Disclaimer: The books of "Vampire Academy" belong to Richelle Mead and her publishing company. The only things I will ever lay claim to are the OC's that will pop up in this story and the AU storyline itself.
I am not making any money out of this venture and it is just an outlet for my creative juices.
"Spirit Bound" AU. What if after "Love fades. Mine has", Rose decided that instead of being sad or getting mad, she would get even? She leaves St. Vlad's after graduation, dropping off the face of society. Six years later, she re-emerged as Rhiannon Mazur, daughter to the infamous Ibrahim Mazur, international model by day and Strigoi hunter by night.
Chapter One: Hell hath no fury
Rose couldn't believe the gall of him. How dare he say "Love fades. Mine has," and expect her to not have any reaction? Did he actually expect her to fall down to her knees and clutch at him, wailing at him not to go? Not to leave her?
Please, she was the (in) famous Rosemarie Hathaway, one of the few Novices to actually get her molnija marks before even graduating the academy as a fully-fledged Guardian. She was one of the only known Shadow-kissed dhampirs after Anna. Besides that, didn't the name 'Abe Mazur' ring any bells? He was her (definitely) infamous Moroi father (Not that the mainstream vampire society knew that he was).
She had contemplated begging him to stay with her. This was a thought that she had seriously entertained for quite a while, but her ex-best friend Lissa's words drove that thought right out of her mind.
Flashback
Rose had been moping in her room, thinking about Dimitri's words and what he had said about going on to guard Tasha. Her moping was disturbed when Lissa burst into her room.
"What were you thinking, Rose!? Going up to him just like that?"
"He hasn't talked to me, Lissa. Not seriously, like sit down properly and talk, talk. Not since…"she paused here.
"I know, not since being turned back. But Rose, he is still trying to adjust back. He told me that he has a lot of difficulty relating back to mainstream vampire society again," Lissa said, sitting down at the foot of her friend's bed.
Rose couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when she heard what Lissa said. That jealousy was because her friend actually spent more time with her lover than she did, what with him confiding with her, all the while acting as if he worshipped the very ground that Lissa walked on and also at the same time ignoring her, acting like she didn't exist. Lissa herself seemed to be soaking up all the attention, inadvertently ignoring her boyfriend Christian in all this.
"He's supposed to be my mentor, Lis. He is the one who taught me a lot of the stuff that I know and can do now, after all. Besides that, who is going to mentor me for my last…"Rose started, better to hide behind this reasoning rather than the other more enormous, shocking one of a broken heart.
"Stop it! Just stop!" Lissa cried, springing up to feet. She glared at her best friend. "Can't you see that all this whining and jealousy of his time is pushing him away? So what if he wants to spend more time with Lady Ozera? Tasha is one of his oldest friends, and she can relate to him very well, what with her brother and sister-in-law turning to Strigoi as well." She said, misunderstanding the hurt look on her friend's face.
"Besides, are you begrudging Christian his time with his Aunt? She is rarely free, and usually she is at their home in Russia, arranging everything so that when Christian takes his lordship, there will be less things for him to worry about," Lissa was working up a fine steam by this time.
To Rose, this hurt more than most. For a long time, Lissa was all that she had. They were like sisters, and she sided with her more times than she can count. In turn, Rose protected as best she could from all the evils in the world, especially that time that they were out and about in the human world, where danger and Strigoi lurked around every corner. All she was asking for was a little sympathy. Was that too much to ask for?
"Just leave him alone," Lissa said finally, fed up with her friend's suddenly childish ways. "At the same time, you can leave me alone too. Nobody even wants you here anyway. You only get those around you hurt or killed," she snapped, then almost instantly regretting what she said. But it had to be said, so that her friend would wake up and become the Rose Hathaway that she knew way back when.
That was the straw that broke the camels' back.
"Get out," Rose said in an eerily calm voice. Lissa stared, astonished by the sudden change of tone. Then Rose looked up at her with anger shining through her eyes. "I said get out!" she screamed, standing up and pushing Lissa away, out of her room and then slamming the door in the princess' face.
"If that's how you really feel, then stay away. I don't need you around me if that is how you think about the deaths of my friends, and the sacrifices that I made to bring Dimitri back to us," she sneered, biting her lip on the inside to keep the angry and devastated tears from rolling down her cheeks. She might have lost any affection and respect that Lissa had held for her, but she sure as hell wasn't losing any of her hard won dignity to the princess.
