Secret Rose

The sound of the piano filled the room as my fingers ran across the keyboard. It had been months since I'd touched a piano and it felt so good to finally be able to play again. Lost in the sound of the notes bouncing off the walls back to me I jumped at the bang of the double doors closing. Quick as lightning I stopped playing, grabbed my things, and ran for the back door. No one could know what I was really like when I wasn't being "big bad guardian Rose". Only Lissa knew what I did when I wasn't putting up my front.

"Rose wait, please stop." A voice yelled behind me, a voice I knew all too well. I didn't stop I just quickened my pace to a slight jog. "Rose, please come back."

I stopped and turned around to face him, "What Dimitri?"

"Why didn't you tell me you could play the piano like that? I didn't know you could play at all." He asked walking over to me as I looked around to make sure no one was listening in on us.

"Because I don't like people knowing I can. They always criticize me when I say I can do things like this and I hate it. 'Oh well look who thinks she's better than everyone else', 'Let's see you play', 'just something else she can do'. I don't want to be labeled "Miss-Do-It-All" again okay I hated it in elementary level and I hate it now so I hide everything including my grades. My main focus is Lissa and the darkness that's it." I snapped out at him and turned to storm off only to be stopped by a hand on my shoulder. "What do you want now you aren't satisfied?"

"What do you mean 'along with your grades' Rose?" Dimitri asked with a stern look only a guardian could pull off.

"When I was real little I was like the genius child that just really didn't like being messed with but of course I got teased and the only one who didn't was Lissa obviously. Well when Lissa started to really get darkness it was like a splash of cold water to the face so I just stopped looking like I was kid genius to make sure Lissa was so praised she wouldn't get angry and let the darkness consume her. At the time I didn't know I could take it away, I didn't figure it out until we left and I could be myself again because no one knew me and we didn't stay in one place for long." I stopped and looked at Dimitri to gage his reaction, but he remained in his mask just thinking about what I had told him so far. So I went on with my tail. "But even in those places people notice when you have no problem in classes that are two grades ahead of you. Really if I wanted I could have graduated before Lissa and I left if I didn't do half crap work to seem like I was average." I sighed and looked up at him again this time signaling that I was done. He thought for a moment and sighed.

"How did you just all of a sudden stop being 'kid genius' without people getting suspicious?" He asked after his moment of thinking.

"Everyone assumed I cheated off of Lissa and just dropped it, but if you don't believe me pull my grade records I had straight A's since I started school until about the middle of freshman year." I said getting the feeling that he was just going along with what I was saying to be polite. "Besides I wouldn't have been noticed by anyone important anyway, at least not for grades."

"What do you mean not noticed everyone in court would have noticed you not to mention if you were valedictorian you would have been given your own ceremony and the chance to pick your charge no matter who it was. You know right now you are pretty high on Lissa's list but you are only there because of your connection if you could get everything in line before you graduate you could still have that chance but you might have already ruined it" Dimitri scolded glaring daggers at me like I was just caught stealing the last cookie in the jar.

"Let's see grades or keeping the future queen non-suicidal, my choice is leaning more to keeping the future queen non-suicidal. I know I could have had a better future if I kept my grades up but someone I cared about really needed me so I chose her health. Plus I wasn't referring to the system when I said it didn't matter there are just some people who don't praise for that stuff." I said ending in a hushed voice almost a whisper.

"What do you mean? I praise you every day for your work in the gym, Alberta brags about you all the time to visitors, and even Stan says you have your moments in strategy." He finished with a slight chuckle.

"You guys aren't who I was referring to, I was referring to someone who doesn't care about me but expects me to be the best guardian ever and doesn't give a flip about scholastics. Nothing but top guardian would ever be good enough, so after getting everything right and doing best, Lissa's issues and the views of some people 'close' to me made it clear that sticking strictly to guardian work is best for everyone." I said turning and walking away before Dimitri could stop me again leaving him standing outside of the music room in sock.