Disclaimer: I don't own Bloodlines

Sequel to Escape Plan 1: Rome. What was in Sydney's note to Zoe, and what was Zoe thinking after her sister left?

My Sister's Note

I was still reeling from what had just happened.

Sydney had fled Palm Springs with Adrian Ivashkov after saying her goodbyes to us to outrun the Alchemists, who were after her to put her in re-education.

And the reason the Alchemists were after my sister in the first place?

Because I had found Adrian's phone, filled with flirty and suggestive text messages between him and Sydney, and promptly reported it to the Alchemists.

I hadn't meant for the Alchemists to plan on taking my sister away! I'd just wanted to prove that I was the better Alchemist, not her. I'd hoped that I'd be promoted to the head Alchemist in Palm Springs. I hadn't thought of the implications of my actions - although it should've been more obvious to me that turning in the phone would lead to re-education for Sydney.

My whole world had been turned upside down from Sydney's departure…and the startling realization that maybe, just maybe, the Moroi and dhampirs weren't as bad as I'd been taught to think. But how could I think that?

As an Alchemist, my duty was to God and to humankind. Would I be turning my back on my duty to humankind if I thought that Moroi and dhampirs weren't evil creatures?

"Does anyone have any idea how long it would take for the Alchemists to show up asking for Sydney?" Eddie asked, sounding nervous.

I shrugged, turning the note in my pocket. "My guess? Sometime in the next day or less time than that."

"Of course, they'd be sneaky about it, since they want Sydney," Jill mused. She was the half-sister to Queen Vasilisa Dragomir, the young Moroi queen, and now that Sydney was gone, I was in charge of protecting her. "I just hope she'll be safe, wherever she goes."

There were so many things left unsaid between me and Sydney. I wondered if I'd ever get to see her again, or if she'd have to remain in hiding forever with Adrian.

Guilt was gnawing at me and overwhelming. Why hadn't Sydney told me she was in love and in a relationship? Why hadn't she confided anything to me regarding her relationship? Why had I been the last one to know that she and Adrian were together?

But I knew the answer to those questions.

Because Sydney didn't trust me anymore.

But it was hard to shake off the feelings of hurt I felt at her keeping secrets from me and essentially "abandoning" us. I had been hurt that she had been chosen as the head Alchemist to lead the Palm Springs mission and that she was more interested in spending time with the gang - and Ms. Terwilliger, her history teacher - instead of hanging out with me and teaching me how to drive.

"What do we do now?" Trey asked, voicing my thoughts.

I now looked around at the group. I was the head Alchemist now. I supposed I'd gotten my wish - just not in the way I'd expected. "I'm going to wait for the Alchemists to get in touch with me before I report that Sydney's missing," I said, trying to sound more confident than I really felt. "And then I guess I'll get more details about protecting Jill."

"Are you sure you won't tell them that Sydney ran away with Adrian?" Angeline asked, sounding suspicious. "You're the one who set the Alchemists after her in the first place."

I flushed, and my bitterness welled up and spewed out. "I didn't mean for the Alchemists to come after her! I just wanted them to see that maybe the perfect Sydney wasn't the perfect Alchemist they thought she was! I'd just hoped they'd remove her as head Alchemist - that was all I expected. I was the one who was supposed to be the head Alchemist here, but then she took it away from me, and I got mad but I didn't expect it to go this far." I didn't realize how deep my resentment towards Sydney had been until I finished ranting.

It was silent among the group after my outburst.

Jill finally spoke, but she sounded a bit awkward. "Well. It's getting late, and we do have classes tomorrow…so we'll just meet up tomorrow and figure out things from there?"

"Sure. Good night," I muttered before walking back to my dorm.

Once I was back in my own dorm, I reached into my pocket for the note that Sydney had left me.

Dear Zoe,

I'm so sorry that I'm leaving, without much of a goodbye. The Alchemists are after me. They want to put me in re-education. I don't know how long I have before they'll get me, so I'm leaving now.

There's a million reasons why I could explain why I'm running away, besides escaping the Alchemists. But one of the most important ones is I'm in love with Adrian. We connect with each other in a way that I've never felt before. We are each other's strength - a flame in the dark, to guide each other through our darkest times. A star that guides us home.

The Moroi aren't the evil monsters the Alchemists have taught us to fear like the Strigoi. The Moroi are more like us than the Strigoi - they have their dreams, fears, and hopes, as we all do I've met Moroi who are better than the humans that we're supposed to protect.

I'm guessing that you're the one who turned in the phone to the Alchemists. No one else would've had the motivation to do that. I can't entirely forgive you for causing me to leave - and yet at the same time, I understand why you did.

Tell Mom and Carly I love and miss them. Talk to you soon.

Love,

Sydney

I held the note close to my heart and closed my eyes before opening them.

I didn't know what to think. A million different emotions swirled through me.

My Alchemist training told me that Adrian had somehow twisted Sydney into believing she was in love with him and that it was our duty to cleanse the darkness…and that all vampires - regardless if they were Moroi, dhampirs, or Strigoi - were evil. But my heart told me that Sydney was truly in love with Adrian, and he with her, though I hadn't really seen them together except for when they'd been about to flee.

I might not know about all of the secrets my sister had hidden from me.

But I did know her.

And Sydney would never run away if she felt that she had another option. She would never do something like this lightly without good reason.

I had almost had my own sister sent to re-education because of my desire to want to appear the better Alchemist.

I couldn't do anything to make it up to Sydney and apologize personally for my actions since she was on her way with Adrian.

But there was one thing I could do to at least try and make sure that she and Adrian would be safe.

When the Alchemists came looking for Sydney, I would make sure they were going in the wrong direction. They wouldn't be able to find Sydney and Adrian so easily.

I closed my eyes and hoped that someday Sydney would find it in her heart to forgive me.

Author's note: Okay so this doesn't really fit into the Sydrian One-Shot Collection since it's supposed to be Sydrian but I didn't have anywhere else to put it, so yeah. Idk if Zoe would ever have been that accepting (especially since we all know who turned Sydney in to the Alchemists... *cough* ), so I guess this is a bit OOC? But please read and review ^^