"Thank you all, so much."
"Not at all Miss Hathaway, I'm glad we could help." Kirova replied.
"Thank you" Rose repeated, as she left the headmistresses office.
"Rose!"
Rose turned around to see Alberta walking up to her.
"By all accounts, it would be my position to tell Guardian Belikov of this matter, but I understand that you share a more than a student mentor relationship, therefore I was willing to make an exception, if you want it that is?"
"Yeah, I think it would be better if it came from me, thanks Alberta" Rose answered, smiling briefly before turning and heading to the Dhampir dorms.
As the dhampir dorms came into view Rose stopped to take a deep breath, looking up at the building, before spinning round to look at the school. The place that she'd run from, the place she was dragged back to, the place where she discovered who she really was, the place where she fell in love, the place she called home.
"Rose?"
At the sound of her name Rose snapped her head in the direction of the noise.
"Dimitri"
"Are you ok? You've been standing here for a while."
"Um....we need to talk."
"Sure, what's up?"
"In private"
Nodding in response Dimitri motioned for Rose to follow him, as he lead the way across the grounds, through the trees until they reached the abandoned cabin. Their place.
"What's going on?" Dimitri asked as he closed the cabin door.
"You might want to sit down"
"Rose, will you please tell me what's going on, you're really starting scare me." Dimitri pleaded as Rose started to pace.
"I took your advice. I talked to Liss, about everything that's been going on with me. I told her everything I told you...well actually I told her more than I told you, because I'm pretty sure some of it would make me sound crazier than you all ready think I am. Anyway... I told her, and she said; 'but that's your job right, I mean you're my guardian, it's your job to die for me'. I couldn't believe it, neither could Adrian for that matter, I searched the bond to see if she was under compulsion or something, so did Adrian. Nothing...it was all Liss." Rose finished sitting down on the bed.
Dimitri sat still for a moment, unsure of what to say, before he quickly got up and moved to sit next to Rose on the bed.
"What are you going to do?"
"Alberta overheard the end of our conversation, and well.......lets just say she wasn't exactly happy with Liss' reaction. Anyway she took me to see Kirova, she and they gave me my options. I could stay and act like nothing is happening, I could ask to be reassigned, I could stay here and become a mentor, or I was given the off the record option of going off on my own, either way they're left the choice up to me" Rose explained.
"So, what did you decide?" Dimitri asked.
" A combination of three, and I've also been awarded early graduation. After everything that's happened some of the Dhampirs and a few Moroi have been awarded early graduation. All my teachers have agreed they have nothing left to teach me, so they've all agreed. I personally think that they're just desperate to get rid of me." She added making Dimitri laugh.
"When do you graduate?" Dimitri asked quietly.
"Two days" Rose answered softly. "And as much as I really, really want to, I don't know if.... once I've graduated, I.... for the next year or so, my job is going to be.... and I don't know if...if we'll be able to..." She trailed off, her eyes studying her hands intently.
"Oh." Dimitri replied in understanding "Look I understand, you're eight-teen it's understandable that you want to experience..."
"NO! No, that's not what I meant" Rose interrupted, "I meant that, I'm not going to have a lot of free time, and although I'll want to I probably won't be able to see or talk to you as much as I'll want. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'll understand if you want to... you know" she added looking at her hands once again.
"Not a chance" Dimitri replied with absolute certainty, "If you need a year or so, then I'll wait a year or so"
"I can't ask you to do that, I can't ask you to wait for me"
"Your not asking, I'm telling. As long as it takes I'll wait, I'll wait for you Roza." Dimitri promised caressing Rose's cheek, and bringing her face up to meet his.
"I wish you didn't have to, I wish we could just be together now. It always seems like there's something going against us, the world never seems to give us a chance." Rose replied looking into Dimitri's eyes.
Bringing her hand up to Dimitri's face, Rose gently traced his features before cupping the back of his neck and bringing his face forward to meet his. Their lips collided in a fury of fiery passion, each of them pouring all of their repressed emotions into the kiss, telling each other how much pain the separation would cause.
Pulling away, Rose rested her forehead against Dimitri's, her eyes still closed as she pressed a chaste but loving kiss against his lips.
"I love you" Rose whispered gently, just loud enough for Dimitri to hear her, before she stood quickly and left the cabin, her heart unable to take the pain of saying: 'Goodbye'.