seemed like he was thinking of his answer. "You've done it before. I know it's different this time because they're genuinely good people and you have to work close to them, but you have to remind yourself that you have one job and that is to solve this problem and then get out."
"I've always wondered what it would be like to go to high school and hang out with my friends, go to parties to have fun, not to hunt strigoi. Don't get me wrong, I love being who I am and I love knowing that because of me there were so many potential victims who were saved. This is the closest I have ever come to being…normal."
Adrian placed his finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him.
"There are a lot of words I would use to describe you, but normal is not one of them. You are Rose Hathaway, the Dark One and one day you will become a legend. Everything you are experiencing now is far greater than any other normal experience people go through in high school. Maybe one day you will get to slow down, fall in love and have a family and then you can experience the normal life. Right now, you have a mission and another one waiting for you in New Orleans. You've got to get it together Rose."
I hated it when he was right. I didn't choose to be a draugr. I didn't choose this life but I'm thankful to be what I am, who I am. I wasn't going to give that up for something I could find later on in life when I would be ready.
"Okay. I'll figure this assignment out and then I'll fly out to New Orleans and move on like I always do." I was trying to convince myself that this was the right thing to do.
"This isn't ideal, I know," said Adrian, running a hand through his hair. "But you're going to be fine, you always are."
"Thanks Adrian." I hugged him again and then stepped back. "I appreciate it but this is starting to get a little too sentimental for me. You know I can't handle that kind of shit."
He laughed, throwing his head back. I did miss his laugh it was the kind of laugh that made me feel good inside. "Thank god you haven't changed."
"Like I ever would, anyway I have to wake up so off you go."
With one last goodbye, Adrian and the garden disappeared and I woke up from my nap. Checking the time, I made sure that I wasn't late for breakfast. I changed into more suitable clothes and went to meet the others at the cafeteria. I held my head up high confident that I could treat all of this as work. After all, I was only here to work.
"You let another student get kidnapped? You're suppose to prevent that from happening."
If it weren't for Abe right now, I would've grabbed the laptop and thrown it against the wall if it meant she would shut up. It had been a week meaning that we had to give Tatiana an update and she wasn't too happy to hear about the recent kidnapping. She was lucky that we were doing this through a video call and not in person because not even the guardians could hold me back from choking her.
"Have you even found anything useful?"
I glowered at her. "Of course I have, I'm unable to confirm the full details of it but I believe I do have a positive lead."
"A positive lead?" she asked mockingly. "That doesn't help anyone Rosemarie."
She says one more thing to piss me off and I'm going to lose it.
"It's only been a week. The guardians have been out searching but it's hard to figure out how this happened when I don't have anything to go by."
"What are you trying to say? That they just vanished? I'm starting to question your credibility."
That's it. Fuck being respectful. I leaned forward making sure she could see just how pissed off I was.
"Do I need to remind you that I don't need to be doing this? There are thousands of strigoi out there that I would rather be hunting down instead of babysitting a bunch of students so your precious royals are safe."
My voice was growing louder with each word dripping in menace. I sounded more dangerous than I did when I was threatening Jesse. My fists were clenched so tightly and my body was shaking with anger. I had no idea where this rage was coming from.
"This problem isn't going to go away within a few days because realistically it might take months. If you have an issue with that, then deal with it. It's easy for you to criticise everything that I do since you're safe at court and you're not the one getting your hands dirty. If you think it's so easy then I would love to see you come here and figure it out yourself."
She was not impressed with my outburst but I was not even close to being done.
"I am not a part your stupid moroi society and I do not have to abide by your rules because I am above them. You're lucky that I'm even here."
"You are out of line-"
"I don't care!" I tried to calm myself down, but it wasn't working. "No one else seems to know how to make this go away so if you want this problem handled, show me some damn respect."
Without bothering to hear her response, I slammed the laptop shut and stood up, screaming in frustration.
"Rose, breathe."
Abe was standing a few feet away from me. He knew not to get too close when I was this angry. I think he was more concerned with how I hadn't been this angry since we hit the dead end on finding who killed my mother. I realised that I was breathing heavily and I couldn't stop shaking.
"I need a minute." I murmured.
"I think you might need more than a minute," he responded.
Nodding slowly, I walked past him and left his room. I wasn't sure where I was going but I needed to let all this anger out. It was close to curfew by now and I should be heading back to my room but there was no way I could sleep like this. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't realised I had arrived close to the woods just near the borders. It was the start of the daytime for humans so there would be no risk of running into any strigoi.
Glancing around, I saw some guardians with their backs to me and took that as my chance to run. I ran and ran, no destination in mind and practically flew through the woods. Perks of the academy being in a secluded area meant that no one would see me. Not that they could with how fast I was running, my figure would be a blur to anyone. I didn't know how long I had been running until I reached a road.
Abruptly coming to a stop, I was still breathing heavily, not from exhaustion but from the emotion that was building up in my chest, suffocating me. It was all catching up to me. Instead of dealing with my problems, I just buried them deep down and left them there for way too long. It was falling apart now. I was falling apart. Everything that I had wanted to cry and scream about was coming out all at once. I fell to my knees, clutching my head and closed my eyes.
"Breathe Rose," I murmured to myself. "You're going to be fine. Everything will be okay."
I repeated the words my mum would say to me whenever I was upset and went to her crying. She wasn't here to comfort me and instead I had to do it myself. I stayed there for a while, my mind blank and my heart heavy. I need to get it together. Opening my eyes, I sat there and watched the sunrise, letting the heat warm up my body. I didn't want to go back to the academy but I needed to and I didn't want Abe worrying. Reluctantly, I picked myself up from the ground and turned around to go back.
AN: I hope you liked the chapter! I'll probably post chapter eight either on Sunday or Monday, depends on when I finish writing it but I will for sure have it done by then. I thankfully don't have any upcoming assignments for uni at the moment so hopefully that'll give me time to smash out the next two chapters. Thank you for reading xoxo
