A Guardian's Promise

Chapter 2 - Seeing off Jill

Palm Springs was hot and dry. Not the best place for moroi. But that was exactly why it was the safest place Jill could go. Still, despite its safety to provide cover from most moroi and strigoi, it would make living there literal hell. I haven't been to hell yet, thankfully, but I suppose it would be much like hot and dry Palm Springs.
"I feel little to no water in the air." Jill sighs. All this talk about how the sun would affect her, yet no one picked up on the fact Jill is a water user, and I saw no water.
"I sure you can use drinking water if you feel like you need to." I say, putting my arm around her shoulders. "Just  make sure you do it here or in your dorm. We don't want to risk someone finding out." Jill smiles.
"Oh Rose. I wish you could stay with me."
"You know I have to look after Lissa." Jill frowns. "But I will try and visit you I promise."
"I know this isn't something I should be asking," I brace myself for the worst. "But do you ever wish you were a moroi?" The question shocks me, but it isn't something I haven't thought about. I know my answer. I have sometimes wanted to be a moroi. Their life seemed easier, with more time for fun.
"Yeah sometimes." I say with a sigh. It was one thing to think about it, but it took a lot more to actually admit it to anyone. Jill smiles at me sweetly.
"I sometimes wish I could be a dhampir. And become a badass guardian like you, Eddie and Dimitri." I almost laugh. I forgot about Jill's crush on Dimitri. She regarded him like a god, and thought he was amazing, much like I do but more in a worship type way unlike my romantic thoughts and actions with him.
"It is hard work." It truly was, but also very rewarding. Some people got more out of it than others, and everyone's experience was different. Like when you, you know, have a really hot mentor and leads to some forbidden romance. The kind of one they make movies and books about.
"Rose is right. We dedicate our lives to protect the moroi. It is certainly not easy." That was Eddie.
"Yeah. Rose how is it going? Are you all clear and back on duty?" Sydney asks. Sydney had arrived earlier, after we arrived, with another alchemist by the name of Keith. He doesn't like moroi or dhampirs s much as Sydney does, and that was saying something.
"Yeah I am guarding Lissa."
"And is Dimitri guarding her too? If so that might not be the best idea." Sydney helped me when I had gone to Russia to find strigoi Dimitri. We became somewhat friends. She had explained her job and her worries, so in turn I told her about myself and my worries.
"No thankfully he is guarding Lissa's boyfriend, fire boy." I say, smiling.
"That's great!" Sydney replies with a genuine smile. She turns to Jill and Eddie. "We better head off shortly if we want to get sorted in our dorms." They stand up and fiddle around, moving belongings from our car to Sydney's.
"Take care Jill. Don't forget to have fun, but don't cause too much trouble with your water magic." Jill gives me a hug and steps away to talk to Adrian.
"Bye Sydney. If anything goes wrong, just call me."
"Sure, but everything will be under control." I smile at her knowingly and turn to Eddie.
"Tell Jill how you feel about her." I say sternly. Jill needed to know, and the only way I will approve of her finding out is if Eddie straight up tells her.
"You know I can't do that!" He protests.
"Since when? I didn't think you were scared of anything. Telling a girl how you feel about her is lame compared to fighting some rouge strigoi." I point out. Eddie gives an exasperated sigh.
"Oh but you are missing one very important reason why." I look at Eddie and almost laugh. He was being way too hard on himself.
"And that is?" I prompt.
"I am over eighteen and she is a minor. Technically me dating her would be illegal." This time I laugh. Age never stopped Dimitri and I. It shouldn't be illegal to be with someone you truly love. The only thing that should matter is that you get each other's consent to date. Eddie studies my face, confused to why I found his statement so funny. I trust Eddie, better than I could anyone else, besides Lissa and Dimitri. I decide to inform him on why I was laughing.
"No one besides me and the person I am talking about knows about this, but I trust you to keep quiet about it." Eddie nods, so I continue. "Basically I lost my virginity when I was seventeen, to someone over 20. We never got caught for doing anything romantic." Eddie looks at me, eyes wide.
"Was it a moroi?"
"Nope. I made out with a few of them though." I laugh. A wave of nostalgia hits me. But I don't miss the old Rose Hathaway.
"Was he a dhampir?"
"Yes he is a dhampir." I say plainly. Eddie looks puzzled, but then the pieces clicked into place.
"Oh, him." He realises. Then his expression changes. "Wait you two were a thing before we graduated?" He asks with astonishment. I nod, grinning slightly. "Well I would have never guessed."
"Eddie we better get going!" Sydney calls out. Eddie gives her a nod.
"See. You could date her and no one will know." I say.
"You know what? I might try, but she is enrolled as my sister so it won't be happening at school." I laugh and roll my eyes.
"Well it looks like Sydney wants to leave." I say, giving Eddie a friendly hug.
"Bye Hathaway." He laughs, retreating back to the car. I smile and wave them off.