Don't be Scared Little Alchemist

Chapter 5

Just as I predicted- I had hell to pay the second I stepped through my front door. We'd walked back to the house in an awkward silence after saying goodbye to Sydney, my guardians clearly waiting until we were in private to have this conversation with me.

"What were you thinking!" scolded Eddie, looking at me sternly like a condescending parent. I hated that look, it made him look like he thought he was better than me...

"Well" I began, racking my brains for something witty to say to break the tension. To be honest, I couldn't deal with this right now, I hadn't had a single drink or cigarette the entire evening and I was starting to feel too close to my magic for my sanity to handle. "I was thinking 'hey I kind of like this girl. Let's put all the snobbish rules of royal society behind us, forget what's expected of my prestigious bloodline and actually try and make a human/Moroi relationship work'. Is that really so bad?" My guardians exchanged quizzical looks and then turned back to me.

"Quit lying Adrian, we all know you're not that deep" chuckled Gareth, clearly finding his own joke far funnier than I did. I could be deep... when I felt like it.

"Harsh" I simply stated, glaring at the blonde.

"The point is" Eddie spoke up, edging away from any possible argument that might begin between me and our other companion, "whatever your reason was, this is a bad idea. This is exactly what I said would happen, exactly what you promised me you wouldn't do."

"So?" I questioned, still not seeing their problem. At the end of the day- why should they care so much about who I dated, even if it was a human?

"So, I think you should stop seeing her" replied Eddie with a shrug, "I'm sorry but it's for the best dude."

"And when exactly did you become my mother?" I retorted, shooting daggers at my best friend. "Actually" I added, "I think even my mother would be okay with this, because she puts my happiness first. Isn't that what you guys promised when you became my guardians? To put me first?" There was no way out of this one, no way to deny what I'd said and no way to twist the vow they'd made. But of course Eddie- being the irritating-yet-lovable smart ass he is- found a way around it.

"But it's not putting you first if we let you go out with a human for- lets face it- a week or so perhaps, destroy your reputation and regret it for the rest of your life" he explained, looking far too proud of himself for how well he'd defended his case. And what did he mean 'a week or so?' Maybe the old Adrian... but not me, not who I was now. Something inside me felt the need for commitment ever since I met Rose, ever since she cheated on me and left me. As much as I hate to sound soft- I'd felt empty ever since. I needed to have someone I knew would stick around and stay with me like I needed oxygen and alcohol.

"Whatever" I shrugged, not really in the mood for this and in desperate need of intoxication. "If I see her again, I see her again. If I don't, I don't. Nothings been arranged, no plans have been made. You guys just stay out of it and quit stressing. I'll be fine ok?" Gareth shrugged and nodded, still looking a little pissed and Eddie gave me an eye roll that reminded me creepily of Sydney. I took that moment as my que to leave the room, taking the hint that the conversation was coming to a close. I'd only managed to get half way up the stairs when there was a knock on the door followed by girlish squeals and Eddie laughing and greeting people. Curious, I retraced my steps back into the living room.

"Hey guys whats going-" I froze the moment I caught sight of who'd arrived, my words caught in my throat. Two girls, one taller and slimmer than the other, one with near-black hair and the other with ice-blonde, one tanned and one pale. One that was my best friend and the other that shattered my heart and I hadn't spoken to in over a year. Lissa Dragomir and Rose Hathaway stood in my doorway. I managed to form my face into a smile as I laid eyes on the Moroi Queen for the first time in what felt like forever, but seeing my former love beside her... well, awkward didn't even begin to cover it. After taking a while to collect myself, I made my way over to the girls where Eddie was already chatting away. Of course, they didn't know Gareth at all, so with a polite greeting to Rose and a gracious bow to Lissa, he left us all to catch up.

"Liss" I greeted with a broad smile, still breathless from shock. I threw my arms around her and she giggled and returned the hug. "How's it going cousin?" Clearly, she wasn't actually my cousin, it was just a way fellow royals greeted each other sometimes.

"Fantastic" she grinned as she pulled away. Despite her mask of happiness, I could tell something was wrong, her aura didn't seem quite right. I made a mental note to ask her later and turned to face the girl beside her, trying not to let my eyes meet hers for fear that they'd give away everything I was feeling. All the anger and hurt that I'd felt all that time ago instantly rose back up within me the moment I saw her, still tinged with that burning love that never seemed to fade... pretty suckish really. As I looked at her- letting my eyes drink in her features and admiring how she was exactly as she was when I'd seen her last- I all but entirely forgot every memory of Sydney from that evening. Everything I'd felt for her on our date- when we kissed and when we held hands walking back from the restaurant- had almost faded from my mind. All I could think about was who was standing before me and how much I'd missed her.

