Chapter 11
I was having a pretty awesome dream about this keg party I'd been to in tenth grade when the phone rang. The strippers stopped and looked around.
It rang again and the room started to fade.
Mother fucking bastard jackass hole of shit…
I groaned, answered, and mumbled something that sounded like an alien attempting to say hello under the influence of Budweiser.
"Guardian Belikov, your student claims that she needs to see you immediately" The dorm matron said "It sounds important"
"I'll be right there" I mumbled, hanging up. For one fateful moment, I seriously considered going back to the keg dream because, hell, Rose may be as pretty as a whore's ass, but I need to sleep. Like most of the human population.
Rubbing my eyes, I snatched the can of Red Bull I kept on my nightstand for occasions like this and chugged it down like a madman.
Do not ask me how, but I was dressed and standing in the dorm some seconds afterwards. My memories of the walk there are blurry and, considering that one of them includes being abducted by nuns disguised as penguins, I'm guessing they're also not true.
I trudged up the steps – Red Bull can make you pretty hyper, but it can't beat sleep – and woke up a bit along the way. I opened the door and took a good look at the whore's ass girl that had dragged me out of my warm bed "Lissa"
She nodded.
Suppressing a sigh, I turned around and headed back down the stairs. The day was as bright as my Mother's smile – too bright. I felt like Dracula being forced out into the sun.
We stepped into the Moroi dorm, nearly gave the dorm matron a heart attack and were standing at the girls' bathroom door in less than a minute. Rose started to go inside but stopped when the matron tried to follow.
"She's too upset" She protested "Let me talk to her alone first"
I thought about it and ruled out arguing with her. I just wanted to go back to sleep, and the sooner that happened, the better.
"Yes, give them a minute" I said.
Rose stepped in. "Liss?"
A sniffing, wet sound – like a sob – reached my ears before Rose closed the door. The matron managed to wait a few moments before she began to chatter loudly in her irritating, high-pitched voice about "these kids of today."
Daemon sighed. I wanna go home.
You sound like a three-year-old brat. I told him.
Well, you're tired, too. Let's just go back to sleep…
"Rose?" I knocked on the door, unable to stand the matron's blabber for another second.
"Just a sec" Rose pleaded from behind the door.
"We're coming in" The matron warned. She opened the door, revealing Lissa's bloody face.
I was standing next to her in a second.
"It's not mine" She assured me "It… It's the rabbit…"
I looked her over.
"What rabbit?" I asked, puzzled. The Princess pointed at the trash can in the far corner of the room.
"I cleaned it up" She explained "So Natalie wouldn't see"
I walked over and peeked over the can's edge, Rose right behind me. Blood and bits of fur were covering used paper towels. Rose stepped back, her hand on her mouth. She looked a bit green.
I grabbed some tissues and handed them to Lissa. Then, I crouched until I could look her in the eye. "Tell me what happened"
She took a deep breath "I came back about an hour ago. And it was there. Right there in the middle of the floor. Torn apart. It was like it had…exploded" She sniffed. "I didn't want Natalie to find it, didn't want to scare her…so I—I cleaned it up. Then I just couldn't…I couldn't go back…"
Lissa sobbed and her tears began falling on the tiled floor. Rose's face lit up – she had understood something, something left unsaid. I had not heard the whole story.
"No one should be able to get into those rooms!" The matron wailed "How is this happening?"
"Do you know who did it?" I asked the Princess. I was given a crumpled paper soaked in blood as an answer. I set it on the counter and smoothed it out. It was like something from a horror movie.
I know what you are. You won't survive being here. I'll make sure of it. Leave now. It's the only way you might live through this.
The matron's eyes widened when she read the note's message. She gritted her teeth "I'm getting Ellen"
"Tell her we'll be at the clinic" I ordered, just in case Lissa had any wounds. The matron scuttled out and I turned towards the blonde girl "You should lie down"
She remained still until Rose linked her arm through hers. "Come on, Liss. Let's get you out of here"
We slowly led Lissa to the clinic. The only nurse on duty offered to wake one of the sleeping doctors.