"Excuse me, Princess, but I believe you have much better things to do than hang around the door of a Novice who has yet to take her final assessment tests, let alone graduate," the dismissal was clear in her tone.
She listened intently for the retreating footsteps that indicated the departure of the princess, before she slid down the door, finally giving into her tears. Rose promised herself as she fruitlessly rubbed away the tears that this would be her last concession to her girly side. This would be the last and only time that she would shed tears for both the man who broke her heart and the girl who had almost broken her spirit. No more, she silently vowed to herself, would she live by the expectations of others, because from now on Rosemarie Hathaway, the badass Novice who went around doing things recklessly and not giving a fuck to what everyone else said was back and she was here for the long haul.
She picked herself up from the floor, walking gingerly for a while as to let the pins and needles in her legs wear off (how long was she actually moping around on the floor for?), then sat down at her desk as she made her plans for her come-back.
First things first, she needed to pass the final assessments, and with flying colours…
Flashback end
The first thing that she had to do for the come-back of the one and only Rose Hathaway was to get herself into shape. Sure, she was in shape for a Novice, maybe even a halfway decent top Novice, but being out there in the real world, chasing after Strigoi Dimitri showed her how weak she really was. She could barely stand up to the normal Dimitri, Guardian strength, strategy and experience and all that, but compared to Dimitri turned Strigoi?
She was dead meat in the water with a boulder tied to her feet and lead tied to her arms. She was that fucked.
So, being the resourceful dhampir that she was, she went to see Guardian Petrov for advice.
The woman was in her office, going over the usual amount of paperwork that came with the post of Head Guardian of the academy. She looked up when Rose barged into her room, not bothering with knocking. Alberta withheld a smile at the familiar way that Rose treated her, but then she had practically raised the girl herself, so she let the impertinence slide. Besides, the truly serious look on her face was screaming that Rose was up to something and that she needed her help with it.
She unconsciously straightened her posture as the young woman came to a stop in front of her desk.
"I need you to fight me," Rose said without preamble.
"Excuse me?" the persona of Guardian Petrov took over at the sudden request for a fight. "Would you care to repeat your request?"
"I need you to fight me, Guardian Petrov," was the adamant reply.
"Why?" she truly was curious as to what was running around in Rose's mind for her to voice this request.
"I need to know where I stand," she elaborated at the 'carry on' look that Guardian Petrov was sporting. "I need to get better. I know that I might be able to beat a lot, maybe even all of the Novices whom are to take their final assessments soon," Petrov rolled her eyes at this, "but I can't truly compare to any Guardians who have a few years under their belt, what more to any fledgling Strigoi, or even those whom have lived for centuries."
"That's true, but what brought about this sudden decision?" Petrov asked not a little cautiously and curiously.
Two words. "Strigoi Dimitri." Enough said.
Alberta couldn't control the sigh that slipped from her lips. Of course it would be because of Guardian Belikov. She may have been blind to a lot of things that went on between the two, but the instant attraction and reciprocated feelings Rose and Dimitri had was so obvious to her that it was as if to them the sun rose and fell in each other's eyes, and no other would do. The blatant relationship that Rose was in currently with Lord Ivashkov paled in comparison to that. Besides, she had heard through the St. Vladimir grapevine about the scene involving Rose and Dimitri at the church.
"All right, Miss Hathaway, say that I fight you. What then?"
"You give me an honest assessment of how good or bad I am, and I will take it from there," she gave that nonchalant reply.
"How are you planning on 'taking it from there' as you say?" Petrov asked not a little sceptically. The young woman before her just smirked and said, "I have my ways, don't worry."
"Somehow, that doesn't reassure me at all," the Head Guardian said in an undertone. Out loud she said, "When do you want to do this assessment?"
"Right now would be fine."
The duo then proceeded to the gym, where since it was Moroi midnight (meaning morning), there were hardly any people inside. Any who were there, were summarily shooed out and instructed to bar anyone from entering for the rest of the night (day). Then, Guardian Petrov started her test of Rose. By the end of the session, she finally had an honest assessment of her young charge, and Rose was exhausted.
As Rose lay panting on the gym mats, Guardian Petrov gave her assessment of her skills to her straight up. "You are in shape, but you're still not up to top Novice standards. You have definitely learned a lot under Guardian Belikov's tutelage, and your time outside did give you some precious experience in how to be rough and tumble with true Strigoi, but you still lack in speed and stamina. In fact, your speed seems to have dropped slightly from the previous academy assessment of yours. Besides that, you have not developed much of a fighting style outside of the academy sanctioned style and some of Belikov's moves. You need to branch out more."
