Hello everyone! Corinthians is a next-gen long fic (projected 100k) set in a rogue dhampir society with mentioned Rose/Dimitri and all other canon ships (albeit they will not come into play until much later). It will update every Tuesday.
A big thank you to my betas, Amy and Em, for looking it over.
"Do you want one egg or two in your omelette?" Rose called from the kitchen. She had cracked one egg into the bowl already and was poised to crack another, hand at the ready.
A pat of butter sizzled in the pan to her left.
"Just two?" came Dimitri's voice from the bedroom. Sunshine streamed in from the slants in their bedroom blinds. The bed was messy and unmade, with clothes strewn about the floor.
"Fine, you get three." Rose smiled and cracked two more eggs into the bowl, beating them with a whisk before pouring the eggs into the pan. They popped and sizzled. "But you're picking up more eggs after your shift today!" she called over her shoulder.
Dimitri walked into the kitchen with his tie askew and his shoes untied. He wrapped his arms around Rose's waist as she was cooking and placed a kiss above her ear. "Now who told you it was safe for you to cook?"
"Christian taught me!" Rose protested. She leaned back into him. "And I haven't managed to burn the house down yet."
Dimitri chuckled. "Yet."
Rose swiveled in his arms to face him with a grin on her face. She fiddled with his tie for a moment before placing her hands on his shoulders. "If you're so culinarily inclined, comrade, you should make breakfast."
"Oh I would," Dimitri said. He picked Rose up and placed her on the counter next to the stove in one swift move. "But then we'd never get to have moments like these."
She wrapped her legs around his waist. "You're so thoughtful, Mr. Belikov."
"The feeling's mutual, Mrs. Belikova." Dimitri grinned and leaned in to kiss Rose's neck.
"Oh, I will never get used to that," Rose said. The light caught the ring on her hand; a beautiful white gold masterpiece that had belonged to the Belikov family for as long as anyone could remember.
"To what?"
Rose encircled Dimitri's face in her hands and looked into his dark eyes. "Being married to the best guardian on the planet."
Dimitri smiled. "No, Roza. That's my privilege."
She leaned forward to kiss him and the world around her disappeared completely. It had only been a few years since they'd been married, but Rose was filled with so much love, it surprised her every day. The sheer idea that she had attained something she'd fought so long and hard for blew her mind. She went crazy every day simply waking up to find Dimitri in her bed.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Oh shit-" Rose snapped out of her reverie and jumped down from the counter.
The pan with the omelette in it had overcooked and was letting off smoke.
"Get the fire extinguisher!" she shouted frantically.
"No, just take it off of the burner!"
"It's on fire, Dimitri!"
"I see that, Roza!"
"So get the goddamn fire extinguisher!"
"We don't have a fire extinguisher-"
Beep. Be-
The fire alarm cut off abruptly. The pan, while still smoking slightly, was no longer on fire. A sigh of relief left Rose and Dimitri's bodies.
Rose slapped Dimitri on the shoulder. "You idiot!"
"What? It extinguished itself," Dimitri said.
"Whatever," Rose grumbled. She fixed his tie. "Go to work. We're going to be late."
Dimitri leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "Yes, ma'am."
There wasn't much to be done now that Lissa and Christian lived mostly within the boundaries of Court. Rose kept her place at Lissa's side, and Dimitri at Christian's. Unlike the old days, they didn't get up to much trouble anymore.
Oftentimes, Dimitri was with Christian as he went around to different academies across the world giving speeches on the dangers of Strigoi and Dimitri was often asked to speak as well, but he normally declined. Christian's place as an advocate for using Moroi in combat and helping to prevent Moroi teenagers from turning Strigoi earned him both respect and disdain from the various royals living at Court.
Rose had loved living with Lissa as they went through college, but also loved not having to worry about finals once they graduated. She shared the queen with three others on the royal guardian team, often working night shifts when Dimitri was away with Christian. Lissa originally had eight people guarding her, but decided to send half of them to Moroi who lived in high risk areas because her need wasn't as great as theirs. There were so many guardians inside Court that it seemed pointless.
"Sleep well?" Lissa asked. She was settled in her office in preparation for her morning meetings. Christian sat on one of the many couches that dotted the office, typing away at his computer as he worked on a lecture for Faraway Prep, a day school on the west coast.
"She burnt breakfast," Dimitri said.
"Comrade!" Rose gasped. "I thought you were on my side here."
"I'm honestly not surprised," Christian said. "She was a terrible student when I tried to teach her. She burnt water."
