***** DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING :-( JUST THE PLOT. I would like to thank my Beta Swimming the Same Deep Waters for her amazing work! Please check out her stories she is amazing.
The next few hours after class flew by for Rose. She and Lissa went to check up on Vika. Rose knew she was still struggling to come to terms with what had happened to her. They quickly made their way to Dimitri's room, Lissa looking around nervously for someone to catch them in the Guardian's dorms. Students weren't allowed in there at all. As they'd almost reached his rooms, three guardians passed them. Lissa froze worried they would say something about them being there. Rose stopped to talk to them for a minute. They laughed at something she said, smiling and hugging each other, she looked back at Lissa smiling and nodded her head towards the door on the left.
Lissa gently knocked on the door, waiting a few moments. When there was no answer, she knocked again. After three times knocking with no reply, Rose pulled out a black key. Sliding it into the lock, Lissa gave her a look like 'You had a key this whole time?' Rose shrugged her shoulders, quickly opening the door. Letting them both in she quietly shut, the door blocking the light out once again. Lissa stood unsure what to do in a Guardian's dorm. Rose, on the other hand, walked over to Dimitri's bed. He and his sister were asleep. Gently sitting on his side of the bed, Rose brushed a piece of hair from his face. She loved his hair when it was down; it framed his strong facial lines and accentuated the rich chocolate brown eyes that she'd fallen in love with last year when he found them.
"Comrade? Comrade, it's time to wake up," Rose whispered in his ear.
A well-muscled arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her down to an equally muscled chest. A second arm wrapped around her, holding her tightly against him.
"Milaya, my sweet Milaya," Dimitri mumbled in his sleep.
~~~ Don't say anything about what you see or hear. I'll explain it all later~~~ Rose told Lissa through the bond.
~~ You'd better, Rose~~~ Lissa replied, a little hurt she'd had no idea about them, and she was her best friend.
Rose gently brushed more of his hair from his face. She loved that he'd started to let it grow, which brought out the sharpness of his looks and made her weak in the knees. Rose pulled her legs onto the bed, sliding her hands around to his back. Looking up at him, his eyes were barely open, and she reached up with one of her hands holding the side of his face. He slowly leaned down and touched his lips to hers. It was slow and sweet but passionate at the same time. They slowly broke apart, and Rose laid her head on his chest again.
Lissa watched the passion between them with envy. It was nothing like that for her and Christian. Sure they loved each other, but nothing like the soul consuming love she was witnessing here. She couldn't believe Dimitri and Rose were able to hide their love for each other from anyone. A love like theirs shouldn't be hidden but flaunted for the world to see.
Rose could feel the emotions through the bond. It made her happy Lissa understood their love.
~~~~ I can't believe you have been able to hide this for so long. You two are meant to be~~~~
~~~~~ Thank you, Lissa. When this comes out, and trust me, it will; it will be hard for us. Everyone will judge him. We are waiting until I graduate. Then hopefully I'll be allocated to you, and Dimitri to Christian. At that point, no one can say anything~~
"Roza, what are you doing in here? You're going to get me in trouble with Alberta," Dimitri told her.
"No, I won't. You know she loves me the best! Besides, I'm here to check on Viktoria and to make sure you're up for practice. I figured Viktoria could use the extra training to work out her anger. I know it helped me when I was hurt. It still helps me." Rose told him, gently kissing him before breaking out of his arms.
"I'm sure she will be thankful for it. I don't know if she has any clothes here for that type of workout Roza," Dimitri said, finally sitting up.
"Worst case, I can let her use some of mine. You know I keep extras in my locker," Rose told him smiling.
Rose walked over to the small table that had a coffee machine and started to make some for him. She might not know how to cook, but she'd learned how to make a good cup of coffee. While she was starting the coffee, Dimitri woke up fully, noticing Lissa sitting in his winged back chair with a dazed look on her face.
"Princess! Rose, I swear you're gonna get all of us in trouble!" Dimitri exclaimed.
