I just looked at my reviews again and found the unanswered question as to whether Dimitri's dad was really called Grigory Voda in the books. The answer is no, but out of the 12 royal families I think Voda is the most likely since most other families eg. Dashkov, Ozera, Badica and Zeklos had prominent roles in the series and Dimitri never brought it up, and obviously Dragomir was out of the equation (though wouldn't it be weird if his dad was a Dragomir? :3)

Anyyyway, enough of that rambling. On with the drabble :)

Disclaimer: VA isn't mine.


A minor bird

I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.
~ Robert Frost


"I had no room for anything in my heart except guilt. I pushed you away. I put up a wall to keep you safe... I would give anything - anything- in the world to go back and change history. To run into your arms after Lissa brought me back."
~ Dimitri, Last Sacrifice, pg 470-471


Dimitri and I were snuggled up in bed, wrapped in a blissful haze. It was the night after Lissa's coronation, and if this was any indication of what lay ahead for us, then it was most certainly going to be good.

"How could I ever have thought I could live without this?"

I lifted my head from Dimitri's chest to look him in the eye, trying to hide my smirk. "What, sex?"

"No. Well... I meant you. Us." His hand slid up to cup my face. "All that time I pushed you away because I was convinced I was too broken, but you were the one that could fix me."

I blushed under the intensity of his gaze. "You didn't need fixing so much as time to heal yourself," I said, defending him.

He refused to have it, though. "All the time in the world wouldn't have been long enough for me to realise how to forgive myself, Roza. I couldn't have done it without you."

His words were so similar to those that had sparked what had happened in the cabin that I couldn't help but appreciate the bond we shared. Not a magical bond forged by death, like the one I had just lost with Lissa, but one formed by two kindred spirits finding each other and sharing strength and understanding. It was almost as though I loved Dimitri more, now that I could return some of what he had given me.

I didn't really know what to say in reply, but felt as though I had to try something. "You'll never have to try; I'll always be here for you."

"And I'll never give up on you," Dimitri promised, before breaking eye contact for a moment. "I just want you to know that. Even though I truly believed I was incapable of love after being restored, I shouldn't have said I'd given up on you. That wasn't true, and I'm sorry." He looked ashamed.

I covered his hand with my own. "Hey, that's in the past." His eyes met mine again. "And I think I knew you didn't mean that- especially after you beat up all those Guardians whilst trying to protect me."

He smiled wryly. "I'd realised by then that I was making a mistake by pushing you away so hard. You're too much of a magnet for trouble to be left unattended."

"Hey!" I slapped his chest playfully. "Firstly; that time it totally wasn't my fault. Secondly;" I said with a wink, "you love the excitement that I bring to your life. How many guys can say their girlfriend gives them the opportunity for real-life grand theft auto car chases?"

Dimitri laughed. "Don't forget the searches for alleged family members and speeches in front of a crowd that would rather kill us than listen to what we have to say."

"Exactly. Your life would be so boring without me." I was pleased that the conversation had taken a lighter turn.

"It would," he agreed before kissing me. "So I guess that the cabin in the mountain idea is definitely not going to be an option?"

I thought back to the conversation we'd had on the way to Idaho, before making the snow angels. "Actually," I said, running a finger down Dimitri's sculpted chest, "since then, I've gained a new appreciation for isolated cabins. I'm sure the two of us could find some activities to keep us busy up there, all alone..."

"We could read... play board games..." Dimitri said, catching on.

"Exactly. We could cook, or knit," I wasn't sure where knitting idea came from, but the mental image of Dimitri holding Yeva's knitting needles threatened to make me laugh and ruin the mood we were building, so I decided to cut the list short. "Watch a movie, or just..." my hand dropped lower, tracing over the lines of his abs.

His voice was husky, accent more pronounced when he spoke again. "I like your plan, but is the cabin part essential?"

"Only one way to find out!" I laughed before attaching my lips back to his.


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