"Don't worry, I have something in mind to help me improve," she raised herself from the mats, accepting Guardian Petrov's helping hand when it was extended. "Thanks for the honest assessment," she said as she limped her way slowly out of the gym. She did sprain her ankle doing that unsuccessful drop-kick on the Head Guardian, after all.
"You need to get that ankle looked at, Rose," Petrov finally let her motherly side for the young woman show through. Rose turned around and smile softly at the Guardian. "I know, Alberta."
When she got back to her room, the first thing she did was plug up the tub and fill it up partially with water turned to the coldest setting it could go to. Next, she fished around in her bag for the encrypted sat-phone that her father Abe Mazur had delivered to her just a week ago, with the note 'Call me when you need me, Kiz' attached to it. How it got through the mail screening (which was notoriously tough), she would never know.
Her father picked up on the second ring. "Hi Kiz, what are you calling me for at this hour?" "Can't a girl call her long lost father without there being an ulterior motive? Can't I just say that I'm calling to say 'hi'?"
"Kiz, it is midnight by Moroi standards. You wouldn't be calling me just to say hi to your old man. Besides, you're Janine's and my daughter. We always have something hidden up our sleeves," Abe said, his voice startlingly clear and commanding despite the late hour.
"Ok, old man, you caught me. I just…" Rose was cut off. "I know what it is that you want to ask for. One of my Elite Guardians has already boarded my jet and is on the way to the academy as we speak. She will help to train you up for the finals, and make sure that you graduate at the top of your class."
"How did you even know…" she was cut off again. "I'm your father, Kiz. I have been by your side all along, despite whatever Janine might have implied to the contrary. Why do you think that you and Princess Dragomir did not encounter any Strigoi during the two years out in the human world? My Elite has been protecting you all this while, retreating only when my spies at Court and at the academy told me of the search and rescue team that was finally coming after you. I knew all about your relationship with Dimitri from the onset, and just minutes after the piç broke your heart my Elite told me the whole thing."
The rumbling voice of her father reassured her in a way that she had been craving, yet not knowing about it all along. That there was someone out there that stood in her corner, and had been rooting for her all the while letting her make all her mistakes so that she could learn from them by herself. Just letting her be, yet always hiding in the shadows, ready to catch her should she fall. Was this how having a father's love felt like?
"Kiz, you should get some rest. Guardian Rasheeda should be arriving by morning. You are definitely going to need the rest if you wish to not embarrass yourself before her." Abe rumbled, a smirk seeming to leak through his voice and the phone line, and into her ears.
"Yeah, I guess old man. It was nice talking to you." Rose said, smiling lightly. "Good night, Rose." The line went silent after that.
She decided to soak her foot half an hour longer and wrap the ankle tightly before tumbling into bed in the early hours of dawn. Tomorrow (technically today) was going to be a big day after all.
The whole academy was buzzing by breakfast about the arrival of a new Guardian to take the place of Guardian Belikov, as he had accepted the duty of guarding Lady Ozera and after that following her back to Russia. The buzz even affected the Royal Moroi, as it was rare that any female Guardian was sent to St. Vladimir's. They were usually stationed at Court, around the female Royal Moroi. Also, what made it so interesting was because this Guardian was one of the main Guardians to Ibrahim Mazur, the infamous Moroi who had many footholds in both the Moroi and human world.
When the doors to the cafeteria opened, it was to the sight of what a true Turkish desert princess might have looked like once upon a time. The image was then compounded upon when the resident desert princess look-alike, and troublemaker extraordinaire Rose Hathaway stood up from her seat and glomped the Guardian, clinging to her like an enormous version of a koala bear. This, of course, was actually an elaborate act concocted by the Guardian and Rose herself a couple of hours beforehand.
Rewind a few hours
A brisk wind was blowing from the West as the jet touched down on the runway. Rose herself was not immune to the cold, and she was bundled up in a jacket and scarf as she watched the descent of the plane. She didn't know it, but her destiny was about to change with this one fateful meeting.
The vision that descended from the interior of the jet was all that Rose aspired to be and more. Calm, cool, collected with a sensual appeal yet deadly aura – those were the first impressions that stuck her. Then, she registered the mischievous gleam in those self-same kohl lined brown eyes and felt an immediate rapport.
"My name is Guardian Mazur, but you can call me Rasheeda," the vision said, extending a hand towards Rose.