"Little dhampir" I greeted with a nod of acknowledgement, trying my best not to flash her my trademark flirty smile. Given the current circumstances between us, something told me that that wouldn't go down too well.

"Adrian" she replied almost shyly. Since when was Rosemarie Hathaway ever shy? My guess was that it was either because of how we'd cut things off between us or that Belikov had helped her bring out emotions that she never seemed to have before or something sickeningly romantic like that. I was sincerely hoping for the former.

"So what brings you girls all the way out here?" asked Eddie, ushering them to come inside.

"What? The entire twenty miles away from court?" giggled Rose in response. Her laugh... how could I have ever forgotten that sound? So pure and innocent... completely unlike the girl whom it belonged to.

"Indeed" replied Eddie as we all took seats in the living area. Rose reached into her bag for something, but then hesitated.

"Okay" she began, looking more nervous than I'd ever seen her. What could honestly be so bad that it made her nervous. Yet another emotion I'd never seen on her before. "Well, you guys know I've been with Dimitri for a while now." How on earth could I forget? "You see..." she continued, still hesitant.

"Oh just tell them!" squealed Lissa, getting impatient.

"Her majesty insists" joked Eddie. Another thing I really loved about Lissa was that she was so casual about being Queen. She was the opposite of what my great-aunt had been like- completely un-snobbish, selfless and lighthearted.

"Dimitri and I are getting married and we wanted to invite you guys to the wedding" Rose said gesturing towards us, rushing her words to get the announcement over and done with. I could see in her eyes that she was excited about everything, but she probably found it difficult to say to me after everything we'd been through. She also probably knew that it was easier for her to say than it was for me to hear. If that's what she thought, then she was right. The moment the words left her mouth, my heart sank just a little lower than it'd already been set since the day we broke up. It wasn't like I hadn't expected it of course... I guess I'd just been living in denial about it, acting as though their relationship wasn't real, as if they weren't real...

"Congratulations!" exclaimed Eddie. If he was aware of how the news made me feel then he wasn't doing a great job at showing it. Rose reached into her bag once again, this time producing two white and gold wedding invitations from it's depths and handing one to each of us. I glanced down at it and read the details, written out in a fancy, intricate design. June 1st... 3 months and a bit and she'd never be the girl I loved ever again, she wouldn't even have the same name. Rosemarie Belikov. The worst part was that it actually sounded about as close to perfection as a name could get. It sounded a whole lot better than Rosemarie Ivashkov that's for sure. I choked back any traces of sadness from my voice and gave her the best smile I could muster.

"Yeah, congrats" I nodded, agreeing with Eddie. No sooner than the words had left my mouth, I saw her aura light up. Clearly, my approval on her marriage had been far more important than Eddies. I suppose that it made me feel special in a way, it made me feel like she actually cared about me even if it wasn't in the same way I cared for her. Seeing her smiling at me, so content and sincere, I couldn't help but feel her happiness as if I was actually physically sharing her emotions. Part of me- though how big a part it was I wasn't exactly sure- felt happy for her... Belikov too.

"So, made any wedding plans yet?" asked Eddie, clearly genuinely interested in getting in on all the gossip. He and Rose had been pretty much best friends since their early childhood, and I couldn't even begin to imagine how excited he must've been for her.

"Obviously, Lissa's my maid of honour" stated Rose, gesturing to the girl on her right, "and Christian agreed to be Dimitri's best man as long as he doesn't have to wear a tie. As for bridesmaids, I was thinking Mia and Dimitri's sister Viktoria would be a good choice. Oh, and also maybe my Alchemist friend Sydney. You know the one who helped me last year? I haven't heard much of her lately but I'm sure my dad can get me in contact with her." I almost laughed at the irony that she so happened to be talking about the girl I'd literally just got back from a date with. But seriously. Sydney? A bridesmaid? At a dhampir wedding? I honestly couldn't picture it, although I'd bet anything It'd be hilarious.

"Oh we know a lot about Sydney" said Eddie knowingly, turning to me and raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ohh gossip!" giggled Lissa, "spill it. That's an order." I chuckled at her flippant use of her Queenly power before providing them with my 'gossip'.

"Oh, we met a few weeks back and... I kinda just got back from a date with her"

"Seriously?" questioned Rose, a smile creeping onto her lips. I wasn't sure if it was because she knew how Sydney could be with vampires or because she was happy to see me moving on with my love life. Not that it could really be called 'moving on' when my feelings for Rose were still overpowering my feelings for Sydney...

