AN: I have never had so many comments on a single chapter before! Thank you all so much! This chapter came faster than anticipated because I had the scenes at the party in my head already. Maybe one more chapter, who knows. Also, I've never written a story in present tense before this one O_O
Enjoy dears!
The next day they meet at her house. She shows him around with a casual air. She is wealthy, which explains her ability to spend two hundred dollars on an evening of vodka and whiskey. Still, she seems not to care about the money.
They leave after an hour of conversation, heading across court to an out of the way restaurant. She doesn't drink, so he chooses not to either. They spend dinner talking and laughing. There is an easy rhythm to their conversation, as if they have known one another for years.
They have drinks at her house afterward, still absorbed in conversation.
"Why do you only drink whiskey?"
She is filling her glass for the second time. She grins at him. "Why do you only drink vodka?"
He shrugs. "I like the taste."
"Well, there's your answer." Her voice is almost a purr as she curls onto the corner of the sofa.
"Fair enough. How long will you be at court?"
She shrugs. "As long as I want. I might stay a few months. You?"
"Whenever my charge leaves. He's planning to be here for at least the next month."
She frowns, sipping at her drink.
"What's wrong?"
She sighs, tossing her hair back. "I'm enjoying getting to know you."
"We can stay in contact after I leave." He realizes that he doesn't want to lose this new connection. She fascinates him.
"Everyone says that."
"I'm not everyone."
She smiles. "No, you aren't."
They meet again the next day, this time at the track to go for a run. Her hair is pulled up, allowing him to see the back of her neck for the first time. Though she is not a guardian, she still has molnija marks for Strigoi kills, as is customary among all dhampirs. He is stunned by the number of marks on her neck. At almost thirty, Dimitri bears 12 marks. He can't count at a glance how many she has killed, but the number is higher than his own.
"Admiring my marks?" She asks with a wry grin.
"Yes, actually. It's an impressive number."
She shrugs. "We do what we have to in order to stay alive."
He nods, somewhat amused by her using his own words from the other day. They run together for an hour, circling the course, then following the trails around court. She is fast, and the time they spend on the trails passes far too quickly.
They spend the next two weeks meeting up nearly every day. They talk, they laugh, and they learn about each other. They haven't kissed again, not since that first meeting. He wonders why, but never brings it up.
The second week ends with a party hosted by a Drozdov Lord. Dimitri attends as a guardian on duty. Ivan Zeklos and his wife Irina are there. Rose attends as a guest, the only dhampir guest in the room.
It is the first time he sees her wear a dress. He has always though her beautiful, but the moment he sees her, his heart skips a beat. Her dress is red, cut low in the back, high in the front, and ending mid-calf. It clings to her from top to waist, then flares out a bit so that it swirls when she moves. She wears her hair up in a French twist, letting everyone see the marks of her skills. The overall look is very suggestive in this crowd. He wonders what game she is playing.
He watches her throughout the night, for the first time seeing her interact with a large number of people. The time they have spent together has mostly been without any company. The only times they have had other company has been at the gym.
She is different here, among the elite of Moroi society. Here she is everything and nothing. She is a chameleon. To one person she gives a genuine smile and to another a smile of polite indifference, though to the casual observer there is no difference in her expression.
At the start of the meal she sits between her father and Vasilisa Dragomir. She is happy with them, alive. They laugh together, easily and often.
After the meal, Rose walks with her father as the guests mingle. Dimitri figures out Rose's dress choice fairly quickly now. She serves as a distraction while her father works on what Dimitri assumes are business deals. She flirts and smiles, then leaves them to her father's mercy.
She eventually leaves him for the bar, choosing to talk to Lord Christian Ozera, Vasilisa's husband. The two have an easy rapport, obviously playful to everyone in the room. They are two misfits, bound together by the Dragomirs.
Dimitri sees the change in her when Lord Adrian Ivashkov talks to her. She stiffens, like most people do when near a former friend... or former lover. Christian changes too, his posture becoming protective of Rose. Dimitri knows that Adrian is friends with Vasilisa and Christian, but he doesn't know anything about the nature of the relationship between Rose and Adrian. From what he can see, it is uncomfortable.
Christian and Rose both relax when Adrian moves away. With what appears to be a sigh of resignation, Christian eventually leaves Rose alone as he joins his wife in the crowds.
Rose seems adrift without her friends, if only for a moment. She finishes her drink quickly, then takes a new drink.
Dimitri realizes, as he watches her, that she had been drinking less and less the more time they spent together. Now, she is drinking as much as she had been when they first met.
She sighs, making her way from the bar into the crowds. Men watch her, their eyes traveling the length of her body. To Dimitri's surprise, he feels jealous at the looks the men give her. Why should he feel jealous? They are still only the barest of friends... and yet...
"She likes you."
Dimitri looks down, seeing Janine Hathaway to his right. He knew that she was at the dinner. He hadn't noticed her appearance beside him.
"I know," he replies. There is no point in denying the obvious. He looks at Rose's mother, seeing the lines of worry on her face.
"Do you like her?"
He can't suppress his smile. "She's an incredible young woman, of course I like her."
Her smile is faint. "People have noticed the two of you spending time together lately."
"We enjoy talking together." He hesitates, wanting to know more about this young woman he is getting to know. "She doesn't have many friends, does she?"
"No." She shakes her head. "She doesn't."
"Why isn't she a guardian? She has more marks than most guardians ever get."