"Mazur? Are you by any chance related to Abe, I mean my father?" Rose queried as she shook the extended hand. The grip was firm yet not constricting, a good sign indeed. The mischievous gleam shined brighter.
"You are correct, kuzen. He is my 'uncle' as you would call it, though the connection is distant. However, the children of Mazur usually take the name, unless in certain circumstances, such as your own, where the kiz or oğlum takes the mothers' name instead." She elaborated, seeing the puzzled look in her eyes, "daughter or son."
"Okay, nice to meet you then, cousin. So," she paused to look her cousin in the eyes as she suggested something, "I'm sure that you know about what's been going on, right? Are you game for playing a prank on the stuck up idiot Morois and dull Novices and Guardians at the Academy?"
"Count me in, cousin," was the happy reply. The entire car ride back was filled with happy laughter and good natured joking after that.
Fast forward a few hours into the future
There were many reasons that the denizens of St. Vladimir's Academy were staring. For one thing, the female Guardian that had just waltzed in was exuding a very sexy, predatory aura that was stirring the thoughts of conquer in just about every male mind, Moroi and dhampir alike. The next thing that stirred their blood was that the (in) famous Rose Hathaway was back to her pre-Spokane self, meaning that she was just as sassy, bouncy, bitchy and sexy as ever. This was made even more irresistible when the entire student body realised that she was wearing the shortest, bounciest skirt that they had ever seen her wear, bar none. She was even in heels, which made her walk even more alluring than usual. The icing on the cake was when she made a running leap for the female Guardian, who actually was aware of her impending collision with terra firma, and steadied herself as she caught the Novice in her arms.
Said Novice proceeded to wrap her legs around the slim waist of the Guardian, and then mashed her lips against the slightly older woman's. Her skirt slipped even more, showing off her tan legs that seemed to go on for miles, which the males in the room (and some females) didn't mind the view of. The Guardian herself responded enthusiastically, wrapping her arms tighter around the waist and butt of the young woman in her arms, one hand snaking up her neck to entwine itself into Rose's hair and then continued on to grip the long strands and pull, earning an ardent moan as answer. Quite a few people had to readjust their pants or excuse themselves at the sound.
"Miss Hathaway!" the shocked, angry voice of Headmistress Kirova sounded through the cafeteria as the aged Moroi marched up to the spectacle. "Let go of Guardian Mazur this instant, young lady! How dare you assault a Guardian of this institution, a newly arrived Guardian at that?"
"Well, I'm not complaining, am I?" came the lazy drawl of that self-same Guardian, finally detaching her lips from Rose's, earning a disgruntled mewling sound that made more people re-adjust their pants. "It's okay. I know Rose, and we haven't seen each other in such a long time that her greeting was not unpleasant at all, not even unexpected at that," she turned to look at Rose, "you alright, kitten?"
Rose turned her head slightly, showing slightly confused, heavily lidded eyes, rosy pink cheeks and kiss bruised lips. Many people shivered at that look. That look was so sexy and alluring that it should be prohibited for being deadly. Her mussed appearance added to the 'just had sex and I'm so satisfied' look that she was sporting right then. When she slowly slithered, yes, slithered down the Guardian's side, more people became convinced that joining the worship Rose Hathaway cult (underground of course) was worth it.
"Good morning, Headmistress Kirova. I'm just greeting my kuzen after having not seen her for such a long time. Is that so wrong?" Rose asked innocently.
"That, that display was…." The headmistress was so lost for words she was spluttering, very unbecoming of a Moroi.
"Can I join in?" another lazy voice drawled from behind the trio. Rose and the female Guardian turned around just as an arm snaked lazily around Rose's waist. It was Adrian. Of course, the guy was the first person to find out about Rose's new determination, since the first thing she did was to come clean and break things off with him. When he met Guardian Mazur just half an hour ago, he immediately hit it off with her and proceeded to add more to their elaborate prank, to shove it to the authorities and all that.
"How are you this morning, pet?" he asked, giving her a languid kiss on the forehead and giving Rasheeda a longer kiss on the neck (him being taller than them both).
"I'm fine, just dandy," came the chipper reply. The previous look on her face had all but disappeared, as if by magic (snicker inserted here). "Don't forget our date later, okay?" she addressed the question to the two other people beside her, completely ignoring the spluttering of the headmistress.
"Yes, dear," came the deadpan reply from both, but the wink from Adrian and the butt pinch from Rasheeda belied the excitement of both for the next step of their plan.
