Chapter 10

The next day, Hank spontaneously decided to sit with me for lunch. Why? Unless you're under the influence of some king of drug, your guess is probably as good as mine.

"Hey, Belikov" He said suddenly "you know what I heard today?"

"Do I want to?" I asked him.

"Ok, ok, I'll tell you, no need to beg. Your student slept with Jesse Zeklos and let him drink her blood" Hank grinned, looking amazingly like my next door neighbor, an eighty-year-old lady that spent her days making everyone's business her own.

"She didn't" I replied curtly.

Hank's love for gossip is almost as creepy as you are, Daemon said, rolling his eyes. Why can't I have normal friends?

Because you're not normal, either. I answered. You're a figment of my imagination. And, besides, since when is Hank our friend?

Ok, point taken. And I am a part of you, not a figment of your perverted, half-gone mind.

"What would you know about it?" Hank asked, taking a huge bite out of his sandwich.

"I was there" I dead-panned, shocking him into spitting the contents of his bologna sandwich all over me.

Note to self: startling Hank while he eats is not a good idea.

"What do you mean, you were there? Were you, like, watching or something? Was it an orgy? Did you record it? Isn't that illegal? Can I have a copy? Of the video, I mean. Or are you selling it? Cause I would definitely buy –"

Wow. He's sicker than you are. That's a shock, Daemon crossed his arms over his chest. But I refuse to pray for his soul. He wanted to see little Rose naked. He should suffer.

I wiped the half-chewed bologna sandwich off my face, feeling my left eye would begin to twitch compulsively any second.

"Yes, I was there and no, I did not watch them have sex because they were only kissing. It was not an orgy and of course I did not record it! It is illegal! And, by the way, you are way too weird for me, man. And if you ever spray your lunch all over me again, you will be hurt" I interrupted "That's a promise"

I stood up and left to wash the food in my hair and the bile in my throat away.

I met Rose in the gym after school. I'd changed into pants and a shirt after Hank's little accident, which was what he called it when he phoned me to apologize. She wore pants and a shirt too, but it was definitely a better look for her.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and placed her gently on the mat. I stood facing her a few steps away and crossed my arms. It was a surprisingly Daemon-like gesture.

"What's the first problem you'll run into when facing a Strigoi?" I asked Rose, feeling rude for not properly greeting her first.

"They're immortal?" She guessed. Daemon rolled his eyes, and it took all my self-control not to follow his example.

"Think of something more basic" Rose cocked her head to the side.

"They could be bigger than me. And stronger" She said.

Could? Not many people are shorter than you, dear. Sorry to break it to you like this, Daemon said sarcastically. I couldn't help but agree.

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

I spent the next forty-five minutes showing her how to do just that. Fortunately, Rose was a quick learner, and I could see the excitement in her eyes when we were nearly finished.

"Go ahead" I told her, wanting a laugh "Try to hit me"

She obeyed immediately – something that didn't, of course, happen too often – and lunged forwards.

She was down on the floor as quickly as she'd attacked.

Daemon laughed. She's good, isn't she? Really good. But not as good as we are. Though it's not so nice to hit a lady.

Since when is Rose a lady? I snorted. And you sure are vain, aren't you? I'm the one doing all the work. You just sit there and watch.

At least I pray, he retorted. Saving or soul is more important than working out.

If I don't work out, we probably won't have a soul for too long, I finished.

Rose jumped up and attacked again – probably trying to catch me off-guard. She didn't, and after several tries, she gave up.

"Ok. What am I doing wrong?" Rose was admitting weakness? Tears almost came to my eyes. I was so proud.

"Nothing" Her eyebrows flew up.

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

Hardly.

"Unlikely. Your moves are all correct, but this is the first time you've really tried. I've done it for years" I bragged.

Vanity is a sin, Daemon hissed.

Lock me up, then, why don't you? It'd be fun to see you try, considering the fact that I'm the one who actually controls our body.

Rose rolled her eyes "Whatever you say, Grandpa"

Grandpa? Really?