"No, I won't. Trust me. Lissa won't say anything. She understands. It's okay, I explained everything to her," Rose said, adding the coffee grinds to the machine and turning on the coffee maker.
"I won't tell anyone, Guardian Belikov. I've never seen love like yours. It shouldn't be hidden; it should be shown to the world, it's so beautiful. I understand why you can't tell anyone, yet, so I'll keep your secret until you can be open with everyone. I won't even tell Christian if you want me to keep it quiet," Lissa promised. It would hurt keeping something like that from Christian - she told him everything. But for Rose, she would do it.
Dimitri took a minute and studied the Princess. Rose always told him she wasn't like most Royals, and now he started to believe her. Sure, he'd noticed she was a little different when it came to the Royals he had been around. Most of them were adults though, and they were out for what they thought they deserved not earned. Which usually wasn't much. Most Royals threw money around and did little else. They didn't care about the Guardians who protected them. He'd only encountered a handful who cared about their Guardians. Truly cared. Vasilisa was showing she genuinely cared about Rose.
"It's fine, Princess. You can tell Christian. It will be nice not to hide all the time. If I plan on guarding him once you leave here, he has to get used to it. Better he gets used to it here than out there," Dimitri reasoned, turning to wake Viktoria only to find her already awake and lying there.
"Time to get up, Vika. Would you like to do some training today? Maybe just some stretches? Nothing to make you hurt any worse?" Dimitri asked gently, getting out of bed to grab a quick shower.
"Sure, but I don't have anything to wear. I'd planned on getting some new stuff here since my old stuff was so old. Mamma sent me some money so I could go into town to get new clothes. She thought it would help me fit in better here," Viktoria told him.
"That's okay. We look about the same size - you can use one of my sets, and later we can talk to Alberta about going into town to get you some new stuff. Besides, we have to get formal dresses. The Yule Ball is in a few weeks," Rose informed Vika.
"Thank you, Rose. That means a lot," Viktoria exclaimed, getting out of bed to hug her.
"You're welcome. Coffee?" Rose asked, pulling down two cups.
"No thank you. I don't see how you drink that stuff," Viktoria laughed.
"5 am workouts with your pain in the ass brother is how! Coffee is the only thing that can fully wake me up," Rose joked as she made coffee for herself and Dimitri.
The girls moved to the small sofa to give Dimitri his chair. He left the bathroom wearing only gym shorts, his chest gloriously bare. Lissa, who had never seen him in anything but his Guardian uniform, was taken back by this. You could see how muscular he was. His toned arms, legs and washboard abs. Seeing this made her slightly envious of Rose. Sure Christian was good looking, but Dimitri was a whole other category of hotness.
~~~~ Really Lissa? ~~~~~~ Rose sent her when strong thoughts of Dimitri seeped through the bond.
~~~ Rose, I'm sorry. But he is, wow! I mean, I knew guardians were in better shape than most people. But come on!~~~~~ Lissa replied in embarrassment.
~~~ I know Lissa. I was just messing with you~~~ Rose mentally replied, giving her best friend a saucy wink.
Dimitri pulled out a new uniform and packed his bag for after training. Handing him his coffee, Rose gently kissed his cheek. He pulled her close for a moment, breathing in her unique smell. She didn't bother with sprays - just a vanilla body wash that was long lasting. Relaxing in his embrace for a moment calmed Rose. She didn't realize how much she needed his touch.
The tension she didn't know she was holding left her body. Almost like waiting for the bomb to drop before he'd headed to the shower, Dimitri had noticed she was tense. Most things didn't bother Rose. Only two things make her tense. She was worried about Lissa or her mother. Since Lissa was here and seemed fine, it must be her mother. Janine was a renowned Guardian, but as a mother, she was as bad as his father. Just not abusive. Well - depending who you asked, barely having anything to do with your child some would count as abuse.
"What's wrong, Roza?" he whispered to her.
"She's coming Friday to tell me something, but I don't know what?" Rose sighed, resting her head on Dimitri's chest.
Holding her tight to him helping her ground herself and gather her thoughts. He knew this workout would be hard on her. It always was when she was stressed.
