A/N: Well hello there! So sorry I haven't updated in so long, but school's been hectic. But finally I'm on spring break so I have lots of free time now to write, speaking of which I've written a one-shot for the VA series called Uncontrollable. It's set after Last Sacrifice, just some random Rose&Dimitri fluff. So check it out if you're in the mood for some russian lovin' but I must warn you, it has a lemon. But it's marked in the 2nd chapter just incase you're not into that kind of stuff. If you like it, review and tell me if I should continue it into another story and if you have any requests on what I should write about.
This story however is first and foremost my priority. I actually have a plot line for this and lots more crazy ideas. So my focus is to spend more time on this story for the time being.
On a lighter note, is anyone a fan of the TV series Being Human (North American version)? If you are, wasn't the season finale epic!(and also sad...) But I'm so pumped for season 2...
Okay with all my babbling aside, I give you a brand spankin' new chapter. The beginning of this is a continuation of the coffee shop scene. Something I forgot to add in the last chapter. Everything else is Rose in the present time. Enjoy!
Man waiting in the dark alley
I stood watching as the boy gave Rose the note. She wore a skeptical expression on her face and scanned the area as the boy bolted off to where I was hiding. My back stiffened as I slowly backed myself further into the protection of the darkness. Rose couldn't know I was here or that I've been tracking her.
I watched as she opened the letter and began reading it. I wanted so badly to help her but I couldn't do anything more. Her fate was in her own hands now. Tatiana had given me strict orders of what to do about her and a list of tasks I had to now complete back at court.
My stomach churned uncomfortably just thinking of her. I knew me and Tatiana had our good times together but I always had more feelings about her than what I led on. I loved her and now she was gone. My chest ached remembering the crime scene. Seeing her bloody body, lifeless and cold... I shuddered, our lives we going fine until the day my aunt had that premonition and everything started to change.
I never really bought into her tarot card readings or odd wisdom before, but now I was completely convinced she truly had a gift. Dreaming about the death of the queen and Rose being framed wasn't really so much a coincidence as it was a warning-
"Hey mister, did you hear me?" the young boy asked pulling me out of my thoughts. I jumped, I didn't realize he was so close to me. I looked down at his small frame, he reminded me so much of my little brother... I shook my head. I needed to get out of here before I was seen.
"Here", I said handing him the one-hundred dollar bill that was crumbled in my sweaty hand. "Thanks for your help. Now go back to your mother before she notices you're gone."
He greedily took the bill with a huge grin on his face. He turned to leave skipping back to the book store down the street where I had found him. Children were always so innocent and trusting and I couldn't help but feel infuriated with their parents. I knew if the situation had been different with someone who was sick minded they could of easily dragged that boy into this ally did god only knows what. You'd think the saying "Say no to strangers" would be more strict out in the human world, but obviously not...
I chastised myself for getting so worked up over this. But I guess the stress of the past week is starting to gnaw at my mental state. I pulled a baseball cap over my head and slipped on a pair of large dark shades as I emerged from the alleyway. Rose was transfixed by the note so I hurried down the sidewalk to my car.
But as I walked past the book store I noticed the small boy standing outside with tears streaming down his cheeks. I muttered under my breath, removed my glasses and bent down to his level. "Hey little man, you can't find your mom?" I asked kindly. I glanced over to the store windows to see if I could see her. I remember what she looked like but as I scanned the store her face didn't come up.
"S-she not t-there..." the boy choked out.
"Hey hey, it's okay. We'll find her. Did you tell the nice lady at the desk you were lost?" I soothed. He shook his head as his body started to tremble.
"Okay, well let's go inside and talk to her." I held out my hand to him as I stood up.
"NO!" he all but scream. I flinched, yeah NOW he starts getting wary around strangers... I mentally retorted.
I sighed, "Come on. It's okay." I tugged his small arm towards the door.
"N-no! You can't go inside! Y-you have to g-go t-there!" he protested as he jerked his arm away from me and pointed to a dimly lit area outside of the store.
I rolled my eyes in exasperation. I should have never gotten him involved with me. I was pressed for time. I was about to just pick him up and drag him into the store when I caught a glimpse of him making a run for it, his short frame had taken off on a sprint to the area he had pointed to. I cursed under my breath as I went after him.
He lurched to a stop just a foot away from the area and I all but crashed into him. As I managed to catch my footing I noticed his face had paled a few shades and he was staring straight ahead at something in the alley. I followed his gaze and suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. A woman's body lay limp and battered on the asphalt ground. Her face was frozen in a mask of fear. There was two deep puncture marks on the side of her neck where blood was oozing out. I knew who this was.
