Disclaimer: Again I do not own the dialogue from VA, or the characters. That is given to Ms. Richelle Mead.
Chapter 3:
Kirova instructed the girls to go on to their scheduled classes. Again, I pitied the girls. They looked like they were about to pass out. But, it didn't matter what I thought, so I did as I was told and followed Rose along with Alberta to one of the guidance counselor's offices.
"Poor thing." Alberta murmured when the door to the office closed behind Rose.
"Hmm?" I looked over at her.
"She must be exhausted. Her and the princess. I don't know what Ellen was thinking. At least let them get a bit of sleep." I gave her a nod and waited for Rose to return. I could tell that Alberta was fond of Rose. Then again Alberta knew Rose, seeing as how Rose had grown up here at the Academy. But there was also something about Rose. It's as if her passion about Vasilisa and being a guardian commandeered respect. I didn't really know Rose, but I could understand how being a guardian was a way of life for her.
Rose came out about five minutes later, and from there we trudged on to the guardians' gym. Alberta and I were silent as we moved forward, Rose walked behind, keeping a steady pace. When we reached the gym I felt another pang of pity for Rose. All eyes were on her. Needless to say, she took it well enough, scanning the crowd until her eyes landed on the novice Mason Ashford. He was pretty high up in his class. He had actually been asked to lead the class today. They must have been old friends, because when Rose saw him her eyes lit up and a hint of a smile played along her lips.
"Hey Mason, wipe that drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time." This earned a couple of snorts and snickers from the other novices. Mason gave Rose a lopsided grin.
"This is my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session." He said haughtily.
"Oh yeah?" She retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then." She played it off easily.
"It's always a good a time to think about you naked." Eddie Castile, another novice, added.
I shook my head as I left the conversation before it got to appalling. I do think I might have said a few obscene words in Russian, but I said them absentmindedly to myself and no one really spoke Russian so I was in the clear.
I watched as Rose fought Mason on the mats below, getting knocked down every two minutes. Oh did I have my work cut out for me. It was obvious she had not been working out on a regular basis and she was way behind on the moves. I moved on to Stan Alto's class a little before first period ended. I took up the back wall with a few other guardians. Rose came in, finding a seat, moving as if she were a bit sore. I watched as Stan came into the room and he narrowed her out right away. Rose must not be a very well liked person among the other faculty members, because Stan publicly victimized her, pulling her to the front of the room. Rose was flushed from both embarrassment and anger. If looks could kill…
Rose took it with her chin up anyways, which I admired.
She tossed her hair over her shoulder and then noticed that the few guardians were also watching.
"So, Hathaway," Stan started cheerfully. "Enlighten us about your protective techniques."
"My…techniques?"
"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats."
Hadn't she just gone over this and hour ago?
"We never ran into any Strigoi," she replied stiffly.
"Obviously," he snickered. "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive." Rose looked as if she was having a really hard time to control her temper. Stan started to pace in front of the class.
"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"
"Sometimes."
"Sometimes," he repeated in a high-pitched voice. This was extremely cruel. "Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night."
"Er…no."
"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because you weren't here." What was the point of this, really? But Rose just held her tongue with an extreme amount of self-control.
"I watched the area whenever we went out," she replied.
"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?"
Rose was silent.
"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method." I honestly felt bad for Rose. But I couldn't do anything. This was Stan's class, so I remained stoic.
"No!" She exclaimed angrily. "That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?"
Then he got in her face. "Because you got lucky."
"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there," she shot back. "It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound."
"Safer? Safer? We are at war with the Strigoi!" He yelled, still in her face. "One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him—and he'd barely break a sweat doing it." That was implausible, seeing as how Strigoi don't sweat. "You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing, nothing, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?"
Rose looked away from Stan, her eyes slightly red as if she were starting to cry. And they were looking right at me. I wanted to give her a reassuring smile, but my guardian attitude won out and I just stared at her.
"Moroi blood," she whispered. I wouldn't have known had she not still been staring at me.
"What was that?" asked Stan loudly. You would think a man of his age and a teacher no less would disapprove of bullying. "I didn't catch it."
I caught a flash of anger in Rose's eyes as she spun around to face Stan again.
"Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger!"
He merely nodded, satisfied with what he had just put her through. But not before delivering a final blow.
"Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill or drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And that is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough—even with guardians—to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear…"
"…so do the dhampirs," Rose finished solemnly.
"Well," he licked his lips. "It looks like you've learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester." Rose returned to her seat.
Rose was on her way to lunch when I caught up to her, matching my step to hers.
"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?" She asked, even though she knew. I didn't feel like correcting her on his title of Guardian Alto, one because she didn't need me to chastise her, and two because I agreed that he was being a grade-A tool, so he didn't deserve it.
"Yes." I simply said.
"And you don't think that was unfair?" I could tell she was drained now, more than earlier. I decided that I couldn't coddle her, even if I felt bad for her. So I decided to play a bit of devil's advocate.
"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?" I couldn't tell Rose I had taken her nickname of Lissa. Titles were important in this society.
Rose looked down at the ground, averting my gaze. "I kept her alive," she mumbled. I decided to try lightening the mood.
"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?" I already knew the answer, but it was best to keep her mind off Stan's ridicule.
She didn't answer.
"If you can't fight them—" I continued.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she snapped. I didn't realize she took offense, but I remembered tough love. I slowed.
"You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"
"Sure," she shrugged. "Now and then." Okay I didn't feel bad that she was out of shape. That was on her.
"You didn't join any teams?" I pressed.
"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here." I looked at her, exasperated. She had been so determined on becoming Lissa's guardian. Where was it now? I knew she was playing me.
"You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking." I know it was harsh but she was the one that was acting like a brat.
"I'll be able to protect her." She defended.
"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know—for your field experience or after you graduate." I said. I wasn't going to coddle. I was being truthful. "No one wants to waste the bond—but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate—if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will." I knew this sank in, because, instead of her usual snappy retort, she merely answered with "Lissa, call her Lissa," and I turned, leaving her for her lunch.
So that was chapter 3. Now the next chapter might be a bit shorter because Dimitri comes in at the end and then it branches over to chapter 5 from Lissa's POV so don't know what I'll do with that so if you have any suggestions, PM me. Please don't hesitate to add a comment. I don't diss constructive criticism. And if you're shy i don't mind a follow.