Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Bloodlines or Fullmetal Alchemist
"Sage, I think it's time for us to get out of here." the moroi holding me said after a few moments. I blinked, looking up at him as he stared down at me, a concerned expression on his face. I realized I still didn't even know his name, something I probably should have gotten sooner.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Sydney….I…." Lee said, looking uncomfortable as he touched the back of his head. I was confused now, wondering just who had the right name. Lee called me Sydney, but the other one kept calling me Sage. Were they both my name? Was one just a nickname? My confusion must have shown on my face though, because the green eyed man gave me a small smirk.
"Sydney Sage. That's your name. The guy that tried to kill you is Lee Donahue and I am Adrian Ivashkov, it's a pleasure to meet you once more." he said, looking like he was trying to stay bright. I smiled over at him, nodding as he untangled his arms from me.
"Oh, let me take care of those." I told him, noticing the cuffs still on his wrists. Adrian gave me a small frown, but I was already moving. Clapping my hands together, I quickly touched the cuffs and deconstructed the matter they were made of, dissolving them into dust. Adrian stared at me in shock, while I shrugged, not wanting to explain.
"Yeah, I couldn't figure it out either. She has no clue just what she's doing, makes you wonder how she learned any of it." Lee commented, sounding a bit calmer now. Adrian didn't seem exactly comfortable with him, but part of me knew we were safe now. Lee had given up on his ambitions for now, and was looking lost on where to go from here.
"It's alchemy, rather complicated to explain. The details would bore you, trust me." I told them, watching both of them blink in surprise. We walked out of the room at this point, moving on towards the living room to continue our discussion.
"Wait, since when can Alchemists perform magic? I thought they hated to stuff, considering that they stare at it with abject terror and scream every time they see a moroi using it." Adrian commented, a bit of an over exaggeration.
"I told you before, it's alchemy, not magic. As far as I am aware, the Alchemists you're talking about don't use it, but I could be wrong." I told him, watching both Lee and Adrian still stare in confusion. I realized it was hopeless trying to convince them that this was anything other than magic, so I moved on quickly.
"So, are the three of us friends? How do we even know each other?" I asked them, wanting details on my own life. Lee looked uncomfortable, glancing over at Adrian who seemed to study me closely once more.
"Uh, I guess you could say that. You were here on some assignment for the Alchemists, that's how we met. Adrian has been living with my father, and you've been supervising them to make sure that the rest of his friends manage to hide what they are." Lee explained, while Adrian still seemed concerned.
"You know what, I'm done just avoiding this. What's up with your aura, Sage?" Adrian asked after a few moments, leaving both of us confused and staring at him. When we didn't reply, he tried to clarify. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were shadow-kissed. Definitely creepy seeing your normal yellow and purple aura with that black in it." he commented, making an image flash in my mind. Black hands, reaching for me, deconstructing my very body and holding me hostage as they dragged me through the gate…I shook my head, trying to get rid of the image and focus on the others once more.
Before I could reply, the door burst open, revealing two more newcomers to our little group. One was another moroi, with green eyes a bit lighter than Adrian's. Next to her, was a boy with an athletic build that looked like he was human, but his watchful wary gaze made me correct my error. This was a dhampir, probably the guardian to the girl that had just entered. "Jill, I thought you said something was wrong?" the boy asked, looking over at the girl who stared at us nervously.
His words reminded me of my wound, still bleeding on my neck. Both of them noticed it, but they saw no enemy nearby to fight. "Here, I'll take care of that." Adrian said, noticing my hand touch my throat. I felt him grab my hands, a sudden warmth filling me that I instantly relaxed into. It was nice and it made me feel better, I wasn't going to let it go. When it faded away, I realized my cut was healed, as was the injury on my shoulder. Adrian was a spirit user, and I realized he had just healed me with his magic. I nodded at him, giving him a small smile of gratitude as Eddie and Jill stared at me in shock.
"Wait…did she just let you heal her? I thought Alchemists hated magic." Eddie asked, frowning in confusion.
"Sage is suffering from a bit of amnesia, nothing we can't help out with. Besides, I think she's better like this. She's got some more spunk to her now." Adrian commented, grinning as he patted my shoulder.
Lee glanced over at me, shaking his head. "I'd say that's an understatement." he replied, while Adrian began to relax after what had happened. They were smiling again, as if nothing had happened, but I could see the sadness in Lee's face, and I knew he wasn't done yet. He still wanted to go back, he just no longer knew of a way to do so.