"Hey!" Rose cuffed him on the ear. "At least I'm trying, right?"
"Trying, but not succeeding." Lissa tried to contain a smile.
"Okay, fine, everyone can shit on Rose today, but I'll get the last laugh this weekend when I..." Rose tapped a drum roll on the edge of Lissa's desk. "...cook dinner."
Christian and Dimitri both pulled faces.
"C'mon," Rose said. "Lissa's going to help."
Lissa nodded distractedly. "Uh, yeah."
"Well, we're leaving," Christian said. He picked up his laptop and gestured for Dimitri to follow him. "I have a meeting with the headmaster of St Basil's today—he flew in just for this meeting, so it better be important. Then we're off to Oregon."
"Bye," Rose said, waving. "Pick me up something Paul Bunyan-related."
Christian shook his head and left, Dimitri on his tail.
"Want to buy take-out and put it in pots to make it look like we cooked?" Lissa asked.
"I thought you'd never ask," Rose replied. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and sat down on the chair next to Lissa's desk. "So what's on the agenda today, boss?"
Lissa smiled. "Nothing too taxing, don't worry. I have to hear some people air their grievances in the throne room for most of your shift, then it's packing to go back to St Vladimir's tomorrow."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Rose said with a grimace. "I have a love-hate relationship with that place."
"I can't just skip the scholastic address, can I?" Lissa asked. "I'm almost done with my speech. All of the new students will be enthralled."
"Enthralled? Really?" Rose raised an eyebrow. "I remember falling asleep at those back in the day."
"Well at least you'll be awake for this one," Lissa said, shooting Rose a wry smile.
"Yeah, because I'm paid to." Rose stood from her seat, smoothing down her uniform. "Money: the great motivator."
Rose liked working as Lissa's guardian—it was what she'd been doing since she was young, anyway. It felt natural to be at her side, and even better, Rose liked doing it. It was rare that Rose enjoyed protecting someone; the other royals had antiquated mindsets. As much as Lissa was trying to change the views Moroi held, it was slow going.
Lissa stood from her desk and adjusted the small circlet on her head. "Ready?"
"Always," Rose answered.
"They are starving, Your Majesty," a Moroi woman pleaded. She had entered the room half an hour ago and waited her turn in the line with royals talking about rivalries and dhampir asking for better training equipment. "We live so far from Court; there's nowhere for us to find jobs."
Lissa nodded. "We will have a guardian accompany you back to your town to assess the situation."
Rose clenched her jaw. That was what Lissa told people when it was outside of her realm of power. Despite being queen, she couldn't fix everything.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." There were tears in her eyes as she curtseyed. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome," said Lissa. She smiled tightly. "Send my regards to your family."
The woman left the throne room in a hurry. The guardians seemed to startle her, which would make sense. There were barely any dhampir guardians the further from Court one was, unless there were royals living nearby. Since a majority of royals took up residence at Court instead of the outside world, nearly the entire dhampir population was concentrated there. It was something Lissa was trying to resolve, but the royal families kept their guardians close, Lissa included.
"Has it really gotten that bad?" Rose whispered into Lissa's ear.
"Yes," Lissa said. "We're not sure how to help them, but once we assess the situation it should be easier."
"You'd think we'd have... vampire welfare or something," Rose replied.
Lissa simply chuckled as the next person in line reached her throne.
A Moroi man, clearly royal and clearly young, bowed before Lissa's throne. He was a gawky sort of tall, with all of his limbs pulled in odd directions. He had large ears and a very slim figure. The suit he wore looked all at once too large, yet too short for his stature.
"Your Majesty," he said. "My name is Robert Badica and I would like to propose a new law."
Lissa smiled diplomatically. "Thank you for coming today, but I'm afraid we don't deal with legislature in these meetings."
"I'm aware of this." He wrung his hands, clearly nervous. "But it is more of a suggestion, really. A guideline."
Lissa narrowed her eyes at him. "Proceed."
"I would like to propose the outlawing of dhampir-dhampir marriages," he said.
A few gasps came from the assembled line behind Robert. Rose nearly burst out laughing.
"I beg your pardon?" Lissa asked. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.
"My family may be royal, but I am from a much lower line than the rest of the Badica family," Robert continued. "My father could not afford to get a guardian despite the work he does. He was killed last year in a Strigoi attack on our family home."
"That is very tragic, Mr. Badica, but I cannot outlaw an entire species from marrying each other," Lissa said, obviously agitated. "That's against many of our laws that are already in place. One of my personal guardians is married to another dhampir; I cannot deny anyone that right."
