"What's the first problem you'll run into when facing a strigoi?" I asked Rose.
It was one of our first evening practices after Rose's 'incident' with Jesse Zeklos.
"They're immortal?" She replied, but made it more of a question.
"Think of something more basic."
Her forehead scrunched up a little. "They could be bigger than me. And stronger."
I never saw what the teachers in the academy complained about. Rose was not irresponsible; she was doing all of this to protect her moroi, just like all of us guardians were promised to do. And right now, Rose was not incompetent or lacking as I had heard many times over. No, she was smart. Smarter than many older and more experienced guardians who had years over her.
I nodded. "That makes it difficult but not impossible. You can usually use a person's extra height and weight against them."
I demonstrated several maneuvers, pointing out where to move and how to strike an opponent. Once she got the idea, she tried with me, quickly picking up her own faults and correcting them.
'Definitely not lacking' I thought.
Near the end of our practice, I let her try what we had been doing.
"Go ahead," I allowed. "Try to hit me."
She lunged forward without a second thought. Her first blow was well constructed, but very slow and weak. I blocked it as a second nature and with it she fell to the mat.
It didn't keep her down, but I didn't expect it to. She tried again, all executing the maneuvers expertly, though none of them worked against me.
After several more attempts, she stood up and held her hands in a manner of 'truce'.
"Okay, what am I doing wrong?" It was silly of her to think it; her moves had improved a great deal in such a short period of time.
"Nothing." I knew she would argue.
"If I wasn't doing anything wrong, I'd have rendered you unconscious by now."
"Unlikely. Your moves are all correct, but this is the first time you've really tried. I've done it for years." I encouraged.
"Whatever you say, grandpa. Can we try it again?"
I was close to saying yes. Fighting with Rose was natural. So was the adrenalin that pumped, the heat that coursed through our bodies.
I inwardly sighed. "We're out of time. Don't you want to get ready?"
The banquet would be starting soon, and with what I know about Rose already, she would use the time now and make herself, for lack of a better word, perfect.
"Hell yeah, I do."
I walked ahead of her towards the exit.
I knew what she would try, but what I didn't expect was the battle cry she ran with. I smiled. When she was close enough for her to think she had me, I spun around, grabbed her and threw her to the ground with her weight.
She groaned. "I didn't do anything wrong!"
I looked into her eyes as I held her underneath me. I couldn't help but find this amusing. "The battle cry sort of gave you away. Try not to yell next time."
"Would it have really made a difference if I'd been quiet?"
I thought about it. I knew Rose was going to do it because it was a perfect opportunity, not because she made a noise. "No. Probably not."
She sighed loudly, her hot breath pouring into my face. This, along with holding her wrists and pressing my body on to hers drove my head crazy. I could feel her underneath me, my face just inches away from her own. And what a face it was. This position gave a new angle, her face in this light, her hair in tuffs, sprawled on the mat. I was wrong earlier. She could not make herself perfect. She already was. Her breath became quicker, sending more of her sweet scent barreling into my face. I felt myself drawn to her, if I could just get closer. It was all I needed.
"So um… you got any other moves to show me?"
It took me out of my trance, mostly. It seemed I was always in a trance with Rose.
My mouth twitched. I so badly wanted to tell her all the moves I would show her, most of them I'm sure she would like…a lot! But the I looked at her again. Her young, innocent, gorgeous face and I knew I couldn't say nor show her any of the moves I would like to try on her.
I shifted my weight back to my heels and rose. "Come on. We should go."
I started walking out of the gym, Rose following until she stepped away towards her dorm.
Only once I really knew she was gone, my mind seemed to register what I had done. How is it this one girl can do that to me. My years of self-control and training, lost in that one moment. But what a moment it was! I could not contain my beating heart as I walked, knowing we were so close. Her breath, her perfect body underneath mine, our lips so close…
But so far. She was seven years younger than me. A year older than my little sister. And I was her mentor and we would both be guarding Princess Dragomir. It is wrong. It cannot be more. Yet as I thought this, it brought an ache to my heart, an ache like none I'd felt before.