The following week passed by in a blur. Dimitri and I only spoke when it was absolutely necessary, and the awkward tension between us had returned in full force since Lissa and Christian's party.
The week was actually quite boring until Thursday rolled around, and I was urgently called to Queen Tatiana's meeting room.
"Hathaway!" Hans called through the open doorway of his office as Dimitri and I walked past in Guardian Headquarters.
I stopped and entered his office where he was sitting behind his desk with a stack of papers in front of him.
"I was just about to come and find you, I've just had a call from one of the Queen's personal guardians, and you've been summoned to her meeting room immediately." He glanced at Belikov who was standing just behind me. "He specified you must go alone."
"Alright, I'll go now." I said a little uneasily.
"Thanks, I'd hurry if I were you; I doubt she likes to be kept waiting." He said with a reassuring smile.
Dimitri walked by my side until we were out of the building where I turned to him. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" I said as a way of awkwardly saying goodbye.
"Do you know what she might want? She's been summoning you a lot recently hasn't she?" He asked. I'm sure he didn't mean to be nosy, just curious.
"No idea, see ya." I said before turning and walking in the direction of the Queens palace.
I smoothed the palms of my hands down against my trousers as I reached the Queens building. One of the Guardians posted outside the main doors nodded at me and escorted me inside through hallway after hallway.
I thanked him as he knocked on the door to the meeting room and stationed himself against the wall opposite the door.
"Come in." I heard Tatiana called from inside.
I had no idea what this meeting was in relation to, so I figured I'd be best to stay in her good books as I faced her and bowed low. She was wearing a formal golden dress and seated in one of the fancy chairs within the room. I bet one of those chairs cost as much as my whole pay check for a month.
"Don't bother with all that, come and sit down Guardian Hathaway." She said as I stood there awkwardly bowing for a moment.
I sat on the plush chair opposite Her Majesty and waited for her talk; instead she simply sat and watched my every move, as if she was studying me intently.
"I expect you may be wondering why I called you here today." She started.
I simply nodded politely, not knowing exactly what to say.
"I'm sure you remember I told you before that there may be something you could do to help Princess Vasilisa become the next Queen?" She asked.
How could I ever forget, I had pretty much been going over her words in my head every day since.
"Yes, I remember, Your Majesty." I said with my hands clasped awkwardly in my lap.
"Well, there is something I need you to do for me, and for Vasilisa and our society as a whole." Her voice was confident and strong.
"As I said, I will do anything if it means helping."
"Perfect. I need you to go to St Vladimir's Academy and collect something for me, and bring it back to Court."
Why on earth would she need me of all people to go to the Academy and get something for her?
As if reading my mind, she continued. "I know you may be wondering why I am asking this of you in particular. I have been watching your progress very closely over the past few years, and I know you are more than capable of completing the task. You also know the area like the back of your hand; you lived there for the majority of your life. Your age and the fact that you were a student there not too long ago also means that you are incredibly inconspicuous. You will blend in well and your presence will not draw too much attention. " She paused for breath before continuing.
"This mission also links directly to the success of Vasilisa, so I would like to think you will complete it to the best of your ability if for that reason only."
"I promise you I will not let you down." I said confidently.
"I have organised for Guardian Belikov to with you."
Wait what? Why the hell did Dimitri have to come? I actually thought I could have used this opportunity to get away from him for a while.
"He also knows the area incredibly well and is also inconspicuous. And it has not escaped my attention that he may very well know the activity of the Strigoi in the surrounding area, not that you should need to know that information if all goes to plan."
I was about to speak but she held up her hand to silence me before I even opened my mouth.
"I have also heard a lot of things about when the two of you fight together. I need to know that I have some of my best Guardians on this mission, and quite honestly I think you two are the best for the job. The safety of what I require is of utmost importance. I expect you to do everything in your power to ensure it gets here safely."
"I understand. When will we find out what it is that we are looking for?" I asked as evenly as possible. I was focussing entirely on storing the information in her words for whenever I might need it.
"Due to the importance of the fact that this mission must remain entirely unknown to the public at this moment in time, you will not be finding out what it is that I require until you arrive at the Academy, where the head Guardian will tell you."
I nodded and she continued. "You must know that as it stands you, me and the Head Guardian of the Academy are the only ones that know about this mission. Guardian Croft knows I am sending you and Guardian Belikov to the Academy for an important mission, but he does not know why."
The importance of this mission was truly beginning to dawn on me. I knew how to keep a secret but this was serious.
"I know you will have to tell Guardian about the mission, and I suggest you do so soon, but I would also advise you to keep the information to a minimum. Not because I do not trust him or you, simply because the less people know, the better."
"Of course, I understand." I said, not breaking eye contact with the Queen.
She smiled ever so slightly. "I know I am asking a lot of you, but I truly do believe you are the best Guardian for the job. A private jet will be leaving at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning. I suggest you find Belikov immediately so he can begin making arrangements."
"I will." I replied.
"There is no exact time frame for you to return by; however it will be in your best interest to return as soon as you can, if only for the safety of the object in question. And although there is no direct threat to the Academy at the moment, you must know that there is varying Strigoi movements around the area, and so you must be on your guard. And I am sure I do not have to remind you that the safety of what I require is your main concern." She said with a slight edge to her voice, she almost sounded like she didn't like what she was saying.
I knew she was suggesting that if it came to it, I would have to risk my life to protect whatever the hell it is she needs me to get. And honestly, I was not at all surprised. I have been ready to risk my life for the needs of the Moroi since I could walk.
