July 4, 2011
Hey all. I am working on the next chapter of She Called him Comrade but I wanted to post something for the holiday. Another reason I am posting today is because this story is dedicated to my niece Tori who wanted to be a character in one of my stories like her cousin Theresa. Today is her birthday so I am granting her wish. I have been working on this story for several months and I was hoping to get SOMETHING completed first but well I couldn't wait. I am sending a Huge thank you to DoB and RangaRose who have both read and critiqued this for me along the way.
SUMMERY: This is part of my Alternate Timeline series. It is set near the end of Spirit Bound. Dimitri claims to no longer Love her. Lissa is too busy protecting Dimitri from her that she does not see how much Rose needs her. Rose has to set off on her journey to become the Wielder of Life and Death without the help of her friends. Will Dimitri see the truth before it is too late?
The Love Wielders Journey
Chapter One: Who I am
Rose POV
My name is Rosemarie Hathaway Belikov. This is my story.
I am spirit bound to my best friend Vasilisa Dragomir. There are two prospective princess and two princes who will one day be chosen to take the throne when Queen when she steps down. Vasilisa is one of them. She lives at court in the United States with her husband Christian Ozera and their daughter Rosemarie Ozera Dragomir. She is guarded by my close friend, Edison Castel, and my husband of the heart Dimitri Belikov as well as her own royal detail.
If you are confused by the term "Husband of the Heart" don't worry because I didn't know about it ether. For centuries marriages between Dhampirs has been social taboo. Apparently we have a special magic of our own which allows us to bond with another Dhampir; if they are our true soul mate. You must give everything that you are to him and receive all that he is in return; heart, mind, body and soul. It is something that happens so rarely that most people who have heard of it, think it is only a legend. The true miracle of the Marriage of the Heart is that it allows the couple to produce children.
I am afraid that my story is not quite as happy as I would wish it to be but all the same it is mine. As I have told you my friends and family live at court in the US. I live with my hunting pack and my daughters Victoria Marie and Emma Susan at St Columban's Academy in Ireland.
You must be wondering why I live apart from my husband and my friends. The simple answer is that though it is excruciatingly painful to be away from them, it was worse to be with them. I guess I need to explain a bit more for you to understand.
After Dimitri and I were bonded, an attack at our school occurred and in the end he was taken, and turned by Strigoi. I tried to find him and free his soul but my attempt only resulted in me being held his captive for two weeks before I was able to escape without being turned.
I learned from Oksana Shepherd, a friend of my father's that there was a way to save him and return his soul to him. Oksana didn't have the knowledge but she told me who did. I won't go through all the ridiculously stupid and dangerous things I did to get the information. In the end I found out from the man who had done this before. The Strigoi must be pierced in the heart by spirit infused stake by the same spirit wielder who infused it. I knew that this would be too dangerous so I forbid my best friend and my boyfriend to try it.
You might be confused about the boyfriend thing. I didn't know that Dimitri and I were married and I suspect that he still doesn't want to know. Anyway Adrian Ivashkov was and is still a very good friend to me. He was the one who funded my mission to find and free Dimitri. He was also the one who helped me pick up the pieces when I failed. I hurt him tremendously when I could not let go of my love for Dimitri. The day that Dimitri was turned back into a Dhampir, Adrian told me that he could see from my aura that I still loved Dimitri with all my heart and he understood that it would be wrong for him and me to continue to date. He loves me; enough to let me fight for the love of my life. From that day forward Adrian became my friend and brother.
My best friend, sister and bond-mate Lissa (Vasilisa) decided not to listen to me. She learned how to infuse a stake with spirit and she learned how to use it. Dimitri kidnapped Lissa and Christian to use them as bait. I was his real target. By the end of the rescue mission to save her and Christian, she succeeded in turning him back.
I was so grateful to her for giving him back his soul and so was he. The problem was that he was a bit too grateful to her. He wouldn't acknowledge that I had any part in his transformation. He wanted nothing to do with me. I tried numerous times to tell him that I loved him still and I knew he loved me. (Well I thought he did)
On the morning of August 15th I received a package from Dimitri's grandmother, Yeva. Inside were a letter and a small wrapped box. In the letter she told me to put up my walls and keep them up because the bond with my bond mate is expanding allowing her to sense my general emotions and to hear me when I am in her head. She said that eventually our bond will go both ways. She told me to guard my secrets well. I put my walls up instantly before reading on.