Her lips twist bitterly. "They asked her to join when she was twenty, over two years after she was denied re-entry into the academies. She already had ten kills by that time. She looked at the heads of the council, laughed, and called them some very choice words."
He smiles. "You sound proud of her."
She smiles too. "I am. She deserved more than the life of a guardian. She had enough self-respect to tell the people who hurt her exactly what she thought of them when they decided she was useful." She sighs, watching Rose laugh and flirt with a group of Moroi men.
"She isn't happy at court," he observes. He feels an overwhelming urge to kiss Rose here and now, hating the looks the Moroi men give her.
"She is seldom happy. She comes here because Lissa and Christian are here, she doesn't have any other long term friends."
"None of the novices she went to school with were her friends?" He finds that hard to believe.
She grimaces. "Her two closest novice friends were killed when Strigoi attacked the academy." Janine watches her daughter. He can see the heartache in her eyes. "Be careful with her Belikov, she has been hurt a lot."
Their gazes meet for a few moments. He nods. "I will."
She gives a crisp nod, and then walks away.
Dimitri watches Janine melt into the crowd before returning his attention to Rose. She is fawned over by Moroi men. She is considered with cool indifference by the guardians. The Moroi women tend to avoid Rose. For her part, she seems not to care. To Dimitri's surprise, Irina approaches Rose.
Rose is guarded at first, but warms up quickly to Irina. They glance in his direction, smiling. He nods in acknowledgement, wondering why one of his charges is talking to Rose.
"Is my wife distracting you?"
Dimitri flinches, startled by Ivan's appearance.
"Or is it the pretty dhampir who is so captivating?"
"When did you become so nosy?"
Ivan shrugs. "When you became my guardian. How long has it been since you had a girlfriend?"
Gritting his teeth, Dimitri answers. "A while."
"So… what's holding you back now?"
"This isn't the place for that conversation."
Ivan, to Dimitri's surprise, considers the statement for a few minutes before sighing in agreement. "You're right. Still, you know Irina and I would accommodate you."
Dimitri makes a noncommittal sound of acknowledgement.
"People have noticed the two of you around court lately. Rumor has it that you smile and laugh together."
Arching an eyebrow, Dimitri looks at Ivan. "Your point?"
Ivan smiles. "Don't let go of the ones who make you happy." He walks away, leaving Dimitri to consider his words.
Dimitri finds Rose leaning against the wall of the building after the party ends. Her red high-heeled shoes are in one hand. She has unpinned her hair, letting it flow around her shoulders. Face tilted toward the rising sun, she seems utterly at ease.
"Waiting for me?"
Her lips curl into a soft smile. "Yes."
"You look beautiful in that dress."
She looks at him. "Thank you. Are you done for the day?"
"Yes."
She smiles. "Walk me home?"
"Of course. Don't you want to put your shoes back on?"
"Not on your life," she snorts. "Heels are the worst and best invention ever made."
"Oh?"
She takes a few steps, swinging the shoes in her hand by the heel straps. "They are sexy, cute, and move the body to show off everything at just the right angles, but they hurt."
He laughs, following her stride toward her house. "True. I think you drew the most attention in the room."
"Mmhm."
"But you hate them."
Her lips twitch. "Not hate, but I don't like most of them either. I told you before, no one bothers getting to know me. The Moroi women assume I'm going to sleep with their husbands. Ignoring the fact that if he's going to cheat, he'll do it without my help. The men mostly assume the same." She sighs.
"Why attend these parties then?"
"Business, and to show off."
"Show off?"
Her hand went to the back of her neck. She was very solemn. "I had ten before I was twenty. The other fifteen I got in the past two years. I'm not proud of the killing, but it is necessary. At parties like that I show my marks so they can see."
He reaches for her, moving so that they are face to face rather than side by side. Her eyes are wet with unshed tears. She tries to look away, but he cups her cheek with one hand while his other holds her arm.
"They deserve to see you. What happened to you was wrong."
She relaxes against his hand. "Thank you."
He draws her to his chest, feeling her tension lessen against him. He rubs her shoulders, comforting her. He understands her anger and the anger of her mother.
They let go a minute later. She turns, wiping her eyes so that she seems tougher than she truly is. She seems happier when she looks up at him. "Do you know the guardians tried to ask me to join?"
"Your mother mentioned it tonight. She said that you told them where they could shove that offer."
She laughs. "I did. They don't even bother talking to me anymore. Most guardians don't know what to think of me." She looks at him as they walk. "Irina is very nice."
"She is," he agrees.
"She seems to think we like one another."
They smile at one another, amused. "Your mother mentioned a similar idea."
"Mmm."
They slow to a stop in the shade of a large maple tree. They are alone.
"Where do you want this to go?" He motions between them so that she understands what he means by "this".
She shrugs. "I try to avoid planning anything."
He smiles at the deflection, moving a bit closer to her. "I asked what you want. I didn't ask what you plan."
He sees in her eyes what she wants and what she fears. He remembers what her mother said, that Rose has been hurt before. Rose's own words, that no one bothers to know her, keep ringing in his ears.
"I don't know," she admits, "but I enjoy spending time with you and don't want to stop."
He puts his hands on her waist. "I want that too."
Her smile is all the encouragement he needs to bend to her lips. Her kiss is soft and welcoming. She isn't shy as she presses herself close to him, hand twining in his hair. When their kiss ends, they rest their foreheads together. He knows that no matter what, they will try to make it work.