"I promise you I won't forget the importance of this. They come first." I said the last three words in more of a hesitant whisper. I wasn't sure I had ever spoken those words in front of a Moroi before, but she needed to know that I would not let her down.
She stood up then and walked towards me; I mirrored her movements and stood up as well.
She extended her hand towards me which I took into my own after hesitating for only a second. Her hand was thin and cold.
"I really do appreciate your service, Rosemarie. I will not forget what you are doing for me." She said kindly as she shook my hand. Despite her frail hand, her grip was surprisingly strong.
I knew if only by her calling me by my first name that she truly did appreciate my service.
"You're welcome. I'm glad I can help, I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure whatever it is gets to you safely and unharmed." I said as confidently as I could.
"Thank you. Now go and make your preparations and tell Belikov what you have to." She said with a solemn smile on her face.
"Of course. Thank you for trusting me with this, Your Majesty. I won't let you down." I was honestly surprised by the amount of pride that was swelling in my chest in that moment.
I had always known I would be good at protecting Lissa, but I kind of thought that was as far as my career would go. I had never imagined I would be sent on a top secret mission that affects the outcome of our society as a whole.
"You may as well call me Tatiana, Rose. I am asking an awful lot of you and I want you to know I am choosing you for the right reasons." No way did she just ask me to call her by her first name?! I had only ever heard Adrian call her Tatiana and he's her nephew!
The fact that she was being so kind to me did set off alarm bells though; it's almost as if she knows this mission will be more dangerous for me than she's letting on. Whatever it is, I promised her I wouldn't let her down.
"Thank you, Tatiana. I will hopefully see you soon." I said as I headed towards the door.
"You too. Look after yourself." She said kindly before I shut the door gently behind me.
I let out a breath I didn't realise I had been holding once I was outside the door. The Guardians posted outside the door jokingly smirked at me, to which I replied with an eye roll as one of them escorted me out of the building.
As soon as I was out of the building I pulled out my cell phone from the pocket of my jacket. I sent a text to Lissa asking if she or Christian had Dimitri's phone number as I had to talk to him about our upcoming shifts. She replied right back with his number.
I typed in his number and took a deep breath before ringing.
He picked up on the second ring.
"Belikov." He greeted. He sounded out of breath. Probably frolicking with Tasha knowing him.
"Dimitri, It's Rose." I said, not knowing entirely what to say.
I heard an intake of breath through the phone before his accented voice reached my ear. "Rose, is everything okay?" He asked sounding truly concerned.
"Yeah, I just need to talk to you; can you meet me at my house?" I asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Of course, I'm just out for a run; I'm close by to your place actually. I'll be there soon." Alright so he wasn't messing about with Tasha, which was a comforting thought.
"Okay, see you in a bit." I said before hanging up the phone.
When I got to my house Dimitri was leaning up against the wall of the porch with his shoulders crossed casually over his chest. He was wearing a tight fitted black top and sweat pants. I'm pretty sure my mouth started watering.
I walked straight past him and unlocked the front door, leaving it open for him to follow me.
His eyes scanned the interior as he walked in and shut the door behind him; it was almost as if he was studying every aspect of the house. I wondered what he was hoping to find.
I walked into the kitchen and heard him following me through. I got a glass from one of the cupboards and poured a glass of water before placing it on the counter of the breakfast bar and gesturing for him to sit down. "Thank you." He said.
"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting your house to be so clean, spotless even." He said while glancing around once more.
"Yeah well, I haven't really spent a lot of time here to be honest. I like to keep busy."
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked.
And so I explained. I told him everything I could about what the Queen said to me, I also told him about our previous meetings.
"Wow. It is a huge honour for Her Majesty to ask for us directly, you know that right?" He asked almost a little astonished.
"Of course I know. But I'll understand if you don't want to come, Dimitri. I know it won't be easy for you to go back there, and by the sounds of it, it might be dangerous. And I know you have other commitments... with Tasha." A frown graced his features as I finished the sentence.
"I have no commitments to her, and this is work. That comes first." He said without breaking eye contact. "So, when do we leave?" He asked.
"Tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock. A private jet will be flying us over there."
"I suppose I should go then and let you get on with your packing." He said as he stood up and headed over to the door.
"I'll have to go and explain to Lissa that I'll be going away. Of course I won't be able to tell her why we're going. Make sure you don't say anything about why we're going back to anyone either, okay?" I asked.
"I won't say a word. See you tomorrow on the run way." He said with a heartbreaking smile as he made his way down the porch.
I waited until he was out of sight and then I crossed my front lawn to get to Lissa and Christian's house. I knew it wasn't going to be easy leaving her again, but hopefully it wouldn't be for long.
As expected, Lissa was absolutely distraught at the thought of my leaving her for an unknown amount of time after she'd just got engaged. But I told her that she hadn't even set a date for the wedding yet and I would be back in plenty of time to organise her big day.
I also didn't express my worries about the mission to Lissa and Christian, nor did I mention the fact that the Queens friendliness to me had me worried about the outcome.
I left their house with a smile on my face and a tightness in my chest and went home to pack without knowing how long I was leaving for.
There we have Chapter 10! Sorry if there was a bit too much dialogue between Rose and The Queen, I really just felt like I had to get the information about the mission into the chapter. Thank you so much for all the support, reviews, follows and favourites for the last chapter, I really appreciate it! Thank you so much for reading, I really hope you like this chapter, and please tell me what you think!