Chapter 26 – Rose Hathaway.
"It's a small world!" Rhonda commented, as we all sat down to drink tea. I couldn't believe that Rhonda was here...let alone was close friends with Eliza.
"That it is" I said, staring at the cup of green tea Eliza had given me and putting it down, cautiously wanting to avoid any possible poisoning.
"Well...this is lovely but I feel close to falling asleep with boredom. I think it's time for you to leave now. Goodbye!" Eliza said rudely. She really disliked us with a passion. I couldn't blame her though...my father had a way of being your best friend or your worst enemy. I sometimes wondered why he wasn't king, he was that powerful.
"I think we'll be sticking around!" Edward said, equally as rude as Eliza, and smiling cockily. I had to give him some credit...he definitely wasn't a push over! Eliza raised her eyebrow at him, and seemed to smile, as though she were impressed.
"Well I don't think the rudeness is necessary. We are all friends here. Eliza...maybe you should just tell them" Rhonda said, looking over at Eliza. Eliza pulled her face up at her and then growled through her teeth with frustration.
"Fine! But this better not come back to me!" Eliza spat angrily.
"It won't Eliza. You don't have to worry with Rose. You forget I can read aura's...Edward, he's...safe" Rhonda said looking inquisitively over at Edward. He shifted a little uncomfortably in his chair as Rhonda continued to stare at him. She had a vibe that was unnerving at best, but she was harmless.
"If you say so!" Rhonda said shooting daggers over at Edward. "So...what exactly do you want to know?"
"You know what we want to know! About the cure..." I said, frustrated. I hated how she kept stalling.
"Yes, yes! You say that you want to know about the cure...but it's not as simple as that. There are certain risks and obstacles that make it difficult. It's not like I have a whole stash of bottled potions. It doesn't work that way"
"Well what way does it work?" I asked.
"Let me ask you a question. This cure...what would you risk to have it?" She asked with a sadistic smile playing at her lips.
"I-I don't know" I stumbled.
"Exactly! Your not ready to even contemplate a cure if you don't even know how far you'd go to get it!"
"Why don't you tell us exactly how far she'd have to go...be more specific" Edward demanded.
"I'm not sure you want to know. I think it's best you leave this silly fantasy behind...believe me, if you go down this path you might wish you'd chosen differently. It's a dark road to choose" There was no more humour in Eliza's face.
"We want to know" Edward said, but I wasn't sure any more if I did.
"All I want is everything to go back to normal!" I said desperately. Eliza smiled sympathetically at me and then sighed.
"That's what I'm afraid of. Your too fragile...I can see it myself, without even having to read your aura. If only it was as simple as bringing your friends back and then things going back to the way it was...I'm afraid that fantasy is just impossible. There are many...consequences"
"What consequences!" Edward spat. I could sense he was getting more and more irritable.
"Rose...are you sure you want to know?" Eliza asked me delicately. I thought about it, really thought about it. But I knew the answer...no matter how afraid of it I was.
"Yes" I said taking in a deep breath. I could see Eliza's expression, it wasn't the answer she was looking for.
"Would you die for Lissa? Would you die for Dimitri, or Christian?" Eliza asked me. I looked at her puzzled, it wasn't exactly the answer I was expecting.
"Of course I would!" I answered honestly. It wasn't a tough question.
"Would you kill for them?" She said more seriously.
"Er...yeah I suppose. You mean kill strigoi"
"I wish I did my dear. I asked you how far you'd go for a reason Rose. It takes a certain type of person who would risk the life of a human, dhampir and moroi. Could you risk the lives of three innocents just to save the life of your friends? And even if you did bring them back, things wouldn't exactly be...normal. Lissa, Dimitri and Christian won't ever be the same. They won't even be vampires any more. The cure brings them back...that is true. But in human form...weak and vulnerable. Living every day with the memories of being Strigoi, never being able to protect themselves. There is a darkness that takes them over...I would say it isn't worth it. But like I said, you have to kill three innocents" I gasped in horror at her words. Not only would I have to kill a human, dhampir and moroi, but Dimitri and the others wouldn't even come back the same. So no matter what I did, I'd never have my old life back! I could feel a sharp pain spreading in the pit of my stomach. Edward sensed my despair and reached out a comforting hand. I pushed it away.
"But-But that isn't right!"