"Come on, guys, I'd say it's time for you to give your 'brother' a tour of your school. Besides, we've got to show Sage her room and make sure she doesn't get lost tomorrow." Adrian said, swinging an arm around my shoulder and pulling me along after him.
"Wait, you're just leaving?" Lee asked, looking confused. Adrian grinned at him, clearly not concerned with leaving here. I nodded, stepping back for a moment.
"Yeah, I just need to take care of something real quick." I told them, walking back to the room with the human transmutation circle inside. I stared down at it for a few moments, thinking one last time on what I had lost. I had looked back enough, or tried to anyway, and it was time to move on. I was going to make sure no one did this again, and with a determined look on my face, I used my alchemy one last time in this house. I focused as I slammed my hands into the ground, tearing apart the floor in front of me and destroying the circle. Everything was left in a pile of rubble, hiding even the body that had been inside. Walking out, I covered it up one last time, reverting the door back into a wall as I rejoined Adrian and the others.
"Looks like she's ready to go. Oh, by the way, that's Eddie Castile, a dhampir here to guard Jill." Adrian explained, introducing the two others. I nodded, following them outside and noticing the cars parked out front. One was a brown mini van, something that immediately made me think of coffee for some reason. As the others stepped closer to it, I realized that this must have been my own vehicle.
"Here, I'll drive for you." Eddie said, holding his hand out for the key. I realized I had no clue where it was, when Adrian sighed, turning back around towards the house.
"It's gotta be in your purse. Rather surprised you'd leave it behind, Sage, that's not like you." he commented, making me glare at him. It wasn't funny that I had lost my memory, he didn't have to rub it in. Even so, he only chuckled at my irritation, turning around and coming back out in just a few moments with a large purse in his hands.
"Give me a sec…what the heck is this thing, Sage?" he asked, pulling out a strange necklace. It was a leather cord, with a silk pouch tied to the end. I took it with a frown, trying to figure it out myself. Vaguely, I could remember something about ancient humans making things like this in the belief that it would be magic. This particular object was supposed to be a fire-making charm, and I could strangely remember the process for making it. In a way, it made sense to me. It was imbued with heat energy, transferred in various steps in the process, which now remained dormant as potential energy, ready to be activated by the casters will. It functioned much like alchemy in a way, though it relied more heavily on energy than on matter.
I shrugged, giving it back to him without a reply. I didn't even know for sure if it would work, considering it was a slightly different type of exchange than I was used to. Did energy work like that? I wasn't sure, but I was determined to find out. I simply had to find the person who taught me to make it, then I would know my answer.
On the ride back to the school, the others did their best to explain my situation. Apparently, I was enrolled under the name of Sydney Melrose at Amberwood, along with my 'siblings', Jill and Eddie. Adrian was supposedly my brother as well, but I knew quite well that none of us shared any relationship. It was strange to hear, but it seemed to fit with the concept of a secret organization that kept vampires hidden from the world. Lies would be a necessary part of that job, the one that I held and vowed to perform to the best of my ability. After all, even if I did not still follow the same beliefs, I could not allow anyone to know the truth. Seeing Adrian's reaction to what I had done was enough to understand that alchemy did not exist in this world, not the way I understood it anyway. It was nothing more than history here, something no one would understand and would create fear in the hearts of anyone who saw it.
Adrian seemed to stay quiet about it as well, not mentioning my actions to either Jill or Eddie. Perhaps we were closer than I originally thought, but it didn't matter in the end. So long as no one knew, I was content to keep living as though nothing had happened, pretending to be just fine when in reality, my mind was nothing but a blank hum of facts with no origin.
Getting inside the school felt strange. It was large, with three different buildings for the entire school. From my own knowledge of schools, it was virtually unheard of for a high school to be split up this way. I found it interesting, staring at the layout of the grounds and how it was obvious that it was designed for wealthier students. The architecture of the buildings and materials used seemed to give an elegant look to the place. Obviously, my job came with some perks, allowing me to attend here for little to no charge. At least, I didn't think I was paying to attend class here.
"Come on, you share a room with me." Jill stated, grabbing my hand and pulling me along after her. Adrian frowned at us, making me wonder what had him so confused. Was something wrong with her leading me through campus? He hadn't said much during the ride here, simply observing silently with a worried look on his face.
Eddie seemed a bit surprised as well, but he was as vigilant as he was back at the house. I was slowly realizing that little could be done to calm him down. He was always expecting danger, and strangely, it made me feel safer around him. "Dang Sage, I never thought I'd live to see the day when you were this comfortable around us" Adrian commented after a few moments, breaking the silence that had grown around our group. The others didn't seem to know how to act around me, and without my memories, I didn't know how to interact with them either.