"But we are in a dhampir crisis," Robert pleaded. "Dhampirs cannot have children together, so therefore, if dhampir continue to marry each other, our races will become extinct."
A murmur spread throughout the room. Despite the radical notion behind his request, Robert Badica's reasoning seemed to resonate with other Moroi. Rose had known that the Moroi were in need of more guardians, but she didn't think it would progress this far. It was too much.
"Enough." Lissa stood from her throne. She turned to Robert. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Badica, but we will not be taking your suggestion into consideration. Please escort Mr. Badica off the premises."
Guardians appeared at either side of Robert. He attempted to evade their grasp.
"We're dying, Queen Vasilisa!" He raised his voice as the guardians dragged him from the room. "Don't kill your own people!"
The door slammed shut, leaving behind a deafeningly silent throne room.
Robert Badica's words continued to haunt Rose days later when she and Lissa were in the armoured vehicle that transported the queen to St Vladimir's. Was Rose's relationship really seen as that much of a disgrace to the royal Moroi of Court? She knew that dhampir marriages were few and far between, but it wasn't as uncommon as a Moroi or a Dhampir marrying a human.
"What if dhampirs could have children?" Rose asked. She was sitting in the seat directly to the right of Lissa, with her other guardians occupying the front seats.
"What?" Lissa asked, confused.
"I said, what if dhampirs could have children with each other?" Rose repeated.
"They can't, Rose," Lissa laid her hand on Rose's. "That's just how the world works."
There was a feeling that was nagging Rose, though. She couldn't shake the idea that it was possible, that maybe someday dhampirs could make a family.
"But if it was possible," Rose said quickly. "What do you think would happen?"
"Well," Lissa thought for a moment. "The baby would become an instant celebrity. Everyone would want to see it. They'd be a marvel of science."
Rose became silent, lost in her thoughts. She didn't want to ruminate any more than she already had, but the very idea of a child with dhampir-dhampir parentage gave her hope.
"Why do you ask?" Lissa said. She gave Rose's hand a squeeze.
Rose smiled briefly and looked straight ahead. "No reason."
The car jolted to a sudden stop as the headlights revealed a tree that had fallen down in the middle of the road. They were still fifteen minutes out from St Vladimir's and it was the middle of the night, leaving no chance for the human authorities to come out and remove the tree.
"I bet if we all picked it up, we could move it from the road," said Oliver, the guardian in the driver's seat.
Rose peered out into the darkness with narrowed eyes. "Maybe."
"Hey, it's not a half bad idea," said Annabelle, the other guardian in the front seat. "We're so close to St Vladimir's anyway."
Lissa nudge Rose's arm. "Go. I'll be fine in the car. Besides, it's safer than taking me to a human motel and waiting until sunrise, right?"
Rose was still skeptical. There was something suspicious about a fallen tree when there hadn't been a storm recently, but the road was constantly protected by guardians from the school.
"Okay, but we do it as quickly as possible. We shouldn't be late for the assembly."
Rose signalled to Annabelle and Oliver and they exited the SUV, locking it behind them. Rose could barely see Lissa through the deeply tinted glass; she looked so odd sitting in the car alone. Ever since she had become queen, she was rarely ever alone at any point during the day because of increased security. Lissa was always her strongest when surrounded by the people in her life.
"Let's get this over, shall we?" Rose asked as they approached the log. "Oliver, you take the skinny side, Annabelle and I have the fat side."
"You mean the trunk?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah, yeah, smartass. Hop to it."
Annabelle positioned herself opposite Rose and they nodded, signalling to lift the tree out of the way. Rose struggled to pick it up and they ended up letting it bounce back towards the ground.
"Shit, that's heavy," Annabelle said.
The three were reassessing the tree when Rose noticed something towards the bottom. She ran her hand along the portion where the tree had broken off of its roots and a chilling feeling ran down her spine.
The tree trunk hadn't just fallen—it'd been cut.
"Back to the car," Rose said sternly.
"What?" Oliver whipped his head up.
"I said, get back to the car." Rose kept her voice measured and quiet with much difficulty. If anyone was lying in wait in the woods, screaming wasn't the answer. "We have to leave. Now."
Annabelle stuck herself to Rose's side and said in just above a whisper, "What's going on?"
"The tree was cut down," Rose said. Her eyes darted to the trees, but nothing seemed to be moving. "Someone planted it there."
"Motel 6, then?" Annabelle asked, unlocking the car.
"It's the only one in town."
