Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and placed this story on their alert list. :)

I LOVE YOU GUYS! :D

Anyways, to answer all those questions running through your minds, here is the seventh chapter! :)

Credits go to the superb Richelle Mead! :)

P.S I had to rack my brain hard the most for this chapter. LOL.

xxx

CHAPTER 7: BOMBS: DROPPED

I was now seated on St. Vladimir's Headmistress Ellen Kirova's office while I waited for her. But, I could not help myself but think back to the earlier conversation I had with Dr. Olendzki in the clinic. The confirmation that I was indeed what I did not expect me to be, to say the least.

FLASHBACK

Not answering her previous question, I told her, "What you are asking me right now are pregnancy questions. Is that what you think I am?"

She had a plain look on her face. "Yes, I know you are pregnant because while you were out I took a blood sample from you and examined it. Clearly, it showed that you were seven weeks pregnant."

"Hell no! That is impossible! I only slept with a man once and it is impossible for me to have a child with him!" I was outraged alright, but that did not mean I lost my mind enough to blurt out the name of Dimitri Belikov.

"Well, if you are so sure about using protection with this Moroi, then maybe it broke halfway." For a doctor, she was crazy to immediately jump into conclusions.

Newsflash: I so did not tell her that I slept with a Moroi. And what was worse was I felt that the Moroi she had in mind was the jackass Adrian Ivashkov.

"I did not sleep with a Moroi alright." I told her, pissed.

"Then, you slept with a fellow novice?" She asked with eyes wide open.

Jeesh, if just said 'Dhampir' it would have been a whole lot easier.

"Nope" I said as I pursed my lips together.

"Then, who did you sleep with?" She was obviously confused as hell.

"Well, I slept with a Dhampir who is not a novice…" I trailed off.

Gladly, she did not push it and just said, "Well, Miss Hathaway, your situation is extremely weird, so I shall send you to Headmistress Kirova's office to further explain yourself."

Oh, that bitch.

END OF FLASHBACK

That is the reason why I am here now: to explain myself but hell, I don't even have a single idea on where to start once Kirova interrogates me.

After five more minutes of sitting there, Kirova finally came in with the head of Guardians in the academy – Alberta Petrov.

"Rose, you have some explaining to do." The old witch said as she sat on her chair.

Alberta, on the other hand, sat at the chair at my side which was at least two feet apart from where I was sitting.

"Funny, don't you think? You are telling me that I have some explaining to do because every single damned time I come here, the only thing I do is to explain myself." I sarcastically said as I rolled my eyes.

"Rose, please be careful with your words." Alberta said in a somewhat whisper.

I only gave her a 'are you serious; question mark' look.

"I got this Guardian Petrov." Kirova told Alberta before she turned to me. "Do not beat around the bush, Miss Hathaway, who did you sleep with? Not a Moroi, but a Dhampir who, at the same time, is not a novice."

The last words Kirova said seemed like a riddle; actually, it was my riddle.

"Well, why don't you solve that riddle for yourself Headmistress? The answer is embedded between the lines." I scoffed.

"Rose, did you sleep with a Guardian?" Alberta joined in the conversation.

"Why, what do you think?" I answered her question with a question – just like what my therapist, Deirdre said.

"Is it Guardian Belikov?" Kirova asked, seriousness written all over her face.

"If I say yes, promise me you would not strip Dimitri off his Guardian title and that you would not expel me." I told Kirova as I stared intensely at her.

"Don't worry; I was not planning on doing such thing." Kirova explained which total surprised me. "And I take that as a yes, Rose; right?"

I bowed down my head and nodded like a little girl who was caught stealing candies from her mother's room in the middle of the night.

"Oh God." I heard Alberta softly say from beside me.

I looked at her way only to find her closing her eyes as she shook her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked Alberta; my voice panicked.

"See for yourself;" Kirova said as she handed me a folder of what seemed to be a record.

"What is this?" I asked as I got the folder from her grasp.

"That folder," she said as she pointed at it, "contains all things you need to know about Guardian Belikov."

"I would not go to jail for looking at this, right?" I joked to lighten up the tense mood which was embracing us.

Kirova and Alberta did not bother saying anything after that. So, I let them be as I mumbled a low "fine."

When I opened the folder, it blew me off. "Headmistress, I don't think this is Dimitri's."

"It is." She told me indifferently.

