Authors Note:
Ugh, sorry I didn't reply when I got back, ended up back later than I thought and had to go to bed since I was up early this morning and down at the coast :D Toy Story 3 was awesome! If you haven't seen it, you totally should [: Anywhoooo, here's the next chapter like promised! Hope you enjoy!
KEY: - See first chapter.
Disclaimer:
Do not own Vampire Academy or any of it's canon characters / places. Purely a fanfic for your reading pleasure :D
Recap:
"Adrian, I really do need rest though…" I mumbled against his chest, and I felt him sigh, pulling me away from him slightly so he could look at me properly. I tried to keep the blush off my cheeks as his eyes raked over me. Suddenly he crushed me into him again as he sighed.
"You really are so beautiful Rose… But your right, you do need your res, so sleep well my little Dhampir." I nodded against his chest, feeling the darkness flooding over me of deep sleep. The rest of the night I dreamt of normal things.
When I woke up after my sleep the first thing I was aware of was that we were still on the highway. I turned my head to see Lissa sprawled across the seats, her mouth twitching every now and then to some dream she was probably having involving a certain firing element Moroi… I smiled at her, suddenly feeling a rush of affection for my closest and oldest friend. We had been through so much together…
"I see your up." I flinched at the sudden voice even though he was speaking in a whisper. Reluctantly, I turned to face my old mentor, Dimitri who's own eyes never left the road, his hands clutching the steering wheel tightly. I scowled, turning my own attention to the road before me. I was definitely feeling pissy. Having fast talked my way into being away from Adrian I had placed myself with Dimitri, another groupie on this journey who I could have done with ignoring. Now I wished I had just stuck it out with Adrian…
"Yeah. Didn't want to miss any of this thrilling action you know?" My sarcasm had come back and good and strong since I had woken up. I felt as though I had been having an off day all the rest of today, not giving as many smart ass come backs as I knew I should. I had some making up to do.
"Well, we're nearing the end of the highway and will be heading through the countryside. Think that will be thrilling enough for you?" I smirked, aware that he was playing at me at my own game. Damn him.
"Yeah. You probably haven't heard, but I just love dark forests. It's sort of my thing, just ask Eddie." I still kept my roads in front of me, watching the other couple of cars in front of us idly crossing over to different lanes now and then whilst Dimitri stuck to the inside one.
"Is that so…" His voice trailed off, and once again silence filled the car. I wondered idly if I should make some smart ass comment about the radio, demanding to know why he wasn't playing lame 80's music, just to hear his voice again. It was the closest we had come to speaking like old times that I was desperate to keep it going, keep him talking. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I worked on trying to swallow the lump that seemed to have formed in my throat.
What was wrong with me?
I was falling to pieces just after a couple of exchanged sentences. I knew that it was stupid to be feeling this way, especially over a guy. I wasn't that girl who needed a guy. I was Rose Hathaway. If anything, guys needed me. I was mentally giving myself this prep talk when he suddenly cleared his throat, erasing any progress that I had just been making trying to boost my own moral up.
"There's the turnoff." He nodded up ahead to the farthest lane, which showed it splitting off with the right side going off into darkness - no streetlamps.
"Cant wait." Well, at least I still had my comebacks. I watched idly as he maneuvered his way across the lanes until he reached that road, turning off into the darkness. The soft orange glow of the streetlamps was left behind us as we were suddenly plunged into the darkness apart from the glow of Eddie's cars beams behind us. I ignored the other car, suddenly wishing it wasn't there and that I was alone on this dark lane with just Dimitri. Once again my heart rate began to pick up as I remembered last time we had been alone in a dark place… the dark log cabin.
'Snap out of it…' I shook my head, trying to clear away the thoughts and slapped my cheek a couple of times, trying to ignore the strange looks he was giving me. Just as I opened my mouth to give him some lame excuse I had thought up about shaking away the tiredness, another set of headlights blared up from right at the side of us - my side to be exact, heading towards our car at some speed.
"WATCH O-" The breath was knocked from my lungs as the car suddenly collided with us. Everything moved in a blur of motion as I felt myself thrown around in my seat like a rag doll, desperately trying to make sense of everything that was going on. Glass rained down seemingly from all angles constantly, the sound of metal scraping and groaning filling my ears along with my own screams.
When the movement finally ceased, I was aware that my body was tilting towards Dimitri, before understanding washed over me. The car had flipped, and I was at the top. My whole body was strained across the gear stick, my hair a dark mess around my head, glass stuck to my clothing and hair. Groaning, I looked down to see Dimitri layed across his door, the window of it cracked under his weight. I reached out to wake him when another sound of mental protesting caught my attention from behind me.
I turned my head the other direction with effort, straining to see the backseats door behind mine being pried open. I opened my mouth to ask Eddie if he was alright when I caught sight of the head poking its way into the car.
And it was definitely not Eddie.
The red eyes of the Strigoi were focused on the unconscious form of Lissa, who had been buckled into the middle seat but was now splayed across the seat behind Dimitri, her blond hair a mess probably much alike mine. He cut her seatbelt off easily and began to pull her out of the car. Immediately, I began to wake up out of the slight trance I had been in.
He was taking Lissa.
