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Rumors have been spread. Normally I wouldn't care but as the days pass the whispers are getting louder and louder, soon actions are taking place instead of words.
Someone stole my gym bag and put my panties out for display, along with my bottle of medicine. Needless to say word of the drug addict blood whore had spread like wild fire.
Moroi and Dhampir males have taken to cornering me, well, attempting to corner me, I should say, all the while asking me what I'd be willing to do for them in the bedroom. Would I give them blood, or perhaps a show, would I let others watch? Was blood letting as good as the pills? The Moroi girls watch me in disgust, spreading more lies about how I'd stolen their boyfriends or attempted to talk them into inappropriate situations. The dhampir girls leave threatening notes and fake blood in my bag…
I didn't understand where this was coming from but it all had a familiar stench to it that reminded of when we had returned to academy, when Lissa wanted to turn everyone on Mia… the whole thing reeked of spirit.
I don't want to believe it but then Lissa's words from the other day come back to me like a blow to the stomach: "Then, you try to steal Christian away from me and when that doesn't work you stop talking to him!"
Even then it isn't until I hear her talking to a group of other Royals that it clicks. "She's a complete slut, she used to let me drink from her, then when I didn't want her anymore she got into the pills and then she tries to get my boyfriend to be her new fix…" The stab of betrayal hits my heart in a way I can't describe. How could she…? Something is wrong. So very wrong.
I think about everything we had been through together and I know in my heart that this… person, wasn't my sister, not my Lissa. I have to talk to her. Even if our last conversation ended the way it did… I have to try one last time.
I wait until she's alone and I go to her, being mindful of the person she is becoming.
"Princess?" I ask quietly. She turns to me and the disgust is immediate.
"Blood whore." She sneers.
"Lissa please, something is wrong, talk to me…," I drop any pretense and plead with her.
"I have nothing to say to you, you aren't worth the effort or time it would take." She turns her head up and away from me, dismissing me.
"Lissa, you are my sister, we're all we've got, what has happened to change that? We can get over everything, but you need to let me help you. Please." I take her hand and she looks at me, surprised. For a split second she looks like herself, wide eyed and innocent, like she wants to spill the world's secrets, but just as fast as it comes it goes.
Faster than most would think she jerks her hand from my soft hold and reels back, palm colliding with my face with a resound crack. I don't move, I don't touch the spot of the sting or show the pain that it caused, not physically but mentally.
"Liss…," I can't stop the soft crack in my voice as a piece of me shatters and breaks.
"You are nothing to me, you shouldn't even be alive." With that she turns on her heel and marches away, taking a part of me with her. I suddenly feel cold, like all the heat had left my body and all that's left is the sting of loss of my only family.
I walk away, wanting nothing more than to disappear and fade from existence. The familiar chill runs down my spine and I go to the nearest bathroom. My hands tremble on the handle as I struggle to lock the door as I feel warmth seep from my nose. A quick swipe shows red, I cringe and stumble to the sink to try and clean myself up to be presentable.
It takes a while before the blood stops and my hands stop shaking but when they do I get up and promise myself to try and sleep well tonight. I enter the hallway and start heading to my dorm.
"Hathaway." I glance up to see Guardian Petrova walking toward me. "Follow me to my office." Silently I follow her until she closes the door behind me.
"Guardian Petrova." I greet quietly. She watches me for a moment before going to lean on her desk and face me.
"I want to know about the pills." She deadpans. I sigh softly.
"They're for PMS, Guardian Petrova. It helps ease some of the more severe symptoms I have." I half lie, mentally cringing. Alberta was like a mother to me and I didn't like lying to her but… the alternative wasn't any better either. I'd already spoken to Dr. Oldenzsky about it and she agreed to back up the PMS story, though she objected sternly, I managed to keep her on my side.
"PMS?" She asks almost skeptically. I nod.
"I've been training more and I need to focus entirely on that." I shrug it off.
"Rosemarie…," She says my name softly, seeming to ponder something. "How would you like to graduate early?" She asks. That peaks my attention.
"I would love it." I say honestly.
"Then be prepared for your final trials, I'll let you know in the next couple of days when they will be. I'd like to have you as an official guardian here before graduation, you have more than earned it. We can always discuss your options for after the regularly scheduled graduation later, if that is what you'd like?" She watches me carefully, looking for doubt.
I force a smile. "Anything for a little distance."
"I'll get everything set up, I'll see you soon Hathaway, we can discuss the rest when your results are in." I nod and we shake hands.
For a moment I feel hope that maybe this will be alright.