December Task: Thirty days of character development—Rose
Prompt: Favorite childhood memory
W/C: 1, 461

Talking about my favorite childhood memory is something that isn't easy for me—in fact, it's actually really, really hard to do. Things that have happened recently have tarnished most of my happy memories quite a bit—but I guess I have to answer truthfully, no matter how much it might hurt.

By the time I was seven years old, it was a given that I'd go home with Lissa whenever we had time off from school for holidays or a long weekend—which was really great, since it gave me a chance to see what a normal, happy family was like. We always had a good time at her house, playing with all her toys or watching movies on the gigantic TV the Dragomir's had in the family room—though we sometimes argued about what we would watch, since she always wanted Disney movies, which Andre and I didn't really like. Usuallywe ended up giving in—all Liss had to do was pout and we melted like putty—but that's another story altogether.

As great as everything was at the Dragomir's… there was one little problem. Not all of the activities Lissa and Andre wanted to do were things that I could take part in—like riding their bikes up and down the driveway and paths that wound around their estate. My best friend tried to make it work—but the first time her mom caught me balancing precariously on the handlebars while Liss pedaled up and down the driveway… she came completely unglued, having such a hissy fit about safety that it brought our fun to an immediate halt. After that, Liss tried to pretend her bike held no interest for her—but every time her older brother would race outside to ride his, she'd watch him with a look of heartbreaking longing on her face.

It took a while for me to convince her that I wanted her to ride without me; I was much better at hiding my real feelings than she was, so eventually I had her believing that I didn't care one way or another if I actually got to ride myself—I told her that I'd much rather watch anyway. Her face lit up when she finally bought it; immediately she raced for her bright pink bike and took off after Andre—leaving me to flop down underneath one of the giant old oak trees that lined the driveway, trying to ignore my real feelings. Every day I'd sit there and watch them for hours—feeling a stab of envy as I imagined how the wind would feel on my face as I pedaled furiously up and down the path. She was my best friend; I wanted her to do what she loved—but I couldn't help but wish that there was some way I could take part too.

One afternoon—about a week after Rhea put the ban on our tandem biking—I was sitting watching Andre attempt to teach Liss how to pop a wheelie; it seemed so simple, but she just couldn't get it—which I found incredibly frustrating. I knew I could do it if I only had the chance—which made me more than a little grumpy; I was picturing myself surprising them both by performing the trick flawlessly—when a voice startled me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Hello Rosemarie… why are you sitting here all by yourself?"

I barely registered the kind, cultured voice, my eyes still locked on Lissa—who was pouting up at her brother as he patiently demonstrated for the fifty seventh time. "Liss wanted to ride her bike… I'm watching."

"Don't you want to ride too, dear? I hardly think sitting here observing would be a satisfying pastime for such an active child." He reached down, tugging at my braid—earning a scowl as I shifted away from his hand.

"Can't—Mrs. D says it's not safe for both of us to be on the bike at the same time."

"Surely you could take turns then?"

I shot him an incredulous look, thinking he was an idiot for even suggesting such a thing. "No we can't—Lissa loves riding her bike. I'd never take it away from her… not even for a minute or two."

"I see… well… that does complicate matters, doesn't it?" He studied me for a moment, his face thoughtful. "Would you please do me a favor Rosemarie? I just remembered something I need to attend to in town… could you go and tell Eric I'll be back in a few hours? That's a good girl… run along now."

Nodding, I got to my feet; I was already accustomed to doing whatever the Royals asked me to do—obeying without question was one of the first lessons the Academy drummed into dhampir children.

By the time he returned, dinner was already over; as soon as they'd finished eating, Andre and Liss had run back outside, leaving me all alone—not that I minded… I was polishing off my second piece of chocolate cake and enjoying every mouthful. I was almost done when Lissa shouted; she screamed out my name so loud that I could hear her as clearly as if she was standing right beside me—propelling me into movement so fast that my chair hit the ground behind me as I ran.

I expected to find her hurt—she had a bad habit of falling off her bike, especially when Andre was trying to teach her tricks—but instead she was just standing beside the driveway with a look of complete glee on her face , watching her Uncle's guardian struggle to unload something from the trunk of his luxury car.

"Now you can ride with us Rose!" She was so excited that she was hopping up and down—but I didn't understand why.

Her Uncle turned to smile at me, his beautiful green eyes locking on mine—even though the words he spoke were directed at my best friend. "Rosemarie is a very loyal friend Vasilisa—and that is something that should always be rewarded. You need to remember that—it is a very important lesson that far too may Royals forget."

The guardian moved aside—finally I could see what he'd been struggling with. I stared, open mouthed as he wheeled a brand new bicycle over towards us—stopping right in front of me. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen—just like Lissa's but pale blue and not pink, with a basket on the handlebars and streamers on the hand grips. It even had a bright silver bell—something Lissa's bike was lacking.

I was… completely speechless.

"Do you like it child? I seem to remember you favor the color blue." The Moroi man stooped down, his brow wrinkling with concern. "Rosemarie? Are you alright?"

"Is it… really for me? It's mine to keep? Forever?" I tore my eyes away from the bike, wondering if it was all a joke.

"All yours—and I expect to see you racing around on it whenever I stop by."

Overwhelmed, I burst into tears, throwing my arms around the man in front of me—forgetting for a moment that it was completely improper, since he was a Royal Prince. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I never got anything so beautiful before, sir!"

"Now none of that! What have I told you child?" He scooped me up, depositing me on the bike seat—then gently traced his fingers down my cheek. "You can call me Uncle Victor—just like Vasilisa does."

It was the first time in my life that I'd been given a gift that wasn't something I needed—it was something given to me for no real reason other than the simple fact that having it would make me happy—and I loved that damned bike more than anything. I rode it every chance I got, even long after I outgrew it—and every time I got on it, I thought about the man who gave it to me with complete adoration and devotion.

Remembering things like that… it makes it really, really hard for me to hang on to my hatred towards him, despite all the shitty things he did as time wore on. Because once upon a time, as hard as it is to believe, he was a decent, kind man, with a big heart… one who actually cared about making a little dhampir girl happy. And deep down, that little girl still loves him and always will… no matter what he's done.

That… is what hurts the most—admitting that a part of me still loves Victor Dashkov—and knowing that in the end… I'm the one that killed him.

My role play group is doing thirty days of character development for the month of December; every day there will be a prompt for a drabble or head canon to be written from. Since these wont' be strictly drabbles, I'm making a new collection for them; each daily prompt will have a version for several different muses, though I can't promise I'll get them all posted every day—I'll probably update them in batches. (Also, I won't be doing the prompts for every muse in my head, that would take way too long, lol. They will probably be predominantly Rose and Viktoria, with a few Alberta, Abe and original characters thrown in the mix.) Enjoy.