Chapter 6

True to her word, Rose showed up diligently and consistently to practice. She gave it 110% every time we met and I truly felt like she was willing to push through anything I could throw at her. I was immensely proud of the progress she was making, as was Alberta. At the end of the first week of Rose's extra training sessions, I sat in Alberta's office giving my weekly update.

"Wow," was all she said at first, leaning back in her chair, her face showing she was surprised but impressed.

"I truly think Roe can rise quickly to be top of her class. Her attitude has changed drastically," I said. I couldn't help the flush of pride I felt as I spoke. Alberta agreed, a smile on her face.

As I was leaving her office, I ran into Stan. I greeted him cordially and we started walking.

"Hey, so what are you doing for lunch?" he asked.

"I was probably just going to eat something in the gym before I put in a little workout. How about you?" I said.

"How about some company? You always eat alone. Come have lunch with me, I'd like to talk to you," he said. Wary, I nodded and we headed off to the guardians lounge to eat together.

"So," he began, halfway through lunch. "Rose Hathaway seems to have turned over a new leaf."

"Yes," I stated, even though it wasn't a question.

"Well, I have to say, Belikov, I knew you were good. But it takes a lot to get her to listen and behave. I gotta give you credit where it's due, you're doing a remarkable job with her," he said. I took a sip of my drink before answering.

"She's gotten a lot better, yes. I can't say it's all my doing, though," I answered, thinking about Lissa and the fox.

"Nonsense. You're too modest," he said, brushing off my comment. It still felt weird having older, more experienced guardians praising me so highly; my reputation was hard-earned but I still couldn't help thinking about the face that I'd only been out of school for six years.

"Well, thank you, Stand. I appreciate it," I answered. We finished eating and parted ways. I headed to the gym for a quick workout like I'd been doing every Sunday. Sometimes I would train with Rose, but it didn't always give me the workout I needed, so I put in my own extra time.

"What's the first problem you'll run into when facing a Strigoi?" I asked, my arms crossed as we face each other in the gym the following afternoon.

"They're immortal?"

"Think of something more basic."

She took a moment to think about it before answering," They could be bigger than me. And stronger."

I nodded. "That makes it difficult, but not impossible. You can usually use a person's extra height and weight against them."

I spent the next several minutes demonstrating a few techniques, showing her where and how to strike in several different scenarios.

"So if someone is coming at you like this-"I made a lunge at her side "- you can get away by turning and ducking away. The few seconds it takes for them to recover are crucial, you can use that opportunity to incapacitate-"I demonstrated a hit to the base of the neck "- or kill." I made like I was staking through the back to the heart.

"Ok, so…," Rose said, attempting to recreate what I had done.

"No, more like this," I said, standing behind her and taking her arms to show her the motions of the move. She didn't say anything and I immediately became aware of every spot where we touched, the way her arms felt under my hands, and how we could easily turn our heads and –

I cleared my throat and stepped away, back in front of her.

"Go ahead, try to hit me," I said. She lunged forward, springing into action. I promptly blocked her and knocked her to the mat. She tried again, and again, and again. I blocked her each time. Finally, she threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Ok, what am I doing wrong?"

"Nothing."

"If I wasn't doing anything wrong, I'd had rendered you unconscious by now."

"Unlikely. Your moves are all correct, but this is the first time you've really tried. I've done this for years," I explained. I could tell it didn't make her feel any better.

"Whatever you say, Grandpa," she said, rolling her eyes. "Can we try it again?"

"We're out of time. Besides, don't you want to get ready?" I asked, slightly amused at her comment and her enthusiasm. She glanced up at the clock and visibly perked up.

"Hell yeah I do!" she said with a smile. I turned and walked towards the door ahead of her. Suddenly, I heard her cry out and sensed her running towards my back. Smiling, I turned, grabbed her, and threw her down, pinning her to the ground.

She groaned. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

I looked her in the eyes, holding back a smile. "The battle cry sort of gave you away. Try not to yell next time."

"Would it really have made a difference if I'd been quiet?" she asked. I thought it over a second.

"No, probably not." She sighed loudly, but I could tell she wasn't very much disappointed. I also knew she'd keep trying these sneak attacks, which was good. Good practice for both of us.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed. Once again, I became aware of how close we were and every spot we touched. Our legs and torsos were pressed together, and her wrists felt very warm in my hands. If I leaned down just a little bit, our lips would meet.