"Can we try it again?" She asked. I shrugged.

"We're out of time. Don't you want to get ready?" I asked her, shocked. Rose looked at the clock and her whole face lit up.

"Hell yeah, I do!" I turned around and walked off to hide my amused smile. Girls. They were all the same, no matter how tough they looked.

I was shaken out of my frightening memories of my sisters and a curling iron by a Rose-style scream. I whirled around to see her lunging for my back. I quickly grabbed her wrists and threw her to the ground, my weigh on top of her.

Rose groaned "I didn't do anything wrong!"

I couldn't bite back my smile anymore "The battle cry sort of gave you away. Try not to yell next time"

"Would it have really made a difference if I'd been quiet?" She asked skeptically.

I actually thought about it. "No, probably not"

Rose sighed loudly, still happy because she'd get to dress up. Daemon tapped my shoulder.

What now? I asked.

You do realize this is quite an inappropriate position, don't you? He said, trying to keep calm.

I almost had a heart attack. For once in his life, Daemon was right. Delightfully right. My body was actually pressed up against Rose's, my face a few inches from hers. Best of all, she was looking at me almost as hard as I was staring at her. Like she was memorizing my face.

She smells really good. Like flowery soap…

Daemon was rock-hard. Get off of her!

Why?

Rose gulped and my gaze was drawn from her lips to her throat. I had actually contemplated kissing her "So, um… you got any other moves to show me?"

My lips twitched at her nervousness, but Daemon's screaming helped me swallow back my grin. I stood up. "Come on. We should go"

Rose scrambled to her feet and got up.

I walked away with Daemon's screams of hell and pedophilia in my ears, refusing to look back.

The queen was coming. Queen Tatiana, I mean. Not that I really cared that much, but Daemon had finally quieted down when I promised to dress for the occasion and pray for five minutes before I went to sleep, and I didn't wanna push it.

So I quickly showered and threw on a tux – what? Queens don't visit every day – and hoped that my hair would not suddenly decide to go insane. That had happened before.

I arrived to the commons right on time. Alberta and the rest of the female guardians had fixed the room up after a week of arguing about color schemes and flowers and nearly going insane with last-minute plans. It had been hilarious to watch.

Whatever. My point is, the room looked great, ok? Moving on…

We all took our positions along the walls as the students began to arrive. Girls flitted about in silky dresses, guys high-fived and slapped each other's backs. It was total and complete chaos.

Finally, about half an hour before the queen was scheduled to arrive, everyone began to settle down into their assigned seating. Rose burst into the room hurriedly, wearing a tight sweater and some jeans. She was late – no surprise there – so she quickly found her seat and actually managed to keep quiet. For once.

She scanned the room and I looked straight ahead, seeing her in my peripheral vision. She took one look at me, blushed and grimaced. Then, she turned her head towards whomever was sitting next to her and began talking the red in her cheeks away.

Awkward, Daemon chanted.

Samesies.

The Queen swept in, a crowd of royals trailing behind her. Four guardians – Jake, Gustav, Francis and someone else that I didn't know yet – walked behind her in pinstriped jackets that had probably cost more than all the girls' dresses put together.

Everyone sank to their knees (which I thought was ridiculous, but whatever) and I saw Rose roll her eyes. Apparently, she thought the same thing.

"Vasilisa Dragomir" The queen said grandly. Rose leaned over the aisle to take a better look. Typical of her.

"We heard you had returned. We are glad to have the Dragomirs back, even though only one remains. We deeply regret the loss of your parents and your brother; they were among the finest of the Moroi, their deaths a true tragedy" Rose looked wary. "You have an interesting name. Many heroines in Russian fairy tales are named Vasilisa. Vasilisa the Brave, Vasilisa the Beautiful. They are different young women, all having the same name and the same excellent qualities: strength, intelligence, discipline, and virtue. All accomplish great things, triumphing over their adversaries. Likewise, the Dragomir name commands its own respect. Dragomir kings and queens have ruled wisely and justly in our history. They have used their powers for miraculous ends. They have slain Strigoi, fighting right alongside their guardians. They are royal for a reason"

The Princess smiled shyly. I frowned, the queen rarely gave praise, and this? This was way beyond praise for her. It couldn't be good.

