Opening my eyes, I instantly know there is something wrong, I can sense it. Looking around I realize I'm back at the Academy, more so I'm back at the Academy handcuffed to a hospital bed with a bandage on my head. Blinking I raise my head and see two Guardians standing outside my door, I sigh in frustration and look around the room some more and see that it's windowless. Well there goes any chance of escaping. Running my free hand through my shaggy hair, I pull a bobby pin out of my pocket, starting to precisely and effectively unlock the handcuffs. Maybe I can fight them. Sliding out of bed I slowly walk towards the door and pull it open and instantly get into a fighting stance.
"Belikov" I turn at the sound of my voice being yelled giving the Guardians the edge they need to grab me without any trouble. I throw an elbow into the first guy's face and kick at the second momentarily stunning them. I take their slight pause as my chance to run. Turning I sprint down the hall, running straight into some chick.
"Get out of my way!" I yell bumping into the kid, landing on my on back on the ground, when her fist connects with my face, her small body holding me down. Her tiny fame isn't much. Hitting her in the face with my elbow I watch her wince. "I'm sorry did I hurt the baby?" I mimic trying to push her back.
"That's Guardian Hathaway to you" She says.
Next thing I know I'm on my stomach, my hands tied behind my back. "You're kidding me right," I say laughing," Seriously, there's no way you're a guardian. What good would you be against a Strigoi you're tiny. They would kill you in like five seconds." She smiles walking me back to where the Guardians stand looking pissed off.
"I think you lost something guys." She says handing me over to Guardian Youngblood.
"Hathaway! What brings you to the Academy?" asks Guardian Dawson smiling at her.
"I was sent to mentor one of your troubled students." She answers. Watching her talk I take in just how beautiful she really is. Her dark brown, almost black hair is pulled back into a ponytail a few pieces has fallen out framing her face. She turns her head and I see her promise mark, with several small lightning bolt tattoos beneath it.
" Which one?" asks Dawson.
I watched as the two men check her out. For some reason I could feel anger rising up inside me. "Aiden Belikov." She answers pushing the loose hair behind her ears; it just falls back in her face though.
"You're lucky day then Hathaway. You just handed him over. Rose Hathaway meet Aiden." Her face fills with surprise which she quickly masks with a look of indifference. My mouth drops open and I look between the three guardians.
"You're kidding me right? I mean look at her, she's so small. I could squash her." I yell the two guys bust out laughing and she just stares at me her face never wavering, not once showing emotion.
"You know kid your smart mouth is really getting annoying. If you have a problem we can go take it up with Kirova." She says grabbing my arm and leading me away from Youngblood and Dawson. I snatch away from her, causing her to hold my arm even tighter. For such a small person I have to admit that she is strong.
" What the hell did you call me," I ask," and for the love of God can you untie my damn hands?"
She looks up at me, her face emotionless, "Good try Kid, but I don't trust you." She answers pulling me further down the hall toward Headmistress Kirova's office.
"You've known me for all of five minutes, what could possibly make you not trust me. You don't even know me." She stops causing me to snatch back.
"I probably know you better then you know yourself." She answers I turn and catch a glimpse of her, the real her, not the mask she had been wearing since learning who I am and then as quickly as it came it was gone. Once again she wore her mask of indifference. "Come on we've got a meeting to attend." She starts walking again pulling me along.
"With who the wicked witch of the west?" I look over at her and see her trying to hide her smile.
"You shouldn't say that. It could get you in big trouble." She says stopping outside of Kirova's office. She knocks on the door and then enters.
We walk into the office and I see Alberta, Kirova, and my dad sitting around a table that's set up in the middle of the room. I walk over and sit next to my dad. Turning in her seat Kirova watches as Guardian Hathaway walks out of the room, turning back toward us when the door shuts. "It's good to see you again Dimitri." What's it been dad, three months since I last heard from you?
"I just wish it was under better circumstances Alberta." He answers, looking at him I swear I can see her face in him, the way they carry themselves and the mask they wear is too similar for a coincidence. "What has he done now?" he asks turning his eyes to me. I look away and stare at my shoes.