As Annabelle opened the door to the car, a figure shot out of the woods and launched itself at her. Annabelle was thrown across the hood of the car and set upon by a tall man with pale skin and red eyes that glittered like rubies.
Strigoi.
"Fuck," Rose said underneath her breath. She slammed the car door shut and darted to where Annabelle was engaged in a fight with the Strigoi, who had been joined by two others. "Lissa! Stay in the car!"
Annabelle had fought off one, but the others weren't waiting their turns and had nearly overpowered her. Oliver managed to stake one and Rose pulled the other off of Annabelle's back.
"Thanks," Annabelle shouted back at Rose.
"Don't mention it," Rose said.
More Strigoi streamed in from the woods, the sound of fighting attracting them to the group. There was no way of telling if this attack had been planned. It was possible that Strigoi could have been nesting nearby. Regardless, the road was much more dangerous than previously thought and all they could do know was fight for their lives.
Three Strigoi broke off from the group and went for the car. Thankfully it was locked, but that wouldn't last very long.
"Get to the car!" Rose shouted. She staked a Strigoi and it went down, but another took its place as Rose pulled her stake from the body. "I'll distract them! Just go!"
Annabelle and Oliver hesitated, not wanting to leave Rose, but they made their way towards the car, not wanting to disobey a direct order. They staked the few Strigoi attempting to break into the car and got it started.
The sea of Strigoi hadn't gotten any smaller and they were beginning to close in on all sides. Everywhere Rose turned was another Strigoi wanting to grab a piece of her and despite her training, she didn't think that she could take all of them even on her greatest day.
Beep.
Oliver laid into the car horn. The headlights of the car illuminated Rose surrounded by the attackers.
"Get out! Turn back!" She shouted. One Strigoi grabbed a hold of Rose's arm and another her leg. She couldn't fight them off any longer. "Save Lissa!"
She fought tooth and claw to escape them to no avail. Her fingers disappeared last; outstretched to one of the only people on earth that she loved. Rose's voice pierced the air for the last time.
"Save Lissa."
Half a mile away, a group of dhampirs picked up Strigoi activity on their tracker.
"This thing is on the fritz," said one, showing the team leader. "What should we do?"
"If that's the one we've been tracking, let's suit up," the team leader said. "No use delaying the inevitable."
They made their way to the main road, where a significant number of the Strigoi had already run off, but they staked the others with little difficulty. The Strigoi had left quite the mess, including a tree in the middle of the road. The leader made a note to tell the city in the morning to remove it.
"Hey Josiah!" A second member of the team motioned for the leader to join them at the side of the road. "I think I've got something."
There was a woman laying at the base of the tree, right by the edge of the road. She had numerous bites and there was no telling whether she was alive or not. Josiah knelt by her side and inspected her injuries. He glanced at the back of her neck.
"Take her back to base," he said. "Then wrap all of this up. We return to Corinth at dawn."
"Huh," said one of the medics, once the woman was settled on the stretcher.
"What is it?" asked the other.
The medic pushed the woman's hair to the side to reveal a set of markings on the back of her neck. They disappeared into the collar of her shirt.
"She's got a promise mark," the medic said. He pulled the back of the woman's shirt down further. "Holy shit, and a ton of molnijas. There's more than fifteen on her neck."
The other leaned in to inspect the woman's tattoos. "We're miles from anywhere owned by Court. What would a guardian be doing out in the woods like this?"
The medic shrugged. "Maybe she got lost?"
Josiah pulled out a knife and cut the woman's shirt at the collar. The molnija marks, and even a few zvezda marks as well, covered her neck and a large portion of her shoulders. "Or maybe she was out tracking the same Strigoi nest we were."
The team looked at each other, waiting for Josiah's next command before they proceeded with bringing the woman back to their camp. Josiah pulled a phone out of his pocket and took a photo of the woman's back. She was covered in bite marks from the Strigoi, but the ink of the tattoos, black as the night, were still visible.
Snap.
Everyone whipped their heads towards the sound, but nothing came out of the forest.
"Let's get out of here," Josiah said, pocketing his phone. "This place creeps me out."
The team carried the woman back towards the camp they had pitched. Glittering moonlight caught Josiah's attention, and he leaned down, his hand grasping a nazar charm out of the dirt.
"Where did you come from?" Josiah whispered to the piece of bright blue glass. It looked like some kind of eye of sorts. It was used to ward off evil spirits.
"Captain!" barked one of the medics. "You coming?"
Josiah pocketed the charm and looked at the woman as she laid on the stretcher. "Yeah, I am."