Rating: T
Summary: Not every chapter of a Cinderella Story is happy but they all do share one thing. What happens when Rose and Dimitri hit a big bump in the road and Rose has another brush with death?
POV: Rose
Word Count: 2,342
#2: Cinderella Story
It was a dumb law, I thought to myself as I sat in front of the gym watching her flirt with the man I loved. Some small part of my brain told me it actually wasn't it insured that guardians would be here forever and that we wouldn't die out. I promptly told that part of my brain to shut the hell up. He said goodbye to her and kissed her cheek, it flashed with color as she giggled and then walked away. He ran a hand threw his hair before turning to come to the gym. He froze in place when he saw me sitting at the gym door staring at him. He walked over and I stood up and moved out of his way as he unlocked the doors. I threw my bag inside and without saying a word to him I went outside to do my fifty laps.
When I was done I took a drink of water before going over to him on the mat. Neither of us could look at each other, me because I was hurt, him I guess because he was ashamed. He lunged at me and I allowed him to tackle me to the ground because I hadn't been paying attention. "Focus Rose," he scolded, I made no motion of understanding or anything. When the bell rang for first period I didn't bother to say goodbye I only left and headed off to practice with the other novices. I broke someone's arm that day.
It became a bit of a ritual, I would arrive at practice and sit at the door and he would be standing by the tree flirting with her, not that he needed to I could already tell she would have slept with him. So when I walked over one day and the gym was open I was surprised. I set my stuff down where I normally did and carefully took out the gloves he had gotten for me. No matter how angry I was with him for doing this I still loved him and I hadn't found an 'off' switch for that yet. I also had brought some cookies I had made especially for him, kind of as a bribe to pick me, or something like that, I wasn't really sure what I wanted them to mean. "Oh Dimitri!" I heard her obnoxious voice yell from somewhere in the gym "it's beautiful!" I glanced over and saw him leaning against a wall while she gushed over something he had given her not here! My brain yelled here is for us! I shoved the tears back as my last sanctuary with him was broken I no longer owned a special place with Dimitri Belikov. I stared at the box and tears nearly came rushing out when I saw the gift, my eyes locked on it.
The last time we had gone shopping with Lissa he had gotten two other guards so we could have shifts he had pulled me into a jewelry store and asked what kind of jewelry girls thought was special. I had pointed out a few things that I had liked ok, but then a bracelet had caught my eye and I pulled him over to it and pointed telling him that any girl would love that I had also thrown in an extra 'especially me'. The bracelet was beautiful; it was silver and from it had hung an intricately designed rose.
He pulled out a bouquet of roses and had slipped the bracelet around it to hold them together, it did look beautiful. I finally saw him acknowledge me and his eyes instantly seemed in pain and panicked. I ran. Dropping the cookies to the floor along with my gloves I ran outside and across the field I normally ran around. I headed for a spot I remembered scooping out for another attempt to run away that Lissa and I had decided didn't need to happen. I was almost at the wall when strong familiar arms wrapped around me and restrained me "Rose," I nearly cried out in pain when my name left his lips, he hadn't said a word to me in almost two weeks and my name had never been uttered since she had began coming. I clutched onto his arms tightly not knowing what I wanted part of me wanted to rip free and run, part of me wanted to turn around and kiss him, part of me wanted to turn around and slap him, and still another part of me wanted to calmly walk in get through the day then kill myself. The third part won over, I spun around in his arm and slapped him, hard.
"That was supposed to be ours!" I screamed at him not holding back tears anymore "it was supposed to be me!" I yelled tears striking down as all of the weeks' sadness and frustration leaked out.
He said nothing for a moment and only looked at me. "I'm sorry Rose," he finally muttered "I'm so sorry, but this can't ever happen between us."
He pushed me away "then just let me leave!" I yelled backing away from him.
"I can't do that Rose you know that!" he snapped.
"Why not!"
"What about Lissa?" he yelled back matching my volume.
My head fell, yes Lissa, she still needed me. "What about us?" I finally whispered, emotionlessness taking over.
"Rose," he said grabbing my shoulders tightly and looking down into my eyes "there is no us, there will never be an us. Lissa comes first we can't do that if we're together."
"But you want to be with me?" I questioned.
"Yes, God yes Rose more than anything I want to be with you."
I stared at him tears striking my face "who is she?"
He looked down nervously "Tasha an ex from when I attended academy."
"She'd sleep with you even if you didn't buy her shit," I said trying to force back my tears of frustration.
"I know," he said.
"Then why?" I screamed at him.
He looked down at me and met my eyes for the first time since it started "because Rose," he said trying to get this, whatever this was, over with as quickly as possible. "I'm going to ask Tasha to marry me."
My heart shattered the little tiny pieces that had been left after he had started hanging out with her, and after he had violated our space by bringing her into it and when he gave her the bracelet that was meant for me. The pieces left after those things shattered. My face shattered. My world shattered. "I wish you happiness Guardian Belikov," my shattered voice spoke softly.
"Rose," he grabbed my shoulders "listen to me, I wish it was you I would kill for it to be you! But it can't Rose! It just can't!"
"I understand Guardian Belikov," I said backing out of his grip and walking slowly to my first class.