"She just needs to rest" I told her. She nodded, letting the Princess stretch out on the narrow bed.
And Kirova, Hank and the dorm matron chose that precise moment to burst in and start firing questions at her.
"Leave her alone!" Rose snapped, placing herself between the pack of angry wolves and the bed "Can't you see she doesn't want to talk about it? Let her get some sleep first!"
"Miss Hathaway, you're out of line as usual. I don't even know what you're doing here" Kirova sniffed.
Rose's face began to get red. Time to intervene.
"Headmistress, may I speak with you privately?" I didn't even wait for an answer, I simply strode out into the hall, hoping that what I was about to say would not get me in trouble.
Kirova followed me straight away. "Well, Guardian Belikov? What do you wish to tell me?"
"I assume you have been informed of what happened" I said, buying time. Kirova nodded "Then, surely you agree that the Princess should be allowed to rest before she is questioned"
"The sooner we have the answers…"
"She was quite traumatized by the experience" I interrupted "I do not think, if I may be so bold, that it shows wise judgment on your part to barrage her with questions when she is in such a delicate state"
"Guardian Belikov!" She exclaimed, shocked.
"Because it may frighten her into giving us incorrect information" I continued.
Kirova considered it carefully. "Very well, then. She will stay and we will let her sleep immediately. But Miss Hathaway must leave"
"Headmistress…"
"I am not in the mood for arguing, Guardian Belikov" Her eyes flashed dangerously, warning me not to push it. I nodded and returned quietly to the room.
"You may stay with her for a little while" Kirova told Rose generously. "We'll have janitors do further cleaning and investigation in the bathroom and your room, Miss Dragomir, and then discuss the situation in detail in the morning"
"Don't wake Natalie" Lissa pleaded "I don't want to scare her. I cleaned up everything in the room anyway"
Kirova nodded, unconvinced.
"Is there anything I can get you, Princess?" The nurse offered "Food? Some water?"
Lissa declined and I had the good grace to, as my sister Karo used to say, evaporate. Multiply myself by zero.
I disappeared into the dark night, the Red Bull gone from by system, and somehow stumbled back to bed.
By the time the Slavic Art class rolled around the next day, I was in a very bad mood. I had woken up with a headache that had only gotten worse as the day went on. Plus, Hank had been pestering me during lunch, saying he had something to tell me about Rose and then teasing me with it when I told him that, if he did not go away, I would give him a black eye.
Yeah, it was turning out to be a very shitty day.
And then this totally random guy went up to Rose and said something that, if I repeated it here, would make Daemon go insane once and for all and get me thrown out of the United States and into Africa.
How… I mean, what… Good God, how dare he? Daemon sputtered, too mad for words.
Fortunately, Rose wasn't too mad for words, and she kindly let the uneducated bastard know he could shove his comments up his ass. Heck, I would've shoved them up for him. Followed up by Elvis's head to make sure they actually stayed there.
"Come on, Rose" He laughed "I bleed for you"
The whole class burst into laughter.
The list…
I'm on it.
"Wait, it's Rose who does the bleeding, right?" Mia asked. The nerve of her.
Understanding showed in Rose's face and she quickly whispered something in Lissa's ear. Their furious argument ended when Rose stood up and walked over to where Christian was seated.
"I'm going to kill you" She said, her face close to his.
Oh, no. Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy…
"Why? Is it like guardian extra credit?" He asked.
"Stop with the attitude" She snapped "You told. You told how Lissa had to feed off me"
"Tell her" The Princess begged "Tell her she's wrong"
So they were friends. Attracted to each other, probably, from what Rose had said last night. And she had ruined it.
"You can stop it, you know. You don't have to pretend anymore" Ozera said coldly.