"So um… got any other moves to show me?" she asked. I felt like smiling as I thought of several moves I could show her. Then, just as quickly as I became aware of our situation, the age difference and nature of our working relationship came to mind, crashing whatever other thoughts I'd had. With a great amount of effort, I shook off the feelings and lifted myself off of her. I leaned back on my heels and stood up.

"Come on. We should go," I said as I turned and headed out the gym. I heard her scramble up and follow me out.

I headed to my room for a quick shower, and ten minutes later, I was cleaned up and dressed in my guardian black-and-white uniform and headed towards the commons where Queen Tatiana would be addressing the school.

I took up a position against the wall with all the other school guardians, my hands clasped in front of me and my eyes staring straight ahead as I took in the whole room. I saw Rose enter the room, her hair damp but brushed out, wearing a maroon sweater that accentuated her features and brought to mind the moment from the gym earlier. I saw her scan the room, stop for a few seconds on me, then focus toward the front where the queen would be.

Tatiana eventually entered the room, smiling and nodding at several novices before passing in to the section where the Moroi sat gathered.

"Vasilisa Dragomir," she called, her voice ringing out clearly in the room. I saw Lissa look up at her, face slightly pink although she gave no other outward signs of being called out. Tatiana started out with sympathy over the loss of Lissa's family before giving Lissa what seemed like praise for her name.

"But, as you have demonstrated, names do not make a person. Nor do they have any bearing on how that person turns out," she finished, and with that, she turned away and continued to the front. The dinner got underway shortly thereafter, although one glance at Rose told me she was burning with anger and writhing with impatience. I had to give her credit, though. She'd really grasped a lot of self-control in the last month or so since we'd been training together.

When the post-dinner reception began, I saw Rose and Lissa slip out towards the courtyard. I made my way to Alberta to make sure I could slip away, then I followed them out. I had been instructed to accompany Rose back to her room at the end of the ceremony and dinner. I could only assume she was done for the night.

I made my way into the courtyard and glanced around. Not seeing anyone, I moved further, into the gardens. Finally, I found Rose. I started towards her then noticed several Moroi standing around where Rose was half-guarding Lissa, visibly ready to enter fight mode. I went on defense, ready to break things up if anything happened. When I reached them, I stood beside where Rose and Lissa stood, crossed my arms, and stared down at each of them in turn.

"Everything alright?" I asked, speaking more to Rose.

"Sure thing, Guardian Belikov," she answered, forcing a smile. I could tell she was angry. "We were just swapping family stories. Ever heard Mia's? It's fascinating."

"Come on," said the short blonde Moroi who I assumed must have been Mia. She and her friends wandered off. I turned towards Rose and Lissa.

"I'm supposed to take you back to your dorm. You weren't about to start a fight, were you?"

"Of course not," Rose answered, staring at where the other girls had disappeared to. "I don't start fights where people can see them."

"Rose," groaned Lissa. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"Let's go. Goodnight, Princess."

I turned to go, but Rose didn't move.

"You gonna be okay, Lissa?"

"I'm fine."

I turned back around; even without a bond, I could tell she wasn't fine. Apparently, Rose didn't think so either.

"Liss…"

"I told you, I'm fine. You've got to go," Lissa said, nodding in my direction. I was concerned about her, but my immediate task was to get Rose to her dorm. I would check on Lissa later.

"We may need to add an extra training on self-control," I stated, only half joking.

"I have plenty of self-contr – hey!" Rose had just spotted Christian Ozera moving down the path towards where we had just left Lissa.

"You going to see Lissa?" she demanded, off-setting her earlier rage onto him.

"What if I am?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Rose, this isn't the time," I warned, attempting to head this off at the pass. It didn't work; completely ignoring me, she launched into a tirade of how Lissa hated Christian and how pathetic she thought he was. It was harsh and I tried, once again, to steer her off.

"Enough," I said, taking her arm. They spit sarcastic thanks at each other as I walked her away.

"Rose, is that what you call self-control?" I asked, letting her go when I was sure she wouldn't run off and yell at him some more.

"Actually, yea. Ordinarily, you would have walked up on an unconscious Mia with blood all over her little doll face," Rose retorted.

"Rose, you can't do things like that," I chastised. She sighed.

"I know, comrade. That's why I didn't. See? Self-control." This time, I did roll my eyes. We said nothing else as we walked the rest of the way to her dorm.