"He tried to run away. He knocked out three Guardians before he was knocked unconscious" spoke Kirova reading from a case report sitting on the table in front of her. I raise my eyes and glance over at my dad. Man does he look pissed.
"What course of action do you plan on taking?" He asks his tough exterior never once faltering.
" Well as you know St. Vladimir's had only had one other student to behave in this manner." Spoke Alberta glancing between me and the door.
"You mean Rose don't you?" asked my dad a shadow of smile lighting his face as he said her name.
"That's a correct assumption. Aiden isn't as bad as Rose was, but we wouldn't like to take any chances. Rose may have turned out as one of the greatest Guardians of our time, but the destruction and loss it took for her to get there almost ruined her. We don't want Aiden to be haunted by what he did as a novice, like Rose was." spoke Alberta looking at me. "You will make an amazing guardian-one day- Aiden, but you're digging a hole that's going to be hard to get out of." I just sat staring back at her.
"What do you want me to say? I'll try to do better? That I'll attend classes and not party?" I asked "If I don't what are you going to do give me community service. I've had that so much they ask when I'm going to come back. Face it Kirova you have nothing to threaten me with." I look over at my dad as watch as his face fill with recognition.
"He really is just like her."
"He is Dimitri and he's right all we have left for him is expulsion." answered Alberta locking eyes with my dad.
"I've known you since I moved here Alberta and I can sense that there's a but coming." She smiles at him
"But we think we have a solution, one that happened to Save Rosemarie when she was his age." I look back and forth between the three adults.
"Who the hell is Rosemarie?" I ask, "And what does she have to do with my punishment."
Alberta and Kirova look over at my dad and smile." She was a trouble maker who was best friends with the only living Dragomir. She was a great Guardian, but her attitude was horrible. She was always fighting. I was sent here to become Princess Dragomir's Guardian and had to go and find them. When we got back she was pulled into a meeting like this one and threatened with expulsion. I stood up for her and ended up becoming her mentor." He looks at Alberta as he finishes. "You're giving him a mentor?" He asks. Alberta shakes her head yes.
Standing up Kirova walks over to the door and motions for whoever is outside to come in. Opening the door I watch as Guardian Hathaway walks in and sits across from my dad. I look over at him and his face isn't blank like normal, instead it's full of shock, excitement and I think love.
"Hello Guardian Belikov." she says sitting across from my dad.
"Guardian Hathaway." he says his voice catching as he says her name. "What are you doing here Rose?" I can hear the love for her in his voice. This was why my mom left. She had said he never really loved her. I never believed her until this moment. The way he was looking at her blew the way he would look at my mom out of the water. He was in love with her.
"I was sent to mentor Aiden." She answers her eyes never leaving his. It's like they're the same side of a magnet being pulled together no matter how much they fight it.
"What the hell is going on here?" I ask looking between the adults in the room.
"You're being given a second chance, a new beginning." She answered like it was the simplest thing in the world.
" What makes you think I want a second chance. Maybe I want to get out of this hell hole." I say smirking.
"Aiden Kristofer Shut your mouth and take what you can get." I look over to where they sat. I watched as her face flashed with pain, regret, and lost love.
"I know because I was once like you. My parents dropped me off here when I was four years old. My mother is the great Janiee Hathaway and I never knew my father until much later in my life. I went through life alone, much like you are now. Yeah I had friends, but it wasn't the same. I acted out and fought all the time, which landed me in this very office. I swear I spent 75% of my school career in here. I partied a lot too because if you're high or drunk you can't feel the loneliness and pain. I cussed because even if you're saying something bad at least someone is listening to you." The other three adults stare at her as she finishes. A slight blush appears on her cheeks.
"Roza!" I hear my dad and I look away. The look of shock on his face is too much. I guess he never knew this part of her.
"No Comrade. It's okay. I lived."
Looking at Alberta I watch as she stands, "That should be all. Aiden you're on probation, which Guardian Hathaway will tell you all about." We all stand and walk out of the room, once in the hall I turn towards Hathaway and my dad.