"So, I'll see you after classes okay?" Rose said happily as she sauntered her way out of the cafeteria, snagging her juice box on the way out. She gathered the shell shocked visages of her friends Eddie and Mia on the way out, throwing a saucy grin over her shoulder and a finger wiggle for added effect just before the cafeteria door closed behind her. Noise exploded like a bomb went off in the aftermath of that little show. Bingo. Phase two of their plan was a go.
Adrian and Rasheeda exchanged discrete looks as they too made a strategic retreat from the cafeteria to make preparations for the next phase of the prank.
"Who the hell was that?" Mia demanded as she and Eddie were dragged by Rose halfway across the school to the dorm buildings of the Moroi to get her things first.
"What is going on, Rose?" Eddie added his two cents in. "I've definitely never seen that Guardian before, and I should know, since besides Lissa, I'm your oldest friend to date."
"Guys, not here," Rose hissed, pushing them into Mia's rooms (they had gone inside by now). "I'll tell you everything, but not out here where everyone can hear." They then went inside, whereupon she spilled the entire sordid affair to her friends. They were understandably shocked and angry at first, but not long after they came to see her side of the story and proceeded to stand by her.
"So, it's all just an elaborate prank? Is that right?" Mia clarified half an hour later. Rose nodded.
"Whew," Eddie mimed wiping his forehead, "remind me never to get you mad at me, like ever," he added after.
"So you guys can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show after school hours. I'm sure that the news has had sufficient time to travel around the school and into the ears of a certain Russian and a certain Princess by now. Just get ready for the fireworks. This is a long time coming, and I'm sure by the end of it, the academy will never be the same. No one like me has ever graced these halls, and there never will be another like me ever again, bar any children I will have in the future, if I actually have any," she laughed aloud at that statement.
The sardonic yet amused looks on her friends faces indicated that they were still sceptical, but definitely anticipating the festivities that were to come.
That incident was a month ago. Since then, Rose had improved her performance by leaps and bounds. Dimitri, who was rumoured to be a Blood Master level 7, which was nothing to sniff at, had laid a good foundation for Rasheeda to build on. She not only improved on Rose's speed and stamina, she also expanded her repertoire of moves and weapons usage by teaching her many other weapons that were strictly used by the Elite of the Mazur family. She also taught her dancing, as that added even more flexibility and agility to the moves that she taught Rose to incorporate into her personal style. After all, no Mazur Elite had the same exact moves.
The other things that she taught were things like seduction lessons and also some etiquette lessons, which she briefly touched on but assured the younger woman, would be taught even more in depth on after she had graduated and gotten her assignment. Rose always pestered her to know how did she know whom it was she was to be assigned to, but Rasheeda kept her lips zipped on the matter, just saying cryptic things like 'everything was already taken care of' and other such stuff.
When the time for the final assessments rolled around, Rose was a bundle of excitement. By now, even Christian was included in the prank. He too had been seemingly brushed aside by Lissa in her quest to 'help' Dimitri, and his aunt Tasha seemed to come around and even like Rose a little, although she was not privy to any of the inner workings of the group of friends. She was an adult after all, and she was the one whom was taking Dimitri away.
Of course, with the help of her cousin, Rose passed the final assessment tests with flying colours. The physical aspect of the exam, where she and the other Novices had to guard a Moroi almost twenty four / seven was the hardest part of all, but since she was assigned to guard Christian, it became almost like a walk in the park. Not to say that ole' Sparky didn't have his peeves and arguments, but for the most part, he agreed with her set limitations for his safety; and in the cases where she had to compromise (note: meaning almost all the time), she protected him perfectly. She became known as one of the only female Novices to graduate top of her class, with nearly flawless scores and a near perfect performance.
Then, Graduation Day for the seniors of St. Vladimir's rolled around.
As she watched the dhampirs and Morois stroll across the stage to receive their certificates from the Headmistress, she couldn't help but reminisce about the good times that she had had with her cousin, Adrian, Eddie, Mia and even Dimitri and Lissa. She had accepted that he was leaving, and she was trying to move on from it. But damn, he definitely needed a kick up the ass, whether real or figuratively. And the best way to do that was to show him (and her too!) that she didn't need them to survive. She could do great on her own too.
"Rosemarie Hathaway." Headmistress Kirova called her name. She stood up and swayed her way up the stage, upstaging a lot of the Moroi who had tried to put on airs of being sexy. She didn't even do it consciously anymore; it was so ingrained by Rasheeda in her to walk that way.