"NO! Leave her alone! I SAID LEAVE HER ALONE!" I thrashed against my own seatbelt, trying desperately to turn towards him, my hands lashing out though not falling anywhere close to him. He paid me no attention, which just seemed to piss me off even more. Easily, he lifted her out of the car and disappeared into the darkness above him. I screamed in frustration. Turning my body to the side once more, I tried to unlock my seatbelt, though the contraption seemed to be locked. I thrashed about in my seat again getting desperate, the car rocking about from my struggles. Next to me, Dimitri moaned, turning his head to face me, his expression dazed.
"Ro…za?" I stared at him, my own expression frantic.
"I'VE GOT TO HELP HER! I'VE GOT TO SAVE HER AND KICK HIS ASS! WHAT'S WITH THIS DAMN SEAT BELT?" I began to thrash about in my seat again, this time trying to slip out of the straps, though they too seemed to have locked around me like a prison, restraining me. Dimitri seemed to be pulling himself together. He turned and quickly unhooked his own seatbelt before kneeling on his broken door, which was against the ground.
His face came to my shoulder, his eyes focused on my seatbelt fasten as he began to smash it. Suddenly the restraints were released and I fell towards him, feeling my body collide with his arms. He quickly set my straight on the door next to him though it was still a very tight fit. We were practically pressed against one another.
"Climb up through your window." He pointed up to the window of my door, which had been broken. I nodded, and without hesitation began to climb using his seat and mine as leverage. I soon hoisted myself out into the darkness, alert for attackers. But nobody was around. I reached down to help Dimitri up, though he hardly needed it. Together we stood on the door of the car looking about us into the darkness.
Nothing….
The only light came from the front of our own car, which showed the empty road barely. There were no other cars, no traces of anybody else. We were alone.
"No…" I jumped down from the car, landing on the soft grass with a slight thud. It was springy from the dampness. The cold wind whipped at my hair and face but I ignored it, suddenly feeling empty. Nobody was here. On the grass by our car was dints where ours had rolled, and a little way away tire tracks were we had been hit from the side, but other than that, nothing. No other trace of anything else.
"This cant be… NO! Eddie was right behind us! He would have seen what had happened! He wouldn't leave us… he… he…" I was suddenly shaking though I wasn't cold, my body whipping around in all directions as if I expected something to be there though deep down I knew it wasn't. Just me, Dimitri and a broken car. I sunk the ground in defeat.
The seconds ticked by before I realised Dimitri had laid his hand on my shoulder. I leaned my head into his arm, feeling weak. He kneeled in the grass next to me, wrapping his arms around me, probably mistaking my shaking for being cold.
"He probably did see what happened and carried on. He has two Royals to protect himself remember, we cant forget that. We don't know how many there was, for all we know we could have been outnumbered, and what good would it to be to loose the Ozera boy and Ivashkov as well as the Princess…" His voice trailed off sadly. And I tried to digest what he was saying. I knew he was right, but that didn't mean it was right. Eddie was my friend, surely he wouldn't leave us? Leave Lissa…
She was gone.
I trembled, remembering the Strigoi carrying her away, how helpless she had been and how utterly useless I had. I scowled at the floor, suddenly feeling the anger replacing the numbness in my body. I knew I couldn't sit here, hoping somebody would come alone and pick us up. I knew what I had to do, it was obvious. I tried to slip into Lissa's mind, though she was still unconscious. All I could see was black. I would wait until she woke.
My sudden burst of energy surprised Dimitri as I suddenly stood up, not even bothering to dust myself off. Calmly, I began to look about me, looking for some clues to where they had headed. Surely, with the state their car would be in they wouldn't risk taking the highway, which meant they were heading in the same direction we had been going. I turned my head to the dark road, calculating how far it would go - not that it mattered. I didn't care if it went on four hundreds of miles, I would walk it to find Lissa. Dimitri, who had stood up quietly next to me, watching my face the entire time seemed to have guessed what I was planning. He signed, smiling slightly.
"I know it would be useless to try talk you out of it. I owe Lissa my life, as well, so whatever you have in mind, count me in. Comrade." I turned my head as he muttered the last word - the name I usually used mockingly when I spoke to him. I smiled, suddenly feeling extremely emotional, though I knew it wasn't the time for it. Instead, I just nodded my head, and turned back in the direction I intended to walk. I lifted my hand and pointed into the darkness, my voice confident.
"We walk in the direction they had been going until Lissa comes too, then we find out where she is and hunt those bastards down."
I didn't have to turn my head in his direction to see his agreement. It was the best option and he knew it. Instead, he stepped out and began the walk at a brisk pace, with me only a few steps behind him, both of us knowing this wouldn't be easy, and it sure as hell wasn't the smartest thing to do. But it was the right thing to do, and it was also what Lissa would do for me.
We were both supposed to be her guardians at one point before our feelings had come in the way of that. Right now, we were both acting as we should have done all those years ago, back at the academy - putting our own personal feelings for one another behind us to protect the one thing that did matter.
Lissa.
Authors Note:
Eeek! Noo Lissa ;_; I struggled a little trying to think how Eddie would respond - but really, i think he would have his priorities in order not to endanger Christian and Adrian [: So hopefully that was in character of him to do :O Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's actually my favourite so far [: Thanks for reading and for the reviews - let me know what you guys would like to happen later on? Rose x Adrian or Rose x Dimitri :P