"I… what? Pretend what?" Lissa demanded, confusion in her eyes.
"You know what. Just stop. Stop with the act" Christian said brusquely.
"Get over feeling sorry for yourself and tell us what's going on" Rose ordered "Did you or didn't you tell them?"
"No. I didn't" He maintained.
"I don't believe you"
"I do" Lissa assured him.
"I know it's impossible to believe a freak like me could keep his mouth shut—especially since neither of you can—but I have better things to do than spread stupid rumors. You want someone to blame? Blame your golden boy over there" He pointed to Jesse Zeklos.
I knew we should've been watching him!
Nothing good ever comes from sin, Daemon shook his head.
Since when is kissing a sin?
"Jesse doesn't know" Lissa scoffed.
"He does, though. Doesn't he, Rose? He knows" Christian said. Rose took a deep, shuddering breath.
"I didn't think…I didn't think he'd tell. He was too afraid of Dimitri"
As well he should be.
"You told him?" Lissa accused.
"No, he guessed" Rose moaned.
"He apparently did more than guess" Christian rolled his eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hathaway asked, looking like an Amazon warrior, fire in her eyes.
"Oh. You don't know" He said.
"I swear to God, Christian, I'm going to break your neck after class" Rose threatened. I believed her. Lissa just watched the ping-pong match.
"Man, you really are unstable" He grinned. Then his face fell "He sort of elaborated on what was in your note. Got into a little more detail."
"Oh, I get it. He said we had sex" Rose dead-panned.
"And, uh, Ralf too. That you and he–"
"I — what? That I had sex with Ralf too?"
Christian nodded at Rose's shocked fury.
"That asshole! I'm going to—"
"There's more" He broke in.
"How? Did I sleep with the basketball team?" Rose shrieked.
"He said—they both said—you let them…well, you let them…" The last words were said in tones so hushed I could not make them out.
"That's crazy!" Lissa exclaimed "Rose would never – Rose?"
Rose's gaze was locked on thee laughing pair of blubbering idiots, her eyes so purely dangerous that I actually shivered. I had a feeling the janitor would be cleaning up blood soon.
And I was more than glad to let it happen. Hell, I would join Rose, if she let me.
The sickos looked up, terror on their faces. The class stopped like someone had pressed the pause button.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rose said slowly. Ralph smiled.
"We didn't do anything you didn't want us to do" He grinned, Jesse's horrified face next to him "And don't even think about laying a hand on us. You start a fight, and Kirova'll kick you out to go live with the other blood whores"
She won't be the one to lay a hand on them. Daemon muttered. We must murder them while they sleep.
Isn't that a sin? I gasped.
It's in the defense of a lady, he shrugged.
I'm so proud of you, man.
With a deep breath, Rose turned around and walked away.
Progress is a beautiful word. That day, Rose was actually early for practice. Best of all, she fought so hard, she actually landed a few blows on me.
When our time was up, I focused on tracking Hank down.
"Tell me the rumor" I ordered. He grinned.
"Ah, Belikov, I'm not sure I should…"
I yanked him closer "It wasn't a question"
"They say Rose slept with Jesse and Ralph at the same time" He gulped "They also say she let them drink her blood"
I went pale.
Hank took one good look at my face and fled. Away he ran, like a coward or a headless chicken, leaving me to fume.
I ran back to the gym to punch something – anything. Lots of anythings actually, the walls, the bags… I even smashed my head on the floor. And it didn't hurt.
"Guardian Belikov?" Lissa asked. I stopped the head-banging and turned to face her, the wild look in my eyes fading into embarrassment.
I stood up, brushed myself down and hoped for dignity "Yes, Princess?"
"I was wondering whether you could get Rose out of the dorm so we can talk" She said, looking down at her feet.
"Of course" I blurted unthinkingly. She looked up at me.
"Really?" I nodded "Thank you"
I led Lissa out the door and behind the dhampir dorm, making her wait outside. Sprinting up the stairs, I knocked on Rose's door.