I nodded, but before I had time to properly respond, Eddie had already jumped in with a smart remark. "And don't we know it!" he exclaimed in an over-exaggerated manner, "I looked away from them to scan the area a little and when I turned back they were caught in a major lip-lock over the table." This time, I saw Rose genuinely smile. I had a feeling that it was more to do with me being happy with someone else than how much the Alchemist hated our kind.

"Sydney's great" stated Rose, her voice sincere, "uptight and a major car geek... but great." A car geek? I never would have guessed that one. Interesting.

After a little more casual chat and a glass or two of wine (three in my case) to celebrate the soon to be couple, The Queen stood up.

"Well we best be off" she stated, "a few of my other guardians have been waiting in the car and they're probably bored to tears!"

"Okay, well it was really great to see you" replied Eddie, also getting to his feet. He hugged Lissa goodbye and then went over to talk to Rose, taking time to congratulate her once again. I took this as my chance to sneak a word with Lissa about her 'slightly off' aura.

"Liss" I began, gently taking her to one side, "are you okay?... your aura seems a bit... messy." Wow- I was amazing at describing stuff. Not...

"Oh, it's just spirit" she replied, shrugging off the situation far more lightly than she should've done. "It's just that Rose and I don't have the bond anymore and I have to handle it by myself. It's tough... but I'm managing." Despite her fantastic charisma skills she always displayed, she seemed unsure of her words.

"Okay... well just call if you need any help" I told her, hugging her goodbye as I noticed Eddie do the same to Rose.

"Of course"

After releasing Lissa from my grip, I turned to face the brunette who I hadn't notice walk over to me.

"It's good to see you Rose" I said, wrapping my arms around her as I had with Lissa. Wait... where was the spark I used to feel when I hugged her... or had any type of contact with her for that matter?

That night, I once again felt a spirit dream coming on beyond my control. To tired to do anything about it, I allowed myself to be carried into someone else's dreams, escaping my magically messed up mind for a while. I wasn't shocked when the person I saw, standing in the alleyway where we had met a few weeks ago, was Sydney. She turned to me as I approached her, giving me a little smile that made my heart flutter just a tiny bit... not that I just thought that...

"Hey" she greeted- simple but by far the nicest greeting I'd ever gotten from her. "What brings you here?"

"Honestly... I have no idea. I just sort of got dragged here against my will. More importantly- what brings you here? It's day-time, shouldn't you be awake?"

"Well, when you're an Alchemist, you're kinda always on the night shift" she shrugged, "just catching up on my beauty sleep."

"Not that you need it" I commented, before I could stop it slipping out. I could swear I saw her tilt her head down to hide a blush but I didn't dare accuse her of it. Likely-hood was, she'd deny it and then we'd be off our good terms and back to how we were a few days ago. I suddenly remembered the conversation I'd had earlier with Rose.

"You're gonna be a bridesmaid" I stated, changing the subject.

"What on earth are you on about?"

"Rose and Dimitri are getting married..." I explained, failing in my attempts to hide my sadness at the mere mention of it. Unfortunately, she picked up on it.

"And your unhappy about it" she replied, a statement not a question. She knew how I was feeling, just like she knew just about everything through means I probably didn't want to know about.

"Yeah" I replied, sitting down against a dirty brick wall. She came and sat down beside me, looking up at me in concern that she'd never shown me before.

"And you love her"

"I do" I admitted, although something told me I shouldn't have said it in front of Sydney, not after how much I'd felt for her on our date. All was silent for a while, but it wasn't awkward it was... peaceful.

"You'll get over her" my companion finally replied, nodding her head in certainty.

"How can you be sure?" I asked her, doubtful.

"Because I just know things" she stated, so sure of herself. "And I know you're a good guy and that you won't have any trouble finding someone else. You'll have heaps of girls to choose from in life, I promise you. All you have to do is pick the right one."

Almost on instinct, I gently placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer into me. To my surprise, she rested her head against my chest, causing a strange electric shock to shoot through me, not too unlike when we kissed. Despite everything going on with Rose, I couldn't help but take comfort in the company I was in right at that moment and how calm and right everything felt.

I bent down a little to place a kiss to the top of Sydney's head before mumbling to myself "I don't think picking will be too difficult."

Even if she was no Rose Hathaway, I got the feeling that the little blonde Alchemist in my arms was the best I was going to have in a long time...

xx