Shards and Ashes

Set After "Frostbite"

Rated K+

Note: All OC's (Original Characters) in this story are my property and my imagination. These characters should not be used outside of MY story. Thank you. ~ M. Isabella


~ Chapter One ~

The early signs of the night fill the air, the songs of birds stopping as they retreat to their nests, and the lights of the gym overhead flicker. There's a quiet, reserved feeling this early in the night. It almost makes it enjoyable that I dragged myself out of bed for this, because I am pretty sure that a sunset would be way more beautiful than the pitch blackness with no moon in the sky.

I pass buildings, most of them giving off a sleepy vibe. I wonder just how many people are asleep right now and how many are awake. A few guardians walk the grounds, but this seems around the time that the day shift switches with the night shift. I do not bother worrying about whether I get caught or not. The best thing that could happen; them sending me back to my dorm for more time to sleep.

As I approach the gym, I see bright lights flooding through the cracks in the door, one slightly ajar. I squint my eyes and push open the huge doors, then slamming them shut when inside. Brightly-lit lights hanging overhead blur my vision for a second, but after a minute of staring directly downward, my eyes adjust to the stupid light.

"Dimitri?" I look around the gym, my eyes settling upon my trainer and fellow guardian. Quietly sitting on a bench in the bleachers, a western novel tucked into his hands, is Dimitri Belikov.

I move closer to him seeing as he did not notice me the first time. I wave my hand, but apparently I'm not doing a very good job of it. A low growl erupts from my throat and I pluck the book out his hand. Looking up, a quick look of surprise on his face, he gives me ever such a happy scowl.

"Hi," I say, dropping the wrinkled paperback on the seat next to him. I give him a big smile in return to his scowl. I cannot help but somewhat think he looks gorgeous with a scowl.

"I was at a very interesting part of my book, Rose," Dimitri says, the scowl dispersing, replaced by a stone-hard look. There's the Dimitri I know.

I shrug. "You're the one that wanted me to come this early." I start to walk towards the locker room, but turn to him for a second. "You can wait until break time to read Cowboys and Aliens."

With that, I shuffle towards the girls' locker room. It's obvious he wasn't reading such a book, but it's fun to pick at him for his love of western novels. Even though I find it incredibly sexy when a man reads.

I strip out of the clothes I am in and quickly change into my gym clothes. Loose shorts and a Nike tank top. The fabric's made out of some type of stretchy material. Easy stuff to maneuver around in. I finish by pulling my hair back and tying my sneakers before reappearing in the gym.

"Okay, one thing before we get started," I say, walking into the middle of the gymnasium. Dimitri is already settled on the large mat. He looks up at me with a questioning look, ready to answer whatever I have to say.

I take a deep breath. "Why so early?" I ask. "I know it sounds whiny, but couldn't you have waited just a tiny bit longer?"

Dimitri stands up a littler straighter, staring down at me. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'the early bird gets the worm?'"

"I don't want a Zen lesson, thanks very much," I say. "Anyway, what are we doing today?"

I clap my hands together, readily waiting for Dimitri to pull out a stake. I would love to try some staking, but sadly, I'm only greeted by empty hands. I give Dimitri an exasperated look. He knows exactly what I want. And still, he doesn't give it to me.

"Three laps," Dimitri says in the thick Russian accent of his. I almost want to melt then and there, but instead, I turn and start to run around the gym. I wish I could go outside and do this, but seeing as it's way too early to do so, I will just have to settle for the gym.

Three laps later, I walk over to Dimitri who is cautiously watching me, his eyes on alert. My breath is coming in rapid rasps, but it feels good to get started. I suddenly feel energized, alerted, just like Dimitri.

"Very good," he quietly observes. I watch as Dimitri walks to the center of the mat and turns to me, his black duster swiveling around his ankles. "Are you ready, Rose?"

I stretch my arms, then my legs. It takes only a few minutes, and then I am ready to face Dimitri. We take our stances. Him on offense, me on defense. I see Dimitri nod, ready to start.

I wait until Dimitri swoops in, and quickly avoid him by tumbling to the left. I hop to my feet and turn, only to see that he has gained his balance already. He comes at me again, graceful as a swan and quick as a cobra. I try and avoid him again, but I am a few seconds late. He grabs my arm and throws me to the floor, towering over me.

I roll out from under him and put a swift kick to his rib. He grunts, but I doubt it hurts him more than it does me. I try again, kicking my foot out, connection to his leg. He grabs my leg, the touch electrifying to me. Dimitri doesn't seem to notice, and he twist my leg, my entire body going with it.

I flop to the ground like a dead fish, the adrenaline momentarily leaving my system. I roll over on my back and smile up at him.

"Very good, Rose," Dimitri says. "But you still lost. But you didn't evaluate your actions, causing that to happen. If I were a Strigoi, you'd be de-"

"Yeah, yeah," I say. "I know. I'd be dead."