"What did you expect? A dash of lavender, camomile, and lemon juice, topped of with some magical words and then voila...a cure? Things don't work that way Rose. You see back when my family, along with the Scavo's and Porter's, dabbled with potions and what not, we spent years trying to find a cure. It was only then when we were visited by a man. A dangerous, dark soul who might as well of been a strigoi. But he knew things...and he brought us blood from a human, a dhampir and a moroi. He told us that if we mixed it together, and put a curse on it, one only we could give, that we would make something so powerful. So we did as he asked, and we made the cure. This man took the potion we used, injected it into his bloodstream and then left without so much as a word. A year later he returned demanding more of the potion to be made. We agreed, but he still didn't tell us where he was going. It was only after a couple of years that we found out the truth. The man had been slaying innocent lives to bring us the blood. You see it isn't enough just to have the blood of a human and what not...not by a long shot. The body has to be drained of it's blood first, and only then is the blood pure and strong enough to be used against the strigoi. The man did not care about the lives he was risking, he only cared about his mission. His mission was to save his brother, and bring him back to life, at any cost. But finding his brother was difficult, since his brother had a lot of power over the strigoi. This is why the man needed batches and batches of the potion. He injected it into his bloodstream so that if he was attacked by a strigoi they would drink his poisoned blood and be turned human. Eventually his brother came and found him. Funnily enough it was at the Scavo's house. The man had gone there to demand more potions. But of course once we had all found out what the man had been doing we refused. The man's brother killed every one of the Scavo's, ending their blood line. Then he went to drink from the man's blood...it was lucky in a way that the man still had some left in his bloodstream. It certainly made it easier for us to kill them both. We thought we'd completely gotten rid of everyone who ever knew about the so called cure. However the man had two children. Boys. Two boys you know. Robert and Victor" My heart stopped at the very name. It was now clear to me how Victor and Robert had come to know of this cure. They were related to the man who had first discovered and used the cure. It all made sense now why Victor was the way he was. Heartless, cruel and dark. He'd risk his own daughters life just to save himself, and he did. I'd never known his brother...but I imagine him to be the same.
"You should drink something Rose" Rhonda said, looking at me with concern. She nodded her head to the tea I'd refused to drink, gesturing for me to take it. It took me a while to regain conciousness before I took the drink and sipped at it. I could feel all the colour had rushed out of me, and my body had turned stone cold. Edward looked over at me with so much worry, I thought that I must look worse to him than I felt.
"I'm sorry Rose. I know it's not what you wanted to hear but it's the truth. The rumours that escalated were sugar-coated completely. People thought they knew of a cure, but they didn't know the consequences of making and using it. I wish I could just hand you a potion and be done with it but I can't"
"Do you have any left from the last time you made some?" Edward asked. I could barely breath let alone speak.
"No. There's only one person I know who supposedly still has a batch of it. But he's not someone who will willingly give it up for nothing. He's a very dangerous man!" Eliza said.
"Let me guess...Robert?" I said finally. It wasn't hard to guess that it would be him that would have what we needed.
"Yes. I'm afraid so"
"Well...that really blows! I was hoping I could avoid Victor and his brother Robert. But I guess if we want that cure were going to have to give Victor what he wants...to find out where Robert lives" I said out-loud, more to myself than to the others. Edward furrowed his brow in confusion. I could see all this baffled him.
"Victor? What makes you think Victor knows where his brother Robert is? Victor and his brother don't technically see eye to eye" Eliza said.
"Really? But-" I stumbled, not being able to find the words.
"Victor will say anything to get what he wants" Eliza said, as though answering an unasked question. "If you think Robert is bad though you don't know Robert! He is the worst man you can possibly ever think of meeting. Victor may be heartless, but Robert doesn't have a soul. He's dangerous, and you shouldn't go looking for him. It's not even definite that he has the cure anyway. Maybe if you could offer him something that he wanted he would make it for you...but then you'd be risking the lives of innocents. Is it really worth it Rose?" I thought hard about it. Of course no life was worth another life. Especially an innocent life. How was it fair for me to risk that just so I could have my friends back. But then I thought of the alternative. Killing Dimitri, killing Christian...killing Lissa. And I felt sick to the stomach. Maybe I could deal with killing Dimitri and Christian...it would hurt but I could do it, knowing I would be freeing their souls forever. But Lissa...I couldn't bare the thought. I had to find the cure.
"I can't condone risking the lives of innocents, but if there's a chance Robert already has a batch then I have to go to him"
"Rose! I told you Robert is a dangerous man. More so than Victor. He's even more cunning and devious, and has a way of double crossing you twice over, without you even knowing he did it! He's very clever, and someone like you would end up only getting killed"
"It's a risk I'm willing to take. I'm nothing without Lissa. And it kills me knowing that Dimitri and Christian are also strigoi. Dimitri won't ever stop until he turns me or kills me. If I can't cure them, then I will die happily. I would risk that for them" Eliza sighed with disappointment. She stood up and moved to her desk, unlocking the tiny draw and pulling out a piece of paper.
"Here" She said handing it to me. "But I must warn you against it Rose. You don't have anything Robert has. And even if you do it's unlikely Robert will ever give you what you want. Like I said...he's a dangerous, cunning man"
"Thank you" I said, half smiling. Eliza gave me a slight nod and then left the room.
"I hope you know what your doing Rose" Rhonda whispered to me as we went to leave.
"I do. And thank you Rhonda for helping us"
"Yes, well. It's not right to hide anything from you. Your...different" She said giving me a strange look. I furrowed my brow and then left thinking nothing of it.
"Oh...one more thing" I said before she shut the door.
"Yes?"
"Why is it that when Lissa die-turned that I got her powers?"