Hello!
I wanted to try something out. Just read the Vampire Academy series, and I kind of wanted to rewrite the series from the necklace scene in the first book to the end with my own twists and turns. I know it's probably been done before, but oh well :)
This is a "excerpt" from that idea. Set in the beginning of Shadow Kiss, before they all leave for Victor's trial, Lissa wakes up to find Rose and stumbles across her and Dimitri having a moment. I couldn't believe that at the end of Shadow Kiss Lissa was surprised at Rose and Dimitri being romantically involved. Everyone else could totally see it, even when they weren't actually together, so why couldn't Lissa? It just kind of bugged me.
Basically, the deal is: read, review (constructive criticism only!), and tell me if you think you'd like to see the above-mentioned story idea. Or if you want me to kind of continue with these little one-shots of different perspectives from characters in the series. Whichever's more popular. Though, just for kicks, I'll probably write something like this in Tasha's POV, just because I don't like the woman AT ALL.
I wasn't sure on the rating, so I'm posting it as a T with a strong warning. This does contain some sexual content, no lemons, though. I don't write lemons. Period.
Okay, on with the story!
Disclaimer: Vampire Academy and all of it's books, characters, settings, and plot lines belong to Richelle Mead, who I can't thank enough for writing such a wonderful series. Even though most of the time I want to yell 'hurry up and get together' to Dimitri and Rose. Besides, if I had written VA, Rose and Dimitri would have gotten together at the end of Vampire Academy and not at the end of Shadow Kiss. Dimitri also would not have turned Strigoi.
Vasilisa Dragomir was not stupid. Or unobservant for that matter. Even though some people thought she was wrapped up in her boyfriend, Christian Ozera, to pay Rose any attention, Lissa still knew when Rose liked someone. And right now, her bond-mate was crushing big time on Dimitri Belikov.
Lissa knew it was a futile effort. Belikov was seven years older than Rose, too his job very seriously and would not cross any line of professionalism. Besides, though Rose was very beautiful, Dimitri wouldn't like her in that way. Christian had told her of his aunt, Tasha's brief fling with the guardian. Even if there were feelings there, Dimitri and Rose wouldn't even risk it! The consequences of such a relationship would greatly impact their futures, and Lissa wanted them both as her future guardians. Call her selfish, but one is already assigned to protect her, and Rose will be assigned to her when Rose graduated the coming spring.
Sometimes Lissa noticed the lingering gazes, the occasional touch or caress, the way that only Dimitri would be able to calm Rose down or cheer her up just by walking into a room. She also noticed that Rose was acting more and more like Dimitri did in her training. She didn't just waltz into a dangerous situation anymore and hope for the best, but instead Rose waited and strategized, then with calculating grace and cool efficiency took down her opponents with lightning-fast strikes and solid hits.
Lissa also noticed Dimitri changing. The stoicism and professionalism were still there, but she could hear humor in his voice when Rose said or did something particularly amusing. She could see poorly concealed anger in his jawline whenever he saw or heard Adrian Ivashkov or Jesse Zeklos. Lissa could also feel the concern coming off Dimitri in waves when Rose came to lunch with a developing bruise from training.
But she never put it all together, denial firmly in place. They're becoming really good friends, she reasoned. When a person spent most of their time around another person, those people become friends. Just look at Rose and Adrian. Dimitri's just a really good friend to Rose, Lissa thought. With that notion in her mind, she was able to deny all accusations of an illicit relationship and never questioned Rose about it. She instead focused all of her time and energy into pairing Rose and Adrian.
One cool morning when she should have been asleep with the rest of the school, Lissa got out of bed, pulled on sweats and a T-shirt and walked out of the dorm. It was early in the morning, the sun was low in the sky when she left the dorm building so the light didn't bother her, and walked to the dhampir lodgings to find Rose. Lissa couldn't feel anything with their bond (it only went one way), so when she got to Rose's room and Rose wasn't there, Lissa didn't know where to look. Then it hit her.
When they were escorted back to the academy after they were found by school-hired guardians, Rose was told she needed to have remedial trainings with Belikov in her free time, to help her catch up to her peers. They had been using the old training gym on the far end of campus by the track so they wouldn't be disturbed. Lissa made her way down to the gym; now that the sun was practically nonexistent she could walk out in the open.
After a couple minutes of walking down a steep hill, Lissa finally saw the old gym. It was colored in greys and whites; very drab and boring. The paint was peeling in places and there was dirt everywhere. The small windows lined the top of the gym and with every other window open, they let out moldy, sweaty air. Lissa could not imagine anyone wanting to go near the building, let alone train in it.
She crept to the door, not wanting to disturb the training going on inside. The door was cracked, and Lissa's curiosity got the better of her and widened the door a little more. She gasped.
Rose and Dimitri were kissing. Really kissing. The kind of kissing that belongs somewhere way more private than a decrepit training gym on the outskirts of a school. Dimitri's shirt was off with old black sweatpants slung low on his hips with his sneakers, and Rose was only in a sports bra, shorts and her sneakers. Her long hair was down, hair tie broken at Lissa's feet, and Dimitri was running one hand through the long strands. The other hand was running up and down Rose's thigh, which she had hooked around Dimitri's hip.
Holy shit.
Lissa, knowing the bond's effects, contained every ounce of pure, unadulterated shock that wanted to flow through her body. If Rose had caught wind of that emotion and was pulled into Lissa's mind, she'd know her and Dimitri would have been compromised. It would also make things totally weird and awkward between them. Lissa was well aware that Rose had been pulled into her mind during sex with Christian (or whenever they got hot and heavy), and that was bad enough.