She opened.
Her hair was tied back in a bun, her eyes rimmed with red. All traces of makeup had vanished, and she held her pajamas in one hand. I could see into the room, all the way to her bed, actually. As if her pink nose wasn't enough, her pillow was wet.
I glanced away. "Are you Ok?"
Does she look ok? Daemon asked. Jeez. Idiot.
I'm trying, here!
"It doesn't matter if I am, remember?" She said bravely "Is Lissa Ok? This'll be hard on her"
I looked up at her, shocked. She was actually worried about her, even when she had just finished crying.
I really wanted to hug her then.
So I did what I do best. Bit my tongue and walked away, silently asking her to follow me. I jogged down the steps and out of the building.
"Five minutes" I warned her. That was the most original, comforting thing I could come up with.
Pathetic, Daemon huffed.
Well, I would've hugged her, but that would've just gotten you started on sin and pedophilia and all the saints in Heaven wouldn't shut you up, so… yeah. It's your fault.
Lissa immediately threw her arms around her best friend. They drew back.
"I'm sorry"
Rose shrugged off the apology "Not your fault. It'll pass"
Lissa looked skeptical at that. "It is my fault. She did it to get back at me"
"She?" Rose asked the question for me.
"Mia" Lissa spit. "Jesse and Ralf aren't smart enough to think of something like that on their own. You said it yourself: Jesse was too scared of Dimitri to talk much about what happened. And why wait until now? It happened a while ago. If he'd wanted to spread stuff around, he would have done it back then. Mia's doing this as retaliation for you talking about her parents. I don't know how she managed it, but she's the one who got them to say those things"
Rose sighed "Nothing to be done now"
"Rose –"
"Forget it, Liss. It's done, Ok?" They both went silent for a few seconds.
"I haven't seen you cry in a long time" Lissa whispered.
"I wasn't crying" Rose protested.
"She can't do this to you!" Lissa argued
"She already did" Rose laughed bitterly "She said she'd get back at me, that I wouldn't be able to protect you. She did it. When I go back to classes…"
"You shouldn't have to keep protecting me" Lissa went on.
"That's my job. I'm going to be your guardian" Rose said.
"I know, but I meant like this. You shouldn't suffer because of me. You shouldn't always have to look after me. And yet you always do. You got me out of here. You took care of everything when we were on our own. Even since coming back…you've always been the one who does all the work. Every time I break down—like last night—you're always there. Me, I'm weak. I'm not like you"
"That doesn't matter" Rose assured her "It's what I do. I don't mind"
"Yeah, but look what happened. I'm the one she really has a grudge against—even though I still don't know why. Whatever. It's going to stop. I'm going to protect you from now on" Lissa said confidently.
"Lissa, you can't protect me" Rose said gently.
"I can," she said fiercely. "There's one thing Mia wants more than to destroy you and me. She wants to be accepted. She wants to hang out with the royals and feel like she's one of them. I can take that away from her. I can turn them against her."
"How?" She wondered.
"By telling them"
"Liss—no. You can't use compulsion. Not around here" Rose begged, horrified.
I knew it!
"I might as well get some use out of these stupid powers" She said bitterly.
Powers? She hadn't specialized!
Had she?
"Liss, if you get caught—" The five minutes were up. I poked my head out.
"You've got to get back inside, Rose, before someone finds you" I said reluctantly.
"I'll take care of everything this time, Rose" Lissa promised "Everything"
It was scary.
Aha!! Woot woot! I did it... I uploaded!!
So review, guys. And tell me what you thought! "I BRUSHED MYSELF DOWN AND HOPED FOR DIGNITY" LOL. I cracck myself up.
Question: WHAT PART OF THIS REALLY MADE YOU LOL? AND WHY, OH, WHY HAVEN'T YOU READ AND REVIEWED MY OTHER STORY, DARLING ROSE?
