Chapter 3

Rose P.O.V

I slept in very late. I couldn't remember the last time I slept in this late, but it felt good. I felt rejuvenated, fresh. I didn't forget about what happened yesterday night, but it was farther back in my mind. I wasn't so upset by it now. I was safe. The only thing still upsetting about it was that the men in the alley were probably going to get away with it. And that means that they'd probably try it again with another girl. But I was in a good mood and would worry about that tomorrow.

When I finally got out of bed, instead of just lying in the bright sunlight, I asked one of the servants what time it was (using hand motions). It was eleven o'clock! I only had an hour to get ready. I know he said to meet at twelve thirty but I planned on getting there early to read. I skipped out on breakfast, and enlisted Jill to help me get ready. She was young, and pretty, but she was an orphan. She worked at my house to provide for her the best she could. I liked her best, she always told the truth, whether it was hurtful or not. She helped me get dressed in a light blue dress, with mid-sleeves and a modest cut. She carefully put my hair up in a delicate bun.

Since I was a single woman and Dimitri a single man, we would need a chauffeur for our 'date'. It's not like anything could happen, but people would start rumors if we didn't have someone with us. I asked Jill to come with us (again with motions). Besides Lissa, she was the closest I had to a friend and she wouldn't be nosy or over-bearing. We set off for the park only a couple of minutes before twelve, a book in my hand. It is looked down upon for women to read, something about filling our head with nonsense, but I loved it too much to care. The adventures that books take you on are more thrilling than anything I could do in this town.

We sat in the sun, right in the middle of the park. We read together, sitting side by side, from the beginning even though I was in the middle. She giggled quietly at the funny moments and was silent in the serious ones; we were in quite an intense and riveting part when a shadow blocked our sun. I looked up to see Dimitri, holding a woven basket. Jill quickly excused herself to sit farther away: close enough for people to see her with us, but far enough away to give us a sense of privacy. "Hello, Rose," Dimitri said while sitting beside. I nodded my hello. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought something for us to … better communicate." He pulled out a pad of paper and pen. "I was hoping you could write what you would say." He looked hopefully. "This way we could get to know each other better." I smiled and nodded. This was a great idea. I've thought about using this method, and did for a little while with Lissa, but I always forget the paper or pen or lost them. But there was nothing wrong with doing it for an afternoon. "I also made some sweets. Chopped fruits, powered covered chocolate, cheese and crackers, I hope that you like stuff like that."

I put the pen to the paper and wrote 'Yes, I do, especially the chocolate.'

"Great." He pulled bowls out of the basket, containing exactly what he said they would. He also pulled out a container of water. "I would've brought something more romantic, like champagne or wine, but we're in public and people would probably look down upon me getting you drunk."

'Most likely,' I reached for a piece of the chocolate. It was so smooth and silky in my mouth, delicious. Dimitri chuckled.

"I see you like the chocolate. I'll have to remember that for the future."

'Good, because you could win any girl over with this; I think it's the best chocolate I've ever tasted.' And it was true; it was super creamy and sweet.

"The only girl I plan on winning over is you." My eyes dart up to his in surprise. It was then that his beauty really hit me. His dark, chocolate-brown eyes seemed to look into me, not through me. He was seeing me, not just some foolish girl who couldn't talk. His curved mouth slightly curled on the sides, his amusement showing through. Butterflies began to flutter around in my stomach. He cleared his throat at the silence, which made me realize that I had been staring. I pulled my gaze from his face and looked down. "So, how are you feeling today, with everything that happened yesterday?"

'Surprisingly ok, I am in a really good mood. And I wouldn't be if you hadn't saved me, so thank you. But I am worried about what they could do. They might try to come after me again, or some other girl.'

"You didn't hear," he started after swallowing a grape, "After they ran off last night, after I beat them, they were killed."

I gasped, 'All three, and how?!'

"Yes, all three. It was an animal attack. Their throats had been ripped out. They were found early this morning."

'Do they know what kind of animal?' This was kind of a blessing in disguise. On one hand, three horrible people were gone; on the other hand, there was a murderous animal on the loose. 'Should we be worried?'

"They think it was a wolf, and no, I don't think we should be worried. But let's move off of this topic, it's so depressing." He was right; this is hardly the topic someone should be having on a date. He picked up another piece of fruit and popped it into his mouth. He groaned softly. "You should really try the strawberries, they're very juicy." So I did, and found out just how juicy, when some of that said juice started to slide down my chin. I went to grab for a napkin, a blush making its way onto my cheeks. Before I dab the juice off, Dimitri's thumb slowly wiped it off, the juice now collected on his finger. He stared at his thumb for a second before bringing it to his lips and licking the liquid off. It was tantalizing to watch; his velvety-looking tongue dabbing of the liquid and his eyes trained on that one spot. It sent tingles from my chest all the way down to an area not mentioned in public. He snapped back to himself and realized what he had done. "I, uh, kind of lost myself there for a moment, please forgive me."