They broke apart after a few minutes, Rose sitting back next to Lissa. Lissa took her hand in support. Not fully knowing what was wrong, she knew Rose didn't deal with her mother very well. For more than the first time, she wished her mother Rhea had survived the car crash. She was like a mom to Rose, the only mom she truly knew. Rhea never treated Rose any differently just because she was a Dhampir. To Rhea, Rose was just another member of her family.
Dimitri finished his coffee and slipped on his shirt and shoes, turning off the coffee maker, checking he had everything for the day. He turned to the girls.
"Let's go," he announced, opening his door.
They followed him out, locking the door behind them, taking the back way to the gym so no one would question them. Once in the gym, Rose took Vika to the locker room and helped her find a set of workout clothes that would fit her the best.
By the time they came out the locker room, Lissa had pulled out her school work and made herself an area where she could watch them and work. Normally she would be in classes right now, but they were redoing the classrooms, so she used the time to study and see what Rose did for training.
"You good, Lissa?" Rose asked, placing her bag next to her.
"Yup. I can't wait to see what you do in training. I've never had the chance before now," Lissa said laughing.
"I know! Now you'll understand why I'm sore so often," Rose replied grinning at her.
Heading over to Dimitri and Vika, Rose started her stretches. She helped Vika stretch as much as she dared. She didn't want her to overdo it; not with the muscles still so sore. But it would help them loosen up better. They stretched for thirty minutes. During that time, Dimitri had set up the weights for Viktoria to use. She wouldn't be sparring anytime soon. She needed time to heal, but lifting a few weights wouldn't hurt her.
Once she was set, Dimitri walked back over to Rose, who by this point had shed the hoodie she was wearing and only had on a sports bra and lycra pants. Approaching her from behind, he placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing his thumbs along her neck to help loosen her muscles. Rose rolled her neck back and forth. Running his hands down her arms to her hands, he enclosing them within his, guiding them above their heads, stretching their arms. Slowly lowering them, bending his head next to her ear, he gently kissed that spot that drove her crazy.
"Ready?" he whispered to her.
Rose nodded her head and stepped out of his embrace and faced him. They started out slow, left punch to the right hand, right punch to left the hand, adding a knee here and there. They slowly speed up until you could barely see what was going on. Lissa stopped working all together to watch them. The way they moved, you couldn't really tell where one started, and the other ended. They were evenly matched. Before either Lissa or Viktoria knew what happened, Dimitri had Rose pinned on the mats, both grinning and breathing hard. They heard clapping from behind them. Climbing off her and pulling her to her feet, they looked over to where the clapping came from. Standing by the door was Alberta wearing a proud smile.
"Well done, Rose. You have improved a great deal since coming back. It took a lot of effort to pin you, I can tell. When you first came back, you wouldn't have lasted that long before Belikov pinned you," Alberta told her.
"Thanks! He's a hard ass Russian, but if it helps me protect Lissa better, then so be it. What are you doing here?" Rose asked her, knowing she was usually busy.
Taking a deep breath, Alberta pulled her Guardian face, as the Novices would say. Rose knew once she saw Alberta's true emotions, she wasn't going to like what she heard. Not one bit.
"Janine called me earlier. She's coming sooner than she thought. She'll be here later today. Something has her spooked. Not much does that to her, but she's spooked and pissed. I have a feeling I know what it's about. I'll tell you if you honestly want to know," Alberta offered.
"Yes, please. I've been stressing ever since she told me she was coming to talk about something important that couldn't be discussed over the phone," Rose admitted, wrapping her arms around herself trying to stay strong and hold herself together.
"I think it's about your father, Rose. I don't know who he is, but he's powerful from what she's told me," she said reaching out to stroke Rose's hair.
"My father? Why would he have anything to do with this? Where has he been the last seventeen years of my life? From what Janine has said, he wanted nothing to do with me, so once she could, she dropped me off here. Why seventeen years later would he want to have a part in my life? I have no need for him. Soon I will graduate and guard Lissa and have my own life," Rose declared, starting to shake with anger that came from thinking about how she barely had parents and wouldn't have had any parent if it weren't for the Dragomirs and Alberta.