At that moment I would of have had said damn, but now – shit was more like it. I took another glance at the name written on top and odd sensations were running through my body.

Dimitri Ivashkov.

That was the birth name of Dimitri – he was born on the tenth of October year 1985 in the Royal Court at 10:38 in the morning (vampire world, but it was 10:38 in the evening in the human world). His parents were Nathan Ivashkov and Daniella Lazar-Ivashkov. His brother was Adrian Ivashkov.

Both his parents were Royal. The Lazars were the fifth biggest clan of the Royal Morois, next to the Dashkovs.

"How could this happen?" I asked in a very soft voice.

"Dimitri was a son of two royal Morois, thus making him a Moroi himself. His parents were forced to bring him away from the Royal Court since attacks were going on at that time and the Strigois were only after Dimitri because he had very rare potentials that were already showing even when he was still five months old. He learned how to walk and talk earlier than any other Morois which only happened once in history – to St. Vladimir. I'm sure you know about him, right?"

I nodded. God, everything was so messed up.

"Well, Dimitri was just like him: a Spirit user. The only difference is that Dimitri does not need to drink blood in order to live; he just needed to eat normal foods for energy. So far, Dimitri is the only Moroi in history to have this ability. Going back, Lord and Lady Ivashkov sent Dimitri to a Dhampir commune in Russia and pretty much, he adapted to the nature there, so he learned Russian culture, Russian language and all that. The Belikovs were very kind enough to take him in. Dimitri's parents, however, were worried nonetheless about their child's security, so they ordered a Moroi leader of gangsters to watch after him. The name of the Moroi was Ibrahim Mazur. There was a deal made with the Belikovs that once Dimitri turned twenty-two, right after he finished college, he would be sent here in St. Vladimir's Academy where he was safe." She paused for a while to look at me. "Are you still with me, Rose?"

I did not know what to say, so I simply nodded again.

"Okay, so Dimitri turned twenty-two and he arrived at the academy two days after you ran away with Princess Vasilisa. Unexpectedly, he grew up with the idea that he was a Dhampir, so he enrolled himself in an Academy back in Russia and needless to say, the academy were clueless that they were training a Moroi to become a Guardian. According to Mr. Mazur, he wanted to intervene, but seeing as how Dimitri tried his very best to excel, he decided to let him be. Days passed and Dimitri improved more and more until he became the best trained novice there ever was."

"What was the name of the Academy?" I knew it was random, but I wanted to ask. Mind you, my voice still did not regain its normality when I asked that question; it was still soft and gentle – like Lissa's.

"The name was 'The Academy of Prince Sviatoslav.' It was named after and in honor of the Grand Prince of Russia, Sviatoslav I of Kiev who was also the father of our school's namesake, St. Vladimir." She explained.

I must admit the names were hard to pronounce and if I gave a shot at pronouncing them, they would not roll off my tongue nicely. "Okay, go on with your Dimitri story."

"Dimitri took up college in the same academy and his charge that time was Ivan Ivashkov, they got along very well according to Ibrahim, but sadly Ivan died -" I cut her off.

"Don't worry, Dimitri told me the story about that before, skip that part, please."

"Well, then, after the loss of Ivan, Dimitri was sent here to St. Vladimir's. Somehow, the Strigois were no longer able to trace him down thanks to the very wonderful protection of Mr. Mazur and his mob, as we call it. Well, at least not until the night of the Strigoi attack recently."

"What makes you say Strigoi are indeed after Dimitri?" I asked with a quizzical look.

"Why do you think they wanted to turn him rather than kill him back in the cave?" She asked back.

"That does not prove anything, maybe the Strigoi wanted to turn him because he was well-built and a good fighter, so if Dimitri now plus Strigoi abilities will become unstoppable, thus the Strigois would have the upper hand against the Guardians…" I trailed off. "…because they have Dimitri – if he was Strigoi, that is." My Rose-ness was coming back slowly now.

"You have a theory, Miss Hathaway, but sadly, no." I frowned. "If Strigois only wanted that then they would of have had turned deceased Guardian Arthur Schoenberg. But no, they chose to kill him. Dimitri is a different case, Rose."

"Could the Strigois distinguish him from the others?" I asked again.

"Yes. As you already know, Strigois have special abilities; they could smell the scent of the vampires and humans. Meaning, they would know if the vampire is a Dhampir or Moroi." Before she continued she paused for a while to ask me a question. "Did you see the Strigoi who tackled Dimitri down back in the cave?"

