Block, dodge, kick, block, swing, dip, block…
"I think you'll want someone a little less brutal. She's a wonderful fighter, but she hasn't completed her own training and her own skills seem to be lacking."
Duck, swing, dodge, punch, slam, crash…
"We are well aware of that. News travels fast and Viktoria has shown her enthusiasm in having this novice train her into becoming a guardian."
Crash… kick, punch, dodge, swing, crash…
"Hathaway! Will you please stop wailing on Mr. Ashford? Castile, please go help Ashford wash up. Rose has a guest," the girl, Rose Hathaway, looked up towards Guardian Petrova and smiled. There was sweat beading along her hairline, but that didn't distract from the victorious smile that overtook her face and the slight swelling of her knuckles.
"Eddie! You may want to get some ice on Mason's… everything." The other boy, Mason Ashford, was covered in bruises and his nose gushed blood. Rose had done a number on him in practice.
Hathaway left the sparring arena to walk with Guardian Petrova, the head guardian of St. Vladimir's Academy. She nodded Rose closer to her guest.
"Rose, this is Ivan Zecklos. He has come here to ask you something very important. He's traveled very far, and I would hope that you would treat him with the respect you refuse to show your teachers. I'll leave the two of you alone."
Rose looked over at her guest. Ivan Zecklos was an older young Moroi; he seemed to be in his early twenties, or at least that's what she assumed.
"Hello Miss Hathaway, I've come to ask you for a favor. It would be much appreciated if you took this time to train my dear friend Viktoria. She will be transferring from St. Basil's in a week and I know it may seem unreasonable, but—"
"I'm sorry Mr. Zecklos, but I'm not qualified. And frankly, I don't have that kind of time. Sorry, hope you find someone to train her…" Rose walked away from the Moroi, but she thought she heard him mumble under his breath.
"Don't worry. We will."
And sure enough, he did.
-o.o-
"Rosemarie Hathaway, due to your outlandish behavior and your acts of random violence—"
"—Ralph shouldn't have tried to disrobe me in his drunken stupor—"
"—you have been asked to volunteer your training time in order to gain some responsibility." Headmistress Kirova narrowed her eyes warningly at Rose, a silent threat to shut her up, and continued on, " Next week, your early mornings will consist of outside training from another guardian and your current training period will be dedicated to Miss Belikova. You do not have a say in this Miss Hathaway. You are dismissed." Kirova shooed Rose out of her office, before she could utter a single syllable.
Great… now I get to babysit…
-o.o-
"Rose! I heard you're taking on a novice. Good luck with the newbie!" A few of her fellow novices called to her while running towards the gym for class. Rose could have cared less at this point and doubled back to the girl's dormitories.
"You're supposed to be in class." To that, Rose rolled her eyes and continued on towards the entrance of the building.
"Hey! You're going to be training someone very close to me. I think it'd be best for you to go to your classes and bulk up on more knowledge for her. It's not all about you anymore." Rose spun around, a fire burning in her eyes.
"It was never about just me. I am a Dhampir, meaning I am to give my life in battle for my best friend. And as much as I get that and respect that, it still doesn't mean I get to live a normal life or try to enjoy what little time I have left. My life has already been traded away. What's left for me outside of this?" Ian stared back at her. Rose was technically right. There wasn't much for a Dhampir outside of the guardian life. Rose left Ivan lost in his thoughts at the steps of the girl's dorm.
The next few days passed by in a haze. Guardian Alto may have said something of some importance, but it must not have been too important if no one remembered. Guardian Petrova caught her trying to escape Slavic Art and some dead language Rose could have cared less about. In general, the only class Rose really wanted to be in was gym. It meant she got hit something mindlessly for an hour without consequence; in fact, it was encouraged.
"Rose! Will you please restrain yourself from trying to behead Meredith?" Mason called over to Rose as she lunged again for Meredith's throat. "You're going to be training the new meat soon; try not to kill her?" If Rose could take out Meredith without even thinking, Viktoria was going to be in training hell.
Rose knocked the poor girl down twice, caught her in a headlock, and threw Meredith down to the ground more times than Mason could count. Rose was unaware of the watchful eyes; her main goal had been to eliminate her target.
"Her skills are not lacking… She is, however, undisciplined. Perhaps someone else could take over…?"
"No thank you Ms. Kirova. Rose is more than capable for this task."
-o.o-
Viktoria Belikova was not unskilled. She grasped Rose's fighting technique fairly quickly. Her execution, however, could be improved through time. She managed to get through to weeks unscathed, which was widely impressive considering.
"So, do you still mind training me?"
"Not at all, Viktoria, you're the least of my problems. I do however mind Guardian Sexy bossing me around all the time. It's so annoying!" Guardian Sexy was one of the hundreds of nicknames Rose had given to her tall dark and handsome trainer. The mornings left Rose exhausted, but just knowing that her Russian companion would still look s sexy in sweat as he did dry, made it all worth it.
Viktoria hated when Rose brought up her brother. She hadn't told Rose that her trainer was actually related to Viktoria. Guardian Sexy (aka Dimitri Belikov) was Viktoria's older brother. But, she wouldn't say anything to Rose just yet. There was no reason to.
The two girls got along swimmingly. In fact, when Jesse and Ralph began to prey on her, Rose stepped in and kicked those two out of the ball park for being revolting and nauseating. It brought the girls closer though.
-o.o-
Viktoria didn't seem bothered by the lack of Ivan's appearance at their trainings. She had been performing better. Better doesn't cut it though… The gym was open, but empty. No one would be there for a few more hours.
I could get in early; take care of myself before heading back to Lissa…
The gym would have been empty if not for Guardian Belikov. Yes, Viktoria had eventually told Rose that Dimitri was her brother, but only after being forced into revealing her innermost secrets. From what little Rose could see Dimitri had worked up a bit of a sweat. It glistened off his shoulders and down his neck seductively.
Rose ignored her inner desire to go talk to him, and went out back for a quick jog. She had run around the track at least seven times before noticing that he had been watching her. Guardian Belikov came outside and propped himself against the door to the gym, his eyes trained on her the entire time.
"See something you like?" She couldn't resist the temptation of teasing him. Dimitri smiled knowingly at Rose before heading back inside the gym.
Over the course of that year Viktoria had learned a whole lot from Rose, Christian (the Ozera boy from a family of turned Strigoi's) had fallen for Lissa (the last Dragomir in existence), Mia Rinaldi stopped being such a snot faced bitch, and Rose had been learning more than she had ever thought she would from Guardian Belikov, all the while slowly falling in love with him.
-o.o-
Rose nuzzled deeper into her pillow. She would not wake up from her dreams just yet…
Author's Note:
Wow… It's been a long while guys… Sorry this chapter seems so rushed. I wrote it today… so yeah, it was a little rushed. I apologize. I'm working on the second chapter, so hopefully it'll be out by New Years. If not, sorry!
Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading! A special thank you to RozaRocks, Do'B, and Callista Wolfwood for reviewing the previous story (Queen of Hearts)! You guys are fantastic!
I hope everyone had a great summer, Fourth of July, beginning of school, fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, winter, and Christmas (or any holiday you celebrated)!
-Lolita