Dimitri didn't care his boss was standing right in front of them; he saw the signs of the Darkness starting to seep into Rose, causing her anger to be much worse. He quickly wrapped his muscular arms around her and pulled her to him as she struck out with her fists. Alberta was taken back by the movement as were Lissa and Viktoria. Rose fought hard against Dimitri, trying to break out of his arms. Turning her towards the dummy he'd set up earlier for them, he prepared to release her to let her take her anger out on them. As soon as she was released, she turned and punched Dimitri in the face, knocking him flat on his ass. He didn't think she would turn on him. He quickly flipped to his feet, and they went at it again. Harder than before, Dimitri tried to block as much as he could; he didn't want to hurt her. This anger was something he had seen before. It was just like the night when she lost Mason - the anger and sadness had taken over. A result of Lissa using too much spirit, combined with a great loss and anger. Only this time it was only anger, not the spirit. The anger at her mother and her father.
They went at it for a long time. Rose didn't look even tired, but Dimitri was starting to lose the battle. When he saw an opening to wrap his arms around her again he took it, wrapping them around her tightly, he lowered them to the floor. Rose struggled to break free. By this point, Lissa was in tears. She was worried about Rose. She'd never seen her like this, only heard about it afterward. He whispered sweet nothings in her ear in Russian, not caring if anyone heard them. He was trying to break through the darkness. After a few minutes, she seemed to stop fighting and started crying. He turned her to him and held her. Running one of his hands through her hair and one up and down her back, he gently kissed her hairline. Anything to calm her down. She soon calmed down enough to talk.
"I'm sorry I lost it. When I think about them trying to control my life, it makes me so mad!" Rose growled from her place within Dimitri's arms.
"I understand, Rose. Why don't you get cleaned up and we can move this to my office?" Alberta suggested.
Rose nodded, standing up, walking across to her bag then walking into the locker room. Dimitri grabbed his as well. They went to the showers. Lissa, Viktoria, and Alberta waited for them to return. Turning to Alberta, Lissa asked " Is there anything I can do to help? Rose has always been there for me. I want to be there for her."
"I honestly don't know. It will all depend on what Janine tells us. I will make sure you're in there when she tells her," Alberta declared as Rose emerged from the locker room wearing her school uniform. They waited a few more minutes for Dimitri to join them. They headed to Alberta's office, opening the door to reveal a sofa and two large wing-backed chairs and a huge cherry wood desk. Sitting at the desk and picking up the phone, Alberta called the kitchen and ordered lunch for them all, knowing they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
Turning to Rose, she asked if there was anyone else she wanted to be there. She asked for Christian. If the plan she had for them was going to work, he needed to be there and to know everything. Christian was looking forward to having Dimitri as his guardian and Rose as Lissa's. He arrived ten minutes later. Seeing the looks on Rose's and Lissa's faces, he knew something was majorly wrong.
Sitting next to Lissa on one end of the sofa facing Rose and Dimitri, he noticed Rose was sitting in Dimitri's lap more than anything. That's when he knew it was bad.
"Whats wrong? What happened?" he asked, reaching out to hold Rose's hand. While the school thought they hated each other, they actually saw one another as brother and sister.
"The darkness overcame me, and no, Lissa didn't cause it this time. Sure spirit was there, but this was much deeper than before. Janine is coming to visit. Something is apparently so super important, it can't wait until Friday. It has to do with my father, and I've no clue who that is," Rose told him.
"Holy shit," Christian exclaimed. "Well, we're here for you, Rose, no matter what she tells you," Christian declared.
Rose nodded her head and closed her eyes. Leaning her head against Dimitri's shoulder, she slipped into an uneasy rest until lunch arrived. Dimitri gave her a look that said she'd better eat even if she didn't want to. So she ate a little, but not much as she would normally. Once she was done, she moved back into his embrace and pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and covered them with it. She drifted off once more, waiting for the dreaded news from the person she hated the most.