"Mommy!" the boy shouted as he charged towards her. I tried to stop him but he was just too damn quick. The moment he pasted the dark shadow of the alleyway, white hands emerged from the darkness and wrapped themselves around his neck and with a quick 'snap' his body went limb and the hands released him where he was tossed over to his mother's dead body.
"NO!" I shouted as I stupidly ran into the alley. I didn't understand what just happened. But I sure as hell was going to find out. I didn't have any weapons on me but I just couldn't let whoever was in there get away with what they'd just done.
An icy cold arm jerked me into the shadows at an inhuman speed. My old guardian training kicked in as I sent a blow to my attacker's chest. They didn't falter one bit and I distantly wondered how their chest was so rock hard.
A chilling laugh filled the silence as I received a forceful hit to my stomach where I stumbled backwards and was pushed up against a brick wall. In that moment I suddenly realized that this attacker wasn't human. It was a strigoi.
I was about to go into for another defensive move when I was pinned to the wall. One hand was clutching my throat while the other restrained my hands. "I wouldn't try anything else if I were you..." a menacing voice said.
My vision started to focus in the dark area and I could hardly just make out the shape of a woman that was holding me down. She was wearing a heavy hoodie and it masked her face. But from what I could see she had long wavy amber colored hair that peaked out from the her sweatshirt. I struggled against her hold but to no avail I didn't make any progress of being freed.
She let out a low growl as she said, "What information did that letter contain that you gave to Rose?"
I was shocked, how did she know about the note or Rose for that matter? But I didn't let her intimidate me, I spat in her direction in response.
Her grip on my neck intensified as she dragged me over to the alley's exit. She released my throat and ripped off my cap where she gripped onto my hair and jerked my head to look at where Rose was sitting, I struggled against her but the woman restrained me and whispered in my ear icily, "You're running out of time blood whore," I noticed then that the waiter that was serving rose had a gun. I gasped. "Tell me what that letter said and I'll have her killed quickly..."
I scoffed at that, I didn't even know what the letter said. "Sorry I can't help you..." I cooly replied as I hooked my foot around her ankle and gave a quick jerk. Her grip on me loosened and I ripped myself out of her hold and dashed to the safety of the sun lit sidewalk. It was at that moment I saw the waiter pull the gun on Rose, put she reacted quicker by deflecting his target. At the same time I heard the gun shoot, strong arms encircled my waist and I was dragged back into to the alley. I barely caught a glimpse of Rose punching her hitman as I was pushed against the wall again.
My vision blurred as I heard the woman snarl "If you won't tell me willingly, I'll have to force it out of you..." And with that said I felt sharp fangs bite down on my jugular and I was lost in a sea of endorphins...
RPOV
"I just can't believe something like this could happen. Especially in such a public place with so many witnesses..." she said.
"I know!" I shrieked in exasperation as Sydney tried taking in the news I just told her. We were currently sitting at a booth in a small restaurant in Ohio. "Who knew your race had waitressing hitmen!" She grimaced obviously not finding my humor amusing.
"Oh come on, don't you see the irony in all of this? If you're going to be a hitman why not at least have a badass cover career to go with it? Like a fitness instructor, stunt driver or even a delivery guy like in the movie The Transporter or... oh! A male model! That'd be hot..."
"Rose! You need to take this seriously!" Sydney shouted. I was shocked to see her so upset. I didn't want to anger her but humor was the only way for me to cope with what's going on. "Do you know the penalty for high treason?" She asked heatedly.
My mood faulted "Well, no..."
"It's death!" she cut in.
That got my attention. "W-what?" my voiced cracked.
"Rose, you're on a warrant list. If a guardian spots you out here, they won't hesitate in killing you. And by any method possible, that includes guns..." she pointed out.
I couldn't block the fear that consumed me. They couldn't do that! Guns were cheating. Shit. I mentally cursed, if they really wanted to kill me, they didn't even have to be in a close range to do it...
"Sydney, for all intent and purposes, I going to change my appearance right now." I said locking gazes with her seriously.
She arched an eyebrow in response. Why am I the only one who can't do that? I stuffed my hand into one of the duffle bag pockets and pulled out Lissa's charmed bracelet.
I held it up to the light so she could see and then I slipped it on.
She gasped as the magic did it's job. She involuntarily clutched her cross neckless and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed my magician act.
"How?" I heard her whisper to herself. She cleared her throat as she leaned in and squinted her eyes, "Rose, it that you?" she asked skeptically...
"Sydney, I really don't need you getting weird with me right now. Here..." I handed her Tatiana's note. After I calmed down from my scuffle with the waiter I started to think of what I was going to do in this situation. For one I really needed to find the real murderer of the queen, but at the same time I have to fulfill the quest Tatiana bestowed upon me. I was still pissed at Lissa but if she had a secret sibling somewhere, she deserved to know about them. Plus if she had another living family member, that meant she could vote with the council maybe even change the age decree.
