"Seventy two bottles of beer on the wall, seventy two bottles of beer..." Rose's tired voice dragged on, echoing through the small cell and connecting hall. The guard posted at her door shifted, and Rose could hear him sigh under his breath. She paused, grinning. Exactly what she wanted.
"Seventy ONE bottles of BEER on the wall.." She continued, singing louder as she examined her nails. They were grimy, with dirt and god knows what else. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered her much. But, seeing as there was nothing better to think about, it did.
It had been three days since her hearing, three days since Abe told her what they did to traitors. She had gone through the stages - shock, grief, pure anger. Now, she was what could only be described as insufferable. Still singing, she felt a tiny triumph as the guard shook his head, muttering a curse under his breath as he left her cell, walking towards the door leading to the main holding cell compound. As soon as the door closed behind him, she stopped singing, the last note ringing in her ears. It wasn't as if she WANTED to sing, but the silence was nearly unbearable if she didn't.
"God, what a mess," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. She could only imagine how she looked - dirty, untame hair and puffy eyes, the only remnants of her grief and rage. At least the guard was gone. One less person to watch her slowly crack was better then nothing. Turning her head, she counted the marks on the walls, the only thing that had been in the cell before she got there. She knew they were from Dimitri, and cursed whoever's sick joke it was to put her in the same cell.
"Rose." She started, hearing her own name. Staring wilding at the blank wall on the other side of her bars, she shook her head, muttering, "Damn it, am I talking to myself already?" She went to turn back to her mark wall, but a dark shape moved into her view, moving silently and stoically. The subject of a majority of her thoughts. She turned back slowly, frozen, thinking a thousand things at once, and wondering why the hell she looked like shit when she finally had his attention back.
"Rose," Dimitri repeated, almost hesitantly. She folded her arms, sitting up but not moving from the bed, "How did you get in here? I didn't hear the door."
"The guard left - and I can move silently if I wish. Leftover from.. from before," he said, not moving any closer. She met his eyes defiantly, angrily, and neither said anything for a moment. Finally, he said, "I thought they were coming for me." He was referring to the cafeteria, where they had been speaking as Rose had been arrested for murdering the Queen. She almost shot back a rude retort, but then recalled him fighting hand and tooth to prevent them from taking her. Instead, she sighed miserably, "So did I." He stepped closer to the bars, and she saw the familiar signs of worry in his face, "I don't have long. I want you to know we're trying, working on getting you the hell out of here." She nodded, and he sighed, "Rose, I would have killed them. I would have killed them all to keep you out of their hands." She nodded again, and said, "I saw. I know. It wasn't worth you getting thrown in the next cell over. Although, then I would have some company..."
"I'm still fighting. You won't be sentenced for something you didn't do." He said these words fiercely, and Rose laughed bitterly, attempting her old, flirtatious grin as she said, "Calm down, comrade. I've done anger. Hell, I've done every emotion ten times over in the past few days. Whatever I am on to now, it doesn't include false hopes or faith. Especially from you." She looked away, back at the scratches in the wall. She knew his eyes followed her fingers as she traced the three marks she had contributed. She half expected him to leave, and she forced herself to not turn around to look as the silence grew. Suddenly, she heard a ragged, sharp intake of breath, and Dimitri breathed out heavily as he whispered, "Roza, please..." Her whole body wound a bit tighter, and she looked back slowly, seeing his left hand gripping the bars, the other held out towards her. For a moment she just stared, and then finally, she turned around, arms crossed, "So now that I'm dead meat, you're allowed to have feelings for me again?"
"Rose, you can't imagine what I'm trying to work through-" He interrupted, but she shook her head, "No, I can't imagine what its like to come back from being Strigoi, to people who love you and could have helped you. To come back to someone who was willing to completely forget about the past months, like they never happened. You can't imagine what it's like to be me, Guardian Belikov." Dimitri flinched at his former title, and shook his head, sighing "Rose, you know I never stopped feeling for you. You just pushed, too much, too fast. All I could remember was biting you, chasing you, wanting to hurt and taste you. And now, now it's almost too late." He ran a hand through his perfect hair, mussing it up at the ends, and continued, "Your trial is tomorrow. We're working as hard as we can, but..." He trailed off, and she risked another glance. He looked flustered, breathing erratically, and he almost whispered, "Come here, Rose." It was as if she was a marionette, and he was pulling her strings closer, and closer, and closer, despite her mind telling her to stand her ground. She stepped the last step to the bars, fingers entwining gently with his extended hand. He pulled her as close as she could get, leaning his forehead into the bars. She did the same, and sighed, "It's too late, Dimitri." He stroked her hair, shaking his head, "We'll get you out of here. I won't let you die." She said nothing, clenching her eyes shut as he kissed her forehead, "My beautiful Roza..."
"Help me," her tiny voice broke, body shuddering violently. He tried to grip her tighter through the bars, but a boom sounded at the end of the hall, and two Guardians came in, shouting at Dimitri to get away. She looked up into his eyes, guard down, and he could see the terror she felt over the trial. He squeezed her hand tight in his, and shook his head, "Don't give up hope, Rose, don't-" He was thrown back into the wall, and the Guardians grabbed his arms, pulling him hard towards the exit. She watched him go, and whispered, "I love you, Dimitri." Their eyes connected, and he nodded, "Have faith." Another huge boom as they left her view from the cell, and the sudden, oppressive silence had returned. Turning back towards the marked wall, she walked over staggeringly, body collapsing onto the bed. The tears came again, hot and angry down her cheeks as she began to trace the lines on the wall, mumbling, "Seventy bottles of beer on the wall..."