"Thanks, Headmistress Kirova. Hope that I wasn't too much trouble over the years," she added cheekily, taking note of the exasperated look in the aged Moroi's eyes. She then turned back to her friends, and gave them a sultry wink and sashayed her way down the other side.
"Did you have to rile Kirova up, Rose?" Eddie asked, half amused; half exasperated. She nodded. "Yup, I had to do it for posterity's sake. Don't know when I will ever get the chance or even opportunity to do it again."
"Only you, Rose. Only you." Adrian said from the seat behind her. He might not be graduating with them, but he was Queen Tatiana's nephew, so he did get the privilege to sit with the graduating students.
"Now that we have finished with the graduating class, I would like to start giving out the assignment of duties to newly minted Guardians who will be leaving us after this." Headmistress Kirova announced, leaving excited murmuring in the wake of her words. Everyone was always curious whom they would/would not get as their Guardian. Some were just shipped off to Court and never heard of again, and to those ambitious fledgling Guardians, it was a fate worse than death.
"For the Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, her sanctioned Guardian is Guardian Belikov." There was a sharp inhale at this statement, as it was known by now that Belikov was supposed to leave with the Lady Ozera and Lord Ozera after his graduation to Russia. None made a louder noise than Lady Ozera herself, but her burgeoning protests were brushed aside by Kirova when she continued on giving out the assignments to the new Guardians.
Finally, "And for our top Novice, Miss Hathaway is assigned to Lady Fatma Liyana Mazur," she concluded, rolling up the duty roster in her hands. "By the way Guardian Hathaway, you will be leaving on the first jet out tonight, together with Guardian Mazur, to your new stationing. Congratulations to all the graduates." The headmistress dismissed them after that.
Rose was immediately surrounded by her friends, whom she hugged enthusiastically. "So, this is it, guys. Wish me luck."
"All the best, Hathaway," Eddie said gruffly, trying to mask the emotion in his voice. She grinned wider, patting his cheeks to reassure him. "It's okay, Eddie. Look, you even got Mia as your charge. You'll be fine," she said optimistically. "You are going to court after this, right Mia?"
"Well, I'm actually not so sure. I've been giving Lehigh some thought, and I am actually leaning towards going there," she said thoughtfully. Eddie rolled his eyes dramatically. "Not another school again, Mia. I thought we were done with this school business when we just graduated!" he yelped plaintively. This broke the tension in the group, and Rose hugged her friends once more.
"I'm going back to pack the last of my things. So, I'll see you guys around, 'kay?" she said as she released them and moved towards Adrian, giving him a peck on the cheek, an enthusiastic hug and whispering something in his ear that made him grin. Then, she proceeded over to Christian and his aunt.
"Lady Ozera, it's nice to meet you again. Sparky, don't look so down, I know that you'll be missing my lovely presence, but try not to miss me too much, okay?" she said teasingly. She hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry that things didn't work out with the princess, but remember that you've still got me and the rest of the gang to cheer you up, alright? Besides," this she said with a louder voice, "it's not as if you guys can't come and visit little ole' me at my new post. You guys are Moroi, after all. What's there to worry about?"
"Thanks for being such a great friend, Rose. Know that I am going to miss you," was Christian's answer. Then he saw something behind her and whispered in an aside, "Incoming." Rose slowly turned around, to be met with her ex-best friend and ex-lover at the same time.
"Princess Vasilisa, Guardian Belikov, a pleasure," she greeted cordially. Lissa looked crushed at the greeting, whereas Dimitri had his Guardian mask on tight, but Rose could still see that the words bothered him. "Well, I must be going. My plane leaves in one and a half hours' time, so I need to bounce. Sorry to dine and dash, so to speak, but it was nice seeing you all one last time. Princess, Belikov, an honour as always. Goodbye for now."
Without looking back, she proceeded to flounce her way out of the auditorium and out into the new world. There were endless possibilities waiting for her out there after all.
Precisely two hours later, the jet took off for places unknown, heading to Rose's new destiny.
Meanings of words used:
Piç – Turkish for 'bastard' (pronounced as peach)
Kiz – Turkish for 'daughter' (pronounced as cuz)
oğlum – Turkish for 'son' (pronounced as oh + lum)
Kuzen – Turkish for 'cousin' (pronounced as coo + zan)
AN: Thanks for reading and sticking with me so far. I hope that the story was up to you guys' discerning standards. Please stick with me for the next installment of my new story.