"This is bullshit. I can take you down in 5 seconds flat." I say watching a smile flicker across my dad's face," I mean have you looked in the mirror lately. You're like five foot two and only weigh 125 pounds at the most. She looks at me and smiles. "You sure do smile a lot for someone who's job title is basically babysitter."
"Aiden you better watch your mouth. You have no idea what she has done for you. She saved your ass and you better realize It." says my dad in a mincing voice. I watch as she puts a hand on his arm instantly calming him.
"I got this Comrade."
"You don't have shit." I say looking at her, "You probably got this job because no Moroi wanted you. I bet you can't even kill a strigoi"
I watch as anger feels her eyes. "I killed my first strigoi when I was a senior. Well actually it was my first two. I was protecting my friends. We had been kidnapped. I got everyone out and started to fight. I was fighting when this guy who was crazy about me came back. I saw my friend being killed. I blamed myself for years, but I killed his murderer. I decapitated them, with a sword that hadn't been sharpened in years. I fought with them and matched them move for move. They may have been bigger, but I was better in the end. I escaped with a few scrapes and burns, but I lost my best guy friend that night, so don't think id hesitate slightly to lay your smart ass out on the ground." I could see the fury in her eyes. I'm pretty sure I took it too far with that comment. She held her fists clenched at her sides. I can see her literally shaking with anger, I watch as my dad places his hand over hers and I swear I can see the anger slowly leaving her body.
" Look I don't care what you've experienced you're not going to change me."
"I never said I wanted to change you. I just want to teach some discipline." I watch her, the anger completely gone now.
"I'm going to lunch now."
"Fine, but Practice starts at 6:00 don't be late" I walk far enough away that they think I'm gone, but still close enough that I can hear them.
"Rose, I know there's nothing I can say..." I hear my dad start, but she interrupts him.
"There's no hard feeling Comrade. I get it you left me for Tasha. She could give you something I never could." I watch from my hiding place among the plants and see that pain radiating off of them it's excruciating. How they manage to live with it blows my mind.
"Rose please. I need to explain."
"I don't want to hear it D. You left me and more importantly you left Lissa with some second choice Guardian." I watch her closely and I can see the pain in her face. They think they're alone, so the masks are down its just them.
"I'm sorry. What I did was a mistake. The only happiness that came from it was my son Aiden. I never should have left you alone." His voice seems to be almost pleading with her to understand.
"Dimitri I don't want to hear any excuses. I'm so sick of excuses. You have no idea how much it hurt to show up for practice and you not be there." I can see the tears building behind her eyes.
"Roza, I'm not giving you any excuse. I'm giving you an apology." I watch as they walk over to the bench and sit down. He reaches over to take her hand; she pulls away and stands up again. "Roza please believe me you're the only person I've ever felt about like this."
"Damn it Dimitri. That's the problem. I don't know what this is."
"I wake up thinking of you every day. I see your face everywhere. Not a moment goes by that you're not somewhere in my thoughts. I thought I lost you Roza and it scared me. I can't live without you and I don't want to. I love you and always have." From his position I can see him, he has tears in his eyes and he isn't trying to hide them.
"I've...I've gotta go meet Aiden. Bye Comrade."
"This isn't over Rosa. I've been transferred to help protect the school. We will finish this."
I watch her walk away towards where I'm hiding. "You can come out now Aiden. I know you're in there." I pop my head out of the bushes and stare at her in amazement.
"How'd you know I was there?" I ask honestly curious.
"I learned from the best." I catch my dad's smile and know she's talking about him.
"Will you teach me how to do that?" I ask walking with her towards the dorms.
"Yeah I will one day, but you should also know that if you're going to hide make sure your shoes aren't sticking out." I look at her and smile, she just laughs. We walk in silence, until we reach the cafeteria
"Rose?" I ask glancing down at her. When she looks up her mask in firmly back in place. She doesn't look unhappy, but to say she looked even remotely happy would be an understatement.
"Yeah?" she answers turning her face to look forward again. "What did you mean when you said you knew me better then I knew myself?" We walked a little further before she turned and headed towards the Guardian dorms. I shake my head and continue on my way to my room.