Royal Roulette

Chapter 8| Final Goodbyes

"We have gathered here today," begins a tall, middle aged woman, "to celebrate the life of Vincent Szelsky." The woman proceeds to drone on about how great Vincent was and lists his many accomplishments. I impatiently tap my foot and lean my head against the wall. I was positioned beside one of the windows. The guardians had randomly distributed us throughout the room to maximize security. I take in the large living room. There is a really pretty fireplace in the center, with tons of pictures of Vincent on it. He was handsome. There are also candles on the mantle, making it sort of look like a shrine. After what seems like forever, the woman concludes her speech and hands it over to Audrey. She begins telling a story of how her father once took her fishing, even though she was horrid at it. "He was determined to teach me how to cast a line, even though I had already got it stuck in a tree twice," she says, smiling fondly at the memory. This was nice. When I die I want people to talk about their memories with me and the fun we had. I don't want them to be sad. I find myself thinking back to the service Dimitri's family held in Baia to honor his "death". He had been turned Strigoi, but to them he was as good as dead. We had sat around with Dimitri's relatives and life long friends and told stories about him, relishing in the fun we had had with Him, and just being happy to have known him. I catch my self smiling, thankful that I have my Dimka back. Several others share stories about Vincent, and then a priest is called in to pray. After that, the funeral is dismissed and we say our goodbyes to Audrey. She is staying with her mother for a few days, while we are flying back to court tomorrow. Liss, Lacey, and I wait inside until we see our car pull up. We scurry out into the cool autumn air, my hand poised near my stake if any Strigoi are hiding in the darkness. Luckily nothing jumps out at us, and we begin the short ride to our hotel for the night. The stars are so bright out here in the mountains, with no city lights obscuring them. They were beautiful. We finally arrive at Best Western, and check in at the front. The lady gives us our key cards and we head upstairs, with our driver trailing behind. Thankfully he is just one of the Szelky's guardians who volunteered to escort us and give me a hand. Our room has two beds, and Liss claims one and I claim the other. "Shifts?" I ask, looking at Jared, the driver. He nods and replies, "I'll take the first one, you've had a rough day of traveling." I was exhausted so I didn't argue. He said he would wake me up in 4 hours, and we would switch. Liss got Lacey settled and then climbed into bed with her. I flicked off the lamp and settled into my own bed. "Goodnight Liss," I murmer before falling asleep.

My sleep was peaceful, until I felt myself being pulled into a spirit dream. It had been ages since I had had one, and I wonder if it is Liss needing to discuss something secretly. Instead I find myself looking at Adrian Ivashkov. Well that was unexpected. "Little dhamphir," he says, giving me a lopsided grin. He had been calling me that a lot lately. It was a nickname he had used when we were dating, and I don't know if I like him bringing it back. "Hello Ivashkov," I say, still curious to why he wants to talk to me. I look around and realize we are back at court, presumably in his bedroom. He walks over and lazily climbs into his bed. "How did the funeral go?" he asks warily. "Awe I see," I say, "this is about the letter. No, nothing out of the ordinary happened." This seems to surprise him. "Really? How interesting," he says, more to himself than to me. With that, the room fades away and I find myself in the comforting black void of sleep.