She also didn't want Rose to think that she had been spying. But, wasn't that was she was doing already?
It was one of those situations where it's so awkward that you know you have to look away, but you can't. Dimitri's hand had left Rose's hair, and was now making its way down to the small of her back. He ran it side to side along Rose's lower back, and he shifted so that instead of her lips, he was kissing her neck and collarbone. Rose's head was thrown back, and her hands had stopped running up and down Dimitri's back. Now they were moving back and forth between hitting the wall they were pressed up against and lighting raking her nails along his lower back and (really defined!) abs, biceps, and base of his neck, where his molnija marks were located. Small gasps could be heard from both of them as the intensity increased.
A strong gust of wind blew in from the open door, and one of the open windows above snapped shut. The loud sound caused the lovers to snap back to reality and jump about ten feet away from each other when they discovered how they were positioned. They both became insanely red-faced, and Dimitri coughed.
"Well," He began. Rose didn't speak, trying to look everywhere else instead of him.
"… That can't happen again."
Rose snapped her eyes back to him. "Why not? We're together, and we're allowed to do stuff like that. Dimitri, we've had sex before. I don't know how many times. No one else knows!"
"You're seventeen! And you're my student. There are lines that should not have been crossed. It may not matter to you, but it makes me feel guilty sometimes. I can't even be in the same room with your mother anymore, because she trusts me to train you and to not do anything that could compromise you or your reputation. I'm breaking her trust almost every day! I don't deserve that trust if every chance we get we jump each other." Dimitri retaliated.
This, to Lissa, had the feel of an age-old argument.
"But we are still training! We're not jumping each other every chance we get. If anything, I'm more focused on my training now than I was before. I've improved tenfold from just last week. I'm ready to take my Trials right now and pass with flying colors because you trust me more to use your old training from Siberia to train me. I'm at the top of my class right now, grades aside."
"But what good is it going to be if we're both assigned to the Princess? If I'm in a relationship with you, then I'm going to want to throw my body in front of danger to protect you and not her. She deserves better than two distracted guardians."
"We're not protecting anyone right now."
Silence. Lissa cast her eyes downward.
"You're still in school. There are rules put in place to protect students; to prevent teachers and students from having this sort of relationship." Dimitri ran his hand through his hair
Rose bit her lip. Tears were forming, and her voice cracked when she spoke. "How much longer are you going to use this stupid excuse? We've talked about this before. We've gotten past this. I didn't realize it still bothered you. I didn't realize you didn't want to be with me."
Rose took a seat on the bench, defeated. Dimitri followed her with is eyes, longing evident in them. The show of insecurity seemed to snap Dimitri into action.
"Roza." Dimitri spoke softly. The nickname in Russian (with the more pronounced accent) was a small shock to Lissa, who had never heard it before.
She looked up. Dimitri walked over to her, and kneeled in front of her. Took her hands in his and spoke.
"I love you. You know I do. However, things are really weird and stressful right now because of Dashkov's trial, your mother being here and actively taking part in your life. Not to mention what happened in Spokane. I want to be with you. I turned down Tasha Ozera so I could be with you. I agree with everything you said, because it's the truth. But it's also my job on the line. I need to be able to deny accusations of an illicit relationship or statutory rape because you know Victor will say something about what happened between us the night Lissa was kidnapped. About why it took us so long to notify others. Plausible deniability is the key phrase here."
Lissa was trying not to cry. It was so sad, watching two people she knew and loved having to deny each other happiness because of their limitations and duty to a greater cause.
Rose nodded. "I understand. It's so hard, though. Seeing everyone else out in the open together, and then having to be secretive and lying about why I don't want to go out with Adrian, or leading Mason on with no concrete promises of a relationship. I don't want to deny you the opportunity to have a family with Tasha, either. These moments that we can steal away for ourselves have become stabilizing to me. I can always count on you being here to support me and listen to me and hold me when nothing else is going right. And I know you count on me for the same things.
"We don't have time to stay apart. I know that when I graduate a relationship won't be possible. Things change, stuff happens, and what if you are killed tomorrow? Or turned into a Strigoi? I want to have memories of you that I can carry with me. We can't be friends, we've tried that. We can't stay apart, we've tried that too. Other than being together, damn the consequences, what do you expect us to do?"
No answer. Lissa's heart was pounding. The sun was almost completely down, and she could hear people moving inside the school. In the split second she had turned away and turned back, Rose and Dimitri began to kiss again. It was not as raw as the first one she had seen, but it was way to intimate. They broke apart.
"Stay together. Damn the consequences. Despite my reservations." Dimitri smiled.
Rose grinned hugely, and threw her arms around him. Lissa decided enough was enough, and began to walk away.
"Don't feel so guilty all the time, Dimitri," Lissa could faintly hear Rose say. "Remember, I share a big part of the guilt too."
Sounds of them getting up and picking up all the stakes and dummies from the floor began to filter out through the door, and as Lissa ran back up the hill, she decided that she was going to share the guilt as well. Secrets couldn't stay secrets without help.
So, what did you think? Remember: constructively review and offer your opinion of what you'd like to see.
The choices are:
- A bunch of one-shots from the perspectives of different characters throughout VA series that would expand on Dimitri and Rose's relationship.
- A complete rewrite of the series starting from the enchanted necklace scene from the first book with my own little twists and differences. Same plotlines, same adversities, but just more problems and a little more angst.
Thank you!