The next paragraph explained about the Marriage of the Heart and my ability to conceive with Dimitri. I remember feeling shocked and afraid and elated all at the same time. I have never had regular periods but it occurred to me that I hadn't had one since before the night in the cabin with Dimitri; it had been exactly four months since. I recalled how it has been taking me a long time to get over my weak stomach; that I thought was caused by stress and prolonged exposure to Strigoi endorphins. When I was held captive in Russia Dimitri had kept me docile by keeping me high from his bite. I also noted that when I had gone clothes shopping with Mia last week I had to buy a couple bigger bras because my 28D was too tight as were my favorite skinny jeans
With trembling hands I un-wrapped the box to find a pregnancy test. I took the box to the bathroom. As I waited for the results I thought of how I would tell Dimitri. Right now he wants nothing to do with me; would knowing I am going to give him a child change that. Lissa says he is overwhelmed right now and she is always telling me not to put more pressure on him. A baby is going to be a lot of pressure. Maybe the baby will give him something positive to think about. Maybe it will be a good thing. But what if it is too much to handle? No Dimitri is a strong man; he will be able to get through this.
The timer on my watch beeped causing me to jump. My hand trembled so hard that I almost couldn't even pick up the test. I closed my eyes and tried to steady myself with the meditation techniques that Dimitri had taught me last year. I opened my eyes and looked at my future; Pregnant. I set the test down and placed both hands over my belly. There so small I didn't even notice it before, was a bump. I guess that explains why my pants were getting tight in the waist.
I had to find Dimitri; I had to tell him he was a father. I don't know how he will react but it is his right to know. Yesterday he had told the people testing him and the crowd watching that he would attend church service this morning. I dressed quickly and ran to the church. Dimitri sat alone in the last pew. I sat close to him closer than I needed to, considering we had the whole pew. He tensed when my calf brushed against his; I ignored it and tried to talk to him.
I won't go into the whole conversation because it is still too painful but I will share with you the words that shattered my heart. "Love fades, mine has." When he said those words I ran from the church before I could ever even tell him about our child.
Lissa had been in the church too and she had overheard our argument as I am sure many others did. I didn't even know she had followed me. I ended up in one of the little gardens sitting on a bench holding my stomach. In my mind I was thinking of my baby and trying to promise her that she was made in love and she was still loved. Lissa's voice broke through my thoughts.
"How could you do that to him? I have told you not to pressure him. He doesn't love you anymore! Accept it and move on. Rose, if you love him at all stay, the hell, away from him."
She turned and ran back to the church. You might wonder why Lissa was on his side and not on mine. She felt responsible for him. She had an intense need to protect him and help him transition back to his old self. We both wanted that, but we disagree on how to help him. The fact that he wanted nothing to do with me didn't help.
I sat there crying and holding my baby. A warm hand pressed my shoulder and I looked up to see the kind but always sad eyes of my friend Mikhail. Mikhail, like me had lost the love of his life when she turned Strigoi to escape the effects of spirit. He had also gone after her like I did with Dimitri; only he never found her. Mikhail understood my pain in a way that no one else ever could. He sat down with me and held me as I cried. I poured my heart out to him, I told him about Yeva's package and my baby. Through it all he held me and let me cry on his shoulders.
He took me to lunch at one of the lesser frequented pubs at court. There was no smoking allowed in this pub I think it is one reason why he chose it the other was because we would not be likely to bump into any of my friends. I liked the atmosphere of this place. The booths were built for visual privacy. There were tall stained glass partitions between tables and the lighting was dim.
We ate in silence having exhausted myself with crying. Four men were seated at the table next to ours and at first I paid them no mind. Soon though I was listening intently and so was Mikhail.
"I can't believe she passed that age law. My twin girls are 16 this year hearing about that little Hathaway bitch they want to get their promise marks like her. They are going to get massacred out there and it is going to be the fault of the Queen and that Bitch." Said voice one.
"My nephew will just barely be 16 in May. Thanks to those two he is gonna be dead by the end of June." Said voice two.
"I have a nephew and a cousin who are going to be in the same boat." Voice three added.
"So it's agreed then tonight we kill the Royal bitch. And I know the perfect way to make little miss Perfect Hathaway pay for her part in this. This morning I went to her room with the intent of giving her a piece of my mind. Her door wasn't locked and her stake was on her nightstand." Voice four informed.
"You're a royal guard; will you be able to get us in?" Voice two, asked
"Yeah, I know the passages like the back of my hand. They are usually locked but, I snatched the key this morning. Answered voice one.
Mikhail put some money on the table as we walked out he wrapped his arm around me and pretended to kiss me, while shielding me from their view He whispered in my ear.
"Pretend we are a couple." He reached his other arm around my waist and gave me a tickle. I laughed and wrapped my arm around his. As soon as we were out of the door we began running for Guardian Croft's Office. His door was open and we went running in without asking and closed the door behind us.
POP QUIZ
1. Why Did Yeva tell Rose to block Lissa?
2. Do you think Guardian Croft will listen to Rose and Mikhail?
Please review and thank you for reading.
Suzanna AKA SnowGoose