"Yes, you are doubly named with power. Your names represent the finest qualities people have to offer and hearken back in time to deeds of greatness and valor. But," Ah, the famous but. Here comes the good part "as you have demonstrated, names do not make a person. Nor do they have any bearing on how that person turns out"

Ah, Queen Bitch was back.

Rose's fists were clenched, her face darkened by anger. She actually moved to stand up for a second, then looked around at the guardians and sat back down.

Good girl. Stay there.

She waited impatiently during the rest of the presentation while Lissa suffered in silence, her face drawn into a grimace. The moment everything ended, both the girls rushed out like the hounds of hell chasing their prey.

I went after them – or tried. I just knew that something bad was gonna happen when Rose got really mad, though that really didn't take too much intelligence to figure out. So I wandered around aimlessly, hoping to find them before Hathaway lost it and threw some punches.

Finally, I wandered into a little courtyard and heard raised voices – a sure sign of trouble, and, consequently, Rose.

"Yeah? Try and touch me now and find out" I heard her voice taunt. I sighed. Picking a fight was so predictable of her.

I stepped out of some bushes and took in the scene. Mia Rinaldi, with a small posse behind her, stood facing Rose, who had Lissa sheltered behind her. I quickly walked over to stand next to Hathaway and stop the impending fight, though it would've been terribly fun to watch.

What is it with you and violence? Daemon asked.

Well, you're not exactly a hippie, either.

"Everything all right?" I asked, acting clueless while I crossed my arms. Rose pushed her fury away and smiled brilliantly at me.

"Sure thing, Guardian Belikov" She said innocently. As if. "We were just swapping family stories. Ever heard Mia's? It's fascinating"

The blonde's face went red. "Come on"

She and her followers evaporated into thin air after one last, Mexican-standoff-style glare between her and Hathaway.

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

"Of course not" Rose lied, still staring at the empty space where Mia had stood moments before "I don't start fights were people can see them"

Good point.

"Rose" Lissa groaned. I shook my head, unimpressed.

"Let's go. Goodnight, Princess" I said formally and turned, hoping Hathaway would follow me.

As usual, Rose ignored me. "You going to be Ok, Liss?"

"I'm fine"

"Liss –" Rose began.

"I told you, I'm fine. You've got to go" Lissa insisted. Rose followed me reluctantly.

"We may need to add an extra training on self-control" I noted.

You think? Daemon scoffed. No kidding.

"I have plenty of self-contr– hey!" Rose broke off, staring at Chris Ozera. "You going to see Lissa?"

"What if I am?" He replied, sounding amazingly like his aunt.

"Rose, this isn't the time" I interrupted, seeing she was ready to take all her anger out on him.

And I was, as usual, ignored.

"Why don't you just leave her alone? Are you so messed up and desperate for attention that you can't tell when someone doesn't like you?" Rose frowned "You're some crazy stalker, and she knows it. She's told me all about your weird obsession—how you're always hanging out in the attic together, how you set Ralf on fire to impress her. She thinks you're a freak, but she's too nice to say anything"

I would've bought it if I hadn't known her so well. I truly would've. And, unfortunately, Ozera did. He fell for every word.

"But you aren't too nice?" He asked sarcastically.

"No. Not when I feel sorry for someone" Rose answered.

Get her away from him, Daemon suggested. Do it now.

"Enough" I said, taking Rose's arm and steering her away.

"Thanks for helping, then" Christian called out.

"No problem" Hathaway yelled over her shoulder.

Oh, she was really a bitch.

But I still could not regret those ten seconds I had stolen with her back at the gym.

Awwwww... D's so cuuuteeee!!!!!!! Who doesn't love him??

Guys, please review. Let's try to make it to 90 reviews this chapter, Ok? Or 100...

Today's question: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST KISS LIKE?