Chapter 2
"Take her to the back," I ordered Steve, pointing at Rose. Rose looked at me and then at Steve and stood. He took hold of her arm and escorted her to the back of the plane. "Don't let them talk to each other," I warned him as he started to walk away. "Five minutes together and they'll come up with an escape plan." Not that it'd be a very good one, seeing as we were currently flying over the Rocky Mountains in Montana.
I sat by Vasilisa. She seemed nervous—more nervous than Rose—but that didn't shock me. Rose seemed to be the brains behind their escape; the Princess just seemed to go along with what Rose did.
After about twenty minutes, I looked back and noticed Rose's face. It was blank and staring. She was perfectly still; not even blinking, and barely breathing. I frowned, and pieces started to fall together in my head; how Rose woke up from Vasilisa's dream before the Princess herself did, how Rose calmed down when the Princess held her hand earlier, almost like she was being compelled. They couldn't be bonded. That hasn't happened in centuries. But then I thought about the stories I'd read. The Moroi always had excellent compulsion, and especially over their bond mates.
It couldn't be. It hasn't happened in so long. That couldn't be it… Could it?
Near the end of the flight, I went to go and talk to Rose. Maybe I'd be able to figure out what was happening here. I swapped seats with Steve and Rose turned away, pointedly ignoring me. I waited a moment before speaking.
"Were you really going to attack all of us?" she just ignored me, staring blankly out the window. "Doing that…protecting her like that—it was very brave." More than brave really. I was the best guardian at the school; I'd already killed six Strigoi, and I'm only twenty-four. That's one for every year since I'd been out of school, and I'd been at the academy for nearly two years; I got a job there only weeks after Rose and Vasilisa ran away. I took a moment to think this through, then said, "Stupid, but still brave. "Why did you even try it?"
Rose looked at me like that should be obvious. She brushed her hair out of her face, and for the first time, I got a proper look at her face, without her glaring at me, and I noticed just how beautiful she was.
"Because I'm her guardian." She stated, looking me in the eye levelly. Then she turned back to the window and I left.
When we returned to the airport, we hopped into the actual Academy's SUV's. I drove them to the Academy and Rose gave me the death glare the whole way. It was actually quite funny; every time I looked into the rear-view mirror I nearly choked on laughter. She was so small but she looked so fierce. And her long, thick hair made her face look very small, so she actually looked quite comical.
When I stopped at the gate to talk to the guardian on duty, she noticed that we'd made it back, she looked around, and then went back to glaring at me.
I lead them into the school building and Rose ran up to me.
"Hey, Comrade." What? Did she just call me 'Comrade'? where did that come from?
"You want to talk now?" I asked without looking down.
"Are you taking us to Kirova?" she questioned.
"Headmistress Kirova," I corrected. I didn't mind whether or not I was referred to as Dimitri or Guardian Belikov; to me it didn't matter. But I was supposed to make sure that the students addressed their superiors properly.
"Headmistress. Whatever." Rose, apparently, didn't care, either. I'd heard stories about her. She always had a string of guys following her. And she liked to start fights. And she liked to cause trouble. This really shouldn't shock me. "She's still a self-righteous old bit—" her words died off as she realised where I was leading them: the commons. It was where all Dhampirs and Moroi from the High School campus ate their meals. And it was breakfast time.
I knew that Rose would think of this as cruel, but I knew that everybody was wondering where I'd been for the last three days, and I thought I'd break the news to everyone at once. Also, everyone would know that the girls were back at the same time.
As we entered, the whole commons came to a standstill at once. It was actually quite funny as it was more-or-less simultaneous. Everyone stared at the girls. Rose returned the stares, where as Vasilisa just looked straight ahead, trying to ignore them. Most people just stared, wide eyed, but there were two that didn't. one was Mia Rinaldi—a junior Moroi—and the other was Aaron Szelsky—the princesses ex-boyfriend. I only knew this because of the up-roar caused when they got together about a month after I arrived, and news spreads fast around here. Aaron was staring at the princess dotingly, but Mia was glaring at the two of them with a look almost as vicious as the one Rose was giving me on the way home.
We walked into Kirova's office and I could tell that she was preparing a major rant in her head. Then we heard a voice from the other side of the room. I looked up to see Prince Victor Dashkov.
"Vasilisa." Vasilisa sprang up and ran to him. She threw her arms around his frail body. He was only about forty-five, but looked at least twice that as he had Standovski's disease. Moroi very rarely get sick—and neither do dhampirs—and when they did it was always something serious, and would almost certainly lead to death.
"Uncle," Vasilisa whispered. She was about to cry as she held on tightly to him. He patted her back.
When they pulled away from each other, Kirova motioned for her to sit down, and then everyone noticed Victor shaking. He sat down and took a sip of water, and then he was alright again.
Then Kirova started her rant. It covered literally everything possible, and then some. I shifted in and out of focus. I managed to catch most of it when it turned to Rose, though.
"You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. It is a great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here.
The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs; you nearly enabled them to do it."
"Rose didn't kidnap me." Vasilisa interrupted her tirade. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her." Kirova started to pace.
"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was still her responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe."
Oh, no.
