7
[The Beginning]
I stared back toward Mason Ashford as he sprinted out into the distance. I had no idea why was in such a rush, but I dismissed the encounter as quickly as it had come. I would enjoy the rest of my night off without doing anything work-related if it killed me.
Once in my room I showered, threw on a pair of drawstring pants and grabbed the book I had been waiting to start.
I propped up my pillows on my bed and adjusted until I was just right.
Looking around I shook my head.
My hot date night went from me and Tasha… to me and Louis.
There were many reasons why I was hooked on the works of Louis L'Amour. Maybe it was his insight into adventure that caught me. When I was notified that I was needed in America I did not hesitate at a chance to see the places described in his books.
His messages and themes also instilled a moral compass in me. The sheer weight of responsibility was something I understood at an early age. It was something I believed I could handle. It was something L'Amour shaded perfectly.
I flipped open the pages of my book, skipping to the first page…
"…There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. Yet that will be the beginning."
I smirked silently to myself and shook my head. I rolled over onto my stomach pulling a pillow under my chin.
Maybe it was the beginning of something… something great.
As the sun began to rise that evening, I closed my eyes and slept for the first time in what seemed like forever.
I dreamed about many things, specifically, about Tasha.
Becoming Tasha's guardian was a lot easier than I had expected. We lived in a house near the academy so she could be closer to Christian until he graduated. After that we moved closer to the Royal Court and start a family. Our kids had her eyes and wanted to grow up to be guardians like me. Life was easy and we were happy. We looked like the ideal family. It was what every Dhampir was supposed to want.
My alarm blared at me, and I was disappointed to be rushed back to reality so abruptly. It was dark again and work was only an hour away. Reluctantly, I got out of bed.
There were many things about being a guardian that the Academy could not full prepare its' students for, but there are two things that have always surprised me. First, and probably most important one does not know how they would react in a dangerous situation until they had real world exposure. Dhampir training sets up the fundamentals; however, until a guardian faces life or death decisions, he or she has no idea what they would really do. Second, and this may seem trivial, but it was also unexpected… security patrol is the most boring part of the job, and if you work at an academy it takes up most of your time.
Campus safety is important, but most of the time it feels like high school daycare. Keep an eye on the students as they move from class to class; in between classes make sure no one is trying to get in or out of campus; make sure students stay in their dorms after hours. The end.
By now the students should all be in their respective classrooms, so there was little to do but walk the grounds.
A few hours later my ear bud pulsed, "Belikov".
Please give me something else to do …
"Yes –" I tapped my transmitter.
"What is your position?" Alberta's voice crackled through.
"Between Moroi and Dhampir dorms heading back toward classes… what can I do for you?"
Anything to do would be better than pacing a length of campus again…
"I'll find you, just stay put" She said.
…Except that. Standing here is much worse than walking around.
"Belikov did you hear me?" She retorted. "I said stay put".
"Yes, I got that. I'll stand here.. in the cold. It's fine".
"Good," her voice was right behind me and I turned quickly.
"How can I help you?" I said burying my hands in my pockets.
"Well, first off I wanted to know why you didn't answer your phone last night." She said somewhat annoyed.
"Alberta, it was my night off- you can't expect me to be on duty every second. The school was still here when I got back, unless you think you couldn't handle me being away." I teased.
She rolled her eyes, "That is not the point. Next time you answer your phone. I was calling on behalf of Headmistress Kirova and she was pretty annoyed that you hadn't answered; which means-"
"- I get it, which means she took it out on you, for which I am sorry."
"Pretty much… must have been some date if you refused to pick up your phone." She said winking .
"Ha ha ..amusing…" I said sarcastically "… was that all you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked dryly shaking my head at her. I turned to walk away.
"No, that's not it. Belikov, you really should have picked up your phone." She said a little more seriously.
I stopped, turning my body halfway toward her. "If it makes you feel better, if you call me I'll pick up, even if I am in the middle of dinner… or sleeping… or whenever you call…" I smiled slightly and turned, walking toward the main part of campus.
"She's awake, Dimitri…"
I stopped dead; my breath left my body, my heart muted in my chest. I knew exactly whom Alberta was talking about, but in that moment, everything seemed so surreal and so blurry at the same time.
"She?" I said with downward inflection, simultaneously turning back to Alberta.
She nodded slowly. "She woke up yesterday…just after you left."
"I … how … I mean …" I had a million questions all at once. None of them clear.
"Dr. Olendzki phoned the Headmistress and said that she is awake, she is lucid… she needs time to recover but she is back in her dorm room." Alberta closed the gap between us. "I thought you would want to know …"
The look on my face must have been shock or bewilderment… because Alberta patted me on the shoulder. "I think she is going to be okay". She said turning to walk away from me.
"That's why you called me?" I managed.
She turned back, "Initially that is why I called you, but later I tried to call you to tell you that she was missing… but she was found. So, that's not really important."
My ear bud hummed again, "Guardian Belikov, I need you in my office." Headmistress Kirova bellowed.
"I'm on my way," I returned. I gestured for Alberta to follow me.
"What do you mean she was missing?" I asked as we crossed the lower part of campus.
"We got a call that Mason Ashford had gone to see her and that she was missing. Luckily he went after her."
"What happened?" I asked.
"You'll have to ask Olendzki or Mr. Ashford, I wasn't filled in with any details yet, other than she was found and she was fine." Alberta said following me up the stairs to the main offices.