I stand up, my right leg screaming at me. My rib-cage also. I groan and put pressure on my stomach, hoping not to throw up. I feel good, but without food in my system, I'm pretty much all empty. It would not exactly be pleasant for either of us if I threw up acidic stuff all over the place.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asks, a hint of concern in his voice. His eyebrows furrow, touching together and making a crease between his eyes.

"Don't worry, Comrade. I'm as good as new," I assure him.

Dimitri nods. "Well, let's-"

"Dimka!"

The voice comes suddenly and unexpected. Dimitri and I both peer at the entrance, only to see Tasha with open arms. A smile appears on the corners of Dimitri's lips, and he starts to walk towards her. I stand awkwardly in the same place, quiet.

"Tasha," Dimitri hugged Tasha. I'm surprised he actually showed public affection. "What are you doing here?"

Tasha smiled and glanced between Dimitri and me. "Someone told me you would be here." She looks towards me, an even bigger smile forming. "Rose! Oh, how are you?"

She strides over and envelopes me in a tight hug. I hug back and when she pulls away she looks at me, her scar clearly visible. I try not to look at it, but I cannot help but admire it.

"Um, I'm good," I tell her. "What about you?"

Tasha shrugs. "Fine, as always. I've been wondering how your training has been going since last time we saw each other."

"Oh," I say. "It's going well. Dimitri's a great teacher, you know."

Tasha glances over her shoulder at Dimitri. "Yes, I do know. One of the best, don't you think?"

I nod.

"Have you seen Christian lately?"

I shake my head.

"Hm," says Tasha, fixating her eyes on something in the distance. Probably Dimitri. She looks at me and continues, "if you see him anywhere, can you tell him I'm looking for him?"

I do not know if she realizes this, but it's so early at night, I will not see him for a long time. But instead of voicing my thoughts, I just simply nod. "Sure thing, Tasha."

"Well," Tasha says. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to steal Dimitri for a few seconds."

I do not have a chance to reply because as soon as Tasha's words come out of her mouth, she walks over to Dimitri and leads him to a corner of the gymnasium. I quietly observe, trying to read their mouths, but their backs turn to me. I growl and creep a little closer, catching a few whispers, but nothing in full.

I decide it's not worth spying, and go over to the bleachers, falling into one of the seats. I look over and pick up Dimitri's western novel, flipping through the pages until I'm at the end. I read the last few words over and over again until I hear echoing footsteps approach. I let the book drop in my lap as I look up at the pair.

"We'll be cutting this session short, Rose," Dimitri informs me. "Is that okay with you?"

I nod. "Yeah, totally," I say, scooping up my gym bag. Before I leave, I give Tasha a quick hug and Dimitri only nods at me. So much for a goodbye.

"See you guys around, I guess."

With that, I leave the gymnasium and travel the short distance to Lissa's dorm. By now, it's the time to start waking up and get ready for the day. School will start in just a few hours, and I want to have a quick visit with Lissa before I have to go shower and get ready myself.

I tiptoe past the guard at the front desk and creep up the stairs, careful not to be too loud. I did not want to end up waking up half the building. In a quiet manner, I tap on Lissa's door a few light times. It's a few noiseless moments before the door opens and Lissa stares at me, groggy and sleep in her eyes.

"Rose?"

"Yeah," I say. "Too early?"

"Uh, Well," Lissa glances into her dorm room at something behind her, something I can't see with the door almost completely shut. What is she hiding?

"I'm kind of busy right now, but-"

"Well, I was just going to ask you if you wanted to get some morning coffee. . . " I whisper, looking around the dorm. If I stay out in the hallway much longer, I am bound to get caught.

"Oh. . ." Lissa inhales. "I, uh, can-"

"Oh, just let her in," A voice sounds from inside the room. I narrow my eyes at Lissa, who looks slightly guilty. I shove open the door and see Christian sitting by her window, propped up only by the windowsill.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, anger flooding into my voice. Lissa places a hand on my shoulder, and I look at her incredulously.

"Just a visit," Christian says matter-of-fact. "Like you, I suppose."

A scowl crosses my face, and I turn to Lissa. "What the heck are you doing!" I whisper-yell at her.

Lissa shrugs and says, "we were just hanging out."

"Are you serious?" I jab an accusing finger at Christian over my shoulder. "You were just hanging out with him?"

"Rose. . ." Lissa trails off.

"Look, Lissa," I say. "I don't care if you date him, but this is the girls dorm. If someone found him in here, he'd be toast!"

Lissa looks at her feet, wildly blushing. A hundred emotions run through her face at once. Guilt. Embarrassment. Awkward.

I shake my head, closing my eyes, trying to focus on something other than this. "I'll see you later, Liss."

"Rose, wait!" yells Lissa. I widen my eyes at her and she clamps a hand over her mouth. She looks around for a minute. "Where are you going? You can't just leave! I have to explain!"

I open the door and start to leave, stopping in my track before I pass the door frame. I glance over at Christian, heat rising to my cheeks. "By the way, your aunt is here. And she's looking for you."

An emotion passes Christian's face, but I do not have time to see which one it is. I stride out into the hallway, my head held high, chin up, and slam the door behind me.