"Hello" she said after three rings.
"Mom I hav-" I started but got cut off.
"Rose. I feel like its been forever. How is it? I knew you were so excited about getting into the field. Are you happy?" She rambled on throwing questions at me too quickly for me to answer.
"Yeah its great but I have some things I need to talk with you abo-" I started again only to be cut off for the second time.
"Tell me all about it. Have you seen any strigoi yet? Have you met any vampires at all? Remember if you do not to let them corrupt your soul. Don't become like your-" I cut her off this time.
"Mom! Seriously I have something I desperately need to ask you." I said. it was silent for a moment before I herd her again.
"Okay," she said simply. I took a deep breath before asking her.
"Mom what am I?" I asked.
"You know what you are," she said rushed and I knew she was nervous. "You're a human alchemist doing her job to protect humans from the creatures of evil" she said sweetly.
"No mom. You know what I mean. I want the truth, what am I?" I asked in a serious tone.
"We can't say this over the phone" she said at last. "I'll come down and we'll talk about this." That wasn't going to happen. I had to know what she had been keeping from me since I was born.
"Okay. But mom when you get here no stalling no lies just the truth. Please I need to know," I said before hanging up. I walked up to my mirror and looked at my reflection. The girl looked so human but then again all dhampir's looked human. I gently stroked the lily on my cheek and thought about the consequences that could come with having a dhampir alchemist. A creature of evil working for them. My mother had taught me that there was no need to fear vampires. She told me that there were bad vampires in the world but not all vampires are bad. As well as teaching me that she also taught me how to act when the alchemist were involved. I had to act scared to be around vampires and when I was alone I could speak freely. I had to wonder if my mother had taught me not to be afraid of them because I was one of them. I was friendly and not afraid to be around vampires but maybe I had gotten too friendly that I wasn't normal.
I walked away from my mirror and jumped on my bed taking out my file book. I had read the files over and over that I almost knew it off by heart. Flipping through until I had found the dhampir part. The file was on the school, explaining in deep detail what the Moroi and dhampir's do and learn here.
The file had pages of the curriculum that the dhampir's take from the age of four to eighteen. At young ages they learn what types of vampires there are and what they can do. They are taught what strigoi are, how they are created, their abilities and strengths and how they can be killed. Once they get into a junior level they are thought basic novice skills and take training courses. From the ages of ten to fourteen they are taking more combat and learning how to defend themselves. At fifteen they are taught to protect the Moroi and more advanced manoeuvres. Sixteen- seventeen they are in the senior level learning all strategies to protect Moroi and stake strigoi. Seventeen to eighteen they continue with the same courses and undertake a test where they have a Moroi student to protect for six weeks inside the school while guardians jump out and pretend to be strigoi. They are given practice stakes and have to kill the strigoi and protect their Moroi. Failing the field experience has a huge impact on weather they graduate as a guardian or not. The final thing novice's do is their trails. Trials are where they must protect a Moroi while being attacked by guardians and must get through a bunch of obstacles with their Moroi. After that they graduate and go on into the world as guardians. They go to court where they get their assignments and after that they are in the real world.
I stopped reading and tried to go to sleep. I was still in my clothes but I didn't care. It didn't matter any way I couldn't sleep. Even though I had been up all night I was on a human schedule and the light outside was daytime for me. I gave up and got showered and changed into a pair of light skinny jeans and a white blouse. I slipped on a pair of flats and walked outside. The person at the front desk didn't seem to notice and I thought about how easily I could back my bag and sneak out. Then I remembered all the guardians patrolling the grounds and my plans of escape flew out the window.
The sun was at its highest when I came out side indicating it was around midday. I walked over to the edge of the school where there were trees with shade to keep me covers. A soft breeze tickled my skin cooling me from the heat of the sun. The grass so green and full of life considering that the people who lived here were considered creatures of evil. I walked around the boarder thinking about what would happen. Tomorrow I would be leaving and I would see my mother. She would tell me everything like she promised and then… I don't know. If I am a dhampir what will I do? Do I come here and train to be a guardian with all the others my age? Even if I did I am far behind everyone and there would be no way I could catch up in time for graduation.
Could I stay an alchemist? If it's true we have kept it secret for this long. Could we just keep it secret? No. I knew I couldn't be with them knowing the truth. One way or another they would find out and it won't be pretty when that happens. Sure I could just move away and do little missions but they are always watching. With every little act I did that raised suspicion it would just leave a trail of breadcrumbs that would in the end be my downfall. I rapped my arms around me and leaned against a large tree.
Out in the distance were the woodlands. It was dark, creepy and probably full of strigoi waiting to attack. A school full of innocent people who would end up as a midnight snack. I would be the one cleaning up the mess behind. If I were any other alchemist I would just do my job and get out as quickly as I could but I'm not. I'm me and if I am what they think I am I would feel so guilty that I wasn't here. I should have left the alchemists and come to help protect my own race. Even if I was behind I wasn't completely untrained and I could catch up. School had just started again. I was cut out of my thoughts when someone spoke.
"Trouble sleeping?" I gasped in surprise and jumped around to see Dimitri in his leather duster.
"Just thought I would get some sun. I might as well while I still can." I said. I knew it was rude but I couldn't help it.
"It bothers you," he stated as though it were obvious. I said nothing. He turned his head away from me and looked out into the forest I was looking at moments ago.
"I know what your group thinks about our race. We are the unnatural offspring of a Moroi and a human." He said.
"That's not what bothers me" I rushed after he finished.
"Then what is it?" he asked. I looked at him debating wether I should tell him or not before deciding I should.
"Have you ever been living your whole life thinking your one thing learning all the rules and logics of your kind? Have you ever lived in a world where you are taught to hate something and in a matter of seconds you find out you could be the thing that you were taught to despise?" I asked him softly.
"No. I can't say that I have."
"How would you imagine it would feel?" I asked. I wanted him to know what I felt.
"I would imagine it's pretty scary," he said.
"Yeah it is but not because I could be a dhampir. I don't hate your kind or the Moroi. Not like the other alchemist's do. I respect all you guys do and I don't believe your creatures of evil. What scares me is that if I am a dhampir I will have lost all my value in the world. I wont know what to do, what I want to be or who I really am. I won't have a purpose and I feel like I wont belong anywhere." I said admitting everything on my mind.
"You do belong somewhere. You belong here with others just like you," he said. I appreciated his kindness but I knew there were problems.
"As a novice. Do you honestly think I can just join in with others my age and graduate to be a guardian in time? I'm trained in the basics but there is no way I could fight a strigoi with the moves I have learnt" I said.
"You could get extra training sessions. Someone will train you and you won't be behind," He said. I smiled and turned away from him to look back out into the forest.
"Thanks I really appreciate that but honestly before I do anything I will need to think," I said. I couldn't see his response but the silence told me he understood. After a few more moments of silence I knew I had to leave. It was getting late and I wanted to leave before the vampiric day began. I said good-bye to Dimitri and he promised we would keep in touch. After that I went back to my room packed up all my belongings and left.
The car ride home was quiet with only the sound of the radio in the background. My mother was on her way making me anxious to get home quickly. When I got home I checked my answering machine and heard a message from my mother saying she would be in early in the morning. I sighed and sunk down on the couch and closed my eyes. Slowly my eyes get heavier and heavier until they shut sending me off into a deep sleep. It had been almost 24 hours since I had gotten a full eight hours of sleep and I was exhausted. Tomorrow my mother was going to tell me the truth about everything and I needed to know but that can wait till tomorrow.