I knocked on the Headmistresses door and she called for me to come in.
"Oh, good Alberta, you're here too. " Kirova said straightening a few papers and shoving them into her desk.
"Belikov, I just wanted to make sure that you had heard that Rosemarie is awake, " Kirova prompted.
"Yes, I heard" I said looking back to Alberta and nodding.
"Good, I would like for someone to talk to her in a couple of days and let her know that she can come back whenever she is ready but that she won't be training anytime soon. Dr. Olendzki informed me that she should not be doing any strenuous activity for a while, possibly another month even." She huffed. "That girl will graduate from this academy or kill someone in the process… I swear…" She said curtly staring off into the distance.
"I'm sure someone will talk to her as soon as possible," Alberta said quickly.
"Good. .. that is all…for now I guess," Kirova said again staring off.
Alberta and I walked toward the door, but just before the door shut I heard Kirova again.
"Oh, Belikov! Have your phone on at all times… I don't care what you are doing as long as I can contact you when you are needed." She said sternly.
"Okay" I said shutting the door.
I was happy to see that Alberta had left and I was standing alone in the corridor.
I had other things to do now.
I left the faculty building and headed across campus. The students had just gotten out of their classes, so I had to mill through them to get to the Dhampir gym. The door of the gym opened and a few of the senior Dhampir's shuffled out.
"Is Mr. Ashford in the gym still?"
The two boys looked up at me, but as they did they straightened their posture.
"Yeah, er.. I mean yes Guardian Belikov. He is putting mats away" One of the boys said. Being a guardian demanded a level of respect, but sometimes the students seemed like they were afraid of me.
"Thank you," I turned and went inside the gym.
Ashford was just closing the equipment room door when he turned and saw me approaching.
"So, you've heard," he said nodding in my direction. "And I bet Kirova sent you to get the full story from me?" He said moving to sit on the closest bleacher.
...sure...
"Yes, I will be talking to Dr. Olendzki as well," he didn't need to know all of the details…
"Well, then you'll hear the same story again… but whatever I guess…" He fished fresh socks out of his gym bag.
"So, Lissa told me that Adrian was there when she woke up, which is how she found out about it. So, about an hour or so after classes I went over to the clinic just to … you know… check up on her." He finished tying his shoes and looked up at me.
"When I got there the bed was empty and for a second I thought …" he looked down at the ground. "Well… anyway, Dr. Olendzki came out of her office and didn't even know that Rose wasn't in her bed. So, I went looking for her. I was pretty much running all over the place-"
"-which was when you ran straight into me …" I said, thinking aloud. The pieces were coming together in my head.
"Oh … heh… sorry I didn't know that was you … I was really just trying to find her." Mason leaned forward, resting his elbows on his lap. Momentarily, he seemed to be lost in thought.
"…and you found her ?" I prompted.
He looked back up at me, "Oh, right … so I had stopped to, you know, catch my breath and a little bit further down the sidewalk I saw her sitting on some stairs, all huddled up. When I got to her she looked really upset and she was freezing, so I took her back to the clinic…" Mason shrugged, "She is so stubborn sometimes it makes me crazy…" He shook his head. "You know she basically pulled her IV's out and took off from what I could tell. You know," he pointed to his wrists, "there was dried blood on her arms and everything…"
I shut my eyes for a second and exhaled. The mental picture of all of this made my heart sink a little.
" She is so impulsive and she doesn't care if she worries people …" Mason eyes looked hurt.
Before Spokane Rose had mentioned she was going to break up with him, but I doubt she had the opportunity to do so. It was obvious to me now that he cared about her much more than she cared about him.
"She is lucky to have you. I think she needs someone who has his feet on the ground…one who is in control of himself…" I said reluctantly. Maybe Mason was the best thing for Rose right now.
Mason stood up, grabbing his bag. "Yeah well… I don't even know anymore… I'm just glad she is going to be okay… " He said as we walked to the door.
"Is that what Dr. Olendzki said?"
"Well, all I know is she is back in her room and she won't be back in classes till next week or so… and even after that she won't be training for a while."
"Right, well, thank you."
"Is that all Kirova needed, because I wanted to go see Rose …?" He asked pushing the gym door open.
"Oh, yes. That's all, for now at least," I said clearing my throat. For a moment there I had forgotten that this wasn't supposed to be a personal mission.
"Alright, later …" Mason said pushing the door the rest of the way open and sidestepping out.
The draft from the door shifted the still gym air, sending a short chill down my neck. Suddenly, reality set in.
All I wanted to do was to see her. I wanted to hold her and tell her that I wouldn't let anything else happen to her. But I couldn't.
I can't go see her...
No matter how much I wanted to make sure she was okay, I couldn't let myself go back into old habits. I had Tasha to think about … and work.
I slowly walked back to the faculty dorms. I had no idea how I was going to stay away from Rose, but I knew that I had to. I needed to be that responsible person that I have always prided myself to be. I needed to find my control again.
I had to use every ounce of it that night to keep me from running to her instead.
For those of you who hate Dimitri and Tasha, know that you are not alone. This is the same story as my other fanfic, and if you have read that you know that this is essential to the storyline. I hate Dimitri thinking about Tasha as much as the next person, but I would imagine that Dimitri doing the right thing might mean he isn't necessarily happy.
Read "No Time to Heal" if you are interested in Rose's POV, or to see where the rest of this story is headed.
Thank you to all of the readers, reviewers and people who have me or my stories as a favorite. :]
besos
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