'It's quite alright,' and it was. It kind of made me think of him in a new way, and I couldn't tell if that was good or bad.

And so our date went on, him talking while I wrote and both of us eating. He asked about the book I had been reading and I wrote nearly a full page going on and on to describe it. It was about a little girl who lived slightly out of town. One day when she was bored she wandered into the woods and was approached by what appeared to her to be a very, very large dog. She was scared at first but came to find the 'dog' as friendly. She befriended the beast and went out to see it every day, despite being forbidden to by her parents. When she got a little older she learned that it was a wolf, not a dog. But stranger still was that he was four times as big as the wolves in the pictures she saw. She kept him a secret; she didn't want him to be found out, lest someone think he's a danger and kill him. I had just gotten to the point where her parents had found out about her little 'friend'.

We also talked about our lives a little. I asked him why he had come out here and he said that he left home to find his wife. Which I thought was a little strange, but brave. He said that he had a sister and I told him a little about Lissa.

"So, to find out little trivial things about each other, how about we just go back and forth with random questions?" He asked, leaning back with his arms holding him up. I nodded. "Ok, I'll go first. What's your favorite color? Mine's green."

I wrote, 'Blue, what's your favorite fruit? Mine are bananas.'

"Currently, I'd have to say strawberries…. What's your favorite animal? I think mine are dogs and wolves, they are very loyal."

'I like birds.'

"Why's that?"

'They're so free; they have nothing holding them back. It must be a great feeling.'

There was a pause and then, "Rose, why don't you talk? Is it because you can't or because you won't?"

I sat there with the pen in hand, hovering over the page. I wanted to tell him, he was so kind and understanding. But I couldn't. Not yet, at least. I shook my head, frustrated with myself. "It's ok, Rose, you don't have to tell me. Let's just continue our game." And that's exactly what we did… for hours. We'd been on the date for four hours before I had to end it. I really had to get home; I hadn't expected this to last so long. Not that I was complaining. I hadn't had this much fun in a long time. We packed up the basket together and Dimitri walked me and Jill back to the house. Jill quickly scurried inside. We stood in front of my door, neither wanting to be the first to say goodbye. But we had to. I started to hand the notebook over but he refused it.

I lifted it and wrote, 'I always lose them. You keep it, until next time.'

He smirked. "I finally got you to admit that there would be a next time." He took the notebook. "I had an amazing time Rose. I can't wait to see you again." He bent and kissed the back of my hand, his lips lingering longer than necessary. This wasn't something men still did today, but I was definitely ok with it. It reminded me of all the princes I've read about in books. When he stood straight I turned to open the door and he turned to leave. I walked into the house with a smile on my face that lasted only a few seconds.

My father flew out of his study and bounded down the hallway, "Where have you been?!" He screamed. "I was ready to call the police!" I highly doubt that. "You didn't tell me where you were going!" He swayed on his feet, the smell of alcohol wafting off of him. He got this way more often than one should. "You were out with boys, weren't you?" There was a moment of silence as if he was waiting for a response, but he would be waiting a long time. "You're a slut! Just like that little friend of yours," another moment of silence. "Answer me! God damn it, answer me, so I can get rid of you!" I kept calm, waiting for the outburst to fade away. I was used to this; it was usually a weekly occurrence. What wasn't a weekly occurrence was what he did next. The skin of his palm connected with my cheek, sending me sprawling across the floor. The pain didn't register yet, but I knew it would eventually. "Your mother would hate you!" He screamed one last time and disappeared back down the hallway. I stayed in my spot on the ground for a few minutes, trying to get the knowledge of what just happened to sink in. The knowledge sunk in the same time as the pain. I quickly got up and jogged up the stairs and into my bedroom. Almost mechanically I got undressed and into a night gown. I wouldn't be leaving this room again tonight, not with my father downstairs. I lay down onto the bed and waiting for the tears to come. And they did, eventually. I cried silently, just like everything else I did. Jill brought up a sandwich she quickly threw together for me about an hour later, but other than that I got no disturbances. I ate quickly and then just went back to lying on my bed. I don't know when I fell asleep, but I must've. I woke up the next morning, without a single memory of a dream from the night.