Paris

I wasn't afraid of skiing. I was actually a bit of a pro with a snowboard. I had been doing for as long as I could remember. My parents wanted me to have the safest equipment which usually meant the coolest, newest, most expensive stuff. No it wasn't the skiing or boarding I was worried about, it was were we were going to be doing it.

To most people an all expense paid trip to a ritzy ski resort with amazing skiing, a natural spring spa, and unlimited room service seemed like heaven. I was just hoping to make it through the week. Instead of spending my Christmas break with my friends and relaxing I was in for an Idaho adventure. I have never been to Idaho before but I had never been around many dhampirs before either.

Before I was born my parents broke away from the main stream Moroi- Dhampir culture to create a whole new life together. This sounds very romantic but it is really a very sad story of them both abandoning their whole lives to go on the run. In order to save her from the Alchemists (and some serious brain washing) my Mom, Sydney had to fake her death. She and my Dad, Adrian went on the run through most of Eastern Europe with the help of their closest friends and my surrogate Grandfather, Abe. My father took a less dramatic approach and tried to be honest with his parents. They did not take marrying a human as a good life choice for him. They thought he had lost his mind and basically cut him out of their lives completely.

After three years of running all over the globe my Mother got pregnant with me. She seemed to have every pregnancy related ailment to the extreme. Her morning sickness lasted all day and her cravings were extreme. No matter what she ate she couldn't seem to gain any weight but when she started passing out my father decided the stress of running could kill us both. He made her return to the states. They found the most beautiful house on a small lake in Upstate New York. It's a quiet and safe place to live and it feels like home.

I go to a normal high school and my parents have normal jobs. My Dad is the director of an art gallery in town that caters mostly to the tourists our lake draws in the summer. My Mom had always dreamed of being able to go to college but being terrified of anyone discovering her secret life she worked her way into a job as a librarian at the local library. This really was a perfect job for her. The best part of the returning was that my Aunt Jill could be a part of our lives.

So we were all shocked last spring when my Grandmother, Daniella Ivashikov, contacted my father for the first time. But, I guess after 20 years of no contact she had decided that it was time to have her son back in her life. I have a feeling that the death of her husband could have had a lot to do with it. I know she finally understood that my brother, Bennet, and me were the only grandchildren she was going to get, even if we weren't Moroi.

Despite having really great friends my parents had tremendous guilt that we never had an real extended family. I had heard stories about what it was like to have a real grandmother that knitted blankets and baked cookies but I never felt slighted. Abe definitely had the spoiling us part down. I know that my parents wanted to protect us and keep my brother and me away from her but over the last seven months she had been wearing them down. My Mom was very careful not to say anything outright mean about her but I understood that my Grandmother had an agenda.

A couple of weeks ago my Grandmother called us to say that she was going to be booking a vacation at some swanky Moroi ski resort and she wanted my father to bring Ben and me to meet her. This was not the kind of place my Mother would be welcomed. After discussing this with Abe my father realized that he couldn't put it off forever. Ben was already signed up for a special martial arts camp only available once a year. My parents didn't have the heart to pull him out, so it was just Dad and me. I was secretly relieved that Ben wasn't coming because I had a feeling this little reunion was going to be rough on my Dad. I could tell my Mom was happy to have a not to be left alone.

On the plus side, Jill was able to alter her plans so that she could be there for us. Jill lived mostly at court now but she hadn't been to visit us in forever and just seeing her might make the whole trip worth while. I think that Abe convinced us this was a great idea because his daughter Rose had been vacationing at the resort every year during this week for years. Abe knew if Rose was there my Mom would be able to relax

Dad was excited to see Rose and her husband Dimitri. They still lived at court and traveled constantly as guardians. I knew Mom and Rose talked all the time and I was excited to meet her. Rose and Dimitri had two boys that they had adopted years ago and Dad kept making jokes about meeting them. I always got the impression Dad secretly disliked Dimitri, but Mom thought that was silly.

This was an exciting chance for me to learn so many things about my Dad I never knew. I feel so unprepared to spend an entire week with so many Dhamips and Moroi when I have only known a hand full my entire life. Keeping me sheltered has kept me safe but there has always been a part of me that has felt like I have no idea who I really am. My parents were a bit overprotective but I know they have their reasons. I'm terribly scared but hopefully optimistic for tomorrow.