My head ached remembering the stupid decree, but a small ray of hope started to grow in my mind. If Lissa had voting power that means she could make such a difference in our world. No matter her faults, deep down she was a good person and natural leader.
My stubbornness protested against this idea of helping her but she was like a sister to me. And I knew in the back of my mind, if there was anything I could ever do to help her I would always do it. Because that's what family does, no matter how much they upset you, at the end of the day they're still your family. So I decided this would be my last sacrifice for her. I was going to find her sibling and give her the power she needed, but after that I was done with her. Or at least for awhile. I still had myself to deal with in all of this and I wanted my space to work things out.
With shaky fingers Sydney took the note from me, "Do you think it's really from her? I mean, anybody can forge a signature..."
She scoffed under her breath as she ignored my last comment. Her eyes scrutinized every square inch of the letter. After a few minutes she replied, "It looks to be real, but I'll check the archives just to be sure."
"Who do you think could be Eric's mistress? I mean I would have never thought he'd be the type to do that to his family, but I guess anything's possible these days. You mentioned he had a secret bank account in Vegas, do you know anything else about this 'Jane Doe'?"
She frowned. "No, like I said before she was hard to track..."
I could feel my stress increase hearing her admit that. "However, I think she's your lead. It makes sense. If he really does have an illegitimate child, she's your best bet to start looking."
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you even agree to meet me here. You're taking this all so calmly. Why do you believe I'm not the real killer?" I was afraid of asking her all this but I had to know once and for all what her intentions were.
She put down the letter and let out a deep sigh. "I know you couldn't of possibly did it. Look at this." she turned her laptop that was on the table around for me to see as she opened up a file and clicked on a picture. As it was enlarged and I gasped from what I saw. It was a crime scene photo of Tatiana's murder. Her white night gown was soaked in blood and then I saw a metal object sticking out of her chest. "Is that a-"
"Stake." Sydney cut in. " Yes. But look more closely..." she then zoomed in on the stake and my eyes widened in fear. It wasn't just any old stake. It was my stake. The one I had lost last week.
I was so shocked, I was at a loss for words.
"You see, the engravings on it match your stake..." Sydney went on. "However, I just saw you the other day. Even if you immediately took a flight after talking to me and then drove directly to the court from the airport, by that time the murder had already occurred. You. Weren't. There. So that's when I knew something was up. And Rose..." she gently placed her hand over my balled fist that was on the table, "Even if you were there in time I know you didn't do it. You're not like that and-"
"What?" I abruptly asked.
She removed her hand and eyed me levelly, "This goes against my better judgement, but I trust you. And although we keep meeting under tense circumstances. I consider you a friend."
I felt touched. Getting an alchemist to trust a vampire was one thing but to actually consider a dhampir like me a friend was really saying something.
I smiled at that, "You're really going to help me?"
She gave me a half grin, "Well, I'm already aiding and harboring a fugitive sitting here with you, so I don't really have a choice now do I? Besides," she lowered her voice, "right now you're not really Rose Hathaway."
I forgot for a moment that I was still wearing the charmed bracelet. I felt comforted knowing I had a disguise and someone was willing to risk helping me. I had a newfound respect for Sydney.
She turned her laptop back over to her side of the booth and glanced at the note again. "We're going to have to create a fake name for you..." she muttered as she started typing away. "And I'll need your cellphone and bank information. I need to set up a new account and number for you that's untraceable."
My eyebrows lifted in surprise, she wasn't one to waste time. I let out a breath, we had a hard night ahead of us.
As we started compiling my new identity, a thought crossed my mind. If the queen was really dead, she could confirm her note and maybe give me information on who her real killer was.
"Sydney we have to leave now," I quickly said. She stopped what she was working on and glanced up at me. "Why?" there was a bit of alarm in her voice.
"I think I can find the real queen's killer. And they might know more about Eric."
"How?" she asked as her face scrunched up in deep thought trying to figure out where I was going with this.
"I'm going to interrogate a ghost." I simply stated. I spared a quick glance at her now bewildered expression before jumping out of the booth, throwing a few bills on the table and leaving the restaurant.
I couldn't believe I didn't think of this any sooner. I just wasted the last few hours brooding over these new facts when I could just ask the source for the truth. Or well, at least try to.
"Hey wait up!" Sydney shouted to me as I briskly walked across the parking lot and over to the black Jaguar XFR that I'd recently stolen.
I waited by the car as Sydney scrambled over to where I was. A little out of breath she hissed, "You have got to stop stealing cars Rose. You can't cause anymore attention to yourself."
I rolled my eyes, "I was improvising..."
