Rose is a Moroi princess who is on her way to becoming the Queen, and Dimitri is her Guardian who has fallen in love with her despite all the odds. Now, she is seemingly content with her relationship with Adrian. But, what happens one night when things go a little sideways and Rose and Dimitri end up having a tete - a - tete .
Rose and Adrian have been going strong for quite a while and her Guardian Dimitri Belikov has been doing a very good job at masking every flinch and every ounce of anger he felt at the many discrete touches and kisses they shared. He had been told from very early on in his education that he was merely there to protect the Moroi; and in his case, Rose Hathaway, and no questions need be asked. Similarly, he had been trained to deal with all kinds of scenarios that he might encounter in his duties, and boy had he been trained well. But, the only thing that they conveniently forgot to mention was what he should do if he were ever to fall in love with his charge.
Rose was the oldest of her line, with only her younger sister, Vasilisa to keep her company. It was a position that earned her the title of " Princess", and he was supposed to protect her with his life. There was rarely a moment they were not together,for purposes of security of course, and her strength and ardor for trying to resolve issues that plagued their society had flared something in him, something he had never felt before. In her good - natured frivolity she had even begun calling him " Comrade". It was a name he pretended to dislike but nevertheless would wait to hear it roll off her tongue every day. To him, she was beautiful, kind, intelligent and so much more. Also, she was their Princess. And he? A mere dhampir.
The disparity of their societal positions had widened now that Rose was one of the few nominated to be the next monarch of the Moroi world which spread across the continents. Of course, nothing was set in stone; she would still have to pass the tests and then be elected, but Dimitri, along with many of her followers, ardently believed that she was the only one worthy of being seated on the throne.
And perhaps she was. Rose would certainly not give up without a fight and her way of achieving this was immersing herself in work. She had radical ideas that would change their otherwise primitive society for the better and she was determined to see those through. But, all that was bound to take a toll, and her relationship with Adrian Ivashkov seemed to be having a surprisingly similar effect. At least in Dimitri's eyes.
Adrian was the current Queen's great - nephew and a favourite of hers. Even though she was to retire of her old age she had no plans of giving up her control and influence. To her utter dismay, Moroi law stated that there could not be two consecutive monarchs from the same family and Queen Tatiana, as conniving as ever, sought to find the next best solution. This was the only reason she approved of the relationship Adrian had with Rose.
Dimitri noticed that Rose seemed somewhat uncomfortable in Adrian's embrace of late. Perhaps, since she had received the tattoo for ensuring secrecy of the tasks. Although it didn't do much to prevent Dimitri from having to hear the collaborative moans of pleasure that emerged from their room the other night, much to his chagrin. Still, Rose's behaviour had seemed queer to Dimitri.
And finding her in her driveway, pleading with an aggravated Adrian in the middle of the night only solidified his suspicions.
Dimitri had been given orders not to show up to duty tonight, but he had decided to simply check on whether everything was alright. And from what he saw, things definitely weren't.
" Adrian, come back please. You need to understand that I can't do this just yet. Not with everything that is going on." she tried to reason with Adrian who had already opened the gate to leave.
" No, I get it. You have time for everything other than us. Fine, I'll give you all the time you want, Rose." he yelled back from where he was standing. " Do you know how embarrassing this is for me, Adrian Ivashkov, to be rejected like that, Rose?"
" It wasn't a rejection. I just said that this wasn't the right time."
" Fine. Call me when it is." he said dismissively and strode out.
" Adrian pl -" she finally gave up. She looked back at the box she had in her hand and sighed. Dimitri, who had entered through the back gate had barely caught the gist of the argument as he turned the corner of the house and ran over to her.
" What happened, Princess? Is everything alright?" he asked, concern written all over his face.
" Will you stop calling me that, Dimitri." she snapped. She ran her hand through her hair and was pacing in frustration.
" Sorry. It's a habit. But, what is wrong? What happened?"
His question was met with silence and the same frustrated pacing. He walked over and gently put his hands on her shoulder, forcing her to look at him.
" Tell me what the matter is. Please let me help you, Roza." he said softly.
Her furrowed brows smoothened as she looked into Dimitri's eyes and sighed. She pushed him off and shoved the little box into his hand saying, " This is what happened."
Dimitri looked at the box in surprise just as Rose was making her way back into the house. It was a blue, velvety affair and Dimitri cautiously opened it to reveal a beautiful ring that only deserved to be on a Princess' finger. Sadness engulfed Dimitri as he stared at the piece of jewellery. It was only a reminder of how different their worlds were and exactly how far apart their worlds stood.
Suppressing such thoughts he ran towards the house whose door was left ajar, calling out to Rose. When he finally reached the living room, he found Rose already settled on the couch with the TV on and a bottle of vodka on the coffee table.
" Come here, Dimitri. Sit down next to me. I believe one of those slasher movie marathons are supposed to be on tonight. Oh look, I found the channel."
She poured herself a glass of the clear liquid, studied it for a moment and took a swig directly from the bottle instead. " Chop, chop. Belikov, grab yourself a glass. Otherwise you will probably miss the first victim considering that the people are already stranded."
Dimitri slowly sat down on the couch wondering how to bring about the topic. He could tell she was upset because violent movies and some sort of alcohol was bound to be part of her reaction. He didn't want to dampen her mood further nor did he wish for her to suffer a hangover in the morning.
" Drinking vodka will not help resolve anything, you know."
She stopped mid - swig and looked at him. " Why? Do you have anything stronger?"
Dimitri shook his head in response.