Rose practically flew out of her chair. "I did do my duty!" she shouted. It was so loud that Alberta and I both flinched. I decided not to intervene just yet as she wasn't trying to hit anybody just yet...although the look on her face suggested that she would in about two minutes time. Alberta obviously had the same thought as she caught my eye. I nodded agreeing with her. Get ready, the look said. Catch her if she tries anything.
"I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of you could do it." She yelled, gesturing around the room. "I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to." She added in an icy tone.
"Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?" Rose bit her lip. "I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left—aside from the novelty of it, no doubt—was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before you disappeared."
Ah, I thought. I know what this is. Rose entirely destroyed a room with a baseball bat. She smashed everything—including the window—when she got angry one night—and no doubt more than a bit drunk—at a party.
"No, that's not—"
"And that only makes my decision that much easier." Kirova interrupted Rose. "As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."
"I…what?" Rose's face dropped. It was obvious how much she wanted to be a guardian when you saw her face right then.
Then Vasilisa stepped in. "You can't do that! She's my guardian."
"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."
"But my parents—"
"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave"
"Where are you going to send me?" Rose challenged. Oh, someone, please stop her. "To my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me to my father?" and then—God help us all—she said the worst thing she possibly could've: "or maybe you'll send me off to be a blood whore. Try that and we'll be gone by the end of the day," in an icy voice. She'd obviously forgotten about the fading vampire bite mark on her neck.
"Miss Hathaway, you are out of line." Kirova hissed.
I thought they needed some help here, so I stepped in. "They have a bond." Everyone turned to look at me. I looked at Rose, she looked bewildered. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?" I asked. Kirova was caught off guard for a moment. She glanced between me and Rose.
"No…that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."
"It's obvious. I suspected as soon as I started watching them."
The girls stayed quiet and Rose looked away from my eyes. She has beautiful eyes. Big, dark, and framed by black lashes so thick and long they looked fake.
"That is a gift," Victor murmured suspiciously from his corner. "Arare and wonderful thing."
"The best guardians always had that bond," I added. "in the stories." Although Rose would never be one of the best guardians. To be a good guardian, you have to be invisible, and Rose is just one of those people who attract attention like a magnet. She could be as good a fighter as I and still never be a good guardian. She would never blend into a crowd.
Kirova broke my reverie. "Stories that are centuries old, she exclaimed. Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the academy after everything she's done?"
"She may be wild and disrespectful—" I shrugged "—but if she has potential—" Rose cut me off.
"Wild and disrespectful? Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?" she asked harshly.
"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now. Her sanctioned guardian."
"You got cheap foreign labour to protect Lissa?" she asked harshly. Well that was rich coming from her. Her mom was Scottish and her dad's some Turkish guy who nobody knows who the hell he is. She actually had the Turkish look herself—black-brown hair, matching eyes, and dark skin—so she was hardly one to talk.
Kirova gestured to Rose. "You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and very raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian." Actually, no, it wasn't. at least it was some protection from the world.
"So teach her discipline," I suggested. "Classed just started. Put her back into training again."
"Impossible. She'd still be hopelessly behind her peers." Why did this woman hate Rose so much? She can't have been that bad, could she?
"No, I won't" she interjected.
"Then give her extra training sessions." I suggested.
"Who's going to put in the extra time? You?"
"Well, that's not exactly what I—" she'd caught me off guard there.
"Yes. That's what I thought."
I frowned and looked at the girls. They were both looking at me hopefully and I couldn't help but give in to those beautiful brown eyes.
"Yes. I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra training sessions along with her normal ones."
"And then what? She goes unpunished?"
"Find some other way to punish her." Seriously? That was pretty obvious; even she should've known that in her punishment tirade. "Guardian numbers are too low to risk losing another. A girl in particular." Most female dhampirs go to communities to raise children. These women were commonly known as blood whores.
Blood whores are dhampir women addicted to vampire bites and they let Moroi men drink from them during sex. It was the worst thing a dhampir could possibly do. Of course, most of the women weren't like that. That's just a stereotype. There's actually only a few that do. My whole family are women besides my nephew, Paul. My sisters and Mother all gave blood during sex, but that was more like a one-off. Of course, Viktoria hadn't had any children; she's only sixteen years old, but she probably will give blood when she does.
Victor spoke up then, interrupting my thoughts. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent."
Headmistress Kirova stared out the window for a few seconds, and then when she turned around, Vasilisa met her eyes, and when she spoke, her words were softer than her normal tone.
"Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay." Her eyes got a sort of glassy look, like when Moroi used compulsion. But that was impossible, seeing as compulsion on a Moroi was more-or-less impossible. Or maybe it's because of the bond. As I mentioned before, bonded Moroi usually had very strong compulsion. Maybe that's what it was.
"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be: Your continued enrolment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line once, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment—before and after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away."
"Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart? Afraid we'll run away again?" she added nodding at Vasilisa. Well, yeah, Rose. That's kind of the point.
"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you'll recall, you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for. You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."
Take it, Rose, just take it. It's the best offer you're going to get, just take it! I thought desperately looking into her eyes. I hoped she got the message.
Then she said the most sensible thing yet: "Fine. I accept."
Good girl, I thought to myself.