Chapter 9
As you guys can probably tell, I'm not a huge Lissa fan, so this chapter may be a bit rough. I am going to write the other story though, so I should post that within the next few days, especially since the first four or five chapters are identical! Haha
Disclaimer: All of the characters (except for Cal and Brian) belong to Richelle Mead, not me. However, all the dialogue and events are from me—with tons of help from my *twin* Gabby! (Love you Gabs!)
"Say what?"
"I said, you can only graduate on two conditions: you—"
I interrupted her, "No, I mean, I know what you said; I just don't believe that you would actually want me to teach here." Me? I mean, I had caused so much trouble in my years here.
"Well, yes, of course I would," like it was so obvious, "You've killed more Strigoi than anyone in our history. Other schools will be trying to snatch you away as soon as they hear of it. Although, I have no idea how I am going to explain this to your mother; we still don't know if she ever received our letter about you dropping out two weeks ago." I hadn't thought about that. "But," she continued, "You agree to the conditions?"
"Umm… yes, I agree. It's going to be hard to tell everyone about Dimitri and me, but I can do it. When do I start?" Lissa and Adrian still hadn't said anything, but they were both smiling like idiots. I glared at them.
"As soon as your molnija ceremony is over." She smiled. "I'll have the students ready and waiting in the auditorium in four and a half hours. That should be long enough for you to get cleaned up, get your marks, and half a little extra time before your official welcome back to the Academy." She walked swiftly out of the room, and I stared after her. I had never seen her so excited about something. I turned back to the others. Lissa and Adrian were still grinning, but Alberta looked absolutely ecstatic.
"It's so good to have you back, Rose. Things have been so boring around here without you."
"Thanks, Alberta."
Then Adrian and Alberta ran off to do whatever they had to do, leaving me and Lissa alone for the first time since I had come back. We walked towards her dorm, were I could shower and get ready for the ceremony. I stopped abruptly about halfway there to turn and hug her. "I missed you so much, Lissa."
"I missed you, too, Rose." Her voice cracked. We laughed and pulled apart, still a few minutes from the dorm.
"I can't believe it's just been two weeks… that means that I've been "dead" for one week, right?" she nodded. "Well, this should surprise everyone. Especially all those molnija marks I'll have; I seriously hadn't thought about it, but I have to admit, that's totally awesome!" She laughed again, looking extremely relieved and happy to have me back. She sighed happily. She gasped, and I looked questioningly at her.
"I just thought of the perfect thing for you to wear to show off your new marks!" she was jumping up and down now and running into the dorm. I smiled and followed, catching up to her easily. We raced up the steps to her room, slamming the door behind ourselves. She immediately started digging through her closet excitedly.
"Lissa, I doubt anything of yours is going to fit me…" I said. She turned to me, smiling and raising her eyebrows.
"Rose, you've lost at least 15 pounds since you left, and this is a little too big for me, anyway. Plus, I could never pull it off. You're going to look so hot!" She squealed. "You're a lot paler, too." She pulled out a gorgeous dress, shoving it at me and telling me to get showered and changed. I obeyed, taking a long time in the shower. I let the hot water run over me, washing the dried blood from my skin. My blood, his blood, their blood, it swirled into the bottom of the shower and leaked through the drain; I felt a burden lifting from my shoulders as the water sent steam rising up from my skin, turning it a pleasant shade of pink. As cliché as it was, this was the start of a new phase of my life.
I jumped out of the shower, drying off quickly and sliding on the dress. It was black silk with spaghetti straps, and floor-length. It clung beautifully to my curves, flaring out a bit around the knees, though my ribs showed a bit because I had lost weight. It was open in the back, from my shoulder blades to my lower back was exposed. I turned in the mirror, admiring it. I looked stunning; not one of the students would be able to take their eyes off of me, especially with all those marks. I came out of the bathroom, doing a little twirl for Lissa. She jumped up off of the bed, throwing the book she was reading into the covers.
"Rose, you look awesome!" she jumped up and down. She had changed into a light blue knee-length, short-sleeved dress that made her look like the princess she was. She handed me black stilettos with long ribbons that wrapped up my legs, crisscrossing. Lastly, she helped me wrap my long, dark hair into a curled twist at the back of my head. It was elegant, but not too formal. She tossed me a bottle of makeup, and I looked at her with confusion. "You're certainly too pale to use your usual makeup, so mine will be about right," she giggled. She stopped when she saw my face. "What's wrong?" I shifted my feet, embarrassed.
"I just sort of wish that my mom was here." I said. She smiled mischievously. "What?" I asked.
Then Alberta knocked on the door. She nodded her head respectfully at Lissa, and turned a huge smile on me. "You look striking, Rose." She smiled even bigger as another woman walked through the door.
"Mom?" tears came to my eyes.
"Rose!" she whispered. She walked over to me swiftly, hugging me; there were tears in her eyes, too. "I thought you were dead…" she started. "But we can talk after the ceremony." She smiled warmly, and I smiled back, happy that there was no bad blood between us. "Let's go."
We walked to the ceremony. When we got there, most who were allowed to attend were already seated. Most of them were guardians, but Lissa, Adrian, and the Moroi teachers were allowed to come, too. Adrian's eyes widened when he saw me, and he gave me a small smile. I smiled back awkwardly. I sat on the stool; the guardian who was to draw my marks was stationed behind me. He grinned at me, "568, right?" I nodded modestly, and he shook his head.
"Wait a second, where are you going to put them?" I asked.
He faltered. "Well, no one has ever had this many before, so we're breaking new ground here… hmm. I suppose we'll get as many as possible on your neck, probably going to the edge of your jaw, just under your ears, then we'll just start going down your back." He smiled charmingly and ran one finger down my spine. I shuddered uncomfortably. I had a feeling that he was enjoying this way more than a guardian on duty was supposed to. I turned back around, and he began. It stung a bit, but I was used to it after he did the first few. Hours later, it was over, and everyone came around to shake my hand or hug me and congratulate me. Lissa, Adrian, and my mother stayed by my side until everyone left. I didn't realize that I had been crying until Lissa hugged me, whispering into my ear.
Then she took me to the bathroom to fix my makeup and let me see what the marks looked like. I turned and looked over my shoulder into the mirror. It was awesome. The guardian who drew them may have made me uncomfortable, but he had done a very good job. The marks went from the sides and back of my neck to make a perfect V down my back, following closely the line of my dress. They throbbed, but I looked vicious.
Then we were on our way to the auditorium, where the student body was waiting for me. They had not been told that I was alive, so when I walked in with Lissa, Adrian, and my mother, everyone in the room turned to gape at me. That was when the headache started. It didn't bother me that much at first, but then I wondered if it was a normal headache or a ghost-headache. I looked around and saw no ghosts, so I dismissed it as a normal stress-induced headache. I walked up to the podium and took a deep breath readying myself for the speech that would make me the subject of gossip for months to come.
Sorry, I know that it's my worst chapter yet, but this is kind-of tough to write about for me. I should be better soon, though, so keep reading and reviewing. Please!