" Then vodka will have to help. I don't really see a choice, Dimitri." This was a dismissal and Dimitri knew it all too well. There was no stopping her from taking those gulps.
She slid closer and rested her head on his shoulders without asking for the permission she knew she had as Dimitri hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. As much as he wanted to provide any shred of comfort he could to Rose, he was still fearful. Afraid to get used to her warmth; afraid to get close to her.
Nevertheless, they watched the movie together and the rate of depletion of the fluid in the bottle gradually slowed down as they discussed topics that went off on a tangent from the pressing issue at hand. The atmosphere was warm and comfortable, forcing them to break into laughter ever so often.
Dimitri wished it would always be this way between them, just the two of them. But, he knew it could never be so; Rose's life was far more important than his own. And that is why he began slowly, " I know it's not my place to ask, but are you actually going to consider his proposal? I hope he isn't pushing you."
She let out a laugh heavy with derision. She asked with a distinctive slur lacing her words, "Say Dimitri, you're a man right? And from what I know of you, a man of much intelligence. So, tell me why Adrian would want to marry me."
Dimitri was stunned by this question. He could give her a thousand reasons and more anyone could have for asking her hand in marriage but he decided to feign incomprehension.
" I see you didn't understand. Let me rephrase. Why do you think Adrian would want to marry me now, right before this ..." she shifted her gaze to her leg which she had extended before her and pointed to the tattoo that was visible against her skin.
It was the tattoo that the candidates received in order to ensure that no one outside their circle would know about the tasks they had to perform. The more Dimitri gazed at it, the more clearer her point became until it all clicked into place.
Dimitri was certain of what Rose was implying. But, it surely couldn't be true, could it? Would Adrian really want to marry Rose now in order to climb higher on the ladder of royalty?
" No, no. Surely, he wouldn't do that." Dimitri said, but it came out more as a question.
" You remain unconvinced?" she paused to take a sip, this time from the glass she had filled earlier. " Power is an insidious alliance, Comrade, it always has been. And ironically enough, people can do a lot to gain it. You see, if Macbeth could kill his king to gain the throne and its power, surely marrying me is the lesser of the two evils. It is surprising to see how many people are confident that I will win be the next Queen. I guess, I should be flattered."
" I don't think marrying you is an evil at all, Princess." Dimitri blurted out and immediately bit his lip; in the midst of their frank conversation he had let slip his innermost thoughts by mistake. He sat still hoping that, by some miracle, Rose had not heard it , but his hopes were shattered when she slowly lifted her head to meet his eyes.
" You really believe so, don't you?" she asked as if trying to read him. Her eyes were a bottomless brown and Dimitri found himself drowning in them. " You would never use me for your advantage, would you Comrade?"
He could feel her breath on his lips and he breathed in her intoxicating scent. " No. I could never do that you, Princess." he whispered almost inaudibly, knowing she had heard. His astute mind had stopped working and it even failed to register her proximity. He only regarded her, mindlessly, without a thought, and he was still elated.
Rose shifted slightly and raised her finger, placing it lightly on his lips. " Shh, Comrade …. I am not your Princess. I am Rose, Dimitri; your Roza."
With that she closed the gap that had remained between their lips and who was Dimitri to resist. It would have been impossible even if he had wanted to; the trained Guardian was powerless next to her. He poured out all his love for her through that single kiss and when he felt her shift her weight to deepen it, he responded all too eagerly. He wrapped one arm around her waist while the other one snaked up into her hair and pulled her closer.
It was so much more than what he had imagined, so much more powerful. And he needed no invitation when she parted her lips and gently licked his. At that moment, he knew he was hers and that he would follow her anywhere even after duty ceased to dictate it.
But, it didn't last too long because his tongue soon grazed against something sharp. It took Dimitri a few dazed moments to realise that those were her fangs.
He froze as his mind began reeling with the comprehension of what they were doing. Within a second the consequences flashed before his eyes and he began pulling away. He felt Rose tug on his collar, puzzled due to his sudden movement. But, he finally managed to pull away and Rose flopped down on the couch next to him .
" I'm so sorry. That should not have happened." Dimitri jumped up and stood a little distance away almost as if he might not be able to control himself if he got too near .
Rose sat there looking perplexed. She finally buried her face in her hands and nodded violently.
Seeing this, Dimitri quickly added, " It was my fault, Princess. It will never happen again. It was wrong of me to do something like that."
" No. Yes. It wasn't wron- ….. Nevermind. You didn't do anything anyways." Rose spoke, trying to string her words together. She had a distant look in her eyes as if questioning what had just happened. She was still breathing heavily and cast nervous glances in Dimitri's direction.
" I should go now. I suggest you go to bed, Princess. You have a long ahead. You need to be calm for your meeting with the Badicas tomorrow." said Dimitri moving towards the door .
" Yes, yes. I'm not thinking straight right now. Hell, I don't even know what to think anymore anyways. But, you're right." she got up and walked over to her bedroom door. " When are you not right?" Dimitri noticed her still breathing heavily. He, himself felt like he had rock on his chest. She opened the door with the same preoccupied expression on her face and turned to Dimitri one last time before entering the room. She smiled sadly and said, " I'll see you in the morning , Comrade. Goodnight ."
Did you like it? Tell me what you think in your reviews, I would love to hear it.
This scene just popped up in my head one day and I decided to write it. I have thought of it as a one - shot for now, but I will be continuing it if I get any plot ideas . So, if you have any thoughts about what should happen next, let me know .
So, until next time …. Keep reading and enjoy ….. :D :D . .