I glanced at Adrian, grateful for his attempt at easing into some type of conversation. "Well, it's not like I remember much about you. Maybe you'll irritate me enough over the next week for me to treat you like I used to." I told him in response, watching him smirk over at me.
"Yeah right. After all, you think I'm brilliant, Sage, there's no way you'll get sick of me any time soon." he countered, making me raise an eyebrow at him.
"Somehow, I'm highly doubtful of that fact. You may be charming, but you definitely do not seem to be the smartest person in the group here." I argued, watching Eddie smile slightly in amusement.
"Even without her memories, she's still able to win in an argument against you." he commented, while Adrian frowned slightly, looking slightly irritated with Eddie's comment.
"Excuse me, this is the female's dormitory. I'm afraid your brothers aren't allowed past this point, not this late at night." an older woman stated, sitting at a desk in the entrance of the dorms. Jill nodded, smiling over at the woman and glancing back at me.
"Sorry, they're actually here to help Sydney. We found her at our other…brother's house, looking like this." Jill commented, pointing to me. Glancing down, I did realize a problem. The blood from Lee's attack had dripped down onto my shirt, leaving dark red stains in my outfit that were hard to pass off as anything other than blood. My hair was probably messy as well, considering I had been running around fighting Lee too. Overall, I probably looked like I had just survived a near-death experience, not something that a school would overlook too easily. "She can't remember anything about what happened! It's terrible, she doesn't even remember any of us." Jill stated again, her voice portraying a rather decent amount of sadness.
It made me wonder, was she really upset over what had happened? It was a possibility, one that would lead me to conclude that we truly were friends. Perhaps I had broken free of the Alchemists, enough to befriend these benign vampires and grow strong bonds with them. The thought made me smile, glad that even when I had my memories, I wasn't wiling to be anyone's slave. My mind had been my own, as were my opinions. That was all I could ask for, and the only thing I had left now.
"Oh my! Are you sure she shouldn't be in the hospital?" the older woman asked, looking startled as she inspected me closely. I felt a bit uncomfortable, stepping back and closer to my friends. This woman was a stranger, one I was not comfortable around quite yet. Even the vampires had been more understanding of that concept, making me wonder if perhaps they were my closer allies at the moment.
"Nah, already got the all-clear from the doctor." Adrian commented with a smile, his eyes focusing on the woman's. I watched her expression glaze over slightly, looking calm and pacified for a moment as she nodded in agreement.
"Right, of course." she murmured, sitting back down. I wondered what had calmed her down so quickly when I realized what had happened. Compulsion was an ability all moroi possessed, especially strong within spirit users. It was the power of suggestion, allowing the user to force their will onto someone else. In this case, Adrian had used it to calm the dorm matron down, getting her to accept our story without argument. It could be useful, especially when I had to deal with the office staff later for this mess.
Seeing her calm complacence, I realized that even this magic had roots in alchemy. The price paid was focus and energy, a very minor price for a minor influence over someone else's decisions. Spirit users could do a bit more, since they paid a higher price with any magic they used, draining away part of their own minds to utilize the ability.
Jill grabbed my wrist again, smiling as she pulled me up the stairs after her. "We'll see you tomorrow, Eddie! I'll make sure Sydney knows where to go for her classes tomorrow." she told them, waving bye to her friends. I nodded over at them, my gaze lingering slightly on Adrian.
"Wait a sec, Jailbait." Adrian said, his eyes meeting mine. "Sydney, be careful about what you do around here. Remember, you've got a few things to help keep secret around here." he stated, leaning in close to my ear, keeping his voice low. I realized he was trying to hide his words from the others, noticing Eddie narrow his eyes at us in confusion.
I pulled back just slightly, nodding in response and giving him a small smile. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. From what I can tell, I believe that is a rather unique talent of mine, though." I told him, watching him smirk slightly.
"Sure thing, Sage. You're a mutant human magic user, that's gotta have some kind of perks." he whispered, giving me a wink as he waved and turned to leave. I felt a smile linger on my face after that, ignoring Jill's questioning looks as we went to our shared room. Maybe things wouldn't be bad without my memory. After all, I had amazing friends here who were looking out for me and my future. It was all I could ever wish for, and it gave me a reason to keep moving forward beyond simply finding my memories.
This story isn't getting many views yet, though I guess that is to be expected considering how strange it is. Any feedback is much appreciated! Right now, my schedule is getting busier and I may end up pushing back updates for stories like this one that aren't getting much attention. Hopefully, I won't have to do that, but school always comes first. Please review and let me know what you think!