"It was a blond one; I don't really remember his exact looks, but if I see that son of a bitch again – which I doubt – I would recognize him."

"Ah, just like I guessed. That Strigoi was Nathan. He used to be a Moroi who was close to the Dragomirs." Well, no wonder he knew me. "He is somewhat the leader of the Strigois from what we have observed because he was trained by Galina, an instructor of Dimitri in his combat classes back when he was in high school who unfortunately got turned; and let's just say she has been Strigoi for quite a long time already."

"Why the hell didn't just that Galina boy or girl whatever join the attacks?"

"Well, Galina, who is a she, is like the head of Strigois and according to my sources, they have this thing like an office back in Russia where humans help them out and they plan out their attacks or something to that thought."

"Well, if the Strigois are out for Dimitri, then why do you still let him fight with the other Guardians?"

Alberta was the one who answered that question. "Because Guardian Belikov is just as stubborn as you Rose when it comes to fighting, nothing will stop him from fighting."

I smiled. That was one thing Dimitri and I shared in common: we were stubborn, to say the least.

A thought suddenly popped out in my mind. "Wait, after Lissa and I graduates, Dimitri is Lissa's sanctioned guardian, right?" The two older women nodded. "Why would you bring him back to the Royal Court if his parents sent him out to be safe?"

"During the time Dimitri was born, there were no wards yet; only Guardians. Now, there are wards set up at the court, so it is safe. Plus, Lord and Lady Ivashkov would like to see their son. After they sent Dimitri to Russia to be secured, they never saw him again; not even when you were in the Royal Court because they were out on a vacation in, I'm not really sure, but I think it was in Atlanta." Kirova answered.

I nodded, but questions were popping out of my mind. "Wait, if Dimitri is a Moroi, then why is he so strong and so fast?"

"Years of training." Alberta replied like it was so easy to figure out – which it was.

"Oh, I see." I nodded my head. "By the way, Headmistress Kirova, how did you know all those things about Dimitri's childhood?"

She gave out a small smile. "I used to be a Guardian of Lord Ivashkov. But, when the previous Headmistress of this Academy, Sofia Karp passed away in that awful accident, I was sent here and you know the rest."

Well, that explains it. Sofia Karp was, yes, the twin sister of late Sonya Karp. She died while she was on her way back to the Academy because of a car accident – I don't know the exact details, but main point of her death: it was a car accident that took her life away.

"One more question, does Dimitri know that he is a Moroi?" I was unsure if I wanted to hear their answers, but I wanted to know.

"This will be the last question we would answer Miss Hathaway. If you would have any further questions, you should just go ask Dimitri for himself." Kirova said as I nodded in agreement.

Then, both women nodded.

Oh, screw Dimitri!

I immediately stood up and set off; ready to kill Dimitri with my ear-piercing words, but Kirova stopped me.

"Rose, don't think that just because we had a lot of stories to tell you, it means we forgot that we needed to talk about your current situation."

Oh, damn. After all the bombs dropped today, they would not let me go off because they wanted to talk to me about my pregnancy.

Yep, no questions were asked; I was pregnant because I am Dhampir and Dimitri is a Moroi who acts like a Dhampir – as crazy as that may sound, but yeah.

There was a sudden knock on the door, Kirova openly told whoever the person was to come in but heck, I was fated to be doomed because in he came.

Dimitri.

xxx

First up, Rose does not know Ibrahim Mazur is her father. Let me clear that up. :)

Second, I'm kind of changing some of the things that Richelle Mead did to her story, so yeah… :D

Third, I did a lot of brainstorming and brain-racking, as well as research for this chapter and as for the namesake of the Academy in Russia, yes that person existed and he is indeed the "Grand Prince of Russia" :)

Fourth, I hope you weren't lost with the explanations in this chapter. :D

Fifth, Please oh please review guys. :D Your reviews greatly inspire me to continuously write this story with a smile. :D

Okay, I don't know if you guys would treat this as a 'cliffhanger,' but I'm sorry if there were no Dimitri-Rose interactions, but I will make it up to you in the next chapter, alrighty? :D

My brain is practically twisted as hell from all the thinking and researching I did with this chapter. LOL. So, I'm off to rest and brainstorm. :)

REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED! :)

xo, ChristAineXtine