"Well it's going to stop from now on. We're taking my car." she snapped as she pointed towards a new Honda CR-V.
"You really don't have any nicer cars than that?" I stated dryly. After the vehicles I've driven over the past week. I was starting to get picky.
"Hey, it's that or nothing and you can go on this quest on your own." she quipped back.
I let out a sigh, "Fine." I suddenly locked gazes with her. "Don't freak out okay?"
She gave me a confused expression "Wait, what did you mean earlier about some kind of interrogation?" she hastily asked.
"I can see and speak to ghosts." I quickly explained.
"What? Rose you can't be serious..." I tuned out the rest of her banter. I didn't have the patience to answer her now.
I closed my eyes and focused on my mental barriers against the ghosts. I slowly lifted them and the moment they were removed, I doubled over in pain as my head was lit on fire. I groaned trying to fight it off.
"Rose..." I distantly heard Sydney say.
I bit down on my bottom lip as I lifted myself back up and wearily opened my eyes. Every where I looked I saw ghosts. Transparent and angry. A painful throbbing started to pulse against my skull as I stared them down. Go away. I commanded in my mind. The throbbing increased but they slowly started to disappear.
I then focused on searching for Tatiana. Come to me. I whispered. The throbbing was almost unbearable but very slowly an image appeared right in front of me.
Like some of the ghosts back at the caves, she flickered unstably. Like she was a channel on a TV with a crappy cable connection. I sucked in a sharp breath. She wore a white robe stained in blood, she had a sad almost tormented look on her face yet the crown that was sitting on her head still made her look regal. I frowned. My worst fear was confirmed seeing this dead woman before me. I really had been framed.
She bore her troubled eyes into mine and I felt a shiver rack my spine. She was trying to send a message to me but I just didn't know what it was.
I adverted my gaze to Sydney where she was giving me one of those 'Rose is crazy' looks that I knew all too well from my time spent at the academy.
"Give me the note." I told her in a stern voice. Her facial expression quivered for a moment, but she soon complied, handing me the note.
You'd think after she spends all her time watching, working for and covering the tracks of so called mystical creatures, she'd be more open about me seeing ghosts but apparently that wasn't the case.
I turned back to Tatiana, "Did you write this?" I asked her.
Very slowly she nodded her head. "So Lissa really has another sibling?" she just stared at me and once again I felt a chill crawl across my back. Again I sensed she was trying to send me a message, one I just couldn't understand.
"Do you know who murdered you?" I asked warily. She gazed at me for awhile but eventually gave me a slight nod of her head. It seemed she was starting to fade away. My pulse quickened I needed to know more.
My stomach churned as I ask my next question. "Do I know them?"
She opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. Her translucent form started to twinge more often and I now could barely make out her silhouette.
Suddenly I felt a cold breeze swirl around in my head as I heard in a very low whisper almost barely audible the word "Yes."
And that was the last I saw of Tatiana's ghost...
I stood there in the dark parking lot dazed for a long time. Too stunned to do anything else but just stand and breathe deeply. Someone I knew had set me up. I had an enemy than I knew. I started to wonder why my life was now going so wrong. First it was Lissa and Dimitri but now I've been wrongly accused of murdering the royal queen all while the real murderer is out there and I'm left to fix all the problems.
I felt crushed beyond belief. I felt so alone and betrayed. My hope of a new life was now nonexistent. I was lucky if I will even live to see next week seeing as I'm now a fugitive on the run.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest and I involuntarily whimpered. I flinched as a hand was gently placed on my shoulder.
"Hey are you alright?" Sydney asked me. Concern was written all over her face.
I stared into her light brown eyes and it was at that moment I realized I wasn't alone. I did have help and most likely other friends or people that would be willing to help me.
I gave her a genuine smile to which she returned but her eyes still radiated with confusion and unease over my ghost encounter. Right now I probably did look crazy talking to blank space in front of me. I realized I'm going to have to explain to her that I was shadow kissed. And hopefully then she'd understand why I was suddenly claiming I could communicate with the restless dead. "Yeah, I'm okay. But I have more thing I have to do." I pulled away from her now with a burning determination. There was one other ghost I needed to question. Someone I knew from my childhood and someone whose ghost I had seen once on a plane. Eric. Dragomir.
A/N: Okay, if you haven't guessed it by now, I'm a HUGE car geek. So obviously, Rose isn't going to be driving any, eh hem hondas... Seriously what better way to appreciate hot, fast cars then ones stolen from a badass dhampir? Am I right? ; ) okay, I think I've had too much caffeine today and it's still charging me up, soo just incase I start going on a two page rant of all the cars I want to write about, I'm going to stop here. I'll post a link for the Jaguar that was mentioned in my profile...
Review!
~Fabulous