It was the end of the day and mechanically I returned to my room. I shedded my clothes upon entering the room and walked to my bathtub. I filled it with steaming hot water and then dipped in. Without bothering to wash anything I reached for my razor blade. I drug it across my wrists and watched the blood flow. I dipped my fingers into the blood on my wrists and on the tile of my bathroom wall wrote in blood 'Dimitri.' I laid back down in my bathtub after, not bothering to turn off the water when it began to overflow. Everything started to go blurry when I heard a crash "I swear I smell it," I heard someone say.
I felt my head slip under the water as I closed my eyes running towards the darkness. I heard another bang and the bathroom door flew open. Two strong arms dipped into the blood stained water and grabbed me out. A robe was over my form and two rags were quickly wrapped around my deep cuts. Then we were moving running faster and faster. But then I don't remember.
I woke up surrounded by white walls, I heard the rhythmatic 'beep' 'beep' 'beep' of the heart monitor I assumed I was attached to. I looked around me and saw someone hunched over in a chair. Who are they I wondered, then pieces of my heart jumped as I recognized his dark brown hair, and his tall and muscular build. "Dimitri," I mumbled.
"Oh you're up," I heard someone snarl at me. I looked up eyes void of anything I saw the girl who I didn't like, for some reason, standing there with a coffee cup in her hand. I blinked a few times then remembered she stole Dimitri from me. But who was Dimitri? My love, my brain quickly provided, then sluggishly behind that came my mentor.
"Yes," I said still emotionlessly and to my own ears my voice sounded soft and timid, like a child's.
I saw Dimitri stir, before looking at me he looked up to her, he smiled and kissed her, he looked a bit older. I studied him and my eyes fell on his left hand, there was a ring. I looked to her's a matching ring. I closed my eyes tightly and tears slipped out why save me? I thought just so that I want to kill myself again.
"Demka?" I asked timidly. I heard him suck in a breath and look at me slowly.
"Rose!" tears sprung into his eyes and he was at my bedside in seconds.
"You're older," I muttered looking at him again.
He choked on a sob "ya, two years older Rose, so are you happy nineteenth birthday."
I smiled at him "thanks," the smile was weak as my eyes once again traveled to Tasha. "You're married," I observed it wasn't a question but he still nodded.
He took my hand in his "I told you I was going to be," he said stroking my hand with his thumb.
"Did I graduate? Why did it take me two years to recover? It was just cuts."
"You couldn't graduate Rose you didn't finish your semester exams. On our way to the hospital a Strigoi attacked, they pulled you from me and then slammed you into the cement. Your skull cracked and you had brain bleeding. Rose you weren't supposed to wake up at all."
"Can I graduate?"
My question seemed to take him off guard "I'll talk to Headmistress Kirova but you'd have to take your exams and then the normal final. But Rose listen to me even if you did that you couldn't guard Lissa, she's already got a guard."
"Then I'll watch her from afar, I want to graduate Dimitri, won't you help me?"
"Of course I will Roza," his hand moved from my hand to my face and he gently stroked my cheek, I heard Tasha clear her throat obviously wanting him to move but he ignored her. "I'll teach you every day, before and after school just like I used to."
"Ok," I said smiling a real smile.
I walked to the gym for my third week of practice since being released from the hospital. My normal attitude had returned to me only two days later. A ritual had formed just as it had last time. I came and put my stuff in a did laps while they talked cute to each other then when I was done I watched them make out for about five minutes then Dimitri spared with me till my first class. Again though it was interrupted when I walked in a Dimitri was sitting alone in the exact spot I usually laid my stuff.
"I have a surprise for you," he said getting up and walking over to me quickly. I looked at him curiously. "Here," he handed me a stack of little gray boxes and I raised my eye brow at him, "sorry you probably can't hold them all at once," he took them back and handed me the top one.
I opened up the first box and gasped when I saw a rose necklace that would have matched the bracelet I had pointed out to Dimitri a little over two years ago. "It's gorgeous but why?"
"Just keep opening," he said handing me the next box, in that box was the exact bracelet only with a real diamond set in the middle of the rose. I slid that on as well. The next box I opened had two matching earrings in it. The next one was a bit bigger and had a tiara that matched the jewelry but looked like it had a second function I couldn't quiet place.
"Let me guess," I said taking the last box from him smiling down at him goofily "a ring?"
"Yes," he whispered and as I opened the box I didn't see a matching ring instead I saw a gorgeous diamond one "marry me?" I looked down and saw he was on his knee.
Tears brimmed my eyes and I nodded smiling "yes," my words came faster then "yes!" I yelled hugging him and knocking him to the ground. "But wait," I said suddenly unhappy remembering he was already married "what about Tasha?"
"The final paper's just went through," he said holding up his bare finger. I giggled and pounced on him again burying my head into his neck. "I have another surprise too Roza," he whispered into my hair.
"Oh stop I can't take anymore happy I'll explode!"
"Oh well then I won't tell you that by working miracles you've graduated and I managed to get both of us transferred to Lissa's guards and she's going to provide housing behind her and Christian's house for us to spend the nights together while her two night guards keep watch."
I screamed in joy and wrapped my hands around him.
Not all Cinderella stories are happy in every chapter but they have the most important quality, the happy ending.
